Extended Valentine's Weekend

Happy Valentine's Weekend friends!  I hope you've been enjoying time with your loved ones.

We had a great first married Valentine's day.  We were snowed in for an extra long weekend, which was fine with us because we didn't have any plans.  I was woken by a delivery man bringing me flowers.  We did a little sledding.  Corey and I cooked together a delightful Valentine's dinner and topped it off with our own wine and chocolate pairing/tasting.  It was peaceful, quiet, and it was just us and we loved it!

The sweater above is an old one from Old Navy, and I paired it with a pink pencil skirt…no shoes…since we stayed home haha.  However, right before we took the pictures I'd been doing a little dish washing and had water all over my belly from that, so no full outfit shots…sorry folks.  This is not a professional establishment quite yet.

Anyway, what's your perfect Valentine's day look like?  

Also, since we've been cozied up together for the past 5 days due to the snowstorm and Corey injured his back earlier this week so I stayed home from work to tend to him, we have sort of run out of home date ideas.  I'm looking for some fresh ones as we are now a little stir crazy, but still not really wanting to spend any money.  We've cooked together, had TONS of movie-viewing, we've played games, made music together…I mean…we've had a lot of us time and done a lot of the typical home date recommendations.  Looking for something different so hit me with your favorite ideas!

2014 Check-In

So how am I doing on some of these goals I set for myself?  Let's be real here.

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.

-January is a rough month for this one…right after the holidays, and Corey's birthday pops up, heating bill is outrageous, oh and I go an extra two weeks before seeing my paycheck.  (We get paid right before Christmas break, and don't get paid again until the end of January.)

-We've actually set up envelopes a la Dave Ramsey, and are both keeping track of our spending pretty well.  

-There may have been some splurging for Corey's birthday…but nothing out of the budget.

-I've even passed on ordering lunch with my teammates (a Friday ritual) the past two weeks to save that additional $10 a week.

2. Reclaim my body and energy.

-Got a fitbit and have been actively logging my activity and food intake with the app.  It is really helpful to see calories in vs. calories out.

-Got a gym membership at the new XSport Fitness center that just opened down the road, and went for two days.  One of which was a free personal training session, and BOY do my quads, hamstrings, and gluteus HURT!  Was planning on going today…but with the snowfall I'm not sure I'll make it there…perhaps I'll just do some stuff at home.  I am looking forward to trying some of the classes though. (Zumba, Cycling, maybe even some Yoga!)

3. Give fully in all areas.

-I have to say this is a work in progress and something that doesn't just change over night.

-One major area I've tried to focus on giving more fully to is actually my work, and in praying over that I've been inspired to create some exciting projects and lessons for my kids, so I think that's headed in a really good direction.  Still a work in progress, but headed in the right direction.

-I'm still figuring out what it means to give fully in ALL areas of my life…there's still a long way to go, but it's important to celebrate the lessons and victories along the way.

4. Have an adventure.

-Hmmm…nothing too adventurous yet.

5. Uncover true passion in my life.

-Praying through this one big time.

6. Be more intentional in prayer.

-I have been keeping a prayer journal which helps me focus during my conversations with God and not get lost in my inner thought world.  I don't write in it nightly, but still frequently.

-Prayer sometimes feels like a battle for me even when I write it down, because sometimes I feel like I'm being fake…not that I don't mean what I say, but I'm saying words that I hear other people say when they pray and using language they use, and that's not how I talk in real life…so why am I talking to God that way?  Why can't I talk to him the way I talk in real life?  I don't know it's a mindset thing and another element that I'm praying through.

7. Be more watchful and expectant.

-The prayer journal helps me with this one a lot.  If I write down what I ask for, I can revisit and record when I receive the answer. I can also see how persistent I've been in praying for it.

8. Go on another mission trip.

-No developments here.

9. Take a vacation.

-Potential development here that I'm quite excited about, but I don't want to say anything until it's a done deal--booked and paid for.

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

- Honestly….nothing here.  Maybe the projects I'm creating for my students counts…but I'd rather create something else.

Honesty box time ya'll, how are your goals coming along?

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Baby It's Cold Outside!

In the spirit of today's arctic freeze that is sweeping across the nation and subsequently granted me a "it's too cold to leave the house," day off from work, (Seriously…schools are closed because it's too cold here…the sun is shining and the roads are clear…it's just cold so no school.), today I'm touching on cold-weather wear.

Let's begin with a lesson in cold weather wear history.  Particularly, MY cold weather wear history.
My family used to live in Fairbanks, Alaska.  So this business today is cold, but it's NOTHING compared to the regular -60 degree temps I saw and went to school in.  Now I was win 5th and 6th grade at that time, and we can easily label those years the dumb years in fashion for me.

My mother insisted I wear something like this during the winter:

 

If only I had a picture of my actual get-up.  Yes folks, I was indeed a frozen purple grape.  My younger sister who my mom still liked to dress to match me at this point, had the same get up but in all pink…we dubbed her the pink marshmallow.  Now being the little rebel that I was…the cool thing to do amongst my friends was to actually only wear something like this.

 

Yup, us too-cool-for-school upper elementary kids would dress ourselves head to toe in adidas track gear, because that was "cool."  And our poor mothers would give up the battle everyday and probably secretly wish we froze all our fingers and toes off in the sub-zero temperatures at recess just so we would learn our lesson.  And trust me, it was cold.  The sneakers did nothing to keep the cold wet snow from seeping in.  Our tooshies froze in those flimsy little track pants, and the jacket, HA!  Maybe that's why we spent all our time at recess huddled together gossiping instead of playing and having fun.  Anyway, you get the picture.  We were stupid, all of us, but in our own minds we were cool.  I think this especially now as a teacher of 6th graders and the lot of them insist on wearing something like the picture below every day.  Even in freezing temps.

Notice the switch from Adidas to Nike? True story! Maybe it's an east-coast/west-coast thing…who knows?  In my day is was Adidas all the way.  But anyway, yes the COOL thing for 6th graders now is to wear little track or lacrosse shorts, MAYBE a sweater, and bright sneakers every day. Regardless of how cold it actually is.  And I think man…your mother let you out like that today?  And then I remember…yeah, my mom gave up that battle too…OK, well enjoy freezing at recess.

Let's move on to cold weather wear of today.  I will probably venture out to the store in a bit to pick up a few items and when I do I will don something like this.

Eddie Bauer

Mine is black and not the exact same but this is pretty close.

Although, I wish I had one a bit longer so it would cover my butt.  Like this one down here.

Eddie Bauer

While it is freezing, there's no damp snow…so I'm not feeling the need for snow pants.  I will most definitely try to wear leggings underneath my jeans as an extra layer, and probably just my riding boots as I no longer own snow boots.  (maybe I should fix that soon).

I think underneath all the bundling I'll have something like this:

J Crew (No longer available)

Bought this pretty for myself on Black Friday and wrapped it up to open Christmas morn.  It's so comfy, and I love it!

LuckyBrand

Love my LuckyBrand jeans!

Forever 21

Eddie Bauer (no longer available)

Similar/Similar

Stay warm my dears!  It's ok to dress warmly, cold weather fashion has come a long way!

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!!!