Merry Christmas 2013

I have not posted in a really long time but I really wanted to post pictures from our first Christmas as The Graves Family. We had a great time decorating our house for our first Married, Merry Christmas!

I was able to talk Chad into a fake Christmas tree. I know that seems terrible, but when it came time to take “Gloria” (our tree) down we were very happy with our decision on a fake tree. Yes, I named our tree. I tend to name almost everything. Gloria wore burlap ribbon and silver, white, and gold ornaments.

Two of my favorite new ornaments for our tree were two newlywed ornaments we received. One was from Chad’s Aunt Sharon with penguins. The other was a clear glass ball with shreds from our Wedding Program. 

Since we live in a planned community/neighborhood, everyone has one tree and they all look identical. We all put white lights on our trees. This was extremely neat for me because I grew up in a neighborhood that had a white light tree in each front yard. Chad put the lights in our tree on one of the coldest days in December. I learned not to walk outside and say, “You missed a spot”.

 

 
We used some of our leftover wedding credit to buy two pre-lit trees for either side of our front door and used some of my mom and dad’s old wreaths on our windows. SIDE NOTE: suction cup wreath hangs work and the sticky tape ones DO NOT (especially in the humid state of Alabama).

I still LOVE our stone fireplace. We asked for two old Coca-Cola boxes from Chad’s mom when she moved and filled those with firewood and Christmas lights. We put two silver angels on the mantel and added an old window with a wreath (thank you Pinterest).  

Another idea I pinned on Pinterest and used was the idea to hang our Christmas Cards on our kitchen cabinets. I used the same burlap ribbon from the tree and the old window. We are keeping or cards up through the end of January. I wanted to appreciate them a little bit longer.  

We used one of our wedding pictures for our Christmas Card.
 

We enjoyed decorating our house and can’t wait to put our decorations back up in 10 ½ months!

Bachelorette Weekend - St. Patty's Day

Bachelorette Weekend

St. Patty’s Day is one of my favorite holidays! My roommate/Maid of Honor decided that would be a good time to have my Bachelorette Party! We started with a Luncheon Bridal Shower at Rogue Tavern and then all headed to the brand new Marriot. 

All the girls changed into pink pajamas and threw a Surprise Lingerie Shower for me. Crystal and Allise ordered me a hot pink, polka dot BRIDE button up nightgown with my new ‘G’ initial to wear. The decorations were too cute and I loved the surprise!

That night we all got dressed. Everyone had a green tie dye shirt to wear however they wanted that night. Leah helped cut mine into a scarf. We ate at Todd’s English Pub. Dinner was delicious and our table received two complimentary appetizers that the chef was trying out and we all received a glass of champagne, my favorite celebration drink.

After dinner we all took the party bus to a few local bars. I had so much fun with everyone and we ended the night dancing. I feel so lucky to have shared this weekend with so many of my close friends! They almost all had to travel and the girls came in from all over (even Baton Rouge, Atlanta, Nashville)!

We woke up Sunday for a brunch at Silvertron before everyone headed home. 

 A few of us continued celebrating St. Patty’s Day at Black Market Bar where they had green beer and green mimosas. We tried some maple syrup sausage balls and Chad joined us when he returned from his Bachelor Weekend at Chris’s Cabin.

I love my friends and had an amazing Bachelorette Weekend!

 

Goodbye 2012

Goodbye 2012

10 Memories from 2012:

1. Spending time with friends and family
2.First trip to Greece

 3. Seeing New York at Christmas

 4. Breaking my half marathon time record

 5. Weddings: Nick and Jeni, Jonathan and Crystal, John and Leah, Trent and Elizabeth, Floyd and Mrs. Lisa

 6. Splitting holidays between Chad and my family for the first time

 7. First NFL game

 8. Vacation to Charleston

 

 

 9. Getting ENGAGED!!

 

10. Saying ‘YES’ to the dress
(I can't share the dress just yet, so for now I will share my second pick)

 

All I can say is that 2013 has big shoes to fill, because 2012 was such an amazing year! The countdown is on to our April the 13^th Wedding!! 

Christmas 2012

 

Christmas Snowman Cookies (thanks to Pinterest)

Christmas as an engaged couple is definitely a different Christmas. It means more travel and splitting time with your families! We spent lots of time on the road, but it was great to get to see both of our families, make many memories, and start new traditions.

Chad, John, Leah, and I left Birmingham and headed for Monroe, Louisiana to spend Christmas with Chad’s family on the 21st. Chad has lots of cousins close to our age and we had a blast celebrating Christmas at Chad's grandparents' house with everyone. I can't remember the exact number of stocking that were hung, but it was close to 25!

The girls had fun working on gingerbread houses.

After getting to spend three days with Chad’s family in Louisiana, we headed back to Birmingham for one night before leaving for Troy on Christmas Eve. 

Birthday Celebration #1 for me and Leah

 

We love Papaw (Chad and John's granddad)

My mom made a caramel cake (my favorite) for my birthday cake and it was amazing! I can't believe I am 28 now!

Some of my favorite things to do on my birthday include: going to the Christmas Eve Service at church, riding around looking at Christmas lights, reading 'Twas the Night before Christmas (fill in the blank style), and eating cake. I was so thankful Chad was able to share this with my family this year!! Christmas Day we woke up and made mimosas and monkey bread before eating Christmas lunch all cooked by my mom.

Chad and my dad went hunting together for the first time

Mom and I baked some delicious Smores Cookies!

AND I got to meet John Harrison for the first time. I loved holding him and wish he lived closer than Nebraska!

 In summary, it was a great Christmas and the perfect way to spend my last Christmas as a Scarbrough!!

 

Merry Christmas
from The Scarbroughs 

Christmas in New York

One thing is for sure,
New York knows how to decorate for Christmas!

 I was lucky enough to get to go visit again in December. When I visited in November, I was able to see the Rockettes in the Christmas Spectacular which was amazing (click here for blog post)! The Christmas Tree was brought to Rockefeller Plaza during my November visit, but this trip the tree was lit!! You can't tell from the pictures, but the tree lights twinkle and you have to see it in person!! Below is a picture of the tree with the scaffolding from when I visited in November and then the tree with lights in December!

 
I was like a little kid and I could not stop smiling at all the lights and decorations displayed. Below are a few of my favorite pictures from my trip! The top two pictures of over-sized lights and ornaments are from 6th Avenue (Avenue of the Americas). The first two images on the second row are from Rockefeller Plaza. The last picture is of the Bloomingdale's on 5th Avenue. Almost all the shops on 5th Avenue are decorated and the window displays are very elaborate.

Serendipity was on my list of places to see. My first stop after checking in was to Serendipity! If you go during the holidays expect a really long wait! The desserts are the size of your head and worth the wait.  The menu is huge and there are lots to choose from but the sundaes have to be the most popular item.

Christmas window display at Serendipity

After years of watching the Macy's Parade on tv on Thanksgiving morning, I finally got to see the Macy's in person. The Macy's (below) in Herald Square was built in 1902. This Macy's is America's largest department store and I managed to shop on all 10 1/2 floors! I even found my wedding shoes in Macy's!! 

 We ate dinner at the Cellar in the basement of Macy's.

A couple of the window displays at Macy's

 

   What is a trip to New York without stopping in Times Square? The Hershey's store and the M&M store had ornaments out! 

 Lastly, here I am in front of the tree! New York is amazing year round, but if you get to pick anytime to visit then you have to choose December.

I can't say this enough, 

I LOVE NEW YORK (especially at Christmas)!!