Justin and Alana Karl

insta-friday.

2012-02-17T07:48:00.000-06:00

we had a really great week!
my parents came and visited this past weekend...and brought along my brother as a huge surprise!
it was fun to show off our house since they hadn't been here since move in day.

dinner at five with my family.

beautiful flowers from my valentine :)

husband is easy to please.

a card and an adele cd and he was pumped.

happy valentines day to myself.

name spelled right...even better.

so, my pictures make it look like we had a lame week. i guess i'm ok with that.

happy weekend.

happy valentines day.

2012-02-14T08:27:00.000-06:00

Source: katiefore.wordpress.com via Katie on Pinterest

thankful for God's love today and always.
hope you have a fantastic valentines day with the ones you love!

diy flour tortillas.

2012-02-13T08:30:00.000-06:00

last night we wanted quesadillas and i thought were were out of tortillas. of course i found them when it was too late.
but the homemade ones were 4 million times better than store bought so it was worth it.

anyway, i whipped up annie's flour tortilla recipe. they were amazing and easy easy.

my last one turned out pretty close to round.

next step is getting a tortilla press to make them perfectly round. found one at williams sonoma, but the reviews aren't too great. anyone have one??

the girl creative

insta-friday.

2012-02-10T06:00:00.000-06:00

spoiled by a husband who surprises me with flowers when i am overwhelmed.

the first coat of paint in my laundry room.

heads up...it looks a million times better now that the paint dried.

it's not a true representation of my week without a picture of millie. she loves her no-stuffing duck. she carries it around the house, its funny to see.

hobby lobby is back.

order has been restored to the tuscaloosa/northport area.

but there is bad for the budget news...it's literally right outside my neighborhood. i could walk, but i'm way too lazy for that.

the sky was looking so pretty the other day.

felt like i needed to share.

happy weekend.

my mom and dad are coming tomorrow. oh happy day!

diy wood sign

2012-02-08T10:00:00.000-06:00

we salvaged this wood from the tornado so we wanted to use it to make something special.

i don't know where i first saw the wood wall art, but i love them!

i cut these small planks to nail the boards into the planks for stability.

i sanded the boards to make them smooth before stenciling a Bible verse with these bad boys (from michael's)

so here's the low down. don't run to your Bible as you read this post...

i somehow messed up twice (yes, not once but twice) and got to stenciling before I knew what was next. it was really funny, but you had to be there.

the heart of the verse is the same, its just the alana version.

after stenciling i painted polyurethane on top to seal the wood. what i liked about this kind is that there is no shine, it just made the wood a little darker and the words stand out.

the final product again.

gift to myself.

2012-02-07T10:36:00.000-06:00

somehow i lost our crock pot. i noticed about 3 months ago...obviously i was using it alll the time.

that is going to change since i got a new one.

just found a random recipe online. mexican chicken for dinner. really hope its good.

but for real, i am going to need some crock pot recipes. any friends out there have some go-tos??

laundry room in progress.

2012-02-06T09:00:00.000-06:00

one of my priorities this year was working on our laundry room/craft space. i am so blessed by this big room and lots of cabinet space, but somehow this room always looked like this:

i'm about 100% positive there were clothes in both the washer and dryer.

ahhhhhh. terrifying.

and overwhelming.

one thing that always drives me crazy is this cabinet in between the washer and dryer.

so...i started trying to rip it out....but then i realized this cabinet is there for a reason, it is hiding a MASSIVE pipe. and there was no way that it was going anywhere.

so i am currently looking for other options.

stay tuned for more pics.

i'm backkkk...

2012-02-05T20:20:00.001-06:00

i have a new best friend. the sweet guy who fixed my computer, i mean we paid him...but still.

i had to get a new "top case" AKA: new keyboard. my new one is all clean and white, unlike the old one that was just plain gross.

i have some fun projects that to show you.
plus justin and i finally decided on a paint color for our room.
only took about 5 months.
now just finding a time for us to paint is the new challenge.

sick computer.

2012-01-26T19:43:00.004-06:00

something strange has been going on this week with my computer.

a few keys won't work. so that is annoying.

i have to copy/paste certain letters.

big perk of living near college campus...taking my computer to the campus IT peeps tomorrow.

in other news: i am painting my laundry/craft room this weekend! woo-hoo!!

insta-friday.

2012-01-20T08:22:00.001-06:00

happy friday.

my friend davis rescued this baby pig.

seriously the sweetest thing ever.

he just wants to cuddle...but his little squeals are terrifying.

i looked out the window yesterday and saw this.

millie had fallen asleep while chewing on a stick.

she has a tough life.

why didn't i try pistachios earlier..?

amazing.

but i drive justin crazy when i eat them.

does anyone have a quiet way to eat pistachios??

have you heard of freecycle?

some sweet lady in east tuscaloosa wanted to get rid of this set of luggage.

it's in perfect condition and i can't wait to use it some way.

thankful.

i can't wait for this afternoon. my campus director and his wife had a baby last night...she's so precious. can't wait to go meet her!!

beadboard.

2012-01-18T08:30:00.000-06:00

i am having a huge craving to put up beadboard in our house.
then i saw this paintable beadboard wallpaper from home depot. have any of you used it before? the reviews act like it is the best thing ever. i'm a little bit scared, but i think i want to do it.

i mean look at these:

Source: bhg.com via Julie on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Kacey on Pinterest

Source: potterybarnkids.com via Amy on Pinterest

centsational girl just re-did her powder room and her beadboard has set me over the top. i think i need to do this somewhere in our house.

the only hiccup is that justin hates hates hates painting so he would probably not be down with this...

house hunters international.

2012-01-17T08:00:00.000-06:00

justin and my recent guilty pleasure has been recording and watching house hunters international.

first of all, it is on allll the time. hgtv must have struck it rich with that show.

so bear with me as i dream for a second.
if we didn't live in the good ole state of alabama or even the states (as they say quite frequently on the show)

here are a few places i could picture relocating:

italian countryside.

but for real. ah-mazing view.

[source]

this girl was checking out berlin on a recent episode...it sounded pretty cool.

[source]

this little tower might be a cool place to live near.

[source]

we saw an episode recently in stockholm sweden. the town looked pretty neat, but the apartments were costly. but then again most prices are a little more steep than tuscaloosa :)

[source]

but right now i am 100% happy at our home sweet home.

insta-friday.

2012-01-13T07:40:00.000-06:00

hey friends. it is great to be home. we were gone for 18 days. during those 18 days we spent time in georgia, virginia and colorado. no wonder we were so exhausted.

we celebrated a national championship. roll tide, even though we are bulldawgs at heart.

look at my new necklace. pretty sure its the pantone color of the year...tangerine tango. look at me being ahead of the times.

sweet millie loves being home. the squirrels were safe for too long.

mom got me a space heater for Christmas. huge life saver now that it actually feels like winter here in tuscaloosa.

have a great weekend!

linking up:

life rearranged

2012 home goals.

2012-01-11T11:05:00.000-06:00

i am so excited for the nester's home goals party.
i have so many ideas for projects to do around our house.
i love love love our house and we have adored owning our first home :)

first up: my craft room/laundry room.
this is my favorite room in the house, but it is always messy.
i can easily close the door and forget about my mess, keep adding to it then feel very overwhelmed by the junk. ...and we've only lived here for a couple months.

how great do these laundry rooms look..?

Source: tipjunkie.com via Brooke on Pinterest

Source: theinspiredroom.net via Alana on Pinterest

next: our bedroom.
we have made huge strides here over the past week or so, but still lots of decisions need to happen.

drooling over this headboard.

[source]

we need to pick a paint color and get more furniture.

i can't pick a paint color to save my life. suggestions..?

other smaller goals:

finish our bookshelves. yep, still haven't done that.

use some of our leftover wood. our garage is filled with it.

print out photos and hang picture frames. sounds easy enough...right?

find a church pew for our living room. we need more seating.

anyone know of a place to find them in or around west alabama? :)

i'm sure we will find lots and lots of other things to do in our casa this year.

but here's to 2012!

sorry for no pictures of our own house. we've been living out of a suitcase for about 3 weeks and i can't find my camera cord. so thankful to be home sweet home.

insta-friday 2012.

2012-01-06T00:08:00.000-06:00

first full week of 2012. i couldn't imagine spending it any other way...

we were so blessed to take almost 200 students from bama to the passion conference in the georgia dome in atlanta. completely unreal to be surrounded by 44,000 believers worshipping our Lord. an experience i will not forget.

so thankful for these students who are desiring to grow in the Lord and make Him known on our campus!

we left straight from the conference in atl to denver for training with cru. i passed out on the flight...i wasn't even comfortable, but somehow managed to sleep the majority of the flight. score.

major plus for our flight. satellite tv.

apparently i am excited by old technology though...

here we are in downtown denver. really love this place, can't wait to spend some of our free time exploring the city.

linking up:

exciting news: elizabeth at act fast chef is featuring one of my recipes as a yummy find!

click over and check out my recipe and two other fantastic ones as well.

millie.

2012-01-05T12:30:00.000-06:00

millie was jealous of all the attention that the puppy got.
having the 6 week old dog around made me happy that we are through with her puppy stage.

i am thankful i can work in the other room and know that millie is probably sitting like this watching the squirrels

or getting comfortable on the couch.

but she is always ready to play.

just a few hilarious millie stories.

the butter incident

under my parent's deck

her being an all around diva.

who could forget the collar that once was...?

finally hung.

2012-01-04T11:30:00.000-06:00

i'm ashamed to say how long i have had this coffee bag.
my friend kitty helped talk me into getting it at a local antique shop.
i always liked it, just didn't know the best way to hang it.

so i bit the bullet and just did it.
i'm beginning to learn it's okay to change my mind...if i don't like it i can always move it. man, i'm full of wisdom today.

i got a wooden dowel at michaels. i'm sure you could get it cheaper at home depot, but i couldn't handle another stop.

i used the same stain we used for our kitchen table to stain the dowel before drilling holes for the twine.

really simple, thread the dowel through the bag. then knot the ends of the twine through the dowel to hang.

finished product.

just a few months later...

i swear it is straight in person. or so i think.

fabric coasters.

2012-01-03T10:00:00.000-06:00

it is no surprise that we love and use coasters at our house. they are in every room of the house...some might call it overkill.

i actually did get these made before Christmas, woohoo for getting one thing done on my list!

[source]

these coasters were my inspiration and i copied her tutorial. mine are a little bit smaller and not as perfectly square. but that's part of the fun.

i used some leftover fabric from an apron i made with my momma.
i love love love this polka dot fabric. got it at joann's.

easy craft if you want something to do this afternoon/night.

new years resolution.

2012-01-02T09:00:00.000-06:00

happy 2012!

i haven't been able to think too hard about my resolutions for 2012...but here are a few that seem to be calling my name.

1. be more consistent in my menu planning. a cute printable like this should motivate me.

Source: thesisterscafe.com via Shannon on Pinterest

2. make a book list. but here's the kicker....stick to it!

Source: thecaptivereader.wordpress.com via Nadine on Pinterest

i have so many of books to read in print

but i adore reading on the kindle.

first world problem.

3. last but not least, continue to grow into the wife and woman God is calling me to be.

[my Bible, proverbs 31]

so, what are your resolutions..?

insta-friday after Christmas edition.

2011-12-29T23:39:00.000-06:00

we made pioneer woman's cajun chicken pasta on Christmas eve eve. yummm.

there are obviously lots of pictures the best Christmas present. lexi (justin's sister) and her adopted puppy. we finally picked a name: ally.

what a cutie.

fancy Christmas lunch.

chuck e. cheese.

i'm pretty sure justin and i had more fun than any kid there.

i might be sore from the basketball and baseball games.

happy 25th birthday!

2011-12-29T11:00:00.000-06:00

tomorrow is justin's 25th birthday.

so happy early birthday husband.

i am so thankful for you. the way you lead and love me.

i respect your heart for the Lord and desire to know Him better every day.

and ~~most~~ kind of important, you are so cute with millie.

plus you've got great taste :)

happy birthday, hope you have a great day celebrating with me and family!

Christmas 2011.

2011-12-28T14:16:00.001-06:00

christmas 2011 was such a great holiday with family. justin and i were extra excited because we had some big surprises planned.

Christmas morning with the 10 of us, plus my cousin Luke who came too! oh goodness, these dogs were so fun...but tough to get a good picture of us all.

cooper, my brother's puppy, didn't know what to think of the baby dog.

then breakfast, reading the story of Jesus' birth and presents.

justin wrapped presents all by himself...can you tell?!

mom and dad surprised us with two special presents: one practical and one sentimental. a gas grill and my grandma's (who passed away while i was in college) sewing box.

we immediately hopped in the car for our biggest surprise. justin's mom, stepdad and little sister all thought we were coming on the 26th, but we surprised them with their puppy on Christmas night! they live in virginia, so we had a 9 hour road trip up there...praise God for light traffic and an open waffle house along the way.

but it was so worth it. lexi was totally surprised. she loves her little puppy. now the challenge is trying to pick out the perfect name for her.

2011 in review.

2011-12-27T21:30:00.000-06:00

wow, can't believe 2011 is almost over. what a year.

here is a quick recap via blog posts.

pom pom necklace.

valentine's day wreath.

green apple, bacon and cheddar sandwich.

a major turning point in our year was the tornado on april 27th.

a big project for us this year was our first house!

we made our kitchen table.

justin and i are proud of that one :)

2011 was a blessed year.

looking forward to 2012 and what God brings for our family.

Southern Hospitality Blog

great reminder.

2011-12-26T08:18:00.000-06:00

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we had a blessed and beautiful Christmas with family.

more of an update to come.

merry day after Christmas!

merry Christmas

2011-12-24T11:05:00.000-06:00

may we remember the reason today is an important holiday.

our most important and beautiful gift is the gift of Jesus and His perfect sacrifice.

here is a cute little video a friend posted on my facebook wall.

hope you have a great day with family and friends!

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

(Luke 2:10-12 ESV)