Christmas Present Highlights

My tree is already in the trash and all the decorations are packed up and in the garage.  I couldn't take it one more day even though I love a decorated house.  I think I was just anxious to get back to the simple clean lines of the living room without the tree.  Our living room is so narrow that the tree never really fit properly, it just feels better and more open with it gone.

I do think that it is always sad to see the holidays end, all the magic left behind for the year, but I am looking forward to an exciting and adventurous 2011!  Before I get into New Years resolutions and new hopes and dreams for 2011, I thought I would share my Christmas present highlights, aka my favorite gifts...

1. I got a pair of black rubber rain boots from my sister, I feel so chic and cool wearing them.
2. I got Coach perfume from Jeremiah to mix up my perfume smells (I have been wearing the same vanilla perfume for over 10 years now)
3. My sister and I actually both got a pair of Dr. Scholls "fast flats" from our parents in our stockings.  They are so cute and even come with a little wristlet so when you are out on the town and your shoes are hurting your feet you can whip out your fast flats...genius!

What did you guys get for Christmas this year?  Are you sad that the holidays are over?

Well stay tuned here because we have some big plans for 2011, to start with I have to get my booty in gear and crank out some home improvements.

Photography Excitement

So excited...Jeremiah and I are having our pictures taken by my wonderful friend and photographer, Melissa McClure, today!!!  We never got engagement pictures taken before we got married so I thought it was time to have some casual (none big white dress) professional pictures taken of us.  We are going to a secret spot of hers and I just can't wait.  I have been outfit planning all week and have gone through about 4 outfits in my head.  I want to be casual but not to couples cliches (matchy matchy you know).  I want to have some funk to my outfit but also be timeless and not look back at my patterned dress, polka dot tights and stripped sweater (a fav outfit right now, I love mixing the patterns) and think, "what was I thinking?".  I think I am going to opt for a classic pair of jeans, a plain but embellished shirt and maybe a scarf or some other fun accessory, thanks sister for your help. 

I am a little nervous because I think I am totally un-photogenic but Melissa is a master and I know we're in good hands.  Lets just hope Jeremiah actually smiles and doesn't do his little smirky face that makes him look constipated ;).

P.S.  Melissa took the picture just to the right of this post on my sidebar, it is one of my business headshots.

Living Room dreaming...

I am still working on my living room but this is what I wish I had.  probably a little to girly for Jeremiah but I think it is divine.

P.S.  I realize it is a bedroom but you know what I mean, I like the idea of the colors and patterns

iPhone Disneyland Pics

I forgot my camera at my parents house so I didn't get to take very good pictures while Jeremiah and I were at Disneyland on Sunday afternoon but we did snap these with Jeremiah's iPhone.

We had such a good time just hanging out together, this was actually the 1st time we have ever been to Disneyland as just the 2 of us.  We laughed and rode all the rides we wanted and talked about how this will probably be the only time we'll ever go alone; we hope to have little ones to take in the future and watch as they discover the wonder of "the Happiest Place on Earth".  We talked about and shared our best memories of Disneyland as children growing up and all the things that seemed so amazing and wonderful.  It is funny because it almost felt like we were a new couple dating and getting to know each other.  Guess after 12 years together you can still find new things to learn about from each other.

We had such a good time, I only wish I had better pictures to remember it by.

P.S.  do you like Miah's face in the Splash Mountain pic?  It is a funny scene from the TV show Reba, that we always imitate; I busted up laughing when I saw the screen.  I have this pic I took one time and sent to him.

We're off to Disneyland!

Jeremiah and I are off to Disneyland today to redeem our "Give a Day, Get a Day" tickets.  We volunteered at the Ecology Center back in February and now we finally get to enjoy the fruits of our labor.  There is no better time than the holidays to visit Disneyland.  I am so excited and can't wait to get there.  So, we're off...

2010 christmas

Jolly Gems Christmas Card

Get custom photo Christmas cards online at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

So in the end I couldn't decide on either one so I got 50 of the "gems" and 50 of the "flourish", they both called to me :).  All in all I got 50 free cards, plus free shipping, plus 5% off and 30% off from the start...I saved $144.42!!!  I LOVE Shutterfly.com!

TIme for SHUTTERFLY Christmas cards!!!

 (banner from Shutterfly.com)

Jeremiah, Maddy and I joined some friends last week in Balboa Park for a Christmas card picture exchange.  We took pictures of them and their puppy, Diego, and then they took pictures of us.  It was so much fun to be all bundled up in Balboa Park with the crisp morning air, it actually felt like winter.  We just received the pictures so now its time to play around on Shutterfly, my favorite online printer, and pick the perfect card. 

I have been using Shutterfly for years, since I was in college I think, and they really are the best company out there.  I have made calenders for friends and family, made prints from my digital photos and last year I made my Exquisite Blooms holiday photo cards to send to all my brides.  My all time favorite project had to be, by far, the photo books I made for my parents from my sister, brother and I for Mothers Day and Fathers Day about 3 years ago.  They were so easy to make and the result was a treasure for my parents to keep forever.

So now I have the dilemma of which style to make for Jeremiah, Maddie and I's Christmas cards.  Here is the picture I think I have committed to are the 3 photos I am trying to narrow down...

And here are the 2 designs of cards that I am toying with...

 (Shutterfly.com design, Jolly Gems)

(Shutterfly.com design, Flourish)

The 1st one seems more me, I mean us, but the 2nd one is so simple and pretty.  There are just so many wonderful designs to choose from.  Guess you'll just have to wait and see what the mail brings to find out which one I picked.

If you are still in need of Christmas cards, check out Shutterfly.com and their great promo.  You can get 50 cards free!

I got a Sony Reader!

It's used of course, when have I ever bought anything new, and I love it.  Ok, so technically I haven't actually used it yet because I am still finishing a paperback but hopefully I will be able to start using it tomorrow.  I already downloaded my 1st book, The Road of Lost Innocence by Somaly Mam and can't wait to start.  I have been wanting an e-reader for some time now but didn't want to spend a lot of money.  I went back and forth between the Sony Reader and the Kindle but finally decided on the Sony Reader because my sister has one and because I could get one on eBay for cheap.  Plus it came with the cutest leather cover that opens up like a book.  I plan on taking it everywhere and using it while feeling uber-cool on plane rides, at coffee shops, DMV appointments, really anywhere when I have a free moment to read; its perfectly compact and fits so well in my purse.

I downloaded this book because it is the next one on the list for the book club I am in with some girlfriends and my sister.  I am really looking forward to reading it because it seems so interesting yet sad and probably empowering at the same time.

Stay with brown or paint white?

I keep going back and forth with this one, should I paint all my wood furniture white, including my wall shelves or keep them brown?

here is what everything looks like now...

But I am really wanting to paint the shelves and all the picture frames a really creamy white/ivory...kind of like this but more realistic :)...obviously!

Something similar to this...

(thank you Young House Love for the pic)

Plus, I am really wanting to put my headboard bench out on the front porch and replace it with an entry table or an antique desk.  But then would I paint the desk the same creamy white or leave it in its original state?

I am thinking I want this look instead of the bench...

(thank you again Young House Love for the pic)

Basically I want more surface space to decorate large items on, my wall shelves are limited height wise.  Plus this is a good representation on the collage frames being all white instead of brown.

I am really feeling claustophobic in the living room lately, I can't tell if it is just a re-decorating itch or if the brown is to dark with the dark wood floors. 

Will anyone help?  Please please leave a comment this time and tell me what you think I should do.

:)

Exciting things could be just around the corner

So in the continuing saga that is conception, Jeremiah and I are hoping that exciting news will be just around the corner for us very soon.  Trying not to get hopes up and trying to always "hope for the best but expect the worst" I feel myself getting anxious.  I don't feel like sharing the entire saga and emotional roller coaster that has taken place over these last few months but there were definitely ups and downs.  We are looking forward as usual and I hope that someday soon I will have exciting news to share, don't worry I'm not teasing you, I really don't have any yet.  Plus of course I will wait the 3 months to make sure that everything is fine, so really I may not have any news of this venture for months and months and months.  I did want to share that we are happy and I am mostly emotionally healed since that very emotional post.  I actually wrote a post a few weeks ago when I was in the "anger" stage but I decided that it was too private and personal to share and just a little too raw, so I scrapped it. 

Another thing that makes me excited is that I have been hearing around town that a number of my girlfriends are pre-go or trying as well so I hope that I get the honor of being pre-go along with them :):):).  

I went to eat with a few girls last week and I was just in awe of how fast a lot of our lives have changed in the past few years.  I feel like one minute we were young single women starting careers and now we spent the whole evening chatting about husbands, potential babies and miscarriages.  Did we grow up?  Maybe.  It was a really nice evening and the fact that I was able to talk about the miscarriage and look people in the eye about it (yep, I had a hard time saying it out loud before and looking at people while discussing it, weird) was a good feeling.  I felt good about it, the talking not the incident, and I was happy to share my story.  It's not like it's a life altering event but to me it felt very personal and disappointing so it was hard to share. 

So bottom line, things are good in that part of this Sally and Jeremiah World.

<3

Quick Craft update...

So my crafty urge turned into 2 projects,

1. fabric flowers which will be adorning some pillows I am making from sweaters, pics and tutorial links to follow
2. the most adorable, if I do say so myself, hankies I made for both my parents...

The linen hankies are a little wrinkly because I forgot to take pictures right after I was done and after I gave them to my parents they apparently got put away and lost their crisp look, (I had to take pictures a few days later when I remembered).

I used basic iron on patterns from Joannes and just kind of went for it.  I have embroidered a few times before at my aunts house but not much so I am pretty proud that these came out looking like they did.

The hankies were left overs from a "lot" of vintage hankies I bought off eBay for our wedding in 2009.  Each bridesmaid got one in thier clutch that my sister made along with their wedding jewelry but now I wish I had had the time to embroider their initials on them.  

I'm feeling crafty today

I really want to craft something up today but I can't decide what it is I want to make...

maybe toss pillows like these...

or painted pumpkins like these...

or maybe something embroidered like this...

I just can't decide.  It doesn't necessarily have to be holiday themed, it can just be something pretty for the house.  Any ideas to fulfill this crafty itch?

Wow! It's been weeks...

Just when I was expecting to slow down for the year I got super busy again and it has been a whirl wind of ups and downs these last few weeks.  I have been loaded with weddings, visiting with friends and family and to be honest I just can't remember the last time I spent an evening at home with just Jeremiah.

Here are a few random things I have done in the past few weeks...

• I went to Disneyland with my sister-in-law, Marcie, mother-in-law and 3 nieces (no pics to show for it) and it rained the entire day.  Marcie and I decided to ride splash mountain, not a good choice on an already wet day.  Marcie sat in the very front seat and got plummeted by wave at the bottom of the drop, she was soaked to the bone.  It would have been really funny but we were already wet cold; it was fun though!

• We also took her girls up to Julian earlier this week for some crisp fall air and apple pie...only problem was that when we got there it was hot!  We ended up grabbing a bite to eat in the diner, picked up a pie to go and headed home.  

• Went to see Social Network...it was really really good and very interesting; I highly recommend seeing it, especially if you are on Facebook (who isn't?).  It is really amazing, the things that people do and how fast it can change the world.  Totally cool movie!

• Joined a book club and the 1st book selected was Nineteen Minutes.  It is really good (even though I am only on pg 53 of over 400) but it is weird, the minute I was required to read, I couldn't or rather CAN'T.  Does that ever happen to you?  In anything?  I am a perfectly good reader, I read fast and I really enjoy it but when I am REQUIRED to do something, I JUST can't.  Weird!  But I am really looking forward to finishing it, someday :)

• Went to Jeremiah's cousins wedding at the Hotel Del and actually took a picture...

Just a handful of weddings left this year and then its relaxation time and more importantly "finish the home improvement projects" time :).   I still have a laundry list of things that are half finished from last spring and new projects that I have added to the list so they should make for some fun blogging.

Hope this random post wasn't a bore! :)

more East Coast...

So the next day we checked out of our hotel, bought tickets for the Redsox game on Monday night and headed over to Fenway park to check it.

 After hanging out there for a while we headed back over to Quincy market where we all enjoyed a full lobster lunch, very delicious, before we headed off to the airport to pick up the rental car that would take us to New Hampshire.

side note:  here is picture I snapped on the way out of Boston, DUNKIN DONUTS...there are Dunkin Donuts EVERYWHERE!  Every corner you turn there is one so I had to take a picture and this one has a very classy looking black and gold sign which kind of disguises it.

Moving along...we drove up to NH and landed in Littleton.  We stayed at a cute little inn where our room had 2 bedrooms and a little kitchenette, very quaint.  The next morning we headed off to the Highland games where Jacy took 1st place in his drum major competition.

 (I took the above picture for his Mom but my sister thinks it should be, "the official picture of Jacy's drum major-ness")

After the competition, Jeremiah and I left the games to explore the area.  We went up to the Flume gorge and it was absolutely beautiful.

That day was my birthday so even though I was away from my twin sister (she got a surprise party while I was gone) I got to celebrate with Jeremiah, Jacy and some Irish and Scottish.  We had a really good dinner and enjoyed hanging out with everyone.

The next day was the last day of the highland games, Jacy set the World Record for the high toss, and all the drum majors were treated to dinner at with their friends and family.  We had a really good time getting to know such a close knit group that travel from state to state and overseas for the love of their traditions.

The last day of our trip was spent heading from NH back to Boston where we turned our car in and checked our bags at the Hilton airport hotel so that we could head down to the Redsox game at Fenway.  We had bought the tickets for only $9 a piece on stub hub and Jeremiah and Jacy were eager to see the game.  Fenway is such a cool stadium because it's so old, but beyond the actual structure the fans are so loyal and proud that being there for a game was such a an awesome experience.  I am a converted Redsox fan, sorry Padres!  Plus check out the cute sweater I treated myself to :).

(apparently the the Green Monster is the big green wall in outfield at Fenway, I thought it was a person...learn something new everyday :) )

So those are the highlights of our trip...hope you enjoyed!

<3