A T T H E P A R K ' S

New Years Eve has always been a time of reflection on the past but more importantly looking forward to the coming year.  A time when we can think about the changes that we want or that we need and then resolving to follow through with those changes throughout the year . 2011 has brought a lot of change in my life.  While working full time, my husband and I took on the challenge of taking classes through the Institute of Theology by Extension and took over leadership of our church's college group.  Every Saturday we hosted INSTE at our home and the 2nd and 4th Sunday we hosted college group.  Though we have been extremely busy, God has blessed us with a home and we are so proud to share it and bless all who visit.  We also started doing P90X though had to quit when I got really sick.  In the past year, I have been sick seven, yes, you read that right, SEVEN times. We have suffered tremendous loss this year at work and I am so hopeful that 2012 w...

Good morning bloggers and blogettes!  And Happy New Years Eve! I wanted to share with you how I created the labels for the straws and for the desserts for the Ugly Mug Exchange we had at our home a couple of weeks ago. It was a fun way to add a custom touch and some fun to the party! DIY Straw Tag:  Inspiration Postcards and Pretties Materials:      1.  Printer Paper ( yeah, I'm cheap, next time I would use cardstock paper )      2.  Hole Punch      3.  2" Circle punch or some sort of a rounded edge punch They ( Postcards and Pretties ) used an embosser for the logo on the cardstock.  Looks much more professional.  You could also use a stamp or stickers even!  I printed out the message on my computer. Instructions: 1.  Print tags out with the "wallet" size setting so that the paper will print nine at a time on one page: I used this phot...

Can you believe 2012 is fast approaching?  Hubby and I are just trying to stay composed after this entire month of cooking, cleaning, baking, shopping, planning and parties!  While everything was so much fun, it was a lot of hard work! For the second year in a row we hosted the annual College Group Ugly Mug Exchange/Christmas Party at our home.  Wow, that's a mouth full!  This year, I wanted to make it extra special and include a homemade photo booth.  We also included a table full of homemade desserts (all of which I had never made before) and some appetizers.  The guests were instructed to bring an appetizer and an ugly mug. A favor was asked of one of our friends to take photos of us at the photo booth and I think the photos turned out well.  The only negative part about the photo booth was that it was too short.  My husband is a bit on the tall side (6'5") so in the photos you could see the curtain rods.  Oh well, it was still a...

Earlier tonight I showed you some Christmas decor around our home and I came across this jar which holds our Advent Calendar DIY envelopes I made for hubby and I our first married Christmas (2009).   Before I show you what is inside of each envelope, let me tell you how I designed them.  Seriously super simple! I bought a bunch of different colored/patterned Christmasy pieces of paper from Michael's Craft Store and then folded them to create envelopes!  This particular envelope isn't the exact template that I used but it would work great! I bought some numbered stickers and placed them on the top right corner of each envelope!  If you want fun bordered numbers check out these from Design Sponge or download the pdf here . Inside each envelope is a 3x5 lined blank notecard which fits perfectly!  Below you can read what I wrote on each notecard. The whole project didn't take more than an hour or two and it was fun to think about the memor...

Well, the time is here!  It's time to share all of the magic of Christmas in our home!  There is very little that is more magical and peaceful than a glowing Christmas tree.  Sigh. Enjoy the rest of the photos below!  It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!   The glass jar holds our  advent calendar activities!   Ignore the unpainted walls up the stairs, haha! This is the backdrop that I created for our homemade  photo booth which we had fun using during a Christmas party we hosted this weekend.  More on the Ugly Mug Exchange soon! Thanks for stopping by!  Come again!

Office Redo:  The Desk, Moulding One of the guest bedrooms which we now call My Office is slowly being transformed.  Remember when I wrote about my office inspirations?   Then I wrote about more pretty decor ideas on office ideas ?  Well, my hubby has built me a beautiful desk for me and I wanted to share some pics with you!  This isn't the absolute completion of the desk but it's mostly done.  Read below about the transformation process. The searching began and ended fairly quickly, surprisingly for me.  Initially, my idea for a desk was sort of something country chic with beautifully cut french legs and a sturdy top.  But, I just fell in love with this simple and modern desk I found on a blog I follow by Rhiannon Nicole .  The desk is from World Market (photo on the right). If you notice, the desk has a pull out drawer which can also be used as a keyboard tray.  Hubs will eventually be adding a keyboard tray for me s...