i mean yea, it’s a once in a life time experience. Agree!!

and i feel really lucky to be going for well under the $500 mark. but almost $8k?? and bidding still has a bit longer to go. all i know is this auburn family has got some’ DEEP, DEEP roots!

Hi my lovely readers. I am completely embarrassed to look up, and look you in the eyes. Why? Well, I have completely deserted you the last month, and have no excuse – except life got busy. Since I last posted, Christmas came and went, and we embarked on a brand new year. A time to start fresh. The slate is wiped clean, and we are given not just a new hour, day, week, or month, but WHOLE NEW YEAR!! However, before I start completely anew, I want to give you a little recap of what has been going on.

I spent a whole week home before Christmas. It was greatly enjoyed, and and desperately needed. I slept in and stayed up late, went to the gym with my sister LOTS, ran errands with Mom, visited with family, baked cookies, assembled Christmas cards, went to movies, saw best friends, got a haircut (last one was in June), drank a glass of Cakebread, treated myself to manis and pedis, ate yummy homemade dinners, ate out @ Amsterdam, Arricia, Panera and Big Blue [some all time favs], laughed hysterically as I watched my brother put together their new bugaboo, sang Christmas songs at the Christmas Eve church service, watched snow fall on Christmas night, and soaked up every single minute of everyday.

As the festivities came to an end, our fun was just beginning because my family was accompanying me back to the City through New Years. Well, Christmas night our flight was cancelled for the following morning. To our dismay we wouldn’t fly out until Tuesday. After a long headache with Delta, we finally got rebooked. Hallelujah! Flying into NYC was a pretty sight.

The flight was a breeze, but we were not sure if the cab ride was going to be so safe. We passed lots of snow covered abandoned cars on the side of the NJ Turnpike. The traffic was insane, and the snow was mucky. As our cab driver jumped lots of curbs, in an effort to avoid the LONG line of traffic entering into the Holland Tunnel, he assured was this is how “New Yorkers” do it. He followed that by, “No worries we are in a brand new 2011 mini-van with 4-wheel drive. Now I don’t know how you feel about that, but I was not completly convinced that was suppose to give me a peace of mind. Good news, we made it…almost! We could not get to the front of my apartment (clean up was and still is a slow and still in the works process), but we trudged 1 block through the sloshy ickiness with our rolling bags. I might add I had on flats. Not a good idea. Needless to say, I lived in my Hunter Boots this past week. There is no hope for looking to stylish in this weather. So you are thinking…snowy and cold, what do you do in the City with weather like that? We had not problem staying throughly entertained. We laughed our way through the snow. It took double the time to walk anywhere because of the mounds of snow and deep puddles of slush blocking our pathway. We managed to make it over to Stan’s (fabulous) new office one evening after dinner at a favorite-The Harrison. His office has a 360 view of Manhattan. On the south-eastern edge there is a fabulous view overlooking Ground Zero, and the construction of the under-construction Freedom Tower. The void in the Cityscape is pretty moving. And the view is absolutely magnificent!

We also stumbled upon another pretty magnificent view in Soho. It was a little smaller scale, and was found on the entrance doors to the Soho Under Armour pop-up store. All I can say is “War Eagle” because Auburn really is “the best players in the game”!

Now to go on a complete ramble. We had fun!  We ventured in and our of lots of design showrooms. Where I decorated a dream house. I fell in love with this tile…

and this faucet…

We took the subway to my new office (come next week!). We ventured into fabulous antique stores. I bought a rug a fabulous rug at ABC Carpet & Home. We shopped @ fabulous NYC boutiques. We ate at some of my local favorites: Warren 77, Locanda Verde, Cafe SFA @ Saks, The Hummus Place, and Le Pain Quotidien. And we probably laughed again, and jumped a few more slushy puddles of melting snow. Last night we rang in the New Year on a more local style, completely avoiding the chaos and misery of crowds of midtown (aka Time Square). Sadly this morning, the fam packed up and left me behind. I found myself in tears of sadness. I wanted to rewind the past two weeks, and relive them over and over and over again. I recapped the fun we had over the Christmas holiday, and just wanted that back. Life must go on. Back to the daily grind, but it just reminds me that memories are better than anything money can buy!!

Happy New Year!!

I love this time of year in the City. Every street corner you turn you find yet another little pop up shop Christmas tree vendor. So for me this year, instead of the parking lot at K-Mart back home, it’s the corner of Greenwich and Chambers. I’ve quickly realized that it’s okay for traditions to evolve over the years. I might not be bundling up (b/c it use to be REALLY cold after Thanksgiving) with my Mom, Dad, Big Brother and Baby Sister. We’d get hot chocolate, probably because I had not tolerance for the cold, and head to the “Christmas Tree Man” that setup year after year in the parking lot adjacent to K-Mart. My brother and I would meander through the trees to pick out the tallest, most perfect (and probably meaning most expensive) tree we could find. Mom would have to approve first! We’d also pick out a little tree, known as the “kid’s tree”. This one was adorned with colorful lights, and all the ornaments we’d made or bought on family trips. The “big tree” was elegant and beautifully lit with white lights. They’d load them in the back of Dad’s truck and we’d head home. Then poor Dad, some how managed to carry our 8′-9′ tree inside all by himself. It didn’t end there. A little left, no now a little the right. Okay, not pull it back towards you a little…WELL, IT HAD TO BE STRAIGHT! This usually ended in a little frustration, followed by sweeping up all the stray pieces that sprinkled the floor from the car to the house. But we all still had BIG smiles on our faces. I would be chomping at the bit to decorate it RIGHT THEN, everyone else seemed a little exhausted. Funny enough, it seems year after year it ended up being just Mom and I hanging all the ornaments. Everyone else seemed to bail after two or three. Oh the memories. So you know, change, even little change, can be hard. I miss these days, but when I find that “teary” feeling coming on, I just try to reminisce on fond, fond memories of Christmas time when I was younger. I remind myself to be thankful of those times, and look forward to the new and exciting things to come. However, I still cannot wait to go home before Christmas, wrap presents with Mom, sit by the fire with a lit Christmas tree as a beautiful backdrop, and relish in the moment as we make new memories!

*Mom, after watching you make gazillions of bows year after year after year. Well, I still cannot do it near as well as you. You just have all these little tricks, and I cannot quite get them right. The whole twist thing when you’re making the bow? I am trying to master it!

I am really thankful for my sweet sister. This girl is my heart. Five years younger than me, and I still look up to and respect her SO much. She is the most outgoing individual you will ever meet. She has a heart as BIG as Texas! Last Wednesday night we curled up in her BIG king size bed to dig through memory boxes of old cards from our friends and family. We were pulling out all the ones from my grandma-who has recently become very ill. We gathered up all the cards she’d ever given my sister and me. And I mean she never missed an occasion to send a card, so it was A LOT. Birthdays, graduations, Valentine’s, Christmas, other random holidays, honor society inductions, you name she sent a card. They were the sparkly, colorful, 3-dimensional, musical, fun cards too. So we filled Andrea’s bed with a puddle of “glittery tears” as we read aloud ALL of the cards. Grandma knew us both all to well. It was so special because every card for Andrea pointed out her cheerful spirit…after all it’s really contagious. If I just had an ounce of what she has. Not only did the cards bring light to our sprits, but to Grandma’s as well. She is a lady of grace and beauty. She always thinks of others before herself, and we especially felt that love as her only two granddaughters. It was such a blessing to have lots of time to spend visiting with my sweet grandma, and recalling wonderful memories.

And on another note. I have another wonderful memory that I will pass along to my grandchildren one day. It isn’t quite as touching, but it’s memorable. My dynamic duo and I here, along with my dear friend Amory, cheered AUBURN on to victory AND WERE THE FIRST THREE PEOPLE TO WELCOME THE AU TIGERS BACK TO THE LOVELIEST VILLAGE ON THE PLAINS. Yeap, you read that right the first. I’ll admit we did “act a fool”, but who cares, right? It’s hard to control your Auburn spirit. We were heading down College Street towards Toomer’s Corner, then heading to the Athletic Department to hang with the other fans who were out at 10 pm to welcome to team back home. Well, as we deceded the small hill to the side of the library, lots of blue sirens back flying up behind us. Our hearts raced, and then fell straight to our feet in fear, for a few seconds, before we realized it was the team escorts for the buses. However, we were “in the way”. So we pulled into the hotel and conference center parking lot. And by pulled I mean took a right hand turn on two wheels. Then basically all three sprung out of the car before we’d stopped, and sprinted to the curb where we jumped up and down and screaming “War Eagle” as the team passed by. We either looked like three hard core fans or three drunken girls. And that story will most definitely live on…

So as you can see I had a lot of extra fun on my Thanksgiving getaway back home. Not only did we have a turkey feast, we had family time and football extravaganzas!! Hope your Thanksgiving was HAPPY as mine!! Night, and have a Happy Monday as you enter a new week!

Then for a BIG laugh check out this “All I do is read, read, read”

at least watch until 2:32 of the video…and brace yourself, b/c you might fall over laughing.

This awesome gal picked me up from the airport. Yeap, that’s my Mom. I could not of been happier to see her. It had been over two WHOLE months. Despite the fact that I talk to her two, three and sometimes ten times a day; I have really missed BIG hugs and face-to-face chats. As she waited at the top of the escalators by baggage claim in the Atlanta airport, she spared greeting Stan and I with smiley face balloons or large flower bouquets. Instead she left the alstroemeria bouquets scattered around the house. The flowers being a finishing touch on a massive renovation overhaul Mom’s been tackling over the past four weeks.

I am pretty sure she has been running on no sleep and WAT-AAH!!, which my sister and I found to be completely hilarious. We pretty much fell on the floor laughing. Why is this bottle so funny to me?? I told Mom I am not sure it can be water + extra oxygen. After all isn’t water to molecules of hydrogen and one oxygen? H2O. So added oxygen would not result in water according to my very basic knowledge of chemistry. But I will not argue. After all my professional training involves design, NOT ANY SORT OF chemistry or scientific hoopLA! I digress…

So my design soul was on complete overload when I walked inside “home”. Mom and I kind of play this game of guessing what has changed? What is moved?  New fabrics. New floors. New tubs. I was in complete shock honestly. Only my Mom could transform an entire floor of a house in FOUR WEEKS. That is unheard of in the coordination of construction workers, painters upholsters and moving help. All it took was Dad taking a sledge hammer to the old tub, and there was no turning back. Ready for the work being greeted by workers at 6 a.m. had begun. So what did I find? The entire exterior trim, painted. Refinished hardwoods. Fresh paint everywhere. New hardwoods  in the master. A reconfigured master bath. Sister’s room was changed. Pretty rugs, and other things. FOUR WEEKS. I am still shocked. I was completely surprised too. I only knew about the floors. Mom laughed and said every time I’d call she’d be at ADAC or driving somewhere in Atlanta to pick up faucets, mirrors, etc. So I am asuming life is calm and orderly, but in fact it has been complete disorganization and chaos. So when I arrived to the finished product, we tip-toed throughout the house after getting in at 11 p.m. from the airport, so that I could take it all in. 2:30 a.m. came way to quickly and decided we best make our way to bed.

Friday involved lots of treasured time.

7 a.m. coffee with my mom, and then again when dad got home at 8. At 11, sister and I’s usual walk from The Flower Store and through Grove Hill. The hunger pains were coming on about 12. We went for sister bonding time over Momma G’s a split order the famous nachos. Then to brother’s office for a long awaiting reuniting hug, accompanied by a sonic happy hour slushy. Later a trip to EarthFare Grocery. Then back home to reunite and rekindle a forever treasured friendship with Amory. After we chatted about everything under the sun, I got ready for dinner.

The table was set, and the drinks were being made. Our family reunited, and Stan’s family joined.

Us grown ups laughed and carried on entertaining conversations; while for the kids…we set a kid’s table with kid-friendly entertainment.

Day #2____________________________________________________________

I know greet you from the heart of the Loveliest Village on the Plains, a few miles from the home base we’ve been chatting about. Saturday at 2:30, well over 87,000 fans filed into be apart of the crowd that watched Auburn beat LSU’s butt. And it didn’t stop there. The eagle flew. The crowd put there hands in the ayer. We saw as Cam Newton set the SEC single-season record with 1,077 rushing yards for a quarterback.

And at the end of the game, Cam sprinted to the end zone to celebrate with the Auburn Fans. Afterwards he quickly made his way across the field to the student section where he showed off his high jumping skills. He literally jumped over a fence the separates the stadium seats from the hedges, and partied with his Auburn Family.

For now, I’m back in New York. The weekend was awesome. Auburn is now ranked #1 in the BCS poll. The trip was fast and furious with way to many people to see and way to little time. When I start to miss “community”, and feel like it is so very hard to meet people, I find myself comparing the “what is” to “what was”. Then I quickly remind myself that those relationship were built of 23 years. Things take time, and patience. God is allowing me to grow by leaps and bounds in the “patience arena”. As I reflect on my time at home a find that I am so much more appreciative and grateful of/for my Auburn “family”. You all mean the absolute world to me. Thanks for fabulous conversation, and a warm welcome to what will always be “home” to me. Yeap, some things never change.

Even my new fragrance is included (yes…it is less than 3 fluid ounces-I’m getting pretty saavy with all these traveling rules). Hopefully this will help mask the “airport smell” that sticks on you when you travel. It never fails. I will shower right before I leave for the airport, and when I get to my final destination I feel like I am literally coated in 3 inches of ICK-i-ness!

My birthday rambling goes on here for a minute, please bear with me. Oh I just love birthdays. You know what my favorite part is? The cards. I have a weak spot for creativeness, and when it comes to the birthday card; well, you’ve already won me over. The sweet I work with left this one outside my door last Friday. How adorable is that little birthday hat?

Now for the good stuff. This guy and I have a love-hate relationship. We have a pretty smooth relationship, but when it gets rocky…IT GETS ROCKY. I mean realllll bad! So today for the most part me was on his P’s and Q’s. He did just what I asked when I clicked print, and was rapidly obeying my commands. Praise the LORD. I only have 2 hours, and A LOT to get done.

So I pulled my “craft box” out of the closet. Prior to this picture I was neatly organized. I am things were stacked nicely and had a little order. Well I brought havoc upon that order. You see my cutting board was at the bottom. Neatly tucked beneath all of these other things. So in best attempt to “pull the table cloth off the table without messing up the place settings” move – I grabbed it from beneath, and things went wild. So you see this is what I got. For now it will stay like that because other things have higher priority in my life right now.

So I plopped myself down on the floor. Yes on the floor. That is where I work best. My family laughed at me ALL of my younger years because while working/studying/being crafty/whatever…you could find my indian-style on the floor. Concrete. Wood. Carpet. Pebbles. Tile. Doesn’t really matter.

And I busy. I took over those little crop lines and had at it. 50 invites later…

You got this.

To be sealed with a little, silver round address label. It’s a fun, little project for a Birmingham Entertainment Shower.

Oh no…It is 5:00. I think my cab awaits. Home Sweet Home here I come!

Back with more for all my lovely readers, family and friends when life allows for more “down time”. 

Happy Monday!

xo! julie

Auburn…has #3 schools in the whole nation

near 3 of the top golf courses

and a phenomenal place to raise family

check it out @ about 1:45 of the clip.

The Today Show