Thankful for....{November 6, 2009}

Here in Texas we only have two seasons: Hot and Cold. Why bother naming them actual seasons? However, when it dips below 80 degrees, and we start to pull out our scarves and sweaters, it reminds me of how much I adore Autumn. It's the reason I wanted to get married on this day 4 years ago. Everything seems so peaceful and calm.

Since today is our Anniversary, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite wedding pictures. 

We were married at our mentor couples' home on the lake at sunset. We only had our immediate families and a few close friends attend. We wanted it to be small and focused on the commitment we were making, not about throwing a party. It was important to us because we both believe that marriage is not about love or happiness, it's about committing to someone for life no matter what.

Now a few of my favorite moments from our wedding!

I told you I was from Texas!

 My mother was a little appalled at first that I was going to wear cowboy boots under my dress. But, I think they grew on her by the time the wedding rolled around.

Sist-ors! When we were little I used to pick her up like this to prove I was strong. She's about 6 inches taller than me!

 

This is my favorite one.

 

We heard recently that marriage isn't meant to make you happy; it's meant to make you holy. So today I am thankful for my wonderful husband who stands by my side in this crazy ride of marriage, life and starting a family of our own and continues to help make me holy.

I love you for sweeping me off my feet, being our provider, our spiritual leader and for the wonderful husband and amazing daddy you are. God chose the perfect man for this scattered brain, crazy girl! 

Thankful for....{Nightstands & New Pictures}

Since we're leading up to Thanksgiving this month, I thought I would start off my posts with a few things I'm thankful for in November. Today I'm extremely thankful for a not so broken camera after all! I found out my camera can still take pictures; I just can't see them until I plug it into my computer. I'm hopeful a screen is a cheap and easy fix!

Since my Nightstand post earlier in the week had such horrible pictures of our new nightstands, I thought I'd just do a short post of pictures to give you a better idea of what they look like.

Amazing what sunlight can do, isn't it? Just another thing to be thankful for today...

A Few {Light} Changes

I was out shopping at Marshall's one day, actually looking for a light fixture for a friend. But, of course in my quest for others, I happened upon a fabulous find for myself. (I might need to work on not being so selfish in my shopping endeavors!)

J and I had been talking about sprucing up our living room for a while, but just hadn't taken the first steps to doing anything about it. We really have what most people call a "Great Room". It's just one large open space that counts as living room, eating area and kitchen. It's perfect for making the space seem large, but it causes a bit of a decorating dilemma having to marry all three spaces together.

In my trip to Marshall's I found 3 metal baskets that had a hole in the bottom. Something clicked in my mind, and I thought these would make PERFECT light fixtures for above our bar area. After a little burlap addition, they were perfect! It was the start to our Great Room make over. Who knew a little burlap ribbon from Hobby Lobby (my biggest obsession right now) and $12 baskets from Marshall's would cause such a chain reaction? J probably wishes he had told me to return those baskets!

How I Made Them

It was extremely easy! All I did was take the Burlap Ribbon found in rolls at Hobby Lobby and wove it into the basket. I secured the ends together with a little hot glue, and that's all it took! I believe it only took 2 rolls to do all three baskets. If you wait for the ribbon to go on sale at 50% off, you only pay $5 for 2 rolls! That means these are extremely affordable light fixtures that make a huge statement in your home.

I really wanted to replace the light kits with an oil rubbed bronze to go with the baskets a little better, but we have vaulted ceilings. That means we would have to borrow scaffolding to take the lights down, which is a big project. For now, I promised my husband I would live with our nickle light kits.

This is just the beginning! We have plans for under the bar area, a fireplace make-over and an entirely new wall for our living room. I'm getting tired just thinking about all of the work that we're doing!

Here are a few before pictures to give you an idea of what we're starting...

Our fireplace BEFORE...

This gives you an idea of our wall.

Our entry wall.

See how boring and blah they look? Nothing a few scraps of wood and paint can't fix! I'll reveal our wall make-overs next week.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Happy November!

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