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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Jersey Bound

Tonight, at 11:05pm our Jersey Team will depart 
(followed by a few more tomorrow, and one more Sunday).
Please keep us in your prayers over the next six days.


Glorifying Christ
Making little of ourselves
Unity
Strength, Health, Endurance
Seeing and meeting needs
Ministering to the physical, emotional, and spiritual.
Living out Matthew 5:16
And anything else you can think of.


Thank you friends!!!

Holiday Haps! {Soooo many pictures. Maybe too many.}

So, I took a ton of pictures on Thanksgiving with the big girl camera. 
But I just haven't had time to go through them.
Also, they are mostly of food prep - so I'm going to save that for next week's PinterTest Kitchen (are you gonna link up)?

But for now, my iPhone is FULL of pics from the past week - which was a bit more eventful than I had anticipated....

Wednesday morning started out normal. 
I had my coffee.
In my Turkey mug.
Which I thought was appropriate for the day before Thanksgiving.
I also thought I was funny.

And, my poor little sister had been experiencing a pretty rough allergic reaction to a cup of tea. (I know, right?). And was starting to feel the tiniest bit better. And was icing her legs with frozen cranberries.

 Um, and then things went south, fast.
The hives came back with avengence. So sis and mom took off to the ER, ASAP.
I headed back to work, finished up a few things as fast as I could, and then headed over there myself.
By the time I had arrived, somebody had been given Epinephrine and was on a super adrenaline rush, but also completely hive free. 

 And my mom kept getting mad at me for snooping around the hospital room. 
But, whatevs.

 This is definitely a problem for me. 
And Laura.
And all her 1,000 guests.

And, while my sister got admitted, my mom took me a on a tour.
Or, paraded me around her unit like a cute little show pony. 
And also, showed me her locker. 
I'm so proud.


So, while my sister got released on Thanksgiving Morning, I headed over to my Alma Mater for a little Turkey Day Throw Down.

And then, it was go time.
Dad was making the Turkey and stuffing.
Mom was making mashed potatoes.
And I was all over the rest!
Thankfully, I had a ruffle apron & a cute kitchen helper.
 While the sweet potatoes baked (forevvvvvvvvvver) I got to work on the boozy berries.
Which smelled delish. SO delish.

Once she got paroled, little sister joined us. 
And someone was SO SO happy she was home.
 

Dad was working on his stuffing and I was working on some desserts.
I don't think he was happy to share the 3 feet of counter space where everything needs to be done.

But my cheesecake came out BEAUTIFUL.
(more on that next week)


Family arrived, and I put my feet up for about 30 seconds. 

 And then the buzzer for my last dish went off.
And it was awesome, because I burned my thumb pulling this out of the oven.


I was so mad at my self. BOO.
And spent the rest of the night like this...


 While dad carved and served the turkey.
And Mylie had ground patrol covered.


And we ate, and ate, and ate, and ate. 
It was so delish.
And you know, family, so sometimes things get a little crazy. 
So Mylie and I took a few little pictures to pass some of the awkward moments.

And then we went home.
We were SO TIRED.

 Tired enough to snuggle.
Which almost never happens.
Except after the longest, most tiring days of scavenging kitchen floors.
Also, I tried THIS for my mega-thumb burn. 
And, after sitting through the pain for 10 minutes, it was a true Thanksgiving miracle.
No more thumb in ice water. No more excruciating burn feeling.
Praise the Shepherd.


My mom, sister and I have been doing Black Friday adventures in the City over the last decade or two.
Last year, because my mom had to work - we moved our tradition to Saturday.
It was infinitely more enjoyable that way, and so we decided to continue it this year as well!
Mylie and I scoped out the neighborhood tree lot.
So many good smells there.
For humans and dogs alike.


It also meant, I had a little free time to see the bestie and her baby bump one last time before her little bun arrives.
Caf for me & Decaf for the pregster.


And then, I headed back to my parents' to surprise my mom tell my mom I was going to decorate her tree for her.
This year, she had green ornaments.
Also, it's a pre-lit tree, and I think one of the strands of lights is dead.
I spent about 30 minutes trying to fix it before I gave up.
Dad tried too.
 And Mylie admired our handiwork.

And thankfully, by Saturday, Laura's energy was back.
And we were able to keep our tradition.
Including a stop at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
Gingerbread Latte.
SO GOOD.

Admiring ornaments at Bloomingdales.
Also, I was soooo tempted to buy this ornament.
I might regret not getting it in a few weeks.

Losing track of mom in Old Navy.
Taking selfies in the security cam while we wait for her to emerge from the clearance racks.

Admiring the displays at Anthro.
I always love them, but this time it was extra fun for me.

Lunch at the Nordstrom Cafe.
Table with a view required.
 Sweet Potato Jalepeno Soup.
Delightfully delish.


 Taking on the rest of the mall, one floor at a time.


It was a LONG, FULL, and FUN day with mom and sis.
And the shopping continued a little longer, Sunday after church.
The cutest little shop in town only opens once a month.
But this month they opened twice, and might open a third time too!
I didn't buy the globes, but oh how I wanted too. $5/each was just too much.


Instead I treated myself to a cute vintage opal ring.



It's official.

It has gone from Thanksgiving to Christmas in just the blink of an eye!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

It's a Jolly Holiday with Katy.



I'm over at Katy's place today. 
Sharing with you some of my Christmas favorites. 
{Just some of them. Because there are SO many favorite things around Christmas time.}
But these are the best of the best.
And I'm giving a set to one of you guys. 
Chickety check it out. 
NOW.
{Please excuse my bossiness.}



Monday, November 26, 2012

A Bun in the Oven - Baby Shower Deets.

The BFF had her baby shower last weekend in LA.
I made a QUICK (and I mean QUICK) trip down to SoCal to visit and celebrate her Bun in the Oven.

BFF Julie's husband is a graphic designer, and for their wedding made the CUTEST graphic of bride and groom Wii Characters in their likeness that were incorporated into various parts of their wedding.
I should have known that the cute bun in the oven design on the invitation was also designed by daddy-to-be.
It wasn't until the cake was brought out that I was enlightened to this extra special touch.

 Me & Mama-to-Be
 Baby Niece of the Mama-to-Be & Me.
 Two other friends from High School were there for Julie's special day too. 
My good friend Katie, who was on niece-patrol. Sweet gig if I do say so.
Look at her little hand, I think she really likes Katie.
 Melanie was a fellow bridesmaid in Julie's wedding, and we've been friends since Jr. High. 
It's always fun catching up at Julie's life events.



 The hostesses ran with the bun theme, and it was so cute!
There were pork buns and chicken buns.
And puff pastry bun rolls - with cinnamon, brown sugar, and BUTTER.
The parting favor were sweet custard filled Asian buns from a delicious bakery.
 

 Julie and Dave are so loved.
So is their little bun.
They were showered with so many wonderful gifts.
 So many fun games at the shower. 
Including name suggestions for the baby.
They have a last name that pairs awkwardly with a lot of names, which makes this game extra fun.
My personal favorite game was Baby Picasso.
The room was divided into two, and we had a blindfolded draw-off. 
 Julie judged, cutest baby drawing won.


And so many gifts. SO SO MANY. 
One of my favorites was the baby carrier. 
Mostly for the packaging. 

And finally, Cake Time!

A lovely day, hosted by some wonderful ladies who gave Julie such a warm welcome into mommy-hood. 
I am so excited for what her little family's future holds!!