Married | Mother | Millennial
Tis’ the season to be merry and decorate everything. The house, Christmas tree, fire place mantel, dining room, etc.! But one of my favorite holiday DIY projects is making salt dough Christmas ornaments. They are super easy to make and all of the ingredients can be found right in your cabinets or pantry. The only things you need to buy, if you don’t already own them, is paint, pipe cleaners/string, and mod podge.
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Making painted pumpkins for Halloween has become a yearly tradition for me. Each year I try to find a theme with three to four printable characters for my pumpkins. In past years I’ve done Nightmare Before Christmas, Ninja Turtles, classic monsters etc.
This year I turned to my Facebook family and friends for ideas on pumpkins this year. A few people mentioned the movie “Coco” and I realized as much as I love the movie this would be the perfect craft. I also knew it would be a challenge for freehand drawing to make the characters look like exact like movie.Read More
The title of this post should be self explanatory if you’ve been on the internet within the last 12 hours. However, if you are lost on the meaning of the number “25” on today’s date, it is the name of Adele latest album which was released, today, and it has been four years since she last released an album. I love Adele. She has a voice that can’t be faked and talent that can’t be imitated. She sings some of the most beautiful lyrics you will ever hear, whether the lyrics be beautiful in love or loss. If you haven’t listened to the album yet, I highly recommend you give it a listen A.S.A.P. I have personally listened to “Million Years Ago” about 50 times since earlier this morning. I feel her words to “Million Years Ago” in my soul, and it takes me away to another place in my mind. My other favorite songs/recommendations are “Remedy” and “All I Ask.”
In honor of today being “Adele Day” I wanted to share my favorite Adele song with all of you. This was one of my favorite songs to listen to in college and it’s a combination of beautiful vocals and nostalgia all wrapped up in one.
It also helps today is Friday, and in addition to the weekend we have great music to listen to. If you are like us, you are getting snow this weekend, which only makes it feel even more like the holiday season. Thanks for giving us beautiful music this season, Adele!
Happy Friday everyone!
Brie <3
[11.20.15]
Today, our awesome and close friends, the Millers, started on their journey to start their new chapter at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Talk about a bittersweet (definitely more bitter than sweet) feeling. They have been stuck here at this base for a very long time so this new journey of positive changes and more opportunities is much deserved. But to start a new journey it requires leaving your current one, and that is where the sadness comes in.
Krissy and I have become extremely close since I moved here in January of 2012. She’s for sure my best friend here, and we’re so close we even call each other “Sister Wife.” Let me explain…(LOL) when either of our husbands were gone for long periods of time doing Air Force stuff, the other’s husband stepped in and helped out where the other couldn’t. For example, when I was in my first trimester of pregnancy Kris was gone for six weeks doing work in California. This means Krissy’s husband, Isaiah, would come take my trash out, lift heavy stuff around the house if needed, invited me over for dinner etc. We joked that each other husbands was our second husband and started calling each other Sister Wife.
When I found out I was pregnant Krissy was the second person in the world who knew. When she found out she was pregnant six months later I believe I was the second person to know about it as well. And when I say we shared this news with each other, in both instances it was an actual picture of the positive pregnancy test right after getting the results hahaha. If we ever needed anything or someone to rely on for any reason, we always knew (and still know) we could count on the Millers. They’re the type of friends who become family and a part of your life forever. In this crazy world, military life world to be even more specific, it is hard to find people you genuinely can call lifelong friends. It’s part of the life we live to meet people, become friends, and start over again once getting orders to a new base. Thankfully, we had a pretty great group of friends here in Montana who have all left by now, but are still some of the closest people to us.
It’s going to be a huge adjustment for my family and I to not be able to call you guys and hang out whenever we want or watch our baby girls play together. Jordyn and I will actually have to start attending playgroups without our BFFs :-(. I think I’m even more emotional than usual because of the holiday season. We always spent Halloween at you guys house eating delicious soup of some sort and passing out candy to the kids while looking at their awesome costumes. Isaiah always deep-fried the Thanksgiving turkey (which I refuse to eat any other way now lol) for our big f(r)amily dinner and the same goes for Christmas.
Although we will miss you guys for the small activities and huge holidays, I am so happy you all get to finally be near an ocean again! (The Pacific will just have to do for now 😉 ) Have tons of fun for us, and prayerfully we will meet you guys there in Vandenberg one day soon. Safe travels, we love you guys tons, and miss you so much already. But of course we miss Norah a.k.a Chunky Cheeks the most ;-). Thank you for being great people and even more amazing friends. We are thankful for all of the memories we have created over the years.
It wouldn’t be right if we didn’t take one last group picture filled with hilarious-ness and attitude from our little divas LOL.
Farewell, Miller family!
Brie <3
[11.01.15]
Happy first day of Fall, everyone! Fall is my absolute favorite season of the year. Despite it being the season my birthday is celebrated in, there are so many great activities and everyday life routines that improve due to it being fall. Today, I will put up my fall decor around and outside of my home, with a huge smile on my face, from pure happiness and satisfaction. If you are one of those people who don’t understand the “hype” about fall, here are five reasons Fall is perfection:
There are so many awesome, strictly fall activities, to partake in from September to mid-November. Bonfires are one of my all time favorite fall activities. Many people enjoy bonfires in the summer as well, but sitting around a nicely lit bonfire to keep warm in the crisp fall air, while making s’mores, and having a great time with family and/or friends is second to none. Two more of my favorite fall activities is going apple picking at orchards, and picking out pumpkins in addition to all of the other fun activities at pumpkin patches.
Pumpkin, apple, and sweet potato everything! Fall is not complete without the deliciousness of these seasonal favorites. You know how most people either like pumpkin pie or sweet potato pie? Well, I happen to love both, and look forward to eating a few slices of both pies on Thanksgiving day, and weekend. If you’re a fan of apples, fall is the primetime to hit up an orchard and pick some yummy apples right from the tree, and take some home to make a homemade apple pie or even apple cider. I think I am going to attempt to make an apple crisp of some sort with my apples this year. Stay tuned for more details.
Is it even possible to argue about any other season’s fashion that is better than fall fashion? Even people who don’t like fall (yes those crazy people exist) love fall fashion. From the rider boots, to the long sweaters, hoodies and leggings, fall has the BEST fashion. Not only does the fashion make you look and feel great, it is SO comfortable. How can you possibly beat beauty and comfort, all wrapped up in one? Exactly, you can’t.
Although I consider September 27th (my birthday) to be a heavily disputed national holiday, we can all agree Halloween and Thanksgiving are undeniably awesome holidays. On Halloween we get to play dress up, get free candy from our neighbors, attend awesome Halloween themed parties, go to haunted houses, and even make fun DIY (do-it-yourself) decorations (like the minions pictured above that I made two years ago). On Thanksgiving we get to eat seasonal, oh so yummy recipes, mingle with family and friends, watch some Thanksgiving football, and if you’re one of the crazies, go shopping at 2am the following morning on, Black Friday. Oh, and did I mention the fall scents for candles and hand soaps are the best? Your company will compliment the smells every single time.
*However, Christmas is the greatest holiday of all time. It’s in its own league because it’s so amazing*
The natural beauty of fall is what really sets fall apart from all other seasons. Have you ever stood in an area full of trees and bushes turning beautiful shades of yellow, orange, and red, and just took in the beauty happening around you? The realization of how astonishingly wonderful God’s creations are around us is a feeling that can’t be matched. To match the beautiful trees and bushes, the crisp air brings a cozy and clean feeling with it. The crisp air makes me want to cuddle up with my husband, and watch movies together while eating a yummy crock pot soup of some sort. The crisp air also tends to make the air smell much cleaner and not so polluted. Who doesn’t love pretty scenery, cuddling and clean smelling air?
If you have never really taken the time to admire the beauty of fall, I hope this post encourages you to appreciate it a little more. Although some of these things may not seem to be a big deal, always remember it’s the little things that add up and become the big things we remember in life. 🙂
Brie <3
[09.23.15]
It is the Sunday following Thanksgiving, and lets just say, the holiday didn’t quite go as planned. This year we hosted Thanksgiving at our home. I love hosting holidays in our own home. As much as others complain about being busy, I love the hustle and constant movement during the holiday season. The added bonus- it was little Miss Jordyn’s first Thanksgiving! 🙂 As we had planned from the beginning of November, we would host Thanksgiving, and my husband’s sister and her boyfriend were going to spend thanksgiving week with us. In addition to having them in town, we were also expecting four of our close friends here in Montana to join us for dinner.
Well, two days before Thanksgiving, my husband’s sister found out she would have to work on Sunday. So instead of staying from Wednesday to the following Wednesday, she would stay from Wednesday to Saturday. They were planning to drive from California so they would need to leave early in the morning, a day in advance, to make it back in time. Although we were pretty bummed their visit would be cut short, we were happy we would get to see them at all. Fast forward about 3 hours later, and not only did she have to work on Sunday, she had to be in town for rehearsal on Saturday. Which means, they would have left California in the wee morning hours on Wednesday morning, gotten to Montana Wednesday evening, spent all of Thanksgiving Day with us, only to have to go to bed early to get up in the wee morning hours on Friday to drive back to California, and make it there in time to sleep for a few seconds before heading into work on Saturday. As much as my husband and I wanted to be with them for Thanksgiving, we knew expecting them to deal with a ridiculous driving schedule just to spend one day here in Montana with us, wasn’t fair or safe for that matter. I felt really bad for my husband all night on Tuesday and all day on Wednesday, because I know how much he loves his sister, how much he misses her, and how long he had been looking forward to seeing her for Thanksgiving. Then, to add one more change into the regularly scheduled program, by the time I had finished last-minute shopping for Thanksgiving necessities on Wednesday evening, my husband informed me that one of our friends were not joining us because he had to work as well. In the span of about 16 hours our Thanksgiving guest count had gone from 8 people to 5 people.
All I could think about was how much I would need to change in the amount of food being prepared, and the table set up I had already planned in my head. Then I was quickly reminded of how The Lord works in mysterious ways. Apparently, some parts of Montana were encountering some pretty bad weather, and the Montana Highway Patrol were advising people not to travel on the roads in such terrible conditions if not necessary. In the midst of all my prepping, cleaning, and maintaining a little one, I also realized I no longer needed to set up an additional table, make another centerpiece, or rearrange the dining room area. All five of us would be able to fit at our dining room table, and I actually had a few less things to make me crazy over the next few hours.
Once our few guests arrived for dinner, with their side dishes and desserts, we took our seats, prayed over the food, and proceeded to eat until we couldn’t eat anymore. After dinner, we hung out on the couch watching football games, playing video games, and cracking each other up in the process. One of Jordyn’s BFFs (Amelia) even came over to hang out after her and her Mom had finished their Thanksgiving meal with their family.
I say all of this, because this year I learned (for the hundredth time) that my plans will always be trumped by His plans. Thanksgiving may not have gone how we originally planned it to, but we knew Kris’ sister and her boyfriend were safe at home not battling dangerous snow storms. We also didn’t mind not having as much work to do in the kitchen and in preparation for the day either (haha). Even with all of the changes we had an amazing Thanksgiving, with even more amazing friends that are our family away from home.
I believe everything happens for a reason. This Thanksgiving taught me a very valuable lesson about life in general. When things seem to fall apart or are not working as I had originally planned..
Give Thanks Anyway.
Brie <3
[11.30.14]