Catching Up with Pictures: Christmas Decor and Josh Graduates

We have had so much going on that I haven't had the time to sit down and blog about it. Well here it all is!!

Josh graduated!!

Josh and I meet in class at Virginia Tech. It was fun to have him at graduation with me (I work graduation because I work for the school). I am really proud of him and ready to move on to our new life together but I don't want him to go! 

Our friend Justin Tanner. He got his PhD in Biological Sciences.

I couldn't get him to pose on stage!!

Walking into Cassell. He was right on the end in the front row.

That's him!!

In line to walk out. Talking to his Northern Virginia Army friend

Christmas Stuff!! I didn't get too Christmas-y this year. I had to sort through the Christmas stuff to get it ready to move. I set up my Peanuts Christmas stuff and that was it!

Me in the mirror looking hot in my sweats!

A little Hokie Snowman! 

I didn't craft too much! I just didn't have time but I made cute & simple ornaments using my Cricut.

I cut out letters with my cricut, carefully modge-podged the letters on, stuffed the ornaments with crinkle paper and then put on a loop of ribbon. I think that they turned out pretty cute.

Moving Day

This is a lame no picture post. I sat down to blog while the movers are here, I got my camera out of my purse to get some pictures to post and then the movers asked me question and I put the camera down somewhere. I have piles of junk everywhere for the movers and then piles of stuff that I don't want moved with this move. So here's a quick run down of what's up with us. I will have more detailed posts soon!

• Got engaged to Josh! Have that post written up but I need my camera so I can post pictures of the rock.
• We are no longer buying the house in Deridder. The bank apprasial came back more than $10K under the contract price. The buyers wouldn't move on the price and we aren't interested in paying cash for something that's not even worth that much! We do not know where we are going to live. We are leaving at the end of this week to get Josh to Fort Polk and will spend the week finding somewhere to live!
• We had a fun Christmas in Virginia with Josh's family. I got to meet more of his family and hang out with the rest of them. I like his family.
• Movers are here to pack up our stuff. Josh will come live with me until we leave to take him to Louisiana.

I am hanging out today with the movers and once I find the camera I will write up some more posts!

LAME POST UPDATED!! I left the camera in the kitchen and Windell, the mover brought it to me.

Eat Your Words

Credit: Just Noey on ETSY

Four Eco-Friendly Holiday Party Ideas

I have been thinking about ways to make my holiday parties more eco-friendly. Here are some ideas that I thought up!

1. Sending an electronic invitation can save you time, money and be easy on the environment.  I love using evites.com. They a lot of cute themes and even the option to customize the look of the invite.  Evites allow your guests to easily RSVP and leave comments for you to see. Some electronic  invite websites also give you the option to assign guests things to bring or to sign up for food items to bring.  My favorite feature of the site is how the site will tally up how many maybe's, yes and no's you have for attendance. It saves so much time when trying to figure out how much I need to buy of everything.

evite.com

2. Stay away from cans and multiple bottles by serving your party beverages in pretty pitchers and classy beverage dispensers. You could serve ice water in a beverage dispenser and float lemon and orange slices in it instead of setting out cases of plastic water bottles. This will also save you time on your party clean up! I really want a pretty glass dispenser like the one below. It's a good idea to have plenty of non-alcholoic beverages available at your party so you and your guets don't get in trouble! You can serve warm apple cider directly from the stove top or put cider in a crock pot to keep it warm.

Credit: Classic Hostess

3.Bring out your fancy stuff! Do you have tablecloths and fine china that are collecting dust in the closet? Break them out instead of purchasing disposable plates and tablecloths.  Running a load of laundry or dishes uses up a lot fewer resources than a couple of packages of disposable party supplies.  Are you lacking in fancy table linens and dishes? During the holiday season Target and Wal-Mart sell simple white dishes in large qualities. It’s a little investment but then you won’t need to buy paper again! If you don’t have a tablecloth, do you have a pretty sheet or large piece of fabric you could use? I used a Wal-Mart brown sheet as a tablecloth at my friend Holly's baby shower. It was a twin sized sheet and worked out great!

4.Giving your guests a favor when leaving the party is a nice touch.  Useful favors are the best favors. Cute reusable shopping bags are everywhere these days! Present them to your guests rolled up and tied with ribbon.  White Elephant gifts are a good way to reuse unwanted junk and can provide the entertainment for your party!

Credit: Greenfeet.com

Idaho Thanksgiving Trip

Credit: Google Images

 

Josh and I are off to go visit our families in Idaho this week. We are starting off the trip by flying into Boise. We will spend a couple of days hanging out with my family. On Tuesday we will fly up to Spokane, WA where Josh's parents will pick us up and take us to Northern Idaho where we will spend Thanksgiving. This will be a big meet the family trip for both of us! I will take a lot of pictures and hopefully have tons of exciting blog posts! 

Wild Wednesday and I am taking a break!!

Hi! I stayed home from work today because I had a headache and a gross stomach all day. I did a little bit of work on my final paper for the semester. I looked over my take home exam for my quantitative methods class and that about made me throw up again!
I got to get down to business so I can get my work-work, school work and house work done so I can go to Idaho next week!

My Sister is Famous! Sweet Valley Cookie

Credit: Treasure Valley 365

Credit: Treasure Valley 365

My sister Heidi's new cookie store was featured on the blog 365 Treasure Valley TREASURES. The pictures above are from the 365 Treasure Valley blog. I haven't seen the store yet! Josh and I will get to see it on our Thanksgiving visit. I am looking forward to lots of coffee and lots of cookies.The store is in Eagle, Idaho. Heidi said that she wants to a blog sponsor. That means  a big cookie giveaway is coming up! Check out Sweet Valley Cookies website to start thinking about what kind of cookies you will want!