Christmas Wreaths

The other day, I showed you a picture of the cute wreaths my aunt makes for her house every Christmas. 

Here's a picture to refresh your memory!

 Aren't they just precious?!  Are you ready for her secret?

She uses.........

Yes ma'am (or sir).  That's right, she uses a fake Christmas wreath.  And the best part is, it can look as cheap as you want it to!  Because no one is going to even be able to see it. 

Now keep in mind that I've never made one of these, but the directions she gave me sound SO easy!  So here goes.  Her directions are as follows:

1.  Cut greenery from the woods.  I'm assuming she uses cedar. But anything that looks like Christmas trees.
2.  Soak the greenery in water overnight.  Make sure it absorbs lots of water
3. Get a fake Christmas wreath.
4. Fluff out the Christmas wreath.
5. Cut strips of the greenery and weave in wreath. She told me not to do them too small or too big.  Just cover the garland wreath.


She also noted that you can decorate with ribbon (like she did), berries, pinecones, etc.  She told me she usually uses the berries, but didn't have time this year.  An important thing to note.  Don't use holly berries.  Use Nandina berries as seen here.  Apparently the holly berries turn black while the Nandina berries will keep their red color. 

I seriously can't wait to go buy el cheapo wreaths tomorrow (gotta shop Christmas sales) from Hobby Lobby tomorrow so that I'll have them for next year to try.

My aunt rocks!  Her daughter is Sydney (the flowergirl).  She has an interior design degree from MSU, but is an elementary art teacher now.  How much fun!  Wanted to leave you with a photo of her perfect Christmas tree.  It's beautiful, and it's real.  David Adams couldn't be happier.  Haha!

Hope y'all liked my tutorial on something I've never made before, but since you might be like me and want to shop cheap Christmas sales, I thought I'd share early. :)

Mississippi Magazine

When I was a little girl, I used to thumb through the Mississippi Magazine once a year.  I'd get so excited when Mom would go buy a copy in late December/early January or it would wind up in our mailbox because she had a subscription.  I'd oooh and aaah and admire every page.

For those of you who don't know, every January edition of the Mississippi Magazine is a Wedding Register for the state of Mississippi.

Every wedding would capture me.  First, I'd look for people I knew.  That was limited when I was ten.  Ten years later and that number had grown by leaps and bounds!  Then, I'd thumb through absorbing the dresses, flowers, and cakes into my mind.  I can still remember the year that the photos went from black and white to color.  Every color was phenomenal.  The bridesmaids with funny hair-dos, the grooms who married waaayy above what people would have thought, the beautiful dresses (the tacky ones too).....I could go on and on.  

It's safe to say that I had been planning my wedding since first seeing this magazine.  In high school, my friends would buy bridal magazines to help plan their weddings.  I bought the Mississippi Magazine bridal edition.  I was enthralled. absorbed. obsessed.

When my parents offered to do an ad for David and I this year, I was elated.  (David...while not elated, was excited because I was excited!) I have anxiously awaited for it's arrival since September!  I have still yet to see my copy, but I am so excited to be able to pour over it the way I usually do....all the while knowing that I can flip to Herrington-Adams and see my dream wedding---my very OWN!

Just wanted to pass on the word so that you wouldn't miss getting your copy.  I'm pretty sure that most bookstores carry it in Mississippi.  And if you don't live in Mississippi, you can order your copy here.  I do know from some friends that some of our flowers were featured in some of the collages that they do to lead into the ads.  Tracey Proctor, our florist, did a phenomenal job of bringing God's beauty in nature into our wedding ceremony and reception.

Down In the Jungle Room

I realize that I have already written a post with this song as a title.  But, my wonderful husband got me the best Christmas present ever...and it applies!

After opening presents Christmas morning with David's family, we came back to our house in Memphis to unload our car and take showers.  But not before we gave each other presents.  I must say, my hubby did such a good job taking care of me!  I'll share more on what he got me in a later post, but the best gift he got me was tickets to Graceland!  Yes, you read right.  We all know how much David loves Graceland Too, BUT he got me tickets to the REAL deal!  You see, ever since David and I started dating, I have BEGGED and pleaded with him to go to Graceland with me.  I went once when I was a freshman in college around Christmas time, and I LOVE it!  I'm not even a huge Elvis fan.  I just think the concept of walking around a famous dead guy's house is great!  I mean, COME ON!  Elvis WALKED on that carpet.  He swam in that pool.  He paid someone to cook in that oven.  He sat on that couch.  COME ON PEOPLE!  It's ELVIS!  Those are his clothes, his horses, his gold records.

The first year at Christmas when I asked, we compromised and he took me to eat at the Rendezvous. 

The second year at Christmas when I asked, he laughed and took a poll from all of his Memphis friends to see if people from Memphis had ever been to Graceland.

This year, he got me tickets! :)

Third time is a charm!


We had so much fun! David even agreed that it exceeded our expectations.  Our favorite part had to have been the airplane.  It had 24K Gold seat belts.  Yes, you read correctly--seat belts. 


No matter if you like Elvis or not, have been to Graceland or not, Elvis is still the King. And I'm so happy to say, I live about ten minutes from his home!  Below are some pictures to document our trip.


Oh, and we didn't see the "pretty little thing, waitin' on the King, down in the Jungle Room." However, we did see the Jungle Room, and I'll never get over the green shag carpet on the floor AND ceilings.  To think, Elvis thought that was cool.  And he stood right where I was standing at some point or another in his life.  

The red velvet curtains that are only put up for Christmas.  They were part of Elvis' original Christmas decorations and are my favorite part of Graceland:

Elvis probably took his picture in this same spot!

Maybe it's just the stage of life I'm in, but I'm OBSESSED with Elvis' china!  LOVE!

Kitchen. Please don't miss the carpet!

Elvis' top of the line surveillance camera system of the property! Haha.

Lisa Marie used to play on this swing set! Oh my gosh! Haha...kidding. I'm not a crazed fan.

THE JUNGLE ROOM!

You can't see it very well, but this is the room that Elvis decided it would be really cool to put floor to ceiling material in.  Oh. My. Gosh.  That would have been MIZ to hang!  Can you imagine?  Even the carpet matched.

His basement.  Check out the yellow. (shutter). Ugh.

I just thought this was funny.

 

Check out those shoes. They aren't Elvis'. They were from (crazed) fans.

Don't you wish you had a wall full of trophies.

No offense Pricilla.  While I really like your china, I like my wedding dress better.

The racquetball room.  The room Elvis played his very last song in. 

My very favorite Elvis costumes.

I'll have a blllllluuuuuueeee Christmas without you....

Next time you see me, I'll be driving this....

David offered to buy this one for me, but then decided not to. Something about how much it would cost.....

Maybe next year for Christmas?

We had so much fun at Graceland!  Hope you will come visit us in Memphis. Maybe we can talk David into going again! :)

Very Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!  Yes, I know it's the day after, but things have been a little crazy and hectic around here!  Pardon us for being away from the blog for so long!  Wanted to wish you a Very Merry Christmas from one of our favorite people below:

We landed in Memphis after a drive from Starkville on Friday, December 17th.  After throwing allllll of our boxes, furniture, and clothes in the house, I quickly lined the cabinets while David showered.  Then we headed off to my first Christmas present!  See the man above in the video?  His name is Dave Barnes and he was playing a Christmas concert in Midtown in Memphis.  It was awesome!  And for someone who was feeling a little blue about moving to Memphis, it was just what I needed.  We saw tons of people we knew, and it was a quick reminder that there are people I know in Memphis.  We're looking forward to making new friends (and keeping the old).  However, to do that, we have to spend more than 3 days in our town!  We're back home and unpacking at lightning speed now!  Haha!

This is what we woke up to our first morning in Memphis!  How much fun!  It's also what I'm looking at right now.  Yep, two mornings with snow. How awesome is that?  

This is our cute little house!  I can't let you see the inside yet. It looks like a mad house!  But soon, I promise!

We had a most enjoyable Christmas.  We traveled wayyyyy more than we ever have in such a short time, but it was so fun to celebrate Jesus' birth with so many people that we love.  I was a bad blogger and only took pictures at my grandparents house.  Mainly because my cousin Sydney wanted to be in EVERY. SINGLE. PHOTO.  If you were at our wedding, you'll remember her as our flowergirl.  Here's her with her flower ball.  She kept it.  Isn't she the cutest flowergirl?  She's five, and so much fun!  We played Barbie's all day on the 24th. 

 

This is my cute uncle and my grandmother.  Wait....reverse that!  Cute grandmother and my uncle (not that you aren't cute Al!) Oh and of course Sydney couldn't miss the opportunity.

I haven't had enough coffee today.  Hubby, will you bring me some more of my coffeeeeee....please! :) 

She wanted one with my Pop too.  It's her Pop too. Ain't he cute?!

And just to prove that she's taller than David....

Can you tell she really loves David?

Yes, this is what she wanted to do in all of the pictures!

And it wouldn't have been Christmas unless the Adams' made Captain Rodneys.  Surprisingly, there was some left over.  Of course, we did double the recipe! (Recipe here)

Every Christmas Eve morning, we go to Quitman to hang out with this little girl and her brothers.  We open presents, then hang out all morning, eat in the afternoon, and pack up and head to my Uncle Bob's.  Uncle Bob is my Pop's brother.  He lives on the family land and my FAVORITE part of Christmas is shooting fireworks on Christmas Eve with my cousins.  We counted how many people were there this year.   27.  Yes, twenty-seven.  In one tiny little living room.  From age 5 to age 85 (or more...I'm not sure).  We look at pictures, relive old memories, shoot fireworks, and watch the little kids open presents.  This year, my great aunt and uncle celebrated their 60th anniversary.  Yes 60.  And I could go on and on about reliving this old memories.  However, this year, we created what was perhaps the BEST one ever!  To say we broke David in to our family is an understatement!

You see, it was fairly dry this year.  Usually it's very wet.  I'm pretty sure my uncle Bob had a field full of hay.  All of the little kids and adults go down to the bonfire to shoot fireworks.  Only those who are older stay inside.  To say it's usually dangerous is an understatement, but we're well supervised and no one has ever gotten burned.  And we've never started a fire.  Well never, until this year.  Yes.  And we started many. 

It went something like this.  Shoot a firework, watch to see if it shoots high enough.  Watch to see if a fire starts.  The first one that started a fire, we all started yelling, BOYS GO PUT IT OUT!  And they did.  They ran down the pasture and stomped it out.  All the while, the adults are yelling, "Good job David, you passed the test!  Welcome to the family!"  Haha!  Happy initiation!  After lots more fireworks and a few more fires, my cousin Levi decided to shoot a large one.  And it turned over on it's side.  And it spun and shot fireworks in a field.  And it spun again.  And again.  And started a series of 3 or 4 small fires.  But no one wanted to run and put them out because the firework kept going off.  Finally, after it stopped, everyone ran to put it out.  Adults ran to get water.  I know this isn't funny, but you have to know my family.  My Uncle Bob was mad, but by the time he got there with the water, he was laughing.  Everyone else laughed the whole time.   I'm sure his pasture has random black spots today, but we had a blast.  After that fire, Bob told us to put them up.  So we did.  And went to the house to pass out presents!  It was hard to beat for entertainment.  Can you imagine?  20 people all trying to put out a fire and laughing.  Great memories.

The whole drive home to Memphis, David and I were laughing.  I'd say, "David, we almost burned the pasture down."  And we'd start laughing all over again!

We hope that your family had as much fun as we did!  And that you created memories for years and years to come!  We just finished Christmas brunch together, and I'd say it will be an annual tradition!

I'll leave you with this photo.  It's a picture of the live wreaths on my aunts front door.  I plan to attempt these next year.  They are so cute!  I'll post a post next week on how to make them.  Though I've never tried, she gave me great directions!  AND they are SO easy! :)

David's Favorite Christmas Brownies

I don't have a good update from Memphis.  Yes we've moved in. Yes we threw all of our "stuff" in and tried to unpack what we could before starting our Christmas Holiday.  Now we're enjoying family time.  No one try to come see us any time soon, and I promise to post pictures of our home on the blog when David and I feel like it is "liveable."  Until then, I thought I'd share a Christmas recipe that we enjoy year round!

Time to share another recipe with y'all.  A prerequisite for almost all of my recipes is that they be easily accomplished!  I love Brownies and I'm always looking for new variations of your classic brownie.  So when a lady in my parent's tailgate made these last year for the Egg Bowl, I knew I'd found a new favorite!

David begs me to make these!  I made them once for our church, and Mrs. Beverly Lowry begged me for the recipe.  Shhhhh, they are so easy!

They are called Mint Brownies.  If you care nothing about all of the pictures, scroll to the bottom for the easily readable recipe!  Enjoy!

First, the cast of characters (as Pioneer Woman would call them).

You need, vegetable oil, eggs, water (not pictured), a brownie mix of your choice and Andes mints.  Pour the brownie mix into a bowl and prepare as called for on the back of the box. Generally, that includes eggs, vegie oil, and water.  I make mine for fudge like brownies.

Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan and cook as the box calls for.

While you wait on your brownies in the oven, begin unwrapping Andes Mints.  

Pop one in your mouth and enjoy the sweet satisfaction of chocolate and mint.

Resist the urge to eat another.

Give in and eat another.

Okay, really, quit eating them.  Unwrapping is the hardest part. 

Eat another for good measure!  Once the brownies are done, pull them out of the oven and place mints all over.  They will begin to melt as shown in the picture below.

You'll want to resist the urge to eat another mint. Just think how good they'll taste on the brownie!  Take a knife and spread the melted chocolate/mint combo evenly on top of brownie.

 

Fair warning:  these take awhile to cool off.  Make sure you cool them before cutting!  But not too much. If you do, when you attempt to cut they'll crack and not look as pretty.  Make sure you have a glass of milk nearby as these brownies are RICH!

Mint Brownies Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 Box of Brownies

Oil

Eggs

Water

Andes Mints (I usually buy one package or two boxes)

Directions:

Prepare brownies as box calls for.  When brownies first come out of the oven, lay Andes Mint candies over brownies and allow the heat from the brownies to melt the chocolate.  Use a knife to spread the melted mixture evenly over the brownies.  Enjoy! 

Top Ten Things I'll Miss

Well...all our bags are packed, we're ready to go.  The Trailer will be loaded in the morning and we'll leave our Starkville home behind for Memphis.  It seems like yesterday we found out we were moving, and now it's actually reality.  I'm trying not to be sad because I know we'll be back Monday, and then many more times over the holiday season.  Then again in January.  It's really not like we're leaving it behind.  We'll be back frequently. I just don't know when yet.

While driving through Starkville today, I came up with a bunch of things I'll really miss when we move.  Wanted to share them all with you.  If you've ever lived in Starkville, I hope this brings back memories.  If not, you probably won't know half of what I'm talking about.  These are in no order.

Top Ten

1. Our church

CrossPoint has really been a huge part of our lives.  They have taught us so much in our walks with Christ and our relationship together.  We are REALLY going to miss the people!  I could have picked from a TON of photos of the people there, but I chose our pastor.  He has done so much for David and I in the past few years, but his biggest task was marriage counseling and officiating our wedding.  He signed our marriage license too!  We're so thankful for all of these things.  It is going to be difficult to find a new church in Memphis!

2.  Date nights at the Lovings

Okay, let's be honest.  It's more of a date night for them than for us, but David and I have a blast every time we get to keep these four kiddos!  You've read about them lots of times on our blog.  They truly are so so so much fun!  Matt is the youth and college minister at our church, and we've gotten especially close to their family.  Apparently Ava, the red headed girl, announced to her someone that they no longer had a baby sitter anymore "because David and Sara and Mary Holland (another youth worker that has babysat for them) are moving away."  I don't know if she knows what that means, but I hope that Matt and Jenny will let us baby sit for them again on random nights that we are in Starkville.  I can't bear the thought of never getting to keep them parent-free ever again! 

3.  Our youth at both churches

To my Crosspoint youth:  I have been involved helping with the youth at Crosspoint for 3 1/2 years, and I'm really going to miss them all.  They are such a fun bunch and I feel like I'm saying goodbye to you all before I've "raised you" all the way up.  You've been a joy to my heart, and I will never forget everything that you have taught me. You've challenged me in my faith, and I can only hope I've challenged you in yours!  See y'all at D-Now. Senior High girls....get ready to kick the Jr. High girls bootay in the Color War!  We need to pick our colors!

To our Woodland Baptist Church youth:  I'm sorry, I don't have a group picture of y'all. We took one last night, but I haven't put it up yet.  Even though our time has been short, I hope and pray that you can say the same is true above about David and I for you guys.  We will ALWAYS remember the impact you (and your families) had on us.  So excited to see what God has in store for y'all next!

4.  Seeing my parents every weekend

Lame-O, I know!  But I'm really going to miss my parents coming to town all of the time!  I know that when we are in Starkville, the odds of them being here are pretty good, but it's been so easy to see my parents whenever I want to when they are in town.  I'm going to miss them when we have to stay in Memphis.  However, my mom did promise they'd come visit.  She also added they might get a hotel room because they didn't know if they could handle the one bathroom deal. 

5.  Strangebrew coffee

 MMMMMmmmmmm.  If you've never tried it, you don't know what I'm talking about.  I fully intend on going to buy a BIG bag of Blueberry Cobbler beans before we move so I can use them in my new coffee pot and grinder.  Notice I say I because, while David loves the smell, he can't stand to drink it.  ONE DAY, I'm going to break him of this terrible habit of not drinking coffee.  One day....

Strangebrew, I will feel like I'm cheating on you every time I drink Starbucks!  However, I'll get my fill every time I come to Starkville.  Until we meet again.....next week! :)

6.  This place---Dudy Noble for the non-baseball fans (gasp):

 

I pretty much could spend any afternoon or night here.  I'm so used to going whenever I want to. It's going to be a change to only go when we're in town.  I love being able to go sit at the game and work on homework to pass the time.  Yes, I've been that nerd who brought my laptop to the game to work on homework.  BUT in my defense, I was a Diamond Girl, and I had to stay there from 2 hours before game time until the last out was recorded.  So, I had a good excuse.  I miss being on the field, but I also really enjoy coming and going when I want to.  I'm truly going to miss the luxury of living in the same town as Dudy Noble.  It holds so many wonderful memories! 

7.  Hearing Cowbells ring randomly everywhere you go

You may recognize the above from this post.  It's my cowbell that I've had practically since birth.  And I love it.  And (gasp) it's not coming with us.  Chill, we'll have our bride and groom cowbells from our wedding, but as of right now, I want my bell to live at the State House in Starkville.  That's my parent's house in Starkville.  I'm going to miss hearing cowbells sound outside whenever MSU is playing and doing well.  After the Egg Bowl, we rang our bells outside to celebrate.  About a minute later, we heard bells ringing back.  While that's fine in Starkville, I'm not sure it's going to fly in Memphis.  My mom informed me that Memphis had a lot of Ole Miss fans the other day.  Dear Santa...make them disappear before I get there!  K...thanks! :)  Just kidding.  But you can bet, OUR house will have maroon and cowbells (though not our "originals").  Maybe someone should buy me the GTHTSUN maroon t-shirt at the Lodge.  That's all it says on it...seriously.

8. The Veranda Blueplate

If you live in Starkville and you've never had this, drop every thing you're doing and go get you a plate.  For $8, down home cooking can be yours!  I. Love. Veranda. Blue. Plate.  I used to live behind the Veranda, and we would go all of the time!  It was just too easy to walk to!  Plus, we had to turn in to get to our apartments so it was hard to pass up whatever the sign said and go eat a turkey sandwich.  I still remember the days Kate and I would go walking and have to resist the urge to stop in and get whatever dessert was listed on the board.  It was tempting to justify the calories because we had just exercised.  I'll miss the Veranda almost as much as I miss Kate.

9. The Chi Omega house

I know I don't live there anymore, but it will always hold a bunch of special memories for me.  From standing on those stairs 6 1/2 years ago meeting my best friends and bridesmaids to many, many, many late nights of laughter!  Those walls, bricks, steps, columns heard it alllll.  I'll never forget "Bennie and the Jets," watching my friend through the window late one night, community showers, messy rooms, late night talks with Anna, sleepovers in Meg Fly's room, chapter, many rush events and long selection nights, trying to figure out how to get a car in the living room with Natalie, porch swinging with Bethany, Rent marathon during finals, man...the list could go on and on.  Sometimes I find myself driving by just to see it.  Yes, the faces have changed. So has the exterior.  I miss seeing Rachel Iupe's car parked in the President spot and Mama Jones reminding us to push the button to exit.  Yes, it's different.  But driving by reminds me of all those fond memories.  I know I'll always have them, but there's something about riding by that just floods my brain.  I'm going to miss being able to do it whenever I miss my friends.  Reunion soon!  

10. My best friend Bethany

 

No seriously, she's my best friend! For some reason, God saw fit to put us back in the same place for a temporary time.  I have to say this will be the MOST bittersweet part of leaving Starkville.  I move on Friday and she moves right after Christmas.  Bethany came home in May to be at my wedding and help with things that needed to be done before.  And for some reason, God was silent to both of us on where to go this semester.  It was so weird and yet fun having her in Starkville for the semester.  It's like God was saying, "you are best friends, I have you going through the same thing at the same time, lean on one another."  We weren't inseparable like we were in college.  We both had things we had to do, and honestly, I feel like God took her 12 hours away so that I would learn to depend on Him and not her.  However, there are just times you need your best friend.  I would think...man, I really need Bethany...oh wait!  She lives down the street! (well not literally, but closer than 12 hours!)  And off we'd go.  To the bookstore, to Strangebrew, to Freds or Dollar Tree.  Anything to get my mind off of what Satan was telling me.  And strangely, I did the same for her.  I'm so thankful God never allowed us to have a pity party at the same time!  Can you imagine how miserable that would have been.  Bethany continues to be my encourager.  I'm so thankful for the extra time we had in the same place.  I'm not sure that we'll ever have it this way again, but it will make for sweeter and sweeter visits every time we get to see one another.  I am so going to miss my friend.  I'm pretty sure, though there have been no tears yet, leaving Bethany will be the source of many.  I'm so thankful for such a wonderful friend who knows me inside and out!

Well, with that I guess I bid you adieu from Starkville.  It's been a wonderful 6 1/2 years, and I'm going to miss it dearly, BUT I know that God has exciting things in store for us.  I also know I'll be back frequently.  Next time I write, I guess we'll be in Memphis. Don't worry, I plan to keep the blog updated!  I won't forget about you!