Back At It!

Well, I nearly gave up. Do you know how many times I've written this post (well tried loading the pictures)? Sparing you an invitation you to my pity party, let me say that I have risen from the online photo storage ashes, and I think I've gotten my technical difficulties under control. For now. That behind us, I think we should press on...well, actually take a trip down (recent) memory lane.

As you may know, Sadie turned one November 4th. It was super exciting to celebrate my child's birthday. It actually pushed me into a lot of retro and intro -spection. I am now the mother of a one year old, a toddler...no longer the mother of a little babe. It all went VERY quickly. Each phase has been so unique and in all honesty, rewarding. She's really pushed me to be more and give more than I ever thought I could. Stephen and I are both SO grateful for our Sadie Girl, and can't believe God chose to bless us with someone so wonderful.

We celebrated simply. Small soap box, mothers of America, don't be afraid to have a good old fashioned birthday party- homemade treats, paper plates, Funfetti cake mix and icing. Pretend you've never heard of Martha Stewart. Anyway. Here is Sadie's personal cake and the hat I made her out of a frozen waffle box and some fabric. And no. She would not wear it. Maybe one day...

Here is the during...
Sadie, if one day you read this blog, know how deeply loved you are. Already, at your first birthday. We cannot wait to see your life unfold, and I'm so thankful to have you here tagging along with me each day. You grow funnier and more friendly by the week, and you LOVE being around people and out and about. Thanks for making me smile a million times a day. Your Dad feels the same way :)

Sadie's First Birthday- check.

Now for Christmas. We spent a hearty week in Kentucky with my family, and despite a wicked stomach bug, we really enjoyed our time with them and friends. Sadie definitely enjoyed Christmas more this morning. Last year she was 6 weeks old. She pulled paper and jumped into playing with new toys with her cousins.
Speaking of cousins, here they are. Why can't 4 kids smile at the same time?


Gracie was really sweet to show Sadie how to have a proper tea party.

And a nice picture from Christmas Eve with my parents...
Next post- New Years (even though you're all over it)

Must Watch

Do you know if you get the Sundance channel? Because I didn't realize that I do or what a gem it is....Two shows you should add to your DVR.

1. This guy has the best job ever- globe trotting buyer for Anthropologie. Do hear sighs of jealousy? Oh wait, that was me.

2. Girl on the Run- for all you fashion fans, take the opportunity to follow around Madamoiselle Agnes through her various high profile escapades. Really interesting and non-romantisized perspective on the ebb and flow of fashion. I just watched the Winter 2010/2011 Paris Fashion week issue, and it may have opened my eyes to see all of this in a new way. Plus I love her for wearing real fur when no one else has the guts. Sorry animal lovers. I love them too, but I'm not opposed to wearing them. Sorry. At least my pieces are vintage...doesn't that make them more friendly? I think Rachel Zoe says that...
Thanks to Sundance.com and to widespreadlife.wordpress.com for the pictures.

Quick Note

Hey blog readers! Please excuse my blog these days. I'm having some pretty substantial technical problems, and I'm not a technical person. The main issue is that due to an update through my computer, I've lost all the pictures on the blog. Try not to be jealous. The unfortunate thing is that I will have to go back and redo EVERY post...at least the picture part. Again, try not to be jealous. For some reason, this is also changing some of my blog template, so I'm working on all of this. Just ignore anything that looks crazy in the near future. I'm doing my best. And, if there is someone out there that reads this that has some helpful hints, please reveal yourself now in my comments section. Thank you.

Where you at?

Are you SO happy to pull up my blog and not see red lip stain anymore?! I apologize for the lack of posts, but we've had a lot of birthdays, a lot of work, a trip to Colorado, and now I can't remember what else. I'm going to do a special post to commemorate Sadie's first birthday, but I thought I'd at least put up one picture in the meantime.

This all reminds me that I want to have a mini-soap box for a second. I'm sick of people responding to "How are you?" with "Busy." Followed by an exhausted hmphf and an eye roll. We're all busy (at least as much as we think we are), and I can't really think of anyone that I know that is bored. Let me also interject that I am sick of myself answering with "busy, hmphf, eye roll." Don't I have more to tell people? Am I answering this way because I think it makes me look important and not so stay-at-home-momish? I am personally challenging myself to be more than a busy person, to have things of value to discuss with those around me. This also harkens back to another, and frankly more serious, soap box that I have with myself and with people in general. Why is it so easy to be negative? Why do conversations flourish when the topic is negative? Why does misery love company? Now I know I'll lose your blog reading attention if I don't move on to another picture soon, but just think about this...I know I am.

Pressing on, here's your Sadie birthday snippet! She was very sweet and LOVED her cake. Again, more to follow, but here's your teaser.

Stephen also celebrated a birthday- the big 2-9. I'm so thankful that he's been in my life for the last 7+ years, and I love when this day comes around each year to celebrate the wonderful guy that he is.
Yes. That is a homemade cookie cake- due to the unfortunate closing of the Toll House cookie store at our mall. Moment of silence, please.

Here are a few pictures from our time in Colorado Springs over Thanksgiving. Other than the cold we all passed around, we had a really nice time...we always love going out there, and Stephen's parents definitely spoiled us this go around by taking the night and morning shifts with Sadie. It was a wonderful gift, and I'm thankful for my thoughtful in-law's!
Everytime we go out there we walk around the Garden of the Gods since it is so close to Rick and Lucy's house. It's always so beautiful and the colors are so different than what we see here in NC.
Here's sweet Lucy and Sadie having a little playtime.

We also went to a wonderful Christmas concert at our church last week...

If it comes to your area, please see Behold the Lamb of God. Andrew Peterson is very talented and very humble. It was such a treat to celebrate the season, and most of all Jesus, in this way.

Anyway, let me tell you a funny story about last Thursday night. We bought our tickets for the concert more than a month ago, and a few weeks later, I invited my mentee to come along (who's awesome, by the way, and I'm so thankful for her). Tickets were sold out, but between the two of us, we found one through her roommate. This is relevant later in the story. Actually, I'm going to type this in a timeline so we don't all get bored in a sea of paragraphs...

4:30- Playgroup with fun friends I haven't seen for months

5:30- Leave playgroup, already running late to dinner with mentee Emily

5:40- Stuck in traffic, more late for dinner

5:50-Make it to dinner, 20 minutes late, Emily's gracious

6:15-Stephen calls to say he's leaving work. Confirms that I printed our tickets. I reply, "What tickets? Print them?"

6:15-Doors open at the concert

6:45- Emily and I arrive at church. They won't let me in because I don't have my ticket. Sweet Emily has to go in and save us seats. I'm an awesome mentor.

6:55- Usher asks me if 20 year old Emily is my daughter. Devastated. Do I look like I'm 45?

7:00- Concert starts

7:10- Stephen arrives

7:15- Sadie starts giggling and squirming and unfornately for us, this is an acoustic event for the first half

7:17- I'm out in the hallway with Sadie. Just what I wanted to do.

7:45- Stephen swaps me

8:30- Intermission. We thought this was going to be over by now, hence the company of our one year old.

9:00- Stephen gives up and takes Sadie, who's just exhausted beyond belief, home :(

9:45- Awesome concert finally ends. It really was great, we just should've gotten a sitter. Whoops. Live and learn

9:50- Meet Emily's roommate, who I'm supposed to reimburse for the ticket, and realize I've sent my wallet home with Stephen in the diaper bag. Again, up for mentor of the year.

Also, missed my dear friend's birthday party. I planned to go after the concert since I thought I could be there by 9.

Lessons to learn from this experience:

1. Whether it's one night or my whole life, don't plan too much. Stuff just happens. Go with it and laugh while you do.

2. Thank God for my wonderful husband who really sucked it up and took one for the team...both with the non-printed ticket situation and the missing half of the concert situation. He managed to be really gracious and patient about all of it. We could have had a major blow up over all of that, but because he kept his head, everything was fine.

3. Doing your best goes a long way, but don't forget to look out for yourself along the way.

4. Ignore random men when they put their foot in their mouth...I don't look like I'm 45, I don't look like I'm 45, I don't look like...

5. This sounds hokie, but don't get wound so tight that you can't laugh at yourselves and the times you fail. Hug your kids and love them even when your plans go awry. Be thankful for what you get along the way.

Now I have to go because I just turned on White Christmas. If you remember my post from last year, it's my all time favorite. Thanks for putting up with my absence, oh and the small pictures. I'm having a technical difficulty, but I'm trying to just roll with it :) Trying...

Be back soon with lots more- Sadie's birthday, pictures of some of my work, and more!

Happy December!!

Several Obsessions of the Week

I'm trying to do better about wearing what I've deemed "adult makeup." And after looking through my fall magazines, I've decided to try red lip stain and dark chocolate/cherry nails. So far I LOVE both of the products I chose.

1. Tarte lip stain in firey (lust pictured below, couldn't find firey on their website). I love the lighter coverage and matte finish. It feels less risky than lip stick, especially in red.

2. Sephora Collection nail polish in Night Cap (couldn't find a picture of that either, but stay tuned for pictures of our weekend in a future post and you'll see it on). The only negative about this is true about all dark nail colors. You can really tell when you're outside the lines, and you can really tell when it chips.

Give them a whirl, and you'll feel like you spruced up your existing Fall wardrobe.

Also, I've been meaning to tell yall, since like August, how much I LOVE pretzel M&M's. So delicious, and I feel less guilty since they're half pretzel.

I'm also so excited about the Fall wreath I made.
I looked on Etsy for some modern Fall wreaths, and decided I could take a few ideas (sorry to all you Esty sellers) and make my own. This is a compilation of a few things I saw. It was SUPER easy to cut the pieces of fabric, hot glue them around a green foam wreath form, and then make the flower. I topped it off with another one of my grandmother's old earrings. I think it could look good all winter, so I'm excited about that too.

Need to run because lots of this is happening...
Peep those skinny jeans! Thanks Hayes Barton Consignment sale!

My Intern

I have an intern. She is SUPER cute, works for free, and is clearly enthusiastic.

I honestly came around the corner the other day and found this situation that hopefully is a glimpse into her future :)

Catching Up

Since we went to Montana, we've been busy peeps...lots of work, two trips, and everyday. Here's the catch up...

We took a last minute trip to Louisville for fun and for Sadie to meet a couple of very important people for the first time.

Sadie and PawPaw RG (my mom's dad):

She LOVED him and instantly reached out for him- so sweet. We are so thankful that he and Yvonne drove up from Dawson Springs to spend time with us. It was also great to meet Yvonne (my grandpa's new wife) for the first time. We're looking forward to lots more time with them at Christmas.

Then we went to see Nana Irene. This is special because Sadie is partially named for my grandmother (whose real first name is Katherine, Sadie's middle name). For those of you who knew Nana, this picture may make you a little sad, but I thought it was really important to share. Nana was a vibrant, active, sporty, sophisticated, artistic lady. Really a lady through and through. Nearly twenty years of Alzheimer's have stolen the spring from her step and the spirit from her eyes. She doesn't know who we are or why it was important that she meet Sadie, which is honestly heartbreaking. However, I am so glad that Sadie was able to meet her.
And again, for those of you who knew her, my first reaction at this visit was that I have never in my life seen her in a t-shirt with words on it :)

We also spent time with some younger folk- aka super fun cousins (well nephews and a niece)

Labor Day was beautiful in Louisville- the weather was perfect, so we spent lots of time in my parent's backyard, one of my favorite places.

A quick Sadie update- she will be 11 months old next week (unbelievable). She has grown so much lately. She's a little over 19 lbs. and is a smidge over 28" tall. She has some adorable chubby thighs. And has started wearing some super cute hot pink sneakers...
She's sweet, cuddly, funny, and pulling up on everything. Also, don't you think her hair looks like my brother's?

Okay. His looks better and is a little more tame.

This past weekend, I got to take a much needed, child-free trip to meet up with some of my college girlfriends in the mountains of North Georgia. It was SO MUCH FUN seeing everyone and getting to spend real time together. I am so grateful for each of them, and the weekend left me feeling replenished. There is nothing like laughing with your girlfriends.
We were in a super small town, so we just hung out at the cabin, ate tons of dessert, walked, and visited.
It was really great. The drive home was not my favorite, but I did get to see the Smokies being quite smoky in all the steamy rain.
Can't wait to do both of these trips again!