A Few of My Favorite Things.....

I thought I would take today's post to you a few little decorative elements that I have added or will be adding to our house!

These are the fabrics I am going to use to make throw pillows. The couch and love seat are slip covered in the chocolate brown fabric which serves as the background in this picture. Right now I am sure you are all wondering what in the world I am thinking by putting these fabrics together..... I promise when I get through it's gonna look great! Moving on.....

The square banana leaf basket currently "lives" in the middle of my coffee table. The jewels that are in it right now are temporary filler.

I LOVE this artisan glass bowl! I found it on clearance in a furniture store and had to have it. The picture does not really do it justice. Right now this bowl "lives" on a shelf in my living room.

I am also kind of proud of my green table lamp. I have it on an end table between my couch and love seat. I loved the shape and the color... Also love the fact that it is translucent so it does not dominate the room.

Now for a couple of personal touches..... I had two shadow boxes, one of which I decided was perfect to display our wedding invitation in and the other well... I had no idea what to put inside it. Back a few months ago when I got my Colorado license plates for the car, my husband had the idea to display my Alabama license plate inside it so that I would always have a little piece of Alabama around. At first I thought he was insane but the idea grew on me pretty quickly so now the Alabama license plate is displayed in my living room..... Not sure if it will stay in the living room permanently but for right now it's kind of comforting to me.

This is the collection that inhabits my entry way at the moment. Right now it is kind of a non-cohesive hodgepodge of things that I like for different reasons. It is a starting point but at the moment I definitely consider this area to be unfinished-- a work in progress.... as is the rest of my house!

Thanks for letting me share just a few of my favorite little things around the house. As I said before, my house is a work in progress and I would love to share my "decorating journey" with you all.

Long Overdue Thanks..........

My first wedding anniversary is coming up on December 5. Approaching this milestone has reminded me of all the people who worked so hard to make our wedding showers, rehearsal and wedding day a wonderful success. I have been inspired to use this post to recognize all of the people and groups of people who made things happen.

We had a total of 3 wedding showers ...... two bridal and one tool and gadget party for Rob.

My boss Sandra Bain Moon along with my good friends Misty Smith and Shelley Jones threw my Birmingham Bridal Tea.

Terre Heath, Julie Aragon and Madeline Belarde along with the ladies of Amazing Grace Fellowship in Pueblo West threw my Colorado Bridal Shower.

Danny Heath, Adam Aragon & Jim Belarde along with the men of AGF threw the tool and gadget party for Rob.

All of these parties were wonderful and we received so many nice gifts. We are truly blessed to have these people in our lives.

I also must thank all the girls of Bain and Associates for listening to me plan and belly ache about my moving situation.....

Thank you to my mom, dad and brother who put up with all of the wedding decorations and moving boxes that took over our house for so many months..... And also for listening to me during my freak out bridal moments.

Our rehearsal was .......... interesting..... LOL. The day of the rehearsal I was, as we now refer to it, "a woman on the edge." So many details were running though my mind! Shelley who was also my Matron of Honor worked very hard to keep me sane. My lovely family and fiance stepped back and gave me some breathing room..... We made it through the rehearsal relatively unscathed. My mom, dad & brother met Rob's dad and brother for the first time...... We had a wonderful time of fellowship over some Jim n Nicks BBQ...... YUM! I have to thank Patrick Smith also.... He was pulled out of bed at about midnight that night by his wife Misty to come and pull our car out of the mud patch it had become encased in.... LOL-- He was such a great sport. Misty also took pictures of our rehearsal and helped decorate.

Now for the big day.... Shelley did my hair and makeup.... and might I add, she did an awesome job. We all made it to the wedding site pretty much on time. My Uncle Allen catered the reception and worked hard to make sure the reception area was in order. Misty along with her friend Angie took pictures for us. My friend Krystle Hall brought in extra decor and also loaned to us her cake serving set and toasting flutes from her recent wedding. My Dad and our pastor Mark Apodaca performed the ceremony. My brother Cameron provided awesome music for the ceremony. My Mom and Dad both walked me down the isle. My boss Sandy along with Paige Ali videotaped both the ceremony and reception. Rob's brother Tony stood up with him as Best Man. My cousins Kyla Sylvester and Bobbi Crane served the wedding cake at the reception. My good friend Mary Waldrop also helped out with clean up. Of course I also have to include my wonderful husband Rob...... Thanks for actually showing up for the wedding after my near meltdown..... LOL.

In January after I got settled in to Colorado, our AGF family threw us a reception at the church. We had another beautiful cake, lots of food, lots and friends and lots more wonderful gifts!

So many people came together to help us make things happen and to help in my transition. I am so grateful to you all.... I hope I have not left anyone out! Rob and I love and appreciate you all.... We are overwhelmingly blessed to have you all in our lives.

THANK YOU!!!!

A Long Awaited Update...

It has been a long while since I last posted.... Life has been extraordinarily busy! My last post was 1 week before my wedding and so much has taken place since then.

Of course, the wedding and honeymoon are long since over... I made the move to Colorado in mid-december.

Ah married life... My transition into married life has not been the norm. All at once I have had to adjust to married life and a pastor's wife on top of that, a new area of the country and being away from my family and friends. I won't lie.... there have been some rough spots for me.... I have been homesick....

But there is also another side to things. I have met so many wonderful people, become part of a great church family, and been allowed to work with some of the most amazing teenagers that I have ever met. I have also experienced something that I nor most of my family and friends have experienced.... Life outside of the South. Oh yes, it is different here... More snow than I am used to, more wind than I am used to, much drier & higher altitude than I am used to, foods that I am not used to, animals that I am not used to, sayings and expressions that I am not used to. These are not bad things..... just different for me.


I have been making some progress in my adjustments lately......


1. I no longer cook crunchy rice.... let me explain..... When I first moved here I never thought about the altitude affecting the way I cook.... My first wake up call on that was the very crunchy rice I made my husband for dinner one night.... I have since learned that I have to add more water and cook it a little longer... so good bye to crunchy rice!

2. I no longer 'drink' lotion.... The first couple of months here were murder on my skin... I litterally felt like a dried out sponge.... I had to regularly lotion down my whole body. Living in the south I rarely had to use lotion because of the overly abundance of humidity. I am proud to say that I am using less lotion these days...

3. I have learned to better deal with the seperation from my family. When I first got here, 9 1/2 months ago, I felt so exposed and alone. I have prayed and cried a lot. Now I have made it to the point where I can embrace the challenges of being separated from my family...... I'm stronger than I thought I was. I still miss them like crazy every minute of every day but it is getting easier to deal with.


Things are great, I love my husband, I love my house, I love my friends, I love my church and of course I still love my family very much..... What more can I ask for?