womp womp

i won't go into detail right now as i am in a complete state of shock, but the beau and i have called it quits. three days before i was supposed to go and meet his family. came out of nowhere. i'm a total wreck. i'm still here reading, but i may disappear again for a little while. everything just hurts right now.

for unto us, a child is born

i know i've been mia over the past week, and honestly, it's been a really tough couple of days for me. but more on that later.

i spent today making my annual lemon-coconut cake, wrapping a few last packages, and watching white christmas with my grandmama and her demon dog. tonight is chinese take-out {a belle family tradition}, church candlelight service, my sister and i opening our one christmas eve present, and the first of many viewings of a christmas story {thank you, tbs!}.

tomorrow will be traditional christmas morning brunch, the opening of presents, and maybe a movie, but most importantly, celebrating the reason for the season!

wishing you and yours a very merry christmas, whether you were naughty or nice!

last chance...

...to win some tom ford sunglasses for your truly {and maybe gucci ones for yourself}!

hop on over to fantabulously frugal's giveaway and be sure to tell her that i sent you. today is the last day to enter!

http://www.fantabulouslyfrugal.com/2009/11/you-deserve-best-giveaway.html

sunday afternoon silliness

oh yeah.

my darling blogger friend, annabel manners, has already posted about the ridiculousness that is mtv's jersey shore. guidos and spray tans and eyeliner, oh my!

so when one of my IRL friends sent me this the other day, i knew i had to share it will y'all. i give you the jersey shore name generator. i'm "the hot spot". the beau is "the deltoid". oh yeah.

i'm spending this cold rainy afternoon making homemade cheese straws to give out as gifts at the office and jersey shoring all of my friends. stay warm!

zomgeez....so good!

ummm so life of a suburban princess posted about these a few weeks ago and i have been on the hunt for them ever since. of course in small town, virginia, they can only be found in a large canister {not the little 100-calorie packs} at kroger for like 8 bucks. and i need the 100-calorie packs. or else i will eat the whole canister.

so i was in target tonight looking for christmas cards {found! but that's another post...} and what did i spy? but a box of the 100-calorie pack cocoa dusted almonds on sale for $2 a box. and they. are. AWESOME! sooooo delicious. really, go out and buy them now! they are going to be a must-have staple in my purse.

christmas meme

this has been floating around, and i thought it would be a fun way to kill time this friday afternoon. i would love to see all of your answers! have a wonderful weekend, m'dears!

Q: What is your favorite Christmas movie?
A: home alone and home alone 2. a christmas story.

Q: What is your least favorite Christmas movie?
A: babes in toyland.

Q: What Christmas song(s) drives you crazy?
A: christmas shoes {blech}

Q: What is your favorite Christmas song(s)?
A: dominick the donkey (the italian christmas song) {totally annoying, completely addictive.}

Q: What is your favorite Christmas drink?
A: double tall one pump peppermint one pump white chocolate nonfat no whip extra hot peppermint white chocolate mocha. ahem.

Q: What is your favorite Christmas memory?
A: not really one in particular, but i ache for those christmases with my granddaddy and my aunt. those were such happy times and it’s just not the same without them.

Q: What is the best toy/gift you've received on Christmas?
A: my samantha american girl doll. i will never forget that christmas morning as long as i live. i wrote santa a letter every day that year and when i saw the top of her head peeking out over the chair where santa always left our gifts, i thought i had died and gone to heaven!

Q: What is the worst toy/gift you've received on Christmas?
A: a pink new york yankees beanie from my grandmama. i’m a red sox fan.

Q: What do you LOVE about the holidays?
A: oh gosh, what DON’T i love? i loooooooove shopping for presents for my loved ones. finding the perfect christmas cards and wrapping paper. making buckeyes and cheese straws with my mom and sister. christmas morning bloody marys. time spent with family. tacky christmas sweaters. and then the ultimate favorite: DECORATIONS!

Q: What annoys you about the holidays?
A: the commercialism. wal*mart, you do not have the market on Christmas! also, that they start playing christmas music after halloween now. wtf?!

Q: Do you prefer a star or an angel on top of a Christmas tree? Or something else?
A: a bow.

Q: What is your favorite family recipe at Christmas?
A: garlic-stuffed pork tenderloin with mashed potatoes and mushroom-sour cream gravy! my mom and i make it for christmas day dinner every year. and my mom’s homemade cream cheese braids for christmas morning.

Q: Are you a Grinch or a Who at Christmas?
A: a who. a hoo, to be more specific.

Q: Christmas light displays - Love them or hate them?
A: i loathe colored lights. and those icicle lights are a little tired. but i love looking at them on other people’s houses. is that weird?

Q: Santas at the mall - fun times or creepy?
A: creepy. except for the macy’s thanksgiving day parade santa. he’s the real deal.

Q: Christmas cards...do you send them?
A: always. although i STILL haven’t found ones for this year. might be new year’s cards this time around…

Q: What is the best thing about Christmas in your opinion?
A: christmas trees. i am 24 years old and they are still magical.

Q: What is the worst thing about Christmas?
A: when it's over!

Q; When do you put the tree up and take it down?
A: up the saturday after thanksgiving. down whenever i get around to it.

Q: Out of the 12 Days of Christmas, which item would you want your truelove to give to you?
A: anything but the swans. swans are mean, spiteful creatures. i was attacked by one once, so i know.

Q: Why do you think grandma got run over by a reindeer?
A: she sampled too much of the punch.

Q: Who is your favorite reindeer?
A: prancer. he was just fabulous in that movie.

Q: Do you believe in Santa Claus?
A: obvs. who do they think leaves the presents under the tree?!

Q; What is your favorite smell at Christmastime?
A: fresh-cut christmas trees

Q: What would make you happy at Christmas this year?
A: knowing that everyone i love is happy and healthy. and a chanel 2.55

i love lonny!!

hi lovelies! if there is one thing i'm obsessed with {other than shoes}, it's interior design. love, love, love it! if you're not already following the blogs of erin gates, tobi fairley, eddie ross, heather clawson and ronda carman {they are my daily dose of inspiration for all things fabulous!}, then you really should.

i know most of us were super devastated when that darling of shelter mags, domino, went out of publication last year {r.i.p.} but michelle adams and patrick cline, two of the geniuses behind the dearly departed, launched a groundbreaking online shelter mag this fall called lonny {combination of their respective homes, london and new york}.

it. is. FABULOUS! although i would still love to have this in glossy, real-life form to cuddle up with under a blanket, what they are doing is truly wonderful. they're also major supporters of the blogworld. woot woot. please click on over and try not to spend the next hour drooling over the gorgeous pictures and wonderful articles {the articles on the new j.crew and kate spade stores are to die for}.

you'll thank me, i promise.

happy birthday, noodle!!

then

now

today is my sweet little puppy boy's 2nd birthday! we will be celebrating by heading to my parents' home so i can decorate for christmas {my mother doesn't have a creative bone in her body and she knows how much i like anything involving interior embellishments, so it works}. i bought pb some homemade pumpkin treats {shaped like christmas stockings!} and peanut butter treats at our local bakery. my mom has a "ginormous" {that was her exact word} soup bone waiting for him in the freezer. and he has a year's supply of heartworm medicine on the way from 1-800-petmeds {i know, i'm so generous. ha.}

i love this little dude so much. despite the fact that he has spent the past three weekends dropping deuces all over the new beau's guest bedroom. and despite the fact that he sheds all over the place and runs like hell when i come at him with the furminator {greatest invention ever}. and because he hates my obnoxious neighbors who leave cigarette butts all over my front porch and have impromptu rap sessions at 2am. and because he has the sweetest, wrinkly face ever. and because he is an awesome foot warmer. and because he always forgives me.

i love you, you little butthead!

confession time

ok ladies, i have a deep dark secret that i am coming clean with.

i am in credit card debt and i hate it. i have three credit cards, one with j.crew and two visas {one with my bank and one with the devils at capital one}. i owe a total of $5,799.42. my average interest rate is 19%.

this is incredibly embarassing for me to write about. my parents are both involved in finance and i think they did a great job of {trying} to instill in me the importance of personal financial responsibility. but like so many other things, i just didn't listen. that ends today {well, december 31, to be specific}. i'm getting a jumpstart on my new year's resolutions. this is the year i get {mostly} out of credit card debt. i say mostly because, based on the delightful plan that oprah and suze orman have devised for me, it will take approximately 16 months, give or take a few, to pay everything off.

i'm not including my car loan or my student loan in this because to be perfectly frank, i don't mind being in debt for those two things. don't get me wrong, i certainly don't enjoy it, but i need a safe, reliable mode of transportation and ummmm....education rocks!

i could give you lots of excuses as to how i got myself into this pickle , but they would still be excuses. and for every legitimate excuse {i.e. replacing the entire front end of my car after my accident in april. not cheap, even with insurance}, there are excuses in the form of shoes i "needed" to have.

i am telling you all this because i NEED, nay absolutely MUST, be held accoutable for this goal. putting this out there for the {blog}world to see is motivational to me. a few encouraging words from you lovelies wouldn't hurt either. here's how it's going to go down:

according to suze and o, the most effective way to go about this is paying off the j.crew card first {while still making the minimum payments on the two visas, natch}, then the bank visa, and then the capital one card {henceforth known as "the devil card"}. i owe $1,180.35 to j.crew and will be paying $295/month until it is paid down. By my calculations, that should be done by april 30. at this point, i will begin paying $316/month to wachovia, in attempts to pay down the $972.26 i currently owe {minus the minimum payments i'll be making in the interim}. that should take until july. and then i begin the long process of paying off the devil card. at $389/month, it should take me another 8-9 months to pay that off. so i'm just not going to think about that one just yet.

whew....it actually feels pretty good to get this all of my chest. now i'm realistic...the above plan means assuming that i have zero "emergencies" in the next year and that i never, ever slip and charge a nice meal out on the town or a pretty new dress. which ideally, i won't. but life happens. the trick is just to stay on track, even if i slip a couple of times.

bravo to those of you who made it through this incredibly unfun and long post! you will be getting monthly updates from me from now on about this decidedly dull topic, so i'm going to be brainstorming ways to make this a little more fun for me {and you}. yay for fiscal responsibility!

time to go put some plastic on ice...

what's cooking wednesdays

hi loves! hope everyone had a fantastic thanksgiving and survived black friday and cyber monday. i didn't leave the house on black friday and i'm trying to buy as many of my christmas gifts from local stores as possible, so no online shopping for me. yet. {talk to me again the week before christmas.}

so i now share with you the yummiest christmas food ever. that is not an exaggeration. i'm making these for a junior league cookie swap later this week, and i guarantee you people will be freaking out. this is the recipe for my mom's christmas crackers. they are inexpensive and simple to make and HIGHLY addictive. prepare at your own risk.

christmas crackers
club crackers {enough to cover the sheet pan}
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sliced, slivered, or chopped almonds

Lay crackers {they should be touching} on a large cookie sheet covered in foil. Make sure the cookie sheet has sides on it! Melt butter and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour sugar mixture over crackers and spread to cover all the crackers. Sprinkle almonds on top of the crackers and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE. As soon as crackers come out of oven, remove them to a wire rack to cool. Break apart and store in airtight container.

holy friggin cow

wants it!

please pop on over to fantabulously frugal's INSANELYAMAZINGOMGIAMFREAKINGOUT giveaway and enter immediately. be sure to tell her that belle on heels sent you {there are extra entries in it for me AND you!}. you don't have to be a blog owner to enter {blurkers, ahem a and k, i am looking at you}, so you should enter too!

http://www.fantabulouslyfrugal.com/2009/11/you-deserve-best-giveaway.html