Twinkle, Twinkle

This time of year you see twinkle lights everywhere. As I sit here typing this up I can see my neighbors lights winking through my front window and if I crane my neck I can almost see the gorgeous LED lights across the street. We decorated last weekend, when it was still warm enough to be outside in tee-shirts, and it brought back memories of decorating for my wedding several years ago. I wanted a fairy tale outdoor wedding in April so in preparation we purchased thousands of lights at after Christmas sales. Not only did we get them for a fraction of the cost, but after the wedding we boxed them back up and our first year of marriage we were all set to decorate the whole street in white twinkly lights. Now we wrap the front porch columns, decorate the house roof line and even wrap the trees. I won't even tell you how many strands I have left over! Believe me it will be many years before I ever need to buy lights again.

If you're planning a wedding in 2009, and want to decorate with lights, hit the after Christmas sales next week and stock up! If you're not planning a wedding, grab a few boxes anyways and turn your deck into the outdoor entertaining hotspot among your friends! 

UPS Mishap

As a multi-tasking mama my day is always unpredictable! Today I waited anxiously for a UPS delivery of rush invitations for a special event only a week away...and I waited in vain. Technology is great and this morning the invitation designer and I anxiously checked to make sure that the invitations were on the road and headed our way, especially since we overnight shipped them! At 8:45 they were in Austin and I made myself wait patiently for them to arrive, but by 5pm I was wondering where my elusive UPS driver could be. My husband's family had all arrived to go out to dinner and celebrate his and my sister-in-law's birthdays but I couldn't be pried away from the computer. As a born planner I will admit that I am somewhat of a control freak, it's one of the traits that makes me good at what I do. However this was my inlaw's first experience with the sometimes unpredictable demands of my non stop entertaining. As everyone enjoyed thier dinner I continued to hound UPS on the phone and email an all night printer with emergency instructions to get my order filled NOW. By the time dessert arrived everything was under control and running smoothly once more, but you can bet UPS and I will find the time to chat on Monday!