Thursday, December 6, 2007

Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Oh my goodness! I have been SUCH a bad blogger. As you know, I have been working two jobs and along with that and the rush of holiday card orders off of my website, I have been beyond busy! Luckily the holiday hustle and bustle is coming to a close, so I thought I would stop by and say hello.


This is just a quick entry to show you all my pathetic little tree :). My husband and I do not spend Christmas at home, so we don't buy a tree. I cannot tell you how excited I am though, for the day that we purchase our first tree as a couple.

Oh, YES! It rotates! Don't you worry! This is no ordinary wire tree!


Since this was our first Christmas together in wedded bliss, I felt we needed something to put the Christmas cheer in our house and allow us to start collecting ornaments, like this "Our 1st Christmas" ornament below.




This photo below is my attempt at showing you the lovely surprise we got from the yet to be blogged about Mr. and Mrs., whose wedding I recently attended in the Bahamas! When I got home from a long day of flying, a package was waiting for me from the happy couple. Inside was an ornament filled with sand and shells with a cute little poem attached! It was so thoughtful and I was thrilled to have another ornamenet on our "tree."


Posted by Picasa
So, I'm sorry that I have been a bad blogger! I still have Thansgiving photos to share, Seriously Co-Worker posts, along with Ashley's wedding photos! I have a few entries started in that regard, I just need to take the time to finish them! Hopefully I can do it all before Christmas so I will be back on track for the New Year and all the blogger resolutions that come along with it!
MERRY ALMOST CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Monday, December 3, 2007

Happy Birthday to ME!

Happy Birthday to Meeee, Happy Birthday to Meeeee.....

Okay, I know my birthday is not until the 25th, but typically, I am celebrate my birthday SEASON since it coincides with the Holiday season.

Also, today SHOULD HAVE BEEN my birthday!! I was due on December 7th! So my name might have been Pearl! Every year around the 7th, Pearl comes out to play. So if you are doing your math, I was 18 days late! Poor Mom! I was a 9 pound baby because as far as I was concerned, I should have been 2 weeks old already and growing up!

I know it sounds silly, but my mom still does a mini celebration on my "birthday" (the 7th) since I have to share my actual birthday with everyone that celebrates Christmas. Oh, and Jesus!

In his old age, my dad is getting cheaper and cheaper by the year which has resulted in me getting a "secret gift" from my mother. Shhhhh!

So anyway, this year I received the following Cole Haan beauties for my secret December 7th birthday gift:










The shoes are adorable! They are patent and suede! Just what I need to cheer me up with the bleh weather we are having!


Christmas is almost here - so check in often as I will attempt to post some gift ideas for this holiday season!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOOOOOOOOO MEEEEEEEEE!

Choo of the Week: 12-03-07



I have been such a bad shoe blogger! So to get back in the swing of things, I picked some ultra zexy shoes!



These pretty satin gems are exactly what I need as the winter is creeping in. Every day here in the north it gets more and more grey and this splash of color would keep me in high spirits!

They can be found at Jimmy Choo for $585.00.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Happy Birthday Kerry and Chrissy!

I am a touch late on Kerry's Happy Birthday post since I was on a cruise, but I wanted to say a belated Happy Birthday to Kerry! And today is Chrissy's Birthday!

Kerry,

I miss you more than you know and am so happy we have more time for reindeer games lately! You will always be near and dear to me and this year, you deserve the best birthday ever! I hope you got it! I really hope we can get together over Christmas and if not, count me in for some sort of travel adventure with you and Kel! Whenever I think of dancing at my wedding, I think of you for some reason. This sounds a tad lezzie, but you gave me a look and said I love you at my wedding and it took everything in me not to cry. One day you will know the overwhelming feeling I had having my BEST friends my side during the most important step in my life to date! Thank you for ALWAYS making me laugh!







Chrissy,

I know I missed your actual day, but I am so happy we got to spend time together this weekend! You were so kind to follow the 5 feet rule non-stop! 5 FEET, I SAID!!! In an attempt to make you cry (hard job, I know), I want you to know that you are one of the sweetest and most kind hearted people I know. I say this, knowing you have strong opinions that make me laugh and snicker, but your heart is made out of gold and I am so happy to have you around to cheer me up on my worst days! Hope dinner at your mom's is great and that Jess puts his happy pants on!

Meet My Friends

I am not even sure how to sum up the wedding I had the priviledge of attending this Thanksgiving Day weekend. Accompanied by Chrissy, Rachel, Marcie, Kemely and Emily, we attended the waterside nuptials of our dear friend, Ashley, in the Bahamas. But before I try to post about what an amazing time we had, I will post seperately about this first, because this is a sort of serious tribute to these ladies and Ashley deserves a post all about herself and all about her beautiful wedding.

Some of my hometown and college friends wonder where these names came from? And rightfully so since I don't talk about them in real life too often. However, more and more their names come up naturally in my everday discussions and so it is about time I shed some light on our friendships.

Admittedly, we all met under odd and even dorky circumstances. We were all engaged around the same time in late 2005/early 2006 and subsequently were all planning late 2006 or 2007 destination weddings. As you know, my wedding was not destination, but logistically, it was out of town for me and so that is where these women came in handy. I started chatting with these girls through the wonder that is The Knot about favors, dresses, and how to get your dress on a plane. With all of us bouncing ideas back and forth daily, it was only natural that conversations took a turn to include personal information about ourselves. How many siblings did we have, what did our fiance's/husbands do, is anyone else's mother-in-law driving each other crazy? Et cetera. So yes, I have Internet friends. There! I said it!

I have grown to know these women over the past year and while some will say, "How can you form real friendships that way?" or "They are not your friend, I am your friend." I say to you that these women have checked in on me non-stop. They have followed up when I had a bad day or personal problems, and they have shared their entire lives with me throughout this time. So yes, prior to meeting them in person, I did/do count them as real life friends. They are just as important to me as any friend could be and the more I get to talk to them the more that friendship grows.

If you are my sorority sister, or have ever been in a sorority or fraternity of your own, you can understand how bonds are formed in a blink of an eye and how you are sort of taken aback at how one common thread can hold a group together. It is the same exact sort of thing that I experienced being a part of Kappa Delta.

So from now on, I will no longer be saying the words, "Ashley, she's my friend from The Knot, said that...." [insert appropriate name]. So learn their names and adjust people! ;)

To Ashley, Chrissy, Rachel, Marcie, Kemely and Emily, I am so happy to have been able to get to know you over the past year plus, and I am thrilled to have been able to share this past weekend with you. I "get" the MSP thing now and why you all felt so bonded. So I guess I am late on all of the warm and fuzzies and that you all are ahead of my game, but I just adore you all and had the most fun I have had this weekend since my wedding!! So thank you for that! I am so lucky to have you all to lean on!

As we know, there are others like the above mentioned girls that hopefully one day I will get to see too and after seeing how wonderful it was to spend time with the others, I am that much more eager to see you all again or for the first time.

So before I blog about the most amazing wedding I have ever attended -- Come! Meet my friends!

Marcie, Ashley, Kemely, Chrissy, STACY, Rachel and Emily!



Thursday, November 15, 2007

8 DAYS!!!!

Just 8 short days until I will be setting sail on a big old boat with an umbrella drink in my hands and with friends by my side!!! I am SO very excited!

And a mere 7 days until I get to see my mom, dad, brothers, neices and nephew, and of course, Tom the Turkey.


GET EXCITED GIRLIES!


Wednesday, November 14, 2007

All I Want For Christmas 3

Let it be known that I am not of the practical minded sect of people who want practical and useful gifts for Christmas! No sir, I want highly impractical gifts that one would never buy for themselves!

That is where this darling little Lieber coin purse comes in!! It is a real steal of a deal (considering standard Lieber prices) at $195.00 at BG. And if you wanted to get me the matching compact, I wouldn't put up a fuss.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Seriously, Co-Worker? Seriously?

Do you seriously think that your deceased Uncle Joe talks to you on the 11th minute of every hour from "the other side?" Seriously? Do you seriously hear him talk to you?

I really think this office will turn me into a crazy before long.

Friday, November 9, 2007

All I Want for Christmas 2




The perfume by Bill Blass that I wore on my wedding day.






After spending 2 hours in SFA trying on different scents, this one won my heart and I was thrilled when my husband actually noticed it and for once liked the perfume I was wearing! It is a staple in my life now and I need a refill.


P.S., we are almost to our 6 monthiversary!! On the 19th!






Thursday, November 8, 2007

Life Update

It has been a while since I updated my readers on my life. As you can probably tell from my less than active posting, I have been pretty busy!

First, I accepted a 2nd job doing some typing work from home!! I literally do not have a moment to myself, but oddly, I am enjoying working so much!

Secondly, and possibly more exciting, I finally got my Carlson Craft website going!! Just in time for all the holiday card purchases!


Visit me at: http://www.wedcraft.cceasy.com/


Holiday cards are already 20% off (price reflected at check out), but if you use the promo code CHOOS, you can receive an additional 10% off. Just put "CHOOS" in the special instructions section. You can actually receive that discount on anything on the site, not just Holiday cards.


Here are just some examples of the pages upon pages of options!

Holiday Cards:

Wedding Invitations:

Baby Announcements:
And Personal Stationery:



Just as a heads up, you make your order without giving any payment information (so it will seem odd to you). I will then send you a Paypal payment request. Once payment is received, the order is processed for shipping.

If you received one of my pretty Christmas cards last year, you know that they are great quality and super fun and festive!!

I am really excited about this new venture and I hope it takes off for me. Please forward my link on to any budget conscious brides you may know, or any families or companies needing to order their Christmas cards! Production time is really prompt!

Thanks for taking a look!

All I Want for Christmas...

Okay. I mentioned that we were going to start with our Fantasy Shopping requesting things that are most likely not in the cards and what better time to start this than the days leading to Christmas.


SO! In my first edition of All I Want for Christmas, I am hung up between these 2 Marc Jacobs bags:



(Click on bags for links)

Although not everyone's fav, MJ is one of my favorite bag designers. I always go back to him. Red is very unlike me but I was feeling a bit saucy today. I already have a black soft classic bag, but I could certainly use a second dontcha think?

Ugh, I can already see that this segment is going to make me a Bitter Betty!!!

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

To Make You Smile

On a day that was just ho-hum at best, this really made me laugh.
To clarify, I am not laughing just because she is about to fall, but because I saw this outfit earlier today and detested it. So the fact that the fashion gods are trying to send her a message...THAT is what makes me smile!!

Monday, November 5, 2007

Choo of the Week 11-05-07

I skipped a week! I am so sorry! Things have been a little bit hectic for me (which I will try to find time to post about later).

This week I am loving these pretty ladies for BG!


They are kind of my loophole to being chic and fabulous in a boring office setting.

They are especially appealing to me because they remind me of my first ever premium shoe purchase. They were the same pattern only strappy sandals from Vera Wang circa 1999 or 2000??(back when she just made high end items and wasn't a complete sell out stocking her crap at Kohls and selling mattresses).

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Ashley's Wedding Day Countdown!

26 days from now my dear friend Ashley will be marrying her fiancee, Joey, in the Bahamas! This days seems like it has been so long coming as Ashley is the last of a string of weddings we have had lately, including my own in May. I am really looking forward to the vacation along with some very much needed girl time since my husband can't make it. I cannot wait to tell you all about it in just 26 days!

Ashley will be a vision in white as will all of her guests! Yep, you heard me right! It is a white out wedding! All of the guests have been asked to wear shades of white and khaki. I think this is a great idea to sort of unify all of the guests and make everyone there a part of their ceremony in essence. Equally as important, imagine the pictures! They are going to be to die for!

When I started out planning my suitcase for this wedding weekend I thought, piece of cake right? Just throw on a white dress and be done with it. NO! WRONG! First of all, finding a white dress in Michigan at the end of summer beginning of fall was downright impossible. I thought it would be all the more reason for me to find a "steal of a deal" but alas, I was sadly mistaken.

As of today, I bought 5 dresses!! Living in the sticks is annoying because I had to ship back 4 of them :) and we know how much I hate paying for shipping, it is a pet peev of mine! But I am happy to announce that I finally have the jewels, the stems, the bag (almost) all nailed down! And since there will be many girls wearing white dresses and the risk of wearing the same thing is high, I shall put it all out there so we can all compare :)

Here are some pictures of my outfit. My shoes photograph a bit gold, but I think they are a bit silvery in person so just keep that in mind.
I am not sure which bag I am going with yet, that is the only thing to be determined. Sorry for the shoddy photo quality, blogger is acting up a bit.






Choo of the Week 10-29-07

This week I am loving.


Thes metallic gold and black stems! $580 at Net-A-Porter . Specifically, in a new segment I will introduce later this week called Fantasy Shopping, I would like to see them with this dress from Michael Kors ($1,295.00):





Monday, October 29, 2007

Seriously, Co-Worker....Seriously?


In honor of Halloween:


So it has been a while since I last complained about my co-workers. For the most part, they have been well behaved and have done nothing that I could legitimately complain about without sounding like a bitter wench. But Friday afternoon they seriously had me scratching my head.


For the sake of the story, a la Dr. Christina Yang (Grey's Anatomy), we will label the parties as co-worker One and Two.


Three of us were in the very back of the office complaining about one of the bosses' wives when One says, "Shhhh! I hear something. " My ears perk up and I strain to listen but alas, I hear nothing. She runs to the front of the office to make sure no one walked in to hear our tiraid. One comes back and reports to me and Two that there was no one there. She says she swears she heard a man's voice. Whatever, we all think we hear things sometimes -- people are walking by the office door, we have thin walls, etc. So, fine. But then Two gets all excited and says, "Really? A man's voice? Like a really old man's voice?" One nods excitedly in agreement. I am slowly backing out of the conversation because A) It was no longer interesting me anymore and B) My boss wasn't in so I wanted to get back to my online distractions.


Two goes on to mention that she thinks our office has a ghost in the form of an old man....Seriously? I am listening at my desk and waiting for her to say, "just kidding" or "just joshing ya" but instead I hear One enthusiastically agreeing with her....Seriously?


To say that the ghost talk goes on for an unacceptable length of time is an understatement. I am just floored. Then they go on to compare just how old the voice each of them heard in fact was. So to compare, they start throwing out client's names. Not as old as Joe Schmo, but older than John Doe...that sort of thing. Then they both agree that is sounds just like Mr. X, and that they should go home straight after work and pray for said Mr. X because he is obviously trying to send them a message that he needs their prayers and vibes....SERIOUSLY?!


At this point I am just shaking my head. WHERE do we find these people? At 5:00 I still hear them chatting about "the ghost." I jokingly tell them that their homework assignment for the weekend is to name our ghost. By Monday they had (seriously) agreed on Edgar. SERIOUSLY? I was joking!


Today, Monday, One is now telling Two that many people can't have cats like she does because they are not comfortable with the presence of the undead and how cats can sense these things unlike dogs. Instead of politely ignoring this nonsense, Two is in FULL agreement. Then they continue to compare stories about ghosts in the office and ghosts in their home.


I just want to point out that they are 10000% serious and are in no way joking or making fun or talking just for the fun of speculation. SERIOUSLY!


I NEED TO GO TRICK OR TREATING FOR A NEW JOB!

Good News


Thanks to everyone who has been keeping my family in their thoughts! If you didn't know, we had a bit of a cancer scar with regard to Gordon the beefcake. It was a long 5 days of waiting, but the test results came back today and our big man is in the clear!! Needless to say, we are beyond thrilled and shed some joyful tears at the news.


I just wanted to thank everyone for their support :) So in honor of our cancer free wiggle worm, here are some Gordo pics:





Monday, October 22, 2007

Choo of the Week 10-22-07




I thought we could use some color this week and these hot shoes would keep you warm during the winter months ;) They are muy caliente!!

They are a "steal" at $585 from Saks.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Hello Gorgeous!

The reason was very simple: RETAIL THERAPY.

I had a bad bad couple of very bad days and there was a presale going on and therefore it was necessary, therapeutic, and I feel a just a bit better now ;)

To get the full effect, listen to this song while you look at my "new shoes"...Because in case you are wondering what I am doing as I type this (all night long really), I am dancing in my new shoes to this song, MY NEW FAV (and if you know me at all, you know I am telling the truth, I truly am tippety tapping and twirling on the floor):

[Seriously, if you can't use your speakers as you read this, come back later when you can! You won't get the full effect].



So without further ado, here are the new shoes I bought for my friend Ashley's wedding which is in just one short month!


Monday, October 15, 2007

You Bluffin'?

So last night was interesting in our household to say the least. My husband got home from work late so I was a bit annoyed with him (understatement) when he waltzed in.

Each of us were trying to prove our points without actually fighting - which is quite the challenge for us! So there was a lot of heavy banter borderlining on smart assism (new word, like it?). Now, let's not get into the details. All you need to know is that I was feeling neglected.....and then, in streak of unluckiness, I fell down the stairs. I didn't fall full out, I really just missed the last step, but it made quite the commotion you would have thought there were broken bones. I rolled my ankle and screamed out. My husband didn't care! I hobbled up the stairs in the most pathetic manner imaginable and still received zero sympathy. So since I was already annoyed (again to say the least - truthfully I was downright ticked), I decided to scream "ouch" again to see if he would pay attention this time.

Still nada.

Now, by this point, my ankle pain had subsided, I'll admit it. It still did hurt, but I could have moved on with my life if I wanted to. Then my husband said, well let me see what we can do since I promised to take care of you "in fakeness and in health." Clearly I couldn't let him get away with calling me a faker! I had to soldier on and stick to my guns that I was injured. So I teetered over to him and he, in an exaggerated faker voice, pretended to care that I fell. He offered to take me to the ER (attempting to call my bluff) but I respectfully declined.

Keep in mind we both know the other is full of it. He is very much aware that my ankle doesn't hurt and I am very much aware that he knows this and wouldn't care if it did hurt. But we both had a point to prove.

So he ushers me to the chair, elevates my foot in the most dramatic fashion imaginable and then runs to the freezer (crap!).

Me: Hon, what are you doing?

H: Getting you ice!

Me: Oh, okay.
H: Well don't you think that is a good idea? You are so injured we don't want it to swell.

Me: Um....yeah, that is a great idea. I should have thought of that!

I couldn't possibly back down now. We are both trying not to laugh our rear ends off - it was soooo hard. It was a stand off. Eyes squinted, corner of our mouths turned up sort of stand off!

So I think in my head, I can wear an ice pack to prove my point...but my husband had other plans in store. He gets one bag of ice, fine. Then he gets another bag of ice!! Then he gets gauze!! He then proceeds to put a pack of ice on each side of my ankle and encase the entire foot in gauze so I couldn't escape the ice. I had no choice but to keep the charade up!

[Chrissy if you are reading, I think you get this whole story line and why it had to go down the way it did. You have no idea how annoyed I was that he wasn't "saying uncle."]

Ever so kindly he escorts me down the stairs. Every 30 seconds he asks me if the ice is too cold and I assure him that ice can never be too cold if it will cure my pain :) Oh yes, I am good. He is getting irked by now. He grabs my ankle and squeezes it with all his might telling me compression is good when he is really just trying to get me to cave because of the freezing ice. I didn't budge an inch (because at this point, I am just flat out numb)!

Then comes the Healthy Choice steam bowl commercial debate over whether I made my dinner correctly based on the procedure performed during the commercial (we were watching Dancing with the Stars. My choice since I was in so much pain :). Confusing, I know, but stick with me. Luckily for TiVo I tell him I would be willing to rewind to see who is right if he wants to place a friendly wager. He says that I can take my ice pack off if I am right.

bleep bleep ::TiVo rewind sound:: and guess who is right! ME!

So the ice comes off and by this time we are laughing hysterically. He decides he should test my range of motion to which I decide to give it one last shot and wince at the insurmountable pain caused by flexing my foot. At that point, I think he might have started to have doubts about my faking! I will never verbally confirm with him that it didn't hurt that bad - that would make me a loser.

I realize how juvenile this all sounds...I get it. But trust me it made sense to us based on our previous arguments, etc. And it was all in good fun. I wouldn't have even bored you with the story, but I had some cute pictures to go along with it. Our dog, Bailey, is very intuitive when something is wrong and he was very concerned for me. He clearly wanted to take my pain away:







OK I know that was both confusing and stupid, but I have one heck of a cute pup don't I?

OUCH!

Saturday I went to the outlet mall (the only source of shopping in a 2 hour radius from me) and hit up Banana for some triple point action.
Well, I injured my left arm. I was talking on my cell with Kelli on my right arm, and throwing over all my try on stuff over the left arm. All was good. I tried on and left with 4 sweaters, a dress and 2 pairs of jeans. I don't have pictures because it was outlet stuff so they aren't on the site any longer.
But fast forward to Saturday night...my left arm hurt SO badly that I took 2 muscle relaxers to go to bed. Sunday my arm hurt so badly that if I tried to pick anything up, my arm started shaking! and Monday the pain is the same! It hasn't healed in the least bit! I tell ya, the things one does for a shopping trip!
I think the moral of this story is twofold:

1. Beauty is pain; and
2. I am out of shape.

So today is day 1 of what I like to call -- Lean Cuisine Stacy! Hey, it's a feeble start, but a start nonetheless.

Choo of the Week 10-14-07



I think these are going to be my next purchase :) I am going to wait a while and see if anything else strikes my fance though since I change my mind often!

Click here for more info.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Eric/Ethan Comment Watch

Sadly, it is not happening. He (or his assistant) has logged on since my comment and a bunch of crazies have pushed my comment way down the page...I am probably not even on the first page anymore. Seriously, one girl told him that she named her son after him.....Seriously? I am NOT one of them crazy soap fans -- so to prove my point, I hereby give up. Farewell my dear!

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Mackinaw Island

I am about two and a half weeks behind on my life overall. Bills I was supposed to pay 2 weeks ago, gifts I was supposed to send, Emails I was supposed to return, and blogs I was supposed to write are just now getting taken care of.

So as I may have mentioned, my parents came to visit us in Michigan for the first time! It was pretty exciting having them come and visit. It was almost like after 3 years of living here, they were finally putting their stamp of approval on my life.

After a week of in-depth cleaning, something I never ever do, the house was as ready for company as it could be without selling our dogs and moving.

They flew in on Friday and courtesy of Airtran (the same carrier that granted me my worst travel day ever, as you may remember), their flight was late forcing them to take a later connecting flight out of Atlanta. So the day at the cider mill was cancelled much to my dismay. We figured if we can't bring the folks to the cider mill, then we would bring the cider mill to the folks. So they finally got in from their flight with fresh apple pie, cider and cider donuts awaiting them.

After settling in we went to Genji's -- a great Japanese restaurant in town. It is the kind that cooks in front of you; although, we really could have done without that because the food is good on it's own. By the time we got home it was fairly late (around 10:30) so we had some coffee (I guess that is what parents do at all hours) and then hit the hay because we had an early morning planned.

Saturday morning we drove up to Mackinaw Island. It is an island in between the upper and lower penninsulas of Michigan. They allow no motors on the island so the only mode of transportation is by horse, horse carriage, bike or by foot. It is really quaint and pretty. They have one of the largest population (? is that the right word) of lilacs and have a big festival there in the springtime. Our purpose for going was to see all the leaves change color and to travel a bit further up north so my parents could experience the fall air. Sounds silly, but if you live in Florida, you would appreciate it.

[side note: do NOT stay at the Chippewa! It was a nightmare! $150.00 a night and our bathroom smelled like mold and our external AC flooded all over our suitcase. They were kind enough (NOT) to give us a $30 discount.]

Here are some pictures from our trip:
My favorite church that was shipped over from France...or England...somewhere, I forget.







I just adore this little pig!


Our horses: Molly and Cody.


The only horse my husband tells me I ever might own - It's wooden. But hey, I kind of like it.




Little Stone Church and LOOK! There is a bride getting ready to walk down the aisle!! Naturally I wanted to stop the horses but I tried my best not to look crazy. They say that it is a two year waiting list to get married at this church and that people often put their name down even if they don't have a fiance! Not sure about security deposits, that is the firs thing I thought of too.



Sunday we traveled home along I-19 which runs along Lake Michigan and has been dubbed, "The Tunnel of Trees." It is a small, barely two lane road with no center line (which is incredibly scary) and all of the trees form together over the roadway to make a holloway. It was beautiful! There are ginourmous houses tucked back in the woods if you look closely also. We thought it would be a cute 20 minute drive to get to our destination, Petoskey, but it was more like an hour drive. I am glad we went that way, but after the 1st 20 minutes, we had seen our fill of trees.

Forgive the not-so-creative photos here. Picture me in the back seat wiggling my way out the sunroof with my camera and my dad getting very angry at me. It was a snap and go situation.







Our next stop was Petoskey, a small town with lots of shops and boutiques. My mother and I went shopping and the men headed off to the casino. We spent about 3 hours walking around from shop to shop and figured it was about time to make sure our husbands weren't spending more money than we did. Well we got there and they were not pleased, which meant that we were heading no where fast.

To get us to go away, they gave us money to gamble with. Typically when this happens, my mother and I disappear and pretend to be playing slot machines and then just tell them that we lost our money. But this time we were stupid and bored and actually gambled our money away. Needless to say, the house always wins and the odds were not in our favor. Like ol' Kenny says, "You've gotta know when to fold 'em." Clearly, we did not listen to ol' Kenny.

So around 7 we decided to start our 4 hour drive home!! Kill me now! It was such a long day!! We had a great time though.

Monday came and went quickly. We went to Bronner's Christmas Store and bought a bunch of Christmas supplies and then went to the antique store and did some shopping. Tuesday we bid farewell. It was just the perfect length of time to see your parents.

This is the first time I ever had "company" in my house though and let me tell you...it is exhausting! Hubs and I went to bed every night so mentally exhausted you would have thought we spent our days curing cancer -- we felt like we were using our minds that much.

So that catches you up on "me." Thank goodness for blogs or else I would be lost in terms of what everyone else has been up to. After this post, I am officially caught up on my emails and everything else that has been sliding by :) Hope everyone had a good weekend!