It's Been Awhile

Once again, a few months have passed. I will get better at this, I promise. My sister's wedding in September couldn't have gone more beautifully. It was a gorgeous day, with a stunning bride and her handsome groom; as guests we were treated to a wonderful weekend of fun and time spent together. Kjersti and Alex are planning to move to Minnesota from Atlanta sometime in the next 6 months or so. Nothing will make me happier! I'm thrilled that she's found someone who loves and cares for her the way Alex does. And he's scored himself a pretty fantastic bride, too! I moved in October and have been working hard at making my new house a home. This year, I hosted Thanksgiving, with LOTS of help from my Mom, and sister/brother-in-law. We had the privilege of trying a Duval-Arnould tradition - the Onion Thing. It was fabulous! I used a Martha Stewart recipe for the turkey, and I have to say, it was pretty darn good. There were 8 of us total for dinner, and we had a great afternoon and evening. That weekend, we also had some of the cousins over for brunch. Ben and Emily (looking adorably pregnant), Josh and Jen with little Brock (SO cute!!), along with Britta and Jake. It was a yummy brunch, of course peppered with our normal witty banter and political repartee. It's always nice to dine with such intelligent, intuitive (might I say "like-minded") people!
Fast forward to December: I have yet to begin my Christmas shopping. This will change very soon. I was able to get my tree up during Thanksgiving weekend, with the assistance of my very gracious house guests. I had a little party last week, during which I was introduced to my dear friend Stephanie's new "friend" Keith. Listening to him talk was like sitting in a room with Harry Connick Jr. He had that perfect Louisiana drawl. Not the annoying Texas Twang kind, just that little added lilt to certain words. Suffice it to say, he was a hit. Embarrassingly, I had made my own version of Jambalaya as one of my party dishes (it goes like hotcakes at the office food day!), without knowing that I would have a real southerner here to try it. (I'm guessing Zataran's wouldn't cut it in his social circles down south, even though it did have chicken, shrimp and sausage added...lol) I may have altered my choice, had I realized that in advance. Also in attendance were several friends from work, with their kids, and Chere and Nick, and Maury and Dee Ann - my buds from way back in the day. It was really great to see everyone; that's the kind of thing I want to do more of this year.
I'm on my way now to do a little bit of shopping this evening but more updates will follow. If you read this blog from time to time, you're going to see many tidbits that I find here and there online, but I'll always give credit to the authors. Then, there will be the occasional note from me with some recent event in my life. My cats, Zoey and Bella, may also make appearances.

For now, Merry Christmas everyone!
Donna