Dear Kate Spade,
How do you know me so well? How did you so perfectly capture my 2012 resolutions that I couldn’t seem to form into words? Well, no matter that now, but thank you.
P.S. My birthday is this month, and if you’re searching for something to get me, Kate Spade will do ♥
{Sugar Bowl – January}
{Happy 22nd Birthday to me! – January}
{Wedding showers! – March}
{Randomly met Donald Glover (I thought it was a big deal!) – March}
{Bachelorette party to remember – April}
{Got a big girl job! – May}
{We’re college graduates! – May}
{First comes love, then comes marriage – May}
{Honeymooning in Aruba – June}
{Summertime at the Ranch}
{Got a second job – Associate Editor of NWA, AY magazine – September}
{Visiting the parents in Colorado – September}
{Christmas with two wonderful families – December}
{Celebrating 2011 – NYE}
Happy New Year, friends! I wish you peace, love and joy for 2012.
Amid the busyness of the Christmas season something big happened – my mother’s birthday. In our family, when your birthday is this close to Christmas, Dec. 22, it’s very important to keep them separate, and by any means you can not give a birthday present that’s also a Christmas present. So this year I decided to do something special and throw a wine + cheese party in our newlywed apartment for my mother and her friends.
The best compliment I could have gotten after the party came from my mom and her brother – My grandmother Mary Ann would have been proud.
{with the birthday girl}
{all food purchased from Sam’s Club}
{sundried tomato asiago cheese}
{Artisan Fresh decadent cake balls}
{lovely parents}
{love this}
And I didn’t get a picture of the best appetizer of the night (because it was gone so fast!) – Daily Chef filet wrapped in bacon. Thumbs up all around. So one more plug – New Year’s Eve party? Sam’s Club has everything you need. 🙂
… is my two front teeth!
I’m decked out in the Christmas spirit – I’ve had one Christmas party thus far, a company-wide holiday luncheon + fun holiday meeting with America’s Got Talent winner Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., our newlywed apartment is filled with holiday decor, I’ve already watched Elf once this season and most importantly, had the pleasure of serving families in need this season with my team at the Salvation Army.
But, what is it I really want for Christmas? That’s easy. “All I want for Christmas is you.” Simple, cheesy, I know. But it’s the truth, and I am so blessed to have my ultimate Christmas gift by my side forever and this year as my HUSBAND!
As we all search for the perfect gifts for our friends and family, let’s remember that it’s more important to cherish and spend time with them. Throw a party, invite them to coffee or after-work drinks and share the spirit with love this season. I may be sappy, but I’m in a sappy mood this evening – partially because of the videos below and partially because I get to spend the evening with the person I love. Our Friday night agenda? A night in – cooking dinner together (steak, fresh green beans + leftover mahi mahi) and relaxing on the couch with a movie.
Enjoy your weekend and enjoy the holidays with your loved ones. Oh, and watch the videos below to get into the Christmas spirit.
{the Biebs is one of my guilty pleasures}
{Oh Glee, how I love thee}
{What is Christmas really all about?}
Don’t get me wrong – I love Thanksgiving, and I had a fabulous one with two wonderful loving families we are so blessed with. But the second Thanksgiving is over you can’t help but feel Christmas is in the air! Fortunately, I have a mother who is an amazing interior decorator and we spent all day Saturday decorating the apartment for mine and Kyle’s first Christmas. ♥
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with loved ones and can share in the Christmas spirit all month long, and of course not forget the true meaning of Christmas.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” – John 3:16
{Christmas tree painting from RiffRaff}
{Angel collection from my aunt}
{Nutcracker on the bar}
{golden whimsical trees from Sam’s Club}
{Ho! Ho! Ho!}
{pressroom – new favorite coffee shop.restaurant.soon to be wine bar in downtown Bentonville}
{cappuccino + mocha + adorable tiny flower}
{fabulous homemade granola + vanilla yogurt}
{husband’s breakfast tacos – chorizo, eggs, avocado, cilantro, salsa, lime – delish!}
“Nothing’s ever gonna happen ’round here
If we don’t make it happen
Sleep away the day if you want to
But I got something that I gotta do”
“Keep your head, heels and standards high.”
– via a chalkboard in my best friend’s kitchen, i.e. why we are best friends
It’s been a crazy, fabulous, ridiculous, stressful, exciting, reminiscent, tiring week. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
This week’s recap in lessons learned.
1. You can sleep when your dead.
2. One text/phone call/email can make the world of a difference to someone.
3. Sometimes reconnecting with old friends is exactly what you need.
4. Whether people come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime, cherish each of them.
5. A sunday dinner, whether with a big family or a lone newlywed couple, is the perfect way to start a week.
6. Risk it all and just say yes.
7. It’s always better to be overdressed than underdressed. *truly a life motto
8. Best friends are for life, no matter what gets in the way.
bridesmaids & best friends
9. You can have more fun at a janky bowling alley than a fancy party if you’re with the right people.
10. Don’t judge something simply because you don’t understand it.
11. Relax.
12. Never stop learning – about yourself, your significant other, your family, your friends, the world around you.
13. Don’t be complacent. Don’t be afraid to dream. Don’t forget your passions. Don’t quit.
14. To art enthusiasts and newsies around the world, Bentonville, Arkansas is no longer simply Bentonville, Arkansas.
15. “Success, people praising you, it all goes away.. and when that day comes, if you dont like who you’ve become, you’re done.” – Rufus Humphrey, Gossip Girl
Who doesn’t love a great quote? Well while catching up on a dear friend’s blog (kgd) I was inspired by multiple quotes she had posted and just had to share.
Enjoy and be inspired.
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. —African Proverb
Sadness be gone. Let’s be people who deserve to be loved, who are worthy. ‘Cause we are worthy.
—Malin Akerman, Happythankyoumoreplease
Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.
—H. Jackson Brown Jr.
and one via A Cup of Jo
“I must learn to love the fool in me–the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. It alone protects me against that utterly self-controlled, masterful tyrant whom I also harbor and who would rob me of human aliveness, humility, and dignity but for my fool.”
— Theodore I. Rubin, MD
{Crescent Hotel, Eureka Springs}
*seeing a new band with old friends – Andy Frasco, I love you.
*dancing like nobody’s watching ’til the wee hours with my best friend
*spending a full day in my pajamas on the couch, only leaving the apt for ice cream
*two fabulous impromptu afternoon naps
*incredible steak dinner cooked by the hubby
*a beautiful drive through the Ozarks to Eureka Springs
*driving through historic downtown windows down, 70 degrees, playing O.C. soundtrack – perfection
*a much-needed afternoon getaway with the husband + a reminder of God’s beauty all around us
*Sunday night – getting ready for the crazy week ahead with Desperate Housewives + late night hot tub
m.davis xoxo 