It's That Time of Year

It's the holiday season where you are getting ready for family get togethers, decorating for the holidays, gathering at the table for a nice meal, shopping for gifts for loved ones, and creating your Christmas card to go out to your friends and family.

You want to pick a card that represents who you are, the past year milestones, and show what you have been up to.  The card has to reflect all of this in one to a couple of pictures.  This past year Russ and I went to New York, Las Vegas, and Chicago, adopted a puppy, attended multiple football games, visited friends and family, and did lots of work around the house.  That is a lot to shove onto one Christmas card, we may just decide to take a random photo with Willie and include that, oh the possibilities...

Picking the pictures might be the easy part then you have to pick a design and decide what to write on the card.  Thankfully Shutterfly has a lot of great options for the holidays, they have green, red, brown, and lots of other colors along with one picture, two picture, or lots of pictures.  It can be 4 x 6 or 5 x5, it can be horizontal or vertical.  Tons of options for you, so you can make your unique card that fits you and your family.

You don't even have to wait for the holidays to make a card.  After Russ and I got married we made a card to thank people for coming to the wedding and included a wedding picture on it.  For our first Christmas card we made it into a moving card to let people know about our new address.  Last year was the first true Christmas card we went out.  We got dressed up on Thanksgiving and Kara took our picture at multiple places around my parents house.  

I can't wait to make our Christmas card this year! Better yet, I can't wait to see yours!

Christmas Ornaments Christmas

Make a statement with Shutterfly Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Photo Book Addiction

I have a love for shutterfly products, especially photo books. I tried to scrapbook and I had a hard time cutting my photos and deciding how to arrange them on the page.  I found shutterfly and it is the perfect tool for me to do digital scrapbooking.  You upload all your pictures then  you can play around with page formats, colors, themes, quotes, and much more.  The first book I did was for our first anniversary.  I am one for tradition so I stuck with the first year is something paper so what better gift then a scrapbook of our first year together.  I started the book from the car pulling away from the reception to our first Christmas.  The book turned out great, it now sits on our end table in our living room for others to see.  I am in the process of making book two and soon can begin book three.

I have also found that shutterfly books make great gifts.  My best girlfriends from college made a pack that the first weekend in June (or sometime around then) we would do a girls trip.  The second and third year worked out as we had Bachelorette parties to celebrate.  They are always such fun events and I thought shutterfly books would be a good way for them to have those memories.  I made Melinda and Sheryl books for their birthdays.  I can't wait to make a book from our girls trip this past year, Vegas!

Each year I do my Christmas card with shutterfly.  Last year, I made all the grandparents in our family calendars, they were a hit.  I am addicted to shutterfly, but not ashamed at all!

Here is the first photo book I made with shutterfly:

Click here to view this photo book larger

Hello Friend!

Hello Friend!  That's usually how I answer my phone when Rachel calls me.  For some reason, that phrase always reminds me of her.  If it has been a while, I will write on her facebook wall with Hello Friend! as well.  Rachel has updated her blog today as well as I got to talk to her today and I promised her a blog update!

Well, it has been 6 months since I last updated my blog.  I know, I know, no excuses but I really do have some good ones.  The whole summer I spent traveling and visiting our friends and family.  We actually were able to visit ALL of our family and friends, so a successful summer.  Next thing I know, fall was here.  As all of you know, our falls are always jammed packed with football games, law school stuff, mission work, yard work, and real work.  Thankfully this fall it did not consist of any type of surgery and I have been able to work in my yard!

I know it has been a while since I last updated and I have a lot to update about.  I am not even sure where to begin.  I will do a post on our summer trips and events later.  I will focus on a basic update on our lives.

Willie:
Our little boy turned a year old last week!  We celebrated by going to the local City Dog Market and buying him a Tennessee Dog Cookie for his birthday treat.  Russ and I also picked out a new toy for him, a deer antler.  Boy, does Willie love that.  He is constantly chewing on it and just in the past week, he has chewed it halfway down.  Since Willie's birthday is on Halloween we were able to get some cute pictures (I know I am now a crazy dog lady) with him and the pumpkins.  We didn't dress him up besides putting on his Tennessee Shirt. 

Willie has grown a ton since we adopted him.  He started at 8 pounds and now up to 24 pounds.  He continues to have tons of energy but loves play dates.  When we go to football games in Knoxville, we are able to take him with us and he plays with Bill and Kat's dog.  He has also made lots of friends around the neighborhood, especially Brooks and Shelby our neighbors dogs.  Willie also continues to get into trouble, he has chewed off the knobs to our bay window and chewed some of the wall under the window.  At the end of the day, he looks at you with that puppy face and I give in and let him snuggle with me on the couch.

Russ and Willie with his Birthday treat

Willie on one of our pumpkins (1 year old)

Russ: 
Russ continues to be swamped with law school.  If he isn't in class, he is working on a brief, doing GRA work, participating on a club, or something other law related.  He has a regional moot court competition this week.  He passed the Patent Bar in August, so that is one less thing to worry about.  Russ has to take the MPRE (ethics exam) this past Saturday.  He continues to look for a full time job, so if you know anyone looking for lawyer let us know.  If you have seen Russ lately it is probably as much as I have as well.  Thankfully we were able to have a real date night last night.  Dinner and a show at the Fox is always a nice date night together!

Russ also just celebrated a birthday.  He was able to put the books down for an evening and I took him to Dante's for dinner.  I went to Dante's for my Bachelorette party for dinner and he really wanted to go.  A tradition Russ' Mom started years ago was making a angel food cake with cream cheese icing for Russ.  Since Russ lives in Atlanta now, and Jill is in Tennessee, I have picked up the tradition.  So I completed his birthday with a homemade birthday cake then gave him an iphone 4.  He can now be connected with the world!

Russ' Annual Birthday Cake

Russ at his birthday dinner

Brittany:
Finally, an update about me!  Nothing really excited about me.  I have worked a ton lately due to the transaction between The Coca-Cola Company and Coca-Cola Enterprises.  Instead of boring you all to death with the details, I will skip that part of my life which is all my life has been for the past month.  Though, I have had a change to go to a lot of football games.  We were able to get season tickets again with Bill and Kat and that has allowed us to meet up with all our friends.  We did our traditional annual Beta/Zeta Tailgate, the tailgate is more fun than the game!  I was able to get tickets for all of my family to come to the Bama/Tennessee game so it was fun tailgating with Mom, Dad, Kara, and friends.  I have given two baby showers in the past month and more to come.  You all know me though and know that I am in heaven planning parties and get togethers.  Other than that its just been a typical life of Brittany, work, homeowner duties, trips to Knoxville, and other odd and end things.  The exciting news is that we are getting our patio installed this week along with a fire pit, I am VERY excited.  We are getting ready for the hectic holiday season.

Hope this post didn't bore you too much.  I will post about the summer and our fall trips soon.  For now, this will have to hold you over!

Kara and I at the UT/Bama game

Willie and I on the front porch

Centerpiece for Nez's Baby Shower

Deal of the Week

I love shopping! For some reason, I hardly come home with anything for myself but I don't mind at all.  I love going shopping then coming home and telling Russ and Mom about my great buys.  Mom listens and Russ just says that's great.  I would really like to be a personal shopper for people.  At Christmas time I do all the shopping for my Grandma for my family, all the shopping for the gifts from Russ and I, and I assist my Mom with almost ALL her shopping for others.  I love it!  My new thing is to make packages.  Instead of giving just one big gift, I like to do themes or a package of items then put it in a cute box, basket, or arrange it all cute.  Lately, I have been doing this for Mom's clients.  Her last one was a couple from UT so we did an orange and white basket...it turned out so cute! (I will have to get pictures from Mom)

Now that I am 90% healed and the weather is nice, I have been working in the yard a lot.  We pulled up all the ivy in the front and side of the house, removed six trees, and planted some flowers.  Dad built us a deck and our next project will be a stone patio off the deck in the yard.  We looked at tons of different stones over the past year and we found the one we list.  It was on sale at Lowe's last week for a $1 off so I went to order the stones then I found a coupon for 20% that stone.   I ended up saving $500 for the stones for my back yard!!  I have to say that's one heck of a deal!!!

Don't Drink The Water

Everything happens in waves...you graduate with your friends, start new jobs, get married, buy houses, adopt pets, start a family, and the cycle goes on and on.

The past couple of years our summers were filled with wedding after wedding.  Don't get me wrong, I love weddings!  Its a great time to celebrate your friend's relationship with their significant other and a reunion for everyone.  With weddings you have the dress fittings, bridal showers, bachelor/bacherlorette parties, Bridesmaids luncheons, rehearsal dinner, and the big day...countless activities and times with your friends.

The next wave was house buying, Russ and I participated in this wave as well in July 2008.  You and your friends go from wedding talks to your latest home improvement project.  Your shopping trips go from finding dresses to finding knick-knacks for the home and visits to Home Goods.  I love this hobby, I like making a home reflect who we are and it gives me bonding time with my Dad.

After home buying, you now have a fenced backyard or the space to adopt a pet.  We adopted Willie in January and now our lift revolved around taking him on walks, playing with him, talking to him like he is a child.  My shopping trips still have the weekly trip to Home Goods but now I spend time in the pet aisle or swing by PetsMart on my way home!  When you talk to your friends, every conversation has something about the pets in it!

The next phase includes children.  If you all get married together usually this stage happens around the same time as well.  No we are not pregnant but everyone else seems to be.  In the past two weeks, I have found out that 5 people are pregnant and of those, 4 are at my work.  We are starting to think there is something in the water at our work, so pre-packaged beverages it is!  This wave will happen in the next couple of years with my friends and our conversations will be around getting the nursery ready, how to raise a kid, advice, buying baby things, etc... but for right now I will focus on getting my house 100% perfect and pretending Willie is my baby!

Never Too Late...

Forgot to post the Easter pictures, so here they are.  We celebrated Easter with my parents.  They joined us for service at our church followed by Easter Lunch at our house!  It was a great day with the folks and Willie got lots of attention especially from his Granddad!

Spring Time!

Spring brings beautiful flowers, great weather, and happiness!  My favorite time of the year is Fall with Spring being second!  This year, the pollen has been full force so have we.  With the beautiful weather, it allows for great days of working in the yard.  Over the past week, we bagged 76 bags of leaves and ivy from the side yards of the house.  If you have ever been to my house, the outside needs a lot of love and we finally have the time to get it the love it needs.  With my surgery this past Fall, I could not do anything in the yard and law school consumed all of Russ' time so an already overgrown yard over grew even more!  Dad has come over to assist us in the ivy removal process, he cleared/pulled up all the ivy on the side of the house with the bedrooms.  This was a complete jungle.  We then proceeded to the front  yard and pulled all the ivy on the side of the house and trimmed all the trees, we can actually talk to our neighbors and see them!  For a while, I was feeling like Home Improvement's neighbor Wilson where you could only see the top of their faces.  Also, when you drive down the street you can see the side of the house!!!  I had no idea, we had so much yard.  Almost a year ago we had a side driveway poured on the side of the house. This literally was a jungle, over grown trees (bushes), ivy everywhere, you could not see the side of the house nor our neighbors.  The driveway helped clear some of it but this past weekend we completely removed all the ivy and bushes, I saw sunlight coming down!! 

 You can see the neighbor's  house now!

We also had some trees removed last week, we had those darn sweet gum trees.  These trees are not good for anything but being a pain in the butt.  Willie loved to chew on the sweet gum balls but I don't think that was ideal for him.  They hurt to walk on, you could hardly rake them, basically they are pointless and useless.  When Russ mows the yard, I can't be in the back since one time he hit one with the mower and it nailed me in the chest.  Needless to say, we quickly got those removed this past week.  They came and removed three sweet gums, one pine, and what we thought was a tree but they said it was an overgrown bush!  We now have sunlight in our backyard, extra yard on the side of the house, and a nice driveway on the other side.  Our next step is to build a deck/patio complete with a firepit, paint the house (brick included), and build a shed!  We have our work cut out for us the next couple of months! 

Russ taking a picture of the house that we are going to paint our house after.

Oh yes, I can't forget my Mom's help.  She came over and helped me plant flowers in my pots for the front of the house while I prepared the white benches Russ' Grandfather gave us.  What used to be somewhat white and rust are now pure white and sparkling!  I never thought I say this, but I really do like working in the yard, you see results instantly!!!

Benches Before and After

Westerly Platinum

One of the great things about getting married is all the gifts people shower you with as their sign of love and excitement about your marriage.  It is probably one of the few times in your life you will get to replace all your old cheap stuff with nice matching things!  Russ and I both had just graduated from college when we got married, so we had cheap stuff or nothing at all.  In today's marriages, not very many people register for formal china.  There is nothing wrong if you do or don't do it, it is simply up to the couple.

I grew up where we ate on the nice china for all the major holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter).  We would have over 25 people at Christmas and still had to eat on the china, paper plates were not allowed.  My Granny had three different sets, my mom had two sets, my Grandmother had a set, and everyone I knew in the family had their own set.  When Granny passed away, my Mom got a lot of my Granny's china and crystal.  I think that's where I got my love for china and crystal from.  Now, I am not as big of a fan of silver like Mom and Granny since you have to polish it all the time.  My favorite is crystal, it can be used for all kinds of things.

When it came time to register, I had to make an important decision, what kind of formal china was I going to register for.  I knew this would take me a while, as I wanted something that said my style and hopefully would not go out of style in 30 years.  After looking at over 50 different of patterns, I had it narrowed down to three.  All were with with some type of silver on them.  I brought Russ along to help me make the final decision, he knocked out one right away saying it was too girly so we were down to two.  He could not make a decision, we thought about price and we finally decided on one and called in the expert to approve our final decision...Jacki aka Mom!  She agreed with our decision, so we knew we were good to go.  Lenox Westerly Platinum it is!  Then it was on to the stemware (Lenox Firelight), this was not a hard choice at all and it matched our china!  Plus it coordinates with Mom's in case I inherit hers :) 

A lot of people, could not believe we were registering for formal china, but it was something I wanted.  I wanted a set that I could use for the big meals with the family later down the line.  We may only use it a couple of times a year but it will hopefully create memories for our kids as well.  Also, it will provide as nice dishes for dinner parties when all the attornies in town (haha).

Well, it has been two and a half years and the china has patiently sat in storage containers in the laundry room and it got its first debut on Easter!  Since Mom and Dad come to church with us on Easter, I thought I would host Easter lunch this year.  That meant, I provided the meal and all the tableware!  I was so excited, I pulled out all the dishes, matching serving pieces, cleaned the sterling silverware that was Russ' Grandmothers and cleaned it, and completed the table with the new white placemats.  We took the table from casual to formal just like that (excuse the paper napkins, we realized we didn't have cloth ones just before lunch)!  Not only did we have a great meal and company but it was nice using all the wonderful wedding gifts and saying do you remember who gave us this.

Second Time is the Charm

Six months ago, I had to have surgery on a cyst in my lower back.  Well, after five months of trying to get it to heal the doctor decided it was best to do the surgery again since nothing was working to get it to heal.  I was not happy with the news but the doctor knows best.  I had surgery again in early March, well five weeks later...I AM HEALED!  I had a doctor's appointment on Thursday, April 15th (exactly six months from my first surgery), and the doctor said the magic words  "Well you know where to find me if you need me, but I hope I don't have to see you again.  You are healed!"  I was so excited, I called Mom and Russ and sent messages to friends. 

I can finally sit in a chair without hurting, lay on the couch, sleep on my back, and bend!  Now it only took 6 months, 2 surgeries, over 550 badges, 6 rolls of tape, countless doctor visits, and tons of money, but I am HEALED!

To celebrate being healed, I worked in my yard the past two weekends none stop.  I have not been able to do yard work since my first surgery and boy did it feel good to be out there again. Now I can go on walks with Russ and Willie!

I'm a slacker!

I know, I know, it has been way too long since I have blogged. I think about doing it everyday but when I sit down to write I think of 100 other things to do instead or I will forget what to blog about. When I take a shower I often write my blog in my head, then I go to blog and the words do not come to me anymore. I know, none of these are good excuses but I promise to try harder.

Let's see where did I leave off....

Our new addition to the family has been the center of our lives (I know you all are thinking, that's no surprise). Willie has doubled in size since we got him three months ago, don't worry he is still cute! Right now, he is teething so he is chewing everything in site, including our wall! That's right, he decided to chew the sheet rock and window seal. We try to keep him occupied with toys to prevent that. He has also gone through two beds already and his current one does not have the stuffing in it since he decided to pull all of that out for us. Other than that, he is a great dog! Willie is crate trained, loves the backyard (including digging tons of holes), and tells us when he needs to go outside.

We have also taken him on a road trip to visit Russ' family in Hendersonville. Neither one of us knew really what to do with a dog in the car, so we fed him, packed all his toys, and crate and headed to Tennessee. Within the first ten miles, Willie threw up twice! So he sat in my lap the rest of the trip. He had a great time getting LOTS of attention and scaring Boomer. A couple of weekends later he went to spend the weekend with his Grandparents' House. He had a great time playing with Dad (especially licking his ears) and leaving surprised on Mom's rug since he decided that if he doesn't have ivy he won't go to the bathroom. They still enjoyed his company though! Mom even calls and asks about Willie, so you know she really likes him!

I guess that is enough about the dog! Like I said he is the center of our lives, and brings such joy to all of us when he is behaving :)

Love at First Sight

Russ has been whining to me over the past year that we needed to get a dog. I consistently said "NO!"but for Christmas this year I decided to finally give in and let us get a dog. I wrapped up dog toys and a card saying that when we get back from all our trips we can go pick out a dog for us.

I told Melinda that we were looking at getting a dog so she went on to Pet Finder to show me all the cute dogs that needed homes. She sent me a couple of emails with different dogs, little did she know that would end up being the new addition to our family.

We completed all our trips MLK weekend so I thought we should look for dogs the following weekend. On the following Thursday and Friday, I looked on Pet Finder, found a couple of dogs, and contacted the people. Russ and I decided we wanted a lab mix like Bud (my family dog) and Russ preferred a male puppy. I found one dog that was born on 10/21 (Russ' birthday) that was a black lab and his name was Sparky (Russ' childhood dog)...we thought this was really ironic. I emailed the foster parent but she was located in Savannah. Meanwhile, I had gotten a response on Lovey's Puppies (http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=15360295) and made arrangements to go visit them on Saturday. Russ was very tempted to drive to Savannah but we decided we would look around the area this weekend and if we didn't find anything we would go next weekend to look at Sparky.

Saturday morning came and we got ready to go look at dogs, not really set on having to get one that weekend. Laura told us she would be at PetsMart in Duluth so we could see Lovey's Puppies. I thought I knew where I was going and we got to the place. It was a Petco so I thought the lady had gotten them mixed up. Who would have a Petco and PetsMart on the same street 1/4 mile away from each other? We went to Petco and asked about the puppies and they had no idea but thought I was talking about this other lady who wasn't there yet. We waited around and they showed up with golden retriever puppies. They were cute and very quiet but we did not want a dog that large. I finally got onto the internet and saw that she was at the PetsMart just up the road. We hopped in the car and went to see the puppies.

Russ and I walked to the back to the adoption area and there he was! This cute little puppy sleeping in a crate. We went up to him and stuck our finger in and he didn't lick but perked up, so far so good! We took him out and he was so quiet, and did not bark, make a noise, or bite. I was sold! We asked the rescue agency questions about the Mom and decided he was the dog for us. While the agency filled out the paper work, Russ and I went around the store buying all the things you need for a dog. All we had were way-too-big toys and a UT collar that Rachel gave us for our wedding. We bought him a crate, food, treats, toys, shampoo, and leash. They finalized the paper work and he was officially ours!
On our way home, we were trying to figure out a name for him. We had talked about naming our dog Neyland when we got a dog but Avery and Jason got a new puppy in December and named their dog that. We came up with Willie, Patches, Rusty, and Taylor. We decided on Willie! So you are probably asking why we named him Willie. Well, Russ' Grandfather that he adores and looks up to's name is William so we talked about using that for a kid's name down the road. We then realized that one of good friends name is Will and would think we named our kid after him, so we opted for our dog! Yes everyone, our dog is named after our good friend William Taylor Blackburn. Ironically, Will introduced us in college and is basically a brother to me. So Will, your name will continue...you have a nephew!
We didn't tell my parents we were looking for dogs. They did know Russ got one for Christmas, but didn't know when we would get one. We brought Willie home and gave him a bath and let him play in the backyard, and then headed out to my parents house for dinner. We showed up with Willie in our arms and they feel in love with him at first sight as well! Mom even held him!
Willie is adjusting to life with us really well. We are crate training him and soon hope to do obedience training. He has already gone to the vet and got a good check-up and had all the nurses and doctors hovering over him, he is pretty cute!

We officially have a new member of our family and he has quickly become the center of our lives. I am honestly not a big dog person, but Willie has me holding him, petting him, playing with him, and find myself liking to come home to hang out. Sometimes if he is a good dog that night, he lays on my chest at night on the couch and we fall asleep together until Russ gets home from night class!He turns 16 weeks old next week so he can begin playing with other dogs. Our first adventure will be to Hendersonville to visit Russ' family. Our neighbors got a puppy that is two weeks older than Willie so soon they can have play dates! Overall, Willie is a great dog besides his puppy nipping stage :) Also, friends are very important to me so I thought it was great how they were a part of us getting a dog. Rachel provided the collar, Melinda found him on Pet Finder, and Willie is named after Will, what a great story Willie has!

The Big Apple

Outside our Hotel

This past year has been a rough year...losing important people in my life, Russ' life being taken over by law school,Bud was put to sleep, my Grandparents aren't doing well, my surgery, and many more things, I was ready for a new year.

Thankfully, this year we decided to do something different to bring in the new year...NEW YORK CITY! Kara and Aunt Jill decided to go to NYC back in September and began planning their trip. After hearing them talk about it, I realized it was too good of a trip to pass up so I joined them. Later, Russ decided he wanted to go as well since he has not been. Next thing we know, all of our are in the airport waiting for our flight to New York.

We stayed at the Time Square Hilton, which was very close to everything! I am not going to bore you with every detail on what we did, so here is what we did each day. I highly recommend the New York City Pass if you are going to see lots of attractions. You get to skip all the lines, a separate place to redeem it for a ticket, and do not have to worry about paying for it once you get there! We were typical tourist who hit up all the local attractions and went to Time Square for New Year's Eve! I fell in love with the Big Apple and can't wait to go back when it is not as cold!

Day 1 (December 30th):
- Left for NYC
- Checked into the Hotel
- Ate lunch at McDonald's
- Headed down the streets of NYC
- Explored Macy's (all 8 floors)
- Ate at Uncle Jack's Steakhouse (best steaks ever...well second to my Uncle Jack's)
- Rockefeller Center (Christmas Tree)
- Christmas Lights and Window Displays

Day 2 (December 31st):
- Ate Breakfast
- Headed to Carnegie Hall
- Central Park in the SNOW (it felt like I was in a snow globe or some one's Christmas village)
- Carnegie Deli for delicious cheesecake
- Radio City Music Hall Tour
- Bundled up for the long night
- Last meal of 2009 - McDonald's
- Headed for Time Square for the Ball Drop
- Stood for 8 hours in one place
- Brought in the New Year!

Day 3 (January 1):
- Breakfast and Coffee
- Wax Museum
- Lunch for NY Pizza in an old church
- Top of the Rock
- China Town (Kara bought a Louis Vuitton purse)
- Little Italy
- Queens to visit my cousin Lee (great meal, cheesecake, and visit)
Day 4 (January 2):
- Circe Line City Cruise (saw Statue of Liberty)
- Met up with Calvin
- Lunch
- The Met (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
- Drinks with Calvin
- Dinner with Calvin and Alayna at Room Service (great Thai)
- Saw the play Mary Poppins
- Empire State BuildingDay 5 (January 3):
- New York Bagels for Breakfast
- Wall Street
- Ground Zero
- Headed back to Atlanta


For all the New York pictures, click here: http://picasaweb.google.com/brittanywdunlap/NewYorkCity#