december

december was busy. the first weekend we celebrated my dads best friends birthday out at their ranch. unfortunately, i have no pictures. we then decorated for christmas and justin worked on the table.

the next weekend we celebrated tatertots 1st birthday at his house. jennifer did a fabulous job and it was so fun. after the party we went to lights in the heights with some friends and i will definitely be going back year after year.

this wasn't at his birthday but he was the birthday boy!

the weekend before christmas justin flew to california and drove back with my sister and all her belongings. what a trooper. he then went to dallas to watch lake travis win their 5th straight state championship. his brother was with us for a week before christmas and it was so fun.

christmas was fabulous this year. justins entire family came in town and stayed at our house on the 23rd. we had christmas dinner and opened presents. the next morning we had some PW homemade cinnamon rolls and played with the girls new toys. we had a contest to see who could make the tallest tree with the whipped cream which the girls turned into a little whipped cream fight. (i was in the middle of cooking and had my new apron on from mandell)

on the 24th everyone left but his parents and brother and we went to christmas eve service at church and then had dinner at my parents. sunday morning we celebrated with both families and then justins family left. we then went to my parents for the rest of the day. it was a great time with family and celebrating the birth of Jesus!

up next... a 2011 recap??

treasured table

a couple months ago justin and i were looking for a dining room table. the one we had was great but it was a tall table and only seated 4 people. we knew his family was coming for Christmas so we thought it was the time to buy a table to fit at least 6 people. i had my eye on a few tables and they were so expensive but i wanted them all combined into one. we went to warrenton with some friends and looked for tables but i didn't find anything i fell in love with. when we got back justin suggested he would make me a table. (just a sidenote, he is fabulous at making stuff. he has made so many things and i love all of it.) the next day he came home with everything he needed to make the table. well, life got busy and he put it on hold until a couple weeks ago.

everytime he was working on it i was falling in love with it and i am truly obsessed with it. he put so much detail into it and i love it all. the color. the benches. everything. i am so proud of him and so thankful for the table. many meals will be eaten and memories will be made on this fabulous table.

i plan on getting 2 end chairs when i find some ones i like. :)

here are a few pictures. it's really hard to take a picture of it in the dining room with the lighting and the stain....

thanks babe, i love it!

give thanks.

Thanksgiving 2011 was fabulous. we have so much to be thankful for and we are so very blessed. last sunday, justin and i drove to victoria to pick up our twin nieces. they hung out with justin on monday while i was at work. they must have played hard all day because they slept the entire way to austin. we took them to austin where we met up with their parents, my inlaws, and my brother in law. we ate a lot, laughed, rode the scooters around the neighborhood with the girls (talk about tiring), made a gingerbread house, went to the park multiple times, and made memories. thursday morning we came back to sugar land and had thanksgiving lunch with my family. i am so glad we were able to squeeze in time with both families. it truly is a blessing justin's parents are only 160 miles away.

they don't go anywhere without their cowboy boots. :)

she took a 2 hour nap in my lap and i was soaking in every minute of it.

 friday morning, justin and my dad went hunting and i hung out with my mom and sisters all day. i love when we are all home together! on saturday, justin and i spent all day making our house full of Christmas spirit. i am in love with our tree and all our decorations. justin has a few more trees to wrap outside (he's a little behind this year) and i can't wait to turn on all the lights. did i mention we are hosting all of justin's family for Christmas? 12 people will be here for Christmas dinner at our house.. needless to say my to do list is 3 miles long.

i will leave you with a picture of justin and i and the sunset. i love it! have a fabulous week!

going to the chapel...

and my best friend is getting married! mandell and i have been the best of friends since 6th grade. in college, we talked almost everyday if not every other day. we have dreamed about our weddings and being in each others weddings for so long. she planned my bachelorette party and did so much for me when i got married and i can't wait to definitely return the favor. we have talked about the day we were both married and had kids running around playing together. we have talked about every detail of our weddings and i am almost positive mandell already has her entire wedding planned within like 2 days. i knew this day was coming soon and i am so excited it is finally here!

here's a walk down memory lane from the last few years of us together... (i would love to get to some pictures from high school but they are on a different computer)

and here we are last night after she got home from rockport....with some new bling on her finger....and an engagement isn't complete without some "i do" cupcakes from sprinkles.

and just so everyone can know who the Urbanovsky's will be.. here's a few pictures of the cute couple.

Congratulations!!!! I can't wait for all the festivities to begin and to stand next to you on the most fabulous day of your life! LOVE YOU!

it's FINALLY november!

i am SO excited for the upcoming holidays. i would love to start decorating for Christmas but Justin is so against it so I have to wait until November 25. Good thing that is only 15 days away... what have we been up to? Here's some randomness....

• I went to California to visit my sister with my mom and other sister. It was fabulous. All we did was eat and drink but I wouldn't have it any other way. The weather was great and I love spending time with them. Unfortunately, we ony took about 4 pictures all weekend.

• I have been seeing a lot of posts about what everyone is thankful for this year. We are so blessed and thankful for so many things.
• Last night, I got to see my favorite 10 month old and hug on Tate. He is so fun and has such a personality. Lucky for me, I get to see him again tomorrow.

• Well, we have a busy weekend ahead. I am off tomorrow for Veterans Day and Justin is going hunting this weekend. On Saturday I am going with my bff in the whole wide world to the Nutcracker Market. Hopefully I can take a picture or two and blog about it. We shall see. Happy Veterans Day and have a fabulous weekend!

open cabinets

well, it's been a while. and after hearing some grief (from probably the only 2 people who read this) i decided to write a post.

how do you feel about open cabinets? on saturday, in the middle of UT commercial breaks and Justin yelling as loud as possible at the tv, I had an itch. I wanted to do something in the kitchen with our cabinets. So, I got out the screw driver and started taking the cabinet doors off. once Justin realized what I was doing he finished taking the other cabinet doors off for me (he took off 3 doors in about half the time I took off one.) I decided I would leave them off and see what i think about them for a few weeks. so far, we both like them. it opens up the kitchen and makes the kitchen seem brighter. i had to do some organizing and move all my 50 random coffee mugs (seriously, i don't even drink coffee) to other cabinets that still had doors on them. i didn't take a picture because i haven't finished organizing (i got sidetracked, surprise) but once i do maybe i will take a picture - in 3 months from now when i post another blog.

via

happy monday! 

slacker.

i am a slacker. a blog slacker that is. we are actually pretty boring people therefore i don't have much to write about. our lives consist of work and play but not much in between. i didn't think anyone actually read the blog until my best friend told me it "bothers" her that i don't post much. so, here's to you mandell! she said i have a new house and i should be posting pictures and updates on the house. so here's a little brain dump of what has been going on...

• first of all, i would maybe post more if i had a pretty blog. maybe today i will sit down and figure out how to get a prettier little layout. any volunteers to help???
• we are about to get the outside of our house repainted. before that happens justin is replacing all the wood and even though the wood isn't painted yet it already looks a million times better. i can't wait to see the end results.

• a couple weeks ago we went to south texas to a friends ranch. it was a quick trip but a wonderful little spur of the moment getaway. justin had to do some irrigation work on the ranch so i decided last minute to go with him. so glad i did.

• we celebrated our 3 year anniversary last week. wow, time flies!!! we went to dinner and then stopped to get some petit fours for a little snack then went to see lincoln lawyer-- wonderful movie!

• i got to see my favorite little 6 month old boy on sunday and i couldn't put him down. love him so much.

• after we get the outside of our house repainted we are moving along to the bathroom. we are going to move out of our bedroom and into one of our guest bedrooms while we completely gut and rebuild our bathroom. we bought the house knowing we were going to do this. it might be a lengthy process but i am pretty excited about it. maybe i will post day by day updates or something? probably not. but i will definately keep the little blog updated with pictures and such.
• i guess that is enough updates for one day. quick shoutout to the Lierman's... happy 3rd anniversary! have a wonderful day celebrating!

life as we know it

spring is always so busy. we already have plans every.single.weekend for the month of april. are you serious? justin is super busy at work and i feel like i am going nonstop except these past 2 days. monday and tuesday after work i came home and got lazy. i sat down and watched tv until it was time for dinner. i am not a tv person but for some reason i felt the need to get a little tv time in. maybe because i know april is consumed with numerous activities? we have 5 birthdays to celebrate in april including justin's 25th which happens to fall on a saturday. all he wants to do? go fishing. easy enough for me.

i saw this earlier today and want it to find a place in my home. if i can find time maybe i will make one? love it and love all of emily's crafty ideas.

i made a P last week out of moss just like they have in pottery barn. it was super easy and about 5.00. pottery barn is crazy to think i would pay 79.00 for one letter.

speaking of pottery barn, anyone seen their new catalog? i need EVERY drink dispenser they have for all my unplanned parties i want to have. love them all.

i want the entire aisle of target with all their bright colored party and outdoor dinner party accesories.

i have been crossing movies off my list left and right. saw the kings speech and how do you know over the weekend. kings speech- excellent. how do you know- boring. and im so sad to say it was boring because i love reese witherspoon and all her movies. speaking of reese, can't wait to see and hear all about her wedding.

last week i cut about 5 inches off my hair. i love it. i feel so refreshed and ready to tackle the 100 degree summer weather. maybe ill take a picture soon. or maybe after this weekend-- we have a wedding to go to.

okay this post is all over the place. happy wednesday!

random tuesday.

1. so happy brad picked emily last night! i hope they work out and he is so so in love with her. precious. i might go hang out in austin to stalk them and try to find them and be best friends.

2. justin spent all sunday afternoon working in the yard. he planted some new spring flowers and cut down lots of limbs to clean up the trees. our backyard isn't the prettiest right now but eventually we will get it where we want it. i have to keep telling myself babysteps... anyways in order to spruce up the back yard i plan on making this as a fun little touch... justin said the squirrels will destroy it but i will give it a try.

via

3. the fighter comes out at redbox today. i plan on getting it as soon as i get off work for a little movie date tonight. heard it is fabulous.

4. i need some new candles around the house. any suggestions?

5. we saw lady antebellum at the rodeo on friday. great concert. love them. i thought she looked awful.



hillary at the concert-- looked awful.

we are seeing zac brown band this thursday and i am looking forward to it.

6.  the royal wedding is coming up in a few weeks. i can't wait to watch it and see all the fabulous details. im super jealous that my parents will be in London the SAME weekend as the royal wedding. maybe they will catch a glimpse of something having to do with the wedding?

7. if you read this far-- you are my best friend. we are going to repaint our bedroom. any color suggestions? i think i want something close to a blueish gray color. our comforter is white with a brown dresser and a linen headboard.

well i guess that is all. happy tuesday to all 5 of my readers! lots of love. 

cowtown half

i am a week behind but last weekend my mom and i went to fort worth to hang out with katie for the weekend. the main event was the cowtown half that all 3 of us ran together. it was SO fun. we ate lots of good food (pasta), went to the fort worth zoo, and went and saw just go with it. precious precious movie. loved it! sunday morning we woke up bright and early and headed to the starting line. we were there about 30 minutes early and waited in line and it was such a fun experience. we all 3 finished within 10 minutes of each other and can't wait to do another one.

sponsored by miller lite...

on another note, justin was in haiti last week. he didn't get to see me run the half marathon but he did call after to make sure i had crossed the finish line. last week went by so slow with him being gone. i am so happy he is home safely and they had a very productive and fun trip. he loves haiti and comes back more in love with it everytime he goes. here is a picture of him and some of the precious little girls at a devo. the second pictures is justin, my dad, and a church friend carrying earthbags to build a house.

happy monday! can't wait for this weekend-- katie is coming in town and we are going to the rodeo! one of the great things about houston in the month of march.