2010 in Photos Part 1

2010 was a busy year with many ups and many downs.. since there are so many photos, I've decided to break this post into two parts. Part 1 will include my year from January to June and part 2 will include July to August. Enjoy!

January

February

March

April

May

June

Slack

I have been SO slack and have avoided my blog for the past seven days! It has been busy here in SC the past week, I've been working every available shift, hanging out with my high school friends, & slowly trying to finish my Christmas shopping (which I have yet to finish and it is now Christmas eve)! Just wanted to wish all of my lovely followers a merry Christmas & happy holidays! Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe weekend! I promise I will return to the blogging world next week and I will make up for my absence!

Panic.. Sorta

Panic is kinda sorta starting to set in because there are only 8 days left for Christmas, and I have not done any of my Christmas shopping! Eeeek! No pressure or anything, and nothing like waiting to the last minute! This week has been busy, I've been working at my family's restaurant every available day, I helped my step-mom cater a breakfast for one of the schools, attended a Christmas party last night, and lots of other things! Another thing I am kinda sorta starting to panic about is finding my best friend a graduation gift for Saturday night! She graduated from college on Monday and her graduation party is Saturday and I have yet to get her a gift and I can't even think of any ideas, so if any of you bloggers out there have any suggestions, I welcome them! Hope everyone else is having a wonderful week without the panic of not starting or finishing Christmas shopping, and if you have snow where ever you are, I am jealous!

Christmas Card

Last night I went to my dad's house to try and capture a good picture for our Christmas card. With four girls, two dogs and one cat, it was quite a task trying to get a picture with everyone looking at the camera. We bribed the dogs with cheez-its so they would sit & stay, and our poor cat Bonnie only lasted a couple pictures. Here are a few of our options:

Scout, Kyle, me, McKenna, Bonnie, Bella & Rivers

Kyle, me, McKenna, Bella & Rivers

Kyle, McKenna, me & Rivers

Sidenote: I am wearing the TaROO necklace I won in Bun&Borough's TaROO giveaway awhile back. I've been waiting for the perfect time to wear it, and it looks amazing!

Tacky Sweater Party

About a week ago, some friends had a Tacky Christmas Sweater party to celebrate birthdays and the holiday season. It was a lot of fun because in the chaos of the semester, you don't really get to see everyone you would like to, plus it was hilarious to see what everyone was wearing. Obviously, everyone at this party went to Wal-Mart because we had several people that matched! It was a great night with good friends, lots of drinks, and LOTS of dancing!

Marshall & I in our matching turtlenecks

me & B

All of the girls

B & Will matched

My favorite, Camry

My best fran, Hayley

New Puppy

I've been meaning to post about this but I keep forgetting, we got a new puppy!!!

Scout was born in the same liter that Bella (the puppy we've had since June) was born in back in April. A family in Massachusetts picked out Scout and once he was old enough, they shipped him to Mass from SC to be with his new family. Scout stayed with that family for 6 weeks but then the family returned him to the breeder because they were "scared" of him and the wife was afraid to be home alone with him. Ever since he has been living with the breeders. (Side note: These dogs are French Brittany Spaniels, and they are not aggressive dogs at all. They are hunting dogs and have lots of energy, and if you don't train them to hunt it is actually unfair to the animal. Needless to say, there is nothing to be afraid of) Well, we have loved our puppy Bella. She is very smart and loving and truly a great dog and for the past month or so Dad has been saying "I wish we had gotten two puppies". Once Dad heard about Scout, he just could not get him off his mind and about two weeks ago he drove to Columbia to pick up our new addition! Hearing Scout's story is kind of sad but I know that he will love being with our family and his sister, Bella. Considering that they were born from the same parents, in the same liter, on the same day there is a huge size difference! Bella weighs about 25lbs and Scout weighs in at around 45lbs.

Scout & Bella

Scout & Bella

Scout & Bella

(here you can really see the size difference)

Collections

If I had a never-ending gift card from Anthropologie I would start a collection of

measuring cups/spoons

Seriously. After stalking their website for the past 20 minutes, I have decided that I could not decide on just one set of measuring cups or spoons, I would have to have them all!

Austin's Flora measuring cups

Extra Ingredients measuring spoons

Florist measuring cups

Shell measuring spoons

La Boheme measuring cups

Primary Confection measuring spoons

How could you pick just one set?!

Weekend Plans

My one and only class is over and Christmas break has officially started! I made it home yesterday and plan to be here for 3 weeks! I am so excited to stay home for awhile and hang out with friends and my family. Today is such a cold and rainy day that I plan on baking and hopefully hanging out with one of my favorites, Sara. My only other weekend plans include watching this Law & Order: SVU marathon all day, drinking hot chocolate, baking some holiday goodies, snuggling with my kitty & puppies and working at the restaurant tomorrow. I hope everyone else has a safe and fun weekend! And if you are still studying for finals, good luck!

Christmas Questions

I saw these wonderful Christmas questions over at Sara's blog Simple Thoughts from a Simple Girl and I am totaling stealing them and filling them out! I just finished my one and only final exam so now I am truly free from class until 2011! After my exam I went to the mall to wander around and Christmas shop. I got two of my sisters presents and I had to convince myself not to buy anything for me quite a few times! I hope everyone else is having a good Thursday, make sure you check out Sara's blog and feel free to steal these questions again! (PS- Sara, can you make cupcakes like that?)

1. Eggnog or Hot Chocolate?

I love love love hot chocolate. With extra marshmallows on top!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or set them under the tree?

At my mom's house, Santa wraps all the presents. At my dad's house, Santa sets them in our "specific" seat, which is the same each year

3. Colored lights or white lights on the tree/house?

I love white lights. They look so clean and simple and pretty

4. Do you have mistletoe?

I do not have mistletoe, I should invest in some though!

5. When do you start putting your decorations up?

We always pull out our decorations the weekend after Thanksgiving. It definitely sets the mood for Christmas

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? (excluding dessert)

We usually cook the same Christmas dinner as Thanksgiving, which I don't complain about because I only eat those dishes twice a year. My favorites would be green bean casserole & sweet potato soufle

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?

Growing up my dad was a police officer and always had to work Christmas day so when I was little we would always wake up at like 3 am to open presents before my dad had to go to work. Even though he had a demanding job, he never missed a Christmas.

8. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?

I spend Christmas Eve with my mom and her family and my cousins and I exchange gifts that night. But those are the only presents we get to open Christmas Eve

9. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?

In sixth grade, I woke up super early and was so excited about Christmas I started to run to my parent's room to wake them up. Well, my dad and I collided in the hallway as he was carrying in presents that had to be wrapped, from Santa! But these days, I have to pretend to still believe because my youngest sister is 8

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?

Our tree is decorated with red and gold ornaments and my mom made red and gold bows to also put on the tree

11. Snow! Love it or hate it?

I love snow! It hardly snows in the South so every time is does, I do my best to take advantage of it!

12. Can you ice skate?

Actually, I am proud to say that I can ice skate!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

My favorite gift was probably my car. I was not expecting to get a car at all and my parent's completely surprised me! Dad wrapped my keys up in his Rolex watch box so I actually thought I was getting a Rolex, and I was kinda disappointed there was no Rolex with the keys inside haha

14. What is the most important thing about the holidays for you?

The most important thing about the holidays for me is spending time with those I love. Having divorced parents can get stressful this time of year because I truly want to be with everyone all of the time.

15. What tops your tree?

Our tree is topped with a big gold star and some gold sparkly things haha

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Favorite holiday tradition is going over to my dad's house early Christmas morning and waking up my sisters. I get them a new pair of Christmas pajamas every year and they always wear those and we blindfold them and bring them all downstairs to open presents

17. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?

I love giving presents, especially when I know it is a surprise and something that is really wanted! Receiving presents is always nice, but I love watching other people open their presents

18. What is your favorite holiday dessert?

Favorite holiday dessert would be Chocolate Chess pie, puppy chow and these amazing Paula Dean cookies I make every year. (I'll do a post of recipes soon!)

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?

I don't think I have one favorite song, but there are albums I listen to every year. Jessica Simpson, Taylor Swift, Faith Hill, Mariah Carey & N'SYNC all have amazing Christmas CD's that I play every year

20. Candy canes! Yuck or yum?

Candy canes are delicious! I love the peppermint Hershey kisses!

21. What is your favorite Christmas movie/special?

I have more than one favorite Christmas movie! How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Santa Clause, Home Alone, Four Christmases, The Holiday, Charlie Brown's Christmas & all the old claymation movies that come on ABC every year

Winter Survival Guide

(warning: picture overload!)

There are several things that are crucial to surviving Winter in one piece and I've decided to share my list of essentials :

1. Burt's Bees Replenishing Lip Balm w/ Pomegranate Oil

2. Jergens Ultra Healing Lotion

3. A really good scarf like this one from JCrew

4. UGGs (even though they are kinda hideous)

5. Yankee Candle that smells like Christmas

6. Last but not least, someone to snuggle with! A boyfriend, girlfriend or pet!

B & me in NYC Christmas 2007

Hayles, me & Bre snow 2008

Our newest puppy Scout, & Bella

What are your Winter essentials?

The List of Fours

The lovely Heidi at Bonjour Lovey tagged me in her post of The List of Fours. Her blog is super cute and she has got amazing sewing skills, check our the wedding dress she just completed!

1. Four shows that you watch:

- Criminal Minds

-Grey's Anatomy

-Glee

-Gossip Girl

2. Four things you are passionate about:

- my family, boyfriend & friends

- food

- reading books

- helping others once I have my RN

3. Four phrases you say a lot:

- "I have no idea"

- "Oh em gee"

- "Seriously.."

- "No way"

4. Four things you've learned from the past:

- Life doesn't always go as planned

- Sometimes making your own path is better for you

- What is meant to be will find a way

- Happiness is what you make it

5. Four places you would like to go:

- Europe (Ireland, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, England)

- California

- Hawaii

- Tortola

6. Four things you did yesterday:

- ate lunch at my family's restaurant with my dad

- helped my youngest sister do her homework

- played with our puppies, Scout & Bella

- finalized my Christmas list

7. Four things you are looking forward to:

- the holidays spent at home with my family, boyfriend & friends

- four year anniversary with B in February

- next summer at beach

- whatever else the new year decides to throw my way!

8. Four things you love about Winter:

- wearing layers and scarfs and UGGs

- bonfires & oyster roasts

- Christmas

- having rosy cheeks from the cold

9. Four Bloggers who should share their List of Fours:

- Sara at Simple Thoughts from a Simple Girl

- Jess at It's Just Jess

- Amanda at Just an Average Girl

- Brooke at Living Today but Dreaming of Tomorrow

Paintings

The past couple days I've been working on these paintings and decided to offer them for sale! Each canvas is hand painted (no stencils) and there are four different designs to choose from. Because each one is hand painted, no two canvases will look exactly the same. If you are interested in purchasing one of these canvas paintings, email me at:

amandafin1@hotmail(dot)com

(yes that is a numeral one after amandafin)

( I didn't use a flash when taking the pictures to try and capture the true color of each one)

Christmas Decorations

A big thank you to Dayquil/Nyquil Sinus relief, it has made me feel like a whole new person! Anyways, over Thanksgiving break I helped my mom pull out all of our Christmas decorations and we decorated the house. I love decorating for Christmas because it just really helps to put me in the spirit of the holidays. Although I have a few decorations at my apartment, I don't really want to go all out because I won't be here during the holidays. So after decorating, I took some pictures to share with everyone:

the baby tree in my room

I love these cones, so simple but pretty

dining room table

our Christmas village, my favorite part

last but not least, our tree!