Newlywed Game {Holiday Edition}

YAYAY! I am so excited that Karla and Veronica brought this back.

Tim's responses in Blue
Samantha's responses in Purple

1.  Which Christmas would your spouse say was the best that you had together as a couple?
Him: Last year. Our first married Christmas.
Her: Last year :) Although I have enjoyed all 8 of our Christmases together so far!

Us with our tree and stripe shirts (didn't plan that one)

Visiting the Jefferson Hotel (gingerbread train)

 Visiting Busch Gardens Christmastown

 Our 1st Tacky Lights tour

2.  What would your spouse say is the weirdest, or most unique tradition that your family does at Christmas?
Him: We don't have any weird traditions
Her: I don't like this question. Only thing I can think of is we open gifts one at a time which he doesn't like (doesn't want everyone watching him)

3.  It's Christmas Day... you are looking all around and you can't find your spouse.  Finally, you find them hiding in a closet, devouring which holiday treat??
Him: Chocolate. (Yup, especially fudge)
Her: Um, probably sausage balls (you know...the ones with the bisquick, cheese and sausage)

4.  It's your spouse's turn to pick out a Christmas movie.  Naturally, they pick their favorite one.  Which is it??
Him: Elf
Her: A Christmas Story

5.  If your spouse had it their way... when would they put up Christmas decorations?  Right after the turkey?  Last minute?  Not at all?
Him: Right after Thanksgiving
Her: Right after Thanksgiving

6.  What does your spouse think is the best Christmas gift you ever gave them?
Him: Fossil Watch (he got this for me last year I LOVE IT)
Her: TV? There have been a lot of gifts exchanged over 8 years....I don't remember them all.

7.  Fa la la la laaaa, what is your spouse's go-to Christmas song?
Him: Feliz Navidad (haha no, I don't have a favorite but this wouldn't be it)
Her: I would guess Carol of the Bells? There are way too many options.

8.  On Christmas morning, what does your spouse wish is under the tree?
Him: A blanket so she can go back to sleep. (He's just saying that because I don't like getting up early. I really wish an iMac is under the tree ;)
Her: He probably wishes a new car could fit under the tree but I think he'll love what I got him

9.  What is one thing that your spouse absolutely has to do every year during the holidays?
Him: Drink Eggnog <-- font="" yes="">
Her: probably watching A Christmas Story and/or drinking Hot Cocoa

10.  What was the coolest gift your spouse got at Christmas as a child?  (Hopefully they told you this at some point in your relationship... otherwise... this one will have to be a lucky guess!!)
Him: Barbies or something Funny but no (I know I've told him all of the cool gifts I got like a drum set or when I was younger my sister and I got princess tents :) We loved those)
Her: Dirt Bike

I Challenge You

Let me start by saying that I am disappointed in myself. One of my goals for 2013 was to do more for others and I truly feel like I failed at that. I may have done a few things here and there but not nearly enough to consider this goal successful.

Tim and I have discussed on a few occasions that we want to donate to different charities. We have a few specific ones that are close to us but I want to push this further. AND I want you to JOIN ME! 

Here is the challenge: 

Donate (however much you can) each month to a different charity/organization in 2014.

(this doesn't have to necessarily be a monetary donation, you could also donate your time)

What? We try to budget every month and we know about how much we will have saved up by the end of it. I want to add in a buffer to give away. People tend to say they don't "have the money" to do things and I am definitely guilty of this but in reality I DO have money to spare especially if its going to a good cause. Many of us ignore the salvation army ringing their bell when we know we have spare change in our wallets/purses. WHY??? Will we really miss it that much if its gone? 

Why? Have I convinced you to join me yet? I think this is a great time to start because its the season of giving and then we will have a fresh new year. There have been many posts floating around about wish-lists, which is perfectly fine. There are lots of things I would love to have but lately I've realized it's more important to give. Our Sunday school class had a Christmas Angel this year and he is going to be one happy kid on Christmas morning all because each of us found a way to give.

How? Tim and I will go ahead and make our list of our 12 charities (this way we won't make an excuse not to later on). To hold myself accountable, I will post a little blurb each month about the charity.

I would LOVE to know if you are going to participate. You can choose your own 12 charities or use our list. If there is a lot of interest, I will put together a facebook group so that we can all connect.

Is there a charity/organization that is close to your heart that we should consider? I'd love to know.

Also, any creative name suggestions for this challenge are welcome!!

source 

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Tis' the Season

I'm pretty sure you guys have no idea what's been going on in my life so I thought I would catch you up. After all...you seem to like my random posts the best :)

(these are in no particular order)

1) I got a new (to me) car!! This happened a few weeks ago but I just haven't had a chance to tell you yet! Its a 2012 Toyota Camry and I LOVE IT!! It still doesn't feel real!

2) We celebrated Tim's 25th Birthday! It was pretty low key but that's what he wanted. We had birthday milkshakes from Cookout...YUM!

3) We celebrated our 1-1/2 year Anniversary :)

4) We got our Christmas cards from Pear Tree Greetings! I AM SO EXCITED to share them with you (once everyone receives theirs).

5) We put up our Christmas Tree and decorations!! Will be sharing that very soon but here's a preview! Our tree is smaller this year since we have filled up the space where it used to be. (ignore all of the unwrapped gifts below it)

(tree with lights only)

6) We did the Tacky Lights tour. We didn't go to as many as last year but we did see some new ones. Did you see my recap of the tour from last year?

Artie was fascinated by Santa!

7) We got tickets to the VT v VCU basketball game next weekend :) So excited. This was part of Tim's birthday gift! Tim went to VT for undergrad and VCU for grad school but we will be cheering for the HOKIES!!

9) I sang in our church's Christmas Cantata yesterday. Here's my festive outfit!!

Shirt: J.Crew/ Skirt: Kohls / Scarf: Old Navy

(ignore my hair...I'm getting it cut and colored in about a week!! It's way overdue)

What else have we been up to?

Got us a kit to make a Gingerbread Cabin haha!

Made (banana cream pudding) cookies for Tims's Christmas cookie exchange at work! 

Here is the recipe

Shopping

Love Short Pump Town Center's Christmas decorations!

Hangin out with this little guy!! I got him a reindeer costume :) He is fascinated by our tree and tried to eat our reindeer ornament.

That basically sums up the last month!! Hope you have a Happy Monday!

Pottery Barn Inspired

I love when design clients can tell me their style in one or two words. Katie's words were Pottery Barn! Most designers can instantly get a picture in their head of pottery barn style. Katie won a mood board from a giveaway that I participated in and I am so glad that she did. I love her blog- A Worker at Home and I really enjoyed working with her.

Now I could've easily went to the Pottery Barn website and put together a mood board with all of their products but that would give Katie an expensive shopping list. Believe it or not, most of the room is from Target with just a few splurges.

What Katie wants:

"We are moving and so I am going to start fresh in our room because I want it to be a peaceful, restful, and romantic sanctuary for me and my husband. Out of all of the rooms in our house I want this one to be the most clutter-free and stress free (especially since our second baby is on the way and life is only going to get crazier!)
I love the idea of white linens. Our furniture is very dark, so anything else you think goes well with that is great.
My style is traditional-- simple, clean, warm, Pottery Barn-esque."

Here are my inspiration photo's:

1/2/3/4 (source)

Bedding: Target

Curtains: West Elm

Nightstands: Target

Lamps: Target

Laundry Basket: Target

Jute Rug: Target

Ottoman: Target

Pillows: Pier One, Target, Target

Throw Blanket: Target

Love Sign: Etsy

Antlers: Target

This bedroom is styled for the winter but you could easily transition it to spring by adding some new wall art and bright pillows.

Is your style similar to Pottery Barn or another retail store?

Want your own mood board? Check out my design services here!

Design in Your Home {Holiday Edition}

It's time to show off your home again! But this time we want to see how you've decorated for the holidays! You can share fall, winter, Christmas or any type of seasonal decorations you like. We can't wait to see them! I've already noticed a lot bloggers sharing their Christmas trees and Holiday home tours. Won't it be great to have them all here in one place for you to see? And we will each choose a favorite that will be featured on Designer in Teal + Jade and Oak

~AND...thanks to Jackie our link up will now have thumbnail links instead of text links~

ONE MORE Announcement:

At the end of the year, we will be sharing the "Best of" Design in Your Home 2013! Come back to see if you made the list.

NOW JOIN IN on the Holiday link-up...

Rules:
1) Please follow your host (Designer in Teal) and co-host (Jade and Oak) via Bloglovin or GFC.
2) Please only link up your own home or space that you've designed/decorated.
3) Have FUN!

I would love for you to share on facebook, twitter, pinterest and instagram!! Spread the word.

If you do not have a blog but still want to show off your work, you can email me the pictures! samantha.n.shipley@gmail.com

Check this out: