2013-2014

2013 in Review:

 In a nutshell, I got married to the man of my dreams, we went to the Bahamas on a cruise that we will never forget, started a home together, bought a newer Jeep, and we worked…day in and day out.  We had our first married Christmas together, oh yeah, and I saw the Backstreet Boys LIVE (FINALLY!!!), and that about sums up 2013.

Here's the highlights in pictures:

This has been the year of dreams coming true.  Now that I have my best friend to spend the rest of our years by my side I'm looking forward to more adventures.

As this year has come racing to a close I've found myself doing some serious reflection on my life thus far. This thinking has flooded my head with a slew of questions, but mainly…what could I be doing if I would only say yes? What if money was of no consequence, where would I go and what would I do with my time?  What is the best use of my time?  I still haven't answered those questions yet…but I have come up with some new ambitions for the coming year.

Let's talk about hopes and dreams for the new year.

1. Reclaim control over our family budget and stick to it.  We're not terrible, but we've definitely bent a few times.  Also, factor in plans for our dreams.

2. Reclaim my body and energy.

3. Give fully in all areas.

4. Have an adventure.

5. Uncover true passion in my life.

6. Be more intentional in prayer.

7. Be more watchful and expectant.

8. Go on another mission trip.

9. Take a vacation.

10. Do something that feeds my creative soul.  (Take a cake decorating class or something).

2013, you've been a great year! 2014, let's see you top it!  Now what about you?  What are your favorite memories from 2013?  What about hopes and dreams for 2014?

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas from Veitville

I hope your Christmas was filled with joy and love.

Our first married Christmas was an extremely blessed one and I couldn't have asked for a better day with the hubs.  We made the decision to spend Christmas day on our own believing in the importance of creating our own memories and traditions on this our first married Christmas.  Let me tell you folks, for all those about to get married, BEST DECISION EVER!!! (Both marriage, and spending Christmas on your own).

I'm telling you, nothing beats waking up on your own Christmas morning with the one you love.  Getting out of bed when you want.  Opening gifts with each other with your (insert drink of choice), without the fanfare or showiness that comes when you have to open gifts in front of the entire family.  (Am I just a jerk in that one?  I don't always like opening my gifts in front of people because there's an expectation for reaction…what if I don't like it?  Or what if I don't react how they wanted me to…?  Anyone?)  No expectations, no schedule, just the two of you and your hearts full of love, and the day to spend together without an audience is priceless! I even got to send Corey on a little treasure hunt for some of his gifts.  That was a blast!  Santa was good to us this year!

Our Christmas pickle!  Thanks McCullough family!

Corey had one of our favorite wedding photos printed on wood.

I LOVE this!  

I'm fueling the musician with more harmonicas. 

He played these a lot yesterday and I couldn't stop thinking about the Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas movie, or the Mickey Mouse Once Upon a Christmas version of Gift of the Magi.

My first Kate Spade purse EVER!!! I must have been EXTRA good this year!

We got to cook breakfast TOGETHER!  No one cooked it for us, and you know what?  That was awesome!  My mom and dad gave us a great new kitchen knife set, so we broke them in cutting up veggies to put in our mini quiche we made for breakfast.  I think cooking breakfast together may become a new family tradition.  I feel like in most households, moms make it ahead and pop it in the oven or something like that, and that's great for big family gatherings etc.  But I LOVE cooking with my husband.  There's something about dancing around in the kitchen making a meal you share together that is such a connecting and heart-filling experience.  And to eat together knowing it's something you both made.

Christmas Breakfast! Mini Quiche, strawberries, choc. chip bread, and Malibu Sunrise.

After breakfast we started prepping for Christmas dinner as crockpot lamb chops were on the menu, and again we both prepared it together!  Cooking lesson learned: ALWAYS buy pre-cut squash.  Never again will I buy a whole squash and try to skin and cut it myself.  Oh and here's where I also almost cut the tips of two of my fingers off with our great new knife set…that would've been a merry Christmas right there folks.  The knives are great and very sharp Mom and Dad! Thanks!  (No worries, just a small cut in the two fingers, no emergency.  Nothing a little neo-sporin and band-aid couldn't fix.)

Holiday Crockpot Lamb Chops! YUM!

We spent most of the day in our Christmas jammies watching two of my favorite Christmas movies, A Christmas Story, and White Christmas. (Love me some Bing Crosby!)  We cleaned up the Christmas wrapping explosion, catnapped on the couch, and eventually decided to get dressed just before dinner.

Yes, we wore matching flannel shirts!  Maybe we're starting a Christmas flannel tradition...

Christmas dinner for two was also delightful and our crockpot lamb chops were falling off the bone and melting in our mouths with tangy flavors of apple and cranberry.  (I love that we didn't go with traditional Christmas turkey…I don't know about you, but I'm always a little turkey-d out after Thanksgiving, and the two were extremely close together this year.)  We shared a bottle of Christmas wine sent up from my parents, and it was delicious!  Dessert was supplied by all my wonderful students. (I can't tell you the number of assorted homemade baked goodies I was gifted with this year!)

Making Christmas dinner is just so exhausting!

JK! (At least it wasn't this year.)

Empty plates, full tummies and hearts. :)

All in all, it was a perfect day.  We were blessed with quality time together.  We are blessed with the birth of our Savior.  We hope all of you had the merriest of Christmases with the love of Christ in your hearts, and we wish you many blessings in the new year!

A Sweet n' Chic Christmas

Funny how snow days bring me back to the blogging world.  I've been so busy recently, I haven't even been reading all the blogs I normally follow much less writing my own.

Christmas is just around the corner friends and we have been busy prepping at The Veit House!  Every year we throw a tacky Christmas sweater party (I know, so opposite from all things sweet n' chic, but what a blast)!  Corey and I are so excited this year to be hosting in our own place and we have been scrambling, decking the halls.  Actually,  that's kind of a lie…we put our tree up before Thanksgiving, and got the lights up before Thanksgiving too.  I've been working on different crafts along the way.  Now in my defense, I usually follow the no Christmas until Thanksgiving rule, but we were going away for the whole T-giving break, and I knew Christmas was right on its heels, so Christmas needed to come early at our house.  I'm glad we worked ahead, because the weekend after Thanksgiving was occupied visiting his family again so that was another weekend gone, but praise God for extending my weekend with two lovely snow days!

Bringing home our very first Christmas tree! (We're nerds).

Our pretty tree up! The trimming has commenced.

Can you find the Jeep? (our new Christmas tradition).

With this extra time I was able to grocery shop for all this weekend's festivities, clean house/do laundry, AND finish up some Christmas decor projects I wanted done BEFORE the party.  I am so thrilled to share with you my latest sewing venture that I tried via Pinterest!

Sweet n' Chic friends, I present to you the Veit Family Christmas Tree Skirt!

Yup, even after all the burlap at my wedding, I'm still not sick of it!

I think at some point I want Corey to paint some text on it too in red or black.  I can't decide what though, our monogram…The Veits…I dunno.

GAH!  I LOVE IT!  Rustic chic Christmas goodness!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

What's on your To-Do List to accomplish before Santa comes (or guests)?  Speaking of lists, I think it's time to get to the next thing on mine…COOKIE DOUGH!!!

Blazin' Win!

I'm just quickly sharing a sweet n' chic deal at your local Target!

I have been searching for a blazer for a while, as it's a wardrobe essential that I have been seriously lacking for probably a year at least.  J. Crew has gorgeous blazers, but $$$ keeps me from taking the plunge.

My sweet darlin's Target strikes again!

BEHOLD!!!

Merona Women's Oxford Blazer

I couldn't decide between the two, so I got both, and at $34.99 a pop I don't feel guilty.  Even the hubs said I could keep them both!  Thanks Babe!

Can't wait to put polish to my wardrobe with these babies!  I love a good cardigan, but blazers add the extra polish.  Lots more outfit options now!

Also, if you like music, theater, musical theater, or the arts at all, then traipse on over to my OTHER blog (that I hardly touch) where I dish about our theater date this past weekend to see Idina Menzel in the new musical, If/Then.

BUTTER

My friend Meaghan just began her venture as a Mary Kay consultant.  She has really taken off with this and I'm so excited for her.  Recently, she called me asking if she could send me a DVD to watch, and then I'd have to call some number and talk to someone about the DVD, but that it could just change my life.  Obviously, I knew this would be a 'become a MK consultant,' sales pitch.  However, I love my friend enough to do this for her (even though I give her a hard time about it).  Today I finally watched said DVD, and it was indeed exactly what I thought it would be.  While I learned some new and interesting things about the company, I just have to say that it's not something I'm ready for or interested in right now.

Afterwards, I texted Meaghan to let her know I had in fact held true to my word, and shared my thoughts.  Then the conversation went something like this, and THIS is what I'm all about today…

Me: Time for me to change your life now.  Ready for it?
Meaghan: Yes.  What does that mean?
Me: Get Butter London Nail Foundation and Top Coat!  It has changed my nail-doing life!  Seriously!! That is all.
Meaghan: Hahaha!  You had me conjuring up all sorts of scenarios in my head…nail polish wasn't one of them.

Alright ladies, I am SERIOUSLY in LOVE with this product!  Had that DVD been about becoming a Butter London consultant, I probably would have jumped on it!  I've known about the brand for a while now, but never touched the stuff because of the price tag.  Recently though, since we've been harboring my little sis here while she completes her internship in DC, she brought up a bottle of Butter London's Nail Foundation (my mom got it as a gift for spending lots of money at ULTA apparently, and gave it to my sis).  The two of us used it the first night she pulled it out, and were amazed at the immediate difference we saw with this nail foundation (base coat).  It's different from ALL other base coats.  It dries quickly with a smooth matte finish, creating an INCREDIBLE surface for the color to adhere to.  After that I knew I had to have a bottle of my own, so the following weekend I made my own trip to ULTA to snag some.  I ended up grabbing a two-pack that had the foundation and the quick dry top coat.  I ALMOST grabbed a color too, but decided I'd wait and just try these two products with my own nail polish at home.

 

This is what came in the set.

Here are some of their colors I want (but haven't bought at $15.00 a bottle…eek)

Rosie Lee

The Full Monty

The Old Bill

Chancer

(I picked up a China Glaze color I thought was similar, but less expensive because I LOVE this look so much especially with the holidays coming up!)

Knees Up

Let me tell you a little something about my manicure track record.  I get manicures at the salon intermittently (no more than once a month or not at all, sometimes a little more in the summer only because I actually have time).  No matter what, my nail polish always begins to peel and chip within 1-2 days.  I even splurged once and got a gel manicure, and ok, maybe it took 3-4 days that time, but my nail polish actually peeled off in the shower STILL!  Seriously, I could peel the entire coat off my nail with one pull, and the gels were supposed to be top-notch stuff!  Well, I never again paid for gels, and just submitted to the fact that my manicures would never last more than a day or two.  Oh and by the way, and this REALLY grinds my gears, the last few times I've had my nails done at the salon, they've sent me off saying I'm good to go, and by the time I get to my car and get my keys out I've screwed up a nail or two.  Just UGH!  Thus I decided that I was just never going to have pretty nails for long and such was my life.

Last weekend I went to ULTA again and bought some new nail polish colors (lots of pretty sparkly ones just in time for the holidays).

 

 

Here are the colors I got.  Clockwise from top left: Haven't the Foggiest (OPI), My Favorite Ornament (OPI), All Sparkly and Gold (OPI), and Ruby Pumps (China Glaze).

Anyway, I sat down to paint my nails Sunday evening (Haven't the Foggiest if you must know).  Using the Butter London products and an OPI nail color, I had never pulled off such a smooth and shiny, gorgeous looking DIY manicure in my life!  And it lasted without chipping all the way to Saturday (today)! It beat the gel manicure! Today I decided it was time for a change in color anyway, so I pulled out a good 'ol Essie color and used that with the Butter by London products again and AGAIN, I'm amazed at how smooth and pretty my DIY manicure turned out, and expect another week (not 1-2 days) of pretty nails!  I'm telling you ladies, this little pack of Butter London Nail Foundation and Top Coat was well worth every penny!

Yup, those are MY nails!  So smooth and shiny!

Buy Me a Cameo by Essie

Comparison…thoughts? (Hard to tell b/c of different lighting)

There you have it folks, I HAD to tell everyone that buying these BUTTER products will change your DIY manicure world forever!  No, I was not asked to write this, and I'm in no way being compensated for this (I wish I were haha, but I love it that much to tell you about it regardless).

Sick Days

I don't know about you folks, but I have been downright exhausted lately.  There's just a lot going on in my professional life right now, and I could just feel my body giving out. I was crying over stupid stuff, getting irritated way too easily and just tired all the time.  So I decided to take Friday off to give myself some rest so that I WOULDN'T get sick...and wouldn't you know I woke up Friday morning congested and feeling gross.

I've always said that getting sick is your body's natural way of slowing you down and telling you to ease up. I suppose my body picked an OK time to put on the brakes.

This weekend we've taken it easy at the Veit house, and it's been good.  Besides not being able to breathe through my nose.  We found a few sweet flea market and thrift store treasures yesterday that I can't wait to put to use.

Can't wait to give new life to this vintage bar stool.  Perfect for our kitchen!

Found this nifty tray at the thrift store for $2.

I bought all these darling linens from the flea market (can't wait to pull out the Christmas ones!) and the planters were $3 all together at the thrift store.

I was drawn to the unique picture frame looking planter.  I guess that's what it is...I think it will be neat with something growing up from that hole.  Now if only I could keep a plant alive...

This sweet table clothe reminded me of our wedding for some reason, just the lacey bunting I suppose, but I couldn't pass it up!

Christmas, I'm ready!

OH, and I completed my first sewing project in a LONG time, and finally used my sweet little sewing station Corey set up for me.

Tutorial for Easy Envelope Pillow Case here!

This morning we had good intentions of going to church, but when the alarm went off my body felt paralyzed and I still felt miserable; after a few snooze sessions we decided staying home and in my PJs was what I really needed.  When we finally arose I attempted some banana chocolate whole wheat waffles...they were OK...couldn't really taste the banana (or maybe my tastebuds are just off since I'm sick).  Anyway it's a hot tea and PJ day around here but I wanted to share some of our projects and treasure finds from the weekend.  Stay well my friends.