it takes a village

it's the little things in life that completely make my day

& yesterday

a little thing was accomplished

i

FINALLY

learned how to play around with some textures in photoshop

about a year ago i stumbled upon Shana's amazing photography on flickr

A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

Shana creates the most fantastic textures & actions

so

of course i bought some

well

they've sat in "mom's folder"

on my hard drive

for months

& months

lately some of my fave bloggers have been rockin' at their photoshop

editing techniques

i pouted & thought

"why the heck can't i figure this out"

so i did what any self-respecting photoshop needy woman would do

i begged for help

my 17year old

was first on the list

i offered her cold hard cash if she'd 'gimmejust15minutes'

sweet child

then

i emailed my buddies & they came in as fabulous relief pitchers!

tracey , traci, & jeanne you are rockstars

& i totally appreciate all your patience

{tracey, apologize to your family...

tell them the crazy woman from atlanta

promises to leave mama alone today }

thank you for getting me started

sometimes

it takes a village!

here is a before~~



& here's what the shot looks like after adding the milk & honey overlay
















the down side....
i may never leave this computer seat again!

freshly fallen snow

over the last month

we've been your basic overscheduled family

one cheering basketball

one playing basketball

one being the administrator covering basketball

3 different schedules

added into the already busy mix

& since its been too cold to play out side

i've painted the dining room

i've painted the living room

repainted 2 dining chairs

changed out the chair covers

changed up the light fixtures

& replaced cabinet knobs

bought new pillows

new lamps

&

added to mercury glass collection

{will share later, ok?}

between valentines & easter

we will also celebrate

3 of the girls birthdays

my birthday

& our anniversary

savannah turned 17 on valentines day

that weekend

we also got the largest amount of snow Atlanta's seen

in many years

& since this entry is already off

to a " does this all go together anyway?" format

i'll go ahead & throw in the pics

remember those little tags i grabbed off etsy?

well i listed 5 random reasons "why i love you"

for each of the girls

they got tickled reading each other's lists

& since my sweet man

just bought my dream sofas

i felt certain he would appreciate

this vintage valentine

they each had a little valentine package

waiting on them too

savannah & her besties came over for a little

valentinesdaybirthdaycelebrationsnowday photo shoot

& a some snowball throwing with little bit

most years we get very little, if any, snow

& it often seems to be grey and overcast

but that next morning was absolutely glorious

so after a crazy couple of months

the sweet peaceful silence

after the freshly fallen snow

was like a balm to my hurried soul

Fashion Week Madrid, Spain

I am a little late on this post but Madrid is having their Fashion Week from February 18-23. The list of designers are posted on the website; Cibeles Madrid Fashion Week and include my favorite designers like Agatha Ruiz de la Prada. Hope all the Madrileños can make it to the runway.

Ciao mis amores!

The Postmistress

a couple of days ago while awaiting the arrival of my girlfriend
for our lunch date

i began to peruse the life section of USA Today

on the front page was a write up on a new book by Sarah Blake ,
The Postmistress

they gave it a stellar review

compared it to the wildly popular "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

Kathryn gives a little blurb on the cover ( here's an interview with both of them)

after lunch i zoomed over & grabbed my own copy
complete with a gorgeous cover
you know how shallow i am about gorgeous covers
and
ruffed pages
how i love ruffed pages
is that what they're called or did i make that up?

figuring if Kathryn Stockett loves it
& i love Kathryn Stockett
then by golly
certainly i will love it too!

speaking of "The Help"

please tell me you have read it
if not, climb out from under the rock & go grab yourself a copy

hands down one of my fave books of all time

i could hear the voices of those fantastic characters as i soaked in every page
i hated for it to end
i terribly missed Abileen, Minny & Skeeter
not to mention a fantastic cover :)

rumor has it
"Saving CeeCee Honeycutt" is fabulous
its certainly next on my list

don't send me hate mail
but i must be honest
"the time travelers wife"?
shoot me now
i could barely take it
i really needed that 500something pager to be done with itself
never could really follow the time line
& their love affair was a snoozer to me
i know all my favorite bloggers encouraged me to perservere
i did
glad i'm done
i sorta maybe kinda liked the very very end
hate me

francine rivers is a fantastic story teller

"The Sin Eater" & "The Atonement Child"

were both pretty good reads

also really enjoyed

"The Summer House"

by nancy thayer

"Pretty in Plaid"

started totally laugh out loud funny

but quickly disolved

besides the incredible "The Notebook"

why do i continue to read Nicholas Sparks

someone dies

you always cry

& i must admit

in my who-really-cares-opinion

i don't think he's an incredible talented writer

sorry nick

anyway

"The Last Song"

was okish

saw the movie "Dear John" to spend time with my 14 year old

which is the total target age for this movie

maybe because of ole Channing

did not like the ending

thankyouverymuch

savannah read the book

fairly certain she whizzed it across the room when she finished

shockingly the book ending was apparantly even worse

but on an upnote, i did love the music from the movie

my girls loved "The Doll People" series

so Caroline & I are reading that together

ya'll know i always love to hear what you're reading too!
xo

Stumblings: La Distribuitadora

When walking up and down Serrano Street in Madrid I stumbled upon my first "stumpling"; La Distribuitadora. I am already a sucker as it is for cute junk that makes me smile so this place was heaven to me. The store was full of things for everyday use with a fun twist like a cow-printed ottoman. They even have a safe that looks like a cereal box. It has items for every room in your place! So next time you update your pad or want to spice up a room I would highly recommend this cutesy store!

happy valentines day birthday!!!!

My favorite valentine~

I want to wish you a fantastic wonderful 17th birthday sweet girl!

I am so so so very proud to be your mom. There is not a day that goes by that I fail to thank the Lord for giving YOU to me. You have been a ‘nearly’ perfect child to raise. Unfortunately, I feel I have given you reason to believe you are everything but that. I apologize for that. I do not want you to leave our home feeling anything but LOVED! You have never disappointed me nor let me down.

I apologize for the times that I have hurt you with my words. I apologize for the times that my actions lead you to believe you were anything other than a precious child to me.

Savannah, you have so much potential. I have always known that! You have been a bright & gifted child from a very young age.

I realize that after Daddy Gregg died, you became my helper. There are times when I’m sad because I feel like I didn’t allow you the time to be a little girl. You always exceed my expectations. I am certain he is more proud of you than even I.

Please know that I carry much pride in being “savannah’s mom”. I love going to a meeting or an event being “savannah’s mom”. I love to introduce myself as “savannah’s mom”.

Know that I will always be on your side. I will always be on your team. & I will always love you more than you will ever know, sweet girl.

This is probably the last full year we will all live under the same roof as a family. My daily prayer is that the Lord help me show you just how much you are loved & cherished.

The world awaits you my dear.
I hope you always hear me cheering behind you & championing You on!

Happy 17th Birthday Savannah Miller
I love you
Mom

If i were to pick two best friends for you

I would have chosen Bailey & Danielle

they love you so much

they also wrote a little something for you~

Savannah Miller Knudsen has been such a blessing to my life. To think that we did not even know each other four years ago blows my mind considering how in these past four years there has been many times when I did not know how I was going to get through it without her. John 14:13 says "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends," and although, thankfully, neither Savannah, bailey, nor myself have ever had to give our lives for one another, we are all constantly making sacrifices and going out of our way for one another. I think the best friendships are made when people are repeatedly reminding one another how much they love and depend on one another the way that I am repeatedly depending on Savannah. Savannah's heart is beautiful. She has gone through her fair share of heartache and pain, maybe even more than the rest of us, and out comes a graceful, independent girl who happens to be a best friend of mine. So happy seventeenth to you Savannah! I love you, Danielle

Happy 17th!
I can't believe we are already 17. it honestly feels like we are still 13 again walking the halls of Trickum. I want you to know that the past four years that we have been friends have been such a blessing. You are a wonderful friend and I am so lucky to have you in my life. We really have grown up together. You have matured into a beautiful, brillant, inspirational girl. You have always been the sweetest friend, always there for me when i need you, always there to get excited with me about something and a sholder to cry on when I need that as well. You have become the sister I never had, and the greatest friend I could ever have. You are my person, and I hope that there never comes a day when I can no longer call you my best friend. Happy Birthday Savannah, I hope your birthday is perfect! I love you. Bailey

Valentine's Day Premiere

The stars stepped out looking fabulous for the premiere of the movie Valentine's Day. What a perfect way to spend Valentine's Day; with a box of popcorn, ben & jerry's ice cream, and your girlfriends or boyfriend in the theaters watching the dreamy Bradley Cooper and Taylor Lautner. There is no doubt that I will be making my bf go with me once in comes out in Spain.

The celebrities..


Both Jessica Alba and Anne Hathaways' dresses had hints of feathers which adds a cute but sexy pop to their dresses. Alba's new haircut is short and cute but makes her look like a little girl. No matter what she can pull of anything!



A blast in Valentine's Day past. Aishwarya Rai wore this adorable pink heart dress for the premiere of her film, Pink Panther 2 in 2009. Where can I get this? :)