Dressing Up Baby

Dogs are supposed to be graceful, outdoorsy creatures that can detect the scent of a squirrel long-gone and dig holes in the ground with amazing quickness. I never thought I would be the person that dressed them up in human clothes. And then I met Sawyer. While Lady fits the previous description of a dog, Sawyer seems to fit the description of a human toddler. He wants to be held all day, every day- and belly up, which is very unusual for dogs. He shivers and shivers indoors at the first sign of cool weather, while Lady is outside exploring. And while Lady gets all riled up at the dog barking on tv, Sawyer rolls over indifferently, wondering when his next belly scratch is coming. Dressing him up started with the idea of the dog snuggie in an attempt to keep him warm, but then we realized how funny it is that he seems so natural in these little outfits.

* * *

So, sorry buddy, if the human clothes fit...

Now, don't get too worried, I'm not going to be that person that puts him in a tiny Burberry coat to try and make some sort of skewed fashion statement. We mainly do it to get a laugh and then take it off him, but he may have a Halloween costme next year!

If we took a holiday...

...It would be so nice! Hopefully, that Madonna song is now stuck in your head. Well, since it's January 18th, I figured I should probably get around to doing a holiday post sometime soon. The holidays this year were all about spending time with the family we don't get to see on a regular basis.

It all started with Thanksgiving in Tallahassee. Just a quiet day with Mom, Dad, Me and Drew and Toby and Monica (in from Austin) and three beagles. We pretty much just played with the pups, watched football and ate. A much more peaceful Thanksgiving than the "Orphan" Thanksgivings we would throw in San Diego.
I'm not sure where the pictures from this day are, probably on my parents' cameras. But here is a cute one of my bro and sis:

Early December, we took a little family trip to the Havana Christmas Tree Farm. The pups were in new-scent heaven- this might be the only picture with their noses off the ground.

The pictures don't show that it was raining. My feet are sinking into the wet ground here. Sawyer is the only one allowed off the leash because he will come when called.

We needed a small tree this year, for both money and doggie purposes (we put it on a small table away from paws). We found a good one, and Drew sawed it off in about 30 seconds- this was my first time cutting down a fresh tree.

The girls, after we got the tree all decorated.

I never posted the card we actually used. Here it is, Merry Christmas!

Unfortunately, Drew and I got sick about two or three days before Christmas Day, so we missed the Candlelight Christmas Eve service and were still feeling rotten on Christmas. No pictures on my camera from that day.
* * *

Somehow, we still managed to get ourselves on a plane on the 26th to go visit our California family. Must be love. We had the best airport welcome, ever!

For our West coast family Christmas, we went to Clovis and the boys played in the annual Extreme Croquet tournament

The winner this year was Sammy. He is very proud of the new Chevron with his name on it

Elizabeth, with her cheerleading plaque

This year, we did something special for Drew's Grandma (pictured). We all contributed an object the represented a memory with her to a bowl of blessings. Here, Jane is reading her message to her Mom, and Grandma is modeling the cape Jane made for her!

I think we're trying not to cry.

The rest of the week was spent playing with Drew's cousins (and Nate)

We went to see Avatar in 3D. Fun experience,

but I'll let someone else comment on the movie itself- I'm too picky, I guess.We took a family trip to the Clay Cafe to paint

We each did a tile that will get fired (the colors will get much deeper) and will be put into a mural to mark our 09 Christmas together

On New Year's Eve, Curt and Jane took us all out for a fancy dinner at The Vintage Press

Then, we dressed down and headed over to Leah's boyfriends house for a bonfire

We are a "special" family in all senses of the word

Happy New Year! I have a feeling it's going to be a great one!

Clothes made with love

My beautiful friend Tina Fransson (pictured with husband, Johan) has recently begun to sew custom-made clothes, inspired by the love of God.

A snippet from her bio:

"God gave each and every one of us gifts. Some can sing, others are kind, some are good listeners....I believe one of the gifts he gave me is the passion to make clothes for others. At this point in my life, it feels like this is something God wants me to do. So my purpose for now is to love others and to spread the word of Jesus Christ and his love to all who buy my clothes and let everyone know that they are loved!"

I must be loved, because I received one of the first (if not the first) dress made by Tina. She let me design it myself (because I always have an idea for a dress in mind and can never quite find what I'm looking for) and she did the bateau-neck, party dress exactly as I had imagined it!

* * *

Because it was the inaugural run, Tina cut up an old bridesmaid dress for the fabric and did all of the construction before she had her dress form or any of her patterns- and look at how lovely it turned out! I was so impressed with her work that I decided to get some pictures of me in it to showcase her talent. Drew took the pictures in our yard last Saturday:

I guess someone felt left out:

So Sawyer got in on the pictures, too

I am so embarrassed to post this one, but the dress looks so nice from this angle. This was in response to Andrew saying, "Do something. Anything. Put your hands on your hips and strike a pose." He was right; it's better to be ridiculous than awkward and bland!

Tina did such gorgeous detail on the back:

On Facebook, she has been referring to her project as "Ta Ta Tina," so here's a little logo I put together (in the prehistoric "paint" feature of my computer!)

If you or any other fashion-forward ladies you know want a custom-made piece, check out Tina's website:

http://www.wix.com/tfransson/custom

She charges just a little over materials and shipping (if you live outside of the San Diego area), and does more than just dresses. Here is a recent jacket she did:

Tina, thanks for letting me be part of your mission to spread His love! And thank you for my darling dress!

A Recessed 2009 brings a Resourceful 2010

Since I can't do a holiday post until Drew finishes tinkering with our computer,

I thought I'd take a moment to talk about my interminable struggle: affording the things I want on the budget we've got!

Here's the want:

~Vintage-inspired with darling little gemstones~

I have been eyeing these pumps all holiday season,

but they refuse to budge from their $100+ price tag.

So I had to work with what I've got:

I never wear these ruby red heels because of the wonky bow:


So I stepped outside the box for a moment- and into JoAnne Fabrics- and was able to find some black gemstones and arrange them in place of the ugly bow. The shoes even happen to have a black heel, so it worked out well:

So I've got my fashion fix for the time being, and I'm able to wear the heels I've been ignoring. Way to go, 2010 Addi!

If only the rest of our nation's economic problems could be solved by a little hot glue...

Christmas Card Outtakes

For our Christmas card this year, we wanted to include our new four-legged pals. However, I did not anticipate having so much trouble getting two wound-up puppies to cooperate for the photo. (I even had to completely ditch my puppy-in-a-stocking idea because they would kick their little legs which made it impossible to slide them inside!)

* * *
So, for your enjoyment, here is what we went through to try and get a pic of the four of us
* * *
At first they would jump out

Then they refused to stand up

Then we'd get Lady to stand up and Sawyer would sit down in the box

I don't even know what's going on here

Almost... just face the front!

But eventually we got some good ones

Merry Christmas from Andrew, Adelaide, Sawyer and Lady!

N.O.L.A

Francesco decided that for his 30th birthday he wanted to go to New Orleans and do it up big. We are sure glad he did! Here are some (okay, a lot) of pictures from our vaca-reunion with some great San Diego folk. (All of these pictures are courtesy of Natalie and Desiree because our camera was having problems- I even included a couple from the night before our arrival, just because they are cute)

* * *

Birthday boy and sis

Andrew missed him

I miss her!

First item on the agenda: eat some alligator

After dinner, we stopped at Coyote Ugly. Here is the whole gang:

The bartender taught us a stompAnd, of course, we had to visit Bourbon street
Cute Bourbon street pic:
Then, off to Karaoke! Natalie and Desiree are shakin it to Beyonce's single ladies (even though they aren't really single- but I was still excluded from the dance)

The birthday boy busted out some moves.

(My MJ moonwalk was not captured on camera... fortunately)

This was actually not my idea (it was my wayward husbands') but I embraced it:

fun, fun, fun

cute couple!

The original Forrest Gump park bench suit? We tourists like to think so

Drew, and some of the others, had never been to New Orleans before. So we checked out all the main stops like Jackson Square:

And, of course, had a beignet at Cafe du Monde

Some of us had the full beignet experience

On Saturday, we took a trolley to the Garden District

Lots of little shops and historic homes with N'awlins style wrought iron

and porches with Southern columns

Saturday night was the birthday celebration. We went to a restaurant-- blanking on the name-- something to do with Wolfgang Puck?? Anyway, it was yummy

Desiree and I shared some turtle soup:

My favorite guy

That night, we took off our beads and masks and decided to venture over to Frenchman street to see what the locals do for fun. We found a great jazz/blues band called Tuba Skinny :

We then found some street music and the fellas had to jive also, see?

Thanks for the great memories!

Just an old sweet song keeps Georgia on my mind

On Veteran's Day and the day following, Andrew's brother, Matt, finished boot camp for the Army. Some of his loved ones were able to make the trek to Georgia to come celebrate his achievement (Drew and I are just a few hours drive from Columbus).

Pulling into Sand Hill, a divsion of Fort Benning:

Private First Class Mitchell

The first ceremony (the day I could be there) was an introduction to the soldiers and drill sergeants, recognition of special awards, and the soldiers recieved their black berets.

Proud Andrew

Mom and Grandma

Matt's girlfriend, Claire

Proud sister-in-law (the pics of me and Matt must be on his Mom's camera)

We got to tour the camp and watch some Army drills. I was more interested in the bright trees

Something to do with rifles:

I'm not sure I was supposed to take a picture of this:

Drew stayed for the Thursday official graduation ceremony, but left the camera in th hotel. If I get any of those pictures, I'll upload them here or on Facebook.

* * *

Matt is already at his next post in Augusta, Georgia, where he will begin training in microwaves (not the appliance, but similar technology).

* * *

Matt, we miss you, love you and are so proud of you!