Monday's Musings

Well, it has been some time since I've been up-to-date with all blogosphere happenings!

After the exams, papers, and projects finally came to a close, I ended my last weeks of Orlando 2008 at work. But now, I am happily home in Jacksonville, taking some much needed rest time- aka reading and playing with the pup. It's been nice to catch up on some sleep and pre-Christmas shopping.

I am so excited for the family to come in town tomorrow for the holiday celebrations. The weather here is finally fit for sweaters, which give it a much more Christmasy feel.

This evening I had a wonderful time playing catch up with a great friend at Biscottis, definitely my favorite restaurant ever. Sometimes all you need is a nice glass of wine and some cake :)

Without giving too much away, I have found that this best resembles my life right now:

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. --Mother Teresa

I can absolutely promise that I will be back before the year comes to a close! But, I am definitely looking forward to all that 2009 has to offer.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

xoxo,
ams

Molly & Me

If you know me at all, you probably know about my fondness for dogs. Make that big dogs. Big, chubby, silly, blonde dogs are my absolute favorite. By now you've probably narrowed that down to labs or golden retrievers and you would be absolutely correct.

I just recently picked up the book Marley & Me and I have to say I am completely smitten. Is it the cutest, most heartfelt and relatable story I've ever read. It is insightful, witty, and just plain laugh-out-loud funny at times. I catch myself chuckling at almost every page and as my roommates quizzically look at me, I know that it's just a dog thing. And if you have ever owned a lab or retriever, you'll understand too I'm sure.

So in light of my new found favorite book, I'd like to share some fun family photos of my own lovable best friends.

Maggie, Molly, and Me--Christmas 05


Molly rollin around--Thanksgiving 08


Waiting oh so patiently of course--Thanksgiving 08


Jake--Fall 08

Christmas Made in the South

Today mom and I trekked downtown for our annual excursion to the Christmas craft show.

2 hours and a bag of candied pecans later here are some of my favorite items from the day...


Hand painted marble coasters,one for me and one for mom. We love the pups :)

Blown glass ornaments

Photography. I just love this, they would make all sorts of words spelled out with different, unique photos. You can custom create your name or do a "Faith, Hope, Love" phrase.


Really cute customizable, hand painted frames! I picked up a few for gifts :)

Pretty jewelry


Hope everyone had happy shopping days this weekend too!

xoxo
-ams

Say Thanks

In light of the holiday season, let us take a moment to send a thank you to our troops over seas.

My boss sent me this web site, sponsored by Xerox. Here, you can pick a card created by kids across the US and send a quick note to one of our soldiers over seas.

So let's all take a moment and send a warm thanks!

xoxo
-ams

Thoughtful Tuesdays

So, in an effort to make my blog interesting as well as entertaining, I've decided to set aside a day each week for introspection.

Not only did I create a blog as a creative outlet in which to explore the vastness of the world wide web, but also to help me gain more exposure in an increasingly up and coming medium. As a budding public relations practitioner, it is important for me to understand these things you see. :)

Yet as an avid reader, I so frequently come by clips of words phrased so beautifully that I have to pause for a moment. It's one of my absolute favorite things about reading, how you almost turn over a new leaf with each passing page. So instead of trying to store all these lovely quotes in my head, I've decided to share them with my readers.

This week I decided to share a particularly poignant piece which I feel is quite fitting for this week:

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. -- Cicero

So this week, as I prepare to make the trip home for Thanksgiving, I would just like to remind everyone that not only today, tomorrow, and Thursday, but every day, we should look for that which to be thankful for.


-ams

Stocking Stuffers?

Today, thanks to Daily Candy, Miss Monogram and I discovered the cutest knickknacks from nestprettythings.

I am just in love with their cute hair accessories and note cards.




What perfect stocking stuffers!



~ams

Every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings

Well you know the holiday season is officially upon us when Starbucks rolls out the holiday cups. I just love Christmas time at Starbucks. There's nothing like pretending it's not 80 degrees outside with a nice, warm cup of joe in your festive cup!

My family has so many fun Christmas traditions I just can't wait for everything to start.

Christmas Made in the South is by far one of my favorite holiday events. Every year after Thanksgiving, the show stops in Jacksonville and of course mom and I make our way downtown to stock up. The vendors have the absolute cutest paintings, crafts, food, ornaments, and jewelry. And it is the south, so everyone is so sweet and friendly it puts you in the cheeriest pre-Christmas mood.

This year, I'm very excited for a new UCF tradition: Light Up UCF. The school has adorned the new arena in thousands of beautiful lights and even set up an ice-skating rink. But the fun doesn't stop there! A couple nights a week, every week til Christmas, they will be showing Christmas movies outside on the lawn and my very favorite Christmas film, It's a Wonderful Life, will be show. It's such a classic, romantic, movie; I love how it leaves me feeling so thankful in the end.




Yet no Christmas event will ever parallel the love I have for the Nutcracker. It's a tradition that my mom and I have held for 18 years. Since I was 3, mom and I have gone every year to see the Nutcracker ballet together. We've seen this timeless tale in at least four states, choreographed nearly every way you can possibly imagine. As a dancer and musician for most of my life, the radiance of the Nutcracker never ceases to amaze me. I just can't wait for our traditional date this year.

A New Era

I find it so exciting that I have been able to finally participate in a presidential election. Politics, particularly politics and the media, are completely fascinating to me. Although this election period, I have to be completely honest, I didn't 100% agree with either candidate, I am thoroughly enjoying witnessing history in the making.

As a person that is utterly non-confrontational, I rarely espouse my own personal beliefs, but rather I hope that everyone will mutually support one another regardless of their belief basis.

So, dear readers, I leave you with a personal favorite quote of mine that I feel is fitting: "The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." -Winston Churchill.

Halloween Goodness

I find it hard to believe that Halloween is already over this year! Although it's now time to put the spiderwebs and spooks away, the holiday season is quickly approaching which makes me so happy!

Halloween was extraordinarily exciting this year since I wasn't sick, as of years past. On Friday, I departed to Palm Beach Gardens with the bff to spend the weekend with my other fam. PBG is such a fabulous area, I just love it! We spend the evening camped out in the front yard with pizza and treats.

Saturday night we attended a special 50th surprise party with a cute 50's theme.

Brittany was the retro waitress (I'm loving the wig we found) and I was Susie Homemaker. So fun!

Thinking outside of the box

After being decal-less on my car for several months due to recruitment, I have managed to find the perfect new replacement decal! Minus the bucket and Delta Zeta letters, this will be my new Theta decal thanks to Paperazzi. On campus, it is nearly impossible to find cute sorority gifts that aren't massed produced, so I am so excited for it to come in!

Think Pink

As we all know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Another reason to add to my list of reasons why I adore the month of October. Aside from the glorious weather, cute Halloween decorations, and abundance of college football games, the world comes alive with everything pink. This year, it seems to me that even more companies have caught onto Breast Cancer Awareness product packaging.

Here are some of my favorite pink items this season:













-ams