My FAVORITE thing about the holidays!!

I have had Christmas cards on my mind a lot lately. I am usually a create-your-own-card kinda girl. Then I started looking at Shutterfly! Oh my word! They have the cutest holiday card designs. I can't even decide which one I love the most!!

Not to mention, Shutterfly makes it easy as pie!

This one is ah-dorable, right? I love the little tiny bit of color!

What about this? It's a square.......I know, anything that is perfectly proportioned....perfect!
Ok, the other one was square, too. I like squares. ok?

This one is the fantastic! I do love having lots of pictures on one card. How hard is it to choose just one? This way you can pick lots of pictures.....from throughout the WHOLE year!!


“Shutterfly is offering 20% off all holiday cards”
Don't wait till the last minute! Get your cards ready to send early!



If that's not enough...how adorable are these gift tags? I LOVE these gift tags!
So many Christmas gift tags....this was my favorite!


I'm thinking, pick out a card....then do pictures. Then you can make the colors pop. I love all the pops of color on so many of these designs!

*Disclaimer: I am participating in Shutterfly's Holiday Card promotion. I was offered free Shutterfly cards for my post, but as always, the opinions are my own....and for the record, I love Shutterfly...every day of the year*

Thanking Oprah might be over the top...

I really must thank Brittney! Her experience was WAY different from mine, but, without hers, I never would have gotten my Nate Show!

If you are just "tuning in", you should read this post first. I was on the Nate Berkus Show!! Oh my word....such an exciting and stimulating day!
.............The producer that came in and asked me to step out of the room asked if I decorate my own home and do crafty stuff....I guess I'm looking at her funny because when I tell her yes, she asks me again....like I might be just doing it to please her! I couldn't express how crafty I am! She gave me the details: Two people would be challenging each other and I would help one of them try to win. Ok, sounds easy! I'm thinking I will do a little project with her and then sit and watch the rest of the show. Clueless still. I go back in and she brings me a release form. I sign it.....didn't read a word on it....and hand it back. She says she will be back to get me in a few minutes. When she came back in she introduced me to my new friend, Andrea! She and I were definitely kindred spirits. We talked about the fact that she wanted to open a craft store....I gave her my rundown from Scrap ETC! I told her I would give her advice when she needed it! Next, they came and got us for hair and makeup....seriously? How much fun!! I was so mad that I didn't have my purse. Emma, the other producer, put it in her office. I can't believe I didn't have a camera during all of this! We got miked and ready to go onstage. We would sit in the audience and wait to be called up.
Oh, it's a whirl wind from there! We had to do a re-take of the audience members coming on stage! They told us to be "price is right" excited! Hello...that's crazy, right? I guess we were a little too crazy for the first take! We re-did it and he asked us a question. A little more calmly we ran up on stage and got to work! This is Casey, the decorator that I helped.
There were so many things to choose from and, of course, we wanted it to be big impact. Her couch was crazy at first, but we found some striped table cloths to make it look in control. The burlap curtains, I pleated by just stapling to the wall. I think they looked great. I wanted to do something else with fabric...hoping to use the green throws across the top.......she wanted to write a quote in between. I think that is her "signature". She added another quote on the right wall. It was a great idea. I think it just needed to be stronger. The right side wall was our downfall, for sure. We should have moved that tree limb and started fresh. I will take credit for the playing cards disaster......she wanted to use them in some way. I showed her a design and she totally changed it...ok, that doesn't sound like it was my fault, but we started it and it didn't end up as cute, but we had to go with it...we were too far in! We just kept adding instead of taking it all away and starting over.....next time!

I don't know if you could tell, but I was so hot! Those lights are crazy and I couldn't take off my jacket! They wanted me to keep on the red, otherwise I would be in white and that would be too bland! I didn't even think about being nervous on camera. We were so busy and working so hard. I wanted it to look good! I honestly think our room was more cohesive. It looked good as a whole. I did love the way her window treatments turned out. I was going to do the green throws the same way at first....but, they were too short!! I did LOVE the hand-drawn flourishes on either side...totally Andrea's idea and handi-work! I'm no Nate Berkus, but if it were up to me, Casey would have been the winner of the $2500 gift card to Crate and Barrel!! If you didn't tune in to the show, you can watch the last clip here.

Laying low for the weekend

Ahhhh....finally a weekend at home! It's nice not to have too many plans for the weekend. OH wait! We had a fun-filled, packed-out weekend! Who am I kidding?

Friday night we went to our best friends Halloween party. It was so fun! Daphney and her kids planned a Fear Factor night. I could not even believe it when I got there. They live in an older home on about 4 acres. They had the whole place decorated with graveyards and all kinds of creepy stuff. As a matter of fact, there is a cellar that has lots of unique finds in it. It used to be a moonshine distillery. There are tons of moonshine bottles....all different colors. I need to go and steal a few of those, now that I think about it! There is also TONS of jars of food.....ugh, who knows how long its been there. Daphney didn't can any of it! There are shelves and shelves of it. So, this is where Fear Factor was set up! There were probably 20 kids there and only 4 or 5 even tried to go through the challenge. The first "tasting" was spaghetti. You are probably thinking, no big deal. Well, it had hot sauce AND vinegar!! They had to eat a huge handful. Next was a jalepeno! A whole one.....these kids are 8-13 years old.....no, I wouldn't have done it! Then they could cool off their mouth with buttermilk and raw eggs. This is the time when most bailed. They either ran out of the cellar to puke or some just spit it right out on the floor. Gagging the whole time.........so was I! There were two more stations. The first was a pat of butter, a whole pat, nothing else. The last thing was green mayonnaise......One little girl LOVED mayonnaise! She was licking the spoon like it was covered in chocolate. I was amazed. There were 2 kids that passed through the whole thing. It was completely disgusting. I have to get the pictures from Daphney. They are hilarious!
Saturday morning, I got up and met Amy and Brittney for a run. We ran the 8k at One Nineteen. I didn't think I would do very well. I haven't been running very much, at all. The first hill was a doozie. I made it up there and actually finished in 50:24! I must say, I was impressed! Brittney was going to stay with us and push us along. We walked too much for her! She finished with a 47 minute time! She is rocking on the running! It was very fun for a Saturday morning.

After that, I went to get the kiddos and we went to Samford to watch Tulane Womens Tennis. They were awesome! I love watching them play. For some reason, I always catch these two. They are fantastic players, Emma and the one on the right? She's Mariam aka Mako...She is a little ball of fire! My old coach, Terri is their coach and it's fun to see her and hang out with her team. We had lunch with them afterward. They are a really cute group!

Sunday morning we got up and went back to watch more tennis. John Connor had a baseball game that afternoon and we sat out at the ballpark in the gorgeous weather. It was very fun weekend! Glad we kept it low key!!

I have to thank Oprah!!

I just found out some really cool news. I don't know if you know this, but I went to New York City a couple of weeks ago.....a lot more on that later......but, for now.......

I wanted it to be a different trip than my normal one. My cute friend, Brittney, just got back because she was asked to be on the Nate Berkus show, you know, from Oprah! Yeah, that guy. Handsome, decorator, you know him. Well, he has his own show now. Nice.....I wish I were friends with Oprah. My own show....too cool. So, Brittney was on his show and I thought, " That would be fun! Let's go to a taping of the Nate Show!". So, Molly and I were all about it. Jenny on the other hand....was too cool for a taping. She needed shopping time! (don't really blame her) So, I emailed and got us 2 tickets to the show. We got up VERY early Friday morning to get in line. As we were standing there, the lady is telling everyone that if they are VIP, they can move on in. We weren't......just general admission. Oh well. We finally got to the door and the girl tells us we look cute...we told her thank you in our most southern accent......She asked where we were from.....ALABAMA! She wrote VIP on our tickets! Woo Hoo!...they must want us to be in the front of the audience...or something. So, we go in. We are both giddy and just giggling and talking while in the VIP room with all the other VIP's! I sent Brittney a text to tell her that I was a VIP. Of course, she was flipping out...that's just how she rolls. (and I love this about her!) Oh...side note......when Brittney went to the show before, she carried my Nate Berkus design book and a picture of me and him in Boston. She was going to get it signed for me. They obviously couldn't get it done that day and said they would mail it later. Well, since I am there......I need to get it, don't you think? Ok, Brittney calls her contact, Emma. Emma is going to find me and get the book to me! YAY!!!

All of a sudden, someone comes in the room calling my name! "Lucy, Lucy Farmer?" Oh yes, I jumped right up and ran over to her! Molly was laughing at me. The girl asked if she could talk to me outside. Of course. I ask if she has my book. She apparently has something else on her mind. She all but ignored the question. She asked if I loved Nate. She asked if I was crafty....duh...how did she know all this information? It had to be Brittney. She continues and I can't continue now because, well, you will just have to stay tuned! Watch it....record it. It's crazy and insane and I had a ball!!! Monday, October 25th......3:00 pm in Birmingham!!

Fall weather and new boots!

I'm not sure about the Fall weather, but I love getting new boots! I'm pretty sure I could wear boots everyday....in the Fall!

For some reason, I always look at Ugg boots at the Sunset Shoe store in Destin. I guess that's weird? Why would I buy boots at the beach? One really good reason is they have a good selection. Very important when shopping. If they do not have exactly what I want....I sometimes settle for anything. Another good reason is I get a discount there! Yay! I love a discount. Who doesn't, right? I went in looking for a specific pair.
Tip: when looking for Ugg boots, check the kids styles. They are usually cheaper and the size 6 fits a womens size 8. Yes! Great tip!!

Well, my little store in Destin got smart on me and only ordered kids sizes up to a 3. Cuss! She went to the back to pull my kids size 6's and brought back the adult sizes telling me that she'd figured out my plan....hehe. She did have the styles I was looking for.....just adult size and more expensive. Of course, I tried them on. She kept bringing more and more. There were so many that she thought I would like! (great salesgirl)
I had on the pair that I loved. Walking around asking my kids and the Connor Farmer what they thought. They liked them. I asked if Connor if he thought they made my calves look big.....he said, yes. Rude. Of course, he said that just so I wouldn't want to buy them. In the meantime, another lady comes in, sees the shoes on my feet, gets them in her size and walks out with her purchase. UGH! At the same time......the Connor Farmer sees the price tag....now, we have a problem. He thinks it's ridiculous and shakes his head. I, being the good wife, leave the shoes behind the counter with my name on them. I would have to come back when he wasn't with me!

Emma found a pair of Sperry's. She is like me in the fact that if they do not have what she is looking for she will settle. She did. They are cute and I know she will wear them all the time, so, it's no biggie.

Oh my....are you worn out, yet? I know, you just want to know if I got the shoes! Well, I talked about them all day and talked about how often I would wear them......everyday! with everything! right? We finally talked him into it and went back to the store!! Yay!!!! I love them. I haven't worn them, yet......................Hey, where is that Fall weather????

If you are an avid reader of this blog.......well, you have been out of luck the past few months! Alas, I am back! You well know that I love the beach. There really aren't words to describe how much I long to be there all the time. I would move there. Seriously. We went for the weekend. It was so relaxing and the weather was so gorgeous! High seventies and no clouds. NONE! I had a bit of a cold and was pretty miserable because I couldn't breathe on Friday. I started feeling much better as soon as I saw the view from the boardwalk. Ahhh, I love those navy blue umbrellas against the sea of turquoise! It's so breathtaking!I am always on the go. I never just stay at home and do nothing. Coming to the beach is that time for us. We are not at home, but we have no worries at the beach! Our little cottage is so small and it is easy to keep up. We just lounge around and do NOTHING! I guess that's why I like it. We can sit on the beach and read a book or people watch.....or dig a hole to China! That is the kids favorite thing to do! I love this picture of John Connor. Head down and feet up. He's trying his best to get there! They did dig deep enough for Emma to put in a chair and take a nap.

I always get so inspired while I'm here. I've been on the computer all weekend looking at different blogs and trying to figure out what I want this place to be. I hope I can make it interesting enough for you to want to come back. It's a work in progress!

It's a Blog....you are supposed to write in it!

I have been enlightened over the past week. Several things have occurred to create this enlightenment. I got a new job! It's the job I've been looking for. I can work from home, I'm passionate about it and I get paid! That hasn't happened in many, many years! I am thankful for the opportunity!

If we are friends on Facebook, you have seen my numerous posts about Southern Accents. It's an architectural salvage store in Cullman, Al. They are Alabama's version of American Pickers. You know, the show on The History Channel? I know....I love it!! They are constantly buying and selling beautiful architectural pieces. I will drive up to the store and get so inspired. I've used lots of things for my creations from the store. I also bought a ton of different pieces when I was building my house. Well, they have asked me to be their Marketing Director! They have kept me very busy in the last month! We are working on revamping their website and they have had numerous articles written up about them in the past month. I have had my hands full! It has been a blast.......so far!

Of course, I am talking to Brittney this whole time. She is helping to get all the ideas out and down on paper. It's amazing how she can help me do that. She just helps me clear my mind and at the same time, create more and more ideas! We could rule the world....I just know it! We've solved many of the worlds problems in these brainstorming moments. So, if you read her blog, you know that she is constantly blogging, giving away great things and keeping up with her family! I love to read her stuff. She was going to a blogger meet-up last Friday and invited me to go. I knew it was something I needed to do and really wanted to do! I knew there would be some new connections and I would learn from the experience. Not to mention, Lisa Leonard would be there! Hello? Do you know her? She makes this awesome jewelry and she was coming to Birmingham for Talk of Alabama to tape an upcoming show! Yes, that's my show! I love Nicole. She is so cute. There were cupcakes and networking. Perfect.

I met a couple of new friends and met someone from my tennis life! Small world, isn't it? Amanda Green of KevinandAmanda was a hostess and the cutest thing. Rhoda of Southernhospitalityblog is into home decor.....yes, I'm sending her to Southern Accents! She is going to love it! Alison Lewis of Ingredientsinc.net and I started playing tennis around the same time. We both knew we knew each other.....just couldn't figure out how. Tennis. She doesn't play anymore. She is super busy with her ingredients inc company! It is really cool. I'm going to get her out on the tennis court soon. You can't just give it up!!

So, all this has peaked my interest in blogging. I've been reading blogs non-stop since Friday. It's just a fun way to keep in touch and get all that interesting (or not) stuff out for the world to see! I always say that I love to soak up information and I love to share it. I need to be sharing more. I hope you will stick around and let me share with you!