2012 is going to be a great year!

How do I know this you ask? Because I am still in my "life is full of possiblities" high from New Years Eve, but I can tell you that I really do belive this year will be my best yet.

Reason why this year is going to be awesome #1: Mr. A and I will be buying a house this year!

We are meeting with a mortgage broker next week to get pre-approved. We have asked our good friend Molly to be our Realtor. We went and looked at some houses from the street and picked out some neighborhoods we love on New Years day with the family. I just can't wait to get started on the hunt. I am so over apartment living.

We are going to be looking in the 78757 area of Austin, as well as south west and north west Austin. Milwood has been surprising to us and we have already found a house we love in the neighborhood. Oh boy! 

Reason #2: Many babies to be born... Not ours (yet)!

We have been blessed with a Niece and two Nephews and being and Aunt and Uncle is so much fun. This year is the first year our FRIENDS are having little ones and it is going to be awesome. Kelly, is due in March and Sarah (our great friend from Philadelphia) is due at the end of this month!!!! So much fun. We have several other friends pregnant as well. It is just going to a baby-full year! Can't wait for this new transition in all of our lives. Should be interesting.

Reason #3: Travel

Mr. A and I are planning trips to Philadelphia, and Alaska this year. We can't wait to visit friends and family and get out of Austin for a bit. This of course is all contingent on the home buying process.

Reason #4: We are debt free!

This year Mr. A and I are totally debt free. We only have my student loans to repay and I don't count those because they ultimately make me money as well. It is a great feeling to not worry about credit cards, car payments and everything else.

Reason #5: See reason #1!!!!!

WE ARE BUYING A HOUSE!!!!!!!! OMG! I can't wait.

Happy New Year to you all! Here is to a great year and a lot of fun!

What Kate Wore - Canada Day Edition

As we all know it's Canada Day, MUCH more important then our little holiday we have coming up this weekend. Why is it more important you ask? Because Kate's outfit for Canada Day was effing amazing! If Kate thinks it is important then it is dammit. (What is Canada Day again?)

 Can you stand it?


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I can't even deal with how much I love this hat! He whole outfit is an ode to the Canadian flag, and if you did not already love Kate now you will for sure. She wore this same dress already in her engagement pictures! How cool is that? She could have any outfit or dress in the world and she chose to just re-wear a totally cute dress she had already!

I love you Kate...

Happy Canada Day everyone!

Random Acts of Kindness

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I am going to start my annual holiday mission of completing some random acts of kindness. I like to make people smile, it makes me feel good, which in turn is not really selfless, but hey, I am trying. So I do small things like buy a random person at Starbucks their coffee. I hope others pay it forward in some way after they get their special thing. I like to think I am living in my own personal "Pay It Forward" movie. 

Anyway, I suggest you all try this this holiday season. Times are tough for a lot of us out there right now and if everyone was just a bit nicer to each other than we could all have just a little bit better holiday! 

My Christmas Wishlist - Just shoes for me please!

I was very lucky to get almost everything a girl could which for for her home for our wedding this year. This is a great thing but it also makes it very hard to come up with a non-ridiculous wish list for my family this year. (God I sound like bitch. Oh poor girl who has everything, boo freaking who.) 

Well turns out what I do need is lots of shoes. I have have been battling this annoying nerve in my foot for over a year now and I am going to finally have it taken out. YEA!!! But that means that I now can't wear almost 3/4 of my shoes. So I have asked for shoes and clothing for Christmas this year. 

Behold my dream shoes: 

Steve Madden Intyce 

They are simple and stylish without being too trendy. I am hoping to get these bad boys or some sort of equestrian boot to jazz up my "flats only" shoe needs. 

From Zappos - Clarks Pump in Pewter 

I feel these bad boys as much as they are plain in style will be a comfortable but cute option for work. I now have to have rummer soles on all my shoes so I am very limited on what I can wear. Annoying! 

From Zappos - Ugg Classic Cardy Boot 

A few years back my friend Janet got these. I have been envious of them since. I need a pair of throw on shoes other than freaking sneakers for the weekends. I am hoping these will be just the shoe for that! 

From Anthropologie - Crinkled Corona Mary-Jane's

Let's face it I am never going to get these shoes. But I love them. I want them and I think my feet would look fabulous in them. 

I have also wished for some new slippers with my new initial on them. I need rubber sole house shoes, because walking on carpet even irritates my foot. Awesome times. 

I hope you guys get lots of great and fun gifts for this holiday! 

Christmas time is almost here!

And I am just started to plan out our holidays for this year! (That rhymed I know!) Anyway, one thing I am always on top of is getting our holiday cards out. Mr. A and I have not done an official holiday card together as a family so I am especially happy about it this year. The pressure is on to make sure they look just right. Plus now that we are married we have to send them to both sides of the family and that means I have to send them to both sides of the family! I have been looking into our options and have decided that Shutterfly is the way to go! I have used Shutterfly before to make our fabulous guest book, and I have ordered holiday cards for my boss before with them. I know they come out so cute and fun! I have decided that custom made holiday cards (made by me of course) are just out of the realm of possibility this year. We have so much going on and this website takes out all the guesswork! They have so many great options for us and we love all of their products so this is a great alternative to the time consuming project it normally is.

I am totally loving their Christmas Cards, this one is a great possibility because I can use lots of pictures from the year (including some from the wedding of course) but still have our sentiment come through.

We do have many friends and family who don't celebrate Christmas though, so maybe a more generic holiday card would work best? 

And I love that I can spend some time Christmas shopping on their site too. They have really cute photo books and calendars, which are always a big hit with the family. 

I was thinking we could put together one for each set of parents as a gift. I know they would love to get something so personal.

I am so looking forward to working on this fun project this weekend! 

Attention all bloggers: Did you know you can earn 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly? If you post about their products and services on your bog you can get this free gift! It only takes a minute and the free cards are a great deal. Newlyweds budgets are tight and this is a big help this holiday season! So get started today! 

NYE 2009: A Night I Forgot

NYE was fun this year. I was lucky enough to spend it with some great friends. We went to a Vickers and Tarts Party with a big group of our friends. It is usually a great crowd, and the night included a shot block and a confessional with video to record your sins, of which I am pretty sure I made out with WF on camera for all of our friends to see.

I did end up drinking to much champagne and put my self to bed in their guest bedroom. FAIL. All in all I would give the night a B. I wish I had not drank so much and I wish I could remember more of what happened. Fortunately they recorded a lot of the party so I am sure I will be embarrassed of myself at a later date.

Where we are going, we wont need roads...

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As we get closer to the new year I am looking back at all that has gone on in the past decade and all the ways the world has changed. I remember in junior high reading about flying cars and all the things that would be different by the time I graduated college. HA! Flying cars, the FAA would love that! I remember in politics classes talking about how America was not ready to have a black president. That was only 5 years ago. Times have changed.

So with that I started to think what has happened to me in the last 10 years. I can't believe how much has changed in my life! I would like to take a moment to go over some of the highlights:

- I graduated high school, YEA HIGH SCHOOL
- I lived on my own in college in Philadelphia, where I knew no one
- Studied in Rome for a semester and traveled Europe
- I got my first apartment in Rittenhouse Square and was so "Sex and the City"
- Worked at City Hall in Philadelphia, for the now Mayor
- Graduated from college
- I decided after a drunken talk with my sister and brother in law that I should love to Texas, and did so
- I drove cross country with my mom in my 1995 two door jeep, so much fun
- I got my first job out of college
- Bought my first car, yea Saturn! 
- I found my first love, Harry, at the SPCA and have been obsessed with him since
- I got fired from what I thought was my dream job, but ended up much better off
- I met the man of my dreams
- Got engaged
- Became and Aunt two times over
- And am generally much happier than I ever could have imagined!

All in all I am blown away with all that has happened in the last 10 years. I just can't imagine how I got so lucky to have such great people in my life. I don't know what possessed me to move to Austin when I did not have a job or anyone other than my sister. I don't know if I could do it again honestly. I love my life here and I know with my fiance at my side I could do anything. But all alone and no job? WHAT WAS I THINKING!? Guess I knew good things would come.

Other food for thought as we go into the new year, where do you think you will be in another 10 years? What do you think the world will be like. That thought blows my mind. Honestly though, I know I have so much more to offer this world and the next ten years will be great!

***I am a little sad, I lost a follower today. Am I sucking at this blog thing? 

I live in santa's workshop...

We got most of our Christmas decorating done this weekend. WF's family was in town and insisted they buy us a good grown up tree. So here is what we bought this is pre decorating:

We then laid out all of my nutcrackers and all of our other decorations here is one shot of the mantle. I have over 50 nutcrackers, thought I should spare you pictures of all of them:

 And here are some shots of us decorating our first tree together:

WF has decorated the outside porch and the windows. I will get you pictures of that soon! This really is my favorite time of year. Everything is about family, faith and togetherness. I love lots of cookies and hot coco. What are your favorite treats? Do any of you like Christmas time as much as me?

Tonight Kelly and Janet are coming over for dinner. Janet's birthday was this weekend so we are going to toast her and catch up. After all this lovey dovey family stuff I need some good old girl time. 

One Heck of a Thanksgiving

I know you all have been waiting anxiously for my Thanksgiving update. So without further ado I give you my Thanksgiving...

The day started off with cooking some corn bread and a sour cream coffee cake for breakfast. We then moved on to the pies, crusts made from scratch. Then creamed onions, mashed sweet potatoes and carrots. We bought the turkey pre-cooked, and it was super yummy. Took about an hour to reheat and it was so much less stress on me to cook the turkey. We then set the table and laid out my handmade place cards made from cloves and oranges. It was a lot of fun to see everything come together. My mother in law was so helpful and really took great care to make sure everything came out really well. WF's poppy snacked and talked with me while I cooked. All in all it was just the best way to cook my first holiday dinner.

Here is the day in photos as I am not going to be able to full go into detail of everything.

The table before dinner...

Place setting before dinner...

 The centerpiece with leaves from Crate and Barrel

Wonderful Fiance and our first turkey!

Cutting the turkey...

Dinner waiting for us...

My yummy honey cornbread muffins...

I cant wait to cook my next Thanksgiving dinner! I already have other ideas and want to try new things. I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday with your family. Next up Christmas decorating!

Get ready!

I am about to blow your minds with all of my holiday updates and pictures. I have been pretty busy today and will be busy tomorrow at work. So in case you were sitting on the edge of your seats waiting for an update you will get it soon!

Everything went so well. The table was perfect, the dinner was yummy, my pre-cooked turkey was juicy, and we had so much fun with my future mother in law and WF grandpa! What a special time of year.

I will show you lots of pictures and give you the full run down in just a bit!

My Week in Cleaning

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As I look at my calendar of the next two weeks I get chest palpitations thinking about all the stuff I have to do. As a way to help with stress I break down my week by days and hours and plan out everything I have to do to prep for all that is going on. So that this post is not too overwhelming I will only tell you about this week. Take note and let me know if you like any of my ideas. I know I am anal but maybe I am helpful too!

Cleaning the house:
I plan the cleaning of my house by least used to most because chances of stuff getting messed up over five days in my guest room are much lower than in one hour in my living room. So this why I break things down as follows.

MONDAY - Clean guest room. Wash sheets, fluff pillows, vacuum, wash curtains, dust, clean spot in closet for guests stuff, put away any random stuff that is out.
                   - Clean laundry room. I recently bought a gift wrap organizer to help keep track of what I already have throughout the holidays. You can buy these at container store. They cost like 20 to 30 bucks and are totally worth it. I will be cleaning the tops of the washing machine and dryer, dusting anything and reorganizing shelving.
TUESDAY - Clean dining room. I will be putting together the table and decor for the dining room. Dusting bookshelves and light fixtures. Vacuuming and dusting the window treatments. Washing windows.
                   - Figure out layout for buffet for WF's birthday party and lay out all serving trays.
WEDNESDAY - Clean guest bathroom and kitchen. Deep clean oven and microwave, clean out pantry and check list off of anything I need for party and Thanksgiving. Cleaning out fridge and freezer, make sure nothing is old and outdated. Organize cabinets and make sure all serving items are prepped for Thanksgiving.
THURSDAY - Clean master bedroom and bathroom. Wash sheets, dust, wash window treatments, clean floors and vacuum, clean toilet and vanity, empty garbage and replace toiletries. Prep both bathrooms for guests adding extra toilet paper, hand towels and soap.
                      - Clean living room. Dust and vacuum and put out linens for party.
FRIDAY - Wipe down kitchen and cook for party. Party starts at 730 so I will be prepping pizzas and appetizers right after work and then have them in the oven when guests get there. Will be putting out pitcher of water and bowl of beer and drinks. Napkins and paper plates will be put out at this time as well. I am also going to be baking cupcakes one of the nights and refrigerating them to make a cupcake bar for WF. I think it is a fun activity. I will be putting it out like a buffet. I will provide pictures for you all to check out.

Saturday I am going to be cleaning from the party and changing out decor for Thanksgiving. Also doing laundry and prepping house for guests. More on that next week. Sunday are the e-pics! Super excited.

GOD I am seriously obsessive aren't I?

Thanksgiving Menu!!

OK ladies (cus let's face it no boy's read this) I am proud to present my first attempt at a Thanksgiving menu. I researched many of my cookbooks and websites. I love "Real Simple" and I got several great ideas for side dishes there as well. Above is a picture of my end table with all of the different books and recipe cards I went though last night. (notice that none of the following is from the WW book, hey I tried) So here you go:

Breakfast (for watching the parade and after the Turkey Trot)
Sour Cream Coffee Cake - My family recipe, best in the world. VERY Yankee traditional cake.

Dinner/Lunch
Hearts of Romain with walnuts and Parmesan - Real Simple
Cornbread muffins with homemade spiced pumpkin butter - combination of a few recipes
Mashed sweet potatoes (covered in marshmallows) YUM - Joy of Cooking
Creamed Onions - My future mother in law's recipe and Joy of Cooking
Glazed Carrots - My mom's family recipe  and in Joy of Cooking
Turkey or Ham - I am buying it pre-made. I don't think my oven would cook it right, I know I cheat.

Desert
Cinnamon Coffee in French Press
Bourbon Pecan Pie - Real Simple
Pumpkin Pie - Homemade by my future mother in law.

So what are your thoughts? I am super excited. I know it is a lot of food for a smaller group. I am going to half both the creamed onions and the mashed sweet potatoes. I just cant have Thanksgiving without either of them. Now I am going to work on finding ways to make them just a little bit healthier. Ugh...

And just in case you read my blog about grocery shopping and you questioned weather I actually am THAT anal. Here is the front of my fridge:

Notice both the shopping list and my menu. I also have coupons cut and the Target add up there for my next trip. (I will not spend crap loads of money next time!) Psychotic Impressive I know.

So It Begins

Last night as I was baking brownies for our semi weekly dinner with the girls with Kelly and Janet I decided to start to plan out my table layout for Thanksgiving. I am hosting the holiday at my house for the first time. I am super nervous about hosting. I have never made Thanksgiving dinner and I feel a bit ill equipped. BUT I am going to do my best to blow my guests minds with my home making skills and creative genius in the kitchen. Fiance's mom and grandpa are coming so I have to keep it pretty formal and I would like to make it a really special evening.

So first things first, the table. I don't have any new and fancy stuff for the table yet so I am trying to work with what we have and buy things sparingly. I was originally thinking I would just use my regular white dishes and then buy chargers or something. Then WF suggested we use the china I inherited from my grandma, great idea! So after some confusion about what dish was what I finally laid it all out. What do you guys think? The silverware we inherited from Fiance's mom. I thought she would get a kick out of us using it. I am planning on buying a tablecloth and then using a runner.

Just for a better look at the pattern I took a picture up close: 

I know the pattern is not really holiday like, but I still love it. Don't you?

Just cause my dog is so cute, he was helping. 

This is fiance and Harry staying out of my way as I plan. Just had to put that up! 

Some addional inspiration for my thanksgiving table. I am thinking warm, rustic, organic, family.

 

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More ideas and planning to come. Next is menu and centerpices. Oh BOY!

Amazing Halloween Pumpkin Carving Skills

I must start off by telling you all the WF and I have been known to get just a little crazy about holidays. In the next few months I will be posting our decorations for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We both love to decorate our house and this year will be the first time we get to do the our house together! Whooo WHO!

Last night we attempted to carve a pumpkin. I say attempted because when we went to the store to buy said pumpkin there were like three left and all of them were deformed AND they were out of the carving kits so we had no tools to help us out. So we when free style with our somewhat deformed pumpkin. I think we did a pretty good job. Here is the result:

I know you are totally blown away! Anyway, here are some other features of our Halloween decorations in the house. Remember this year we held back because of all the stuff that has recently went down in our lives. This is a reserved house for us:

This is our balcony, you cant tel but it looks awesome with our pumpkins!

This is our skeleton on our end table. It is complete with smoke effects!

Hanging on the door when you walk into the house is this scary guy!

This is us last night trying to take a picture of us with our pumpkin. You get the idea!

WF and I are taking my niece trick or treating this weekend, I am super excited. I will be dressing up like a pirate. We are also handing out candy too! I am pumped! I hope you guys have fun this weekend. Remember to be safe and don't eat any opened or shady candy! That's solid advice from this Yankee!