December Recap

I had hoped to fit in a few more posts in the month of December, but instead I am going to have to give an extremely quick recap of a very busy month. I had a wonderful holiday in 2010. We started off the first weekend in December with the Adams Homes Christmas Party in Pensacola at 600 South. It was a fantastic party and so much fun to see everybody from the entire southeast.

Tiff, me, Liz
The Girls
Matt and Brian
Made it to Seville to keep the party going
The 2nd weekend of December my Mom, aunt and I went to my old stomping grounds of Atlanta, GA. We had so much wining, dining, and Shopping!!! It was the perfect weekend to get us in the Christmas spirit. I loved getting to catch up with my ATL girls: Em, Jess, & Greta, for lunch at the Tavern too! (so sad we didn't snap a quick picture)

My favorite fireplace at the Ritz


Ella, Me, Mom
It was a quick trip, but sure was nice to get a head start on all my Christmas Shopping.
Weekend 3 of December we stayed home in Ocean Springs and enjoyed fabulous Christmas parties and celebrated my very best friend since age 5's 26th Birthday at Jia in the Beau Rivage. Very fun night and was so glad I got to be a party of it :)



We had one last holiday party before we left home to Pensacola for Christmas. We went to our best friends in Ocean Springs for a perfect Christmas party. Hayden didn't spare a thing as you would expect if you know her! I walk up to the house and am greeted with this:

The perfect bar that she put together on her front porch that had delicious cocktails calling my name. Specifically, the Poinsettia cocktail. Yes, I had never had this before and fell in love immediately. You should check into it.

The host and hostest with their assistant

The lovely ladies of downtown Ocean Springs :)

Stathams, thank you for a fabulous party!

Matt and I headed home for Christmas on the 23rd of December. Both of our families live in Pensacola which is really wonderful;however, we are four Christmas' and everyone expects your attention. It makes for a pretty hectic holiday, but it's a lot of fun. We spent Thursday night at my Mom's house and had a delicious dinner with my whole family.

Erin with our penguin seat placement cards compliments of www.ourbestbites.com
Christmas Eve afternoon, I met up with my GB girls and had such a good time catching up, sipping wine and exchanging gifts!

We had Christmas Eve dinner at Jacksons
My sister in law and 2 brothers
Sister-in-law, me and Mom dressed up in our matching PJ's for Christmas morning. It's a family tradition :)
Matt playing santa and smiling with Bella Boo

For New Years Eve this year, Matt and I kept throwing around all kinds of different options for the weekend. We finally decided over Christmas that we were headed to New Orleans. We managed to recruit my brother, Bryan and his girlfriend, Erin and our friends Mike and Tiffany from Mobile. My best friend from home, Kalyn, and her boyfriend joined us in NOLA too. A few days before heading to New Orleans, my bro thought it would be a great idea to wear costumes on the 31st. So I took his idea and ran with it. We were going back to the 1920s and here is what we ended up looking like:

Erin, me, Tiff at the Monteleon

Matt the Gangster
The Gang at Galatoires

Happy New Year!!

I truly can't believe that 2010 is over! It has flown by. I am looking forward to a wonderful new year. I have so much to be thankful for and so many amazing people in my life to enjoy it with. Thank you all! :)

Christmas Decor has made it feel like HOME!!

Okay, I'm back! I can't believe it's been over a year. It sure has been a crazy one. I have taken a new job, moved from Orlando to Ocean Springs, MS, moved twice since I've lived in Mississippi, got a dog, made new friends, reconnected with old friends, and have absolutely been loving being back in the South (I didn't really consider Orlando "the south").

Although I have been in Mississippi now for over a year, it seems like it has taken me a while to get settled. In fact, I have just started feeling settled within the last couple of months. And it is such a nice feeling!!! I got a jump start on Christmas decor this year and actually got my tree and decorated it the weekend before Thanksgiving!!! It was awesome. Matt was out of town and I finally had a weekend at home (we're on the road most weekends). I found myself getting into the holiday spirit a little earlier than usual this year and I took full advantage of it. I was so happy when I got home from Thanksgiving that the tree was already DONE! There are a few other decorations that I am still working on like my mantle though. I hated not having a mantle to decorate (no fireplace), so I made Matt hang a shelf that we could use to hang our stockings. It's certainly making due :) Now that our new apartment is finally feeling like a home and decorated for Christmas, I thought I'd give a little tour of the downstairs.

Living Room- Front door is to the right of TV

Living Room-View when you walk in front door

Half bath

Kitchen that I love!

Homemade Mantle- missing my stocking

Dining Table/ Breakfast Nook- Doors to outside porch

Christmas Tree updated with some red balls and tree topper!

And for those of you who haven't gotten to meet my little Bella Boo, she is all ready for Christmas too!!! She enjoys being dressed up very much :)
The new place is very cozy and in such a cute part of town. It's walking distance to all the cute shops and restaurants that Downtown Ocean Springs has to offer (and 5 min from the Biloxi casinos)! Most of all though, I love being close to home in Pensacola. I'm 2 hours from Pensacola and 1.5 hrs to New Orleans, so it makes seeing family so much easier! I love it. Hope you enjoyed. I always love seeing other peoples decorating ideas!

It's a quick update, but hopefully I'll be back again soon!

Labor Day in the Rockies

I love Colorado. I grew up going to Colorado on ski trips with my family. For so long, I seemed to think that Colorado was only worth the trip if it had tons of new powder, I got to bundle up in warm clothes (which you can't do much in FL), strap on my skis and hit the slopes. It wasn't until about 3 years ago that I lived in Vail, CO for a summer during college and worked at Cordillera Golf Course that I realized that Colorado summers were equally as adventurous and fun as the ski seasons.

There is something about the Rockies in the summer when the sun is shining, temperature is in the 60's and there is zero humidity in the air that takes me to this euphoric state. It is so clean and peaceful there. The climate begs for you to be outdoors and take on some type of physical activity.

Over Labor Day, I went to Vail with some of my family. We went out to celebrate the last weekend of summer out there and my brother's 28th birthday. Matt and I got out there Friday morning and met my Mom, Bryan and Erin for lunch and then headed to my old stomping grounds at Cordillera and played a round of golf. The golf was beautiful with perfect weather and the thin air in the Rockies makes you feel like you are an expert golfer. The ball travels much further in the thin air then it does down here in Florida.

acting like I'm a pro

We finished up golf in time to clean up and get ready for dinner. We went to dinner at the Vail Lodge which is known for their game. We tried ostrich, antelope and lamb. I had the ostrich and thought mine was the best :)

Dinner at the Sunflower Restaurant

After dinner we went to Mickey's bar in the hotel. Mickey has been playing the piano at this bar for over 2o years. He is amazing. You have never in your life seen someone's fingers move so fast. He never once opens up a piece of music. He does it all by memory. He can play just about anything you ask and if he doesn't know it, he can download the song online and learn how to play it just from listening to the music. It's amazing.

Mickey Pogue on the piano

Saturday we woke up and put on our hiking gear and headed to Piney Lake for a nice hike, some time on the lake and delicious BBQ for lunch.

Matt & I getting ready for the hike

Bryan, Mom,and I

Bryan trying to catch some trout

Saturday night we went to dinner at Kelly Liken to begin Bryan's birthday celebration. After dinner we went to a bar to catch some football and then headed over to the George. We had Foosball and pool competitions going on.

On Sunday's in the summer in Vail they set up a Farmer's Market by the village and they were also having a food and wine festival in the village for Labor day. So that morning we walked to the village and scoped out the market and all the food and wine booths. The weather was perfect again, so we found a table outside and enjoyed some lunch. After lunch, we went to hang out at the Vail Mountain club where Bryan, Erin, Matt and I continued our long running game of Spades. Now, I don't know if any of you play Spades; but it is such a fun card game. It requires teams of 2 and unfortunately, Matt and I are too competitive and can not be on the same team. So we have played girls vs boys and Erin and I whoop them most of the time :)

the farmers market

Yes, Ryan from the Bachelorette. I get a little star struck!!
Mom and I at lunch

Sunday night we grilled out at home and celebrated Bryan's birthday with some cupcakes we picked up at the Farmer's Market that day. They were delicious. Bryan's birthday wasn't until Monday, but we were all leaving Monday, so we celebrated early.

Making a wish on his 28th birthday

It was our last day and the trip had gone by way too fast. We had a few hours on Monday to enjoy the day before it was time to get to the airport. Matt had never been to Beaver Creek, so we toured the village there and then went to the Ritz Carlton at Bachelor Gulch for lunch. After lunch, it was time to kiss the perfect weather and beautiful mountains away.

Matt and I in Beaver Creek Village

It was a perfect trip, although much too short. It was so nice to be with my family and celebrate Bryan's birthday. I have come to love Colorado just as much in the summer as I do during those winter months when I can hit the slopes. Looking forward to being back there sometime this winter!

Good Read

Finished this book and loved it. Today, I will be starting the sequel The Girl Who Played With Fire that is supposedly even better than the first. If you're looking for a good thriller, this is the perfect choice. Tell me what you think.

A Month in Review...Where have I been?

I have completely neglected my blog the last month. I don't know what happened! I'll do a little recap. I have spent the last month hanging in Orlando- trying to explore the city a little more, working, reading and that's about it.

Exploration:

(Little River Band)
As far as exploring the city a little more, I've mainly just hit up a few concert venues and maybe a couple new restaurants. Last month, Matt and I discovered that the Hard Rock hotel at Universal puts on a concert in the lobby of their hotel the last Thursday of every month. Last month the band was, Little River Band. Okay, so I had never heard of Little River Band; but I'm always up for live music and a new venue. We purchase some tickets for $25; which include entry, free beer and pre-made drinks, and pass around appetizers. I thought, "What a deal?" Turns out these old guys can ROCK. It was such a fun concert. It's a small venue and an incredibly eclectic crowd of people. I wasn't sure if I had more fun singing along to songs I didn't know or just people watching. It was perfect entertainment for a Thursday night. We will definitely be back to one of those. In fact, the next one is this coming Thursday with Molly Hatchet. So what if I don't know who that is or a single song they play??? I'll still have fun!




I've seen two concerts this month at the House of Blues. Daughtry kicked off his new tour in Orlando at the House of Blues a few weeks ago. I was so excited to see him in concert because I love some of his songs, but it wasn't one of my favorite shows. I couldn't get into it. Now Foreigner, on the other hand, who I just saw at HOB last Sunday was still jamming. Their new lead singer is fully of energy, stuck in the 80's, and had a great voice. That was a good show. Next on the list is Journey at the end of September. I saw them about a year ago in Atlanta and it was incredible. Their lead singer is from the Philippians that was casted from YouTube and sounds just like Steve Perry. He bounces around the stage like a crazy man. It's awesome. Can't wait for that.


Work:

In the real estate world right now, I find lots of articles and speakers are really pushing social networking. It's free advertisement. It's free marketing. Why not? I use these things in my personal life, why not use them in business? I know, I know. I realize that I'm a year or two or more late on this phenomenon as, but it's never too late to get started. So I have recently put my efforts towards just that. I have tied facebook and blogging into my business world. It's been great. It's so easy. Exposure is so important and with these tools it is an easy way to communicate and get your product or services out there. Twitter has actually just released an entry level guide on using Twitter for business. I haven't taken Twitter on yet, but definitely an interesting article. Do you work in real estate or for a non-profit or have your own business to promote? Give social networking a try. It's a lot of fun.


Reading:

My current read is the Time Traveler's Wife and I am making my way through the book quickly. I am dying to finish it so I can go see the movie. I love Rachel McAdams and the movie looks AMAZING! So, don't spoil it for me if you have already seen it.

I have finished the Twilight series (yes, I was a little slow to jump on that bandwagon), which I didn't think I would love, but thoroughly enjoyed. I have had a few other books on my night stand too. I will shamefully proudly admit that I read Lauren Conrad's, L.A. Candy. I couldn't resist. I'm an LC junky. Jane, the narrator, definitely parallels to Lauren's personality and life. The rest of the characters are somewhat different, but the book gives you a little inside view of how filming the reality show really went down. And yes, as I read the last page of her book; I was hooked and ready for more. Book 2 of the 3 book series will be out in February. You guys better get reading :)



Does anyone have any good book recommendations for me? What have you read lately?

That pretty well sums up the last month of my life. I will not go so long without a post next time. See ya then!