Category: Everything Else

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Everything Else

Christmas owl love

By this point, I believe y’all know how much I love owls! I’m just missing them from blog itself which my hubby swears in coming in 2011. I’ve had this little, crazy, bright green, wiry tree since right after college (I believe it was a day-after-Christmas Stein Mart find!). It works awesome for the owl ornaments I’ve found or been given other the years. I usually put up the tree on a stand next to the real tree. But my mom mentioned that our tall pub table would be a cool place. It’s great because it gives the kitchen area a Christmasy feel and I’ve been able to display our Christmas cards around it.


Here’s a few of my newest/most favorite owl ornaments. I bought this quilted owl from Crate & Barrel this year. I bought my mom (another Chi O & owl lover one as well). My good friend Kelly gave me this gorgeous owl for my birthday last weekend. I love it! This Santa owl is a couple years old, but it’s definitely one of my favorite! It’s perfect for this tree!


You might have noticed in earlier this weeks photos that our wrapping paper is owls too! I found it in the Target Christmas section. It was $2.50 for a really tall roll so I bought two! Looks like I might be rocking the owl paper again next year!


Speaking of Christmas cards, ours are owls! I would have loved to do a photo card…I had this idea of doing one of us in front of the tree you know with the hubby hugging the pregnant me…but yeah that didn’t happen. My mom actually gave me two packs of these cards last year in my stocking! She’d found them at Borders and bought all they had for me. I thought they were perfect for us this year. I wrote inside “Wishing you & your family good times, good cheer… Then the inside said AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR. Please consider this my Christmas wish to each of the awesome readers seeing this too!

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Everything Else

Oh Christmas tree…

I thought I’d do a few posts on our Christmas decorations. I’ve seen them on a bunch of others blogs and I got inspired to do one of our own! I thought I’d spread it over a few days instead of one LONG post {especially since I learned to schedule posts today!}.


You might’ve seen our getting the tree post. We decorated the following day and then I’ve wrapped a few different times so there are packages under the tree. Fingers {& toes} crossed, Moe has not bothered the tree at all this year.

I’ve never not had a real Christmas tree. I can’t image not having one! I love the smell, the twinkling lights, how it really changes the look of a room & how just seeing it can better my mood. Growing up with used colored lights on the tree. I’m not sure why {maybe we just already had them?}, but we use white lights on our tree. I think they give a *classier* look which is funny since we have so many unclassy but super fun & memorable ornaments.


We usually receive or buy a few new ornaments each year. I looked to take a photo of my current new favorites. I love the Lilly frames {up to the tree photoless} that my brother gave me over Thanksgiving weekend for my birthday. The other favorites I’m spotlighting below: my NCSU football player {I’m proud of the pack even though we aren’t ACC champs} & the HUGE snowman. I believe the snowman was my mom’s but she passed it down. It’s 3-4 times bigger than any other ornament but I love it!

Next up: owl Christmas love :}

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Everything Else

Sunday & jewelry aka birthday wrapup

The best birthdays last for a long time. Being a December baby, my parents always tried to be sure that my birthday & Christmas were celebrated separately. I’ve shared with y’all that my birthday celebration started over Thanksgiving weekend. Then hubby & I celebrated the big day Saturday.
Sunday we met up with 2 other couples who are some of our best local friends. We all enjoyed delicious food {& a fresh apple martini for me!} at Bonefish! Can anyone go there without getting the Bang Bang Shrimp?! Not me! B & K, thanks for joining us guys. We really enjoyed it & spending time catching up with y’all & your guys.


Notice my necklace in the photos, I bought it Thursday night at a Stella & Dot party. It was my first party but I found so many things I loved! This necklace came with the flower pin (shown attached to the neckace) as well as a bracelet that can be attached to the necklace to make it longer. It was a sample that’s been discontinued so they Stella & Dot rep sold it to me for $49. Which turned out to be the perfect amount because I got a birthday check in my card from my in-laws Monday!


On my Stella & Dot wish list now: the gold drop earrings & soiree pave bracelet in black! Oh & for the summer, how cute are these starfish earrings?!

I finished up my birthday celebration with my work group doing a birthday breakfast break Monday morning. mmmm Panera! 🙂

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Everything Else

It’s my birthday… {one day late!}

Yesterday was a big day. I turned 29! I LOVE birthdays~ other peoples & my own. Even though we weren’t really doing anything Friday I stayed up until midnight just because it was the start of my birthday. My parents called from my grandparents’ condo with my aunt at 1220a to be some of the first to wish me a happy day. I was blown away by all the awesome twitter & facebook love I received as well as texts & phone calls from friends & family. **thanks friends!!**

I actually woke up pretty early for me when I heard Jason come through the front door {with a birthday Bojangles chicken biscuit in tow!}. So we chilled in a jammies catching up on some TV we’d DVR’d from last week. Midmorning he went into the other room to play xbox and I wrapped gifts & watched Double Jeopardy. I love that movie! We had cookies from my Chi O cookie exchange all day. 🙂

We had a late lunch/early dinner at Maggiano’s that was delicious! I’d received a $10 off birthday coupon and we both ordered from their Classic Pasta menu so we received free take home dishes too. {yay for yummy lunch again today!}

My friend Alethea is working back stage at the Raleigh Little Theater for the Cinderella production. I decided Thursday that I wanted to go Saturday night for my birthday. Jason wasn’t super excited about that choice, but we both left having really enjoyed it! It was funny & cute & so cool to see it surrounded by little princes & princesses who were literally jumping out of their seats excited! Here’s a few photos of the cast from their after the performance autograph sessions!
Since it was Saturday I’ll also call this photo of hubby & I after the show as my Steppin’ Out Saturday photo.Suz
new orange sweater dress- Victoria’s Ragpatch {b-day gift from parents}
white basic top- LOFT
brown leggings- Kohls
brown boots- belk
new JPK purse- Nordstrom {bday gift from hubby!}

Jason
jeans- old navy
polo- old navy
jacket- North Face

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Everything Else

What I’ve been reading…

Our December book Club selection was Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton. Here’s her website {& from where I grabbed the book image}. It was chosen by Alethea since this was one of her last meetings with our book club before she moves {which I’m still in denial about}. I thought it was a good choice for our group & a very good book. It was an easy quick read. I think anyone who enjoys reading, writing, girl friends &/or is a new mom would really enjoy it. I really liked the characters {although it took me a little bit to remember exactly who was who} by the end I felt like I really knew them. Of course as someone without children I identified with Ally some. We as a book club enjoyed who they experienced the history & times of the day {it was set in California in 1969} and it led to good discussions. I liked the first person perspective and was left wondering what happens to the ladies next. I will definitely plan to put the other books by this author on my TBR list.

You might remember that I mentioned a little while back that I’d received You Don’t Look Like Anyone I Know from the publisher. She stated since I’d blogged about & like The Glass Castle, I might be interested in this memoir. And she was right! Another great memoir. My least favorite part is the super long title, but it does perfectly fit the book. I’d never heard of face blindness before getting the email from the Riverhead Books lady. I’ve meant to google it to find out more, but I haven’t done so. Here’s Heather’s website.

The way Heather writes about her past/childhood doesn’t really make it seem like she’s looking for pity or for us to feel bad {which she could have because it was rough!}. She just told it like it was. I was fascinated, horrified, & couldn’t put it down. I started it last Sunday and read until 1am then from the time I got home from work Monday until I finished at midnight {I took a break to make this for dinner & these for breakfast & dessert}.

I’m left wondering who else has face blindness? Anyone I know have it and not realize it? I’m also left wishing I knew her in real life. I’d love to hear how she’s doing now, if any more research done or any cures have been recently found for face blindness.

I’m realizing that while I love & will still consider fiction my go-to reads, I do enjoy memoirs and that sneak peak into someones life aspect of them {maybe why I love reality TV too?!}. The memoirs I’ve read tend to stick with me for a lot longer than the works of fiction from my “read in 2010 list”.

What’s next up in my TBR pile? Love Walked In by Marisa De Los Santos has been “what I’ve been reading” for a while, but I’m actually doing so now. I also plan to read Friday Night Knitting Club and The Mermaid Chair before the end of the year. Btw, I’m at 33 books read for the year. Doesn’t look like I’ll make my goal of 50 again, but that’s ok.