happy (belated) easter

this post is a week late but I hope everyone had a wonderful easter weekend. and thanks to my mom for whipping up an amazing meal and dessert (my kitchenaid is still packed away). and also for making sure the easter bunny still frequents the house every year ;)

christmas morning

here are a few photos from our christmas morning, if you'd like to see. my mom totally outdid herself like she does every year, making an amazing breakfast, lunch & dinner (not to mention the big christmas eve dinner she made the night before)! I don't know how she does it- we are certainly a spoiled bunch. 

 {santa came!}

 {my mom got robert the donna hay cookbook & it's beautiful}

 {dad's getting hip with his non-pleated pants}

 {grammie made us these sweet christmas angels using some lace from our mom's wedding dress}

 {mom's getting high tech with her new kindle fire}

 {good thing we're over the "everything my parent's do embarrass me" stage}

christmas eve

we had a really nice christmas eve with my family on monday. as has been the tradition for the past few years, we go to a different church for the christmas eve service (the church we are members of does a later service which conflicts with dinner time). it's always fun visiting a new place & seeing how different denominations worship & celebrate the birth of jesus (this year will live down in history as my fave). we also had family over for dinner where my mom made an amazing meal & we played some pretty funny games. there was lots of laughter, full bellies & feelings of gratitude for all that we have been blessed with. 

 {poor mom was slaving away in the kitchen}

reservations

well, thanksgiving dinner at that tapas restaurant I mentioned didn't quite work out as planned. turns out the restaurant that took our reservations ended up being closed on thanksgiving (totally reminded me of that seinfeld episode- clip below). so where does one go when almost every restaurant in the city is closed? why cracker barrel, of course (well, it was either that or piccadilly). there is nothing more my dad appreciates than a good deal. we got turkey, ham, 3 sides, a drink & a piece of pumpkin pie for $8.99. it was actually delicious & we ended up having the best time. we pretty much giggled our way through the entire meal ("I can't believe we are those people who are eating thanksgiving dinner at cracker barrel!"). god bless that place. 

 {kara & robert, waiting on a table}

 {you better believe my martha-stewart-mother would never fail provide cute place cards on a holiday}

 {a little pre-meal game}

{thanks to our amazing friends the xides for letting us crash at their place & finish their puzzle}

thankful

boy, we all have a lot to be thankful for, don't we? it's so easy in this society to feel sorry for ourselves & obsess over what we don't have instead of what we do. this year I'm feeling extremely grateful for my health, my faith & the love & support of those around me. what are you feeling grateful this season?

this thanksgiving is the first time in family history that we're breaking a big tradition. after losing pop over the summer, we all felt it would be too hard to go back to the lakehouse
this year without him (thanksgiving was his very favorite holiday). so we're doing something crazy. we're headed to atlanta today to stay with my sister & get this... we are skipping thanksgiving dinner altogether. we're going out to eat at a tapas restaurant on thursday! totally crazy, I know. but I suppose thanksgiving isn't so much about what you eat as it is about who you're with. and I'm pretty proud of myself for trying something new. I have a bit of a problem with change (I'm the one who pitches a fit if a certain food gets left off the thanksgiving day menu. like that one time when my mom tried to make the argument that mashed potatoes & sweet potatoes were basically the same thing!! um... no!)

I did, however, manage to get a little baking in - smitten kitchen's salted caramel apple tart. hopefully it travels well. 

happy thanksgiving, friends! 

sister visit in atlanta

over the weekend, my mom & I took a little road trip to visit my sweet sister in atlanta. it was such a fun weekend getaway, filled with good food, estate sale hunting, shopping & hanging out at her adorable place (pics of that next week). kara took us to the cutest antique market called "paris on ponce."  the owners were so nice to talk to have done & amazing job renovating this old warehouse. if you're ever in atlanta, you've got to check it out. also, the best bbq ever can be found at heirloom market. ah-mazing. here are some snapshots from our trip. 

 {heirloom market bbq is the shiz!}

{paris on ponce antique market}

 {cookies + lemonade - 'cause shopping makes you hungry}

peaches to the beaches

georgia's largest yard sale, "peaches to the beaches", happens once a year along a 200 mile stretch on highway 341. locals from lots of tiny towns in georgia pull out tables, tents & truck beds full of everything from antiques to just plain junk. my sister was in town so my mom organized a little family trip, just the four of us, just like old times (although we missed you, robert!).

there were so many sweet people running the booths who were so stereotypical "country folk" that if you're not from the south, you almost wouldn't have believed it. the accents sounded like something out of sweet home alabama, with people wearing overalls & saying things like, "well yessum, he lives just a stones throw away" (exact quote, by the way). people were selling live roosters (little jerry!) & giant ziplock bags of pork rinds. it was quite an experice. we actually didn't buy more than a few things, but it was such a fun day together, with tons of laughter. I love my family.

{no GPS here}

{umm... I think this was a joke}

{thanks for being our chauffeur, daddy}