Holiday Celebrations!!

B and I went to his company's Christmas party tonight, so I made the babysitter take a few pics once we got home.  We rarely get pics of just the two of us anymore, and since we were dressed up, I thought it was a good opportunity.  We had a lot of fun at the party.  He works with really nice people (mostly men), and I definitely enjoyed myself.  He did too.

Tomorrow night is my Christmas party (it's just for our staff, so B is staying home with Spence), and Saturday night is our neighborhood tree toasting, so it's a BUSY weekend.  Fun though, so I can't complain!!  Neither night will be super late, so I'm not too worried about being as tired as I was last weekend.  The neighborhood party could end up being a late night, but it's nice that B will be able to stay if he wants, and I'll be able to be in bed at a decent hour.  It's a really fun evening.  We start at one of our neighbor's homes for chili and cocktails and then go around house to house to look at everyone's tree and then end up back at the first house for the rest of the evening.  We had a blast last year!!

As you can tell in the above pic, I'm obviously sporting a bump now (though that pic makes me look bigger than I actually am- I think it's the angle).  I made the dress from this tutorial and am quite happy with the results.  I'm planning on wearing it to church on Christmas Eve as well.  I have another long sleeved shirt and more fabric and I think I'm going to make another one that is more work appropriate after the holidays are over.

I'm sure you all are just as crazy this weekend and next.  I hope it's all fun stuff, and I hope you are also able to get your lists checked off in the down time!!  I have to round this weekend as well as the above social stuff, but I'm hoping to get a few more baking things done as well as wrapping some gifts and addressing our Christmas cards which arrived this week!!  We've already received two in the mail from truly organized friends of mine :)  Have a great weekend!!

A few more Christmas decorating pics

I love how homey this room looks with the not quite perfect trees and their simple white lights.  I also love, love, love that there are candles everywhere!  This room would be gorgeous and cozy at night with all the candles lit and a hot pink or red cashmere throw.

So traditional, so lovely.  Perfect for a dining room.  I will definitely be on the hunt for a tartan ribbon for gift wrapping

A simple wreath with a bow will dress up any kitchen.  Since most people don't have to space for a lot of decorating in the main hub of the house (especially with all the Christmas baking that simply must be done), this is an easy addition.  It would be great if made with bay leaves as well.  We actually will have the perfect spot for something like this in our new house!  Yea!

I adore the star garland and think this could easily be made with a thick gold scrapbooking paper, a star pattern, a hole punch, and a guazy white ribbon.  I may be working on this for the next few weeks if I can find the right paper!  While blue is my favorite color, I prefer red on my Christmas trees and can totally see this with large red balls with beautifully wrapped packages underneath!

**All images from House Beautiful**

Christmas Greens

Since we're moving into our house on the 12th of December, it really doesn't leave time to unpack and decorate.  Especially since we'll be spending the actual holiday weekend at my mom's house.  While I'm bummed because I adore the decorating process and unpacking everything and reminiscing about it, I also know that the stress it would cause to try to unpack, get organized, and decorate would be too much for us for two short weeks.  We will at least try to get a wreath up, but that's probably all for the 09 season! 

Decorating with Greens is below.  All are so nice!

Isn't this color scheme just fantastic?  I adore colored doors, and I love the way the red pops even though it's just an accent color.

Something similar to this would be great in a formal dining room.  If you could find the frame at an estate sale or an antique store, you could actually do this quite cheaply.  If you had another piece of art that is normall on your wall in that same spot, you wouldn't even have to add an extra nail spot!

I love beadboard, and I love the creamy white china up against it with just the hint of green in the wreaths.  I'd changes the old books out for cookbooks and do something like this on open shelving in my kitchen or in built-ins in the living room with silver picture frams and candlesticks.

Are there any preppy bloggers out there who don't love this??  I think this (or something similar) would look great on our breezeway porch next year.  If I can find a red tote, then perhaps a red flowerpot?

I love blue in the bedroom, and while I know I will never decorate my bed with greenery (Junebug would eat it off for sure!), I love how this looks.  If I ran a B&B, this is exactly what I would have in the room!! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a wonderfully happy, festive, family and food-filled day today!  Many blessings wished upon you all for safe travels, fun conversations, good wine (drink a glass for me!), and a wonderful weekend!  I hope a few of you turned on my favorite parade of the year this morning!  I won't be watching as I'll be driving 4 hours in the car instead- boo!

Today I am thankful for..........B's family for hosting Thanksgiving weekend!  It'll be fun to spend time with all of them (parents, aunt&uncle, cousins, grandmother). 

Christmas Memory Book

Does anyone have one of these?  A family I know has one that holds each year's Christmas card, other pictures from that holiday, a few places for descriptions of how the holiday was spent, etc.  I'd love to start one for us, but I'm not quite sure where to find one.  I'd love to know if you, your mom, or any of your friends have one and where they got it! 

Thanks!

Holiday Weekend

How was your weekend? Did you have a great time celebrating our country's Independence and freedom? I can't wait to read all about it today!

While normally we spend the 4th of July up north, this year we left Friday morning to go to one of B's HS friend's wedding in B and A's hometown. We arrived about noon and took B's grandmother to lunch at her favorite Mexican restaurant. After lunch we went back to her place to show her all the Spain pictures. We then went to get ready for the ceremony and reception. We dolled up in red, white, and blue since it was the 3rd. We received quite a few compliments!

The only pic of us together- B had a navy blazer on earlier


A and S are super fun and quite unconventional. They had a tableful of costumes for the photo booth, and as evidenced by the next picture, they were utilized well! They also came out in white track suits and performed a choreographed dance for everyone! While I thought she was crazy for changing out of the gorgeous sheath dress she wore, the dance was hysterical and well done!





On Saturday morning we got up, ran (I did 3.3, B did 9), watched Serena and Venus (I was happy with the outcome!), and then went to the Jamie Farr Owen's Corning Classic LPGA event. We got there, watched a few pairs tee off, ate lunch in the tent, and then followed a few of the leaders around the course. After walking the first 9, we went to the 18th green skybox to watch everyone come in. A South Korean named Yi ended up shooting a 61 on Saturday!!!!!!!!!! She went 10 under- amazing. Morgan Pressel ended up tying her on Sunday which led to a one hole tiebreaker where Yi was crowned the winner. Morgan played really well on Saturday as well. We watched her quite a bit as well as Michelle Wi (did you know she is 6 feet tall in real life??), Suzann Pettersen, and Natalie Gulbis. Unfortunately, Paula Creamer had injured her thumb and did play. I was bummed b/c she is definitely one of my favorites!! B was fine with watching Natalie (specifically her smile and her legs!) all day :)
Eunjung Yi wins

Natalie on Saturday

Morgan Pressel


Saturday night we went to a party at the Groom's parents house. It was fun to hang out with all of B's HS friends again and spend more time catching up. We were exhausted by about 11 and headed home. Sunday morning we had breakfast with his grandma and then got on the road to get back home to Junie B and to do the standard weekend chores (laundry, grocery shopping, etc). While I missed being up north with my friends and family, the wedding was fun, and I do enjoy hanging out with B's friends. All in all- good weekend!!

Happy Birthday, America!

Have a wonderful 4th of July, everyone! May it be filled with parades, fireworks, hamburgers, Nantucket reds, white Bonannos, friends, and family!



Pictures above taken from Valerie Thompson's website. She's an amazing artist who makes her home up north. Today she'll be one of the most sought after booths at the Harbor Springs 4th of July Juried Art Fair. Ah, how I'll miss it today