Looking Forward 2013

As we await the New Year just wanted do to drop a note and say thank you to everybody who's read my blog this year, I can't tell you how much I've appreciated it.

I've learned some things over this year about the ole' blogging business, and I want to continue making it better. So, here's to hoping this year is good to you and yours!

Happy New Year!

xo-BWH :)

All That Glitter's: New Years Dress Guide

This New Years I'm feeling frosted. Yes, I stole that for "How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days"  and no I don't care. And it seems as if the world agrees with me. Everywhere I turn I see glitter this season. From dresses and eye make-up to gift wrap and decorations.

Every year Christmas/New Years has a theme, at least around here anyway. For awhile it was the "Grinch color's" (trees, wreaths, etc all in wild hues inspired by "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," then it was the whole "woodsy" thing with burlap, pine-cones, and moose ornaments, and 2012 seems to be the year of the shimmer.

Pinterest is especially reflecting this trend, and for once the is self-proclaimed trend hater is feeling the hype. Like I said, I'm feeling frosted and so I thought I'd put together a holiday party dress guide using Polyvore, so here you go...



The Rockstar: Every chick has a little inner head banger on the inside, so let the need to feel edgy take over and rock their Santa hat's off....

The Dark One by honey-blackwater featuring yves saint laurent

Packing, Cooking, and Getting Ready To Head up North...

I wish I looked like this when I travel :)

This week has been crazy busy. I have had so much to do in order to get myself ready for my and the sweetheart's trip  up to what a good friend call's "Yankee Land." ha-ha. Since we're spending the week of Christmas with sweetheart's family we're having my families Christmas early on Saturday and I'am so excited.








I've had my gifts bought since the week after thanksgiving and I cannot wait for the family to open them! I have a few surprises I know that they aren't expecting :) and its been so hard not to give them away.


I read somewhere that the average woman packs 26 things that she doesn't need and I think that that is ludicrousness  I need ALL of the near 35 items in my suitcase ha-ha. I always have this idea in my head that my suitcase will look like this: ----------->







And yet, inevitably,

All The Lights: Hope In The Darkness

Last Friday when I woke up I was planning on what I would wear on my date with my sweetheart to Brookgreen Garden's annual Christmas special, "Nights of a Thousand Candles." That afternoon, after all that had happened I didn't know if I still wanted to go or not. It felt wrong to go and have a good time with the nation suffering but we had the tickets and some friends going as well so I went, and I am glad I did.

We went to this last year and just like back then, as soon as we started walking towards the gardens and I began to see the lights my breath was taken away.

Everything was so beautiful and, yet I still felt uneasy about being there in the mist of other people's turmoil. We met up with our friends and started to go deeper into the lights...

Amazing. Robbie Parker, Father of CT School Tragedy Victim Comforts A Mourning Nation

photo credit: www.inquisitr.com

I just watched what is perhaps the most heartbreaking and most amazing things I will ever see. A video of Robbie Parker, father of Emilie Parker, one of the victims of the most horrific school tragedies to happen in America.  And for the first time since 11:34 am Friday morning when I logged onto Yahoo and saw the horror unfold, I feel...well, comforted.

And I sit here, and I am in awe. A young man, with honest eyes and a humble demeanor, with a paleness that denotes someone going through something unfathomable stood on camera and I watched as he began to speak.

He held back the anguish to tell the world about his beautiful little girl and his deep love for her was heartbreakingly apparent as he described her as a little artist who was always looking out for others and quick to draw someone a picture if they felt bad or were frustrated. He talked about her smile and her unwavering faith in her Heavenly Father.

And then he looked at the camera and said with true conviction, that his daughter, if she had been among the living, would be the first to offer comfort to others. But even more than that, somewhere through the unimaginable pain and suffering that he must be going through, Robbie Parker was able to express condolences to the family of the very man that took his daughters life.

In The Wake

I had a post ready for today. But in light of the horrific tragedy in Connecticut I have decided to post this instead. In the next few days more information will come out, arguments will be made, and people will be talking.

But that's not why I'm writing  I'm writing to ask that out of respect for the families of the victims that we as a nation keep our speculation and insensitive chatter to our selves.

Pray for those who's lives have been forever changed. Pray for our nation, and hug your love ones and tell them you love them.

That's all. -BWH

I Want A Nap. And Other Thoughts On Monday

I really want a nap. If my 6 year old self were here  I'd probably get kicked in the shin for saying it but its true. Today has just been one of those blah days and to make matters worse it was a Monday so it was already on its way to being, well,......eh.

My mind is still halfway stuck in the weekend, and both the house and my body are showing signs of weekend aftermath. So this morning I put myself on auto pilot and booted up ole' Packard and got to tapping away.




But the funny thing about auto pilot is, that while your body is doing things as normal ,your mind has time to bounce around inside of itself and come up with all kinds of what I call "Monday thoughts" that may or may not make sense. Like, "I'm hungry. Leftovers from Thursday should be alright. Whats the perishable level of a lady finger?" or "recipes would be awesome if they all had expiration dates. But that probably means I'd have to freeze the stuff after I make it. Who has time for that?"

See what I mean? Its been going on like this all day long for me. While the body paid the car insurance, responded to e-mails, sent e-mails, ate lunch , and placed orders, the mind was off in La la land.

"I need to wrap those last presents. I'm out of tape. Need TAPE. Wal-mart?-no to crowded. Wal-Greens?-no, to expensive. Electrical tape in second kitchen drawer-maybe. "