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I was getting ready to send some random pictures to my mom and thought I'd just post them here:


The perfectly delicious pumpkin cake I made for Thanksgiving. I really worried about it since I don't bake and our oven is old, but it was scrumptious! I ate at least a 1/3 of the cake myself. And I now I don't want to see pumpkin cake again until next Thanksgiving.



Paul's old hand-me-down side table made a bit more stylish and modern. I took out the glass tabletop, wrapped some funky Amy Butler fabric around the glass, and put the glass back in the table. Voila! Easier than paint, cheaper than Pottery Barn.



Some fabric I bought during a trip a coworker and I took to a really cute little town an hour from Cincy. I'm thinking I will use it as boudoir pillows for the bed.



One of the three aforementioned pine trees Paul purchased for the backyard. It turns out they aren't pine trees they're some other kind of evergreen, but still. Paul planted two and kept one on the porch to use a Christmas decor. The little thing looks pretty cute! Like I said, pine trees are only pretty as Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ever since I can remember, I’ve looked forward to Thanksgiving for one reason: Nana’s (my grandma) stuffing. Sure, I fill my plate with tons of Thanksgiving treats, but the helping of stuffing far outweighs all the rest. Nana passed away several years ago, but my mom took over the stuffing-making duties (and my sister had the pleasure last year). I will be at my in-laws this year so, sadly, I won’t be able to partake of Nana’s yummy stuffing goodness. But dreaming about the herbs and spices Mom promised to make me for Christmas instead inspired this quick digital scrapbook layout I made for work.



What are your favorite Thanksgiving treats? From Paul and me--Happy Thanksgiving!

Pine Trees: An Informal Survey

Last week Paul was mentioning the types of tree he would like to plant in the backyard. First on the list: a pine tree. My reaction? Something along the lines of “What?! Pine trees are ugly. I don’t want to see a big ol’ pine tree first thing right outside my kitchen window.” (For the record, my sweet Paul has decided to plant the pines way down the hill in the forest of our backyard). This discussion has come up a few times since then. I recanted my statement at bit; it’s not that pine trees are ugly per se, they’re just not pretty. Why would anyone choose a pine tree over, say, a beautiful maple or a delicate Bradford pear? To me, pine trees are only appropriate in winter or in the mountains. Paul, and the guy who told him about the tree in the first place, disagreed. Then I was relating the tree story to my mom, who had much the same reaction to the pine as I did (and for the record, we both also hate palm trees and birds of paradise). Then I began wondering if it was California thing. I mean, in California the only time you see a pine is inside your house surrounded by presents.

So, I’m conducting an informal survey. Pine trees: Yay or Nay? Please leave a comment stating your opinion of pine trees and your state. Thank you for participating!

The Gift of Gifting

At small group last night we were given the task of being content with and not squandering the talents and skills God has given us. I’m terribly guilty of squandering my talents. I have a tendency to dismiss them as not good enough. I’m an artistic and creative person and I like writing and shopping, but I always tell myself those things don’t “count” as skills that can be used for the kingdom.

In the church lobby they put up one of those trees where you take an ornament and buy a gift for a kid. I happily picked out an ornament, one inviting me to buy an item of clothing for a teenage girl. And as I was walking away it hit me—here was my opportunity to use my shopping skills for good and not evil! Turns out, shopping does count for the kingdom. I mean, not everyone can do it well or even handle it. Paul, for example, would probably rather poke his eye out than go inside Forever 21. So from now on my talents, shopping at least, will go on the “things that count” list.

New Wedding Photos!

We finally got the disc of all our photo proofs. Yay! I had a freak out moment when I first looked at the photos. I snuck a peak at some of the bride shots while dinner was cooking. My reaction? That I looked like complete crap, totally unphotogenic and that my parents has wasted many, many dollars on horrible photography. I lamented the photos all through dinner. Paul suggested that perhaps the photos were fine and that I was just hungry. Whatever! was my reply. Like that would really affect my ability to look at pictures of myself. Turns out, Paul was right. I went back after dinner and looked at the same ten photos and they looked completely different! All the pictures turned out awesome, even in their "raw" form, and I'm really happy with them. Here are some of my favorites:

Happy Anniversary to Me

Today is my one-month wedding anniversary! It’s flown by. Paul and I love being married. It’s so much fun and really more enjoyable and less stressful than both of us expected. It has not been an adjustment at all; everyday we find new things we enjoy about living together and being married. I think it makes us wonder why we didn’t do it sooner! I’m definitely so grateful to God for bringing us together and provding a wonderful, loving, firm foundation for our lives together.

In honor of our mini-anniversary, here are five things I love about being married:

*Having something besides my alarm clock wake me up in the morning...and bring me a mug of deliciously dark coffee

*Getting to see my favorite person first thing when I wake up in the morning and last thing when I fall asleep at night

*Doing my own thing but knowing Paul is in the next room

*Not having to lug the entire contents of my apartment (laptop, cooler of food, magazine, book, DVDs, flip flops, etc.) to Paul's house

*Cable TV (just kidding! sort of…)

TV

You may know by now that Paul is fairly anti-TV. For him, TV is a mostly a waste of time. You may also know that I’m 110% pro-TV. It’s my passion. If I could allow myself watch TV all day long, I would. Imagine the sacrifice of living without cable last year. Um, yeah. So, the deal with the new hubby was that when we moved in together we would get cable (since I no longer had to pay for cable Internet at my apartment). Let me tell you, it’s been so nice to relax after work and catch some Project Runway reruns and feed my not-so-secret obsession with America’s Next Top Model.

As it turns out, I am not the only cable fan. That’s right: Paul likes cable TV! Not one but three CSPAN channels, plus the Military Channel and National Geographic! Wow!! One time, Paul was watching TV while I read a book. It was like bizarro Paul and Kristin. And imagine my surprise to find out that Paul has been viewing the tube before he goes to work each morning (the Cincinnati version of CSPAN, but still surprising). So of course I’m all excited that Paul shares in a bit of cable excitement and doesn’t resent the new expense. Now if only we could find a channel that we both like to watch… Having completely different TV interests is kind of a problem. It’s bad that I finally have cable and I find myself watching a DVD on my laptop in the bedroom…