Happy New Year (a couple days late)

2016 is off to a great start in our household!  Coach and KJ spent the evening at Jerry World watching Alabama play, T was in New Orleans with Pony Boy and friends for the Sugar Bowl and I ushered in the New Year with a glass of wine and a bubble bath.  I think I was asleep by 10:30 pm. It was glorious!

Christmas was really great.  Very quiet with just the four of us but very relaxing.  Since the girls were very little, we've always gotten a new game for Christmas and we played it Christmas Eve.  We all slept in on Christmas morning and had our traditional breakfast casserole.  I think everyone was happy with their Christmas gifts (Coach got a FitBit, the girls and I got lots of Kendra Scott, James Avery jewelry, Hunter boots, Michael Kors bags, clothes, etc.).

Lax season is fully underway.  KJ is super duper happy with her lax team. It's a combined FloMo/Marcus team and she said the girls are all incredibly nice and have been exceptionally welcoming.  A couple of the girls knew a couple of her volleyball teammates so that was a Nice ice breaker.

The weather has been so crazy the last week or so.  Last week I had the heat off and some windows open, the weekend was noticeably chillier and the heat is back on. 

We've had a nice relaxing 3-day weekend. Friday KJ had a half day and the three of us had an awesome lunch at a little local place we've been dying to try.  We also did some furniture shopping and ended up buying a new patio set.  Saturday was rainy and dreary so Cosmo and KJ started painting the office. It was a dark, dark green and felt like an old man's office (previous owners had dark window treatments and old, boring golf prints).  I picked out a nice light color that's hard to explain ... not tan or beige but not ivory either.  The color perfectly matches the tab-top curtains I had in the upstairs hallway in our Alabama house.  The room looks so bright and airy now and ten times larger than it did!

Sunday the sun came out and warmed up a bit so KJ and I spent the afternoon walking around Grapevine. Such a cute little Main Street with great shopping!

We also bought new light fixtures to go over the kitchen island.  I like all of the light fixtures in this house, they had all been updated before we moved in.  However, I positively hated the dark Tiffany stained glass pendants. We bought very simple ivory shades to lighten things up and it makes a huge difference. 

The patio set was delivered Sunday afternoon; now we just need the weather to cooperate so we can have some steaks on the grill!

Wait!!! I'm not ready yet!!!

I am so incredibly embarrassed to admit this but I am horribly horribly behind in Christmas this year.  The Fall seemed to have it me like a ton of bricks this year and I just haven't been able to recuperate and recover!!

First and foremost, our cruise was unbelievable.  We had the most amazing, relaxing trip. Our flight to Barcelona was great, boarding the ship was stress-free, our cabin was great, food was excellent and our excursions were awesome!  Mallorca was beautiful and we had a wonderful day walking around the city.  I loved Marseille and Florence and Rome are always magical (so glad Cosmo got to see the Sistine Chapel!).  We both really enjoyed Pompeii, too!

After the cruise we had our anniversary, Cosmo's b-day and KJ's 16th birthday in that order.  KJ actually had a volleyball game on her birthday but she celebrated a few nights earlier with some friends at a Mexican restaurant.  After her volleyball game, several of the girls on her team took her to Whataburger (she had never been and apparently it's a Texas thing).  She finally got her permit and had 3 straight weeks of drivers Ed classes and has also been doing her drive times with her instructor.  Little Miss Jet-setter flew to Baltimore in November and spent a couple of days with her friends from Damascus.  Volleyball season is officially over and we had a great end-of-year banquet at one of the local country clubs.  This weekend she's down in Fredericksburg celebrating a friend's birthday at their family cabin.  They drove down after school on Friday, went zip-lining Saturday and today they are shopping.  She'll come home Monday.

For Cosmo's b-day we somehow ended up at a Rangers play-off game vs. The Blue Jays. It was hot as hell that day and we tried to keep cool by using the rally towels as hats.  We looked like idiots.

Early November we met the Martin's outside of Memphis and went to the Ole Miss vs. Arkansas game. The weather was cold and dreary but we still managed to have a good time!  AG and KJ spent Friday night with T so they thought they were cool and Pony Boy and Z put up our tailgating tent in the pouring rain while the 4 of us hit Oxford.  The highlight of the weekend, according to KJ, was her selfie with Tim Tebow. 

Right before Thanksgiving, Coach had his first collegiate game of his coaching career.  I love the campus at TCU and the guys were really great.  The team has a lot of potential. 

We had a fun Thanksgiving with Cosmo's nephew and his family. Eva and Eli are incredibly well-behaved children and it is a joy to be with them.  Friday we took them to the Gaylord to see the ice sculptures and go sledding. KJ was a trooper and was the "DS" (designated sledder). 

T and Pony Boy got to our house late last Sunday night after dealing with a flat tire in Arkansas and brought their puppy Maria with them.  Other than farting really bad, she's a great dog and liked jumping in the pool.

Tuesday night Cosmo took them to a Dallas Stars hockey game (Dew's first NHL game) and they met up with friends after the game.  Friday Cosmo's buddy from college (also KJ's Godfather) flew in for the weekend. We had a great dinner and walked around the town of Grapevine (voted one of America's Top 10 Christmas towns). It was so beautiful!  The town itself is super cute anyway but at Christmas they go all out!  Every shop, every restaurant, every building has some type of display or lights.  The gazebo was all decked out, there was a life-size Nativity set, a light tunnel, an inflatable igloo, Mistletoe every where, etc.  Saturday the guys went to the Cowboys vs. Jets game (Go Jets!!!) and Bob flew out early this morning.  Pony Boy and Maria left Saturday morning and T and I did some Christmas shopping while the guys were at the game.

So, this is why I'm so behind this year!  Nothing is wrapped and I haven't sent out a single Christmas card.  I guess there's always next year!

And the Chick has Left the Nest

So quiet in our house this past weekend.  T flew back to Oxford on Saturday.  She is certainly racking up the Southwest frequent flyer miles!  Pony Boy met her at the airport and they had ribs at Rendevouz.  She's got CA training this week and classes start next week.  Ole Miss has a crazy long winter break.  She said she had a really good time while she was home and got to do a lot . . . New York City, DC a couple of times, drag queen brunch, etc.

KJ's got finals this week.  She is doing so incredibly well this year.  Freshman year has been great!  I'm very, very proud of her.  She's worked hard and has taken her classes and school work very seriously and has stayed on top of her grades.  She had her English exam this morning and texted me me she's "very confident" in her exam and her final grade in that class.  She's got a volleyball tournament this weekend and lax is starting up soon.  That should be interesting.  She's going to be exhausted but in a good way.

Got all my Christmas stuff packed and put away this weekend.  This year took a little longer than usual but I re-packed some things, threw some things away, etc.  And Cosmo put all of my Valentine's Day stuff in the front of my decorating room so that I can access it easily next month.

I Survived!!!

The Annual Cos Fam Jam Christmas Festivities have officially concluded.  Grammie and Pop fly out this afternoon thus ending our lodging responsibilities.  I sure hope we get good reviews on Yelp from all our guests!  All told, it was a GREAT week with our families.  Lots of fun memories, lots of silliness, lots of good food.

Saturday KJ had a volleyball scrimmage in Frederick.  They played well but the coaches are still figuring out who goes where.  And that's what scrimmages are for.  KJ was the setter on her high school team, on the travel team they're trying her out at liberaro.  She's such a good, all-around player.  She'll do fine where they put her.

We left directly from the game and headed to my MIL's.  It was about 7 PM when we got to the home and had a nice visit before heading to Lynn's for pizza with Lisa and the kids.  Poor Kyler was horribly sick but Kayleigh was her usual silly self.  We spent the night at the Sheraton (gotta love being in the hotel business!  We haven't paid full price for a hotel room in years and years!) and headed to NYC after a great breakfast.

We met Joe, Laurie, Paige, Britt and Dan in front of FAO right at 11 AM and had a wonderful, low-key day.  We walked thru FAO, all along 5th Avenue, St. Patrick's Cathedral and had lunch at Rockefeller Center.  We walked around Times Square and headed over to Columbus Circle to see the decorations at the Time Warner building and we walked around the Christmas Mart and found our favorite waffle kiosk.  We walked around Central Park and played for a bit in the playground.  We left the city around 5 PM and were in our house by 8:30 PM.

Monday I had a doctor's appointment and did a few things around the house.  Monday night Cosmo and the girls went to the Caps game while I picked up my parents @ Regan.  I hate driving there and always get lost on my way back.  I wish they would just fly into BWI!  Tuesday I did my grocery shopping while T drove my parents around for last minute errands.  Wednesday the girls baked and wrapped presents all day and KJ went to Christmas Eve mass with my parents after our traditional Christmas Eve dinner.

We probably started opening presents around 8 AM and had our favorite sausage casserole for breakfast.  I don't know why I only make that once a year.  Russ and Barb arrived around 1 PM, Joe and Laurie and Paige arrived around 2 PM.  The ham was HUGE and delicious but, as usual, I burned the crescent rolls.  I was SO mad!!!!

Friday we headed into DC and went to both the National Archives and the Museum of American History.  I hadn't been to either museum since the first time we lived here.  The Archives were amazing and I loved the First Ladies exhibit at the American History museum (I especially loved the china patterns!).  The weather was spectacular and we ate lunch outside at the cafe at the National Gallery of Art overlooking the Sculpture Gardens and the Ice Skating rink.
http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/visit/ice-rink.html?from=home-page
We met Matt and Kristin at Carmine's for dinner and had a wonderful time catching up.

Joe and Laurie were walking out the front door Saturday morning when my bro and his fam pulled up in the driveway.  The timing was perfect.  And thus, Round 2 began!

My mom made her famous broccoli pasta for dinner and we just relaxed all day.  I never got out of my pajamas.  I was very, very tired and took a quick nap after lunch.  My brother brought his dog Toby and Trixie wanted absolutely nothing to do with him.  I mean, she actually sat on the couch and turned her back on him.  She wouldn't even acknowledge his presence.  In all fairness, he's still a puppy and she had never had another pet in the house before.  She was just like, "My house, my humans.  Be gone."

I will officially have been back to work a full month on Monday!  It's been so weird -- it's like I never left!  KJ and Cosmo have adjusted well and have helped pick up the slack at home since I have such a long commute.  I'm very, very fortunate.  I like both my job AND the people I work with.  KJ came into work with me the day after Thanksgiving and we helped make wreaths and decorate the hotel for Christmas.  The following week we had a Manager's Reception and the hotel looked absolutely amazing!  Plus, KJ received SSL hours for her help with decorating.  Bonus!

Since I went back to work with zero warning or notice (and my time in PA for my cousin's funeral), I'm a bit behind on my Christmas shopping and decorating but will manage.  T flies in tomorrow and I know she will be a big help to me.  She always is.  I can give that girl a list a mile long and she'll get everything done and then some.  She can help me with my wrapping and mailing cards and packages for me.

The "travel tree" is up in the family room (it's filled with ornaments from all of our travels over the years) but we've been waiting until T came home to cut down the living room tree as a family.  We'll take our Christmas card photo Sunday at the tree farm.  My dining room is semi set.  I have some tweaking left to do.  The family room mantel is also semi set and still needs some work.

Really, really, really looking forward to having everyone here for the holidays!  It's going to be insane and I may have to get a prescription for Xanax or something!  Cosmo said he's going to pull a Clark Griswold and drink a lot of Jack Daniels.  We're meeting the Palm Beach side of the family in NYC prior to the holidays and then they'll be at our house for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.   Cosmo's niece and her hubby will also be at my house for Christmas dinner.  My mom and dad will be here for the entire week. The day after Christmas we're all heading to DC for the day and I've made dinner reservations for 11 at a fun restaurant in Georgetown.  Saturday the Palm Beach relations fly out, my bro and his fam arrive.

KJ has had a busy couple of weeks.  High School volleyball is officially over and we had a great time at the end of year banquet.  She went right into club volleyball and is doing really great at practice.  She is so intense on the court.  Both girls definately get their competitiveness from their father.  So, after the beginning of the year our weekends will be spent at volleyball tournaments (I think we're even going to a tourney in Atlantic City.  Haven't been there in YEARS!!!).  And she still swears she's going to play High School lax (yay!!!!).

T has been busy as well.  The weekend before Thanksgiving she competed in and won the Miss Amory title.  She is very, very excited to be working with Mr. Miller, her new diretor.  She had an incredible experience with her Miss Metro Jackson director(s) and Mr. Miller is very well known and very respected in the pageant community.  So far, she was in the Amory Christmas parade and also attended the local production of the Nutcracker.  She has a clothing sponsor this year which is super nice.  They dress her for all of her appearances.

She's had a great semester and I'm having a hard time accepting the fact that she'll be a senior next year.  She's still got her weekly DJ morning gig.  She's writing for an on-line Greek column, she was the Thursday night anchor for NewsWatch 99 and spent some time on the sidelines at football games for the Sports Photography class.  She's been applying for internships here in DC for the summer and has an interview scheduled while she's home.  At 20 years old that girl has quite an impressive resume!

Another crazy week!!!

At the end of May, I, along with several others, lost my job at the Sheraton.  I've been working since I was 15 years old and have never been laid off or fired from a job so you can imagine what a shock it was for me.  I knew it wasn't personal, I knew it was just business but still.  The hotel was doing poorly, they needed to cut expenses and since my position was a newly created position, it was deemed a luxury.  The timing actually worked out in my favor . . . I was home all summer with KJ, got to enjoy the pool every day and worked on my tan, I was able to see a lot of my lax family when they came up for tournaments, I was able to go to Vicksburg for 10 days in July for the pageant, I was able to spend quality time with T-Bone when she came home for a week at the end of July, I was able to drive KJ to and from volleyball camps and clinics and I was able to be involved in her JV volleyball experience.  I was also able to fly to Oxford for a few days in October and, had that damn hurricane not happened, I would have been able to enjoy a week in Cabo!  Now, the holidays are upon us and I was looking forward to hosting Thanksgiving and having all of our family here for Christmas.  Simply put, I have not been looking for a job.  But a job found me.

Tuesday I received a text from one of my co-workers at the Sheraton asking me if I was interested in a position in the Sales Department.  Something had come up and I was the first person they thought of.  On Wednesday afternoon I received a call from HR asking if I could come in Thursday morning to meet with the new GM.  Within an hour, I had an offer of employment.  My head is spinning!!!  I start on Monday.  Naturally, I ran to the mall to buy some new clothes!

We have got so much going on over the next couple of weeks, I'm questioning the timing of this new job but things have a way of working out.  We are also in the process of buying a house here in Maryland so I was very honest with the DOS and the GM.  I told them up front that I'll need some days off for the closing, the move, etc and I absolutely positively have to have off the entire week of Christmas.  That was not negotiable.

When we first moved here we decided to rent since we really weren't sure if we were going to stay.  Fortunately, KJ loves it here and is positively thriving.  She made the honor roll 1st semester of high school as well as all 4 semesters of 8th grade and we couldn't be prouder.  She's in all AP classes and did an incredible job of balancing academics and athletics.  This coming from a child who hated school in Alabama and begged to be home schooled.  Every morning was a struggle with KJ.  She begged to stay home, every morning brought a new ailment ... a headache, a stomach ache, etc.  She loves her school, likes her teachers, she's got a great group of friends, she's popular and she's got quite the social calendar.  So, we decided the time to buy a house was right.

Unfortunately, finding a house has proved to be difficult and not without it's challenges.  Obviously we want to stay within our current school district.  We do not need nor do we necessarily want a McMansion which seems to be the rage up here.  Houses in our current neighborhood start at $625K.  It's just the three of us for the next three years (we have accepted the fact that T-bone will probably never live in Maryland).  We do not need a 5-bedroom house.  We're trying to find a smaller house that fits our needs and a house that we can quickly sell once KJ is off to college and we can downsize even further.  Unfortunately, a smaller house in this area equates to a much, much older house needing updates.

We've been searching since the spring and think we may have found our next home.  It is an older home but the kitchen and master suite have been beautifully updated.  The house is on an acre and backs to the woods.  It's a brick ranch that has none of it's original floor plan.  The master suite is huge and also has a separate sitting room that was probably one of the original bedrooms, beautiful hard woods, his and her closets and one wall of exposed brick.  The family room is an addition it is also has beautiful hardwoods, walls of windows overlook the back yard and a wall of exposed brick.  The house has two fireplaces -- one in the formal living and one in the finished basement -- but my favorite room is the mud room off the garage.  I have always wanted a mud room!!!  There is a guest bedroom in the basement and KJ will take over the entire renovated attic.  So, if we do put an offer on this house and the closing goes through, we will be the proud owner of three homes and a lacrosse store!  Yup.  Our house in Hoover is currently being rented by a nice family from MS with 2 high school aged girls, the renter in our condo has been there for over 5 years and it doesn't look like he's going anywhere and of course we still have Stickhead.  We keep joking around that all we need next is a condo in Ocean City!!!

The Road to Hell

Gah!!  It's been an incredibly long time since I've blogged.  I've been meaning to.  I had good intentions.  But you know what they say about good intentions . . . 

So let's see.  Last time I blogged we were probably getting ready for our trip to Cabo.  Well, Hurricane Odile took care of that.  While we were naturally disappointed, everything seems to be working out A-OK.  It looks like we may be doing a Mediterranean cruise next year so we have that to look forward to!  I believe the cities are:  Barcelona, Palma De Mallorca, Marseilles, Florence/Pisa, Rome and Naples.  Works for me!!!

KJ's JV volleyball season is officially over.  She had an incredible season and made so many friends.  Unfortunately, they played their last game on her birthday and lost.  It was a very tough loss and she was so upset that the loss happened on her 15th b-day.  This weekend she has travel team try-outs.  

KJ also had a great time at Homecoming.  They do things a little differently up here than they did in Hoover.  Very few boys ask the girls to the dance so they all go in a big group.  However, they do go out to dinner before the dance just like they did at Hoover.  I think there were 13 or 14 in KJ's group and 6 girls came back to the house for the "after party" (a bonfire outside w/ s'mores) and they all slept over.  It was a gorgeous night and we had so much fun taking photos and it was nice for me to meet some of the parents.  

Friday night, prior to kickoff, they have a homecoming parade into the stadium and then the Homecoming King and Queen are announced.  Our football team in undefeated and the student section rocks!  The kids really, really get into it and KJ loves going to the games.  Our Varsity volleyball team is currently in the play-offs so KJ has continued going to the games to cheer on the older girls.  Girls Varsity soccer just lost in the play-offs but they had a great season, too!  The principal tweets alot and 

I broke down today and bought the latest Taylor Swift CD.  I've heard SO many people say it's really, really good so I thought I'd give it a try.  "Shake it Off" sure is catchy.  
http://youtu.be/nfWlot6h_JM

Had such a nice although very quick visit to Oxford mid-October.  T was competing in the Miss University pageant.  She did awesome (as usual!).  I wasn't sure about her new gown but the judges loved it and she got some extremely positive feedback.  She was a little discouraged because she didn't officially place but after speaking with the program director, she feels much, much better about her performance. As always, it seems like there were a lot of politics involved.  

I flew into Memphis Tuesday morning, we did some shopping and had lunch at Zaxby's (we don't have Zaxby's in Maryland!).  We had dinner and drinks at Boure with the Dew.  T had to leave early for rehearsal so the Dew and I walked around the Square.  It was very nice to spend some time w/ just him and get to know him a little better.  Wednesday we had breakfast at BBB (duh!!!) and I had lunch w/ the girls at the AOPi house while T was in class.  She had her private interview that afternoon and then the pageant was that evening.  She had a great cheering section!  Me, the Dew, Amanda, a ton of AOPi sisters and one of her AOPi advisors, a bunch of her residents and several of her co-workers.  Her residents were super sweet and had a bunch of funny posters and hooted and hollered whenever she was on stage.  Afterward we attended the cocktail party at the U Club and Thursday morning we had breakfast at Bottletree Bakery before heading up to Memphis for my return flight.  The Dew and Megan drove up to Memphis with us to keep T company on the ride home.  

T is not coming home for Thanksgiving this year (she has to check everyone out on Sunday but be back by 8 AM Friday).  She'll have Thanksgiving w/ the Dew and his fam.  She hasn't seen Cosmo and KJ since July so we're super excited for her to come home for Christmas.  Christmas is going to be INSANE at our house this year!!!!  Not only will my mom & dad be here for the week but Cosmo's bro from FL and his fam will be here too!  And then Cosmo's niece (and her hubby) that live here in MD will join us for Christmas dinner.  And then my bro and his fam will be here for a few days after Christmas.  It's going to be one big slumber party!!!  And I'm SOOOO excited!  That's what we moved back up here for!!!  

Well Hello There!!

Wow.  This is the longest I've ever gone without blogging.  It's just been super busy the last couple of weeks and we've been enjoying the recent snow.  KJ had snow days last Monday and Tuesday.  They could have went on Monday but Tuesday was pretty messy and it was probably good that they cancelled classes.  She's enjoying sledding down the hill in our backyard and the dog likes frolicking in the snow, too. 

For the first time in our family's history we cut down our own Christmas tree last week.  We went to
http://www.butlersorchard.com/, the same place we got our Halloween pumpkins.  It was a gorgeous day and we had so much fun.  Finding the perfect tree was a lot harder than I thought! 

KJ started volleyball practice two nights a week and is really enjoying it.  The other night we saw 3 deer walking down our street, 1 deer as I turned out of our sub-division, two more deer on the way to the school for practice and I saw 4 deer in someone's front yard on the way home. 

I've got most of my Christmas shopping done, Christmas cards are out, decorating is done.  I still have wrapping to do and one package to mail out.  We'll bake next week when my mom gets in.  My parents arrive on Saturday and T got in this past Saturday.  Her flight out of Memphis was delayed 3 hours due to the weather here.  We had some snow Saturday afternoon that turned into rain by the time her flight got in around 10 PM.  One of her residents was on her flight so I was glad she had someone to travel with.  Her "little" lives here in Arlington so I'm sure they'll get together over break. 

Cosmo flew to Bham Friday to do a few things at the house and do some lax stuff.  He got to see his lax boys on Saturday and ran into a bunch of friends Friday and Saturday nights.  He misses lax a little bit and is toying with the idea of coaching here.  Which I'm OK with. 

Happies & Crappies

Don't forget to link-up with http://www.thevintagemodernwife.com/
and http://www.thevintagemodernwife.com/ each week!
 

It's been a quick week in the Cos household!  Can't believe it's Friday already!  Whoop!  Whoop!  No major plans for the weekend but KJ has a b-day party on Saturday and I think on Sunday we might go see "The Book Thief."  Cosmo has also talked about going to the Caps game Sunday night so who knows!

 

Happies

• KJ had half-days on Monday and Tuesday which was nice.  Monday I picked her up in the carpool line and got her some Starbucks as a treat.  I don't drink coffee so I ran thru the Dunkin' Donuts line and got a Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate.  Oh.  My.  God.  Heaven in my mouth.  I got a small but will be getting larges or extra-larges in the future.  Wow. 
• KJ made the travel volleyball team!  Whoop!  Whoop!  Let the Spring insanity begin!
• Just a couple more days until I fly to MS to see T!  Whoop!  Whoop!
• KJ brought home an incredible report card.  Best report card she's ever had!  Very, very proud of her!  I've said it before but I'll say it again . . . She LOVES her new school and is just flourishing!
• I got a haircut yesterday.  Kind of scary going to someone new after going to Jeffrey for almost 15 but I liked the new salon. 
• I'm making a dent in my Christmas shopping!  Thank you Etsy!  Whoop!  Whoop!

 

Crappies

• The weather has been so weird.  Tuesday and Wednesday were very cold, Thursday was gorgeous and I had my sun roof open while running my errands.
• I don't like when people start decorating for Christmas in mid-November and totally by-pass Thanksgiving (I know a couple people who had their houses completely decked out for Christmas by November 10).  And I don't like that stores are opening earlier and earlier to capitalize on Black Friday sales.  Black Friday is bad enough, then stores started opening at mid-night and now some stores are opening on Thanksgiving night.  We need to just slow down.   I like my house decorated as much as the next person.  I love the holidays and don't mean to come across as a Scrooge but we put too much pressure on ourselves to live a perfect, Instagrammed, Pinterest-worthy life.  Let it go.  You're not Martha Stewart who has dozens of minions doing her bidding.  Focus on your family and friends and the rest will fall into place.  Thank you.  I'll get off my soap-box now. 

 





 

 

 

 

#HappiesAndCrappies

So excited to be doing #HappiesAndCrappies! I was looking through some old blog posts and re-read a couple of #ItsOKThursday posts and wondered if Amber over at www.brunchwithamber.com had any new link-ups. She's got such a great blog and I was so happy to see #HappiesAndCrappies!  I can totally do this and I love linking-up with other bloggers! So here goes . . .
   Happies   - So excited to see some family this weekend!  I'm driving up to my brother's for the weekend and my niece and I are attending my cousin's bridal shower.  KJ has vball try-outs this weekend so she can't make the trip and my sister-in-law is in charge of an event at her church so it's just gonna be me and Little Miss C.  And we're gonna dance in the car.  She likes to sing along to KC + the Sunshine Gang.  She walks around the house singing this little ditty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyUk5RrKfUs     - We booked T's flight home for Christmas!!!  Happy Happy Happy!!!   - Sophia Grace and Rosie were on #Ellen this week!    - I've started my Christmas shopping.        Crappies   - I don't know if I've got eczema or just extremely dry skin but holy cow!  My legs and back are horribly itchy and no amount of lotion is helping.  I can't even wear socks I'm so uncomfortable/miserable.    - I ran out of ginger ales this afternoon. 

I am on a Mission

I only want two things for Christmas:  a bar cart and a pair of boots. 

I have wanted a bar cart for a while now and even more so since we moved into this house.  The house in Birmingham had a marvelous man cave or Men Den as I liked to call it.  The wet bar was beautifully crafted and we were able to display and use our crystal decanters, bar ware and Cosmo's extensive sports memorabilia. 

This house has a finished basement, but not any place for our bar items.  Hence, my bar cart mission has intensified.  I've been looking on line for a while but really hate to pay shipping for anything.  And I was suffering from Goldilocks Syndrome (the bar carts I found on line were either too big, too expensive, too small, too formal or too casual).  I've also browsed a couple of local antique and consignment stores with the hopes of finding something that needed some TLC, something that I could sand down, paint or refinish.  It didn't have to be a true bar cart per se, but it did need to have a lip or a piece of moulding around it so that the items don't accidentally fall or slide off. 

Yesterday I was running errands and came across a bar cart that I luv, luv, luv!  The size was just right, the finish can go with any decor and the price was perfect.  So Santa, if you're reading this, I've been a good girl this year.  A very good girl.  And all I want for Christmas is a bar cart.  And a pair of boots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A little Fall Fun

KJ had a great Halloween and trick or treated with a couple of girls from the neighborhood despite the light rain.  We had a ton of kids at the house which was pretty fun and I had just enough candy.  My favorite costume of the night was Troy Polamalu.  One of the boys KJ goes to school with wore a Steeler's jersey and had a huge wig on.  Too funny!  She didn't have school on Friday so we got to sleep in for a bit.  We met Cosmo for lunch and did a little shopping in the afternoon.  KJ picked out a Michael Kors bag and it will be put away for a Christmas present.  She also bought two cute dresses and a couple of shirts. 

Saturday KJ was invited to the movies and shopping with a girl from her Math class so Cosmo and I took advantage of the free time and had a date day.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous, mid-60's with plenty of sunshine.  We had a GREAT lunch at the DC Boathouse in Georgetown
http://dcboathouserestaurant.com/ and walked around the campus for a while.  We found the football stadium and caught a bit of the game vs. Lafayette.  Nice stadium, very small (nothing like Bryant-Denney!) but nice nonetheless.  Can't wait to see some lax games there!  I was so mad at myself . . . I lugged my camera around all day but it didn't have a memory card in it but did get a couple of good pics with my phone.  I luv, luv, luv Georgetown.  I've told Cosmo repeatedly that I'd give my right arm to live there. 

And I think we're done!

House looks great!  Tree is up and totally decorated!  Whoop!  Whoop!  Although, I do think it's time to invest in a new tree.  When we lived in NY, MD and OH we always had real trees.  However, the year after my grandfther passed away, we decided we needed to go artificial (my grandfather passed away in mid-December.  We left Cincy and drove to PA for the funeral and on to NY for the holidays and came home after New Years.  When we got home, every single pine needle had fallen off, the tree was basically a stick and all of my ornaments slid off the bare branches and crashed on the ground).  So, we've had this tree for about 15 years now and it's started to get a little wonky looking. 

It's not this bad looking (see photo below) but it is starting to look a little Charlie-Brownish.  There seems to be some big spaces in between the branches and I try to fill the void.  Martha Stewart said to hang ornaments farther back on the branches to "create depth" so that's what I did with plain silver, red and green glass ball ornaments. 

Still have to finish setting the dining room table.  I can do that this weekend, no worries.  I'm having some friends over Monday night and haven't planned my menu yet so I'll do that this weekend, too.  I'm thinking fondue! 

It's beginning

to look a lot like Christmas in the Cos Casa!  Got the tree up late yesterday afternoon.  Lights and the angel are on but no ornaments yet.  We had such a busy weekend we just ran out of decorating time!  Dining room is 90% decorated and I'm tweaking the living room.  This year I've decided to go with a Red, Silver & White theme throughout the entire house.  One of the problems of having lived in several different homes (including a couple of transitional, short-term rentals along the journey) is that what looked good in one house, doesn't look good in another.  Our house in NY was the most contemporary house we had lived in -- a lot of glass and brass (don't judge!  It was 20 years ago!).  The house in Cincinnati was a little more rustic (not "country" but definately the most "homey" house we've had -- stone fireplace, wood mantel, medium wood cabinets in the kitchen and all the baths, parquet floor in the foyer, wood trim everywhere, etc.).  This house is what they call "traditional" -- white mantel w/ marble surround, white cabinetry, light baseboards and moulding, etc. 

So, I've decided to streamline and just go with a theme that looks good in each room.  My dining room linens are red with white snowflakes.  I have silver placemats and other than my Christmas china, all of the accent pieces in the room are red, white or silver with a snowflake motif. 

My mantel this year is kind of sparse (I prefer the term "simple elegance) but KJ isn't a fan.  I've got a lot of white taper candles, red glass and mercury glass.  KJ said it looks like a menorah. 

While the these are not photos of my house, below is some of my inspiration for this year's decor: 

Go Bucs!

Big night for the high school football team!  Semi-finals game against Clay-Chalkville.  Should be a great match-up and record crowds are expected.  Cosmo really wants to go to the game tonight but I haven't been to a single game this year and think I should not mess with the mojo.

It's been a busy, busy week and I am really, really looking foward to the weekend!  Monday I had dinner with a sweet friend, Tuesday I had a big client lunch with PSDS out at Barber's and in the evening KJ & I went to dinner before her travel volleyball team meeting.  Wednesday I had a bunch of errands to run after work and last night Cosmo was home after traveling all week.  My Thanksgiving decorations were down last week but I haven't put up a single Christmas thing yet.  I'd like to get that done this weekend but we're not putting trees up until T comes home next week. 

My poor, poor baby is so sick with the flu.  This is the child that NEVER EVER gets sick and for her to break down and go to the health office is a big deal.  Glad she's taking care of herself!  She's got finals next week and really wanted to nip it in the bud.  She said in addition to a prescription for TamiFlu they also gave her a little prevention kit w/ Lysol, Germ-X, a couple of those face masks, gloves, etc.  She had a lot going on this week too and really can't afford to be sick . . . she had BIG/LITTLE week and last night she finally got to meet her "family."  She met her Big, her Twin, her Big's Twin and her Little and her Big's GrandBig.  T is representing AOPi in the Parade of Beauties (along with 3 seniors) and she had a mandatory meeting last night.  After her meeting, her entire Family went out to dinner.  Sunday is her formal AOPi induction and she is just so excited!

Shoppa-Shoppa

Getting a lot of Christmas shopping done.  I hate actually going to the mall so I'm a big on-line shopper.  I'll only go to the mall if I know exactly what I'm looking for and exactly where it is.  I'm not one of those ladies that shops to shop and I don't just wander around the mall.  I have a pretty good idea of what I need before I head out, I go in, get what I need and get back out.

Usually T is very easy to buy for and KJ is more difficult.  This year it seems to be reverse.  KJ has given me some very good ideas and T is proving to be difficult this year.  She's getting picky in her old age.  She has everything she needs for her dorm, she doesn't need any Ole Miss stuff and she doesn't want any AOPi items because when she gets back from Thanksgiving break she has "Big/Little Week and Reveal" and they get presents from their big all week (I already know who her big is; she reached out to me via FB).  Plus, she got a bunch of stuff on bid day.  I sent her a bid day basket and she also received a tote bag full of AOPi items from the sorority.  The day after Bid Day I also sent her the Lilly Pulitzer AOPI tote and wristlet.  Which she promptly returned.  She liked them but didn't think she'd ever use them.  She's such a minimalist and is not a fan of a big bag.  And, her phone didn't fit in the wristlet very well.  Sigh. 

Lots of Glitter is a Good Thing !!!

Luv, luv, luv the way the house is decorated this year! I've got some new things and always try to mix things up. There's a lot of glitter this year and I really like it!

This is a photo of our family travel tree. We always try to buy an ornament everywhere we go and the Alpine tree looks so pretty in the foyer.

Hard to tell in the photo above but the two "presents" are covered in glitter and the polka dot one opens up and holds a tea lite. The three green vases in the back to the far right I got from work. They must have been left over from a wedding or some other event because there were dozens of them! I thought they'd be cool for Christmas decorations. Not sure yet if I'm going to put something in them (like silver, glitter tree branches?) or just leave them alone.
Really into "subway art" this year (hello Etsy my old friend!) and have some similar decorations for Halloween and Thanksgiving. Again, hard to tell but the wording is all done is red glitter. Looks very pretty when the tea lights in the red votive holders are lit.

The silver placemats in the dining room are new this year. My mom doesn't like the napkins and napkins rings on top of the plate because it hides the Christmas tree pattern.

But this is what my table really looks like. My mom made those napkins rings years & years ago when she used to do ceramics as a hobby. There are 8 of them and a couple of years ago one of the stars broke off (Cosmo fixed it w/ gorilla glue).

I can't remember what I did for last year's centerpiece so I tried to stay with the red & white snowflake theme of my table linens. This is a wrought iron cake stand, a clear glass plate with bubbles and some ornaments and candles. Some of the candle holders I had, a couple I purchased this year.

And here's the complete table. I love the layered look and using all of my different glassware. It drives the girls insane and they say the table is too busy. The red champagne glasses I've had for years and also use them for Valentine's Day and 4th of July. Can't remember where the snowman glasses came from but the Christmas tree highballs were a housewarming gift from my brother-in-law and sister-in-law when we first moved into this house and they match my dishes. Have no idea where the hand-painted peppermint wine glasses came from either (maybe a dirty Santa one year??).

As my friend Richard would say . . .

. . . What in the Hell????
Holy Ish! I am a total sucker for Awkward Family Photos and this Holiday Edition is no exception. I can't stop laughing. I mean, howling out loud, tears running down my eyes kind of laughing.

Oh wait! How'd that get in there??? That's not a Christmas photo!!!

hahahaha