{Life as we live it}

love black friday...

it's a tradtion for me to get up super early & hang w/ the crowds, trying to get the best deals. it's like a rush, it's almost like a sickness, like crack....LOL! i only got 2.5 hours of sleep b/c of the adrinelin, comparing prices online & in the ads, etc. CRAZY i tell ya. i stood in line at Target for an hour. we were lucky to have nice weather, which made shopping even more enjoyable!

just a few pictures to share from yesterday...this was our attempt to get a family photo. the sun was super bright & if we had waited later, the kids would've been all messy from eating dinner...lol!

 

the birthday boy blowing out his candles. he loved all his birthday gifts & cards from the family (thanks so much)!

 

going to put up the tree tonight & then decorate it tomorrow. looking forward to decorating rest of the weekend. enjoy your weekend & happy shoppin :-) 

Happy Thanksgiving...

and Happy 6th Birthday to Tyler :-) my little man is 6 years old today & he's so thrilled to be 6, too. he is DYING to see what new gifts he has when he receives his presents to open. i'm excited to see the look on his face! i made his cake yesterday & have finished icing it this am for him. can't wait to celebrate after dinner!

this year we are staying home, which means i have been cooking a nice little feast for the family. i got a lot done today & it wasn't as stressful as i thought it would be. it was really enjoyable. like a nice retreat to cooking good food. now to enjoy it all w/ the family. so on the menu, we are having...

Roasted Turkey Breast (brine & w/ a yummy juniper berries rub)
Bacon Brussels Sprouts
Cranberry-Apple Sauce
Lemon Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
Cornbread Stuffing w/ Italian Sausage
Dinner rolls
of course, Turkey Gravy
Chocolate Pecan Pie
Pumpkin Pie
4" Chocolate Cake w/ Chocolate icing for Tyler

it's nice to taste test everything while cooking, makes me excited to really enjoy it all on one plate tonight! so i can't wait!

anyway, i hope you & your family/friends are having a wonderful Thanksgiving. sending lots of love & blessings to all my friends & family! SMOOCHES!!!

Epson fan...

i am an huge Epson fan. i have been for years now & that is all that i buy. printers, scanners, etc. i have always found their products to be high quality & have yet to have had any problems whatsoever!

 

the Epson Artisan 800 this new baby is sitting on a shelf in my studio & let me tell ya, it prints out GORGEOUS photos. they are so crisp, clear, sharp & it's super fast! the best thing i love about it is that it's Wi-Fi! love the idea of having it in a central location for printing. you can also print on discs, load two different sizes of photo paper at one time, send & receive faxes from home & in color at that, scan, convert your favorite photos to print out a coloring page...so imagine making a super cute coloring book of your childs favorite pictures. how cool would that be? i think pretty neat. the touch screen is really cool. free shipping is offered at their website, too. makes for a great Christmas gift.

cupcakes

ETA: today, Corinne & i hung out w/ Tyler during part of his lunch time & celebrated his birthday w/ his classmates. they enjoyed the cupcake & so did his teacher...that was AWESOME!!!

 

in line on their way to the classroom after lunch.

 

Ty w/ his teacher.

 

Corinne sat at another table for a while w/ girls.

 

not a good pic of Ty, but the two of them together at least. C didn't want to leave either. while they ate lunch in the cafeteria, she kept giving Tyler hugs & his friends would high-5 w/ her.

last night i made cupcakes with a rich butter cream frosting & chocolate sprinkles. i will be bringing them by this am so he can indulge & share w/ his classmates & teacher. he'll be 6 years old on Thanksgiving. he's excited, as well as i am. they are SO GOOD, too. i hope the young critics will enjoy them, too. i really enjoyed make these, too. so look out Natasha, i may be taking you up on your offer on borrowing some of your cake baking goodies ;-)

Twilight...

friday night was a night spent w/ girlfriends enjoying the movie Twilight & yummy food at the melting pot. if you've not read the book, do so & see the movie, or vise versa. i'm excited to see the next one.

this is a message to crowdSPRING...

"crowdSPRING,

hire KELLY PURKEY for your

new community marketing manager"

i want, but do not need...

this beauty in red. but don't look at the price. it's all about the look right? a girl can wish!!

the garden...

bloomed today & it looks so GOOD!!! i only took a quick peek at all the fab projects the girls did. i am heading out for a 13 hour long crop w/ friends & can't wait to get out of here. just wanted to share some pages i did. you can take a peek at the rest of them at the garden.

  

 

well, off i go. hoping i will accomplish a lot today being that i am packing light w/ projects to complete! have a great weekend!

so glad it's Friday!

i didn't get any sleep last night. i Corinne hasn't been able to breathe through her nose for a day & last night it got worse. she fell asleep early last night at that, but then woke up during the 8 o'clock hour. gave her a Vick's rub down & she was fine, until about 230 am. it was pretty down hill from there. this am she is having a blast rubbing her runny nose all over my shirt & of all days, i'm wearing black. good thing we are not going anywhere, except to the bus stop & back! though, i'm a walking zombie today, even after 4 cups of coffee. on top of all that coffee, i had the pleasure of indulging in some zucchini bread made by my sweet friend, Natasha. let me tell ya, it is GOOD!!!! i had a few slices of it yesterday & way too many slices this am...hehehe. so so good! i will have to get the recipe from her so i can make some on the regular. i still have some left over, but i foresee it being eaten up by tomorrow am if i'm not careful...hahaha. oh & instead of using butter, warm it up & added some coconut oil...WOW! talk about yummy & it's better for ya!!

 

Corinne enjoys adorable, sweet Hudson. every time they are together, she just can't seem to get enough of him. when he would cough, she would pat him gently on his back, very nurturing. she loves to give him hugs and tries to pick him up. i have to remind her that he is a "real" baby...hehehe. as i type this, she is excited to see the photo on my monitor & is waving to him. too cute!

ok, well i am going to go & finish laundry, that i started on Tuesday. by the time i finish it up today, it'll be time to start it all over again. i need to get better at completing laundry in a timely manner.

life is hard...

 

being an almost 18 month old!