{Christmas Wrap Up}

We have had a w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l Christmas full of fun with family and friends. We are actually still in the midst of our travels but I found some time to squeeze in a recap of the past few days. We kicked off the holidays by staying with Todd's family for a few days and celebrating Christmas Eve together. This was my first Christmas Eve with his family and I enjoyed every moment. Unfortunately we were missing some family members but hopefully we can all be together next year!

Christmas day we headed to hear my dad preach at his church then opened gifts with the family. I forgot to take pictures because we were all so busy looking at baby Annlyn. Our family keeps growing and growing. This year was even more fun than usual. Shame on me for not snapping a photo of all of us.

Monday we went out with some of my favorites plus their husbands to catch up on life. I miss living near these girls! We had SO much to talk about. 

On Wednesday we loaded up the Honda for a little road trip! 

We were on our way to Columbia, SC. While on our honeymoon cruise, we met the sweetest family and all became friends. Since we had a few days of vacation left, we headed south to go visit them. 

We hung out at their house the first day then the next day we ventured to their lake house on Lake Murray. This is me with the daughter, Madeline and Mama Robin in the background setting up the hammock. Madeline is a freshman at Clemson this year. She's great!

The weather was gorgeous! Perfect for a canoe ride. Madeline and her boyfriend were so gracious to just let me ride along as they did all the hard work. Todd was on his own.

We had a blast catching up with them and playing lots of games. Shame on me again, for not taking a group photo! 

We left yesterday and headed straight east to visit family. We are looking forward to ringing in the New Year together. More on all that to come!

Happy New Years Eve!

-Sara (& Todd)

Our First Christmas, 2011

{home for the holidays}

The past few days have suddenly reminded me why it is awesome to be a college student. This long break is good for the soul. Not setting an alarm has probably been my favorite along with no responsibility with work or school. 

We started out the break by visiting my sister, bro-in-law and our niece, Annlyn. My sister and I dressed her up and let Uncle Todd take some Christmas photos of her with his nice camera. I snapped this photo with my iPhone after her photo shoot when she was in more comfortable clothing. If she could talk, the caption would tell you that her mother and aunt are crazy! We wore her out!

Later that night we hit up Mcadenville aka Christmastown USA. Christmas wouldn't be complete without seeing all the lights. 

Now we are staying with Todd's family for a few days. I found this book on the shelf in the room we stay in at my mother in laws and I couldn't stop reading it! I highly recommend everyone read this book as it will give you a new perspective on heaven. This young boy has seen Jesus and has truth to be shared!

Yesterday we went to Ikea. Oh my. That place never gets old to me. I could shop there all day long! Todd and I both agree that it is better to go there with a purpose. We were looking for an organizational unit (for me) that could also function as a record player stand (for Todd). We were successful in finding a piece that would work along with a few other items we couldn't resist! Pics to come soon! 

Last night we attended Code Orange Christmas at Elevation Church. It was wonderful and amazing to see a grown man in front of us accept the Lord with tears of joy in his eyes. Just beautiful. 

I'm loving spending my first Christmas being married. We are having a wonderful time and looking forward to the Christmas Eve service at his home church, hearing my father preach on Christmas morning and also seeing what Santa brings us.

;)

Happy Holidays!

-Sara (& Todd)

{mantel decor and more}

I just realized that I never posted a picture of our mantel. We used items we mostly had around the house or that I got on clearance last Christmas. 

This is my favorite piece. I snagged this cutie at a thrift store back during the summer. Too bad he didn't photograph well (he's shy) but I'm lovin' the white ceramic style he is rockin'.

I placed these two wood ornaments on the mantel as well. They are two of my favorite words during this season.

I'm sure going to miss looking at this once the holidays are over. The lights make it so cozy. 

We use our dining room table all the time, for everything! We eat there, we use our computers there, I paint my nails there (true story) and basically sometimes it is the catch-all place as soon as walk in the house (please tell me this happens to other people too). So I added a small centerpiece that includes an evergreen candle so we can get that Christmas tree smell without the Christmas tree. This is very functional for us:

Switching gears, I want to give a big CONGRATS to Daniel and Jessica for tying the knot. Daniel went to high school with Todd and were also roommates in college. We were honored to celebrate with them this past weekend. The ceremony was a true act of worship honoring the Lord and the reception was a classy brunch. We were able to catch up with lots of friends which is always fun! Oh happy day!

That's all for now! We have a busy next few days but I'm looking forward to seeing family and friends! 

Cheers,

Sara

{friday favorites}

Happy Friday friends! Todd is finishing up the semester and I'm frantically trying to finish getting a few gifts. I'm enjoying our cozy decorated home and how each room has been touched with Christmas. Even our bathrooms and kitchen got some holiday cheer. I'm diggin' these two scents from Bath and Body Works.

The crisp Christmas smell (try saying that 10 times in a row) that is left on your hands is wonderful. Even Todd likes the scents so I know they are winners. I'm not a wasteful person so I'm positive these will stick around in our house during the beginning of 2012.

Do you have any favorite holiday scents or smells in your home? We also have an evergreen candle that certainly makes up for no real tree. I can't believe Christmas will be over so soon!

Cheers,
Sara

{personalized gift tags}

My semester of grad school was extremely busy. Since I didn't have time for much crafting, I constantly "pinned" items on Pinterest. Now that school has slowed down (at least for a month), I'm finally getting around to making a few things that have caught my eye. 

With Christmas right around the corner, I've been buying gifts which means I'll have to do some wrapping. Is it weird that I love shopping for wrapping paper? I mainly like to look for shiny paper that is thick so it doesn't rip while wrapping or transporting. I found some great paper at TJ Maxx this year.

Later while browsing at Michaels, I found these tags on clearance for $1.00! Immediately I thought of making unique gift tags for my presents.

I was just about to buy stamp letters when I bumped into my friend Emily. She told me she already had some that I could borrow. I love when that happens! Makes my crafting even cheaper. I already had red ink but it isn't too expensive if you wish to try this yourself.

I learned from trial and error (on blank pieces of paper) to barely place the stamp on the paper. If you press too hard or move it too quickly, you will have a blob of ink.

Eventually I got into the swing of things and it was very easy. I went ahead and made all the gifts tags I will need for this Christmas. Nine to be exact, since we all aren't exchanging this year. Here are a few more almost completed...

I decided to handwrite the "to" and "from" and I like the way it turned out. The bright red letters make it very obvious as to who the gift is for.

Once I got the hang of stamping, these took me about thirty minutes. Did I ever mess up? Yes, of course! I bought two packages of the tags for that very reason. In fact, after Todd saw the "Carol" tag (his mom) he informed me that it should read, "Mom." Oops! I always call her Carol but it would make much more sense if her gift was labeled "Mom" so I redid hers and I did the same for my parents.

I really enjoyed making these and it adds some fun to the gifts. Since we are traveling, I didn't add bows to any of the gifts yet. I'll plop one on right above the tag once we arrive at our destinations!

Ho Ho Ho!

-Santa Sara

{wedding decor}

I'm offically finished with this semester and Todd has a few exams left. It is really hard to believe that we only have one more semester left. Time flies!

This past weekend I enjoyed helping my mentor/friend/florist arrange and decorate at a wedding. I love the wedding industry. I worked for Shutterbooth back when I lived in Charlotte and always loved being a part of someones special day as a vendor. It was fun to play a different role. However, I never knew how much time and energy went into flowers and decorating!

Most of the assembly for this wedding was done at the venue, hours before the wedding. This was our "workstation" for the day. 

The setting for the ceremony was breathtaking. My favorite view was from the balcony which is where tables were set for reception dining.  

Everything was beautiful. All the flowers were white and we even created fake snow to use in vases. It was a very busy day but I had a great time. Never underestimate the florist industry. That is some hard work! Makes me want to call my wedding florist and just say thank you one more time! Can you imagine how dull weddings would be without flowers/decor? 

If you are looking for a florist in the high country for weddings or events, check out Millefleurs. The venue was at Crestwood Inn. I'm so glad I got to help. I love weddings! Next weekend a friend of ours, Daniel, is getting married. I'm looking forward to it especially since they are doing a Christmas brunch after the ceremony. Sounds lovely!

Hope you had a great weekend!

-Sara 

Thanksgiving Update...2 weeks late!

My brain is all over the place these days. We are just about to complete our next to last (woohoo) college semester and as you all know that brings lots of studying, lots of papers and lots of waiting until grades come in. So I thought in the midst of all my Christmas decor chat, why not back track and talk about our Thanksgiving. Seriously, my brain is a jumbled mess right now but I want to cover it before it gets too far gone. Our number one reason for this blog is to document our lives in diary form mainly for us to look back at in the future and I don't mind sharing it publicly for you all. We have some great friends and family that really care to know what the Davis' are up too and I appreciate you all for caring.

I love Thanksgiving. I love the food. I love spending time with family and I love shopping for good deals. Plus it kicks off the Christmas season which is always delightful. This was our first married Thanksgiving and actually spending it together. Although it can be sad to mix up my usual Turkey day routine, I loved making new traditions as a new unit. We are very thankful our parents live close by to one another and we were able to see everyone within the short few days we were home. I loved every moment of holding this sweet girl.

 We made a few purchases too. I cut the cord from my parents and joined Todd's phone plan which meant I got to upgrade to an iPhone. I was always that person that said I would never get one but now I must say, I really like it. It's much smarter than me and comes in handy. We also went out at 10 pm Thanksgiving night to try to get the incredibly good Xbox/Kinect deal. We were fortunate to get one of the last tickets and were home by 10:45 with the loot in our hands.

 Let me just tell ya. The Xbox rocks. I have been dancing my little heart out with Just Dance 3 and have asked for other games for Christmas (what am I, ten again? guess so). In my defense, the "game" I want is a workout program. Anyway, while I was supposed to be helping my parents decorate their tree/house, I found myself doing this...

You know you want to do it too! Come on over and join in on the fun!

Cheers,

Sara

Cheap & Easy Art

I'm really into subway art these days. Lucky for all of us, it is easy to find free printables all over the web. Here is a picture of our photo collage wall that I snapped a few weeks ago (I really should have straightened the pics before taking this...oops, just keepin' it real). All of these frames are just random frames we had collected throughout college so we decided to just leave them mismatched. We still aren't totally satisfied with the placements and pictures we chose so some change may be happening but for now this is where my printed subway art is living.

This is the subway art I printed for the Fall....

For this Christmas season, I took a slightly different route. I still found some great word art but I wanted it to have great meaning. I chose this art because it has one of my favorite Bible verses on the birth of Jesus. Considering we don't have a Christmas tree either, this fills the void. I enjoy walking by it everyday and being reminded of the greatest gift of Christmas, our savior.

Source

Click source up above to grab it for yourself. I find most of mine off of Pinterest by searching subway art. I always save it to my computer then have it printed in an 8 x 10 at a photo center for $2.50. I've seen other Santa themed subway art that display wonderful colors and holiday cheer so check it out.

Have fun! 

-Sara

The Stockings Were Hung...

This may just be my favorite post yet of sharing our Christmas decor. When we got married, one thing I was most excited about was choosing stockings for our mantel. I started my search back in September for the perfect stockings. I chose to shop on Etsy because you can choose to buy handmade items from individuals. I like the idea that someone is putting extra care into my purchase and that the money is supporting someone who deserves it.

I narrowed my search down to burlap stockings since lately we are expressing a rustic house theme. Once I placed my order, we had to wait several weeks since we got them personalized with our names. The stockings came in late October and I squealed like a teenager with Bieber fever.

My favorite part is that I was allowed to choose an embellishment that represented Todd (you know, because evergreen and pine cones are so manly) and some flower bling that represented me along with our names.

I realize I technically could have made these but it was way more convenient for me to buy them from someone who did spend the time to make them. Win-Win. These two are very well made inside and out. Research burlap stocking on Etsy if you are interested. I couldn't find our seller at the moment but that may be because she doesn't make any this close to the holidays. However, I saw plenty more that were cute and who knows you may just find these after all.

I know we will cherish these for many years to come. If and when we have children, I will just search either for this same seller or find another that matches or do something completely different for the kiddos.

Do you have stockings or not? Do you even fill them? My parents have a different personalized stocking for each person in the family and Santa still brings us goodies on Christmas morning. Anybody else go for that mismatched look? I think they make any mantel look so cozy!

It's almost Friday....and I'm one day away from being finished with graduate school work for this semester and that makes me want to jump for joy! One more semester to go!

-Sara

Cards as Decor

Growing up I always loved opening the Christmas cards my parents would get in the mail. We would have SO many! It was my job to help dad put the cards around the border of our large dining room entrance. I loved all the beautiful colors and seeing how many people sent cards. Now that I'm older, I realize that all those cards represented friendships old and new and how blessed we were.

Now that I have my own place, I decided to create something to place our cards on display as they arrive in the mail. I know we will not have as many as my parents do but I found a few ideas on Pinterest that sparked interest in me to figure out a way to display cards. 

Source

Source

I ended up making the replica of the first one but used some of the directions from the second photo above. Basically all you need is an embroidery hoop, clothespins and ribbon. Hot glue the clothespins to the hoop but alternate so that some cards will face inside the circle and some will face out. 

Below is my version. Since it is so early in Decemeber we have no cards yet so in the meantime I placed two I already had (spoiler alert...some of you may be seeing those in your mailboxes soon) and a few flat ornaments for fun. You also get a sneak peek at our fireplace coziness. 

The entire project only cost me about $5! I was pleased with the way it turned out even if I opted out of doing a bow. The burlap I used was just too think for that but goes well with our rustic theme plus remember I told you yesterday I am not yet a bow master. My secret in attaching the bow to the mirror: velcro! I put some on the back of the mirror and on the burlap ribbon, viola. 

There are so many other Christmas card holder ideas on Pinterest that it was tough to decide what to make. Maybe I'll try another idea next year. Now I'm just hoping we actually get some cards ;)

Do you display your cards? Do tell!

Have a holly jolly day,

Sara

O Poinsettia Tree!

I have a secret...I decorated our house for Christmas the week before Thanksgiving! I know, crazy BUT hang with me here. I looked ahead at what our schedules would be like after Thanksgiving and realized we would be swamped with finishing school projects and soon we will be visiting family again. Thus, my reasoning was to get it done so we can actually enjoy the decor. Plus coming home after being away for Thanksgiving to a decorated house was very relaxing.

This week I'll be sharing with you decorations from our home so check back to see what else is new and how we are making our first Christmas together super cozy. I had fun decorating on a budget, gaining ideas from Pinterest and decorating small spaces (oh the joys of living in an apartment).

We opted out of putting up a tree since we would want a real one and we don't feel we can give it the best care with traveling so much this month. Also we really have no place for it and would rather not overcrowd our living space. However, I did pick up this live large beautiful poinsettia at Wal-Mart for 10 bucks. In fact the day I got it, a local florist was bringing them in and something about that made me smile. I wasn't a fan of the metallic wrapping it was in (sorry forgot to take a before pic) so I replaced it with postal paper and some ribbon I had on hand. The Dollar Tree sales the postal paper in a 30 feet roll which was great for this project and I plan to use it for something else this holiday season as well so stay tuned. Also, my secret on ribbon is to buy it after Christmas from places like Garden Ridge or Michaels. I always get mine 90% off! I'm loving the white and gold paired with the red poinsettia.

This picture really doesn't do it justice. I promise the plant looks very charming and warm sitting next to our fireplace in our living room. I'm not the best bow maker either which is surprising because my mom and mother in law are bow masters. Lessons anyone?

I'll post more pictures soon as I reveal what I did for our mantel and squeeze in our Thanksgiving fun including black Friday shopping.

Cheers,
Sara

Happy Thanksgiving

We have a million plus one things we could list that we are thankful for but here is our top one today....

Our niece Adeline came home yesterday!! Praise the Lord!!

Hope you all have a wonderful day and remember,

Source

Cheers,
Sara...and Todd :)

Breath of Life

The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life

-Job 33:4

My newborn niece, Adeline, is heavy on my heart today. I'm asking you to pray with us for the doctor's and nurse's wisdom, peace for the family and for Adeline to gain her strength. Even though I have not met her yet she has already taught me how precious breath of life is. May none of us ever take that for granted.

The last update we heard was from Matt's Facebook yesterday evening:

Thanks everyone for keeping Adeline in your thoughts and prayers. She is still in NICU. She stops breathing when she sleeps and Drs have seen a few seizure like symptoms. Blood, X-rays and CTscans are all great though.

Thank you Wanda Guion for sharing Job 33:4 with us. She experienced a similar situation after the birth of her son and our friend, Josh. I'll keep you all updated with any news. 

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving and safe travels!

-Sara  

Baby Davis is Born!

We are so excited to announce that baby girl Davis has made her grand entrance into this world! Matt and Melissa never reveal the name until the birth so not only was it great to get the phone call that she had been born but to also learn of her name...

Adeline Juliana Davis

Unfortunately we couldn't be there so I snagged this picture from Melissa's Facebook. We are thrilled to have another niece to spoil! This is another picture I snagged but I just loved seeing Penelope holding her baby sister....how sweet! She looks so proud and so big! Where has the time gone, I feel as if Penelope was just born yesterday!??!!

Congratulations to our fellow Davis clan! We are so happy for you all and can't wait to meet her!

Update: Since writing this post on November 19th, Adeline has been put in intensive care due to some serious breathing problems. Please keep her and the family in your prayers during this time. Thanks!

Give Thanks

I can't believe Thanksgiving is literally right around the corner, one week from today! In fact this past week flew by. I seriously don't think I have sat down over the past week and truly rested. After Annlyn's birth and my unexpected middle-of-the-week random visit home for her birth, I had to play catch up the rest of the week to gain my internship hours back and work hours AND do lots of schoolwork. I'm barely doggie paddling over here to keep my head up. Being the typical American that I am, I can fully admit that I'm behind on all my TV shows, blogs (big shocker, I'm so embarassed) and of course anything going on in the world of Facebook (which is actually a blessing).

So what have I been doing? Well, everyone that knows me very well, I'm about to make you fall out of your chair with reason numero uno.

1. I am going strong on the Couch to 5K, in fact the gym is now one of my favorite places to go. It takes time and motivation but I got it and I'm feeeeeeeelin' good.
2. I joined an adult hip hop dance class that meets at a local dance studio. This is the highlight of my week. I was born to dance and have no idea why I ever stopped doing it when I was twelve. Thanks Christi for inviting me and accepting my gangsta dance moves!
3. Praising the Lord more and more! I'm so thankful for all the blessings in my life. My family. My friends. My sweet patient insanely good looking husband.

:)

So speaking of thanks, this is my latest new favorite print that I'm just dying to own. I think I would leave it up (framed of course) all year long on our wall collage as a reminder to give thanks daily and not just the month of November. Isn't it so simple yet charming?

Buy it here on Etsy

Plus, I love Etsy and think everyone should buy more handmade items! Now who wants to buy that for me for Christmas? I kid. I kid. But this would make a cute Christmas gift for someone you know that likes word art.


Thanks for reading and being a follower! Until next time...
-Sara

Annlyn's Arrival

Yes, TWO weeks early! Caught us all off guard! Mom called me at 1:30 am Wednesday to tell me they were on the way to the hospital because Ronna's water had broke. By 8 am that morning I just couldn't help myself, I drove straight to the hospital. By the time I got there Ronna was 7 cm! We thought things were going rather quickly and then suddenly everything came to a pause. Hours and hours passed, we all patiently waited and finally the doctor gave the go to push. She was finally born at 6:42 pm on November 9, 2011. Our lives and hearts are certainly changed forever in a wonderful way! Let me introduce you to...

Annlyn Kristina Rawls

8 lbs. 4 oz

I'm in love!

She is beautiful and we are all beaming with excitement. I love her so much and look forward to spoiling her the rest of her life. Uncle Todd had school and work and couldn't make it so he will get to meet her next weekend! I can't wait to hold her again! Mom, Dad and baby are all doing well and will be bringing her home soon. So happy for them! God is good! Now we are just waiting on baby girl Davis (Todd's brother and wife, not us folks!) to arrive which should be any day. Woohoo!

Cheers,
Sara

Couch to 5K

Yup, who would have ever thought this girl would start running?! Well I can't toot my own horn too loudly just yet because I've only completed day one of the Couch to 5K program. The point is, running is something I've always avoided like a disease yet I'm always envious of runners. How messed up are those thoughts?!

I just want to at least try. I may totally bomb the idea (I do have semi-weak knees) but I actually completed workout number one with no cheating and I felt so good about it.

Find the complete workout by clicking here

I realize running in a 5K isn't much but it is a small goal of mine that I'd love to say I did. Plus, I've had it on the list for a while now so I'd love to check that bad boy off! Right now I'm  going to try to do a M,W,F running schedule and do some upper body toning on my off days. Maybe by actually writing on this ol' blog, it will inspire me to keep it up. We shall see how Wednesday goes. I promise to be real with you folks and let you know how it is going!


Who wants to give it a shot with me? Who has tried it before? Any encouragement or advice?


Cheers,
Sara

Thankful for...a job!

Photo from here

Ha, so true! Being an intern in a school library and in my graduate classes, I have realized that libraries are always evolving. Libraries certainly are not what they used to be when most of us were kids but that doesn't mean we have to ditch the idea all together. As a librarian, I'm learning how vital of a resource we are to students and adults. In schools, we teach students how to use 21st century technology skills and guess what....kids still READ so books do remain on the shelves! I feel as if some people vision that libraries should get the X and just give all the kids e-readers. Oh boy, don't get me started because libraries can be a great learning hub when teachers collaborate effectively and I've heard about super cool things going on at libraries all over the country. I'll stop my ranting on how amazing libraries are or how nerdy I am for loving them.

Seriously, I lurveeee going to my internship. The job is fast paced and I love connecting with all the students. Not to mention it involves one of my favorite things to do: organizing.  It is such a comforting feeling for me to find something that I feel good about and worth investing in. This semester has gone by incredibly fast and I only have a few more weeks in my internship.

When I first started the internship, my mentor which is the current librarian, told me she was pregnant. As the weeks progressed, I was asked if I would be interested in doing an interim to cover while she was on maternity leave. I was honored they asked and even more thrilled to get the opportunity to gain even more experience. The position starts in March so until then I'll keep working my job on campus and doing my schoolwork so I can graduate in May. I'm so thankful that I'm already getting to know the students so well and gaining their trust. Plus an added bonus is two wonderful friends (shout out to my queens!) of mine also teach at that school. Everyone is so nice and helpful! I still have lots to learn (always will!) but I'm very eager and willing to dive into this head first. I'll keep you all posted whenever it starts and probably do more babbling sharing of how libraries are very special places.

Happy Wednesday...you're almost to the weekend!! Cheers!

-Sara