I Give a Hoot

Thought I would make this post about two of my favorite things...owls and "The Reb". To those of you who don't know me, I felt the need to explain my love of owls. The obsession started almost eight years ago on the Loveliest Village on the Plains. The owl is the mascot of my college sorority....Chi-O. To me, the owl symbolizes friendship, fun-times, sisterhood, and a special connection to lots of amazing people known and unknown. With "The Reb" hung around my neck, I went on a quest to find the perfect subject matter. Then it dawned on me....my OWLS! Each of my owls has a special story behind them. Some were presents, some were souvenirs, and some are just down-right funny. Below are some pics of a few of the ones I found hiding in my house tonight....Enjoy!

"Going Green Owl"

"Office Owl" (A.K.A. paper weight owl)

"Cutie Owl" (this is actually a present for my niece)

"Going Out Owl"

"Soapy Owl"

"Pop-A-Top Owl" (Brought to me from Europe...thanks Britt, Casey, and Lucas!!)

"Paula Deen Owl"

"SLP Owl" (Given to me by my amazing, student intern Caroline who is a fellow owl-lover as well....this is a unique hand-crafted owl who flew in from Mississippi!!)




Here's looking at y'all! HOOTY-HOO!!!!!!!!!!!

Additions

2010 is off to a great start. Getting back into the swing of things at work has been hard, but I am glad to be back on my schedule. I have become OBSESSED with my camera. I ordered a new lense (50 mm still) and I have been snapping away at home. I have literally taken a picture of everything in my house. In a few weeks, I will be starting my first photography class at a local university to learn all about my Canon Rebel!!! I have nicknamed my camera, "The Reb"!! haha Over Christmas I added a few decorative items to my house. Below are some pics of the "additions" and just some fun pictures. I am trying to perfect my up-close pictures with a blurry background...let me know what y'all think! Also, I am in need of a new camera bag. If anyone has any ideas/suggestions, please let me know!!

This beautiful oil now hangs above my brown chair in the living room

Fresh flowers just make me smile!

I finally found something to hang over my couch!

DB loves the camera!

DB looooves ice cream sandwiches!!!

For those of you living in the South, I sure hope y'all are staying warm! I LOOOOVE the cold weather, but the past week has been beyond cold...it's down-right frigid! Although, I shouldn't complain...my hair does so much better when it's cold and dry outside! haha I have been spending my down-time curled up on my couch with my electric blanket! I hope everyone's year has gotten off to a great start and that 2010 will be a blessed year for all!

Christmas: Part II

This Christmas brought on new traditions for our family. Instead of spending Christmas Day morning in A'ville and the rest of the day in Huntsville with the Ferneaus, we (Deckers and Ferneaus) came to B'ham to spend the day with Sister, Blake, and the DB. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to hold back ripping into the presents until we made it to the Ham. I know I am 25, but I am actually still a 5 year old at heart. I wake up early (6:30 a.m.) every Christmas morning ready to open some presents...and yes, I still make a list for Santa. They say when you stop believing, he stops coming...so I will ALWAYS believe! We made it to B'ham in time to visit with Blake's parents before they left for AU. The DB was taking her morning nap when arrived, so we decided to do our Christmas while she was asleep so we could focus on her presents when she woke up. Santa had already come to see K, but we had LOTS more for her to open. Personally, I think this was my best Christmas ever...guess I was extra good this year!! haha
Below are pics from Chrismtas morning.

We love towel wraps in our family...DB got one for herself! It's soooo tiny!!

Sister and me

Pre-opening

Sister was super-excited about salt and pepper shakers

I always love a Tory Christmas! Can't wait to wear these in the spring...they're snake skin!

Can you tell by the look on my face? I was sooooo surprised to open a.....

CAMERA!!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was the last present I opened...I started screaming like a kid!!

This little bear was her favorite present! haha

I gave DB 'Baby Stella' and this cool puzzle

She needed a little help from Mommy to open all of her loot

Another wagon for the DB....it's so cute!

Dad got an AU Snuggie from his Secret Santa person...his isn't as cool as my hot pink one! haha

As evidenced by the pics, our family had a wonderful Christmas. I can't even begin to list off what all we opened. A big shout out to Sister for putting on a wonderful spread for us to eat...she had big shoes to fill, but I think she outdid herself! We had wonderful food and drinks all day and managed to play a few games...things tend to get a little heated with our family! haha Watching the DB open her presents was the highlight of the day...I often wonder what we ever did before she was here! My favorite present was definitely my camera!!! I have already ordered another lens for it and am looking into taking a photography class...watch out blog world...my pics are about to be taken to another level!!!

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