Goals for 2014!

Since today is New Years Eve, I found it only fitting that I make a list of my goals for the upcoming year. Most of these are very attainable I just must stay focused! Well let me get to it!

1.  Redo our laundry room. - It's a small little area that I spend so much time in. I see it every single day! Sprucing it up and making it cute will hopefully motivate me to not only start a load of laundry but actually finish it by folding and putting the clothes away.
2.  Save $100 from each check. I want the money to go straight to savings so I never see it. My mom always tells me that "you won't miss it, if you don't see it!" 
3. Meal plan! - This is a must. When I was a single lady living with my little baby Malti-Poo, Max cereal at night was fine. I never cooked. I would every now and then bake but NEVER cooked dinner. It was too much effort for just one person. But those days are long gone and I seem to always have a hungry boy around. I get mad at myself every afternoon when I have to get off work and run to the grocery store and browse through the aisle looking for something to whip up really quick. I MUST DO BETTER. I know in the long run I will save tons of money and time if I just plan ahead.
4. Say NO! - Let me elaborate. I have a hard time telling people no. To really anything...I'm determined that this year if I don't want to do something (within good reason) I can say no. It's okay if you aren't able to do everything.
5.  Keep growing my hair. - Resist the temptation to chop it off. I really want long beautiful locks! I can do this!!
6. Wake up 10 minutes earlier and spend time praying and thanking God for all the blessings he has given me. I do pray but I want to do better and thanking God for the amazing life he has given me. 
7. Become a sponge at work. This sounds funny but I want to soak up everything I can about the industry I am in. Every.Single.Thing. There is so much to learn and if I want to be successful I feel like I need to challenge myself to learn everything I can.
8. Become very active on the non-profit board I serve on. Really dig in and give my time, talents, and treasures to make a difference. (I am new to this board and have just been sitting back trying to learn the ropes, I'm ready to make things happen!) 
9. Work on making our master bedroom a beautiful room. I'm 70% happy with the way it looks but I'm thinking I want to completely redo everything.
10. Paint kitchen cabinets. 

I'm sure there are lots more things I need/should work on. But these is my top ten list.  Hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Years!!

Last Weekend of 2013

It occurred to me on Saturday that this is the LAST weekend of 2013. It's such a bittersweet time. While this year was one of the best years of my life to date I'm sad to see if end. Some of the major highlights for this year are below in pictures.

2013 was a wonderful year! From getting engaged, purchasing our first home together, getting married, adding a new puppy to our family, taking trips with my best friends, loving my job and the creativity I get to use at work, and spending time with our family & enjoying this entire roller coaster with my best friend, Mason! I can't wait to see what 2014 has in store for us!

It was a very Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas Card...please excuse the glare :) 

 
We had such a wonderful Christmas! We spent Christmas Eve & Christmas Day with my family in Athens, Alabama. Of course the gifts are always nice but my favorite thing about Christmas is having my entire family together. It just makes me happy! Christmas morning, we opened gifts from Santa and my parents and then headed to my Memaw's house for lunch. It was delicious too. I really need to do a better job at taking pictures. I don't know how but it totally slipped my mind and the only photo I took was of cute little Max dressed up like Santa. After we indulged in all the wonderful food and opened our presents it was time for Mason and I to head back to our house in Birmingham. We really had a wonderful Christmas together and feel truly blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives. I hope you all had a great Christmas as well! I'm already looking forward to Christmas 2014. 

Love,

Leah

Little Max dressed up as Santa ;)

Merry Merry Christmas! Elf on the Shelf!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I'm not sure about you but I love Elf on the Shelf! I love the entire concept of it. It's so cute to me! I have also heard from some of my friends with kids that it actually makes the kids behave for the month of December. If you know my Mom you know the whole Elf on the Shelf thing is right up her alley. My mom has always made every Holiday so much fun. When I was at my parents house last week for work my mom gave me and my brother an Elf on the Shelf. (The book and Elf) At first my twenty year old brother looked at my Mother like she had lost it but I knew deep down he liked it. Over the next few days our little Elf..."Clint" has been making several appearances around our house. I know my Mom knows Elf on the Shelf is for younger kids but is it really? I think it's all about creating joy with the ones you love. I know my Mom has definitely brought us so much joy from little Clint.

No matter what you and your family do to celebrate the Holidays I hope you have a special day with the ones you love. Merry Christmas!  

Favorite pins of the day! :)

Christmas in Hattisburg

This weekend was so much fun. Mason, Little Sampson, and I left Saturday around lunch time and headed south for Christmas with his side of the family. We had such a great time. We spent the evening at Susie's house. I really wish I would have taken pictures because it is unreal how beautiful it is. I can't wait to see the house when it is completely finished. 

He loves to smile for pictures!

For dinner Mason's mom made her very famous craw fish sauce and we had prime ribs, veggies, baked potatoes, and rolls. I baked my signature apple pie. It was delicious if I say so myself and it is literately the easiest recipe out there.

After dinner we headed to Mason's Nanny and PawPaw's house. We exchanged gifts there and I had so much fun watching Nanny open her gifts. She was so excited and happy. It was so cute. Sampson and Pawpaw really took up with each other on this visit. Haha. I have the cutest picture to prove it. Sunday morning we got ready and headed to church with Mason's Mom and grandparents. It's a tradition I hope we can do each year. Mason's grandparents were so happy to have us with them at church.  Immediately after church we hopped in the car and headed back to our house. It was a short 3 hour drive for me. I slept almost the whole way. Once we got home, Mason was glued to the tv because it was the last week of his fantasy football league... This was a perfect opportunity for me to clean the house.

Little Sampson loves getting attention from Pawpaw!

Since Christmas is on a Wednesday this year work must go on...I have to work today (Monday), half a day tomorrow(Christmas Eve) and then off on Wednesday (Christmas) and back to work on Thursday and Friday. So that means on Tuesday and Wednesday we are heading to Athens to spend some time with my side of the family. I can't wait! I love Christmas. It's also very special because this is our first Christmas married. I'm excited to for Mason to experience my families traditions. Last year we were dating and Mason and his dad's family with on a cruise for the Holiday. I remember being happy it was Christmas but also being so sad because he was not there with me. It didn't help that I had strep throat too...ugh! It's safe to say this Christmas should be a lot better! 

Hope everyone has a great day!!