A White Thanksgiving

Holy moly! Is it really December already?! This year has flown by. This time last year I was a newlywed living in Dallas and the idea of living in Warsaw, Indiana was not even on the radar. Even more crazy is to think that two years today exactly, Scott had just officially asked me to be his girlfriend and the thought of marriage wasn't even on the radar (ok, ok, maybe it was just a little bit). In fact, if someone had asked me two years ago where Warsaw was I would have told them Poland! Now we're married, living in Indiana and trying to get used to all kinds of crazy weather that includes snow before it's even Thanksgiving!

This fall has been so much fun and  filled with lots of family time and a little demolition. Scott and I attended our first Jeep Jam and had a blast. Ok, I think Scott was having a blast while I was freaking out in the passenger seat, but I managed to get over it and we both made it home in one piece. A little mud never hurt anyone, right? The video below is from the rock crawling portion of the event.

We also got to spend several weekends down in Bloomington, Indiana for some IU football. I think its hysterical that you can pretty much drive through the ENTIRE state of Indiana in a little over 3 hours! But at least I've now been properly introduced to several IU staples including Mother Bears, Nick's, and breakfast at the Village Deli. I think I've come to terms with the fact that my children could very likely be Hoosiers instead of Aggies, but the good news is the more time I spend down there the more I like it.  Turns out I happen to come from a long line of Hoosiers myself, so maybe it's just supposed to be this way!

Thanksgiving included a lot of food, wine, puzzles, football, pumpkin pie, and of course lots of family to top it all off. It snowed a couple of days before so I can now say I've had my first white Thanksgiving (is it sad that it came before my first white Christmas?). I must admit, the Texan in me really does love it when it snows! (Although I think I'm starting to annoy Scott with my excitement every time snow falls from the sky... but he loves me so he puts up with it.)

On a more fun note, for some reason, Scott and I decided to go all HGTV on our basement to make the space more usable. So after knocking down some walls, our basement now looks like this:

Unfortunately, since we did this on a whim, it will probably be like this for a while until we get a professional to help us decide where to go from here. But we have some pretty awesome ideas so we will post more photos as we get things done.

Lastly, since Christmas is the season of giving, I want to share the Rodan + Fields love by offering a discount on business kits for all new consultants! As many of you know, Rodan + Fields has been such a blessing to our family and now I want to share this incredible opportunity with others. For the entire rest of the month I will personally put $100 towards either of the top two business kits for anyone who signs up as a consultant!

Honestly, with new products launching in January and international expansion around the corner, now is literally the BEST time to get started in this business! And what could be better than saving $100 while you're at it? This little side business has been so much fun and I am grateful for the extra income it has provided our family. Seriously... Best. Decision. Ever. If you're curious and would like to know more, let me know (sarah.stouder@gmail.com)!

As for the rest of the year, Scott and I are literally counting down the days till our Christmas cruise. I think I'm beginning to forget what warm weather feels like. Stay tuned for a post-Christmas update that includes a cross-country drive to Florida, a Caribbean cruise, and  New Years Eve stop in Atlanta on our way back home!