12 favorites from 2012

As the new year is rolling around, I thought I would copy my good friend Kaleigh over at 

A Rambling Fancy and write about my 12 favorite things from 2012. 

 

 1.) Favorite Beauty Product

Deinitely Bare Minerals foundation. I have been using this stuff for a few years now and it is still my absolute favorite. There is no other makeup that is as light and still manages to cover up all of the imperfections on your face. It's wonderful.

2.) Favorite Movie

This was a really tough choice..., but I'm going to have to say The Hunger Games. Not only was this one of my favorite books, but I thought they did a great job with the movie. And it brought about one of the funniest youtube videos of all time! 

3.) Favorite Song

Feel free to judge, but I loved two songs this year! The first one is "I Won't Give Up" by Jason Mraz. I listened to this song on repeat for like three days when it first came out. It is such a beautiful song! I also love "That's What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction. I mean, come on, you just have to dance and sing along when this song comes on. It reminds me of the good ol' NSYNC days.  

4.) Favorite Moment

I have two as well...When I got my teaching job at Angie Debo and we we bought our house!  

5.) Favorite Fashion Trend

Geez, I am the most indecisive person because I have two AGAIN! Sorryboutcha. I really loved the neon trend this summer. Who doesn't love wearing bright colors! But, probably my most favorite trend is aztec/tribal print. I LOVE this trend. It is totally me. I have to physically force myself not to buy every single aztec jewelry/purse/shirt/sweater when I go shopping. 

6.) Favorite Place to Shop

Target, Forever 21, and Charlotte Russe

7.) Favorite Trip  

We went on so many wonderful trips this year...but I would have to say London was definitely the best. 

8.) Favorite T.V. Show

Modern Family, Downton Abbey, Pretty Little Liars, and Family Feud

9.) Favorite Local Joint

OKC has some EXCELLENT local places to eat. Some of my favs are: Cuppies and Joe, Big Truck Tacos, McNellies ($3 burgers on Wednesdays!), The Wedge, Alfredos, and Credo House. Support Local Business!

10.) Favorite Purchase

Besides our house...I would have to say our little darling Dexter. Even though technically we got him for free off of Craiglist, he has definitely been a cuddly investment.      

11.) Favorite Social Media

Pinterest. I have gotten SO many countless ideas for our house, activities for my classroom, recipes, and more from this site. I also just learned that you can follow people on Instagram Yep, you read that right. I just thought it was an app to make your pictures look vintage. So I'm kinda loving that right now.

 12.) Favorite Verse

"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10 

When life is great, be still. When life sucks, be still. When life is uncertain, be still. 

God is God and he is in control. 

 Happy 2013! May your new year bring you even more joy than the past! 

Brown paper packages tied up with strings...

To break in our new house and enjoy the holidays I decided to host a "Favorite Things Party." 

I found this idea on Pinterest (I know, is anyone original anymore?) and I thought it would be the perfect Christmas party!

If you have never heard of a favorite things party then here is a breakdown:

1.) Think of your most favorite thing in the world that is under $5

2.) Buy five of that same thing

3.) Invite all your girlies over and tell them to do the same thing

4.)Write your name on 5 slips of paper and put them in a basket when you arrive to the party

5.) Take turns going around the room and telling everyone what your favorite thing is and why

6.)Then draw five names out of the basket and hand out your favorite thing to the five friends you drew!

7.) Keep going until everyone has had a turn and all the names have been drawn

 8.)Enjoy all of your new favorite things!

So basically, you bring five of your favorite thing and you get to leave with five new gifts!

Who doesn't like getting five presents at one party?!?

So, I whipped up some invites and had a party!

My loot: a notepad, big sexy root boost/burts bees, hot buttered rum candle, mirror, and a big ol ring!

It was a lot of fun and I ended up with some sweet stuff!

If you are curious what I brought...

 

I cheated and brought two things because they are both cheap!

#1- Aussie "Freeze It" hairspray

This stuff is magic. I have never found a hairspray that will hold my hair all day and look like there is no hair spray in my hair! This is a serious deal for a thin haired girl like me! This stuff is super strong, but still super light!

#2 Milka Chocolate

 

 

 This chocolate is straight from heaven!...actually Europe, but they started selling it at Target! Please go out and buy some now. You won't be sorry.

Homeowners!

This post is a little late...but, WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!

We are finally officially homeowners. We have waited, saved, searched, and prayed for this house and it could not be more perfect for us. 

When we first decided to start looking, we made a list of everything we wanted in a house...but once we started looking at houses in our budget it became pretty clear that some of our expectations probably would not be met. But, we kept our goals high and kept searching for the house that felt like home. 

After several months of looking (our Realtor is a saint) we went to look at a cute little house on Countrywood Lane. (even the name of the street is precious.) 

We fell in love. It was the perfect size, price, location, and it had pretty much everything we had written down on our list. God provides. 

After a month of inspections, documents, and anxiety about whether or not we would get approved for our loan, we got to close and move into what will be our home for a long while. 

We moved in Nov. 2nd and we are just now getting everything unpacked and settled. 

The inside is not quite photo ready yet, so I'll leave you with some pictures of the outside for now. 

Home Sweet Home.

Limeades for Learning!

 

 Meet Mrs. Bowden's class!

You can help us get some new materials for our classroom if you go vote for our project! 

It only  takes a second to vote and you can vote once a day...so help us out!

Click HERE to vote!

Thanks!

Owl Carnival

That is the theme for my classroom this year. 

Mostly because I got a circus tent from IKEA and some pennant flag bunting from Ebay...but I still wanted to be able to use all my owl stuff. 

It's a crazy mix of cute, but it turned out pretty adorable.

I have 24 (yes, you read that correctly) little kinders and they are absolutely precious...so far! We made it through the first day and I am really excited to teach them for my first FULL year.

Ready or not...here we go!

Cheerio, mate!

I'm a little behind on everything because we've been so busy, but...

Our wild summer of travels landed us in

ENGLAND!

After Daughter's Tour, we had a two day break and then it was off on a seven hour flight to jolly ol' England. 

David was contacted a couple months ago by a man in England who was interested in having him come over and do a short poetry tour at some churches and schools. We both were super psyched, but we just kinda put it on the back burner thinking it would never actually come together. 

But, God had different plans. 

So here we were...flying to England, to stay with people we'd never met, and trusting God that this was where we were supposed to be. 

Let me just say that this trip was INCREDIBLE. 

Several people have asked me what my favorite part of England was and I have to honestly answer that it was the relationships we made with the people there. 

I have never felt so welcomed and at home with complete strangers. 

I love that the church is the church no matter where you are in the world!

There are way to many highlights to cover in one post so I'll just pinpoint a few of them in one of my favorite things...a list!

England was grand because...

-All of the houses are so cute!

 -Everything has so much history

-The people were very receptive towards David's poetry
-They have REAL castles, not just the one at Disneyworld

-Crumpets are DELISH!

-London is a tourist's dream

-I got to fulfill a dream by seeing Les Miserables  

-It was in the 60's everyday

-You have tea with milk and sugar about a 100 times a day.

That just skims the surface...

Warwick Castle

Coventry Cathedral Ruins

Dave and David Boden/Bowden

 

Shakespeare's House

Cream Tea with Leah

More tea!

Hanging out with Abby and Cerys

David is a teacher too!

The Hulley Family

The Boden Family

The Duffty Family

 

 

Best ever.

Daughter's Tour

This past week I was incredibly blessed to be able to go on tour with David and RAVE ministries. 

RAVE is a girls ministry team that teaches about real life issues that every girl faces. I could go on and on about all the amazing things they do...but I'll just let you check out their website. 

David met the RAVE team at Winterfest and he ended up writing a few poems for them to use in their ministry. They decided to go on a tour this summer and they invited David to come and perform a few of his pieces during their show...and I being the lucky girl that I am, got to tag along. 

Let me just say that this tour ended up being the biggest blessing for me.

I got to spend ten days living with ten girls who uplifted me emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. 

It was like reliving the best parts of college all over again. 

We wore matching shirts.

Lived together on a tour bus.

Had some wicked dance parties.

Vegged out on everything delicious until all hours of the morning. 

Laughed a LOT. 

Cried some too. 

Had lots of real talks about life and Jesus. 

Sang, prayed, and studied together. 

AND performed a two hour show every night teaching girls about positive self image. 

Can it get any better?

So even though I was just tagging along with David on this tour, it ended up being the biggest blessing and I think I enjoyed living with 10 girls just a little bit more than he did. :)

He's a good man. 

OH! And did I mention we performed at the church where the Duck Dynasty family worships at? 

We got to meet them and they were just as sweet and funny in person as they are on the show. 

Legit.