Valentine's Delight

Hi there!

I'm sorry it's been so long since I last posted. Last week was crazy, and this weekend I didn't find the time or topics to blog about until it was too late! Oh well, fortunately this week will have lots of blog worthy subject matter, as Valentine's Day and my birthday are only one day apart:]

This Sunday, I got a wild hare to make homemade Valentine's. Fortunately, I have an amazingly sweet husband who gladly cooperated--even when I decided we needed to make Valentine's to and from Jack and Charlotte too.

Here's what we did:

First, we gathered the supplies. My Mother-in-Law has an amazing amount of fabric stored up from years of collecting. I'm really envious of her collection, but I realized while crafting this weekend that I have a similarly stocked craft supply selection. Just look at all of the stickers...and these are only the ones that applied to V-Day!

Here's the card Charlotte made for Jack. Two little known facts: Jack's (made up) middle name is Keats, and Charlotte has amazing handwriting.

Here's Charlotte's card from Jack. Turns out Jack has sad handwriting, and writes lots of his letters backwards. The paw print in the middle of the heart is really his (proof below).

Don't worry, animal people--the paint was non-toxic and safe.

Here is Jack's Valentine from us (Thomas hand painted it!)

And, here is Charlotte's Valentine from us, made with leftover paper from our envelope liners.

The others (ours to each other) are still a surprise as we won't be exchanging until tonight. Even if you aren't into Valentine's Day as a commercial, spendy holiday, we had lots of fun making all of these cards for free and spending time together doing it.

Enjoy your day!

-T, K, J & C

Santa Doggie

On the first night Thomas' family was here, we had a Christmas present palooza! They got us a ton of great gifts, some of our favorites being:

Some deliciously warm house booties.

A really fun helicopter (quite difficult to fly, but Jacker loves chasing it).

A beautiful leaf wrap ring from Sundance (also, if you're wondering, the nail polish in this photo is Glitzerland by OPI).

And some adorable matching pajamas (as well as other clothing I'm sure you'll see in future pictures).

I have to say, though, one of the most fun gifts was Jack's present--an adorable Santa suit! Last night when I attempted to take pictures of the suit, Jack wasn't cooperating. As a bribe, Thomas took the opportunity to give him his heartworm pill (in a hearty spoonful of peanut butter of course). Here are the antics that ensued:

(Please notice Charlotte creepin behind the tree).

Another amazing gift was the stocking Thomas' mom made for me. She collected birds from his dad's baby blanket when they were first married, and has saved them since then to make custom stockings for each child and their future spouse. I have to say that this stocking is one of the most beautiful and thoughtful gifts I've ever received. I love it! Fiiiine, I'll stop yammering on and just show you already.

Here is Thomas' as well. Isn't it cute?! I love the star theme.

Well, this marks the last Christmas/New Years/family visit post. We're sad to see the holiday season go, but we are looking forward to what's the come in the new year and getting back into our now familiar routine. We have lots going on this week and weekend, but I hope to keep up with posting as much as possible. If I don't though, what can I say? I'm probably just sitting around photographing my dog in a Santa suit.

-T, K, J, & C

New Years Eve in Pictures - Part 2

Continuing yesterday's post about New Years Eve Day (which sounds weird but makes sense if you think about it), today I'm going to finish up with pictures from New Years Eve Eve.

After our adventures at Oakland Cemetery, we ventured into Little Five Points to walk the dogs and sit down for coffee. The afternoon was a pretty tiring one, and once we were all back home we busted out out all our Apple products to relax.

After taking a couple of hours to recover from the day's activities, we moved the party over to Mari and Holly's (where there's more than one bathroom). Below is my version of Charleston Cheese.

Other food items included [from left]: poppy seed sandwiches, cinnamon pita chips and strawberry cream cheese, cheese-n-crackers, caramel corn, cookies, chocolate/cinnamon bugles, a bunch of desserts, a cheese platter, 3 onion dip, wasabi peas, cream cheese and jalapeño jelly, and cocktail wieners. We also feasted on pizza pockets like a group of 8th grade boys.

Before midnight struck, we played several games of reverse charades and watched goofy TV shows (i.e. 1980s Fame). Once the peach dropped, we headed outside to watch fireworks and light up some sparklers.

I don't participate in the sparkling myself, so I took pictures instead.

Thomas, however, LOVES a good sparkle.

And I pretended to be holding one for the purpose of this picture.

Andrea did a sparkly routine...

And Tom multi-tasked by drinking champagne while twirling about.

Here's the first 'family photo' from the new year (minus Charlotte since cats hate to party).

After a much needed night's sleep, we headed out to Piedmont Park on New Years Day. We decided to stop at the nearby Hobnob for a snack--we got these amazing fried green tomatoes. They were definitely the best FGTs we've had in Atlanta so far, and aren't they pretty?

After some obligatory eating, we headed to Piedmont for some fresh air. Does this picture look familiar? My family posed in the exact same place last week.

The park was really busy--probably because of the perfect weather--and while at the dog park, we saw several horse drawn carriages winding through the trees. It was pretty magical.

Our New Years was full of family, fun, and celebrating, and we couldn't be happier with 2012 so far. Tomorrow I'll be wrapping up with some assorted pictures from the Mahan visit. Enjoy your work-week!

-Kinsey

New Years Eve in Pictures - Part 1

Happy New Year everyone!

Thomas' parents left this morning, and we've been spending the day lounging and recovering from the last busy (but so fun!) two weeks. I thought I'd put together a quick post about New Years Eve but I decided to split it into two parts so that it won't be too terribly long.

This New Years was extra fun because we got to spend it with Mari and Holly as well. The day started off with an amazing brunch at Parish, an adorable restaurant in the Inman Park/Old Fourth Ward area. The atmosphere is great--it has tons of natural light, interesting textures, and a rustic feel.

The meal started off with a round of complimentary beignets.

Then, we shared three things as a table: first, an order of brioche french toast with fruit compote.

Next, lemon and buttermilk pancakes. They were so light and fluffy--my favorite dish for sure. I'm also in love with the gorgeous plate they were served on.

And last, a plate of belgian waffles with brown sugar butter.

We could have stopped there, but did we? Nah. Here's Thomas' entree, fried chicken doghead benedict (a buttermilk biscuit, fried chicken breast, poached eggs, andouille sawmill gravy) and hashbrowns.

And my entree, a fried green tomato BLT with hashbrowns on the side.

After lunch we took a few photos to show off the cool building.

Since we had just eaten a huge heavy meal, it worked out perfectly that Mari had planned a walking tour of Oakland Cemetery for the group. Oakland has been around since the 1850s, and is just a short drive from Mari and Holly's place. It's kind of an unusual cemetery in lots of ways, the most notable being that weddings and other celebrations are often held there. It really is a beautiful place, and the tour was very fun and educational (nevermind the walking-off-our-brunch aspect).

Here's a shadowy picture of the group, excluding Tom and Gladys.

There's Gladys!

Here's our excellent tour guide, Sally, in front of the Richards tomb.

A view of the cemetery/sky line.

These tombstones all belong to Confederate soldiers who died during the Civil War.

 I was especially impressed by the mausoleums--many of them were so ornate and beautiful (especially since they were decorated with Christmas wreaths and bows).

That's all for today--tomorrow I'll finish the New Years Eve recap with pictures from that night's celebration!

Kinsey

2011 Recap

2011 was a great year. We accomplished lots of things, went lots of places, and met lots of people. If I had a bucket list, I would have kicked lots of the things on it as of this year.

Lets recap a bit about what went on, shall we?

The 21st birthday

The engagement photos

The showers

The graduation(s)

The wedding

The move

The tree

The kitty

The job(s)

It was a scary, exciting, adventurous, memorable, out-of-our-comfort zone type of year! And do you want to hear my new years resolution? To spend 2012 napping and recovering.

I hope you all have a safe and fun New Years Eve, and that 2012 finds you happy, healthy, and hopeful.

-T, K, J, & C