My Christmas Vacation by Emily Chappell

We have been quite the busy travelers this holiday season. This year was Justin’s turn to get to spend Christmas with his family in Birmingham. This is something about marriage that really depresses me. Why do I have to share my favorite holiday with the in-laws? I know that it is fair, but I still don’t like it. So we decided to have our little Christmas on Thursday night, the 20th. We had a big date over to Moe’s and came home to open our presents to each other. It was very fun…just the two of us. Justin acted very surprised, even though he knew what most of his gifts were. He is so funny. Here he is emoting over a sweatshirt that he had asked for. All our pictures look like this. He even got this excited over the Carhartt pants and he picked those out himself. And bought them.

Justin is a creative gift giver. He gave me a new North Face coat to replace the one he bought me last year (I should devote an entire post to that gift)...he stuffed gift cards to Saks in the pockets so I can get some (more) jeans. I do love that man.We drove to the big city early on Saturday morning, the 22nd. We got there just in time for the Wallis family get-together in Trussville. We ate a bunch and played Dirty Santa. I came out with a piece of soap shaped like a snowflake…I am thinking that that is what I get for giving crappy gifts at the Baxley’s party. The highlight of our trip was getting to visit with old friends that I don’t get to see as often as I’d like. On Sunday afternoon, we had coffee with Lindsey and Brent. I finally got to meet Brent, and am glad to see that he does exist. In this picture I am wearing my religious Christmas t-shirt that Jonas (brother-in-law) gave me. He bought matching shirts for me and Mary (MIL) to wear. No Lindsey, I am still not over it.On Christmas Eve I had lunch with Jill at Zoe's and went back to her house to meet her sweet puppy Bella. Jill is having a little boy child in May and looks just fantastic. I told mom that she looks like a skinny girl who just ate. Her bump is so tiny. It's nice for my stomach to be flatter than hers for once in my life. On Christmas night we got to hang out with Kristen and Mitch who were in town from St. Louis. We had the best time, and Justin keeps saying how much he likes hanging out with them and wishes they lived closer. I do too. I miss Kris tons, especially around the holidays. We had the best time at the Brown House. Our Christmas parties ROCKED. If it seems like all I did was visit my friends, guess again. I really got in some quality time with the Chappell clan… we ate at Red Lobster, watched at least 13 movies over the course of 4 days and went to a movie. They are really into movies... Oh, and I read 2 books.

I missed my puppies so much while we were gone. I have never been so happy to see those two little furry people in my life. And my bed. I missed my bed, too. Four nights on an air mattress is too many for a person like myself with such a delicate constitution. My parents did come, hallelujah, this past weekend. I just love seeing them! We have so much fun together. My mom and I are just alike and Dad and Justin are quite similar too. It’s very weird. We ate a lot and visited a lot. I like to just “visit.” You know, sit around with the tv off and just talk. We opened presents and ate lasagna. I made another cheesecake, but this one cracked, so I was mad about that. Here is dad opening his gag gift from me. He looks very mad. I have promised not to ever show the picture of him with the actual gift, so this one is pretty close. I bought Mom a monogrammed sweatshirt for her birthday. I have one, too. We love each other like that.I didn’t even go to church yesterday because we were still visiting. Paul (our pastor) called me today to ask where I was. I hated to tell him that I am just a heathen and he should probably fire me. He also left a large bag of Lindor Truffles on my desk while I was gone. I am going to have to eat them all today because I start on my Jessica Biel quest again tomorrow. Tonight we are going to a party at the Henderly's house. It promises to be very fun, as they have invited half of the Eastern Shore. I am thinking of taking the truffles...maybe someone can help me eat them. Happy New Year's Eve!

Fairhope Friends Christmas Party

Today is dreary and rainy. Really rainy. I have cleaned the house and taken a nap, and there is nothing left to do but blog a bit and hope that you all have been blogging a bit too.

Tuesday night we had our annual Fairhope Friends Christmas Party. This year it was at the Baxley's home, and we all brought desserts. I brought 3/4 of the cheesecake leftover from my mom's fake birthday party. It still tasted good! There were too many desserts there to even begin to describe. I didn't even know what some of that stuff was, but I managed to taste some of Lucy's fine bread pudding and a piece of Courtney's yummy Christmas biscotti. That was about all I could handle. It was just too overwhelming. We also had some punch that was either "Ho Ho Ho" or "Bah Humbug." You can guess what was the difference. I partook from the "Ho Ho Ho" pitcher. We played dirty santa, and if Justin and I are going to be invited back next year, we are going to need to bring better gifts. I came home with the prize of the evening... a L'Ocean candle. The wax is actually lotion that turns creamy as it "melts." Pretty cool, eh? Here are some pictures from the evening:

The girls...

Us and the Henderlys:

Courtney has some more pics on her blog, so visit her. The link to The Baxleys is on the right. Happy Thursday!

Sentimental

Since I have nothing to report on this blustery Tuesday, I thought I'd post one of my favorite pics from college... it's called "Laredos." Yum Yum. I miss you girls!

The Dinner Party That Wasn't

Have you ever been so psyched up about something only to watch it crumble at your feet in 10 million pieces while you watch helplessly? That is how I feel about the dinner party that fell apart. My dad got sick on Thursday night, and they did not make it to Fairhope for the Bostic family Christmas and my mother’s very fancy birthday party that I had been planning for several weeks. Here was the menu:

Mesclun salad with avocado, cranberries and roasted walnuts
Gruyere-garlic mashed potatoes
Roasted broccoli with buttered walnuts
Beef tenderloin with cranberry-port reduction and gorgonzola butter
Apple pie cheesecake with warm caramel-apple topping

Doesn’t that sound good? I had prepped all the dishes , had my $54 tenderloin marinating and my table set when I got “the call.” I know it seems silly to be so upset over such a trivial matter, but I really am still depressed about the situation. Aaron and Sandi came on Friday afternoon with all the presents. We went to eat at Gambino’s Friday night hoping that dad would make a miraculous recovery and come Saturday. That didn’t happen. So on Saturday, we opened our Christmas presents without our parents for the first time ever. It was really very sad. Then we cooked all the afore-mentioned food for my mother’s birthday and ate it without her. Again, very sad. Did I mention that Justin has either food poisoning, a bacterial infection or intestinal flu? Yeah, that also happened on Friday, so he didn’t get to eat my good food either.

All complaining aside, we (well, I) had a great time with Aaron and Sandi. I am so glad that they still came to see us. My brother loves me! And if this is the worst that has happened to me in 2007, then I am doing okay. Right? Right! Here are some pictures:

Sandi doesn't like dogs, but she loves Isabelle and tolerates Ollie. Isabelle's shirt says "naughty" and Olivers says "nice." He is just misunderstood.

Bless his heart... This is what he looked like all weekend. And still does. Pray for him. Check out my t-shirt quilt!The Chappell family and their treasures.

One of Sandi's gifts from us. She loves being a Bostic!

The sweater we got Aaron was too little. Oops. I exchanged it and actually got $1.90 back. Odd, but nice.

Naughty Isabelle chewing her bone on the tree skirt, where she is not allowed to chew bones. Her birthday was on Thursday, so she was probably punishing us for not celebrating like we did for her brother. Sorry, Isabelle.

My beautiful table! It looked better in real life.

The yummy cheesecake that DID NOT CRACK! Amazing.
Mom and Dad are hoping to come to Fairhope the weekend after Christmas. I held their Christmas presents and my mom's birthday presents for ransom until they do. Dusty, I did send yours home with Aaron and Sandi. I hope they make it in one piece. Happy Monday to all!

Nothing to say Tuesday

Jeans

For Ashley, who asked…

I have had an ongoing love affair with denim for as long as I can remember. Being of the hard-to-fit persuasion, I have done my share of market research to find the best possible jeans for a woman of my stature. I have changed my mind on “favorites” about a billion times and will probably recant every word of this diatribe as soon as it is published, but here we go… Post college favorites were Gap Jeans Long and Lean until I discovered Lucky Brand. They have the longest inseams I have found to this day, but were quickly replaced by the onslaught of well-made designer denim. Everyone I knew had some Sevens, but they came to my ankles at best. I finally broke down and bought some Citizens. I love the way they fit, but they are still what I call “flip-flop jeans.” From there I moved into Paige Premium Denim. Today these are my favorites. They are cut higher than other brands and are a bit longer. They fit well. No gapping. I recently bought some Joe’s Jeans (Muse fit), which I have to say fit the best of all, but they don’t look the best. Such is life. I also have a pair of Level 99, which I LOVE. They are wide legged and roomy, but they too can only be worn with flats, but that is fine with me because I wear flip-flops 10 months out of the year. My next purchase will be Joe’s Twiggy fit which are made for tall women. They didn’t have any at Saks when I went in November, but the denim specialist promised to have some in the coming months. I didn’t bother to tell her that I don’t live in Birmingham and wouldn’t be back for quite a while. She tried to talk me into some Rock & Republic jeans, which I really liked in length, but they were just too low. I don’t want my belly showing ever. And that is all I have to say about that.

Obsession

As I type, I am patiently waiting for the Christmas program at church to begin. Justin is in it (he's an angel...don't laugh!), and we had to be here at 4:30 to rehearse. Since we have but one vehicle, I came at 4:30 too. I figured I would get some work done, but here I sit stalking blogs. Our internet has been out all weekend, so no stalking have I done. I LOVE it when everyone has updated their blogs! It really brings joy to my otherwise very dull life. So get to writing.

My topic for today is not what I have been doing all week/weekend, becuase that would not be very interesting...instead I would like to talk about the unhealty obsession I have with buying stuff. It really gets out of control during Christmas. I just love to buy things! It makes me so happy to just whip out the card and purchase "stuff." I keep buying Justin things. We set a limit. I am over the limit. Yet I feel compelled to buy more when I see something I think he would like. I may need to see someone about this. Do you think this could be an inherited trait? When I was little I would go shopping with my grandmother (Dorothy Wade) quite often. She was always looking for the perfect pink camisole. When she died and we were going through all of her stuff, you wouldn't believe the number of pink camisoles the woman had collected. It made us laugh. So I'm pretty sure my obsessiveness is rightly justified.

Something else that I am obsessed with right now is the dinner party I am having on Friday night. I call it a party, but it is really a birthday dinner for my mom. She and Dad and Aaron and Sandi are coming to Fairhope this weekend for our Bostic family Christmas! I have worked meticulously on the table scape. I have thoughtfully planned the menu. I have scratched the stickers off the bottom of my fine china in anticipation of their first use. (Sad, isn't it?) I even had some linens monogrammed. I am beyond obsessed about this dinner for six. If I could only channel this energy into a hobby that was good for the body and easy on the pocketbook...

Gotta go see Justin in all of his angel-ness. I will take pictures.

Cookies...yum!

I am so proud of myself for dragging my lazy butt out of bed this morning for “Core Body.” It was very hard this morning, but it’s the least I can do considering the events of last night. This is the first cookie swap I have been to where everyone’s cookies were really good. There were no pity eats. We had: snickerdoodles (me), sugar trees with almond icing (Krista), sugar people with frosting and sprinkles (Courtney), cinnamon chocolate biscotti (Crys), shortbread dipped in chocolate with pecans (Kim), oatmeal lace (Emily), oatmeal peppermint (Nicole), Toll House chocolate chip (Lisa), oatmeal chocolate chip (Jenni) and cherry coconut thumbprints (Carson). YUM YUM! I made a huge plate for Justin to enjoy this week.

Here are some pictures of the group, the cookies and my lovely tree. Enjoy!

For Jill: Today I am wearing my Citizen jeans that I got at that denim party (I am 75% sure they are complete fakes…they are shorter than my others and stretch very quickly), with a grandma sweater I’ve had since high school (when Express was all the rage). It is cream and buttons up the front. Apparently I liked my clothes very loose back then. I am wearing little pearl drop earrings that I’ve also had since high school and my newest pair of Yellow Box Mary Jane looking shoes. I have my hair down, but not-so-much fixed. I am comfortable and warm, but not very cute today. Sorry. I know I disappoint.

Weekend O' Dinner Parties

We have been very busy eating this weekend. I am slowly turning into the 10-pounds-heavier version of myself that I do not like, but what is a girl to do when invited to a party? Not eat? Pick at my plate? Skip the appetizers? Nibble on the dessert? No way, Jose. I will just have to work out harder once January rolls around. I figure that even Jessica Biel eats during the holidays. If you know different, please do not ruin it for me.

We had dinner on Friday night at the Henderly house. Jason and Lucy have recently completed renovating their new (old) house, and we needed to see it. Justin had invited himself over once already, so Lucy took pity on him, and said he could come for dinner. Jason cooks a mean hamburger, and we gorged ourselves silly. Lucy had made a white chocolate cake for a birthday party earlier in the day, so for dessert, we licked the frosting. Somehow no cake was eaten. I know that sounds gross. The boys stayed at home and watched some movies, and Lucy and I went to buy some Christmas decorations for the church. Did you know that Michael's stays open until 10? Amazing. We met a guy who works there who has a vendetta against Martha Stewart. He says that all she did (for her Christmas line) was take the stuff he's been using for years, throw a little glitter on it and call it Martha Stewart. Paranoid or Bitter? We left a bag in the store, and while we were loading Lynn’s huge Suburban, he came out with it and yelled, “Hello, church ladies!” He was an interesting find for sure. He also said that Martha’s brother (who lives in the area) gets his floral arrangements done there. We are guessing that he (the brother) did not inherit any creativity if he is relying on the Michael’s florists. Ugh. (Insert apology to those who utilize those florists here.)

Saturday night we were invited to dine at the Lanes. Hillary and Clayton are new friends; Clayton is in Justin’s running group. I am always nervous around new people. You all know (and I assume if you are indeed wasting time reading this, you know me) that I am quite shy until I get to know someone. I was scared that I would just sit there, silent, and they would wonder what the heck my problem was. Lucky for me, we brought the wine! We had some angel hair pasta with pesto and leeks, very thick rib-eye steak and steamed spinach with walnuts. It was all very good, and again, we ate until I thought I was going to have to unbutton the pants (which I am never ashamed to actually do). We had a delicious chocolate bundt cake with peppermint garnish for dessert, but I could not finish my piece. Justin is a human trash compactor, so he did the honors. He is so great in social situations. He never meets a stranger, and he always asks good questions. This is something I noticed about our new friend Hillary. She was a very good hostess, and made us all feel very welcome and honored. I love when I go to a dinner or party and can tell that many preparations were made for my arrival, yet the mood of the room is relaxed and calm. I hope that people feel that when they come into our home.

Tonight I am hosting a cookie swap for the ladies in my bible study. I spent my afternoon yesterday baking dozens of Snickerdoodles. I just love those things. Justin said that I could only bake a recipe for which I had all the ingredients on hand. I am notorious for picking complicated recipes with expensive ingredients, but these cookies were simple and used only baking staples. I am excited to have everyone over to our home. I do love to entertain. One day when I am very wealthy, I will have parties every weekend with wonderful menus and extravagant décor. I’ll send you an invitation.