Shutterfly Christmas Cards

I absolutely love sending and receiving Christmas cards!!  It is one of the holiday traditions that I look forward to the most!  For our first ever Christmas card, I used a wedding picture.  It was such a happy card!  

Unfortunately, I don't think I managed to send out a Christmas card in either 2008 or 2009, but this year I am determined to send one!  I already have a picture that I want to use so that is huge step!  

I have looked all around the internet and blog world for our Christmas card, and my favorite cards are those at Shutterfly!  They have so many choices so I was able to find several that I love!  They are also easy to order, personalize, and very affordable!  Most cards are 30% off right now!

My favorite Christmas cards are flat, square cards with minimal text.  I love the symmetry and also love that they are a little bit unexpected.  I think I also inherited the love of square cards from my Mom!  In a Christmas card, I also like something with a slightly modern twist.  I don't want it to be all modern, but I love the combination of traditional colors with a modern element!  These two are my favorites!  

Here are just a few more of Shutterfly's Christmas cards that I love!  You should look around for your favorite too! 

Martha Stewart: Turkey 101

Mom asked me to cook a turkey this year in addition to the one that she always cooks so that we would have plenty of left overs!  I have wanted to learn how to cook a turkey so I figured this was a great plan!  My turkey would be back-up so I wouldn't have much pressure!

In preparation, Mom and I watched the Martha Stewart Turkey 101 video on Wednesday night.  It seemed doable!  So Thursday morning, I woke up nice and early to tie up the turkey, slather it with butter, and cover it with cheesecloth soaked in butter and white wine sauce! 

It roasted for 3 1/2 hours and I basted it with the butter and white wine sauce every 30 minutes.  Here is the turkey still covered in the cheesecloth but fully cooked!

And finally, here is the turkey uncovered!  We all thought it turned out very nicely!  

The only surprising part was that Mom decided to use my turkey for Thanksgiving day because she had so many other dishes to cook in her oven!  Good thing I didn't know that before or I would have been a lot more nervous!

Operation Lakeshore

Yesterday, on Veteran's Day, Brad and I went to the Grand Opening of The Cottages of Lakeshore!  Capstone Companies, where my Dad and sister work, was one of the main partnering companies that fundraised, managed construction, and donated their materials and time to help make this project possible.  

From the Operation Lakeshore website, this is the purpose of The Cottages of Lakeshore:

Operation Lakeshore is a capital campaign raising money to build The Cottages of Lakeshore, a $2.3 million project to construct cottage-style housing on the campus of Lakeshore Foundation in Homewood, Alabama.

Lakeshore Foundation currently provides many short-term programs and weekend sports camps to help injured servicemen and women and their families from across the country regain active lives. All programs, and associated travel and lodging expenses, are provided at no cost. Participants and their families, who often accompany them for support, regain independence and confidence as they participate in these activities -- the experience has been transformational for many of them. The Cottages will let Lakeshore Foundation expand their programs even further by allowing them to host small groups and families for longer, more intensive and individualized visits.

Emily was the primary point person from Capstone who managed the fundraising, project budget, construction, and timeline, merchandising, advertising, and media.  She has been working on this project for months and months!  Today, was finally the grand opening and it went great!!!  Here is an action shot!

There were over 400 RSVP's to the event including donors, partnering company employees, Lakeshore Foundation employees, friends and family, and veterans.   It was a perfect Fall morning for such a special occasion!

Before the ceremony started, we walked around and toured the Cottages campus.  Here is the cottage site and set-up for the ceremony.  There are 6 cottages that open up to this courtyard.

Below is the outdoor fire place and arbor.

Playground for the veteran's families who come to stay.

Flagpole 

Close-up of a few of the cottages.

After walking around, the ceremony started with a Call to Order and a song by the Homeland band which is 4 retired vets!  They were great!  Then a Presentation of the Colors by the U.S. Army men as pictured below. 

Boyscout Troop 86, including my little brother Jeffrey, led the Pledge of Allegiance.

One retired vet was there with his gorgeous service dog!  These dogs amaze me!!

Overall, the Grand Opening was a big success and a great way to thank everyone who made this project possible and to honor and remember the veterans who serve our country and protect our freedom!

Tagged

So here are a few questions and answers about me!  My friend Kat was tagged first and then tagged me! Thanks for thinking of me, Kat!

What's your most embarrassing moment?  I have actually had a hard time coming up with the answer to this question, but I think my most embarrassing moment that I can remember is when I was with my family one night a few years ago.  We were talking about random things.  Somehow the topic of teenagers came up and the ages of teenagers, you know, ages 13-19.  In a flash of brilliance, it dawned on me why teenagers are actaully called teenagers....because each age of teenagers ends in "teen."  Just in case you haven't caught on yet, you know thir"teen," four"teen," fif"teen."  Yeah, I know obvious, right?  So, needless to say my family has not let me live that one down yet!

How did you meet your husband/fiance?  Brad and I met at Rhodes College.  Actually, technically, we met in Birmingham on New Year's Eve our Freshman year.  We are both from Birmingham but never knew each other in high school.  I went to Mountain Brook and he went to John Carroll Catholic.  We both ended up at Rhodes for school and had a lot of the same friends, but had never met during the first semester.  Over Christmas Break, a lot of our friends came to Birmingham to celebrate New Year's and we all went out together to Surin for dinner.  Brad and I sat across the table from each other.  He says he still remembers what I was wearing that night and has liked me ever since :)  Right, hubs!?!

 Here are all the girls and all the guys from New Year's Eve night Freshman year!!

We were all such babies!  And, I would like to think we look a little better now!  

What is the one thing you would change about yourself, if you had the chance? I have always wanted to be able to dance, but unfortunately, I have no natural talent!  Brad told me in college that he was sure I could not even hear the beat:(  My Mom was a great dancer, took dance all growing up,  was always a cheerleader, and even danced as a University Dancer at Alabama.  I took ballet when I was little and liked it, but did not continue lessons.  Now, I love to watch SYTYCD and dream of what it would be like to be an amazing dancer!!!

What is your biggest pet peeve?  Smacking.  I cannot stand to hear people chew their food with their mouth open or chomp on their gum!!  My grandmother, Grandmonie, was always very strict when I was growing up about teaching me and my sisters and cousins to chew with our mouth closed!  I guess this is why I hate smacking!  I will call you out if you are smacking in my presence:)

What is your favorite word song movie? I'm terrible at picking favorites!  I really think it must be something about my personality that makes it almost impossible for me to pick a favorite anything, but, if I have to choose, my favorite movie is Pride and Prejudice  from the book by Jane Austen.  But, it has to be the long, PBS version!  It is 6 hours on several DVDs.  My Mom and sisters have watched it over and over again and I could watch it again still! Oh, Mr. Darcy...

What is your favorite place in the world?  Be specific.  Again, not good at picking favorites, but this is pretty easy for me!  I would have to say Jumby Bay off the island of Antigua!  Brad and I went here for our honeymoon and it was absolutely perfect!

If you could rename yourself, what name would you pick? I love my name!  I love it because it is unique but classic!  I love that I know almost no one else named Eleanor and never have to say my last name when I'm talking to someone!  And I love the nicknames that go along with Eleanor - both El and Ellie!  It also means "shinning light" and I like that too:)

Okay, now its your turn to play along!!  Answer these same questions on your blog!

Jessica @ Crazy Well Chatter
Missy @ Morgan Memories
Volree @ The Wades
Allison @ that tall redhead
Sarah @ Lavender and Onions

Also, if you are just a reader or a stalker, feel free to chime in the comment section!  I would love to hear from you!

Fire!

I got to enjoy the first fire of the season at my parents house on Saturday night!!  I love everything about a real, wood burning fire!! 

Homecoming (Saturday Night)

Ok, so this is the last post about Homecoming!  I am getting a little tired of this topic so I know you must be too:) (whomever you are!)  But, I do have to record the full event!

Saturday morning, before our campus tour, Emily, Brad, and I went to another one of our favorite places to eat - Blue Plate Cafe!  

Photo from Google Images

After we literally stuffed ourselves full of biscuits & jelly, eggs, bacon, coffee and chocolate chip pancakes, we made our way to campus to walk off all the calories we had just consumed!

After our campus tour, Emily and I dropped Brad off downtown to grab a beer at one of our favorite bars, The Flying Saucer and then to watch football back at the hotel.  Emily and I went to the Pottery Barn Outlet!  I really wish we had one in Birmingham!

When we finally got to the outlet store, we discovered that West Elm now has an outlet connected to the Pottery Barn outlet!!  Score!  We saw a lot that we liked, but each settled on a linen curtain with metal stud trim that we wanted to use to make pillows!  I bought a khaki one and Emily bought a dark gray one!  Emily also bought an off-white pillow and a light gray bolster pillow!  

Unfortunately, my curtain is not really the right color for my den, but it was worth a try!

After our shopping, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner and the official Class of 2005 Party on campus!  Emily, Brad, Deana, Erin and I had dinner at Brad's favorite BBQ spot called The Bar-B-Que Shop!

Photo from Google Images

 

Then, we met up with the rest of our friends at the Halliburton Tower patio!!  We were all a little skeptical of an on-campus, official class reunion party, but it actually turned out to be one of the best parts of the weekend in my opinion!

Here are a few shots from the night!

Erin, Emily, Brad R., Deana

 Jonathan, me, Brad

 Old Roomies!

J Stew

 Jonathan's broken foot

 The girls!

All of us!!

Overall, it was great to catch up with old friends and visit Rhodes and Memphis again!  

Homecoming - Campus Tour

Saturday, Emily, Brad, and I walked all around campus and reminisced about each building!
Warning: This is a very long post with lots of pictures.  It may be boring for anyone other than Rhodes graduates!

First, we passed "The Rat" which is one of two on-campus eating places.  I can't remember why it is called The Rat but what a horrible name for a place to eat!  

We ate here most frequently during Freshman year and it has a lot of good memories spent lingering at those big tables.  However, the food was horrible and I do not miss that at all!

Next, we passed Palmer Hall and the Bell Tower.  Here, we had various classes including English and Life classes.  

Right next to Palmer Hall is Burrow Library.  This was the campus library while we were in school.  However, during all 4 years, the new 34 million dollar library was under construction.  Unfortunately, it did not open until the year after we graduated.  But, after walking through both buildings, we all decided that we loved the Burrow Library!  It also holds great memories of time spent studying but also socializing at large library tables surrounded by books!  I wish I had a picture of how it used to be inside.

To the right of the library is the Row of Oaks and Buckman Hall.  I think the Row of Oaks was the original entrance onto campus.

Emily, Brad, and I all spent a lot of time in Buckman.  Both the Business (Brad and El) and International Studies  (Em) Departments and classes were in this building along with the computer labs.

Brad and I only had one class together throughout college even though we had the same major.  It was Senior Seminar and in this classroom!

Brad was a very focused student.  He hated it when I used to write him notes during class and doodle, both of which I loved to do!  (I was also a good student and always maintained that doodling and note passing helped me stay awake!)

Here is one of Emily's main IS classrooms.

Next, is a picture of the walk I used to make a lot Freshman year from Buckman back to my dorm, Trezevant Hall.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I would walk through Townsend Hall where Brad lived and talk to him since our freshman dorms connected.   We met on New Year's Eve of Freshman year, but this was when I first got to know Brad one-on-one, and I always enjoyed talking to him.  He was a good friend and I knew even then that he was trustworthy and very loyal!  One day I will write out our entire story:)

His room is the window on the first floor above the green electrical box!

Front entrance of Townsend Hall

Below is the courtyard and hallway that connected our dorms.

Here is a picture of my dorm room from the back.  I can't remember which window is mine exactly but I think it is the third or fourth one from the right on the first floor.

Emily had the best freshman door room that she shared with Mary Jane!  They lived in Robinson Hall and had the four windows just above the wording that overlooked one of the main parts of campus!

Jonathan lived in Blount Hall.  I have a picture of his dorm room because so many of my memories from Freshman year happened in his room pre-partying with all of our friends before bus parties!  The sorority and fraternities would host bus parties at various bars in Memphis and provide buses for the students to ride on to and from the party!

Jonathan's room was the two windows just about the ivy on the right!

Like I said in the previous post, all of our closest friends lived in the townhouses our Sophomore year!  Here is a picture of 4 out of the 5 townhouses that I took for my photography class in college!

During Junior and Senior year, Emily, along with three other friends, lived in East Village, an apartment style dorm for upper class men.  Here are a couple of shots of each side of East Village.

Deana, Lauren Jackson, and I lived off campus at 1952 Tutwiler!  It was just four houses down from campus!

Brad lived at 225 Hawthorne with Kevin and Bill, but unfortunately, I don't have a picture.

While at Rhodes, Emily and I were KD's.  The house still looked and smelled the exact same (which isn't necessarily a good thing:))!

During my Senior year, I worked at Java City, the on-campus coffee shop!  Here is the building where Java City used to be along with the mailroom.  

On the back side of the coffee shop was the Rhodes Bookstore.  Now, the bookstore takes up the entire building.

Here is the music building, Hassel Hall where I took my one required fine arts class.  Emily took piano lessons here.

Finally, here are a few shots of the new and spectacular library!  

Unfortunately, I missed shots of the BCLC and the fraternity houses.  The BCLC included the awesome Rhodes gym where I worked out, the Lynx Lair where I ate lunch all the time, the pool, and the basketball gym where we watched games!