Why Didn't Anyone Tell Me It Was November?

It is seriously November. As in Thanksgiving is next week. How did that happen? I know Cullen's birthday is in November, but I completely missed the holidays sneaking up on me. Maybe it's because Hobby Lobby put out their Christmas decor in June. I adore Christmas, but I can't think of any other way that I'm just now realizing how close it is.

Last week, I took off Friday to go to the Nutcracker Market. Even though I didn't sleep in, it was still a great morning to spend time with Cullen and really enjoy how much he's grown. We spent a lot of time that morning cuddling on the chair and talking about trains.

Cullen's self portrait.

I have to love the yellow bruise

on his forehead from when he

head-butted James last week.

Cullen made it a short day at school by being dropped off right before lunch and being picked up by nap time. Lucky kid. Then Tera and I headed over to the Nutcracker Market. Words cannot even describe my excitement for this. Tera and I were joined at the hip in Round Rock, and no distance will cut that. We can go weeks without having time to talk, but we fall back in like nothing was missed. You just don't find a whole lot of friends like that in life, and I feel truly blessed to know that I have a few.

Back to the Nutcracker Market. I had two tickets to the fashion show. We were late. Parking was hell. Lunch was still available. There was a cheese plate, people. A cheese plate. And we all know I love cheese. I plowed right through lunch and made it to this precious dessert. I hardly ate any of it, but it was darn cute.

  

After our awesome lunch, Tera and I hit the floor for some shopping. I spent less than my budgeted amount (barely), and most of my Christmas shopping is done. We made a few different trips out to the car to drop off our goodies and head back in for more shopping. We covered every booth, every snack, and every sample. As if I hadn't eaten enough lunch. The day was planned to end a little early to allow for a pedicure before Tera headed home, but we didn't even get back to the house until almost nine. Our nails will wait for another day. I couldn't be happier with how the day went. Perfect!

All day Saturday (and some of Friday night) were spent with the pit. James takes this so seriously, and I am taking the task of making new leftovers seriously. Last night, I used smoked turkey to make a goat cheese macaroni dish. Let's be honest. I've been looking for an extra reason to eat goat cheese. So yummy. Needless to say, I will be all turkied out by next Thursday.

On Saturday morning, James made the traditional "butter log" he uses for poultry. I find it incredibly impressive. Somehow he makes four sticks of butter and a bunch of parsley, rosemary, etc into the thing you see on the right. Disgusting and delicious all at once. 

Saturday dinner was so fun with more friends over. We laughed so much, and it was nice to have a relatively laid back night at home.

Sunday was a slow, easy day. I got my nails done, took a nap, had dinner with friends, and got a self portrait done. James drew this picture of me with Cullen's Thomas Etch-A-Sketch. I was only mildly offended until Cullen pointed at it and exclaimed, "MOMMY!" I really need to put forth some more effort, apparently. It's hard to say, but (according to the picture), it may be time to get my braces off.

In an unusual twist, I received flowers at the office yesterday. For those keeping count, that is twice in less than a week. I was hesitant to open the card, as I was expecting news that the house might have burned down with an apology from James. Why else could I possibly be getting flowers? They actually were from a client of mine who sent flowers as a thank you for all of my hard work. My job can be stressful and irritating, and I am rarely thanked for for my efforts. It was a really awesome feeling to know that someone noticed the work I do. Even if it wasn't my boss.

Tonight, I'll be making apple pie cookies as a way to de-stress. They will make a huge mess of the kitchen my maid is cleaning as we speak, but Cullen and I are going to have so much fun. And those are the moments I look forward to most!

xoxo ashley