Thanksgiving Weekend

I had a really nice Thanksgiving.  Some family came in town, we had some amazing food and spent a lot of quality time together. It was also my nephew's first Thanksgiving, and apparently he loved it too.

My sweet little nephew

Black Friday was a success.  For the first time, my aunt and I decided to try out midnight shopping at the outlet malls close by.  Huge mistake.  The news reported that there were over 60,000 people there.  Oh and no where to park either. It was all made up for when I bought my Christmas gift to me this year....

Love it!!

We left the house at 11:00 Thursday night and didn't get home until 2:00 on Friday.  My sister and cousin said they might go with us, I had to warn them that it was a marathon shopping event not for the weak.  They declined and were glad they did when we were gone for 15 hours.  I love giving gifts.  I love to make my friends and family feel special by giving them something that made me think of them.  And no, it doesn't have to be something I bought, it can be something I made or found haha, anything really.  I really mean it when I say I would rather give someone something than receive a gift.

I love the holidays.  We have the lights on the Christmas tree, I'm going to make some hot chocolate and snuggle with John on the couch while we watch some tv, could it get any better?

Peeta makes me swoon...

Oh Peeta....  you are amazing.  I hate to admit I'm a little disappointed with the ending of Catching Fire, but I'm sure the next book will make me feel better.  Now it's the waiting for the next book to come out that is going to drive me crazy.... So if you haven't read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, I totally recommend you do it!  You won't regret it.

I need some suggestions for books to take with me to Vegas this week. (YAY we leave on Friday and I can't wait!)  It's a four hour plane ride, so it's a great time for something that you just can't put down.  So, what's a good book or two to take with me?

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Before and After

I am currently watching John's parent's Boston Terrier, Buster, while they are in town.  Buster and Millie are seriously bff.  They love being around each other and play together non stop.

Buster is Thing 1 and Millie is Thing 2.  Yes, I bought those and yes I am cheesy.

Anyway, can I show you my awesome owl pillow again?  Because I was so excited about my holiday owl...

So after many, many hours of Black Friday shopping, I come home to find this...

Please notice that the holiday owl is no longer on his chair, he is ripped to shreads on the floor.  I almost cried.

Apparently Millie and Buster thought he was pretty awesome too and decided to invite him out on a play date.  Sigh... I guess decorative holiday pillows really aren't for me.

Ps- I'll have a Black Friday post up soon :)

Moving On...

I'm over Thanksgiving.  Yes, I know, it isn't even here yet.  None the less, I'm over it.  I am, however, pumped about Christmas.  Yesterday, John and I put up the Christmas tree (John got the random picture on the wall while he was in Greece.... that is probably the only reason it is up there)

I know it's a little dark, but I wanted everyone to see the star :)

I was ready to start wrapping some gifts, but alas I had no tape.  So off to the store we went.  Because once I decide I'm ready to do something, it must get done with a quickness or I get ridiculously annoyed.  And somewhat irritable.  Maybe even pushy.  So, we went to the store for tape and I wrapped some gifts....

I had to crop the table out of the picture because it is crazy messy.

I only got three gifts wrapped, and then I couldn't find the boxes I bought yesterday.  So I decided that at least I got a good start.  I will hopefully finish my shopping the day after tomorrow (Black Friday... yessss!!!) and also make sure I have all required wrapping supplies before I start again.

YAY for gifts under the tree!

While at the store I found this little gem.  I LOVE it!!  Normally not a fan of decorative holiday pillows, but this one was to awesome to pass up!

How stinkin' cute is he???

I'm hoping this week it will be cold enough to bust out my amazing Williams-Sonoma mulling spices for some hot apple cider.  Then I can curl up on the couch, with my owl pillow, some yummy hot apple cider and a Bangin' Hot Book Boy and life will be complete.

Oh how I ♥ Christmas time!  Maybe next year I will have some Thanksgiving loving too....  

Just some thoughts...

Last year my sister gave me a daily calendar, mostly about sisters and family. Every day you tear off a piece of paper with a quote to get to the correct date.  And I've kept up with it almost all year.  Yes there are sometimes when I leave it on the same day for like a week, but never more than that.  Today I stumbled upon this little jewel....

"Learn the wisdom of compromise, for it is better to bend a little than to break."

Jane Wells

And the words are oh so true, so I wanted to share it with you.  I think it's important to learn to compromise, especially during the holidays.  And it seems like the holidays can be a time to get upset and make decisions to not do what you have done for the past 23 years because you are angry or hurt or just plain stubborn.  You see, in order to compromise with someone over a situation, it requires more thought.  Compromising doesn't allow for an impulse decision that you might not have thought all the way through.  So if you are put in a difficult situation this holiday season, remember this quote.  Chances are, you probably won't regret it.

A little deep for me, but it's all good. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

New Moon....

New Moon was awesome.  I think Chris Weitz did an awesome job and it's a shame he didn't do Eclipse.... but who knows, it may be even more amazing.  Just a few random thoughts (no spoilers, I promise)

I ♥ Rob Patz and if I saw him, I might run the risk of getting arrested because I would jump him (among lots of other things).
The one liners were hilarious.
Jasper and Emmett rock, seriously I love them both, hopefully they will have more than two lines in the next movie.
I was always on Team Edward.  But watching this made me remember it's not that I don't like Jacob, I just don't like the situation Bella puts them in.  She's the bad guy here :)  But I'm still forever Team Edward.
Kstew did great, but I still don't like her.
Taylor Lautner is the absolute perfect Jacob.  End of story.
The wolf pack was also awesome, great casting.
I love what they did with Mike and Eric, even though it was brief, they cracked me up.

New Moon did not disappoint.  So if you haven't seen it you need to!!  And much to my surprise, I wasn't trampled by a sea of crying Robsessed tweens... And there was only minimal screaming, like when the Remember Me trailer came on, but I squeed a little at that and when we saw Jacob and his yummy looking 17 year old abs.  We're already planning to see it again, you know to catch all of the goodies we missed the first time around.  Do you have a New Moon story?

ome...

Today I give myself permission to be one of those crazy fangirls.... Because I'm going to fight the sea of 12 years olds and watch New Moon at midnight.  And I'm pumped.  For real pumped.  So pumped I'm not sure I can put it into words. 

I have never been one that gets obsessed or been any type of fanatic, so I was very skeptical of reading Twilight in the beginnig.  This will be my first time attending a movie at midnight, because I used to think those people were nuts.  I still haven't read Harry Potter or seen any of the movies (please don't hate, but it's true and I promise that will change) because it just seemed pure crazy and weird to me.  I will apologize now for all of the false accusations I made, I promise I just didn't know any better.  I was very wrong and am totally crazy about Twilight.  Did I mention that Edward and I have the same birthday??  That pretty much makes us destined to be together right?  Ok, maybe I'm not that crazy, but close.

So forgive my total fangirliness for the next couple of days and prepare for New Moon overload because it's probably all I will talk about, k?

The next couple of weeks...

So the next couple of weeks are going to be pretty busy for me and I have to say that I'm really excited.  Since don't think I can put together entire paragraphs, I'm going to list all of my exciting things that are approaching.

- Two words: New Moon.  I am pretty pumped about going to see this.  So is Ivy... we are seriously missing book Edward in our lives as of late and hopefully this will be the perfect remedy.  Along with about 500 screaming 12 year olds, I will be attending the midnight showing.  No shame in that.  I think I might drink some wine and then go, that can only make Edward that much better, right???

- John's birthday is this Saturday and we're having a part-ay.  I love parties.  I love planning parties.  This however, doesn't seem like a party because all John wants is some Miller Lite and a peach cobbler.  It will still be fun though.

- Thanksgiving rocks and all, but I'm really excited about Black Friday.  I am for real giddy about it.  Am I crazy?  Probably.  

- I'm on the official count down until Vegas.  Only 18 days until we leave and I simply can not wait.  We're going to see The Lion King and eat a lot of amazing food and just get away for a little while.  The whole getting away part sounds absolutely fabulous right about now.

The holidays are pretty busy time for us all.  Is there anything that you are especially excited about or really looking forward to this holiday season?

Patience....

Lately I have none.  Like srsly, it's no where to be found.  I think that is fairly common for people my age though, well at least I hope it is.  But until my patience decides to show back up, go easy on me.

On an exciting note... My Grandmother started teaching my sister how to sew and I'm jumping in on that action. She already has our first project picked out.  I'll be going to Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's this week to find some fabulous fabric for a skirt.  Watch out... pretty soon I'll be sewing like crazy, I can't wait!

Short post tonight... that whole lack of patience thing makes it difficult to produce a lengthy blog post.

Blog awards :)

YAY for blog awards!  Alexandria over at Always Alexandria surprised me with my very first blog award.  I'm pumped!  She is a pretty much amazing, stylish and crafty and I love reading her blog.  Go check it out!!

The Honest Scrap Award comes with a few rules…I have to divulge 10 honest things about myself. Then I have to pass the award on to 7 bloggers that I adore...and who I believe will be 100% truthful! So here are  ten honest to goodness tidbits about Lauren...

1.  I looove to dress up.  Nothing fancy, but to look cute and put together.  However, I HATE when people make a big deal out of it.  It makes me all awkward and self conscious.  A simple, "Nice outfit" or "You look cute today" will suffice.  No gushing over what I'm wearing required.  As a result, I find myself not dressing up around certain people because it bothers me so much.  Weird... I know.

2.  I am obsession with this man....

3.  I can't stand people who think that everyone should love their child or animal just because they do, even when they are awful or annoying.  I happen to be one of those people.  Seriously, who couldn't love this face??

4.  I have a new found love for all things vintage.  But the stores where you can score these awesome finds give me the creeps big time, like so much I have had bad dreams about the weird stuff you find in antique and thrift stores.  This is why I love Etsy so much :)

5.  Black Friday is one of my favorite days of the year.  Yes, I am that person that wakes up at 3 in the morning with an intricate plan and stays out ALL day shopping. 

6.  I am deeply submerged in the vampire hype that is sweeping the nation.  It's like I can't get enough.

7.  I want to punch people in the face that tell me I can't be an Alabama fan because I didn't go to school there.  Guess what, you are lame. 

8.  I have a really good job and I work with great people.  I just don't want to work.... Does that make me the laziest person ever?  I don't think so, it's not like if I didn't work I wouldn't do anything.

9.  I don't like to wear pants.  Pants/capris/shorts are lame.  I would much rather wear a dress or a skirt every day then have to wear pants.  Pants are no fun.

10.  I ate these several times a week in college.  And I still love them.  I don't care how bad they are for me, they rock. 

As lame as I feel admitting this, I feel like I should... Still being pretty new to the blogging world, I don't know 7 bloggers to award this with (that won't think I'm some crazy blog creeper that they have never heard of) so instead of 7 bloggers, I have chosen 3.  Baby blog steps...

V from "Living in Your Letters"

Kearsie from "Sounds like Tomatoes"

Noelle from "Means of Escape"

These girls rock, you should go check out their blogs!  Thanks again to Alexandria for winning at life and giving me my very first blog award!

ps- now that we are being honest and everything, if I had a button would you put it on your blog???

etsy

I ♥ Etsy.  Like really, I can spend days looking at all of their fab finds and handmade goodies.  It totally rocks.  There is one thing that truly bothers me about Etsy.  To all of you sellers out there....Being the vintage clothing experts that you are, don't you know that slips were very much so a necessesity in the 60s and 70s.  So when posting your presh sheer vintage dresses, please wear a slip so I don't have to see your undies and feel really embarassed for you.  Thanks!

Halloween and bromance...

So I was lame and forgot my camera when we went to Lorene and Steve's Halloween party.  I get so mad when I do that, but oh well.  This is the only picture I have of us dressed up (and I had to steal it from facebook).  I'm a little bummed, because it's not that great.  It was one of those that kinda take you by surprise when someone yells, "stop I want a picture!"

As you can see, I was a witch.  I wore a black dress with ruffles on the bottom and I had purple and black striped tights.  I curled my hair only because it's October and the ridiculous humidity is gone for now.  And then there is John.... yes, he is dressed as Tim Tebow and yes he has a man crush.  Seriously, no lie.  It's bromance to the extreme.  He also has a giddy little smile on his face because he found PBR at the WD. Oh the little things that excite boys.