Be The Match

Did you know that every year, 10,000 patients with leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell and other life-threatening diseases need a marrow transplant from an unrelated donor, but only half receive one. HALF people! And did you know bone marrow is one of the toughest matches to make among humans today? 

I never knew the seriousness of bone marrow transplants until I reconnected with a dear friend from high school, Nadja. Nadja is the Community Outreach Coordinator for Be The Match in College Station, TX and opened my eyes to the severity of blood disorders. I had heard of people needing bone marrow transplants (mostly on the news, movies, etc) but never knew it was such a big deal. I am honored to say that I am now in the bone marrow registry and praying wildly about becoming a match. Isn't it crazy that someone could be in the registry for 40 years and still never be a perfect match for a candidate? This is why YOU need to become a member of the registry! I was so antsy to get swabbed just thinking...what if I am a match for someone who has been waiting their whole lives? 

 You may remember seeing this picture from our House Hunters watch party. I had Nadja bring a ton of swab kits and I think she collected 22 samples!! Praying someone is a match someday. 

It was honestly the easiest thing ever. Swab your mouth, sign some papers, save a life. Now there are a lot of misconceptions about how exactly the transplant works and be sure to check out the Be The Match Website for more information. In most cases, donors can simply have their marrow drawn like a normal blood draw, so don't be scared. YOU can save a life!

I am talking about Be The Match today because tomorrow I am driving to the town of my alma mater (Texas A&M in College Station) to teach a portion of a Zumba-thon benefitting Be The Match! If you are an Aggie or live in the area, I'd love to have you! Come shake your money maker for a fabulous cause!

Let me know if you have any questions. And have a great weekend friends. Go save a life while you're at it :-)

Soft peanut butter puppy treats

We have chosen to keep Ernie on an all natural, holistic, mostly grain free diet. I could go on and on about how terrible most pet foods are for your pets but I will save my rant for another day (email me if you have questions though!). We feed him Pinnacle, bought at an organic pet food store in Austin and we home make his treats. I normally make these treats for Ernie but was excited to come across another yummy looking recipe to try out. Ernie loved these new treats and my only drawback was they don't stay good for more than a week. I froze half and pop them in the fridge every few days when we are running low.

Ingredients

1 egg
1/3 cup chunky peanut butter, preferably organic or natural
1 overly ripe banana, mashed
2 tbsp honey
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup flour

1. Mix together egg, peanut butter, banana and honey
2. Stir in the oats and flour and mix well
3. Scoop 1 inch balls onto a greased baking sheet (I used a cookie scoop)
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown
5. Immediately smash the cookie flat with a fork or spoon to make it easier for your pup to eat

6. Let fully cool before giving to your dog
7. Store in an airtight container or bag
8. Enjoy up to a week after you make them

VeryJane Anthro Inspired Necklace Giveaway

I don't own anything from Anthropologie and to be honest, I would never shell out $300 for a top I could easily get at 10 different stores for $20. Yes their stuff is gorgeous, unique, trendy, adorable, but honestly my entire wardrobe cumulatively costs less than 3 of their dresses. Can I get an amen? I am sure you can understand my excitement when VeryJane wanted to send me this lovely Anthro inspired necklace...1 for me and 2 for you!

If you're not familar with VeryJane, listen up! The website offers new boutique and handmade deals every day. I have to admit when statement necklaces first came out, I went on a shopping spree at VeryJane because I could not pass up such great deals! I have seen everything from jewelry, housewares, serveware, kids clothing, baby items, and more! I will have to show y'all the new cupcake tower I got from VeryJane last week, it is the same color as this necklace and I am in love!

This necklace is absolutely stunning. It is well made, a vibrant color and definitely a statement. Jon loved it too! It is the perfect wow piece for a night out or something to dress up your normal work wardrobe. 

And today, VeryJane is giving away not 1 but 2 Anthropologie inspired statement necklaces (in blue, pictured above)! 

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Catching you up

Anyone else agree that we should get the Monday after Thanksgiving off? Just to catch up on things and decorate our homes for Christmas? Okay maybe that's what I've been doing the past 2 days but now that a terrible cold has bogged me down, I just want to curl up in my bed and attempt sleep. Thanksgiving was awesome for us. Luckily most of our family is in Austin so we rarely have to go out of town for holidays and this year we had my sisters, my brother in law, and my niece, Embry stay with us. My mom's family from Missouri stayed at my parents house.

We took family Christmas card pictures that I will share with you once they go out, but for the most part I only took Instagrams (and lots of pics of Embry with my nice camera). 

The life of a work from home sales dude 

(this is Jon on days where he doesn't travel...)

Mimi had a "sip and see" party for her friends to meet Embry...lots of chubby cheek cuddles

Welcome to suburbia folks!! We made homemade bread and delivered them to our neighbors on Wednesday

We ran the 5 mile Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning and I immediately regretted it. I am NOT a runner so I would switch off between running and walking every 5 minutes but around mile 2 my right knee was on fire. I continued jogging/walking and wow did it hurt for the next 2 days. I would love to walk the race next year but this girl will NOT be running ever again!

Our one "family picture" on Thanksgiving. And a few people asked where Ernie was...truth be told he was having the time of his life with his yellow lab cousin, Athena. Mimi and Papa's house is just too much fun for him at times!

The "Fanning" girls 

(mom, lil sis Tomi, Embry, me, big sis Cori)

Our sweet God daughter

Raise your hand if you like my jeggings?!

(I swear this girl is the most fashionable 8 week old I know!)

We spent the rest of the weekend decorating our massive 9.5 foot tree, we love it! Jon is going to conquer outdoor lights this week and I can't wait to show you. 

I plan on getting 99% of my Christmas shopping done today online, boy do I love Cyber Monday free shipping deals. Less than a month til Christmas folks! (and I have to add that the high in Austin today is 82 haha)

Our 4th Thurs-giving

Last Thursday, Jon and I celebrated our 4th Thursgiving. Thursgiving is a tradition we started the first Thanksgiving season we met and we are hoping to continue to celebrate it for many years to come. The Thursday before Thanksgiving we make our own mini Thanksgiving meal and reflect on the previous years blessings. We spend every holiday with my family and things can get crazy with that so we wanted to carve out time to talk about what we are thankful for and why, and what we are looking forward to the next year. We laugh because people go psycho and fuss over cooking a Thanksgiving meal but honestly, we do ours in less than an hour every year. Rotisserie turkey, boxed stuffing, instant rolls, etc. People it's not that hard! This allows us to focus on the meaning behind the celebration rather than stressing over what time to put the pumpkin pie in the oven. I posted about last year's Thursgiving here. 

So this year was extra special. We had company in town up until last Wednesday and are expecting company this evening so my mind was a little fried. I knew Thursgiving was right around the corner but didn't have the time to go to the store and prep everything. Jon sent me this text on his way home from Dallas on Thursday...

A fun treat to make up for a traveling husband is that he always brings home food when he returns. He's gotten good at surprising me with take out from different restaurants so I was trying to think where he was going. The week before he had brought home dinner from one of our first date places (Geno's in Round Rock...GO!) so I didn't have many guesses as to what this romantic like meal could be. And this is what he brought home...

I think I started tearing up when I saw it. Y'all...Jon hates going to the store...hates it with a passion...and this meant SO much to me that he took the time to think of all the sides, go to the store after being on the road al day, and he even cooked the whole thing! What a stud. 

The menu included turkey, gravy, cauliflower whippers, stuffing, green bean casserole, and crescent rolls. 

During dinner I was telling Jon I wished I had the ingredients for pumpkin pie and he slipped into the pantry to grab these mini pies! I am absolutely obsessed with homemade pumpkin pie and these were better than anything I've ever made (or tasted). I think the cream cheese frosting is what did it for me. 

November 1st we started our "Thankful Jar". Each day we wrote on frenchie shaped notecards (so Ernie could be somewhat included) something we are thankful for. We decided to go through them on Thursgiving, knowing that things would be crazy at our real Thanksgiving of 14 people. 

It was an awesome way to relax and catch up with my husband in between house guests and holidays...I am so glad (and lucky) he went all out! We talked about one day doing this with our children, our own little Hart family Thanksgiving.

Do you have any traditions beyond the normal Thanksgiving ones?

and yesterday I posted a few random things I am thankful for *here*

Time to be thankful

I love the month of November because everyone jumps on the thankful bandwagon. It's one of the few good bandwagons to jump on. I try to spend time EVERY month, not just November, counting my blessings and thanking God for the many gifts. Yes I am thankful for my husband who rocks, my family who is so close and supportive, God's grace that I did NOTHING to deserve, but there is so much more. Sometimes (okay all of the time) I take for granted so many of the little things that I feel are a right to me, rather than a privilege. 

1. My job- I love my job, my coworkers, my surroundings at work and I realize that's not always the case. It's absolutely normal for our team to drink a beer on Fridays, spend an afternoon seeing Skyfall, and take breaks playing pool. I've been with my company for two years and actually enjoy waking up and going to work. I am so grateful for this
2. Modern technology- an iPhone or smartphone is something that I bet 75% of America has and I don't know it any other way than to have email, texting, and a million apps at my fingertips. I am also thankful for cable, DVR, and Netflix. I am not a TV junkie by any means but I am so used to coming home from work, turning on Ellen and doing my thing. 
3. Food-may sound silly but food is my spice of life. It is more than utility for us, we eat for experience (in moderation of course). I am thankful that on Thursday evening my family will have not only a turkey, but a ham, desserts and all the fixings, I am thankful that I can go to the grocery store and Costco each week and buy the foods I want, and I am thankful for restaurants for again...yummy food and the experience. It's a joke in my family that we talk about what's for dinner at breakfast. Food is fun! And we are thankful for it!

I could go on and on about the random things I am thankful for (heat in the winter, AC in the summer, Old navy skinnies, Hobby lobby crafts, World Market everything, healthcare, the sunshine in the winter, pools to swim in, hugs, friendly faces at church, reconnecting with old friends, babies, inside jokes, beautiful views in Austin, vacations, cars to drive, fun holiday decorations). Today I have my sponsors telling me what 3 things they are thankful for!

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What are you thankful for?

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Today is a special day...our little Ernie is no longer a baby but a big bad 2 year old. If you think about dogs in human years, Ernie is now in the years of 14-21...so no longer a toddler/teeny bopper (let's see if he grows out of his stubborn-ness hehe). Ernie wasn't a fan of his birthday bandana from his Mimi but will definitely enjoy a nice piece of cheese this evening. Happy birthday chunky! 

I was planning on posting a giveaway today but after an awesome weekend of football (and remembering that today was Ernie's birthday haha), I am going to postpone that to next week. I know I may have confused you all if you follow me on Twitter or Instagram but I did not go to Baylor. I went to A&M but am actually a huge Baylor fan because Jon went there. We went to the Baylor/K State game on Saturday and expected a blowout but man we were wrong!! Y'all, it was the most fun game I've ever been to!!!!!!!!! Not only did Baylor beat the #1 team in the US (and make history), they kicked their booties! It was absolutely freezing and such a blast. I'm not really a huge football fan on my own (meaning I wouldn't watch without Jon) but to see Jon be so happy and go crazy wild...priceless!!

Before the game, we went to the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco which is surprisingly REALLY good. We try to go to a zoo or aquarium in every city we visit and back in August, I had an experience at the Salt Lake City Zoo that I didn't think I could top. But I did. The male lion came right up to the glass and started roaring literally inches from my face...it was amazing y'all. Literally once in a lifetime and will never happen again. If you are ever passing through Waco, go to the zoo...it's cheap and wonderful. 

(the hand sign in pictures is Sic Em Bears for the Baylor Bears, and yes, Baylor has a ping pong team and Jon played in college)

We drove straight to Dallas that night and fell into bed at my sister's after 1am. Jon stayed in Dallas to go to the Browns/Cowboys game while my sister, Embry and I headed back to Austin. I posted these pictures on Instagram and the comments were hilarious. Lot's of people (including Jon), thought the one on the right could be on Awkward Family Photos.com. Embry wasn't so sure about Jon's mask. And if you're wondering, Jon was born and grew up in Cleveland until he moved to Texas to go to Baylor in 2001. 

Ernie got to meet Embry for the first time yesterday at my parent's house. I was a little nervous for the first meeting because he has never really been around babies but he was funny. I would be holding her or she was laying on the floor and he'd come over, sniff and lick her, then walk away...looking for a ball. He moves too fast so I couldn't get a good picture but this is what I got. He looks so weird, almost mean because his eyes are partially closed. I think Ernie will love it when Embry starts walking because he loves little ones that are almost his size!

In other news (and photos)...

50 days until I meet John and Sherry from YHL! My sister met them this weekend in Dallas and I was giddy for her. Theirs was the first blog I ever read and is still my favorite!

My new wreath! And yes I made it :-)

We've been enjoying nighttime cold walks and doing hoodrat stuff in our suburbia neighborhood

Our mini Thanksgiving (thanks to Jon!). This was our 4th time to celebrate on our own, more on that Wednesday!

I woke up EXCITED today which is odd for a Monday haha. Tonight my mom is hosting a "Sip and See" for her friends to meet Embry and we have family coming in very soon! Short weeks make me so happy!

Am I the only one who doesn't mind it's Monday morning??