Best Valentine's Day Present Ever!!

Although Winston turned 5 in December, today is our 5 year anniversary with him (I find any reason to celebrate!) Ever since I can remember I wanted a little puppy. We had a cocker spaniel growing up and eventually we got a dachshund when I was in middle school but they were always outside dogs (my mom grew up on a farm and would never let a dog inside!) So I always wanted a small inside puppy! I have always loved puppies! Trevor wasn't so fond of foofoo dogs and basically told me he would never get one...until one day! We were at my big's house and her room mate had a Yorkie Poo. Trevor mentioned that he actually thought that dog was pretty cool...so I knew right then that I could talk him into a Yorkie Poo. I started searching and to be completely honest, I'm not sure how long I looked for the perfect one, but around Christmas I saw this picture...

This was the photo posted online and I knew he HAD to be mine!!! His little pre-name was Elvis (if you know me, you know I'm in love with Elvis Presley) and he was wrapped in an OSU blanket. It was fate! When Trevor saw this he knew he was in trouble! 

He asked my family if they wanted to help purchase him for my 21st birthday, but they all told him he was crazy and said no to helping out! (Like I said, they aren't really dog people...however, fast forward a year and they LOVE him!! They would actually get mad if I didn't bring him home with me when I visited them from college). Trevor decided to get him for me anyway as a Valentine's Day/21st Birthday Present. 

Trevor and I went to see the puppies in person and I just knew I had to have the one I fell in love with through a computer screen. Trevor and I had planned to go and pick him up on Valentine's Day (in 2009) but Trevor had other plans! He got him on the 13th with a friend and surprised me!!! My roommate and I went to get ice cream and when we got home Trevor was in our house holding this sweet puppy! I was sooooo excited!! At the time I was debating between the names Winston and Otto (Otto was my first choice, but Trevor really like Winston-which actually started off as a joke.) But that night as I was watching tv he curled up next to a bunch of children's books in my room (I was an elementary edu major and was working on a children's book project) and he just looked so cute and nerdy, I knew Winston was the perfect name for him! 

Winston was really the first gift that Trevor got me that symbolized us having a future because although Winston was a gift to me, he has always been "our dog."

He really is the sweetest puppy and the best cuddle bug!

 

Now you know a little bit more about our family! ;)

I hope everyone has a Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow! ❤️

Love Story

Who doesn’t LOVE to think about their LOVE STORY around Valentine’s Day? I saw a post similar to this and thought it was cute, so here goes mine! :)

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

 

HIGH SCHOOL SWEET HEARTS!! We started dating our junior year of high school on December 8th 2004! We are going on our 10th year together!

 

 

 

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}

 

In a nutshell, our best friends at the time were dating and set us up on a date + we had our DECA class together junior year. We had one of the most interesting and expensive first dates!

 

 

3. If married, how long have you been married?

 

Two and a half years filled with love and laughter!

 

 

4. If you are married, where did you get married? Big or small wedding?

 

We got married at Loughridge in Tulsa, OK. We had about 200 people attend and it was the best day of my life!

 

 

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another?

 

I honestly don't have one for Trevor, but Trevor calls me J or Jilly Bean.

 

 

 

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

 

1. He will do whatever he can to make me happy.

 

2. He is my best friend. He has been there for me during the highest highs and the lowest lows and he still continues to encourage me, support me and most importantly LOVE me!

 

3. He is such a hard worker and will do anything to support our family.

 

 

7. Tell us how he proposed?

 

We were in Dallas at Trevor's fraternity (Phi Delt) formal. We were all dressed up and ready to head down to the dinner and when we stopped back by the room to grab a couple things there were tea light candles all over our room with 100 reasons why he loved me scattered all over the room. It was so sweet and thoughtful!

 

 

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

 

Based on our proposal, I'm sure you can guess that one...definitely a strawberries, champagne and rose petals guy. He loves to set the mood and make it special. (Our proposal included all 3 of those things :))

 

 

 

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

 

Although I love relaxing on the couch watching a movie, I love the sunset dinner on the beach scenario. Actually, that was my wedding present from Trevor. On our honeymoon we got to have a romantic dinner on the beach with our own personal butler and a rose petal walk way!

 

 

 

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

 

I want to go on a 2 week (or longer) vacation to Europe and travel all over! We talk about it all the time, I'm sure we will make it happen in the next few years!

 

 

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.

 

We are going to have dinner together at Mahogany's. YUM

 

 

 

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?

 

We actually already gave each other our gifts (surprise surprise). We just got some things we needed for the house. I got Trevor a broiler pan and he got me glass Tupperware and the new Pioneer Woman cookbook.

 

 

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.

 

Do things that your spouse likes to do, even if you wouldn't normally choose to do it. For one, you get to see your spouse doing something he/she loves and two, you might really enjoy it! Plus, you are making unforgettable memories together!

 

 

14.  Show us a picture of what love means to you.

 

 

Happy Valentine's Day! <3

Vintage O & The Superbowl

This weekend we had lots of fun things planned! On Friday we had our neighbors over and cooked a great meal and played some Uno - yeah, I feel old admitting that!

On Saturday Trevor had to work in the morning til about 4 then we were headed to Vintage O-State Alumni Event! Trevor somehow got 4 tickets to go to the event so we asked some friends to join- thanks for coming Katie and Andrew! We might have been the youngest people there, but we had a great time! They had a few silent auctions that we thought about bidding on, but nothing stood out to us and then they had a real auction, but there were some high rollers there that we couldn't compete with!

I even got to cross something off my bucket list...getting a picture with Pistol Pete!!

 

And of course we had to take advantage of the photo booth!

No one was ready for the first one...

This one is my fav!

 

We literally were the last ones at the event - then we went and gambled lost all our money a little bit...We went back to Katie and Andrew's and hung out after the event and ended up staying up until 4 am! I can't tell you the last time I was awake that late!

The next morning we woke up to SNOW! I couldn't believe it! I heard there was a chance of snow, but I really didn't think we would get much. 

The dogs obviously LOVED it:

 

That afternoon we went to church and then to Reasor's to pick up the ingredients for our Superbowl festivities!

We decided to make Jalapeno Poppers and Stuffed Mushrooms...they both turned out fantastic!

 

My amazing husband helped me get things ready!...

Poppers before they went into the oven - I use the pioneer woman's recipe for these... and my favorite part is putting apricot jelly on them! Yum! ;) recipe **I add green onion and shredded cheese to the cream cheese!

Mushrooms!! Short Version - get 2 lbs of mushrooms and they are stuffed with 8 oz cream cheese, 1 lb sausage, 1/4 onion (chopped finely), 2 celery stalks (chopped finely), and 1/4 of a can of chopped black olives. Bake for 30 min on 350.
You won't be disappointed, they are delicious!! Thanks Vanessa for the recipe!

We decided to make Superbowl Squares and place our bets....Congratulations Samy and Brandon for winning them ALL!!! We decided they needed the money with baby Quinn coming soon! :)

Here is a picture of the amazing food!

 

We had a great time hanging out with our friends and watching the game. To be honest, the commercials didn't wow me, but I do have one favorite!! (I bet you can guess which one that was!)



That adorable puppy reminds me so much of Whiskey! :)

 

Now off to a week of more SNOW! I can't believe we have another snow day today - oh the life of being a teacher! We will be teaching until July at this rate...so I'm going to enjoy my day while I can!

HAPPY SNOWDAY!

Southern Pecan Coffee

There is a little place in Broken Arrow called Espress Oh! and Trevor and I just love it! They have really good doughnuts- that I try not to eat very often- that might have been a lie! ;) And there really is nothing special about their coffee but it is amazing!!! They don't make a bunch of specialty drinks like Rocket Brothers and Starbucks, but their coffee blends are just fantastic! They are so good that the last time Trevor and I were in there we decided to buy a case of their Southern Pecan blend and it just came in!!

Yayyyy!! I was so excited to make my yummy coffee this morning! 

If you are ever in BA, stop by this little place and grab some coffee! You won't be disappointed! Or come on by our house because we will be making some every morning! ;) ☕️

New Bedding

Since we moved into our house, I have been on the search for new bedding. I did a LOT of looking but honestly nothing stood out that I wanted to spend the money on. I really liked our bedding, it was just "my" bedding. I bought it the first summer I moved to Branson, so Trevor had no part in choosing it. 

This is what it looked like. It had the yellows and grays which I absolutely love! My house is going more toward the rustic look, so I knew I wanted the bedroom to follow suit. 

One day we were at Bed Bath and Beyond- not looking for a new bedspread - and I literally spotted it from across the room and knew it was the one!

I just think it is beautiful! My parents bought me a part of it for Christmas and I picked up a few extra pillows that I wanted. And here it is:

 

And I love my new Mr. and Mrs. sign above the bed- I got that at the Two Friends & Junk craft show this year.  

I absolutely love decorating "our first home". Even after almost 2 years of living here I still love it here and am so happy with the home we chose. 

Cork Reindeer

Do you have an abundant supply of corks?? Here is a great homemade Christmas gift for family and friends!! 

Aren't they adorable??

I know this post is really late, but better late than never!! Trevor and I saw a picture similar to this and we just knew we had to make them for our family and friends! We LOVE how they turned out! Here is the how to: 

The body is one cork

The head is half a cork 

The legs are 1/4 of a cork

(We just cut the corks with a really sharp knife)

His tail (you can't really see in this picture) and ears are pieces of felt that I cut to look like tails and ears

His antlers are pipe cleaners

His nose is a little puff ball thing

I made sure to get pretty big eyes. 

And I wrapped jule around his body so you can hang him on the tree

We seriously made an army of reindeer!!! 

We got so many compliments on how cute they were!! I just wanted to give them to everyone!! 

Happy crafting!!!

NYE and OSU

I haven't been very good about taking pictures lately (if you think I take a lot now, you should have known me in college!) so I decided to do a combined post! 

For NYE a group of 20 of us all went out to dinner at Mexicali downtown and then we went to the Cain's Ballroom to watch Stoney LaRue. We had a great time with all of our friends ringing in the new year! 

These are sadly the only pictures I took all night!! We had a great time and once people started leaving we even got to dance a little!

Onto the bowl game: we won't talk about the actual game, but I had a great time hanging out with our great friends! 

Since I have been off work (tomorrow morning is going to come really early!!) I decided to make a bunch of appetizers for the game. I made jalapeño poppers, firecrackers, bacon wrapped chicken bites, and a cream cheese/pesto dip. Our friends and family brought queso and chips, mozzarella sticks, fried mushrooms, and pizza!! We had PLENTY of food to feed an army!! We also tried out a new recipe for Mango Margaritas for the girls...it was delic!!

Jalapeño poppers

Firecrackers 

Cream cheese pesto dip...it's really good with Triscuits! 

I just love my new jersey!!

Winnie and Neafus

Mango Margaritas!!

Sadly, our Cowboys did not bring home a victory! But we had a good time with friends and family! Trevor refuses to watch another bowl game at our house thinking that we are bad luck, so we will have to make different plans next year!

I can't believe my winter break comes to an end today. Off to work again tomorrow!! Is it too soon to start counting down the days to Spring Break?? Just kidding!!