Excuses, Excuses

Let me start with I AM SO SORRY for falling of the face of the earth this month! I could rail off a million excuses, but I do not want to bore you. What I will do is promise you that I will be a better blogger in 2010. The wheels in my head have been turning and I have lots of exciting ideas for post in the new year.
So, how was your Christmas?? Annie's first Christmas was perfect in every way. We were able to spend time with both sides of the family, and even enjoy a little bit of time with just the 3 of us at home. Since I last posted, Annie has accomplished so many new and exciting things. She turned 6 months old on Christmas Eve and is now sitting up on her own and she can even say Mama (kinda) :)! Her hair is starting to grow in a little bit (I think it's going to be blonde) and she is teething like a manic...no teeth yet though. Annie loved Christmas! We visited Santa at Phipps
and she did great until Santa put his grubby hands all over her face, then she lost it. What was Santa thinking?? She loved the trees, lights, and most of all the presents :). She honestly could care less about what was inside the gift wrapping, but could spend all day playing with the wrapping itself. She loves paper and ribbons... I think she gets this from her mama.

I hope your holidays have been wonderful! I'll be back in full force in 2010. See you in the new year...so crazy!

Happy Stripes

Stripes make me happy! I like them...

On my candy...tis the season!

On the floor

On walls

On the ceiling

Even on my beer...Cheers!

*room images from Domino...I think*

Embellishments

If you are looking for that special something to top your presents with and wow everyone with your gift wrapping skills, you must hit up Nicholas Kniel Fine Ribbons and Embellishments. Nick has it all...beautiful ribbons, unique buttons, fru fru feathers, and the perfect embellishment for any gift.

Check out these lovely packages that Nick wrapped up for Liz Williams' dining table at the 2008 Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles Christmas House. The little bird on top just adds the perfect touch. The wrapping is a gift in itself!

Nick also wrapped these beautiful gifts for another one of Liz Williams' projects that was featured in Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles. No need to stick to the traditional red & green wrapping. He is always thinking outside of the box and mixes in a vibrant turquoise with brown and moss green. Love it!


Nick helped Gretchen and me with our room at last years Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles Christmas House. He designed and decorated this AWESOME twig tree and also made the fuzzy garland wreaths below. He is sooo talented!

For more fun and exciting things to do with ribbon, you must purchase Nicholas Kniel's book, Ribbon the Art of Adornment. In the mean time make sure you check out his website http://www.nicholaskniel.com/ or even better stop by his store!

Nicholas Kniel Fine Ribbons & Embellishments
290 Hilderbrand Drive, Suite B-16
Atlanta, GA 30328
404.252.8855

I promise you won't come out empty handed and you are sure to be wowed by all the beautiful goodies!

**images from Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles**

Happy Turkey Day!

I am thankful for these 3 turkeys...

1. My wonderful husband

2. My beautiful baby girl

3. Reg's first turkey....it was so yummy! We had no clue what we were doing, but it was a huge hit with the whole family!

I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving! I for one, have so much to be thankful for and I count my blessing everyday!

Hidden Offices

I have always LOVED this room from Cottage Living. It is perfect in every way! My favorite part about this living room is the his & her offices. The built-in desk and bookcases are tucked away and can be hidden by the sliding doors...perfect for hiding clutter from guest. I just love the fact that they integrated the work spaces into the living room! The star lanterns and blue wicker chairs really jazz up the space too. I give this room an A+!

Bald=Beautiful

While Annie and I were out running errands today, a man stopped me and asked if I had just cut my babies hair or if she was really that bald. I mean seriously, did he think I shaved my baby's head?!! The man was dead serious too. I swear...some people! I think bald is beautiful, and Annie is the most beautiful baby in the world (not that I'm biased or anything)!

On another note, I found a pair of super cool lamps at Scotts this past week. They are in a sense bald as well, because I have yet to find shades for them. What do you think?

Have a great week!

Kitchen Lust

These mouth watering kitchens are some of my all time favorites... Design Galleria - Atlanta Homes & Lifestyle 2008 Christmas Showhouse

Phoebe Howard

Suzanne Kasler- Southern Accents

Jill Sharp Brinson-Southern Accents

Elaine Griffen-Southern Accents

Escape

I'm sorry for the lack of posts lately, but life has been pretty crazy the past couple of weeks! Annie was baptized this past Sunday and we had a luncheon at our house afterwards with 50 people. Everything was absolutely perfect and Annie was an angel! It was so special to worship and celebrate with family and friends on this very important day in Annie's life.

She just melts my heart and makes me forget all my worries! Thank God for my baby girl!
On top of preparing for the luncheon last week, my computer crashed...again. This time it's for good :(. We took it to the Geek Squad and they said they couldn't even recover the images from my hard drive. We are getting a 2nd opinion, so keep your fingers crossed that all my photo files can be recovered....that is all I care about! Needless to say, this is the main reason for my lack of post. I'm now using my husbands old computer and trying to rebuild my "inspiration" file with beautiful photos for the the blog!


With all the craziness in my life right now, I just want to escape to this beautiful bathroom and soak in the tub and gaze out the window and day dream. This bathroom was designed by Keith Summerour for his personal Meriweather country retreat. Isn't it dreamy?!


**photo from Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles

ATL Estate Sale

To all you Atlantans, there is a HUGE estate sale tomorrow through Saturday at 9 Vernon Road. The best part about this estate sale is that the proceeds benefit the Atlanta Pet Rescue and Adoption, a no-kill animal shelter for homeless, abused and neglected pets. This estate is filled with tons of treasures! I am most looking forward to digging through the enormous collection of books including vintage first editions..ooh la la. Check out the website for the sale at www.meredog.com/sale.

The Gazebo Project and a Birthday Celebration

For the past 3 months, I have been working with my in-laws on their awesome gazebo that they have built in their backyard by the pool. The gazebo is complete and we are now just waiting on the draperies, dining chair cushions, and hosts chairs to come in. This is a rendering of the room by their architect, Daly Smith. I can't wait to show y'all the finished product once everything is installed. It is gorgeous!

We celebrated Claude's 80th birthday, my husband's grandmother, on Sunday night. It was a wonderful celebration!! Most of Reg's family was there, and we all gathered outside in the gazebo to celebrate. Above is a picture of Annie with her great grandmother, Claude, sitting in the Curacao Club Chairs from Walters Wicker that were installed just in time for the party. We ordered 4 of these chairs and they are circled around the fireplace. We needed something small, but super comfortable and these chairs were perfect! Hopefully the room will be complete by Thanksgiving...stay tuned! The Curacao Club Chair from Walters Wicker

The fam! Happy 80th birthday Claude!

Happy Halloween

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! My little pumpkin!

Lamp Love

One of my favorite lamps ever is the Laslo Lamp from Bungalow 5. I LOVE this double gourd, porcelain lamp with its graphic green & brown hand painted pattern. It adds the perfect pop of color and pattern to a room.
It also comes in blue and brown if you're interested.

Here it is in my family room. It makes me smile every time I look at it....it's the little things in life that make me happy!

Under the Live Oaks at Seminole Plantation

This past weekend we attended an AMAZING wedding of a dear friend, Sarah Brooks, at Seminole Plantation in Thomasville, Georgia. The setting was out of a movie! The ceremony was held under tons of beautiful live oaks. It was simply breathtaking!

When you walked into the ceremony, you were greeted with lemonade served in mason jars...so southern and refreshing!

All of the flowers were awesome! These were the flowers as you were walking down the aisle. I loved the tables they were sitting on...it was just 3 pieces of firewood with a marble top.

This was the bride's bouquet....gorgeous!

Perfect for the fall and I loved all of the containers!

My favorite part of the reception were these glass candle lit lanterns hanging from the trees.... so romantic!

I told you...straight from a movie!

Everything was picture perfect and the bride and groom could not be happier. It was a wonderful weekend!

Off the Chart

Annie turned 4 months old this past Saturday. I can't believe how fast time flies and how much my little boo has grown! She had her 4 month check up today and everything went well. She now weighs 15 lbs and is 26 3/4 inches long! This puts her in the 80th percentile in weight and she is OFF THE CHART in height! The nurse had to remeasure her to make sure she wasn't mistaken, and she wasn't... little Annie is just a giant. She's going to be looking down on her 5' nothing parents before we know it :).

She loved playing with the paper on the table and looking at herself in the mirror.

We are so blessed to have such a healthy and happy baby girl!

Pumpkin Carving Time

Halloween is only a few days away!! Hope y'all have your costumes ready. It's also time to pull out your pumpkin carving tools (mine are my kitchen knives) and get to carving. You've got to have your pumpkins all lit up for the little trick-or-treaters! Here are a few fun and different ideas from good ole Martha Stewart... First off, check out Martha's bag of tools....pretty intense! Your going to need them though, if you plan on doing some of the intricate carving that she has in mind.

You have to be a brain surgeon to carve these beauties!

Love these pumpkin votives!

How cute is this little owl family? It could be the Buzzell's...mama, papa and little Annie!

These pumpkins are a little more my speed. All you have to do is punch a bunch of holes in the pumpkin and then stick Christmas lights in each hole...pretty easy!

Happy Carving!!

*images from www.marthastewart.com*