it's halloween, don't depress me.

I've seen many posts today through the blog-verse stating that so many of you aren't really into Halloween. To which I actually said out loud "Are you serious?" It makes me sad. Don't depress me on this fun day people. (Not really depressed just being over dramatic). I'm not really fearful of anything in the supernatural world, well minus aliens, I don't mess with that shizz. And I totally get people that aren't into the scary stuff (if you're legit freaked out, I get it), or dressing up, but I guess in the end I have to agree to disagree because frankly I think that's crazy.  Clearly this girl loves Halloween. It's literally my favorite holiday, right up there with New Years Even, Christmas and July 4th.

via google

So yeah... Halloween. Dude, I love it. Candy, costumes, fun times, spooky movies! I love having a chance every year, when we make plans to dress up as someone other than myself.  

This year we aren't going out, I sort of hate when Halloween happens on a weekday and local bars aren't open on a weekend to celebrate but, I have to think about it this way. I live in a college town, Thursday night is usually the big night out for college kids - and it seems only fitting for all the bars to hold parties tonight, instead of last weekend or this weekend. So my older, non-college attending booty will be staying home because, in my mid 30's it's not really forgivable or smart to come to work hungover. Trust me I did it on St. Paddy's day and it wasn't attractive, smart or professional. Lesson learned.

via google

While Mike and I are simply going to hang at the house, probably watch some scary movies (or Arrow), make dinner, do laundry and HOPEFULLY hand out the candy I purchased again, for the third time, to neighborhood kiddos. It will be a good night, to me. It will be the true meaning of Halloween, in my opinion.

I love all things supernatural. Ghost stories, vampire stories, witches, warlocks, stories about monsters made in basements, black cats, scary movies about backwoods people hunting folks down. I like, to be genuinely scared. It's not just exciting, but it also makes me thankful that these demons and things aren't in my everyday life. I've got a husband and family that loves me and honestly, life is good.

This morning to celebrate, I listened to Thriller on vinyl. It was my parents copy that I always coveted as a kid for years. It always gets me in the mood for the haunted holiday at hand. I've eaten enough halloween candy, and I've watched a few scary movies. It's almost time for Thanksgiving and Christmas so I will make one more feverish attempt to celebrate Halloween, before it's gone again, until next year.

What are your plans for Halloween??? 
Are you dressing up???

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
I hope you get more treats than tricks!

P.S. A black cat totally crossed my path this morning on my way to work. Did I freak, no, I smiled, got excited, put an "X" with my finger on my windshield and told the little fella to run on home.

P.P.S. Superstitions fascinate me. And frankly I own a black cat so one crosses my path EVERY, SINGLE, DAY. No worries. That being said, you won't catch me walking under ladders, and I always lift my feet when going over train tracks.

via google

[wanna-be] rockstar diaries // birthday edition

Look who's 36! That's right, I said it, I admitted it, and I'm owning it! 36 and Proud! Just don't tell my newly forming wrinkles or they might get the wrong idea! My birthday weekend was epic, but so as not to bore you I've put it in bullet form, so enjoy!!! For all those that sent wishes here, on Facebook, twitter etc THANK YOU SO SO MUCH!!!

For those of you who commented "wear the glasses" I got this response after leaving for the night, so I didn't wear them. I felt strange sporting "FAKIES" when I wear real glasses.



The Wanna-Be Rockstar Diaries
SATURDAY // 12.1.12 HIGHLIGHTS

• Birthday being on a Saturday is already a great start for a B-Day Weekend! 
• Mike go the a hilarious card, because in our house we don't do sappy. Well we do, but not often. Card promised drinks, cover charge and a fun time in Nashville for the weekend ahead! 
• Mike's mom called to wish me a happy birthday and sang to me over the phone! I loved it! My mom used to do the same thing for me every year. 
• SEC Championship Football game was the day's entertainment. Georgia vs. Alabama, ROLL TIDE! 
• Dinner was smoked pork butt, and lots of good sides made by Mike's parents.
• Mike's mom made me a Coconut Cake for my birthday (my favorite) - my wish was one that wasn't wasted! 
• My wish came true - Alabama beat Georgia in the SEC Championship, securing another SEC title AND moving on to the National Championship game against Notre Dame! And yes, I did make a wish on my only birthday candle for that win. Dedication, y'all! 
• ALABAMA WINNING THE SEC CHAMPIONSHIP - made my day!
• Cleaned up, dressed up and ready to rock Mike and I hitched a ride with some old friends to head out for a night on the town to see a few friends' bands play. 
• Friends are so good to me, and to us, they payed our cover charge for the gig and purchased drinks for our birthdays (Mike's is on the 8th, we usually celebrate together). 
• Awesome bands to rock the night way to for my birthday made it all the more special. An Abstract Theory (Mike's classmate from HS is the drummer), The Authority which played a ton of great 70's, 80's and 90's covers. And our dear friend [who was also one of our groomsmen] N's band Jolly Roger melted our faces with the power of METAL!
• I have a new found respect for rockstars that play day in and day out. I used to think, it can't be THAT loud, why do they need ear plugs.... I found out why Saturday night. My ears were ringing and felt swollen, I couldn't hear and honestly felt dizzy due to the deafening sound. Ok maybe a few of the drinks and shots had something to do with it but I blame my inner ear for my side step, totally.
• Jolly Roger's set list included METAL greats like Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Ozzy, and may others. My ears may have been bleeding but I totally enjoyed it, and was able to hear them give me a birthday shout out right before they played War Pigs, which is one of my favorite songs they play. (Set List and Lead Singer aka our pal N below - click to enlarge)

• Rockin' night, home safe and sound due to N's wifey T giving us a ride home and in bed by 2 am. Feels like I'm 20 something again.

SUNDAY // 12.2.12 HIGHLIGHTS

• Woke-up without a hangover. SCORE! Maybe turning 36 isn't so bad after all.
• Realized that statement was slightly false after getting ready and hitting the road to Nashville and feeling the need for a serious nap, only 3 hours after waking.
• Heading to Nashvegas to see THE WHO in concert for OUR birthdays - epic!
• Dozed off half way to Nashville. I hate being the person that falls asleep on the driver, but I needed it. I woke not necessarily refreshed but felt a bit better.
• Nashville was bumping for a Sunday afternoon when we arrived in town. I assume it was because of the concert and probably the Titans game that was in session.
• Seeing a mob of disappointed Titan fans coming down off the bridge in downtown after the game. Sorry fans of TN, I just don't like the Titans.
• Getting a tasty rueben at the Brewhouse downtown in Nashville and some much needed water for my dehydration issue.
• Walking around downtown taking in all the sights - getting a much needed workout, it's been too long. Hitting up all the different parts of the city that Mike didn't frequent and did frequent when he lived there and listening to his stories from that time in his life. This is the 3rd time we've been to Nashville together. All three visits have been for something specific (visits w/ friends etc) so maybe sometime in the near future the two of us can go there, stay the night downtown and really, truly enjoy it for all it is. I have yet to really sit in a honky tonk for an evening.
• We had tons of time to spare between lunch and the concert so we hit up the Frist Center for some art and culture. I really enjoyed the installation by Carrie Mae Weems. It was moving and a bit eye opening.
• We had just enough time to spare before the concert to take a breather and wait outside the arena before the show started. Taking in the night sky, the Christmas lights all around the city and the sound of music bellowing out of every bar. It was a moment of peace in the city. For me at least.
• We caught the last 5 minutes of the Steelers vs. the Ravens game while in the lobby at the arena. Surrounded by a few people in front of the TV it took me a few moments to realize I was actually surrounded by people rooting FOR the Steelers. That doesn't happen often. But I was excited. I made jokes with a few of them, and we cheered together. I didn't get to watch the whole game but being tied 20/20 at the final moments of the game and having the Steelers win it by only a field goal was pretty amazing. Cherry on top of a birthday weekend for sure!!! 

Nashville should be the City That Never Sleeps • via my instgram

THE WHO // 12.2.12 

I wanted to do this in bullet form as to not lose your interest before getting to this part. There was a lot from my birthday to take in, but I will say this. The show was AMAZING! If you've never seen The Who and want to, I say DO IT. Eat ramen noodles for weeks if you have to, in order to afford tickets, you won't be disappointed.

Mike had purchased Pearl Jam tickets for us for our anniversary so when we discovered The Who was coming to town, I knew I would have to get them for us, for our birthdays. As Mike described this concert to one of the other fans there, it was his White Whale. He's been wanting to see them for ages. As I believe I stated before, I've heard The Who live before - in 1976. My mother was pregnant at the time, and in the 2nd row and apparently I was rocking out in the womb, kicking to the beat of the music. Obviously I have no memory of this, but I like the thought of being somewhat present at The Who show in the 70's.

We walked around the arena about 2 times in circles casing out the food and the drinks. We settled on some Gatorade since we were still feeling dried out, and later some Diet Pepsi (gag, I hate Pepsi) and some "Gas Station" style pizza from one of the venders to fill us up before the show.

When they finally opened the upper level to patrons we headed up to our seats that were in Section 336. I would have loved to get closer seats but with so much happening at the end of this year that will require money, I got the closest most affordable seats that were left. The upper level, it wouldn't be great but we would be THERE!

At the top of the steps there were ushers asking us what our section was, and then directing us to a table. The man said we'd be issued new seats. Immediate panic... NEW SEATS? Better ones? Or crappier ones? WTF I paid good money for these tickets .. I deserve... OH... wait... when the woman handed us our new tickets... they read Section 104. WHAT? UPGRADE? HELL YEAH!!!!

Happy as a lark I followed Mike down the steps to our new level seats... we were in section 104, row H and we were off to the right side of the stage. SCORE!!! And other than a family that drove me absolutely bonkers because they couldn't stay in their seats the entire wait for the show, it was perfect! We were the first 2 seats in that row.

OPENING ACT: VINTAGE TROUBLE

If you have never heard of this band - google them. Trust me you will love them. If you enjoy music that sounds and feels like classic soul and early rock, you'll love them. If you miss James Brown, or Otis Redding - you will be obsessed with their lead singer. They had so much heart and great stage presence. I mean they were opening for The Who!!! And they killed it and eventually a crowd that was once sitting was standing and dancing with them by the time they got to their last 4 songs. What I thought was doubly cool was that after the show, they were going to be playing across the street at Tootsies at 12:00 midnight. If ONLY we didn't have to head home after the show I would have gone in a heartbeat to hear more by them.

THE WHO - QUADROPHENIA & MORE

Mike's favorite Who album is Quadrophenia. He was recently excited to find it on vinyl while picking at a local antique store. He'd been searching for it for some time, and this one was in great condition. He didn't hesitate to bring it home. I myself, am fan of The Who, but I don't have the history with the band like Mike does. I can recall my father listening to them from time to time, and of course thanks to CIS shows we all know their most popular tunes, but I've always been a huge fan of Tommy. Maybe it's my roots of loving all things rock-opera/musical. I was obsessed with Sgt. Peppers as a kid. Tommy's music really drew me in. I only recently watched the movie with Mike and all I could say at the end was "THE EFF?" It made no true sense to me, but I still loved the music and the imagery. And maybe much like Sgt. Peppers if I had just done some LSD it might have made it more understandable. To be fair, I watched Sgt. Peppers a while back as an adult and I thought the same thing... "THE EFF IS THIS ALL ABOUT?!?!?" The music, clearly.

The lights dimmed, and the crowd went crazy as the last surviving members of The Who and their band took the stage. I tugged on Mike's shirt sleeve and said what I always say, "They're RIGHT there!!!" I always get a rush knowing I'm in the SAME room, even though it's HUGE and I paid money to be there, with someone I idolize. I didn't cry when Pete and Roger took the stage [like I did when I saw AC/DC], but I was grinning from ear to ear.

The band was bigger than normal, with extra guitars, brass instruments, keyboards and pianos. I didn't realize until about half way through that they were playing the entire Quadrophenia album as intended. Every excerpt, every cut to, every note as you would hear it on the album was played as if you were in the middle of a broadway show, or listening to a symphony. It finally clicked for me after about the 4th song.

Each musical number was backed by graphics on three screens above their heads, and one behind them. Historical moments not just for the band but also in US and world history. It really hit me how much other countries pay attention to what happens here in the United States, and often times how little I know about what is happening over seas. I only know what the news tells me, for some reason it feels like The Who, and people involved in their stage show dug deeper.

It's hard for me to remember exactly what images, went with what songs but it was all, extremely moving. Between reliving the golden years with Keith Moon & John Entwistle through photos and video that they played during key points in songs to historical moments in our history as a country. There were great moments when they played a bass solo by John on the big screen, and moments when they would play a drum solo by Keith as well as moments when he took the mic during shows to sing. I looked down and you could see both Pete and Roger turned toward the screens to watch these moments. Smaller screens revealed footage of their faces reacting to this video and they smiled, laughed and you could tell they truly felt lucky to have done all they have, with these people.

Half way through one of the songs there was footage, ranging from the Vietnam War up until current times today, highlighting wars, and struggle the US has had like 9-11, Hurricane Katrina, and many others. At this point, I lost it. Welled up and tears were streaming down my face. I can't describe to you how moving it was to hear their voices with these images. Part way through the Union Jack flag, morphed into the US flag and the fan cheered. It was truly moving.

For the last song of the set, the lights dimmed, and slowly an image of what looked like rain on the screens started to light up [upon further focus I realized it was video of waves, turned on it's side made to look like sparkling rain]. The band started to play the opening notes of "Love Reign O'er Me" and the crowd went nuts. For most of the set, most of the crowd, ourselves included were sitting. To be fair most of the crowd was much older than me, with a mix of youth and 20 somethings but it was almost as if you were at a symphony show, as I said before. Sitting didn't seem strange at all. Once this song started though, EVERYONE was on their feet. It was the finale and you didn't want to miss a moment of it.

The Who is Magic • via my instagram

I welled up again - maybe it was all the footage I just watched, or because I've always felt moved when I heard this song but tears came quickly. It was, amazing. I couldn't believe after all these years, they still had it. And I was SO thankful!

Once finished - the band addressed the audience for the first time. I found it odd during the performance that they never said anything between songs - but then I realized it was like a play, or a show, not a concert and that was their full intention. Pete took time to talk to the crowd, and make jokes and explain Rogers vision for this show and how he wanted to present it, and how the band of talented musicians, including Pete's brother pulled it off and brought it to life.

It was so great to see their personality, to see them talking, chatting and joking with one another on stage. Roger took time to compliment Nashville on the Ryman Auditorium and how the town was so lucky to have a building with so much soul. I could have swore that they stated that the band had NEVER played Nashville, but don't quote me on that - they did however thank us for a well received welcome and appreciation for their evening.

To thank us, they started in to the set to play ... AND MORE of their evening. They played many key hits from over the years. I was so happy they decided to include Pinball Wizard, because it's one of my favorites. I would have loved to hear them also sing Tommy. The entire band ended the night with "Won't Get Fooled Again" and I"m happy to say that the entire night Roger hit EVERY note, just as he would have back in the day, it was amazing!!!!

PHOTO BY MIKE

The Who • via Mike's Instagram

The entire band gave a bow and waved goodnight leaving only Roger and Pete on the stage to talk with the audience one last night. As the screams of adoration died down Pete pulled out his acoustic guitar and Roger walked to the front of the stage with a cup of tea. Only spotlights remained at this time. There was no flash, no sparkle from the lights. Only spotlights and big screens to see them up close. Pete started in with Tea and Theatre. Just the two of them, the original members to close out the night with a moving song. I welled up again. Yes, rock makes me cry people.

TEA AND THEATRE

Will you have some tea 

At the theatre with me? 

We did it all 

Didn't we? 

Jumped every wall 

Instinctively 

Unravelled codes 

Ingeniously

Wired all the roads 

So seamlessly 

We made it work 

But one of us failed 

That makes it so sad 

A great dream derailed

 

One of us - gone 

One of us - mad 

One of us - me 

All of us sad 

All of us sad 

Lean on my shoulder now 

This story is done

 It's getting colder now 

A thousand songs

Still smoulder now 

We play them as one 

We're older now 

All of us sad 

All of us free 

Before we walk from this stage 

Two of us 

Will you have some tea 

Will you have some tea 

At the theatre with me

*** TELL ME THAT WOULDN'T MAKE YOU TEAR UP! ***

It was beautiful, perfect and epic to close with this song, just the two of them. I left with excitement, warm fuzzes and not a single ounce of disappointment.

I was so happy to have the chance to gift this to my husband, Mike for his birthday. And it was a gift to myself too. Every time we share music together, it's awesome. And I'm happy I gave him the chance to catch his musical White Whale.

So there you have it, after a long ride home, my birthday weekend was over. We went to bed at 2 am, woke up for work the next day and worked like zombies. But I wouldn't change a sleepless second for anything. 36 has started with a bag and I intend to enjoy every moment of it!

this one goes out to the one I love.

Dear M,
First and most importantly, Happy Valentine's Day Babe! I'm so excited we were able to celebrate our first Valentine's Day as husband and wife in such a special way. I enjoyed our dinner, and our time spent together and look forward to tonight as well. I hope that this first Valentine's Day is just a reflection of many happy hears of celebration for us in the future. Thank you for always being so patient and thoughtful and for putting up with me even when I'm not the most patient or thoughtful person on earth. You are to me, the best Valentine and partner I could have ever asked for.

I love you.
love, K oxox

 

You're My Best Friend

Queen

Ooh you make me live

Whatever this world can give to me

It's you you're all I see

Ooh you make me live now honey

Ooh you make me live

Ooh you're the best friend that I ever had

I've been with you such a long time

You're my sunshine and I want you to know

That my feelings are true

I really love you

Oh you're my best friend

Ooh you make me live

Ooh I've been wandering round

But I still come back to you

In rain or shine

You've stood by me girl

I'm happy at home

You're my best friend

Ooh you make me live

Whenever this world is cruel to me

I got you to help me forgive

Ooh you make me live now honey

Ooh you make me live

You're the first one

When things turn out bad

You know I'll never be lonely

You're my only one

And I love the things

I really love the things that you do

You're my best friend

Ooh you make me live

I'm happy at home

You're my best friend

Oh you're my best friend

Ooh you make me live

You you're my best friend

vintage D2BD

MERRY HOLIDAYS 

& A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A little Vintage Kelly for Holiday Cheer Circa 1978, I was two.

I hope all your holidays 

are Merry and Bright!!!!

seasons greetings one and all.

I figured I'd share the two cards Mike and I are sending out this year. I say sending because they are sitting in my purse waiting for my lazy butt to get to the post office or even the grocery store to snag some stamps. So if you are on my mailing list rest assured you'll get yours, it's just going to be late. Story of my life!

We did two options this year, mostly because some family members and friends didn't make it to the wedding and because well, I wanted to get the most out of our engagement and wedding photos.

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!

[p.s. yes, I made these, I took some inspiration from online stores that I couldn't afford or had time to order from and made my own. And no, my new last name isn't "No Stalking", although that would be pretty sweet].

Did you send Holiday cards this year?

where has the year gone?

I swear only yesterday I was getting married, and now it's a week from Christmas. Where did this year go? Yes I still plan on telling you about my wedding and my honeymoon, and all that goes with that. I've just been waiting patiently to get my pictures back from our photographer. She sent them out yesterday and I'm so excited. I've seen proofs, they're amazing and I am really pleased with how they turned out. So all in do time my lovelies.

Does anyone else feel like this year has been a blur? It still doesn't feel like Christmas to me yet, no matter how many movies I watch [read: Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation, Bad Santa, Die Hard, and on and on], or how many times I put Christmas music on the radio.

Maybe it's because this year didn't have the standard flow of events. Our wedding was right before Halloween, my favorite holiday. We missed Halloween festivities since we were on our honeymoon, which is a great filler trust me but sometimes I just need Halloween. After that we switched up plans to spend Thanksgiving in Maryland with my father. We usually spend it here with Mike's family. Point being not a single fall-winter holiday has been as it usually is and I think I'm going to blame that for my lack of Christmas cheer... although I'm rather cheerful just not feeling like it's Christmas yet.

Shopping will be completed this weekend, thank goodness. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. This year Mike and I did most of our shopping online. We used Pinterest [so addicting] to create WISH LISTS for each other. This in theory helped out a ton because we were able to give each other links to all our desires and purchase them for each other in one click. It all went smoothly until Mike gave his mom the link to his wish list, to show her an idea he had for his dad, that he also thought he might like to receive for Christmas... and then I panicked fearing she'd buy everything on there, and leave me with nothing. Crisis averted, thank goodness! We worked it all out. But it was touch and go there for a moment. Could you imagine... first Christmas as a married couple and all that was left for me to get him would be socks and underwear? Sooo romantic.

Last year we did a lot of local shopping for everyone on our list and it felt amazing to help our community AND to get out locally and not hit up the mall for gifts. I think I am going to do this again next year. The gifts were more meaningful, the shopping was less stressful and I actually felt good and like it was Christmas for the entire season.

I hope you have all your shopping and baking finished. I myself haven't touched the baking yet... and not sure if I will. However I do have to bake a cheesecake for Christmas dinner. I hope I don't get frazzled before then.

So, are you ready for Christmas?

P.S. I promise to update more often, now that things are slowing down. Tis the Season!

happy 420 day... duuuuudddeeee

I've been so busy lately my brain feels like mush. It's like I'm high, living in a cloud of reefer smoke without any of the benefits. While I can't claim to be any type of weed professional, because I really can't. I will say I've had a smoke a time or two and this hazy brain feeling is a lot of what I experienced without any of the giggles or munchies.

Since my brain is so fried from work and running at full speed in general these days I thought I'd take the lazy stoner way out of this and repost one of my favorite previous Tickled Tuesday posts.

So sit back, light one up, if you so choose and sit back and ready about my all time favorite Stoner Characters. Oh and Happy 420 Day to those of you who smoke a Jay or two on a day like today!

I'd like to add one to the list of fictional stoner characters here today... The cast of That 70's Show! I loved this show and was sad to see it end! If you're having a bad day, just head to Foreman's basement!

via google

irish blessings

It's St. Patrick's Day!!!! I know you have all heard the old saying... I'm not Irish, but I've had Irish in me right? Well it's true for me. Yep, I went there. For the record, Mike is Irish. I'll let that marinate in your brain for a moment.  Finished? Not yet... gross! You perv! Anyclover...

I wanted to say to all my readers both 

Irish and Not and also the only Irish at certain times...

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!!

via

I thought I'd send a few Irish Blessings your way: 

From my English/German/Dutch/Sometimes Irish heart to yours!

So cheers to you and your green bears or martinis!
Happy St. Patrick's Day one and All! ox

When Irish eyes are smiling,
Tis like a morn in spring.
With a lilt of Irish laughter
You can hear the angels sing
When Irish hearts are happy
All the world is bright and gay
When Irish eyes are smiling
Sure, they steal your heart away.

May your blessings outnumber
The shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.

May you be in
Heaven a half hour before the
Devil knows you're dead!
[my favorite]

There are many good reasons for drinking,
One has just entered my head.
If a man doesn't drink when he's living,
How in the hell can he drink when he's dead?

May the best day of your past
Be the worst day of your future.

For more go here.

happy valentine's day.

I just thought I'd write a little something today to say Happy Valentine's to you, my loves! Thank you for your support and friendship!

I had an amazing early Valentine's Day with Mike yesterday. We enjoyed Adam Sandler's new movie Just Go With It [extremely cute, just not the usual Sandler, I was a bit disappointed in that] and had an amazing dinner that he made including chicken stuffed with crab meat - AWESOME!!! I hope you all have a wonderful day! May it be filled with warm fuzzies, lots of hugs from friends, family and loved ones and above all good wine and chocolate!!! Things I had more than enough of yesterday!

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And for all my anti-valentine's day pals....

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dare to dream.

I don't want to talk about football today [although I'm extremely excited about it], I want to talk about something more important. An important man is celebrated today and I really don't think I could put it any better than I did last year. So at the risk of seeming a bit lazy this morning, I want to give a link to my post on this topic last year. Martin Luther King, Jr. will always be a huge role model to me. He was an amazing man. Remember him today for all he was, all he did and all he remains to be to each of us that live with a dream in our hearts and love in our souls.

REMEMBERING A DREAM

seasons greetings

home for christmas.

It's no secret that Mike and I love the quaint small town we live in here in Alabama. We are avid local business supports and as the holidays drew closer this year we decided to show them all how much we appreciated them. As a team we set out on a quest to purchase all of our Christmas gifts at neighborhood mom and pop stores. I'm happy to report that over 80% of our gifts were purchased locally. I enjoy knowing that we are stimulating our local economy and helping build upon our community.

I will be the first to admit that I failed when it came to purchasing Mike's gifts from local merchants - but to be fair the only things on his Christmas list were items that aren't made here in town. Literally if you looked at his list and held it up to a 13 year old boy's Christmas list, they would be identical. Lots of PS3 and XBox style items.  Everyone else on our list has received something purchased here from local stores, minus a gift card and one other gift which I can't mention due to the fact that the person may read this.

We avoided just about every bit of holiday stress by doing this. You want to know how many times we've made a trip to the mall since Thanksgiving, ZERO. That's right. We haven't stepped foot in the mall once this season for Christmas shopping. The only reason we went to the mall at all was when Mike needed a haircut before Thanksgiving, that's it. I can't begin to tell you how awesome that is. Trips to Target this season for holiday shopping? ONE! Mike may have ventured there on his own, so we could say TWO if need. Number of times I cussed people up and down in my head while shopping in our downtown area... ZERO. This to me is an amazing feeling in itself and almost like a gift we gave each other of a better over all feeling and well being for Christmas. Talk about having the Christmas Spirit, it's so much easier when you aren't feeling like you may need to strangle someone... when you don't have to wait in a long ass line to get two items... when you don't have to bash someone's cart out of your way... and when you actually have the owner of the store cater to you, and help you with all your questions, thoughts and concerns because they want to, not because corporate has told them they need to.

With all the local shopping we've had an overwhelming feeling of pride for our town and the owners of these stores are floored and excited when we told them about our game plan to buy all local. One merchant even gave me a discount on 2 items I purchased when she heard that come from our lips. She thanked me over and over and hoped we'd get our word out so more people would do the same. We have every possible big name store you could hope for around here, and even though our mall is a little sad it is a decent place to shop for a lot of people all at once - I by no means think everyone should do this, you may not have a selection of great local stores around your town like we do, but the next time you go out shopping for holidays, birthdays, or anything maybe take a few minutes to think about what treasures you may find in a non-chain store. And at the same time how you may be helping out a business owner in your community, one that doesn't have a huge backing financially but is full of heart and pride for their stores and their community.

Taking this hometown Christmas a step further, in order to help out our fellow man, and our planet we went with the whole, reduce, reuse and recycle theory to our gift wrap this year. We usually purchase all new wrapping paper every year, instead this year we are reusing a rustic snowflake paper we've had for at least two years. It's almost gone, and that's upsetting and exciting at the same time. To know that with the money I saved on wrapping paper I can put it toward stocking stuffers, is totally exciting. The roll being almost gone is what's upsetting, I really love the pattern. Since most of our gifts were purchased locally, we also received free gift wrapping! We let the gift wrap from the first store we shopped at dictate how our wrapping style would be for all our gifts [yes, I like to have a theme/style]. Basic craft wrap and beautiful ribbons were used on my gifts from Mike and some of the gifts we got his family. Most of the items were wrapped up and then placed in large craft bags with tons of tissue paper. I have taken it upon myself to deconstruct the bags, saving them to use for wrapping paper if needed, or bags for larger gifts and saved the tissue which has come in very handy for items that need to be boxed with tissue, and other re-used bags that we have received that fit this same color scheme. We haven't had to purchase one single bit of ribbon, we've only used left over, not a single bit of tissue, or gift bags yet. The only item I purchased new were some name tags. We had contemplated just writing the names on the bags, but then people couldn't reuse them and keep the cycle going so we opted for cheap, stick on tags from Rite Aid. It's only a few days until the big holiday and I don't think we will need anymore gift wrap, and we may even have some left over to reuse again next year. Thankfully at my job we use kraft wrap to fill boxes for transport. I've been able to snag a few scrap bits to wrap Mike's gifts before bringing them home - he not only has a list like a 13 year old, he snoops like one too.  I know that wrapping paper seems like such a little amount of money but when you add up the paper, the tissue, the tags the ribbons all that go together, at the end of the day it's a nice lump of money... money we saved, and by reusing items it's less in the landfill - at least on our end. [Don't think I won't be walking around trying to take back some of the bags we have used this year, they are REALLY cute and I would reuse them again and again].

I can honestly say I've never felt so happy about the holidays as I do this year. I am excited to know that most of the gifts we've chosen for our friends and family, aren't ones that will be found under everyone else's tree this year. We took time and choose each gift with that specific person in mind and it actually felt like it took less time this year than in years past. I think when you're in the mall or department chain you get so overwhelmed and over stimulated by the noise, the people, and the displays that you sometimes over spend or forget why you are there in the first place. I haven't had that overwhelmed feeling this year - safe for maybe my last trip to Target, and it's nice to feel so calm about the holidays coming up. My main panic thing right now is the cookies I need to bake! Regardless of where your gifts come from - I hope you were able to find all you needed for that special someone on your list!!! And most importantly that you have a very happy holiday!

How has your holiday shopping gone this year?


Don't forget to tell me your favorite Christmas memories! Read THIS post!

christmas memories.

Here we are, staring down the last three full days until Christmas Eve. Where did the season go? The preparation I thought I would have? The gifts under the tree I thought would all be purchased and wrapped with pretty little bows. Where did all that go? Out the window I guess. I didn't even get a chance to get together Christmas cards for my friends and family. No, I haven't been all bah humbug, or even a Grinch in the least, I've just a very busy bee I guess. Busy with work, with life, with birthdays - oh MY the birthdays this time of year. In our immediate circle of friends and family alone there have been 7 birthdays between Thanksgiving and now. This tidbit alone is enough to make me feel OK about being a bit behind in finishing my Christmas shopping. It's difficult to get that finished while birthday shopping for others.

How are the rest of you fine ladies and gents doing with all your holiday plans? I know many of you have been blogging your hearts out about Christmas. I must say Shana has been on the ball over at her blog with her days of Christmas count down. Even Salt has popped her head in to keep us up to date on all her holiday cheer. Not to be out done Hotpants has given us the secrets to what her little babies will be finding under her tree and so many more of you have kept my Christmas Spirits high and my feeling like a slacker points right up there as well. All "letting it slide" aside, I've been rather jolly this year. For the first time in two years since my mother passed away I've felt semi normal during the holidays this year. That's not to say I haven't lost it a few times, but in the end I carry with me the memories that she always made possible this time of year. I thought what better way to blog about the holidays than to share memories that always make this time of year so special to me, and in turn ask you to share some of yours as well.

Christmas Memories

Wish big! • via

Some of my fondest memories of this season involve my mother, she was always so prepared. No matter how frazzled she may have been on the inside trying to give my father and I the perfect Christmas she rarely let it show.  It all started with the tree. We would walk for hours from tree farm to tree farm to find the perfect tree. Long needles and taller than all of us - it had to touch the ceiling and the "Christmas Chicken" [dove] had to have enough room to fit on top. My birthday is the 1st of December and many years into my teens we would celebrate with a tree decorating slumber party, those were memorable times but I think my most favorite and cherished thoughts were the years when she started to teach me how to decorate the tree. I will always blame my perfectionist ways with tree decorating on her. When I was young child the tree was a huge array of blue and silver hues. I can remember the Christmas balls like it was yesterday in the perfect shade of bright blue. Our lights were always white. ALWAYS white.

This ain't yo momma's tree • via

My mother hated multi colored strands, I used to be upset that our tree didn't blink, or have twinkles or different colors, but once I got a bit older I completely appreciated my mother's attention to not only detail but her taste as well. Never one to leave any detail out, my mother always made sure my yearly creations made it back on the tree. From the popsicle stick sled to the toilet paper tube drummer boy, they were always there, front and center. While many of these ornaments didn't survive over the years, a few did and they are ones I have since acquired and that mean the most to me. After I grew out of my crib, my mother transformed the mobile charms into ornaments. Holly Hobby like friends all hung around the tree each year and still do to this day at my home. I plan to hopefully carry on this tradition with my own children one day. Each year I can remember picking out different brass ornaments, having them engraved with my name and placing them on the tree. Bonus points go to the ones we have that actually have the date they were made on them. I like those the most.

Being an only child has it's perks. On Christmas day there was no waiting to see what each kid got around the tree - I could race down the steps, jump to the presents and rip them to shreds without worrying about what anyone else was doing. All eyes were on me. Mom and Dad had already exchanged gifts and it was my time to shine. Santa's gifts always came in different paper, after all why would Santa have the same paper as the grocery store, where my parents purchased theirs. And my stocking was always filled to the brim. There was always a small box or two, filled with sparkles from my father.  I soon learned these gifts came from him, and usually from the jewelry store he always shopped at, again the paper never matched anything else. I was a bit sad yesterday when my father called me to let me know I wouldn't be getting sparkles this year. Truth be told I really don't need anymore. And it wasn't the lack of sparkle that upset me. After 34 years of birthdays and Christmas, I've gained quite a collection of fine jewelry, but he informed me that the sweet man he used to shop with had passed away in October and his store was currently closed for mourning. It's sad to think that such an icon in our lives and my father's favorite shopping option for friends, family and loved ones was gone. He's been shopping there for over 30 years and I can trace just about every fine item of gold back to that man's store, his talent and his art. I had only met him once, and told him I was obsessed with unicorns. I can remember picking out a very small, dainty charm that was a Unicorn head made to look as if it was made of lace. I still have this charm. It's by far my favorite. Over the years, my father and this man became close friends and they had both always marveled over how my taste changed. From gold to white gold, from unicorns to dolphins and from dolphins to owls. I can trace my jewelry box and it's contents all the way back to my 2nd birthday, it's pretty amazing. It's sad to see he's gone, and that a Christmas tradition I always looked forward to will have to live in my memories.

I bet as a child you can remember your mom or grandmother or some family memeber going nuts over Christmas cookies and baking, can't you? I don't know if there are many mom's that went as nuts as my mom did. Thankfully she never had to bake for holiday parties at my school - I think that may have been the straw that would break the camels back on that. But cookies... my GOSH did she make a lot of cookies. Any kind you could imagine, I still don't know how she did it. Cookies for us, cookies for friends, cookies for my grandmothers and family and teachers and cousins. It was crazy how many cookies this woman would make every year. And even crazier how many I would eat ever year!!! She actually had to make extras of certain kinds because my father and I would eat them all! I make cookies each year, but I will never top my mother. After about 4 different recipes I loose my steam and I never carve out enough time to make them all. This year I have all the ingredients and they've been in the pantry for two weeks. I hope to make a dent in them this week, but it's hard to say - those last minute Christmas gifts are still looming over me.

nom, nom, nom • via

I have about a million more memories I could share, but I will leave you with one more, it's my favorite of all time....

Every Christmas, well until I was probably about 12 - 14 years old my mother would tuck me in. After all the lights were off, I had placed out cookies for Santa and all the animals [we had 2 dogs and 2 cats] were snuggled with me in bed, my mother would crack open my bedroom window from the top. She'd tell me goodnight and warned me not to stay up too late or Santa wouldn't come. She explained to me when I was younger that maybe if we left the window cracked I'd be able to hear Santa's sleigh bells coming and know to stay in my room and be quite so that he wouldn't leave without dropping off my gifts. Every year I would crank my ears to listen for bells, and I'm sure every year I would drift off after staying up way too late. I swear one year I heard the bells and it took all I had to say in my bed. I wanted to jump out of bed, run down the hall and scream for Santa, my parents and anyone else that was close enough to hear... but I didn't, I laid paralyzed in my bed, not moving a muscle until I thought the coast was clear.  This was also the year I started my own personal tradition... After I thought it was safe, I snuck down the hall on the creaking wood floors, down the steps and into the living room for my first sneak peek of my bounty for the year. It was awesome!!! The Christmas tree lights bounced off the bright paper and I remember the vision like it was yesterday. I figured I had already done too much by peeking son instead of shaking, rattling or breaking any gifts I ran back up stairs without touching a thing and waited for the sun to rise. I learned years before this night that 4 AM is not an acceptable time to wake two parents who had spent the evening drinking wine while I slept, celebrating their own Christmas together. After this year of my first "peek" - every year after that until my parents divorced I would sneak down to look at all my gifts and survey everything, and often times plan my attack on the gifts, which I would open first, if mom and dad said it was OK. You know how they like to leave the best for last and all.

I'm always dreaming of a white Chrsitmas • via

So tell me....
Do you have a favorite Christmas memory or a never ending tradition? Please share for all to read in the comments section!


And above all MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND YOURS!

fixation friday: holiday movies

Hello Lovelies! It's been a while. Not only was Fixation Friday on a break but I guess I was too. I'll try to be better about that but, when life starts tossing you lemons or limes you better make some kick ass mixed drinks and suffer the hangover because honestly how often does life toss you the perfect fruit to compliment vodka right? In not so many words I've been busy. Between Thanksgiving, my birthday and all the holidays that are coming up I'm lucky to have two minutes to myself, let alone time to bang out an awesome blog post. With that in mind I'm going to slightly recycle a post from last year but give it a bit of a tune up. I got to thinking about my favorite holiday movies again after reading Hotpants' post over at Handbags and Handguns.  She's pretty much nailed the holiday spirit in movies right on the head, but I had a few of my own I needed to add. So here are my favorite Christmas movies to date.

A Christmas Story 

Yes I could watch this over and over and over and over and over again and I do every year! It never gets old. I love Ralphie and the entire story! "I can't put my arms down!!!"

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Seriously - Christmas is not the same without this movie - LOVE! I come from a very small family and never truly experienced a holiday quite this chaotic until I started dating Mike. His family is huge and often times it feels like a scene from this movie during the holidays... or maybe from the beginning of THIS movie....

Home Alone

I adore this movie - I could watch it a million times. Mike had Home Alone 2 playing on tv the other night and it just didn't do the trick. #1 is #1! "I got the milk, eggs and fabric softener."

Die Hard

Yes, seriously!!! It's set during Christmas time and he saves the day!

"Ho, Ho, Ho... Now I have a machine gun."

Most girls may not agree but, care? Mike is happy that I enjoy this flick and consider it a holiday tradition, which works out great for us. I think I'll bake some cookies and watch this soon!

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

It's a classic and one that reminds me of being a kid.

Plain and simple!

My next choice is one I was reminded how much I loved last night when I watched it on TV. I own this movie and it just didn't dawn on me how touching this movie is to me until last night. In my opinion you can never go wrong when you put your entertainment trust in a man like Bill Murray.

Scrooged

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this movie.  It's a comedic and touching adaptation of the classic Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, one of my favorite all time Christmas stories, out done only by the Gift of the Magi by O. Henry. That story always touches my heart.

The Family Stone

This movie is beyond touching and I love how real it is. It was tough for me to watch it the first few times, for personal reasons but in the end I realize how magical it really is. It quickly became a seasonal must for me and I will often times watch it in the middle of the summer just to get warm fuzzies!

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Elf (SO adorable)
Bad Santa (while it's not family friend it's freaking funny!)

It's a Wonderful Life

Mean Girls (it has Christmas in it!)

A Charlie Brown Christmas
Four Christmases (We all know the deal with me and Vince)

I could go on and on - what are you favorite holiday movies?

giving thanks.

It's that time of year again. Time to stuff our faces, go into turkey commas, watch football {ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!} and for some of us awaken the next day for the craziest shopping extravaganza ever! {Me included, possibly}. During all this holiday hoopla it's important to remember why we celebrate this holiday. I for one feel it's important to take a day to be eternally thankful for things in your life but I'm also a firm believer that this should be practiced everyday, and if possible, that the people and luxuries in your life, that mean the most should never be taken for granted. All that being said I thought I'd share a list of things I'm thankful for, and in return ask you to tell me what you're most thankful for this holiday and every day of your life.

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all, regardless of if you celebrate this holiday, find a moment everyday to reflect on what you are most thankful for.

Today and Everyday 
I am Most Thankful For:

MY NECESSITIES: 

Mike

My Father

My Mother and the time I had with her.

My Family

My Friends {The Family I chose for myself}

My Loved Ones

My Pets

My Health

My Home

My Job

My Freedom

My Country

My Military

And all of you my loyal readers 

 and most importantly NEW FRIENDS! oxoxo

Today and Everyday
Things I Enjoy and Give Thanks For:

THE LUXURIES: IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER

Love

Laugher

Creativity

Coffee

Clean Drinking Water

Running Water to Bathe With

Food

Shelter
*** DVR

Wine

Captain Morgan

Kettle One

Ice Cold Michelob Ultra

Jack Daniels

Margaritas

Champagne

Ginger Ale

Diet Dr. Pepper

Chocolate

Music and The Arts

Comedy

FOOTBALL!

Snowboarding

Snow

Food Network

HGTV

The History Channel

My Own Cooking Skills

Chelsea Lately!

30 Rock • Community • Parks and Rec • The Office

The Walking Dead • True Blood • Mythbusters

American Pickers • Paranormal State • The Soup

Magic Erasers

PIZZA!

Chicken Wings

Pumpkin Pie

Turkey

Cranberry Sauce

Blogging

Charcoal

Four Letter Words - I love them.

Frizz Ease

Mac and Cheese

P-90X and Fitness

My 2 New Pairs of Boots

Skinny Jeans

Great Haircuts

Mac

Angus Young • Chelsea Handler • Tina Fey • Burt Reynolds

Feminism and Girl Power

The Pilgrims

Mexican Food • Italian Food • Chinese Food • Japanese Food

{basically all the type so of cuisine we can eat here in the U.S.A.}

Peeps

Milk and Cheese

My Jeep

*** Added after the amazingly awesome Hotpants commented and made me realize I left off the most important luxury that I covet every. single. day!! My love you DVR!

Seriously this could go on and on.... I have a lot to be thankful for in my life, way more than I have to be sad about and that's what makes life enjoyable and worth living.

I hope you all have a safe and loving Thanksgiving holiday! 

So tell me what are you most thankful for? How do you celebrate the holiday? And who's ready for TURKEY!?!?!?

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