I have oh-so-many posts planned!
Goodbye, Arkansas! I am leaving today to head back to Ohio. I should have written some posts in advance for my traveling period! Oops. Next time I will be prepared.
Days...9, 10, 11, 12? Where did they go? I think I realized they were lost around the same time I found myself running through the Memphis airport to catch my connecting flight after my first was over half an hour late, my Christmas plans flashing before my eyes (a slight exaggeration, given Memphis is only a 2 hour drive from my family's house, so worst case scenario if I couldn't get another flight, someone would've picked me up). I made my flight, though (whew), and after that, I decided to slow down a little, and not worry so much about anything stressful, such as keeping up with blog posts (even though I love writing this blog, of course!).
Ugly sweater t-shirt photos with Corey, sans tripod (that's why you can't really see the shirts, which is what we wanted to show off, oops!).
I decorated these papier mache ornaments to give as gifts! (A DIY project? Why, yes, I believe it must be!)
I added two Christmas coffee mugs to my collection and had a cup of cinnamon coffee in one the day before I left Ohio! (Notice my poinsettia in the background, and my awesome vintage tablecloth!)
Cooked an early Christmas dinner with Corey, featuring green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, pineapple, and veggie "meat." Plus, leftover birthday cake for dessert!
I tried fruitcake again. The first time I had it was in my college cafeteria, and I haaaated it. I could only be convinced to try a piece this small...and I can't say I liked it the second time either! But, it was better than the cafeteria variety, I'll give it that.
Wrapped presents with my brother...I am a TERRIBLE present wrapper! I decided that next year I'm going to get/decorate some really cute gift bags and skip the paper. Seriously.
Wrapping in action.
And I baked about 6-7 dozen more Christmas cookies once I got here! This batch is no-bake chocolate-oatmeal-peanut butter, my brother's favorite.
Dear readers, my apologies for being a little behind on my 12 Days posts, especially *ahem* the DIY ones! They are in the works, but not quite finished. I supposed the holidays are busy in their own way. I have every intention of publishing all 12 of the days here, so don't worry.
For as long as I can remember, my parents have been telling stories that start with the phrase, "Twenty years ago..." Only a couple of years ago I started having my own, "Twenty years ago..." moments, and of course, with every year, I have many more memories that occurred that long ago. It's hard for me to believe, but this picture of me with my Little Mermaid cake was taken twenty years ago.
We'll fastforward a little bit. I was going to show you a picture of me on my birthday from every year in my 20s so far, but the year I turned 20 was only available on an external hard drive and I didn't feel like pulling it out, so we'll start with twenty-one. I feel the need to comment on what I looked like each year, since these photos make a neat little timeline. Year 21: my hair looked awesome, and I practically lived in that gray sweater, which I had to retire last year after I spilled fix on it (a photo chemical that turns clothes brown). Check out my "art cake" too!
Twenty-two. That tablecloth is a winter staple in my family's house (I really like it). Different gray sweater (I really like gray).
Twenty-three. Photo adventure with Corey. I wanted to do that today but it was snowing and I am a wimp when it comes to the cold! I love this outfit and sometimes still wear it.
Twenty-four. First trip to our favorite restaurant in Columbus (the one we did the beer tasting at this week). This was a couple of days before my actual birthday.
And twenty-five. I got a replacement gray sweater. (Did you notice how I'm wearing a cardigan in every picture? In 24, I'm pretty sure I was wearing one under that coat.) Also check out my awesome bee earrings, a birthday present from Corey. These are my favorite glasses that I've had too.
DIY Christmas posts will be starting tomorrow! Stay tuned! Day 6 of my 12 Days of Christmas did involve making something, though: thank you card designs. I love writing thank you cards the day after Christmas. Since my birthday is only one week before (coming up on Saturday!) I write them to anyone who gave me a Christmas and/or birthday present at the same time. I always feel like I need to hurry up and write the birthday ones by the day after Christmas, plus I just really like sending cards.
I had a fun time drawing these. I love scallops so naturally I put them on everything. I have also been practicing my banner drawing skills lately. I decided on colors that seem sort-of Christmas-y when you see them the day after Christmas, but that won't seem Christmas-y should I have leftover cards to use at other times during the year (smart, right? I know). They are adorably tiny just like my Christmas postcards, 3.5"x5", so they can be sent with a postcard stamp.
This giveaway will end on Monday, December 19, at noon! The winner will receive them in the mail a few days after Christmas. To enter, you must be a follower of this blog. Simply leave a comment answering the question:
Tuesday was Day 5 of my 12 Days of Christmas. Corey and I and a few of our friends went to a Christmas & winter beer tasting at our favorite bar, which happens to exclusively serve vegan food. Being a vegetarian, I love going to restaurants where I can eat anything on the menu! That is because at most other restaurants, I can eat 1-2 things on the menu. Big difference.
A few days before, they had a Festivus celebration, and the decor was left up from that. We are big Seinfeld fans, so of course we were amused. That's a life-sized cutout of Frank Costanza, by the way, with an aluminum pole beside him. There was also a bulletin board where people could post their grievances.
Technically, I didn't do the beer tasting. They have a beer tasting every single Tuesday (the theme varies) but normally you taste 4-5 beers. For this one, it was 12! I decided to pass. I tasted most of Corey's, though, so I still participated.
Each table had a list of the 12 beers with descriptions. Since moving here, I have learned a lot about different types of beer, because there is just a wider variety available here. It's actually a really interesting topic to me, and I am impressed by my own knowledge of it since I used to know next to nothing! Now I would like to learn more about wine.
Corey was talking very animatedly to our friends so I couldn't get a good picture of him!
This one was a chocolate cherry beer. It tasted like a cherry cordial! Corey did not like it, so he gave it to me. I thought it was good, but I don't know if I could drink an entire glass of it.
Corey told me over and over, all he wanted for Christmas was a cat. So yesterday, we went to our local Humane Society and adopted this little girl. She's 8 months old and at the shelter, went by the name of Frosty. We want to rename her but haven't decided on a new name yet.
Overall it was a really great experience and very different than I thought it would be. I had never been to an animal shelter before, so I didn't quite know what to expect. A few of the animals looked a little sad, but most of them seemed cheerful and all were well taken care of. There were lots of volunteers circulating, playing with the animals and answering our questions.
She even likes her red bow tie. I got this just so that we could take a Christmas picture. I thought it would be fun if Corey and I dressed in Christmas colors and the cat wore a red satin bow tie. (We haven't taken the picture yet, but we will!) I put it on her and she seemed to like it, to my surprise. I thought it would be a struggle just to keep it on for a photo! I got the bow tie collar from Parkside Designs via Etsy! Lots of cute handmade stuff, check it out.
Tonight's 12 Days of Christmas activity...dinner with friends and a winter beer tasting!
