"How To" Tie Blanket & Mr. Jingles

Happy Hump Day!

This is a fun gift idea I've been wanting to try for a long time and just never got around to it! But now I have :) And I am making like 4 of them for Christmas gifts!

I plan on taking them to get monogrammed after I finish them all (which takes about 30-45 minutes per blanket) with names or initials in matching colors :)

If you're local in Lexington, and in need of monogramming, don't forget about Sew JWL who does an awesome job!! Her last day for Christmas orders is December 13th so better hurry on up!

So here goes the Tie Blanket ... step by step... so easy! Great gift for one of your friends or for kids :)

If you are making for a big kid or just a throw size, then you will need 2 yds of each color fabric you choose. For a full adult size I would get 3 yards.

1. Pick out two cute felt fabrics

(I went to Hancocks, but Hobby Lobby had some cute ones too! They were like $6 a yard I think)

2. Cut the ends off of both fabrics all the way around the entire piece to make it even and get rid of any curled up ends.

3. Pin the fabrics up against each other and make sure they are matched up perfectly on each corner.

(you can actually pin if you need to, to get an even cut. I did not do that just tried to stay straight)

4. Take a ruler to one corner and measure up 6 inches and then cut.

5. Go to the bottom of that same section and measure 6 inches and cut. Then cut out that are to make a sqaure. Repeat this for the other 3 corners.

6. Start at one corner and measure up 6 inches and this is where you will begin to cut your strips... do this all the way around the entire fabric! About 1 inch thick, depending on how many you want to tie!

7. What a full side will look like after you have cut each strip.

8. Pic after cutting strips around all 4 sides of the fabric.

(Notice I added a model to this pic lol! He has to be right in the mix of everything!)

9. After you've cut all the strips on all sides, start tying knots! Just tying the two pieces of fabric together in a strip... do two knots! SKIP EVERY OTHER STRIP to start with, it makes it easier and also doesn't stretch the fabric as bad.

10. Once you tied every OTHER knot, go back and tie all the ones inbetween to end up with every strip tied into two knots :)

That's it!! How cute is that? They are super soft and cozy too :)

I am going to have the solid color side monogrammed for something extra!

I can't tell you who this is for in case they sneak across this blog and read it ;) ... BUT I still have 3 more to do and I hope the others turn out just as cute as this one!

Guess who showed up at our house today?

(if you don't have kids in your house you probably won't get this haha sorry!)

Our Elf on the Shelf... Mr. Jingles!

He was just relaxin, taking a "bubble bath"...  in marshmellows! :)

Left a treat for Ella, Ava & Jake too ...

They were super excited he is back for the year haha

They are already trying to decide where he will be in the morning??

Who knows??? ;)

Lastly, I found a little something I am excited to add to my Christmas list...

(Sorry bad pic! Was in a hurry and on phone!)

How cute are these "Lexington" cups?

Found them at Peggy's on Clay Ave and they are the plastic ones where you can use them over and over and are dishwasher safe (I think!) with the lid and straw.

Love it! :) Great gift idea too!

(I didnt even check the price, but I do think they were under $20)

I can't WAIT for my Glitz & Glam Blog Exchange gift to arrive and for sweet Rachel to receive my gift too :) Monday we will be blogging about the swap!! WooHoo!!

PS. Tomorrow is December 1st and I have a surprise :)





Oh, How Pinteresting Monday!

Get ready for some cute things... and some good home ideas today :)

I am in the staging/real estate mood today, maybe I've been working too much LOL

 Loving these Tory Burch's!!!

And this Polyvore too ... so cute and stylish but cozy too!

I think those are sooo cute!

Great closing gifts also, a painting of your new home! Love it!

Do it yourself chalk paint on wine glasses.

Much easier to dip then put on with a brush, eliminates the brush strokes.

Trying this for next party I think!

Great thing to save! Everyone's front door will need a fresh coat of paint sooner or later... especially before you are thinking of ever selling your home... a freshly painted front door will make a huge difference on your curb appeal!

I love this house! Huge front porch... so pretty and classic!

Love this, how they painted the inside of this! Makes such a difference! So cute!

Ok I need this! My wrapping room is a hot mess! I love all the pockets on the sides!!

It is from marthastewart.com

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie!

Looks so good. Recipe found HERE

And just for fun because I love the movie Elf and laughed outloud when I saw this...

:)

So true. One of my favorites!

That's it for Pinterest today! Still addicted. Still loving Pinterest more than Facebook, ha, yes I said it.

Follow me on Pinterest HERE :)

Happy Monday and Happy Pinning!

Another Year Older :)

Hope everyone had a terrific weekend!
Yesterday was my birthday ;)

But let's be honest... I don't usually have a birth "day" it is more like a birth "week" LOL My poor  family... my birthday is like a never ending event! But I won't lie, I love it!

For my actual birthday, Chris had gotten us tickets a while back to go to the UK vs. Tennessee football game and it was the perfect day to go! Beautiful weather and WOW.WHAT.A.GAME! For those of you non-Wildcat fans, this was an epic game! Kentucky's first win against Tennessee since 1984! I'm taking all the credit of course that it's because it was my birthday ;) Of course. Ha.

Watching the game :)

Awesome!!!! GOOOOO Cats!!

 

Look at that field rush! Holy Cow! Gives me goosebumps to watch haha!

Check out this totally unprofessional video I took from my phone during the field rush...
(Mute playlist at bottom of page)
 

How great is that? It was a great day to be a CAT fan and I am so glad we were there to experience it! A day we won't forget!

Among all the fun birthday presents I got (including some super cozy PJ's from Vicki's ha!) my very favorite thing Chris got me were these... if you don't have them you need them!

UGG house shoes... to.die.for.comfy. They are so warm! So fuzzy! I am obsessed with them!

If you see me at the office or Target in them it's probably because I forgot they weren't real shoes and wore them out of the house on accident LOL. They are fab! Thank you babe ;)

We went to dinner last night at Bonefish and I got BangBang Shrimp for a birthday bite! So Yum!

Then we came home and just cuddled and hung around the house. I started bringing out the Christmas stuff today and look what I stumbled upon...

Bahahahahaha. Poor Frankie. He is not a fan. But he looks so dang cute I couldn't resist. :)

A little mini Rudolph we have ha.

Love him so much.

So far 28 feels good :) ... I was on Pinterest (shocker!) and stumbled across this and it sums up my thoughts for my birthday...

I am grateful for my "Now" :)

XO,

Thanksgiving Recap

 I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!!

I meant to do a post yesterday I was just absolutely exhausted from cleaning/cooking/setting up for everyone to come over, etc! Preparing for 16 people is no joke! So today I have cleaned a little, took a 2 hour nap (which I haven't done in forever!) and then started taking down Thanksgiving and putting up Christmas! Yay!

On Thanksgiving day we had our families over and had a late lunch/early dinner. My dad, Chris and myself cooked ALL day! And by all day I mean from like 9am until about 4pm! But it was fun!

This was our thought for the day (stolen from Pinterest of course!)

"Big Kid" Table 

Got all the cute coloring Printables from Pinterest... A coloring turkey and then a two page sooo cute worksheet where you check off all the different, fun things they were thankful for :)



Having fun at their kid's table! :) Coloring away!

(PS how cute is that crayon holder in the middle? $3 at Hobby Lobby! Love it! The placemats were just foam with stick on foam letters from Hobby Lobby too, I think they were like .89 no lie!)

I was blessed enough to get to enjoy another small birthday celebration after we ate ... from Chris's parents :) and some awesome bday/thanksgiving themed cupcakes Chris ordered for me from Confused Confections, my fave!

How cute is this bracelet arm candy? ;)

Super cute shoes! Loved them!

(Sorry gross pics, taken by a 9 yr old on an iPod touch lol)

This AWESOME new Michael Buble Christmas CD! :) Love him and love this CD! It's awesome if you haven't gotten it yet... all the songs are good, but I wouldn't expect anything less from Michael ha!

Some more goodies too but didn't get pics. So sweet! Loved them all, thank you so much Cathi! :)

Somebody ate a little too much turkey (and 3 mini Reese Cups! little stinker) and contracted tryptophan I believe... 

Fell asleep with his head up!! He was nodding in and out of conscience it was hysterical!

After we ate I went through the newspaper ads and decided to go pick up my cousin and go Black Friday shopping! Wow. It.was.crazy! Walmart and Target were insane! We were out until almost 4am and I got a TON of my Christmas shopping done! I was so proud! Normally it's not worth it for me to stand in line for 2 hours to save $30, but this year it was kinda fun with Kenzy and we ended up getting some really good deals! Take a look at Wally World in case you didn't make it out...

Madness! Total Madness!

Ok this is random... but last year I was less than impressed that our whole house was so cute with Christmas decor and everything was like holiday central... EXCEPT our sofa pillows totally clashed with my stockings and such! :(

Normal everyday pillows

So this year I decided to switch them out :) Keep a few, replace a few, and that was everything would be matchy matchy (Chris hates when I say that hahaha so I threw it in just for you babe!) and also go with the holiday theme! Tonight I busted them out... what do you think?

Holiday Pillows

MUCH more Christmas friendly ;)

Ok, Ok, I know you will ask... because it is so cute.... the FAITH pillow is from my fave place,

HOUSE by JSD in Lexington down. They have a facebook page and blog...  and the cutest stuff in the entire world! You can order these burlap pillows to be monogrammed with anything! But these Christmas ones were already made up and ready to sell, and I love them!! Only $39.99!! It is hard to tell but the letters are felt actually hand stitched on the burlap. Super Cute!

Ok well tomorrow, Saturday, (today actually, I can't believe I am up at 2am!) is my BIRTHDAY!

WOooHooo! :)

So my birthweek will be coming to an end... BUT we are going to the UK vs UT football game and then have some other bday festivities to celebrate the big 2-8! ha.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

XO, 

Hello Hello!

Why helllllllllooooo!

I want to start by saying I promise I am not a fair-weathered blogger... yes I have been MIA since Nov. 14th (so sad!) but as you may remember... my computer was sicky! Major! And it took her going to a new place to get healed and I FINALLY got it back yesterday and literally have been on the computer nonstop ha! You have no clue how weird it feels to not have a computer (well maybe you do but I hope not) ... I have felt like I am living under a rock!! And now I'm back! Yay!

Thanksgiving is in two days... we are having it at our house and I still have to go to the grocery and get everything ready!! This past weekend we went to Louisville to celebrate with Chris's family at his parent's house and it was so yummy!

The kids surprised me with an early bday cake, cards and present! My actual birthday is this Saturday and they won't be with us :( so we had a mini celebration (thanks babe for thinking of it!) and had my absolute favorite cake on earth.... this girl needs no fancy crazy cake like I like to buy for others... I am 110% satisfied with a Baskin Robins Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake!!! Yummmmm!!

So sweet! I was so surprised too! :)

They got me some awesome cards and a new charm for my Pandora bracelet...

The cute little present :) Perfect for a Birthday Gift! And they picked it out too ;) So thoughtful!

Happy Early Birthday to Moi ;) Love this pic!

In other unrelated news... it is safe to say I have mastered the "sock bun" and it is my new favorite way to throw up my hair when I'm in a hurry...

I have also become obsessed with boot socks...

Buns, Boots, socks for everything! LOL I found some cute and super cheap boot socks at Forever 21 and got them in 4 different colors (I think they were like $6 each maybe??)

That's the only place I have really been able to find any solid color ones!

I am sure you've been missing and wondering about my son... he is still as spoiled as ever don't you worry... this pic proves that I'm pretty sure

Such a stinker! Love his little heart!

Got my nails done and via Pinterest (still obsessed) went with this... kinda fun and cute...

It's pretty festive don't ya think?? :)

Ella & Ava have been practicing these model poses and it is so funny, I had to share this one because it makes me laugh every time I look at it... it was this past weekend outside of church.

bahahaha. Love it. Poor Jake.... no model face for him ha. Just confusion I think ha.

Now.. something I so excited for... Christmas!!!

Look at what I can't wait to shop for this weekend...

So excited to be partaking in this Christmas Blogger Swap!

I got matched up with Rachel ...

Her blog "In My Life I Love You More" is so adorable!!

Go follow her! :)

We are mailing gifts by next week to all blog about them on Monday Dec. 12th!

So fun! Can't wait to see what goodies everyone comes up with and then blogs about!

Thanks so Raven & Lindsey for putting it all together!

Lastly, with Thanksgiving approaching and my skipping Pinterest Monday this week I am sharing a couple of things I found and pinned to incorporate into Thursday's meal :)

This free printable for the table!

Love this sign... will write it on our board in the kitchen!

Going to let the kiddos all make these bracelets at the "kid table" haha thought they were cute!

I printed out these today at work along with another coloring sheet for the kid's table also :)

I LOVVEE the smell of cloves in oranges! My favorite! So I may do a few of these to set around also!

Follow Me on Pinterest HERE :)

More catching up stuff to share tomorrow....

Anybody got their menu planned yet for Thursday?

What about Black Friday Shopping? That could be an entire post in itself for me haha

Now off to catch up on everyone else's blogs I have been missin!!!

XO,