Married Christmas

We celebrated our first Christmas as a married couple this year, and it was nice.  Nothing really out of the ordinary, but we did try to start a Christmas tradition of Christmas Eve mass and riding around to look at lights afterward; let's just hope we can stick to it next year!

One thing that really sticks out in my mind about this Christmas was the awesome ornaments we received from family and friends.  I suppose that as a newly married couple they all knew that we were in need of some ornaments.  Take a peek:

 [Pretty bird from my mom] 

 [Adorable little frog for good luck from my awesome co-worker, Andrea!]

 [Fancy beagle with a top hat for Bubba from my mom]

 [Pretty in pink flamingo from our neighbors who spend their winters in Florida]

 [Beautiful buck and doe from Bubba's parents that looks a lot like our wedding cake topper]

[Smore's ornament from my sister, Marci.  SO cute and apparently there is a whole collection of these guys!]

Tough Question...

I’ve been awfully intrigued lately by a question posed by MTV’s ‘The Buried Life’.

“What do you want to do before you die?”

It seems like an easy question, but when I tried to answer it I was stumped. I mean there is the obvious answer- travel the world. But who doesn’t want to do that? And it is a lot like an open-ended question with tons of possibilities and adventures stemming from it. To spend a day with my favorite celebrity or artist? No, that would just lead to an overwhelming amount of anxiety and when it comes down to it, they are just people too with daily routines and quirks like the rest of us. Not too overly exciting.

So what is it I want to do before I die? What is that one adventure or experience that I’ve always wanted to take? And then it hit me as I drove to work this morning.

The German Autobahn. Fast. Exhilarating. Skillful.

Yes, that was it. I want to visit the German Autobahn and drive my Volvo S60 up and down that bad boy all day long. It’s so strange, but I love driving. Everything about it puts me at ease and nothing else gives me quite the satisfaction. I even get a sense of accomplishment when I weave through traffic without having to break or when I knock a minute or two off the arrival time on my GPS.

Now that you know my vice and what I want to do before I die, I ask you- “What do you want to do before you die?” Give it some good thought, because it’s really not as easy of a question as you may think.

December Birthdays

With all of the Christmas excitement I almost forgot to mention the December Birthdays! 

I've always felt bad for kids with birthday's in the month of December.  They have to wait all year to get their birthday presents and then they get their Christmas presents soon there after (or before if you're born in the last 5 days of the year).  In my mind, as a child, I thought for sure they weren't getting the same amount of gifts for Christmas because their parents had just spent so much money on their birthday presents.  I suppose it's the parents who I should be feeling bad for, financially...

Regardless, I know some pretty sweet chaps who have celebrated their birthday's this month.  First we have my cousin Myles, who turned a ripe old 13 this year on December 12th.  I've always been very close to Mylo and I think it's because of our 11 year age gap.  I wasn't too busy when he was born and I was able to pay him loads of attention.  Of course it didn't hurt that he was the sweetest little fella to come out of the year 1997.  So Happy Birthday, Mylo!  I love you.

The next December birthday is also the newest addition to our family.  My sister-in-law gave birth to little baby Nora on the 13th.  And what a beautiful little bundle of joy she is too!  I already told you all about her, but I still wanted to wish her a happy birthday and welcome her into the world!

Last, but not least, I'd like to say Happy Birthday to Miss Brittney Shoemaker!  My nearest and dearest cousin has finally turned 21.  December 17th was the day Brittney changed all of our lives when she entered the world.  She truly was like the fourth Morris child and our tag-a-long little sister.  I hope your birthday was all you hoped it would be Britt!

Christmas Time in Colton's Point

It really is the most wonderful time of the year, the song’s not lying. Christmas brings out the believer in all of us. Well, not all of us, you can always find a scrooge here and there, but the majority of people seem to come to life around the holidays.

Even though this isn’t our first Christmas in the cottage, it is our first as homeowners. (Technically we haven’t gone to settlement yet – but more on that aggravation later…) To me, everything about Colton’s Point living screams “vintage” or “old time” especially when it comes to Christmas. Bubba has already made it clear that a fake tree will not be allowed in our house.

Step 1 to an old-time Christmas? A live tree. Our tree is adorned with white and red lights, the few special ornaments we have, and a pack or two of red and green bulbs from target.

Step 2: Lining the roof with white lights. OK, so maybe it isn’t THAT vintage or old school, but it certainly gives it a nice touch.

(See "My Very Own Winter Wonderland" post a few days ago)

The wrapping paper tops it off. The 3rd step to our vintage Christmas in the Point is our wrapping paper. Classic red and green plaid patterns for thick, hand tied bows, along with the occasional pop of cream colored wrapping paper and bags.

No matter how you celebrate Christmas in your home, whether it be mod, classic, contemporary or vintage, I wish you all the happiness the season has to bring!

Practically Perfect in Every Way!

Congratulations to my sister-in-law, who gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby girl yesterday. We were lucky enough to get to visit the precious little babe yesterday evening. All I could think of was Mary Poppins, “Practically Perfect in Every Way” and I’m not just saying that because she is my niece.

Her color was unbelievable, and hardly a scratch on her little face. She had the same little pout as her older brother and the blonde hair to match.

I have to confess, I’m pretty sure the only time I held a new born was when I was about 10 and it probably only lasted for a minute. I’ve always been terrified to hold babies, thinking that I would drop them or hurt them. So last night when I got to hold her I was pretty nervous, especially considering that as she was passed to me she started hiccupping. I thought maybe it was something I did, but everyone else in the room seemed at ease, so it must have been ok.

It’s incredible how tiny babies really are. Their itty-bitty fingernails, their soft barely-there eye lashes and that little tongue that kept making its way out as she would coo and wiggle around to get comfortable. So beautiful. I can only imagine how proud her mom, dad and big brother must feel.

Congratulations to the Smith family on their newest edition. Like I said before, she is practically perfect in every way. And you can guarantee that Uncle Bubba and Aunt Mindy are going to spoil her rotten!

My Very Own Winter Wonderland

A year ago yesterday was the day my dear Bubba proposed to me.  I can't believe it's only been a year.  We've done so much in the past 365 days it feels like much longer.  But I mean that in a good way.  It was such a beautiful, cold wintry night last year when my now hubby took me out to our pier, lit with white lights, and dropped down to one knee.

Bubba was in his cousins wedding yesterday, so we didn't really have much time to celebrate our special day, but that's alright.  We got to share it with another new couple who looked beautiful and have a long, happy life ahead of them.

The weather has been fairly typical lately for December.  Nice and cold.  Though today has been dark and rainy, it's supposed to be getting even colder this week, so I'm crossing my fingers for some snow :)  Last week, I was leaving the house just as the sun was setting and I was able to capture our own little winter wonderland.  Between our Christmas lights, the icy water, lovely moon and the unbelievable sunset I was able to capture perfectly what I see as our own slice of wintry heaven.