ONLY 3 DAYS AWAY

Christmas is only 3 days away! 2 days away in 10 or so minutes! J and I are up right now finishing some last minute packing for California. That's right, we are headed to beautiful Southern California in the AM and won't be back until 2012. I get to spend the holidays with my Mom, Dad, brothers, sister-in-law, Grandparents, Latvian relatives, and best buddy Kiersten.  And speaking of Kiersten, check out the picture she texted me from Denver this morning...

It's beautiful!  Looks like a postcard!  Denver has gotten a lot of snow lately so hopefully her flight to California won't be delayed.

Also, I wanted to quickly share some Christmas cards with you.  The first picture is personal cards J and I have received this year.  I should have come up with a more creative way to display them.  The scotch tape on the fridge method had to suffice.  I love each and every card.  It's always so much fun to receive the cards, letters, and pictures from friends and family that we don't get to visit with often.  The last two pictures are actually cards my department received at work.  I thought they were pretty clever though and wanted to share...  

Peter Mayer Advertising

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I'm going to try and write a blog post or two from California.  But in case I'm not able...

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

OH CHRISTMAS TREE, OH CHRISTMAS TREE

Notice my oyster shells?  I'm quite proud of that little addition.  This is the same tree J and I had last year for the holidays.  January through November it lives outside on our front porch.  In December, we bring it inside for some lights and Christmas cheer.  The branches are too weak to hold any ornaments but that's okay because practically all of our Christmas things are in storage.  We'll get a bigger tree one day... the day we move out of our tiny New Orleans shotgun rental and into a historic Greek Revival waiting for some restoration and TLC.  A girl can dream...  In the meantime, check out these creative (or crazy?) Christmas trees I found online...

IKEA

Christmas came early in the Sullivan household this year! My parents very kindly bought me a new couch and dresser as my Christmas and birthday presents. I picked out the Kivik sofa/chaise lounge combination and a white Hemnes dresser from one of my favorite stores... IKEA! Hip hip hooray for IKEA and awesome parents! They get a bad rap sometimes (IKEA, not my parents). Just ask J. He doesn't share my enthusiasm for the Swedish retail giant. When you mention IKEA to him I'm pretty sure he'll start to complain about the incomprehensible directions and particleboard. And sure, those are valid complaints. But there's so much great stuff about IKEA that I can't help but forgive those issues.

IKEA preaches taking responsibility for the environment.  Apparently, all their employees are strongly encouraged to recycle. So much so that they don’t even have trash bins at their desks. They have to walk and deposit their trash in a common bin. The other hallmark of IKEA is great value. Straight from the horse's mouth, "the basic thinking behind all IKEA products is that low prices make well-designed, functional home furnishings available to everyone. We are constantly trying to do everything a little better, a little simpler, more efficiently and always cost-effectively." And the proof is in the pudding... an IKEA frying pan $2.99 and a Walmart frying pan $6.26. An IKEA shower curtain $3.99 and a Walmart shower curtain $8.47. Do you love meatballs? You can get 15 delicious Swedish meatballs served with mashed potatoes and lingonberries for only $3.99. If $3.99 is over your budget you can go with the $.99 breakfast plate that includes scrambled eggs, bacon, and potatoes. I could go on and on.

Re-live our furniture journey with J.  He spent a majority of last weekend building the sofa and dresser...

TA DA :)  All finished...

Thank you Mom and Dad for the great presents and thank you J for doing a lovely job putting it all together!  What would I do without y'all?!

GOBBLE GOBBLE

So you may remember that my Thanksgiving turkey from last year looked like it came straight out of Clark Griswold's kitchen. While I'm a huge fan of the National Lampoon's Vacation, European Vacation, Christmas Vacation, etc., I would prefer my turkey not remind people of the infamous family dinner scene. Well, I am happy to report I did a smashing job in the kitchen this year! With a little help from my Mom and J, the only casualty was a few burnt rolls. Success! We ate turkey, ham, chicken and sausage gumbo, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, (burnt) rolls, orange cranberry dressing, olive oil roasted cauliflower, cheesy corn and grits pudding, green bean casserole, crawfish rice casserole, oreo ice-cream pie, pumpkin cheesecake, and apple-n-praline pie. Everything was delicious but my favorites were the mashed potatoes and cheesy corn and grits pudding.

Thanksgiving was extra special this year because not only did my brother Kyle join us from San Diego, but my parents flew down from Chicago. With our family spread out all over the country, I'm always incredibly thankful and appreciative of the time I do get to spend with them. My other brother Benjamin and his wife Alisha were in Arkansas with her family for the holiday but we'll get to see them at Christmas in California. J's sister Jacqueline was in Georgia with her fiancé's family and J's parents were in Tennessee. See what I mean about all over the country?!

J and I have an abundance of things to be thankful for this year. Our relationship, our family, our friends, our church, our health, our education, our jobs... We really have so much and are so fortunate. I look forward to the blessings God has in store for us. We hope everyone had a special (and yummy) Thanksgiving with their friends and family!

Walnut is so happy to see Daddy again!

J, Daddy, and Kyle snacking and hanging out until Thanksgiving dinner is ready.

My first attempt at homemade gumbo.

My turkey!  A little dry but completely edible (unlike last year).

The feast.  We ran out of room on the table for the turkey and gravy.

Me and the desserts.

The alligator at City Park's Celebration in the Oaks.  We went the day

after Thanksgiving and had a great time looking at all of the lights.

Great family friends... Mr. Pat, Mrs. Barbara, Mom, & Daddy at Celebration in the Oaks.

ADABELLE'S

Straight from the website...

"Adabelle’s Fashion Lounge was founded on the belief that it is every woman’s inalienable right to look and feel beautiful everyday. We want to make the dream of looking amazing without breaking the bank a reality for our customers.

Whether you are heading out on the town, to the next big game, date party, or special event, we make finding your next fabulous outfit as easy as click and go. We want Adabelle’s to be an enjoyable shopping experience with no hassles, quality products, plentiful options and reasonable prices."

Where was this when I was in college?  They have super cute dresses for really reasonable prices.  And I love the lookbook section of the site.  Thought I'd share some of their cute LSU and Ole Miss outfit suggestions in honor of tonight's big game...

REBELS & TIGERS, OH MY

J's Ole Miss Rebels take on my #1 LSU Tigers today in lovely Oxford, Mississippi. LSU is 10-0 right now with only the Ole Miss and Arkansas games left before we go to the SEC Championship Game and ultimately the BCS National Championship! We're totally headed there! I've just known it all year! Ole Miss hasn't exactly had an impressive season (2-8 right now) with Coach Houston Nutt out the door soon and 3 suspended players (including the starting QB). As ESPN put it, "these days, when it rains in Oxford, it truly pours." J is holding on to the 'we may not win every game, but we've never lost a party' motto.  It's been his saving grace.

We hope all of our friends traveling to Oxford for the game have an amazing weekend!  The Grove is going to be hopping and the Square will be lively.  J and I really wish we could be there but we'll be watching from home.  This weekend is dedicated to getting the house ready for our Thanksgiving company that starts arriving Tuesday (can't wait to see you Mom, Daddy, & Kyle).  HOTTY TODDY & GEAUX TIGERS!

P.S. - Here is a pretty adorable pic of me & Mike from my college days. Can you feel the love?

J TURNS THE BIG 3 0

J turned 30 this past Saturday, November 12th.  You read that correctly... 30!  I can hardly believe it myself.  I've already started to notice some changes in the old man. ;)  J has to check a new age group box on forms.  Instead of stressing about acne it's about wrinkles and gray hair.  I'm still waiting for him to remark, "I remember when I was in my 20s...."  In 5 more years he can be President of the United States so get ready America!  Some celebrities that share J's special day? Actress Anne Hathaway (Princess Diaries, Devil Wears Prada) was also born on November 12th. Actress Megan Mullally (Will & Grace) was too. Our friend Avery Davidson may be the only person to appreciate this next one... the bass player from Megadeth, Dave Ellefson, was born on the 12th as well.  So Happy (belated) Birthday to Anne, Megan, & Dave!  I thought about buying J the Book of Ages 30 as one of his presents but worried it may simultaneously make him feel amazing and miserable. A stat like "at age 30, you're older than 42 percent of Americans" doesn't necessarily build a guy up on his special day.

We spent the weekend in Pensacola Beach, Florida.  J and I love Pensacola!  Beautiful white sand, turquoise water, and only a 3-3/12 hour drive from New Orleans makes for a perfect weekend getaway!  We ate lots of yummy seafood and had an awesome time at the Naval Air Station watching all the planes perform. I know the Blue Angels are supposed to be the big draw and highlight of these shows, but J and I were mesmerized by the Navy's Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.  Literally mesmerized.  The Super Hornet was doing things that just looked unreal and impossible.  I highly recommend you take the opportunity to see one in action.  It's my understanding they do Super Hornet demonstrations at most Thunderbirds (Air Force) and Blue Angels (Navy) air shows.  Find one near you!

Pictures from our weekend are below.  Quality isn't the best since they were all captured on the iPhone but it's better than nothing.  HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY J!  Hope you had a weekend to remember.  I love you <--- THIS MUCH ---> and more!