wedding book

On a completely unrelated-to-Christmas note, look what finally came in!






When I got home last night from holiday traveling, my wedding/bride's book was waiting on my doorstep! I was so excited to finally see it, and I can't wait to start filling it with memories! (Side note: I highly recommend Way Cool Designs for your bridal and baby book needs. They are such a pleasure to work with, and their embroidered silk books are absolutely GORGEOUS!)

Of course, the photos above were taken with my iPhone last night. Sorry for the poor quality!

grown-up gifts

I know that I said I was going to be brief in my Christmas gift recap, but I did want to share just a few things that I received. While we did get several "fun" gifts, we also got quite a few "grown-up gifts" this Christmas. I wanted to point out a couple since they happen to be wedding related (sort of).


I received a couple of serving pieces that match my Christmas china shown above- the Lenox "Holiday" Pattern.





My silver flatware pattern is Old Master by Towle. Santa also brought me the cake knife and server in my pattern, which we will use to cut our wedding cake.




Another gift we received was one of the beautiful Annieglass chargers on our registry. The gold band around these chargers looks great with not only my Christmas china, but also with my formal china.

In addition, Clint's mom also gave us a set of toasting flutes (sorry, could not find a picture) that we will use at our reception.

We are so blessed to have such generous family!

a very merry christmas

Well, Christmas has come and gone, and I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. I had a lovely time spending the week with my family, a fun overnight stay with a best friend, and a fabulous time with Clint's family as well. So many fun traditions! I also cannot remember the last time I have been so lazy- lots of relaxation over this holiday! Since I did not manage to get any pictures during the gift opening (dead camera battery- boooo), I will me brief and just say that Santa was very good to Clint and me once again this year. Because we split time between both of our families, we also enjoyed way too many DELICIOUS meals. And as if the holiday wasn't perfect enough, we also had our very first white Christmas! Our families live south of Birmingham, so we were not lucky enough to get much (if any) accumulation. But just getting to see those big, beautiful, fluffy flakes from the window was treat enough for us!

All in all, it was another great Christmas filled with family, friends, and food. Next up- New Year's Eve in Birmingham! Can't wait!

I hope that you and your's had a very Merry Christmas as well!

traditions

I've been at Mom's house for almost a week now.

It. has. been. fabulous.

I've spent a lot of time relaxing and just spending time with family. Clint was here over the weekend, but unfortunately he had to go back to Birmingham for work this week. We'll be reunited in a couple of days, and we will do Christmas with his family then. [Side note: Clint and I actually dated in high school and share the same hometown area. However, my mom now lives elsewhere. We do Christmas at her house first, then head back to our hometown for actual Christmas since we both still have friends/family there]. Since I've been at Mom's I've completed so many of our annual traditions. To name a few: baking cookies (chocolate chip and sugar with sprinkles); gift wrapping (Mom always waits until I get home and let's me wrap ALL the gifts. I'm still not sure if that's a chore or a priviledge); making eggnog, fudge, and many other Christmas goodies; watching Christmas movies (Charlie Brown, Christmas Vacation, and Home Alone are MUST-SEEs, but we have watched many more); and riding around to see Christmas lights. I snapped a few pictures with my phone of a particularly festive house we saw during our outing:









Next up I'm headed to my hometown to visit one of my best friends and her family. Clint will arrive the day of Christmas Eve, and we always go to his Granny's house that night. The rest of the weekend will be spent bouncing between his family, my family, and friends. Can't wait!

Merry Christmas to all!

new crush

We interrupt our normal Christmas programming to bring you:



I had to take a breather from Christmas posts and candy-eating to tell everyone how fabulous Jason Aldean's new c.d. is! I listen to everything from pop to rap to oldies to country to classical- and everything in between. I bought this c.d. a few weeks ago before setting off on a long work trip. Every song, LITERALLY every song, is great. I've been on a Christmas music kick lately, but this will be back to playing on repeat once the holidays are through!

My favorites:
#1 Tatoos on this Town
#2 Dirt Road Anthem
#5 Just Passing Through
#7 Don't You Wanna Stay
#11 Country Boy's World

I'm not normally a major country fan, but Taylor Swift's Speak Now and Jason's My Kinda Party are the only two albums I've purchased recently where I felt like I REALLY got my money's worth. I've bought several great singles on iTunes lately, but these albums made me want to listen from start to finish. Can anyone recommend any other new c.d.s that are good in their entirety??

Merry Christmas!

Since all of my Christmas cards finally made it out, I wanted to share the design with everyone. This is Clint's and my first joint Christmas card! We are also excited about them because, in addition to a Christmas greeting, the card also incorporates save-the-date information for our upcoming wedding. Without further ado, here is our 2010 Christmas Card:

Mailing preparation:


Front:


Inside:




Also, to everyone who we have received cards from this year- THANK YOU! One of my absolute favorite things about the holiday season is anxiously checking the mailbox each day to see what beautiful cards will arrive. This year has really been a good year in that regard, and we have gotten some of the prettiest cards ever! I'm convinced that I have some of the best looking family and friends in the world! My what gorgeous families and wedding pictures you all have! Thanks for thinking of us when you made out your mailing list!

May you all have a very blessed Christmas with your loved ones!

fa la la la...

Once again- another post related to Christmas...

I thought that I would share some of my favorite holiday songs (some old, some new) that have been playing nonstop since Thanksgiving:

1. The ENTIRE Glee Christmas Album by the Glee Cast
2. "Oh Santa" by Mariah Carey
3. "Christmas in Harlem" by Kanye West
4. "Christmas Lights" by Coldplay
5. "A Child is Born" by Rihanna
6. "O Come All Ye Faithful" by Josh Groban
7. "White Christmas" by Michael Buble
8. "Auld Lang Syne" by Susan Boyle
9. "Silent Night" by Sarah Mclachlan
10. "All I Want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey
11. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" by Mariah Carey
12. "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" by N'Sync
13. "Breath of Heaven" by Jessica Simpson
14. "Baby It's Cold Outside" by Jessica Simpson and Nick Lache
15. "Christmas Tree" by Lady GaGa
16. "My Only Wish" by Britney Spears
17. "Candy Cane Christmas" by Darius Rucker
18. "Santa Baby" by Kylie Minogue
19. "Opera of the Bells" by Destiny's Child
20. "Jingle Bells" by Jimmy Buffett

What are your holiday favorites? Do you have any suggestions that are not on my list?

christmas dinner

A Christmas tradition that I always look forward to is Sarah's and my "Christmas Dinner". Sarah and I have been best friends for so many years now that it's almost impossible to think of a good Christmas gift. A few years ago, we decided that we would treat one another to a really nice Christmas Dinner in lieu of exchanging presents. I don't think we could have come up with a better idea or something that we enjoy more! Each year we pick a place, make reservations, and enjoy an amazing meal just the two of us. And we go allllllll out. This year, after some deliberation between Highlands Bar & Grill and Hot & Hot Fish Club, we finally decided on HBG. We met at the bar prior to dinner for our favorite cocktail- dirty martinis! Per usual at HBG, we started the meal with oysters- a mix of Apalachicola, Beau Soleil, and Island Creek. With the oysters, I had a fantastic glass of champagne and Sarah tried the special cocktail (an apple and Maker's Mark concoction). For our main course, I had the veal sweetbreads and Sarah had the grilled Gulf triggerfish- each with a glass of wine suggested for the meal. Finally for dessert, we each had coffee, while I had the chocolate peanut butter tarte and Sarah had the creme brulee. Another successful Christmas dinner in the books!




For anyone else struggling to think of new gift ideas for an old friend- I highly recommend this tradition. Birmingham has some great restaurant options, too! Not only does it solve your gift problem and allow you to spend time with a friend, but I can assure you that nothing will beat the food, the drinks, or the conversation!

"Roll Tide": Appropriate for Any Situation

I know this video has been making it's way around the internet, but I just HAD to share it on my blog, too.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas season! Roll Tide!

"Holiday Inn"

It's no secret that I love anything "Christmas-y". Case in point- I have been listening to Christmas music pretty much nonstop since the week before Thanksgiving. I usually try to pack in as many Christmas events as possible during the holiday season. Past events include: The Rockettes Christmas Spectacular, "The Nutcracker" by the Alabama Ballet, The Shakespeare Festival's "A Christmas Carol", etc. Last year, the Shakespeare Festival wasn't doing "A Christmas Carol", but we did take a girls' trip to see "Peter Pan" instead. This year, I wanted to do something different. Much to my delight, the Alabama Theater in Birmingham does a Holiday Film Series, where they show various Christmas movies in the weeks leading up to Christmas (thanks to Calley for the heads up). During the ONE weekend that Clint and I had free, it just so happened that "Holiday Inn" was playing. Perfect- a Christmas movie that I'd never seen before! Clint and I met Sarah and Taylor one Sunday afternoon to see the movie. It was such a cute film, and we all enjoyed it! Seeing anything at The Alabama is an experience alone- such a gorgeous theater! We were also treated to Christmas carol sing-a-longs as the organist played along. The movies range from old black and white films all the way up to modern movies like "Elf". I highly recommend this for anyone- families or couples looking for a little fun in the spirit of the season!

favorite ornament

I think everyone has a favorite ornament on the Christmas tree. When I was little, I had two favorites on our family tree: a mini Princess Barbie and a tiny porcelain angel. Now that I have my own big-girl Christmas tree, I also have a favorite. Clint's mom gave us the ornament below last Christmas. Since we were newly-engaged and starting to plan our life together, she wanted to give us an ornament to begin a collection for our tree. I don't think she had any idea how much I would cherish it, but it is most definitely my favorite on our tree!

'O Christmas Tree, 'O Christmas Tree

Despite not being home hardly ANY since before Thanksgiving, Clint and I did manage to get our tree up a few weeks ago. We knew we would be busy throughout December and travelling most of the time, but we couldn't NOT put up our very first tree together. We didn't do much else: a small lighted tree beside the front door, a wreath on the front door,a few Christmas hand towels, and some Christmas candles. Next year, when we don't have so much travelling to do and a wedding to plan, I intend to do more in the way of Christmas decorations. But for now, this was perfect and was plenty to put us in the Christmas spirit!

Christmas Story

This is such an inventive way to use modern technology to tell and teach the Christmas Story.

Click HERE.