Happy Birthday, Miss K!!

I can't believe that this cutie is already 2! Time is going by so fast.  It's been so much fun celebrating her birthday the past two weeks and her understanding that she shares her birthday with baby Jesus!  She's been walking around the house saying "Happy Birfday Baby Jesus and me" all morning.  SO sweet!  We celebrated with her birthday party on December 17, my actual due date.  I think for the time being, we will continue that tradition so we are able to celebrate before everyone starts traveling.  Miss K has pretty much been obsessed with Olivia (or "Ollio" as Miss K calls her) since last spring so I only thought it would be fitting to throw her an Olivia bash!  Given that this time last year we had snow, plus the thought of having a bunch of toddlers running through the house, AND the fact that the house was already decorated for Christmas, I decided to have her party at our local Gymboree Play and Music.  We took classes there from about 10 months until this last summer, so I already knew what the general gist would be.  It was great to go in, set up, play, eat and leave without finding icing or crumbs in crevices for months to follow!  The only real down side was it wasn't as "cutesy" as I would have liked it, but it was the perfect party for Miss K!!  We go for our two year checkup January 4th, so I'm going to wait and do a stats post until then.  Here are some pictures that my sister took of the bash.  My friend E also took pictures, but I haven't gotten those yet.  There are a bazillion pictures, but these are some of the cute ones!

New York Trip, Part 2

After we left the 9/11 Memorial, it was such a gorgeous day that we decided to "walk" our way back to midtown.  In theory, it was a great idea but in reality, not-so-much.  While Big Poppa was in jeans and tennis shoes, I was trying to not look the role of mommy and dressed in a cute sweater, leggings and boots.  Not thinking that we were going to walk our tushes off that day, I didn't choose my socks very carefully and ended up wearing a pair that rubbed my baby toes in the wrong spot.  (And yes, I whined the entire day)

Not a single cloud in the sky!

After a quick lunch at Cosi, we resumed our walking and shopping and just enjoying the city with no plans!  We stopped in an Irish pub to warm up, have a late afternoon pint and just chit chat.  It's great when you go into an Irish pub and the bartender is...Irish!  We got a big kick out of that!  By the time we left, the sun was starting to set and it was only 4:30! It's crazy, but it seems like this year it's getting darker so much earlier than normal so we decided to start narrowing down our dinner choices.  We both agreed that we wanted some good, straight up Chinese food and found Chin Chin, a gem of a restaurant not far from our hotel.  Let me tell you, Big Poppa is a bit of a food snob and a self-proclaimed foodie, and this meal was his favorite of the entire trip.  I was shocked when he said that, but didn't disagree! We were lucky that it was around six when we went in and we were able to get in without reservations.  By the time we left, it was insane busy!

Chin Chin, a must eat if you like Chinese food!!

Sunday morning we slept in a little later than we wanted and had to make a decision to either go catch part of the ING New York City Marathon or skip breakfast and eat an early lunch at Mario Batali's Eataly.  Big Poppa and I are big fans of Mario Batali restaurants with The Spotted Pig being one of our favorites!! Last year, Eataly had just opened the weekend before we were in NYC so when we were there it was literally shoulder-to-shoulder people and the wait to eat in all of the areas was over 2 hours.  We chose to make our way over to Eataly and we were lucky enough to get there just as they were opening up the restaurants to serve and were seated immediately. What a difference a year makes!  We ate at the pasta/pizza restaurant and shared a fresh mozzarella and salami platter and a 3-in-1 pizza that had margherita, calzone and verona pizza toppings.  Delish.

I wasn't thrilled to have my pic taken, can you tell?!

While we were at Eataly, I called my mom on one of my nine thousand check in calls of the weekend and when I asked her how Miss K was she said that she could tell Miss K was missing us.  From the moment she woke up that morning, mom said she was asking where we were.  That about broke my heart.  Especially since as far as Miss K is concerned, "Maga" is the best thing since sliced bread!!
After lunch we hit up our usual NYC stores and made a HAUL at Filine's Basement, Nordstrom Rack, Fishs Eddy (and about a gazillion others) and then finally, drum roll.....The Frye flagship store in SoHo. Holy boots, batman!  That store is the coolest place, and the fact that it is the ONLY brick and mortar Frye store made it that much cooler! I had been debating back and forth between the Melissa and Paige boots; but knew I wanted to try on the extended calf in the Melissa since I have such athletic humongo calves before making a decision.  They both fit great, but after chatting with the sales person and trying both pair on numerous times, I decided on the Paige tall riding boot in black.

I big, pink, puffy heart them and was trying to think of a way to squeeze get a second pair of boots while we were there.  Big Poppa kept asking why I didn't get new brown boots instead, but I have a pair of Miz Mooz Kent Riding boot in cognac from Nordstroms that I've had for a few years and I'm hoping to get through until next fall with them.  They've been worn hard, but are a great boot for the price.  Another reason why I didn't get the Melissa.  They're almost identical.
We got back from our shopping adventures with enough time to shower get ready for dinner at Tao. I was excited to go eat there, but even more excited to wear the new dress I got to wear to dinner!  (it doesn't take much!!)

New York and Company!

The food was really good, but the atmosphere made the meal!  It was a lot of fun.  Afterwards, Big Poppa wanted to go to a wine bar in Rockefeller Center, but when we got there, they were closed!?  So we settled on sharing a Sprinkles cupcake and called it a night! (Crumbs was better)
We had a great trip, I really do think it's essential to be able to go away as a couple and not be mommy and daddy for a few days but I know we were both excited to see this pumpkin when we got home!

New York Anniversary Trip, Part 1

I'm a bit behind on posts, but last week Big Poppa and I celebrated our 9th anniversary! In what's becoming a yearly tradition, we went back to New York to celebrate our last year of being married in single digits :)
My mom came into town Thursday night, and we left on the first flight out Friday morning! While it hurt a bit to wake up that early and get to the airport, it gave us the full day to spend in NYC which was nice.  After we arrived at LaGuardia, we went ahead to our hotel and dropped our bags so we could go and play before our room was ready.  This year we stayed at the Marriott East Side on 49th Street. It was a super nice hotel and the location was perfect!

I was a lot little sad that we didn't get to stay at The Ritz-Carlton, but when we booked our trip, we weren't sure if we would have enough points to stay the full weekend and by the time we realized we would, they were booked. Oh well, the upside is that we still have mucho points left over so that means more mini-cations for mommy and daddy!!!
We ended up not seeing a show, as we weren't able to score tickets to The Book of Mormon because they are completely sold out through February.  Like completely meaning no luck through our AMEX card concierge, TKTS booth, nada.  But boy did we make up for it with some shopping and eating!!  (Let's just say I was up 2 lbs at my WW weigh in that next week! BUT, I am back down 3.5 lbs since then so it's ok!!)  Friday night we had reservations at Macelleria, an Italian steakhouse in the Meatpacking District.

Big Poppa and I shared some fresh mozzarella and a cannelli bean and tuscan sausage appetizer, and a Porterhouse steak and brussel sprouts for dinner.  The food was good, but I think the atmosphere was my favorite!  We opted not to have dessert at the restaurant, but instead headed to Crumbs for a cupcake...yum!

  

Saturday morning we woke up and headed down to the Financial District.  We had tickets to the 9/11 Memorial but Big Poppa wanted to go see the hoopla that is Occupy Wall Street before our trip to the memorial.  I get their point, and the message they are "trying" to convey but all it looked like was a bunch of smelly, filthy tents and people that hadn't showered in a LONG time.  If I didn't know any better, I would have thought there was maybe a Woodstock revival going on, not a protest over Corporate America!  Case in point below. Agree??

Y'all-  the 9/11 Memorial.  Was absolutely. breath. taking.  So serene and peaceful in a place that just ten years ago was, in my eyes, location to the most horrific act of violence and hate ever.  It broke my heart to see a couple doing a rub on one of the names on the fountain.  I don't think I've ever felt so much sadness and pride in one place before.  If you are ever in NYC, this is a MUST do.  Big Poppa and I were in NYC in the summer of '04 when they were still digging and removing rubble that seemed like it would take forever to clear.  Even last year when we were there, I remember thinking there was no way that it was going to be finished in time for the 10th anniversary.  But it's finished and it's beautiful.  There's also a small museum/gift shop that has donated items and stories from survivors and loved ones.  Tears galore, folks.

And the tree that was damaged in the blasts but dug up, replanted, and nursed by the city worker? Alive and another testament to the strength of our great country.

Not only was the memorial breath-taking, my company on this trip wasn't too hard on the eyes, either!!

Happy Anniversary, in numbers!

I can't believe that Big Poppa and I just celebrated our 9th anniversary!  What a wild and wonderful nine years it has been.  In doing something similar to what AP did at I Love You More Than Carrots, I though it would be neat to celebrate our anniversary in numbers!


9- Wonderful years since saying "I Do" on November 9, 2002.  Never in my wildest dreams on that day would I have ever thought that I could have loved you any more than I did at that very moment.  Boy, was I wrong!


8- Fabulous vacations we have been on since then: Cayman Islands, Florida Keys, Puerto Rico, Niagara Falls, Napa Valley, Puerto Vallarta, Chicago, and NYC.


7- Total moves we have made together! What's crazy is three of those were all within the same apartment complex!!


6- Awesome trips to the OBX! I love that we have made this one of our family traditions and look forward to it every year!


5- Fun, crazy and football-filled years spent together at Texas Tech before we got married.  This is also the same number of degrees we have between the two of us!


4- States that we have been residents of in the past nine years: Texas, Florida, North Carolina and now Georgia.  At least you know better to keep me in the South! (I would FREEZE if we lived anywhere else!!)


3- The number of Emergency Room trips we've had with you attempting to cut your fingers/hand off! 


2- Beautiful homes that we have been lucky to call ours.  Homes where we have made irreplaceable memories and homes that we have filled with love, laughter and the occasional tears.


1- Absolutely perfect and beautiful combination of the two of us and our love.  The two of you are the loves of my life and the reason I breathe.




Big Poppa,


Thank you for choosing me to love and spend the rest of your life with.  I have been so blessed these past nine years of being your wife and I look forward to many more. I am so proud of the man you are and couldn't ask for a more perfect partner to walk hand in hand through this crazy life with.  I love you with all my being and thank God for you everyday.


                                              Love,
                                                   H

“If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you.”

                                                                      - Winnie the Pooh 

New Look!

After a year or so of toying around in the web/blog world and pretending like I knew what I was doing, I finally bit the bullet and contacted the fabulous Marina at Penny Lane Designs to help me give The Transplanted Texan a new look.   I have seen her work through various blogs I read and really like how clean and classic her layouts are!  While eventually I would love to have her do a fully customized look for The Transplanted Texan, I started with one of her pre-made layouts and then customized it to what I wanted.  I must say, I love it!!  I initially told her that I wanted pink as one of the colors, but that I had no clue on the other.  Marina sent a few ideas of her own, and of course the first one she sent was my favorite!  
We had a few conversations about fonts and what not, and in the end she gave me everything I asked for...and more!  I am so excited about my new look and I look forward to continuing to share the craziness of our family!  

The Cutest Pumpkin in the Patch....again!!

If you've been reading since day one, you'll remember last year's post about our trip to the pumpkin patch! Miss K was so cute and we got some really great pictures of her.  She was more in awe of everything but obviously didn't really understand where we were as she was only ten months old.  This year, we started talking about the pumpkin patch literally on the way home from the apple orchard last month! Miss K is all about some "punkins" and we have to point out EVERY "punkin" in the neighborhood when driving in and out of the 'hood.  We finally had a chance to go this past Saturday (yes, cutting it close, I know!) as we have officially entered the crazy time of year here at Casa de D.  Basically, beginning two weekends ago and through the first weekend in January, we are only home or without company for two weekends!  One being this last weekend and the next being in December.
So Sunday morning we loaded up bright and early and headed up to Burt's Pumpkin Farm in North Georgia for some pumpkin fun.  The way up there, Miss K was asking if we were getting a biggg punkin and some baby punkins.  When we pulled in, she actually got mad that she had to wait for me to put her jacket on since it has gone from chilly to down right cold in a few weeks!  Once we made it in, she was off!

With much protest, Big Poppa and I were able to wrangle her for a few photos with each one of us, but as you can tell by the looks on her face she wasn't really wanting to hold still and smile!!

Notice she's smiling, but not looking at mommy? 

Literally trying to scooch off my lap as we're taking the picture! (PS-Totally forgot to take off my jacket and sunglasses for this pic!  I look like a goofball :))

We ran around looking at all the different punkins and then she saw the big green tractor and was ready to go on a hayride!

After the hayride, we gave the pictures another go, and then got serious about picking our punkins!

Mommy and K sharing some secrets!

Helping daddy choose some punkins.

Not so sure of riding in the wheelbarrow!

We had so much fun this year and Miss K has already asked when we can go back!  I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful Fall weather and had a fabulous Halloween!

Hump Day Dump Day!!

There is a bunch of randomness going on in my head and in my world, so I figured I'd share them with all of you to make some room in this here head of mine!!

• So I'm back on the Weight Watchers train.  I did WW before Miss K and had pretty good results, and I'm one of those people that can't be told to NOT eat something or I want it that much more.  That's the good thing about WW... I can eat whatever, I just have to make choices.  In good news, I was down 4.6 this week!! Yes, I lost 4.6 lbs in ONE week!  (Please note....I still have at least 25.4 to go)
• Miss K is absolutely cracking me up these days!  We're working on our colors and last week we were getting dressed for school and I put on a red hoodie with white polka dots on it on her.  I asked her what color her jacket was and she said red.  Then she asked "Whas this?" pointing to the polka dots.  After telling her that was a polka dot, she proceeded to say "cocoa cots".  Adorable, I tell ya! When I picked her up from school, one of her teachers said they were cracking up for over an hour because Miss K kept saying "cocoa cots" and they thought she was saying "cocoa puffs" (which she has never had, nor do I buy them!) until she kept pointing to her jacket and matching socks and they finally figured out she was saying "polka dots"!! 
• I've finally gotten the majority of my fall decorations up.  I'm still trying to figure out what works in Casa de D and adding on the existing decorations.  I printed a really cute subway art printable from Pinterest and made a few other Pinterest-inspired decorations this weekend. I printed and framed it in just the standard 8.5 x 11 size and put it on my mantle with leaves and pumpkins!  Love it! (the pic below is from Pinterest)

• Here's a few of the fun crafts made this weekend!

• A while back on Gilt, they had Hunter wellies and unfortunately sold out of my size (9!) in the pink ones I've been coveting.  Even though I've never had any luck on items I've put on their wait list, a few weekends ago, I got an email saying they were available!! SCORE...totally ordered them!  They were beautiful.  Noticed I said "were".  They were too small on my calves.  I seriously have the largest calves in the world.  Sadly, they were dropped off at the post office this morning to go back to Gilt.  
• Big Poppa and I are going back to New York for our anniversary next month.  We both really love NYC and it's the perfect time of the year to be in the city.  I love Broadway shows, and last year we saw Billy Elliot as my cousin is currently in it.   Big Poppa is not so much a fan of musicals so when planning this trip I was trying to get tickets to a show that I know he would enjoy.  I decided to try and get tickets to Book of Mormon since he was a South Park fan back in the day.  Y'all they are SOLD out until February.  And have been since this summer.  So, if anyone has any good recommendations, I'm all ears! We did get tickets to the 9-11 memorial and we are really excited to go see it.  Last year it was still so under construction that you couldn't really tell what it was going to look like. 
• I'm not going to pretend like I didn't buy 4 Erin Condren gift certificates from One Kings Lane... but the great thing is I had enough credits and a Plum District voucher and didn't pay a dime!  Oh Happy Day!!  I have loved everything from EC that I have already ordered, so I am super excited to order more goodies!!
• I FINALLY finished my second Texas Tech wreath for the other front door!  Everyone agreed from this post that I needed two wreaths so against my OCD self, I made the second wreath.  It doesn't match the other one perfectly, but I do think it looks so much better with both of them!

• Since moving into Casa de D last summer, I have been struggling to keep up with all the cleaning that is involved in keeping the house up.  Even though I came up with a weekly chore schedule in my Home Organization Binder, I still find myself not being able to get it all done.  And I've really gotten down on myself since I stay at home now and think that I should be able to get it all done.  After some creative maneuvering in the budget, I am so excited to finally get some help with the cleaning! I think having someone come every other week to help me keep up the big stuff will be a huge help!

There are still tons more bits of randomness in my head, but I need to get my grocery list together before Miss K wakes up from her nap!  Have a great rest of the week!!

An Apple a Day

Can I get an AMEN for the absolutely gorgeous weather we're having in the ATL right now?? Seriously, if I could find somewhere that was like this year round, I'd move (again) in a heartbeat!  To help welcome the official start of fall here, we made a trip out to an apple orchard this past weekend.  Miss K had so much fun and Big Poppa and I had a blast watching her soak everything in.  I can't believe how much of a big girl she's becoming, and this weekend it was bittersweet to see her asking so many questions and just "getting" everything!

I don't want to ruin this post with my ramblings, so I will leave it the pictures to give you the play-by-play!

                                                                     Rockin' the trike!

                                                                      LOVE these two!!

                                                                    Oh my cuteness!!

                                                                    Our little family :)

                                                                        Loving the tractor

                                                                           So sweet

                                                                      Picking her first apple

                                                             She got the hang of it in no time!

                                                             Focused on finding more apples!

I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather!  Happy Fall, y'all!

Scarf Swap

Over the past few years, I have become a big fan of scarves.  I'm still trying to figure out various ways to tie them and of course, convincing myself that I don't look like a complete goofball when wearing them!  A few weeks ago, the adorable Meredith at Merry & Bright hosted a scarf swap so I jumped in on the fun and was paired up with Rebecca from I Wanna Be A Domestic Goddess.  All I'm saying about Rebecca is THANK goodness I don't live near her, or I would be as big as a house!  This girl can bake a mean cupcake!!  After chatting back and forth about what we liked, I sent Rebecca two scarves because I just couldn't decide between the two.  I of course forgot to take a picture of what I sent Rebecca, but was sooo excited when I got my happy box in the mail!

OK, is her Ashley Brooke notecard not the cutest?!  And the scarves?? LOVE THEM!  The pink one is fabulous (my fav color) and the buffalo check/plaid one is beyond adorable.  I had a chance to wear the plaid one last week and against my better judgment, I'm posting my first ever self-photo.  Don't laugh (ok, laugh, but not too loud)!  I can not stand to have my picture taken, so taking one of myself was pure torture.

Thanks again to Meredith for hosting the swap, and Rebecca for the fabulous scarves!!

Showing my Life Planner Love!

It's no secret that before having Miss K, I was a bit OCD when it came to organization.  I'm that girl that keeps her shoes in clear plastic, labeled shoe boxes.  My pantry shelves are categorized and our DVD/Blue Rays are in alphabetical order.  And bless all my former students' hearts- you've never seen more organized 8 and 9 year olds.  My files were organized by subject and then by the quarter in which they were taught.  My planner/agenda/calendar was with me at all times. Even once I got my iPhone, I still had to have everything on paper.  I couldn't commit to anything without checking my calendar. In the almost 2 years since leaving the classroom and having Miss K, I have been nothing short of a chicken running around with it's head cut off.  I kid you not.  It didn't help that in the first eight or so months after having Miss K, we sold our house in NC, moved into a corporate apartment for two months then finally moved into Casa de D last summer.  Total chaos, folks.  NOT my style.  As K and I became busier and I started getting involved in more things, the chaos intensified.  For those of you that don't know me in real life, when I feel unorganized or out of control, I become a

lunatic.  More of a lunatic than I already am.  Enter the self-intervention this past summer.

While home in Texas, I was trying to figure out how on Earth I could get a grip on my life. Then it hit me...  You see, I realized that I wasn't treating my new job like it was a real job.  And you know what's funny?  This new job, the job of Miss K's mommy/stay at home wife/mom is one million times harder than any of my eight years of teaching.  No lie.  But for 18 months I hadn't been giving this new job the respect or thoughtful planning that I gave to my old job.  If I would have run my classroom the way I've been running my house and my life- I would have been fired in a heartbeat.  Then as though the blogosphere and twitterverse had been hearing my thoughts, I was introduced to Erin Condren and her AWESOME products, including the Life Planner!  Let me tell you, I am hooked!  Never again will I own any other planner, and I have owned my share. It has been a lifesaver and between that and my Home Organization Binder, I am pleased to say "I'm baaaaack"!  Gone are the feelings of unorganization and total out of controlness (not a word, I know).  My days are planned, my meals are planned, my cleaning is planned, my PLANS are planned! 
For those of you that are unfamiliar with the Life Planner, here are a few peeks into mine. 

After MUCH debate, I ordered the taffy stripe in navy and pink! I loved all EC's choices, but this was my fav!! (The marker is covering my last name!)  The front and back covers are a thick lamination and I love the spiral binding on the side.

EC does a great job of including inspirational quotes and sayings throughout the planner, this one is at the front.  You can also see the tabs for each month along the side.

This is at the back of the planner- on the left side is a 2-sided pocket.  I keep my matching note pad in one pocket and use the other pocket for important receipts, etc.  On the right side is a clear pouch that has stamps, business cards, pens, address labels, and the fun freebies that EC sent with my planner!

Here is the monthly view that is the first page of each month and the page that the tab is attached to.  I am a color-coded person; each family member is a different color, and if it pertains to all of us it is a separate color!  We've been busy this month at Casa de D!!! (Notice the fun bookmark in the top right?  EC send you 2 of these to use in your planner!!)

Here are what the weekly pages look like!  I love that there are three separate spaces for each day- morning, day, and evening!  I follow the same color rule on these pages as well.  I write my daily chores in here as well so that I can keep up with what I've done and still need to do. 

There are SOO many more great things that the team at EC have thought of to make this planner perfect!  There's a place for important dates, lined pages for notes, a sheet for important numbers, and these AWESOME color-coded (SQUEE!!!) stickers for various things like birthdays, games, hair appointments, etc! 

Y'all get this- they have so much more than just the Life Planners!  I also ordered new family stationary with return address labels, circle address labels, notepads, and as soon as Big Poppa comes back from California this weekend, we're deciding on and ordering our Christmas cards! (Well, I've already decided, but I guess I'll let him have some say!)  And to top it off, their customer service is hands down, the best! 

*I am in no way being compensated for saying these things about Erin Condren.  I am just a huge fan and want to spread the love!