Happy New Year!

We are enjoying a quite New Year's Eve at home with this sweet little girl!

Happy New Year to all of my lovely blog friends!  I wish you all lots of happiness, laughter, peace and good health for the New Year!

Bring it on 2013!!!

Christmas 2012

What a wonderful Christmas we had this year.  We spent Christmas Eve at my brother's house in Blowing Rock and enjoyed a yummy dinner.

My sweet family!

Love this photo with my brother!

Charlotte posing by the pretty tree.

The three of us!

My sister-in-law always has the most beautiful table settings!

And this one in the dining room.

My mom, brother and Charlotte.

I love the look of excitement on Charlotte's face as she opened her ballerina jewelry box.  It was a big hit!

And this sweet one of her wearing her new apron...so cute!

A sleepy Charlotte on Christmas morning loving on her new piglet doll and wearing her new Angelina Ballerina pajamas brought by Santa!

She absolutely loves this doll.  She sleeps with it and takes it everywhere we go.

Uncle John and Aunt Dana simply adore Charlotte!

It was a wonderful Christmas with family!

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas to all of my lovely blog friends!  I hope each and every one of you have a wonderful Christmas with family and friends!

We spent Saturday in Asheville finishing up some last minute shopping at Biltmore Village and enjoyed a yummy dinner at Neo Cantina our favorite mexican restaurant.  It was cold, but sunny and all the shops were decorated so pretty and festive for Christmas.  Charlotte loved all the lights!

We visited Charlotte's favorite toy shop and picked up a bottle of bubbles.

Dad was blowing bubbles for Charlotte in this photo...always a favorite!

Now I am off to bake this cheesecake for Christmas Eve!

Gift Wrapping...

I am loving my fun, polka-dot gift wrap this year!  It's just so happy!  I hope our friends and family like it, too!  

Ok, now back to wrapping.

This Moment

A moment from the week.

Joining in on Amanda's this moment project.

Christmas Snapshots...around the house

Finally...a few bits of Christmas from our house.  My christmas decorating is very similar to last year with just a few changes.

Last year I used a red tree skirt and this year I decided to change it up a bit and used leftover fabric from my dining chairs...it's perfect!

A few new ornaments, like this sweet little felt bird.

The fabric garland is new this year and I love it!  This photo was taken about a week ago.  Our mantle is now full of Christmas cards from family and friends.

I always fill the silver platter on my dining table with lots of shiny ornaments...fun fun!!

I love this ornament wreath on my black door!

And of course my fairy lights which I absolutely love!  I think these will stay up for a while.  They are just so fun!

Are you ready for Christmas?  I have finished my shopping, but have lots of wrapping to do.

Christmas Cookies

We've been baking...yummy sugar cookies!  Ok, I cheated and used store bought sugar cookie dough, but I made the glaze and we added the fun sprinkles.  

So pretty and festive and delicious, too!

Charlotte did a great job decorating the cookies.

Easy Cookie Glaze:

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 tbsp water

1/4 tsp vanilla

Mix well until smooth!

The Nutcracker

We have been busy and I haven't had much time to get a post together, but here is a short update on our weekend.  We took Charlotte to see the Nutcracker on Saturday.  She was so excited and really enjoyed it.  I am already looking forward to seeing it again next year and so is Charlotte.

Waiting patiently next to dad.  We had awesome seats in the balcony!

Posing in front of one of the many gorgeous Christmas trees.

Love this photo.  I think this one will make it on our Christmas card this year!

I'll be back soon with a few snapshots of Christmas around our house.  We've been busy decorating!

Now off to bed!  Charlotte is a very early riser.

Thanksgiving Day

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving lunch at my mom's yesterday.  It was great to spend the day with family and eat lots of yummy food!  We all have so much to be thankful for!  It was a great day!

My sweet family.

Charlotte loves Aunt Dana.

I cannot believe how big she is getting!  

Love my sweet little girl!

Hanging out with Uncle John and Cousin Chloe.

Charlotte blowing out candles with my step-dad for his 60th birthday!  It was a yummy carrot cake!

A Busy Week...

It's been a very busy week and I think this is probably just the beginning as we approach the holidays. Ok, so last weekend we had a little dinner party with our neighbors which consisted of homemade pizza, wine, pumpkin bread, and lots of great conversation. Sorry, no photos I was just too busy. Sunday we headed to my in-law's for dinner and an early birthday celebration for my husband. Monday my husband had the day off (federal holiday). We ran errands all day long. Tuesday was a catch-up day for me, more errands and another little early birthday celebration with just the three of us at home. Wednesday my husband's actual birthday! After Charlotte's gymnastics class I headed to Charlotte to join my husband overnight as he was working in Charlotte for two days. Miss Charlotte stayed home with my mom. It was nice to have a little mid-week break. We celebrated (just the two of us) at Capital Grille for a nice birthday dinner. On Thursday I did some shopping and found a new TV unit at Ikea that I just love!

After a busy week we are having a relaxing weekend at home!

Charlotte and daddy ready for birthday cake!

Gorgeous Fall foliage out our hotel window.

And my violas are loving the warm and sunny weather today!

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Happy "One" Year Blog Anniversary

I totally missed my blog anniversary.  Oh well, I've been busy.  I am so glad I started this blog a year ago.  I love blogging and commenting on blogs (when I have the time!).  It's a great way to be heard, connect with others, and get feedback.  I have made so many new friends through blogging.  Anyway, blogging simply makes me happy!  

Thanks for being here everyone!  I appreciate and read each and every comment!

Oh, and here is the link to my first post where it all started.

Image found here.

The Weekend...Random Post

We had a nice relaxing weekend!  My husband and I went out for a date night on Friday night at our favorite local Thai restaurant followed by coffee at Starbucks!  I love date nights!!

A new Fall candle and garland for the mantle.  I especially love candles around the holidays!

A nice glass of organic red wine on a cold Saturday evening.

And the most delicious pumpkin chocolate chip bread I have ever made.  We have friends coming over for dinner on Saturday night and I will definitely be serving this for dessert, recipe found here.

Oh, and we decided on a new car.  We went with the Subaru Outback Wagon in Graphite Gray and I love it!

Our Little Ballerina

We headed over to my mom's for dinner last night and an evening of trick-or-treating.  Charlotte had a blast and really enjoyed Halloween this year.  My mom had lots of kids last night and Charlotte loved helping handout candy.  It was a fun evening!

Our ballerina ready for trick-or-treating!

Happy Halloween!!

The pumpkin has been carved and we are ready for an evening of trick-or-treating.  The weather is very cold and windy and it feels like Halloween! 

 Have fun everyone!

Charleston...We're Back

My husband had the week off so we headed to Charleston for several days.  It's one of our favorite places.  The weather was beautiful and we had such a wonderful time!  I miss it already.  We stayed here which was perfect!  

So happy to be at the beach!

Charlotte loves the water!

Charlotte and daddy.

Having fun in downtown Charleston.

Playing in the fountain.

The park by the waterfront.

Charleston is truly such a beautiful city full of gorgeous homes, cobblestone streets,  beautiful flowers, and lots of delicious food!

We ate lunch here outside on the porch...perfect!

Dad teaching Charlotte how to swim.  She absolutely loved playing in the pool.

Gorgeous sunset as we headed over the bridge to downtown Charleston for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Magnolias.  The best shellfish and grits I have ever tasted!

A vacation was exactly what we needed.  We all had such fun together!  I love my little family!