Coffee CubBuster

There's nothing like the classics to make it feel like Christmas. I forgot how much I loved this movie and what a great message it has! I think Linus is still my favorite! New tradition: make homemade Rice Krispie Treats while watching Charlie Brown Christmas. Happy Birthday Jesus! This cookbook, given by mama Marsha, inspired not only the red velvet Birthday cake for Jesus, but also our Christmas morning brunch and dinner! Santa thought Matthew should work the runway this year! Christmas morning tradition #563: watch It's a Wonderful Life  after opening presents, while eating a ginormous brunch! The amazing ginormous brunch, guilt-free (didn't you know that calories don't count during the holidays!?), inspired by Southern Living Christmas. *Not pictured: the lovely and scrumptious coffee cake appetizers (to be served during stocking-opening) Christmas at the Blair/Maupin household always proves worthy of photographs! Thanks to...

We are just three days away from one of the best holidays of the year. This is the first year I've never had to travel, and I'm reminded of what Christmas is really suppose to be about because I actually have time to sit, reflect, and be thankful for all God has done in my life. Not to mention His amazing gift of eternal life!  No matter how busy this season seems to be, and no matter how much the world tries to get you to panic and run around like a chicken without your head, I want to encourage you to sit in front of your lit-up Christmas tree, or whatever star-like element you can conjure up in your home (maybe a candle or something if you couldn't get any lights this year), and put on some classical "O Holy Night" music, and just take ten minutes out of your busy life to thank God for your blessings. Thank Him for all He does and remember that life is really really short, so there is no reason to let it pass by with a bunch of stress and frown lines! This may ...

It's been over a decade, and I've refused to join the 21st century. It's not really about independence, pride, or incapability. Rather, Matthew and I had chosen not to join in on many of the newest technologically savvy equipment because..... well honestly, we don't want to be consistently plugged in. We enjoy quiet down time. We are somewhat of a 1950s couple that still likes to be outside. We like to make up games, create contests, and enjoy some of the simple pleasures in this short life. I really didn't have much time to join Facebook or stare at "Angry Birds". Yet..... we realized that it was still possible to remain detached from the drama of electronic hindrances while enjoying a few modern pleasures. Yep. it's official. We not only created a Facebook account (which sadly we are never ever on due to the fact that there are other things we'd rather be doing), but Santa also came early...... Siri is my new BFF! Also, Pinterest has enabled me...

"I know Him, I KNOOOWW HIM!!!"   I can relate with Buddy the Elf. I am still a kid when it comes to Christmas, and I couldn't wait to start making my own Smith family traditions with my hubby. Not only do we have a plethora of Christmas film favorites to plow through every week from Black Friday to Christmas day, but we decided to cut down our very own Griswald Cyrpress Christmas tree! (It's not quite the same size due to the apartment ceiling height restrictions though.)  We were definitely one of the only persons at the Kinsey Family Farm without our own children!  Who needs kids when you are one. :) How cool would it be to live right by a Christmas tree farm! I felt somewhat ridiculous when this women with a baby and a 3 year old asked if we wanted her to take our picture. She had her hands full! Seriously she felt bad that we couldn't get the right angle on the tractor? Matthew was on a mission to find the perfect tree! He's definitely the det...

James and Brittany ventured back to the ATL so that we could shower them with love and best wishes before they tie the knot in March. I'm so happy for the two of them, but their current pad in Baston (that's the closest I can get to a New England accent) is just not close enough. I'm excited for them to embark on the best, most exciting, fun adventure of their lives! I was in charge of games, so of course, I put together a variety of crowd pleasers (* hint: Starbucks gift card prizes always get people interested in playing games!) "Who of the Two, hold up the Shoe" Really fun game I adapted. (*warning: can get a little smelly) I was only a little excited to see my Memphis friend (L-R) Brittany's sister, Kelly (did a great job planning!), the bride to be, Lindsey, and of course the coffee-lover herself I forgot how much I loved LHS until we had a semi-reunion I hope no shoes were injured if thrown after the results of this game.  It ...

1. Sleep... my mother-in-law has magic powers, or maybe she puts something in her cooking, or maybe it's all a trick with her clocks, but I can only get over 9 hours of sleep multiple days in a row when we go down and stay at her place in St. Simons. Love you Mama Marsha! 2. Pinterist: Look at what I had time to try out during my time off. I think I copied the Pinterist photo pretty well!  Pinterest Hair:  http://pinterest.com/pin/549267514/ My Hair: 3. Left-over turkey sandwiches 4. Christmas music starting 5. Friends/Family--- isn't that a given? 6. My nephew's laugh!!   See him cracking up here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMJQMYHQmsg&feature=colike 7. My husband's winter beard 8. God's infinite grace! 9. The moist-maker (Friends reference) 10. Elf *These are not in order of importance, otherwise the moist-maker would be at the top. :) ~Thankful Buster

It stinks to have a pesky cold, but I'm always one that tries to look on the bright side, so as I bask in a sea of tissues, hot tea, and honey-lemon halls, I realize that this is the perfect time to watch all those old movies I've never seen and always wanted to. First on the list.... Breakfast at Tiffany's. I thought the old Hepburn movie would be in black and white like Roman Holiday , but it wasn't! I loved it! AMAZING!  A true classic with a Louie Armstrong soundtrack and everything. Next up... I'm debating between Die Hard  and The Diary of Anne Frank-- both well-known box office hits. Anne Frank might make my sinus cavity worse though. What would Holly do? --SnuffyBuster

I had a great weekend with my small group girls at disciple now. We slept little, ate lots, and had a blast. I also learned a lot of new knowledge that really is of no use to me, except to make me feel older than I actually am... I now know of Dub Step, Skrillx , and the Bernie - a dance move, which I think looks like a flailing lunatic (but this is coming from a traditional dancer mind you). Apparently, I look like a seizing monkey when I do it, but in my defense, that's exactly what I thought it looked like on other people, so I was just mimicking! While I'm quite proud of my new dance moves, and my girls thought it was hysterical, sadly I have none to post. Can you hear the disappoint in my words?? :) The snacks were abounding Saturday night is the costume night at the church. With the "driven" theme, my girls dressed like old ladies (who lost their license) Grey hair and all- they looked awesome! The other leader and I dressed up as the nursing home ...

Helen is one of our favorite places to camp, mostly because we've been there so many times and know the best spots. While all of our friends conveniently had plans during the first frost of the season, wusses, we had the distinct honor of camping with the beautiful and ever-youthful Chloe Blair! I think if I did this, people would stare. What do you think? Our camera really doesn't do the fall colors justice. It was just gorgeous! This was like try #6... Chloe is thinking, why are these guys such freaks ! She didn't seem to think we were freaks now! It was quite a chilly evening.  That's probably the last camping we'll do for 2011... Next up, fort building in our apartment! :)   ~CampinBuster

I'm so thankful that my husband has jumped on the fall bandwagon with his crazy wife. He's been humoring me for years, and I think all the humor has added to our creative carvings. Off the vine is the best way to get um! In Athens.... He felt like he picked the best one. Psh... I want to cut my own Christmas tree this year too! It might be a little tougher than this though. Aw... he's so fratastic. Gotta love him! I wanted my pumpkin to be scared of the tricker-treaters that year. I thought it was funny Stone Mountain also puts out some great ones I keep holding on to my overalls for this one day every year.  We had some good stencils that year! Matthew was mighty proud of his headless horseman. You HAVE to go to Burts. It's the mother of all patches! There aren't really words for this particluar year. Matthew decided on a Cyclopes this year. There was no changing his mind... I did Jack from Tim Burton's Ch...