…It’s a New Year!

After a week and lots TONS of cleaning! We had our first house guests… granted we only had plastic-ware for them to eat off of, nothing for them to sleep on, and oh yeah… only 2 bar stools for them to sit on. But the Jamies did not mind!

We had a fantastic weekend sans-furniture!

NYE

(so what if it was belated… shhh don’t tell!)

We went out to eat at an AMAZING seafood restaurant in downtown Charleston called Hyman. It has been featured in Southern Living, The New York Times, and Life, just to name a few. It has also been visited by countless celebrities… we (well I say we, but Jamie Michelle probably knew, having eaten there before) had NO idea!

Anyway on every Table, they have name plates (sometimes 2 or 3 deep) saying who (and sometimes it’s more than one person—whole teams!!) has eaten there in the past…

Michael Bolton

The Beach Boys

Vanilla Ice

After dinner we rang in the new year at a place called Club Light… only a block over, in the downtown area.

 

Then home for the remainder of the evening :)

Self explanatory!

               BLING!!!                               She loves me!… Ok, FINE-we love each other!

Cooking Breakfast Casserole for the next morning… at 4:00 am

Saturday

Jamie and I went to run errands after we ate and lounged for a while… we let the boys watch football, and we went out to be MEN! We went to LOWE’S!!!!

We bought a new fan for the living room, a new piston (the black thing that allows the glass door not to slam shut), light bulbs, AND had new keys made for the house. Then we went to Jamie’s aunt Phyllis’ house and borrowed her ladder so that the boys could do work son!

Sunday

We went out to a movie (How Do You Know) then came home for a home cooked meal… Most of the world calls it Kings Ranch Casserole… but I more lovingly call it Beth Moore (because I discovered it on her blog)

Then we played Rummikub (you should make sure you know the rules before you start!)

Monday

Justin had to go to work :( so Jamie and Jamie D. and I (and all the dogs) decided to move the camp-in to the living room and be lazy…

  It was a great distraction from the fact that we have no furniture in our house yet! I am super glad that they came!!!!! Shortly after they left, the movers called to confirm that they are indeed coming on the 6th!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!! Just till Thursday ;)
…Stay tuned for more pictures of the house!

…Resolutions

Just a quickie… This year’s resolution is that I am going to try to do at least one blog per week… you heard it! 52 lovely posts from me this year… I know you are SOOO excited!

 

Have a great New Years! Be Safe!

…Here’s Hopin’

…It’s time to Work/Nothing is working right!

Today was Justin’s first day of work. (Doesn’t he look good!)

I got up like the good wife, and made him lunch (just cause we are sweet rookies and we don’t know if he is able to eat on the ship or how that works)

We didn’t just have the paper bags on hand they were doggie bags from dinner the night before… I’m not THAT good (yet)
So Justin only spent one hour at work, and doesn't have to go back till Monday, (which is great since the Jamies are coming this weekend!), then came home changed and we played a bit of military base roulette, in search of the proper Tricare-ing
  To make a VERY long story shorter… make sure you bring your WHOLE life with you to get Tricare… AND I couldn’t be more serious! You’ll need ALL forms of ID, blood type, and possibly a lock of your dead grandfather’s hair… Then you will have to go back to the house for your dog’s permission and urine sample and then you can get your Military ID and get your Tricare signed up for MAYBE-- IF you are lucky… because it doesn’t go in the system (DEERS) in the same day, SOOOO you really are supposed to wait at least 24 hours (they are more comfortable with 42) THEN you can go to Tricare and set up… “your cards will be in the mail thank you”. Oh and “no ma’am we don’t handle dental, you’ll have to handle that online.” But don’t worry… being that today is the 29th of DECEMBER! and there’s only one more work day this YEAR, people were a bit more accommodating, and we are set.
  Also in the not so fun news... the movers have not made it yet (they should have been here today), and will most likely not be here till the 6th AT BEST and probably the 13th with our things! Apparently that was their plan all along (we had no idea!) and so here we sit... in an empty house... but oh well nothing we can do but wait.

  The cable guy is coming to fix his screw up tomorrow--there’s a satellite right outside the master bedroom… 2 options- flat cable, or drill a hole in the wall, (I figured the landlord would NEVER say yes to the hole so we opted for the flat cable) FLAT CABLE WAS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER! It caused the window to not be able to close (for 3 days) and a HUGE COLD draft to come in! So we called the Landlord and asked if the drilling would be an option and amazingly enough she said yes! So he will fix it and it will be all better tomorrow! That and the internet he messed up in the process…

Everything is fine-really!!... just inconvenient, but we are living much better than a lot of people, so we are blessed! Thanks for letting me vent… stay tuned we have tons of adventures coming soon!

…I’ve been a Busy Bee

I mean I don’t even Know where to begin! OK who are we kidding… it’s LIST time!!! YAY!

…when last you read, I had just begun the packing process… since then… I HAVE…

• Packed upwards of 90 boxes! (Literally EVERYTHING but a weeks worth of clothes and toiletries for each of us)

• Managed our financial situation from 4 separate checking accounts to 2 joint checking and one savings account! AND paid all the bills ON TIME… as well as consolidated our debt so that we can have it paid off by the end of the year! (thank the LORD!)
• Refinished 3 pieces of furniture that will be taken on the move.

Before:

 

After: (forgot a before of the hutch… sorry) Maggle looks like a little Queen on her throne hahaha!

• Done all the Christmas shopping (and wrapping) on a budget ;) mind you… for both side of the family (20 people!)… We made our list in October! (No pictures cause Santa hasn’t come yet)
• This past Friday was my last day at Evans Law Firm… My time there was such a blessing! They were fantastic!!!!
• This week I have done some final touches, and gotten the ducks in a row, readied Rusty for the long haul ahead and said a few good byes… Starting tomorrow its HIGH GEAR time!

SCHEDULE

15th: Driving to Eufaula (just me)

16th: Driving to NJ (Justin’s Parents too)…we are leaving between 12 and 2 AM!

17th: Watching GRADUATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Driving to Charleston (With Justin now :)!!!!!!!)

18th: House hunt (already set up appointments, we’re renting) Driving to Eufaula.

19th: Christmas in Eufaula. Driving back to Helena.

20th: Emptying Justin’s storage unit back to Helena (already reserved U-Haul) Christmas in Helena.

21st: Christmas in Homewood.

22nd: Military Movers coming to pick up things (delivering on the 29th)

23rd: Moving! (pretty sure we’re leaving early… still figuring that out, probably have to get there during business hours for lease etc.)

 

WHEW… I’m tired just looking at it! But it’s going to be FUN and such a thrill to have Justin back! So I don’t even care how tired and busy we are! We will be in our own home for our very first Christmas…with nothing but an air mattress!… (and our dog hahaha) And we couldn’t be happier about it! That’s all we want and more than we need, we are so blessed!!!!

Merry Christmas!

Just in case I’m not back before then ;)

…It’s been 2 months.

Justin and I got married 2 months ago today! Sadly he is not here with me to celebrate this however… he did write me TWO letters that I received today! I got my first one on the 4th and then 2 today…
What’s that? You want an update? OK…
The first letter was a little sad, he said it was pretty hard and that they yell at him to get up at 5 am, only to have to go out in the 40 degree Cape May weather in shorts and t-shirts! However the next letters were on a much better note… he has taken on some extra responsibility as the co-organizer of the recruit’s watch schedule. He also said that he is getting more used to the schedule, and weather. However… despite the efforts of both his mother and I, he had yet to get any of our letters :( (well as of the 7th) mail is SUPER SLOW!
We are closing in on the amount of time he will be away, and I am packing our things for the big move… to who knows where.

I will post pictures of the painting projects later.
Another reason that today was FANTASTIC… we got our wedding photo proofs!
We have almost 500 pictures and I get to go through them all and pick out favorites for our book… but I will probably wait for Justin to get home to make final decisions. If you haven’t seen April’s work at Once in Every Life, you absolutely should. She does GREAT work and is SO fun to work with.

That’s probably all for now… Happy 2 months to Us! What a great day!!

…I basically LOVE this magazine!

If you don’t read Real Simple you totally should! I LOVE it! There are TONS of simple solutions to organize and “pretty up” your whole life. This post will lay out some of my favorites from the recent issues…
1. Do you save all your ticket stubs from dates and girls night out etc.? Do you know what to do with them??? I sure don’t… Until now.

This Ticket Stub Diary will keep all your mementos in order… for only $10!

2.  How many surge protectors do you have lying about because you can only use half of the plugs on it… you know with the iHome and camera charger etc. etc.

Well you should pick up one of these… Socket Sense only $19.99

3. Love personalized cards, stationary, and calendars?

Shop at MINTED.com and use a discount on your order (Real) special for Real Simple readers.

4. Have a ton of t-shirts you only keep for the memory?

Make them into a quilt so you can really appreciate them! Can’t sew/don’t want to?? Send your collection into Campus Quilt…

5. For the women… Hate rumaging through your makeup bag for the 1000s of different eye shadows you use?

Organize them in this… for less than $30! You can pick your color too!!!

These are just a few of my favorite items… these along with the millions of organization solutions… you can’t go wrong! My OCD type A LOVES this!!!

…I’m craving these dresses.

Ok I don’t know if you have ever heard of this website… but if you have just humor me.

Rent the Runway
Ok so here’s the deal… you go to this website… and sign up (yes you have to log in… but it’s worth it!) And you can RENT dresses straight from designers in New York… for a mere fraction of what it’s worth!
Sweet Jamie told me about this… and then a week later I read about it in Real Simple Magazine… It’s awesome!
Here’s an example…

How much would you LOVE to look like this at your next big event?! Well guess what from RTR, you can!!! For the low low price of $135!!! That’s right, less than $200 for an entire outfit that is worth $1090!
So how does it work?

• You tell them your size
  • and they send you 2 dresses (just to make sure it fits)
• You tell them the day of your event
  • and they send it 2-3 days in advance
• You’re having RED WINE?
  • don’t worry you can get $5 insurance to cover your butt ;)
• Event over? You pack it up and send it back…
  • WITH THE INCLUDED RETURN SHIPPING!

You cannot go wrong! This will allow you to look like you have spent a fortune on yourself, and really you have spent less than you would at a local department store. AND let’s be honest, how many times would you EVER wear it again?!
Get shopping!