Family Fun for the Holidays

This week I have been hard core into the Christmas spirit!

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year... and family time only makes it even better! 

Tuesday night I went over to my grandmother's house to help my two cousin's, Kylee and Heath, create the most spectacular gingerbread house ever seen.

Look how perfect it turned out. Great attention to detail.

They were super proud of our little creation. We had to text pictures of it to their Gigi, Ryan and
Deidra.

Jump ahead a couple of days....

I wanted to show off my Christmas tree to my family so last night I invited my parents, grandparents and cousins (ten folks total) over for what I called the Holiday Christmas Tree Viewing & Dinner Party on McClellan Street.

Ahhhhhhhh!



Photo bomb by Maggie

We sipped wine and snacked on apps while also singing a few holiday songs (at Kylee's request).

Heath LOVED the appetizer portion. He snacked away on the Bacon cheddar dip I made.

Myself, my grandma, and my mom. Maggie is attempting to escape. Ha.

Maggie was bothered for roughly 10 minutes because I made her put on her Christmas sweater for our Holiday Party. 

After our rendition of Rodolph the Red Nose Reindeer it was time for dinner.

I provided dinner and my home, my grandmother brought homemade biscuits, and my mom brought dessert!

I love my family and any time we spend together is just perfect in my opinion! The only thing that could have made it any better would have been if all of our family lived in town and could have joined in on the fun.

Holiday Dinner Party with Friends

Ryan and I were invited to a holiday party that we gladly attended on Monday night.

Our friends Emily and Rob along with Lacey and John hosted the get-together. Rob happens to be a fancy chef so it was a given that the food would be amazing-- and it was!

Whoa. We drank wine and feasted like kings. We made small talk with old friends and got to know new ones.

Lacey enjoying a Brussel

Feasting!

A little red wine.

My free bird pal, Whitney! Love her.



Sweet Emily, the hostess for the mostest!

It was such a perfect evening, although I'm not too sure any of us had too much fun crawling out of bed  Tuesday morning. I can honestly say my husband was moving very slowly.

I love this time of year! Merry, Merry!!

Mrs. Collingsworth

My long time BFF, Alana, got married the first weekend in December to her love Clint. It was a beautiful wedding and an amazing day!

Alana and her husband are horse trainers in Ohio so we don't get to see them as much as we'd like. However, when she is in town we try to make the most of her time here.

Myself and Alana

The festivities began Friday at Lunch with the bridesmaids' luncheon. It was at a local restaurant and was the perfect lunch to celebrate the official start to the weekend.

Friday night after the rehearsal we went to Willow Point Country Club for the Rehearsal Dinner.

Rehearsing

Friday night the wedding party spent the night together at the lake. We all woke up bright and early to get ready for the day of fun. It was calming to wake up at the lake with the sun shining in through the windows. After quick showers we headed to Springhouse to have our hair and make up done.

The weather was amazing for December. It was literally in the seventies and sunny! Ridiculous.

Since Alana and Clint's lives are centered around their love for horses it was only fitting that they got married at Russell Crossroad Stables.

The girls all met and got ready at The Springhouse Restaurant which is located just above The Stables.

 

We had our hair done by Carly Neal, out of Auburn. We sipped sweet champagne and snacked on an assortment of goodies.

After pictures we headed down to The Stables to get ready for Alana's big walk down the aisle.

Everything was just lovely; no detail spared.

 

After enjoying cocktails and dancing the night away it was time to see the couple off. We tossed rose petals as the newlyweds made their way to the car waiting to whisk them away to their honeymoon.

Alana and Clint had a beautiful wedding. I was so thankful to be a part of it. It is always special to get to celebrate big life moments with friends you've had forever!

Welcome to the club, Mrs. Collingsworth!

I have not even told you about Thanksgiving and it's Almost Christmas

Time is slipping away from me. I have so much to share that it gets a bit overwhelming to try to keep up with it all.

We are busy, man. Like on the go nonstop. I'm so ready for a weekend with no plans, no agenda, and no where to be!

But to catch up... here's what we've been up to, which only covers the Thanksgiving holiday:

• We had a Class of 2003 Reunion Meeting. Great turn out. Lock that down for February 2013!

• Ran/walked the first ever Alex City Turkey Trot 5K!

• Bought toys for a Toys-for-Tots Drive that a local bar was hosting.

• Thanksgiving was a food rage, obviously. I threw down with Skillet Apple Pie. Yum.

• Ryan sister, my sister-in-law, got engaged to my high school classmate and long time pal, Jackson.

• Hosted friends for the 2012 Iron Bowl, in which our beloved Auburn Tigers got slaughtered-- War Eagle anyway!

Normal Photo

Crazy Face

Maggie loves football parties

After the crazy Thanksgiving weekend we got began gearing up for my friend, Alana's wedding day, which will be a post on it's own! (It was so pretty)

In the meantime, I will be wrapping presents and getting in to the Christmas spirit.

Before & After: My China Cabinet

You may recall this post regarding the great deal I got on a china cabinet and buffet. At the time I didn't know what route to take as far as refinishing and updating the two pieces of furniture.

I was torn-- I didn't know whether to paint them or to strip them and re-stain a deeper color.

The one thing I was certain about what that neither piece of furniture was going in my home without a little bit of updating.

My indecision caused me to seriously stall. I bought them in October of 2011, which was over a year ago.  They've been store in my parents' basement all this time.

Well, inspiration finally hit me. While in Senoia, GA to check out the Southern Living Dream Home, mom and I shopped around the little downtown area. One store had the prettiest furniture. I loved the table, the buffet, the desk, the china cabinet. Everything had great rustic chic finish that I loved.

Upon talking to the store owner we learned that she had done all of the furniture herself with Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint & Wax.

***Please note: not to be confused with ChalkBOARD Paint, which is not the same thing***

I was sold!! I bought the color French Linen, which is a grey with brown undertones (I actually just made that up about the undertones but I think it's a fair description). I FINALLY HAD A PLAN FOR THE CHINA CABINET.

Let me refresh your memory....

BEFORE:

 

Not exactly the look I was going for.

Over the past weekend mom and I taped off the glass and went to town with the Chalk Paint.

Now, what is so great about this paint is that you don't have to sand or prime the furniture. You just have to start painting it. So easy.

I applied two coats of the French Linen. The paint dries really fast. 30 minutes fast. After the two coats of the paint I used the Annie Sloan wax brush to apply two coats of the clear wax. The wax essentially gives the matte finish of the of the chalk paint a little more glossy look and seals the paint.

I actually bought the dark wax as well but after testing it out on one of the cabinet fronts I decided not to got that route.


The left is with the clear wax only. The right shows how the dark wax distresses it more.

I allowed the clear wax to "cure" for 48 hours. At that point I had my dad and Ryan bring my new china cabinet home to mama.

Mom and I unpacked my china last night and filled the china cabinet up with pretties.

HERE IS THE AFTER:

(disclaimer- the pics are with my iPhone. My big camera was dead and I couldn't wait to share... so not the best quality)
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I absolutely LOVE it! Like LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. I realize that I need a bigger statement piece on top. I just placed that platter on top to get a feel for it. Ryan was amazed that I had all this fancy china stashed around the house (and at my parents).

It's not big enough to display all of my china so I stored the rest in the cabinet space below.

Here's the few from the living room!

(The table you see pictured above is abuot to become part of another project which will make way for a new table. We're talking reclaimed wood and stuff.)

Love. Now, the buffet is just calling to be "chalked" and maybe even the coffee table too!

O.T.W. Catch up Post (two weekends/weeks coming at you)

Ah man, it's been nonstop for Ryan and I the last few weeks. From football games and tailgate parties to wedding showers and fashions shows we've been covering a lot of ground around these parts.

And to even think that the holidays are practically here is just craziness!

So let's play catch up since I've been MIA for a hot minute.

In past two weeks I have:

HIT UP A CONCERT

 

Thanks to my brother who provided tickets for everyone we enjoyed Easton Corbin, Deirks Bentley and Craig Morgan.

Ali, Deidra and I joined my brother and a few of his friends for a fun night of good ole country music. That's what I love about Sundays...

CELEBRATED WITH ALANA & CLINT

My friend, Alana's wedding is quickly approaching. She and her fiance live in Ohio. They came home one weekend so that we could enjoy a bridal tea in Alana's honor as well as enjoy a tailgate themed couples shower for the two of them.

We may or may not have had a dance off with the moms in attendance. #momswon

CO-HOSTED WITH LACEY FOR "GIRLS NIGHT OUT"

Lacey and I co-hosted for the second time on At Home with Kenny Dean.

 

Lacey and I both had crazy jackets to wear during one segment of the show. I went the the leopard (above, picture of me in said jacket while getting ready) that I actually thrifted.

Topics for this show ranged from "Twists on the Classic Turtle Neck" to "How to Rock Printed Hosiery"

It is so much fun. I like to think we're a big hit in our small town.

MODELED IN A FASHION SHOW

Two of our local boutique type stores hosted a joint fashion show as a fundraiser for Alexander City's Education Foundation. Thanks to my TV co-host, Lacey, I found myself modeling for the store Little Black Dress.

Oh Look! I added a personal touch from my very own closet-- polka-dotted hoses!

After a few glasses of wine I found that if I were only a foot taller (I'm only about 5'3") I probably would have loved being an actual model. Except I like to eat and real models probably don't chit chat with onlookers in attendance (you know my mom and bff were in the audience).

TAILGATED FOR AUBURN/GEORGIA GAME

Ryan and I headed to The Plains for the Auburn v. Georgia game. We had such a fun weekend with friends that we hadn't seen in a few months.

Please note, the blazer in the middle pic above-- It's from 2005. I shopped my closet and found a fun little gem.

I love Auburn with my whole heart, but this season has been a tough one--- I will be glad to see it go.

The best part about the actual game (outside of who I attended it with- ALI) was the hot dog.

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So that should bring you up to date on our lives. Busy, Busy, Busy and loving every minute of it.