Merry Christmas Eve!

Santa is on his way everyone! Our cookies are out and waiting for the big man to show up.

Yet again I’ve been neglecting my blog lately, I’ve been working a crazy schedule lately-6 straight days for the last two weeks-which leaves me exhausted and uninspired. Plus this is the first time I’ve even gotten on a computer in 4 days and before that every time I got on I immediately felt sleepy and gave up on whatever I was working on. Regardless my schedule is changing again next week as I’m starting a totally new job so I’ll definitely have more time to get on here and share fun things. I still have so much to share so do stay tuned!!

In the meantime I hope you all have a VERY Merry Christmas and that Santa is good to you this year. I know I’m looking forward to sleeping in{!!!!} and spending time with the family plus good food, drink, and holiday movies by the fire. The kids are snuggling in for the night..dreaming of stockings filled with catnip and toys and of course there are visions of sugar plum fairies dancing in their heads.

Meowy Christmas from our house to yours!

Happy Holidays

Have a bright holiday.

Bright Girl

Baby’s First Christmas- Mr.Bennet & Stella’s Wish List

The holidays are almost here and it’s Bennet and Stella’s first Christmas! I’ve been doing some holiday shopping for the kids and here are a few treats I found on Etsy. Stella is getting a little tired of Pumpkin’s old blue collar so I found this adorable pink fabric collar by Jake & Micah on Etsy. They also had these cute fortune cookie catnip treats. The smell of catnip was just TOO tempting and kids discovered them hidden in my closet so hopefully their Santa dreams haven’t been dashed. Aren’t they adorable! They all have little fortunes, Stella’s will most definitely be “You have a talent for getting into mischief” and Pumpkin’s will be “Catnip will be the key to your happiness.”

Of course there will also be cookies and treats galore. There are TONS of companies selling homemade doggie cookies. Bennet LOVES peanut butter and molasses cookies by Blue Dog Bakery {sidenote: if you go to their website there are printable coupons.} I also found these little bites by Marconimade on Esty. Cute little dog shapes in cheesy beef flavor. I’m sure Mr. Bennet and his dog pals will give it two paws up.

Just the other day a local radio station was taking calls about Christmas shopping for your pets. There were quite a few callers saying they were spending well over $200 on animals. I love my pets but definitely won’t be spending that on presents. What are your furry children getting from Santa this year?

Have a bright day!

Bright Girl

Shoe Candy! My current bejeweled wish list

Okay so I thought I’d take a minute and share what is currently on my Zappos.com wish list. During black friday shopping palooza weekend I browsed the Zappos site looking at all the lovely shoes I cannot have.   I figure there is no harm looking and I had to share the sparkly confections I found! I love finding unique and pretty things so here goes,

Steve Madden I-Dreemy in Fuschia. I did actually try these on and they are sooo cute. The blush is really pretty too.

BC Footwear Steeplechase in Pewter Glitter. I love that these have a classic loafer/driving shoe look with the tassle but updated with the glitter fabric. I have seen so many people with the glittery Toms and Uggs lately and I find them oogly. This is much more my personal taste. Classic style with fun fabric.


Steve Madden I-dentfy in purple. I think I like the I-dreemy flat better but the purple color is really pretty.

The crème de la crème. Kate Spade New York Charm Heels. Love Kate Spade. Love the glitter. Love the hot pink. Too bad they are completely impractical for my usage and also $325!

I found these shoes by J. Renee which are incredibly similar to the Kate Spades for a mere $79.95.
So apparently I need to A) make more moolah and B) come up with some places to wear these bedazzled shoes. Any ideas for either case?
Which are your favs?
Have a bright day!
Bright Girl

Santa Claus is coming to town!

Hello everyone and I hope you’re getting into the holiday spirit!
I know a lot of you are getting the kiddos ready for holiday pictures with friends, family, and, most importantly, Santa Claus!! Big shout out to Lily Girl who has been doing just that for the past two days, Santa Claus is IN the building people! I did it for three years and it has its ups and downs but it’s always such fun to see the children’s faces when they meet Santa and bring their Christmas wish list colored in crayon with reindeer and candy canes.
Pictured above is myself, aged 4, meeting Santa and welcoming him to a holiday soiree. ‘Come in won’t you.’
Later we had our pictures taken. What a lovely child.

And then there are moments like this.

My brother was not so calm. Holding on to that candy cane for dear life!
I love how my dad is a laughing bystander. 
God bless you Santa Claus! Here’s hoping there are more sweeties than screamers.
What are you doing on your holiday weekends? Shopping? Parties? Do share! And if you have glorious photos such as these I would love to see them. The ‘screaming bloody murder’ ones may have been painful at the time but they are the best and funniest looking back.
Have a bright day!
Bright Girl

Adventures of the Girl in the Tights{& Jane}: The Marietta Pilgrimage Christmas House Tour 2011

This weekend was the 25th annual Marietta Pilgrimage in historic Marietta, Georgia. My mom went last year but I was unable to go. She had an awesome time so I was determined to go the following year for sure! Luckily I was able to ask off work this time so Pink Girl, Maman, & Myself were able to spend the day walking the adorable side streets of Marietta filled with historic homes from Reconstruction and Victorian mansions to mid-century bungalows and cottages. This year the weather was perfect, just a little chilly but sunny and bright--not unbearably cold like last year apparantly was. Which is perfect because I dressed cute and festive for the day and got A LOT of compliments on my tights. So of course I had to take a picture to commemorate the day. If you saw me and or my tights that day you’ll remember I’m sure. Again, thanks for the compliments!




Just leaving The Dobbins-McDaniel House c.1952. Jane might need some assistance.


While heading out the door Jane came across the most adorable little village and made a friend!

Heading into The Brooks-Vanderbogart House c.1927

Wandering down the street in search of house #3. Is this it??

Unfortunately this is the only exterior picture of the house I took. So sweet. The house is gorgeous inside and out! Ellwood c. 1867.


The outdoor patio and fireplace was so toasty and inviting, Jane had to sit by the fire for for a bit of a respite.

The chickens are ready for Santa to come!

Look at how neat and tidy this adorable potting shed is!! Looks like it used to be a smokehouse or kitchen building of some kind. Remember--Ellwood dates back to the late 1800s.


Okay, this house wasn’t on the tour but it was so adorable and decorated perfectly for the holidays. And I loved the colorful window!




Mockingbird Hill c. 1888. What a great house. Gorgeous design and doesn’t every girl wish she had a turret!?


Jane & Maman also made a feline friend. She popped out of the bushes as we were walking by and made our acquaintance. Lovely!

Look at this cool tree house/patio!! I wish I had one of these!!!

The Camellias are in bloom. Gorgeous!

The Green-Hildreth House {c. 1934} was probably my favorite by far. It has been lovingly restored and remodeled by the current owner, a professional carpenter and apparent renaissance man. Too bad I don’t have any friends like that! It’s gorgeous!!

The woodworking studio was awesome and really reminded maman of her uncle’s carpentry studio filled with the smell of fresh wood shavings. Apparently her uncle’s studio was much larger but sadly burned when she was still very young.


Safety First Jane!                     This pair is having a good time decorating!



This house wasn’t on the tour but was so adorable! It’s like a little doll house.

Admiring the local bird community. Quite colorful and festive.

The Bagwell-Koutouzis House c. 1927

The Anderson Mansion c. 1900

After finishing the home tour we walked over to The Root House. I’ve never been and am so glad I finally got to go. It was so cute decorated for Christmas and reminded me of my time in Virginia in August. I would highly recommend taking some time out and stopping by, especially now that it’s decorated for the holidays. A great opportunity for people of all ages to see living history in the Atlanta area. I really want to make “Secrets” for Christmas dinner now too. Go visit and tell me what you think.





       Fetching some water





Kitchen Porch












We all had fun and got some inspiration on the house tour. Just made me want a historic home of my own all the more. Sigh…someday. Did anyone else go on the tour this year? What was your favorite house, room, decoration idea, etc.?? I’d love to hear. And even if you didn’t-do stop by and say hello.
Have a bright day!
Bright Girl

Black Friday Report

Hello Everyone!
Okay so as I mentioned in my last post I was planning on braving the wee morning drive to Atlanta, traffic, zero parking options, and truly crazed crowds to  not only WORK on Black Friday but also partake in the shopping craze for the very first time. Here is my report.
So Thanksgiving day I did some early online shopping to get a few gifts taken care of. I don’t know if I just never paid attention before or retailers were really trying to boost sales but there were a lot of online deals starting Wednesday and Thursday of last week before Black Friday. I also got some great deals at Talbots! I can’t wait for my stuff to come. Shirts regularly priced at over $40 for $15. Yes please! I’ll have to share my purchases for some fashion inspiration as soon as they come! Mini fashion show? I think yes!
Whilst shopping online Thursday I thought about it and there were a few things I knew I for sure wanted at a couple stores and the deals on Friday morning were going to be great{30-50% off items before 11am}. Thus I decided to get up early and be there right at opening to get what I wanted for myself and for gifts. I had to be at work amongst the madness anyway in the morning. Why not partake?

Jane and I are ready to hit the road

I got up before 5am to get ready for work, my clothes and work bag were set and ready for me to hit the door. I stopped for some Starbucks sustenance, chai latte and granola yogurt. A little caffeine to wake me up! Anthropologie opened at 7am, I got there at 6am. No one was there. I felt like a creeper sitting in my car. Where are the shoppers with that slightly crazed and sleep deprived look in their eyes? And then the cars started coming. I was first in line and out in 10 minutes. Honestly there were probably only 15 people there at opening. However, the lady standing next to me had just left another store and told me the tales of her true Black Friday experience there. People were going insane grabbing up things, trying on clothes in the middle of the store, and being overall rude people. This made me feel a little scared since the job I was heading to in a few hours was at that mall.


One of the items I was lusting for a deal on. Anthropologie’s Bake by Numbers pie platter. Sooo cute! As a former art student and overall lover of baking, art, and unique and crafty things I HAD to have this. On sale for $9.99!!! Get outta my way BF shoppers.
Mission Accomplished!

After leaving store #1 I headed to Talbots to check out the sale. Same story here. They opened at 7am for Black Friday, 30% off one full priced item. But the items I was looking at were sale items already 65% off. They had tons of clothes on sale…and I was the only one there. At first when I got there I second guessed that they were opening early. I got a lot of great items at over 65% off, a few things were only $5 if you can believe it!
Here is where things got a little interesting. I headed to the mall. I really lucked out and found a parking spot right next to the entrance I needed to be at. I had almost 2 hours to kill so I wandered the mall. It wasn’t as bad as I expected. There were a lot of people there but not quite what I expected. I kind of enjoyed myself. There were a few stores that were so crowded I just left. I don’t need anything bad enough to wait over 30 minutes to check out. Plus I’m basically done with Christmas shopping now. I must say doing some recon work the day before really helped. I made a list of the places I wanted to go and what I wanted to look at buying, which wasn’t much.
The rest of the weekend was sort of ho hum. Work wasn’t that busy, Sunday was surprisingly busy compared to Friday and Saturday which we were expecting to be super crazy.
Leaving the mall on BF, however, was another experience all together.

Umm. Can I please just get out of here and go home!?!

Get me outta here!

Overall it wasn’t a horrible experience. Plus I got a few fun pictures.

A view of the Atlanta skyline. Sunrise. Black Friday 2011.

Can anyone guess what that reflection is? The first thing I saw when I was finally reunited with my car after work.

It’s the Macy’s Christmas Tree!!

Look at all those sparkling lights!

Definitely made me feel cheery after a very long day.

How did you spend YOUR Black Friday? Did you go shopping early and snag some awesome deals? Please do share I would love to hear stories of your Black Friday experience and what you nabbed.
Have a bright day!
Bright Girl