West Virginia...Mountain Mama

I spent last weekend in Huntington, West Virginia visiting a dear college friend and her family.  We had a b-l-a-s-t!  I got to see her home, meet her children for the first time (ages 6  months and 3 years), get to know her town, and have some great girl time!  It was great!

Here is a picture of Sarah and I over the summer at our Ten Year Reunion:

 

 Here is a Group shot of all attendees from the Class of 2000, just for fun :)

Anyway, back to my trip--Huntington, WV, for those of you who don't know, is about a 5 and a half hour drive from Richmond, VA--about 45 minutes past Charleston.  It was a super easy drive--all interstate!  I had my Books on Tape, beautiful scenery, Diet Coke, and interstate driving--it was great!  I snapped some pictures along the way (do not tell my Mom I did this, and I do not recommend doing this, as I imagine it is not terribly safe), but check out what I got to look at along my drive!

I got to Huntington just before dinner time--perfect timing, as Sarah (aka The Hostess with the Mostest) had a wonderful appetizer of Citrus, Rosemary, and Ginger Brie ready to munch on, accompanied by some sparkling wine!

(Don't worry, I have requested the recipe and will be sharing with you once I get it)

I also got to meet her sweet children, Jackson (3) and Ashlyn (6 months)...her most accommodating husband, Brian was also there to welcome me to their home!

 Her kids are so sweet and so cute!  Jackson is a laugh a minute and kept me entertained for much of the time I was there!  Ashlyn was a doll who would smile and cuddle up with you--loved meeting them!

Check out our dinner (I have requested this recipe as well)--Beef Tenderloin stuffed with Feta, Walnuts and Basil--yumm-o!

 

 

Brian opened the good stuff for us :)

We had an amazing evening catching up, reminiscing, and visiting with each other!  The next day was rather low-key--with lunch out in Huntington and a trip to the gym and then Black Bean Chili for dinner (with brownie ice cream sundaes and "Couples Retreat" after, snuggled in bed--Brian was on-call at the hospital, so he wasn't snuggling with us, in case you were wondering).

Huntington is a sweet, quaint town with neat neighborhoods tucked away, amazing houses, a cute downtown, and parks (as well as Tudor's Biscuit World, which I was able to snag on my way out of town on Monday).

 

 The next day we totally vegged for most of the day...and did a craft!  Instead of bringing Sarah and Brian a candle or hand towel or something they probably don't need, I brought stuff to make a Yarn Ball Wreath for their home (I just think they are so darn cute)!  The original idea was that Sarah and I would both make one, but then Ashlyn really wanted to help, so Sarah kept her happy while talking to me while I worked on the wreath.

 

 

 

So, here is a little tutorial--

I had all of this stuff--but only used a fraction of it:

I wrapped the Wire Wreath Form in Yellow Ribbon:

 

Securing it with hot glue at the end (and occasionally along the way).  This was to prevent the mishap that occurred last time I made a Wreath.  What is not pictured is the wrapping of the yarn around the Styrofoam balls and me hot glueing the bejeezus out of it onto the wreath...use your imagination...

And...here is the finished product!  Pretty cute!  Sarah decided to put it in Baby Ashlyn's room, as it it perfect with the color scheme.

Speaking of their home, let me just show you some pictures of Sarah and Brian's gorgeous home, that was built in the early 1900s--it is 90 years old!  It is truly amazing and I know Sarah is eager to get started in decorating it all over and making it their own!!!

 The front of the house--taken from the street.

 The side of the house--the other side used to be open like this, but has since been enclosed to form a sun room-type space.

 This is a separate carriage house--how could would it be turn this into a separate guest house?

 I am loving the yellow wallpaper in this room---it is hard to tell, but there are birds intertwined with the full blooms.  I also adore the built in china cabinets!

 This is the front foyer--I love the wooden door and big brass lock--along with the charming details of the woodwork surrounding the front door.

 Here is the formal living room--a room Sarah is still getting together in her mind--I love the huge space they have to play with here and the fireplace and windows are great!  In the photo below is a painting of the house that the former owner left them--I love the personal touch!

Here are some pictures of Ashlyn's room--

 I LOVE the cornices around the windows!  Such a great idea!

 I think the wreath looks pretty good there--how about you? I suggested possibly getting a round mirror to go inside to give it a little something extra...

 And here is the lovely occupant...

Jackson was way into building with his Tinker Toys...

 Check out the cool train toy box in the background--love it!

Then there was the red "Jackson" chair--perfect for reading a story...or doing some building...

After our relaxing day, it was time to go out to dinner at one of Sarah and Brian's favorite restaurants--Rocco's.  It was delicious!  The food was amazing, the wine was fantastic, and the company was great!  I loved that the local Italian place had red-checked tablecloths!

 Fettuccine with Chicken, Cream, Walnuts and Sun dried tomatoes

 Mussels

 Lobster over Angel Hair Pasta in a Cream Sauce

 It was so yumm-o!!!  I can't wait to go again on my next visit to Huntington!

 Ashlyn loving the necklace I wore.

 Sarah loving on her "Little Lady".

Sarah and I

 What a wonderful trip!  We had a relaxing time filled with chatting, laughing, snuggling (with the kiddos), eating, and being together.  It was great and so good for my soul.

 

Thank you Price Family!

Has anyone else been to Huntingon?  Or anywhere else in West Virginia?
~Lexie

Baby Rob

Two posts in one day! Go me!!

I was uploading and editing pictures from Christmas and feel a great need to introduce you all to my sweet second (?) cousin--my cousin's baby boy!  Robert Ware Applegate (born 8-9-10), Rob for short.  I was looking at his sweet face from our Arnett Christmas gathering in Raleigh and just had to share him with you all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Anna and Ryan--I will be happy to baby-sit whenever!

Anna has a ton of pictures of Sweet Rob on her blog over at An Apple a Day as well as a ton of cool and chic decorating ideas!  Head on over if you are so inclined!

 

~Lexie

New Years...

I know I am a little behind the 8 Ball when talking about New Years Resolutions Goals--what is, the 9th day of the year?  But, I needed some time to set some goals before I shared them :)

I am much more of a "goal" person versus a "resolution" person--I feel resolutions are more apt to set you up for failure, whereas goals are something you work on steadily and seem more attainable.

Goals for 2011:

1~ Run a Half Marathon--already signed up for the National Half Marathon on March 26th, and have started training (ran 5 miles today), so am on the path!

2~ Spend more time crafting--being creative is great for me and a wonderful way to relax, so I would like to do more of that in 2011.

3~ Get some more organization in the house and de-clutter!

4~ Get the bathroom all done!  The major stuff is all set, now we need to get new towels, bathmats, and art on the walls and it will be done.

5~ Spend more 1:1 time with my Hubby--do more date nights, see more movies, NOT eat in front of the TV as much.

These are my Top 5 Goals for 2011--I think they are pretty attainable...

Do you have any goals for 2011?

~Lexie

Dogs Like Christmas Too

I think some of you may not believe this, but dogs do understand the ideas of gifts and holidays.  They enjoy the excitement, the build up, the traditions, etc.  Let me show you what I mean...

That first gift you get to open--it is so exciting! 

"What is it, what is it? Can I eat it?"

Then there is the gift diving--what is in the bag?!  You MUST put your ENTIRE head inside the bag, or it doesn't count.

 Staring out the Christmas window, looking at the Christmas varmints, and guarding the Christmas tree, adorned with Christmas ribbons...that is what makes a Holiday Guard Dog

 That, and a bow around your tail.

 How many ribbons will fit around a Golden's neck...a favorite holiday game...

 

Such the holiday gift unwrapper helper--you really need to fully commit in times like these.

 I'm thinking this is frame worthy---such a Holiday Bow Poser.  She is not wanting to share the 2011 Gerczak Christmas Card.

 What did Santa bring for Holly?

 

Lots of new, soft, clean "babies" to replace the old, gross, dirty ones!

 

 It really is tough being a dog on Christmas.

 


~Lexie

Wreath

Hello and Happy New Year, everyone! I apologize for being MIA! As you know our computer died--as in the blue screen of death--so I hadn't been able to do any blogging and it was tough because I had so much great stuff to blog about! Then I thought Santa saved the day by bringing me an iPad (which is AWESOME)! But, it not 100% compatible with blogger, yet, so I was delayed again!  But then, we got our computer back from the dead!!!  The cousin of a friend, who is super handy and knowledgeable about computers, came over and wiped the slate clean and installed the Linux operating system, so hopefully no more nasty viruses and no more blue screens of death.  So...onward with the blog about my fun wreath I made for Christmas!

Anyway, I've been wanting to post a blog about how I made my Christmas wreath--a little late for Christmas, but you could adapt it for Valentines Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, or an everyday wreath!

So, here is a picture of the finished project:

 I attached it to a "fake" green wreath to give it some "oomph" and I think it ended up quite nicely.

Here's how I made it:

 I started with Styrofoam balls, yarn, some fun colored balls, a wreath form, and some balls that I had in my Christmas container (I have a plethora of Christmas balls).
I didn't take pictures of wrapping the Styrofoam balls with yarn because I needed both hands, but I just wrapped and wrapped until I was satisfied and then I stopped wrapping :)

 Then I hot glued the bejeezus out of the ornaments and yarn balls--please the note the gobs of hot glue.

 I didn't have any rhyme or reason to placing them on there--except for putting the three yarn balls together--I just added them where I though it looked like it needed one or there was gap.

Then, I noticed you could see the wire and I didn't have the right size (small/tiny) balls to fill in the holes.  So...I decided to wrap yarn around the frame in order to hide the gaps. 

As you can see here, it was haphazard and let me tell you--it was time consuming!  I have learned from this and am passing my wisdom onto you--next time I make one I am going to wrap the frame in a wide ribbon first (or yarn) and then put the yarn balls and other accoutrement on.  I think that will work nicely and be really cute.

Here is it before I put the garland and wreath behind it--cute, but needing a little something...

 Looks pretty cute, huh?  I am thinking about making one for the spring, so will let you know how it turns out!

~Lexie


Some inspiration for my wreath came from:
Tatortots and Jello
Apartment TherapyThere are so many cute DIY wreath ideas out there--I can't wait for next Christmas to try more!