Happy New Year

...yeah I know it's been almost a month, but we have been pretty boring with nothing to write about!

On December 29th, Daniel's cousin - Drew - married Jordan, and they had a beautiful wedding!  The girls of the family woke up early to decorate the reception hall, and we did a great job.  Huge transformation.  Congratulations to a couple who is madly in love - enjoy forever!

Unfortunately, Daniel spent a week feeling under the weather, so we had a low-key New Year's.  We went to Bonefish with two other couple's for a late dinner, and went back to Bobby's for Catch Phrase and watching the ball drop.  We spent the weekend being lazy, and listening to Daniel complain about his illness :)

The next weekend Daniel left with his guy-pals to go snowboarding for a few days.  I'm happy to report there were no injuries, and they all had a blast!  I spent the few days I was flying solo bouncing around houses eating dinners and cleaning up our house.  Needless to say, I was so happy to have Daniel home!

Last weekend we ordered our bar for our kitchen - sooo excited.  We have a "ledge" currently, but I found the exact swatch of our current counters, so we are having Home Depot replace the ledge with a bar.  I can't wait to see how it turns out, will keep you posted!

As you know, Robin said "yes!" to her best friend, Ben.  I went on a search for the perfect engagement gift.  I found a beautiful personalized ring plate, and since I use ring plates ALL OVER the house, I knew it was perfect!



Robin & Ben sittin' in a tree...

And I said "yes!" myself to being her Matron of Honor.  I am so honored to be such a big part of the most important day of her life!  I can't wait - the next 8 months will be so much fun.

Helping Robin "tie the knot"!

Kelly, Derek, and sweet Abby came over on Friday night.  We had pizza, started working on a puzzle, and enjoyed some good Abby time!

Legos & Legwarmers

Showing Uncle Daniel that I can walk a few steps!

Then on Saturday, my mom and I went shopping for fabric for my dining room chairs.  Our dining room is THE LAST room we have to add our touch too - I can't wait!  I was originally going to reupholster the chairs - which is totally do-able, but it very well could take me 20 years.  So I asked my mom if she would take on the big task of making slipcovers, and she agreed!  Whew!  Here's what we picked out, I can't wait to see how it comes out!

IN LOVE!

Momma working hard in the aisle of Joanns

 

 

And one more thing - the Staley family has officially grown!  Athanasius James Ponder (he'll be called Ash) was born on Thursday, January 17th.  He was 8 pounds 4 ounces and 20 inches long.  He was born on the third anniversary of his parent's engagement - pretty neat!  We were able to visit on Monday, and he - no joke - looks like a baby Benjamin Button!  We are thrilled for Doug & Jessica

 

Baby Ash



Snowflakes for Sandy Hook

On December 14, 11 days before Christmas - there was another unimaginable tragedy - a school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary.  20 children, 6 adults, and the shooter's mother were all killed.  Horrific.  Anywho, let's not get bogged down in the sadness.  I heard on the news that the CT PTSA asked for paper snowflakes to decorate the new school as a winter wonderland.  That is such a fun and easy thing to bring smiles to children's faces and can warm your heart!  So the next day, the last day of work before break, I gathered the few coworkers who were around and we all made snowflakes!  I sent them yesterday, and I truly hope they will be mesmerized by a winter wonderland :)

<3

I will continue to pray for all of those affected - from the victims' families to the first responders, I know from personal experience this is a life-long struggle.  The only thing we can do is continue to make a difference. 

Christmas Crafts

I did lots of crafting for Christmas this year because a) I think it's more personal and b) I can make exactly what I have in mind and c) it's generally cheaper (hey, it's a bad economy!).  Here are some of the things I have worked on :)

Abby's First Christmas ornament

The other half

Ellen is the daughter of a sweet friend of mine - she had the same ornament except initials instead of a tree!

The Fails Family - family tree - I just love this

The Staley Family - family tree - HUGE hit!

Nativity ornament

Nativity ornament - other side

I also made Daniel's mom a wine bottle with Christmas lights, I just need to get a picture of that to show you :)

Merry Christmas!

We had an absolutely amazing Christmas!  We spent the weekend finishing up gifts, napped a lot, and just hung out.  Pretty low key :)
Christmas Adam (yep, remember Adam came before Eve!) is our "engagement anniversary".  That's right - Daniel dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him.  The day we were engaged, Daniel had made dinner reservations at Bonefish Grill - neither of us had been there, but it was the most delicious & enjoyable meal ever.  Each year since, we have gone back to have a Christmas date on Christmas Adam!  This year was no exception - we had a fabulous meal and found an awesome neighborhood nearby with awesome lights!  We'll have to remember to go back!

first time making Dog Food - addicting!

Annabeth & Ashley came over to decorate a gingerbread house.  Well, Annabeth was the main decorator ;)

I know the picture doesn't do this justice, but these lights were incredible!  The trees were FILLED with lights!  Amazing

I baked an awesome Christmas Eve breakfast - Cinnamon Roll Casserole - to die for!  What is it, you ask?  Basically it's just cinnamon rolls baked in a big casserole with icing on top!  We went to church with Daniel's family, went to my parent's for dinner & gifts with my Granma.  Busy, but fun!  So glad we get to spend time with my Granma :)

Reindeer cookies - soooo cute and super easy!

Daniel woke up bright and early on Christmas day - he said he was just too excited about giving me my gifts, haha!  He was amazing and gave me fun gifts, but the biggest surprise was not one, but four Coach items!  We went to his parent's house and I had another surprise (with help from Robin) - $100 to go shopping!  He says he doesn't trust himself to buy me clothes, so he's sending me shopping to pick out exactly what I want - how sweet!  After that, we went to his grandparent's for lunch and lots of laughs.  When we were finished there, we continued our journey to my parent's for gifts and dinner.  I had another surprise there - a new Dyson vaccuum!  Isn't he incredible?  He went waaaay over budget, and told me it was because I deserve it.  How did I pick such an amazing person?  I am so in love with him, and though I'm happy to just be with him, he made my Christmas extra-extra-special.  His thoughtfulness is just too much, and I am so very appreciative of him!
It was also so much fun to be around Abby for her very first Christmas!  Although she cannot unwrap gifts and has no clue what's going on, we love to spend time with her and love her giggles!

I hope everyone had a great day filled with fun, family, and memories!

...I forgot the thing I need to upload pics, so I'll add more tomorrow!

....and I'm back - here are some pics!

Abby Cadabby shoes!

Abby in her new red wagon

Pretty momma and abby

Happy girl!

love, love, love my husband!

December update

A few weeks went by and I didn't update because, well, we are boring and there wasn't much to update - then BAM! lots of fun stuff happening!  So here's the skinny:

Our dear Wanda Bear turned FIFTY on December 18th (Happy Birthday Sweet Wanda!) - but in preparation for the big day, Robin has been planning a surprise party all year!  We planned for months and partied on December 1st.  I am SO glad to say that she was suprised!  If you don't know Wanda, let me fill you in - she knows everything that is going on.  It is near-impossible to get anything past her.  Well, Robin did the impossible and pulled off the surprise!  What a fun, fun evening celebrating a pretty fantastic lady!  I don't have many pictures, so here is all i have-



Annabeth helping to ice lots and lots of mini cupcakes and brownie bites




Robin making the country club BEAUITFUL with pom poms!

Fifty & Fabulous cake

Cute mini cupcakes with pom-pom toppers

Dessert table set-up

The next weekend was my birthday :)  I took Friday off for a long weekend, and admist a pending sinus infection, we ran lots of christmas errands, made Christmas crafts (can't wait to show you!), and wrapped Christmas gifts!  Even better - we were treated with a special visit from Abby, and we were able to watch her for the afternoon :)

Abby loved the Rudolphs on the back of my socks

Sweet thing

Watching Home Alone

Oh - and to top it off - my BEST FRIEND GOT ENGAGED!!!  That's right - Ben & Robin are officially tying the knot!  I couldn't be more excited for two incredible people.  I am looking forward to the fun year to come!  xoxo

BEAUTIFUL!

My grandma gave me extra pieces to my Elfa organizer from The Container Store - woo hoo!  We all know that storage space is a hot commodity around our house, so I have to make space where I can.  I love it!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the new organizers!

Speaking of birthday gifts - you know, there isn't a whole lot of "stuff" I need/want.  And, quite frankly, I don't want for someone to give me a gift just for the sake of giving a gift.  So, I asked my dear husband for a trip away in lieu of a gift.  We found a great Living Social deal for a resort in VA Beach.  For $80, we got a suite and a $25 spa credit.  The resort had wonderful reviews, so we went for it!  We went last weekend, on Friday, and I am so glad we did.  We arrived to the beautiful resort, and walked into our room which had the fireplace going for us!  How neat is that.  I used my spa credit for the Chocolate Peppermint Pedi, which was oh-so relaxing, while drinking a Starbucks treat.  We enjoyed a delicious dinner on the beach, and drove on the Boardwalk to see their Christmas lights!  The resort is beautifully decorated - we walked around and enjoyed their outdoor firepits.  On our way back on Saturday, we stopped by the outlets which was a madhouse, and all-in-all had an incredible time!  Much needed romantic getaway!

Daniel & Myself in front of the beautifully decorated fireplace

YUM!  Best ever bloody mary

crab - perfect for the beach!

Santa surfing

my handsome husband hanging out near the fire pit

isn't this place gorgeous?

xoxo

And THIS is what I got to wake up to!  how relaxing!

 

It's beginning to look at lot like Christmas

...It's no surprise that I LOVE Christmas!  On top of loving to decorate for all seasons, Christmas is my favorite.  Last weekend, I finished everything except for our tree - which we will pick out and decorate this weekend! 

Love this little guy in our bedroom <3

Love the black tree in the craft room!  Perfect back-drop for all of the crafting that's happened lately



The Christmas mantle!  This year I put my beautiful Christmas village on the mantle and instead of stocking hangers, we did cup-hooks - I'm in love!!

 

Happy Thanksgiving 2k12

Yesterday was such an amazing Thanksgiving!  As Josh Groban sings, "There's so much to be Thankful for"


On Wendesday night, instead of Annabeth & Ashley coming over for our traditional baking session, we just ordered pizza, shared Brewsters and watched a movie.  Fortunately, there wasn't too much I had to make and prepare for the two meals we were attending the next day.  It was so nice & relaxing :)

I had extremely high hopes of sleeping in on Thursday, but my body decided 6:30 was a perfect time to be awake.  Ugh.  Anywho, I took advantage of the time by myself allowing Daniel to sleep, and I worked out.  I have never exercised the day of Thanksgiving, and I'm glad I did.  It made the massive amounts of food on my plate seem not so bad!  We had Daniel's family at Grandma Stella & Buddy's at 1pm and my sister hosted my family at 5pm.  We all really enjoyed spending time with our families, and most important - we have a new addition to Thanksgiving this year!  This was Abby's first Thanksgiving, and we just love our little turkey.  She has brought so much joy into our family, and we are so thankful for that.  Here are just a few little memories of our day, and obviously they all include our little Abby Cadabby:



Gobble, gobble



Abby enjoying her first Thanksgiving dinner

 

Thanksgiving is a day that everyone sits back and really evaluates the blessings in their lives - this year is no different.  This past year has brought so many new situations to us - an incredible niece, the loss of a job & starting a new one, working hard together to make our house a home, and making our marriage the absolute best it can be to prepare for now and the future.  We have a home, health, great families, jobs that provide, and so much love.  I hope this spirit of Thanksgiving carries throughout the year.

Daniel went out Black Friday shopping late last night.  I woke up this morning to this-

A very long, very sweet "Happy Thanksgiving & I Love You" letter with a set of 10 Honora pearl bracelets!

I have been eyeing these pearls by Honora for years - ever since we gave it to Annabeth as a HS graduation gift.  I noticed they were on a huge Black Friday deal at Kohls for less than half the price at Fink's.  Now, I'm sure they quality is much less, but beautiful nonetheless.  Daniel went out before midnight to stand in line (#1 at Kohls) to get me a "you're beautiful" gift.

Right now we love listening to the new Matchbox 20 album.  And to quote "I'm gonna be there always" - that's how I feel right now.  No matter what happens - good or bad - we are going to be there for each other always.  It may not always be easy, or pretty, or fun - but we have each other and that's what counts.  We have come a long way in the eight and a half years we've been together, and we both know this will last forever. 

Thank you to my amazing husband - not only for this act of love that means so much, but for being there and for loving me all the time and constantly challenging me to be a better person.  I'm so in love with you, and I absolutely cannot wait to see what's in store for us!  PS