Busy Bees..

JJ and I have been quite busy lately like most people these days. Everytime I look at the calendar we are headed somewhere or doing something. I like staying busy honestly because if I sit to long then my mind starts to wander about more porjects to do around the house...see where this is going??

Two weekends ago we headed to College Station to celebrate Emily's Ring Dunk. Now Emily is practically my little sister. I have known her whole life. She is one of the most precious and genuine people I know. I truly love her and love having her in my life.

Emily is NOT a beer drinker..i repeat NOT a beer drinker. Well the instructions for the ring dunking are the following:

1. Pour 4 beers in a pitcher
2. Let beer set in for a few hours until it is room temperature...YUCK! Apparently this makes the beer flat and easier to chug?!?!
3. Drop ring in pitcher and chug!

Shes on the far right...looking a little nervous!

Well Emily was a ROCKSTAR! She chugged her pitcher in 49 seconds! She beat a guy! Thats right a GUY! We were so proud! haha. I am so glad my family was able to be apart of her day!

Sunday afternoon JJ and I headed out for a little shopping. He was a man on a mission. He needed socks, shoes and so on. Well he hit the jackpot. I found a few things, but he NEVER goes shopping so I figured I would let him load up at Marshalls. We found a few things for the house, so that was a plus. After Marshalls we walked done to HomeGoods to see if there were any little items we could find. Well we found a picture for the mantle that we both love and are very excited about! I can't wait to hang it up. It matches perfectly with the candles and the new orange in our kitchen...more on that in a bit.

We ventured down to Houston Garden Center and picked up some plants and flowers that were all 50% off..so all in all we struck the jackpot on Sunday!

This past week was pretty hectic for both of us with work. We were definately looking forward to the weekend...then we got a wild hair and decided to knock out our water leak damaged kitchen. JJ retextured, kilzed, and painted the ceiling..I am so proud of him for learning how to do this! You can't even tell there was a water leak!

what water leak??? SO proud of him!

Since the ceiling had been tackled that meant I could start on the walls. Well the paint situation was a nightmare! Jenny and I painted one wall on Friday night and it looked like a fiesta...so on Saturday my mom and I kilzed the walls and set out to find an orange/terracotta color that would not be quite so shocking! So we ended up at Sherwin Williams and got two samples. Luckily we loved one of them and started painting. We were able to get one coat up on Saturday. AFter church on Sunday Jenny and I did the second coat. Man were we tired come 6 o'clock! I am still tired...my whole boday ached.

The inspiration for the final paint color.

I woke up this morning and walked into the kitchen praying I would like it because let me say this...there is no way in the world I am painting in there again! No way no how! Luckily I walked into the kitchen and liked it and am ready for everything to be back in its place..I am recruiting some friends to help with that process...they love to decorate..so they dont mind! love you girls...

So here it is Monday and I am beat. I sat on the computer all day logging therapy sessions and am happy to say I am waiting on the system to fix a few errors and then it will be complete!

Fellow Houstonians...did you hear it might get into the 90's later this week or early next week? Since the weather is climbimg up there I decided it is time for a summer giveaway! Details tomorrow! I need to pick up one more item for the giveaway!

Only 4 more Mondays to my fellow teacher friends...crazy to believe! What is even more crazy is that JJ and I's 1 year anniversary is less than a month away!

What's In My Mailbox...

It seems that today I received several emails regarding sales, new items, and limited time offers. Doesn't it always seem like you receive these emails when you need to the least? But since they were all just sitting there waiting to be opened I couldn't resist...........I will post a few of the emails I received..you never know it could just be what you are in the market for right now..or I could very well get you and your bank account in trouble.

So here is my disclaimer..I am in no way encouraging your shopping; however, if you do purchase something feel free to let me know!  

#1 Up to 40% off Selected Women's Styles..from none other than Nordstrom. 

I am really liking these white Steve Madden Sandals..just perfect for summer! And they are only 40 bucks..seems like a deal to me!


#2 There's No Better Time to Get Naked...spoken from none other than Victoria's Secret.
I know the title is quite alarming, but I am a fan of VS. I am not going to post any pictures from there, but if you are in the market for those items then have at it.


#3 New Colorful REVAS....oh how I am lusting over these fabulous new colors.

One of each please. I will have to say that I would love a white pair or orange or pink..now I just need to figure out how to convince the hubs that they are very worth the price..that might take a while!

#4 What's New in the Garden? Best Buys...oh how I love Crate & Barrel. I love them from their pillows to kitchen items..they have such great stuff! We registered there and it was a slice of heaven!

Go check out there new garden items. They have some great pieces that would compliment any outdoor setting.

Well there you have it. There is nothing better than some online browsing first thing in the morning. Now I just need to work the husband for some of these beauties!

Tomorrow is Hump Day! Woohoo!

 

Summer Lovin'

After some online browsing, magazine flipping, and people watching I have decided I am ready for summer. I am ready to sport some form of a tan while wearing shorts, wedges and a cute top. Well if you are in Houston you know that summer is knocking on the door and before we know it it will be 90 outside accompanied with the grueling  humidity.

I also can't wait to be entertaining as much as possible this summer. We have been hard at work trying to get everything back in shape and looking pretty. So far so good. Like everyone else we are battling weeds and trying to figure out how to best defeat them. There are a few things I would love to add to our backyard for a little extra color. But all we need to accomplish in the backyard before our first event at the Lenz Casa is plant a few more items..which are TBD and mulch. Those are the biggies to check off the list.

This week we are planning on tackling the kitchen ceiling..it needs to be re-textured, kilzed, and re-painted before I can paint the walls. So I am crossing my fingers that it all goes well and I can paint the following weekend. I am very ready for the white walls with spots of different paint samples to be one lovely shade of terracotta.

Thankfully this week should be less stressful with only 1 ARD on the books, I should be able to have a productive week. Again I am going to cross my fingers..as the weeks dwell down I am noticing that I am stressing a bit more each week..which is typical since I am trying to close out my first year successfully.

After a long day in the yard I am headed to nice relaxing evening with the hubs and crashing early...

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. I know we did. And since a post is not a post without a picture...

Isn't he just precious! This is one of friends kids who requests my presence about 3 times a week. I babysat him about two weeks ago and love him so much! I mean how can you say "no" to that face?!?! I know I can't and don't most of the time..that's why I get to spoil him and then give him back to his parents!

My How the Time Flies...

It is has been a solid week since I last posted...funny thing is that I have wanted to post, but haven't had much to say or had the energy after work. But here we are on a rainy Saturday morning and I am feeling the itch after reading everyone else's posts to get to it.

Several of my closest friends have been going through trying times the past few weeks and even months. I lift them up in my prayers every night hoping that He will ease their minds. One of them it seems God has been working very hard in her life and has been easing her and her families prayers and all I can say is..thank you! Sometimes God says "no," and as much as we want Him to say "yes" we have to trust in His plan for us. I have come to realize through their trials that prayer is a powerful thing. There is no prayer that is to small for Him. So I will continue to pray for these lovely ladies and watch Him work in their lives.

Easter weekend was a bit hectic, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. We spent Saturday with my family and some long-time family friends. We went to church around 3 and then headed into town for an evening of delicious food and wine and even an Easter Egg Hunt. I know you are thinking.."how old are you guys" well lets just say the youngest "kid" there was 21! We grew up with these families for years having egg hunts for about 10 years...so it was nostalgic and brought back several wonderful childhood memories. On Sunday we drove to Port Arthur to spend the day with Jonathan's family. It turned out to be a beautiful day and once again Grandma cooked a delicious meal. She never disappoints.

This past week has been a hectic one. I had 8 yes 8 ARDs this past week. Needless to say the paperwork alone was enough to make my eyes tired. So after a long week of ARDs and meetings..I needed to relax. Jenn and I with the addition of JJ for a bit had a very early dinner because none of us had lunch and then she and I went over to Town Center to walk around for a bit. We definately needed to after the amount of food that we consumed!

So here we are on Saturday and I am hoping the rain will pass, so we can enjoy the crawfish boil christopher & danielle have planned for this afternoon.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Only 7 more weeks of school..guess I better get to finding a summer job..yikes!

A glimpse of the Easter Decor....

I am sure JJ can't wait for Easter to be over! The house isn't bursting with Easter decor, but there is some in all the common areas...is that a bad thing?!?!?

I have to admit that since moving into our home I have thoroughly enjoyed borrowing and buying decor for every season and holiday! But the way I see it is...these pieces are investments..you only have to buy them once and they last for several years. I also will only buy things if they are on sale or very reasonably priced..I do have a limit set on things. I mean I am talking I have spent as little as 1 dollar to as much as 15 bucks...nothing outrageous.

So here are a few pics of the decor....

a birdcage and a few glass birds sitting inside..this will stay until Spring is over.

apothecary jars on the dining room table filled with grass, eggs, and a chick.

I will have to say that finding these apothecary jars for under 15 bucks was quite the challenge, but i was patient and found all 3 at various Home Goods and Marshalls. I told you I was bargain shopping....

I am happy to say that I am very very very content with the inside of the house..I am sure JJ is grinning! But honestly it is so easy to get wrapped up in "we need this, and this and this and this..." But as long as you are bargain shopper minded you can find great deals out there!

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The last thing I want to do with this blog is to post pictures of new items and for it to come across as bragging...that is not the point and I hope you fellow bloggers realize this. I simply post the pics to show the few readers I have the changes that are happening at the Lenz casa...so I do hope that is how it is perceived in blogland. Enough on that soapbox.

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A few new recipes that we tried over the weekend coming up in tomorrow's post!

Things That Make Me Happy...

The Lovely Mrs. Hesson gave me the Happy 101 award last week. Thank you Mrs. H. If you are not currently reading her blog you should be.

the rules:

1.) When you have received this award you must thank the person that awarded you this in the new post.

2.) Name the 10 things that make you happy

3.) Pass this award on to 10 other bloggers and inform the winners

 

1. JJ

2. my family

3. wine nights with the girls

4. fresh flowers

5. a sunny day

6. watching sports with the hubs

7. gardening

8. the beach

9. my kiddos at school making progress...

10. a clean home.

 

The 10 lovely ladies I am passing this onto are:

 

1. Jenn

2. Danielle

3. Meredith

4. Kim B.

5. Jen

6. Heather

7. Kim R.

8. Lindsey

9. Julianne K.

10. Jenn W.

 

I hope everyone was able to enjoy the fabulous weather this past weekend! I am desperately hoping it lasts for a few weeks! It's a short work week for most of us...thank goodness! The school year is winding down and it is time to start making decisions for summer work and next year...life is crazy, but a good crazy.

 

Pics to come later this week.

 

Tomorrow is Wednesday!!!

 

Bag Lady...

yep that's right I am a bag lady. I LOVE bags...I use my LL Bean tote to tote around my therapy session materials, I have a bag that I take with me to and from school to carry my agenda and any paperwork that needs to be addressed, I have a bag specifically for dry cleaning...see the pattern??

well after I just looked over my weekley OKL email with shopping deals..I found the most adorable bags from the brand saltbox...i am in LOVE. Here are the two I am l.o.v.i.n.g.

I am dying over this orange one that they are calling "market & beach tote"

and this tote & and matching cosmetic bag is to.die.for!

Now if I could just get the hubs on board with this purchase I would be ordering right now!!

Come to think of it I don't have a "beach bag/bag for the river house"....I might be onto something here!

Hope everyone has amazing weather like we are having right now in Houston! It is in the upper 60's and simply gorgeous!

Happy Friday Bloggers!