Bluegrass Love: December 2011

Thursday, December 22, 2011

You Sneaky Santa

When we were budgeting for Christmas and buying our gifts, C comes and shows me his list. He was so proud of himself for spending almost to the penny his budget without going over. I look it over, and point out the obvious: You forgot me, darling.

He sheepishly laughed, and we agreed that we wouldn't get each other much because of the roof.

A few days later he comes home with a fancy schmancy Delonghi espresso machine and told me it was my early Christmas gift. Yes, it sounds great in theory, and was really nice of him. Except I'm allergic to coffee, so I could never use it. We decided it was a better gift from me to him, and he uses it every morning.

One of his morning cappuccinos

So, last night Santa came to our house and filled his stocking with UK tickets, whiskey stones, and other little things he's been wanting. My stocking, on the other hand, sat empty.

But, after a while, C managed to find two presents Santa left under the tree for me. I wasn't forgotten after all!

Not only that, but Santa knew I wanted an iPad because my laptop died over Thanksgiving, and he knew I would need the extra heavy-duty military-grade case because I tend to break things. Needless to say, Santa's back on my "nice" list!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Wordless Wednesday: Catholic Win

Between two churches located across the street from each other:

"All Dogs Go to Heaven"

"Only Humans Go to Heaven Read the Bible"

"God Loves All His Creations Dogs Included"

"Dogs Don't Have Souls This is not Open for Debate"

"Catholic Dogs Go to Heaven Presbyterian Dogs Can Talk to Their Pastor"

"Converting to Catholicism Does Not Magically Grant Your Dog a Soul"

"Free Dog Souls with Conversion"

"Dogs are Animals There Aren't Any Rocks in Heaven Either"

"All Rocks Go to Heaven"

Monday, December 19, 2011

The Downside to Online Christmas Shopping...

We were so proud to be done with our Christmas shopping before the holiday rush and long lines, and a lot of that was due to shopping online.

Apparently, the downside of online holiday shopping is that your credit card information can apparently be compromised, and the thief can purchase things like Match.com.

And if that isn't bad enough, your husband calls wondering why you bought a subscription to Match.com and you're confused because you're happily married.

You call and explain this to the bank, and now you're waiting 7-10 business days for your new credit card to arrive in the mail (yes, that means we will be without a credit card over the holidays. Joy).

You gotta feel sorry for the poor thief though--clearly he's desperate (or just looking for more people to scam..)

Friday, December 16, 2011

Kindle Love

So I get a ton of use from my Kindle (and the free loans from the Lexington Library). Here are some more books to add to your reading list:

Water for Elephants

I'm late on this bandwagon, but it's awesome. Read it.

The Book Thief

Written in Nazi Germany during World War I from the prospective of Death, the book chronicles the life of a poor family. Another astounding book that is hard to put down.

Cutting for Stone

An interesting novel about life in the face of tragedy in Ethiopia. The book draws you in immediately and truly brings the characters to life.

A Discovery of Witches

The book reminded me of a more sophisticated Twilight, involving history, science, magic and vampires. I didn't adore the book like I did some of the others, but it was compelling enough that I will likely read the sequel once it is out.

The Night Circus

I had never heard of it before our book club, but I loved it. A dreamy novel about a magical circus and the lives of those it touches. I don't think it's a coincidence that I wore black and white with a touch of red almost every day to work while I was reading it.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

'Tis The Season

For Christmas parties, apparently.

We had a Christmas party last weekend, women lawyer's Christmas luncheon yesterday, the local Bar Association's party tonight and a friend's birthday dinner, my work's party tomorrow, I'm hosting a holiday-themed bridal shower Saturday morning, Habitat for Humanity's party Saturday night, our book club (which I am so excited about) Sunday (right--we are still doing this ladies?) a cocktail party next Thursday, and then we leave Friday for our "four Christmases" + NYE adventure (more on that later, I'm sure).

I've spent more time than I care to admit trying to determine what to wear to all these events.

Just Lovely Katherine, Myself, and Katherine at last weekend's party

Last weekend, I wore a vintage dress. Apparently C's grandmother and I were the same size, and she had some beautiful custom-made party dresses from the 1940s/1950s. I totally channeled my inner 1950s Celia Foote in this one: it was a bright red and pink striped taffeta (it photographs much shinier than it was in person, and no worries, I promise there was no vomiting in the middle of the party floor). Seriously, I love all things vintage--age makes everything better.

If you need me, I'll be rummaging through my closet trying to piece together a thousand different holiday-appropriate outfits...

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Book Reviews

When I can't sleep at night, I read. Lately, I've been an insomniac, so I've been reading like crazy. I've read some great books lately, so here are a few to add to your reading lists:

The Hunger Games Trilogy

I was skeptical at first because the target audience is about 13, but these books are seriously amazing. I read all three (Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay) in one weekend--I just couldn't put them down. I can't wait to see the movie, especially since the two main actors are from Kentucky (and therefore District 12).

The Paris Wife

A wonderful glimpse into Hemingway's early life with his first wife, Hadley. Very well written and interesting account of their life and love in the 1920s.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

I knew absolutely nothing about Chinese society in the 1800s, so the book was extremely intriguing to me. It portrays life and ideals of Chinese women from each stage of life, including growing up as an unloved daughter, feet binding, arranged marriages, the desire and need to have sons, and living/caring for in-laws. There is also an independent film based on the book, but I haven't seen it yet.

Heaven is For Real

This is a good, quick read for those interested in religion. It is written about a pastor's four year old son who claims to have gone to Heaven during a near-death experience in the hospital.

Read any good books lately that you want to share? I'm always looking for suggestions (or people willing to lend me Kindle books!)

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Shades of Grey

Oh the joys of homeownership. Our home needs a new roof (which we knew when we bought it), but I had no idea how many colors a roof comes in. I guess I've never noticed and assumed most roofs were a standard brown, grey or black--I've never thought twice about roof colors. And, this is a rather big investment that will hopefully last another 20 years, so I want to pick a good color.

So, here is our house currently:

It's a very pale cream/tan with black shutters, white trim and a black/charcoal roof.

We are not going to go with black because it apparently attract and traps the heat in the summer (but it doesn't do so in winter, which I know seems weird). Grey roofs do not have this problem, so we are leaning towards a shade of grey. I initially was leaning towards charcoal/almost black, but I was driving by a cape cod in Fairway with our color scheme and noticed it had a light grey roof and loved it.

Our roof shingles come in these colors of grey:

1. Driftwood: