Christmas: Part I

The weekend before Christmas, the Decker/Crowe clan loaded up and headed to Chattanooga for Christmas with my dad's side of the family. We usually do Decker Christmas at our house, but my grandmother, Mimi, recently moved from A'ville to Chattanooga into an assisted living facility. I was sad when she left, but she is definitely in a better place now. Her new facility is soooo nice! It is brand-new and very nicely decorated! When we're all together, my dad likes for everyone to ride in the same car (he is threatening to buy a Southern Comfort van!!! NOOO!!) so he rented us an Excursion to drive to Tennessee. Guess who got the seat in the waaaayyyy back??!! Oh well, at least I got to look at Katherine the whole time!! haha Below are pics from our trip.

Pimpin' in the Excursion!

Katherine will now hold your hand when she walks...sooo sweet!

Three generations of Deckers

Doodle-Bug loved her big girl slide

She got a wagon complete with seats and cup-holders!

I got the biggest present!!!!! Gotta love some wall decor!

AK loved her Nano!!

I'm becoming an adult...an owl apron and casserole dish! I was sooooo excited!!!

K all dolled up for church....doesn't she look like an angel??!!

It was great to have the whole family together for the weekend. We spent most of the weekend eating, talking, and playing with the Doodle-Bug. Throughout the entire Christmas vacation, each member of the family was sick at one point...we had the crud, stomach virus, ear infections, etc. We managed to nurse each other back to health just in time for Christmas Day. I'll post again in the next few days with the rest of our Christmas events! I hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Christmas!

What a Surprise!!!

This past weekend, I helped pull off the biggest surprise ever. For those of you who don't know my sister, she is very type-A and very OCD...a bit of a control freak...all of these things make her a very hard person to surprise. With the help of my sister's amazing friends (61, Stacey from Miami, Mandy, and Claire) and my parents and Blake, we managed to surprise my sister for her 30th Birthday. We had been plotting and scheming for weeks!

This was the plan...Tara (driving from ATL) and Stacey (flying to ATL from MIAMI and then driving to the Ham) planned on surprising AK around 11:00 at her house on Saturday. Claire (driving from Nashville) and Mandy (B'ham resident) planned on surprising her later in the afternoon. I told AK I needed her up and dressed Saturday morning to go Christmas shopping with me...She called me early Saturday morning...she was sick and did NOT want to go shopping with me...if I remember correctly, she even started crying at one point! I didn't let this slow me down...I laid a guilt trip on her and convinced her to meet me at the Summit. She shows up at P.F. Chang's to meet my parents and me for lunch. AK did not want to eat there and was not happy with us. I was loving this because I knew she was about to eat her words and feel awful for being so mean to me when she found out what we had been up to!!!

I got so excited from the surprise I actually started shaking, so the pictures aren't the best. Here is the surprise at lunch as it unfolded.

"Are Tara and Stacey really here?" Yes!!!!!!!!!!

Immediate hugs all around!!!

Everyone is soooo excited to have pulled off the surprise!

Soooo excited to see each other!

After a lunch full of LOTS of surprises, (one of which I will post about at a later time!!) lots of tears and laughter, the girls spent the afternoon shopping and hanging out. Then Claire and Mandy surprised her and they all had a big birthday dinner at Bottega. I've decided a surprise of this magnitude only comes around for the BIG birthdays!! The girls had a blast and I was honored to be included in the scheming and plotting!!

On a different note, I have been working on my Christmas gifts for my coworkers. This year, I decided to make homemade presents. This is probably the closest I will ever come to pulling off a "Martha Stewarty" gift. They always say the best gifts come from the heart! haha Here is a pic of my holiday hot cocoa mix!

Homemade Hot Cocoa mix

I know you're all asking yourselves the million dollar question...Did Virginia find her camera? Nope...still no camera. I have high-jacked my parents for the moment until Santa hopefully brings me a new one!!!!

Christmas Party

This past week, I hosted my first Christmas party at my new house. Thanks to my mom, a.k.a. Martha Stewart, my house looked like a winter wonderland. What would we do without our moms? Diana just has the perfect touch with everything. If I were left to my own devices, my house would have looked bunk! In addition to the beautiful Christmas decorations, last week I finally purchased some drapes for my living room. As Kinzi told me at the party, "They add a new face to your house!" I have to admit that I often find myself staring at them...I mean, who doesn't love silk drapes??!! The party was a blast. It was great to have all of my friends over to enjoy the Christmas season. I think I am going to have to make the par-tay an annual event! Here are some pics from the night.

My shabby-chic Nativity scene

My wreath

I LOOOOVE my drapes!!

My hearth

View of the living room from the kitchen

Yay for Christmas food!!

Sister stopped by!

Notice the coozie...Allison asked me to be a BM at her wedding! Yay!!!!!!!

Happy 30th Birthday Sister!!

Today is my sister's 30th Birthday. AK thinks 30 sounds a little old....but it's not. My sister doesn't look a day over 21! I had an amazing time celebrating with Blake's family and our family this weekend. Here's to you Sister and the next 30 years. I love you!

Birthday dinner at Ocean

Update

I have been asked by several people to update my blog. Confession #1: I have lost my camera...I am not sure if I, being the clumsy, out-of-it person lost it or if it was taken from me at work. Considering the kids I work with....I'm thinking it might be the latter of the two! ahha
My sister always tells me, "Virginia, don't post on your blog without pictures." Sorry to disappoint sis, but this post won't have any pics. I am praying Santa will bring me a new camera for Christmas!

Thanksgiving was great. I spent some much needed time at home with my parents and enjoyed some of my favorites...sweet potato pie, fruit salad, and Mill St. Deli chicken salad. Confession #2: I bought a Snuggie...and it's pink! It's amazing and I recommend it to everyone. Instead of doing the traditional Thanksgiving meal at home, we loaded up the car and headed down to the Loveliest Village on the Plains!! Confession #3: We ate Thanksgiving lunch at McDonald's in Childersburg!! No turkey, no dressing...just cheeseburgers and fries!! I would only forfeit that meal for my Tigers! AK was already in AU with her in-laws, so we hitched up with her and 61 (my sister from another mother) and her family.

Confession #4: This was my first trip to the Plains this football season! I'm embarrassed to even admit that. I am constantly amazed by the ever-changing campus at Auburn. My parents were sweet enough to let me take a trip down memory lane and took me on a few drive-bys....my old Ross St. House, Hollifield Hall, and Amsterdams (so sad they were closed). I forget sometimes how much I love Auburn...how when you turn off 280 onto College St. your heart starts to beat a little bit faster. Yes, I know I'm cheesy!! I spent 3 of the greatest years in AU and if I could snap my fingers and do it all over again, I'd be there in a heartbeat! Despite the loss, a wonderful time was had by all.

Friday night after the game, I convinced my family to drive back to B'ham instead of staying in AU at the hotel. On the drive back, the four of us discussed what we were thankful for and all the wonderful family memories we have had. I, like many others, take for granted all the wonderful things in life. We talked for a solid two hours about our favorite vacations, favorite Christmas', and other funny memories. If I didn't have my family I honestly don't know what I'd do. They are the most supportive, caring, and understanding people a girl could ask for.

The rest of the weekend was spent decorating my house for Christmas. The tree is up, (thank you Dad!) an amazing wreath has been swoozied up by my Mom and sister, and there is a beautiful shabby-chic Nativity scene on my buffet. Life is good!

I am hosting a little Christmas get-together at my house next week and I'm going to beg my parents for use of their camera!! haha Please Mom and Dad!!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

T-minus 11 days until "New Moon" comes out on November, 20th. Yours truly has already pre-ordered her ticket for the midnight showing on the 19th!! I swore I would never read the Twilight books because I don't really get into Sci-Fi stuff...but I gave in when everyone at work last year was reading them. I, like every other person in America, fell in love with the books. I am on Team Edward all the way! Boo Team Jacob!! haha A few weeks ago, I ordered a 6-foot cardboard cut-out of the hottest vampire!! He has been placed in our room at work and I have to admit, he is a bit distracting...I find myself randomly staring at him! Often times, I think to myself, "Can I find myself an Edward Cullen?" "Can I be Bella?"

I Heart Edward Cullen!!!

This weekend, I headed home to A'ville on Saturday to take our annual family Christmas picture. While at home, my sister and I started talking about high school and somehow got into a discussion about my old prom dresses. When I was a junior, I wore a blue 2-piece (yes, I know it sounds kind of scandalous, but it wasn't!!) dress that I was obsessed with. I wore it around my house every day for months leading up to prom. I need to add that when I was a junior, I was much smaller than I am now. I have always wanted to put the dress back on just to see if I could still pull it off. The dress definitely doesn't look the same on me as it did 8 years ago, but I somehow managed to squeeze into it. Wearing the dress around my house made my entire weekend...it was hilarious. Although, I have to admit that the top wouldn't completely zip! ahahah

I will never part with this dress!

While I'm admitting all these crazy things that I love, I can't leave out my obsession with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Ever since the reality show aired on TV a few years ago, I haven't missed an episode. I LOOOVE the show!! I want to quit my job and move to Dallas to try out! I told my Mom the other day that I wish I would have post-poned college for a few years and moved to Texas to be a DCC!! hahaha In high school, I danced all the time. I even wore the white boots and did kick-lines! Last week, I ordered the new DCC work-out video that teaches you all of their dances!!!!! I haven't tried it yet, but if all goes as planned, I will know all of their dances in a few weeks!!

What a Weekend

What a weekend I have had! The fun began on Thursday...it was Orange Day at K's M.D.O. I did not realize until the day before that the day had arrived. I was crushed because I had not planned to take off of work. So Thursday morning, I went into work at my usual 6:00 am time. I did some work, ate my breakfast and then realized I had to leave. I got my stuff together and ran out of school! I knew I could not miss K's Orange Day parade...to me, it was a major milestone! I arrived at the Crowe house in just enough time to get her into her costume...she was a chick!! She was adorable and such a trooper even though she had on a puffy chick outfit! She didn't even shed any tears...and let me say, most of the little ones in the parade were melting down left and right!!!

Sister and me at the parade

She got preferential seating on the front row of the Bye-Bye Buggy!!

Friday afternoon after work, I headed home to Albertville to spend the weekend with my parents and K. Sister and Blake went to Chicago with his parents, so we got to babysit!! Friday night the Ferneau's (Connor, Aunt Jen, Uncle D) came over for a wonderful Birthday celebration. Saturday was the best day....and did I mention it was game day? At the Decker house, that means everyone is decked out, head-to-toe, in orange and blue. Who cares if we've lost three in a row? Our devotion to the Tigers never waivers! WDE!!!!!!

Katherine loves the Tigers!!

We spent Saturday hanging out at the house, shopping at the outlets, (gotta love a trip there!), and cooking. I made some awesome WW friendly desserts and Mom made her always amazing taco soup. The Sprouses stopped by to see K and we had a great time visiting with them. The whole weekend, K's favorite thing to do was to open the pantry and pull out ALL the Fiber One bars!! haha I constantly caught her like this....

"Gigi, you caught me!!"

K kept me laughing all weekend. She walks/runs everywhere, but is always falling down, and jumping right back up. Oh if I could have her energy! We learned that she LOVES pumpkin spice cake and cheese crackers!! Her new favorite word to say is, "WOW"! We had a great time playing with her and spoiling her rotten!

All decked out for church!

Fall is my favorite time of year and I LOVE to go home during the fall. My mom always has the house decked out in the fall theme...pumpkins, leaves, and mums!!!! I strive to be able to be like my mom...she always has the perfect touch with everything. I can't even arrange three pumpkins on my porch the right way!! haha

About a year ago, my parents bought an armoire at an antique store in ATL. Since that time, the beautiful piece of furniture has been sitting in our garage...much to my dad's dismay! When I bought my house, I thought, "That would look beautiful in my bedroom....but it would have to be repainted". My mom found a man in A'ville that could paint it white and give it the beautiful distressed/shabby chic look that I was going for. Below is a picture. It is still sitting in the garage...if anyone has any ideas/suggestions on how to get it to B'ham, let me know. I'm DYING to get this in my bedroom!!

Hotlanta

This weekend my BFF, Kinzi and I headed over to ATL for a weekend of shopping. Kinzi and I have been best friends since we were in elementary school, but we never have the chance to go on a trip. She and I have been wanting to plan a trip together for awhile so we decided ATL would be a fun place to go to shop and eat. So we began saving our money (wish we had a money tree!) and penciled in the date on our calendar. We left B'ham Saturday morning before the sun came up. Kinzi and I are major clothes-aholics and we were determined to find the cutest clothes that were out there!! (Black skinny jeans, leather jackets, anything bedazzled!!!) Our goal was to have the Sexy Lexy (a.k.a. my car) loaded down with purchases when we returned.

First stop...Luna Boutique in Buckhead. This store gets the award of the weekend for the cutest jewelry. I even found an owl ring and necklace, but decided to withhold! I didn't buy anything, but KLC found some great stuff. Second stop...Phipps Plaza. Oh the beautiful things at Phipps...I could honestly spend all day just staring at the amazing handbags and clothes there....but with the amazing things come exorbitant price-tags!! haha We each made a purchase at Nordstrom. Little did I know that this would be my ONLY purchase of the day. Third stop...Lenox. We spent hours at the mall...we walked pretty much every square inch and saw every piece of clothing to be seen. We can tell you everything that's available and what the hottest trends are! Kinzi made a few purchases, but still none for me!!!!! I had a small meltdown because I was so disappointed so we decided we needed a change of scenery.

Fourth stop...H & M!! I have been DYING to go to this store since I heard it opened. I mean, you can't even online shop there, so I just knew I would hit the jackpot! Nope....we both walked away empty handed!! By this time, we were very cold and exhausted so we headed to the hotel to check in. Hello Westin Buckhead!! We arrived in just enough time to watch some college football, shower, and head to dinner at Craft. Luckily, the restaurant was right across the street from the hotel. We had the most AMAZING dinner I think either one of us have had in years. We had appetizers, entrees with side dishes and dessert. They even brought us out tons of extra food in-between courses! For anyone looking for a hip/trendy restaurant in ATL, definitely go to Craft! We give it up two thumbs up!

We started out with cocktails

Kinzi loved her "Craft Cocktail"

I loved the "Sunshine Surprise"...very sour, but delish!

Outside of Craft

They even gave us granola for our breakfast!

Kinzi had shopped 'til she dropped!

But for some reason, I wasn't tired!

We were sad to pack up and head back to the Ham.

Since we were not very successful with our shopping endeavors in ATL, we headed back early this morning to look around Birmingham. Who knew all the finds were in our hometown??!!! We hit the jackpot and made lots of purchases!!

I was so excited to have some bags in my hand!!

This is what we call our high school pic

We had a wonderful weekend! But now, exhaustion is setting in and Monday is drawing near. I'm not sure if the lack of purchases is because we're kind of in-between seasons or there's just not a lot of cute stuff out there. I suggest all you shoppers maybe wait a few weeks before hitting the stores!

Whoooooooo's Ready for a Party?

Last weekend, Katherine had her 1st Birthday party. If you're an owl fan, then you will love the party theme....pink and green owls!! After many prayers, God blessed us with some sunshine for just long enough to have the party outside. There were owls everywhere! Owl cupcakes, balloons, and smocked dresses! There were lots of great family and friends in attendance, and everyone had a wonderful time. Below are pics from the big par-tay!!

Aunt TT made her this adorable owl outfit...it matched the invitations to a T!

Whooooo sees some pretty flowers??!!

The cutest cupcakes in the history of the world!

The invitation

Gotta love some pom-pom balls!

Who knew you could find owl balloons??!!

The favor table. The cupcakes were placed in the boxes for favors!

The Crowe Family

The cake table

Katherine's BF Blair came all the way from ATL!!!

The food table

The cute stickers were for the kidos!

She didn't like the hat!

Since the party, I have had a few problems with my house. Two weeks ago, I noticed a leak. There was water dripping down my newly painted walls in my living room. I pulled my couch out and noticed that water had stained my brand new couch!!!!! OMG!!! I immediately got in touch with my window man and he came out to fix the leak...but what about the stains on my couch? Tide-To-Go pen to the rescue again! Little did I know that was the least of my worries. Later, I decided to push my couch back against the wall (since the leak had apparently been fixed) and one of the legs fell off my couch!!!! WHAT??!! I have not even had the couch a month, and the leg has completely folded under and fallen off. I spoke with the Pottery Barn Customer Service ppl for quite awhile and had a very interesting conversation with them. She said, "Ma'am, have you been jumping on the couch?" Me-"Um..no..I teach school, the last thing I want to do when I get home in the afternoon is jump on my couch." I mean, my goodness!! Like I would do that!! After sending in digital pics of the couch I was informed that I am getting a new couch! Wahoo!!! Of course it's going to take a few weeks, but I'm getting a new one. Thank goodness!!!! Below is a picture of the damage. Stay tuned for updates on the continuing leak...