Good as new...

I promised an update on what the console table would look like once finished! Remember from the last post the before:

A little sanding and staining...

The after is amazing!!!

So proud of my crafty hunny who didn't really believe in my vision, haha!

Catching up....

Well..it's not even Christmas and I am already behind on my blog. I have had a very busy couple of weeks with work and my Origami Owl business! This post will be filled with lots of pictures from the past couple of weeks.

Before I left for a business trip Dennis and I put up our Christmas decorations since we knew the next couple of weekends would be crazy! I went to Hammer's and bought this pretty orange ribbon (I was looking for gold, but orange worked too!) and made my first ever bow! I think I did a pretty good job and it looked like the perfect Tennessee tree.

 I went back to Orlando for a federal conference for work and although it was for work we did manage to get in some fun! The first night we were there we were starving so we ate a pizza restaurant called Giordanos Famous Chicago Style Pizza! It was amazzzzing and stuffed with cheese. This pizza was a small and there were still two pieces left when we were in a cheese coma!

I had been to the Disney World Christmas Specatular, but my boss had not. It was so cute and got us both in the Christmas spirit. The crowd was bearable (compared to 4 weeks ago when Dennis and I went) and I would love to go again with the hubby.



Snow on Main Street in FLORIDA! So neat...



The stars of the parade!



The park was decorated with the best Christmas decor and all the characters and staff looked the part as well. We had a wonderful time then it was back to the conference.....

This weekend we did fun stuff with our niece and nephews to get them in the spirit too! We went to the parade in town (the one I was always in as a child) and they had a great time. It was the first time Malachi had seen a parade and he was in absolute awww watching all the lights and hearing all the sounds.



It's so nice when both of our families can get together!

On Saturday I went with Dennis' mom, aunt and the kids to "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" on the square where we met my dad, step mom and Malachi again. They rode the hay ride, decorated ornaments, built picture frames, rode in a fire truck and enjoyed free food and drinks! It was such a beautiful warm day (for December). We then went to enjoy some lunch at a local Mexican restaurant.



Malachi loves his "guac" dip!

I then went to Wal-Mart to try and find D and I something to wear for our tacky Christmas party this weekend, oh and I did (more pics to come next week!). I ran across this little outfit for our little grinch!

Yep, he hates them!

Sunday Dennis and I went to a friends house to pick up a table she was selling on facebook. It was a little scratched on the top, but with some tlc D will have it looking like new! She ended up giving it to me for free so we went to Home Depot, bought some stain and I cannot wait to see how it turns out!

D sanding away...

That pretty much wraps up what's been going on at the White house, hope you have a wonderful week!

Fall festivities!

We had a busy weekend...Friday night we went to my cousin's 2nd round playoff football game, but on the way there we stopped to see little Miss Sawyer and her parents Hayley and Tony. She was asleep the whole time, I tried everything to get her to wake up (tickled her, kissed her neck, played with her feetsies) and nothing would wake her up. I got a text from Hayley as soon as we left that was a picture of Sawyer wide awake!

The game did not go as planned...they were beat 19 to 16 but they did have one heck of a season! I was so proud of my cousin and I know his senior year will be awesome! Here is my Origami Owl locket I created to wear to the game to support him #89.

Saturday I had an O2 event at a Craft fair. It went very well and added two people to my team! I am really enjoying working for Origami Owl and have been so blessed to the response I have received. It is definitely keeping me busy seeing that I have a charity event tonight, party on Friday and a party on Saturday!

Once I got home from my event on Saturday Dennis and I went to the neighbors house for a bonfire. We made smores and grilled hot dogs (yum!). Peyton came over too to play with their dog Tanner and although it doesn't look that way he did enjoy himself...

Sunday was finally my day off! I placed some O2 orders that morning, washed clothes, straightened up the house, swept the floors and then we went to Dennis' parents' house to visit for a couple of hours. When we got home I made a new soup recipe called Bacon Cheeseburger Soup that I found while looking for healthy dinner options (haha!). This soup is not healthy at all, that is why it was so good. 

  Here's what you are going to need:

1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound bacon
1 medium onion, chopped

1 bell pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 pepper
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups potatoes, cut into ½ inch cubes
1/2 of a stick (4 tablespoons) of butter
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cup milk
1 pound of Velveeta Cheese, cubed
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:

•    Brown the ground beef over medium high heat
• Add the onion and peppers

• Saute on medium low heat until onions and peppers are soft. 
•  Stir in the potatoes, salt and pepper and chicken broth.
•   Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until potatoes are fork tender.

  In a medium saucepan, melt the butter.

   Whisk in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes to cook out the flour taste.

Slowly whisk in the milk.

    Cook, stirring constantly until mixture is hot and bubbly.

Remove from heat, add the cheese.

   Stir until all of the cheese has melted.

Cook bacon over medium heat stirring occasionally until crisp.

   Drain bacon on paper towels and set aside to add as a topping.

  When the potatoes in the soup mixture are fork tender, add about a cup of the soup mixture to the cheese sauce to thin it out a little.

   Add the thinned out cheese mixture back to the soup pot.

  Stir in the sour cream and serve!

It was sooooo yummy but it is very filling as you can imagine. It was the perfect meal to a busy weekend. I can't wait to eat some tonight after my event. I hope everyone has a fantastic week!

Mickey, pirates and cats...oh my!

Whew....what a whirlwind of weeks! I have been so busy with my Origami Owl business (which is such a blessing, and a huge thank you to my wonderful Mama for her hard work too!) that I have neglected my weekly blog. I would first like to say that I think Mickey has my camera charger/USB cord because I cannot find it anywhere. You will have to excuse some of my pictures because they are all from my phone.

Our Disney trip was great! The parks were packed and the lines were long, but Dennis and I had a wonderful time together. We have not been on a vacation by ourselves since 2005, so it was definitely much needed and much deserved. Dennis has begged to go back to Disney for a while so this trip was his birthday and anniversary gift...I am now telling him it was Christmas too. I don't think he is going to let me get away with that one. We stayed at the All-Star Movies Resort in the ever appropriately "Love Bug" section. If you ever go to Disney, these value resorts are the BEST deal ever! We had all accommodations, food, drinks and transportation to and from the parks all lumped in to one. The rooms are not fancy or big, but you are never there anyways since the parks keep you so busy. The meal plan came with 2 meals a day, 2 snacks a day and free refillable mugs. Needless to say we both gained a few pounds and never went hungry! We enjoyed all the parks Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom while we were there. I promise to post more pictures once I find/buy a camera charger!



We teased each other..."We're here Ellen!"- Clark Griswald

Such neat things to look at- All Star Movie Resort

Dennis and the "Love Bug!"

Blurry but it's Mickey and friends!

While we were in Disney our friend Hayley had her little girl Sawyer! My mom was keeping me updated and sending me pictures while we were gone. I could not wait to see her when I got back home. I took pictures of her on a friends camera (since mine is DEAD!, ha), she was the sweetest little model ever! Here is a sneak peek!

Isn't she the cutest little thing? I have not seen her in about 2 weeks so I know she is growing and changing!

We got back from Disney on a Friday and I worked my mentor's Origami Owl booth that Saturday and Sunday at Bell Buckle Craft Fair. If you have not been to a Bell Buckle craft fair you are missing out. You must put it on your list of things to do next October! I was bummed that I didn't really get to shop this year, but I did find this awesome BBQ loaded baked potato..I had to send a picture to Dennis to make him jealous!

I honestly can not believe it is already November and that Halloween has once again passed us by. Dennis and I did not participate in any Halloween festivities this year, but I did manage to get a few pictures a cute little pirate and a kitty cat. Daniel, my other nephew, was a ninga but was too busy passing out candy to trick-or-treaters to let me snap a picture.

This past weekend I finally remembered to take Malachi his little Mickey ears Uncle D bought him. Taking a picture of this little feller is like trying to wrestle a bull. We would say look at the camera, chin up, arms down...and this is what we got...Spiderman britches and all!

I hope everyone has a wonderful and now peaceful week since the election campaigns are finally over!

Fall Food

Well Fall is officially in the air....rainy, windy and COLD! Friday night Dennis and I joined our friends to celebrate Allison's 24th birthday! We all had a great time, but Dennis and I cut the night short since we both had to be up super early the next morning. Saturday Dennis went in to work at 6:00 a.m. and I went to the football field for Destiny's cheerleading pictures at 7! It was sooooo cold we were not prepared at all to sit through a whole game. The girls were freezing (we have little 4 year olds on our team) so the coach called it quits at half time. I know this Saturday we are going to be well prepared with leggings and gloves! When I got home Saturday I started a big ol' pot of homemade chili for me and the hubby to warm up with! My recipe is super simple...

• 1 lb. hamburger meat
• 1 small onion
• 1 small bell pepper
• 1 pack of McCormick Chili mix
• 1 large can of tomato sauce
• 1 large can of diced tomatoes

In the pot cook your hamburger meat until brown and add the chopped onion and bell pepper so that they can cook down a little. Once you have cooked the bell pepper and onion to your liking add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and Chili mix together. I cook the chili on low for about an hour stirring every so often.

Can't forget to add a little cheese.....

This chili was YUMMY and I got props since it was my first pot of the season! We have been eating on chili for two days now...

Saturday I went to the grocery store to buy a few groceries to last us this week before heading to Disney World on Sunday (Yippe!). I was basically looking for lunch items for us both to take to work and ran across these handy little packs of veggies for $1.98 each!

 I really enjoy eating vegetables for lunch and this also comes with almonds and cheese! I am not sure my lunch today could be any healthier. I also buy these apples every time I go to the store, but they just seem so perfect this time of year. If you have not tried the caramel dip that comes with them, you should...it is very good! Caramel apples = perfect Fall food!

Dennis went to visit his Uncle Mark on Friday and brought home this gem! I didn't pay much attention to it laying on the bar until Saturday. This is not just any old Tennessee football archive book, it is filled with replicated invitations, newspaper clippings, programs, player cards and much more! It was a gift from Mark and Dennis and I will pass it along to our kiddos one day!

Anyone who knows Dennis and I know how much we love Tennessee football so this was an awesome gift! Thank you Uncle Mark! Sunday we were super lazy around the house and I just worked on my Origami Owl stuff since I get my inventory tomorrow! YAY!! I have a such a wonderful response to the product and I can not wait to start my business. I hope you have a wonderful week...don't expect too much out of me next Monday since we will be acting like 10 year olds on the tea cups in Disney World!