Bird Lamps

My husband gave me new lamps for Christmas (collaboration with Madre)!  They are an iron base with faux branches and a little bird perched on each one.  I saw them at World Market, and immediately fell in love with them!  Paired with a yellow lamp shade, they are perfect, and Mrs. Nancy is very happy!  Well, today we cleaned and got to put them up!  I love them!  I am so happy with them!  And now, all we need to do is paint the wall behind them!  I'm leaning towards a nice purple...

Hope you all have had a WONDERFUL 2011!
Tonight, we ring in the New Year!
We are spending time with family and friends... eating goodies and playing games until the first minutes of 2012!
:)
Talk to you next year, folks!
Adieu!

Condensation

Catching shadows!

Today was good!  It's the ::faux Friday:: for me and some of my gal pals at work, and we even had a shorter day today, so it was an early start to a long weekend!  It was a good day!  I even wore kitten heels!  I went shopping (found some awesome finds), took pictures of my shadow on the bridge walkway from the parking garage to Macy's, fiddled around with the creme brulee torch, had some dinner, am doing my nails, and am about to watch "Miracle on 34th Street".  :)  Should be really good!  I haven't seen it in years, but it is one that has stayed with me. 

Oh and by the way, kitten heels and walking around the mall do not mix well.  My toes hurt.  lol.  I cant imagine what I would do if I had to wear heels all day every day, but I suppose I would get used to it...

Tomorrow I am having a date day with my sister, starting with breakfast at Einstein's!
I'm very much so looking forward to it!  I am going to be wearing flats!  Yess!
Hope you are having a great ::faux Friday::!
Adieu!  :)

Dining in the (almost) dark!

Longhorn.  Packed house.

Chatter, good food.  Drinks.

Minutes after the salads,

the lights go out.

Pitch black aside from the exit lights,

and the emergency spotlights.

We had one pointed over our table.

We were good to go!

Mild chaos ensues, and then awe sets in.

Dim lighting and a steak dinner?

Mood was set!

We even got our meals before the kitchen was shut down.

The food was excellent,

and it definitely made for an interesting dinner!

Lucky for us,

the power came back on before we were set  to leave,

and we got to pay.

:)

Adieu!

Faux Kaleidoscope

Stark

(this reminds me of the Wizard of Oz for some reason...

must be the red shoes, and the starkness of the scene in general.

a bit out-of-place, but sort-of familiar...)

Christmas 2011

Today was amazing!
We spent the whole day with family and friends, and it was fabulous!  We ate well, laughed, exchanged gifts and enjoyed each others company - it was so great!  Some of the best gifts that I've ever seen were exchanged here, and with that came smiles and tears.  I am so blessed to be a part of this family!  I feel so loved!

Highlights:
Ham and biscuits with PawPaw
Vera Bradley 'Betsy' bag
New winter wear
Date night coupons from Gary
Creme Brulee Torch and kit
Sister Date Day to Savannah (tears for this one - but we'll talk about that another day)
Pot Roast lunch and homemade cheesecake
Listening to every song on the Madre Mix 2011 (tears)
Dinner, games, and conversation with Tiff and Logan
Coming home

I seriously cannot say enough about how perfect today was!
There is so much to look forward to, and we had such a great time just being in each other's company today!
Like I mentioned, we are truly blessed!
I hope you had a Merry Christmas as well!  :)
Adieu!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve!
We drove through the "magical night of lights" at Lake Lanier.
They were really pretty and it was very nostalgic!  Our grandfather (madre's dad) used to take us to see the lights when we were younger.  It was neat going through them and remembering some of them, and then seeing all of the other cars with the passengers hanging out the windows, faces aglow.

Then we headed down to Peachtree Christian Church in Atlanta (the church we were married at) for their Christmas Eve Candlelight service.  That church is so magical, and it was such a great night!  It was a really nice service, and the choir was fantastic!  Tears were shed at their awesomeness.  And then at the end when everyone had their candles lit and we were singing "Silent Night' in the dark, you could feel the magic.

What a great way to spend the evening!
But now, I know that Santa is already on his way,  so it is off to bed for us! 
I hope you have a Merry Christmas!
Adieu!

Feliz Navidad!

Birds Eye Candle

Paper Snowflakes

... this is going to quickly become a favorite Christmas tradition!

One of my favorite ornaments!

It's a newer ornament compared to many of the ones that decorate the tree, but it has whimsy...
And I love whimsy!

BW

(dramatic potato peelings)

A compromise...

... if we can't mess up the tree skirt but for the gifts atop of it, we shall frolic in front of them and make them feel uncomfortable.  So says Pickles.

Billiards

A great way to spend the afternoon!



Find the Light

Spent the day running around town.  Did some shopping, had some grub, braved the crowds...
Now it's time to relax!

Bitty Baby

The newest addition to our work family!

Little baby James!

He's so precious!

Brandy

I was asked to do up a book purse for one of my Aunt's friends for Christmas.  She is a librarian, loves navy blue, tan, and brown, and fell in love with my Aunt's purse.  I was more than happy to oblige!  I found a good sized vintage book while in Charleston.  It's a "Family Word Finder" and the cover is in good condition, and in brown and tan.  Such a good find!  So then, I found two fabrics I liked to coordinate.  I got a tan/brown print, and the a navy print with dots.  Matching, for me, is more of a relative arrangement than a science.  To me, as long as it feels right, it matches.  lol.  Therefore, the navy goes really well with the tan and brown.  There is a pocket on the inside, lined sides, and a pretty bow detail on the front.  I think she is going to love it! 

Oh, and then I named it.  This is another one of my specialties!  Since I was using navy blue as one of my main colors, my mind almost immediately went to the Looking glass song titled "Brandy" because it talks about sailors.  Sailors = Navy = Navy Blue = Purse Title!  And now, it has stuck, and I think it's perfect!  :)

I hope you had a great Wednesday!

Adieu!  :)

(defeated)

The tree skirt, when left beneath the Christmas tree without sufficient presents on top to keep it stable, is way too much of a temptation for the likes of little kitties.  Within minutes the tassles are ruffled.  A few minutes after that, the skirt is more of a wad of fabric, and a few minutes more, the skirt is out from under the tree at least two feet away...

and the cats are still stalking.

Broom

Decking of the Halls

Tis the season...

We had a rather Christmas-y day today! 

- Went over the lists with the hubby.  We're trying to take stock of what else we need, what all we have, and what else needs to be done.
- Wrapped the first two Christmas presents of the season!  Always an accomplishment...  lol 

- Got our Christmas-Spirit ::on:: at Johns Creek Baptist.  They had their annual Christmas musical this weekend, and we had the pleasure of going and watching.  It is truly magical, and always a fun event!

- Afterwards, we went to Taco Mac with the whole crew and had a great time talking, laughing, and pigging out on some good grub!  It was great to see the fam and spend some time with them!
- And now, we are watching "Extreme Christmas Trees" on TLC.  It's really interesting... one guy hung a 30 ft. Christmas tree up-side-down in their 2 story house.  He literally cut holes in the ceiling and floors, and stuck bits of the tree on each floor and even out the roof.  Very interesting!  Looked neat!

Oh, and the word of the day today is "snazzy".
Hope you had a lovely Saturday!
Adieu!
:)