Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!  This little cupcake woke up Mommy at 4:30 a.m. this morning.  I guess I'm not the only one in the household who gets excited about candy and costumes. :) 

The Knight and I are going to her daycare this afternoon for a "parade of costumes" and a little party.  This is the first time he has even gotten to go to one of her school soirees, so that is pretty special (even if she really won't ever remember it).  This evening, we are going trick-or-treating in the Collierville square with a bunch of our friends who also have babies.  After that, we'll have chili, cornbread, and a hayride at one of our friends' houses who lives nearby.  This year's Halloween is a lot tamer than it has been in the past, but I am thankful for this new phase in life.  Bye-bye sexy costumes, hello sweet little cupcake!

Here are a few pictures from our church's Trunk-R-Treat. Our "trunk" was a sweet shoppe, C was a cupcake, and I was a cupcake cooker (the Knight had to work). Our trunk won "best trunk" of the night - not bad for something I put together in about 3 hours the night before!

 My shirt that I made using old cupcake fabric from my apron sewing days and the wonderful tool of fusible interfacing (cooker, not hooker!)

 Bartering with the winged unicorn...pretty sure she's thinking "I'll trade you your awesome horn for my dorky cherry hat!"

Very proud of our little trunk, and so thankful for Amanda's help in giving me boxes and helping me set up!

Serious about her Smarties.

The only picture I have of the both of us (plus baby Vivi).  It is hard to sit down long enough for a photo when you are chasing a candy-crazed confection around!

Candy, costumes, confections and cupcakes,

P.S. Just for fun, here are photos from our past few Halloweens.  So fun to look back at all these memories!
2010 - Mickey, Minnie and Mini Minnie



2009 - Little Red Riding Hood theme


2008 - Mad Scientists (again - hey, we like to go geeky!)



2007 (Mad Scientist and her Monster)


2006 - Gangster and Flapper

AFS Shutterfly Christmas Card Winner!

Yikes - did I say I was going to announce the winners yesterday?  Whoops - I am so sorry.  Yesterday greeted me with several rush projects at work, followed by some weird stuff going on with me (headaches, dizziness, hot flash type thing), topped off with our church's Annual Trunk-R-Treat.  Whew!

Anyway, I am so happy to announce the THREE winners of the giveaway!  As a little extra, I got some coupon codes from when my Christmas cards arrived, so in addition to the 25 cards offered by Shutterfly, I also am going to be able to give the winners an additional 5 more free cards, plus an additional 10% off!

Using random.org, the winners are comment numbers 22, 3, and 29! 

Those comments belong to:
Alana of Mrs. Alana's Miscellany
Brad & Rachel (a childhood friend of mine, with her own sweet baby girl not much younger than C)
and
Cherry, another follower of AFS!

Winners, please email at your earliest convenience at curtsies [at] gmail [dot] com, and I will email you the codes needed to cash in on your free Christmas cards!

Thanks to all who participated.  I am so sorry I don't have codes to give to everyone, but I hope you enjoyed playing along. 

As for our Christmas card, we went with option number 2! 


It was the Knight's favorite, and I was equally torn between 2 and 3, so 2 just worked.  Since several of you are real life friends, I hate to put it on here yet (don't you want to be surprised in the mail?), but I have to say I am really pleased with how the front and back came out!

apple cider and address labels,

AFS Shutterfly Christmas Card Giveaway!

You might think I'm crazy...planning my Christmas card list in October, but people...planning makes perfect, in my humble opinion!
There are a ton of great online card companies out there, but I find myself turning to Shutterfly time after time for everything from stationary, shower invitations, greeting cards, address labels, and Christmas cards.  If Christmas isn't your thing, they also have some great holiday cards. 

We used Shutterfly for our Christmas cards last year, and so many people were complimentary of the design and quality.  One of the senior partners at my firm told me that I had "the finest" Christmas card he had ever seen.  Very nice, indeed!

We are going to use Shutterfly again this year!

We have a great black and white photo from Coco's 1 year portrait session, so I am looking at cards with a vintage vibe that have space for a horizontal photo. 

Here's our photo:

My top three Shutterfly cards are:

(Big Cheers Christmas Card)

(Wishing You a Merry Christmas Card)

(Retro Stripe Christmas Card)

If we had a different (vertical) photo to use, I would be all over this one...Just LOVE it!  It is also possible that I love this family's vibe - sometimes it is hard not be swayed by the picture perfectness of the models. :)

(Why Hello! Christmas Card)

Which one is your favorite?
Do you want to win 25 free Shutterfly holiday cards?  I have promotional codes for THREE winners!

Since we are all about doing things in threes today, I'm giving you three chances to enter.  Merry Christmas. :)

Here's how to enter (you do not have to have a blog or website to enter...just enter the comment form as anonymous, put your name next to your comment, and check next week to see if you've won!):

You have 3 ways to enter. You can enter up to 3 times, with 3 separate comment entries, or pick and choose. For each method, PLEASE leave me a separate comment! Since I use the random integer method, I just count up the entries, and plug it into random.org. If you leave all your entries in one comment, you are getting only entry. So, all you rule followers out there - you will be rewarded!
1) To enter, leave me a comment telling me which card is your favorite.  It is hard to pick, I know!

2) You can get another entry if you leave a separate comment telling me how you spread the news about the giveaway (Facebook status post, blog post, twitter, etc.).

3) Finally, if you are a follower or become a follower of my blog, leave another separate comment telling me just that. 

(P.S. If you are having a hard time getting your comments to enter, just email me at curtsies@gmail.com, and I will try to enter them for you. I have tried to fix the commenting, but sometimes it still doesn't work. I don't know why Blogger is being so stubborn. Grrr.)

See? Isn't that easy? The winner will be announced next Wednesday (October 26) morning, and will be chosen using random.org. Hurry and enter - this is going to be a fun giveaway!

Finally, do you have your own blog?  Want a chance to win an additional 25 free cards this holiday season?  You can register here: http://goo.gl/DDw7Q.

Okay - hurry up and enter!  And, if you have the time, tell me which of my three picks is your fave...it might end up being my pick too!

Well wishes and warm mittens,


* I am an attorney, so it is only fitting that I make sure you know that Shutterfly gave me 50 free cards for hosting this giveaway.  I was super pumped because I had already been planning to use them for my holiday cards this year.  Now, I only have to pay for 150 cards, instead of 200!  How is that for a disclaimer?  No legal-ese here! 

AFS Fall Decor

Trial, stomach bug, another trial, and a massive attack of a double ear infection for C took over my life for the past 1.5 months.  I am just now coming up for air and wanted to check in with my AFS friends (if any of you are still reading!).
Have you had a chance to get out and enjoy the beautiful fall weather?  We have been getting out every chance we get, and I am loving the change from Memphis hot summer heat to the mild temperature.  This preggo lady very much appreciates the break from the sizzle. :)

My mom and sister visited a couple of weekends ago, and they helped me doll up our house for fall.  I just love how much punch a little pumpkin here and gourd there can spruce up a home.  Here's a few peeks at our house these days...

(Doesn't our entryway just warmly welcome you home?  It makes me happy every time I drive up.)

(Sweet little greeter at our front door)

(She had more fun chucking the pumpkins down the stairs than smiling for a picture.  This is the face she made when I took away the pumpkin...mean ole' mommy).

 (A little fall cheer in the dining room)

(another shot of the dining room - yes, that is a Mickey and Minnie Jack-O-Lantern in the corner.  Caroline loves it, so even though it is tacky, we are keeping it there.  Plus, it makes an awesome night light.)

(A little homage to halloween in the breakfast room)

 (a closeup - the little ghostly guy is my favorite)

C loved getting the spend the weekend with my mom and sister, and I'm pretty sure they felt the same way.  Suffice it to say, we are all wrapped around her chubby little finger.

(the princess had to have her phone, her tiara, and her fuzzy pink boots before she would finish her breakfast with Mimi.  Too much!)

As for me and baby #2, things are going pretty well. I am at 28 weeks - only 12 more to go (if that many).  We haven't made much progress on the nursery, but I'm hopeful we'll get to that soon.  I can really feel her move A TON now, and we are anxious to meet her. The ladies at C's daycare have been taking her into the nursery to teach her how to "be nice to the baby," and I am so grateful for that. She is a tad possessive, and I fear that we are going to have a little push back when Baby Girl #2 comes along.



(finally, a belly shot at 28 weeks.  I like to call this picture "Hello belly, goodbye feet).

(this was a month ago, at 24 weeks - amazing how much this baby and my belly have grown!  Also, apparently I like purple.)

As for a name, we have decided to go with Vivienne Alyne.  We just love the name Vivienne, and Alyne is the Knight's mom's middle name.  Can't wait to have crazy Coco and Vivi running around!  Of course, I can't wait to start dressing little Vivi and decorating her nursery.  Here are a couple of items I've picked up recently:

(matching shirts for sweet sisters)

(custom drawn/painted picture for Vivi's room)

We are also gearing up for a trip to Austin where the Knight can participate in the 2011 1/2 Ironman Triathlon.  He has been seriously training for a while, and is really looking like quite the stud (check out those muddy abs at the Warrior Dash a few weeks ago). :) 



I keep teasing him that he does not get to look so good while I am getting so fat, but for some reason, he is not listening. It must be that 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run coming up that is motivating him to eat right, avoid (most) of the beer, and work his fanny completely off. Can't wait to cheer him on, and to get myself back in shape, too. I do not like weighing almost as much as my husband!

Caroline has entered the age where all her little friends are turning 1 and 2, and we have 2 birthday parties this Saturday. It is so fun to see all these little ones grow up and start to play with one another. It also makes me laugh when I think about how different life is these days.  Long gone are those lazy Saturdays spent shopping and getting a manicure and pedicure.  Now I am lucky if I have time to shop online and the nail salon is a distant, foggy memory.  At least she is making friends with all of my friends' children...it definitely makes hanging out easier!

So, there's a little snippet of AFS life these days.  I hope you all are doing well, and that your life is blessed.  I certainly am thankful for my many blessings, including this blog.  It might seem weird, being thankful for a blog, but I treasure our little community - random and sporadic as my blogging may be.  Thanks for reading!

Pumpkins and purple,