Morgan's first Christmas present

Morgan was the first one to get a Christmas present this year! My mom sent a few new collars down to her and one was a Christmas collar, so yesterday, she got to try it out.

It may be hard to see in the pics (click on it and I think it open larger in a new window), but it is red and green with little candy canes on it. Will go perfect with her red leash. The collar came from Up Country and I love their collars! They are all made in the US and can go in the washing machine, so they are pretty durable. Plus, I just like for her to look cute. My mom also sent 2 more that we will use in the spring, thanks Mom! I think she looks adorable in her new collar :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful thanksgiving with friends this year! We have so much to be thankful for and are lucky to have such wonderful friends to spend the day with! We hosted thanksgiving this year, and Sam and Samantha and Luke, Heather, and Abby came over. John smoked the turkey this year with his new smoker and it turned out great. Here was our menu:

Smoked turkey
Cranberry walnut chutney
Autumn Pudding
Herb Stuffing
Gravy
Roasted Carrots and Parsnips with fresh thyme

Champagne and Beer

Pumpkin cheesecake with homemade vanilla whipped cream

This was Morgan's first Thanksgiving, so we had to put a little of everything in her bowl to try. She ate everything, even the cranberries!



For the centerpieces, I made black-eyed susan flowers out of crepe paper and then just lit some candles and scattered some leaves around. Kept it pretty simple so everyone could see each other across the table.

I used my new dessert plates that my mom got when she was visiting, see mom, I think they look cute!

Robinson and Lily's Wedding

We went to our final wedding for the year last weekend, on Halloween. Robinson and Lily's wedding was here in Charlotte and was the first time I have ever been to a local wedding! The ceremony was at St.Peter's Catholic Church and reception site was at Bentley's on 27. Bentley's was a beautiful site (it is located on the 27th floor of the Charlotte Plaza Bldg) with great views of the city. I was curious to see if and how they would incorporate Halloween into the decor, but as you will see below, they kept it very minimal with just some pumpkins which was very elegant

Mom's Visit

Had so much fun with my mom in town last week!! I was able to work from home on Friday and finished up by about noon, so for lunch, we went to PF Changs and then went shopping (part 1) in the afternoon. We went looking for a bday gift for my dad, went to a new petstore to find some treats for Morgan, and then to Hobby Lobby for some Christmas decorations. After all that, the only things we ended up buying were for Morgan! She is so spoiled, but especially when my mom comes in town!

On Saturday, we got up and went hiking at the Whitewater Center. It was a a pretty cold and drizzly morning, and we only managed to get one picture:
Saturday night (Halloween), we had a wedding to go to, so my mom stayed home and passed out candy. I did not get a costume for Morgan this year, but I think I will next year.

Sunday morning, John left for China and my mom and I set out for shopping (part 2). This time we went to Southpark which is where we always have the best luck. Mom decided to spoil me and I got some Christmas decorations at Crate and Barrel and some dessert plates. Then I got a cute knob at Anthropologie for the night stand in the guest bedroom.
We went to lunch at The Cheesecake Factory and got a pumpkin cheesecake to share for dessert. It was so good, it inspired me to make a pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving this year instead of the usual pie. I have never made a cheesecake before, but it looks easy and I found a good recipe, so I hope it turns out. We made a final stop at the makeup counter at Belk and then went home.