I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas....

Oh, the holidays and have almost come and gone!!!

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas.

Our holiday was packed with friends and family and it was the best first married Christmas EVER!!

After all it snowed on our first Christmas together! This must be a sign I say. Even though we didn't wake up to a white Christmas in Anniston, it soon reached us by breakfast time. We then traveled to Huntsville after eating breakfast and opening presents with my family. We spent the rest of the holiday weekend with Brian's family and boy did we get the snow in Huntsville! On Sunday we really got to play in the snow and had a great time before heading back to Birmingham.

Aubie Dog running in the snow. She loved it and we loved watching her!

We posed with the neighbor's snowman. I sadly can't claim these guys as my own creation.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland!!

I've got many more Christmas events to share with you so stay tuned! :)

Christmas in Chicago

The first weekend of December I took a girls trip with my mom and sister to Chicago. We had such a great time and it really got me into the Christmas spirit! These are a few highlights of our weekend.

As soon as we landed and got settled in our hotel, we headed straight out on the town in chilly Chicago to grab a snack.

By snack I mean DEEP DISH CHICAGO PIZZA. Yummy!

We went to Gino's East Pizza and split a small pizza. One piece is the size of your plate.

We later walked around the city and took in all the city lights. It was beautiful at Christmas time!

That evening we ate dinner at ZED451.

After dinner we headed to The Signature Lounge in the John Hancock Tower to check out the city skyline at night. We got there just in time as it started snowing about 10 minutes after we arrived! I was able to snap a quick picture with my iphone.

On Saturday we spent the day Christmas shopping at the holiday mart. We picked up some great goodies including wine smoothies and some delicious herb dips. Did I mention it snowed all night? We got about 5 inches!!! White Christmas!

We later went shopping along Michigan Ave and went to a mall with Bloomingdale's and a four-story christmas tree!

Saturday evening I had to go try out this cupcake place I found out about due to my blog reading obsession over at kevinandamanda.com.

It was called Molly's Cupcakes and is located towards the northern end of Chicago.

It definitely did not disappoint us.

Our selections: Tiramisu, Cookie Monster, and The Ron Bennington (chocolate and peanut butter creation)

All the cupcakes had a creamy center which I wish I had take a picture of.

Mine had chocolate chip cookie dough in the middle and the Ron Bennington oozed with a creamy peanut butter.

After we ate dessert first, we decided it was time for dinner at an authentic Mexican restaurant, Salpicon. Delicious Mexican. I wish I hadn't been so full from the cupcakes. At least we enjoyed our cocktails!

Sunday we went a little south of the city to eat brunch at this little eclectic joint called Nightwood (also referred to us by kevinandamada.com). We then headed back towards the hotel and toured Millennium Park and went to visit the giant bean!! It was a brisk 20 degrees that day. It was so cold, but so pretty with all the snow!

There was an ice skating rink in front of the bean! Those people had to be shivering.....

Merry Christmas!

Dear Santa

I think grown-ups should be able to write Santa just as the little ones do. In case "Santa" is reading this blog I thought I'd share a few fun things on my Christmas wish list.

This list more or less came to my head due to online shopping at work. Woops!

It's the holiday season though. Who doesn't shop online at work??

1 - Pottery Barn

I make this easy for Santa. You can just GIVE me Pottery Barn and I'll be perfectly happy. :)

Here are a few things I've been eyeing.

2 - Bird Jewelry Dish

This little guy would look so much prettier sitting on my dresser than the ring box I keep out for my wedding band. And anything with birds is usually a must! At only $19....yes, please!!

3 - Silver-Plated Julep Cup

If you know me then you know I love monograms. This would be perfect for the dried hydrangea I have or any fresh flowers. So classic.

4 - Emma Monogrammed Teapot

Is this not the cutest little thing? I have a few Emma accent pieces and this would make a nice addition!

5 - Viva La Juicy

My favorite scent which I am sadly out of. Maybe I should change it up and get a different fragrance. But then again if you know you like it....why bother?? I always feel pretty when I am wearing this.

6 - Bath and Body Works Candles

Speaking of fragrances, why not some yummy smelling candles? I've become fairly bias towards Bath and Body Works candles. They keep their scent going throughout our little apartment.

Now just for fun I'll ask Santa for a few BIG WISH gifts. Maybe if I've been a REALLY good girl he will reward me!! Oh, a girl can dream!!

Digital SLR Camera

This is something Brian and I are saving up for. He needs it for work one day. I need it to enhance my blog. Multi-purpose! hahaha!

IPad

This IPad is crazily expensive, but oh, so convenient. I don't have a laptop anymore so this could easily fill that void. :)

Mediterranean Cruise

Like I said, a girl can dream. This is truly a dream vacation. Santa take me there!!!

Now it's your turn. What do YOU want for Christmas???

A Taste of New Orleans

As a I promised I'm going to take you on little "food" tour of New Orleans...our way! When you go to NOLA you can't help but think about cajun food and beignets! If you were raised in the Perry family, you plan your vacations based on where you are going to eat. You have to get every good place in on the trip as if you are never coming back. Then you do it all again the next year!!

So back to my planning, I researched all week were we might end up for Brian's birthday weekend. I wanted to take Brian to the best of the best (on a newlywed budget)!

Here were our top picks of the weekend and boy were they delicious!

Our first stop for Brian's birthday dinner was Red Fish Grill. This place has your average menu, but the dessert....Oh WOW! They serve a Double Chocolate Bread Pudding. YUM! This dish has a white and dark chocolate ganache that you pour over the top of the chocolate bread pudding. Heaven. Brian even enjoyed this chocolatey dish which is surprising for someone who doesn't eat chocolate.

See those little teapots turned upside down? Yeah, they were each filled with warm chocolate!

Saturday we were at the LSU tailgate. Notice the large pot of Jambalaya in the posting below.

Sunday was the true feast. We woke up and walked all around the city. Our first stop was breakfast at Mother's. This is somewhere I've been wanting to try on many occasions. It did not let me down.

They are known for their baked ham (stating the obvious), so of course we both ordered it. I don't think I will ever eat Honeybaked Ham again after tasting this.

And look at those portions! HUGE!

Next on our list, Cafe Du Monde. (Need I say more?) You have to get dessert after breakfast, right? This was Brian's first "fresh" Beignet.

You can't eat a begniet without getting a little messy....or powdery!

We walked around for a few hours (tried not to get cramps from eating so much) and stumbled into the farmer's market. Look how cute and festive!!

After strolling a little more we stopped to watch the street performers. I had to tip him for holding such a crazy position. Ouch!

The New Orleans Saints had a noon kick-off so we stopped in Pat O's to catch some of the game. Of course Bourbon Street was already alive and kickin' at this hour.

The classic Pat O's Hurricane and the Rainstorm.

Last on the list, we stopped for a late lunch, reluctantly, at the Gumbo Shop. Brain wanted to taste some good gumbo and I tried to eat, but didn't have much room left!

He tried two types of gumbo there.

Our NOLA experience was a great trip overall. Great food, great weather, and great fun. (Minus the loss on Saturday.) If you ever need tips on where to eat on any vacation, know that you can always ask us!

Off the Market

Many women across the world have a bittersweet feeling today including me. Prince William is officially off the market and engaged to Kate Middleton!!! I just know had he met ME he would have fallen madly in love and I would have become a real princess. I think I could live just fine in Buckingham Palace. What about you?
Ok. In all seriousness, I am extremely happy for the couple. After all Kate is a beautiful young woman and is going to be a gorgeous bride. I can’t wait to follow their wedding planning and see her wedding dress!! Now that I’ve had a wedding of my own to plan, I am much more interested in wedding ideas, planning, etc. I have a feeling that I will be OBSESSIVELY following all the stories the media has to offer us on their wedding details. I suppose I could hold out for Prince Harry one day…….but for now, I am perfectly happy with my own prince charming, Brian! haha! :)

Birthday Bash

This past week I got to celebrate the birthdays for two of my favorite people. They are my favorite of course because it was my sister and my husband! :) Brian and Whitney have birthdays back to back (November 5th and 6th). This should be fun for the rest of my life for birthday planning!!

Whitney turned the big 3-0 this year!

We threw a HUGE surprise party at Zona Rosa. She was so surprised!

Brian's birthday was celebrated in New Orleans. More posts to come on that trip. He only wanted LSU/BAMA tickets for his birthday and thanks to mom again, I was able to pull it off for him. Although the game was a sad outcome for Bama, we had a blast and stuffed ourselves silly with delicious Cajun food.

Just look.

Yes, that is a GIGANTIC pot of Jambalaya. YUM!

The entire weekend was a blast! I don't think we will be able to top either of their birthday celebrations next year. We will see!

Turkey Tuesday

The holidays are here! The holidays are here!

I hope you are ready because it is November folks. I am still in shock. This year has really flown. I can't believe Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away. I promise this is my last pumpkin post, but how cute is this little guy?

He is very festive for the Thanksgiving season. Thanks Lisa for the special treat!

Halloween seemed as if it was ages ago now, but here are a few pictures from the night. I'm sorry I didn't share these sooner. We literally made our costumes the day of the party! (A big thanks goes out to Brian's Aunt Ronica who sewed together his smock on the morning of the event.)

Luckily, the orange spray did come out of my hair pretty easily!!

Wilma and Fred Flintstone!

Raggedy Ann and Andy!

This is my friend Beth and here fiance, Clint.

Check her blog out! It's full of fun information!

Beach, Bon Jovi, and Bama

Brian and I took a trip for his fall break which was a much needed vacation for the two of us! We spent a few days in Orange Beach. By the way, the weather is AMAZING this time of year. I know why there are snowbirds now. You can’t beat it. Warm enough to still get in the water and lay out, but cool enough not to burn up in the BLAZING SUN. Ideal. While on the beach there was a boat race going on. Let me rephrase myself. There was a speed boat race. These boats were fast!!! They held the race right on the beach in front of our condo, so we had primetime seats. We tried to catch a few shots. The boats sounded just like race cars zooming by.

Check out the clip here.

We also discovered that Bon Jovi was playing a free concert to benefit the gulf coast and the oil spill catastrophe. We received free tickets from this little boy at Live Bait after we finished our dinner. All tickets were free and hard to come by because it was illegal to scalp them. He was giving them all away and we jumped on the offer. This was the best! Bon Jovi was awesome as usual.

These were the best views we could get of the band. It was VERY crowded!

The band was really so nice and polite. Celebrities have a tendency to hold bitterness and speak out of line when it comes to anything regarding the mass public or any political issue. This is my opinion anyway. Well Bon Jovi didn’t fit this typical mold and I have a new found respect for them. They were so encouraging, so sincere about the gulf. They finished the concert with this almost-exact quote: “We have been saddened by what has happened along the gulf coast. We are honored to share our music with you and hope that you will remember this night as one single happy moment in your life. Our thoughts and prayers will remain with the people living along the gulf.” No blame involved, no negative remarks, just true emotion and sympathy towards the people affected. I thought this was a refreshing outlook on the entire situation with the oil catastrophe. Now I’m not saying I’ve not been upset about the events that have transpired with the oil spill. But we all need to sit back and try to show empathy rather than blame and try to move the situation forward to a brighter outcome. Ok. Enough of my ranting before this turns into another topic! Haha!

At the end of our break we drove straight from the beach into Tuscaloosa. This was a LOOOOOONG day as the game wasn't until 8:00 P.M. Yet again we had great weather, great friends, great football, and great times.

Brian holding the "crystal" trophy!

Beautiful view. THIS IS ALABAMA FOOTBALL!

ROLLLLL TIDE ROLL!