Holly Jolly Photo Session Sneak Peak . . . .

Okay so here is a sneak peak of our "Holly Jolly" photo session with the talented Christen Jones Photography!

More to come soon! =)

Thanksgiving 2010

I am finally here to get caught up and post about Thanksgiving!! Last Monday my parents got in town from TX and I SO enjoyed spending lots of time with them!! My Mom had been baking and cooking the week before and brought homemade bread, pies, dressing and some other yummy things for us to enjoy. My house was still decorated for Fall/Thanksgiving. I like to leave it up for Thanksgiving since it's festive! It's not really Thanksgiving to me if my pumpkins are not still out and Christmas trees are up (although I can't wait to get mine up tomorrow!)

My Mom and I did make some cupcakes to take to our family gathering Thanksgiving day. We made Carrot Cake cupcakes. I mixed them and had the idea to put the little candy pumpkins on top. So I baked and she decorated. They turned out super cute and were soooo good!!

Oh and this was what our place settings looked like on our kitchen table . . . .

The day before Thanksgiving, M & I went and had some pictures taken in Harbor Town, down by the river here in Memphis! I can't wait to get them back, hope they turned out good! While we were down there I took some pics of the beautiful trees in this adorable, quaint part of town!

{And finally . . . sunset!}

After our pictures, we went and had a cocktail together and watched the sun set, it was so nice! As we were sitting there we saw a carriage pass by with a family. It was so fun watching a family be together and having a great time!

Thanksgiving day we went to my Uncles house about an hour away, then after lunch there, we went to my Grandparents. We got a few pics over there, but dummy me didn't get any with my Grandparents! I hate that! But here are a few I did get. It had been raining like crazy and by the time we got their we had been rained on - otherwise I would have looked a lil better. LOL

{Me & my lil bro}

{Mom & Case)

{us}

{sweet)

{M & my Grandparents dog, Myia! She's so funny!}

The next night, we still had turkey left over since we had cooked one on Wednesday just for us, but Mom fixed some brisket and it was delish!

Mr. Big was festive over the weekend with his cordoroy outfit he got on his birthday! He was being camera shy!

And now it's so long to my orange accents in the living room and time to ad some red!!

Hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and time with family or friends! I am looking forward to Christmas, but hoping I can do all I need to do. I will be working a lot and I just pray it doesn't put a damper on the holiday for me, because this is my favorite time of year!!

Missing Out . . .

I have a lot to catch up on with the holiday and all . . . . but today I am completely SICK that I cannot go see my brother's band Darling Parade tonight!! They are playing outside if Nashville in Clarksville and opening up for FRAMING HANLEY!!! Some of you may not know who they are . . . .but what they are most famous for is their remake of Lil Waynes "Lollipop" song. If you haven't heard Framing Hanley's version you can hear it and see their video here! I love their version. May not be every one's cup of tea, but I dig it!!

I have to work tonight, so I can't go and I hate it soooo bad!! But my parents are going so I hope they have a good time and take lots of pics for me!!

{My brother's band, Darling Parade - that's him in the back with his hands in his pocket. He's the drummer!}

{Framing Hanley!!!}

Smile! It's the Simple Things . . .

I know I am growing up when I get excited about buying a bundt pan! LOL! I haven't had one, and since my parents moved to TX a year ago, I can't borrow my Mom's. So tonight while I was at Target, a pretty Kelly Green bundt pan caught my eye! It's the simple things!

I had been thinking for the past couple of days that I was going to make an apple cake of sorts and tonight I found a recipe for a Apple Coffee Cake. I wanted to have something for my family to eat on in the mornings, so that's what I made. That along with some of my Pumpkin Butter and toast will probably be our breakfast for the next few days!

So I mixed up everything for my Apple Coffee Cake and put it in my pretty, new bundt pan . . . .

Then when it was done, I drizzled a little icing on top, and this is how it turned out!

It made my kitchen smell so good!! I love cooking treats and getting ready for my family to come!! It's what I love to do, It's the simple things!!

And as I am finishing typing this, the credits of a movie I had on, Mona Lisa Smile, is playing. It's also playing one my most favorite songs "Smile." It's my Mom's favorite song too! Something about this song is just so touching, and uplifting!! Once more . . . .It's the simple things like hearing a song that means something to you!

This song makes me think of my family, my husband, my friends, my health, my home, my job and makes me think . . . "just smile!" Smile for all I have to be Thankful for this holiday season! While this time of year is a happy time for many, I also know that there are a lot of people out there dealing with things: family matters, money, career, health, so many things. Whatever it may be, I pray you can find something to smile about this holiday season and appreciate the simple things! Those are the things that matter most!!

While you're at it, take a moment to SMILE at someone! You never know how such a simple thing like that, can make someones day, and . . . . make them smile too! I am going to try to remember to do the same!

"You'll find that life is still worthwhile

If you just smile"

Tasty Treat for Turkey Day

Each Fall I have a yummy, addicting, little treat I like to make. It couldn't be easier and is super cute for Fall and the Thanksgiving holiday.

Here's what you need:

PEANUTS

CANDY CORN

And then you have it! Put them together in a bowl or dish and enjoy!! You will see that this yummy treat tastes just like a Payday candy bar!!! It's fun, festive and oh so good!!

I had a time finding candy corn though. Guess I waited a little too long to get it this year. I had to go to THREE stores to find it, and when I did finally find some, they only had 3 bags!! I was quite annoyed. I love Christmas more than anyone, but it's not even Thanksgiving yet and all they have out is Christmas candy!! I mean come on, if you are not going to have candy corn out till Thanksgiving, then you might as well forget about the pumpkin pie and turkeys too! ha ha!

But I did get a little and came home and put some out in my cute, new leaf dish from Marshall's which was only $2.99!

I also mixed some up and put it in a mason jar and took it to work. Everyone loved it!! I have a feeling I will have to take some more next week!

I think I may do a few more of these and take them to my family for Thanksgiving! It's a great thing to have out if you are having people over for Thanksgiving too! So go to the store, get ya some peanuts and candy corn (hopefully you will have better luck finding candy corn) and enjoy!!

Colorful & Oh So Cozy!!

Do you ever see something and you just can't stop thinking about it? Well, that's how I have been about a spread I recently saw in the latest issue of Better Homes & Gardens. I was flipping through the mag one night as I was in line at the grocery, and before I knew it, it was my turn so I just added it to my pile of groceries. I came home and flipped through it some more and fell in love with some rooms shown in the home of a couple from Boston. It wasn't till a little later that I found out that this home is decorated the way it is because an interior designer lives there. Rachel Reider is the designer and let me just say, she is so very talented. I took a look at her website and I just LOVE her decorating style!!

Her home is so cozy and the way she ads punches of color in each room looks so warm and inviting yet classic at the same time.

Next time you are at your local bookstore, or standing in the grocery line like me, take a look at Better Homes & Gardens! There's not only great eye candy (decor AND food) but the article with Rachel is great too! She talks about how to make your home functional for a family, with out having to forgo style! Great tips!!

GIVEAWAY from Etsy - Info. & Link

Ladies!!! The magazine I work for is doing a GIVEAWAY on their blog and it's from ETSY!! Click HERE to see what it is and ENTER TO WIN!!! It ends tomorrow (Sunday) so get your lil booties over there ASAP!!

Catching Up & Pics

I am a little behind here and never posted pictures of us carving our pumpkins before Halloween. Hate I didn't get to it before now, but better late then never, right?

{M carving our Pumpkin!}

{Me carving away}

{Oh and I had made some yummy treats too. Instead of cake pops, I made marshmallow pops! A lot quicker and easier since no baking is involved and they were super yummy too!}

{We had some friends over and one of them works for a company that sells awesome knives, so we used those to carve our pumpkin!}

{Our "N" Pumpkin!}

{Us}

{I already showed this in a previous post, but this is what I did with our cute Pumpkin. I wanted to enjoy it till Halloween when we put it on the front porch!}

I'm glad it's Friday! I have been working from home today which is nice! Tomorrow we are going to have some photos taken by a very talented local photographer, Christen Jones of Christen Jones Photography. I'm super excited about it. It will be outdoors and the weather here says it may rain but I am just praying it will hold off long enough for us to get some cute pics! Then tomorrow afternoon we are going to my close friend Lindsay's house for her little boy, Whitten's first birthday party! It will be a Pirate themed party and I can't wait to see how adorable it is!! We will stay over there all day and then that night hang out with the grown ups!! So we have a full, fun weekend ahead for us!

Happy Friday to all of you and hope everyone has a fun weekend planned as well!