The End of a Decade

How did 2010 go by so fast? How did the last DECADE go by so fast?! 

It's crazy to me how much went down.

So instead of telling you what happened this past year, let's recap my most important events of the last 10 years.

Graduated high school.

Broke up with long time boyfriend.

Fast forward because we don't like to talk about that.

Resume timeline.

Met Kevin.

Moved out of my parents house and into the 3020 townhouse.

Had nine different roommates in three years.

Had my first shot of tequila on my 21st birthday.

I didn't puke. High fives to me.

I got Bodie.

Realized the breeder gave me the wrong dog.

Got the REAL Bodie.

Attended two weddings as a bridesmaid and was in my sisters as maid of honor...

in which I defaced her car.

 Met Nicholas Sparks.

Met Paula Deen.

 Got engaged.

To Kevin, not Nicholas Sparks.

Attended my surprise bridal shower

Attended my bachelorette party.

I just like this picture of my butt. 

Hi Chasity and Tari.

I burned spaghetti for the first time. That's a big deal for me, seriously, I cried.

Had my perfect beach wedding.

STARTED MY BLOG!

Dressed up for Halloween.

and finally, had our first Christmas as a married couple.

I hope the last decade treated you well and the new year brings you health, wealth, love and chocolate.

Happy New Year!

Gift Exchange

A while back, Bodie and I decided to participate in the Kitty and Canine Gift Exchange through Kelly's blog, Ordinary in Indiana. Bodie got paired up with Sunday the dog, whose owner is Anni from Lincoln Park on a Lark.

Bodie was very excited when the mailman actually got something right and dropped off a box on Monday that had his name on it. Inside was a sweet little note and a couple of goodies!

  

 

 

Bodie received the cutest stuffed candy cane along with a rubber toy with jingle bells inside.

Someone should clean up all that Christmas trash.
I call 'not it.'

I tried to take away his candy cane and got the evil eye.

He loves his toys, thank you to Anni and Sunday! Hope you had a wonderful holiday and hope you receive our gift to you soon!

Yeah, I mailed it out two weeks ago. My mail-person has got it out for me. The day we got Bodie's package, they left all our loose mail under the box on our porch. Our area had 1000 MPH gusts that day and our bills got blown to the neighbors house and into the goats pen. Awesome, huh?

Kevin says he's never had a problem with his mail....before I moved in. 

I personally think the USPS driver of ours has a little crush on my husband. Slut.

We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.

I hope everyone had a bangin' holiday, no matter what you celebrate! Festivus for the rest of us, Christmahanukwanzakuh, or whatever, all I know is we had a fabulous time.

Kevin and I always exchange each others gifts on Christmas eve, so we can spend Christmas day with both our families. Well, apparently, that little sneak reads my blog and knew how much I wanted a certain pair of gray cardy Ugg boots. 

Shweet.

My husband has got to be the best gift giver ever of all time and to infinity and beyond (name that movie). I never even told him about the Uggs but apparently he was texting my BFF and reading my blog and I didn't even know it. That sneaky sneak. He does too much and I tell him every year. After opening my boots, I had no idea there was anything else, until he brings out a box with a white North Face jacket in it. What the what?!

 Source-ness

I know. I am now a walking cliché. The boots, the jacket and my black Coach handbag. The14 year old tomboy inside of me would be talking so much shit right now. Like I care.

My mom took one look at them on Christmas morning and told me how ugly they were and that the looked like something an old lady would knit. Whatevs, they are awesome sauce and kept my toes warm while frolicking in the Christmas snow flurries.

Speaking of Mom and Dad,

Say hi to my parents while ignoring the stoned look on my dad's face.

After being ridiculed for my awesome shoes, I got to making monkey bread for breakfast, (same as my girl Layla)  while the rest of my family dug into their stockings. From there, things went pretty typical: we opened gifts, fought, screamed, laughed, hugged, muted commercials during Nightmare Before Christmas, and then we ate. As much as I complain about them, we had a rockin' ass Christmas time. I'm a lucky girl to have my family living so close to use.

Even my brother Chris admitted he had a good time. Normally his Facebook is all about how to survive a Zombie bite or how to win at World of Warcraft but on Christmas day, he couldn't deny the jolly holiday:

Isn't that presh? He loves Kevin.

After we had our early Christmas dinner, (1:00 because my brothers had to work) Kevin and I headed home to nap. What? You don't nap on Christmas? You should. It's fantastic. It's like waking up on Christmas morning all over again especially because we had to hit round two at the in-laws.

Kevin's family always draws names for Christmas because there are so many of us and it turns out my 12 year old niece had my name. Remember this post? Where I tell you I hate my forehead? I haven't heard the end of it. Seriously y'all, she gave me a Mr. Potato Head doll. I cracked up laughing. That little smart ass, I love her to pieces.

Stole this from her Facebook page. 

Your famous now Brooke. Start asking for autographs.

And to end the randomness of this post, here's your obligatory dose of Bodie.

 

He's slightly embarrassed that his Santa suit was a smidge too tight this year. 

No more turkey. For either of us. It's not just my Santa suit that's too tight. Sheesh.

Oh hey, look in the right hand corner. What's up Ugg boots. You look great.

SANTA'S COMING! I KNOW HIM!

It's so hard to believe that Christmas is here. I feel like I fell asleep in May and woke up a married woman, with a house and a dog and a grumpy old Grinch on Christmas eve.

Okay, that's a lie, he's not a Grinch.

Just because he's never had a Christmas tree in his house, hates shopping, and eats all my baking before I have a chance to send it to people doesn't mean he's a Grinch.

It means he's a man.

And I love that man more than words can express.  This is our first Christmas as a married couple and I'm so excited to share it with him.

I hope you and your family, friends and loved ones, whether near or far, have a wonderful holiday weekend.

Merry Christmas everyone!

"Buddy the elf, what's your favorite color?" - and I bring up my honeymoon one more time.

Oprah is the queen of daytime TV. She's the matriarch of talk shows and I can honestly say that I've never watched a full episode. Until the other day. 

My best friend, Katie, sent me about 100 texts while I was at the gym with a list of what Oprah was giving away on her annual "Favorite Things" episode. I'm pretty sure I would give my right arm for some of the stuff she gave away.

Why doesn't she put that money towards something useful, like buying me my own tropical island? I'm pretty sure we'd be besties. I mean, I could roll with Stedman, he's pretty fly but Gayle King? Her I can do without. I'm the new replacement.

Well, if I can't be her new BFF, can I at least get a couple of the things she gave away? I watched the rerun  around 11, on mute of course. Her excited voice could break the sound barrier.

A few of my favorite things from her list:

{source}

I swoon for Coach bags and this Sophia Satchel is gorgeous. For some reason, I can't bring myself to pay over $100 for a pocketbook, well, except for that one time, last year, and I'm still carrying it.

 {source}

Yeah, you can go ahead and kill me now. Y'all know that I've dreamed of these dutch ovens for months. I had to explain to Kevin why I am so infatuated with them. Um, they're pretty much the shit, no other explanation needed. They also decided to name it "The Oprah Set" - because she cooks all the time?
No. Because she's famous.

 {source}

I never wear jewelry but I think I can find an excuse to throw on these $525 Judith Ripka canary yellow diamonds. Kev and I do frequent the opera. NOT. I'm pretty sure I'd end up wearing these to BINGO.

 {source}

A Sony Bravia 3D television. Which I didn't want until I realized that it has facial recognition technology and will turn itself off if you're not watching. I don't need to tell you how cool that is. 

{source}

And now I can't breathe. A cruise? Yeah, I know they gave away a new car too but I don't need the extra insurance bill, I'll take the cruise.

HAWAII IS TO LAME VIRGINIA AS
A CRUISE IS TO A LAME NEW CAR

Honeymoon wins.

First we'll make snow angels for two hours, then we'll go ice skating, then we'll eat a whole roll of Tollhouse Cookiedough as fast as we can, and then we'll snuggle.

To link up and join in on the fun, head over to Jen's blog by clicking below!!

Thank you Elf, for another wonderful quote that I can use to title my blog post. Whatever, I know it's a long one.
But it has to do with the subject at hand and that subject is my dog SNOW.

We had our first snow day here in Virginia yesterday and it was all of three inches. It doesn't seem like much but around here, they close schools for a lot less so I got off work at 1:00 and got to come home to some puppy snuggles.

Don't pay any attention to his shaggy coat, he is in terrible need of a grooming. 

After we played in the snow for a bit, we baked cookies for the rest of the afternoon until Kevin came home. It took him over four hours to drive what normally takes him two and a half. That's crazyness.

The fact that I used to live in Vermont makes all this hub bub about the snow a bit extreme to me. Yesterday morning, it hadn't even snowed enough to stick to the roads and people were slowing to 20 MPH in a 55. {-> angry Jessica}. Only I can't really get angry because my stupid car, Alice, the hardtop VW convertible, hates the snow. Like, she hates it with a fiery passion and I ended up being one of the people going slow. Oh whatsup gram, no, go around. You have a Ford Explorer and I can't even drive through a puddle without fish-tailing.

Usually on the road, I'm the pass-er, not the pass-ee. My car has made me bitter.

In the words of Ricky Bobby: 

I WANNA DRIVE FAST

This whole post kinda makes me sound like I hate snow. I don't. I love snow. It's fluffy and cold and pretty and Bodie loves it. It feels very Christmas-y now and since I work for a school and get snow days, that's a plus for me.

But as far as driving is concerned, the snow either has to go away or I need a new car. I'd prefer the latter. 

Actually, no. Scratch that. I'd prefer Hawaii.

Also, that's your limit of Will Ferrell quotes for today.

Francisco! That's fun to say!

The title of this post has nothing to do with my actual post.

I've come to the decision that I will title each of my blog entries from now until Christmas, with a quote from Elf. Since it is the best Christmas movie ever. That and Christmas Vacation. But I think I only like that movie because my dad kind of reminds me of Clark Griswold...only with a mustache.

Okay, maybe not so much. But they act alike sometimes.

Um, where was I going with this post?

Okay, question, have you ever heard of The Bear Scratch? If you haven't, take a second and watch:

You may recognize this guy, it's Balloon Boy's dad. Well, while I was at my friend's house the other night for our gift exchange, she had purchased one of these Bear Scratch posts for her dad. I'm not even kidding you.

 

Michelle with her prized purchase.

 Travis, skillfully demonstrating the benefits of the product. 

Truthfully? It's just a log with brackets on the end but if you ask Michelle, she'll swear she got a deal when she "Bear Sized" her order and got 2 for $30. It's a hilarious gift though, her dad is gonna love it.

I had a blast with my girls on Monday night and am so glad we had our annual roommate dinner, even if I don't live there anymore, I know the 3020 always be my home. Well, until someone we don't know takes over the lease, in which case, I don't think they'll like the idea of me breaking in just to borrow a shirt when no one's home. 

(From left to right: Travis with her girlfriend, former roommate Angela. My sister, Heather and her husband, Romeo. Michelle (current resident) with her boyfriend, Steven. Then there's Lindsey (current resident) and myself.) 

Kevin had lodge so he missed all the fun.

I'm lucky I got that picture, I had to force them to get off there butts so I could take it.

They're good fakers though, with smiles all around.

Let the parties begin

This weekend was the official start to the Christmas party season. Friday night, Kevin and I hit Bravo's Italian Restaurant for my company holiday party. 

I guess you couldn't really call it a party though, we all showed up, ate at a table with four other co-workers, and then left. I wish we had more social time so we could drink get to talk to everyone that was not at our immediate table. Regardless, we had a good time. The girls at my table, Jessica and Carolyn, helped me polish off two bottles of sangria by the end of the dinner. They didn't believe me when I told them you could get the same $18 bottle at Costco for $7. It's true. I saw it there yesterday. Stupid restaurant and their 150% markups. 

There are cheaper ways I can get this glazed over look and stupid smile:

 

Okay, I just noticed Kevin's ridiculously long goatee in that picture. 

That has got to go. 

Saturday, we literally shopped until we dropped. The marathon started around 1, when I dragged my lazy butt outta bed, and we hit the town. I think we were in every shop starting with Best Buy, then the mall, Target and ended up in WalMart around 9, getting home just before 10. Kevin was less than thrilled with a) the fact I dragged him all over God's green earth and b) the amount of money we spent. Sorry honey.

Tonight, the festivities continue with the annual 3020 Christmas dinner and gift exchange. My former roommates still live in the townhouse (lovingly referred to as the 3020, the house #) I rented with them several years ago, so it's become a sort of tradition to cook dinner and exchange gifts all together. I miss those ladies and am excited to hang out with them for a bit tonight. When the wine flows and the conversation starts, it's hard to say what will go down tonight.

As fair warning to my girlfriends, yes, I will make you take a picture. 

You will get over it and see your smiling faces here on my blog.

Much love. See you at 6, I'm bringing the chicken. 

Smooches.

Fun Fridays - Weekend Plans

To link up, click the image above and share your fun Friday! :)

This weekend will be pretty busy for us. Tonight I have my company Christmas dinner which I bought an entire new outfit at Ross for. I couldn't resist. Plus, it was an excuse to get dressed up. Tomorrow we will (hopefully) finish up our Christmas shopping. I have a total of five presents under my tree (not counting Kevin's, he'll have to wait for that!) and seriously need to get my butt in gear! 

The awesome thing about those gifts under my tree? I only paid for one of them. I've won four CSN giveaways in the last couple months. It must be my lucky underwear. Thank you to Syndal over at Synfully Delicious for my prize today! Head on over and show the girl some love. 

Now, since everyone else is sharing their must-haves this Christmas, I thought I'd let y'all in on a couple things I really really will die if I don't get want this year. 

First of all, it should be no surprise to anyone I personally know, that I want a honeymoon.We didn't go on one right away because we had a destination wedding seven months ago. However, we've never gone anywhere alone, ever and hubs is starting to get mad every time I bring it up but that's probably because I bring it up about 3,000 times a day...

Kev: "Where do you want to go for dinner tonight?" Me: "Hawaii?" 

Kev: "What kind of Christmas tree do you want?" Me: "A palm tree?"

Kev: "Will you let Bodie out?" Me: "No, I'm in Hawaii."

I hope he gets the hint. If he does, I'll be spending New Years Eve here:

 {source, so he knows where to take me.}

I know funds are pretty tight so I guess I'll take a pair of these, size eight, if the whole vacation thing doesn't pull through.

{source, buy them for me}

I've also been lusting for this Le Creuset dutch oven since the wedding and I just can't justify spending the money on myself. Rumor has it they can possibly be found at TJ Maxx.

 {source, I need to cook for my hubby}

And since I'm the only one that drinks coffee in my house, this gadget would be awesome

 {purchasing info source for your convenience}

Lastly, I would love to start collecting some personalized and unique ornaments for our tree. Growing up, we always had such a modge podge of a Christmas tree, seeing ours with all red and gold just doesn't do it for me.

An "Our first Christmas" ornament is a must.

 {source}




So, now that I've dropped some hints, get to shopping. Hope you have a nice weekend. Happy Friday!