Living Room Update

Ya'll it is the day before Thanksgiving!! How in the h e double l did that happen? We are going to blink and it is going to be Christmas. Anyone going Black Friday shopping. Our plans are low key for Thanksgiving Day. I work night shift tonight and Nick is at the firehouse. My mom is coming up today and staying a few days. That way I can nap for a few hours on Thanksgiving day. Then we are going to have a late lunch at IHOP! Why not?! It's one of the few places open. Then we are going to hit Target and Walmart and take advantage of some deals. Then it is back for night shift Thursday evening. I hope to stop by the firehouse as well so we can all see Nick. Friday we are hosting family at our house. So it was time to get the living room updated just in time.


If you caught my Life Lately post then you might have caught that we decided to update our living room. When we first moved in almost 8 years ago we painted almost everything some shade of brown. While I loved it at the time, I am now over it. For some reason it just seems boring and dreary. Nick and I stopped at Home Depot to check out some paint colors. Lord have mercy, where were Joanna and Chip when you needed them lol! So many colors, so many choices. Oh, and Nick and I do not share the same taste in home décor AT ALL!! But he loves me and let me pick the color. I was looking for something bright and cheery. We spend most of our time in the living room and I wanted to love it. I love the color I picked.

We went with Moth Gray

Old vs. New

He painted half the room one day and finished the next while I was at work and kids at school. He even had enough to do the upstairs hallway. Going with a shade of gray changed the room so much. I feel like it made the room bigger plus it is so much brighter in there. Plus the room "looks " so much cleaner even when it is messy! BONUS!!

Next up I want to do a gallery wall of Kentucky and horse prints that I have collected. I need to get on the ball and have them framed. That is my goal for the near year (as well as finally tackle Max's room as well. He is in desperate need of an update).

Christmas Gift Guide for Her

Have ya'll made a wishlist yet? I thought I would share a few of my favorite things plus some items that are on my list this Christmas!


**Amazon Links**

1. camera
Doesn't everyone need the perfect camera to capture life's special moments? This one is the perfect size so it makes taking it from sporting events for the kids to the family vacations easy. The picture quality is amazing. My iPhone pictures just doesn't have the quality I want and need so when I started searching this camera kept coming up over and over!

2. Rifle Paper Co. Notepads
List makers unite!! When I make lists I want them to be pretty. Rifle Paper Co. has the prettiest floral notebooks.

3.Gloves
Who doesn't need a new pair of gloves or two ha!! Gloves are like socks in my household. These tech gloves will let you text or use you phone while fighting the cold this winter. I bought some to take to NYC.

4. Video Projector
This projector is on my wishlist. I thought it would be perfect if we ever decide to get a camper and we could set it up to watch football games or even to use for parties. I am thinking how awesome it would be to watch the Kentucky Derby while sipping on a mint julep in the backyard.

5. Kindle Fire
This is another item on my wishlist but hoping the hubby buys it for my birthday (the week before Christmas) so I can upload some books to read for the plane ride to NYC. You can't beat the price of the Kindle Fires. I think I may even snag Meredith one.

6. Yeti Cooler
Perfect for those hot summer days to bring along the drinks or for us to use at Mere's soccer games. Also we be great to take along boating or camping or tailgating.

7. Yeti Rambler
This yeti cup is my favorite out of all the ones I have. I took it to the pool and it made throwing in my pool bag mess free. The lid makes it also easy to grab!

8. Nikes
Another item that made it on my wishlist. I mean how cute are they?!

Life Lately

Ya'll life has seemed so chaotic lately. Not sure if it is because of the approaching holidays or if it is all the extra shifts I have been picking up lately. But whatever it is as soon as I get home from work I am officially done. We have had a busy last two weeks.


Mere had her last soccer tournament of the fall season the first weekend of November. They lost in the championship game. But those girls played their little hearts out. I love watching them play and Meredith has grown as a player so much. I can't until spring soccer starts.

Max had his 5 year checkup. The kid has grown 3 inches since last year. He only gained 5 pounds so he is tall and thin!

Last Thursday I had a girl's night with my game night group. We went and saw Bad Moms 2. It was hilarious and it was nice to get out for the evening with friends.

Meredith had her first basketball game of the season this past weekend. The girl had 4 points. She was so nervous before the game. I was glad to see her get out there and let her jitters not affect her game. Nick is helping coach this year and he is loving it.

Sunday once we got home for our night away, Meredith and I went to the library. I needed some good reads and Mere needed to pick out a book as well. She loves saying hi to Munch the Turtle.

Nick put up our Christmas lights while we were gone and started on painting our living room. We are trying to decide if we want to sell our house. Nick really wants a few acres to live on. I have been resisting it the last couple of years. But now he has the kids talked into how much fun it would be to live on a small "farm". With the housing market being so great right now I think I am ready to sell. I love our subdivision but I am not in love with it. There isn't the since of community that you get from a small town so I don't think I would be sad to say goodbye. But selling a house is ALOT of work. After Christmas we are going to sit down and talk about it some more and probably contact a realtor. I feel like now is the time if we are going to do it. The problem is finding land that won't break the bank which is hard in Northern Kentucky in Kenton County. Everything is soooo expensive and do we stay up here or go where the land is cheaper and be closer to my family. Lots of decisions. So what I want to do is go ahead and sell our house and move into an apartment until we find what we want. I don't want to have to rush or settle. I also don't want to be overwhelmed with selling and buying at the same time. We have taken this approach with our previous houses and it has worked best!

Oh and we have 28 days til NYC!! YAY!!!

Kids and I have a countdown on my phone!!

Aloft Newport On the Levee

Last week Nick decided that we needed a night away just the two of us. I couldn't have agreed more. But finding the time to do it with both of our work schedules and the kids stuff was proving to be a pain in the a double s! Luckily Nick found someone to work for him Saturday and we were able to sneak away for the night right after Meredith's basketball game. He booked us a room at the Aloft Hotel . The location could not have been more perfect. It was right next to Newport on the Levee. As soon as we walked into the hotel I knew we were going to love it. Aloft showcases nine-foot ceilings, signature platform beds, sofa beds, mini-fridges and coffeemakers plus iPod docks, LED TVs, free Wi-Fi and walk-in showers. Dining, drinks and live music steal the scene in the bar. They also have  year-round in door pool, a workout in the 'round-the-clock fitness room or on a rented bike. Additional perks include a sun terrace , outdoor area with fire pit, and pool table.

The room was so nice that we could have stayed there the entire night and enjoyed the peace and quiet. No kids screaming at each other or yelling Mom, Mom, Mom. But we were hungry so walked to the Levee and had dinner at Dewey's Pizza. After dinner we stopped at Barnes and Noble and picked out some books to take along on our NYC trip next month. Then had Starbucks and cheesecake (I am going to need to juice it up all week after splurging all weekend....but it was oh so worth it)! I think we were back in our room by 8p. Our party animal days are long gone and we both just wanted to enjoy some kid free time in peace. By 10:45 Nick decided he needed a snack. You can order from the Hofbrauhause and they deliver to the hotel lobby. 

It was the perfect night away. I think it is much needed every once in a while to get away just the two of you. I feel like I can a better mom and wife when I get a little break. Of course I asked Nick if we could do this once a month lol. His reply, maybe once a quarter haha!! But if you are looking for a place to go for a night or two close to home I think you should check out Aloft. It will not disappoint!

5 on Friday

Happy Friday!! It seems like this week really flew by! Which I am not sad about at all! We have a busy weekend ahead with Mere having a soccer tournament.



ONE// The kids went trick or treating in Augusta with my family on Sunday. I was sad to miss it but Nick and I had to be at a funeral. The kids had a blast with their cousins. It literally is like stepping back in time trick or treating there and going in our subdivision doesn't even hold a candle to it

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TWO// At Mere's school each year for All Saints Day the kids have to pick a Saint and do a report on their chosen saint. Then they have a Saint parade. It is really neat to watch. Mere chose St. Catherine of Bologna. She is the patron Saint of artist and my girl loves to draw. Nick was able to go and take a few pictures.

THREE// Trick or treat is always rush rush when it is during the work week. Luckily Nick was off so I didn't have to waste time picking the kids up after school. But by the time I got home from work we had an hour to get ready. We didn't pass out candy but left a big bowl of peanut free candy along with the teal pumpkin. If you haven't heard of the Teal Pumpkin Project you can read about it here. Trick or treating is so hard on Mere because a lot of the candy has peanuts in it or made in the same facility. She can get upset when we have to get rid of most of her candy (which really isn't a bad thing in my book. ). After we walked to a few houses in our neighborhood we  headed home to order pizza. I was glad the kids were off the next day so we could relax.

FOUR// Is anyone else making their Christmas lists? My dad always joked that he could count on me to have my Christmas Wishlist to him by Halloween. Well, I still make a wishlist lol. I have included this on mine.




FIVE// And speaking of Christmas only 40 days til we head to the Big Apple! We are all soooo excited. I already have our 3 day itinerary written up. I cannot wait to see all the Christmas lights and decorations in NYC. I found this blog that has tons of great ideas to touring NYC with kids. I think we are all most excited to see the huge Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center along with taking the kids to Santa Land at Macy's. This is such a popular event that you now have to make reservations. Has anyone else been to NYC at Christmastime?