It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

It's true, I love Christmas, and I'm an after-Thanksgiving decorator!   Adam and I have spent the last 2 years with a little 3 foot, artificial tree...just big enough for our tiny NYC apartment.  Thanks to our bigger apartment we were able to get a real tree.  We even went to a Christmas tree farm and cut our own.  I really didn't think it would be a big deal...we'd go there, pick out a tree, cut it down and call it a day.  Boy was I wrong!!  There were so many trees to choose from!  Some were too fat, some were too skinny, and each time I thought I had found the one, another from across the field would catch my eye!  And each time I would find another one, and then another, and another...and that's how it went for 2 hours!  Finally Adam and I were tired of walking around, and every tree started to look the same, so we narrowed it down to 2 and made our choice; a 7ft Douglas Fir.  Once we got it home we cut and trimmed it up (it's great having an arborist for a husband:), and now it's all decorated!  Hooray for the holidays!!

Adam bringing the tree in the house

It's ready for the decorating

Trimming the tree (I'm pretty sure I was doing a little dance at this point!)

The girls were trying to help

The decorated tree (just missing a star) and the wreaths I made

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Thankful for...

not going shopping today!  The folks doing it are CRAZY...and really, do our kids need all of the crap we end up getting them for Xmas?  Maybe we should let the kids be creative and explore with their minds...just a thought (albeit a hippy one:)

I will be decorating, or beginning the process anyway, for Christmas.  There are a few things I would like to get new this year.  I found some fantastic stockings at Target, and of course I love the Pottery Barn ones, but I'm torn between getting some handmade from Etsy.  Oh the choices!!!  I'll be sure to take pics of my handy work!  Have a great day everyone!!!

Inspiration

"So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting.

So...get on your way!"    

~Dr. Seuss

Football's Best Rivalry

It's a good day to be from OHIO!!! 

UofM Sucks!!!

Thankful

It's November, it's half over (where the hell does the time go?!), and the closer we get to Thanksgiving, the more we start thinking about the things we are thankful for.  People on Facebook are even telling us daily via their status what they're thankful for.  I love it...thinking about all of the good in our lives, especially at this time when the only things we hear are negatives.  I am just not the type of person to commit to doing anything daily...except for eating and sleeping...which is why I didn't participate in the blog post a day challenge.  However, I am quite thankful for many, many things, some of which I'd like to share.

*Adam *Maggie and Libbey *Sam *my sister *my parents *my brother *my in-laws *my ENTIRE family *children *friends *trees *flowers *my job *teachers *my home *farmers *police and firefighters *President Obama *sports *music *art *animals *science *love *life *US Soldiers *wine *good beer *good food

What are you thankful for??

New lifestyle center is a mall of confusion - The Boston Globe

 New lifestyle center is a mall of confusion - The Boston Globe

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The above link is a great article from the Boston Globe about the newest craze in shopping experiences, "Lifestyle Centers" or as I call them, outdoor malls.  I guess it's not really a new craze, but it is a fairly new craze.  I used to love the idea....instead of being confined by fake plants, escalators, and wall to wall stores, one gets to enjoy the outdoors, the sky, real plants, all surrounded by your favorite chain stores.  And that's where it gets uneasy for me. 

Now, don't get me wrong...I love shopping.  I do not hide the fact that I love J.Crew, but just this past Saturday, while shopping at the Wrentham Outlet Village, I began to question my love for J.Crew and chain shopping in general.  The outlets were MOBBED with people...and it's not even close to peak shopping season yet.  Stores like J.Crew, Gap, Banana Republic, Guess, were so over run with people and so disheveled  that it made me ill.  And as I shopped around, taking it all in, I started to wonder...where were these items made, with what kind of care and craftsmanship, and why do they always look so much better on the model than on the racks at the store? 

It's hard to not be sucked in though, especially when you can walk out of a store with a $150 winter coat for only $70, which I did.  A few years ago I would have dove right in, spent hundreds, and shopped til I dropped...but this time I just couldn't.  Every item that I picked up was already in the hands of 20 people around me, making me feel like a drone.  And when Adam and I walked up to the line of people that wrapped around the store, I just lost all interest in following the masses, and left my "great deals" on the racks.  Really, did I need another poorly made, ill-fitting garment selling for the "sale price" that it should be anyway? 

Out and About in the World

Adam and I both had today off of work, (thank you Veterans!!) and it was much needed...Monday and Tuesday were stressful and LONG.  We had planned to visit New Hampshire and hike Mount Manadnok...but no dogs...stupid rules.  So instead, we headed west to Charlemont, MA and hiked the trails of Mohawk Trail State Park.  It's a good size park and campground with a huge trout river (Deerfield River), tent sites from October to April, and cabins year round...no dogs in the cabins though...story of our lives!  There are a few trails up to mountains/look outs, but not all of them were marked well on the map we had.  After some of our own exploring, we found the Indian Trail which leads to the summit of Todd Mountain, 1, 594 feet.  It said 1.25 miles, but what we didn't know was that the trail was pretty much straight up!  It was tough, partially because of the incline, but more because of the fallen leaves making every step slippery...especially on the way down!  It was a great hike, there were only a few spots where the tree cover was slim and I could see the drop down.  It was such a good feeling to make it to the top, though it was cold once we got there!

I made it!!

 

Our little family and some very large trees

Sesame Street and sweet, sweet disasters

Can you believe Sesame Street is turning 40?!  I grew up a Sesame Street kid and I know I'm better because of it.  If you love Sesame Street and Cake (really, who doesn't love cake?!) hop on over to Cake Wrecks and check out the gorgeous cakes in honor of their anniversary.

If you don't know much about Cake Wrecks, you should change that.  Cake Wrecks is a blog site devoted to documenting what happens "when professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong."  Each day they bring you cakes that are horribly decorated, hilariously misspelled, or just plain wrong!!!  And to balance out the terrible with the fantastic, "Sunday Sweets" brings you the most gorgeous professional cakes you will ever see! 

Today, I was fortunate enough to meet the creator of Cake Wrecks, Jen Yates, and her hilarious husband John at the Barnes and Noble in Framingham, MA.  They have just written their first book and are holding a "world" tour...and by world, they mean US:)  The book gives you a background on where Cake Wrecks came from and show you some of the best, and never published wrecks.  The reading was complete with a slide show, plenty of laughter, book signing, a cupcake "wreck-plica" contest, and of course, CAKE.  Two local bakers (one from Vermont!!) brought some of the most beautiful, and creative cakes!  My favorite was a Fenway Replica made by Erin of Cakes by Erin.  (such a great name!!!:)

Have a great week everyone....and don't forget to laugh!!

Wish List Wednesday - Luxury

Happy Wednesday Everyone!  My Wish List this week is all about Luxury!  We all have things that we secretly would love to have, but would never really spend the money on, or have a reason to...unless money was growing on trees in our backyard!  Here are my Top 5 luxurious wants!!

Rutledge Avenue Red Petal Dress

By Carol Hannah, a Brooklyn based designer

Silk Duponi Rosette Dress

Currently available from the J.Crew Collection.

This delicious Burberry bag can be found here.

Photo credit: http://www.polyvore.com/

Christian Louboutin Peep Toe Pump

...nothing more needs to be said.

A Diva Divided

This statement piece made by:  BellaBeadjeweled

My profile, myself - The Boston Globe

My profile, myself - The Boston Globe

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This is such a great story....it deals with the love/hate feelings some of us (including me!) have with Facebook!  Every now and then I go through a "friend" deleting stage, and then about half way through I start to feel bad and worry what people will think when they find that I've deleted them.  Question, why should I care what they think if I don't EVER connect with them, through Facebook of otherwise!?!

And I am guilty of posting overly happy status updates to "one up" people that, as listed above, are not really my "friends" but I want them to think I'm fabulous.  Does that make me a bad person, not really, does it make me feel bad, no....because I know I'm not the only one guilty of it:)

It has been nice to reconnect with people, find people that I've been out of touch with....but then again I feel like I'm back in High School again...caring too much about what people think about me, and judging people I don't really know.  And besides...do you all really want to know what I'm doing every moment, good or bad?!? 

Monday Memories

I'd like to tell you a story today.  The story of Maggie Mae and Libbey Lou, our 2 wonderful, and very different pups.  Maggie, a Black Lab-Golden (read MUTT) mix, and Libbey, an English Springer Spaniel.  Maggie...very smart, and obsessive.  Libbey....not as smart, and very funny.  Both loyal and loved...the best dogs in the world (to us at least:)  Enjoy!

We got Maggie from a friend of my mother in law.  Her son was in the military and so she wanted a puppy to take care of.  The problem was that she worked a lot and just couldn't take care of her.  She mentioned to Kelly that she was going to give her away and Kelly told her to bring the puppy over.  Maggie jumped out of the car and ran right over to me, sat down, and wagged her tail...as if to say: Hi..you're my new mom! 

Maggie lived with me in Ohio until we moved in with Adam in MI.  When we finally moved in together Maggie was so happy.  But Adam used to travel a lot for work, so Maggie would find things that smelled like him and cuddle with it.

Then while traveling home from our good friends, Mel and Andy, wedding we stopped at an outdoor store where they were having a breeders market.  Adam found someone selling Springer Spaniels and right then and there we fell in love with Libbey Lou.  She was sleeping, all of her brothers piled on top of her, and when we took her out of the box, she just smiled at us.  We took her home and gave her a bath.  This is their first night together.  All little Libbey wanted to do was cuddle and Maggie wanted nothing to do with her.

 Here they are in Michigan for Libbey's first snow.  Sometimes they would play, most of the time they would ignore each other, but slowly they became friends.  They were very opposite.  Maggie was easily trained, Libbey...not so much.  Maggie liked to play with toys, Libbey...again, not so much.  I worried that they would never get along.

Eventually one day though...it happened.  Maggie warmed up to her and began to love her.  They started taking care of eachother, cuddling, and playing...no more fighting or ignoring.

 

And we've never been the same since.  We like to think they're pretty happy...I know we are! 

The End.