Muchas Gracias

Hello blog friends...

I would like to let you ALL know that I have an amazingly wonderful friend who sent me these in pink and green for Christmas. She saw this post back in the day...and must have made a mental note :) We had a teeny snafu with the first order...hah, so I was excited to get the perfect ones in the mail yesterday!

THANK YOU cBr for being an amazing friend, former roommate, and sister in Christ.

I'm happy as a clam.

PS -- I'm rallying for her to start her own blog. It needs to happen ASAP. K, thanks.

Lazy...

I'm typically not a lazy person. However...found these Vineyard Vines Sand Dollars and Starfish Lazy Pants at a Holiday Sale...and well...I've been able to relax, NO problem.

I'm in love with these suckers.



PS -- I need to get back in full gear for New Year's...so...this whole removal of all four wisdom teeth deal needs to get with the program. I'm still in pain. ridiculous.

Like the Holidays...

Like the holidays, all things Lilly make me so happy.

Enjoy the video and history lesson :)

Festivities

After an early morning (due to the 13 year old brother pictured above) of opening beautiful gifts, eating lots of yummy breakfast food, and a big afternoon nap, the family and I are planning to drive around town to look at Christmas lights together. It's a tradition :)

My favorite gift this Christmas morning:

Southern Proper Belle Bands in Light Blue Cotton and Navy Magnolia :)

Yay for family, friends, blessings, and Christ's birth! Merry Christmas!

Holding Hands

With the celebration of Christ's birth, my loving family in town, and a new beau by my side, I'm quite joyful this holiday season.

A visual image of what I've been up to for the past few days...
{Image found here}


PS -- One of my favorite things to do: holding hands with loved ones.

Hip Hip Hooray!

Wrapped a few gifts last night for a special someone...



The Boy is coming today! AND staying for a day or two :)

I can't stop smiling. That's all.

I'm not even kidding...

Hello friends! I'm doing well...but I have to say, this guinea pig and I have quite the resemblance while I am recovering. (minus that fur, of course...)



Since the removal of my four wisdom teeth, my lower jaws are SUPER swollen...and I look like I'm storing up food. It's pretty much the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen.
We're basically twins.

These drugs.

Homegirl here thinking that these drugs aren't doing a dern thing. Mother and Daddy tell me that when I was little and was given pain medicine, I got wide-eyed and crazy. So...that is what we have here ladies and gents. Took a Vicodin and I am rip-rearing, ready to go. nutso.

Word on the street is that the doc had trouble getting me to go to sleep with the IV so they juiced me up even more. Then, my BP got realllllly low so then gave me more medicine to bring me back...and guess what happens? I wake up during surgery. cOoL. not.

As we are leaving the office, I have complete feeling in my mouth. cOoL. not.

I did get to talk to the Boy. He tells me that he would rather be here taking care of me than skinning a bear. I feel honored. ha ha ha.

Ew.

So the dentist broke the news to me about six months ago. Removal of all four wisdom teeth is necessary. No bueno.

Tomorrow is the big day. Out they come! Wish me luck...
I hear that they give good drugs...

Sunday Lunch

I had the privilege of joining the Boy for Sunday lunch last week after church. He decided to treat me to my first visit at The Weathervane. I had no idea I was in for such a lovely, Southern experience. Located off 15-501 in University Mall in Chapel Hill, NC, this restaurant once started as a teeny treasure located within A Southern Season. Since 1975, The Weathervane has blossomed and is no longer a cafe but an acclaimed restaurant dedicated to serving the beaus and belles of the South.

When browsing their website, I can across this letter by the founder of the restaurant and wanted to share:

"We all smile when folks notice that A Southern Season's weathervane has all it's arrows pointing south. It's symbolic of traditions where service and hospitality hold honor and respect, and we hope that those traditions are shared each time you choose to visit the store and the restaurant." -Michael Barefoot

Boy and I had the wonderful opportunity to browse A Southern Season while waiting for our table. At the moment I entered the store, I think my jaw dropped. I was in heaven and thinking to myself that I have been living in a hole if I've never stepped foot in such an amazing place. Word on the street is that the Boy loved watching my eyes light up as I discovered such treasures:

All pottery by VIETRI.





Hmmmm, Lemon Drops :)



The December Wine Case

{All images from A Southern Season}

Not to mention that the assortment of paper goodness was beyond belief...Crane & Co., kate spade, and PAPYRUS... so yummy.

Beloved Craig Claiborne of the NY Times labeled A Southern Season "wall to wall and floor to ceiling, a visual and gustatory delight" and I could not agree more. Politely devouring my fried green tomatoes, cheddar scrambled eggs, and fresh fruit, this little lady was in Southern heaven. I think a tradition of having Sunday Lunch there wouldn't be too shabby.

I'm just sayin'.
And thank you to CGL for such an amazing lunch. Let's go again...my treat!

Fabuloso.

Attn: I am VERY picky when it comes to picking out a planner. I have a busy life...and I have to write down many lovely things for each day so most importantly it has to have enough writing space. It has to be classic, with clean lines, and with a solid color palette. duh.

So...after a month of searching for the 2009 planner, I found one. Finally.
Barnes & Noble. And it's navy and green. With a beautiful blue ribbon. cream pages and navy print.



It makes me smile. freakin fabuloso. I'm thinking about filling it all in with dates instead of doing my final projects. hm...

Huge Fan

You all should know that I'm a huge fan of John Piper.
One of the best books I've read is Don't Waste Your Life by Piper -- I read it while traveling in Ecuador and shared it with my friends so they could read encouraging snippets. I've also had the opportunity to hear him speak at a conference in Atlanta.

I came across this poem that John Piper wrote for his son's wedding ceremony. It is beautiful in every way. Last stanza = amazing.

The Wedding Poem

The God whom we have loved, and in
Whom we have lived, and who has been
Our Rock these twenty-two good years

With you, now bids us, with sweet tears,
To let you go: “A man shall leave
His father and his mother, cleave
Henceforth unto his wife, and be
One unashamed flesh and free.”
This is the word of God today,
And we are happy to obey.
For God has given you a bride
Who answers every prayer we’ve cried
For over twenty years, our claim
For you, before we knew her name.

And now you ask that I should write
A poem - a risky thing, in light
Of what you know: that I am more
The preacher than the poet or
The artist. I am honored by
Your bravery, and I comply.
I do not grudge these sweet confines
Of rhyming pairs and metered lines.
They are old friends. They like it when
I bid them help me once again
To gather feelings into form
And keep them durable and warm.

And so we met in recent days,
And made the flood of love and praise
And counsel from a father’s heart
To flow within the banks of art.
Here is a portion of the stream,
My son: a sermon poem. It’s theme:
A double rule of love that shocks;
A doctrine in a paradox:

If you now aim your wife to bless,
Then love her more and love her less.

If in the coming years, by some
Strange providence of God, you come
To have the riches of this age,
And, painless, stride across the stage
Beside your wife, be sure in health
To love her, love her more than wealth.

And if your life is woven in
A hundred friendships, and you spin
A festal fabric out of all
Your sweet affections, great and small,
Be sure, no matter how it rends,
To love her, love her more than friends.

And if there comes a point when you
Are tired, and pity whispers, “Do
Yourself a favor. Come, be free;
Embrace the comforts here with me.”
Know this! Your wife surpasses these:
So love her, love her, more than ease.

And when your marriage bed is pure,
And there is not the slightest lure
Of lust for any but your wife,
And all is ecstasy in life,
A secret all of this protects:
Go love her, love her, more than sex.

And if your taste becomes refined,
And you are moved by what the mind
Of man can make, and dazzled by
His craft, remember that the “why”
Of all this work is in the heart;
So love her, love her more than art.

And if your own should someday be
The craft that critics all agree
Is worthy of a great esteem,
And sales exceed your wildest dream,
Beware the dangers of a name.
And love her, love her more than fame.

And if, to your surprise, not mine,
God calls you by some strange design
To risk your life for some great cause,
Let neither fear nor love give pause,
And when you face the gate of death,
Then love her, love her more than breath.

Yes, love her, love her, more than life;
O, love the woman called your wife.
Go love her as your earthly best.

Beyond this venture not. But, lest
Your love become a fool’s facade,
Be sure to love her less than God.

It is not wise or kind to call
An idol by sweet names, and fall,
As in humility, before
A likeness of your God. Adore
Above your best beloved on earth
The God alone who gives her worth.
And she will know in second place
That your great love is also grace,
And that your high affections now
Are flowing freely from a vow
Beneath these promises, first made
To you by God. Nor will they fade
For being rooted by the stream
Of Heaven’s Joy, which you esteem
And cherish more than breath and life,
That you may give it to your wife.

The greatest gift you give your wife
Is loving God above her life.
And thus I bid you now to bless:
Go love her more by loving less.

By John Piper

Mi familia

Oh, Turkey Break at the beach was so wonderful.

We have a tradition to pose for a picture, all 22 of us + doggie, in the front yard of my MaMa and DaDa's house in Newport, NC.

For your enjoyment, see the lovely photo below :)



And that's just my dad's side of the fam.

Talent

The Boy is talented. End of story.

Check out the photos from our road trip across North Carolina. Starting at the OBX and crossing the Finish line at Stone Mountain State Park.

My favorite photo is the doe in the wildflowers. It was like she was posing for him.
Enjoy!









{All images by C. Grant Linderman II}

And I think the photography speaks for itself...no need to ramble. Pretty solid.