Leaf Fun

Yesterday, we took our family picture for our Christmas cards. It was a little chilly outside, but we made it through, I think that there is at least one good shot in the 100 or so that we took! Towards the end of out shoot, Arabella was getting silly as it was close to nap time and she was overtired. She decided to have some fun in the leaves. It was adorable! And, I know I have said it before, but I LOVE my (new) camera...there is no way I would have been able to grab these shots without it!

Jack Is Back

You might remember that Jack the Elf came to our house last year during Christmas. He was in a new spot everyday and then on Christmas Eve he would go back to the North Pole to tell Santa if Arabella has been a good or bad girl. I am happy to report that he is back...at little early. Normally, I would wait until Thanksgiving, but what can I say, we live in Canada and already celebrated Thanksgiving. Besides, Christmas decorations are popping up all over the place and Arabella knows what that means - Santa is coming! I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to have Jack around, he helps out with making sure she stays on her best behavior.

She was so excited when she woke up on Saturday and Jack was at the bottom of the steps to greet her.

Veteran's Day

I just wanted to thank all the Veteran's past, present and future who protect our freedom and make our Country a safer place. Thank you for your sacrifice, dedication and loyalty. The world is a better place because of you.

And thank you to my family members who have served in the armed forces - Dad, Poppy, Grandpa Jack, Uncle Will, Uncle Bill, Dennis and my great, great, grandfather Braxton Bragg who fought in the Civil War. Your service to our Country will not be forgotten. Thank you!

Girl's Weekend

Last weekend I joined 9 of my friends for a Girl's Weekend in Burlington, Vermont! My friend, Ayse coordinated the whole weekend and it was so much fun. We had a great time shopping, eating, drinking wine and staying up too late...I guess a suite with a fire place will do that to you! My friend Laura picked my up Friday morning and we headed to Plattsburgh, New York - after crossing the Border, we hit Target first. It is hard to believe, but we spent about 3 hours there...it was wonderful to be able to shop without any interruptions and to take our time. We had full carts by the time we reached the registers! After Target, we stopped at Panera Bread to keep our shopping stamina up and then headed for the ferry that would take us from Plattsburgh to Burlington via Lake Champlain.




After the ferry ride, we went straight to Burlington to meet the rest of the girls for a pedicure party and then dinner. It was so much fun and dinner was great.

Sadly, I forgot to take out my camera to take pics almost all weekend! We slept in and then had a day full of shopping on Saturday. As you can see from this picture, we all did some damage (I am happy to say that I came in under budget!)
We relaxed in front of the fire with a few glasses of wine on Saturday night...we didn't have energy for anything else since we used it all up on shopping!

On Sunday, we slept in again and then packed up everything for the trip back home. We hit a few more stores on the way back to the ferry. We had no issues at all at the Border...I think it was one of the easiest crossings ever, in a car full of shopping bags, the agent didn't even ask us how much we spent...and we were both (way) over our $400 allowable limits!

Laura's car packed to the gills!
I didn't just shop for me, I picked up a few things that Arabella needed - socks, hats and mitts - and a few Christmas gifts too! In case you wanted to see my haul, it is below - Jay you might not want to look any further...
Books I scored at Once Upon A Child - they were 50 cents or a $1...seriously, too good to pass up when Arabella loves to read!
Two of my favorite scores - shearling lined Ralph Lauren driving shoes for $30 and a fun winter hat that I can't wait to wear...now if it would only get cold!
Most of the haul...it includes Christmas presents - a few staples from Target are missing from the pictures - overall I did a great job shopping and staying under budget! Now I just need to clean out some space in my closet!

Thursday's Thoughts

Hearing: Teenage Dream by Katy Perry playing over and over in me head...it was the song playing when I started the car this morning to take Arabella to school...and she told me that it was a good song, which it is, so we played it loud and now it is STUCK!

Tasting: Jamaica Me Crazy KCup...yummy coconut flavored coffee

Seeing: Rain falling which means the last of the leaves on the trees are falling too.

Smelling: The Leaves Wallflower that I just plugged in...so pretty.

Feeling: Tired...I think daylight savings time and my girls weekend are catching up to me!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday