Happy Halloween!

In the past few years we both seem to have been busy on Halloween and haven't dressed up since our college days the first time around. This Halloween I had class and I'm substituting the following day which means I'll go to bed super early. We don't sound very fun do we? We just don't get into it as much as we used to and quite frankly I'm glad it has come and gone because this lady is ready to decorate for Christmas. Yes, I'm one of those people. Todd is not so I'm afraid I'll have to wait a few more weeks before I break out the carols around our house.

Anyways, considering Todd claims to have never carved a pumpkin, we spent Friday night having our own in-house date night. We made a homemade pizza, watched the world series...

and carved a pumpkin!

Check out his super concentrated face...

He made up his own simple pattern and it turned out really great!

I forgot how bad the pumpkin guts smell and how messy it can be! I'm not so sure we will be doing that again until we have kids but it was fun. Now Mr. Pumpkinhead is chillin' on our front porch and looks very intimidating when he glows despite that goofy grin.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Cheers,

Sara

ps: Thanks for all the sweet comments on our wedding highlights post! I love this blog community, you all are so great. Remember to make sure your blog is public for me to see because I want to be able to keep up with you as well. Thanks for following friends!  

Wedding Highlights Film

Pssss: pause the video and let it load :)

We were very excited to have Life Stage Films to film our wedding. In case you are out of the loop, the business is owned by Todd's brother, Matt. Seriously, I can't explain how awesome they are so go check out their website in your free time because you will be hooked to watching the most beautiful wedding highlights ever! I've never met any of their clients but after watching their videos I feel as if I was at the wedding and I've even cried over a few (I'm a softy).

All this to say, it was crucial to have Life Stage at our wedding. Zach and Amy were our videographers and I barely remember them being there. Our memories of our wedding day pretty much faded the moment we left for the honeymoon. In the past five months we have tried so hard to piece together memories from pictures. We have patiently waited on our video which was released today on the web. This by far was well worth the wait. I cried, I laughed and watched the video ten times to relive that special day. Without further adieu....our wedding in less than five minutes. You can make it full screen by clicking the arrows in the far right corner. Enjoy!



They did an incredible job! Better than I could have ever imagined! We will cherish this for years and we look forward to seeing the entire wedding ceremony (we don't remember much) and all the other goodies Life Stage did for us. Thank you Life Stage for allowing us to relive this day over and over and over. It never gets old.

Cheers,
Sara

The Road West

I just want to say that my husband is incredibly talented in SO many ways. One that not everyone gets to see so very often is his tech savvy skills. The past few weeks and especially this week have been super busy for him finishing up a big project for school. He has pulled many all nighters and I've had some lonely nights at home but I totally understand his dedication to his field of study and respect that. Todd puts 100% in everything he does and is working hard at building a portfolio to hopefully gain him a job after graduation.

This project features our friend, Christopher Patino, an ASU student that biked across the country. I don't want to give away any more of the documentary so please take ten minutes to watch this video that Todd produced. Enjoy!  


The Road West from Todd Davis on Vimeo.

I'm so proud. Great story that certainly needed to be documented. Two thumbs up!

Cheers,
Sara

Annlyn's Room

The highlight of my weekend was going down the mountain to Hickory to help my sister and brother-in-law put the last finishing touches on their soon to arrive baby girl's room. The dark brown furniture was already in place along with a blue accent wall and complete bedding. We decided to add a few things to really complete the room.

This is the bedding we were aiming to match:

So my sister, Ronna, had the idea of making these fabric rings. I was weary of doing the big oval one but I love the way it turned out and this project was super easy! Just cut your fabric (ours is from Mary Jo's in Gastonia, NC) and place in the embroidery rings. Viola!

This lamp was bought at Target and we added the brown ribbon trim...easy peasy.

Then we added tissue pom pom's above the rocker. The only thing left in the room to complete is adding wooden letters above the crib of her name. She is will be here so SOON!

I am soooooo excited about the arrival of this baby! There is just something so cool seeing your very own sister prepare to bring a new life into this world. Ronna is due the week of Thanksiving so we are all on guard these days in case Annlyn arrives early. Keep us all in your prayers that we all remain healthy along with Ronna, Andrew and the baby! 

Cheers,

Sara

Our Food

So after my last blog post about Real Food, I thought I would follow up with sharing how we plan meals and cook around our house. What I have discovered is that pre-planning is crucial in order to stick to our budget (more on that to come in another post) and our attempt to eating healthy but we are nowhere close to being where I want to be with "real food".

You can buy weekly notepads like these just about anywhere. I got mine at Michaels for $1.00 and I use it every day to remind myself of what I'm cooking! This way I know in the mornings if I need to thaw anything or throw something in the croc-pot. Here is what this week's lineup looks like on paper:

Basically I start with it blank and discuss with Todd things we want to eat for the week or if there is a night one of us will not be available for dinner. I also check the pantry and fridge to see what needs to be eaten or what staple items we can use as side dishes such as rice or green beans. I also sit right by the computer and check my Pinterest board for inspiration or recipes. As I write down what we are having, I also check recipes and add to this market list (thanks to my friend Keara for this gift) what ingredients I need to buy. This entire process usually only takes about thirty minutes to gather the list and decide on a menu.

Now let me give you this week's lineup and recipes. I love love love when other bloggers give me an insight as to how they do things and recipes. I'm an open book and I'm all about sharing!

Monday - Sara, Viola. Todd, Dinner with Blake. (This is rare but even married people need independent guy/girl time with friends)
Tuesday - Poppyseed Chicken w/ String Green Beans (we buy these frozen in a huge bag)
Wednesday - Potstickers (we buy them frozen), Jasmine Rice & Sautéed Veggies
Thursday - Homemade pizza on the grill & Salad
Friday - Copycat Chick-fil-a nuggets, Parmesan Fries and maybe Mac and Cheese because we are crazy like that! FYI, we have never tried the nuggets before so this will be new to us.
Saturday - Sara, maybe out of town. Todd, leftovers. OR we will go out and use a coupon.
Sunday - Anything you can find in the fridge or leftovers from going out to each from lunch!

We also try to save money/eat healthier by eating breakfast at home (Kashi Cereal, Fruit, etc) and packing our own lunches such as sandwiches with market deli meat, veggies straws, fruit, peanuts, cottage cheese, boiled egg, etc.

I just got back from the grocery store this week which by the way since I pre-plan, I'm in and out within thirty minutes. I will say that after reading the Real Food blog, I found myself checking ingredients of boxed pantry items. Other customers probably thought I was nuts because I would pick something up and try to pronounce the ingredients and would fail miserably but it was a good reminder that I don't want that in my body.

One thing I'm trying to do but struggling with is couponing. I've taken a great class through Southern Savers but lately we have saved more money pre-plannig meals but I know I could do better with coupons. I'll save all that for another post because I'd love to share how we breakdown our budget to afford the items we want and some goals we have.

Now, tell me all your secrets. Have a great week!

Real Food

I can't remember where I found the 100 days of Real Food blog (probably pinterest) but something about it sparked an interest in me. Todd and I have watched Food Inc. and I've read a little from Michael Pollan's books that stress the importance of shopping on the outer edges of the grocery store. Basically we all tend to forget about processed foods and how terrible they are for us. I'm totally guilty! The thought that has settled in my brain that I cannot shake is that processed foods have a crazy long shelf date. Folks, that is not good.

Okay back to that blog. I've been reading the blog for a few days taking mental notes here and there. I discovered this morning that the founders are from Matthews, NC! I lurve local bloggers. Then I noticed they made an apperance on Charlotte Today, a local morning television talk show in the Queen City.



I give mad respect to this family for eating whole foods for 100 days! What exactly does that mean and what can you eat? Well check out their blog because she goes into extensive details even with recipes of what to eat. If you don't want to watch the video it is helpful to learn that they each lost weight, felt healthier and gained more energy.

Her blog suggests people trying it for 10 days. I really really really want to take this challenge. I imagine this to be expensive and sometimes inconvienet. I think the hardest part would be finding fresh local meat and whenever you are on the road/eating out. If anything I'm going to at least try her recipes or make some homemade granola for breakfast. The goal for us is to start buying things that have five ingredients or less that we can pronounce!

So anybody want to join our challenge? I also put the blog in my sidebar under "Creative & Inspiring" so you can all easily reference it when needed! Let me know what you think or where to shop or if you have ever tried this in the past!

It's Friday, FRIDAY!!!

-Sara

Words of Faith

Just some scripture that us Davis' are memorizing this week together...

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things that you do not know

Jeremiah 33:3

It's amazing how memorizing scripture can later be a breath of fresh of air all throughout your day. I find myself repeating this over and over. I love the fact that I can call on him anytime and he will answer me and to top that he reveals new truth to me. Amen!

Happy Engagement!

This past weekend we had the Davis/Gibson family come to the mountains. They rented a beautiful cabin and we had a great time together. So much happened that I barely know where to start but Saturday was the best day so I'll share that!

Remember how I told you last weekend Todd and I took a drive out to the Parkway? Well we did a little hiking but our true intentions were to map out a proposal spot for Todd's stepbrother, Vance. Here I am last weekend practicing in place of Vance so Todd could figure out camera angles...

Well Saturday morning, Todd and I got up early and headed out to the same spot to be secret photographers. It was a little chilly and all that waiting yet trying to be sneaky made me have to pee. Just keeping it real. I was nervous for the whole thing to go smoothly since Vance had never even been to that spot before! I think I checked the clock every thirty seconds.

The two finally arrived and the timing was perfect. No other hikers were nearby making the moment very intimate (except for us creepers). The two did a devotional together that was followed by the proposal. It was a beautiful thing to watch and I cried.

Now that the secret was finally out, it was time to CELEBRATE! We all went to Red Onion Cafe for lunch where her parents surprised her followed by lots of hugs from the rest of the family including her soon to be new sister in law, Laura! I love this photo...pure joy. 

Afterwards we went on a 22 mile bike ride together in Todd, NC. We had a great time but the last hour was really hard because we were riding facing the wind. Major workout so we all went to Daniel Boone Inn Restaurant to get our calories back!

Once we recovered from dinner we played some pool and catch phrase (ladies vs. boys).

What a fun weekend! We are all excited to welcome Katie into the family. The two are looking at an April date and we all get to be in the wedding as groomsmen and bridesmaids. Congrats you two!

I am very blessed to have gained such a wonderful family! Unfortunately Matt, Melissa, Penelope, Baby Davis and Bella were unable to come and we certainly missed them. Maybe I should learn photoshop and stick them in the above picture. We truly are so thankful for our combined family that keeps growing and growing! I'm looking forward to my first Thanksgiving and Christmas as a Davis and also having Todd join in on some crazy Caulder fun! Wow, can you believe the holidays are right around the corner? I have so many projects and research to do before then....yikes, better get on it!

Cheers,
Sara 

A little slice of history

Well today's post was going to be about our awesome weekend but I figured I may as well blog about some exciting news that happened in our small little town today. Now just for the record this is not meant to be any type of political post that expresses our views or opinions.

Today I was at work and eating my lunch around noon. I checked Facebook and read that the President would now be taking a route through Boone on his way to his next speech. I found it interesting but even more so that roads were beginning to close and our little town wasn't really prepared. Since I take the Appalcart Bus to and from campus, I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to get home so I made the spontaneous decision to grab all my belongings and just leave work. Thankfully I caught the very last Appalcart (they shut down until 4 pm) and made it home. My curiosity was killing me so by this time I was texting Todd (he was still on campus but had his bike) and decided I'd at least go stand by the main road since it is near our house to see all the excitement. Fortunately, Todd just decided to bike home and take pictures. We waited for about twenty minutes and sure enough this rolled into town....

Todd and I had a great spot and had hardly anyone around us...which is why there is no doubt from this next picture that Mr. President is looking right at Todd.

It all happened so fast and I thought I was videoing but apparently I was not. However, I will not lose any sleep over that so no big deal. Obama made a surprise drive through our college campus then actually got off his bus and went into the Mast General Store to buy some candy.

We were not there so I snagged that photo from the Mast Store's Facebook page. Traffic was still pretty backed up for awhile but we did follow some updates online that told us he spoke to many of the students and residents. Basically he did some quick campaigning in my opinion in such a short amount of time. It was a neat experience to see a President again (I saw Bush Sr. when I was in elementary school). I guess I should add that to the list and check it off now :)

-Sara

More Fall Decor

This past Saturday was gorgeous! Todd and I kept expressing to each other how blessed and thankful we are to be married and living in such a beautiful place. Since Todd has never carved a pumpkin before, we decided the first step would be to pick out a pumpkin. We went to The Mustered Seed in Blowing Rock.

I got a little distracted and fell in love with this red mum. I don't know anything about the cost of mums but this baby was $5.95 which is do-able so I said sold!

Red is my favorite color and when it is paired with orange my soul smiles. As soon as we were home I knew the perfect place for our new fall items. We are going to wait to carve the pumpkin until the week of Halloween!  

I think we got a pretty decent sized pumpkin and with a fairly good shape. Todd is very eager to carve that bad boy. 

A touch of fall also got added to our kitchen...

Be sure to check out some changes I made to our blog. I added "pages" at the top with a few different categories that we thought would be useful and fun. We have officially started fall break which is a such a breath of fresh air. I plan on cleaning the house and cleaning out my closet. Todd's family is renting a cabin this weekend nearby so we are looking forward to spending some quality time with family. Oh, if you have any tips for caring for mums do share! 

Happy Wednesday!

Cheers,

Sara

Honey Chicken Kabobs

Last week we made another recipe I found off of Pinterest. This goes into my number one favorite grilling meal ever! You can either look for the recipe on Pinterest or just follow these directions (same as source)...but I do give some sidenotes of my own opinions!

Here is what you need:

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 5 small onions, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 2-3 bell peppers in any color, cut into 2 inch pieces
• skewers

Sara Sidenote: We actually only used three chicken breasts, one large onion and one red pepper since only two of us were eating. Also we never used the garlic cloves because we forgot but it didn't hurt it...

In a large bowl, whisk together oil, honey, soy sauce, and pepper. Before adding chicken, reserve a small amount of marinade to brush onto kabobs while cooking. Place the chicken, garlic, onions and peppers in the bowl, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours (the longer the better).

Sara Sidenote: You must marinate!!! This is crucial!  We did two hours exactly because we were hungry!!

Preheat the grill for high heat. 

Drain marinade from the chicken and vegetables, and discard marinade. Thread chicken and vegetables alternately onto the skewers. 

Sara Sidenote: We did all our chicken on one stick and all our veggies on another since cooking times vary with veggies and meat.

Lightly oil the grill grate. Place the skewers on the grill. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until chicken juices run clear. Turn and brush with reserved marinade frequently.

Sara Sidenote: Grill some corn on the cob at the same time and bake some potatoes oiled in salt and pepper (so you can eat the skins). This created a delicious meal and super easy. Great for large groups too!

He is the grill master around our house....

Todd approves!!! He recommends taking one bite of chicken then a bite of veggies for the perfect mix.

Ya'll this is SOOOOOO good. Trust me, you will love this. We loved it so much we decided to make it again this week. Now, you know that is some real food lovin' right there! Next time I plan to add at least another chicken breast and a green pepper. I'm getting hungry for this just by typing...better go tell Todd to crank up the grill! 

Cheers,

Sara

Fall Fun at the Fair

Last weekend my parents and I took Todd for his first ever Cleveland County Fair experience. Since I grew up in Kings Mountain, the fair was always a fall tradition. I've had some great memories there such as dancing at the talent shows with my dance studio and making the KMHS booth exhibit with friends during high school. I couldn't wait to take him because I knew he would love it! 

I love everything about the fair! The sights and lights....

and all the not so healthy food!

One of my favorite things to do is just walk around and look at all the exhibits, catch a show or two and of course ride the largest farris wheel my eyes have ever seen...

The view from the top was incredible...

I was one happy girl to be there!

Todd also had a great time and admitted that it was larger than he imagined. Just before we left we couldn't resist and bought a funnel cake to split. Totally worth all the calories. The night was just perfect with great weather and seeing good friends as well.    

The CCF is just one part of the greatness of fall! Since our fall break (another greatness) is this week, I have some extra time on my hands and finally plan to update the blog more on our busy yet blessed life.

Cheers,

Sara

Baby Shower

The baby shower was SO much fun and oh so cute!  With the help of my friend Keara, we made this banner with the baby's name on it. This was super easy because all we used was scrapbook paper, scissors and a little hot glue.

I also made these adorable favors for our guests. Basically you take scrapbook paper, cut it down the center and wrap your popcorn bag. I made the cardstock labels as a template on Microsoft Word. If you want to get real fancy you can cut about 1.5 inches off the bottom of the paper with decorative scissors to give it added flair. These were SO easy to make and really cute. In case you can't see it says: Ronna is About to Pop! Arriving soon....Annlyn Kristina Rawls.

Doesn't Ronna just look wonderful?! My goodness I hope I can look as good as her one day whenever I'm pregnant. By the way, I never thought I would be that person who rubs a pregnant woman's belly but  I'm totally guilty. Good thing it is just my sister. I just can't help it, she is too cute and I love talking to Annlyn. I sound like a crazy aunt! Also, Keara and I also made the pom poms that are in the background of that picture. We found an online tutorial and they were also cheap and easy!

Ronna received lots of great gifts to be prepared for the baby. Here she is holding a quilt which is the same pattern for her crib sheets and bedding from Pottery Barn. I love how stylish and classy it is.

Our family keeps growing and growing! Jamie and Chris are getting married on June 30th so not only do I get a NIECE soon, I also get another brother-in-law. These are the best days and I think we are all glowing in our own little ways.

Do you think we could be triplets? The older we get the more and more we talk, act and look alike. For the record they are twins and seven years older so there is much truth in the fact that they really do act and look alike. I just keep them looking young. I really love my sisters and I just can't wait for November to arrive so I can hold Annlyn in my arms and tell her how awesome of an aunt I am.

;)

Xo,

Sara