news!

I just realized that I never shared LAST year's holiday card with you! gosh. it was so belated that it was a new year's card... It was clearly a bigger sign of how the year was going to go for me...especially when it comes to blogging since my last post was this summer about my trip to San Francisco. gah.

The good news is that I've already placed our Christmas card order for this year! Once they come in i PROMISE I'll share them. I think we've really outdone our awkwardselves this year...get ready.

I also wanted to share some pretty big news... (which is also incredibly bloggy-belated) we've bought a house and are expecting our first BABY in March. It's pretty crazy to think about that I was actually already expecting when I wrote my last post. True story, I had some serious initial anxiety about becoming a mother and whether or not I was ready...but once we heard our little one's heart beat for the first time I was absolutely and totally overjoyed. I didn't expect to feel so strongly about the heartbeat, but it was so magical and surreal. Anyway, although I'm totally not ready (the nursery is a wreck, I have NO idea how to change a diaper, I can't even imagine how little sleep we're going to get) I'm also totally, one-million percent, knee-deep in excitement and joy for his arrival here in the real world.

in other news, at this point I'm ENORMOUS, y'all. I look like there's a beach ball under my top. In fact, the doctor said (and I quote) "my goodness! you definitely should have pushed back a bit sooner from the Thanksgiving table!" and I thought, "you should have kept your mouth shut if you don't want me to punch you in the face." if you don't believe me about my new look, check out the photo below taken only 2 weeks ago...

Truly, although it's so crazy that we'll be parents, Boone and I are over the moon about all of this and've been working nonstop to get everything ready in the new place for our little guy. I'd promise to be better about posting here, but with a new little one, I'm just not sure how that's going to go. Wish us luck and look for the Christmas card soon! (and maybe some other fun updates depending on what life throws at me)

Smooches.

Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair...

TWO big wishes getting fulfilled to report! Right this minute I'm on my way to San Francisco to visit a favorite friend and to meet her new little one! I'm most excited to meet this new little girl, give my lovely lady friend & her honey a giant hug, and maybe eat as much dim sum as my stomach will hold. It's a busy time of year... Conferences, welcoming new teachers moving to Mississippi, other work- related things... And on top if it all, we're in the process of buying our first home! with all this, it was hard to leave the Delta, but i guess San Francisco for work AND to meet a new baby isn't a bad place to spend a week in the middle of the summer. 

Boone and I are more than pretty excited about the house buying though... A realtor said that we had "been so incredibly thorough" when we looked at maybe the only 8 homes for sale in the part of the Delta that we wanted to live in at least twice each. When he said that I was a little bent out of shape at first... I mean, who doesn't exhaust all the possible options when they're making such a HUGE decision?? I guess I just wanted things to feel just right, you know? Like the stars aligning and the heavens opening up and a light shining down on the one. 

Ultimately though, we went with the one with no central A/C (yet), green formica in the kitchen, and tiny closets...but also the one that made the most sense financially, location-wise and had the most beautiful hardwood floors, crazy-high ceilings, and natural light. Not perfect, but pretty. Darn. Great.

But when I think about it, I've been sort of feeling the same way about babies. I mean, starting a family is such a big decision. And recently I've gone through about a zillion different scenarios in my head about what kinds of things change when you have a kid, and I keep coming up with giant question marks about whether or not I'm ready. But then, a baby is different than a house. I've rarely heard of buyer's remorse when it comes to a little one... And from what my friends tell me, most mothers seem to feel like the heavens DO open up and a light shines down when they finally get to hold their baby in their arms. Unfortunately, that only happens a good 9 months after you commit to the whole motherhood and fatherhood thing. if only it felt that way BEFORE...

After the new house, I'm not sure what other big changes might be in store for us over the next few years, but I think that  we're going to be ready for whatever those might be. I think. It sure would help if the heavens opened up sooner rather than later, though.

she's making a list (part deux)

my list got longer before it got shorter, but the good news is that i'm on the downhill slope as we countdown to hosting our VERY FIRST big holiday.

design and order Christmas cards
get a tree
wrap presents
laundry
make stockings
make + deliver peanut butter balls
buy gifts for the work secret santa
mail Brett's family their gifts
decorate tree
CLEAN everything 
  - sweep
   - mop
  - vacuum
   - dust
  - clean out toilets and bathtubs

  - scrub the kitchen

  - laundry 

create arrangements for bookcases
plan menu for Christmas morning + Thursday night
  - grocery shop
  - make cheese grits

  - make spinach cassarole

  - marinate venison

get a new outfit for cocktail party/nye
finalize boone's present
finish wrapping gifts
address and mail Christmas cards

honestly, with all of this getting ready i've not really taken time to prepare myself for the spiritual side of this beautiful, joyful season. how are you preparations coming?

a tree house for grown ups!

oh my...

did you see the NYT article "A treehouse grows in Brooklyn" yesterday? FIrst of all, I wrote my college essays about the book... what a classic. And secondly, if you didn't read the article....you MUST. right now. for $400 and lots of scavenging,  this burgeoning interior designer created the MOST PERFECT hideaway complete with oriental rugs, french doors, and a rocking chair. 

also, since last week's Modern Family (the treehouse episode") I've been thinking about how it would be SO MUCH FUN to have a special outdoor spot for reading, drinking wine, and pretending to be a kid...but I guess that's what a screened in porch is for. what kind of hideaway would you want to build?

you say tomato and I say delicious.

a few weeks ago we planted our very first vegtable garden with eggplant, zuccini, squash, corn, beets, and green peppers (about the same size as the one below). everything but the peppers came from seeds...  let me tell you....i've been just like a new mother to my little bitty plants, babying them and handwringing about the sun and their little roots.

I hadn't realized how proud i'd feel about our little garden and how excited i'd get when i saw that little plants were actually growing out there! with actual leaves and stems! and they look healthy! or how much fun i'd have getting my hands all dirty. crazy. maybe i have something in common with our founding fathers.;)

around the same time we planted the other vegetables, we planted some tomato seeds inside the house in little containters... i've been EXTRA-nurturey of those little guys. probably because they're not your run-of-the-mill lowe's or walmart tomatoes. no sir....we planted heirloom tomatoes. (find more out here.)

 After last summer's oxford and taylor farmers' market experiences i wanted more, but i was pretty sure the delta wouldn't be an easy place to find more...purple, bumpy, bright yellow or striped, the novelty wasn't lost on me. then i read about buying seeds in martha, found some locally, and the rest is history.

so far they're only teeny little green plants with two leaves at the top, but soon they'll be big enough to plant in the garden and we'll have extra special, homegrown tomatoes all summer long. i can hardly stand it, so i started looking up pictures of my future fruit...

if you come visit i'll share them with you!

photos from thekitchn, tomatofest, and slowfoodreno.

romantic (and historic) getaway...

my mom brought an old martha stewart mag last week when she came to visit and there were these great photos from historic deerfield, ma. it's apparently this incredibly old community (several houses are from the early 1700s!) after seeing them and doing a little more research about fun things to do, i'm dying to visit. the  homes are soooo beautiful...

and the doors to the houses are amazing...they're almost the best part! can't you imagine nathaniel hawthorne walking out of one of these and strolling down the street?

find more here.

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..

and the winner is...

The winning number* is 5! congratulations to mary (masweet)! email me your mailing address at wilsonec@gmail.com!

thanks everyone for commenting!

*i used the random number generator...sorry that i can't make printscreen work to show you. ;)

you can't go home again?

last month's halloween mix give-away was so fun that i think wishfulfillment needs to make it a more frequent happening.

since thanksgiving makes me think of heading down the highway to see my parents, snuggle in my childhood bed, and eat perfect, warm, comforting food, i thought a mix about going home would really get me in the mood for one of my fave holidays.

so...are you in? leave a comment by tuesday, november 15 with a song that reminds YOU of going home. I'll choose the winner by drawing a random number and will post them here on wednesday the 16th!

it's true....

so,  i mentioned that i've been super into sexy vampire books recently...is this incredibly mortifying for me? yes. did it stop me from proclaiming it on the interweb? no.

what i didn't mention was that the sexy vampire tv show, trueblood is what got me into the sexy vampire books on which the show is based. sure, i have to close my eyes at the really raunchy parts and the awful southern accents make me cringe but for some reason i just CAN'T get enough of this show. this isn't the first awful tv show i've fallen head-over-heels for. one february it was smallville, then gilmore girls, then it was NCIS. now, trueblood. anyway, since stores have started selling halloween costumes and trick-or-treat bags i thought i'd share some set photos from my fave new guilty pleasure  because i really love the way the sets look AND because trueblood is really addictive. don't take my word for it...rent the DVDs and see for yourself. and lust after the sets...or just lust. whatev.

bill's house

inside bill's house (so fab, right?)

sookie's kitchen..i love the light!

the vampire bar. too much blood red? nah.

backyard inspiration...

now that we have an honest-to-goodness yard boone and i have been talking about how to make it a good looking, really fun place to be. to do this, we've done some backwards planning and identified some next steps to get there. Here they are:

Step 1: get ready to entertain
how fabulous would this look in my backyard filled with ice and beer? i'll tell you---- so fabulous. should it really be step 1? maybe not, but i can dream.

 

Step 2: get a dog and a place to keep said dog

so, (don't tell my dad) there are four stray dogs that are living near the preK classrooms at a school i visit. these dogs are PERFECT...so sweet, just the right size, good looking AND they need a home really badly. boone and i are thinking about bringing one or two of them home to live with us in the backyard..which means we need a goodlooking dog pen/dog house.

Step 3: set up the hammocks.
do you need more information about this?

Step 4: Decorate

um..we've actually already accomplished step 4. maybe that's backwards, but michelle and michael gave us this WONDERFUL birdhouse when we got married and I'd been dying to hang it up. PLUS we had a bottle tree stand we 

 needed to utilize and some deep windchimes.

images from AT, google and a random blog(our birdhouse and bottletree and the dog we're going to get LOOK like these, but these aren't ACTUALLY ours)

a night in...

boone's out of town for the WHOLE next week, which means i've got NOTHING but time (nothing but time, a professional saturday, and a whole real lot of work to do.) i'd go out with the girls tonight, but it's been a rough week and i'm scheduled to celebrate a friends' birthday at a martini bar tomorrow night (whooo hooo!)

instead, i think i'm going to take a loooong hot bath, have a glass of wine, and read a sexy vampire book (which i could do all at the same time if i had this nifty gadget.)

what would YOU do if you were home alone on a friday night?

image from a.t.

mapping it out...

 so, this weekend went over to oxford for the football game and some tailgating...which was incredibly fun. we ate delicious food, danced at a piano bar with friends, drank just enough to feel fantastic, and even hit up the bookstore on our way out of town. i made a pit stop before we hit the road in off-square books, and noticed THESE fantastic gems inside and outside of the loo...
































which made me want a vintage pull down map for our house, like whoa. turns out, this isn't only MY idea...see how cool they look in an office or living room??

 

images from me, here, here, here, and here . Find your own vintage maps at etsy or on ebay!