Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Rocky



These are photos of my co-worker's super sweet and cute puppy, Rocky. He is a "feist." Apparently this breed is very much like a Jack Russell Terrier, but less high strung. Rocky spent yesterday as an office dog and is back today! Though Rocky had a few bursts of energy during which he peed in the boss' office and nibbled on files, he mostly slept and is asleep right now. What a sweetie.

Fall



Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Paint it Black!



Some of John's latest handy work. He painted the stairs and the door black! I wasn't totally on board with the concept, but now that it's done, I really like it. That's usually how these painting projects go :)

Sunday, November 7, 2010


My quiche and pumpkin & walnut & coconut chocolate chip cookies!

Weekend Update


So, I had a difficult hearing on Friday. I won, but had to be pretty aggressive in my cross-examination of the opposing party. I was only doing my job, and the woman was awful, but sometimes it still makes me feel bad to really call someone out. Let's just say, I wouldn't want to be cross-examined!

So I got home by like 4:30 on Friday afternoon and relaxed while John did yard work. Then we tried to watch the movie, the Book of Eli. It was good, but I fell asleep like 30 minutes in.

Last night, we had a neighborhood party at the pavilion on the soccer field. It's called Chastain Night, and people reserve tables and bring a fancy meal. It's kind of expensive to reserve a table in the pavilion, so we got together with a few other couples and took advantage of lawn seating -- bring your own table and pay $5! One couple kindly brought their Chiminea fireplace, so we were able to stay toasty. It got down to 29 last night! There was live music, and it was a lot of fun.

Today, I'm making a meal for our neighbors who just had their first baby (yes, another one...I think it's something in the water). The menu consists of quiche and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies...and Caesar salad, which I just realized I forgot to get at the store. D'oh.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Happy Halloween!


My pumpkin.


John built a really nice fire, which we enjoyed well after the trick or treating wrapped up.


Our trick-or-treat set up...We set up a table in our yard with a few neighbors so that we could hand out candy together. The kids would get a handful from each bowl, so no one was shorted on the candy front.


Indiana Jones looking ruggedly handsome, if I do say so myself.


Emily keeping warm in her new blanket!


A baby duck too!



Emily, a half-Aussie, dressed in her Kangaroo costume and surrounded by Australian stuffed animals and flags! Too cute.


This weekend, I finally completed the baby blanket I've been working on forever! I made the blanket for our neighbors' daughter, Emily...who is now 2 months old! Better late than never, I suppose. I gave the blanket to Michelle when they came over to survey our trick-or-treat set up, and after about half an hour, it started getting chilly -- lo and behold, Emily needed her blanket to keep warm!


Johnny's "punkin" -- it's a bat!


For Jessy...

Seasonal update of the powder room.


Kitties keeping warm.

Scrabble Box Kitty!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

The Cumming Fair




So, I volunteered through the Junior Service League at the Cumming Fair the other week. Apparently, the Fair needs additional help each year, so it basically pays community volunteers through their organizations to work shifts. My job was to collect tickets for the sky buckets. The only interesting "carny" I saw was a 7.5 month pregnant lady who was smoking. Doh.

A little drive...




On the weekend before last, John and I went on a little drive through North Georgia. We do that sometimes, especially in this nice Fall weather. This the view from a rest area off of the mountain road we were on. John is pretty sure he could see the Atlanta skyline. During our drive we came across a cute antique shop in downtown Jasper.

Johnny's 30th Birthday

On October 2nd, we hosted a "30th birthday /John is starting his own law firm" party for John. We had a great turnout and a lot of fun! We celebrated with good friends, a ton of food, a keg on the back porch, and stacks of John's new business cards here and there.

My mom was my right hand lady in preparing for the party. Cooking is so much easier when there's someone in the kitchen with you! Thanks, Mom.




Here comes the cake!

The dessert table -- missing some items in this photo.

A closer look at the spread...Some of the dips are missing in this photo. Also, not pictured are the meatballs and pigs in a blanket by the punch in the kitchen :)


My mom's decorative touch.

As many of you may know, John basically dislikes cake, except ice cream cake (does this even count?) and carrot cake.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Baby Shower















Finally, photos from the baby shower I hosted for my friend Michelle at the end of July. John's parents, Mary & John, came down for their summer visit a week before the shower and were such a tremendous help to us in preparing. Mary and her sister Martha made the cutest pink and brown banners out of new and vintage fabric pennants, which we strung in doorways and across windows. Mary also brought along her stork clear-toy molds, which we used to make wax storks. Mary and Lucia made super cute soaps for party favors. Mary and John also gifted me with my very own "lambey" cake mold, which we used to make the lambey cake you see pictured. John and Mary found the cake mold after much searching, and John used a ton of elbow grease to clean and then cure the mold for me.

Mary and John were instrumental in helping us get ready for the shower, and I can't thank them enough. I only regret that we worked them so hard while they were here. We definitely owe them a leisurely visit next summer. They've earned it!

John (my John) had the idea to plant African Violets in Vlasic pickle jars (which picture a stork on the label) to give out to the winners of our shower games. John was in charge of purchasing and planting our prizes.

My friends, Madeline and Katie, supplied most of the food for the shower, and it was delicious. Thanks so much to you girls for all of your hard work. Madeline made curry chicken salad, served in croissants; a wonderful fruit salad, and cake pops. Katie brought veggies, hummus, and an amazing spinach and artichoke dip. My neighbor Deb brought her famous caramel slice. I made "mushroom puffs" and the punch. We had quite the spread! My mom, who was out of town the weekend of the party, provided me with tons of platters, pink and brown print paper-stuffs and napkins, her punch bowl, extra chairs, basically all the extras I needed to feel comfortable hosting 20+ girls.

At the shower, we played a game where everyone brought a baby photo of herself, and then the guests had to guess who was pictured in each photo. It was really hard, and a bit more time consuming than I'd planned :) Unfortunately, baby pictionary was bumped as a result, but of course, no one noticed or minded because we went straight into opening gifts, which is pretty much the point.

We concluded the shower with a quick trip down the street to Michelle and Freddy's house to see the perfectly decorated and stocked nursery. Pink and brown all the way!

All in all, the shower was a success, and I thank everyone who contributed from the bottom of my heart!