Twas the weekend before Christmas...

I cannot believe that it is already three days till Christmas! The holiday season sure has gone by quickly this year.  This weekend we were so excited to host the second annual Brown Holiday Party at our house with all of our friends.  Friday night we went to the store and got some food and our tacky outfits.  Hannah came over for some wine and we relaxed and watched TV all night.  Saturday was a crazy packed day.  I was helping with the middle school cheerleading so I had to go to their game from 8:30-11 a.m. Afterwards, I ran by the bank, grocery store, dropped off a few things at my parents house and my aunts, then we went to lunch with my Nana at Sandfiddler. 

Before the party I needed to do a bunch of chores around the house and DJ helped a lot.  I did my laundry, dusted, cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms while DJ vacuumed and cleaned the dog doodoo in the backyard! He left for a basketball game around 2, and I finished setting up for the party by putting up a few more lights, turning on the Christmas music, and decking myself out in the most awesome shirt and gold pants I could find!

Having all our friends over on Saturday night was so awesome.  I love being able to have friends from all different paths of life at one party in our house.  We had friends from high school, college, baseball, and new friends that we met that night.  I am so thankful for all of our great friends that we have known for years.  We enjoyed the night with jello shots, beer, wine, punch, food, fires, and friends! 

 So glad my mom, sister, and dad stopped by to enjoy the festivities!

After the party, we moved to Ghent and had a few drinks and appetizers at the Public House before we Uber’ed home for the first time!

On Sunday morning, DJ and Conner went to play golf while Carleigh and I took it easy and got lunch at Taste Unlimited.  They left around 2:30 and I went to babysit for a little bit.

Such a great last weekend before Christmas and we cannot wait to ring in the new year with friends in just a few short weeks!

Christmas Decor: Home Tour

I know I am a little behind the curve, but today I am happy to say we are back up and running on the blog.  My mama is back, the camera is now in my possession and posts are flowing! I am so excited to be sharing a little house tour today with you.  We used a lot of the same decorations that we got last year and I am excited to do some after Christmas shopping for a few more things I want for next years Christmas. 

I love the Happy Holidays garland I purchased from Target this year.  It looks perfect behind our tree.  We got our tree last Friday and decorated it right away! I am happy to say that I am all done wrapping presents and just need to get a few stocking stuffers and will be completely finished for the shopping!

I found this year that I am a terrible wrapper.  I apologize in advance to our family members that got presents wrapped by me.  Thankfully, my hubby has pretty good wrapping skills and even curls the ribbon he puts on them! 

...But sometimes he need an extra finger to help tie the knots!

My plan for the piano is to get picture frames for all our cards to be displayed in years to come.

We got this Santa from my parents house.  I think everyone in the family has one - my mom, aunt, cousin and now me!

 I couldn't get a good photos of the lights on the outside, but D.J. did a great job making our house look like a gingerbread house! Lots of colorful lights with some garland around the railings on the porch! I love the way it looks.  We have candles in all the windows on the front and all the lights are on timers so we don't have to worry about turning it on and off!

Last year I filled these planters with a baby Christmas tree.  This year I had some leftover pansies that I needed to plant so I figured I would leave these up for a while with the pretty flowers in them.  They are a little floppy in this picture, but I promise you they have perked up since then! It's amazing what a little water will do to plants ;). 

I love decorating for Christmas and I cannot wait for the years to come as we collect more and more holiday decorations. 

What is the holiday "thing" that you collect throughout the years?

Cheerleaders Christmas Present

Another thing that has been occupying my time this winter has been the Varsity Cheerleading team that I have been suckered into coaching.  At first I was a little hesitant to coach, but as the season has progressed and I have seen them improve, I am so glad I decided to coach.  It has been so rewarding and so awesome to see the growth already! 

When we were decorating our Christmas tree this year, I pulled out the ornament that my JV coach gave me when I was in 8th grade.  I had been thinking about what I was going to give the team for a holiday present, and these were the perfect gift! 

If you are in need of a quick, easy, cute gift, these ornaments are the best.  I got the plastic ornaments at Michaels and stuffed them with wired tinsel with stars on them to match our school colors.  After you put the tinsel in, just place the cap back on and call it a day! Or you can use a paint pen and personalize each ornament for each person.  I decided to write the cheerleaders names on one side and "NCS Cheer" on the other! 

I cannot wait to give these gifts to the team and I hope that years from now, they are putting these ornaments on their families Christmas tree!

I'm Dreaming Of A ....

DSLR CAMERA! 

If you didn't sing the title of the post in a Christmas song, you are a grinch! 

Lately, I've been in a bit of a predicament.  The blog has been slacking, I have been stressing about it  and it's all because my lack of a DSLR camera.  I have been using my mom's a lot lately, but she "stole" it back from me and now I'm camera-less.  I mean I have my phone, but that doesn't do anything justice.  So right now, all I can dream about is this Canon t5 camera.  

I would be using this baby everyday if Santa brought it for me under the Christmas tree this year.  I would be able to start the 2015 year off on the right "blog"foot and capture so many more wonderful memories!

Ahh.... a girl can dream right y'all?!

Until then, or when I get mom's camera back, I guess I Will have to resort to iPhone photos!

KRCustomDesigns Spotlight

With the holidays coming up in a short 16 day, I wanted to let you all in on a secret little shop on Etsy that means so much to me - please let me introduce you to the fabulous KRCustomDesigns.  

One of my best friends from JMU and my big sister in Alpha Sigma Tau, Kendall, has recently launched her new Etsy shop and these pieces are classic, timeless, southern gifts. KRCustomDesigns has so many different great gifts like this beautiful monogrammed jewelry bowl.  It's perfect for a bedside table, bathroom, or by the sink when you are doing dishes! 

Another one of my favorite items in the shop is the monogrammed stickers for your car, computer, work desk, phone, etc! As Reese Witherspoon says "If it isn't moving, monogram it!". Any state, any colors, and size - you name it, they can do it! 

And who doesn't love a good acrylic tray?! Perfect for your room, a nursery, or a guest room! 

KRCustomDesigns is much more than just these photos shown above.  Among many talents, Kendall has an amazing vision for all things weddings.  Without her skills, creativity, and vision, my wedding would have looked like a big Pinterest fail.  She has done custom wedding decorations, signs, stationary, seating charts, and more.  You name it, Kendall and KRCustomDesigns can make it.  I had a friend at my wedding that saw everything she did and hired her for her wedding a few months later.  This custom table runner, custom "Leave some love" sign, and lots of input on the flower choices were all from the lovely brain of Kendall at KRCustomDesigns!

How cute is this custom "stache" sign made for another wedding that KRCustomDesigns made?!

And the most detailed cornhole boards I have ever seen look so beautiful finished.  All board are handmade, customized to your choosing! I've had my set for over 4 years now, and they are still in perfect condition! 

For more information on the custom wedding and cornhole products, please contact KRCustomDesigns via Etsy or Facebook.

You have to check out the Etsy show and the Facebook page to see all the other great products offered that I didn't mention! To purchase gifts for your loved ones (or yourself ;) ) this holiday season, please visit the Etsy Shop or "like" the Facebook page! 

#baseballwifelife Off Season is Never Off Season

Right when I get in a routine of having D.J. home, something else changes.  I feel like I have said that same sentence time and time again. When it's the off season, my "light switch" of living alone goes off.  I let D.J. lock the doors at night, I let him do most of the cooking, I let him take out the trash, etc..etc..etc.  You get the point.Any of my other baseball ladies feel like this?! 

This week the hubs had to go out to AZ for a follow up on this program he has been asked to be a part of.  It's a pilot program that we are very fortunate that he is a part of, but he has to do check points throughout the off season that pop up out of nowhere.  He left on Tuesday morning and came back last night and during the time he was gone, my light switch was still off.  I'm talking like clothes in the laundry still, dishes in the sink, OJ sitting on the table from the morning before.  Does that make me a bad wife?? I've just been crazy busy and when he's gone I get home later because I am doing a million things after work.  

Anyways..the point of this blog post is that I am so thankful that D.J. gets to be home with me during the off season.  He does so much for me that I don't even realize until he is not there to do it.  Simple things like making the bed, taking out the trash, blowing out the candles to bigger things like picking up the dog poop :).  I am so thankful for such an awesome hubby that I get to do life with.  

PS- I promise I'm not as lazy as I sound...but when the in season switch is off, I sometimes forget I have to do things by myself :).

Christmas Family Photos

When we were at D.J's parents for Thanksgiving,  my sister-in-law took some photos for us to use for our Christmas card.  I love the way they turned out and cannot wait to show y'all the final product when we get them in the mail from Shutterfly! We went with the red/black look with all the fall leaves.  I think these colors look perfect together and I can't wait to see how it looks in the card. A special shoutout to Amy for these awesome pictures of our little family!

Can't wait for y'all to see the final product!!