"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Have a wonderful & safe new year's tonight!

see you in 2010!!

No Plans

So tomorrow is New Year's eve ... and I have NO plans thus far. I'm so over the whole bar scene here in Lexington. Well, really just in general. We may have a few people over to our house? Who knows. I feel like everyone else wants to "hit the town" but I would be more than happy to stay in!

2010 will be a big year for me...it's the year I will graduate from law school, take the bar, *hopefully* get my first real job, and maybe, just maybe engaged! (haha wonder if ben will read this! if so, hint hint!) I'm thinking 10.10.10 would be a good date - just for fun! :) Once I am gainfully employed, I'd love to travel more - I could really, really use a vacation! I would also LOVE to meet some of you all! Blogging and reading all of your blogs is most certainly my favorite past time!

Anywho...if we do end up having people over tomorrow night, I found this cute idea for a center piece that I will recreate.

easy, sparkly, and pretty! {from Martha}

empty nest

ben and i packed up all our christmas decorations yesterday and stored them away...and now our condo feels SO EMPTY! Since buying our first place the list of things that we "need" never seems to end!

here are some pics of our empty living room...excuse the circa 1998 TV. For Christmas Ben's parents gave us money to buy a new flatscreen, so we are hoping to get out sometime this week to pick one out. {after Christmas sales!!} I still need a rug, drapes, and two matching chairs. who knew finding a rug that I like would be sooo dang difficult! i really wanted something with some color, but i think i may have to settle for a natural fiber rug.

we plan on hanging the tv on this wall, and moving the large painting to the wall where the tv currently sits. I also plan on getting two matching slipper chairs that will face the ottoman. plus, i need to add a bookshelf somewhere ...AHHH so much to do!

{excuse the clutter} this is the piece that sits by our front door. i need to find two matching lamps. i want something fairly large and with a drum shade. i have been looking for a couple months and haven't found anything i love (that isn't several hundred dollars). i want to add a round mirror above this piece - to be flanked by the lamps.

well anyways, there is a peek into our little home... getting this place all set is definitely on my to-do list for 2010!

do you all feel like your home is empty after you put away all your holiday decorations?!

A Very Merry Christmas to You!

I'm doing some last minute gift wrapping and headed over to my mom's to spend the night. Ben is out of town till tomorrow afternoon and I don't want to spend Christmas eve alone! I can't wait to watch my nephew Logan open all his gift from Santa tomorrow! I'm looking forward to that more than any gift I might be getting!

I hope you all have wonderful Christmases! Have safe travels and enjoy the time with your loved ones!

{photo via snippet & ink}

hot chocolate

I made these hot chocolate on a stick baskets for few people for christmas.

aren't they cute?! i got the idea from One Pretty Thing.

start with milk chocolate, and melt in plastic ziploc bag. i wouldn't use the chips like i did, because they aren't meant to melt so they take a while to cool and harden back up! my kroger was out of sweet baking chocolate so i just went with it.

snip corner of ziploc bag and squeeze into ice cube trays.

pop in candy sticks, they stand up on their own. let cool. i stuck mine in the freezer to speed it up.

i also melted some white chocolate in a bowl and dipped the ends of the milk chocolate in them. To some i added sprinkles and to some i added coconut shavings. you could also make all white chocolate ones. the sky is the limit!

i got the mini plastic bags and the candy sticks from michaels. i placed them in a christmas basket with a christmas mug and tied the instructions (stir in mug of hot milk) to it. cute and easy!

gifts for the small people in my life...

i'm giving my nephews and nieces fleece blankets with their names/initials appliqued on them for christmas. this was a super easy project that i think turned out pretty cute! i ordered 9x11 fabric pieces from etsy and whipped these up one night this week while watching christmas movies.

the ottoman

ok, so here is the ottoman i thought about making for like ever. i'm pretty happy with how it turned out. i couldn't commit to a patterned fabric, so i went with a heavy solid. i figure i will do a lot of pattern in my throw pillows (which i have yet to purchase/make). i chose yellow to go with my gray walls. the only thing i don't like about the ottoman is that it is SO big! i didn't realize how large a 36" square would look in our small condo. here are the pics:

this is what the table looked like before:

i pretty much followed THESE instructions from

things to make:

1. these door mats from pottery barn at almost $100. i'm going to find a plain mat and use a little spray paint and tape to make my own!

2. i love the rick rack embellishment on these simple white curtains. thinking about doing this for my living room.

or maybe something like this...

3. i need a headboard! i have a beautiful antique iron bed, but at 6'3" ben doesn't fit on it! so i thought i'd make one similar to this. i can't seem to find tack strips anywhere though. ideas of where i can find them?

aaaannnndddd i finally got around to making the ottoman that i talked about in THIS post. i ended up doing it a bit differently, i'll share pictures tomorrow!

deck the halls

I got my ornament from the ornament swap up on my tree and wanted to share!

thank you so much Lilly, I LOVE it! thank you for sending me a little piece of NYC to enjoy!

and while we are at it, here are some more of my holiday decorations!

small tree with ornaments on my entry table

more ornaments in a vase and some faux mercury glass votives

vintage ornaments, that belonged to my grandmother, in vases on the table in our eating area

soup du jour

do your grocery stores carry Bear Creek soup mixes? if so, be sure to grab some the next time you go. there are a large variety available - I've tried the creamy potato (my fave), the tortilla soup, the chili, the chicken noodle, and the broccoli cheddar. they are all good! of course, soup is my favorite food :)

good-bye

I've been using this Nivea Good-bye Cellulite gel cream for a few months now and ya'll, it seriously works! I mean, don't expect miracles or instant results...but over time it definitely reduces the appearance of cellulite. The skin on the back of my thighs was stressing me out, but now they look so much better!

Have you all given it a try?

i need this book stat

December one

I cannot believe that it is already December!

I think I will have to get Logan a chocolate advent calendar this year! I used to love searching for the correct little door each day and then having the surprise of what was inside!

(really just what shape the rather gross chocolate was in!)

Did you all have these growing up?