Etsy, Pinterest, & Pillows

Because it's Christmas and I'm feeling generous, I thought I would share two Etsy sites that I recently used and loved!  I haven't bought anything from Etsy in a while, but I like to think of the site as my personal assistant to Pinterest. See, I surf Pinterest for ideas that I love and then go to Etsy to find some poor soul a seller to make my idea happen.  That's what working moms do. So if you're a working mom that wants to have all the cutesy stuff for your kids' parties or the "wow factor" in your home decorating, then by all means, follow the process!

The first seller I used was CeceliaJane for our Christmas cards.  Now, I'm not quite ready to release our proof just yet - you should be receiving them in the mail very soon - but I was very pleased with the final product.  I spent a few weeks scouring Pinterest for ideas, but once I decided on a style, the rest was a piece of cake!  What sold me was the fact that she was willing to print the cards and mail them instead of just sending me a pdf file.  Pdf files may be the way to go for some people, but not for me.  I don't keep cardstock laying around the house, so I would have to take the file to Kinko's and have them printed.  Just another thing to add to my to do list. Jennifer was so nice.  She ended up sending the cards second day air so that I would have them before the weekend.  Very nice and easy to work with, so I recommend her for any card or invitation printing you might have.

I usually like to have a small happy for Alise to pass out to her classmates at her school parties.  I fell in love with the "Rudolph nose" idea, but I needed some toppers for the bags to put the treats in.  Never fear!  Designer Favors to the rescue!  Here's the toppers I chose:

I would highly recommend using this seller again!  Visit her store!  She has tons of party things!

Y'all!

I just had the most A-MAZ-ing idea!!!

MONTHS ago, I somehow found these "Mr." and "Mrs." pillows on Etsy and I fell in love with them.  They were monogrammed in linen, I think and when I emailed the seller to ask if they were available in white {because our bedroom is white}, she told me that they weren't.

GUESS WHO IS MAKING PILLOWS NOW!!

MY FLOWER GIRL!!

I'm going to ask H if she would make me some Mr. & Mrs. pillows!!  Wouldn't that be AWESOME??  My flower girl making the pillows??

I'll let you know what she says.  Stay tuned.

My Thoughts On The Heisman

It's Friday and I've got my panties in a wad over this whole Heisman thing.

Well, let me back up.

I've been upset with the Heisman thing since Cam Newton {aka "Scam Newton"} won a few years ago {he's not worth my time to go back and research as to what year he actually won, but I know it was after Mark Ingram}.

It blows my mind that voters would still vote for someone that comes with an INKLING of baggage!  And with baggage, I mean being "paid to play" {as in the case of Scam Newton} or, as in the case of Jameis Winston, nearly accused of rape. Why would you want to award such a prestigious honor to a player with a blemish?

Now, I'm not exactly sure WHO votes for the Heisman.  I know it's media and past recipients of the award.  Throw out the media.  They just make the whole thing ten times worse than it has to be, but say you had won the Heisman 20 years ago.  You went to college and you were the best football player out there.  Say you played by the rules, you kept your nose clean, and you took toys to kids on Christmas Eve.  Please, please, please make me understand WHY you would vote for someone who has been tarnished with an infidelity.  I really want to understand this.

Sure, he may be the best running back or quarterback or full back that ever lived but there is that thing called reasonable doubt.  What happened to integrity and character?  Somehow, the Heisman voters have forgotten about those two things.  Winning the award shouldn't just be about being the best football player, but it should be about how you played the game.  Did you play by the rules?  Did you keep a spotless reputation?

And that's why I had a problem with Scam Newton winning the Heisman and it's also why I have a problem with voters if they vote for Jameis Winston this year. Sure, those guys may have done nothing wrong.  Cam may not have taken the money; Jameis may not have raped that girl, only God knows, but the problem I have with it is that they put themselves in that kind of situation.  Players deserving of the Heisman should never put themselves in those kinds of situations.  Period.  And this is why I have my cardinal rule: if you screw up, then you don't play again.  There are too many other players just waiting for an opportunity.

Winning the Heisman is a PRIVILEGE.  Not a right.

Twenty Days? Really?

What was I thinking??

I've been sitting on my laurels {no pun intended}, undoubtedly!

I never turn the TV on in the bedroom while I'm getting ready in the mornings, but I did today because I wanted to hear about the ice storm that could possibly be headed our way this weekend and because I have a really, really hot date Saturday night, I wanted to see if I needed to cancel the sitter {That was quite possibly the longest sentence I've ever written}.  Fortunately, for me and my really, really hot date, I don't think the ice and sleet will come our way - just some rain and really, really cold temps.  But my point to this really long paragraph now, is that the meteorologist said that there were only twenty days left until Christmas.

TWENTY DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS??!!

Oh my word!  I'm not finished with shopping OR decorating!!  And for the first time ever, I seriously considered not finishing to decorate the rest of the house {I think I'm having a little of the Christmas Blues}.  But then I read on Kelly's blog that next week for "Show Us Your Life," she will be having home tours on her blog and Instagram {hash tag #hollyjollyhometour} and I just KNEW that if I didn't at least have my house finished, that I would feel even worse than I already do about not having it finished.  Whew!  So tomorrow night, while Alise is at a slumber party and Mr. Horton is running an errand, I'm going to enjoy a nice glass of wine, a crackling fire, Christmas music, and I vow to finish my decorating!  

Yay me!

Go Laura!!

Yea, right.

We'll see.

So to make me feel better about the Christmas shopping part, I sat down in my office this morning and hastily ordered a few gifts online.  I sure hope my really, really hot date likes them!

And speaking of the weather, I walked across the street today to the cafeteria and the weather was still muggy and humid.  I kid you not, I was in the cafeteria fifteen minutes tops and when I walked outside to go back to my office, the temperature had dropped like twenty degrees!  It was the weirdest feeling.

So what is the deal with people and Christmas cards this year?  It's December 5th and I have yet to receive the first Christmas card!!  I remember last year that we didn't receive as many as the year before either.  But the year before that, we were getting cards the day after Thanksgiving!!  I read somewhere that some people are deciding not to send Christmas cards because they can now keep up with their family and friends via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  They have a point, but by golly I want my Christmas cards!!  I want to hang them from the lighted garland on our stairway this year!  Our family Christmas cards will be here by this weekend and I fully intend to work on those suckers until I have them all addressed and ready for mailing first thing, bright and early, on Monday morning.

Anybody know what a stamp costs these days?

Nothing Too Important To Report

So it looks like we're in for some super cold temps this weekend!  Yay!!  If you're a summer person, then you probably think I'm crazy for saying that, but y'all, I LOVE FALL & WINTER!!  In my opinion, if it's the holidays, then it should be COLD!  Not 80 degrees with 101% humidity!!  It was cold here Thanksgiving week, but has warmed up so much this week that my boss asked me yesterday if I had gotten my hair cut!  That's what happens to us natural curly girls!  Our hair shrinks with the humidity!

For my local peeps, I have discovered a new boutique that I think you'll love! It's called "The Twisted Peacock" and it is AWESOME!!  Look them up on Facebook!  They have all the "in" stuff right now and her jewelry is what's trending these days!  I bought a pair of those rustic leggings everyone is wearing {for a really good deal at $24}, a lace dress, a crochet tunic, and another blouse.  So, so cute stuff!

I'm still not finished with decorating the house for Christmas.  And it is driving me INSANE, but when I get home at night, I'm just not in the mood.  I would rather relax and read a book instead.  I'm hoping to get it finished this Saturday and then maybe I'll be in the mood to finish Christmas shopping, too!

I'm excited about our plans for this weekend!  Alise has a slumber party to go to on Friday, we already had a sitter planned for Saturday night, and our Sunday School party is Sunday night, so we get to have THREE date nights this weekend!  I'm a lucky woman!  We will probably just go out to dinner and try to wrap up some Christmas shopping. There just isn't a movie at the theaters that I'm dying to see.  K is keeping Alise on Saturday night and she is SO excited about that!  I asked her what she wanted me to make for supper Saturday night and she said - rather nonchalantly I might add - "Nothing.  K can just throw a frozen pizza in the oven for me."  Whell.

Have a good week!

Happy December

Happy December everyone! Let the Christmas season begin!

How was your Thanksgiving?  This was the first year that we had Thanksgiving at our house and I kinda liked it!  Granted, I didn't cook the "traditional TG meal," but I still cooked!  And I can gladly say that I've discovered TWO more Horton Family Favorites!  Yay for Thanksgiving!  Even if I feel like I've gained 10 pounds in 4 days!

Here are the two new family favorites: Cajun Corn Casserole and Ruth Chris' Sweet Potato Casserole.  Of course, Mr. Horton wouldn't try the corn casserole, but everyone else thought it was really yummy.  It didn't have that much of a "Cajun-y" taste - just a slight kick with the two jalapeno peppers, even after I added a little Tony Chachere's.  I think next time I will add more jalapeno.  Oh!  And that deal about not messing with jalapeno peppers and then touching your eyes?  That really is the truth.  Even when you are trying to put your contacts in!  The sweet potato casserole was wonderful, but I would recommend cooking it longer than the directions say.  I cooked mine for nearly an hour and it was a slight bit too runny for me.  Other than that, it was perfect!

I've been trying to get the house decorated for Christmas, but it's a work in progress.  I do a little bit here and a little bit there.  The tree has been up since nearly the beginning of November and for the most part, it's finished.  I thought I had misplaced my nativity set collections, but I am so glad I finally found them!  I bought a new tree to go in the kitchen, but right now, it's just a tree with lights because I can't decide what theme I want to go in.  I put lighted garland on the staircase for the first time this year.  I plan to hang our Christmas cards from it with red ribbon.  And I got my Christmas dishes out this year, too!

Now, about that football game on Saturday....I just wanna say, for the record, that I predicted all along that Auburn would beat us.  I've been trying to convince Mr. Horton since like the 5th week of the season!  Auburn {or Albarn} had been improving every week and even after we beat LSU, I knew we still didn't stand a chance.  We were tired or something or other because we weren't playing well against soft opponents like MSU.  When I woke up Saturday morning, I told Wayne I had a bad feeling about it. I wasn't shocked or upset that Auburn won but I was shocked about HOW they won.  Saban made a "Mad Hatter" call and it wasn't in our favor.  And to say that Cade Foster lost the game for us simply isn't true.  No one played well.  Auburn just wanted it more.

And because it's now December, I'll give you a Christmas card sneak peek!

Have a good week!  We're trying to get back into our weekly routine with homework and art and tumbling.  By the way, I was writing down Alise's grades like I normally do when she brings signed papers home and Baby Girl's lowest grade is a 92/B in English.  Except for that grade, she has made A's all nine weeks in every subject!!  So very proud of her!