Hubs Made Santa's Nice List

Well he at least made mine. Lately he's gone above and beyond his job of keeping me happy by doing the following:

1. He risked his life so our house could have Christmas lights. This may not seem like an extraordinary task, but let me tell you what...it was one thing after another that day. We didn't have a ladder tall enough to reach the second story of our house. But I HAD to have lights around our bedroom windows and hanging down from the eave (or else what's the point?). So, Hubs spent a good 45 minutes working on the screens that were painted and nailed shut on our windows so he could step out on the roof. Next issue - no outside outlet. So, he rigged up our mailbox so we could feed the wires through that and into our living room. Never mind that our front porch now looks like an obstacle course and I have to hide every time our mail lady comes because I just KNOW she hates us. And also never mind that now our living room has a definite draft at night due to the extension cord hanging out of our mailbox. Point is - lights are up! As you can tell from the pictures below... safety was our #1 priority. 

2. He came home early to save me from a spider. I know, I know... I should have you just killed it myself, but you weren't there! You didn't see it - it was HUGE. And I could tell its only mission in life was to bite me. I was on my way down to the basement to do laundry, TRYING to be a good wife and BAM. There it was. So I obviously spazzed and slammed my hand into the wall breaking the skin on my knuckle and simultaneously doing a spin move on the stairs leading to a minor case of whiplash. I bolted back up to the computer and IMMEDIATELY sent Hubs a message telling him he really needed to come home ASAP. He told me I was being ridiculous overreacting and said no way would the spider still be in that spot when he got there. Little did he know I had plans to stand at the top of the stairs with a can of Raid in one hand and a spatula in the other to make damn sure that thing didn't move. (I also may or may not have been wearing Hubs' tennis shoes so mine didn't get spider guts dirty in case I had to make a move). Thankfully, 45 minutes later Hubs walked in the door and just gave me this look like "you're too much" when he spotted me at the top of the stairs. Then he went down, killed it, came back up and told me that the dinner I was cooking smelled good. What a guy!

3. He inadvertently complimented my decorating skills without me even fishing for it. We were discussing the fact that a good friend of ours was moving in with her boyfriend. The conversation went a little something like this:

Hubs: They're definitely going to have to get used to the adjustments. 
Me: Was it really so bad when I moved in here??
Hubs: I mean... yea kind of. There was a lot to get used to.
Me: (sulking)
Hubs: But it does look a lot nicer now. Smells better too.

Merry Christmas to my wonderful husband! (Now let's see if he really reads this blog like he says he does...)

Vino Vitae

A few nights ago a couple girlfriends and I went to a Wine 101 class at a local wine shop called Vino Vitae. It was the cutest little place in Lafayette Square. (By the way... the houses in Lafayette Square? To DIE for... I wanted to go up to the door and ask them what they did for a living.) Anyway, Vino Vitae means a "Life of Wine" and I think it's my new motto. Who WOULDN'T want a life of wine? The class was great. It started with a glass of champagne (it's like he knew me!) and then we talked about the aroma wheel and sampled 2 whites side by side and 2 reds side by side. He had us try to pick out the different "flavors" of the wine using the aroma wheel (everything smelled fruity to me) and then we would talk about it. It turns out they offer all kinds of classes - some focus on the different regions where wine comes from like France, Italy or California and some focus in on specific types of grapes. With those classes you try to pick out the subtle differences between the wines. Check it out if you're looking for a fun way to spend an evening with friends or your significant other (unfortunately the wine gene skipped over Hubs so he would NOT be interested in something like this). The classes are really reasonably priced and you get a generous amount of wine! Not too shabby for a Tuesday night!

I wonder if Kate Middleton will have to write thank-you notes...

I mean... can you even imagine how many she'd have to write? Which brings up another question... what does one buy for a prince and princess? Are they registered somewhere? What do you buy someone that could live in a fully stocked castle? I'm tempted to send Kate and William a small gift and see what happens.

Anyway, Hubs and I got married on September 24. So I was we were fast approaching the 3 month deadline of needing to have thank you notes done when I finally started working on them a few weeks ago. I'd heard a lot of different guidelines on when you should have them completely finished by - 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year. I personally liked the 1 year 3 month option the best so I went with that. Let me tell you... if you have never written 150 thank you notes then you have haven't lived. Just kidding. I'm actually really jealous of you. Although, now that it's all over and I've regained feeling in my right hand again it doesn't seem all that bad. Thank you notes are a funny thing. I can't name one person that really likes writing them, yet it's something we all do. I totally get that its a nice way of showing gratitude for gifts and that its always fun to get mail from someone, but still. Hubs and I had the above conversation probably about 20 times while I was writing these notes. His solution was just to send a big email and blind copy everyone and just say "thanks for the gift!". However, I know my mother would have absolutely murdered me, so we went with the traditional route.

I really loved the thank you notes I ordered for the wedding. I got them from The Stationary Studio (http://www.thestationerystudio.com//) and they were just what I wanted. We ordered the Classic Monogram Border Flat Notecards and I would definitely recommend them to anyone in the market for thank you notes in bulk.

PS If I do end up sending a gift to the royal couple, I'll definitely let you know what happens.

Here we go...

So I'm ready to try my hand at this whole blogging thing. I'm not sure I have the patience, attention span, dedication to really do it justice, but I'm going to try my best. I've been messing around with the settings all night procrastinating coming up with the right way to start this off and I've finally settled on something. I'm going to copy. One of my good friends started their blog by writing 25 random facts about herself (shout out to Liz over at Gangl*icious - http://elizabethgangl.blogspot.com/) and that seems as good a way as any so here we go!

1. I was born in Missouri and have lived here all my life. I grew up in the suburbs outside of St. Louis, went to college in Columbia and then moved back in briefly with my mom before we drove each other crazy deciding it was best for me to get out on my own. I moved to St. Louis city after that and have lived here ever since. 

2. I played tennis competitively in middle school and high school but got burnt out and now only play on occasion.

3. The only regret I have from college is that I didn't stay there longer.

4. I can't stand the thought of drinking out of the same straw as someone else - even my husband.

5. My mom is my best friend.

6. I always wanted to live in a plantation home, but you can't always get what you want.

7. I'm beginning to realize that no matter how many years go by, you still don't feel like a grown up.

8. I'm a very convincing hypochondriac.

9. I HAVE to do things when I want to do them. Even if it means going to the gas station at 12:00 on a Tuesday night to get a Dr. Pepper or going to 4 different Targets to find what I'm looking for.

10. I surprised myself by not being one of those brides who enjoyed every minute of wedding planning.

11. I hate peas. And sausage.

12. I truly believe my best work is done when I've procrastinated to the very last minute possible.

13. I can't drink water when I'm hungover.

14. I would like to learn how to play the piano.

15. I go back and forth between wanting 2 kids, 3 kids and 1 kid and a boat with a lake house. I wish I didn't have to choose.

16. I miss taking naps.

17. It bothers me when people fall asleep before me and I'm not tired.

18. I CAN'T fall asleep if there is any noise.

19. One of my biggest pet peeves is sentences ending in prepositions. However, I will find myself ending sentences like this from time to time and for the life of me I can't figure out how to phrase the sentence a different way to fix it.

20. I wish I liked working out more at all.

21. The best thing about my husband is that he loves me for who I am and doesn't expect me to change.

22. I only like popcorn if it is stale.

23. I'm an only child. I take it as a compliment when people are surprised.

24. I studied abroad in Prauge one summer in college and it made me realize how much I need my family and friends.

25. I have bad taste in television shows.