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      

Yes to the Dress

Saturday was a super special day. We all loaded in the van and took the long trip to Burlington, NC to go wedding dress shopping with my older sister, Jamie. This time last year we went wedding dress shopping for me so it was great to have the tables turned. I really enjoyed grabbing a ton of dresses to play dress up on her. She was really great about trying on just about everything in the entire store (we were there for about five hours) and even gave us a few surprises with a few she really liked. But, I can't say much on this blog in case Chris, her fiance, reads it which I doubt he does but who knows maybe he secretly checks The Davis Daily ten times a day so I'm going to play it safe.

She did say yes to a dress! A very gorgeous dress. After all those hours we were all exhausted but in the end she ended up choosing one dad originally picked out. In fact, all three of us girls now have officially got our dresses from the same place and I can't say enough nice things about the staff at Burlington Bridal for treating us so well and remembering us. I am SO excited for Jamie and Chris and cannot wait for June 30th so we can celebrate with the happy couple. I am very thankful for the man God has given her. Jamie and Chris are both true testaments of being patient and letting the Lord provide in His timing.

In other family news....it's finally NOVEMBER! That means not only is my sister going to have her baby but Todd's brother's wife, my sister-in-law, Melissa is also due. Both baby girls. Both scheduled for the same week (turkey week as a matter of fact) but I'd love to meet my new nieces sooner than that. God is so faithful and we have so much to be thankful for!

Cheers,
Sara