High Five Friday

1. I've fallen into the Downton Abbey trap and I can't get out. Here's a glimpse into how utterly pathetic my life has been during the last six days. I have finished three. yes three. seasons of this show, only beginning last Friday. Make fun all you want. You start the first season and then we'll talk.

 ^ If you'd like to join in on the obsession, sign up for amazon prime's free monthly trial and cancel after you finish all three seasons in a week, like I did. {Lame, I tell you.}

2. Going back to school after what was basically a three week Christmas break has been a rough transition. Mornings are rough. Eating on a lunch schedule is rough. I'm not hungry yet by lunch time since it's so early, but I'm starving by the time school is out. One thing that has made it better is this awesome folder cabinet, built by my personal carpenter. What a handy dandy fellow. :)

3. I went to my first basketball game at Buffalo for the season. My choir kids sang the national anthem and did a great job. I stayed for the game, which ended up being a great one to watch! The girls played great and won. I guess that means I'm not bad luck?

Funny story about this is… I was asked at one point last semester to be the assistant coach for the girls basketball team. *Cue uncontrollable laughter from anyone who has seen me touch a ball of any sort. Farthest I made it into the world of sports was one year of freshman volleyball when our team went totally defeated. Real bad.* Other than my somewhat tall height, I don't have much going for me as a future coaching star… I'll stick to directing choir.

4. I've been obsessed with baked tacos, specifically Spicy Baked Tacos. I love the taste/crunch/spice/everything. I saw them on Mix and Match Mama & have made them several times over the last few weeks. Ty is on board the spicy taco train, also!

^ Find the recipe here.

5. This weekend will hopefully prove to be pretty low-key around the DeCrib. I've had to work the past couple of Saturdays in rehearsals, as I am preparing for a trip to Osage Beach {not a real beach, it's located on the lake of the Ozarks} for the State Music Convention next week so a weekend at home sounds maaaaahvelous. I'm looking forward to the convention and a little getaway next week, even if it is not to a warm, tropical beach...

Hope your weekend is bloody brilliant!

{Blame the recent DA marathon. I've also picked up a slight accent…}

Wintry Mantel Ideas 2014

Well I think it's pretty safe to say: Hello Winter!

Here in MO, we've had record breaking low temperatures this week and it has been nasty cold… even blizzard-like at times with all of the wind and snow.

Even though it is freeeeezing cold, I am a lover of all four seasons and I love that we live in a place that has a good variety of the seasons.

As I was "un-decorating" from Christmas, I was thinking back over the past year and the changes in decorations that I've made on the focal point of our living/family/main room… 

our mantel.

Here's our Winter mantel for 2014:

I used the same window frame that I've used with almost all of our mantel decoration but this time, I added some snow! It was so easy! 

With real, freshly frosted windowpanes outside from the most recent snowfall {cue the song}, I was able to mimic the look on our own indoor windowpane using this stuff:

I also used some trees and snowflake ornaments that I normally would have packed away with the Christmas stuff, but instead decided to keep out for the winter.

More Ideas for your Wintry Mantel:

If you're wanting some more ideas for how to decorate your fireplace after your Christmas decor has come down, check out these gorgeous ones I saw on ye olde pinterest…

^ Love the mix of rustic and contemporary in this simple mantel.

^ That wreath is gorgeous! And cozy looking! It's made from sweater material.

^ Love this gorgeous mantel. That sign is awesome!

{Jera, this fireplace reminds me of yours!}

^ Branches are a great and cheap decoration for winter. I also love the adorable pom-pom garland on this one. So clean looking, yet so cute!

Here's a look back at our mantels from 2013:

Some of these pictures are edited, so the coloring looks different. The mantel itself has not changed {even though it may appear that way in some of the pictures}, only the decor placed on it.

 ^ Late Winter/Spring/Easter 2013

^ Late Summer 2013 {Back to School}

 ^ Fall 2013

^ Christmas 2013 

{"The Christmas Story" Willow Tree Nativity}

As you may have noticed, I use a lot of the same decorations - windowpane, wire basket, books, etc. - throughout the year. I just try and mix them up a little bit!

I hope you were able to glean some ideas for cute ways to spruce up your fireplace mantel, even after the holiday decor has come down. And even if you don't have a mantel, you can always decorate a shelf if you have one. We have this beam above our couch that is equally as fun to decorate for all of the seasons!

^ Our beam that Ty hung on the wall last year. It's pretty big, even though it doesn't appear that way in this picture! :)

Next up… Valentines Decorations.

{Which means we'll be closer to spring and warmer temps!}

High Five Friday

For this week's top 5, I'm going to do the

Top Five Resolutions I'm Most Likely to Keep for 2014.

1. Reading the New Testament + Psalms/Proverbs in a Year

This may not sound that challenging, but let me remind you that I have attempted to read the whole Bible through in a year before and have failed miserably every time. I want to set realistic goals that I can actually keep!

2. Make the Bed Every Day 

{"Day" could be changed to "Morning" if I was really dedicated! Baby steps, people.}

So far I'm 50% on this if you only count making it as SOON as I get up. Wednesday when I did make it, I loved walking by and seeing my nice, clean room! That never happens on weekday mornings. Yesterday, I had to be at my aunt's house at 6:45 a.m. so I wasn't going to waste 3 extra minutes of sleep time to make the bed. So I'm going to say making it after I get back home still counts!

3. Cook Dinner at Least Twice a Week

Ty will appreciate this. And yes, crock pot meals absolutely count.

4. Blog at Least Twice a Week

Maybe my blogging efforts can coincide with my meals… It appears as though I will be pretty busy 2/7 nights a week.

5. Think Before I Speak More

This is the most cliche of them all, I would say. But I really want to try and first analyze what is about to come out of my mouth, decide if it's worthy to be spoken, and then, if so, speak it. I catch myself saying rude/short/unnecessary things, especially when I'm at home and out of "teacher" mode where I have to think before I speak. Just being real here, for un momento.

I hope that I'm able to keep all 5 this year!!

A Year in Review: 2013

2013 was a great year for the DeClues. There were so many great moments and some hard moments that I know I'll remember as some of the things that happened back in 2013.

January {or February}?

^ I think this was taken when we got our first snow of the year in February. But couldn't we all agree, January, February, and even the beginning of March all kind of runtogether?!

March

Apparently not a lot happened in March either. I enjoyed my first Spring Break as a teacher instead of as a student, and let me say, it is even better as a teacher!!

^ I apparently learned how to make crescent rolls in March. All of us in the DeClue household are happy about this event taking place. Haha

{Ok, so the first three months are totally anticlimactic. But please don't exit out now… I promise, more exciting stuff happens throughout in the year…}

April

^ As a first year teacher, I was scared to death of contest season. If you're unfamiliar with how choir contest works in Missouri {and most other states, I believe}, you prepare 2-3 songs and at contest the choir performs them in front of 3 judges for a rating. "I" is the best and the lowest is "V." As you can see, Buffalo's Mixed Choir and Women's Choir each pulled out a "I" and got some of the highest ratings of the day in the district! I was blown away & so thankful for such great kids who work so, so, so hard!!

May

^ My baby brother graduated high school. This is us with him before prom!

^ THE THUMB INCIDENT. Be thankful this is the only picture I am posting.

No, that is not an ice cream cone, that is the protective dressing that he had to wear for a few weeks. Let's hope nothing like this EVER happens again in our marriage.

June

^ Tarah {Ty's Sister} and James got married on June 1st! She made a gorgeous bride and I was so thankful to get to be a part of their big, exciting day.

^ Celebrated 365 days with this guy. I think he made a comment after seeing this picture that day, "I look so GQ." Good grieeeef. ;)

^ For our anniversary, we took a trip to NW Arkansas. A recap of that trip was actually the first blog post I ever did on DeClue Diaries. Find it here.

^ I started this blog! I've loved documenting our lives over the past six months or so and want to be more consistent as we venture into 2014.

July

^ We tore up our carpet and laid hardwood in the living room!

^ A scary sight.

^ Finished product! And we're stillllll in the market for an area rug. Need it ASAP.

^ My mom and I went on a Cruise to Mexico!!!

^ And I was tan. :(

August

^ I started my second year as the vocal music teacher at Buffalo High!

Gooooo Bison!!

September

^ I got crafty! I made a new wreath for the front door and we re-vamped a super cheap file cabinet!

October

^ I went to see the Holloway Family in KS {my aunt, uncle and three cousins!} on a long weekend we had off of school, and Reese, Drue and I made these Aprons.

 ^ I love getting to spend time with these cuties!!

SIDENOTE: If you don't already follow their mom's blog, she is the very best writer that I know personally. I wish she wrote more often, but it's quality, not quantity that counts, right? ;) She makes the most normal story hilarious and totally entertaining!

Find their blog here.

November

^ I did my first #thirtydaysofthankful challenge on IG {Instagram}. It became a special part of each day to stop and reflect on something that I was thankful for - even if it was just a silly thing I was thankful for that day {like my crockpot!}.

^ The weekend before Thanksgiving, we made a trip down to see the Slaughters in TX! We had such a blast and we totally adore their sweet family!!

^ We had our first In-N-Out burger while in TX!

^ Thanks to Erika, we discovered Nutella Pie… our new favorite dessert and it's EASYYYY. {Erika, I'm blaming you for all of my clothes being a little tighter than usual!}

Find the simple 3-step recipe here on Mix and Match Mama!

December

As it seems to be every year, December was jam packed for us. I did seem to take several pictures throughout the busy month, so hopefully I can look back & try to remember what actually took place in those 31 hectic days.

^ First annual tacky sweater day at school! I've gotten close with several young teachers this year and I am so thankful for their help and support throughout the last year and a half!!

^ I love seeing our house decorated for the holidays! We also got to make a trip to Silver Dollar City with some of my students at the beginning of December. I love seeing it decked out at Christmastime.

^ We celebrated Christmas at Ty's family's in SE MO. It was a great few days of festivities! I love getting to see his family again each year.

^ Post-Christmas reunion with the very best friends a girl could ask for.

^ Our last pic of 2013. I adore this guy!

Here's to hoping 2014 is just as great!