my favorite go-to gifts

I hadn't checked the mail for quite a few days, and was SO excited to see THREE different wedding invitations that had arrived! My friend Brittany Supernaw is getting married March 19th, Hillary Jackson on March 26th, and Rebecca Clifton at a resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico this May - so excited for all of them! So with invitations, comes shower/wedding gifts! If you have gotten married in the last 2-3 years, there's a good chance that you received one of these gifts from me, or will be getting one soon if you are a bride-to-be mentioned above! I love trying to get personalized gifts, (when I have time to plan ahead) and I know it's fun for friends to receive something related to their new last name. I have 2 go-to options for all my wedding needs - www.etsy.com and www.expressionary.com!


This has become my latest and greatest find - I love it! I've given it to my Mom, my sister, myself :), Matt's cousin, and soon to be 3 more new brides! It looks great over a doorway, and we have all received many compliments on them. You can find it here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/62030336/classic-family-name-and-established

Personalized stationary from Expressionary is GREAT! They have so many adorable options, and I LOVE that you can actually try the different fonts and see what it will look like! Plus, they almost ALWAYS have 30%-40% off their prices, so it's pretty affordable. I have NEVER been disappointed with anything I've ordered from them.

This is a new design I just saw, and actually is similar to a fabric I've already scoped out if we were to have a little girl - I think it's just precious!

Cute, cute, cute note pads! Why do I never seem to have a spare piece of paper to make a food list? I need to just go ahead and order myself one!

Finally, their stampers are amazing! They carry this brand at many stores, but again, you can get a really good discount ordering from Expressionary. It's also a great gift for new homeowners! Plus, they have many other accessories you can buy specifically to stamp - note pads, luggage tags, stickers, gift tags, recipe cards, they're all great.

Check out the websites and let me know what you think, happy shopping!

our peanut :)

I think by now most of you have heard the exciting news that Matt and I have a little one on the way - HOORAY! We are beyond excited, and though still in shock, we feel very blessed to have this little bundle of joy added to our life.

We had an appointment yesterday at 4:30 PM - everything was looking great, and I'm about 11 weeks along. I know you're thinking, wait, 11 weeks? Didn't they just get married? Yes, we did, and yes, this is a result of our honeymoon in the Bahama's - WHAT?! That trip suddenly got much more expensive than we were planning for! I think my doctor must be psychic because about 7 or 8 months ago, when I told her I'd be getting married and we would hope to get pregnant within the first year, she told me that sometimes the best time to get pregnant is right when you stop birth control... so if I did that right when I got married, it could happen pretty fast. I just laughed and said no way, that won't happen to me... but it clearly did, and we are VERY thankful to get such a great surprise!

Below is the video that Matt and I had sent to our parents a while back - obviously we couldn't keep the secret from them, and didn't know when we'd see them next since we had just been with everyone for the Christmas holidays! My Mom just started screaming, and getting louder, and louder, and louder, and louder - it was the best! Matt's Mom was so thrilled so could barely speak - it was so special to hear their reactions and excitement, and I know they will all be SO important in the life of our child!

This free picture slideshow personalized with Smilebox

My Mom would call and ask what I was doing, and I'd beat around the bush or make something up, because all I was doing was running around to baby stores or playing on the internet researching stuff. I even had to use my friend Lauren as a cover, who luckily had a baby on Christmas day, so I claimed I was looking at stuff for her when my Mom wondered why I kept looking at baby stuff on etsy.com! They were very good and kept a secret the whole time, until RIGHT when we got out of the doctor yesterday - I tried to call my Mom, and the house phone just kept ringing and ringing. I was so annoyed thinking ok, they've waited how many weeks for this appointment to be here, and now they are screening my calls? Nope, they were already on the phone sharing the news. Matt had sent them a text during the appointment so they already started calling the relatives before we even left the building! This is the first grandchild for Matt's parents, so they've been dying to tell their friends and family. It was so fun to hear Mrs. Turner so excited and finally get to share the big news, and we called to tell Matt's grandmother which was one of the funniest reactions I've ever heard! I had time to call my sister and 2 friends on the way home, and then it was all over once we put something on Facebook - it's amazing how fast news spreads across social media! It was okay though, because it was Valentine's night, and I knew most people would be hanging out with their other half, not wanting to answer a call from me during their special dinner. :)

It feels good to have it out in the open, because I've been quite a hermit lately trying to make it to this point and make sure things were going well before we shared the news. I *think* the due date is September 1st, which she told me at my first appointment back in December, but I was so flustered yesterday I forgot to ask if that was still on track! We can't wait to meet the little peanut, and I'll definately be hitting up all you Mom's out there for advice, so get ready!

where did january go?

I swear, that was the quickest month ever! I feel like the last two months have flown by since the wedding, and we are finally getting settled in to married life and recovering from the honeymoon, holidays, and going back to work - ugh! I guess I shouldn't complain that January flew by, considering that means I'm one month closer to summer break, waahhhoooo! I'm pretty lucky that I found a career that I love, that gives us oodles of holidays and breaks, because I just wouldn't survive without my beloved days off.

Speaking of days off, it was so fun to get a 'snow day' on Friday, even though all we received was some lousy ice, gggrrrrrr. I love cold weather, but don't tease me that we're going to get snow all week and then not produce it, that's just cruel! I used the day to sleep in, venture out to the do-nut store once the roads warmed up, and then we headed to CS for the weekend. As soon as we pulled up at Allison's, Blake ran outside to tell me they had a present for me - score! Unfortunately, my 'present' was a sandbox full of snow they had packed so that Matt and I could still see it when we got in town... how thoughtful of the kids! My parents came over for dinner as well, then Matty Pie and I were in charge of bath time, which is always a chore, but I love those little munchkins so much!

Saturday we had a FUN day - our friends Jen and Wes met us at our favorite restaurant in town, Wings N More, for lunch, then we headed to the A&M vs. Baylor basketball game. We hadn't been to a game in a looong time, so it was fun to go back, but ultimately made us feel SUPER old seeing all the now college kids walking around, that looked about 15 years old! After an overtime loss, we headed to Northgate, and sat at the Corner Bar and played spades for a few hours - which I'm sure made us look even older, playing cards at a bar in the afternoon!

While we were at the game, my parents had gone to meet a breeder about a potential new doggie - and it luckily came home with them! They got the cutest little black and white Havanese puppy, who has the nicest little personality and loved giving us kisses and being snuggled with! After we played with him for a while, we met Matt's sister Laura and her husband for dinner at Texas Roadhouse, and then we all went up to the club in my parents neighborhood and sat around the fire pit and hung out - perfect end to the weekend!

I'm excited things are about to pick-up, with a trip to Jacksonville in a few weeks, weddings for our friends Brittany and Mikey, and Hillary and Garrett coming in March... plus a few birthday parties for some little ones.  I'm ready for Spring to be here - glad Mr. Groundhog didn't see his shadow!