Gift under $10

Today I am linking up with some other bloggers {Erika and Andrea} for a Favorite Things Party. I racked my brain trying to think of a useful, practical, and cute gift for under $10.00. Here's what I came up with:

A ring holder!

When Ty and I first got married, I didn't have one of these. I would daringly set my ring by the bathroom sink or on my nightstand. Luckily, I never dropped it down the drain, or worse, down the vent next to my side of the bed! All of these things could have easily happened with my fabulous sense of clumsiness, however.

With this gift you can get kind of creative. I just use a little dish from Hobby Lobby to hold my wedding ring and other small earrings that I wear on a regular basis. 

Here are some cute ones I found from around the www:

^ This could easily be re-created {DIY!} using a small picture frame, some cotton backing, fabric and a push pin of some sort.

^ This was from Etsy and is over $10.00 but I thought it was super cute & wanted to share. :)

And here's my favorite ring holder that I found, and it's exactly $10.00…

^ This little cutie is at Pier 1.

There are tons of options for this as a gift. Some other cute ideas on Etsy I saw were small plates for the ring bearer to carry at a wedding, then use as a ring holder after! They were more expensive, but would be a great keepsake. This would make an awesome gift for any girl getting married soon!

And one last thing before you go... If you already have one in your bathroom {or know of a friend who has one}, why not put one in the kitchen to use while doing dishes or cleaning??

Happy gifting!

Christmas in the DeCrib {2013}

I wanted to get a post together of some of the Christmas decor we have up this year. This is Christmas #2 for us, and I would say this year is definitely an improvement {in the decor area} from last year. Luckily, I managed to find a lot of good stuff after Christmas last year on sale. This year was like an early little mini-Christmas opening up all of the totes and remembering what I got! Cheers for bargain decorations.

Front Door

^ There's a tutorial here for the wreath. What started out as a Razorback Football Wreath, transformed into a Christmas one with a "Merry Christmas" sign!

Entryway

^ I made this little banner to hang our Christmas cards on. These are last year's cards that I still had on the banner. Time to take them off and get ready for this year's!

Living Room

^ We received this Willow Tree Nativity as a wedding gift! Such a great present, even though we got married in June. I know we will treasure this nativity scene every year in our home.

^ The awesome beam that Ty made and hung for us earlier this year! It's almost like a second mantle… I love getting to decorate it for the holidays as well as the rest of the room.

^ This picture frame is one of my favorite decorations I got last year! I love the music notes and the different Christmas patterns on it. {FYI - I got it at the Country Hearth in Bolivar.}

^ Our tree! I love ornaments that are neutral, rustic, and "woodsy" as my Grandma Stevens would call it. I am also a fan of the big-bulb lights instead of the mini ones. I know it doesn't add as much light to the tree, but I am pleased with the overall look!

Kitchen/Dining

^ I also scored some garland last year and decided to hang some in our dining room!

^ Sink Window & Bookshelves. The bookshelves don't currently have a ton of Christmas decorations. That's my goal for next year!

Ty's Office

Since our main Christmas tree is a tad on the girly side {pearls, lace, etc.}, I didn't want Ty to feel left out. Plus, I got this little tree last year from Hobby Lobby for like $15.00 so I decided to put it in his office this year with some slightly more masculine decorations...

^ Since this tree is small, I set it on this giant spool that I got at a flea market last year!

I hope you enjoyed our little home tour with all of our decorations.

Merry Christmas! :)

High Five Friday

In high school, a group of us had t-shirts made that said "High Five Friday!" And what did we do when we wore the shirts? Walked around giving everyone high fives… Seems sort of ridiculous now, but believe me, it seemed really cool at the time.

So here's my take on "5 on Friday." My top 5 high points of the week {or upcoming weekend}.

1. Snow Day

Today's the first snow day of the 2013-14 school year! That's something to celebrate and take full advantage of. I've been able to catch up on some of the projects that I didn't get finished over Thanksgiving break. I was also glad this took place on a Friday: Three. Day. Weekend.

2. Possible DIY Scarf

My cute friend Camrie posted this picture on IG of a scarf that she made using a youtube tutorial. I am super pumped to try it! I've got the yarn, now I've got to just sit down and start it. I've never knitted or made a yarn anything… So, I'll let you know if it ends up being a success.

3. Bell Ringing & Christmas Caroling

Pray for me. Tomorrow I've agreed to stand out in the frigid air and ring bells for three hours with some of my students. Why couldn't I have picked Monday or Tuesday of this week when it was like 60 degrees?! With those crazy kids, though, I'm sure it will be a good time, even in the chilly temps. Hopefully we'll be able to sing some carols without our vocal chords freezing over.

4. Festival of Christmas

Every year, our town has a special service called the "Festival of Christmas." It's a time for community members and churches to come together and celebrate the season - and most importantly the true reason for it, Jesus' birth. I'm singing in the community choir with the orchestra and I know that it will be a lot of fun and a great kick-off to the week of Christmas programs {my church program and school program both happen on the following weekend}. 'Tis the season!

5. Some Christmas Song List Additions

I posted a list on Monday of my 10 favorite "un-famous" Christmas carols. Find it here. A friend sent me two more this week which was awesome… One of my very, very favorite groups right now is The Civil Wars. Ty and I both love their unique sound and folky style and we own their other two albums. A review that I saw online that said their songs are like "lullabies for adults." Ha! {In a laid-back, cool way. Not creepy. Or X-rated or anything!} The two Christmas songs that they've released are Tracks in the Snow and O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Both are performed in typical CW style and are awesome. Find them here:

 Tracks in the Snow

 O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Have a fun December weekend!

The Art of the Infinity Scarf

It is no secret, I love a good scarf. What girl doesn't? I love that this is a trend that women of all ages can get on board with. I wear them almost every day, even if just in/out of the cold. The best part about scarves? You can throw your hair up in a bun, slap on a scarf,
and voila: you look trendy.

When infinity scarves first made an appearance on the fashion scene, I was intrigued. Never being one to wisely wait and see which trends stick around and which tend to disappear in a day, I purchased five one or two infinities. The only problem was, I couldn't really figure out how to wear/style/arrange them. That is, until now!

^ Left = Bad. Right = Good. Keep reading for the how-to.

{^ My faces kiiiinda crack me up. So intently styling my scarf. So intently.}

An Infinity Scarf Tutorial

by a newly accomplished scarf arranger

Step 1. Begin with your scarf around your neck like so & loop once...

Step 2. Grab the top portion of the top section of the scarf.

Step 3. Take that part up and around the back, behind your head, until you see that it is lengthening the bottom section of your scarf. Pull that piece around so it is long on the bottom. The two sections will be farther apart now, but you're on the right track.

Step 4. Grab the bottom of the top section and pull it down towards the bottom.

Step 5. Fluff until cuteness happens and you are satisfied with the look of your scarf!

You'll be so relieved every time you put on one of these scarves that you don't have to fuss and fight with it to make it look good! Just follow these few, simple steps and you'll be rockin' that infinity.

I hope that you have found this helpful! It is somewhat difficult to relay a tutorial through pictures. Perhaps one day I will get ultra-blogger-ish and make a video tutorial…. But until then, go get yourself an infinity scarf!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Need some ideas for scarves? Take a minute to visit my go-to fashion expert, Erika, who has rounded up some great infinity scarves. Better yet, use the scarves she's found as ideas for Christmas gifts; you can't go wrong with an accessory like a scarf for any girl you'll be buying a gift for this Christmas season.

The Ten Best Christmas Songs You May Not Have Heard

^ I'm pretty positive that I need this shirt to wear every Christmas season!

As a choir director, I am privileged to have the excuse to begin experiencing Christmas music earlier than most can justify, typically beginning sometime around the end of October. A choir has to begin preparing for their Christmas concert sooner rather than later, or they will run out of time at the end of the semester! By the time December rolls around, we are 7 songs deep into the Christmas season and the spirit has been around for weeks.

I have always loved Christmas music; it brings about special memories and feelings that other music throughout the year just can't evoke. 

I know we all love the classics and the old favorites, but what about giving 

something new a listen?

Morgan's Top 10 Most {potentially*} Un-Famous Christmas Carols

1. "Winter Snow" - Audrey Assad 

2. "It Really is a Wonderful Life" - Mindy Smith

3. "Mistletoe" - Colbie Caillat

4. "Snowfall" - Ingrid Michaelson

5. "The Gift" - Aselin Debison

6. "Winter Song" - Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson

7. "Carol of the Bells" - Pentatonix

8. "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" - Casting Crowns

9. "The 12 Days of Christmas" - Straight No Chaser

10. "Rose of Bethlehem" - Selah

*There may be a song or two on this list that you have already heard before. If so, congratulate yourself on having great taste in Christmas jams.

So while you're blog browsing or shopping online this Christmas season, pull up an extra tab and youtube these great songs. You won't regret it! All of them (other than #9, which is a crazy, fun rendition of the classic) are very relaxing and soothing to have on in the background of whatever it is that you're doing.

Let me know what you think!

Turkey Month Transition

So, last Friday, November the 1st, I was serious when I asked Ty if it was acceptable for me to decorate for Christmas that weekend...

{This might be a close comparison to how some Turkey Day lovers

feel about hauling out the holly a little too soon}...

Looking at the next few weekends in November, I only have one or two options as to when I can 100%, totally, whole-heartedly commit to a few hours of Christmas season kick-off. Last year, the Saturday that I decorated for the holidays was seriously the most cozy and wonderful day of the whole year {other than Christmas day itself, of course}. After only six months of marriage and home ownership, I had already collected a decent amount of stuff to decorate with for our first Christmas in our house; unpacking each item was like a little mini-Christmas all on its own!

I began a tradition. I first put on my holiday jams {favorite Christmas playlist post coming soon!} and/or find whatever Harry Potter film is currently on ABC family, make some cider, and Christmas-i-fy-the-you-know-what {heck... what were you thinking?!} out of our house. I can't wait to do it again this year!!

So, since Ty and I agreed the day after Halloween was a bit too early, I found a couple of Thanksgiving/ish things to satisfy my inner Martha Stewart.

^^ Current goal/project for Ty? Get our fireplace working. Pronto!

^^ Found this cute printable online. I also started liking pumpkin-flavored things this year, so it works. ;)

^^ Got this adorbs feather wreath and my Thomas T. Turkey for around $5.00 last year after Christmas at Tuesday Morning. Score.

I can't wait until my next decoration post!! Why? Because it will be featuring all of the new items I got on sale last year after Christmas. Christmas being, of course, "The most wonderful time of the year....." YippEEEEE!!!*

*NOTE: No excitement has been feigned in this post. Holiday excitement is 100% genuine. Just ask my better half.

A Weird Custom

Imagine being from another planet. {Perhaps one much more sane than our own? I'm sure there are some out there...} You descend to earth and see a house with piles of mis-matched junk laying on tables out in front with a small colored sticker containing a number on each item. You begin to think these people are a bit strange but you want more information...

You approach them and ask them why they are laying their belongings out on display for everyone to pass by and see. They begin to explain that they have been working for days, perhaps even weeks, preparing for this two-day event. They have gone through their home, rummaging through their things to find the items that they decide they can live without and love the least of all of their earthly possessions.

While you are there, you see people come and go. Some even drive by, peering out their windows at the items, but never exiting the vehicle. {Jerks.} Some bring items up to purchase but want to know if they'll take "$.10 instead of $.25." {"What's the difference," you ask yourself.} Time passes and the items begin to disappear. Slowly, the belongings that were once purchased for 10 times the amount that they're being sold for today begin to find new homes and families. Families that in 5 years, will turn around and sell these things again in front of their own house.

After deciding it's time to return home, a place where people don't buy other people's used and useless junk, you pass by a sign that reads: Yard Sale.

^^ My view for 9 hours on a beautiful October Saturday.

Yes, we had a yard sale a few weeks ago. "We" being my mom and me. And yes, it was way more work than it was worth! Why do I not remember this before I agree to take part in another one?

But there was one freaky thing that happened. Like, really freaky.

On Saturday morning, we were totaling up the previous day's sales. We're talking almost two full pages for each of us with teeny, tiny amounts {$.20, $.50, $1.50 stuff}. Lots and lots of items.

As I total mine up, I am pleased with my amount I earned. Not too shabby, especially considering the fact that my mom worked the sale the entire day on Friday while I was at school.

Then, as I'm tallying her totals up, I start to notice we're getting close to the same amount. However, I didn't expect that it would be the exact. same. amount. to the CENT. 

That is freaky, people!!

$148.40. We both think it's a weird omen of some kind. 

{So long, friends, it's been nice knowing you! I knew we shouldn't have had this sale...}

Garage sales. Love to hate them, hate to love them.