Nuevo Año

Happy New Year! I am looking forward to a fresh start....what did you all resolve to do?

Oh Happy Christmas {Eve}....

With all the facebooking, tweeting and blogging this Christmas story seemed apropos. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Happy Thanks and giving.

In an effort to fully recognize the fact that the holidays are upon us, I would like to share this tee from Woot. Bring on the canned, jellied sauce. Happy Turkey Day Y'all....(and Vet's Day!)

Peace out.

I'm making my list. Well, not quite but I am in the Christmas spirit ready to bake up a storm, make gingerbread houses and sing off key....and these ornaments would be perfect on my white and silver tree. Just sayin'.
What's not to love about a Sundance sale?

Happy Holidays!

Halloween is upon us, and browsing Pottery Barn for some inspiration I found HALLOWEEN DECORATIONS. I had heard rumors that Halloween candy was popping up on super market shelves, but this was the piece de resistance. Vintage skull prints, pumpkin soup bowls, Gothic bottle stops and cloches filled with spiders. Yes, please....with Halloween comes Christmas.
How will you deck your halls?

Where everybody knows your name.....

Cheers! Raise a glass with these unique champagne flutes. Have you ever seen anything so cute?
Be sure to check out the rest of Olive and Cocoa's offerings.

Movin' on up.

The one shining star in the month of July is the transition in fashion from bright spring and summer cottons to warm and woolly neutrals. Granted it still remains 90 plus degrees outside, but all the fashion mags have moved on up and my spirits have instantly been lifted. There is something that feels good about the latter half of the year--football, fashion, cool temps and holidays.
...so bring it.

Team America.

Happy Birthday America, the land of the free and the home of the brave. You don't get something for nothing. You can't have freedom for free. You won't get wise with the sleep still in your eyes, no matter what your dreams might be. ~Neil Peart

A fifth of the fun on the fourth.

I hope everyone had an amazing fourth weekend. My three days consisted of visiting a new hotel on Friday, taking a random trip to Biloxi, singing an America-inspired mix the entire way back late Saturday evening and boating with good friends yesterday. Don't get me wrong I was very thankful to be included in the aquafest, but wondering how I became the fifth wheel on the fourth of July? I was left with no one to watch fireworks with--you guessed it: dateless with a capital "D"...this day had a lot to live up to considering one of my best fourths was spent in Tennessee. ...I need to quit worrying about the past if I ever want to get to the future though. This three day weekend left me with a lot of time to reflect. Reflect on the past year, reflect on what I accomplished and what I didn't, reflect on what went wrong and what went right....reflect on good decisions and bad. A year in the life of the country has passed and a year in my own life has almost passed. July is full of milestones, most of which I would like to forget but cannot. Good things have happened and some bad things too. Why is it that I place so much pressure on myself during my birth month and why can't I remember the good things that happened.....maybe it's the rain....or heat.I need to breathe and focus on the positive and be thankful for the good things and figure out my plan. Ciao~

Happy Memorial Day.

My Memorial Day was spent relaxing with coworkers on the water. It was sadly a retirement party for one of my favorite and most influential coworkers. I knew it would be sad occasion considering I had cried the day it was announced that Ronnie would be retiring, but miraculously I had kept it together (aka not cried) at his retirement or Friday as I helped him save files and watched him pack his office, but trust me it hit me today as I drove away from his home. The minute I pulled out of his driveway my eyes welled up and the tears flowed out. I was driving away from his home and driving into a new era at my job. There have been too many changes in the past few weeks and I am not sure that any are for the best. While I know that it was Ronnie and Chuck's time to leave and retire into the retired life they deserve, it is hard....it is greatly difficult on me to say goodbye. I am losing a part of my life, I am losing the office I could easily walk into for advice; I am losing one more safety net....I am losing more than I can put into words.Three hours later as I type this I am still between tears. I know as I enter work tomorrow and drive in there's a darn good chance I'm going to cry....it is going to be a while before I move past the fact that Ronnie is not there.

*A photo of Sophia {coworker's daughter} and I at the party.

Glamoween.

Christmas in July, Halloween in May....why not? Check out these glam pumpkins. How can you not love the punky chic studded variety, the little Louis and of course Chanel....yum! Now these are pumpkins that I could sink my teeth into!

Leaving on a jet plane....

......Well actually more like living on a jet place. Most of us are certainly aware of home rental sites such as vrbo, but have any of you heard of Airbnb? Yeah, neither had I, but upon closer inspection there were a variety of interesting homes and up popped this crazy, Costa Rican creation. Da same plane I had blogged about earlier.....for only $400 a night you can stay in this reconstructed fuselage. Let's just say I'm not booking my next vacay but I have spent quite some time browsing.....

Daddy-o.....

Ok guys....I've purchased Mom's Day cards, but I have the perfect idea for Dad's. Check out this snazzy origami trick. Yep, I'm making them in June.

Peace on Earth!

Happy earth day to you and yours.....

Into the ocean......

.......of blue October April. Eddie Ross you stole my heart. Eddie's exquisite blue table scape is simple and chic. He spray painted branches white to set the stage then used silver napkin rings and baskets filled with blue and silver Easter candy and hand-glittered eggs. I want to glitter some real eggs and have half a dozen real blown eggs calling my name. Another fun tip is to use two to three table settings that match to create a more interesting place setting. Love.

Nest{ing}.....

An easy no-bake yummy treat. Chow mein noodles with melted chocolate and Jordan almonds make perfect nests.These are much like the old haystacks recipe below:
1 2/3 cup butterscotch morsels
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 can (8.5 oz. size) chow mein noodles
3 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
Enjoy~

Heart strings...

....love this simple arrangement of heart doilies on a light string. Perfection. Happy heart day in March.

Giving {up}.....

During Lent it is a common practice to give up something...sweets, chocolate, facebook, diet coke....you get the picture. Well turns out I give my science classes treats and some of these treats include chocolate. Well some of the kiddos told me they could not have any because they gave up sweets and/or chocolate for Lent. One little girl was after my heart, she took her bag and said she was saving it for later....she then showed me the stash in her desk. I think she could eat her way through until next Easter. So much for giving something up ;)

Hop to it now!

Spring has sprung and Easter is upon us. Post my trip to Atlanta, packing gifts for first graders, and getting a science lesson together I attempted to throw some Easter on the mantle. I had purchased some greenery back in February (yep...jumped the gun on this holiday!). Well this greenery and the bunnies had been crammed into my storage closet but last night I let it all hang out, ripped into moss to find myself sneezing and with dirt on my floor, I was also lucky enough to swing by the craft store and find vases at 40% off (heck yeah!)....well anywho two hours later I found myself with a grassy Easter spread and a clean floor (thank you, vacuum).Greatly inspired by Pottery Barn and Martha I kept the decor fairly neutral and earthy...I probably need some more apothecary jars but I can't find where I stashed mine from Christmas....
Happy Easter!

Top o' the mornin' to you!

I hope everyone donned their green and dodged pinches yesterday! I know I sure did....although I did not exactly dodge {ex}tras and friends of {ex}tras. Meeting a friend out last night to be festive and celebrate the day of drinking green beer {no, I did not imbibe! The thought of a green beverage makes me want to vomit in my glass}. But the whole running into past dates and finally finding my comfort level being in the same room started me thinking maybe a small {or relatively small} town is a good thing. It also made me realize that being in a big town may not be the right route after all....but you never know. For the moment and for what it's worth, here's to being a small town girl.