The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

Growing up, we all had the most lovely stockings that Grandmom made for each one of us - with sequins and beading and cut out felt pieces.  I always loved them!  I couldn't imagine any other type of stocking for my own family.

So, now that James and I are a family, I decided to start the stocking tradition and make our own Christmas stockings.  Fortunately those types of stockings still come in a nice little kit, and once James and I picked out our stocking patterns I was all set to start working! 

After lots of cutting and whip-stitching and stuffing and sticking myself with the needle....I can FINALLY say that I have finished James' stocking!!  I say "finally" because I've been working on the dang thing since early Fall.  All those beads and embroidery work - what was I thinking!?  Well, I know what I was thinking: totally worth it because 1) I love my sweetie and 2) I adore anything crafty and 3) I can see us looking at our mantel 40 Christmases down the road and admiring all those stockings (number of said stockings all dependent upon how many children James lets us have.)

So, the finished product - pretty nice, huh!  

Notice that Santa is 3D 

Now, James has told me that since I haven't finished even started my own stocking (everything is still in the original kit package) he doesn't know if I should hang his new stocking until mine is ready.  I calmly asked him:  "are you out of your ever lovin' mind!?"  That stocking is being hung IMMEDIATELY;  in fact, it may have a permanent place in our house all year round for everyone to see.  I may just put it in the china cabinet with my formal china and grandmother's crystal.  I may also delay children another year or so because I can't bring myself to start YET ANOTHER ONE.......

Whew, sorry, got away from myself there for a moment.  :)  Truth be told, give me a week and I'll forget about how tedious all that embroidery was and won't wait to start stocking #2.  What can I say - I'm a sucker for a good craft and sparkly sequins!

Christmas Tea in DC

I've gotten into the bad habit of a one-week delay between a fun event and a blog post!  My goal this holiday season is to update more and more, because there is a LOT going on and we are feeling quite Sassy.  :)

Last weekend, James and I were in DC for the annual tea that my dear friend, Andrea, hosts each year. It's the way I kick-off the season, because it represents so much of what the holidays are about:  friends, food, and cheer.  This year, Andrea hosted at the Mandarin Oriental, which was a happenin' place among both our group AND the celebrities.  We ran into both John Lithgow (bringing back some sweet childhood memories of watching Harry and the Hendersons - one of my favorite movies as a child), and Florence Henderson.

Miss Andrea

All the gals at the Mandarin

 After the tea, James and I met back up and prepared for a night out in Old Town.  Old Town will always hold a special place in our heart, mostly because it's where we spent most all our early days together and fell in love (awww!)   We had a wonderful seafood meal, complete with raw Atlantic oysters and steamed mussels, and then headed over to Murphy's for some Irish music and cider.  Murphy's is another favorite, and I think it may be the best Irish pub outside of the Emerald Isle.  (Funny story:  when we were in Ireland last year, we were chatting with a great Irish duo in a pub in Kinsale.  They had just returned from the States, where they had actually played at this Murphy's!  Obviously, the place has some street cred if the Irish themselves come there to play.)

On Sunday, James and I battled a terrible head wind and some very cold temps to complete a long (7-mile) run.  From Old Town to Arlington National Cemetery is exactly that, so after finishing up we jumped on the metro and headed back.  Although James had to leave the DC area early that day (training in Vegas - rough life!), it meant I got to spend the rest of the day/evening catching up with Andrea.  I miss seeing her all the time terribly, so that quality time was a perfect way to round out the weekend.

For those of you unfamiliar with the story and the annual tea, this first weekend in December will also ALWAYS be special for another very important reason.  Two years ago (this year) James choose the night after the tea to propose.  It was very cold, very snowy, and I was not cooperating with James' plan to propose at the National Monuments...but fortunately I got the "yes" part right and we got to start our happily ever after.

Engagement Night at the National Tree, December 2008

Thankful

Oh, so much to be thankful for! Most definitely a wonderful few days with my family in my homeland (Texas).  I wish that I could say "time" was something I was thankful for, but unfortunately it hasn't been much in abundance this year.  Hence a very delayed post...

Last week, Thanksgiving week, I spent the first few days down in Mexico City for a client meeting.  I certainly had some apprehension, based on all the news reports and the fact that my Firm requested a thousand details so they could track my whereabouts south of the border.  I'm surprised they didn't request me to update my Life Insurance policy when I made my flight!  However, I had a wonderful, SAFE trip and it was quite an enjoyable few days with the Mexican team. Depending on whether or not my blog is ever pulled when I decide to run for office, I may or may not have stopped in the Mexico duty free for some cigars. Something special for James and my uncle.

I flew straight from Mexico to Houston (meeting up with James), where some of the Kerrs were gathering for the big turkey day.   We had a really wonderful Thanksgiving, complete with a fried turkey, cornbread dressing, and other really yummy sides.  I was sad that not all of the fam could be there, as they sure missed a lot of fun, laughs, and a mean game of Mexican Train dominoes.

Carey was thankful no one was watching the bird

.

Kelly, cracking up with his new bro-in-law

My dad came up with a great idea of spending the weekend in Galveston, a city I haven't visited in years and wanted to check up on after the latest storm, Ike.  Prior to heading out to Galveston, we had a quick coffee with our good friends Adam and Dianne, who were home for a quick visit in the States before returning to their Foreign Service post in Cairo (and soon Iraq!)   From there, we arrived on the blustery cold island, and the day consisted of walking along the water, eating our weight in fried shrimp, and shopping along the strand.  I found some precious Christmas decorations that were a perfect addition the collection (upcoming decorating post soon!!) 

James and I started Saturday with a run along the seawall, and then a walking tour with my parents to find all 19 of the tree sculptures that have been carved into damaged trees (from Ike) in the historic district.  This is quite the popular tour (albeit an unofficial tour) in Galveston, and it was somewhat inspiring - creating art from devastation.  Tree Sculptures in Galveston

After we found 17 out of the 19, we spent the rest of the day eating oysters and gumbo and smoking some cigars with my extended family (aunts and uncles - all three of the Kerr brothers together) around the strand.  Lots of art galleries, too!  Oh, and a visit to a Mexican bakery that I remembered as a child - it had the biggest gingerbread pigs (yes, pigs) I could remember!  It brought back lovely memories, although the pigs were not as big as I remembered (only they tasted as wonderful!) 

Such a wonderful weekend with a wonderful family - the first of many Thanksgivings that James experienced with the Kerrs.  A wonderful reminder in our busy, crazy lives of what we're truly thankful for.

Bom Dia!

After what appeared to be a flight that was not going to happen, I'm happy to report that I am back from Sao Paulo!  Not that I was happy to leave Brazil (it was a wonderful time), but at 2AM this morning when they were "trying" to fix our plane so that we could take off, I had serious doubts I'd be back on US soil today.  All's well that ends well, right?

Although I've traveled to many Latin countries, Brazil has never been a destination for me.  I've stuck to the Spanish-speaking countries.   In my new role on my project I work strictly with the Americas, namely Canada, Brazil, and Mexico, and I'm thrilled that I am FINALLY using that Latin American Studies/Spanish degree.  And Daddy said that my undergrad would never get me a job....

But since Brazilians speaks Portuguese and I do not, I found myself in this weird tri-lingual state all week - the group preferred me to speak in Spanish, and they would answer me in Portuguese. I could understand just enough context to "think" I understood, but my poor brain was so confused half the time.  Thinking/Speaking in my non-native tongue, listening in a language I've never been exposed to, stepping out for conference calls back to the States and reverting back to English.  I was a verbal disaster all week.

As I said, it was a wonderful week, namely because the people are so wonderful!  The Deloitte and clients teams were warm and welcoming, and I loved the opportunity to work with them in their home offices.  It's going to be hard to go back to the office and not kiss people on the cheek each day.  (Actually, I'm heading to Mexico City tomorrow, so I get one more round of besitos until I have to go back to cold - both literally and figuratively - New Jersey.)   Oh, and they gave me the best compliment:  "you are very Latin".  Since I'm convinced that I'm a Latina stuck in a Gringa body, I appreciate when others recognize the same.  

Other things I loved about Brazil:

1. Papaya - when was that last time you had that here in the States?  For me, it has been too long to remember.  It was delectable and I ate it every day.

2. Pao de Queijo (Cheese Bread) - These little heavenly rolls contained (what appeared to be) equal parts flour and gooey cheese.  And we Southerners thought cheese biscuits were good?  The Brazilians would laugh at those measly flecks of cheddar.  These are flat out delicious.  I, unfortunately, also ate these every day, sometimes twice a day.  

3.  Shoes - I love shoes wherever I am, but Brazil is known for their footwear. The team took me to this massive shoe store that was downright overwhelming, but boy did I luck out on some good deals!  Because they're currently going into summer, all their winter wear was on sale!  I bought some great shoes, including these beauties below.

Another country marked off the list, another set of wonderful people who have warmed my heart, and - of yeah - we did work a bit this week... :)

Now on to Mexico City for a few before my true patria for Thanksgiving:  TEXAS!

(Author's Note:  this blog author has been told that James' whereabouts do not ever appear on the blog, unless we are together.  This is more because he enjoys reading our blog more than writing on it, and not because his wife doesn't let him contribute, Mother Kerr.  For the record, James is enjoying a boy's hunting weekend over in Bama, and I hope he kills something so that I can try to make him blog about it.  No promises though.) 

The Murphy's are Hitched!

Well, it's official - Michael Murphy and Kellee Montavani are now married!  It's actually been official for about a week now, but I'm a little behind on my blog posting after a week in Orlando and Montreal.  So, let me jump back to last weekend when we headed down to South Georgia to see our good friends get hitched.

I have actually never been to James' hometown of Cairo, even after 4 years of dating.  It's about 4.5 hours from Atlanta, and (so far) there has really been nothing to take us down that far south.  But with Michael and Kellee's wedding in Thomasville, GA, a trip to Cairo was a must.

Since the boys headed down a day early to help Michael start off his wedding weekend the right way (with BBQ and Jack Daniels), the wives (Christina and I) drove down together that Friday.  We had a great trip and arrived just in time to go to the legendary MR.CHICK!  For years I have been hearing how Mr. Chick is the Cairo equivalent of Bush' Chicken, but although it was delicious they are not that similar.  Couldn't resist eating all my chicken tenders and fries, though.

Come to mama...

James and Ben then took me around Cairo and showed me where they had all grown up (which happened to be all within 2 miles of each other).  There's a lot to be said for a small town up bringing, and I can't complain about the type of boy I managed to find from South Georgia!  After the "tour", we got ready for the rehearsal dinner, James barely made it to the rehearsal, and we feasted and toasted at a low country boil to celebrate the couple.  After the dinner, the boys headed back to their bachelor cabin for some more "toasting" and the company of several stuffed deer.

The beautiful bride to be!

Another member of the wedding party...

The actual wedding day happened to fall on Mule Day, a celebration of harvesting cane syrup and all things fried.  This little town grows from 10,000 to 90,000 on Mule Day (supposedly), and it was some great people watching.  Lots of "interesting" arts and crafts, lots of people dressed head-to-toe in camo, and enough Stars and Bars to make this little liberal, a little on edge.   But, a great experience and delicious turkey legs and boiled peanuts.  Plus, we got to introduce our dear Yankee friends, Adrien and Kristen, to the deep South.  (Kristen, a native of Pennsylvania, confessed the farthest south she had been up until that day was Charlotte.  Oh, honey child...)

Homemade pork skins

Sugar cane

James and Jeremy, enjoying their "brontosaurus"

You read that right:  a FULL LB of pork on a stick

After soaking up the grease and culture of Mule Day, it was time to celebrate the nuptials!  My husband, a groomsman, looked super handsome, the groom was also looking quite dashing, and the bride was absolutely gorgeous.  Unfortunately I spent a lot of time dancing and eating and enjoying everyone's company that I managed no pictures except for this one with my honey.

Michael and Kellee - we wish you ALL THE BEST as you start this new phase of your life together.  May God bless you and keep you and bring you lots of littles ones to grow your new family.  :)

Fall Colors up in Jersey

Now, Jersey isn't nearly as bad as I make it out to be.   There is a reason that many wealthy folks working in New York actually call NJ their home.  There is some lovely scenery, great restaurants, and (most importantly) you can change from your Armani suit right into your velour track suit once you cross that state line without any shame!

Ah, I tease, back to what I was originally saying - I do enjoy parts of New Jersey.  This time of year, it is quite pretty.  Temps are getting cooler, and leaves are a changing. Below are just a few shots I captured from the past few weeks in Morristown.

Wait…does this mean I’m the “James Carville” of the Marriage?

Sometimes I have to remind myself:  I married a Republican.  I know, I know, this is SHOCKING to many people who knew me during my most liberal days during the early 2000s.  I have to admit that I always thought my marriage would mirror more of a Clinton couple than a James Carville/Mary Matalin scenario, but I do enjoy that James is actually smart and can hold his own in a debate.  So much so that sometimes I find myself using less and less of that great policy background I learned at LBJ, but instead resort to flat out name-calling.  “You’re a heartless conservative”, I say.  He tells me “just go ahead and shake that sand out of your head, honey” (indicating that us liberals like to bury our heads…)

We have a few rules when it comes to politics.  We’re not allowed to paste anything political on our cars since, technically, they’re “common ground”. This, of course, is not the case when I run, as James has said we can put bumper stickers and yard signs with “Sasser” wherever we so choose.  He has committed to voting for me when I run for office, and don’t think for a second I won’t follow him into the voting booth to make sure he does.  

Today is Election Day, and we both had to consider that we canceled each other out when we went to the polls.  Sometimes I convince myself that secretly James has voted for the Democratic candidate because I’ve swayed him...until I hear him say something like “let’s go tea par-tay!” (as he just said 5 minutes ago when Fox News – yes, we have that on in MY house – announced the Rand Paul win).   

Grrrrrrr……