Thursday ~ Thanksgiving Invasion 2012

Better late than never is the motto of the month! Tonight mom and I (official chief decorators of our home!) pulled out the Thanksgiving decorations box and got to work. It's always a thrill to take out the Orange Boxes (yes, capitalized!) and unwrap the trappings of Thanksgiving Past, Present and Future. Some of the family was gone, so it was just mom, myself, Ryn and Stuart. Team Thanksgiving!

 And of course, in typical fashion...we couldn't quite do it without some "encouragement," hehe. :) What's our favorite seasonal cup o' encouragement??

{eggnog, of course!}

{I had several of these beauts!}

{guess who was excited about eggnog??}

{when I was young, my mom made these "Pilgrim Dolls" with rafia cloth and glass bottles and they have and will be for all of eternity our official Thanksgiving centerpieces.}

{aren't they amazing??}

{my special glass pumpkins I've bought over the past few years. I love the reminders on them}

{after all the decorating was over, we had one last round of Holiday Cheer - that's our family's "code word" for eggnog **grin** }

Tuesday ~ Starbucks Tuesday Link-Up

It's a hap-hap-happy Tuesday here in my illustrious little office! I was a little slow getting out of bed, due to having less sleep because of a little bed-fellow part of the night. My niece (3 yrs) and nephie (1.5 yrs) spent the last two nights with us, and Little B's pallet bed was set up next to "auntie Kellie's" bed. As I tried to go to sleep, I'd hear the rustling of her blankets and then a small face was appear inches in front of mine, intently studying me to see if I was awake and then quietly whispering some question or random observation. But then after all the lights went out and our room went into total darkness, the high-pitched tones of "Auntie, I'm scared!" was too much for me and back went my covers and in she came. Sleep's arrival took a little bit longer, but I really didn't mind. I woke up sometime later with Little B fast asleep in the middle of my twin bed and me hanging off the side. After she was softly deposited back into her own bed, I was able to fully fall fast asleep. But it was one of my favorite falling asleep experiences to date. :)

Two years ago, a certain drink was a fall favorite of mine, but last year, I decided that I didn't really like it much. In order to be fair, I decided to give it another try this morning. The drink?

Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino

Sadly, my opinion on the Pumpkin Spice still stands. The combination of pumpkin and coffee in one mouthful leaves an unpleasant taste on the mouth. But then, once again, I have to give my disclaimer of not being a strong coffee flavor fan, so it could just be me. Now, if they'd made this more of a Pumpkin-n-Cream kind of bev, then that would be a whole 'nuther story! 

It was pretty, though! And maybe if I'd asked for the whip cream blended in, it would have been more creamy and pie-ish? Maybe I'll try like that....next year. :)

Okay, it's a Starbucks Tuesday Link-Up, so if you want to join me for a cup o' joe (or tea!), go right on ahead!

Here's how:
1. Post about any specialty beverage that you had today or this week.
2. Include a picture or two! Phone pictures not only accepted but almost expected. *grin*
3. I’d be delighted if you’d include the new “Starbucks Tuesday Link-up” picture seen above, but it is by far not required to join me!
4. Once you’ve posted your drink, hop back on over here to my blog. See the little “Simply Linked” gizmo down on the bottom of this post? Fill that baby out!
5. Hit “submit” and watch me jump up and wave as I see you walk through the door!

Saturday ~ Autumn Barn Dance

Magic. 

Enchanted. 

Breathtaking.  

So much fun! 

Those are some adjectives that I think of when I look back on last night, which was the much-anticipated First Annual Autumn Barn Dance!

For the past few weeks, our neighbors and us (we share two homes on the same several acre plot, also go to the same church, and are basically consider each other honorary family members) have been been planning, scheming, preparing and finally decorating for this grand event. Our church (or rather, for me, my old church as I am going to a different church as of this past year, but still consider it partially my home-church) is really big into English country dances (such as virginia reels, circle dances, line dances, waltzes, etc). I eagerly took on the role of "chief decorator," but of course, had much-needed input from everyone. Decorating, especially decorating using ambiance, is my specialty and passion. Everyone worked SO hard to get our back property turned into an evening autumn paradise...and truly, the finished result for all of us was indeed breathtaking!! With the lights all lit and the bluegras music a'pipin,' it was a barn dance to remember. :)

It was hard to tear myself away from the dances and the socializing to take pictures, but I knew I had to immortalize the marvelous evening. Because all the lighting was ambiance: white lights, candles, lanterns, etc, the pictures picked up a very hard reddish glare, but trust me...it was warm white ambiance to perfection!

{I LOVE decorating!}

{putting up the bunting, one of my favorite decorating tools}

{KJ was my right hand woman for tying up the cornstalks}

 

 {my brothers and hon. brother putting putting up the Confederate flag (we're reenactors to the core!}

 {BEFORE - with the lights up}

 {AFTER!!!}

{and AFTER dark!!}

{my siblings and I ready to dance}

 {the dances!}

Now, everything has been taken down and the barn has been returned to it's normal empty state (although WAY cleaner now that it's ever been!). Our Autumn Barn Dance has been dubbed an annual event and now a Spring Barn Dance has been added to the schedule. It was so much fun!!

Thursday ~ How I Will Celebrate the Advent of Fall

It's here. Finally, at long last. Anxiously anticipated since the day it left last year. The best time of the year; my favorite season. Officially beginning today.

Happy First Day of November/Fall/Holiday Season!

How I Will Celebrate Fall Today:

1) listen to classical music during work 

2) cast looks of love and adoration at the rain falling outside my office window

3) begin seriously thinking about Christmas gifts (yay!)

4) get my hair cut after work

5) go to the library and get a new audio book for my car

6) put on comfy sweatpants and slippers when I get home

7) Watch an episode or two of Doctor Who

8) drink a cup of hot Cafe D'Vita

9) clean house and get stuff ready for our Autumn Barn Dance tomorrow night

10) put flannel sheets on my bed

In honor of Fall (which as those who are not of my local paradise may not know, doesn't really come until around November around here, hence my celebration of genuine-bona-fide Fall on November 1st), I dug up three old pictures of Katheryn and I...waaaay back in Fall 2009.

 

Tuesday ~ Starbucks Tuesday

Well, it's another Starbucks Tuesday here in the world of my office! Today has been a great day because....da-da-da-dum! It was the first foggy day of fall! The sun has already come out and burned it off, sadly, but it was lovely while it lasted. I, as you perhaps have guessed, absolutely LOVE fog, the thicker the better. Which is good, since we get it quite often during the fall & winter months of my portion of earthly paradise.

Today I tried something new on the recommendation of a friend who actually works at Starbucks. Namely the:

White Hot Chocolate

After getting to my office, I pulled of the lid to take my usual picture and I thought for a second perhaps there had been a mistake, because residing in my cup was what looked like, well, just a cup of milk. And I'll admit that it tasted very similar to a very sweetened cup of warm milk.

  Until I got to the bottom inch, where suddenly it because very thick and tasted very strongly of pure white chocolate. Lesson to be learned here? Keep that drink moving! Don't let the chocolate settle on the bottom of the cup. I did enjoy the flavor and I think I'd at some point enjoy it again sometime, but with the reminder to keep it stirred.

I have decided that there will be a Starbucks Tuesday link-up on the FIRST Tuesday of the month! So, keep your camera phones handy when you drink your next specialty beverage and plan on linking up with me for a coffee date...

NEXT week, November 6th!

Monday ~ October Civil War Reenactment

Without fanfare and to-do, here are some pictures from this past weekend! It was a lovely weekend doin' that thing we do, seeing friends we haven't seen in awhile, hearing familiar battle sounds, etc. And of course, that special swish-swish of wearing long skirts and lace-up boots. Many thanks to mom's mad photo skills on these pics!

The four single ladies of the 43rd Virginia Cavalry! (Katheryn, neighbor/church friend/honorary family member K, me, Karis - we just happen to all have names starting with "k," haha)

Not my best hair day, but hey, whatevah...

 I love pictures taken from the back, because I love the sight of our dress hems skimming the ground so prettily!

My boys in Confederate gray! At least some of them are my boys.

Stuart, my youngest brother

 

Soldiers relaxing between battles

Joseph, neighbor/church friend/honorary family member

Battle aftermath. That's my brother Scott (that's Corporal to you) being helped off the field. 
(And I love having palm trees on our battle field. *grin*)

She's a lovely young lady.

My mother.

Stuart was unit/brigade flag bearer. So proud of him! So proud of all my boys!

 Eating frozen lemonades and yogurt to cool off.

My hands down favorite battle is the Twilight battle. It's so real, because the dense fog from the cannons and guns can literally be seen creeping across the field, obscuring the soldiers except for hazy silhouettes. As you see flashes of light from the rifles and cannons and hear the groans from the wounded, it's easy to grasp onto the sobering reality of battle.

Evening around the camp fire. My favorite time of day!

Yes, it's this pretty. Don't you wish you could do this?? :)

Contact your nearest Civil War reenactors guild and join the fun yourself! Really, it's a blast!

Friday ~ My Other Life

Some of you may know that my family does Civil War reenacting. I was very not into it when they first began doing it about 7 years ago; I thought it was a "homeschool" thing to do...which I can say, because I was a homeschooler. ;) But after a few years, I got hooked by the fashion of the Civil War period of history and all it's delights. It's been a few years that I've done it and although I'm not a die hard, there is something exciting about living in a soldier's camp, eating over the fire, sleeping in a wall tent, and the swish-swish of your dress as you walk down the road.

 This weekend is the grand finale of the reenacting season, and incidentally, the first one I'll have actually done this year. And so in honor of the weekend:

Ten Things I Like About Civil War Reenacting:

1) Being in the cheerleading squad as I watch my dad and brothers march away to battle

2) getting away from normal life and interacting with people living and dressing like it’s the 1860’s

3) wearing big dresses and petticoats  (although I swore off the corset after one afternoon; it’s NOT romantic like it looks in the movies!)

4) Lying in bed inside of the wall tent at night listening to the sounds of camp life around me

5) waking up to revile

6) talking to spectators and other reenactors about women’s fashion of the 1860’s

7) the smell of gunpowder and rifle smoke and how the haze from the cannons floats across the ground

8) sitting around the campfire with family and friends

9) honoring that time in our country’s history and giving respect to the thousands upon thousands who died. (I know that sounds cheesy, but I really mean it.)

10) And usually be the end of the weekend…packing up and going back to the “real world” with a whole new appreciation for running water, electricity and most of all: jeans. :)

And my all-time favorite reenacting picture...

Me & Dad

"A Message for Suitors"

Next week: pictures of this coming weekend's time-traveling event. :)

Thursday ~ Skittles for Breakfast

If you held in your hand one yellow, one orange, one green, one purple and one red Skittle...and you had to eat them ONE at a time...in what order would you eat them?

I eat mine beginning with my least favorite: purple, yellow, orange, green, red. Because red is, of course, unequivocally the best flavored Skittle. :)