No Place Like Home for the Holidays...

It's that time of year again! Time to share the holiday decorations over at my place. Which, it's about time because they've been up since the beginning of November. And, no. I'm not sorry. Ha! 

It pretty much all started with the purchase of a tree and went downhill from there. Blame it on the tree, seriously. 

This is the outside. I actually put out a few lights this year! It's hard because, obviously, I have very little landscaping. 

I always put the wreaths and candles on the windows. They just give my place a homey feel that I can't get enough of. I also like the way they look from the inside. 

I added this fun "R" to my wreath. I found it at Kirkland's last year and pretty much love it! 

Here is my front room. I don't do a lot to this side of the room, but I did add some of my favorite wreaths to the hutch. 

I'm this corner, I didn't add much either besides some berries in the vase. 

But, the other side of the room? 

I went crazy. Ha! 

I'm in LOVE with the leopard ribbon I found this year! 

I added some garland and some deer to the top of this cabinet. And, I already had the monogram, I just painted it a fun shade of red and added the leopard ribbon! 

The fun stockings are from Kirklands, too!

Here's the view from the front room into the rest of the house...

I decked out this little shelf...

And I made my chalkboard a little more festive, too! 

The kitchen decorating is kind of subdued. 

But, I did add some garland and lights to my baker's rack. 

And, last, we have the den. 

I had those red lamps in storage and brought them down for winter. They're kind of fun and festive, I think. 

I added this second tree this year because I found a great deal on it at Walmart. 

And here's the other side of the room. 

Another Kirkland's find! I bought this elf garland in October, ha! 

I made these fun letters this year with some cardboard letters from JoAnn's and paint! The middle one is wreath from the dollar section at Target! 

Okay, I think that's all. I had so much fun decking my halls this year! 

Now, this little doodlebug and I are about to plop down on that comfy couch and watch Christmas Vacation in our decked out den! :) 

iPhone 6, I love you.

Guys, I traded in my rusty old iPhone 4S yesterday for an iPhone 6 and I am in LOVE! It pretty much does all the same things, it just does them faster and the pictures are so much clearer! Since we kept Ryan Grace for a little while this morning, I decided to test it out...

Riding along in her cozy coupe! 

Finley photo-bombed all three of those! Silly dog...

She's bustin' out of her pants! Ha! 

She did NOT enjoy this! 

Love that sweet little baby.

The pictures are super, super clear! They just come out fuzzy when I blog from my phone. I know it's not the best, but it's so convenient! 

There's been a lot going on and my goal is to take some pictures at school this week so I can do some blog posts over the holidays. We'll see if it happens. I'll also be back soon to share my Christmas decorations. You know, the ones that have been out since November 1st. I am fully aware that I have become the lamest blogger ever. But, when I have free time at night, you better believe I'm watching Gossip Girl on Netflix, not downloading pictures :) 

Until next time....

Halloween!

*Posting twice tonight, so be sure to scroll down and see my post below about our new school playground!

I just wanted to share a couple Halloween related things because time is passing by, y'all! I may have spent my evening putting up Christmas decorations. And, I am not ashamed! I love Christmas and I love Christmas decorations and I couldn't wait any longer. I do still have a pumpkin on my porch, though. Don't want the neighbors to think I'm too crazy. I'll just keep my little secret hidden inside for another week or two... ha! 

Anywayyyyyy....

Halloween. That's what I came here to talk about it. I got Finley a shark costume this year. And I loved it. 

But then, I put her in her cow costume from last year and I added a tutu that I found in the dollar section at Target when he was a teeny tiny puppy. She's never even worn it. And, then I died of cuteness overload.

I wasted my money on the shark costume, clearly. Maybe she can wear it for Shark week? 

My kids brought in their book character pumpkins that week, too. They did such a great job! This was a family homework project.

We had a minion from Despicable Me...

A bunny from Read to Your Bunny...

Minnie Mouse...

Halloween Hello Kitty...

A loooooot of Spongebob characters...

Junie B. Jones...

The Cat in the Hat...

and Bilbo from The Hobbit. 

They're still in my room because I can't bare to send them home, yet! Because the love, it's real. They just make me happy. :)

We had book character dress up day and a few of us dresses up as a fact family...

A few people teased us and said we weren't book characters, but we had a book so wahhhh, wahhhh, wahhh! Ha!

And the best part of Halloween? 

It was her wearing this costume. Hands down.

She wins Halloween. For real. 

Last thing. I'm trying sooooo bad to ignore this mug on Jane.com but I want it sooo bad I can't stand it. Thoughts?!?

I know, it's the best mug ever. You don't even have to tell me. I already know. 

Hope your Halloween was excellent, too! 

Our New Playground

Last week, we got a brand new playground. And, let me tell you, it was an awesome experience to be a part of! 

The playground was sponsored by the Nashville Predators. As you will notice when you see it! Ha! And, we worked with the company KaBoom! You might have seen it on Parks and Rec in season 2. And, yes. It's a real company and they do build playgrounds in one day!

I was appointed as the youth engagement chair for the project. So, I was in charge of finding ways to involve the kids in the build day experience. So, we got a DJ (the husband of a teacher) and we had each class make banners and signs an we brought them outside a few at a time to see the new playground, cheer on the volunteers and dance their little hearts out! I can confidently say I had the most fun assignment the whole day because I spent it with all 850 kids! 

Here are some pictures of the day. I wast able to post many of them because I can't post pictures of kids. But, just know I have tons of them and they all contain huge smiles and awesome dance moves! 

The Preds brought some volunteers, but most of the people building the playground were parents and community members which was very cool to see!

^Their parents don't care if I post this, so I will. These sweet girls were in my class last year.

All in all, we had the best day! And, guys, the kids LOVE their new playground!!! We've already had two falls and a fight over the swings, so they're breaking it in nicely and obviously feel right at home! Ha!