Life is Pretty Good...

Life has been pretty good for the Lenz's lately. We are celebrating 6 months of marriage today..I am celebrating with oral surgery, but in 2 weeks I will have a crown and will no longer be missing a tooth! So needless to say things won't be very exciting tonight when J gets home from work. We finished the dining room chairs, picked up our headboard for the guestroom, starting laying stones for the path around our house to the backyard, picked up a new TV and finally set-up the desk! We had a very busy weekend! I love seeing the progress at the house and watching it transform into our home.. JJ cleaned the house yesterday before I got home since he was having a guy's night to watch MNF..there is no better feeling than walking into a clean home after a Monday! Thanks JJ!

Tonight and tomorrow I will be prepping the house for the Barber fam. I will finish hanging pics, washing sheets and making sure the house is tidy. I cannot wait for them to be here tomorrow! It will be so great having them here for 4 days! Emers and I are getting cut and color on Friday and then meeting the rest of the family at our favorite place..Lupe Tortilla's. I can taste those delish beef fajitas now!

I am working on a giveaway, but it will have to wait until after Thanksgiving. It is going to be some of my favorite things for the holidays. A random assortment of goodies. So be sure to check back on Monday.

I have been so terrible about posting pictures lately and will hopefully get back on the bandwagon this week since I will be off starting today at 12!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!

Almost forgot again! I am thankful for the Lenz family. They are a great blessing in my life. They are loving, caring and treat me like one of their own. Thanks for welcoming me into your family with open arms. Love you guys.

Help..

Ok ladies I am needing some help..any tips on where to find a cute sweaterdress for less than oh I don't know 70 bucks?!?! I have a grey one but was hoping for another one a little more colorful. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

On a side note I hit the jackpot at Hobby Lobby and Target last night with my mom. Scored a 9 ft lighted garland for 8 bucks, 4 plain wreaths for 16 bucks and the ribbon for the bows for 5 bucks for 90 feet! I have also officially checked two more people off the Christmas list...yay for progress!  Now I just have to buy for another 6 people.

I have also just realized that our event calender for the remainder of the year is getting quite full and I have already double-booked us on two nights! Yikes! It will be crazy but fun this holiday season.

And last but not least...I am so thankful we decided to move into the neighborhood we did. It is absolutely heavenly that I can be at my parents house in 10 minutes!!! We have eaten dinner with them twice this week and I am simply loving it! Thanks for the meals mom and dad! I am eating leftover tortilla soup from last night and it is delish!

Hope everyone is enjoying their Thursday! I for one am super ready for it to be Friday!

ARGHHH

That is how I feel after today. It seems that even though we have been productive around the house lately that the list keeps getting longer instead of shorter..why is that?? Why do we add two more things when we cross off one? We did have a VERY VERY productive weekend and a BIG thanks to Danielle and Jenny for coming over Friday and knocking out two more rooms in our house..now we just have the guest bath to finish before Christmas Day. Should be relatively easy..we shall see.

Saturday I got up and hit the Nutcracker Market and I was NOT disappointed. I think I will be skipping Sugar Plums next year and just go to the Nutcracker Market..so many more vendors and deals to be found. I did check some people off the christmas list so that was a plus..just need to shop for oh the rest of our families! I came home and we did yardwork and tackled two of the dining room chairs. They look great! They are however a little bit more difficult than anticipated..but we are saving a few hundred bucks by doing it ourselves so thats a tremendous plus! Jonathan stayed up until about 1 setting up his gym while I passed out on the couch around 11...so pitiful!

Sunday was pretty relaxing..until the Colts v. Patriots game...wowza! Thank you Colts for making a come back and beating those Patriots! Ahhh feels so good! Jonathan however was a bit less happy about the win as he is a Patriots Fan..can't win them all honey. The Colts played pretty sloppy but pulled it out in the end.

This week is an indirect week which means I can get caught up on all the paperwork and not do therapy! Well I would rather do therapy and NOT do the paperwork! Oh well it must and will get done!

I have been bad about saying what I am thankful for each time I blog. These people are pretty stinkin amazing. I have known this family since I was about 8 months old..I have known them longer than my own brother! They are practically my parents..I even spent the night at their house when my brother was born. They are my family, they are always there when I need them and I love them almost as much as my own family. They are a few of the only people I let call me "Meg or Meggy." I have given their son..my longest friend stitches on his head..that is how much we love each other. I was so blessed to have Emily as a bridesmaid, Alex as an usher and Suellen co-host my bridal luncheon. And to top it off they will be here for Thanksgiving..so today I am very thankful for the Barber Family...simply put if my parents would have had to leave us to someone if something happened to us..it would have been them. Love you Barbers.

Sweet Emily..

I would do anything for him...now if I could just have him back in Texas..

Mom #2..how could I not love her?!?

Two of my favorite men telling me how beautiful I looked. Thanks for the tears..

Look how far we have come...

Hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather..yay for sweaters and cords!! I LOVE THIS WEATHER!!

PS I am thinking for my 100th post there will be a giveaway...so stay tuned!

Success and Not so much Success

I accomplished a lot yesterday. Ran by my doc's office to pick up some samples of my thyroid meds because let's just say I am not the most pleasant person to be around when those lovely pills run out, picked up the fabric to re-cover the dining room chairs and then headed to some shops until danielle got off of work. Hit DSW..nada, hit Pier1 didn't find what i was looking for but did find stemless wine glasses on sale for 48 cents, so I picked up 6 for my mom and I's craft project. I then walked down to Home Goods to look for some placemats/table runner/tablecloth??? At this point I have not seen much that I like. So we will see what goes on the table in the next few weeks. Do any of you ladies know of a good place to find table linens?? I am stumped! I then headed to MCM to meet up with danielle to hit the Gap. Bought my dark wash straight leg jeans and I am sporting them today! I am loving them more and more...now I just need some boots! (I have some black leather ones, but am thinking some flat ones would be a good gift this year) After we walked the mall and did some window shopping we parted ways...it is still weird that we don't live about 100 yards away from each other.

I then prepped the two rooms that are going to be painted today. My mother-in-law kindly offered to head over once she gets off of work around 1 and then danielle is coming over after work as well too. Should be able to knock it out tonight! Then I get the lovely task of setting up the office this weekend..oh joy!

I am looking forward to tomorrow though...heading to the Nutcracker Market in the AM, hopefully there will be some better goodies at this event.

All I can say is thank goodness it is FRIDAY!!!! Pizza, bevies and painting is on the agenda tonight! Happy Friday!

How Did I NOT know this?!?!?!

I am browsing Hobby Lobby's Ad to check out what is on sale and then i am scrolling down the left side of the nav bar and there it is "Print Coupon" i am in utter shock and disbelief! How is it possible that I did not know there was a 40% off coupon off of regular priced items on the website! I mean COME ON!!!! Granted half of the store is always some percentage off, but there is still plenty there that is not! Thought I would share this relevation of sorts with the blogging world!

Since we are hosting Christmas this year..this might just be what I needed to get some items for the house! Good grief Hob Lob how did I NOT know!

Peace.Love.Shop

I mean how can you not with all these coupons!

Fall into the Gap..

Where else?!? I have my 30% off coupon in hand and will be heading there very soon! They have some super great pieces on sale right now too. Love the boyfriend sweater for only 16 bucks. Love the corderoy jackets on sale for 30 bucks...more importantly I am loving that Gap has gotten it back together. For awhile there I was less than impressed, but am totally loving their fall/winter clothes! Check out these lovelies:

I would gladly wear any of these..i am thinking the red is PERFECT for Christmas Day at our house this year! I am thinking new jeans + plaid shirt + boots will be precious! Now let's hope for some cooler weather!

Any of these V-necks would do the trick too!

And these super cute red booties would be super cute with my red plaid shirt!!

A trip to Gap to pick up my straight leg jeans is for sure on the books today! Hopefully I can contain myself!

I am also heading to Interior Fabrics to pick up the fabric for our dining room chairs. Jonathan is going to tackle that project this weekend, while Danielle helps me finish painting the gym tomorrow after work! It will be very busy around the house the next few weeks as we wrap up the projects and get everything together for the upcoming events.

I PROMISE to post pics after this weekend. Some major projects will be finished, so I will be more likely to add pictures!

PS..YAY for Thursday!

Patience My Child...

If only I had some! I have tried on several occasions to be more patient with my family, friends and Jonathan. But let me tell you...it is most certainly a virtue that I do not possess.  After JJ and I moved into our house we made two lists: "short to-dos" and "long to-dos" most of the BIG projects are on the long list, so it is always exciting to cross something off the list. Like I said previously, JJ crossed some items off the list this weekend. And trust me I am so proud of his hardwork around here..homeownership suits him well. However there are some projects I am more eager to get finished. Our office is the "holding cell" if you will for items we don't know where we want to put yet. The desk has not been set-up and the walls have not been painted. After a nice chat with Jenny (JJ's mom), she has agreed to come help me finish up the last two rooms over the next few weekends. I think once the office is painted I will have a more clear vision for the space. But man it would be so nice to have an EASY button about now.

So we woke up around 9ish headed to HEB, came home and watched some football. I left around 2 to meet Jenn to head to Highland Village for a few things. I did find the second Christmas gift that I have purchased for JJ today. I have only bought for him! I have a list now, but still have no clue what to get our dads. Everyone else I at least have some ideas for..any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! My mom has been asking what to get JJ and I said you can't go wrong with Home Depot giftcards..there is so much we need for the house for the yard and what not, so although she loves giving thoughtful gifts she might have to go with practicality this year!

So what are some items are your wishlist this year?? My list is evolving..Uggs, jeans....I really haven't thought about it much this year since we have been so busy! My mom informed me she is done shopping for me already..i was shocked! I am thinking a quick trip to the Outlets in Cypress will take care of a few of the gifts I need. We shall see in the upcoming weeks.

Thankful Part 3: My extended family-grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and so forth. I am thankful for them because although we don't see each other often we always pick up where we left off. We may be a small family, but I wouldn't trade them for the world.

My family at the reception.

Claire, me and my brother. Claire read a scripture at the wedding.

My Aunt Pat doing the blessing at the reception. It was so special to have her be apart of our special day.

Dancing to "We are Family"

So there is a snapshot of the Odom and Gustavson Clan.

Have a great Monday everyone..

Shop Til You Drop

So after work on Friday I zipped over to the Stafford Center to meet up with my mom and Terri to get our shop on for the afternoon. I quickly found my mom checking out some jewelry. She found some precious gold bracelets and turquoise bracelets. We snatched them up and headed to the next booth. We found several great items, but nothing really to give as gifts. I found a cute glittery gold tree to add to my collection for a steal, a cute stocking to hang on the door and a dip mix for JJ. There were other cute items there, but nothing was really striking my fancy if you know what I mean. Terri bought some precious baby items for her niece's daughter. I grabbed a few business cards to keep in handy for the future, but this year was not near as successful as the previous years. We grabbed dinner and then I headed home. I came home to a husband who had cleaned out the garage, put all the storage bins in the attic, cleaned out and set up the gym and so on...he had worked his tail off! Sadly I passed out on the couch around 10..i was beat! He kept on working and slept slept slept..it felt so good!

So of course we were up bright and early at 8am this morning! So we started back on the projects this morning. We emptied more wedding presents and finished the attic up. We now have more storage then I know what to do with! So since JJ had finished all of his "honey-dos" he headed out to the softball park and I headed over to my parents. We had a more successful day that is for sure! We hit the jackpot at Home Goods..found the one last pillow I needed for the guestroom..pics to come soon. We found fabric to get started the next few projects around the house: recovering the dining room chairs and a few others. We then headed over to Town & Country to hit Pottery Barn..i STILL had giftcards! Needless to say I got some great items for the holidays and the giftcards are dunski! I can't wait to start decorating for Christmas! It still amazes me how much stuff we still have at my parents house! All of the china and crystal is there and will be there until we have the proper storage for it. On the books for tomorrow is football and a little shopping with Jenn.

I have been slacking on the things I am thankful for...so I am going to state the obvious..I am Thankful for my husband. Put simply- he rocks. We balance each other out to a "t." I am crazy, annoying, frustrating at times and he puts up with me! He knows exactly what I need at the end of the day..without me even asking. We are not perfect by any means, but at the end of the day I couldn't imagine going home to anyone else. OK OK enough of the mushy hoopla.

Sorry to only post wedding pics, but I am slightly obsessed with them...I love this candid one.

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and got a lot accomplished like we did! Go Colts! Let's keep that undefeated season going...

I promise to post pics of the house soon! We are trying to finish up a few things..but it will constantly change I am aware. It will be a work in progress and I think I am okay with that..for now!

Peace.Love.Shop

Honestly...

Just got off the phone with my mom and said she that I needed to share more about myself then what I had shared earlier in the week. Some more interesting details about me, stuff you would not know already. Well I thought I had, so here it goes again...

1. I love all things sweet: ice cream, brownies, candy, cake and so forth. I have the biggest sweet tooth!
2. I am a picky eater. I do not like to try new things..but boy I sure do get pressured wherever I am and whomever I am with..
3. I do not like attics. We  Jonathan is working on expanding our attic and I want NO part of being up there!
4. I am the supreme prepster. I do like trendy, but however I stick to me staples from JCrew and Gap. Thanks to some severe pushing by my mother I do have some very cute items that I would normally never buy!
5. I tried on straight leg jeans from Gap yesterday and loved them! SHOCKER to me! Might be going back next week to pick them up once I have the 30% off coupon.
6. I do not like to wear hats. I think I look terrible in them! However the hibs thinks I look great in them..so i am stuck!
7. I LOVE things that are monogrammed or personalized. I am having a baby blanket monogrammed for a friend of mine. She gave me my first monogrammed item with my new initials and now I am returning the favor.
8. I LOVE that I am not creative, but my husband and mother fill that gap for me.
9. I LOVE sports. I love going to games and watching them on TV.
10. I LOVE popcorn! It is my favorite snack! It also doesn't matter if we have just gone to eat if we go to the movies afterwards..I need some popcorn! Is that crazy or what!?!

Ok hopefully these 10 truths were more insightful! have a great weekend ladies! i am heading to the sugar plum market this afternoon! Can't wait to see what treasures await.

It's Here.....

i already have my eye on some items! Hurry they won't last long!

It's beginning to Look a Lot like......

Something I am looking so very very forward to this week is the Sugar Plum Market hosted by the Fort Bend Junior Service League. It is an annual shopping market to jump start the holiday shopping! It is this Friday and Saturday. So if any of you ladies has some free time to spare..I would head to the Stafford Center for some shopping or browsing if you like. You can buy tickets at any Fort Bend Randalls or at the door.

It is something my mom and I do every year! One year JJ went in a wheelchair and my mom was on crutches..long story..broken ankle and foot surgery. Soo many people asked if they had been in a double accident. So we came up with a wild and crazy story of me beating them up or something. Needless to say this event is a MUST in the Odom house. We love browsing all the vendors and picking up precious gifts for ourselves and friends..we try to buy on a one to one ratio..doesn't happen very often! I typically try and find a small something another to give to all my friends...hopefully I will be successful! Hopefully I will find something to giveaway in another giveaway I am hoping to do by the end of the month! We shall see.

This year I will be going on Friday afternoon with my mom, Jenn, Terri and whomever else decides to join! Should be a fun-filled girls afternoon of shopping and maybe dinner and drinks afterwards..

Ok that is officially all for tonight!

Bring It On

Ok another brief post today. Hopefully I will include some pics by the end of this one. Katie gave me an award that I have not even blogged about, bad blogger number 1, we had friends over Friday AND Saturday and I haven't posted a single pic, bad blogger number 2, the house has changed oh so much and I haven't taken a single pic, bad blogger number 3! Man oh man did I fall off the wagon, so much so that the hubs even commented.


So thank you Katie for the blog love! Sorry it has taken me a week+ to get to doing this!

Here are the rules for the award:

1)You must thank the person who gave the award and list their blog and link it.

2) You must share "10 Honest Things" about yourself.

3) You have to present this award to 7 others whose blogs you find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged you.

4) Last, you must tell those 7 people they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving the award.

10 Honest Things About Me

1. I am incredibly for Christmas! It is my favorite time of year. Jonathan and I hit up Starbucks and drive around looking at lights...
2. I am a people pleaser..it bothers me sometimes. I put EVERYONE else before me.
3. I have the most amazing family in the world. No Lie.
4. I am some pretty amazing friends as well.
5. I am a shopper. I Love it! Some say I have an addiction...but let's be honest people you don't get to take your money with you to Heaven.
6. I love my job! I love my profession..I love learning new things in my field.
7. I cannot believe I am married, a homeowner and 25 all in one year! I am blessed.
8. I absolutely 150% HATE drama.
9. I enjoy entertaining.
10. I could not imagine my life without JJL. I am living the dream.

So now I must tag some lovely ladies to be Honest with me:

Sarah at Make It Luxe

Jenn atLove, Life & Laughter

Kelsey at The Seattle Smith's

Danielle at The Lenz's

Kim at J & K, a Journey

I know some of you ladies I have done before..but it always feels good to be a little honest!

Ok so that took care of the FIRST bad blogger. Maybe some more posts tonight.


I love how some many fellow bloggers are doing a Give Thanks tidbit leading up to Thanksgiving. So I am going to join in. I am thankful for my family. Without them I would not be the person I am today.

My Dad and I before he walked me down the aisle.

My mom putting on my pearls from JJ.

And my sweet brother. Isn't he handsome!

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Funkity Funk Funk

So much to blog about, but i surely dont have the motivation. Quite honestly I am lacking motivation at school, at home and everywhere in between. we had a great weekend with tons of great friends and fun pics to post but I am not feeling the blogging at this time. The hubs has been a grilling machine and doing projects left and right around the house..so much progress has been made. it has evolved so much since Saturday! i have changed the guest room that I posted about..found a headboard idea that I am entertaining but just not feeling the motivation. Maybe a nice little jog around the lakes by our house tonight will do the trick?!?!