Redo Number 2!!

This was a dresser that was also given to us by Ryan's grandma. I love the way it turned out. I desperately need a dresser but I like the way it looks in my sunroom. If you look closely you can see all the whitewashing remnants on the carpet. By now I thought I would have new carpet! We are now getting the house ready for our guests who are coming to spend New Years weekend with us. No more projects for a couple of days! But several more are in the making!!

Before, beautiful but not really our style


After.......I hope Grandma P likes what I did to it!

A New Year of Projects!!!!

Here is my first project of 2010 (well..almost). This table was given to us by Ryan's grandmother. No one seemed to want it and I saw huge potential in it! I have always wanted Pottery Barn's white Pedestal table for my sunroom. This one was free! I bought a new spray gun to attach to our air compressor and I did this in about an hour. I love it! I am on the search in antique stores to find my 4th chair. I love when all the chairs are different. Stay tuned. I am about to start on my next redo!! It's going to be super cute!!


Before

After!!

Awesome "Mash Up" of all of 2009's Top Hits!

You have to listen to this!! Great way to remember 2009's awesome chart toppers!!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I have uploaded a few of my favorite shots of the weekend. It's so sad when it's all over with. The house seems a little less magical doesn't? I refuse to put up my decorations until after New Years. We are having out of town guests over for New Years Eve and that weekend. Then I will begrudgingly take the decor down.

Me, Mom, Poppy, Nick, Ryan

Mom, Nick, and Me

Sami and I
A couple of years ago, we used to look identical. Now, we are barely looking like sisters!! She can always pull off a fun hair color. Too bad I'm not that brave.

Ryan carving the 3 turkeys he cooked!

Christmas morning, I got a wonderful Vegetarian cookbook! Loved it! I also got a new digital camera for "my blogging", Ryan said.

Ryan loves to pose.

Dave, Angie, Kyle, Me, and Ryan on Christmas Eve right after Mass. We went to the 5:30 mass and it was so packed that we had to sit behind the alter. We couldn't see anything but we could still hear. The music was amazing!!!!

The night before Christmas Eve. We went out to see some out of town friends.

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas to all of my friends, family, and blog family! I hope that you all have a wonderful day filled with magic that Christmas brings. Lots of posts to come. Boy I sure do have a lot to catch up on!! Can't wait to see all of your Christmas posts!!!

The reason why I am M.I.A.

Here is the reason why I haven't blogged, cleaned, been eating (lost 4 lbs this week), paying attention to my wonderful husband, and staying up way to late. Alright, so I am a year late in joining this bandwagon. But when a close friend practically begged me to start reading this series I decided, "What the hell". Everyone else in the world has, I'll give it a chance.

Hello, my name is Melissa Farley and I am addicted to the Twilight series like a heroin addict is addicted to heroin. I literally can't hold a conversation with my husband or close friends without pleading with them to read it. I am on book 3 of 4. I've watched both the movies this week, which are FANTASTIC by the way, and now I have started the countdown until June 30th when the 3rd movie is released. I even bought the soundtrack and I listen to it while in the car, in the office, at home, and now with the downloaded ring tone, on my phone!! Me and my "close friend", ( I won't reveal her identity) are coming to grips that very soon we will be in mourning when we finish book 4. Has anyone been through this crazy addiction? Let me tell you, I was a HUGE skeptic. I said, "what is the freaking fuss all about with these damn books". We'll read a couple of pages and you will be HOOKED!! Please stick with me while I read book 3 and 4. After that, I will proceed in the blogging world.

I hope you all are staying warm and are finding extra warm fuzzies during this Holiday Season.

Pink Glove Dance

My Aunt Barb is the best at sending the most AMAZING videos. This is a MUST WATCH!! See what St. Vincent's hospital in Portland is doing to show their support for the cure for cancer. Simply heartwarming and a good laugh all in one. The older gentleman who is the custodian is the best, make sure to watch for him! Thanks Aunt Barb!!

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Happy Birthday Ryan!!

(Ryan three weeks before his second birthday)
Monday was Ryan's 29th birthday! We celebrated last weekend due to the gift I got him having to be delivered early. He got out of work last Friday with a note taped to his windshield letting him know he was on a scavenger hunt. The several clues led him to our favorite restaurant where I was waiting. All the clues had letters on the back that spelled out a word that would tell him what his gift was. He was thrilled about his Bears tickets and went to the game this past Sunday. Although they didn't win, again, I think he still enjoyed the game. I love you Ry! I hope you had a wonderful birthday!!

Thanksgiving came a little early this year. Since a bunch of Ryan's side is traveling to Pennsylvania for the real Thanksgiving, we decided to have a mock dinner to celebrate all together. I ran for 2 hours this morning just so I could eat a little more.

The porch was decorated so beautifully, I just had to get a quick photo.
The annual "holiday" shot.
Dave, Kyle, Angie, Me, Ryan

The annual Dave asleep 2 minutes after dinner shot. He never fails to disappoint!

Trip to U of I.........

Last weekend our friends Andy and Brooke asked us to come to the Michigan vs. Illinois game. We were so exicted to go. With Andy being a huge Michigan, Ryan an Illini graduate, and this being a HUGE rivalry game, we knew we couldn't miss it. We stopped at Jupiter's for pizza and some pre-game drinks. Illinois beat the yellow pants off Michigan by a landslide! If you have never attended a U of I football game, you must. The environment is amazing! The fans have the most amazing team spirit. We had a blast!

Love our Muck Fichigan shirts?

Boring.................

This kid has obviously read my blog this week! Talk about boring........sorry for zero posts this week. I promise some are on their way....HAPPY FRIDAY!! Doesn't it seem like the past two weeks have been dragging by? Hope you all have fantastic plans!

Happy Halloween

Last night I went over to Katie's to make caramel apples and chocolate pretzels. I lived up to my blog name by burning my caramel (ruining it) and accidentally pouring the hot chocolate bark into a glass full of ice water, also ruining it!!! Don't even ask about the ice water!!! Katie's batch thankfully turned out and we were able to make about 27 apples. The highlight of the night was seeing little Jack! I hadn't see him in weeks! He helped me stir. I'll just place the blame on him and say I burned my caramel because I was preoccupied with cuter and more important things!!

Read the recipe ALL THE WAY THROUGH!!

I almost started on my doughnuts when I realized that the dough had to be refrigerated for 4 hours before frying! That means I would be frying doughnuts at 11 p.m. wayyyy past my bedtime. So instead I made these Iced Pumpkin Cookies. They are ridiculously good. I will have ALOT left over. That means some of you lucky friends and family of mine will get a little surprise tomorrow!

Need a little extra courage...and calories...

I'm thinking about making these tonight, Homemade Pumpkin Doughnuts from Epicurious.com . Charlie Brown is on ABC this evening which causes me to want to bake! I'm nervous because I have never deep fried anything. In fact my brother just had a kitchen remodel, thanks to my parents, due to a frying catastrophe this week. Should I chance it? Why can't I just stick with boxed cake mix???

Basement Find!!

My grandparent's recently cleaned out their basement. I saw this picture and asked for it. Now, I don't love the print, sorry grandma, I wanted it for the huge frame! After a can of spray paint and some chalkboard paint I had an awesome chalkboard to hang!

Before: 70's Frame

Now: Stylish Chalkboard

Let us be ever mindful........

Do you want to be humbled? Watch the trailer for this new movie "Precious", which is coming out November 6th. It was a big winner this year at the Sundance Film Festival. It's based on the book "Push" and has some major names including Mariah Carey cast in the film. This movie is a painful reminder of what everyday life is like for some and forces us to step outside of our cookie cutter lives for 2 1/2 hours......... Watching this made me hurt.

Isn't this onsie just a hoot??

I just finished this little onsie. I didn't have any baby hangers so I hung it up with a skirt hanger. That is why the arms look a little wompy. I wish I could wear it to work tomorrow to show it off. Since it might be a tad small, I guess I will ship it off!!

Chicken Pot Pie....My diet's arch enemy..........

It's officially Fall. I know this because I dug out this dangerous recipe. I even cut out a maple leaf in the middle instead of making knife slits all over it! I can't even describe to you how good this dish is. It is probably my most favorite recipe I have in my folder! Hope your dinner was fantastic as well!!

Girls...Check your closets!

I just saw a news piece reminding us that this winter will be rough for many of our neighbors. Local Ministerial Alliances already have wait lists for coats. Please, please, please, don't let your coats gather dust this winter. Please check to see if your children have outgrown theirs or dust off that "one" coat you haven't worn in a couple of years. DONATE!!! If you don't have a Ministerial Alliance in your area, donate them to a school or church!

Congratulations to the Ridgeways!!

This weekend was my dear friend Shelly's wedding. I have attached several photos from her beautiful day. I was so honored to be asked to be apart of it. It was beautiful ceremony and a fun filled reception!! My feet are still throbbing from all the dancing!! It was a great weekend to celebrate this wonderful couple! Congratulations to the new Mr. & Mrs!!

Kim and I arrived early at the bride's home with muffins and mimosas!!

I made blueberry and cinnamon roll muffins. Both were fantastic!

The bride looking at her hair for the first time

Myself, Shelly, and Kim 10 minutes before the ceremony started

Ryan and I after the ceremony

Another shot, after Shelly had become a Mrs.!

Bustling her train

Dancing with her new stepdaughter to "Girls just want to have fun".

The cutting of the cake

The last shot of the evening! Becky, Me, Shelly & Kim

It's Finally Here!!!!!!!!!!

Ryan and I have been waiting months for this to come out!!! I can't wait to see it!

Lucky...............

How could you not love walking into your workplace and seeing this?? I love my job!

The Candy Thermometer and I

Tonight I took a stab at making Caramel Apples. Not the Kraft kind, the REAL homemade from scratch kind. The kind with a CANDY THERMOMETER!!!! I have always been deathly afraid of using one because I know making candy is a tricky feat. But I have to say that these turned out perfectly! These are just a trial run for a boat load of them that we will make for Halloween. I used the small apples just to save money for the trial. Large apples can add up fast! I'm pretty proud of myself. I can't wait to do the "real" ones in a week!

The caramel at 235 degrees. This is the point where you take it off to cool.
The mess I had made! The apples waiting patiently.

The apples had to "set" for an hour in the fridge.

Reecee Pieces, pretzels, candy corn and walnuts! They look a little pitiful because I didn't take the time to decorate them nicely. I just wanted to see if the toppings would stick.