Christmas Craft Decor!

Today's Topic: Christmas Decor!

What a wonderful day to talk about the second Christmas craft I've been working on!
This was another project that I did to decorate our mantle!
You can see my first craft HERE!

Glitter Cardstock Trees!

I got this idea from Landeelu @ Landee see, Landee do!

You'll have to check them out! Her instructions were so simple to understand and easy to follow!

Here's what you need:

-Styrofoam cones (these are available in an assortment of sizes, whatever your preference)

-Glitter scrapbook paper
(I picked green= 2 sheets, gold= 2 sheets & red= 1 sheet)

-Martha Stewart Hydrangea Punch (purchased at Michael's for $10)
-A ton of long sewing pins (I went through about 500 total for all 3 cones)

-Punch out a ton of the little hydrangea cuts outs and them place them side by side on your cone, don't worry if it's not right the first time, you can pull out the pin and replace it, no one will know:)

-I started at the bottom, and went around in a circle all the way to the top.

I'm so excited to see our mantle once it's all decorated!

Creating all these Christmas beauties has been so much fun! I've already picked out my next project!

What do you think?

Are these not adorable?!

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Have any of you ever tried making one of these amazing ornament wreaths? 

I can't wait to try! Wish me luck!

**Remember, my first giveaway is on its way! I only need four more followers!

Calling All Fashionistas!

After reading your blogs daily, I have realized that most of you are little fashionistas, pulling looks together that I would never even think of myself!

With that said, I need your help!

I have a white vest from Gap, that was given to me as a gift a couple of years ago. 

I've tried wearing it, but I always just end up looking ridiculous. Sad story, right? I know this vest has potential, but I just can't figure it out!

If you have an idea or suggestion, please let me know!

Keep in mind though, this is a legit. vest, not a little thin one, it's like a puffy winter coat with no sleeves haha.

I'm looking forward to hearing your suggestions!

If you have a picture of yourself wearing a vest like this successfully, I'd love to see it!

sweetlikeasong@gmail.com

Favorite Holiday Tradition!

It's day two of Amber and Neely's 10-day Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge!

Today's topic: Favorite Holiday Tradition New or Old!

Every year, at the exact same time, on the exact same day, the Miller family (meaning all 35 of us) gets together for Easter, Thanksgiving & Christmas. At Christmas we meet on Christmas Eve at 5:30 and I already can't wait!

We spend hours eating, talking, laughing, playing games and just enjoying each others company. We have so much fun and I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world. I am so lucky to be a part of a family that can all come and spend time together.

Singing Karaoke at Christmas!

I taught them the sorority pose!

All the young people eating Christmas dinner!

We draw names every year! Here we are opening presents!

We've been getting together like this since before I was born. This is a tradition that we love and will continue for years to come.

My Favorite Christmas Gift...EVER!

Today, I'm linking up with Amber & Neely for their 10-day Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge! 

Today's topic is my favorite gift I've ever received!

After a considerable amount of thinking and trying to remember all the amazing gifts that I've gotten over the years, I think we have a winner.

A UNICYCLE!

I know, I know, it sounds a little out there, but let me explain!

At my elementary school, (in my SUPER small town) during P.E, you could either play basketball or you could try to learn to ride a unicycle. My school owned about 25 unicycles that everyone in the class had to share. Being so short, I was no good at basketball and decided to try my hand at unicycle riding. 

Piece of cake, right? 

No way! Learning to ride that thing was so hard! But, if you were good enough in class, then they offered you membership into the unicycle club (only the coolest of the 4th and 5th graders were members). I practiced every P.E class and was finally able to ride two full laps around the gym and gained membership into the club!

One day, the school gave us an order form for those interested in buying their own unicycle. I begged my parents, but they ultimately said no. We were doing Christmas at Weasie's house (my grandma) that year and I specifically remember seeing a big red bag under the tree with my name on it. I had no idea what it was. 

Finally, when we opened presents, I was shocked to find my very own custom-fit unicycle. It was the coolest thing in the whole world! After that, I road in performances, parades, the whole nine yards! 

(Worried for your eyes, I chose to leave out pictures of my crazy 4th grade perm and crooked teeth. Believe me, you wouldn't be my friend! Haha.)

I have received some of the most amazing gifts over the years, but I think this one takes the cake!

Christmas Craft: Number 1

I've been patiently waiting to tell you about this great craft that I found on Pinterest about a month ago! I started buying the supplies that I needed for it then, but some of them were pretty pricey, so I decided to spread it out.

I am excited to announce that my first of TWO, yes TWO Christmas crafts is finally complete and ready to be shown! 

(The other will be up shortly, but I ran out of pins yesterday while completing the finishing touches)

Here is the original picture that I found and my inspiration for doing the craft!

You can find complete step-by-step instructions HERE!

My Mom mentioned to me the other day that she wanted to decorate our mantle differently for Christmas this year. I took this as invitation to craft up something beautiful!

Here's what you need:

-Clear glass vases=$1/each

(I followed the reference blog and found mine at dollar tree)

-PermEnamal glass conditioner= Large for $6.99 

(Even if you are doing large vases, you only need the small container of surface conditioner. I thought, that because I used a fairly large vase, I would need a lot, but this is not the case. You simply poor it in your vase, then poor the excess right back out.)

-PermEnamal paint= $4.99/color

-Paintbrush= $4.99 for three

Here's a visual!

& the finished product!

I decided to do mine in Christmas colors to sit on the mantle!

TIPS:

-Make sure to give the surface conditioner time to dry. They really should sit for an hour. I was so excited to do mine, I think I jumped the gun a little bit!

-Since I used 3 different colors and bought a large bottle of conditioner (not necessary), the project was more expensive than it should have been. Sticking to one paint color and getting the small conditioner would bring the cost down immensely.

**Please feel free to ask questions by commenting on this post or emailing me! 

Thanksgiving & Black Friday Savings!

I have finally recovered from everything that I ate yesterday for lunch and am able to sit at my computer and blog about it:) I hope you all had a wonderful time with your families and took time yesterday to remember all of your sweet blessings!

Here are a few photos from yesterday at the Miller festivities:

Getting ready to eat!

 Mama & I

 Yummy!

 Desserts! (I had a little sample of each)

 Kickball after lunch! (My brother, Andrew)

 The outfield!

We had such a great time doing what we do best, eating and playing around!

Now to business: $hopping!

I contemplated getting out in the crowds last night with the rest of the Black Friday shoppers, but with no must-have items on my list, my Mom and I decided to go early this morning. I got up around 6AM and was so excited to see on Twitter that Vineyard Vines had their outerwear 30% off until noon. There was an item that I had on my Christmas list, but had waited to purchase hoping that they would have a pre-Christmas sale. Just before 7AM, I called and was able to purchase the item over the phone. What a great morning surprise! This isn't the first time I've called the South Park Vineyard Vines store and their customer service is amazing! Mama & I left our house around 7:30AM headed for the outlets in Mebane, NC.  I picked up a few things that I'm so excited about, but I won't actually get to use until after Christmas, so I'll keep those a surprise until then! 

I will tell you how much I saved though!

Vineyard Vines: $39

Tommy Hilfiger: $21

Michael's Crafts: $9

For a grand total of: $69 (YAY!)

To our surprise, the outlets weren't even crowded! We got everywhere we wanted and had time to stop by Edward McKay's on the way home. I picked up this little treasure for $8.00! 

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CLOSE FRIENDS OF MINE: Don't worry I'm not planning to get married now or anytime soon, I just want to learn how to plan weddings!

I read the first chapter on the way home...pretty good so far!

Hope you all had a wonderful day of stress-free relaxation and shopping!

Wednesday Change-Up

I'm trying something new this Wednesday!

I've seen many of you do it, and this week, I thought I'd join in on all the fun! I'm linking up with The Vintage Apple for my first edition of:

"Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday!"

As much as I love Pinterest, I don't know how I've gone without doing this link-up for so long!

Here are some of my most recent pins:

Even though I usually don't usually have plans until the last minute, I think this dress would be so perfect for the New Year's Eve!

I absolutely adore this gold chain link bracelet from J.CREW! So gorgeous!
$118

I love the idea of wearing shorts and tights with heels, but I'm not sure if I could pull it off! I think this picture is so sassy and stylish, especially with the black bow belt!

I love this cushion cut engagement ring and wedding band! I fell in love with this cut/style about a year ago, while looking at the Tiffany Legacy ring! Isn't it amazing?!

I had always pictured myself getting married at this place called Graylyn, in Winston-Salem. It's beautiful, elegant and the perfect venue for a wedding. After looking at Pinterest's never-ending wedding ideas, I love all different venues. This plantation house wedding venue is amazing!

All pictures are courtesy of Pinterest

What are you pinning today??

I hope everyone is having an amazing Thanksgiving break so far! I've spent my day relaxing at home and reading all of your blogs! 

I am so excited to announce that once I reach 50 followers, I'll be doing my first giveaway! Yay!

 I'm at 43 right now, so only 7 more to go!

On the road again...

I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving is now just two days away! That means there's only two days keeping me from being at home, relaxing on the couch watching all the shows I've had my parents record on DVR (a modern luxury that I don't have at my college apartment), eating until I'm sick, and then sleeping it off.

(I seriously think Randy & I could be BFF)

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My other addiction...

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Today I wanted to post about traveling. I can always remember hearing on the news about certain holidays being "The most popular travel day of the year," but that always sounded funny to me because I really don't travel on holidays! I know, weird right?! All of my family, with the exception of one couple, live in North Carolina. We're not just all in the same state, but all within a 30-mile radius of each other.

I love to learn about families and what they do on holidays! So, tell me about yours! 

Will you be traveling this week? Are you going somewhere tropical as a group or just to another family members home? 

In just a couple hours I will be making the trek from Boone to near Winston-Salem, but that's about as interesting as it gets!

So while I spend my Thanksgiving at my cousin, Amanda's house, not too far from home...Where will you be?

Friends for a Lifetime

I can't believe it's already Saturday night! I don't know how the weekends always go by so fast, while my weeks of class, homework and meetings stretch on forever! I'm sure many of you are used to this feeling as well. 

Here's what I've been up to!

Thursday, Alpha Phi had a "When I Grow Up" mixer. Since dressing up as a wedding planner is a bit difficult, I decided to go for a housewife instead, and I have to say, it turned out really well! I ended up wearing a black and white, strapless, polka dot dress that I bought at some point in high school (so excited I can still fit in that thing). Honestly, I don't think I'd ever worn it before. I threw on a cupcake apron, some pearls and some red lipstick and I was set!

Sharyn & I

So much fun!

Yesterday, I rested most of the day until around 6:30pm, when I had dinner with Erin, my roommate from freshman year. She and I have stayed good friends even though we haven't lived together in 3 years. She is amazing and I love being able to hangout with her!

Freshman Orientation 2008

This year at my 21st birthday!

We went to this quaint little restaurant in Boone, called Proper. It hasn't been around too long and features down home southern food. 

Last night, I had a crab cake with macaroni and cheese and hush puppies. This also came with a biscuit and their homemade ketchup. This ran me just over $8.00 before tip. The atmosphere and company were my favorite and the food was pretty good, but being from the south and eating at potluck dinners all my life, this wasn't even close to the food I have at all family functions and church homecomings. 

After dinner, Erin and I headed over the the music building on campus (Proper is just a few streets over). Some of her good friends were doing an opera performance for one of their classes. I had nothing better to do and thought it would be something interesting and fun to hear. It was def. a night well spent!

Tonight, I plan on relaxing, maybe crafting a bit (I can't wait to share them with you), and just enjoying my free time! 

Have a great weekend! 

What I'm loving Wednesday!

Today I'm linking up with Jamie at This Kind of Love for What I love Wednesday!

-I'm loving my amazing new resume! If I was an employer, I would definitely want to hire me! haha.

-I'm loving that I get my college class ring tonight! I've worked long and hard for that thing, so I think I deserve it!

-I'm loving that I'm going to have dinner out somewhere nice tonight, since my parents will be up.

-I'm loving that in 8 days, I will be home for the Miller Family Thanksgiving Lunch! Not only do we have some amazing cooks in my family, but some comedians as well:)

The younger "young at heart" always sit at their own table to eat!

We have so much fun!

Thanksgiving 2009

We do the same thing at Christmas, except it's for dinner!
We have about 50 people in the Miller family! As you can see, we've almost outgrown this room!

Christmas 2010

-I'm loving that Black Friday is only 9 days away! WooHoo! My 

Aunt, Robin and I go shopping every year looking for those killer deals! Two years ago, I even ventured out to Toys "R" Us at midnight the night before! 

-I'm loving that I get to leave work & have lunch soon! 

Today, I'm thinking....

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Yep, pure deliciousness!

BTW, have you tried their Oreo milkshake??

A-MAZ-ING!

Have a great day!

Go out and find something to love!

Good News:)

For those of you that read my post a week or two ago, when I was super stressed out about changing my major, my future, etc...thank you for being so supportive!

I am happy to say that there may be a light at the end of the tunnel!

I've decided that I'm going to go ahead and graduate in May as planned! Yay! I met with my advisor and found out that to acquire a degree in Public Relations, it would mean not graduating until May of 2013. At this point, I'm just ready to get out and experience life. In the semester I have left at ASU, my Mom has suggested that I try to get some experience in event planning... 

This is what I'm so excited about, if you follow me on Twitter you may have seen that I had some good news! Well I may have found that job! I'll let you know when I hear more!

Fingers crossed!

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A huge thank you to my sweet friend, Julianne that helped me make my resume amazing! You are seriously the best!

Also, I'm so excited for tomorrow because my parents are coming up to see me get my Appalachian class ring! There's a special ceremony on campus where the chancellor will be presenting them to us and I can't wait to wear it! 

Mine looks a lot like this one! Except mine will have a gold "A" in the middle!

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Hope everyone has had a great start to their week! Only 8 more days until Thanksgiving!

Meet....well, ME!

I found the cutest little questionnaire the other day that Rachel did at Simple Little Joys! Hers was part of a Tuesday Tidbits post, but I thought that this was a great idea for any day of the week!

I love it when bloggers answer questions about themselves because it gives you a chance to learn a little more about them in real life! I hope you enjoy reading mine:)

Guilty pleasure?

Buying books (even if I have no time to read them), I love the feeling of bringing them home and looking at them. Law & Order SVU, Pinterest, Coke, corndogs & frozen yogurt.

I've read all but one of these!

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Recent splurge?

I don't feel like I've splurged on anything lately! haha. I'm sure there will be many to come though with Christmas occasions, and there's no doubt I'll need a New Years dress (planning way ahead).

This one should do!

In bulk, I buy?

Palmer's Cocoa Butter chapstick, Neutrogena make-up wipes (best discovery ever) and HiC juice boxes

This things are amazing!

My go-to flower?

I love all flowers, I really don't have a preference. I'll take them any day of the week. 

Comfort food?

Cinnamon Crunch bagels and macaroni and cheese from Panera, cheeseburger bake and chocolate eclair cake that my mom cooks, anything from Sam's Pizza.

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For breakfast?

I love breakfast, thanks to my Daddy cooking it every single morning when I was growing up! I'll take bacon and sausage any day. Def. french toast if I'm out!

For dinner? 

I love Japanese, especially a little place we have in Boone, called Hokkaido. I love a good ACP (arroz con pollo), Chilis chips and salsa, yummy!

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Love/hate relationship with?

Texting! The convenience is great, but sometimes I just like to talk to someone and hear their voice! 

Can't stop watching?

Say Yes to the Dress (no matter how many times I've seen the episode), Law & Order SVU, and the Harry Potter marathon that was on last night!

Dreaming about?

Going on a shopping spree, having a pedicure, crafting my life away (I'll be telling you about my newest project soon), Thanksgiving break with my family and black Friday shopping! 

Crushing on?

 My amazing boyfriend!

He's just the best!

 Every girl should have?

A great: pair of leggings, hairdresser, straightener, group of girlfriends, strand of pearls, planner, book to read! 

My style in five words?

Preppy, classic, girly, polished, & relaxed at times.

I love wearing?

Dresses that match my boyfriend's outfit!

Dream job?

To plan weddings, be a professional shopper, teach zumba, blog, have beautiful babies, & be an amazing wife!

Happy Monday!