Christmas 2008

Christmas was a blast this year! My husband Nathan spent his first Christmas with my family. Although mom accidentally bought him girl's pajamas to wear Christmas Eve that would match the one's she bought me, we had a few good laughs over the incident that made it worth while. Mom promised that she went to the men's section in Old Navy but the glittering thread should have given it away. Ooops! Here are a few pics from Christmas! My sister's husband and dad had already retreated to bed . . . probably hoping that Santa Claus would come a little earlier I suppose :) The slideshow seems to center around my snaggle-tooth poodle Sophie! I just love her to death!!! Oh and just so everyone knows, no chocolate was fed to our dogs . . . just a little disclaimer.

Diva Night

Christmas season was a special one, indeed, this year! It's been over a year but the Divas finally united once again for fabulous food, drink, and fun! Mom, or rather Vanessa Deen as we like to call her . . . like Paula Deen, really put on the ritz for this special occasion (sending a formal invitation and everything)!  In the past, everyone just knew to meet at the house at 6 PM every Thursday night for a themed dinner and fellowship.  However, unfortunate circumstances caused a snuffing out of our parties.  Although things may never go back to the way they were, it's nice to have a reunion from time to time.  Diva Night is open to girls and women of all ages. It's so fun to hear about everyone's lives because many of us are in different stages.  We laugh, we cry, we dream, and advise.  Oh the chatter! And all around at our feet playing together are our toy poodles (and sometimes a yorkie or dachshund on occassion).  Yes, the ladies even bring their dogs!  This particular evening, all the food was prepared out of Southern Lady Magazine.  We also ended the evening with coffee, pound cake, pumpkin souffle pie, and an ornament exchange.  I was the proud recipient of a little bird ornament from Anthropologie! Enjoy the pictures! 

A Wee Little Success!

Last Sunday Kysha Winters and I hosted our first "Wee Little Christmas Party!" Children and their parents joined us for an afternoon of cookie decorating fun! We made Peanut Butter Blossoms, Sugar Cookies, and little Reindeer heads using Nutter Butters dipped in melted chocolate.  Pretzels were used as the antlers, red hots for the nose, and white or green round sprinkles for the eyes.  In addition, the children made snowflake ornaments using colorful gumdrops.  Fruitloops and lifesavers were also used to make a tinsel type ornament for the tree.  Here's a sneek peek from the event.  It was so hard to choose which pictures to post.  All the kids were SO cute!

The centerpiece for the event.  I made the gumdrop tree :)

Gumdrops on the craft table

Caroline arriving to the party.  Precious!

Caroline's in her pointing phase.  She wants everyone to see what she sees :)

Canon was quite cute.  He had a ball rolling all over the living room floor, stopping at intervals to give me his best model face.  

Ginger and Emma making the dough for the Peanut Butter Blossoms.

Emma being her beautiful self!

Even the adults had fun!

Hudson, amazed by ALL the sugar! 

Hudson was like the cute kid you see in the Pillsbury commercials.

Kysha and Michael making the reindeer cookies!

Michael kissing Caroline.  We've been plotting their marriage since they were zygotes.  LOL!

Michael caroling with the carolers! Too cute! He must take after his mother.

And who are these kids??? That's my older sister and me about 18 years ago making Peanut Butter Blossoms with mom :) I'm thankful for a mother who could give us such special memories and traditions.  LOVE YOU MOM!

And as promised . . . there was a special drawing for those that attended the party! Congratulations to Diane MaGee! She is the winner of a FREE private photo session for her family! 

I can't wait for this year's Spring event.  I'm thinking of bunnies, flowers, and colored eggs! Hope to see you all there!

A Wee Little Christmas Party

In less than a week, Kysha Winters and I will be hosting "A Wee Little Christmas Party." This party gives children and their parents a few hours to cut loose for the holidays, baking and decorating Christmas cookies! All the while, I'll be clicking my camera for adorable candid shots! Formal shots for Christmas cards will also be available upon request.

What's the beauty of this type of party?

1. You get to have all the fun with none of the clean-up!

2. There's no sitting fee for this type of photography session.

3. You can view all event pictures online via a private gallery at lorilinephotography.com.

4. If you like what you see, you can purchase the pictures!

5. Attend and be entered to win a prize valued at $125

Moreover, I'm very excited about the decor for this party. It'll be a child's Christmas dream! In fact, I'm already considering a Spring party event as well. Check back for pictures from this party.

Thanksgiving at the Line's

I just love the holidays! So much to do, so many places to go! And this Thanksgiving was my FIRST Thanksgiving as a married woman.  Yes, I am a newlywed.  Nathan and I were married October 18, 2008 on top of Signal Mountain at Laurelwood.  Although Nathan is "back-country" and I am "city salon," we work well together.  I believe we enjoy each other's differences because it pushes us out of our comfort zones, making us stronger as individuals.  One of the bonds we share, however, is having grown up with a wonderful support system from our families.  Luckily, if I'm not with my family, his is a good substitute :) And since it's Thanksgiving, I'll go ahead and say that I'm thankful for that! Given that his family is much larger than mine, holiday traditions are somewhat different.  Usually I spend Thanksgiving watching the Macy's Day Parade, eating a Thanksgiving feast in the formal dining room with about 6 others, and enjoying the latest Christmas movie in theatres with my family.  Though I did catch the parade this year as I was getting dressed, the rest of the day was spent catching up with Nathan's 30 plus family members and friends! Afternoon and evening activities included a family football game, cornhole, and a big bonfire!  And when it was finally time for dinner, we all retreated to a beautifully decorated white tent (yeah, like the kind they have at weddings) to enjoy our Thanksgiving feast.  Here are a few pictures:

Nathan's childhood home

             Mary Grace and Drew Burchfield

Christian Sagel

Dominic Sagel

Samson, the family dog, chillin' . . .

Nathan getting pumped . . .