big news!

Well, we have big news!

Drumroll please.....

WE'RE MOVING TO NASHVILLE, TN!!!

Chris was offered and has since accepted a post-doctorate fellowship in the Vanderbilt Medical Center Department of Pharmacology.

He will be doing research on medications to treat central nervous system disorders...interesting!

We had been playing the waiting game for quite a while and are so happy to finally know what's in store for us.

We're especially happy that we'll be able to stay in the Southeast & that we'll be closer to our families (4.5 hours as opposed to 6.5)!

I do get a bit overwhelmed when I think about all of the things we'll be tackling between now & July to make our move happen...selling our house, finding a new place to live, me finding a job, exploring our new city, and all of the other tasks that go with moving to a new state.

But, the position doesn't start until August 2nd, so we're in no rush to make too many other concrete plans.

We're just enjoying the assurance that Chris will be employed after he graduates!

Only 6 months until I'm married to a PhD!-I'm oh so proud of him!

God is so good & I can't wait to see what else he has in store for us in the months to come...

lovely!

I enjoyed a wonderful weekend in the Smokey Mountains with these lovely ladies (yes, including myself)! We enjoyed relaxing, each other's company, nature, and of course-eating!

The fall colors were just beginning to show.
I think this-coming weekend and the following will be the peak season. A few more favorite pics from the weekend...

I can't wait for the 2nd annual ladies' retreat (or the semi-annual retreat :-))

tastes like fall...

I cooked my first turkey last night...well, sort of!

I cheated and used a boneless turkey breast to make this recipe...

totally tastes like fall.

Moist & Tender Turkey Breast

1 4-5 pound boneless turkey breast

2 tablespoons of brown sugar
4 fresh rosemary sprigs

½ teaspoon of ground pepper
4 garlic cloves, peeled

¼ teaspoon of salt

Place turkey in a crock-pot. Place rosemary & garlic around it. Combine spices and sprinkle over turkey (I also added oregano and minced onions).
Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours until tender.

I served it with fresh green beans and homemade mashed potatoes...wish I had taken a picture.

It was beautiful!

winner!

I came back yesterday from an awesome ladies' mountain getaway & found out that I was a lucky winner of 2 of the Days Ago timers featured in the Pink Nothings giveaway last week...yeahhh!!!

I can't wait to put them to good use so I can let you guys know just how awesome they are.

I must say that I love winning things!

another success!

Another sewing success...

I whipped up these p.j. pants for myself yesterday.
I love them!

I got the pattern all cut out Sunday night & got very nervous on Tuesday when I reviewed the directions because they made no sense to me at all.

I got discouraged & put it away until yesterday when I gave up on the directions accompanying the pattern & turned to the good 'ol WWW.

I immediately found a great tutorial that seemed to work with what I had already cut out for my pattern.

I was nervous about trying them on for fear that I had done all of the work & they wouldn't fit...

but they did...yeah!!!

I even got 'brave' & trimmed the leg of each with this adorable ribbon (not a great picture, I know, but you can atleast see the ribbon).

I'm definitely hooked on sewing...if only I had more time for it!

finally...

Here are a few after shots of my front-porch re-do...

I guess it's hard to tell from far-away, just how much better it looks.
The paint definitely looks fresh & here's another close up of the "new" light fixtures I can't get enough of...

Can't wait to share the pictures of our newest home update from the weekend...check back soon!

success!

Here are 2 shots of my 1st "real" sewing project...

I call it "real" because I actually used a pattern, although a very easy one.

My first few projects were table runners that didn't require patterns.

I'm so happy with the way the apron turned out.

I'm thinking it's going to be a Christmas gift for some lucky person!

Next on the sewing block---pajama pants for me!

Days Ago giveaway...

Check out this awesome invention...

Days Ago timers!

The timers help you keep track of how long open food has been in the fridge (we all know we have a hard time keeping track of that!),

when you last took your medication,

when you last made your baby's food/froze breast milk,

when you did your last self-breast exam,

when you watered your plants...

They make several varieties that attach to containers differently...

magnetic timers, suction timers, timers with bands attached to them.

In honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month,

they have created a pink timer to remind you to do self-breast exams.

10% of the proceeds of this timer are donated to the cause.

Pink Nothings is sponsoring a giveaway where you can win 1 of 6 of these awesome gadgets.

Hop on over there to enter to win before October 10th...

Good luck!

October!

(courtesy of Kari at UCreate)

October is here...my favorite month of the year!

I can feel fall in the air...

it's still 66 crisp degrees at 12:15!

I can't wait for some time outdoors this weekend & our girls trip to the mountains next weekend...what fun!

HAPPY OCTOBER!

my new fixture!

As promised, here's a picture of my new BLACK light fixture...

I love, love, love it!

By Thursday I'll have a picture of the entire finished product!

Stay tuned...

Transformation.

Check out what I did today...

Front entrance of our home before:

Front entrance of our home post transformation:
PICTURE TO COME---it started raining just after I finished painting, before I could shoot a photo!
I'll hopefully get one tomorrow so you won't be kept in suspense too long.

The paint on our front porch railings has been slowly chipping off for some time now.
It's been driving me crazy, but yet neither Chris not I had any time to deal with it (plus, with it raining the last 5 weekends in a row we've not had nice weather for it either).

The sad state of affairs of our front porch paint-so sad, I know.

Well, today was the day to fix it up!

I cleaned the railings & banisters off with bleach & warm water.

While it dried, I ran to Lowe's for supplies.

Then, I painted away.

There's not a lot of surface to paint, but it's tedious because I had to use a small brush to get around each of the banisters.

For the last few months I've grown to simply despise the light fixtures on either side of our front door.

I never liked them much to begin with, but I was dealing with it.

Poor Chris, I knew if I asked him to change out one more light fixture for me that he might snap (he's so good to do it, but I don't want to push it too much!).

So, I took matters into my own hands...

It was mostly the gross, brass-color of the fixtures that I was so over. (can you blame me?)

So, I painted them BLACK!
NEW PICTURE TO COME!

AND, I LOVE THEM NOW!!!

I'm sad that I wasn't brave enough to paint them before now.

(Note about painting metal light fixtures: You must prime the metal surface first for the paint to stick to it.)

Luckily, I had read into this enough to know to prime first.

To top it all off, I bought a new WELCOME doormat at Bed Bath & Beyond.

Gotta' love it too-it was regularly $19.99-today it was on sale for $14.99-with my 20% off coupon it was less than $13 with tax!

Total cost for my project: $40

(brushes, paint, drop cloth, doormat)

And...I still have a ton of ivory and black paint left.

All I'm missing now is a big 'ol pumpkin!

(Picking one up at Sam's is on Thursday's to-do list...)

I'm so glad that this transformation is done...

there's nothing that a girl & some paint can't fix!

it's official (my 200th post!)

Wow...my 200th post!

I've definitely become addicted to the blogging world.

Well, the official news is that Chris' job search has begun.

He's been looking for a month or so, but now has 2 official applications out for post-doc positions (1 at Vanderbilt University & 1 at Emory University).

He's also corresponding with a private company here in the Triangle.

Now, the waiting game is on!

It's so hard to believe it's time for yet another transition in our lives.

It seems like just yesterday that we moved here as the start to our journey together.

I never thought I would like here as much as I do.

We still miss being 7 hours away from our families, but we do love it here!

Can't wait to see what's in store for us next!

new faves!

I have 2 new favorite craft sites to keep up all busy ( & nonproductive with school work & household chores) !

HELLOmynameis Heather

(I absolutely LOVE these fabric flowers she makes...must try my hand at them soon!)

&

Today's Creative Blog

(Showcases the best & most creative ideas out there)

Can't wait to get some more craft time in!

how adorable!

How adorable is this costume?

I love, love, love it.

The tutorial makes it seem fairly easy to make.

I'm adding it to my bank of things I might need/want to make one day!

Check UCreate for more fun Halloween costume ideas...

i love...

...days off from work, like today!
(even if it means doing laundry & school work all day)

...getting all of this for $17!

(there's an awesome sale at Kroger this week)

In case you can't tell, it's:

4 Lean Cuisines

2 packs of Kraft Singles cheese

2 bags of shredded Kraft cheese

2 bottles of Kraft salad dressing

2 apples (for baking)

bananas

a box of Sunbelt granola bars (Chris' fav)

2 Hallmark cards

...enjoying fresh brown eggs laid by my dad's chickens

...my sweet Sadie's face

...seeing laundry on the clothesline blowing in the breeze next door

...football season (GO DAWGS!)

...lazy weekends-that's what I'm hoping for this weekend!

"...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things."
-Philipians 4:8