Under the Weather

Brett and I have been fighting sinus infections all week. I think mine started as a cold and turned into a sinus infection later. Our doctor's office has been booked up all week so they called me in some antibiotics on Monday. I don't think the Z-Pak is working so I called the doctor's office back and even though they are booked up, the receptionist fit me in later this morning. It's the little things like this that make living in a small town so great!

Christmas 2010

Our Christmas weekend was nothing less than perfect in my book. We spent Friday afternoon/evening in Atmore with my (step) MIL's family. I laughed so hard that I came home with a catch in my side! I love spending time with the Walkers. You feel like one of them as soon as you walk in the door. :)

Alaina, MeMe, and Marlene.

Our lovely hostess, Betty.

Marlene and "Santa" having a chat.

"Santa" took time for the little kids AND the big kids. :)

Heartbreaker. :)

We celebrated Christmas Day with my parents and neighbors. We always spend Christmas morning calling out-of-town family and friends and I don't think we even opened gifts until after 9:00. That is a record in our house! We had a wonderful Christmas dinner and spent most of the night curled up on the couch in front of the fireplace. It started to snow a little around 8:00 and I was beyond excited. I've never seen it snow down here on Christmas!

Christmas was also mine and Brett's "real" 5 year anniversary. We met on Christmas Day in 2005. It's been the best (and craziest!) 5 years of my life. I'm looking forward to at least 70 more!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Luke 2:11

White Christmas?!

I am OBSESSING over our Christmas Day forecast. For the first time in my life we have a significant chance of snow on Christmas! :) Words can't describe just how excited I am about this!

Dozier, Alabama 12.19.10

I've got a soft spot for this little town. It's less than 15 minutes from my house so I've driven down Main Street once or twice in my life. When I was growing up, it had quite a bit to offer for it's rural location. Unfortunately the hardware store closed a year ago, the grocery store followed soon after, and the gas station turned into a small cafe a while ago.

My affection for Dozier runs fairly deep. My great-great-great-great grandfather and his brother settled in the area back in 1829. Their sons, nephews, and grandsons helped build this town from the ground up. The bank (that is still in operation!) was built in 1910 and two of my ancestors were some of the original board members. The hardware store (that was originally a "Dry Goods" store) still boasts their name. At one point in time, I knew when the store was built, but I can't remember off the top of my head. :(

Though the current population is less than 400, I still harbor hopes that this little town will start to grow again. There are rumors of a new gas station going in and a new lumber yard opening up in the old grocery store. In the mean time, I still drive up there to admire the old buildings and dream of days long past.

Snow Day!

For the first time in my entire life, it snowed in south Alabama in early December! :) I woke up on Wednesday morning to a few light flurries and within 30 minutes it was coming down pretty hard. I got dressed in record time and drove 20 minutes to a friend's barn to take some pictures of her Straight Egyptian Arabian stallion, BH Torino.

Poor Torino didn't know what to think of the snow at first. He was (in his mind!) rudely undressed (sleezy and blanket had to come off!) and kicked out of his warm stall just to look cute for the camera. Luckily he's such a good sport (and sweetheart!) that he happily turned it on for us. I can't say enough good things about this horse. He has such a wonderful temperament for a breeding stallion and has a head, neck, and shoulder that is to die for!

Unfortunately our snow lasted for a whopping 10 minutes after these pictures were taken. I wish it had lasted longer, but at least I was able to get these pictures in before it stopped. :)

Christmas Gift Ideas...on a budget. Part I

I love to shop! I couldn't even pretend to deny it because my sweet hubby would pull out our latest bank statement and remind me of the fact that HE is not the one who shops at Kohl's, Pottery Barn, and Kirkland's. His is more likely to be Cabela's, Double Tap, and Walter Craig. :)

I'm a little behind on my Christmas shopping this year, so I thought a post about affordable gift ideas might help me get motivated to finish. For the sake of this post, I'm calling affordable as gifts under $50. Honestly, most of them are well under, though!

I am huge fan of Kirkland's. I have always been able to score some fabulous deals there. It also doesn't hurt that I like to shop at the one in Destin and I love any excuse to jump over to the Silver Sands Outlet while I'm done there. Just keepin' it real, folks! :) Right now Kirkland's has some super cute picture frames on sale that would be great gifts for yourself or someone else!

True Love Frame

This cute, funky frame is only $7.98 right now. I've been eyeing it for a while now because I think it would look GREAT in my office! It would also be a great gift idea for almost anyone.

Carolina Slate Charger

This decorative metal charger is one of my favorite pieces at Kirkland's right now. The colors match our living room (and master bedroom!) perfectly so I have a feeling that Santa Claus may be putting one under the tree. At only $19.99 it's a steal!

It's also no secret that I've had a love affair with Pottery Barn for YEARS. Unfortunately, some of their prices keep me from going hog-wild like I want to, but I've still been able to score some pretty awesome deals.

Galvanized Metal Containers and Watering Cans

I am in L.O.V.E. with these metal vases. They would look beautiful with some hydrangeas or sunflowers in them! They're priced between $3.99 and $36.99 so they fit in almost anyone's price range!

Charleston Vintage Clock

This is probably one of my favorite vintage style clocks ever. It's so simple, clean and it looks just like one that my great-aunt used to have on the mantel in her old farmhouse. Right now it's only $39.99!

Hopefully this may give you a few affordable gift ideas. I know it's inspired me to hurry up and finish my Christmas shopping!

*I have not received any compensation for this post. Kirkland's and Pottery Barn have no idea who I am. I'm just another nameless credit card number to them! I wrote about these products because I truly love them and wanted to share about them!

Rain, Rain, Rain...

I love Fall. After a long (usually blistering hot!) summer in Alabama, the cooler temperatures of Fall are a welcome sight. This year, however, the warm temperatures have been hanging on a little longer than normal. Our Thanksgiving Day high temperature was 80. I think it should be against a law somewhere for Thanksgiving to be warm enough to wear shorts!

We're finally in a cooling trend and the storms that blew in this morning are bringing some much colder air in with them. Since the weather was supposed to be on the nasty side, I had planned to get caught up some emails today, but our phone line and DSL have been down for most of the day. Thankfully, a friend of ours works for the phone company and was able to get a technician out to our house within a couple hours instead of the 3 days that customer service originally quoted me! I do want to add that I'm a little embarrassed that I totally freaked out at the possibility of being without internet for 3 days!

I'm thoroughly enjoying a lazy, rainy afternoon, though. I've spend the last few weeks rushing about with my priorities hopelessly skewed. It's days like today that help me re-focus on the important things in life. I've spent the last hour curled up on the couch with my favorite throw blanket (see below!), Christmas tree lights on, and watching it rain outside our living room window. :)

Since there was nothing of real value in this post, I'll share the details of my favorite blanket from Kohl's. I picked it up a few weeks ago for $20 and have been hopelessly in love with it ever since. It's so soft and warm that it makes me want to curl up for a nap! It's normally $49.99, but Kohl's has it online for $22.50. It would make a great, affordable Christmas present!

Home Sweet Home

I'm not sure if I get the whole "intro" post or not considering this is not my first blog! I started a genealogy blog a couple years ago, but I've had a hard time seperating my personal posts from my genealogy related posts. The blog has turned into a bit of a mess, so I'm going to start fresh over here!

My name is Janice and I'm in my mid-20's. I'm happily married to my sweet hubby, Brett, and today just happens to be our 4th wedding anniversary. :) Brett is originally from Pensacola, Florida and I was born and raised in an itty-bitty town in South Alabama where we live now. I'm currently a stay-at-home wife (and amateur photographer!) and Brett is a commerical parts salesman. Before I became one of the millons of unemployed Americans I worked as a buyer for a local manufacturer.

We attend the same country church that my great-grandmother donated the land for back in the early 1940's. We live less than 10 miles from the little white country church that my great-great-great-great grandparents (and subsequent 4 generations) attended since the 1830's. I consider both of these huge legacies of faith and history. I love Jesus and I'm so grateful for everything that He has blessed me with.

I'm a book nerd. I usually read 2 or 3 books a week. I have a bookcase that takes up an entire wall in my office and I think I've read almost every book in there at least twice. It's pretty pathetic. I adore HGTV, FoodNetwork, and Travel Channel. I love taking spur-of-the-moment road trips with my sweet hubby. All I need is my camera and I'm set for the perfect trip! I love all things rustic, country, and SOUTHERN!