This Christmas

Was a very good Christmas! Sure, I might have dozed off for the quickest of moments during Midnight Mass, but at least I went to church on Christmas.

The hubs continued in his "spoil my wife" game plan and gave me the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Autofocus Lens for Christmas. My infatuation with all things Canon related continues to run deep.

I also have to give a little shout-out for B&H Photo Video for their amazing wish list feature. All I had to do was make a wish list and the hubs could see exactly what I wanted for my camera. It really made made things easier because the hubs had a variety of gear pieces listed and he didn't have to worry about if something was right for my camera, since the list was all pieces I put together.

Now I'm off to play with my new lens and figure her out.

Merry Christmas

Have a very Merry Christmas, it's the best time of the year!

(The above image is a screen shot of our Christmas Card made by Shutterfly. They were free and came out fantastic!)

Is it Spring yet?

Because these indoor tennis games are really starting to worry me. I'm afraid Jax might knock over the china cabinet. I'm fearful he'll take out a stair railing. I'm nervous he'll run into a table.


Most importantly, I'm petrified he'll bump into Jewels and then she'll beat the crap out of him.

Vegas Baby!

After years of complaining about my husband going to the same spot every year and backing out of last year's trip to Sin City, I finally made it to Vegas. Sure, I huffed and I puffed about not wanting to go, but at soon as we rolled into BWI I was incredibly ready for vacation. Then, I lost both my boarding pass and driver's license for a whopping 95 seconds in the airport. Whew! That was almost a bad start to the trip!

Without further ado, here's a few pictures from the trip. I will be totally honest, I was completely blown away by the amount of Christmas decor in Vegas. For some strange reason I thought such a hedonistic place would be devoid of all references to the birth of Jesus Christ. Then again, prostitution is in the bible, so maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised to see a few Christmas trees here and there.

The hubs booked a private limo tour of the strip just for the two of us on our first night there. That had to have been the coolest way to get a lay of the land and see almost everything along the strip. The two bottles of Champagne didn't hurt either :)









I couldn't figure out if Starbucks or Louis Vuitton was more abundant in Vegas. It seemed you ran into either store every time you turned around!






The morning we left our home away from home, The Venetian, the Rock N Roll Las Vegas Marathon and Half Marathon had taken over the Strip. I had entertained thoughts of running the half, but I must confess that it was much more enjoyable to walk around and watch people run while drinking coffee at 8:30 in the morning rather than running. I don't know if Vegas and running that sort of distance would have agreed with me ;) There's always next time!

It was a fantastic trip and I honestly might go back again. Not next year (it's my turn to pick the destination!), but certainly again in the future sometime. We've got nothing but the rest of our lives to head on back there.

The big 3-0

No, not me silly. I still have over two years left before I cross that bridge! Rather, one of my friends turned 30 last week. Since I happen to work with her I got to bring in her something tasty at work.

She absolutely loves my pumpkin roll, red velvet cake, and peanut butter chocolate balls, which meant I wanted to make something grand for her 30th that combined her favorite things.

I present:



Red velvet cupcakes with peanut butter frosting and garnished with a marzipan pumpkin.

I really need to get a cupcake pan. Any recommendations for a good quality airtight carrier?

When the directions say you should wear some type of gloves while using the coloring it's probably best to follow the directions on that one.

2010 Holiday Card (50 Free Shutterfly Cards for Bloggers!)

Last month we met up with the insanely talented Mandi White and did a quick photo session in Ellicott City, MD. I've had Mandi added to my Google Reader since before I got married and she's a fan favorite on the Baltimore Knot/Nest boards. All for good reason, she's awesome and crazy Boston Terrier friendly.








Honestly, this picture encapsulates Jewels' complete and total boredom with me, her human, that I see every single day.



There are no words.






And we have so many more to pick from! It's crazy. I squealed like a small child when I opened the email from Mandi that shared our online gallery. I looked at a few pictures on my phone, but my little Droid screen didn't do them justice. To sum up, later that week I ran into one of the hubs' co-workers and he told me that the pictures were adorable. I gave him a confused look and he said, "well of course your husband showed them to everyone at work!"

Heart.melt.love.

Next, I have to pick a photo card design. I've used Shutterfly in the past for cards and then this year I heard about a promotion Shutterfly was offering for bloggers. If you have a blog and would like to partake in this promotion, click over here and follow the instructions.



Joy to 2010 from the Holiday Collection.



Shimmering Stars from the Christmas Card Collection.


Snow Flurries Cocoa from the Christmas Card Collection.



Glitter Glamour Joy from the Christmas Collection

Or perhaps I can just make photo calendars for the whole family for next year! Nothing like a daily dose of the hubs, pups, and I to get the morning started. :)

I can't make a decision! Do I pick a card design first or photo? There are too many fantastic options and combinations available.

Normally, I'm not one for taking something free in exchange for advertising it, but I feel very comfortable with this Shutterfly deal. For one, they're a reputable company. I've used them in the past for prints, photobooks and photo hosting and with nothing but good results. Two, the rules were plainly described to me in an email and I felt like I wasn't "selling my soul" for some free goods. Third, I've read comments on other blogs that posters did in fact receive their free cards. I wanted to wait a few days and make sure that others were receiving their cards before I went a head and posted about the giveaway. Finally, maybe you haven't heard about this deal and I would love it if someone else was able to partake in it before the December 10th deadline. Money doesn't grow on trees and the stamps will still set you back a pretty penny, so why not have free gorgeous cards?

Enjoy!