Our Christmas Cards!

Everyone has been blogging about Shutterfly to get 50 free Christmas cards; but of course, being the anal person that I am, had already ordered and received all of our cards! What a bummer!

I absolutely love Shutterfly, and use it ALL THE TIME! I make photo books for everything, and they always turn out perfect! I searched all over the internet for pretty photo Christmas cards to send out this year, and I kept coming back to the Shutterfly cards. There were so many beautiful choices, I ended up finding like 12 that I loved and had the hardest time deciding what to order!

I knew that I wanted to use some of our wedding photos, so I was looking for a card with multiple openings for pictures. Here are some of my top contenders:

 

I narrowed my choices down to 2 cards, and decided to just go ahead and get them both so I didn't have to make a decision. I LOVE how they both turned out! (sorry for having to blur out our last name!)

{Merry Moments}

{With Love Chartreuse}

I also ordered the With Love Chartreuse Address Labels and they are so cute with both cards!

{With Love Chartreuse Address Labels}

If you haven't already, you DEFINITELY need to order your holiday cards from Shutterfly! The quality is always perfect, and they are always so fast!

12 Days of Christmas: Christmas Traditions!

I am so excited to participate in Aly and Molly's 12 Days of Christmas; today is all about Christmas Traditions!

Just writing this post is making me homesick; I am so excited to be in SC for Christmas!!!

{our new stockings!}

Growing up, we always spent Christmas with my Mema and Papa (mom's parents) in Lake City, SC. I can remember being so worried that Santa Claus might forget that we were at their house and not ours! We always put out cookies, milk, and a note for Santa, and would leave a banana (??) for a little reindeer snack. My mema always slept with me on Christmas Eve, and would tap on the bed to make me think the reindeer were walking on the roof; that always made me fall asleep real quick! On Christmas morning, it was a very important rule that my little brother, Ben, and I had to walk down the stairs to see our presents at the exact same time. That meant that if he woke up at 4AM, he had to coax me out of bed, too, so we could go downstairs.We spent the rest of our time in Lake City playing with all of our cool, new stuff and were thankful that Santa remembered where we were.{Now I wonder how in the world my parents got all of our presents there without us seeing anything...they were talented!}

My grandparents moved to Greenville to be closer to us when I was in middle school, so all of our Christmas plans changed. On Christmas Eve, we have dinner (chili) with family, and attend a service at church. We won't ever go to a midnight service again after my dad and brother passed out and snored at one a few years ago! ;) My brother and I still have to walk downstairs at the same time on Christmas morning, which he hates because I so enjoy sleeping in; those presents can wait! My mom always makes her famous Breakfast Casserole, and we open presents around a toasty fire. After opening the presents from under the tree, we dig into the stockings we have had since we were born to see what kind of goodies we got. My grandparents usually come over for breakfast and to see our presents, although the kind of things we get now aren't as fun to see as all of our new toys used to be! 

{our delicious meal last year}

{sweet baby Lainey Kate last Christmas}

{we're still at the kid table}

We always go to my grandparents house for Christmas Day lunch, and usually fill up on so much delicious food that nobody wants to eat dinner. My brother and sister in law usually come with their two sweet girls dressed in precious Christmas dresses. The past few years, my family has gone to the movies on Christmas night; we like seeing a good movie that needs a big discussion afterward! 

Our traditions may not sound special or formal, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Now that I am married and will someday have my own little family, I would LOVE to find some new traditions to start on our first Christmas together as husband and wife and share with our children many years down the road. I am excited to fuse together my family traditions with my husband's family traditions and also have some of our very own. Any ideas??

Miscellany Monday

{1} We had the most fabulous weekend! We usually have pretty low key weekends since Joe always has a ton of work to do, so I was very excited that we finally had some fun plans! On Friday night, we bought our Christmas tree (fake and pre-lit...super easy!) and decorated it. I was SO excited to finally be able to use all of the ornaments I bought last year! I'll do a post soon with lots of pictures! On Saturday night, we met Joe's friend Sarah from law school and her boyfriend Chris in the city for dinner and drinks. I was so excited to go on a double date; we haven't done that since we moved here! They made reservations for us at Papatzul, a super fun and delicious Mexican restaurant in SoHo. It was AMAZING! When Chris asked the waitress if the pork dish he wanted was good, she said "Well, I guess it is since Justin Timberlake has ordered it four times in the past month!" CRAZY! Too bad we didn't spot him. After dinner, we went with Sarah and Chris to a fun bar near NYU, then made our way back home! We had the best time with them!

{2}How awesome it is to have a 2 day work week?!?!? I need this like once a month.

{3}We are leaving tomorrow afternoon for Kansas City, MO to see Joe's family and their new house! They moved there from Pittsburgh, PA shortly after the wedding, so this will be our first visit! We have missed them terribly, and are so excited to spend Thanksgiving with them! I have heard that Kansas City is a great place to visit, especially during the holidays!

{4} It has been almost 6 months since our wedding, and I am still as obsessed with wedding blogs and magazines as I was when I was planning. I wish I had another wedding to plan (marrying the same sweet husband, of course!) Am I the only newlywed with post wedding planning depression?!?

{5} I am so incredibly excited for Thanksgiving food on Thursday! Joe's mom is an amazing cook, so I cannot wait to have some of her yummy cooking! I am really sad to be away from my family for Thanksgiving for the first time, but I know that my sweet mother-in-law will make me feel right at home in Kansas City!

my thoughts exactly, darius.

I was up in New York City,

just the other week.

You shoulda seen the waiters face when I ordered sweet tea.

She said "we don't have that here"

and I apologized, I said "Please forgive me,

I'm in a southern state of mind."

And those girls out in California,

they don't understand.

They don't like it when I hold the door,

when I say yes ma'am.

They act like I've done something wrong,

and they give me the evil eye.

I say "honey, I'm sorry,

I'm in a southern state of mind."

I could be anywhere

in my heart I'm always there.

Where they drink sweet tea and they raise you to be polite.

No changin' who I am,

that's they way I've always been.

No matter what state I'm in,

I'm in a southern state of mind.

I'm always walkin' 'round

tellin' everybody hi.

Justa wavin' at the strangers

and the cars passin' by.

Some poeple may look at me

and say that boy just ain't right.

Hey ya'll I ain't crazy,

I'm in a southern state of mind.

I could be anywhere

in my heart I'm always there.

Where you know every body and you don't think it's too polite.

No changin' who I am, that's they way I've always been. No matter what state I'm in, I'm in a southern state of mind.

You can see it in the clothes I wear,

you can hear it when I talk.

Ballcap boots and jeans and a little southern draw.

I can be up in Ohio or back home in Caroline.

No matter what state I'm in, I'm in a southern state of mind.

Don't matter what state I'm in, I'm in a southern state of mind.

-Darius Rucker "Southern State of Mind"

Miscellany Monday!

Ughhhh. Can you believe it's already Monday again? No fun! I love me some Miscellany Monday posts, though...it's perfect for my random, scatterbrained self!

It's Miscellany Monday over at Carissa's blog, and if you haven't visited her, you MUST! Her and her family are precious and she lives in my most favorite city everrr (Charleston, SC!)

{1} I had an AMAZING four day weekend! I had Thursday and Friday off, and it was so nice! I love my job, but it was really refreshing to be able to stay home and get lots of rest! I was extra lazy those days and stayed in my jammies all day long! I had a little cold, so it was nice to take it easy for a couple of days!

{not my picture}

{2} I put on my big girl panties and took the train into the city for the first time all by myself! I had a dinner/shopping/coffee date with a sweet friend from back home, Alexa. You SERIOUSLY need to check out her blog...she is AMAZING! It was so great seeing a familiar face! We met at Grand Central (after she was stuck on a subway for over an hour because of construction!) and headed down to the Flatiron District (a new favorite place!) The Flatiron Building is absolutely breathtaking and I was so excited to finally see it. We shopped and shopped, had some tasty soup, shopped some more, then stopped for some Peppermint Mochas and Salted Caramel Hot Chocolates. Can't wait to see this sweet girl again soon!

{3} I met another sweet, new friend for coffee on Sunday. I definitely was in need of some girl time, so this weekend perfect! It has been so hard not having any friends here!


{4} I am OBSESSED with the new Bruno Mars song called "Grenade." Have y'all heard it?? I just listened to it like 5 times in a row, and I think my husband is about to take the computer away from me if I don't quit! Ha! Speaking of my friend Bruno, I was at my friend Aubrey's bachelorette party in Vegas this summer and he magically appeared at the club we were at and played a whole concert like two feet away from us. He is SO talented!

{courtesy of my sweet friend natalie}

{VIP at Surrender at Encore = best. night. ever.)

{5} How pretty was my niece Isabella for Halloween? That girl has been obsessed with weddings since she was born...she takes after her favorite aunt! ;) Don't you love the tiara/veil she is wearing from my bachelorette party? Can't wait to blow up this picture when it's time for her real wedding!

{6} Don't you want this little cutie to come do your dishes, too?!? I MELT!

{7} We are still depressed from the big Wofford v. Appalachian State, and Steelers v. Patriots losses. Not a good weekend for football at our house!

Well, that's about all I could muster up. Hope I didn't bore y'all to death! :)

My Christmas Wish List

Here is my Christmas Wish List. 

"Wish" being the key word. I don't expect to get all (or any) of this, but it's fun to pretend!

Kendra Scott Danielle Earring in Turquoise

{you can get $20 off if you sign up for their e-mails}

Uggs

Hunter Huntress Wellies

 

Ray Ban Large Wayfarers

Wicked Tickets

Louis Ghost Chair

West Elm Ikat Ogee Linen Windo Panels

Essie "Ballet Slippers"

Essie "Body Language"

White Parsons Desk (West Elm lookalike!)

Hey, maybe I'll get lucky! ;)

Q&A: About Us!

 I saw this on Kit's blog and thought it would be a fun way to get to know us better!

1. What are your middle names? mine was Theresa, and his is Edward

2. How long have you been together? a little over 4 years!

3. How long did you know each other before you started dating? this is pretty complicated, click the link below to read the whole story!

4. Who asked who out?  the story of how we met is definitely unique; i don't really know who asked who out. i think i might have actually asked him to come watch grey's anatomy with me in my dorm room (how forward of me! ha!)

5. How old are each of you?  I am 23 and he is 22...yeah, I'm a cradle robber.

6. Did you go to the same school? I went to school in Simpsonville, SC then to Converse College in Spartanburg, SC and he went to school in Pittsburgh, PA then to Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC (we met at Wofford because my school was all girls. enough said.)

7. Are you from the same home town?  nope, we grew up 9 hours apart!
 
8. Who is the smartest?  I like to pretend I am, but he definitely is. After all, he is the one in law school! I can't compete with his Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 4.o, double major self!

9. Who majored in what?  Me: Art Education; Him: Biology and Philosophy

10. Who is the most sensitive?  me, of course

11. Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?  We went to Aruba on our honeymoon (which reminds me I still need to blog about our trip!)

12. Who has the worst temper?  I guess it would be Joe...he is super stressed now so he has a shorter fuse! I still love him, though!

13. How many children do you want? in a perfect world, I would love to have 4 or 5, but we are thinking that 3 would be more realistic

14. Who does the cooking?  I usually cook everything, but if I am running late at work, he helps!

15. Who is more social?  Joe is pretty shy, and I could talk to a rock, so the definite answer would be me. I've always been a little social butterfly!

16. Who is the neat freak?   Hmm, we are both kind of messy. (I'm trying to get better) I am really OCD about germs  and cleanliness when it comes to food and the kitchen, though.

17. Who is the most stubborn?  we are both really, really stubborn!

18. Who wakes up earlier?  He is more of an early bird, and I love my sleep; but we both get up pretty early during the week for work/school.

{Our first picture together...haha!}

19. Where was your first date?  sitting on the futon of my sophomore year dorm room watching grey's anatomy; pretty romantic.

20. Who has the bigger family?  I have two brothers and he has one; but we both have huge extended families. our parents have lots of siblings!

 
21. Do you get flowers often?  he has always been so sweet about getting me flowers when i least expect them! i love a surprise bouquet!

22. How do you spend the holidays?  while we were dating, we spent the holidays with our own families, but now that we are married we are spending thanksgiving with his parents in missouri, and christmas with mine in south carolina. we will probably switch it up next year!

23. Who is more jealous? neither of us is really jealous. i guess i get a little jealous when he spends hours and hours with his pretty textbooks!

{Joe says this is the weekend he knew he wanted to marry me}

24. How long did it take to get serious?  around  a year, we had a lot of growing up to do!

25. Who eats more?  he always finishes what i can't eat; we never waste any food! ;)
 
26. What do you do for a living?  I decided not to talk about my job on the ol'  blog because of privacy issues, but Joe is in law school and will be an environmental lawyer when he graduates in 2013

27. Who does the laundry? he does! don't i have a wonderful husband?? i absolutely LOATHE folding clothes
 
28. Who's better with the computer?  him...he's pretty savvy after taking some computer classes in college

29. Who drives when you are together?  he always drives when we ride together. you should see how cute he looks in my little car with a pink monogram! ha!

30. What is your song? "Sideways" Citizen Cope...it's from our first year of dating, but it brings back great memories!

Makeover by Marina!

Notice anything different?!?

I mentioned before that my sweet husband gifted me a blog makeover as an early Christmas present; and I am absolutely in LOVE! I have been admiring the looks of Puttin On The G.R.I.T.S. and Blue Eyed Bride (two of my favorite blogs!) for a long time now, and decided I had to contact whoever did theirs! 

Marina at Penny Lane Designs was an absolute dream to work with and was so incredibly sweet. She is so talented, and I am so happy with how my makeover turned out. If you are in need of a new look, you need to check out her selection of premade designs and also her gorgeous custom design portfolio!

Told you I loved pink, turquoise and green!

Show Us Your Life: Our Bathroom!

This week on Kelly's Show Us Your Life Fridays, everyone is showing off their bathrooms. Since we only have one bathroom, this will be pretty short!

Here is a little bit of background info for you newbies stopping in from Kelly's Korner: We are newlyweds that moved to NYC from SC for law school, and we live in an eentsy weentsy, teeny weeny, little 750 sq/ft studio apartment. It has definitely taken some time to get used to, but it is finally feeling like "home!"

Although I have griped about our little apartment many times, I actually really LOVE our bathroom. It's definitely not as big as we would like, but it's pretty cute if I do say so myself! The bathroom was renovated right before we moved in, and it's exactly what we would have picked if we were doing the reno ourselves; right down to the paint color. I love the granite counter on the vanity (which has really great storage), the tile in the shower and on the floor, and of course, the beautiful seafoam green/aqua paint color. We used the silhouettes I made for our wedding and I love them in here!

Love this Pottery Barn frame! I had a picture of our view in Aruba enlarged and I think it looks so pretty in here!

We got this waffle weave shower curtain as a wedding gift and I love it! I have a weakness for white shower curtains; so spa like! Of course I had to have in monogrammed to match our bedding!





Our bathroom is pretty tiny, but we love it anyway! Looking at my dream bathrooms also helps to keep me sane; here are a few of my favorites!

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Just like with my dream kitchens, I am in love with all things white. How gorgeous are these bathrooms? Sigh. Maybe one day!

My BFF Pink

Since getting married, I had to kiss all of my pink decor goodbye. The hubs wasn't down with all of my pink and green monogrammed madness. It was a sad breakup, but I have dealt with it by using a little extra turquoise and pear green (my other two faves) in our new apartment. You will soon see how much I love these colors! (Hint hint: my new blog design that is coming soon!) I still mourn the loss of my BFF pink, but I'm crossing my fingers for some little girls to someday decorate for!

While perusing one of my favorite blogs, House of Turquoise, I found something that stopped me dead in my tracks and left me totally and utterly breathless. The holy grail of all things pink and turquoise. My dreamgirl house! I am obsessed with all white rooms with pops of color and these rooms are just perfect. Can I move in now please? My sweet husband will just have to close his eyes!

 

Not only am I totally obsessed with this place, I also LOVE the story of how it came to be. From the words of Carrie Leber:

Whenever I hear that The Olympics will bring a watershed of opportunities to the cities that host them I always wonder what really goes on after the actual event is over.   In Vancouver, Millennium Water Development, who created the Olympic village for the athletes during the Winter 2010 Games, has renovated the building that had housed visiting athletes and is now selling the units as condos. As part of a clever cross marketing strategy, they hired 9 of Vancouver’s best Interior Design firms to design 9 different suites.  One those firms was The Cross Decor and Design who created the suite shown in these pictures.

 How cool is that?? If you, too, are in love, and have thousands and thousands of dollars to spare; you can head on over to the Millenium Project Store and buy almost everything you see in the pictures. Yeah, I wish. If I could get my hands on that tufted headboard, I'd be a happy girl for the rest of time. Christmas, anyone? ;)