I'm a human... raised by humans.

Have you ever watched the movie "Elf"? It ranks high on my list of favorite movies to quote. We've already pulled it out to watch recently... even before Thanksgiving. Ever since I added the totally awesome Christmas countdown on this blog (look to your right), I started counting down the days until Christmas on my white board at work too! And to make it more festive, I've been including a different quote from "Elf" on my white board as well. I told you it was a quotable movie.

Well, last Friday was my birthday, and I was so surprised when I walked in to find my desk covered in pictures from "Elf." It was so cool that my desk is now decorated for Christmas too! And the best part was my present of the four major food groups. Check out the pics below and be amazed. The crazy (and sad) thing is that I can think of at least one quote to go with every picture in my new office Christmas decorations!

"We elves try to stick to the four major food groups: Candy, Candy Canes, Candy Corns & Syrup!"

Note the cut out Candy Canes everywhere: "I passed through the seven levels of Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly, twirly gum drops, and then I walked through the Lincoln Tunnel." -- Buddy the Elf on how he made it to NYC from the North Pole.

My co-worker and I surrounded by "Elf" paraphernalia! Notice the picture of Elf holding the snow globe in the upper left side of this picture? That's what's staring at me every day!

I'm so thankful for everyone who made my birthday special. During lunch, we went to see my nephew's class read poetry at Barnes & Noble, and then that evening we went to see "The Blind Side" with Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw. Excellent Movie! It's heartfelt and a true story. ...not as quotable as "Elf," but still a great flick.

"The most important ingredient is the love." ~Marie Barone

I love baking. Did I mention that? The only trick is that I can't talk while I bake (or cook). ... was that my first or second teaspoon of baking soda?... The other trick is that I need to set reasonable limits for myself. I once baked enough sugar cookies to fill a house! I was so sick of seeing cookies that I didn't have the energy to finish icing all of them.

But tonight, I made one double batch of chocolate chip cookies and got a good start. That's four sticks of butter. yum! There's really no secret to baking chocolate chip cookies. Just follow the recipe on the back of a Nestle Toll House bag. But, I use butter. Not margarine. And that makes all the difference. Just ask Julia Childs. :-)

Speaking of Childs, I loved the movie "Julie & Julia." That movie encouraged me to start my own blog. Well, that and following severals friends and Mayes cousins' blogs. It's so amazing to see all of the interests and topics that other women write about in their blogs.

Today, I came across a blog that definitely put me in my happy place. This girl does what I want to do, and I love her style. It's all about digital design: invitations, announcements, holiday cards and even designing her own digital kits. It's like Archiver's, only in digital form!! And right now, she's posted links to download two of her kits for free. Who knows, maybe some day I'll be posting digital prints like hers. I think I would like her too. How do I know? I don't, but she seems cute, and she has a personal blog too that shows a baby shower her and her friends put together. It reminds me of a shower my friends and I hosted this past summer... on steriods! Let's just say, Martha Stewart would be proud. It looked adorable. Check her out at http://taffyappledesigns.blogspot.com/ and if you love paper as much as me, I think you'll be amazed too.

Cupcakes

I love baking! There's something wonderful about pulling sweet, warm treats from the oven. I also love celebrating friends' birthdays. How perfect to combine the two? The fun treats below were for a fun friend at work named Kristy. She and I not only share our birthday month but also year.

I love it that cupcakes are "in." There are so many creative ways to make cupcakes sophisticated and fun. Wouldn't it be great to create a place like the "Flying Cupcake" to share such happy treats every day?

Coca-Cola Glasses

While on vacation, we came across Cracker Barrel's 40th Anniversary Coca-Cola glasses. Don't you love them? I thought they were so adorable that we ended up getting a set of six! It has the logo for CB on one side and Coke on the other. Feel free to come over and enjoy a refreshing glass of Coke with us anytime.

Welcome.

There are certain things in everyone's lives that just make them happy. This is where you can find some of mine. Welcome.