Holiday Recap!

I can't believe the holiday season has already come and gone! I swear it arrives sooner and becomes shorter every year. It's not fair! Anyway, we had a great time these past few weeks. Here are some pictures of us and how we spent our holiday's!

Christmas Day:

This year Harris and I did Christmas Eve at our house with Mama Jill. Mom usually has a big party on Christmas Eve, but she was feeling a little under the weather and didn't have the time or energy to do it this year. So we decided to play it low key and have a quite dinner with her, the Griswold's, and our 3 ft. tree.

Christmas morning we opened presents and had breakfast at Mom's with our cute Santa Pup. Later we traveled to Aunt Lee Ann's house and had dinner with Nan and all the cousins!

Anniversary Dinner:

Once a month Harris and I try to do a special dinner to celebrate our anniversary. It was his idea to do this for the first year of our marriage. We try to do it on the actual date (the 18th), but it doesn't always work out that way. We ended up missing November all together and didn't get to December till the 30th. So, we decided to go for a little extra "bang" and go to Tuscany! Let me just say... it was delicious!

The picture on the left is a Christmas Tree that was made entirely out of glass. It was really beautiful and very interesting, like something out of Alice in Wonderland,  but you can hardly see it in this horrible iPhone pic.

New Years Day:

Welcome 2012! Harris' parents had a big party on Sunday to celebrate the new year. It is always fun to dress up in our fancy clothes and show them off. Even Harris and Zuhaib got into it..... umm...



The Griswold's Ain't Got Nuthin' on Us!

This past weekend was the annual Birrell Family Christmas Party and I must admit it may have been the best yet! This year Mitz decided to make it an ugly sweater party, but of course the fam didn't stop at just sweaters. When the Birrell's do something, they don't just do it half-way, they do it ALL THE WAY!!

I love my family!

Our rockin' Christmas sweaters!

Diji loves her Poinsettia sweater.

Kerry or Cousin Eddie? Yes, he is wearing a Dickie!

Mitzi channeling Grandma Doris.

The ladies lookin good!

The guys looking even better!

Earmuffs!

The "winners"!

Ps. Christmas sweaters were courtesy of Jill Birrell. Thanks mom!

Santa, I Have Been Very Good This Year!!!

Finals are OVER!!! Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray! I am so relieved to have them over and done with. I am so happy that my professors are on the ball, because I already got some of the grades back and I did pretty darn good this semester... So that means....

Dear Santa,

Because I am on the nice list please review the list below :)

1. Kolja Mirror, Ikea

2. Astrid Wall Lamp, Ikea

3. Leksvik Desk (vanity table), Ikea

4. Paper Cutter, (any store/ any brand- just a nice one)

5. Tunic Sweater in "Cool Earth", Express

6. Nils Stool, Ikea

7. Combined Court Shoe, Zara

(if you can't tell I really want to set up my vanity area)

 Ahhh! I can't believe Christmas is only 10 days away!

Gifts for Co-workers

I love giving gifts to people. I honestly just LOVE picking up stuff for birthdays and trying to find the perfect gift for a baby shower or wedding shower. But I have found that the hardest gifts to buy are for your coworkers.  I feel that it is a fine line of what to get, how much to spend, and who exactly to buy for. Last year I did a movie night kit: an old Audrey Hepburn film, popcorn, candy and soda. This year I decided to spend a little less, because I have to buy for a few more ladies here at work, than I did last year. So, I decided to do something a little more simple- I decided to do some cute notebooks. That way it was something they might use at work if they wanted. So I narrowed it down to the item, but the hard part was deciding what kind.....

May Books

I LOVE these books and the website! You can custom make your own journal, planner, notebook, etc. And they have such cute patterns. Ah, but since I have to buy for several people, and they are a bit pricey with customization, I decided against the May Book (ummm... I still might buy one for myself later).

Jonathan Adler

Then I stumbled upon these pretty ones at Barnes and Noble. They are designed by Jonathan Adler. I thought they were just adorable. But I decided against them... I wanted a notebook that was a little bit more sturdy and was spiral bound.

And that's where Vera came in...

Vera Bradley

I love the look of all of Vera Bradley's patterns. They are so feminine and pretty. I don't think I would ever carry a bag of hers, but the accessories and stationary she makes are lovely! So this is what I decided to go with. The Mini Notebook.

Now, I just need to figure out a cute way to package them!