Thanksgiving with an Organic Bird!

For the first time, we had Thanksgiving at our house. I was so excited to have my in-laws over and cook for them. This was also my first time to cook the Thanksgiving dinner. We had turkey, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, brussel sprouts and corn bread dressing. I have to give props to the Germantown Commissary as I didn't make the cornbread dressing, but that was the only thing I didn't make. It actually all turned out very well and I was able to keep it all warm before serving. I used a couple of styrofoam coolers to keep the sweet potatoes and dressing warm while keeping the mashed potatoes and the green bean casserole in crock pots. Thankfully I have two. The lead in the meal, Bob the Turkey, turned out perfectly. The night before Thanksgiving, I prepared a sage butter and rubbed him all over as well as stuffed him with a lemon, onion and some fresh sage. The pics I have attached are not the best pics. After I started carving Bob, I realized I forgot to take a pic, so I was off running to grab the camera, take some pics of the food and the table all while getting everyone seated. It was so much fun and I can't wait to do it again.

Christmas Burlap Door Hanger - Burlee

I couldn't stop with the Thanksgiving Burlap door hanger, I had to try to make a better one for Christmas. This time I used fabric glue instead of the hot glue gun (still not sure which one I like best) and I stuffed it with stuffing instead of the grocery bags. I think it is stuffed too much. Next time I may use the grocery bags again. As I was researching on the internet how other's made burlees, I came across using Elmer's glue to coat the outside once all of the painting was done, but was talking with a fellow burlee maker recently, and she used clear varnish on hers. I will have to try that next time. The elmer's glue took a while to apply and forever to dry. All in all, it was fun, cheap and I think looks pretty cute on the door. Now thinking about what I want on the door next. Should I do one for New Year's? Could be fun. Give me some ideas on what to do for a New Years door hanger.

Homemade Burlee

Have you all seen the burlap door hangers that are so popular this year? I think they are just too darn cute! The creative side of me wanted to make my very own, however, how was I to actually go about making one or rather when would I find the time? Well, I googled how to make a burlap door hanger, otherwise known as a burlee, and it ended up being quite easy, inexpensive and not too time consuming. Here is the result. It isn't as good as the ones people are selling out there, but it will do for this year. I may have to go back and outline the letters in black so that the words can be read from the street. I plan on making one for Christmas too.

The Container Store

I had my first shopping experience at The Container Store last weekend.  Have you ever been to one of their stores?  OMG!!!  This is what a part of heaven must look like, because it was heaven to me.  I was so overwhelmed; overwhelmed by all of the possibilities of organization.  I thought I was organized, until I stepped foot into this store.  My mind went racing to all of the areas in my house that could be organized.  Literally, there is a container for every single place in your household, yes, including your t.p. Ha ha!!!  I had to take it all in.  I could have stood in the middle of the store looking above at the different sections for hours, deciding where to go first.  So many ideas, so many products, oh I am in love.  My experience could compare to how I feel when I walk into a book store, so many books; where do I begin?  I want to read them all.  Or, going to a restaurant that has a huge selection of items on the menu that all look too good.  How to decide?  You know this place, the Cheesecake Facotry.  Anyway, I digress.  So, this is where all my extra money will be going and I have already begun my Christmas shopping at The Container Store.  They have some wonderful stocking stuffer ideas, for reasonable prices.  Check them out,http://www.containerstore.com .  Wish they would bring a store here!!!

Paris and London

Neither Justin or I had traveled to Europe before, so we were elated when we had the chance to schedule a trip to visit both Paris and London.  October is a wonderful time to visit these two cities, at least the week we visited.  The weather was perfect and not as many tourists were out and about.  I had done most of my research on Trip Advisor and printed out all of my info (metro maps, summaries on each tourist location) and placed in a 3 pronged folder with my print outs placed into protective sheets (in case it was raining, didn't want it to get wet and bleed).  Yes, I am a nerd and quite anal, but I like being prepared.  Since we were not going to be in each city very long, we crammed everything we possibly could in the 2 days we spent in each city.

As Paris is called, the city of love, it definitely lived up to its name.  We jumped right in and didn't waste a minute, so we set off to sit at an outdoor cafe and sip on a cafe au lait, eat a croissant and people watch.  During the day we visited the tourist sites we had planned on visiting and at night we enjoyed having a long dinner or sitting at an outdoor cafe sipping champagne and watching the world go by.  We saw some of the most notable sites:  Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysees. Love, love, love Paris.

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Will post pics and summary of London trip shortly.

Home is Also Where My Parents Live

My parents recently moved to Hot Springs Village and we were due for a visit. So last Thursday I packed up my little family:  little K, the two dogs and all of THAT luggage.  Even though this was my second time to be to their new house, it still felt like home.  I am an only child and very close with my parents.  Even though we no longer live in the same city it always feels good to be in the presence of my parents.  They provide comfort and safety to me.  This was a memorable visit too.  Little K was happier than I have probably ever seen her, or she is just now coming  into her self and really showing her excitement.  She seemed to very much enjoy spending time with my parents (Mee-Maw and Poppy) and of course my parents enjoyed her.  It warms my heart being able to share my child with mom and dad and seeing the love they have for her.  It's quite beautiful.

Halloween

On Halloween night we dressed little K up in her pink poodle outfit and put her in the stroller to walk over to our friends house a few blocks away.  She loved walking past the other children in their costumes and had a blast going to the door every time a trick or treater came to ask for candy.  It was so sweet how excited she got.  It melted my heart to see how much fun she was having.  Next year will probably be even better when she will be able to say, "trick or treat."