The Garden Set Giveaway

Lola is the best friend around. She finds great blogs and people, and then she shares them!

Enter in, Newly Wife. Right up my street. Gals, I'm just dying to make this chocolate cake they keep posting about! But this is the best part of it, Newly Wife is hosting a giveaway. For this cute little package of goodies. There's seeds, an apron, some starter soil thingys, and even some sticks to mark your garden.

Man too bad, I'm 2 days late for this giveaway! I just love this necklace! It would go with my new boots. :) Anyway, go to Newly Wife and enter for your chance to win too! Oh and Happy Birthday Megan! ~Chels

Too Adorable

The weather got real crappy today. And now we don't have any TV. So I decided to come and work on my blog and all it's issues. I've decided to put all my post on private. Individually, I'll repost. Stupid me! It's going to be a lot of work! But I'm going to get it done. Hopefully this weekend. Our entire weekend is supposed to be filled with rain and wind. :(

But Lola sent me an email, that had this picture in it. She's planning some kind of party or something. And she thought I'd get a hoot out of the center pieces. Oh ya! They're so cute! Now I want to hit all the garage sales looking for old boots. I would LOVE to make a few of these for our BBQs this summer. So cute!



Would you make something like this? I even thought it would be cute to buy some rain boots. Those would be really easy, because you wouldn't have to worry about the water leaking out. Darn, these are cute! I'm going to have to go check out the Goodwill this week. :) ~Chels

Darling Earrings

Lately, I've been so fascinated with jewelry. The other day, I ran into my friend, Manders
at the grocery store. And she had on these earrings. Aren't they cute? I like that they're 2 toned too! But I can't find them anywhere. :( And to me, they're just a classic pair of earrings. Simple, elegant, and ladylike. I hope I'm able to find them somewhere. If you've seen these earrings, please let me know where you can get them. ~Chels

Cute Favors

So a bunch of our friends are getting married. And one of the couples wants to have a "Western" themed wedding. My friend was asking me about all of our decorations and favors. Unfortunately, the company that we ordered from, they've gone out of business. But they had the cutest things!

But I wanted to help my friend. She wanted some unusual, but fun favors. I found these. You get the little tub, 2 soaps (any color), and the little rope for only $3.50 a piece! And since it's a small wedding, I think this is completely affordable. They also come wrapped up. So you don't have to worry about any extra costs.

I hope that I can find some more things for her. My mom told me that she's going to go search through her computer. Because my parents help a lot with our wedding too. Hopefully we find some nice "western" stuff. If you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments. ~Chels

I Heart My In-Laws

A while back, I was talking to my mother-in-law on the phone. We were talking about our house. And the things I wanted to buy for my house. I've posted about a few of the things on here. But honestly, my hubby and I live on a pretty tight budget. We save for twice a year trips to the rodeo. Because we really enjoy going. And for the occasional trips home, to visit family. We live in a different state. And we each get one splurge a month. That's about it.

The rest of our money goes to the house. You know DIY projects, and just making the payments. So I don't buy much to "decorate" with. If I happen to find a good sale on something, I'll pick it up. If not, I just dream about it. Knowing that one day, we'll be able to afford stuff.

But I seen this a while back. For $15. And for most people $15 isn't a lot of money. Most people would just buy it. But I couldn't. Because I felt guilty. If I hadn't mentioned it, I'm also in college. So we live off of my hubby's income. That's it. He has a good job. But to juggle the cost of college, a new house, and living expenses...let's just say it's tight on 1 income.



Back to my phone call with my MIL. We were talking and I said that I really liked these hearts. I thought they'd look cute in our backyard. You know, 3 would look darling on the back fence. That's all I said. I didn't really think much about it again.

Today, when I got home from my classes, I found a big 'ol package on our porch. I didn't know what it was. I knew I hadn't ordered anything. And I assumed my hubby hadn't either. So I was in shock. Well, I drug the box into the house. Because it was too big and heavy for me to pick up.

Since my hubby was at work, I decided to open it up. I was curious. Inside was the sweetest letter from my in-laws. Telling my hubby and I just how proud of us they are. And inside, were 7 barbed wire hearts that my FIL had made. And you know what he made them out of? The old barbed wire fence.

See a few summers ago, my hubby and I went back to TX. And we stayed in this little house behind his parents house. There was this barbed wire fence behind the little house. I'm not sure what it was for. But it had wooden posts and barbed wire. Well, in the evenings, after I had helped my MIL (at the time, hubby and I weren't married yet) make dinner, I would go sit out there on one of the posts. And I'd wait for my FIL and hubby to get back from working.

When we got married, my FIL told a story about one day I was sitting there on that fence. My hubby had had a tough day working. He was beat, and a little dejected. But as they road their horses back in, my hubby seen me. He sat taller in his saddle, got a crook'd smile, and a twinkle in his eyes. Then he told my FIL, "Pops, I've found my gal. I know she's the one. Every time I see her, she makes my life better. I just know she's the one."

A few weeks later, we got engaged. It was the 4th of July. And I was sitting on the post of the fence. Hubby and I were watching the fireworks. It was really sweet. So my in-laws always think of us when they think of that 'ol fence.

Fast forward a bit. And my in-laws took down the fence. My BIL's small kiddos had tried to climb it and would get some pretty nasty cuts from it. Remember, it was made out of barbed wire. So they took it down. But when we got married, my FIL built us a bench out of the posts. He told me, that way I'd have a proper place to sit and wait for my hubby. He was always worried that I'd hurt myself on the barbed wire.

I love that bench! It's in our little entry way. And I do find myself waiting for my hubby there. I like to see his truck drive up in the evenings. :) But I never asked about the wire. Who asks about barbed wire? Well, my FIL had rolled it up and stuck it in the barn. So when my MIL mentioned these hearts, he dug out the old wire. And he made us 7!

I know exactly where I want to hang them. And now, there is a cute story to go along with our barbed wire hearts. I know we'll have them for many, many years. And guess what? I LOVE my in-laws with all my heart! ~Chels

$50

Do you remember me telling you about the $50 that I got from our taxes? Well, hubby put his towards a new patio set. He felt guilty, because a few weeks ago, he got some new boots. But he really needed them. He works on a Ranch. And his other ones, well darn it...they were getting holes in them. But hubby didn't see it like that. He felt guilty.

So I wanted to pitch in my $50 too. You know, we could get us a nice table and chairs quicker. But my hubby wouldn't let me. He said it was time for me to buy myself something. And he reminded me of this belt that I had seen. We had gone to the warehouse to get hubby's boots. Because they're less expensive there. And well, it's just a fun place to go. When we went to go pay, I seen this Tony Lama belt. And I fell in love!

On the website, it sells for $90, plus shipping. But in the warehouse, I think it was $60. So tomorrow I'm going to call them up. I hope they still have it. I'm calling first. Because the warehouse is over an hour away. I don't want to make the trip if they don't have it. And thank you hubby! I'm glad that you got your boots. And that you think I should get my belt. ~Chels

Being an Adult

My hubby was almost in a panic a little while ago. He asked me if we had sent our tax papers in. Ya, we did. And we already got our rebate. It was really quick. Less than a week. And we had already talked about what we wanted to use the money for. We decided to make an extra house payment. And only to keep $100. We split the money.

When our rebate came in the mail, I deposited it in the bank and made the extra payment. It actually made almost 3 extra payments. :) It felt really good to pay ahead on our house. That night, I gave my hubby $50. Remember, we decided to keep $100. He didn't say anything. Just smiled.

Tonight when I assured him that we had sent our taxes and got our rebate, it must have rang a bell for him. "That was what the $50 was for." I just smiled. Sometimes he makes me laugh! But ya, that's what we did with our tax rebate.

This is probably the 1st time I've ever used my rebate for something good. Last year, we used our rebate to go on vacation and buy some furniture. We did save a little. And we used that for our down payment for our house. And the year before, we used the money for our wedding.

Before this, I would have gotten the money and treated myself. You know, some new clothes, makeup, fun dinners out, etc. But I can definitely tell that I'm growing up. Besides, it much nicer to own a home than it is to buy new clothes. I'm just saying. What did you do with your rebate? ~Chels

Cute Jewelry

Today has pretty much been a lazy day for us. No excuse. We've just been lazy. I think we just needed to re-energize our batteries. And with that, comes wasting some time on the internet. :) I found this shop. They have some really cute jewelry. Along with really good prices! Because if you like western stuff, you know that it can get really pricey. Here are 3 of my favorite pieces.

This is a brooch. I like that it's a pair of boots, but it still has some cute details. And it's only $14. They have a few different colors and styles too!



This bracelet is my favorite. It's simple, yet captures the western feel. I like how they alternate the horses and horseshoes. And the rope detail just makes me smile. The cost is $15.



Lastly, are these earrings. I like that they're button type earrings. And the bull rider reminds me of my hubby! But they gorgeous. And only $9 for all that detail!



These are such cute pieces! I'm definitely going to hint at these for my birthday and anniversary. Because these are pieces that I could use on a regular basis. This shop has many, many items. Not just western. If you like jewelry, I would recommend taking a look here. ~Chels

Much Needed

Lately, we've been all stressed out. You know, tax season. And we're first time homeowners. And I think you can say it, we're still "Newlyweds." Plus this stupid Census! Life has just been a little stressful lately. But we're holding it together. Our taxes are pretty much done! Yay! And I've filled out the 3rd Census. I'm pretty sure it's the 3rd. What's with all these papers?

Anyway, I was feeling stressed out. And desperately in the need of a laugh. Or some good news. So I googled "Longhorn food." OK, I was also in need of some good food. And you can't deny it. Football food is good. And very comforting. Insert these gems.



Aren't they cute? They're cake pops. Just decorated like Longhorns. OK, so I'm not all crafty. My Longhorns probably would look horrible. But, I would like to try and make plain cake pops. After doing a quick search, and calling Lola, they don't sound too hard to make. Basically, you bake a cake. Then you mix together the frosting and the cake. And roll into balls. Insert a stick and dunk in chocolate. Sounds yummy! ~Chels

Happy Easter

I just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy Easter! My hubby and I are going to church this morning. And then we're just going to lounge around. We're planning a little BBQ. But it should be a laid back day. Not too much fuss.

You know, the whole point of Easter is going to church and worshiping. We've got that in prospective. We just wish that we had our family here. But I guess you can't have it all. But I hope everyone has a nice day. I'm ready for some chocolate bunnies! How about you? ~Chels

Lights

It's starting to get warm. I just love spring weather! And my hubby and I are wanting to do more and more work on our yard. We have a really nice back patio. And with all the beautiful grass, I just want to sit outside. But I also want it to feel more inviting. More like an extension of our house. :)

Enter in, these cute lights.

And because they're not too girly, my hubby liked them too! I really like these ones. They're £16 a strand. We could hang these around our back patio. And they match these stepping stones that we put in the back. :)



And these are cute too! For £13 a strand. These would be cute to hang in our entry way. I know it sounds weird. But it's all country bumpkin cute!



What's with me and finding these UK sites? Oh well, but I really like these lights. These might be my splurge for the month. :) ~Chels