Friday Favorites: Maroon

It's no secret that the Merry Mommas are AGGIES and we love all things AGGIE so for today's Friday Favorites we present 

MAROON!

Aggie Football

The Aggies kick off their season tomorrow in Houston against Arizona State. BTHO ASU! WHOOP!

(If you need help understanding those last two sentences, click here.)

And, in case you weren't hyped enough, enjoy:

Trucks

As Texas gals, we {OF COURSE} love a pickup truck, but we love a vintage maroon pickup truck even more! One of our local photographers, Amber of Amber Janine Photography, is hosting an Aggie Tailgate Mini Session. You may remember seeing this on our favorite local blog - The Dish when we hosted Christmas in July with them! Merry Momma Cindy's great mother-in-law saw it and gifted a session to Cindy and her two sis-in-laws. Yep! The entire Munson clan will be getting Aggie pics. WHOOP! 

Which leads us to #3 and #4...WHAT DO WE WEAR? Maroon, of course...but WHAT exactly?!?

Persnickety Clothing

Y'all. We are not billionaires. I know, I know, this may come as a shock to most of you...but if we were, our girls would own every piece of Persnickety's 2015 Fall Line - Into the Woods. The price tag is a little steep, but OH, the clothing is so

GORGEOUS

BEAUTIFUL

CUTE

and MAROON!

Old Navy

But alas...we live in the real world with mortgages and savings accounts and soccer teams and piano lesson AND OLD NAVY. Old Navy has hit it outta the ball park with their maroon items this fall, they loving call the color marion berry, but we all know it's MAROON.

Crepe Shirt / Polka Dotted Pixies / Quilted Vest

Raglan / Buffalo Plaid

Eyelet Shift / Canvas Lace Ups / French Terry Top

Linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci

FRIDAY FUN - Guest Post from Kathryn

Y'all…this blogger world thing is amazing! You may recall last week we hosted Britt of The Fisk Files…well, one of her friends - Kathryn - email us to say hi and in the first line of her email she mentioned that Christmas cards are her LOVE LANGUAGE. Y'all. The MERRY MOMMAS just about died. Died. Christmas cards are so very much our love language and we were so so happy to talk to "one of us". Well, turns out Kathryn is a blogger and an Aggie - clearly we have to be friends. We chatted a bit more and insisted she be a guest blogger for us and she said yes…

So without further ado here's Kathryn of Team Whitaker!

Be sure to follower her! AND, check out this post!

If Christmas cards are a love language, then they are most certainly mine.

Since my husband and I married 18 years ago, sending out annual cards has become a family tradition. The list has evolved as we’ve moved to different states, made new friends and added family members to the tree.

For me, it’s always been about the connections. While I love a good card with a beautiful photo, I absolutely adore the updates from friends and family members. Hearing about job promotions, vacations, special family memories and great stories is the highlight of our holiday season. And, being able to pray for someone who has had a particularly difficult year is our family’s honor. I’ve even been known to hunt down the perfect Hanukkah stamp for my Jewish friends.

You see, in an effort to help our kids know why these people, with all the smiling kids and cute pets, send us greetings every December, we hold on to those cards all year. At dinner each night, we pull out a card or two, re-read it, reminisce and pray for that family. Trust me when I tell you there is a race to pick out “the” card each evening. Bruises may, or may not, be involved.

In an age of social media and instant gratification, some may say that cards are so passé. I beg to differ. I’m a graphic designer, so putting together our card is a labor of love. But, the true joy comes from gathering the kids together to help me assemble them and then placing all that joy in the mailbox. Well, let’s be honest, the boys just want the glory of mailing them, the girls are my workhorses. We skip to the mailbox everyday to see what new update awaits, which smiling faces will greet us and how we can witness the love and grace of Christ in other people’s lives. For us, Christmas cards are an experience to be cherished and loved, not a checkbox on the to-do list.

We share bits and pieces of the kids’ year, often with a re-cap of an ER visit or our annual family vacation. There are lots of photos and our traditional wish that everyone has a healthy, happy, family-filled, Christ-filled new year.

It really is the most wonderful time of the year, isn’t it?

(Photos by Shannon Cunningham of Photo Frolic)

Mommas here - how AWESOME is their tradition of keeping the cards out ALL YEAR LONG and using them to pray over families. We love this idea - anyone else do this or something similar? Let us know in the comments below!

Festive Friday with the Malnars

Who: Justin, Meredith, Jackson and Andrew Malnar

Location: Texas A&M University Campus, College Station, Texas 

Clothes: Meredith shopped at some of the Merry Mommas' favorite spots - Macy's, Kohl's, Old Navy and Target.

Photographer: Sarah Burns of Butterfly Chaser Photography

Designer: Meredith (way to go Momma!)

Meredith's Comments: I typically let the photos determine the card rather than the other way around. This card was no different. I knew I wanted to do our photo shoot on the campus of Texas A&M...we have taken A LOT of pictures over the last 4 years and had never taken pictures on campus. Justin and I got engaged under the Century Tree so it is a place that is meaningful to us and we wanted to have pictures to capture that. Since we were taking pictures on campus, I decided maroon needed to be in the color scheme, but I wanted it to be more subtle than our game day jerseys.

Meredith's Favorite Thing: My favorite thing is how wonderfully Sarah was able to capture the realtionship between our two boys! Watching their relationship grow over the last year has been so fun and the two images featured on the front of the card perfectly captured their very real expressions of their love for each other. Sarah posted these two images together as a "sneak peek" shortly after our shoot and my first reaction, of course, was to swoon. My very next thought was "that's our Christmas card!"

Connect with the Malnars:The Malnar Family

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Merry Mommas' Thoughts: Both of the Merry Mommas have siblings and both of us LOVE our siblings. There is just something about brothers and sisters and this card really showcases that love and we LOVE it! Meredith also did a great job having the clothes coordinate, but not match. 

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How can you recreate this card? Cute kids, gorgeous outside spaces and Chuck Taylors...we are in love! Below are some direct links to help you get this look!

Chuck Taylors: Every member of the Munson family has a pair of CTs and Merry Momma Cindy thinks your family should too! Really, they are the bomb (welcome to 1991!). They are cute, comfy and aren't as tennis shoe-ish as a pair of sneakers. Even Shaeffer thinks so!

Maroon Pants: We are tickled MAROON with Meredith's pants! We may have mentioned (one or two times) that the Merry Mommas' are Aggies. And everyone knows that you can never ever have too many items in your closet that are maroon when you are an Aggie! And, well, honestly, almost everyone looks good in maroon, so even if you aren't an Aggie, purchase some maroon pants anyway. We even think the men in our lives need maroon pants, so we are ordering these! (And the great thing about H&M is the very inexpensive price tag because we aren't really sure Ryan and Josh are going to wear these...but we are getting them anyway!)

H&M

And Merry Momma Gigi (that's Katy's mom - she's the best) just picked up a pair of these jeggings for both of us! We LOVE JCP! How cute are they going to be with...a chambray shirt!

 JCP

Chambray Shirt: See what we did there? :) Again, EVERYONE in your family needs a chambray shirt - Momma, Daddy, boy, girl, even the family dog!

Click HERE to see other ways to get Momma Merry!

Told ya, even the dog needs one!

(And we know it's sold out...

we just had to provide proof that you could buy your dog a chambray shirt

...from ANTHROPOLOGIE!)

Cool Campus Locations: Okay, folks...this is where the Merry Mommas need YOUR help! We know where the cool places on Texas A&M's campus are - the Century Tree, the BIG ring, the Administration Building, but we don't know other COOL CAMPUS locations. Tell us where you went to school and the IT place on your campus to take pictures! (For real, please comment! Pretty please! Let us know you are reading this! And if you are an Aggie, tell us other cool place to take pictures on campus!)

Get PINspired:
1. Ain't no love like a sibling love!
2. Who doesn't need a little peace and joy in their lives?
3. And of course LOVE!

Readers Speak: Thanks and Gig'em

Today's post comes from our lovely friend, Lauren. Mom, Wife, lover of Jesus and all things A&M...

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Not that I've ever NOT thought about sending cards in the mail but,  because of my sweet friends at Your Merry Mailbox, I now put more thought into the process than ever before.  From the outfits, to the location of the shoot, to the photographer, to the finishing work, they have given me every tool I need to create a memorable product.  I appreciate so much the time and effort gone into each posting....with full-time jobs, wives to two super supportive hubbies, and the job of being mommy to six precious kiddos, I don't know how they do it all!  I also can't believe I all ready have plans for Christmas Card 2014!  Thank you thank you thank you sweet Cindy and Katy!

Who: Daniel, Lauren, Cooper (5) and Kyleigh (3)

Location: Kyle FIeld, College Station, TX

Props: Lauren's tshirt quilt made my mom and grandma from all of my old college tshirts 

Clothes: Brinks & Babs Children's Boutique, Aggieland Outfitters, Sabi Boutique - all BCS locals!!

Comments: I have always wanted to take pictures at Kyle Field because of the sentimental factor to the hubby and I. What made this even more memorable and special this year is because I knew that this is the last year Kyle Field would look the way we remember it as college students. (And now Merry Mommas are crying because, WHY ON EARTH DIDN'T WE THINK OF THAT!!?!)

Designer: Nichole from Quick Design Company

Photographer: Shannon Morton Photography

Favorite Thing: My favorite thing is really just the special meaning behind everything in the card from Kyle Field all the way down to my old tshirt quilt. I also LOVE the design of the card and that we are able to combine the spirit of Christmas with the Spirit of Aggieland!!

Blog: Hindes Clan (and I kinda started blogging again!)

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Mommas' THoughts: We love this card. We love the chalkboard look, the Aggie background and the adorable family. Most of all we love how special these pictures are to Lauren. THAT is what it really is all about.

Get PINspired: 
1. Should we remind you about our chalkboard inspiration board?
2. Or our ode o Chevron?
3. And college gameday?

Home sweet Aggieland

Today we are featuring a family that turned their card into a business greeting!

Who: Luke and Brittany Marvel & Jeff, Stephanie and Jackson Leatherwood

Location: George Bush Library at Texas A&M University

Props: None

Clothing: No clue where our clothes came from but the scarves are from Aggieland Outfitters. Whoop.

Comments: We really wanted to promote our business and highlight that this is a family affair! We loved it because it wasn't too girly or distracting and we were able to show our family and friends how much fun we were having at work!

Photographer: Shannon Morton

Designer: Tiny Prints

Favorite thing: In a world of chevron, we really loved the gingham! :)

Blog/Website: Aggieland Properties (business) and A Mister and a Sister (personal)

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Katy's Thoughts: Whether we like it or not, work is a huge part of most of our lives. I love that they embraced that and made it a part of their holiday celebration! Stephanie genuinely supports and champions the work that her husband does for their (now) family of 4. I love that this card showcases that work can be a family affair! And I clearly love anything Aggie. :)

Cindy's Thoughts: I totally agree with Stephanie - GINGHAM is cool!  The other cool thing about this card is how they showcased 4 adults and 1 child and didn't make it look awkward.  This card is a great example of a classic business holiday card done right!


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How can you recreate this card? We think that this card perfectly showcases that simple can be just amazing. Now we love a good hair flair, a lovely layered look, and a ridiculous prop (or 10)... but we also equally enjoy classic - which perfectly describes this look. Find a neutral background, pick out a classic outfit and you are all set!

Get PINspired:

1. If you are looking for some inspiration for the stairway to {photo} heaven, then check out this, this, and this! And in keeping with the collegiate feel, if you are a Vandy family please take your picture here!
2. Wanting to show off your love for your school? Check out our Be True to Your School Board for inspiration for all of our favorite SEC teams! (Ok, so we only have ONE favorite) :)
3. Looking for the perfect white shirt or blouse? Click here for women and here for little girls (sorry fellas, a white oxford and you're all set!) And check out this and this for an idea about how to style your shoot! 

And, we have one more thing to send you off on your merry way this Friday! Stephanie shares our love for all things organization and was inspired by this week's WWLW. SO, Aggieland Properties is offering a $50 VISA GIFT CARD to a lucky reader to get started on that Christmas shopping!

You know the drill - just follow the blog and comment below for your chance to win!!! If you already follow the blog, that's great too!  Just comment on this post to be entered to win.  The giveaway ends on Sunday, September 22nd at midnight (central time).  We will announce the winner on Monday, September 23rd.  The winner will have until Tuesday at 5pm to email us at yourmerrymailbox {at} gmail {dot} com to claim the prize.

THANK YOU Aggieland Properties! 

This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by Visa.  Your Merry Mailbox did not receive financial compensation for this giveaway from Visa or Aggieland Properties and it is in no way associated with Visa.

YES SIR!

We'll be back to the MERRY on Monday!

Until then...We are standing ready!

 HOWDY

GIG 'EM

WHOOP

JOHNNY

and BTHObama!

TBT: Aggies vs. Bama

It's Thursday and you know what that means...
THROWBACK THURSDAY!

And while technically we won't be showcasing a card today, we will be discussing that time when Christmas came early for Aggies everywhere...

Source: bleacherreport.com

Today we will treat you with a few of our favorite highlights from last year and maybe even some gameday predictions for Saturday. And don't be fooled by our expertise of all things merry - we are Texas girls, so we know football. We are expecting a phone call from ESPN shortly. 

Without further ado, our top 5 favorite moments from 2012...

5. As avid readers, we like a good foreshadow in the story. You can't get much better than this... 

 

Original Source Here

4. This:

 

Kliff, you know you miss us. You can come back to Aggieland anytime.

(And yes, we know this was during the Mississippi State game...but what kind of ladies would we be if we left it out of our top 5!)

3. Basically every time Swope had a reception....

2. Our personal text messages back and forth. Merry Momma K was out of town and unable to watch the last quarter of the game. She was dying. Seriously. There were lots of stares from random people at the reactions she had to the messages at the end.  Here are just a few....

Please note, dear readers, our love for you. We text each other at least 100 times a day. At least. This game happened almost a year ago. That's lots of texts to go through. :)

1.  Some believe it's the greatest play of the season. We believe it's the moment when we really discovered bladder control post babies.

And now for our predictions:

Katy - I think this is the time for us to introduce Aggieland to the world. This is the day when Kyle Field will yell louder, stand taller, and bleed maroon more than any game before. This is the day to prove that we aren't just "in" the SEC, but that we are major players in the best conference in the nation. 

I also predict that at some point, I will scream at the television, accidentally hit my husband, cry, and maybe even let my kids do whatever they want for the entirety of the football game.

And. I predict that at the end of the game, no matter the score, the Aggies will be more proud of their team than any other fans in the nation. 

Cindy - Predictions...I have a list. I like lists! :)
1.  The sun will shine down brightly on Aggieland Saturday morning!
2.  Aggies everywhere will put on their MAROON proudly.
3.  Aggies will get to game watching parties, tailgates, friend's houses, Kyle Field EARLY.
4.  Lots of good food will be consumed.
5.  Lots of good beer will be consumed.
6.  There will be an electric feeling in the air - It's called the Aggie Spirit!
7.  Kyle Field will be packed.
8.  Grandmothers may have to use sports words (my granny's word for cursing) because of some announcers.  (I'm mostly looking at you, ESPN!)
9.  The Fightin' Texas Aggie Band will win halftime.
10.  Johnny will do something crazy.

AND THE AGGIES WILL WIN!