And this is where I do my blogging.

I have so many ideas going around on what I should post next and I seriously have numerous drafts of different projects and recipes that are saved and waiting on me to finish them. For now, I've decided to show you a glimpse into my Monday-Friday life. I work at a large financial institution dealing with customers from 830-5 daily. It gets stressful, it's hardly rewarding, and I always find myself wishing that I had a different job. I shouldn't complain because it's a job and a darn good job but I will always want something different. At first I thought how crazy I must be about sharing this part of my life with you but this is where I blog the majority of the time. Sure, at home I edit some photos and work on different projects, but for the most part it is all done here at work. I edit my blog layout, reply to comments, and so on all while at work. Since this is a huge part of my day, I figured it would be fun to share. Plus, I got some of the strangest looks while taking photos of my desk and I always appreciate strange looks from those that I work with. Please forgive the mess and clutter though. It is a desk after all.

I told you to not mind the mess. At least at work I have a large monitor to work on. It's not quite as big as at home and it's not a Mac, but I make do with it.

And here are my drinks. I always write on the free styrofoam cups that we are given at work. I doodle on everything and my cups are no different.

I keep a small collection of things pinned on my wall as well. Here you will find the save the date from our wedding last year, two crafts that Logan made at the library this summer, my team bride button from the rehearsal dinner and a pipe cleaner shooting star I made for work (I have no idea why now).

I love this little sticker. We got in when we spent a weekend in Cleveland for the filming of The Avengers. I have kept it at work ever since. Plus, there's Thor. I love Thor.

I always have a large stack of assorted post-it notes as well. I use them all of the time. You can see from the first picture that I stick them all over my desk. On any and everything. Plus, who doesn't love that Paper Tweet paper my husband got me at the bookstore. I love it.

Next you'll see my Disney Vinylmations collection. I started collecting them this year after deciding to visit Disney World. I had no other logical place to put them than here at work.

I already said that I loved Thor, right. Yes, I did.

I keep this photo of Logan at my desk. I've had it in a frame since this picture was taken. He was so little here, only six months old. Oh how I miss him being a baby.

Here's a close up of this snail. I don't know if it's a snail or not. I thought he was a turtle when I bought him and he's not a turtle. I got him in Mexico this year. He keeps me company during the day.

And there is my computer screen. I love my background of wedding photos. I hardly see it though because I usually have a million windows opened for work things. And yes, I was working on this post as I took a photo of it.

I love ink pens almost as much as I love Thor. I keep a huge collection at my desk.

I have a fancy phone that I don't use. Well, I'm lying. I used it once to call my doctors. That's it. I need it to be removed. And I keep a notebook of notes everywhere I go. And do you see that on the calendar? I have a photoshop class tonight at the library.

And this is a huge mess of photos that I keep up all of the time. Some are pretty old dating back to Logan's second birthday. Almost three years ago now. Oh wow. I also have another calendar there of personal/family things going on. July was a busy month.

And my favorite thing on that little wall is this note from the husband. He was so formal and signed his name. It was in my purse a few years ago and I found it when I got to work. I've kept it clipped up here ever since. He can be pretty sweet.

And there it is, my desk at work. I have 3 calendars and 3 things of Thor. It's a little crazy and cluttered but I need these things to get through the day. Ha.

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Button Bracelet

I found a few pieces of jewelry I have been wanting to make thanks to Pinterest and so far I have made 2 different necklaces and 2 bracelets. I'm going to share with you the most recent bracelet I made because it was much easier than the other bracelet and it was the one I was able to get more photos of so you can make it too.

I had no directions to follow, just the picture from Pinterest. Here is the original picture. I just looked at the picture and gathered my supplies and got started. Thankfully I had some butcher twine leftover from a different bracelet and my mother in law gave me a huge pack of buttons awhile ago.

And for future reference I have learned that I need someone else to model a bracelet, I have awfully ugly arms when photographed. And I should probably paint my nails before taking pictures of them.Pin It Now!

Currently.

Listening:  I drove myself to work on Friday (something that I hardly ever do) and I had a few minutes alone to listen to the radio. I hardly ever listen to the radio but I did today. I listened to a repeat Jason Ellis show on Faction. I think he's hilarious and so are the other guys on the show. I know this isn't music at all but it is still something that I did listen to.

Reading: I started reading Heaven is for Real when we went away last weekend but I have not had any time during the week to pick it up and read it. It's officially overdue at the library so I have to finish it tonight.

Watching: I saw Brave on Wednesday. I fell asleep. It was cute for what I could stay awake for but I didn't last the entire movie.


Working on:  Lots of projects. I made a bracelet, a little tray, and something that I can't post about yet. My fingers are still covered in mod podge.

Wishing: That summer would just slow down. Seriously there are only 19 days until Logan starts school. That's 19 days to have fun. That's it. And then summer is over and he will be a kindergartner.


Eating: I had pizza three times this week. For real. Three times. One pizza had walnuts on it. That was the biggest mistake I have ever made. Yuck. Gross. Not good.


Anticipating: We have two birthday parties this weekend to attend, one for the bestie and one for my sister. Logan will have a blast and I'm still needing to pick up on more present.


Thinking about: How I've gained seven pounds since May. I'm not good at dieting and I'm not good at exercising for long periods of times so I need to find something that I can learn to stick with. I can't just keep gaining seven pounds every two months. Oh my.Pin It Now!

DIY Paint Chip Platter.

We went to Goodwill the other day just looking around. I'm sure my husband had the intention of finding some cd's since that seems to be the only place he will buy an actual cd now instead of getting his music on itunes. And he did get lucky, he got Smashmouth, Hootie and the Blowfish, Fastball, and 3rd Eye Blind. I got even luckier though. I found a couple of great items I have been wanting to use to upcyle into some even better items. Only one though I can share for now because I'm using the other one for something next month (I'll share soon, I promise).

I did get an amazing serving platter. It might even just be a large plate with a small lip around the edge. I am not really sure. But I love it and have so many ideas of what we can put on it. Even if I don't use it for cupcakes (what I'm really wanting to do with it when it dries) I figured it would match the living room colors to be a nice little spot to drop keys and other items when we come home. I got it for $1.66 (yay for sale days). I used some green paint chips I grabbed at Home Depot and some mod podge that has been sitting quietly since I got it a few weeks ago. I also use a circle punch I bought when I was making some stuff last year. 

Seriously, so easy and very cute. All I did was punch out some circles.

And put some mod podge on the back of the circle. And then the top. I didn't read the directions but I think I did ok. It's currently drying and I did not have the patience to wait to post about it. I can't wait to find a perfect spot for it in our home.

Now I have finally found a great use for it. I'm sure this will temporary as most things are that I do, but this works for now. And I think it's perfect.

Right now it is holding all of my handmade jewelry and I love it. And no, it is not going to always sit on top of a guitar case.

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Don't forget-BabbaBox Giveaway!

We started working on our BabbaBox projects this weekend. I let Logan chose which one he wanted to start with and he decided on the sock puppets. We got out all of the supplies and I read him the directions and he was able to easily make them. We have used them several times so far for many different kinds of scenarios. We did have a small casualty today though, one of the eyes fell off of the boy sock puppet. It is ok though, there was plenty of glue leftover so we can quickly repair him.

Logan loved this activity and tonight we are planning on reading the book and making the magnets.

But don't forget to enter the giveaway for your very own BabbaBox! I can't wait to see what theme yours is. And BabbaBox has a special promotion that they are running for a back to school pack! If you were thinking about getting the BabbaBox, here's a great offer! You are able to get the first 3 months of membership for 33% of (yes, that's only $20 per box!). Use the coupon code ABER33BTS at checkout. And don't forget you can also use the other code ABER20OFF to get 20% off of your first box!

Enter below for your chance to win the BabbaBox! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Deep fried corn on the cob. Oh my.

I do not want to give off the wrong impression with this post. We do not live in the country, it's very much a city. Maybe not a big city, but we are minutes away from a big city. But every now and then, we love to take part in our little community by going to different events. This week we did go to the county fair that was in town. When I was little we use to go to the fair every year and I loved it. This is our second year going as our own little family and a tradition I hope to continue. We rode some rides and had some delicious fair food (yes, I did have deep fried corn on the cob. Amazing.)

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Currently.

Listening: I spent this week listening to the Glee Graduation Album. It was by far one of my favorite episodes of Glee ever so the album is pretty much the same.

Reading: Oh my! I read The Fault In Our Stars in 3 hours. Probably one of the saddest books I have ever read. I found out that it's going to be a movie (can. not. wait.) so I plan on seeing it when it comes out. The book had me in tears at so many different parts. If you haven't read it, read it now. I really mean it.

Watching: Where did this week go? Seriously. I don't feel like I watched much television or any movies. I hope to see The Dark Knight Rises soon though. 

Working on: Oh I have so many things I've worked on in relation to the blog this week! I made some wonderful papers to help me organize all upcoming posts. It's pretty fantastic how I managed to get it all organized.

Thinking about: Work. I applied for a new position and only hours later I found out that the position is now only going to be hiring in Texas. I'm not moving to Texas. So I'm not getting the new position. 

Anticipating: How can I seriously type that I'm anticipating nothing? Well, I guess it is because I really am not at this point. Let's hope this changes. And fast.

Eating: So many tasty things this week. Haha. And by tasty I really just mean normal food but everything seemed to just taste so much better. I did make some delicious pizza casserole dish that has now made me want to have a casserole party with our friends. Recipe to come soon.

Wishing: For Logan to snap out of whatever bad mood he has been in lately. I don't quite get it. He's been moody, rude and just plain mean this week. I do not know why he has been this way but I just wish he would go back to being the nice little guy he usually is. Pin It Now!

Pizza Casserole

I found a recipe that I knew my husband would love as soon as I saw the photo on Pinterest, Pizza Casserole! I found the original recipe at For Mamas and boy is my family thankful that I did. I changed and added a few things of course but here's my take on pizza casserole. Yum

Ingredients: 
1 bag of egg noodles
1 jar of pizza sauce
1 jar of marinara sauce
4 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
1 pound ground hamburger
1/2 pound ground sausage
1/2 package of pepperoni
Pizza seasoning

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Brown both hamburger and sausage (I did this separate so I could make sure both were fully browned). Once both are browned, mix together in a large bowl.
3. Boil egg noodles and drain.

The next steps are so similar to a lasagna that it should be more like a pizza lasagna.

Layer in a 13x9 in baking dish:

1. Thin layer of marinara. 

2. Half of the egg noodles.

3. Half of the meat.
4. The rest of the marinara sauce.
5. Rest of the noodles.
6. Half of the cheese.
7. Rest of the meat.
8. Half of the pepperoni.
8. The whole jar of pizza sauce (sprinkle pizza seasoning on top of this layer).
9. Rest of the cheese.
10. The remaining pepperoni.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before eating.

Trust me, your family is going to love this. Plus, the leftovers are just as fantastic.Pin It Now!

BabbaBox Review and Giveaway!

So I have been obsessed with the idea of monthly subscription boxes for me (more about that later) but when I found out that they actually had subscription boxes for children, I became even more excited. And that's where BabbaBox comes in. Seriously, a monthly box sent to the house each month for Logan! A new theme, new crafts, activities, books and more! I couldn't ask for something more perfect for him to get surprised with. I felt like a kid myself this evening when I came home from work and found his very own BabbaBox in the mail! Yay!

So what is BabbaBox? It's a monthly subscription box that is delivered to your home with all of the physcial materials plus know how content to really engage with your kids. The BabbaBox has 5 different types of activities: Create, Explore, Story Tell, Connect and Extra. Each different section focuses on either motor, cognitive, or creative areas to help your child with the theme!

Now we haven't had time to start one of the activities just yet, but we did open the box, read through everything, and take some photos. Here are all of the different activities that the box comes with. If your kid enjoys doing crafts (oh boy, mine does) then this might just be the perfect little monthly box to surprise them with!

This BabbaBox's theme is The Way I Feel. There are activities that will help your child with expressing their feelings, exploring their feelings, learning about caring about others, and playing games to help them learn positive social behaviors. The BabbaBox is filled with activities to reinforce the theme. There is puppet making and magnets to create. Spy glasses to observe the feelings of those around you. A book to read and even a digital app!

We are beyond thrilled to get started with these activities! I will be posting each activity that we complete and including Logan's review as well! Be prepared for those to be coming shortly.

The great news is that BabbaCo has offered my readers an exclusive discount on your first order of BabbaBox! So even if you don't win the giveaway, you can still get the BabbaBox at a great price. Go to BabbaCo and enjoy 20% off of your first box using discount code ABER20OFF

Enter below for your chance to win a one month BabbaBox for your little one!

a Rafflecopter giveaway




This is a sponsored post from BabbaCo. I did receive a BabbaBox for our family to use and review in return for my opinions. All opinions are 100% honest and 100% my own. 
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Currently.

Here is my second post of my currently series I am doing on the blog. You can view the first post HERE.


Listening: I got Lee Brice's Hard 2 Love cd from the library last week and loved it. I know, I'm publicly admitting to liking country for the second week in a row. 

Reading: I finished Signs Of Life last week and started on Beautiful Boy this week. It's a very moving story so far. 

Watching: Unfortunately, all of our regular shows are on break right now and I've been watching a little bit of everything. This week I did watch Franklin and Bash and Love in the Wild. Ha.

Working on: We had a big Pinterest craft night last night. I made some oreo treats, a bracelet, 3 necklaces, 3 mugs and 2 plates. Photos will come soon.

Thinking about: My mother in law being sick. She's never sick and for over a week now, she has been in the hospital 3  times. It started with cellulitis and then it got worse. And now she is allergic to one of the two medications that they prescribed. It makes me think how lucky Logan is to have her around still since my mom isn't here anymore to be his grandma. I just hope she gets better very quickly.

Anticipating: The next week. We will be going to the county fair with some friends and we are going out of town next week for a wedding. I love going to weddings since it gives me a reason to dress pretty.

Eating: I feel like I didn't eat much this week even though I know I did. We did have a food day at work. Oh my. I had rice krispie treats, brownies, veggie pizza, buffalo chicken dip, Skyline dip, chips, crackers, cinnamon rolls. See, I knew I had a lot to eat this week.

Wishing: That we have a great weekend! We woke up late. Very late. And haven't even showered or left the house today. And yet, we have nothing planned. Pin It Now!

Owl Craft.

I had some free time while Logan took a little nap in the evening so I decided to do some crafting. I had the oatmeal container leftover from when I made the Strawberry Muffins and Oatmeal Cookies  so I wanted to make sure did something with it. I thought about letting Logan decorate it and using it just as a little bank but figured I could do something on my own with it.

Now we have this cute little owl who sits quietly in our living room. I love them and can't believe that the husband was ok with me keeping him out.

The only supplies needed for this project:
Oatmeal container
4 different pieces of scrap booking paper
Scissors
Glue stick

Wrap one piece of paper around the bottom half of the container.

Wrap a second sheet of paper around the top half.

Fold in the top of the container until they meet in the middle.

And then attach the eyes, nose, and wings on the side. Simple and cute. 

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