Merry Christmas!

Hey friends! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas!  Did you get all you asked for on your Christmas list? Did your kids catch Santa this year? 
Anyway, remember the reason we celebrate the day, Jesus was born to save us. Isn't that the best Christmas gift ever? This past Sunday my Pastor said "We celebrate the day, not the date." How true is that? 

This Christmas I was able to see all my family (that lives in the same state). It was a busy, crazy, memorable, fun day. I actually slept in the latest I ever have on Christmas morning. Eight o'clock! Then I had Christmas with my dad until about mid-day and had Christmas with my mom. Yes, I got a lot of presents. I also spent a lot of time with my family, which was great! I'm blessed to have such an amazing family. 

 Did you do Elf on the Shelf? See ideas like this and more at Just a Little Creativity!

 The priceless "Oh my gosh!" face.

Merry Christmas once again everyone! Please share your Christmas story in the comments below, or link up your Christmas post here. 
Can't wait to hear them!

I've Been Tagged! Your it!

Hi everybody! I've been tagged to join a game of blog tag by The Best Laid Plans! I'm so excited! It's a chance to get to know other bloggers and find some that you can relate to. 

The Rules:
1. Every tagged person must tell 11 things about themselves.
2. Answer the 11 questions that the person who tagged you asked.
3. Ask 11 questions for the 11 blogs you are going to tag. Please tag blogs with 200 followers or less.
4. Mention the blog that tagged you but don't tag them back.

11 Things About Me:
1. I am a daughter of God and am saved by His amazing grace.
2. I am the oldest of 7.
3. I love to write and would love to have a job as an author or publisher.
4. I am a Florida native.
5. I would love to move to either Denver, CO or Nashville, TN.
6. I am counting down the days to go back to Africa.
7. My biggest dream (as of now) is to take a missions trip to Europe.
8. I learned how to blog from my mom.
9.  I am a little OCD.
10. I am definitely a country girl and get frustrated when people confuse country with redneck.
11. I would love to put up my Christmas decorations the first week of November instead of the week after thanksgiving.

Questions that were asked by The Best Laid Plans:
 1.  How long have you been blogging and what is your main focus on your blog? I started my blog June 10 of this year. My main purpose is just to have fun.
 2. What is your favorite craft/hobby? I love to read. I have a mountain of books, and then another of books I have yet to read.
 3. What is your current or latest project? I am working on a surprise for my followers and will post it on Thursday :)
 4. Do you craft for yourself or for gift-giving?  Most of my Christmas presents are things that I have made. When I make something I usually give it away unless I made it specifically for myself, which rarely happens.
 5. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas!
 6. Who is your favorite author? Tamera Alexander and Becky Wade
 7. Do you have a favorite blog that you have to read? If so, share the name and link. :) I read a lot of blogs and can't say that I have a favorite.
 8. Where is your favorite place to vacation? Disney World!
 9. Do you love to cook or eat out? Depends on my mood.
10. What is your favorite food? As of now, my favorite food is pasta and bread (healthy right?)
11. Tea, coffee or wine? Sweet tea

My 11 Questions:
1. Why did you start blogging?
2. What is your favorite book?
3. What kind of music do you listen to?
4. What is your number one priority in life?
5. Cake or cupcakes?
6. Starbucks or a local coffee store?
7. When you were younger and were asked what you want to be when you grow up, what did you say ?
8. What was your favorite TV show growing up?
9. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
10. What is your favorite thing to make?
11. If you could meet any famous person, who would it be?

The blogs I tagged:
Please let me know if you are going to play. I would love to see your answers!

1. http://www.onecraftymess.blogspot.com/
2. http://www.onelittlemomma.com/
3. http://sadieloohoo.blogspot.ca/
4. http://lagringajoya.blogspot.com/
5. http://southerndirection.blogspot.com/
6. http://keepcalmandwearpearls.blogspot.com/
7. http://rusticrediscovered.blogspot.com/
8. http://www.feellovdeveryday.blogspot.com/
9. http://threesisterandus.blogspot.com/
10. http://stellaholiday.blogspot.com/
11. http://successfollowshappiness.blogspot.com/
   
    
 
   

{Quizzes} DIY Types

So I felt the need to make something interactive on my blog. Therefore, this quiz was made! It shows your general DIY personality. What kind of DIY crafts you like to make.
Hope you enjoy! Leave some feed back about what your DIY personality is and what you thought about the quiz.

P.S.
I got Useful :)

Watcha Wanna Know? The Answers...

So, last week I decided to do a little question answer session with all of you!
I had a lot of fun reading and answering those questions. They were so interesting, and I'm glad you all jumped in.

Thank you every one who asked and participated!

Here are my answers- 

From: Vouloir Vintage 

This is just referring to the title of your blog, but which do you prefer more: finding a vintage item or being creative and designing items?

Answer: This is a hard one. I really like finding vintage items but I also like being creative, designing items and projects myself.  However, I love to find vintage items that I can refurbish or just touch up to make it fit in modern day decor while still keeping the vintage touch.

From: Mommy Testers

Where do you get most of your inspiration from?

Answer: I get inspiration from almost anywhere. I actually really enjoy Target, because I'll often find something there that inspires me. Then, I can try to figure out a way to recreate the look on my own. I also browse Pinterest often. But sometimes I do just get ideas from my own imagination, which is always the best!

From: Peggy

What are your other hobbies, besides blogging?

Answer: I love to sing and play guitar. I also write, bake, and attempt to paint or draw.

From: ATLanta Saving Moms 

What motivates you every day?

Answer: I have a lot of things that motivate me. One of the main things is knowing that I can make a difference in someone's life using God's power in me.

From: Jennifer

Have you always liked vintage stuff or is it a new thing for you?

Answer: I would say I fell in love with vintage stuff about two or three years ago. Around that time, I became a big fan of Jane Austen and I guess you could say that opened the door to appreciate times gone by.

From: Dawn @ With a Side of Thriftiness

What was your favorite memory (so far) from Summer 2012?? :)

Answer: I took a missions trip earlier this summer to Africa and I have to say that's probably my favorite memory so far. I find myself constantly thinking about the people there and desiring to go back (which I plan on doing next summer =] ).

From: Anita

Since I live in NYC, what TV show would you like to visit?

Answer: I'd like to visit either Kleinfeld for Say Yes to the Dress, or Cupcake Wars (although I'm not sure exactly where that's located).

From: LaVonne @ Long Wait 

Where is your favorite place to shop for vintage finds?

Answer: I like to shop at thrift stores and yard sales the most. I do like antique stores but I mostly just go to look around. Antique store prices are much higher than thrift stores and yard sales, probably because they know what they have.

From: Connie @ Measured by the Heart
What are your favorite books? Always looking for a good read.
Answer: I love reading Christian romance or mystery novels, and like I already said, Jane Austen.
I mostly read fiction, and while I'm not sure I can choose my one favorite book, I can give you my top three.
1. A Lasting Impression by Tamera Alexander
2. The Maid of Fairbourne Hall by Julie Klassen
3. My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade (you can my review of this book here)
Each one of these ladies are amazing authors! I have all of Tamera Alexander and Becky Wade's books. 

From: Living at the Whitehead's Zoo

Whats your best tip for staying organized as a blogger?

Answer: I am a very new blogger so I'm still learning a lot. As of now, the best tip I have is to not over-do yourself. You don't want to plan too much to do because then if you don't finish it all it can stress you out (and that's not fun). So, I would say my best tip is to manage your schedule.

 

From: Coupons and Friends

Tell us about your pets/family? 

My family is very big so I'll just state the basics. I have two Great Danes, five brothers, and one sister. I have my Dad, and my Mom and Step-Dad, and most of my grandparents live close by as well. I love all of them and don't know what I'd do without them.

From: All Done Monkey

What made you decide to start blogging? 

My mom is a blogger at Just a Little Creativity and seeing her blog inspired me to do my own. It looked so fun and interesting so I thought I'd try.

Hope you enjoyed getting to know me a bit more!

See you all soon!

Best Friends Till the End

 So this summer I got the chance to make a "new" best friend. We have actually known each other for like 9 years and have always been good friends. However, this past summer we became ultimate friends.

We have craft sleepovers almost at least once a week, we tell each other everything, and we always have fun. We can be honest and true, no matter how hard it is. If we disagree on something we can talk it out and figure it out. We both love Disney but during the summer she turned me into a Disney fanatic, just like her. Yet were 4 years apart.

This Saturday she goes off to an internship for 10 MONTHS! Yeah, and we missed each other when I went to Africa for two weeks. I'm so proud of her though, she's walking in the destiny God has for her. I'm definitely going to miss her but I'm thankful for having her as my closest friend over the summer, and that's not going to change. She'll still be gone but nothing is going to change about our relationship, we will still be just as close when she comes back.  I can't wait to hear about all od has done for her through the internship! I'm so happy :)

This is us this past summer. This is actually where she id doing her internship.

And this is old school. A few years back.

 I'm sure she will keep us updated on her blog, Beautiful Blended Victoria. :)

Computer + Water =

I thought I would share my latest delima with y'all today. If you're a blogger and love your computer, it's actually very sad, so you may want to grab a box of tissues. 

Last Wednesday, my friend and I were writing for our blogs when I decided I was thirsty. So naturally, I get a water. No harm done right? Wrong. Within the first minute, my water it spills. Luckily it didn't get on anything, this time. I should've gotten the clue then to move it away from my Mac, but, I didn't.
About two minutes later it spills again. This time ON my computer, which immediately turns black as soon as I try to snatch it up. 
My thoughts? 
"Oh, Apple must have installed a really cool way to shut down the computer when it gets wet so it won't shock it. Sweet!" 
I wipe the water of the screen and keyboard and take the top cover off thinking I got all the water off. So, I try to power it back on, and it does! But, about thirty seconds later it turns black again. 
At this point, I kind of panic and plug it into the charger. (Note to self: DO NOT DO THIS. It actually shorts out something...) 
In my defense, I didn't know any of this, and plus, my computer was almost dead when I was using it before the water incident, so I thought it just died. Nope, turns out this was my computers way of telling me that it was not thirsty. I finally get enough sense to take the back case off. 
What do we find? 
A whole bunch of water. Ugh.
We strategize, Google, pray, etc, about how to get this flood water out of my computer. We hold it so the water can leak out and fill a bag with rice. Not a good idea, turns out the rice gets into the ports. What next? Try to get the back off. 
A few hours go by, and I come back from church to find my computer has been disected. It's sitting with the back off in front of a fan. This becomes her resting spot for the next few days.
We knew we didn't have a warranty to cover water damage, and that we could be facing a bill of several hundred dollars to repair it, so Saturday, we ask our friend (who is a techie genius) to take a look at it. 
Guess what! 
He figures out what's wrong and fixes it! I got it back, good as new, on Sunday.
Yeah, it only took him a few hours to figure out what was wrong. Genius! 
So, I want to say a really big thank you to our friend! 
Needless to say, I'm a little paranoid, and much more cautious now about any liquid being around my computer.

 

The picture our friend sent us when he fixed it

 When I got it back on Sunday :)

Watcha Want to Know?

source

So, I noticed I haven't said much about me, and I would like to change that. 
After all, it's fun to know a bloggers personality right?

But, I'm not really sure what y'all would like to know, so I came up with an idea. You guys can comment below with questions you would like for me to answer. Please be nice, polite, and appropriate about your questions. Modesty is best! =]

Make sure to leave your name along with your blogs name if you have one (that way I can hop on over and check it out). I might not answer every question but it doesn't hurt to ask!

Ready... Set... Go!

My New Florida and Southern Blogger Buttons

I'm proudly a southern blogger! Yes, I do live in the south. I love sweet tea and I say "yall" all the time. One of my favorite sports to watch is racing and I love to live on a lot of land. When a daddy has a beautiful girl we say "You'd better get your shot gun ready." (some of you will get this later). But listen, I am not a redneck, I'm just a little bit country, please don't get me confused.
Any of this sound like you? Let me know by commenting below! 
 

I'm also a Florida blogger. I actually don't really like going to the beach that much, but I have that option everyday. It's burning up hot here in the summer but not just the warm hot, it's humid hot. In the winter? It's not freezing but not cold. My favorite season down here is fall, it' perfect weather!


Are you a southern blogger or Florida blogger? Click on these buttons, which should be on your left, and put them on your blog! Make sure to link up and let us know that your out there!

{Spark} Old School

spark ¹ noun- anything that activates or stimulates; inspiration or catalyst.

We're goin old school this week! All the way back to my childhood! Okay, so maybe it's not that old, but ya know, it feels that way to me.
Here's basically an open door to my childhood! This is obviously not everything that reminds me of my childhood but it's a pretty good bit.

Hope you enjoy!

7th Heaven. Seriously loved this show!
 

Fashion Plates... I had a Barbie one :)

 

Fishing game... can occupy a kid for hours

My favorite: My Little Pony! My mommy gave me her old ones :) 

The little Polly Pockets. Once, again my mommy gave me her old ones
 

Sesame Street. Mahna Mahna!

 

 

You know the McDonalds plush toys? Yeah, love them!

Source for Pictures

These were like some of the best years of my life! Could any of you relate? What reminds you of your childhood?

hello world

hello world,

i'm here!
great things to come here at ArahBella's, just wait and see...

                                                   Source: jesseharding.tumblr.com via Lydia on Pinterest