A few of my favorite photo cards...

So this year, I ventured into the photo card world and created a couple of cute (if I have to say so myself) cards for a couple of friends. Check them out! That precious little girl is the daughter of my friend Sarah Buck. Check out her fabulous work at http://www.sarahbuckphotography.com/ . The took our photo this year as you saw before! Love her to pieces! Her blog is super fun, too! http://www.audreybuck.blogspot.com/ The other friends are my newlyweds, Scotti and Matthew & Brooke and Andy!

Label It!

So of course, no one in my life is surprise by this, but I always do personalized holiday labels for our packages. This year, I chose to do a "winter berry" effect and created our last initial. It turned out really cute on our wrapping paper that I found at Target this year. A mix between different polka dots, bold stripes and grosgrain ribbon, this might have been my favorite year for fabulous wrap!

Ho Ho Ho!

Christmastime is my favorite time of the year! Since I work in retail, Christmas doesn't really seem to end since we begin working on next Christmas after this Christmas is over! But, I DO enjoy when the actual season gets here because you get to enjoy what the season is really about - family, friends, spending time together, baking treats for the people in your life, helping the less fortunate and of course, that little baby Jesus! We have a few collections going on in our house that you see 1) our Nutcracker collection or what we like to call "Our Army!" 2) Patrick's Dicken's Village that his mom started when he was young, 3) the many entertaining pieces that I've collected over the years and 4) our little Irish Angels. Enjoy!

It's finally starting to look a lot like Christmas!

So we finally got around to doing our Christmas card which I will be scurrying around to get in the mail Monday morning! My dear friend, Sarah Buck, took our quickie pic in her back yard and it turned out fabulous! I designed it of course based on my hubby's shirt.

Beautiful Patterns+Chic Designs=Whitney English

Back in college, I attended the scrapbooking temps at the Atlanta Mart with Robin Morris from The Added Touch in LaGrange (Props to Robin for starting my interest in stationery!). This preppy little blonde grabbed our attention with her fabulous patterns, colors and products and her name was Whitney English. Whitney and I kept in touch via email as I watched her paper company grow into the empire it is today. I always tell people, I knew her before she was FAMOUS! I'm so proud of her accomplishments, what a FAB company she has created, look for her designs at Swoozie's or at any paper specialty shop. Also, check her new newest company addition, HICKS Paper http://www.hickspapergoods.com/.

cheers to designing glassware

I just love this part of my job! To have the ability to design fun glassware and see it come to life in all 31 of our stores! Here's a peak at the newest arrivals!

surprise patrick!

So I got bored the other night and rearranged the living room, which I should have done FOREVER ago, this really opened up the room and allowed wall space for our new ariel print of the Savannah Rivers which we picked up at the Leukemia Auction. Patrick had to work late so it came as a surprise to him when he walked in the living room!

Grilled Cheese at the Pool

Oh, what a fun day at the pool. Nothing beats a yummy grilled cheese and the Savannah sunshine. These were taken at the Yacht Club when our cousins were visiting. That sweet little blue-eyed girl is our goddaughter, Olivia. Also shown, brothers, Brian Jr. and Grant.

holiday cards

So I finally got around to designing some photo cards for Swoozie's. Check out my designs at our Digital Photo Card Shop.

another great emily

So I'm not the most diligent reader there ever was, but my friend, Liz, suggested picking up the first book by Emily Giffin, called Something Borrowed. My first impression of course is a book centered around weddings, which of course, I was not opposed to. However, much to my surprise, this book was an awakening into the world of this author and her characters' New York lifestyle. Anyone who knows me knows my love for NYC, so you can imagine me reading this book and vicariously living through the characters, Rachel and Darcy. After finishing her first book, I was HOOKED. I quickly went out and bought all of her remaining books: Something Blue (a ironic sequel to Something Borrowed, following the plotline of the monstrous Darcy), Baby Proof (Again, not at all what you anticipate, but OH SO good!) Love the One Your With, a story about long lasting love of a husband vs. the passionate off-limits affair with an ex and what always wins in the end.). If you don't get into reading, give these books a shot. I read each one within about 2 days, just couldn't put them down! Emily's writing is down to earth, young, hip and totally something you can relate to. I felt entranced in each story line like I was a character in the book. She's so fabulous! Can't wait for her next book to come out, it couldn't be any sooner!

ahhhh...finally breaking out the summer wardrobe!

Now that it's finally time to break out the summer clothes, I was thrilled to finally wear my Jack Rogers, cotton dresses from Victoria's Secret and Lilly! I added a few more styles and colors to my cotton dress collection : http://www2.victoriassecret.com/commerce/application/prodDisplay/?namespace=productDisplay&origin=onlineProductDisplay.jsp&event=display&prnbr=8M-226426&page=1&cgname=OSCLODRSBRA&rfnbr=4618 and a strapless one that I can't seem to find again! Also, another staple to my summer wardrobe are these Jack Rogers Navajo sandels! They have been around for ages and were put on the map by Jackie O. They are made of real leather and form to your foot. I personally own the silver and gold pair which looks great with summer dresses! http://www.navajosandals.com/cart/products.asp?cat=9. Another fav this season is J. Crew's Jewelry Collection -can you get any cuter! http://www.jcrew.com/catalog/category.jhtml?id=cat301252&_requestid=48946