2009 Music Mashup. . .

My friend Becky shared this with me and I thought it would be appropriate to post this on the last day of 2009.

It's a montage of some of the popular songs of the year and I love it!

Hope you enjoy it and that 2010 holds many wonderful things for you!




2009 mashup

John | MySpace Video

65 in 365 . . .

I stole this idea from Snarky mom.

Tara at Mom Jeans and Minivans has also done the same thing.

These ladies have totally inspired me and I loved the idea of 65 in 365.

The idea of this is to accomplish these 65 things within the next 365 days.

Can I do it?

We'll see!

Here's my list

1. Read the bible cover to cover with the help of a bible reading guide
2. Be more involved in church
3. Continue on my path to getting healthy and reach my goal weight
4. Learn to be more comfortable in my own skin
5. Faithfully use a skin care routine, eye cream, moisturize etc.
6. Take more time off to attend school functions with Maddie
7. Make a point to have "date night" with Jeff on a more regular basis
8. Exercise 3-4 times a week
9. Establish a better morning routine. No more sleeping until the very last second
10. Go to bed earlier!
11. Make my bed on a regular basis. ( I never make it, how awful am I?!)
12. Meal plan
13. Get my home and work more organized and keep it that way!
14. Make a point to tell my family and friends how much I appreciate them on a more regular basis
15. Start yard saling and antiquing and possibly open an Etsy store?
16. Learn how to use that fancy schmancy camera on something other than auto! : )
17. Buy a photo editing software
18. Make more of an effort with my daily appearance
19. Fix kitchen flooring
20. Buy a house (hopefully!)
21. Learn to sew!
22. Be more on task when I need to be
23. Be a more positive person
24. Give more, ask for less
25. Buy a new car...maybe?!
26. Paint my kitchen table
27. Catch up on my laundry
28. Re enroll in school
29. Cook healthier meals for my family
30. Learn new recipes
31. Have Maddie's artwork framed
32. Eat dinner at the kitchen table each and every night
33. Have more Mama and Maddie time
34. Tackle more DIY projects
35. Follow Dave Ramsey's plan
36. Read more
37. Go to the dentist every 6 months
38. Plan a family vacation
39. Use the grocery game
40. Get our wills done
41. Have a professional family portrait done
42. Restock my gift closet
43. Start having more Sunday dinners with my parents and my brother's family.
44. Start a Christmas club account
45. Open an Education IRA for Maddie
46. Finish my projects, I've started
47. Manage my time better
48. Blog on a more consistent basis
49. Be a better friend
50. Quit focusing on what I don't have and appreciate what I do have
51. Volunteer more
52. Paint corner hutch in living room
53. Refinish hardwood floors
54. Clean carpet in bedroom
55. Make curtains for bedroom
56. Be more patient
57. Visit family out of town on a more regular basis
58. Stop procrastinating so much
59. Stop worrying so much, as well!
60. Become stronger in my faith
61. Establish a craft area for myself
62. Clean attic out
63. Fix up family room
64. Try not to take things so personally
65. Enjoy each and every day to the fullest because we never get that time back!

Phew! It's a lot but I am gonna take it a day at a time and as I accomplish these things, I will check them off my list.

If I get 1/2 of these items accomplished, I will be a happy camper!

What about you? Do you have any resolutions for 2010?

What would be your 65 in 365?

Show and tell gifts. . .

Mrs. DIY at The DIY showoff, is doing a show and tell gifts, so I decided to participate.

We scaled way back this year, but I still got some pretty amazing things and wanted to show and tell it to you. : )

I had bought myself this a couple of months ago and wanted to just call it my Christmas gift.




It was kind of spendy so I was totally cool with calling it my gift and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!

Seriously, it's the best thing for your skin ever!



But, Jeff wanted me to have something to open on Christmas Day.

So, this is what he got for me.



I have been wanting a pair of Sperry's forever but was to cheap to buy them.

So, he bought me a pair for Christmas.

I was so excited b/c you know, that's what all the cool kids wear these days. ; )

He also bought me these Jessica Simpson aviator sunglasses that I had been eyeing for a while.




Am I gonna look cool or what?!? LOL

My parents bought me this glass beverage jar that I had seen at TJ Maxx and fell in love with.




I knew I was this getting b/c I had picked it up myself at TJ Maxx when they marked it down to $10.

But, I didn't know I was getting this.




A 12 piece set of Paula Deen cookware! WOOT! : )

I'm such a lucky girl!

Everything I got, I can and will definitely put to good use!

I got more than I had expected but am so thankful for everything and I gotta say that I love it all! :)

This about sums our Christmas up . . .

See the look of pure joy in her face?




She, and well all of us, had a WONDERFUL Christmas.

I actually hated for Christmas to come, just because I didn't want it to go.

For the first time in a long time, I enjoyed every minute of it.

I still have yet to take my tree down and probably won't until New Year's Day.

Just because, I love it so.

How was your Christmas?

I hope it was as magical as ours was!

Check out this Christmas decoration. . .

I received this in my email and just had to share.

Make sure you read the whole story below. . .




Greg sends along this DIY - FYI:

"Good news is that I truly out did myself this year with my Christmas decorations. The bad news is that I had to take my fake man down after 2 days. I had more people come screaming up to my house than ever. Great stories. But two things made me take it down.

First, the cops advised me that it would cause traffic accidents as they almost wrecked when they drove by.

Second, an elderly lady grabbed the 75 pound ladder almost killed herself putting it against my house and didn't realize it was fake until she climbed to the top (she was not happy). By the way, she was only one of many people who attempted to do that. My yard couldn't take it either. I have more than a few tire tracks where people literally drove up my yard."


When I first saw the picture I was like OH MY GOODNESS! Then when I read the story that followed I had to giggle a little.

Anywho, I hope it made you giggle a little too. : )

Fave Song Friday. . .

I grew up listening to James Taylor and still love him to this day.

Definitely one of my favorite artists of all time.

Happy Friday!

Merry Christmas to me!

I got a brand new Coach purse and wallet this weekend!


BUT, the best part is that it. . .

DID NOT COST ME A THING!


Yes, you read that right!

Not one penny came out of my pocket.

How you ask?

Here's how.

Back in March, I had a bad, bad, bad day.

So, in an effort to make myself feel a bit better, I did a little retail therapy in the form of a brand spankin' new Coach purse.

So bad, I know.

My friend, Allison was able to pick me up a cute Coach Carly purse at the outlet for less than 1/2 of the original retail price.

It was love at first sight, I loved my purse.

With a heavy heart, I actually even tried to sell it to a friend once to help fund our pup's surgery.

She wasn't able to buy it at the time, so I continued to carry it.

In fact, I carried it every day for about 9 months.

Well, after time, it started to fray at the top a bit.

Just normal wear and tear, I figured.

The purse still looked ok for the most part and let's face it, I can be a bit rough with my stuff, sometimes.

I noticed that it was getting a bit dirty as well, so I decided to google how to clean it.

Found what I was looking for and then, I saw where some ladies had commented on their purses fraying and so forth.

I kept reading and reading and saw that Coach stood behind their purses and would either fix a defect if they were able to, or would replace it.

I also remembered a friend of mine stating the same thing, a while back.

Come to find out, there was a defect in the style of bag I was carrying, that caused it to fray.

So, I called the Coach store and told them the situation and they told me to bring it in. So, I did.

I get there and they tell me that it's unrepairable and I have two options:
1. I could keep my current purse and they would offer me a 40% discount off the purchase of a new Coach or. . .
2. Get a merchandise credit for $348!!!!! Which was more than double what I paid for my purse!

Needless to say, I took the credit!

I am now the proud new owner of this


and this.



I loved this.


It's so much funkier than I usually carry but I loved it!

They were sold out and I was way to impatient to order one.
Maybe, I was just scared they would change their mind on the credit? LOL

The ladies at the store could not have been any more helpful or nice.

They just went above and beyond my expectations!

They were even offering a cute nail polish kit for free with a purchase of $200 or more and they gave me one for Maddie.

They even told me that Coach offers a lifetime warranty on all their products and that even if the stitching came loose, that they would either repair it or replace it!


Can you believe that?

I am beyond thrilled with Coach and their customer service!

I never in my wildest dreams, thought I would have walked out of there with a new purse and wallet!



So like I said, Merry Christmas to me!!! : )

Christmas at The Huntley Home

Welcome, welcome to our humble home!

This is our front door, adorned with our Christmas wreath.



Instead of using my normal wreath hanger, I decided to use some ribbon to hang it from and I love the way it turned out!

When you walk into our front door, you are greeted with our Christmas tree.



We just bought a new one this year, it's pre-lit and considered pre-decorated because it came with pinecones and berries on it, already.

So, if I decided to be lazy one year, all I have to do is set it up!

We did decorate it this year and here are just a few close ups of the ornaments, we have on it. . .






a Maddie-made one,



and a recent gift sent to me.



I definitely have a hodge podge tree but I love it.

Here, is my Garnet Hill knock off advent calendar.




I fell in love with this version of theirs and was lucky enough to find something similar for a fraction of the price at World Market.

Love when that happens!

Here's, another bargain I came across last year, after Christmas.

Gotta LOVE those after Christmas sales! ; )



They sit on top of our TV armoire and make it pretty and sparkly!



Here is my "attempt" at decorating my mantle.



It's just lots of ribbon, garland, some barn stars that light up and our stockings.


I wanted it to be whimsical and fun to match these new stockings that I just had made for us!




My friend April made them and they are fabulous, she did an amazing job!

She even monogrammed them for us!




She is so very talented and so sweet!

Here's just a little bit of Christmas on my coffee table.


I had some extra Christmas balls and just put them in an apothecary jar.

I love all the fun colors!

Definitely, need to get some more though, and fill that baby up!


Lastly, here is the wreath on our back door.

Another, after Christmas find from last year.



It's not much, but it's quaint and our home and we love it.

Thanks so much for visiting The Huntley Home and we wish you a very, merry Christmas from our home to yours! : )

Now, I'm off to tour your homes!

Fave song Friday...

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Brown paper packages tied up with string...

These are a few of my favorite things. . .

I am a member of a message board that consists of an amazing group of ladies, called "The Sisterhood of the Fancy Britches".

I have known a lot of these women for years, we've seen each other babies grow up, and have been through a lot together.

I truly feel fortunate to know these ladies.

Anyhow, the last couple of years, we have done a secret sister exchange and this is what I received from my secret sister this year.




What a lucky girl, am I? : )



Every year, that I have participated, I have truly loved what I received.

Plus, it's always fun to receive a little surprise in the mail from time to time! ; )


Here's the ornmaent on my tree, is it cute or what?!



I hope my secret sister, likes what I picked out for her just as much as I loved my gift! : )


Thanks again, Lori!

Buried Treasure. . .

While unpacking our Christmas stuff, I found several things that I bought after Christmas.

I had forgotten about alot of them and was giddy with the discovery of my newly found treasures.


These two gold churches were part of that stash.



Aren't they GORGEOUS?

I seriously love them!

They aren't my typical Christmas decor but I just had to have them and better yet, I got them for 75% off!

Doesn't get much better than that!?!?! : )

Christmas Tunes. . .

Was doing a bit of blog reading last night, and came across some blogs that had some Christmas music on them.

So, last night I wrote out my Christmas cards and enjoyed everyone's music.

It was so nice, I was the only one awake, my Christmas tree was all lit up and I was completely enjoying the moment.

Since I am in the Christmas mood today, I decided to add a few of my favorite songs too.

Some are new favorites, some are old and I am sure I will add more as time goes on. : )

You can check out what I have so far, on my playlist on the right over there. -->

What is your favorite Christmas song?

I would love to hear it!

One gift. . .

As I stated before, Jeff and I cutting way back on Christmas this year.

I have to admit that I still want Christmas to be "magical" and for Maddie to just receive everything, her little heart desires. So, it's been a bit of a struggle for me. Don't get me wrong, she is still getting what she asked for but I am no longer supplementing her gifts, just so she has more to open.
Because truth be told, the majority of the "filler" stuff I buy ends up in the garbage in a few months, anyhow.

I am also pretty much done with our Christmas shopping.

It does looks somewhat "bare" under my tree. I guess it looks "bare" in relation to what it used to look like under there.

I will also admit, that in some ways it feels good to not stress as much as to what to get everyone like I have typically done in the past.

It's definitely an adjustment, but I think a good one, nonetheless.

For me, anyways.

I actually have had the time to just enjoy the coziness of our Christmas tree and snuggle up to Jeff and Maddie, to make gingerbread houses, and listen to Christmas music.


Jeff and I did also decide that we would buy one gift a piece for each other and the budget was $50.

One gift, gosh?

What did I want?

What could I get?

You definitely think more carefully, when you can only choose one gift!!

My mind has been reeling!

Currently, this is what I *think* I am gonna ask for.




I just LOVE clocks!

They seem to be my thing and I really need another like I need a hole in the head. : )

So, if you could only chose one gift, and the limit was $50.

What would you choose?

Fave Song Friday. . .

In case you haven't already guessed this, I love Lady Antebellum.

Here's their most recent song and I can't get enough of it.




Happy Friday!

O Tannenbaum. . .

O Tannenbaum. . .

Wie treu sind deine Blätter.

Sorry, that song is stuck in my head. : )

I lived in Germany when I was a little girl for a few years and we would sing
"O, Christmas tree" in german every year.


So, I can't help but sing it every year when we decorate our tree, hence the title of this post. ; )


I really like the traditional Christmas colors and toyed with the idea of doing more of a "theme" tree this year and somewhat tried too but I still had to include some of my favorite ornaments.

So, I guess you could say it's a "hodpodge themed" tree.


Here is how she turned out.

I do need to get one more spool of ribbon to finish my garland.




and just a couple shots of some of our ornaments. . .














and my most favorite ornament, ever.







Maddie made this in kindergarten.

They painted their little hands white, stamped them onto the ornament and made their little fingers into snowmen. I love this ornament and now when Maddie holds it, her hand covers the entire thing. So, that makes it even more special to me now.


Lastly, a quick shot of Miss Maddie decorating it. : )






Is your tree up and decorated yet?