Every Man's Home Needs a Live Door Swag

Hello? What man doesn't love a live Christmas door decoration? I've been dying to do a live door swag for as long as I can remember. Got a front door, couldn't resist. I love the natural and simple Christmas palette. This seemed just the thing for a manly man, accompanied with the bird door mat, almost too chic to handle.

Billy, precious Billy bought me the greenery at Home Depot. We chose the live rosemary trees instead of cypress because they can also be used for Christmas dinner! I filled in with sticks from the yard and velvet ribbon from Hobby Lobby. I used metal wire to wrap the garland together. Also, I wrapped the trees with Dollar Tree craft paper and taped on more of the ribbon. Spritz the live garland for longer last, if you too are planning to get your swag on this Christmas.

For the wreath, I bought a wood base at Hobby Lobby. I took more greenery and wired it on top of the wood. I taped the ribbon to the inside of the door, no wreath hanger needed. Simple, rustic, and inexpensive. Wishing you a great holiday season and wonderful weekend!

DIsh Soap

Yes, you guessed it, it's Method. I just tried out their dish soap, excellent purchase. It has a pump at the top and that's almost more than I can handle. It does the job, folks. I hope I've peaked your curiosity about this brand by now. I feel like I blog about it every post. When it's Method, it's good. Have a great Friday!

Towel Turban

My hair is getting really long. It is very heavy and thick. Thus, it takes longer to dry. I like air drying my hair, but I hate that heavy towel feeling on my head while I'm doing other things. It falls off no matter what kind of balancing moves I attempt. How to solve this? No, not an As Seen on TV Towel Turban. This item is right at your finger tips. Twist wet hair up into a large flour sack towel (that's what I have...a little larger than your average dish rag..but dish towel will work fine, too). I'm free from neck pain and at ease to relax after a long day. Next up, Aladdin auditions.

Home Sweet Home

Exciting news to blog about today! Billy and I bought a house! I'm slightly obsessed with this little gem. It's a 1941 bungalow, need I say more. I've been long in love with old homes. They have so much character and warmth. We are so grateful and blessed to have this little one. We drove past it one day not long ago and I knew it was the one! After looking at tons of homes, I wondered if I would ever find one suitable for us. I'm somewhat sad that the home search is over, but I know that this is the right place.

Billy is being a Mr. Minimalist here these days. Are you surprised? Although I'm close to an anxiety attack, I haven't been decorating. I just leave him here with his coffee table and his bed. He doesn't care for now, so I try try try try to do the same.

Please indulge me in coming posts to update you on projects that we are doing. Thanks for reading along on this new adventure!

Have to Have Half and Half

Hello, readers! I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know I did! I want to share one of my "this is oh so bad but oh so good" favorites with you today. I used to hate regular half and half. It tasted too thick for my coffee concoction. Well, well, well. I sampled some of this from a Kroger manger's special for $1.19 and I am now a convert. It does have calories, but it only takes a drop to make your coffee taste like perfection. I'm in love with the Horizon brand, as I've mentioned before. It is SO worth the money. Once you go organic (milk), you'll never go back. Have a great Monday!

That Thanksgiving Tablescape

Happy Monday, everyone! Here are a few pictures of my tablescape for Thanksgiving last year. I love recalling previous holiday ideas. I am elated over this time of year. There's always an excuse to decorate! I hope you're inspired to decorate if you haven't already. Don't forget the camera, either! Here's a list of supplies:

Gray tablecloth: Two king Wal-Mart flat bed sheests.
Placecards: Folded scrapbook paper.
Napkins: World Market
Twine: Dollar Tree
Sticks and Pinecones: Nature's best creations.
Gold chargers: Target
Candles: Hobby Lobby clearance
Popcorn Seeds: Dollar Tree
White table runner: Pottery Barn clearance
Mod Podge Pumpkins: Made them, for directions type in Mod Podge in search box top left of blog.
Clear Jar for Thankful Tree: Anthropologie clearance
Mustard Fabric: Scrap clearance at Hobby Lobby.

Thankful Tree: Everyone used their little tie-on (above forks) to write and talk about something they were thankful for. Then, we placed it on the tree. I kept them all for this year. 

Taught me everything I know!! 

Proper etiquette: Host sits at the head of the table. This is the chair that is at the very end and when walking into the room, is the most visible head on to all guests. 

Oh please let the stars align so I can have my own home book one day! 

Thankful Tree

I Needed My Purse

I'm one of those women that loves purses. I've been called Mary Poppins several times because I strive to be that woman, the one who has anything that could remotely be purse worthy. I've got those treasure items that everyone wants but never seems to have, bandaids, nail clippers, lotion, hand gel, and snacks. Although I strive to be that handbag wonder woman, there are days that I simply forget it for whatever reason. No more Faith, no more. Why do I think I can just take my keys and license thinking that will be enough? No sir. No ma'am. WAKE-UP WOMAN! That's how I have to talk to myself. A handbag is the woman's right hand man. The ultimate, I need this item. I'm blogging this to beat it into my head, I do need my purse, every single day. Grabbing the keys, the license and a $10 is not sufficient for a milk run. I had one of those, "I cannot believe I did that," very days just last week, leaving home in a rainy rush, I didn't grab my purse. This was so frustrating! All of these things happened before I could return home to get it:

1. Where was the umbrella? In my purse.
2. Lips chapped.
3. Hands dry.
4. An hour after arriving at work, got the most splitting headache. No Advil.
5. No money to buy a coke to attempt to help my head.
6. Had to stay late at work, no money for food.
7. Someone asked for my etiquette business card on my lunch break. Didn't have one to give.
8. Forgot an item for a co-worker to borrow, guess where?
9. Friend's birthday, no money to pay for a gift.
10. Needed to mail a bill, stamps in purse.
11. Saw several friends, no lipstick.
12. Watch left in purse.
13. Phone in purse. Missed calls and texts.
14. Coupons and grocery list for dinner, don't have them.
15. Giftcard to get a makeup item? Nope.
16. Extra key to get to Billy's to use the printer, who needs that?
17. Had no band aid for a cut on my finger.
18. Gas light comes on on the way to work.

Take the purse.

A Superb Salty Sweet

A friend brought this chocolate drizzle popcorn to work yesterday. As my mama says, "Girl, I like to have died." I cannot keep my hand out of this bag, it is getting ridiculous. I went to Earth Fare just to buy this, that's how good it is!   It's also at Target. That means...deep breath...it's there for a few more brief moments until I can go buy it all after work so you better hurry and go on your lunch break or hope to goodness that you don't live in the same city as I do. A great snack for the upcoming holiday. Enjoy!


Similar popcorn recipe from previous blog:
FUNFETTI POPCORN

Favorite Fabric Softener

If you are a frequent reader, you know how much I love this brand. You can search previous posts about Method using that keyword in the search box at the top left corner of my blog. Target put the fabric softener on sale last week, so I decided to give it a go. My laundry STILL smells like it, even days and days later! This formula is clear, so no worries about stains on clothes. Plus, their scents are amazing. I'm hooked! Must. Buy. Stock. In. This. Brand. 

Don't Forget My Party Snack

These days, I'm snacking all the time. I do better with many small meals than large ones. That's not such a hard rule to follow, eat lots all day long? Done. Enter pistachios, one of my true loves. These are great at parties. They aren't messy as long as you have an extra bowl for shells. A fast, healthy, and etiquette approved snack! Hope they're not sold out for Thanksgiving. Get crackin'!

Not Just A Cake Mix

Would you like to make a delicious cake?
Yes.

Would you like it to taste homemade even if you don't have tons of time?
Yes.

Take a cake mix of any sort and add skim milk instead of water. You can add an extra egg, too. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. If you don't already do these with cake mixes, start now. I'm warning you, bigger slices, bigger slices.

Mod Podge Pumpkins

This was my table for last Thanksgiving. See those pumpkins in the middle? Homemade, baby! You'll need some fake pumpkins (clearance at Hobby Lobby), Mod Podge, a paintbrush, a trash bag, and scrap fabric. You cut the fabric into odd shapes and paste it on the pumpkin. Allow to dry on top of the trash bag. I used two coats of Mod Podge. In just a few days, I'll be pulling them out again. They look just as great as they did last year. It is such a fun, cheap, and easy craft. I cannot wait for this wonderful holiday!

Homemade Pimento Cheese

Let me start off by saying homemade pimento cheese IS one million trillion billion times better than anything you can buy at the store. Nothing is more southern than this dish. It is so simple, so divine, so cheap, and so worth the calories.   So. Worth. The. Calories. When I was little, I wanted this every single day. Dr. K made this special recipe for me quite often, and even had to ration me from it. I'm head over heels for you, pimento cheese.
Here's How:
1 bag of Kraft Sharp Shredded Cheddar
1 bag of Kraft Mozzarella
1 larger jar diced pimentos (larger means more than those teeny tiny jars but not the super sized version)
Hellman's Real Mayonaise
Garlic Powder
Kosher Salt
Pepper
Ritz-"THE cracker of choice," I say!

Directions:
For a large batch, pour entire bags of both cheeses into bowl. For a smaller batch, use half of each. No need to measure, folks.
Start with a large scoop of mayo and mix. The key for me is to have more cheese than mayo, but make it as you wish.
Add more mayo until you reach your desired consistency.
Drain pimentos and toss in bowl.
Dash a tiny pinch of salt, several shakes of garlic powder, and desired amount of pepper into the mix.
Taste and see what it needs. Add more of whatever you wish.
Stir.
Done.
Great when cold from fridge, I throw mine in and count down the minutes until I'm divulging carelessly in this bowl of southern goodness.

Cold Weather Care Part 3

I wanted to blog about another great Cold Weather Care item for the winter. It is MAC Studio Moisture Cream. This stuff smells heavenly. It is gentle on the skin and non-greasy. I love love love love looooovvvvveeee it. Great for all skin types. Available at maccosmetics.com or any Mac counter.

Cold Weather Care Part 2

Whew! I fell off the blogging band wagon last week. Sorry, folks. We had some birthdays, papers, tests, and work to get done. No worries, I'm back in the saddle again.

Sometimes in life, you get what you pay for. Yes, I like bargains. But, we all know there are certain higher priced items out there that pay off in oodles and oodles. This lotion just so happens to be one of those things. $10 at Sephora. One of THE best beauty products I have EVER used. EVER. Did I mention I've used a lot of beauty products? Just thought I'd throw that in for kicks. L'Occitane Shea Hand Cream, its just like buttah; it is buttah.