Year in Review 2009

Time for the Big List of Things That Were Very Awesome or Important or Mostly Just Entertaining in 2009. (See 2008 here, 2007 here and 2006 here.) I started 2009 with a bubble wrap party with friends and my then-boyfriend, and I plan to end it with friends and my now-husband at a party. Pretty nice bookends, if I do say so.

A List of Random Things That Happened to Me This Year:
1. I GOT MARRIED! Holy crap, I got married! Having my family and friends all in one place to celebrate such a big moment in my life was tremendously emotional in ways I can't explain with words. I also got engaged, which was an epic event full of subterfuge and surprises. Refresh your memory here.
2. Thanks to Body Design's awesome personal trainers, I can do pushups, I have nicely cut biceps and developing quads and I'm down 25 pounds.
3. I wrote a novel! I participated in (and completed) National Novel Writing Month. Go me!
4. Vera Bradley. You might remember the quilted bag queen was included in this list of things I hate. Well, I'm eating my words. Because I own two VB bags and I love them. All of a sudden her patterns got all adorable and mod. Also, I became more accepting. So, yay for growth.
5. Etsy. For real, y'all. I have developed a full-blown obsession with the online indie crafting marketplace. My entire wedding was decorated by Etsy crafters. Christmas is brought to you by Etsy. My new creative space in my house will be, too.
6. I became an aunt two more times in the last month. My best galpal, Melanie, had Rigby Finch Clark on Dec. 17. And friends Chris and Kathleen had Josephine Adelle Joyner on Dec. 7.
7. My sister-in-law's little one, Rhiley, turned 1 this year. She walks, she talks and she knows what zombies eat (brrrrraaaaainnnnsssss).
8. We built a deck on the house. It was the only home improvement project we've undertaken that had no drama and stellar results.
9. We had travel drama that involved a flood, a bike wreck and a trip through the airport in a wheelchair.
10. We rescued a lost puppy and then found his mom.

Amazing Albums Released this Year:
"Give Up the Ghost," by Brandi Carlile
"I and Love and You" by the Avett Brothers
"Up From Below" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
"Move Every Muscle, Make Every Sound" by De Novo Dahl
"Wilco (The Album)" by Wilco
"Try Fly Blue Sky" by The Heart Strings
"Noble Beast" by Andrew Bird
"My Maudlin Career" by Camera Obscura.

Some Books I Read (and loved):
NOTE: I always run into the issue of not being able to remember what I've read at the end of the year. I tried to remedy it by signing up for GoodReads.com, but I forget to enter books into my profile. I know I read much more than this, but this is what I could remember. Also, there were some books I hated.
"Julie and Julia" by Julie Powell
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (again)
"Harry Potter and the Dealthy Hallows" (again)
"The Wild Things" by Dave Eggers
"Pretty in Plaid" by Jen Lancaster
"Certain Girls" by Jennifer Weiner

Some Awesome Movies I Saw (and loved):
"Fantastic Mr. Fox"
"Up"
"500 Days of Summer"
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"
"Inglorious Basterds"
"Julie and Julia"
"He Just Not That Into You"
"Where the Wild Things Are"
"Coraline"
"Adventureland"
"Whip It"
"Sherlock Holmes"

Places I Visited:
Memphis, Tenn.
Grantville, Penn.
Chicago
Boston
Plymouth, Mass.
Dauphin Island, Ala.
Washington, D.C.
Blue Ridge, Ga.
Franklin, Tenn.

Famous People Sightings:
Chuck Leavell (in my office)
Top Chef contestant Kevin Gillespie (at his restaurant)
Top Chef contestant Hector Santiago (at Cavalia)
Alice Walker (in an interview)
Elton John (at a speaking engagement)

Live Shows That Rocked:
A.C. Newman
Dave Sedaris
Alton Brown and the "Good Eats" 10th anniversary show
John Oliver and Seth Myers comedy tour
Modest Mouse
Portlant Cello Project

Thankful crafting

For Thanksgiving decor this year, I wanted to keep it simple but also incorporate some of the stuff I learned while planning the wedding.

A few of the lessons:

1. Mason jars make flowers look rustic and adorable. Always.

2. Why buy it when you can make it?

3. Candles, candles, candles.

Hot Pants and I are not particularly fancy folks, but we like a pretty table, and I love a chance to drag out my boxes of crafty things. Plus, we were having friends over for Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks to Martha Stewart, some of my favorite craft blogs and a little ingenuity, I think it turned out pretty well.

I dragged out an old book I have deconstructed 12 different ways and tore out a few pages. I revived the typewriter stamps I bought at the Newseum in D.C. and used abundantly for our wedding and went to work. I also made use of the tree stamp we applied to the envelopes of our wedding invitations. Add in some twine, some clothes pins an voila! Awesomeness.




Then, I stole an idea from my gal pal, Martha Stewart, and turned some beautiful green pears into place cards with a little card stock, the typewriter stamps and white ribbon I had bought to help make my veil. Martha had suggested handwriting the names, but I wanted to give the decor some consistency.



Lastly, I went to work on some unsuspecting squash and made six fantastic votive candle holders (that rotted three days later in a gooey mess, but whatever).



Ta da!

Those crazy kids in Knoxville

My lovely friend, The Modern Gal, made a bet with her boyfriend involving snow, nudity and a 21-yard punt. Guess what? It snowed in Knoxville this weekend.

Check out the video of the results over at the MG's blog here.