cookies and other

It was another successful sugary night at the cookie exchange a week ago.  I got to host it at our home and there were cookies everywhere, but it was so much fun... SO many cookies..

Everyone really "brought it" this year with their cookies and packaging.  I have such creative friends!  Here are the results from this years cookie exchange/party/competition.

WINNER: Sara Midyett with her Lemon Cookie



The Runner-up this year for overall winner (Anne Nowlin asked for runner-up to be announced for each category):  Jamie Jerkins with her Momo's Molasses Cookies.

The Most Unique Cookie : Leslie Poe with her Cheese Date Tarts

The runner up for Most Unique : Leslie Jerkins with her Clementine Chip Cutie

The Best Packaging/Presentation : Leslie Jerkins with her Clementine Chip Cutie Box (this category was VERY close as there were so many great packages)

The Runner-up on Best Packaging/Presentation : Sara Midyett with her Lemon Cookies

Such a fun night, but so many cookies to taste.  It's so fun to take them all home so you can actually taste each cookie again by itself.

I loved all these winners, but my personal favorite was Mandi's Mocha Rounds... Chocolate cookie with coffee/kahlua flavored icing. :)  I've already made them (so easy) to give to neighbors for a little holiday treat.

Last week T and I enjoyed Monday off together getting our Christmas shopping done.  First year we started and finished on the same day.  We even squeezed in a nice lunch date at one of our favorite spots.. Las Delicias.  I tried something different this time, the torta, and it was delicious.  I highly recommend it!

This weekend we came to Oxford to spend time with his fam before Christmas.  He, of course, spent most of the time in the woods while I shopped with my MIL and enjoyed time with her.  Since their tree [unfortunately] fell over two times in a week, we helped put all the ornaments back up and it's now secured with a thick rope.  They also pulled out their life-size dancing Santa, and the dogs went crazy.  Gibson just looked at him very confused, but Weezy (Katy's dog) went nuts barking at him non-stop.  Gib finally just looked at her like, "chill out, girl, it's just good ol' St. Nick."

He's never phased when we come visit Oxford.. Makes himself right at home...

I snuck up to the square on my lunch break today and it was such a pretty day.  I'm so thankful for days like these...  I hope everyone is having a relaxing and memory-filled holiday season!

new (and old) holiday additions

Every year I love pulling out our Christmas boxes and remember all the special things that make our house festive during December.  We are building up our collection as the Carters and it's been so fun.

I've added a few new little things this year, and T man put his touch on the outside...

So much fun!  Something else he added this year is just so funny to me.  When he was a little guy he loved teddy bears, so we have lots of little bear christmas ornaments and lots of non-Christmas bear items, too.  Well there are these little stuffed animal bears dressed in Christmas costumes and we normally stick em under the tree... This year he has displayed them for all to see.  Hopefully little Gib won't think they are his toys.  

One of my most favorite things about decorating for Christmas is getting out the nativity.  My sweet MIL has given me a piece of this nativity every year since we've been married.  This year, the ox and goat join us, offering warmth and protection.  I can only imagine how special it'll be to show future kiddos the meaning of this special piece of Christmas (the meaning of it all) when we get this out year after year.  I remember my mom doing that with us and of course remember playing with my childhood nativity figurines.

While rummaging around in our back garage for items used in the antler project, I came across some old shutters among the old cabinet doors.  I remembered seeing this from pinterest... so now we have our very own...

I love Christmas card season and checking the mail daily awaiting the next one.  While we're on the topic, this year in honor of our big adventure to Italia, we say "Buon Natale" in bike helmets!  My sweet friend Laura drew the little designs for it.  Love.

Buon Natale everyone!

hallway update

After collecting and purchasing a big number of frames (and having some Italian art professionally framed) T and I hung up the hallway wall gallery.  I was going to do the whole cut out scrap paper and tape it up, but we didn't want to go into that much work... So we started and found the center of the gallery and worked our way out.  It wasn't too bad.  Hardest part was hanging that C because there are two holes to make it hang straight.

We love how it turned out!

Here was the hallway before (mentioned in this post):

And here it is now!

It will be so easy to change out our little instagram photos, the other photos, and even add to the gallery as life goes on...  That empty frame you see is a place holder for a sweet photo of his granny ree and pawpaw, and when he finds a good photo of his dad's parents, we'll switch out something for them to be in our collection.  The two black and whites are my grandparents (two ladies I was named after), and that double matted center piece is a note from George W congratulating us on our marriage!

Love having these memories displayed in our home.  Maybe we'll just eventually add to the other side?

merry happy

Our favorite season has arrived.  And it has arrived quickly.  It is St. Jude marathon weekend here in Memphis, and it seems like just yesterday I was finishing up the marathon.  I can't believe it's been a year.  This year I'll be having some fun with Leslie doing the 5K.  Whoop whoop!  Good luck to all half-marathon and marathoners! 

I love this season for many reasons, but mostly for the celebration of the coming of Christ.  Celebrating the truth, love, and the hope of eternal life.  It just so happens that we give presents, bake & eat delicious cookies, build roaring fires, and smell a nice fluffy green tree.

We're still in the process of putting out all our fun Christmas decorations, but I finished up with the mantle last night and it's so cheerful!

I hope everyone is enjoying this busy season of celebrating.  We Carters have a bunch of fun things happening this month, and Gibson is so pumped his Santa toy is back.  He'll be busy carrying him around the house for the next month. :)

December desktop calendar for ya --->

thankful & rested

We have finally recouped from the travels over Thanksgiving, and are still in the process of decking the house with all our Christmas fun.  T man has always enjoyed the whole week of Thanksgiving off, so we enjoyed Monday and Tuesday of last week staying in our pajamas as long as possible (while I worked), and then I was off Wednesday to enjoy the day with him, too.  The sleeping in that occurred on Wednesday was much needed.

We headed to Oxford first for him to do some hunting before we headed to Columbus, MS for the Thanksgiving holidays with the whole Carter side of the family.  It is JUST NOW turning into perfect hunting weather, which is perfect Martha-stay-at-home weather. :)

Thursday we arrived in Columbus and were greeted by his sweet sweet Aunt Diann & Uncle Mike.  They hosted this HUGE gathering and we are so thankful for their hospitality and making our time there so wonderful and relaxed.  See what I mean, huge??  Look at all these cars...

In our 3 years of marriage (and ALL of T man's life), Thanksgiving was spent with the Dudley side of the family in Scooba, MS with the same [delicious] Granny Ree food and biscuits and pie and weenie roast.  T mentioned in the car how he wondered what food we will have.  It was kind of like an unknown, but boy was it ever another delicious Mississippi feast.

Turkey, ham, ribs, potato salad, broccoli salad, sweet potato casserole, dressing, cranberry, purple hull peas (that were AMAZING), and rolls.  That you see is T's plate, so not everything pictured.  Heavier on the meat, lighter on the sides... that's my guy!

We enjoyed the chatter and laughter all day Thursday, and I had so much fun laughing at the little girl cousins (his cousins kids).  They are just hilarious!  We braided hair, shook our booties, and did the walk-up-the-legs-flip trick.  Over. And over. And over. Loved it.

Friday was another amazing day of sleeping-in and I got to finally experience Aunt Diann's "white 'lasses" also known as white molasses also known as cooked sugar and water.  But it IS delicious on her biscuits, let me tell you.

T man had craving for fried pickles while we were sitting around Friday, so we whipped up a little batch and everyone raved about them.. Thanks T and Pioneer Woman!

T's mom brought the weenie roast to Columbus since it is one of their favorite traditions, and I think all the Columbus folks enjoyed it too.  Uncle Mike started a fire without a match and called the "fire spirits" (still trying to figure that one out) and we sat around it for hours roasted hot dogs and making s'mores while the girls ran around and drove around their barbie jeep.

The wonderful and restful weekend came to a close with one last Saturday afternoon hunt in Oxford.  We grabbed up the little Gibby from the kennel (yes, we boarded the spoiled guy) and headed home.

This little guy was exhausted from his Thanksgiving trip

As I sit and reflect on the year, it's hard for me to even remember everything I'm thankful for, but I am so thankful for family and friends and the joy they bring to our lives.  I'm thankful for the abounding amount of blessings we have as a family.  I'm thankful for new life this year and what a joy that brings. I'm mostly thankful for my salvation and that I can live freely knowing Jesus and what he did for me on the cross.  Thankful.  Thankful. Thankful.

happy happy 3 years

Today, T man and I celebrate 3 years of marriage.  I can't believe how fast the years go by, as it seems we were here just yesterday.... oh what fun we had on this day in 2008!

T and I dated for 5 years before getting married, so we knew each other very well.  We are still continuing to get to know each other daily, and we are having so much fun living life and spoiling our dog-child.  We treasure this time being a couple because we know it will never be the same again (once little human-children come into the picture).  We celebrated year 3 together in Italy back in May (you can read about our trip here, here, and here), and tonight we're celebrating at this fancy restaurant here in Memphis (we've been hearing rave reviews)!

We also like to give simple "yearly" gifts (paper, cotton, this year leather), and I can't wait to see how T likes what I came up with for leather.

Here we are celebrating year 1.....

Celebrating year 2....

T man, I love you.  I can't wait to see what happiness and challenge our 3rd year will bring.... whatever it is, you are the best teammate this girl could ever dream of.... love to you now and always!

antlers in the house

To continue along with the deer theme we have going, I recently added some deer antlers to a wall in our house.  Big step for me, but I love how it looks.

I'll start by saying that T man has a nice sized 8pt mounted deer head that he has been wanting to hang in our house.  It is currently up in our "storage room" which will be the future man-room/play-room/computer/etc.  I did not grow up with taxidermy in our house, but I do feel lately taxidermy is acceptable when done correctly.  Aka, antler sheds with no animal marble eyes staring at you.  Maybe one day I'll feel differently and his prized trophy will hang down stairs, but until that day, he will live upstairs with his friend the bobcat (the other trophy he wants to hang).

The first thing relating to deer (and T's hobby) I ever put in our house was an antler lamp.  We had just purchased our benches to stack for a sideboard/shelf in the den... Did you ever see these stacked benches?

Anyway, we needed a skinny base lamp, but wanted it to be neat looking.  Leslie suggested an antler lamp, and T (of course) loved the idea.  So we found a handmade antler lamp on etsy, which I ended up loving.  It has since moved (I love moving lamps around for some reason) next to the couch.

T brought home a big box of antlers from his granny's house last winter, and they've been sitting out in our storage garage since.  I was rummaging around out there looking for some shutters (for another project) and I started rifling through the box of antlers.  Sidenote: there is a nice supply of old shutters (as mentioned), cabinet doors, doors, and wood all from the previous owner.  I looked over to find this cool looking cabinet door with some rusty hardware and thought it might make a perfect background for some antlers.  See?

After some paint and sanding T and I came up with this for our living room/future library/sitting room...

I like it!  And it satisfies his need for some deer around the house (for now).  I also put some other antlers around the house.  These here on our mantel are from a deer killed by me... it's true.  First time I ever shot a gun was at this 6 pt buck.  :)

Anyone else have a significant other who likes taxidermy or deer/wildlife art and wants it in the house?