2011 Blog Recap

Following Chrissy's lead, I am featuring my most popular blog posts of 2011 based on comments. Thanks to everyone who has commented this year! And to those who haven't, I would love to hear from you!!

January-

Same Kind of Different as Me

This post featured a book review on the awesome story by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. Such a picture of the work of God in people from all different backgrounds.

February-

Then and Now

I announced my pregnancy to the blog world!

March-

A Lot of Good Food

This post featured some of the delicious meals we enjoyed on our trip to Savannah.

April-

We're having a...

Our gender reveal post!

May-

The Last Day, a New Beginning

Transitioning from teacher to stay-at-home-mom.

June-

The Possibility of Early Labor

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Preview. :)

July-

Celebrate!

I finished graduate school!

August-

Baby J- Week 37 Nursery Reveal

I celebrated 37 weeks by sharing pictures of our nursery!

September-

Introducing Emily Ann Johnson

October-

The Pumpkin Patch

Documenting our family trip to the pumpkin patch!

November-

Favorite Things Party

I linked up with the Nester to document some of my favorite things!

December-

Insta-Friday

I linked up with Life Rearranged to note some fun Instagram pics!

Happy New Year everyone!

EA's first Christmas

Christmas is so much fun with a baby! It was so awesome to make Christmas memories with our sweet little girl- I can not wait for the Christmas's to come!

Opening a gift from Annie and Poppy

Hanging out in her new red wagon

Looking at her stash from Santa

Merry Christmas from the Johnson's!

Last minute decor

Several months ago, my friend Beth talked about a Pinterest find that featured old Christmas card pictures and numbered them according to the years.  I loved the idea but never found the time to get the pictures printed. She mentioned how much her kids loved looking at past pictures and it dawned on me... I kind of like that too :)

A few weeks ago, Shutterfly offered a great deal that included free prints! I quickly got our Christmas card pictures from the past and a few pictures from the years we didn't send cards printed, then used my Cricut to create a background. I finished them off with the years on the back.



My favorite part is seeing where we have been and what we have done each year we have been married. I imagine hanging them from our steps when we are in a larger home, but loved how welcoming they looked on our entry mirror.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

One Year.

One year ago today we found out we were expecting our precious bundle of joy.

I will never forget how I felt when that second little line appeared. 

Who knew how much our lives would change? And how thankful we would be that they did.

Jan. 17, 2011

April 7, 2011

September 1, 2011

December 2011

Merry Christmas!

Handwritten Wishes Christmas

Customize your Christmas cards this holiday at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Just Beachy- Part 2

After hitting the beach on Friday, Brian, EA, and I headed to the Grand for the end of our weekend away. 

The Grand is probably our favorite place. It's beautiful and peaceful and calm and all of the good things that makes a great vacation- from the amazing rooms to the warm fire pits overlooking the sunset, you really can't beat it.

This time, one of the things I was most excited about in going to the Grand was the indoor pool. Our sweet friends Jared and Ashley gave EA a swimsuit when she was born and we haven't had a chance to use it. The pool was a great opportunity to pull out the swimsuit and let Brian and EA have daddy/daughter time while I snapped pictures!

teehee, how could such an ugly look be so adorable!?

Basically, I took no other pictures at the Grand. Hindsight, I'm pretty sad about that, but it made the trip super relaxing and incredibly enjoyable! 

Want to see more of our trips to the Grand? Check here and here.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Just beachy.

We went to the beach this weekend.

The weather was amazing.

For EA, the verdict is still out.

For B and A, it was absolutely perfect.

Insta-Friday

1. In line for EA's first trip to meet Santa at the mall. He was late, but I suppose that's forgivable because he's Santa. 2. Craft inspiration. 3. Hanging out with Great-Granny. She thinks EA is a doll. I agree. 4. So cute. 7. Sleepy Thursday. 6. I got this lovely magazine in the mail yesterday. Just a happy day surprise- a full years subscription! I'm pumped.

Our Christmas Mantel

I was very pleased with our Christmas mantel this year! I knew I wanted something similar to what I had done in the past, but wanted to change it up a little to make it more unique to the year.

I used leftover scraps from our tree to make garland and added berries for a little extra color. Though it does not sit as high as artificial garland, I love the smell and the extra spunk that it adds to our decor.

On the right, I used our Willow Tree Nativity wall hanging and paired it with the Isaiah printable from Jones Design Company.

For the left, my mom and I had a craft night one evening when Brian was out of town and made book Christmas trees. After folding the pages, I hot glued the book trees onto various candle holders to change up the heights.  It was such a simple craft and added a fun, classy look to my mantel display.

We placed our Willow Tree Nativity on our entry way table. I covered the table with burlap to give a more rustic look. We used our three stars as the backdrop- a great deal from Kirkland's a few years ago. We added height with a wreath on a wreath holder. 

Hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas season!!

Linking up here and here!

Our Christmas Tablescape

I love the challenge of setting the table for holidays or events. I like to use what I have and see what I can come up with. This year's Christmas table is a mix of old and new with new napkins from Pottery Barn accenting my Christmas china.

I began with my favorite burlap runner and layered with a solid brown runner. I puddled three striped napkins in the center of the table and topped with two artificial trees and a dome full of miniature ornaments.

At each place setting, I used my red chargers, my Christmas tree plates, and a striped napkin. I finished the napkin with ornament napkin rings inspired from here.

I topped the buffet with homemade garland made from our Christmas tree. I used berries to add a bit of color and placed our Nativity from Bethlehem as the centerpiece.

Can't wait to see everyone's tables and Christmas decor!

Dare to DIY- Homemade gifts

This week's Dare to DIY Challenge is homemade gifts!

My problem with homemade gifts is that I tend to kill a dead horse...

I make the same thing a billion times and it is no longer unique or fun, so I love this challenge to get new ideas!

My favorite homemade gift this year was inspired from Pinterest (of course!)
When I found this Christmas mantel this summer, I immediately knew I wanted to try to make one of the O Holy Night boards- so cute and such a perfect addition to any Christmas display.

I used a 1x6 piece of wood for the background and asked the hubs to cut, sand, and spray paint it. I used my Cricut and Sure Cuts Alot software to cut the letters, then modge podged them onto the board. I let everything dry, then placed a hanger on the back and voila!
We actually made our first board in August for my mother-in-laws birthday, but have made two more recently for a friend to give as Christmas gifts.
I also made one for Emily Ann's nursery- I love that any phrase can be appropriate. Simple and elegant.

Another favorite homemade gift I am enjoying right now is the yarn wreath. I made a cute gold one for the fall, but wasn't quite finished with my obsession, so I made a Christmas one as well!

There are tons of fabulous directions around the blog world, but they are super easy and such a clean door decoration. The red on the door pops from the street- so much fun!

Have a great night friends!