Gator chompin'

Off to New Years and the Shugah Bowl in Nola....yes I have a gator broach....only me.

Nearly new year.....

...and a very sweet surprise. Some flowers and a necklace from Dejarnette in NOLA. Vintage Mardi Gras doubloon. Some other pieces from Dejarnette. Glass ball bubble necklace, key, and tiny Crescent City charm. Love them.

Wrapping up a good year.

Cute idea for Sue....{MOM}

Closing time....

A New York landmark, Tavern on the Green, closed it's doors....blame the recessions, mismanagement and a slew of other issues....but it really starting me thinking about how much I need to go to New York. No, I have never been, even though I have always wanted to. Hopefully I can make it before I'm thirty...the plan, you may ask? Well right now it includes going around Christmas and seeing a Broadway play (My pick du jour is Rent), ice skating, tree in Rockefeller Center...the plan used to include Serendipity in lieu of one of my fave movies, but at the moment I am scratching that....these are the basics....so when and if the final plan ever rolls around I'm ready with a few picks.

Chance of snow.

Tiny snow globes filled with jewelry via Anthro.

{Glow}ing review....

Love the inside of the Glow shop in Troy....

Save the date.

2010....yes it began and I am lacking a cute calendar for my desk.....I found these online...check out the cute quotes on the covers.Don't panic.
Wherever you go, go with all your heart.
The smallest deed is better than the biggest intention.
Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.
The only reason you die is because you live.
Take the chance while you still have the choice.
The only thing you truly own is your time.
Be brave enough to live creatively.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Impossible is a word only to be found in the dictionary of fools.
Keep true to the dreams of your youth.
The beginning of wisdom is to desire it.
Always begin with an end in mind.
The eyes believe themselves; the ears believe other people.
Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become.
Pick a path with heart.
Take a chance in the near future.
Change your luck today.
Rest is a good thing, but boredom is its brother.
Let the spirit of adventure set the tone.
Dare to dream, hope, believe, seek, feel, find, and love.
Be mischievous and you will not be lonesome.
Originality overcomes everything.
Good luck is the result of good planning.

Searching for an answer....

With Google and other search engines, answers are a click away...these pillows provide the top Google searches for the respective year.MSN's searches included MJ, Letterman's affair, Swine Flu (still not getting the vaccine), Twitter, Tiger Woods, Cash for Clunkers, Jaycee Dugard, Stock Market, Chris Henry, and lastly Brittany Murphy.....now what will we be searching for in 2010?

Something borrowed.....

....something blue. Well, it's official the question was popped, the Save the Dates have been sent, the tickets are bought and more importantly the shoes are here. Claire's Manolos have arrived. I'm off work today, but am very tempted to go to the office to see them in all their splendor. These are the shoes Carrie Bradshaw wore in Sex and the City: The Movie (SATCTM) when she wed Big. Granted the Vivienne Westwood dress stuck out more for me only because of the tiny spaceship details in the wrapping...I knew in that instant the dress she had chosen. But these shoes are classic and complete the old wedding adage something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. Mr. Blahnik has definitely tugged at brides' hearts and purse strings with these. Originally retailing a little over $500 they were within range, but with all the movie hype they are now selling for over $900......Thankfully I'm not getting married so I can keep my $900. Too bad her feet are bigger than mine.....I think I'll have to live with shoes that are slightly less pricey than that....

And another one bites the dust...

Wow. Some days life is a song and today the past few days I felt like I was living the classic Queen tune due to the sheer, irritating lack of communication. Forgive me for thinking that people are more connected today than any other period in time. We live with our iPhones and Crackberries more than we live with our own families. We can Facebook, Tweet, email, text and phone on a moments notice so why not. Why not call your best friend, why not text your mom back, why not reply to that business email. Why not....Rarely a day goes by that I don't fire off a slew of emails, call a handle of people and send a few texts.... So really what makes communication easy for some and painful for others.....

In keeping....

Christmas,

Where did you go?
All the waiting for you to get here.
All the hurrying.
All the decorating.
All the baking.
All the celebrations.
All the shopping.
All the gifts.
All the carols.
And then,It's over.

The last packages are delivered.

The last shreds of ribbons and papers are tossed.
The last leftovers are eaten.
Lights are unlit.
Nativities are packed up.
Ornaments are wrapped neatly.
Trees are thrown out.
Christmas is gone.

Then it happens.
The last bit of tinsel glistens in the carpet.
You find.
An ornament that wasn't packed.
You remember.
Times with family.
Moments with friends.
And you keep it near.
You keep Christmas all year round.

Goodnight all.

My Christmas cat.....

Some photos of my cat, Sweetie. She napped with me the past couple of days...and my mom even said I could take her back...sadly I don't think she'd make the three hour drive and I'm out of town next weekend...all in all not a good combo...but she is a cutie....

A final holiday thought....

A few days at the parents and one disagreement with the Moms left me wanting to go back to my home...don't worry, a few moments later I realized how silly I was being....and a few hours later I found these words.... Found via Eddie Ross.

Keep Christmas all year round...

Some final C-mas picts to close....
Via Living Etc.

Form meets function....

I got them! My main Christmas wish...sure it may sound weird, but I wanted a pair of Hunter rain boots. I know, I know I had two, one from the J.Crack outlet and a free pair, but these were the penultimate of rain boots and I have lusted after them for years. A little kooky I agree and it's doubtful that anyone shy of gardeners got RBs from Christmas, but hey, stranger things have pleased me. I think I finally convinced my Dad how great they were when I gave him a history lesson last night...here goes:

The boot company began in 1856 in Edinburgh with a mere four employees and nearly 20 years later had grown to over 600 employees. These wellington boots were made for more than just gardening, herding sheep or style; during World War I the company was asked to construct a sturdy boot suitable for for flooded trenches. The mills produced over one million pairs to meet the Army's demands. World War II brought the same demands, Hunter was once again called upon to supply wellingtons and thigh boots. Over 80% of their production was for war materials - from ground sheets to life belts and gas masks. Talk about form meets function....

Today, Hunter is the preferred welly brand for work and play alike, and now I finally have that pair of Green Hunter Wellingtons first produced over 50 years ago....history in the making, huh? Or maybe it proves anything can be justified......

Paper weight....

Stumbled upon some cool paper collages today...although I think I've blogged them before. The artist is Helen Musselwhite. The paper is cut, folded and scored to yield various patterns and textures. And I can't help but love a good deer scene. Check her out here.

Holiday thoughts...

......last night I starting thinking about what Christmas really means to me. I admit that this year I have lacked some of my normal excitement (I know some of you would beg to differ, esp. those that have seen the apt), but typically my joy/energy starts mid-October and lasts through New Year's. This year I have had one thing after the other on my brain and not even given a second thought to the notion that Christmas was here. Sure I did the tree trimming and decked my halls, but honestly I wasn't even really in the spirit. Thankfully I found the spirit a week ago....I think it started when the gifts I purchased finally began to arrive and I started wrapping them and things slowed to a stop this week at work. I found myself with visions of sugar plums dancing in my head dreaming of Christmas. I vividly remember waiting on Santa to come each and every year. We would open family presents on Christmas Eve and my little brother and I would wait for the majority of ours on Christmas Day. I would wake up very early hoping to see what Santa brought (read 3am), but I would make myself stay in my room upstairs trying to catch a view Zzzz's before seeing my Christmas surprises. When I finally wandered down around 6am I would look at a few of my gifts before my brother woke up....and he always slept late. To this day I still look forward to Santa coming and finding gifts under the tree on Christmas Day. No matter how big or small the gifts were always perfect. Considering I rarely wished for anything because I wanted everything to be the perfect surprise, Santa always nailed it. Gifts were arranged perfectly and more gifts were nestled down to the toe of my stocking...enough with the gifts....it is really more than that...Christmas is family. I can remember my first year away from home in a new city. My first year out of college with a real job. It was a hard dose of reality to know that I would not have 2-3 weeks off for the season and I had very little vacation. I literally cried when I had to travel back Christmas Day. Last year I was at home a good week for Christmas (call it avoiding the problem at hand and needing to be around my family) through New Years...yes, I am one of those boring people that did not have NYE plans, thankfully this year is different. This is honestly the first year I am okay with not seeing my parents for a full week. Maybe I am finally growing old (yeah right!)...or maybe I found a reason to stay....who knows....after all I am blogging comfortably from their house ;) so it quite easy to think I could do it.

Christmas is many things to many people. What is it to you?(My Uncle Hal and I several C-mases ago, thankfully I don't share his same taste in socks JK)

There's no business like show business....

I am not exactly certain what I am getting myself into or what to expect for that matter, but I have agreed to go shoot guns with some brothers later today. Knowing me I will end up doing something embarrassing (crossing my fingers that does not happen).....oh well, I am very excited!Off to the gun show and channelling Annie Oakley.....

Feathercast...

A little less than two weeks from now I will be on my way to NOLA for New Years.....already wondering what the weather will hold for the feather (fashion + weather) forecast. I know I need two things at least....something dressy for NYE and some orange and blue for the Sugar Bowl. I tried to scout out O+B yesterday...but no luck...looks like I may be wearing the same stuff from the SEC Champ game.....

Across the pond....

I quickly found myself drooling over these fab art installation @ Anthro:London. I want some old clocks for my mantle for January to ring in the new year.....Stitched and painted burlap leaves hang over bedding creating the perfect canopy.Do you want what this is?Take a closer look......a million bags of tea....who would have thunk. Perfect for a British shop, no?A tea skirt....amazing. Some Union jacks line the walls to display the Edison bulbs.Times a wasting....