Tender Tennessee Christmas

Joshua and I have been blessed to have an extended vacation this year.  We're spending a full week back home in Tennessee and it has been absolutely glorious.  We received a light snow Christmas Eve and Christmas Day...making it a White Tennessee Christmas!  We've had the opportunity to make several drives through the country-side...something that has always been dear to our hearts.  Josh and I used to take long drives when we were dating..absorbing our surroundings and the nature just outside our windows. 

We went to Christmas Eve Service with Joshua's parents at Brentwood UMC, and the service was beautiful.  This was the church I grew up in...but prior to this year, I have only been to their Christmas Eve Service once..and that was the year my sister was born.  So...this was only the second Christmas I've ever spent in Tennessee.  Christmas day was spent with Joshua's extended family.  We had a delicious brunch at his parent's house with the family and then went over to Grandmother and Grandfather's for Christmas dinner.  I love hanging out with his family.  We all get along really well and have a good time hanging out and catching up.

We'll be here through New Year's but haven't decided yet what we'll doing.  Old Crow Medicine Show is playing at the Ryman...but obviously already sold out.  That's what we get for dealying our decision making. 

Pierre has been getting along really well with the other cats of the house (Harley, Doodlebug, and Mickey).  They have had fun getting to know one another, chasing each other, and playing.  Pierre, I'm sure, has had fun with all the extra space..and STAIRS!  It's been really fun to watch him interact.  We're just afraid he'll be depressed when we head back to Dallas with no friends for him to play with during the day.

Ok..off to relax some more.  I'll post pictures when I get back to Dallas.

Free Christmas Music

Yes..that is right.  There is free Christmas Music provided by none other than...

Target!

You get a bunch of tracks absolutely free.  Now..who doesn't love something free?  And what better free thing can there be?

.....Ok, don't answer that last question as I'm sure one could think of a lot bigger, shinier, better free things.

But with all that said, free Christmas music is always a plus.  So, get your fanny over to the Target  site and download until your heart's content.  Cheers!

(The below song is one of the featured songs on said free Christmas album.)

Holiday Tradition and Cheer

Christmas music, Caramel Apple Cider from Starbucks, and making my Christmas cards...not too much can beat that!  Friday night I got to do all of these things all at once!

I'm not going to post a picture of the final product..as I don't want to ruin the Christmas Card surprise!  But..they do incorporate the stamps in the right of the picture.  This year I learned to emboss.  I must say, the process is pretty cool.  I've been working on embossing the cards and addressing envelopes.  I'm a good 1/2 way through.  

Last year I got my card idea from Martha Stewart.  I used grosgrain ribbon to make Christmas trees on the front. Go to Martha Stewart.com for other ideas.

Mine looked similar to the one on the top  left.

This years idea came from Paper Source.  They had an embossing demonstration at the store and they had a great selection of stamps so I thought..why not! They have a lot of really cool gift ideas, on top of great card supplies.  Check them out at Paper Source.com

I guess you could say making my Christmas cards is a holiday tradition.  What is a holiday tradition that you look forward to every year?

Christmas List

Yes..I still make lists of things I would love for Christmas.  I've put together a little list below:

1. iPhone4:  I resisted for a very long time.  I didn't think I wanted to be that "connected"...but I'm finally seeing the bonus in them.  So..on my list it goes.


2.  Art easel:  found this one online at www.displays2go.com


3. Fire pit for the backyard.  I love spending time outside...but let's be honest, it's a little too cold in the winter.  UNLESS, we had a firepit to hang out around.  This plan also includes a need for 2x4 Jenga (if you haven't seen this..it's awesome!)

4. These ruffle gloves, found at Dillard's.  Love them and they are really warm.


5.  I would really love a rug for our main room.  I need something warm under my feet.
     I love this one from Target, but they don't make it big enough.  It would look perfect in our
     house though!

6.  Last but not least, I really would love Kinect, which goes with XBox 360.  Silly..but looks like so much fun...and gets you moving, rather than playing games and sitting stagnant.



Ok..that is all.  I am really looking forward to our trip home for Christmas.  It'll be great..and hopefully somewhat relaxing.

Vinyl Pinups Merry Christmas

We have some very talented friends back in Nashville: Brennan and Khara Aerts.  Below is their version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" by The Vinyl Pinups.  They recently released their first song on iTunes.  You should check it out!  Their Christmas cover is pretty good too..and a little silly.  Enjoy!

Little Christmas tree from a box

For the past 2 years Joshua and I have gone to pick out our Christmas tree from the lot.  By the lot..I simply mean the pre-cut trees at Home Depot..but it was a really fun way to start the Christmas Holidays.  Well, this year...due to our little family member (ahem..Pierre), we didn't buy a big tree.  You see, we could envision him climbing and knocking over our huge tree.  SO..this year we opted for a pre-lit tree from a box.  It has some snow, berries, and pine cones on it and is very nice.  It was just a different feel going into the Home Depot and picking up our tree in a box..and not tying it to our roof rack.  So..without further a due, here is our precious little tree:

Our petite Christmas tree. 

The little guy who is already causing mischief with the tree.

That is all for now.  I'll post more of our decorations later.

Fall Touches

I have all my fall stuff out..and I'm a little sad to see it go within the next week.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Christmas.  But there is just something about the warm colors of fall that warm my heart and make me so happy.  Thankfully,  some of these pieces can be carried through Christmas.  Here are a few glimpses of our fall decor:

Welcome to the Vincent's.  Warm welcome with our fall wreath

Coffee Table pumpkins.  Had to get something Pierre wouldn't chew on...
glass pumpkins are a success!

Right by the front door.  Love our Scentsy with fall scents.

These add a little glam.  Thank you Target!
They will be sticking around through Christmas.

I needed to jazz up the hall a little and found this really cool wreath...
also from Target.

Ok, so this isn't part of my fall decor.  But Pierre LOVES boxes.
Joshua got some new kicks last weekend and Pierre has claimed the box as home.
We've thought about making him a box fortress in the office (aka Pierre's room).

Also not Fall decor, but a great fall meal.  Salad and Poppyseed Chicken Casserole.
See below for this super easy recipe:

Poppyseed Chicken Casserole:
3 chicken breasts: boil for 45 minutes
1 package of bag-n-boil rice
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sour cream
2 tbsp poppyseeds
1 roll of Ritz crackers
1/2 stick butter

Once chicken is done boiling, chop up in chunks and mix with cream of chicken soup, sour cream and poppyseeds.

Melt butter, crumble ritz crackers, mix these together.

Place rice in the bottom of your baking dish (I use an 8x8 because I like the thickness of the casserole this way).  Layer chicken mixture on top of rice.  top with butter and ritz cracker mixture.

Cook at 350 for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and enjoy!

Trip back to Nashville

Last weekend I took a really short trip home to witness two amazing people tie the knot.  Lindsay and Stefan are an amazing couple, dedicated and focused on God.  Their ceremony was beautiful and the weather couldn't have participated more wonderfully.  The ceremony was unique to them.  They got married under some beautiful fall trees.  Before going to be seated, you were given a stone and asked to say a prayer for the couple.  Once your prayer was over, you placed the stone in a bowl with the stones other people had placed there.  As a celebration of their commitment to one another, Lindsay and Stefan washed each other's feet as their first act of worship together.  It was so beautiful.  Here are a couple pictures from the night.

Lindsay walking down the aisle with her dad.

Beautiful setting..Lindsay and Stefan walking back down the aisle.

Making their grand entrance.

My lovely lady friends!

Hawls and Lindsay.  Beauties!

Wonderful Schneider clan.  Read all about their adventures  here

Friends! Such a great way to spend the evening.

Me, Stefan, and Lindsay

Lindsay and her grandfather dancing.  Adorable!

Georgia girls..miss Hawls dearly and loved the time together...even if it was brief!

The whole gang.

Sonya and I at the end of the night.

Beautiful Baby Eden.

I was so thrilled to see Hawley and Matt and meet their adorable little girl, Eden.  I haven't seen them since THEIR wedding over 2 years ago.  They have an amazing family and it made me so happy to spend some quality time with them.  I wish I could see them more often..wish we lived closer.  I also got to see Zach and Sonya, Kallie, and a bunch of girls I was in Bible Study with while I lived at home for several months.  What a blessed time the weekend was and a beautiful marriage that brought us all together.

Go Rangers!

If you haven't heard...the Texas Rangers are in their 1st World Series ever.  That's pretty exciting!  As a Texan..and a Dallas/Fort Worth resident (home of the Rangers)...I'm proud of our team and excited to see them go this far.

Tonight may not have been their night..but I discovered something rather interesting.  Tim Lincecum, the San Francisco Giants pitcher, looks SO much like Mitch Kramer (played by Wiley Wiggins) in Dazed and Confused.  If you don't believe me, check out this match up:

Lincecum (L) and Mitch Kramer (Wiggins) (R)

Bahaha...so entertaining.  I could just see Lincecum do the nose pinch of Mitch Kramer when he isn't happy with something he does on the mound.  Looking forward to a good Series and cheering on our Rangers.

Photography Learning

I spent some time last weekend learning more about our camera and all the cool stuff it can do.  I learned how to change the ISO speed, how to select the correct white balance for the picture (whether I'm in the shade, the direct sun, indoor lighting, fluorescent lighting, etc).  I also learned how to change from color to black and white..and then also color tinting of the black and white.  I have a lot more to learn about the advanced operations, or creative zone) of our camera..but I've had a lot of fun learning so far.  Here are a couple pictures I took during my testing of the learned knowledge.  The compilation is pretty boring...but I thought the effects were pretty cool.

Plain b+w

b+w with blue tint

b+w with purple tint

b+w with green tint

b+w with sepia tint

Today I took some photographs of Pierre, our cat, in some of his favorite places and here are the results:

Pierre in the window

Same as above photograph, just different lighting choice.

He loves to stare out this window at the goings on of the world.

Love this one..and his balancing act between the window and blinds

He loves this rug..and things it's his chew toy. 

Looks so sweet..but really about to pounce!

This was an accidental take..but I actually really love the movement.
I told you he was about to pounce!

I'll continue to add my photography discoveries as the come.  I'm enjoying our camera a lot more now that I know a few tricks!

Ketchup

Not the condiment..but I definitely need to play a little catch up.  I haven't had the chance to blog recently..mainly because I haven't felt compelled to write.  Things are going great in Dallas..and fall is finally here.  Actually, I am sitting in my front yard as I type, enjoying the glorious weather.  The only thing that could make this any better would be a glass of lemonade and my husband next to me.  He's in class..and we are out of lemonade.  Fall is definitely my favorite season, with the leaves changing and the cooling temperatures...not to mention the great clothes (aka sweaters) that I get to pull back out/purchase.

Ok, so to play a little catch up.  Almost a full month ago I got to go home to attend my good friend Sonya's wedding.  I think everyone there can say that we witnessed a beautiful marriage of two amazing, wonderful people.  Zach and Sonya make a great couple and they love the Lord and you can see Him working in their lives..and I can't wait to see where he takes them.  I also got to see my other 4 best friends from growing up and we all celebrated the greatness that now is The Reesers.  Here are a few quick glimpses into the wedding:

Me and Olivia

Me and Kallie at the reception

Zach and Sonya cutting the cake..isn't her dress beautiful?

The cake

Kallie, Jacklyn, and Megan

Love the light and movement in this one..first dance.

Me and the bride.

Breaking it down on the dance floor.

Me and Olivia again.  I love my sister.

Final dance.

As you can see..the wedding was beautiful..as is the love between these two!

Joshua wasn't able to make the trip back home for this one and I really missed him!  I love going to weddings and remembering my own wedding and how much fun it was...and reaffirming all the things that I know are good and true about marriage.

Joshua WAS able to go to little Stella's 1st birthday party though!  Stella is the sweet little girl of our friends Greg and Kristi.  She is absolutely adorable and I'm so glad we were able to celebrate her birthday with them.  I haven't had a chance to download those pictures from our camera...as it's been at the shop (Ducati shop where Joshua works) a lot lately.  But here is a picture Greg sent me.

Us with the birthday girl.  Stella was obviously very interested in Joshua!

And for the month to come..there are many things I am looking forward to:

1. The Texas State Fair and all the goodness that implies
2. Fright Fest at Six Flags..more excited about the rides than the frights.  Excited none-the-less
3. Pumpkin carving: looking for a great pumpkin patch experience!
4. Picnic at Dallas Arboretum with Joshua, Ashley, and Jayson.  Can't wait to use the basket Joshua got me for my birthday.  The weather has been perfect.
5. Lindsay and Stefan's wedding at the end of the month! 

Many things to do...little time to do them in.  Ready, Set, Go!