Oh what fun!

Some of these are still in the mail on their way to our friends and family, but in the meantime, I needed to share our Christmas cards this year... 

Usually we just send one, but this year we had such an amazing opportunity to send the silliest card in our history (but couldn't chance sending this to work colleagues and older family friends) that we had to go with an option 1 and option 2. :) Option one shows us as we REALLY wish our life was all the time... you know, perfect-looking.

We're smiling! Everything is perfect! We look fantastic! There's snow and a sled for goodness-sakes! 

That's not to say that we're not smiling an awful lot of the time and that we don't have an incredible, amazing, really blessed life together, because we do....

But let's be honest... no one's life LOOKS like that 100% of the time. Which is why card #2 makes me so happy.

I mean, in real life sometimes you have the most fun when you're zooming downhill at 30mph heading straight for some super scary-looking brambles and you have no idea how to steer the sled. Everyone knows it, but the ride is so fun that it's totally worth the crash at the end...
Or maybe in real life you have the most fun when things mostly just aren't going right, and you have no idea on God's green earth where you're heading but that's ok, because you're a team and you've got each others' backs and you figure things will turn out just fine..

Or maybe real life's fun because you've made a crazy choice that will change things forever for the two of you (like having a baby) and you're both hurtling toward that new phase in life without a CLUE of what it really means, will look like, or bring into your family, but you keep heading that way because it just feels right and the anticipation and uncertainty is BEAUTIFUL and what life is all about.

Regardless of which possibility resonates with you, Option #2 captures what I feel like our life really feels like these days.  The photo is terrible, we look ridiculous, but Oh, What FUN! :)

Happy New year and Happy Christmas, and ALL other holidays this season from me!

merry merry!

heading to christmas morning church next door, then back home from grits and grillades with my family. i hope your day with your family is warm, joyful, and so, so happy.
found this lovely christmas image from kristybee on etsy

merry and bright!

this is the christmas card i designed that I mentioned in yesterday's post ... i could hardly sleep last night because i wanted to share it with you! i know it's no award-winning minted design, but considering i used microsoft publisher (no adobe photoshop in this house!), free fonts, and got them printed on moo, i'm pretty pleased. We took the picuture last week when it snowed (in mississippi! in early december!) and the bayou looked really pretty. these light trees decorate the bayou and downtown, so we thought it'd be fun to take a picture around them. unfortunately, the snow and damp air got the best of my hair, but maybe no one will notice... ;)

anyway, merry merry!

she's making a list...

did i tell you my folks are coming up to see us for Christmas? I know....hosting a holiday is a really grown-up thing to do, so we're feeling really excited about it and a little nervous about getting everything pulled together. i made a list and have been checking it twice (or thirty two) times a day to make sure i don't forget anything.
on the list since Sunday:

design and order Christmas cards
get a tree
wrap presents
laundry
make stockings
make peanut butter balls
buy gifts for the work secret santa
mail Brett's family their gifts
decorate tree
CLEAN everything
create arrangements for bookcases
plan menu for Christmas morning
get a new outfit for cocktail party/nye
finalize boone's present

i finally finished the Christmas cards today, and I LOVE them. ;) I figured out that I had publisher on our PCs and that I could use that to create a less homemade-y postcard than the "haaaay" one...so i did.
in fact, i placed our order with Moo only minutes ago while boone put all the lights on our REAL christmas tree. that's right, folks. we've got a real tree. sure, there are only 2 weeks until Christmas, and sure, we JUST got the tree, but you can bet we're going to enjoy the hell out of it from now until then. ;)

and last night i made 5 burlap stockings... one for my mom, one for my dad, one for boone, for me, and one for smidge.

;) they aren't the fanciest things, but I MADE them, so i'm feeling pretty awesome about it.

 

 

i only have about a zillion more things to make happen before now and next Thursday when my family comes, but i. am. relentless.

what do you have to do to get ready for the holidays?

hay, it's christmas card time...

hey friends...

having the weekend off has given me time to get some MUCH NEEDED holiday planning done, including starting to design the christmas postcard (see here for year 1 and year 2).

but, the thing is, i need your help. unfort. we haven't taken many good photos of the two of us this year, and can't really come up with anything great to use. the ONLY idea we've got is this, taken from an autumn trip to a corn maze and hayride.

so, to help me, i need to know if you think these are funny, or if you think they're lame. it's been a creativity-lite year so i really can't tell.
cast your votes below. (honestly, we may have other options after thanksgiving, but right now, this is all we've got. therefore, my dears, if it's only sort of lame, we may still send it, but if it's terrible and super lame, well, then, we'll do some serious re-thinking). THANK YOU, sweet friends.

merry and bright!

we're home safe and sound with my parents...the christmas tree is up, we went to the best christmas party in the southeast, we've been singing carols, and we've been cooking and wrapping presents frantically. it's wonderful! another christmas tradition at our house is to have a family meltdown, complete with tears and hugs all around. (we can check this off of our christmas list, too. hooray.)

because i'm trying to spend every moment i can in the real world with my parents and boone (and i bet you are doing the same with your fam), there's not much time for a post today...but here are a few super fun christmas links as a gift to you!

you and the little ones can track santa on his travels!

the ipad can make christmas even more festive?

my favorite tv chefs share their favorite holiday recipes and they look GOOD.

i wouldn't mind spending christmas day in paris..

extreme santas. really, really extreme (this one's basically from my hometown!)

my fav tv show does a christmas episode..

getting carded....

hey darlings!
all my teachers have the holidays off, so things slowed down for me a bit friday which gave boone and me enough time to wrap presents, make peanut butter balls (his mom's special Christmas treat) and mail Christmas cards. i designed/ordered them ages ago and i've been dying to show them off, but felt like i couldn't before we mailed them out. now that they're in the hands of the U.S. Postal service i'm ready to share them (of course i accidentally deleted the final image, but this is pretty much* what they look like).... what do you think?

ridiculous? totally joyful? silly? a slice of the delta? i hope so! what do your holiday cards look like this year?

*the cards actually ended up saying "wishing you the joy of a mississippi snowball fight" :) 

gift guide: for my golf-loving, iron chef pretending, education-reform seeking daddy.

oh my dad hates getting christmas presents...the last present he got super excited about was a new bill bryson book last year, and two years before that he got an automatic knife sharpener that changed his life. this year, i have some ideas because we went shopping TOGETHER...but still, i don't have a great handle on him. what are you going to get your dad?

the olive oil of the month club...because he LOVES cooking and experimenting and this is second to the nonexistent beef-of-the-month club

tickets to go see an awesome blues show at a fab local venue...because what's better than entertainment?

a dapper hat that actually fits his head for the gold course..otherwise he wears a trucker hat. eeek!

a new chef's jacket in soft, soft demin since his old one looks SO ratty that even the meat he carves recoils in horror.

a cool new pair of sandals for his trip to australia (yep, that's right...a trip to australia) because his usual summer footwear gives his geekery away.

a butterbean tie...well, because a tie is a classic dad-gift, PLUS he and i are butterbean fanatics. perfect.

and an i-o-u to see waiting for superman and do take some action together

my dad is quite the world golf-traveler...plus he's a realtor and LOVES maps, so maybe this fun scratch off where you've been map might be something he'd want for his man room..

of maybe i should make a donation to save the music since dad's great passion (besides golf and cooking) is playing his guitar.

or...just maybe a musical print or two from a friend's fab etsy shop (there's a 2-for-1 deal that ends today)

gift guide: the tiny lady who loves soups of all sorts, adores her family, and worries about everything

gift guide 2 (i'm on this one since we're heading to NC today!): what do you get the adorable, soup-loving, bread-baking, tradition-holding, college student advising, super duper adorable worrywart of a mother-in-law? here are some ideas.

1. a stylish apron from birdkage so she can keep her cute clothes clean when she bakes and bakes and bakes..

 

2. a few bowls from peter's pottery in mississippi...so she can enjoy her soup and hold tight to her ties to the deep south.

 

3. a collection of caldecott winning children's books since she started out as a pre-school teacher and has four grandaughters to read to!

 

4. a new pair of shoes for work and shoes for play (both gold!) because she loves to look cute.

5. boone's mom and dad have been wanting to learn how to cook stir fry, so maybe we'll get them a wok and some sesame oil to point them in the right direction

 

6. what about tickets to see the alvin ailey dance troup? the group is touring NC this year and i think boone's parents would really love the dancing, the history, and the costumes (so would i)

7. or, (and?) we can make a donation to a cause she feels really strongly about after her trip to ethiopia to adopt her newst granddaughters...

man o man...i LOVE gift guide time since it gives me a chance to think about how special each of my family members are and remember their passions and wishes. ;) hope you're having as much fun gift-giving as i am!

gift guide: the love of my life who loves red meat, quirky comedians, and has a penchant for comfortable style

1. a new pair of kicks that say "i'm awesome"

2. a few new oxford shirts and a new vneck sweater...because it gets COLD in the delta and it's a little more cashz than a blazer.

3. the new mike burbiglia or david sedaris book...because he's a huge fan of all things awkward and hilarious.

 4. boone's beard can get pretty unruly...and he says shaving is a pain...so maybe some rough-and-tumble shaving products would make fun stocking stuffers...

4.  maybe a candy apple red smoker...because the man of the house has been doing a lot of the cooking lately, and he deserves a manly way to do it.

5.a new, flatscreen tv... because we're probably the last  people in America who still don't have one.

 

6. a pair of suspenders so he can look dapper whenever he feels like it!

7. or maybe boone would like a getaway to the ozarks when it warms up a little. it's supposed to be beautiful there, and a perfect change of pace from the delta.

8. or...maybe a manly, delicious dinner at the delta's best steakhouse.

9. and lastly, since my honey is a volunteer fireman, is working on a love of whisky, and cares about other folks..maybe a bottle of jim beam that supports the 9/11 firefighters or operation homefront

dear santa...

so yesterday we went on a christmas shopping excursion...it was super fun because my folks met us and so we got to spend the afternoon together. however, christmas shopping with 4 people (two of whom are the kind of fellas who H-A-T-E shopping) is pretty difficult, especially if you're trying to shop for some of the people who're with you.

the good news is that i was able to check most people off of our list. the bad news is that boone saw me buying a few of his gifts...which means my holiday gift guide will need to be extra tricky this year so he can't figure out what is. also, he kept asking me what i wanted for christmas, which really and truly, is nothing. but, while we were out and about i did run across a few little items i wouldn't mind having... ;) and here they are!

1. the most lovely pair of flats in the world.

       2. an ina garten cookbook that i don't have but i've seen everywhere

3. in the move to the 'sip i accidentally threw away my two peter's pottery fat bunnies. replacing them would make me SO happy.

4. a great pair of (cheap!) black or tan wedges for dressing up and going out.

5. lovely grey ruffled pretty pillowcases to replace the ones that flew into oblivion on our move from oxford.

6. a book of WPA posters (or better yet, this actual poster or this one) since they are my absolute fave kind of design and would look fab in my office.

7. and who doesn't want a polka dot cardigan?

8. i'm incredibly particular (and really traditional) when it comes to my stationary. unless i'm writing a fun note or sending a birthday card, i like to have plain white embossed (and classically monogrammed) correspondence cards. unfortunately i used up two sets writing wedding notes and haven't had any for over a year. i think this necessity is the perfect way to round out my wish list! ;)

9. last year i asked for a tshirt where the proceeds went to an incredible organization that supported education on the African continent. this year i want to support education reform a little closer to home.

10. but honestly...what i really and truly want for christmas is some time to go on an adventure with my honey. who can give me some time?

what do YOU want santa to bring you for Christmas? I've got gift guides coming this week and next, so if you're not sure check back for some ideas!