tracy

tracy and i have been friends for over 10 years.  she makes me laugh and overwhelmingly supports my cause if i'm angry (and well, pretty much any other emotion.)  she's a great hostess and a super chef.  we can discuss classic novels, political candidates and unabashedly, keeping up with the kardashians.  a true friend.  cheers to many more years of memories, happy birthday T! 

 (atlanta)

 (los angeles)

 (athens)

 (milton)

 (augusta)

(hilton head)

winter

for the first time in my life, i am truly enjoying the winter season.  perhaps because this past year has been quite busy or maybe i am just getting old, but i have an appreciation for the quieter months.  this week has been filled with cozy january festivities.  bundled up and met kelsey and diana at the dog park with bailey and turner.  spent an afternoon drinking terrapin stouts by the fire in a local tavern.  caught up on my movie game in preparation for the approaching awards season.  tearing through some great books.  daily hot tea and candles.  now heading to the mountains this weekend for some cabin wine nights with my girls.  a toast to finding delight in the cold.

central america and 2012

i had high hopes of "thankyouliving takes costa rica."  alas, i direly needed a vacation that included a technology unplug.  i made a quick bullet point list so as not to forget the trip.  a few photo highlights below.  i will say costa rica turned out to be even better than i dreamed.  the people are gorgeous inside and out with a terrific sense of humor.  the land is lush and diverse ranging from active volcanoes to clean rainforests to hippie beach towns.  the food is delightfully healthy and tasty.  the beer is cold and the weather is beautiful.  perfect travel company: laid-back, new adventure seeker amanda and dance all night, photographer extraordinaire kelsey.  i typically want new new new in all areas of life but costa rica is one country that i would completely visit again.  perfect fresh start to 2012.

 (photo- arenal volcano)

  (monteverde rainforest suspension bridges)

(tamarindo sunset)

 (hot springs)

(imperial cheers)

tacky christmas dance parties

it's the most wonderful time of the year.  come for the cider, stay for the sweaters. 

link

cake

baking attempt...frosted pumpkin delight.  it's ok. the cream cheese frosting saved it from the whole wheat flour i used.  do not try to make unhealthy foods somewhat healthy...not worth it.  if i could do it again, i would use white flour and another stick of butter.  good thing i have a cooking expert in my life for guidance- a one mrs tracy bennett. 

(photo- thanksgiving dress rehearsal....better get it together tomorrow.)

generosity

generous people just tremendously warm my heart.  i experienced this on so many levels today.  through a serious of events, my family has become very involved in the Albert T Mills enrichment center.  this is a school for children ages 3-5 who live in a very rough part of atlanta.  the woman that started the school did so when her own son was shot and killed by a couple 16 year old kids.  she realized that they really did not understand the consequences of their actions.  she wanted to develop a place to teach kids right from wrong early and to prevent these tragedies from happening to other families.  the school is run completely on donations and they have SO much need.  they are out of money, and the teachers are now working without pay.  most of the students do not have heat at home and are sleeping on the floor.  the school serves the children breakfast and lunch and for some these are the only meals that they receive each day.  my mom and i have been talking about ways to help for the past few weeks and decided we really wanted to hit this hard for the holidays when people are in the giving spirit. 

this morning i set out to work on three initiatives that we developed.  one- give a thanksgiving meal to all 60 of the children's families.  i sent an email to my atlanta friends and had several people respond immediately wanting to participate.  two- organize a drive at my condominium for people to donate educational toys for their classroom.  the condo board is kind of uptight so i expected to receive push back but they thought this school was a great partnership opportunity.  three- one of my besties jill has her annual xmas party and plans to asks her 70 something guests to bring school supplies for the kids.  i'm so overwhelmed with how much everyone wants to help our community.  all i've done is send a couple emails....it is the people around that are so inspiring.  so excited to see where these projects go.....

erin

i received the best piece of mail in 2011 today.  erin asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding!  she is so freakin cool too because she sent a dvd with a cover of pictures of the two of us, a sweet note and a dvd of the movie Bridesmaids starring kristen wiig.  love it.  erin and i have been friends since freshman year in college and maintained our relationship despite many moves around the country/world.  she now lives in san francisco.  when i was in LA, i could drive up or hop on a quick flight to see her.  now that i'm back in atlanta, we rely on gchat to keep up with each others busy lives.  but who knows what lies down the road..... she is getting married in sonoma, ca next summer.  cannot wait for this trip to vacation with my bests and to celebrate erin and bryon.  congrats!  

 (photo- dvd and note)

(dvd cover photos)

smart friends

i am thankful for the academic accomplishments of two friends today.  jill willoughby studied extremely hard for the GMAT, and her efforts were rewarded with an amazing score.  on that very same day, chris griffith - friend and fellow blogger - learned he was accepted into georgia tech's MBA program.  we merged parties and celebrated at our favorite watering hole - the family dog.  (as if an excuse for happy hour is needed.)  we will also take appropriate action in the future and toast great papers, good test scores, mediocre test scores, mediocre papers, etc.  i look forward to expanding our social network to the georgia epicenter of geek chic.  and feel very fortunate to be in the inner circle of knowledge.  chris can tell me when black framed glasses are no longer hip.  and jill can tip me off when i need to convert my dollars to gold as the fed prints more money for her tuition.  ;) seriously congratulations to both, you deserve all the success in the world.  

(photo - jill at family dog)

(photo- chris at candler park fall festival)