Happy Turkey Day, everybody! I am thankful for each and every one of you...my freaders. (Friends + Readers = Freaders. Get it?)
Hope you're all having a fantastic holiday. Be sure to gobble 'til you wobble!
Christmas Wish List
Before we get started with this post, have you placed your guess for the Turtleneck Challenge? I can see that lots of you have viewed it, but there are only a handful of comments. Tsk, tsk. Head on over and enter your guess! If you've been around me lately, you know that I'm firm believer in waiting til after Thanksgiving to start decorating for Christmas (or listening to Christmas music or pretty much doing any thing Christmasy). Is it just me or is everyone decorating for Christmas earlier and earlier every year? Geez - can't we celebrate Thanksgiving first!?!? It's a real holiday too, you know. And a dang good one, at that.
Now, I might contradict myself a little bit here, because while I think you should wait until after Turkey Day to start decorating and whatnot, I absolutely think it's never too early to start shopping for Christmas gifts. Just stash them out of sight when you buy them. Plus, I love buying the perfect gifts for my recipients, so as soon as I see it, I snatch it up!
But, with as much as I love to shop, there's one day of the year that you could not pay me enough to get out and hit the malls: Black Friday. I would rather pay full price for everything on my shopping list than have to fight the crowds and stand in lines. It's just not worth it to me. However, I have a feeling that some of you may not share my dislike for Black Friday and will be venturing out to get some really good deals. With that in mind, today I'm here to make Black Friday shopping easier for you by taking out the guesswork of the best gifts to buy...for me.
Here's a list of my WANTS. None of these are NEEDS. I don't need anything this holiday season, except for all of you to stay healthy and happy. Without further ado, I present...
Lucy's 2010 Christmas Wish List
First up, this super cute rubber vase. Available in a variety of fun colors.
Check it out - when it's not being used to hold flowers, you can fold the top down and turn it into a little bowl. Multifunctional!
The brand is Menu. Google it; it's available from several different websites, in sizes small or large.
Next up, a cute new case for my iPhone. Maybe something like this colorful Johnathan Adler one.
Or ooooh, one of these. They have a flashlight built in. Neat!
As much time as I spend in the woodshop, I should probably just get one of these that are made out of wood.
But I also kinda like this old school cassette tape cover, complete with cassette case to use as a stand.
All of these iPhone covers were found through Google Images. I have no idea where to buy any of them.
I would really like to have a new Fossil purse. Really, any new purse would be great since I'm still carrying around my lime green summer one, but I'm a little partial to the Fossil ones. They're so cute and so comfortable to wear. They may cost a little bit more, but they definitely hold up for multiple seasons.
Really like this bird one, and it could carry over into spring, too.
Same purse, different color. Cute, but maybe too fallish?
The practical side of me says maybe I should just for a solid color. But where's the fun in that?
Purse images from Fossil.com.
I have a very nice Northface jacket that is great in cold, rainy weather. The only problem is that when I wear it to work, I feel like it doesn't really go with my business casual attire. It kinda makes me look like I'm going hiking straight from work or something. Maybe I should get a new raincoat? Something more plain-ish, that could be dressed up or down.
This one's from Lands End. I didn't really know where to look for a cute raincoat.
A hood is required.
Lately, I've really been wanting a pair of cowboy boots. I'm not sure how much I'll actually wear them, but I think they could be so cute! (I think Doc should have some cowboy boots too. Maybe if we ever live on a farm...)
I'm loving this vintage pair from Fossil!
They might be pricey, but don't cowboy boots hold up forever?
My mom got a new catalog in the mail this past week - Red Envelope. Have you heard of it? I hadn't. But after flipping through it, I think I could like it. And I think I need want this collage of frames (found on their website). (My mom may have dibs on this gift.)
I already know exactly where it will go - in the hall by our half bath downstairs. Super cute!
Here's something I go back and forth on: and e-reader. Maybe some of you can weigh in and tell me if I really want one or not. At first I was thinking I wanted one of Amazon's Kindles.
But I've also heard that Barnes and Noble's Nook is pretty good, too.
Hmmm...do I really want one of those? In my head I think I'd read more if it was so portable. I could throw it in my purse and read anywhere - waiting rooms, drive-through lines, you name it! But is it a hassle to download books? And how much do they cost? Or can you get them for free? I'm not very good at downloading music for my iPod, so I feel like this could end up the same way. (Images from Google.)
I've enjoyed the sewing projects from this past fall, but the part I don't like is all the measuring and pre-cutting before you can sew. I'm pretty sure if I had a quilting ruler, a rotary cutter, and a cutting mat, I'd enjoy that part a lot more. Right?
I found all three of these on JoAnn's website.
For our family pictures, I borrowed Beth's tripod. And then I broke it. I have since purchased another one for her and am currently borrowing it again for my turtleneck pictures. I feel like maybe it's time for me to have a tripod of my own. Yes?
Image from Google.
My sister-in-law already has all of her shopping done, so these last two may already be waiting to go under a tree for me. Who knows? She did ask me what I wanted and these are what I told her, so I guess I'll just have to wait and see. First, a new lunchbox, since the one I received as a wedding gift is missing.
And from the same website (builtny.com), a sleeve for my laptop. I always just carry my laptop as is since I don't have a case, so this would be great to have!
Well, shoot. Now I've gone and gotten myself excited about Christmas presents. I've got to start thinking about turkey so I can get back in the Thanksgiving spirit. Turkey, turkey, turkey. Just one more day, y'all!
I Heart Turtlenecks
About two weeks ago I decided it was finally time to give in to the cold weather and put away my sandals and capris. Out came the sweaters and boots and scarves. Every time I do a closet switcheroo, I like to also do a little purging. This go-round, I did a LOT of purging. And a couple of my friends benefitted from it. But all that's not the point of this post. The point? I have a lot of turtlenecks. So many so that Doc called me out on it when I was going through my winter wardrobe. I don't have THAT many, I thought. But after looking at all my piles of clothes lying around, I started thinking that maybe he's right. So what if I have a lot of shirts that require me to fold down the collar in order to see. There's nothing wrong with that, right?
It didn't take long for the conversation to shift to how many days I could probably go with only wearing turtlenecks. "I bet you could go months!" said Doc. Surely not months, that seems like a lot.
The other day I was scanning through the pictures on my computer looking for something and what did I notice? I really do wear turtlenecks a lot. See for yourself...
Senior year of college, hanging out at my friend Emily's apartment:
With Doc in Cleveland for a wedding:
Trip to Vegas with the Kinsers:
Same turtleneck a couple weeks later for homecoming 2007:
Tacky Christmas Party...this turtleneck helped me win the Queen of Tacky trophy (thanks for letting me borrow it, Mom):
New Year's Eve party at our house:
In front of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Montreal:
More sight seeing in Montreal:
At the wedding that brought us to Montreal (apparently I only packed t-necks that weekend):
At Doc's birthday brunch in 2008, holding newborn Wesley:
Christmas in Indiana, after completing our 1000 piece puzzle:
Girls' weekend, 2009 (gotta love a timer shot):
Lambuth homecoming, 2009:
Christmas party at our house:
At dinner in Blowing Rock, NC:
After looking through all of these, I thought maybe I only wore turtlenecks when I travel. But then I realized it's probably just that I only take pictures when I travel. It's probably safe to assume that I wear them when I'm not traveling, too. Can you blame me, though? Turtlenecks rock - they're easy to accessorize, they hide my winter paleness, and they keep me warm. Turtlenecks are so awesome that when Minnie was little, I even made her wear them.
I mentioned a few blog posts ago that I was working on another chance for you readers to win something fun, and now that time has come. Doc and I have decided to put the question to the test. Just how long can I go with only wearing turtlenecks? You know I love a challenge.
To compete for the totally awesome prize (not sure what it is yet, but it will be totally awesome), all you have to do is enter your guess in the comments section for how many days you think I can go before running out of turtlenecks.
Of course, I have some rules I'm going to follow.
1 - Credit for one turtleneck per day, and it must be worn for at least 3 hours. (This means that if I wear a turtleneck to work one day but then change clothes for dinner that night, I don't have to put on another turtleneck because I won't get credit for it.)
2 - All turtlenecks count - regular, mock, floppy, sweaters, dresses, cotton, ribbed, cute, ugly. If there's any question of whether or not a shirt is actually a turtleneck, I'll leave it to Doc to make the call.
3 - Challenge starts this Monday, November 22. No new turtlenecks can be purchased during the challenge.
A couple other things to note - I'll be documenting my progress in pictures. Be looking for the turtleneck challenge tab at the top of the home screen to keep up with it. No, I have not already counted how many there are. I honestly have no idea how long I'll make it, but if I had to guess I'd say two weeks will be easy. Yes, I do realize this is completely stupid and ridiculous. Anything to keep you entertained though, right?
Think Happy Thoughts
It's cold and grey outside. I really hate being cold. Like really, really hate it. It makes getting out of bed harder. It makes leaving the house for work harder. It gets dark early at night so all I want to do is curl up on the couch and be warm and lazy. Today, since it's waaaaaaaay to early in the season to start having the winter blues (SAD), I'm focusing on the things that come with winter that I do enjoy.
- Cute scarves, mittens, hats
- Fires in fireplaces
- Hot chocolate
- Thanksgiving
- Getting to see family
- Christmas
- Christmas decorations
- Christmas programs
- Driving tours to look at Christmas lights
- Christmas Eve at my parents' house
- Birthday cake (four family birthdays)
- Boots with leggings
- Presents (getting and giving)
- Chili and soup
- Turtlenecks
- Movie nights
- New Year's Eve parties
- Dirty Santa with friends
- Trips to IN
- Peanut brittle
- Quiet work days
- Snow days (a girl can dream)
What am I missing? I know there is so much more. What do you look forward to most about the winter season?
Thanksgiving and Football
This past weekend, we celebrated Thanksgiving with my mom's side of the family. We don't get to see them often enough so I always look forward to their visits. I usually have to think twice before calling any of the kids by name because they grow so much in between holidays! Not to mention they're all close in age to the kiddos in our family. Everyone rolled into town at different times Friday night so we had a casual dinner of chili and hot dogs. I was so busy loving on the babies that I never got my camera out. Thanks to the rain, we were all stuck inside to play on Saturday morning. I managed to drag a few family members out to the shop and put them to work. Seriously, if I'm busy and you're just standing around, I will most definitely find a job for you. I had my aunt painting in her nice clothes and my cousin helped build a bookshelf. Probably not what they were expecting to do on our "Thanksgiving" morning.
My mom, with the help of some others, prepared a delicious non-traditional Thanksgiving feast for us. It was so yummy! And it smelled good while cooking, too. It made all the little kids belly up to the bar so they could be first in line.
Seeing them lined up at the kitchen island was so cute in real life. My photography skills are lacking though, so I wasn't able to get a super cute picture. I'll count this one as a win since I have 3-4 people looking at the camera. I would seriously love to know how professional photographers do it.
Parker was sad that he was being left out of the pictures so we stuck him in there too.
In the picture above we've got Gracie, age 8, next to her little brother Carter, age 2. Bren, age 2, is in the middle. On the right are Neely, age 4, and her little sister Roany, age 2. Parker, age 2, is standing up in the back next to my cousin Paige, mom to Neely and Roany and their little brother Sevens, age 1. Not pictured is Jett, age 5, who hadn't made it back over from basketball camp. (Also not pictured are Wyatt, age 10, and Anna, age 9, who were are their mom's for the weekend.) Add to that 14 adults and 2 dogs and you can imagine how wild and crazy it was! But we wouldn't have it any other way.
Mothers to two-year-old little girls, consider yourselves warned: this little guy is going to be a ladies' man. He's a charmer and has the best manners. And ooooh, is he cute. He will win you and your daughters over.
Two chairs, three booties:
During lunch, Parker channeled his inner Elton John and played some tunes for us. He had to borrow Mr. Potato Head's glasses so he could read his sheet music.
I somehow managed to avoid taking pictures of any adults. You're welcome?
Our company left Saturday afternoon and things returned to normal. Doc picked up the kids so they could stay the night with us and I worked furiously in the shop. Two and a half weeks to go! I arrived home Saturday night just in time for some homemade pasta (delicious!) and a visit from our friends Sarah and Charlie. Guess what they brought with them? The ingredients for cookies and cream milkshakes! I don't know who was more excited, Anna or me. Charlie took over in our kitchen and started throwing things in the blender. I've never thought to add oreos to my milkshakes but man, were they good! After dessert, Charlie and Doc wore the kids out in a game of football while I took Sarah on a shopping spree in my closet. It was so good to see them. And they're welcome back anytime, especially if milkshakes are involved!
By Sunday afternoon, the rain was gone and it was nice enough to play outside again. Parker and Bren were in such funny moods, they kept making each other giggle about everything!
My dad and Doc joined the bigger kids in a game of football. Here, Dad gave his teammates the play.
They had a tough defense to get past!
It didn't take Anna long to give up on the football and join Bren in what they do best: swing.
When I returned to the football game, Doc was calling the plays. My favorite part of the huddle was when Jett looked up and said, "I don't know what 6 yards is!"
The offense lines up for the play.
Doc makes the throw to Jett.
And he's off!
Uh oh. It looks like the scary defense has made it past Wyatt's block.
And he's down.
Will Wyatt be able to take it all the way this time?
The offense lines up again, this time with Jett as the quarterback.
The intimidating defense lets them know what they're up against.
The throw's been made and Wyatt's got the ball. His teammates are set to block the defense.
He makes it past the defense and he's Go! Go! All! The! Way!
I'm not sure who won, but I guess Wyatt and Jett were winners either way. Here are some more shots from the highlight reel.
Have you met Jett? If you have, you know he doesn't do anything, anything, without giggling. Seriously. Even when he's about to be tackled by his Poppy, he's laughing.
Bren didn't really get what all the excitement was about football. I'm right there with her.
Unfortunately I had to leave the playing up to all of them and return to the shop to work, work, work! Hopefully all my sweat and hardwork will pay off at the shop sale!
That was our weekend in a nutshell. How was yours?