christmas decor 2014

Hey y'all! 

Today I am linking up with Kelly's Korner's 

Christmas Tour of Homes. 

It was just the push I needed to get pictures taken of my decor this year. 

My favorite thing in my house is in my library, of course. 

This year I did my first book tree. 

It was super simple to do and only took about 10 minutes. 

I cannot believe I have never tried it before. 

I decided not to do a big tree this year. 

I will be a D's house the week before and week after Christmas. 

So, it didn't make a lot of sense to have two big trees. 

My wonderful landlord gave me this live tree that I can plant after the holidays 

and it was perfect. 

Every year I have to do a different wrapping theme. 

If anyone needs any wrapping paper, 

I have PLENTY to choose from. ;) 

I really liked this brown paper look this year. 

Moving on to my main living space ...  

I have a wooden beam that runs the length of my apartment. 

And this is my second favorite part of my Christmas decor. 

I hung the ornaments with fishing line and it looks like they are just floating in space. 

I love the look of this tray 

It is so hard to get a picture of the whole beam

I got all of my decorations from Hobby Lobby. 

That place gets me every time. 

I swear I cannot walk out of that place without spending $50. 

If you are stopping by from the linkup be sure to say Hi! 

weekend - christmas decorating

Saturday: 

D and I met both of his siblings new special someones. 

I really liked them both. 

Especially his sister's new boyfriend, 

he is a fellow Seminole fan. 
Go Noles! 

Then D and I had wine club at IvyT's house. 
It was a ton of fun as usual. 

We hung out on IvyT's awesome porch until 1:00 AM talking and listening to music. 

Then D and I made a late night early morning trip to Walmart. 

Because I planned to spend all day Sunday in my PJs decorating for Christmas. 

the Wild Turkey was for me :) 

Sunday:

I caved and decorated for Christmas this weekend. 

I typically do not decorate for Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving. 

This year I will be at D's for Thanksgiving and the weekend after. 

So, I decided to decorate my apartment yesterday. 

This is my first Christmas in my apartment and it was so much fun decorating it with D. 

I was too tired to take pictures once we were finished! 

But I did get one that shows what colors I'm using. 

I put on Christmas music and had chili in the Crockpot for supper. 

D had to make an emergency run to Walmart for more Christmas lights. ;) 

I really love the way it looks! 

I promise I will get pictures posted before Christmas. 

Since I probably will not post again before Thanksgiving. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

Eat plenty of turkey and pie and 

just love on your friends and family! 

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Linking up with: 
Monday Morning Gossip, 
Weekending, & 

weekend recap

Hey y'all! 

This past weekend was jam packed with stuff 

and it would be a shame not to share. 

Fall really is my favorite time of the year. 

Even if it is supposed to be 90 here today. 

A friend posted this on FB yesterday. 

C'mon Georgia get with the program. 

However, last weekend's weather was gorgeous and very fall-like ... 

cool temps, breezy, and beautiful. 

Thursday: 

My weekend started on Thursday last week because it was FAIR time. 

As all of my long-time readers know the fair is when fall officially begins for me. 

My previous fair posts are here and here. 

D and I were joined by his family (mom, dad, brother, & sister). 

We rode the ferris wheel, ate funnel cakes (among other things), and people watched. 

We had so much fun! 

Friday: 

D's brother's birthday was Friday and he wanted to go to Haunted Montrose to celebrate. 

This was my 2nd year going to Montrose with D's family. 

I loved it just as much this year. 

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. 

I love all things spooky and haunted and CANDY! 

Saturday: 

D and I went to a Halloween party Saturday night. 

D's cousin and her husband throw an annual Halloween Bash. 

Everyone dresses up and has a lot of fun! 

This was my first year going and I really enjoyed it. 

It's great that I enjoy D's family (and that they like me!) 

because we basically spent all weekend together. 

I was the Tardis and D was Captain Jack Sparrow. 

Only one person knew who I was at the party and she only knew because a friend of hers watches Doctor Who. 

Talk about disappointing. 

People need to up their geek game. ;)

Sunday: 

I needed a lazy day after the excitement of the previous days. 

I had fun but my introvert brain was lagging. 

So, D and I did a bunch of nothing Sunday morning ... 

drank coffee, cooked french toast, and lounged on the couch. 

Sunday afternoon, we went shooting. 

I got a new Smith & Wesson 9mm last week and needed some target practice with it. 

Overall, it was a really great weekend! 

I love making new memories with D and his family. 

It is weird that we are now doing things for a second time around ... 

like Montrose and the fair. 

Saturday, D and I had been dating for 18 months. 

A year and a half has just flown by! 

I hope y'all had a great weekend as well! 

Linking up with ...

Link

life has been busy

Hey y'all! 

A lot has been happening since the last time I checked in. 

• I got a NEW JOB! I started my new job on September 1st. I am still at the university, just in a different department. I am loving it so far. I am in culture shock a little bit. My new office is so laid back and all of the people are super nice, completely the opposite of my old office. 

• My best friend (of 20 years) got an awesome new job and moved 4.5 hours away. Very bittersweet. 

• I have not mentioned this on the blog yet, but D is carrying on a tradition in his family. He has taken over his family's BBQ sauce business. He FINALLY got the last piece of the long and frustrating government requirement puzzle today ... inspection of his facility. The inspector wants a few small things changed. But D is one step closer to full production.  

• {Small Rant Ahead} I am sure it is all state governments, but trying to navigate Georgia bureaucracy to get all of this stuff approved is like moving through mud. They do not get into a hurry for anything and dealing with multiple offices has been a nightmare. D has literally gotten contradictory information for the same question from different offices ... multiple times. Ridiculous. But it is necessary to deal with them. So, you do what you have to do. I'll post more information about the sauce (probably a blog post by itself) in the next couple of weeks. 

• In other news, I found out that I have to get my wisdom teeth removed. The surgery is scheduled for October 2nd. Not looking forward to that.  

I am not going to promise that I will be around more often, because who knows. But I will update again soon. Thanks for stopping by! 

weekend recap on tuesday

Hey y'all! 

I have a 15 minute break, 

so I thought I would pop in and give y'all an update on my weekend. 

Saturday, 

I had to work until 3 pm. Yuck! 

But it wasn't a horrible work day 

and we were really busy, 

so, the time flew by. 

D DJ'ed (sp?) a Sweet Sixteen party Saturday night. 

It was a lot of fun. 

I really do not miss being 16 though. 

It reminded me of how awkward I was at that age. 

Sunday, 

I slept way too late. 

Guess, my introvert brain needed to really recharge. 

That afternoon I went with D's family to 

The Moving Wall. 

Explanation from their website: 

"The Moving Wall is a half-size replica of the Washington, DC Vietnam Veterans Memorial and has been touring the country since 1984." 

It was truly an overwhelming experience. 

There are 58,000 names on that wall. 

That alone is overwhelming. 

Volunteers were reading the names on the Wall. 

They started Thursday morning and still had not finished reading all of the names when we got there Sunday afternoon. 

I am just continually grateful for everyone that has served in our Military and to their family members. 

Sunday night, my brother called and told me that it was 

baby night!!! 

She was officially born on Monday morning at 12:17 am 

at a tiny 5lbs 12oz. 

Please let me introduce my newest niece ... 

Ms. Anniston Elise. 

I will not get to meet her until the 2nd week in September, but I am in love already. 

all because of work

Hey y'all! 

I am still here. 

Monday is my university's first day of classes. 

This is the busiest time of the year for my office. 

On top of that I have been recently given two major job duties in the office. 

Which means 10-12 hour work days for me. 

Sometimes it sucks to be salaried, 

think of the overtime. ;) 

I just wanted to pop in and see how everyone is doing. 

I promise I am reading everyone's blogs, 

but coming up with even somewhat coherent comments 

is beyond my brain capacity right now. 

Our office usually slows down in September. 

Look for more regular posts then ...  hopefully. 

Maybe I'll have a new job by that time. 

I can only hope. 

Fingers-crossed! 

the one where i turn 30

Today is my 30th birthday! 

Since my no annual leave time at work started today, 

I celebrated this weekend. 

I think it should be against some sort of law to work on your birthday. ;) 

Here is a recap of the birthday weekend: 

cute birthday weekend mani

Friday: 

D took me to The Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Savannah. 

I love all things military and airplanes ... win, win. 

The museum is a smaller one but it is just beautiful. 

The Mighty Eight Air Force was instrumental in WWII. 

It flew missions from London to Germany. 

The had a gorgeous chapel on the grounds made to look like the ones on the English countryside. 

And, of course, there were airplanes. 

The museum is right in our back yard and I had no idea the significance of the Mighty Eighth. 

If you are interested in history at all, 

it is definitely worth at least Googling. 

For lunch, I got Chipotle! 

Then we just went to several stores around Savannah. 

Our last stop was Coldstone Creamery. 

Ice cream is mandatory on a birthday trip. 

We also had to pick up my ice cream cake from Coldstone. 

Saturday: 

Nothing really birthday related happened on Saturday. 

We went to a Couple's Shower for one of D's cousins that is getting married. 

We were supposed to swim all day but it was really rainy. 

{Not complaining though. 

I am the granddaughter of a farmer ... rain is ALWAYS a good thing.} 

Sunday: 

D's put together a birthday lunch for me with his family. 

We had baked ham, Boston butt, baked beans, mac & cheese, bread pudding, 

and the Coldstone ice cream cake. 

Everything was so delicious. 

And I got a lot of really cute presents, 

including a super cute wine glass. 

Even though I do not drink wine, I put it to good use last night. 

We did get to go swimming for a quick minute. 

However, the water was freezing from the cloudy days, cool nights, and rain. 

After work, I get more presents from the Bestie! 

Then D is either cooking me supper at home or 

we will go out somewhere. 

Overall, turning 30 has been just like any other birthday 

and not bad at all. 

I am so blessed to have great friends and family. 

B Loved Boston

fun confessions

Today I am linking up with Kathy 

for a couple of fun confessions. 

I am obsessed right now with Fruit Loops cereal WITH Marshmallows. 

Where was this stuff when I was a kid?!

I have seriously had this for supper more than once in the past couple of weeks. 

source

I turn 30 on Monday and it does not bother me one bit. 

All of my friends that have turned 30 

or are close to turning 30 are 

freaking the hell out. 

And I am over here like ...

what's so bad about 30. 

I guess my philosophy is that I cannot prevent turning 30 

why freak out about it. 

So, you know ... logic! 

This also means I get to eat Chipotle at some point this weekend ... and ice cream cake ... win,win!  

{Sorry Lauren} ;)

Source

Have any of you freaked out when turning a certain age? 

And yes, I know these confessions have absolutely nothing to do with each other. 

I do have random in my blog name for a reason. 

and we have a winner

I want to thank everyone that entered the giveaway! 

I really do love the blogging community. 

It is such a fun place to hang out. 

Some of you have been around since the beginning and I have made some great friendships from this little corner of the world. 

I appreciate all of you, new & old alike! 

Maybe I'll stick around for another 5 years! 

Now for the real reason y'all are reading this post. ;)

The winner of the giveaway is ... 

Kristen from See You In A Porridge! 

Congratulations Kristen!

Everyone should go and check out Kristen's blog pronto. 

giveaway reminder

Hey everyone.

This is just a reminder that the giveaway ends today. 

You can enter here. 

Good luck! 

I have been truly blown away by the response to my giveaway. 

Welcome to all of my new followers!

As you will notice, 

I am not a very consistent blogger 

and I have accepted that about myself. ;) 

I hope y'all will stick around. 

I will announce the winner of the giveaway next week. 

five whole years

On July 12th, 

I have been occupying this small corner of the interwebs 

for FIVE whole years! 

In honor of this momentous occasion I am 

throwing a giveaway! 

One winner will win a 

Random Bundle of Goodies. 

The items have a summer theme ... 

Cute Summer Nail Polish by Essie; my favorite base coat; heavy duty cuticle pusher; lip balm; & fun sunglasses 

Other random things may be added, if I see something else I like. 

Thanks so much to all my blog friends, old and new! 
Every time I think about quitting this little corner one of you sweeties remind me why I stick around. 
Thanks for sticking with me through all of the inconsistent blogging! 

Enter the giveaway through the Rafflecopter below. 
Winner will be announced next week! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: All giveaway products were purchased by me, not affiliated with any company or advertisement. 

SUYL: all about makeup

Today I am linking up with Kelly's Korner 

Show Us Your Life series. 

This week the topic is 

all about makeup. 

I am a low maintenance girl when it comes to makeup. 
I actually HATE wearing makeup 
and only wear it when it is necessary, i.e. work or events. 

I am not creative with my makeup. 
I am a GAW (grown a** woman) and 
I have no clue how to put on eyeliner. 
I have tried to learn and have watched a crazy amount 
of YouTube videos and it is a no-go. 
I have small eyes and they just do not cooperate with eyeliner. 

I have used Bare Minerals for years now. 
It is the only foundation I can tolerate for any length of time. 
Liquid foundations always feel to heavy on my face 
and make me feel claustrophobic. 
I know, sounds crazy, right?! 

This is what I use on a daily basis: 

Bare Minerals Original Foundation in Medium 

Bare Minerals Mineral Veil 

Bare Minerals Bronzer in Skinny Dip
I just recently learned how to use bronzer & highlighter! 

Bare Minerals Luminizer in Love Affair
for highlighting

Bare Minerals Eyeshadow in Fire Opal

CoverGirl Clump Crusher Mascara Waterproof

Carmex
I do not wear any kind of lipstick 

What is your go-to makeup? 

Y'all be sure to check back Monday for a fun GIVEAWAY! 

*none of the links are affiliated links, just the best place to get pictures