You know you're grown up when you become Costco members.

Happy Monday!

This weekend was a perfect mix of productive and relaxing.

On Saturday, I got my hair and eyebrows done, we explored Whole Foods, then had lunch with friends at Souper Jenny. We also got our first carwashes since moving (yes, we have lived here for 8 months), and paid an interesting visit to Cactus Carwash in Buckhead.

Buckhead is one of the wealthier areas of the city, and lets just say there were literally NO cars like ours (a 97' Camry and an 02' Sentra) in the vicinity. I can honestly tell you that I've never seen so many BMWs, Mercedes, Lexuses (Lexi?) or Audis as we saw this weekend, and I did feel a little embarrassed when the carwash guys popped my trunk only to find the mini-Christmas tree and snowman ladder I've had in there for over a month now:]

 These sunflowers from Whole Foods were so pretty. I resisted buying them, but not by much.

My lunch at Souper Jenny. I had My Dad's Turkey Chili, and the California Love sandwich (avocado, goat cheese, sprouts, tomato and spinach on a french baguette). 

 Thomas had the Creamy Cauliflower soup and a turkey sandwich with swiss and arugula. So good.

Sunday was a day of giftcard spending! We went to Bed Bath & Beyond (I spend my giftcard on a new coffee mug), Ulta (I spent my giftcard on the polish below), and Costco.

Becoming Costco members made us feel like such grownups. I've been stubborn about getting a membership, even dragging Addy to order contacts with me so that I could get a discount. This weekend we broke down, and decided to just join already.

We did set some strict spending boundaries (based on the time we used our Sam's membership to buy a lifetime supply of Toaster Strudel), and on our first trip we bought only some essentials. Also, hotdogs...

Left: Alpine Snow (a pure white used for nail design) and Did It On Em' (a bright green from the Nicki Minaj collection). 

A 'restaurant' after my own heart--two Costco dogs and two drinks for $3.

I hope everyone had a great weekend, and that you start off the week well!

Kinsey

Turkey Puppets and a Tandem Slanket

Happy Sunday!

This weekend we've had lots of fun, starting Friday night. We have a quarterly work social every 3 months (aka quarterly), and this time I chose the venue--Ormsby's.

Ormsby's is famous for their beer selection. They also carry one of my favorite ciders, JK Scrumpy. It is amazing (mostly because it tastes just like apple juice).  

For dinner I went outside my typical 'comfort zone' and tried something I wouldn't normally get--a roast beef sandwich on a hoagie roll with pot roast gravy and horseradish sour cream. I also had a side of onion rings--I'm not sure if you can tell from this picture, but each ring was 4-6 inches in diameter. 

This wasn't my dessert, but I still thought it was pretty--Apple Cobbler.

Then, on Saturday, we did some chores and relaxing throughout the day, and headed up to Roswell (a suburb of Atlanta) in the afternoon. Roswell is unlike a lot of suburbs in that it's actually old and historic--it's not just cookie cutter houses and restaurants.

We went to have dinner with Addy and Glenard, my coworkers and our good friends, starting with a walk around the square.

 I got this cute little zipper ring at an antique store for $3! (I decided to try out one of this season's nail trends--one randomly colored nail on each hand).

One of the stores had lots of kids toys, including these lovely puppets.  

This is one of the historic homes/tour sites in Roswell. It was beautiful. 

This sign was just ridiculous. 

 After perusing the town for a couple of hours, we headed to a local coffee shop. Thomas and I split this 'small' french press--so tasty.

Next, we headed back to Glenard's place for appetizers and dinner. While we waited, Addy and I started the beauty-palooza.

 I did her nails...

 And she rolled my hair.

 Next, it was time for dinner. Lasagne!

And after dinner, Glenard taught us to play Mahjong. I'm not a huge game player, but this game was so fun. We literally stayed til 2:00 a.m. playing, and I even won once:]

I'll wrap up with this awesome picture of Addy and I in a tandem Slanket. Was your Saturday night this cool?

-Kinsey

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

Party Polish

This week has been a bit of a blog fail as I've been busy preparing for our work Christmas party (which is today), shopping for Christmas gifts, actually working, and trying to find time to sleeeeeep.

Last night, in preparation for today's festivities, I:
1. Went to Walmart
2. Wrapped gifts
3. Baked a cake
4. PAINTED MUH NAILZ (obviously most important)

Since I saw the OPI Muppet's Collection on Pinterest a few weeks ago, I've been obsessed with two colors in particular: Excuse Moi! and Rainbow Connection. They're the most popular colors in the collection, so of course I haven't been able to find them at Ulta. Recently I stopped in to Van Michael to pick up some "hair sebum," (hair protectant, in layman's terms) and saw the color--Excuse Moi! It was also 20% off, so obviously I bought it.
Excuse Moi! has a pink jelly base with multicolored flecks of glitter, the standouts being pink, silver, and red. I think it's perfect for the holidays--parties in particular--it applies smoothly (for a glitter). As a added bonus, it dries fast. While it will have some of the grittiness of a glitter polish, following it up with a top coat is always helpful. I find that polishes that are super glittery area easy to apply and peel off your cuticles really easily. BONUS.

While I was taking the pictures above, Charlotte did a bit of posing as well...

After this week winds down, I should have some great photos to show you all from our work party/'dirty Santa' exchange. Until then--I hope you have a great week!


-Kinsey

These are a few of my favorite things: Kinsey Edition

Hey there!

I know I've dragged out these favorite things posts for a while now, but today is the final post! I have a lot of favorite things, but again--I'm going to limit them to the top 10.

Kinsey's Favorite Things

10. The changing of the seasons, especially Spring & Fall.

Spring in Austin, Texas (2010)

 Fall in Atlanta (2011)

9. Making jokes.

Joking (AKA Grinching) at Christmas.

Joking (AKA crazy) at Graduation.

Joking (AKA moustaching) with my sister-in-laws at my bachelorette.

Joking (AKA vomming) at Six Flags.

8. Coffee. Kind of ironic, especially after this post a while back. Since I've started drinking it, I just can't stop. I like my coffee dark with one spoonful of REAL sugar and two 'bloops' of creamer.

 Check out this adorable mini coffee cup!

7. Nail polish. I've posted about it quite a few times, most notably here and here. I'm not a super 'girly' girl, but I do love me some nail polish.

 Check it.

6. Crafting and DIY. I like making all sorts of things, mostly because I'm cheap.

 One of my most recent crafts, the felt rose wreath.

 Another seasonal project, the fall leaf garland.

5. Baking. I have more baking supplies than is normal or acceptable.

 My pride and joy, homemade oreos.

Another favorite, rich chocolate brownies.

4. Reading. I mean, look at the excitement on my face when I received my Kindle. I've also posted about reading here.

 Actually, my look is more of pain and fear. Janie, however, looks excited.

3. Blogging/reading blogs/using the Internet. I have been called an addict. No shame.

 Aside from this blog, there isn't a lot of proof of this one. There are a lot of pictures of Charlotte on my computer though.

2. Jack and Charlotte. I'm known for being an animal lover, and I like pretty much any animal I meet--but especially my own babies.

1. Thomas.

I hope you have a awesome Monday, and that you enjoy the little 'favorite things' that make life great:D

-T, K, J, & C