Tacky Sweaters

Last weekend, we went to a tacky sweater/cookie exchange/ white elephant party. We came home with tons of cookies and candy, an awesome Santa cookie jar, Christmas socks, and a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone candle. Here we are in our tacky sweaters!

Christmastime

Our house was transformed the weekend of Thanksgiving. We had a couple of items break this year. The first was a very old plate that my mom gave me. Apparently, I had put it in the tree skirt last year so it would be safe in storage. Well, when I pulled out the tree skirt this year, I had obviously forgotten the plate was in there. It shattered all over the floor and there were lots of tears because that plate was very old and I loved it. Maybe I can find another one online somewhere. Also, I had a Mickey and Minnie snow globe that was destroyed during a cat and dog chase. I guess that's how it is when you have animals in the house. Here's a few pics of the decor around our house. I forgot to take a picture of the kitchen table. We have a small sled in the middle of the table with miniature presents in it. Of course, there are always some presents missing because Oliver and Little Bit love to get them out and bat them around the house. Oliver also loves to steal the cloth napkins from the table and put them in his water bowl. We call him the scientist since he loves to do experiments with stuff in his water.

Our tree...

The hearth...We put all of the Christmas cards we receive on it so it is filled by Christmas! The halltree...

And presenting, the AWESOME, Rhythm & Shoes Christmas tree!

Tomorrow night, Brook and I are going to make cookies & candy. He's going to make his Grandma's famous Golf Balls and I'm going to attempt to make my Grandma's famous English Toffee. Last Sunday, we went to Brook's parents' house and I got to help make some golf balls for the first time. I hope we do this every year and make it a family tradition. I'm sure our Grandmas would be proud. I still need to learn how to make my Grandma's chocolate peppermint sticks, fudge, and peanut brittle.

We've been watching Christmas movies since Thanksgiving and I think we've watched almost of them at least once. My absolute favorite is It's a Wonderful Life.

Vito pics

Brook and I decided we needed someone to drive us around town

Vito loves the fall. It gives him the chance to hang out on the leaves on the deck.

He eventually got used to his jester outfit on Halloween.

Three Years Ago...

Brook and I were married three years ago on a beautiful fall day. We've had many adventures and I look forward to many more. I also look forward to eating pumpkin spice cake this weekend. I love you so much, Brook! On top of the needle in Seattle
Honeymoon in Estes Park, CO
Totally rad 80s party--just thought I'd throw this pic in the mix

Creepy House

Around this time of year, our house becomes very creepy. At night, it is even scarier because Brook has blue lights shining on everything. He got the idea from the Haunted Mansion in Disneyworld! Pretty soon, the inside of our house will be just as creepy.

The heads....they kind of freak me out

The Big Easy

Brook and I took a trip to New Orleans last weekend. We stayed with his Uncle Al and his partner, Mark. They took us to an extremely fancy French restaurant called Lilette. Brook had this dessert--the name of it, I can't remember. It was phenomenal!!! It was some kind of custard with some sort of caramel stuff. My description is pitiful, I know. We also got to see some beautiful houses on St. Charles Ave. Hopefully, we'll make it down there again for New Years! Thanks, Al and Mark, for your hospitality! Here are a few pictures...

There were tons of houses like these along Lake Pontchartrain. It kind of scared me a little. View from Tropical Isle balcony on Bourbon Street. We were at the slow end of the street. We saw some crazy things, although I guess they actually wouldn't be considered crazy in New Orleans. Just regular, everyday Bourbon St. stuff! I managed to get a ton of beads. All I had to do was wave and people would throw them to me!

Chargrilled oysters at Acme Oyster House. We ate here for dinner two nights in a row because we knew it would be a long time before we could get fresh oysters again. They are the best oysters I've ever eaten!!!

Here we are on a swamp tour. We got to see a big alligator named Brutus. He liked marshmallows. Our tour guide loved to tell stories. We think he embellished all of them. One quote from him, "That's the furry wolf spider guys- the only fish eatin spider in the world." He said guys at least 50 times and we were out there for a good two hours.

We had some beignets and cafe au lait here!

Al and Mark's house on Esplanade Ave.

Another Movie Recommendation

After the Razorback game and more SEC football, we watched The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. We had both already seen it once, but it had been awhile. We forgot what an awesome movie it is. Casey Affleck and Brad Bitt are both very convincing. Affleck received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The cinematography is extremely unique. I love a nice movie score and this one is particularly beautiful. It is even, perhaps, haunting at times. The composers are Nick Cave and Warren Ellis for those of you who love movie scores. A quote from wikipedia says "This film is considered as one of the most historically accurate portrayals of Jesse James and Robert Ford, even by James' descendants, who found both performances more realistic and true to history than dozens before them." Check it out if you haven't seen it!

Movie Night

We watched Apocalypse Now the other night. Wow. I understand a bit more about Vietnam veterans and what they went through, even though this was just a movie. Two of Brook's uncles were in Vietnam. If you haven't seen it, I recommend you watch it.

Carbing Up

Last night, Brook and I enjoyed our dinner outside on the deck. Anyhow, when I brought our dishes inside, I discovered this...

Apparently, Oliver decided he needed to carb up. We really can't leave anything out or it gets eaten by the animals. Last week, Vito ate two of Brook's b-day cupcakes. On a sad note, Freddy left yesterday. I literally started crying right when the door shut. I was so upset. Upset for Vito and upset because I kind of got used to the little guy.

Finally, we can relax!

What a feeling it is to know that we did a very big project ourselves. Of course, we had help from family and friends!! We decided to build a deck. We built a deck during the hottest time of the year- to boot. After many weekends of hard work, sweat, and some minor injuries, we're finished. Now we can enjoy it for many years to come.

The eating area...Notice the lights hanging above Grilling area...

The Loveseat...

Our sitting area- I still need to paint the chairs.

Our house guest

Here a few pics of our house guest. His name is Freddy and Vito loves him! Maybe a bit too much. I think Freddy is getting a bit tired of Vito following him around and trying to box him. Little Bit is terrified of Freddy. He's been hiding under the bed. This is the cat that parades around in front of Vito. Very strange...

We're finished! Well, almost...

Every single board is down and screwed into the joists. The railings are up. The only big part that remains is the stairs. Brook has already hung the lights in the trees. I'll try to get a picture of those soon. We still have to powerwash and stain. We won't be able to stain until sometime next month when the temperatures drop a little. I also need to paint the chairs. Other than that, we're done! As you can see, Vito is very pleased that he doesn't have to jump over boards anymore.

Deck Accessories

I found this bright green lantern on clearance at Pier 1 a couple of weeks ago. One of the glass panes is missing, so they had it marked way down! :o) I found some adirondack furniture on craigslist for super cheap. I'm working on painting everything. I decided to paint the tables bright colors. I decided on white for the chairs and loveseat. All of it reminds me of my aunt's beach house in Hilton Head, SC.

Deck Progress

Slowly, but surely, the deck is coming along!