Chihuly

I am trying out the mobile blog app to see how it works. Maybe this will make it easier to make time to actually write something :)

This month I had a few days off during the middle of the week and used some of this time to go see the Chihuly exhibit at the Dallas Arboretum. It is only here til the end of the year so I am thankful I got to spend some time with the glass sculptures.

blog resuscitation...

i think. i hope. fingers crossed.

i am not making any promises.

pretty sure that anyone who still checks to see if i have written anything is tired of seeing my backyard.  this is what i have been told at least :)  i miss this blog and daily think of post ideas and how i am going to restart writing.  i take a million pictures that i always want to share but it is like that phone call that you have such good intentions of making but the further away you go from the last time you talked, the more daunting it feels to dial the numbers as there is just so much to say. 

i am going to give it a shot. 

here is a quick (or really long) look at what has happened in the last 9 months:

in march...

anna and i finally got to travel to florida to meet our sweet niece, piper, who was born in january,

 little nolan brown made his entrance into our world,

i travelled to borger to meet our newest family member, isaac wayne williams,

and to celebrate amy and ben's marriage with my borger girls.

 

in april: 

finally met luke ryan,

spent a weekend at kelly and jack's lakehouse, complete with homemade potato gun,

and snuggled a new-born finn mcanally.

 

in may...

i spent a weekend with the fam in okc and experienced the awesomeness that is "the original fried pie shop",

had a relaxing memorial day at with friends at the bonner's lake house,

and celebrated kelli's upcoming nuptials in the wine country.

 

in june...

 we had our annual mystery girls trip (see details here)

at a beautiful ranch outside of crossroads texas,

 visited joni and scotty in denver,

and watched kelli and shane tie the knot in estes park colorado.

 

in july...

we said goodbye when leigh moved to portland (good excuse for a fun party)

and rode in a pink van to see the avett brothers for suzy's birthday.

 

in august...

 the floyds spent a week on the beach in bonita springs florida

in this awesome house.

 

in september...

 

interestingly i have no pictures from september...except for the cute ones on my phone (some day i will figure out how to get these on this blog) of my trip to okc to see anna's new place, partake in yummy food and drink (including a bacon-infused bloody mary), and watch a lot of college football...also during this month, some things began transpiring at work...including the process of being re-hired for my own job...more on this later.

 

in october...

we went to acl music festival (read about cort's acl awards here),

 the state fair came to town,

baby ike was born (can't wait to meet him!),

and i visited houston to meet susan and camila's daughter, harper,





and to celebrate neha's engagement at a grand party on a boat.

 

in november...











i got to spend an awesome thanksgiving with these 2 and the rest of the fam.

 

AND, so far in december...

 i decorated my tree,

celebrated the holidays with my girls,

and hosted the second annual cookie decorating party...

with some of my favorite kid friends.

 

see, i've been busy :)

hope you all have a very happy holiday and a wonderous new year!

marcy

 

party time 2

omg, i am so excited. i posted here about my new patio furniture and look at the backyard now!
there are no lights or plugs back there so i had to get creative if i was ever going to be able to read or eat or hang out with my friends back there. now it will happen. who knows, maybe next i will do something crazy like plant something.

thank you, boy kelly, for your diy geniusness (and your height) that helped me complete this project!

photography class

my parents were asking about what i am learning in my photography class so here some examples of my new fun hobby.

week 1 assignment: practice using different shutter speeds. my subject: my living room window...i know, super exciting :)
week 2 assignment: depth of field. my subject: a lamp post at the lake.
week 3 assignment: photograph different colors, textures, perspectives, etc. my subject: well, i haven't done my homework yet, but this little guy is one of my favorite subjects of late.

week 4 assignment: on location photo shoot using all different settings!! my subject: we met at the performing arts center in richardson and photographed the building, a cool fountain, a hotel, and then hiked to the top of an overpass and photographed traffic.

this is my favorite because it is pitch black outside and the lighting and settings make it look light outside.

New toms

I am so pumped. I have been patiently awaiting the debut of the new Toms ballet flats and after receiving the email updates and preview pics and drooling over these shoes for months, they finally went on sale last Tuesday night. I promptly placed my order shortly after midnight and today they arrived and are as perfect as I had hoped. I have been on the Toms bandwagon for a couple of years now and normally would not pay this much (they are priced alot higher than I expected) for a pair of shoes, but 3 pairs of the regular Toms and 2 pairs of the wedges later and I have not once been disappointed. I couldn't resist, and now, slipping these on my feet, it seems I will not be disappointed again (but will let you know after I put them through a full day at the hospital tomorrow :)). Isn't it amazing how good a new pair of shoes can make you feel sometimes?!

busy busy

i have been busy lately doing some super fun travel planning. i am not trying to rub it in but check out what i have coming up..

first and foremost, i get to go to florida and meet my new niece, piper lynn floyd, born 1/19/12, and love on her and her brother for 4 days in march. i CANNOT wait to get my hands on these two (aren't they adorable?!).
next, these two girls, two of my oldest friends from borger, are getting married this year. amy (on the left) is getting married in february but is having a reception in march in b-town. this means i get to go home to celebrate her marriage and get the added bonus of visiting my family too. kelli (on the right) is having a destination wedding in estes park, co. i have only been to estes park once in college when cortney and sarah worked there for a summer. it is one of the most beautiful places i have visited and cannot wait to go back this june. added bonus is that i get to go a few days early and visit joni and scotty in denver AND kelli's bachelorette party is going to include visiting wineries in fredericksburg. fun times. and i am so thrilled that these ladies are so happy and in love and have each found a wonderful man to share their lives with.
and finally, girls mystery trip is on the calendar and coming soon in june!!!! very excited to find out where we are going and also very excited that i am not doing the planning this year. can't wait girls!

whew, guess i better go pack...and plant a money tree in the back yard. who needs money though when you have awesome experiences to be had with the ones you love?

Source: sfgirlbybay.com via Raya on Pinterest

Party Time!

so, kelly and jack bought a new house and this morning kelly picked me up and we ran over to check it out as the current owner was having an estate sale. we were just going to scope out their new digs and i walked away with this awesome new patio set for my backyard. i am so excited to have outdoor seating. great excuse to have a party soon. oh, and kelly's new house is awesome too...and super close to mine!