Monday, January 2, 2012

2011--our year in review--part 1

can it really be 2012?
when i was a little girl, i thought that surely by the time i was in high school, we'd be living all space age like the jetson's! so needless to say, the fact that 1991 has come and gone and i'm driving an suv instead of some sort of hover craft is a tad bit disappointing. ;)
we've had a fun-sad-interesting-peaceful-exciting sort of year. here are a few highlights, broken into 6 months because i was going a bit overboard on the pictures.

january
*we try to start out the year with a self-portrait--just a little glimpse of what we're like right now.


*we got our first snow on january 9 & we were so excited!


*mckinlee had so much fun playing outside


*michele had a crafting party for the girls--they made bracelets and a beautiful shell container. our c.o.'s wife, tamara, also showed them how to write their names in calligraphy.


*here's mck and tamara


*we had our special day assembly this month and this was the theme:

*mck & i at the assembly--doesn't she look thrilled to be posing with me? ha!



february*our second snow came this month & this was a whopper! it actually broke records here in texas.
we were snowed/iced in and none of us left the house for a week! it was great.
chris tried to get work done at home--but he was getting serious cabin fever.
i remember him saying the only good thing about being snowed in was that we weren't out spending money! ha! spoken like a true accountant.

*the view out our front door

*mckinlee & cosmo playing on the back porch

*i even got out in it for a little while


*i figured i better document this with a phone shot--we might not ever have this kind of weather again!


*being house-bound allowed mck the opportunity to try a new craft--making all sorts of things with duct tape. aren't these pretty?

*one of the sad things about this year--this was the month my grandma died. we were so glad we had gone to see her a few months before.


*i won 2 pairs of boots from a little junk in my trunk--you would be amazed at all the fabulous things she finds from goodwill!

* i got my new car this month & i am loving having an suv again.


march

* we went to waco to celebrate mom & les' 2nd anniversary.
we went out to dinner and then back to danielle's for presents and dessert.


*i got to spend some time with this cutie!



*i had been waiting for this eye shadow palette to come back in stock and it finally did. LOVE this stuff--it's all i use now!


*chris and i celebrated our 17th anniversary with a weekend trip downtown. we stayed at this pretty hotel.


*chris thought it was a little too "austin powers" for him--i thought it was pretty cool and modern!


* we had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant about 40+ stories up. the view was amazing!


*i planted my spring pots for the front and back porches.


april

*mckinlee finally got her first phone!


*she had her spring orchestra concert.


*and nana was able to come visit and go to it.


*she made us a beautiful card and got us sweet presents for our anniversary.
(we tend to exchange gifts a little late.)


*the most important night of the year for us--the memorial of jesus christ's death.


*i, finally, completely cleaned out the storage room beyond my pantry.

*so much better!


may

*mckinlee and i made cute teacher appreciation gifts.

*mom, danielle & sadie came for a fun visit.


*mck's orchestra at the sandy lake u.i.l. competition. they placed 1st!


*we went to waco to celebrate our anniversary with our families.
(chris' busiest time of year is right at our anniversary in march. so we end up celebrating with family usually a few months later.)

the pretty dessert table mom had set up

*we don't look too bad for being an old married couple.


*all three of us


*danielle, mom & me


*more celebrating--with chris' mom and dad.


*mck & i came back later in may to be at parker's baby shower that danielle had for kami.


*we love this girl!


*mck's final concert of the year.


june


*i tried to get into extreme couponing by starting with cvs--this only lasted a little while, but i did find some great bargains.


*april had a lovely girl's tea party.


*mckinlee on her last day of school.
we have a little tradition: ever since she started school--she always wears the same thing on the first and last day and we take pictures to see how she's changed.


*coming out of school on the last day.


*before we left to go to the great american scrapbook convention in arlington.


*mck & kathy doing a make-n-take at one of the booths.


*got a new rug and new pillows and lamps to change things up a little in the living room.


*i just liked this picture of d and i at our grandmother's house.


*our district convention was this month.


*abby, claire & mckinlee


*chris & i


*valarie, me & patricia working in the book room.


so...that's where i'll stop for now.
tune in tomorrow for july-december.
i promise it will be just as fascinating as january-june. ha!

Friday, December 16, 2011

friday randoms

1. mckinlee found cosmo the other day snuggled up in the electric blanket.

2. i got my project life stuff. i picked the clementine edition and it is beautiful!

3. this was what i ate after i finished my cleanse: whole wheat pizza from whole foods, decaf coffee and a chocolate tart. it was so good--but i woke up the next morning feeling terrible. i think i've learned this time that it's worth it to eat better since it really does make me feel better.

4. michele cut my hair--i needed it so bad! isn't her room gorgeous?

5. here's my new perfume--coach poppy flower. it smells so good! i ordered it off of ulta.com and got a bag full of samples and a darling robe that fit mckinlee.

6. i got a $25 coupon from origins the other day in the mail. i went this week and got this big jar of wonderful-ness for only $3! this is one of my very favorite scents and it's so soft and silky.

7. danielle, kali & kami came last weekend and we had the best time shopping, laughing and eating! here we are before they went home.

8. mckinlee stayed home from school with a sore throat. we spent the day by the fire folding mounds of clothes (ok--that was just me), drinking hot tea and watching home alone 2.

9. my throat is scratchy and my nose is stopped up. boo :(

10. i can't wait for mckinlee to get out of school. she has 2 whole weeks off and we have a lot of fun planned!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

what i wore wednesday

wow--it's wednesday again! linking up to the pleated poppy for what i wore wednesday.

jeans: vigoss from nordstrom
shirt: jcrew outlet
sweater: delia from goodwill
scarf: walmart
hat: target
pin: the pleated poppy
boots: target from goodwill
necklace: forever 21

cords: sister?
shirt: target
sweater: old navy
shoes: sketchers from dillards
give thanks necklace: very jane

jeans: vigoss
shirt: target
scarf: kohls
boots: kohls
jewelry: kohls
belt: swap

dress: target
sweater: old navy
belt: anthropologie
jeggings: jcp
necklace & boots: goodwill

and just to keep it real--this is what i change into the moment i come home!
pj pants(love these--they were on sale last week for $10) & shirt (it says try and keep up--clearanced to $2.98!): target
socks: came with my daughter's snuggie

that's all--thanks for dropping by!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

what i wore wednesday

good morning girls!
linking up with lindsey at the the pleated poppy for another what i wore wednesday.
(remember this is not because i think i have the greatest outfits--it's just to get out of the rut of wearing pajama pants all the time and put a little thought into what you wear. and believe me, with this cold weather...all i want to do is stay in my cozy pants beside the fire and read a book!)

jeans: vigoss from nordstrom
tee: target
striped shirt: kohls
boots: dsw

then i added a darling scarf my friend patricia made me

jeans: same
shirt: target
sweater: jcp
scarf: walmart
boots: target
(don't look at my horrible hair & morning face--it got better as the day went on!)

whole outfit & shoes: target
belt: anthropologie
necklace: goodwill

bad picture--but here are the shoes.
mck & i love these mary janes. we also have them in gray (and i just ordered them in red) and it seems like one of us is always wearing them!

skirt: goodwill (target brand)
sweater: target
shirt: kohls
boots: dsw
socks: target
necklace: resale shop
belt: anthro

i asked mckinlee to take a picture of my outfit and this is what i get:
jeggings: jcp
shirt: jcrew factory
sweater: old navy
boots: target
scarf: can't remember

as you can see, when i'm not at home in my pajama pants, my winter uniform is apparently skinny jeans, a sweater & boots!

Monday, December 5, 2011

girl's luncheon

i keep forgetting to post these pictures from a fun girl's luncheon we had at my house a while back. our friend, april's son is getting married in march to the sweetest girl from michigan, i think. she and her mom were down visiting, so we wanted several of us girls to get together to get to know them a little better.
patricia, mindy, april

monica, april's daughter and shemen, her future daughter-in-law

shemen's mom, hope and michele

me and julie

we had a fun afternoon talking and eating yummies!

michele brought the best pimento cheese i've ever had--she said she got it at central market.

mindy made a fabulous artichoke soup

patricia made authentic chilean impanadas

and i made mini chocolate cheesecakes and

lemon cookies (our german friend, romy's recipe)
these are amazing!
(somehow, my posts always end up involving food!
in other food news...only 2 more days of our cleanse. YAY!)