emily giffin books

I know i might be a bit late on the Emily Giffin train, but i decided to give her books a try, so far i've read:

loved it.

loved it less than "something borrowed"

loved it even less than "something borrowed, and something blue"

and

better than expected, but something borrowed was still my favorite.

seeing as how i noticed a bit of a digression in my enjoying of the books, i'm a bit hesitant to read "The Heart of the Matter" -- but why stop now. i'll probably pick it up, since i've read the others

but, for now

i'm currently reading:

so far, so good :)

anyone else a bit disappointed in Emily Giffin books???

happy monday! 

deck the halls

here is the proof that i've decorated for Christmas...

our little tree, and even a few presents

when we were engaged, Drew bought me this beautiful tree topper at one of my favorite stores {Hodgepodge} but... it really doesnt show up, so i wanted to add just a little something extra...

and really, who doesnt love feathers???

a few little sparkly ornaments hanging from the kitchen light fixture

i made these ribbon trees for our kitchen nook

and then, the one area i never seem to be happy with is the "above the cabinet" space in our kitchen, i tweak it over and over again, but its never really what i envision. sigh, oh well... here is my latest "tweak"

i'm not into garlands or greenery, so it makes "fullness" a bit more difficult, but i want it to be an eclectic mixture of all black and white antique pieces. .... i think. maybe.

i secretly wish our tree could stay up all year long... i just love it.

am i the only one???

this is why you order your Christmas cards online

so, i was feeling all artsy-fartsy and thought it would be so cute (and maybe even cheaper) to make our Christmas cards this year....

--so, i bought the cards/envelopes at Hobby Lobby
(40% off totaling $3.87 per pkg x 3pkgs=$11.61)
--ordered the pictures from Walgreens appx $8.00
--and bought the acid-free glue
and a few sheets of paper to do envelope liners,
give or take $7.00

so, for a grand total of $26.61ish--- i created A HUGE ORDEAL THAT WAS ENTIRELY TOO TIME CONSUMING AND MADE ME WISH I HAD JUST UPLOADED THE PICTURE ON A TEMPLATE AND ORDERED THE STUPID THINGS FROM ONE OF THE BAZILLION WEBSITES WHO DO THIS ALL THE TIME. {but i do feel good for at least attempting them, even though i'll never do it again}

but, they're pretty cute.... or i think they are, maybe i've been staring at them for too long.

also, each card has a personalized note written by either me or both of us....

yes yes, all out on these cards this year.

but i really really do love that i lined the envelopes with cute paper

i do plan to do this again (the envelope lining part, not the making the cards part), i hope everyone who opens the cards adores the pretty inside of the envelope, or at least doesnt throw it away immediately.

and the picture(s) we used:

Lesson learned- nice try.

Merry Christmas Bloggy Friends :)

(and for those of you eagerly waiting next to your mailbox day and night, you might want to pack up your sleeping bag and thermos of cocoa, because the handwritten notes are taking a bit longer than anticipated. so, for the record... none have been mailed yet. head on back into the house)

No, he is not a horse or a reindeer

We took our precious Coach to meet Santa and have his picture made...

of course he was a huge hit-- but he was pretty hesitant about this whole Santa character.

maybe its because "Santa" was a woman?!?

hmmmm...

eventually he warmed up and we were able to snap a couple pictures

he was a bit confused with everything going on at the pet store, especially all the greyhounds that were around for adoption.... so cute, but very distracting during picture time.

(Coach's cousin Cisco is a greyhound, so we love to play with them too)

i took a picture of the picture we ended up having printed,

its horrible blurry... but is really precious in person.

Merry Christmas Santa,

Love COACH!

and happy monday to you!

santa's elf

as it turns out, santa sometimes needs help, because really he has a lot on his plate (no pun intended)... so he employed these adorable tiny people we like to call "elves" --- and likewise, sometimes husbands need a little help too....

so, for those of you wondering {cough, cough ... husband} here are some helpful hints of things i might like in my stocking/for Christmas this year, just sayin....

Dove bodywash

(i like to buy a differnt brand/scent of bodywash every time i use a bottle up, its like russian roulette for my loofa, kinda... no, not really... i just like change)

a pink kitchen aid whisk

(beause i already have 3 spatulas, and a whisk is a nice change)

((hubby alwasy puts a pink spatula in my stocking, just so that whole thing makes sense, i dont just randomly accumulate pink spatulas))

a new pink toothbrush

a giftcard to here,

please dont feel the need to purchase my personal undergarments and have me open them in front of dad/brother--- a giftcard is quite okay, thanks!

mmmm.... love my champagne.

(yes, i like cheap champagne, dont hate)

this DVD

a black, long sleeved t-shirt (texas tech, of course)

size: small

(not youth xl-- they dont fit the same, stick with adult small)

season 3 of Greek

this DVD

seasons 1 & 2 of this show

Coach Poppy Perfume!

and of course,

if you are really looking to surprise me,

i'd sure LOVE one of these

cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute!!!

does this help, honey???

love you! 

pretty little frenchie

a while back, i bought this gorgeous french provencial dresser to use as our tv stand... read here if you want to hear all about that :)

so, after much debating about what to do with it, and finally finding the time to have drop cloths all over the living room while painting, i have her finished!!! ta-da

I crackled the top and the inlay designs on the top two drawers.

i still need to do one more coat on the top drawers,

but its almost finished!

side view!

i'm so happy with it- and it was just what i had in mind :) 

happy monday.

Dear Santa,

I spotted this little beauty at Target yesterday... and well, you see-- i just really really really really really want her, but they dont carry size XS in the store, which means... its a perfect Christmas present, right?  I've been such a good girl, please?!?

Merona Collection Rochelle Burnout Dress

size: XS

a detail picture.

feel free to just go ahead and do it now; just saying

simply click here!

your favorite little pink loving elf,

{me}

Neath the Wreath

this post if forever late, but i wanted to pay tribute to Girls Trip 2010

Girls Trip 2009 happened just before i started blogging last year, so i'll do a quick salute to "Cruising through a Hurricane" which was really and truly, actually... fun.

the moms and daughters in Cozumel

we met in New Orleans,

spent a day there

then cruised (through a hurricane) to mexico

aaah the memories:

delicious breakfast

the 30 minutes we pretended it was warm enough to lay out,

and then we got in the hot tub

and then upon arrival to Cozumel,

it began raining...

but that sure did NOT stop the fun

there were sharks

there were alligators

and there was dancing!!!

Yes, we were bad-weather fun-havers.

yes, thats right... fun-havers.

Mama & me

Abbye & DeeAnn

our mom's are hot.

happy girls trip 2009

now, girls trip 2010 was much less eventful,

and i have few pictures to document

we were still fun-havers

after non-stop shopping, amazing food, and a super fun visit to a winery,

we managed to snap one picture before everyone left town...

it was wonderful to spend time with you all,

but next time lets go somewhere more adventurous!!!

happy friday!

thanksgiving update 2

as promised, more pictures

Our Lovely Little Family!

Both of my boys love being at the ranch,

arent they so cute?!?

and when Coach is not out sniffing new smells, or running around Nana and Papa's huge backyard... He is getting plenty of attention, can you say s-p-o-i-l-e-d?

Cousin G baked all these precious cookies for everyone to decorate, it was a blast-- and some of the icing even made it on to the cookies :)

my cookie was a pink cowgirl boot,

all the beautifully decorated cookies,

please notice that we are Red Raider People

so, yes... all the horns are down.

and for the grand finale,

how bout this cutie-patootie

i do believe this one is going to break some hearts someday!

happy thursday!