happy birthday LA!

 


Today is LeeAnne's birthday! And we had a great time this weekend celebrating her at a new brunch spot  (new to me, anyway) in Nolita called BarBossa. It was a brazilian cuisine restaurant and was absolutely delicious! There were so many great options on the menu that I took a full 30+ minutes to decide, but that's nothing new...

happy, happy birthday LA (...and see ya later, January)!!

beauty for today

ahhhhhh.

live colorfully. found here.

oscar nominations

It might not be a big deal to anyone else, but I can't help but share. After checking out some of the Oscar Nominations that were announced today, I have proudly seen 5 of the 9 movies nominated for Best Motion Picture of the Year! I don't think that has ever happened (in my life!) before. I usually watch the Oscars and have no clue what is going on. I have become such a movie-goer this year... and, now I feel so cultured.

I'm excited to watch the Oscars this year on February 26!

and so do these!

so, soooo cheery! I love the pink zippered detail. ah.

[found here! via pinterest. and they're on sale!]

on a rainy day,

this brightens my day!

[found here via pinterest]

first snow day of the year!

Except for one brief, freak snow day in October, we haven't seen the white stuff all winter! Until today. And there was a lot of it! Surprisingly, I found myself rather joyful to see it, at least for the first few hours. It's so beautiful as it's falling and until the cabs are back on the streets to ruin it. I think I've had my fix for the year now, so if it didn't snow again I would certainly be ok with that...

rainbow owl

right up my rainbow-owl-loving alley.

fiction book club

Last night was the first night of my new book study: fiction book club! I'm really excited because the impetus for starting this group was when my friend Bethany became an avid fan of Harry Potter this past summer. We were constantly discussing how well-written the books were with such undeniably present and strong gospel undertones. So that's exactly what this book club decided to explore: gospel IN fiction. We meet once a month, each month discussing a new fiction book and the presence of the gospel in that particular story. We started this month with Flannery O'Connor's short story "Revelation". (I actually didn't read it before group last night, oops, but I am so excited to catch up this weekend after hearing the discussion last night.) I wasn't a big fiction reader until a few years ago, and I now I can't get enough. I'm especially excited about hearing some of the older women in my group (like Kathy Keller) give their wisdom and insight on how to read fiction looking for the "good news" that is there!

Next month: Harry Potter!

on my 'to-do' list this weekend

A lot of my keys look very similar, and I've been meaning to get a new key identifier so I can actually tell them apart (the yellow dot I painted on one of them wore off long ago). But why buy something, when I can make my own that is way more beautiful anyway! This looks simple and easy, and...glittery! I can't wait to have my own. Maybe I'll glitter all my keys...

glitter key in progress

Check out the tutorial on this blog. Again, thanks pinterest!

polka dots

My regular, old black converse have definitely seen better days. I've had them almost 4 years now, and they look every bit of 4 years old. But, for some reason, I can't bear to get rid of the perfectly broken in and worn out pair that I still wear so often. But if ever I decide to retire them, I'm keeping these in mind. Aren't they adorable! I love the gray and the cute polka dots to make them so much more girly. Ah, cute. You can get your very own pair at Delia's!

cute, for the kitchen

These aren't the colors I have in my kitchen now, but if they were I would surely have these printed and framed and hung on the wall. They are so clever and witty, and would make me laugh every time I looked at them. I'm holding onto them, though, for a future kitchen somewhere!

You can download a free high quality image of these, too. Just click here. Thanks pinterest!

is it cold out there or what?!

I guess I should consider myself fortunate. It is January 14th, and I am just now feeling miserable about the weather. I don't know what it is this year, but the cold seems so much colder! I had two drinks from Starbucks yesterday because I was so cold (actually wanted three, but talked myself out of one). Today I bought a small space heater for my room. The puffy coat just isn't working like it used to. Here's to staying warm in this blustery cold!

so happy for this.

[via pinterest]

5 years, already?!!

Can't believe this was 5 years ago today?! 

Happy Anniversary Buck & Christine!

a saturday in hoboken

Last Saturday I ventured over to the other side of the Hudson for a few hours because my former coworker Andy was having a baby shower. I got off the bus a few stops early and found my way to this door: 927 Willow Avenue. I know, from the looks of this picture it may only look like a hideously ugly brown door (and, it is.) but this door has so much more meaning than meets the eye.

This is the door to my brother's (and shortly thereafter, sister-in-law's) first apartment in the New York/New Jersey area. Buck moved to Hoboken in December of 2006, and for Christmas that year I got a trip to New York City...finally (!), and to visit Buck's new pad. My mom, Monica and I visited the week between Christmas and New Years, helped Buck move and settle in a little, and did quite our share of galavanting in the city...

5 months later, I moved to New York for a 3 month summer internship. 1 year and 5 months later, I moved back to New York for good. And now, here I am. Still.

So you can imagine what a beautiful sight this door was to me when I found it again on Saturday. It was the start of my journey here in the Big Apple! Thanks, 927.

funniest commercial out there

I haven't stopped laughing since I saw this for the first time while watching football all day on January 1st! Don't you agree?!

soup & football

I would have much rather been celebrating in the same way I did last year for the college football National Championship game, but in the absence of that, I still celebrated. I made my go-to winter soup, Cowboy Stew, and (sorta) watched (mostly talked during...) the game with fun people! I always love an occasion to pull out this easy-peasy & delicious soup recipe. And what's better than football and soup, even if it isn't Auburn?

mom & maggie say hello!

Made my weekend.

paper polite

If you're looking for adorable stationery, take a look at this: Paper Polite! My friend Addie designs the cards and they are soooo cute. You can find them online at the link above, or if you're local to NYC, they're on the shelves at Paper Presentation (and, that's big time!). Check them out.

I've already got my "thanks a ton" cards and can't wait to stock up for Valentine's Day!

cute kids at christmas

All of my Christmas pictures in Alabama wouldn't fit nicely into one post, so naturally I decided to split them up to make viewing easier. As I mentioned in my last post, we woke up at 5:30 am on Christmas morning so that we would have time to see what Santa brought, open presents, and eat breakfast before going to church. These pictures are from the post-Christmas-morning-madness! You can tell...as everyone is in their Sunday best.

 

  

Tate became quite the photog since I've last seen him! I'm not sure if it has more to do with the fact that he is 4 years old and wants to play with expensive, valuable things or if he really has a knack. I must admit, his pictures weren't half bad. I especially love the one below where I captured him focusing on taking the picture of his Gammaw and GG. It came out well (see below).

 

 

Since I was only home for the weekend, I only got to see my brother (and his family) who lives in Alabama. The rest of my siblings  - and nieces and nephews - weren't there yet, hence the reason for photos of only one set of families. Hopefully next Christmas we'll all be together again!

home for the holidays

I did a whirlwind trip home for the holidays. It was short and (very) sweet, but I would have liked for it to have been longer. Either way, I had such a good time spending Christmas Eve and Christmas day with my family! And as a special treat this year, my brother Brent and his family spent Christmas Eve at our house and Santa came and visited his kids there. It was fun waking up on Christmas morning (albeit, 5:30 am) with the kiddos because they could barely wait for Christmas to arrive.

Christmas morning:

 

And, I'll leave you with this face above. If that's not one excited kid on Christmas, I don't know what is!

movie review(s)

I can't think of the last time (if ever!) this happened, but I saw two movies in two days this weekend, and both were spectacular! In case you're looking for a good movie to watch, I thought I would share these:

I saw Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close with LeeAnne on Friday night. I bought the book over 3 years ago and have been meaning to read it ever since. I started it back then, but never got around to finishing it. I usually only like to see movies once I've finished reading the book but I made an executive decision to go see this anyway (because I had heard such great things about it, and couldn't wait to see it long enough to read the book). And I am so glad I did!! This movie was incredible: heartbreaking and sad, but also hopeful. I won't spoil the movie for you (and I never know how many details are too many details), but I would recommend seeing this if you get the chance. Warning: you may cry!

On New Year's Eve, I went with Brendan and his parents to see Hugo. I hadn't heard much about this movie previously, but it was fabulous! It was in 3D which made it fun, and it had a very sweet story and great characters. (Ironically, these two movies actually had very similar plot lines...but again, I won't spoil it.) It reminded me a lot of a modern-day Oliver Twist. If the chance comes, you should check this one out, too. You definitely won't be disappointed.

Happy viewing!

another little patient

McKay went in for a small outpatient surgery today. I was thinking of her and praying for her this afternoon when I got a text with this adorable photo. Her dad said she sure was a brave patient! She looks like a beauty queen after surgery if you ask me... Glad she is ok!

new years day

Face-timing with Mom (and Maggie!...and dad, over in the background) because I was far away from home on New Years Day. (1,253 miles to be exact.) Holidays are hard because I'm so far away from home, but things like this sure do make it more bearable!

happy 2012 to you!

I'm spending this New Year's Day relaxing and resting in the chilly northeast! I traveled to Boston yesterday to spend the holiday in New Hampshire, and it has been the most relaxing few days. Movies, football, eating, blogging, pinterest-ing....what a great way to spend the beginning of 2012!

[I took this photo on New Year's Eve 2010 in the Times Square aftermath. So glad I was anywhere but New York on this NYE...!!]