The Year of Giving

I was inspired this month over different posts about helping others and not focusing as much on ourselves. This thought process is part of what makes this time of year so wonderful. It usually begins around Thanksgiving with everyone expressing gratitude for things in life that are usually taken for granted. This is followed by Christmas, when people embrace the concept of giving to others. Even though we can't make the holidays last all year, why can't we maintain this giving frame of mind? 

I'm not entirely sure how to incorporate this into the blog (suggestions welcome). I want to take those ideas like giving an extra large tip, donating clothes, helping a neighbor, sending an uplifting card, etc. and spread them out over the year. The last thing I want is for this to look like "hey look at me, doing good deeds." I want this to encourage others to keep up the giving spirit year round.  I want to be able to learn new ideas on ways to uplift others. 

So, as we head into 2013 (holy cow 2012 flew by!) I would like to propose that we carry out our holiday frame of mind all year! 

Christmas Wrapping

These were a pinterest inspiration as most of my projects are. Below is the picture of inspiration. I wanted to try the stickers too but could not find any that weren't neon colored. I really like how they turned out though!  We are getting ready to pack up our little elves and head down to Mississippi! Cannot wait to distribute all of our goodies. :) I hope yall have a wonderful Christmas!!

Sandy Hook Support

Silence and Support for Sandy Hook

To the Blog World and Anyone Else who Wants to Help,

Yesterday, tragedy struck so many of us in ways we did not foresee. An elementary school 

and small town  in Connecticut was shattered by a mass shooting. We knew we wanted to 

help and we came up with this:

On Tuesday, December 18th, there will be a blogger day of silence. We will post the button

 and that’s it. Please try to not post anything else that day if possible.

We are also raising money that will go to an organization in the memory of this tragedy.

 The organization is called The Newtown Family Youth and Family Services.

Here is the official description of the support service we are donating to:

“Newtown Youth and Family Services, Inc. is a licensed, non-profit, mental health clinic

and youth services bureau dedicated to helping children and families achieve their

highest potential. NYFS provides programs, services, activities, counseling, support

groups and education throughout the Greater Newtown area.

ANY DONATIONS MADE TO NEWTOWN YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES WILL BE 

DONATED DIRECTLY TO THOSE EFFECTED BY THE SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY 

SCHOOL SHOOTING.”

Please visit THIS PAGE to make your donation.

We can’t imagine how they must be feeling, especially this close to the holidays. 

We would love for you to spread  the word on your own blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc. 

Let’s make a difference and use blogging in a positive way.

Thank you in advance for participating.

Love,

The Blog World

TR Christmas Parade

This weekend was the Travelers Rest Christmas Parade. We participated and helped create The Barker Bar "float". Joy and I spent Friday night decorating the truck to look like a dog. We had the vision of the Dumb and Dumber dog truck....did the best we could :)

Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day for a parade. I was so shocked at how many people showed up! There was an estimated 10,000 viewers!! It was so much fun to see everyone getting excited about the dogs.

   

This is princess Priscilla. Her parents pulled her in a carriage with their bikes. She was definitely the crowd favorite!!

Sweet Charlie stayed close to Justin while we got ready to line up. He wasn't too sure about all the people.

 

Toby LOVED the crowd. He knew he looked cute.

Rebecca and little Cody threw candy!! Cody was definitely missing his nap time!

Joy's girl was so sweet and pretty! 



 

Ivan drove the truck with his sidekick Atlas. Great job!!

Here we are are in action! We are in front of Barker Bar letting Ivan's dad hop in. The least we could do since he let us use his truck ;)

This was definitely a day full of Christmas cheer. So glad to be part of this little community!!



Harry Potter Link Up!!



 

Okay, for anyone who read my Leibster Award answers, you know how much of a Harry Potter fan I am. You will also know that stumbling across a Harry Potter themed link party is about the best way to start off my Monday!!

 

My answers to this week's questions:

 

1. What is your favorite fan sight? I love Pottermore and this isn't really a fan sight but this pinterest board is my favorite - Harry Potter <3 . I spend a lot of time looking at it.

 

2. Do you have a crazy theory you would like to share with us? Um, this is more of an opinion and less of a theory. I believe that Delores Umbridge was a worse villian that Voldemort. She made my skin crawl.

 

3. Do you have a question that you need answered? Yes. Why didn't Harry, Hermione, and Ron not just apparate when the snatchers chased them?

 

4. Favorite Department of Mysteries Rooms? I like the brain room. I picture a great high school science lab, that smells awful, but it just sounded cool when described.

 

5. Biggest let down of the series? This pertains to the movies. It drives me nuts that in the last movie, they did not show Harry fixing his old wand before getting rid of the elder wand.

 

6. Would I rather see a prequel or sequel from J.K. Rowling? I would rather see a prequel and learn about the character before Harry and the crew.

 

Favorie HP GIFs: (Kind of Ron themed today)

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Christmas!!

Liebster Award

My day was made when I learned that my little blog was nomiated for the Leibster Award by Kortney at Give That Girl a Cola. She has such a precious blog with wonderfully creative crafts and ideas. (As in, go check her out!!!)

I have been blogging on and off since last year, but began doing it regularly over the past few months. It has been so much fun linking to parties, meeting new people and reading all the fun and lovely things being posted. This is such a wonderful way for new/small bloggers to get a boost of self confidence. I love having the opportunity to nominate other bloggers like me!

About the Liebster Award:
The Liebster Award's origins are pretty much a mystery. Bloggers nominate other bloggers that have 200 or less followers. “Liebster” is German for “favorite,” so this is kind of like the “favorite blog award.” It's basically a "Hey, that's a sweet little blog you've got there. Here's an award!" You can't just accept the award. You have to play by the (ever changing) rules and pay it forward. Then you can put the award on your blog for all to see.

The Rules:

1. List 11 facts about yourself.
2. Answer the 11 questions given to you.
3. Create 11 new questions for the bloggers you nominate for the award.
4. Choose 11 bloggers with 200 or less followers to nominate.
5. Go to each bloggers page and let them know about the award.
6. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.

Here are 11 facts about me :
1. I am a total Harry Potter nerd...and get offended by other series.
2. I have conversations with my dogs, and talk back for them.
3. I wish my job could be hanging out with my husband all day.
4. Noises get on my nerves. (smacking, scratching, etc.)
5. I have the memory of a nat.
6. I disagree with almost everyone on House Hunters.
7. I've made it 26 years without doing karaoke.
8. I love a wide range of music.
9. I can rarely tell you who sings the music.
10. I love pulling over and following a random creek.
11. I hate doing laundry.

Questions from Kortney
1. What is your favorite book? This changes regularly but at the moment "The Night Circus".
2.What do you do for fitness? I go running.
3. Do you carry Hand Sanitizer in your purse? Nope.
4. Blogger or Wordpress and why? I learned about blogger first.
5. If you could live anywhere on earth, where would it be? Well I just moved to Greenville SC and LOVE it.
6. Mac or PC? Mac.
7. Starbucks beverage of choice? I do not like coffee.
8. Who was your favorite president and why? Eh, politics...rather not discuss them.
9. What brand of toothpaste do you prefer? Arm and Hammer.
10. What is your go-to feel good music? Mixed cd's my husband made.(Avett Brother's are a top pick)
11. Are you close to your mom? Sure am. 

Here are my questions for my nominees
1. Where are you from?
2. Why did you start blogging?
3. Dogs or Cats?
4. What are your pet peeves?
5. What is your favorite holiday tradition (new or old)?
6. What do you do to relax?
7. What t.v. show do you watch the most?
8. Early to bed or Early to rise?
9. What is your comfort food?
10. How attached are you to your cell phone?
11. Do like bottle or tap water?

Here are my nominees!!

sugar baby boutique

mellywoods5

the koala bear writer

fashionable cents

dixie creek farm

heart shaped sweat

princess truffle fluff

home with the uricks

lauren hawkins winstead

savard studios

honestly debra



Only at Christmas

There are so many wonderful things that are only really enjoyed during Christmas. I keep coming across things big and small that I don't think about until this time of year. When I see them I remember how much I LOVE them! Here are a few holidays loves of mine.

 

Magical mantels...so inspiring

 

Home Alone...One of my favorites that I forget about until Christmas!!

 

 A co-worker of mine pulled one of these bad boys out the other day and I got so excited. These are just little cakes of nostalgic joy in my mouth. I immediately bought some.

 

Growing up in the south usually means it does not get cold enough for a fire until close to Christmas. Oh how I love sitting by a fire with a glass of wine.

 

These were a holiday treat when I was growing up. I lived for the night when we mixed up HUGE batches of these. After I married Justin I was so excited to learn these were his favorite cookies too. More reason to make them!

  Snow!! This is from last year's snow in Mississippi. Biggest snow I had seen since I was a child. This is a picture of where Justin proposed to me. It's even more beautiful in all it's snowy glory!!

I know there are so many more things that I love this time of year but these are definitley some of my favorites. What are your little fav's??
 

Tis the Season

We live in a small townhouse and I had a little fun this year with the decorations. One, so that I could save space and two, so that I could exercise my creative juices! (Thank you pinterest for some inspiration.) Here is a little taste of what I've been working on! Sorry the photos are kind of small :-/

 Advent gifts from Justin's parents arranged with a poinsettia given to me by a friend!

Little ornament decorations 

I know this was posted before but it fit the theme :) 

Little rustic wreath by the front door. (I like this so much, it might stay up year round)

I love seeing everything that people create for the holidays! Happy Christmas!

Links to these parties

Home MADE Christmas Tree!!

The inspiration for our Christmas tree came from pinterest, of course. We don't have a lot of room for a real tree and decided this would be the perfect compromise. So, here is the inspiration below...

And here is the process of making ours! Charlie did his best to help.

                                             

Our version!!!

Linking here

Surviving the Color Run!!!

The color run started at 43 degrees!! It was so cold, but needless to say by the first mile marker,  I was sweating a nice shade of purple. I was pretty much a lone ranger throughout the race. For someone who had not trained for the run, I was pretty proud of myself for only taking three, 30 second walking breaks throughout the whole thing! (Mind you, I am writing this post from my bed....probably should've taken more walking breaks.) 

The run was to raise support and awareness of Mental Health America of Greenville County, as they recognized that 1 in 4 Americans are affected by a mental illness, each year. This was their first color run and it was great to see so many volunteers giving their time on a cooold Saturday morning. Even though I grumbled all morning about having to run in the cold, I am so glad that I got out there and showed my support. As someone who works with mental illnesses everyday, it is encouraging to see others raising awareness about them. 

My sweet husband was my supportive cheerleader all morning. He cheered me out of bed, at the beginning, middle, and end of the race. Thanks to him, and his frozen hands, I have pictures and videos clips to show y'all!

Freeezing before the race started!

 Halfway there!! Had no idea he was even standing there.

Thank the Lord...the finish line!

Had so much fun! Cannot wait to do it again next year!!

Woofstock and then some...

This past week was full of puppy love! We had Halloween at The Barker Bar and then Greenville's Woofstock for the humane society.

The puppies wore prisoner shirts and Justin and I dressed as "dog snatchers" from the pound. They did a pretty good job of looking pitiful in their stripes.(Please disregard the fact that most of my pictures have a Carolina Blonde beer bottle in them.)

The Greenville Humane society did an awesome fundraiser on Saturday. The Woofstock had several bands, doggy goodies, and numerous beer sampling stations. There were dogs EVERYWHERE!! We had to leave our jailbirds at home. We were afraid their behavior would have landed them in real puppy jail.

 It was super groovy!

Enjoyed being "age verified".





They did such a great job! We are looking forward to next year...definitely bringing some chairs and maybe the puppies. If you are in the area next year you should check it out!!

Wonderful Weekend

This weekend was so enjoyable! We woke up surprisingly early on Saturday and watched old movies.  After taking a run we headed to Main Street for Art on the Trail. It was quaint. Local artists had their crafts and things out for display. 

Of course, we made our way across the street to hang out at Barker Bar with Patti. The weather was perfect for drinking a Carolina Blonde on the sidewalk.

He is such a cutie. I just got Instagram and he was nice enough to pose with me. :)

This is Johnny and some other locals providing us with some awesome entertainment.

Johnny is a big John Prine fan and he willingly played my request of "In spite of Ourselves". As you can see, we both struggled to remember the words. It was still a great time! (That's Patti popping in.)

 Fun time posing with Johnny and the fellas.

 Patti's childhood friends came down to see her. She got to get from behind the bar and have some fun.

Lucky for us, Rich Mensik and his wife, Darcy strolled in with his homemade wine. I'll admit, I was pretty unsure about how this would taste, but oh my gosh it was delicious!! 

We had so much fun Saturday and an equally great Sunday relaxing at home.  Hope your weekend was great too!

Flat Rock, NC

                                                                                     

 This weekend we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and take a drive in the mountains to see the changing leaves. It was gorgeous! I think one more week and it will be perfect. This picture below is on the historic site where Carl Sandburg once lived. This picture was in one piece until I decided to edit a spot which turned into an even bigger spot right in the middle of the photo. This also happens to be the only photograph that Justin has shown an interest in. Did I mention that I deleted it from my camera? :( Oh well, you get the gist...it was really pretty.

                                                                                                     

His land seemed to go on forever! We only covered a small portion of it but decided to return another day with our hiking shoes on!

We ate lunch at Flat Rock Village Bakery which is behind this store. I am still totally baffled by the name "Wrinkled Egg". (It actually kind of creeps me out.) The food at the bakery was delicious!! We plan on going back and buying a few of their freshly baked loaves of bread.

This little guy just happened to catch my eye. Luckily he didn't mind posing while I took ten pictures trying to capture his cuteness.

These are just a few more shots of the grounds at Carl Sandburg's house. You wouldn't know it from the pictures but there were a lot of people roaming around. We decided we would be able to write some pretty amazing poetry too if this was our land.

I just love getting to explore new places with him :)