pop, pour & flow

happy new year!
for the record, my four {favorite number} resolutions for this year are as follows:
shop at target no more than two times a week.
drink at last a glass of water a day.
take more pride in my appearance:
{new clothes, more manicures, wearing make up for errands, etc.}
text a friend a day.

fairly confident i can keep these resolutions.
the first one will be the hardest.
here's to 2011, what will hopefully be a year full of peace & personal growth.

be a lifeboat

back in the day, when i was six, i had lots of aspirations.
a teacher, a librarian, a firefighter, a secretary, a waitress
& somewhere along the way, an accountant.
all too often we let our jobs/careers define us.
job titles should not be our aspirations.
dreamer. doer. giver. helper. listener. lamp. ladder. lifeboat.
those should be our aspirations.

a nye resolution for 2011: be a lifeboat.
photo via: bippity boppity boo

merry christmas 2010

merry christmas one and all.
just a little snippet of our house decor this year.
stockings, garland lit and intertwined with berries & our reindeer.
i named them sticks & sparkles.
merry christmas to all!

Feast Interruptus

Our car is packed to the brim with fantastically wrapped presents
& we're off to the great white North (Indiana) for a few short days.
I am so excited that I might just throw a wreath on the front of the car.
Or one of those charming little reindeer contraptions.
The "fun & loving chaos of the holidays" {coined by TH as Feast Interruptus}
started with the craze to find & wrap the perfect present and continues with
travelling to multiple family feasts, nieces & nephews feverishly opening gifts,
flowing wine, ugly Christmas sweaters & lots of merriment & laughter.

I wouldn't have our holidays any other way.
Merry Feast Interrruptus to all.

photo of the Tommy Hilfiger Winter Ad Campaign via Invisible PR.

stockings

when i was in pre-school i had a crush and, upon his birthday,
i gifted him the bag of change my mom kept in our kitchen cabinet.
i was as giddy as a school girl the day that i took his (~$10) "gift" in.
his mom called my mom hours later and turned me in.
the inner birthday elf in me was scolded by my Mom.
however, the inner christmas elf in me still shines, to this day.
i still find joy in finding the smallest of stocking stuffers
& crossing a "wanted" item off the list.

tonight we open up gifts with my Mom.
the elf in me couldn't be more excited.
here's to hoping the inner elf us all continues to flourish.
merry christmas!

oh hey december

i know that i'm a little late, but happy december none the less.
earlier this month the husband and i set out to decorate our christmas tree.
we quickly realized that this tree was not one of our finer picks.
it has one trunk that splits into two - so it's crooked no matter how you look at it.
and whomever trimmed it must have been a novice. it's quite thin in parts.
how we didn't spot all of its flaws at the tree lot is beyond either of us.

we felt bad that our pretty ornaments had to go on such a sorry looking tree.
but after the lights went on it and more & more ornaments were added
the tree didn't look as bad. not as pretty as the one in the picture above,
but one might say that its {numerous} flaws give it a little character.

as the "christmas vacation" dvd was ending & the decorating was done
we sat on the couch together in front of the fire & admired our handiwork.
and at that moment, life was good. very good. crooked tree & all.

photo via secret of love

on love & melted cheese

the husband was sick yesterday. all day.
& so with the snow coming down and no housework to do,
i happily curled up in bed next to him for the majority of the day.
no complaints here.

8pm rolled around & the husband decided he was hungry.
naturally, the only thing that sounded good to him was macaroni & cheese.
my worst nightmare.
i cannot stand the smell {& texture} of melted cheese.
but out to the kitchen i went to slave over the stove for 8 minutes.
when i stirred in the cheese, i about died. {ok, not really}
however, there were almost two of us sick in the house.
one from an upper respiratory infection & one from cheese inhalation.
things i do for love. the things i do for that man.

luckily {for both of us} he's feeling better tonight & isn't craving mac & cheese.
raspberrytart via mary ruffle

pinky swear

saturday night we went to a little christmas festival in a nearby small town.
{it would have been a lovely evening, had it not been pouring rain.}
after a scrumptious dinner accompanied by festive beers
{blue moon's for me & 12 dogs of christmas and a white snow for the husband}
we headed home & had another couple over for a few drinks.

by midnight {five miller lights later} the husband had a temperature of 101.
he's been in bed ever since.
he's been a good little patient today.
only once reminding me that i need to take care of him in sickness & in health.
as i brought him slices of toast & propel i offered to pinky swear him on it.
in sickness & in health. me & you. xo.

photo via: bippityboppityboo

a lucky duck thanksgiving

my mom brought this bottle of lucky duck wine to thanksgiving, just for me.
it was one heck of a feast for this little lucky duck.
i have it on good authority that i had at least three helpings of mashed potatoes.

and although i am quite thankful for the fluffy goo that is mashed potatoes
there are many more things in life that i am happy to have around.
like family. healthy family.

already looking forward to next years mashed potato fest.
i mean, thanksgiving dinner.