Gooooooo Tigers!

We're headed to Atlanta for the Clemson/Alabama game on Saturday! Kevin and I graduated from Clemson in 1998 and we haven't been able to get back to a football game yet.

Daddy and Our Future Tiger @ Kevin's MBA graduation in 2006

Some of our favorite memories of childhood were at Clemson games with our families. Then, in college when we worked ALL THE TIME and we didn't join sororities or fraternities, the football games that we got to attend made us feel like real college students for a little while! We love Clemson football for the excitement. Don't get me wrong, we've been disappointed plenty of times with the outcome of games, but this weekend, we'll be happy no matter what. It will be great to spend time with friends (even if they are Alabama fans!) and have a little grown up time!

Also, I am picking up my camera, so I'll have lots of pictures on Monday! Have a great weekend!

Missing You

I feel like I have lost my best friend!


My camera. My beloved. Ok...maybe that's a little melodramatic, but I have been without my camera since Saturday night! I left it at Melissa's house after Hayden's party and there are pictures that I need to be posting! And photos that I need to be taking! I am lost, I tell you. Lost!

So, I guess I will have to wait to post pictures of my precious nephew's tractor birthday party...(Sigh!)

Instead, I will share some new scrapbook pages that I created over at How Fast They Grow. Have I mentioned how much I love that site? Oh, I have? A few hundred times? Sorry.

It is just so easy and I love just being able to open the package when it comes in the mail and slide them into the scrapbook! I know...I'm really lazy! What I've done lately is save my pages on their site until I get a coupon by email and then I order. I know...I'm cheap, too!

Here are a few of my latest pages...



This one is actually featured in the Gallery at How Fast They Grow (with about 40 other children)! It always makes me feel so special when they feature my boys! Now everyone can see how precious my children are! Oh. Wait. That's why I blog.



This one is a surprise (not anymore, really!) for my sister. She has the most photogenic child I know and I am always in his face snapping pictures! He used to avoid me, but now he's used to my snapping and just ignores me! This page is in honor of his 2nd birthday (of which I have no pictures, yet- arghh!).

Hope you guys have a happy Wednesday! Hopefully, I'll have my camera back soon - when I'm not too lazy to drive 45 minutes to go and get it - and I'll show you some pictures of a few new projects that I have been working on.

Spray Paint Addiction

I think I may have a problem!

It all started so innocently. My childhood rocking chair needed a little TLC so I tackled the project myself with a can of black spray paint. I was proud of my work and an obsession was born! Many cans of black spray paint later, I have completed a few more projects and I am always on the look-out for more!

Before
It may not look terrible in this picture, but it had lots of chipped paint that had yellowed.

After
Better, right?!

I am enjoying finding others out in "Blogville" that share my addiction. Joy at Joys of Home is hosting a party for us all - all the spray paint addicted, that is.

Here is my first spray paint project - brought to you by the letter "F"! I don't have a before because I never really thought I would blog about this stuff, but it was just a plain white letter from Michael's. Nothing fancy.

I loved how it turned out, although I have to admit I didn't plan for it to have the texture that (I hope) you can see in the picture. I was painting on a plastic tarp, and since I was new to spray painting, I forgot to weigh the plastic down when I went inside. I came back to the plastic laying on top of the wet black paint. But, when I pulled the plastic back, it had this cool texture. Everyone that has seen it thought that I either bought it that way or that I meant to do it!

Here is my latest Michael's find - this ceramic urn was 90% off the other day. Yep. I had to look twice too. 90% off!!! I got 2 of them for $4 a piece!

Before

Now, here is where I have to give credit where credit is due. I would have never, EVER thought about buying something to change it before I was enlightened by some wonderful designers who blog (see my blog roll!). I would have passed right by. I probably would have said something like, "Wow! Those are really tacky!" or "No wonder they are 90% off!". But, instead I thought, "I might be able to paint those black and use them for Halloween!" Maybe like this project?

After

I have a few projects that are going to take actual sanding and priming that I'll be starting soon. I'll let you know who they turn out! I am really looking forward to seeing what other bloggers are painting! Hop on over to Joy's party to see!

More Mistreating

I am so excited about my new-found confidence in mistreating! And I learned through so many other posts from The Nester's Mistreatment Party that it doesn't just have to be windows!

One talented blogger, Carrie from Buzzings of a Queen Bee, mistreated pillows! Imagine...no sew pillows! I'm going to have to try this one because I can't find any pillows that I like lately. I also need chair pads for my breakfast room table and I can't find ones that I like. Hmmm...maybe I can buy cheap-o chair pads and mistreat them! I'll be sure to take pictures!

See?! The ideas just keep coming!

Another really cool idea involved making window cornices from Kimba at A Soft Place to Land. I think I'm going to try this one in the Laundry Room! And maybe in the garage, too! Can you believe I have windows in my garage! You can tell what a country bumpkin I am when I am surprised that garages can have windows!

But, my favorite example of mistreating came a few weekends ago when Kevin took me to the Southern Living Idea Home near Asheville at Davidson Gap. That's right! The Southern Living Home was mistreated!

View of the house from the hill we had to walk down to get to the house!

This is the kids room. They tore (or, knowing Southern Living, made it look like they tore) long pieces of coordinating fabrics and hung them on a curtain rod. These pictures are of the window, but they also did the same kind of treatment in a doorway. I think I'll steal that idea for the playroom! They sewed pockets at the top of each strip, but I think it would be really cute to tie the strips to a rod!




So, you can tell that mistreating has really been on my mind! So has decorating the rest of our home. I'll be sure to post pictures as things start to progress!

Spa Saturday

My half-empty bottle of Virtual Illusion Makeup Primer!

Mmmmmm...primer! My new best friend! I had been hearing a lot about this new phenomenon when, low and behold, Arbonne, developed their own!

This stuff feels great - no kidding, like satin on my face. It's not heavy, it's not like wearing another layer of makeup, I promise! And, my makeup stays on better and longer!

You know where to click if you want to try some for yourself!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Be Our Guest!

We keep begging people to come and stay with us and, finally, Brooke and Hannah and Michelle got tired of our whining! Yeah! We had 3 of our favorite people to come and test drive the guest room this past weekend!

I am sorry to say that they came at night and got lost...cause we live in the country now! And we didn't have much planned for them to do. We really need to find more fun stuff for people to do when they come to visit. Anyway, we slept as late as the children and Miss Michelle would let us! Then, we ate a really yummy lunch and Davis went down for a nap and we all sat around and talked while Drew and Hannah played. Not all that exciting, but REALLY good company!

Thanks for coming to see us! We love you guys!

My friends.

Hannah and her Mom

Hannah and Drew

Drew and his Michelle

First Day of Preschool

Today was Davis' first day of preschool! It was a day full of emotions...for me! I was excited for him, I was nervous for him and for me, I was worried about drop-off, and the list goes on. Davis, on the other hand, was just plain happy.

But, as usual, all of my worrying and nervousness was, as Kevin would say ('cause I certainly wouldn't), all for naught. Our little man talked about going to "scoo" to play all morning. He wore his backpack - or "bap-pap"-into his classroom and went right to playing with play dough. He then waved from his seat at the table and said, "Bye, Mommy! Bye, Daddy!"

That little booger. Not one tear! I know, I know. This is a good thing.

Davis had a great time today! On the way home, he told us all about "payin" in the sandbox (his school has a great playground for toddlers) and "gapes" (I packed grapes in his lunchbox). Then, he zonked out in the backseat. He was so tired!

I have to say that I am so proud of my little boy. Here are a few pictures of his day...

Happy boy going to school

Posing with his lunchbox.

Walking in with Daddy and his dinosaur "bap-pap"

School is so tiring!

Spa Saturday

I wanted to announce to everyone that reads our blog that I have started my own business! I will be selling Arbonne skin care products!

I have been using Arbonne for 3 years since my Mom started selling the products - which is really a miracle because I used to change what makeup and skin care I used every 2 weeks! I became a Consultant back then to get the discount, but I recently decided to make Arbonne my business, as well. I tell all about it on my Arbonne website. Go over there and check out my story!

Here on my blog, I will be hosting a Spa Saturday each week. I want to highlight one of my favorite products and tell you a little more about why I think Arbonne products are so great. I promise I won't preach or be pushy! :) I'm just so excited about the possibilities!

I have also added a link in my sidebar where you can go to my Arbonne website to learn more anytime you would like. I hope you'll take a minute to read through and, if you want to try the products, you can shop on my website too! Although, I can always order for you OR you could host your own Arbonne presentation (just a few friends and a very short presentation, I promise!) in your home and get lots of free stuff !

Thanks, in advance, for your support of my new adventure! Please feel free to email me if you have any questions!

So here's my favorite this week...

By the way, the pictures that I am using on my blog are photos of my own products so they may look a little used. And by "used", I mean, "well loved"! Also, notice the picture of the Kay girls in the background! It was taken before Melissa's prom - about 9 years ago!

It all started with a little gold bag and little orange bottles...

This is the first Arbonne products I tried and I became hooked! This is the Nutrimin RE-9 Set. It is part of Arbonne's anti-aging skin care line. I began using it when I didn't feel like I needed anti-aging skin care! But, it prevents aging, too! AHA! And helps with the dark circles under my eyes that I have from being a mom of boys! Just kidding about the cause of my dark circles - there has been no clinical proof that raising boys causes dark circles!

And I may not have mentioned before, but, all of Arbonne's products are botanically based, so I love that I am not putting anything on my face that isn't pure.

Anyway, thank you for visiting my Arbonne website, too!

Have a great weekend!

First Day of School

All smiles!

Can I go, already, Mom?!

Today is the first day of second grade! And I miss him already! And it's only 7:45!

Drew is so excited about his first day and made it very clear that Dad was NOT to walk him in this morning. He is a big kid who knows where to go. We met his teacher yesterday and she seems so nice and Drew already knows a lot of the kids in his class.

So, here's to a successful year in second grade! (Dear Lord, please help him listen and follow directions!)

Next week...PRESCHOOL FOR DAVIS!!

Sunny Days

A few years ago, we decided to go to London for our 10th anniversary.

That didn't happen.

Then, we decided to have a romantic weekend in Asheville and stay at the Inn at the Biltmore Estate to celebrate 10 years of wedded bliss.

Nope, that wasn't it either.

Then, a few weeks ago we decided that we liked our home so much more than the trouble of packing up all of our stuff and driving a few miles down the road and paying waaaaaay more than we should on a hotel room.

So, we had a weekend at home (without children, of course)! I know it doesn't sound all that exciting, but it was the most perfect weekend that I have had in a very long time. Even though we didn't do anything memorable really - no Big Ben or Parliament - we relaxed, we talked, and we did not work. And we went to Krispy Kreme at 10:00 in our pajamas. You can't do that in London! Or maybe you can, but you'd have to use a map and take a cab - it wouldn't be nearly as spontaneous!

We did go to the Biltmore Estate because we haven't actually seen the inside of the house lately - it's nearly impossible with a stroller and I'm not letting Davis loose in there! On the drive out, we stopped to take some pictures of the biggest sunflowers that I have seen this year. Beautiful, all bright and sunny. Just like our anniversary weekend!

Crazy Eights!

I married my best friend ten years ago today. Kevin is truly my soul mate, as corny as that may sound. We are perfectly matched. We are blessed.

But, that's all the mush that you are going to get out of me today! Yep. This post is practically mush-free! I thought it would be WAY more fun to celebrate by pulling out all of our embarrassing pictures and show them to you! Because, even though TEN YEARS is a big deal, we actually have been a couple (Kevin and Stephanie sittin' in a tree...) since our Junior year of high school. FIFTEEN YEARS! So, you know there are some really bad pictures of us floating around!

So, without further ado, may I present...

Kevin and Stephanie:
Through the Years

Pretending to pin on Kevin's boutonniere (thank you very much, spell check) before our Senior Prom. Mom actually had to pin it on!


All of these pictures are in black and white except for this one. I thought you deserved to see my bling-bling dress in full color! I couldn't find a picture of us at the prom as Juniors in high school - that dress was even better! Just picture really short and lots of sequined fish. I thought I was so cute...


Eating seafood on our honeymoon. Just to warn you, all of the pictures from our honeymoon were taken at restaurants, so it looks like all we did was eat. But, really, the only people I would ask to take our picture were waiters!


At the Luau at Disney World in 2002.
One of very few pictures of the two of us after Drew was born.


Eating on our honeymoon again.


High School Graduation.
Did you know that my smarty-pants of a husband was our class Valedictorian? Awesome speech, honey!


Kevin's graduation from Clemson.
My hair was especially poofy and proud that day!


Kevin graduates with his MBA in 2006.
I promise I went to college and graduated, too!


Snuggling. This was our first Christmas as newlyweds.



On Choir Tour with church in 1994. I think this was in Maine or Rhode Island.
Kevin would know. He remembers everything! That's why I married him 4 years later.


Eating again on our honeymoon..



Hilton Head.
This trip was before we were married. I remember because Kevin's Mom and Dad let us tag along on their beach trip and my future Mother-in-Law got the pleasure of sharing a bed with her snoring, thrashing future daughter-in-law. She must not have warned Kevin (thank you, Jan!) because in 10 years of marriage he's never slept on the couch!


More eating on our honeymoon...


At my baby shower at Chandler Creek Elementary School.
Kevin had just flown in from New York when he was on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" Another fun fact about my husband (sorry, there are no fun facts about me - I married well!) is that he loves trivia and it paid off for him about a month before Drew was born. He won $64,000 and got to meet Regis!


Declarations of love in the sand. I love the beach!


Signing yearbooks in high school.
I just want to point out that Kevin is wearing a gold chain! Hehehe! And that the shirt that I am wearing came with shoulder pads.


Snuggling as newlyweds again.
We still snuggle but it embarrasses Drew so he won't agree to take our picture, so there are no recent snuggling photos.


Posing with Minnie Mouse.
Have I mentioned we like to go to Disney World?


Happy new parents.
In recovery after Drew was born. Boy, that kid was hard work!


We had only been parents for 2 months here. The bags under our eyes aren't too bad!


At my future brother-in-law's college graduation.
Kevin and I were freshmen in college and we were still skinny. Good times...


Me and Santa in 2000.


Disney again. This time in 2002.


Proud parents of our curly-headed boy.


At Davis' first birthday party in 2007.


Christmas 2005


With our boys.
2008

Love our family. Love my husband. Love my life. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times - We are blessed! Happy Anniversay, honey!