Gymnastic Birthday Party

My sweet girl wanted a Gymnastic Birthday this year at her Gym.  So...we went with a Red, White, and Blue STAR theme. 

Her request...a HUGE 5 on top of her cake...

Goody Bags with all kinds of cool Gymnastic and star things - star bubbles, star sunglasses, gymnastic stickers and necklaces, RWB hairbows..

Every girl got a gold medal...

 Of course there are tiaras in Gymnastics!

Super fun parachute game!

All of this equals one happy little gymnast-birthday girl!

Better than a Hallelujah

I'm a long time fan of Amy Grant...I was happy to see she has a new CD coming out March 30th. Here's her new single....I love it!

Where are you Spring?

I was getting myself all ready for this......

 

but that crazy Mother Nature gave us this instead.....

This was the view from our front porch this morning......7 inches of surprise snow!

Guess I'll keep the sweaters and boots out a little longer :)

Valentine's Goody Bags

My daughter had a snow day on Friday, so we were a little bummed she missed her Valentine's Day party at preschool.  They will have their party tomorrow...and she is so excited because she is taking these goody bags. 

We bought the toppers on Etsy here.  Aren't they adorable?  Then, we filled the bag with all kinds of useless, cheap toys and candy that 4 year olds love!   Hope you all had a SWEET Valentine's Day! 

Oh...and here's my daughter, mesmerized by the most snow she's ever seen in her life!

This is the Sweetest Ad!

A very sweet Ad from Google......in honor of Valentine's Day!

Daytrippin' to Miami

Yep...this is how I roll.  I hopped on a private jet to Miami for a day trip.  Had Fillet Mignon for dinner on the plane, and an Escalade waiting on the runway to escort me to my hotel.  Travel in style, that's my motto.

Okay, this is NOT exactly how I roll.  But every once in a great, great while (we're talking maybe 5 times in 8 years...) this lowly, middle management, cubicle dwelling, non-ladder climbing, worker bee gets to climb aboard our company's jet and go to exciting (or sometimes, not so exciting) locales.  

 

I have to say, it is a luxury that I would never take for granted.  It does spoil you, though, and you NEVER want to travel comerical again! (Warm mixed nuts in a little glass cup, people.....waiting for us when we boarded in the afternoon....you don't get that on American...)

Miami was a beautiful, balmy 78 degrees. 

Now, it's back to reality and my GRAY cubicle, where I will crunch numbers and do other mundane tasks. 

(Note:  this is NOT my cublicle.  Mine is slightly larger, with no faux wood trim, and a much lighter GRAY.  I also have color coordinated folders and office supplies, of course.)  It's good to get out every now and then. 

Ah...Fresh Start

What is it about January that makes me want to buy new linens, pillows, stacks of soap, cleaning supplies, and bags of toiletries? 

(photo:  Victoria)

Maybe it's all the "White Sales" or maybe just my time to clean out, reorganize and restock.

(photo: Victoria)

This is also the month when I scheme up all my decorating projects for the year. Then...I slowly tell my husband about my plans....but only one at a time, so his head doesn't explode.

(I'm so sorry...I don't remember whose blog or site I grabbed this photo from.  If it's yours, please take credit...you have fabulous taste!  This will be my inspiration for my dining room!)

I'm dreaming of a creamy ivory dining room, and have been collecting some unique and fabulous accessories...but you can't see them until it's all done!  I'm also going to work on making my Family Room and Breakfast nook even more cottage-y with Creams, Reds, and Blacks. 

I'll be sure to take some "befores" and of course the "afters.

But...I've still got to get going on my bedroom inspiration that I posted months ago.  Haven't done a thing on it yet

(Cara McBroom design)

Happy 2010 Everyone!

Pantry Makeover

A few weeks ago, Serena, from Farm Chicks, featured a photo of her pantry.  I immediately became enamored with it, and thought "what if I could turn my mess of a pantry into something like this?"
Well, I got a little bored last Saturday night, (yes folks, that's a wild Saturday night at our house!) and gave it a try.  I forgot to take a before photo, but trust me, it was a mess.  Here's the finished product:

After looking at these photos, a few things become apparent:

1.  I need to go grocery shopping.  Man cannot live on EasyMac and cupcake sprinkles alone.  But for the record, my daughter would like to give this a try. 

2.  There is still WAY too much Christmas candy in the house.  If I eat it all, it won't be there for tempatation anymore, right?

3.  Yes, there is a can of SPAM in the lower left corner.  It has been there forever and will be there forever because it almost never expires.  My husband just likes to have it around so he can say "hey, in case of an extreme emergency, we always have the SPAM....it never expires!"

4.  My husband won't go in the pantry now.  This level of organization makes him slightly uneasy.  I kind of like that a little. 

5.  Even though my pantry isn't as colorful as Serena's, and I don't actually use all the ingredients in mine, like I'm sure she does....I still love it.  I go in there now and just gaze at the shelves.  But don't tell anyone....that's a little weird. 

Enjoying the Season

Now that all my rushing around is done, I'm really enjoying the season.  My daughter and I baked Christmas cookies today (the kind you just do for the experience with your child - they didn't really look good enough to photograph! )   Here's a glimpse of our tree...

+

And, on a totally unrealated subject, since I just got around to looking at our pictures from the beach (Thanksgiving week)....here are a couple from that week....

This was a cute little nook I liked on the 3rd floor of the house we rented....

I thought this was interesting (????)

Anyway, back to the present.  I am so enjoying spending time with my family at Christmas.  Tomorrow, we take our daughter to the "North Pole Express."  The kids get to wear their P.J's, drink hot cocca and see Santa.  My daughter is a little concerned, and keeps asking "we aren't really going to the North Pole, are we?"  She's remembering a few of the scarier moments from Polar Express and wants to make sure that's not in store for her!

Hope you are enjoying the Holidays!

Buckeye Day

Whew! What a busy weekend!  Ten dozen Buckeyes made, cards addressed and mailed, gifts wrapped, and packages packed and ready to go to the post office. 

Now, I can sit back and enjoy the next two weeks of Christmas fun.  We've got a fun week of ballet recitals and a trip on the "Polar Express" for Olivia. 

Here are a couple of little decorations from our house.  I will post more soon...now that my work is done!  AHHH!

Thank you!

I would like to thank my friends at The Creative Party Place for featuring my daughter's Pinkalicious birthday party...and for all the kind words! 

Brown Paper Packages

I thought I would try my hand at being a little crafty this year for Christmas.

These little brown paper packages are for the gifts I'm giving the girls I work with.  I decided to make my own tags and personalize each one with their initial.  I got them each a charm necklace from Beth Quinn Designs....so, we will have a little girl power get together so they can open their "she" necklaces at the same time!

Time to get out the Christmas movies and drive my family nuts!

I'm a Christmas movie nut.  It doesn't even have to be a Christmas movie even, it might just have a small part about Christmas, and I still feel compelled to watch it this time of year!  Here are a few of my favorites....

Elf (Smiling is my favorite)

Christmas Vacation

 Serendipity

The Christmas Story

 

While you were Sleeping

You've got Mail

(Yes, there's only a small part about Christmas in this...but any excuse to watch it!)

The Grinch (NOT the Jim Carrey one...)

The Year without a Santa Claus

Maybe I'll go easy on my family and only watch these on the weekends....we'll see....

Back from the Beach

Well, we're back from the Beach.  We had a good time, but it's great to be home and get into the Christmas Spirit.  As vacations go, it was okay....you know, typical for us....let's see...Olivia jumped off he bed and accidently landed on my toe...thought it was fractured for awhile there...hobbled around for about a day.   Then, I fell down the stairs (there were ALOT of stairs in this house) and now have a bruise the size of Texas on my thigh.  Then, I bent down to put a pair of shoes on the stairs and hit my head on the sharp end of the stair rail...Yes...most of this was physical injury to me...which is typical.  Then, Shawn, who drove the entire way and back, came down with a pretty bad cold. 

Needless to say....we were thankful to be together on Thanksgiving even though everything was going the way it usually does on vacation!  What can I say?  We are homebodies...we love being home!

Now I'm ready to start decorating, shopping and baking.  Note to self:  if you go away for the week of Thanksgiving....You will be the ONLY one that does not have your Christmas lights up in your neigborhood when you get home! 

(photos:  Southern Living)

She is

my girl.  my punky doodle. 

She is, at 4 years,3 months (because months are important, you're when you're "almost 5")

fiercly independent, opinionated, and spunky.  She's everything I was not when I was a child. 

I hope all her dreams come true.  I hope she holds on to them and never lets anyone tell her they are foolish...

Love you, Punky!