Christmas decorations

Jennie Whitsell said she wanted to see postings of Christmas decorations, so here is our humble version of Christmas. Partly because we had to get rid of some becuase of the move, partly because we are going back to CA for Christmas, and partly because we are just cheap and have a hard time buying decorations that will be up for one month of the year.

I have always wanted a door wreath, so this year we bought one (Home Depot, $6.88-- can't beat that!)

This is my favorite-- a nativity scene that Bob's grandmother brought to him from Bethlehem. As you can see, Mary, Joseph and the baby aren't there yet because it's not time. However, they are either going to have to be early or late at our house this year because we won't be home during that time.

A beautiful table cloth Bob's mom made for us.

Stockings made by my brother last year. Our kitchen bar serves as our mantle apparently.

And our very simple Christmas tree. It does have one ornament, though!

Beautiful Tennessee

This is a cotton field in Jackson. It was the first time I've ever seen cotton being grown. You can't help but think of slavery and what our world must have been like back then. It was very humbling.

Nashville baby

Downtown Nashville

This is one of the three breakfast courses!

After visiting Bob's aunt and uncle in Jackson, we decided to go to a bed and breakfast in Brentwood, which is a suburb near Nashville. We went into Nashville that night just to see what it was like. There was live country music playing in every bar and people were wearing cowboy hats and boots. Fun to see and I have to tell you that a little part of me felt like I fit in. Even though you wouldn't know it on the outside...

We went to dinner at Spaghetti factory and back early to our bed and breakfast to enjoy the cute room and chocolate chip cookies. The next day we went to see downtown Franklin which has an old town feel that reminded me of the Orange Circle. We got frozen yogurt that we got to put the toppings on, which isn't as big out here as it is in California so it was a real treat, and shopped around in tea shops and used book stores. It was one of those days where you just don't feel the need to look at the clock.

Thanksgiving in Tennessee

Bob's aunt and uncle live in Jackson, Tennessee so we decided to take a road trip when they graciously invited us out for Thanksgiving. We decided to stop at Trader Joes on the way to grab them a bottle of wine and some chocolate as a thank you. Some people decide to tour the US to see different stadiums, etc. Bob and I have decided we are going to do this with different Trader's--so fun. However, we neglected to check out Tennessee alcohol laws, instead making ourselves look like goofs when we asked the worker why we couldn't find any wine in the store. Apparently normal grocery stores only sell beverages with a certain percentage of alcohol and wine doesn't make the cut so it has to be sold at the liquor store. Therefore, we gave his aunt and uncle chocolate as a thank you. Just chocolate.

We thoroughly enjoyed the route to Tennessee as well as their beautiful home and all the wonderful food Sheri always cooks. We spent a lot of our time playing pool (loosing at pool for me) and just relaxing. It was nice to spend time with them and see a new place.

Who needs kids as an excuse to have fun

On our way to Tennessee for Thanksgiving, Bob and I stopped in Chattanooga, a quaint little town near the Georgia Tennessee border. We had lunch and walked around and found ourselves in a cute park that had a merry-go-round. I immediately wanted to go but needed to be convinced that we didn't have to have kids as an excuse to enjoy. Bob did a good job convincing me of this, and here we are. I think we started a trend because once we got on a bunch of other adults came in and got on sans kids. The only complaint I have is that it wasn't long enough!

My birthday

My amazing husband cooked me dinner for my birthday. It was so nice having a wonderful meal in our own home. He treated me like a queen and wouldn't let me touch a thing. He brought me a chai tea to sip on while he finished the dinner, which consisted of cheese and bread appetizer, champagne, and salmon with vegetables. It was so good and so thoughtful!

Here is the appetizer.

We then went to a European style restaurant called Cafe Intermezzo that is known for their desserts. Each day they make different cakes and things, so they don't even have a dessert menu. But they have someone who stands by the counter and tells you what each thing is. We ordered heavenly lemon cake (named that by them, not me) and I got a butterscotch latte, and Bob a butterscotch hot chocolate. It was the perfect ending to a good day. It was even drizzling outside which made it more fun.

A few days later we went out to dinner at Noche, a tapas place, with our friends Whitney and James. It was my kind of dining-- a little bite of everything. They had great food and great Sangria. Then the boys agreed to watch the movie The Proposal, which I suprisingly enjoyed. I am not usually a laugher during movies, but that one got me going. Good as far as a romantic comedy goes. I really appreciated our time together.

Grilled

This was just too funny not to share...

My aunt gave Bob and I this blanket as a wedding shower gift. It is so comfortable and soft, that I am often seen carrying (or wearing) it around the house. It is the first blanket that we grab when sitting on the couch or when feeling a little cold. One morning I was wearing the said blanket around my shoulders and leaned over the electric burners to grab something. My blanket rested on the burners, which I didn't know until I started to smell the burning, creating these lovely grill marks. Good for chicken, bad for fabric.

Fall!

I love fall!

Family visit

My family came to visit at the beginning of November to see where we live and to celebrate my (yikes!) 27th birthday. They were only here for a few days and it seemed like a whirlwind but it was great to spend time with them on our turf. We visited a quaint downtown area one day, went to the lake to go canoeing another, and they graciously spent time watching us play tennis. We thought having 5 adults and two dogs in our apartment would feel really crowded, but it really went okay.

The day that we went canoeing was by far my favorite. Since we got our canoe I have wanted to take it out for the day and have a picnic somewhere, which we got to do. We packed lunches, drove about 25 minutes to the nearest lake (which also happened to be in a boonie-town), rented another canoe and headed out. We paddled around for a while and stopped on shore to eat our lunch and spent some time eating, resting, and skipping some rocks. We stopped for ice cream on the way home. Good, clean fun if you ask me.

My mom was the one who took all the pictures and she is still compiling them, so these are just a couple. We had gorgeous weather while they were here, no rain, and we appreciated their company. Love you guys!

No more fetch

We had the privilege of watching the two dogs that Bob walks for a week and a half while the owners were out of town. Fun until something goes terribly wrong, which it did. The dogs love to play fetch with sticks and we spent many days watching them play tug of war and fetch the sticks that were thrown to them. One morning Bob went outside to play with the dogs and came back shortly after as I was headed out for work. I asked him why he had come back so soon and he told me the awful accident that had happened.

He threw a stick for the dog and it landed upright in the soft grass, sticking straight up. The dog went at it full force and started whining. Blood was dripping from its mouth. It had cut its mouth or throat really bad, but we could not get it to open up its jaws to look. He called the owners and had Bob take it to the vet. The vet was awful and slow moving. They kept the dog for the entire day, cleaned its ears, x-rayed its hips, and gave it a pedicure (which they actually called it). Can you imagine going into the hospital for a bleeding mouth and them doing this to you? Then at the end of the day they called Bob and said he needed to take it to the emergency pet center. Nice. Bob and I were incredibly worried about the dog since it had been hurting and bleeding for so long. We checked it into the hospital which was great. They did an endoscopy on the dog and found a three inch gash in its throat.

After performing surgery, we got to take the dog back home and nurse it back to health. The owners were so kind to us, encouraging us that it was a fluke accident that could happen to anyone. They were originally going to come back from their trip early, but allowed us to take care of the dog instead. The dog is healing well and the owners have asked us to watch them again next weekend (I know, surprising, huh?). We are so excited. We had so much fun having these dogs in our home and have missed them after one day of not having them. Needless to say, we will not be playing fetch with them again.