Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I am thankful for amazing family and friends. I have had a heck of a year but have had amazing friends and family by my side! I had a great time visiting family this week and can't wait to see them all again for Christmas. I would love to post pictures but my wonderful mom will kill me. lol  (Love you MOM!)

 

I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving and you are ready for the holidays to begin. I am absolutely excited to have some time off from work to try new recipes and think up cute gift ideas along with some printables you can download. Don't forget to check back soon!

 

Also, Thank You for those of you who shopped Lisabella on Small Business Saturday!  We appreciate all of your business!! XOXO

 

Woo Hoo! The holidays are officially here!!

 

Happy December!!

 

OMG! It's been over a month!

It can safely be said, that life IS like a box of chocolates - you never know what your going to get! :)The month of October was anything but relaxing. There were ups and downs and big ole loop de loops. What's life without a bit of excitement!

The month consisted of photo shoots, a wedding, visiting with old friends, and I completely forgot about Bella's party. AHHHH! I normally plan months in advance but with all the changes it just slipped my mind!. I am planning it in 3 weeks! Which is now only a few days away. Bella and I decided on a Breakfast at Tiffany's theme and I am finding too much on Pinterest and blogs to keep up. Where is my mom when I need her?! :)

Here are a few pics from throughout the month.
 
 

Birthday dinner with my kiddos! :)

 

Flowers from the FAM! :)



Flowers from my friend, Val



Cake from the Denhams :)



Door going in..



My poor door :(



LOVE the new door!

 

Birthday/Catch up Dinner with High School Friends



Having some weekend fun at The Children's Museum

                   
 
 

 

 

Happy Hump Day!!

The Peplum Top

Ok, I can't lie...never did I think I would wear such a strange little top! But it really is cute! I love that it's flattering and forgiving all at the same time. I've seen them all over the place and just did not think to even try one on until I saw this one with the leather bottom....it had me at pleather! :)

Kenar Peplum top, similar here

 

Similar coming soon at Lisabella Boutique



Stella & Dot charm bracelet

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

Happy Fall!!!

Happy Fall Everyone! I am so excited the weather is cooling down and the holidays are a hop, skip, and a jump away. To kick off this Fall season, and since it was a rainy Sunday inside, I decided to make some pumpkin soup....but I needed a recipe? I googled and found a few but thought that a Chicken and Pumpkin soup sounded much more hearty and delicious. Of course, then I thought it would be a great 'Happy Fall' gift so since it was just me and I had one cup, I canned the rest in mason jars for gifts. Here are a few pictures.

 

Sautéed onions and garlic

Salad chopper I use to chop meat! :)



Everything cooking deliciously!

 

Bon Appetit!

Here is the printable recipe card and a giftable tag for the other side! :)

ENJOY! 

 

 



Don't start packing your things just yet?

It is finally done! The house is ready and up for sale to buy! I am elated BUT would love to relax after the last 3 weeks and enjoy the nice cute house for a bit so I know you want to pack your things and move in but let a girl a rest! :)

Here's the link to my future old house's website (lol): Your Future Home

The realtor's honey-do list seemed to stretch on forever because I ended up getting sick 2 weekends out of the last 3 and the only time for me to work on anything at home are the weekends because of Bella and all my mommy duties. :( This last weekend was REAL bad (fever and all) and I even missed work. Ugh! If you know me, I always go to work even if I feel horrendous and only miss when Bella's sick. This was BAD (cough medicine with codeine bad). But I feel better, it got done and it's listed! I can not say enough THANK YOU'S to all my friends who helped! I owe y'all a nice big dinner when the house sells!

So now it's a hurry up and wait game. Let me add that I have an absolutely amazing, sweet, and patient realtor, Cheryl Nichols, who is also an Interior Designer/Photographer and staged the house beautifully. When and If you ever decide to sell your house make sure you go with a company that stages!! It's free and it makes such a difference. As you can see in the photos! She came in and used most of my stuff but moved things around and de-cluttered so it looked like a model home. When I got home I didn't want to move! I have already asked her to come in and do her interior design magic on my new place! Woo hoo!!

One more day till Friday! :)

My Sweet, Sweet Angel!

Last weekend, before the Grape Stomp, we did a quick Back to School photo shoot with Gwen, a photographer we've had since Bella was 2 or 3. She did another amazing job! I loved them all. Here are just a few I fell in love with!

Of course, My FAVORITE! What would I do without this beautiful, amazing sweetheart! :)

 

 

Be True Photography - check out her website...see if you can spot Bella when she was 3 and 4! :)

 

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Whew!!!

What a weekend! I am completely exhausted and will be lucky if I can get  up and move in the morning! Remember I am selling the house and the realtor gave me a list of to-do's... Recap of the weekend:

I had been feeling a little yucky since Monday but Thursday evening/Friday morning I woke up at 2am with a fever and took tylenol and ibuprofen. My throat AGAIN! Woke up an hour later completely drenched in sweat. Ugh! Took a shower and slept a few more hours. Got up, went to work and the meds wore off. I wanted to die. Went to an urgent care since my dr didn't have any appointments available and gave my medical history. I said, "I know, I'm a mess". He said, "More like a beautiful disaster". Awww, cute but I was still hurting! lol He put me on antibiotics, more reflux pills, and ....blood pressure meds. Double ugh! I haven't even hit 35 yet and I'm on blood pressure medication. Both my parents have it so he said it's genetic. It's still low, or on the lower scale of high (?) now so he's hoping I can keep it that way. So I go home and relax a bit....but I can't to long because I have to get a house ready to sell by the following week. I had moved all of Bella's furniture to the bigger room but hadn't done anything with her tornado remnants. I sat down and went through everything and either boxed or threw stuff out. Room cleaned out! Yay!

Saturday morning I woke up still feeling a little yucky but I had things to do! I cleaned house and went to Lowe's. I needed: baseboards for 2 rooms, 2 more gallons of paint, sheetrock, tape and float material, and siding. Went home and got started painting more of the trim inside. I am touching up the entire house, who's dumb idea was this?! By 6pm I gave up. I was beyond exhausted. Couldn't fall right to sleep but once I did, I was out until 6 Sunday morning.

What a glorious morning this morning was. The birds were singing, the sky was blue, there was a slight breeze in the air and I was feeling great! I love antibiotics!! :) I got up, put some painting clothes on and headed outside. The garage door was calling my name... and that was easy so I went onto the trim around the garage...not bad, why don't I do the shutters and trim AND paint the siding that they are going to replace since it's not even noon.  Ok now it's 1:00 and I'm feeling a bit tired but I must truck on!! I came inside for a small lunch and headed upstairs to repaint Bella's old room and that's where we start going downhill. It takes me a few hours to paint her room because I kept stopping. I was just crazy tired but if I stopped to long I wouldn't get to the other room. So I finally complete her room and head to the other LARGER room. The LARGER ROOM that has a Kelly green and navy 2 1/2 foot stripe across the top that I have to cover with a light gray neutral color. I hear the JAWS anthem as I walk in. I get most of the room. I made myself stop at 9:45 pm. Oh yes, this girl worked MANUAL labor for more than 12 hours straight. I WILL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN! Oh my word, I admire people that do this for a living. Painting is hard work! I am NOT a manual labor kind of girl. There I said it! I am not ashamed! I will partake in some activities but today was rough. My body hurts!

I do have a few pictures but I am too tired to put them on now. lol I will put them on tomorrow.

Happy Sunday everyone! Hope y'all had a great weekend! G'nite!

It's Friday!!

Yay! It's Friday! It was a short week and there was a lot to do. So glad the weekend is finally here!

If you haven't gone out and bought some of these amazing leather pants, you need to! I bought these last fall and love them. They are great to wear for all events and they can even dress up a t-shirt (as seen below).  :)



I want these doors for my future house!



Old Navy tee, Michael Kors faux leather leggings (similar here), Stella & Dot jewelry

Happy Friday!
Have a GREAT weekend!

On top of all the other fun stuff going on... :)

I received two texts yesterday:

One from a girlfriend, Linda, that has started a non-profit organization, Grow With the Arts, which brings Art back into schools and she has asked me to be on the board as the Events Planner. Our girls school, Longs Creek Elementary, will be a test/pilot school for the organization. Way to put a girl on the spot! But I can't do a terrible job when it's for kids. I have to up the game and make sure I raise a lot of money! Oh yes, you will be asked to contribute!! :) Linda owns a company that assists creative professionals with publicity services and career development resources. Need I say more on how much fun these events will be?! You can contact me now if you'd like to purchase a ticket to "To Be Determined" fundraiser! (I have one in the works but I can't say what it is because we're still setting everything in stone....hint: tutu's)

The other text was from one of the mom's from Bella's school who is the Room Mom coordinator, Patricia... If I can digress for a moment, at the Meet the Teacher night a week and a half ago I walked into Bella's class to find the "Power Moms"! lol This is Bella's 4th  year at this school and it's a wonderful, small community so we all know each other but there are those moms that up the game and I call them - Power Moms (Pinterest Moms). Everything is - go big or go home. Well Bella has like 8 of these moms in her class. I told her teacher she was in for a wild year! The PTA President mom, the Coordinator mom, the others that are always room moms... Since Kinder it's been just me and another mom so when the Room Mom form went out, I filled it out and put a note to Patricia - who's son is in Bella's class, "Patricia - Don't pick favorites! Unless I'm one of them! ;)" They normally pick 2 and other moms can help. She texted me this and I couldn't stop laughing:

 

So looks like I'll be busy with fun Room Parent stuff too! I can't wait! I LOVE Pinterest and all these blogs with ideas! You will definitely see a few things on here. Who says we need sleep?! Our kids need us!!! :)

 

Happy Wednesday!

 

 

BitterSweet Weekend!

What a great Labor Day weekend! Not as relaxing as I would have hoped but spent with wonderful friends. The Grape Stomp was fun and our friends, David and Lizzy, cooked a pig Monday that was delicious!

This weekend I decided to call a realtor and put my house up for sale. I feel relief and excitement. The last few weeks have been a bit of a homeowner's nightmare. I walked into my utility room to find a puddle of water dripping from the ceiling. Because the A/C had been giving me problems we immediately thought it was that but upon further inspection (tearing apart the ceiling and wall) a small pinhole was found in a water pipe. Thankfully it's an easy fix and it was not leaking for long so there wasn't any mold BUT with just having an annulment and having a 2300 square foot house to maintain AND a pool AND a big backyard this was the straw that broke the camel's back. I have decided that life is too short to worry about all this and I need to be spending my time enjoying life with Bella!

BUT I do have GREAT memories here and have had tears in my eyes off and on all weekend with the realization that I'm going to leave them all behind. I've had the house a little over 4 years and I keep remembering all the time spent here with family and friends. It's not even on the market! lol Oh yes, there have been quite a few tears but I know, without a doubt, this is the best move! I think I am surprised I'm feeling this emotional after the last few weeks.

I haven't decided what the next step is... Isabella needs to stay at her school for the next 3 years so I have a few options: buy a smaller house, rent a house, or find an apartment until I find a house.... In the meantime, I am spending every hour I'm home repainting trim, fixing little things here and there and getting ready to move on! I just need to make sure I make a decision that will allow me more relief than work. :)

Wish me luck!!




To find it...

The tiny pinhole (the small line in the middle)

Where it was!

 

My Princess

Alex, Me, Lizzy, & David

 
 

The Girls (they didn't think stomping grapes was fun so wouldn't get in)

HAPPY FRIDAY!

I hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend planned and that you stay safe! Isabella and I are joining some friends and heading to Fredericksburg for an 'I Love Lucy' style Grape Stomp. Our first! Let's see how this turns out! :)  When thinking about something cute to wear for it, I came up with this! It is just stomping grapes, right?! lol

 

 

Shirt, Shorts, Shoes, Handbag

For your Little Princesses!

The new Girl Collection from Stella & Dot came out yesterday and it is soooo adorable! Isabella has already picked out her faves, Paris with Love, Love Always, and Key to Your Heart.

They also have "Buy any two items marked with our stock up star and get the 3rd at 50% off"! Awesome! I think Bella needs to reevaluate her decisions so I can get a discount! :)

Stella & Dot Girls Collection

We're half way to Friday! Does anyone have any big plans for your long labor day weekend?

The Wedding Date!

I received an invitation to my friend, Natalie's wedding in 2 months. An invitation to a wedding....that means I need a date! (That also means I need a very cute dress!) If you don't already know, I am very newly single. So what does a girl that has been single for less then 2 months do for a date to a wedding in two months? I have no earthly idea?! lol I keep thinking of that movie 'The Wedding Date' with Debra Messing where she pays a guy to be her date to her sister's wedding and they fall in love. Big shocker! Maybe that could happen to me since I technically am not dating and have no clue how to go about finding this wedding date. BUT I would need some cash stashed somewhere to pay for this 'said' date and if I had cash stashed I'd much rather spend that money on other things, like a trip to Rome! :) The other issue - the dress. I have to find something cute but can I go Sexy-Cute if I have some new date? Will it be too sexy? or if I go with the teacher look, will it be too boring? Oh the pressure! LOL

Ms. Lisa Longoria & Mr. Smart, Funny, Hot, Sexy Date Graciously Accept!

Now to find the Smart, Funny, Hot, Sexy Date! Hope Mr. Sexy likes Beef!

Wish me luck on my hunt for the 'Wedding Date'! :)

....Ok I will probably take a friend because finding a date that doesn't want a relationship may be a bit difficult! BUT a girl can hope! :)

Happy Tuesday!

First Day of 3rd Grade!

Isabella started the 3rd grade and I thought surely I'd be a pro at this and not cry but I did. Just a little tear... :) I can't believe how big she is and how much she has grown up in 8 short years. It's these milestones that seem to bring the tear jerking realization that she's not my little baby anymore and she's growing up to be a beautiful, sweet, and smart young lady.

To get her week started we had a relaxing Sunday night. We made Grilled Goat Cheese Sandwiches with Tomatoe Bisque soup for dinner and I mistakenly let her watch Pride & Prejudice a few weeks ago while I was watching it and she fell in love... we had our dinner and watched it AGAIN last night! :)

This morning she was ready to get back so we walked to her classroom, dropped her things off, and had breakfast at school. She was already socializing before I left.

To everyone who went back to school today... HAVE A FANTASTIC YEAR!

 

And to my precious angel, Keep your chin up and make lots of memories! I LOVE YOU!!

 

 

Have a great week!

Happy Friday!

Do you see the supermodel coming out of me yet?! lol

So glad the weekend is finally here! Time to get ready for Bella to start the 3rd grade on Monday!

 

Happy Friday!



Jeans

 

Earrings

Necklace

Stella & Dot bracelets - bangle,bangle,link

Stella & Dot bracelets- beads, gold, ring