my favorite sandwich recipe!

this is my favorite veggie sandwich that i make. it's super simple but it's so so good.
and with the new year right around the corner this is a super healthy lunch or dinner that will help take off the holiday pounds some of us may have put on! 

see? literally takes 5 minutes to make. i've gotten veggie sandwiches at restaurants all over the country but i have to say this homemade one is my fav!

have you ever put chips on a sandwich before? my mom used to do that when we were little. mostly potato chips which would be good on this sandwich too. guess i picked it up from her!

xo 

the little things

pais played with play-doh for the first time a few days ago. 

not sure why i waited so long to let her.
i guess i was afraid she would try to shove it all in her mouth. 

thankfully she didn't try to eat it but she was very hesitant at first. 

she's kind of picky about textures. 

daddy to the rescue! once he showed her she could build a snow man or an elephant she was hooked. 

yay for play-doh! and crazy faces.

i love how kids find so much joy in the littlest things!

xo

no. sequins. allowed.

1, 2 and 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

i'm pretty sure noah and i haven't celebrated new years eve for the past 3 years. 

which coincidentally is how long our child has been alive. {wink.}

we figured since we stay up till midnight most nights anyways

 why not throw a bash at our house this year? 

heres the catch. no. sequins. allowed.

not that i mind getting all dressed up but i would much rather hang out 

in a mickey mouse sweatshirt all night. holla!

we're all trading in our pumps, dresses and lipstick for slippers, sweats and chapstick. 

sounds like a mighty fine time to me. 

are you doing anything fun for new years? 

before you go, indulge in a chuckle at my #failed attempt to do a fashion post. 

1. i chopped my head off 2. pais ran in the photo 3. outlet and 4. the wall color is just terrible for this.

maybe i should get a tripod and repaint my whole house? 

xo 

sweet surprises

once i got this camera i was pretty sure christmas {between me and the hubs} was over
and i was totally fine with that. 

so when he pulled this beauty out of no where on christmas day i was speechless screaming. 

as you can see i'm more of a costume jewelry girl then a fine jewelry collector. 

i have a bad rep of losing expensive jewelry {like my wedding ring} all. the. time. 

noah knows never to buy me expensive jewlery. it's not so much my style anyways. 

this gorgeous mirrored jewelry stand is the perfect place to store all my clunky

cheap-o jewlery. and i love it.

thank you noah. you're the best gift giver. 

did you get any fun surprises for christmas this year? 

xo 

christmas overload

i know almost every blog is going to be swamped with christmas photos today so i figured,

i should totally join in! {wink.}

we had a super fantastic christmas and i hope you did too!!! 

the whole weekend was just wonderful! 

-pais was so into opening her presents and playing with her new toys. 

-we had lots of special time with family and friends. 

-and our church put on the best christmas eve service we've ever done! so many people came to know Jesus for the first time. yew!

i know christmas is over but check out this balarious video my brother and his co-workers made. he works in the film industry so it's a good one. 

{my bro is the one in the red shirt in this frozen frame.}

xo 

christmas tidings

from our family to yours, 

hope you all have the best christmas evaaa! 

celebrate family, friends, food and gifts but most of all celebrate Jesus. 

xo 

all wrapped up

sooo i really appreciate well wrapped gifts.

 don't get me wrong, i appreciate gifts that aren't wrapped well too {ahem, husband}.

but when i get a gift that clearly took a lot of time and effort to wrap i really admire it.

my mom is one of the best gift wrappers ever! i never want to open her packages because they look so pretty. 

would you believe this is the first year i've put a lot into my wrapping? i don't know what i was doing all the years past! i think it's just called lazy. ha.  

i had so much fun wrapping all these gifts this year and adding some special touches.

here are just a few of my favs! 

are you taking the time to wrap gifts in a special way this year? 

if not i really don't blame ya. my husband walked in last night and said,

 "are you sure you want to put all this time and effort into wrapping these?

they look so nice but it all get's ripped off in 5 seconds." 

yeah, he's totally right. i'm sure my 5yr. old nephew won't be impressed with this tedious packaging.

que sera sera.

xo 

for"gift"ness

                           {image}

i love my church. this past weekend our pastor {who also happens to be my pops} taught an amazing message called "forgiftness".

it was all about how forgiveness is the most precious gift you could give and receive this holiday season. 

{image}


"one of the things God is great at is forgetting. one of the things people are terrible at is forgetting."

-michael cameneti 

we have been forgiven of so much. so why is it so hard for us to return this gift to others? 

this holiday season let's decide to let the past be the past. to forgive ourselves. forgive each other {including family!} .and let ourselves out of the prison of un-forgiveness, offense and bitterness.

give the gift of forgiveness!



God's mercies are new every morning. and ours should be too!

happy wednesday,

xo

{matthew 18:21-35, hebrews 10:16-17, lamentations 3:23}

blue button show

i'm trying to learn the ropes of my new camera. even though i have no clue what i'm doing it doesn't seem that hard to take a good picture. which clearly speaks to the quality of a canon camera and not my picture taking ability. {wink}

last night the girls from the blue button came over and we had a private show at our home.

it. was. amazing.

 i seriously want to buy everything they have. it's so hard to only pick a few things!

{why yes, i do have on a mickey and minnie mouse sweatshirt. thanks for noticing.}

loved spending the evening with good friends, having great laughs and getting some brilliant accessories. 

head over to the blue button store and get some goodies for yourself! you will love them!

and thanks to my friend heather for taking these photos at the show. 

happy tuesday! 

xo 

my christmas present

ahhhh. i feel as if a giant anvil has been lifted off my shoulders. i am happy to say that over the weekend i completely finished my christmas shopping! 

paisley will have gifts to open christmas morning. thank ya jesus. 

are you almost finished? you still have 6 days to wrap it up! {no pun intended.}

so i have to share something so so exciting with you! 

no, i'm not pregnant. 

my super awesome husband got me this for christmas! eeeeeeepp!!!

if you remember this post you know i wanted this camera really bad. he gave it to me a week before christmas so i could enjoy taking pictures with it through all the festivities! isn't that lovely? 

he's the best. 

happy monday! 

xo 

our week in review

this was a pretty eventful week.

1. i had long hair.

2. pais thought the dog in old navy was real.

3. i almost peed my pants on the way to the salon.

4. i have short hair.

5. i like my short hair.

6. i had a carrot, apple and orange juice that was yummerz.

7. pais and i enjoyed our church kids christmas program.

8. pais tried to get out of my arms and on that stage all night.

9. i shopped in floral tights that kind of looked like i had tattoos all over my legs. needless to say i received lots of "stares". 

chopping my hair off was the highlight of this week! i'm so glad i did it and if anyone else is contemplating it i say do it! 

now on to the weekend! do you have anything fun planned? 

xo 

9 days!?

seriously?


9 days till christmas? what have i been doing? i don't have one single gift for paisley yet!

wow. i just started to sweat.

{photo c/o michael cameneti}

well, today should be fun. i'm going christmas shopping with my momma and my baby. 

{i still like to call her a baby even though she is clearly a toddler. i'm not giving in to the fact that she's growing up. never.} 

are you all prepared for christmas? if so can you come help me? i think i'm going to start hyperventilating any second. 

paper bag please!

xo 

all i want for christmas+more hair pics

am i the only one who gets really happy/exited about makeup? no? you do too?! oh good. that's why we're friends! 

i think i could get all makeup for christmas, my birthday and anniversary and be a very happy camper. i may be a little obsessed. 

is their one gift you would love to get for christmas?

oh and here's a few more pics of my new hair dooooo

happy wednesday! 

xo 

me {minus ten inches}

alright people! the wait is over. here is my journey through a good ole' hair chopping.

big thanks to my mom for coming with me to the salon being my moral support and taking all these pics! you're the best!

{isn't my mom a hottie? ow ow!}

it was such a fun experience. i love love love how it turned out. my hairdresser katie did an amazing job and i couldn't be more happy!

thanks katie!!!

i'm already thinking about when i can cut it shorter! 

xo