A new year, a new home

Sunday afternoon this family had the opportunity to come to our house to meet Huckleberry. We had the privilege of having Huckleberry in our home for three weeks and grew to love and adore this furry little guy. He loves to shake and beg for attention! In just three short weeks he learned his name, he learned "sit" and he definitely knew what "treat" meant after just one short week. :) He was so cuddly and sweet! I honestly have not one bad thing to say about him. Huckleberry was so calm and will be wonderful around children especially Mary Olive, his new friend in his new family. This family came to meet Huckleberry to see if they would perhaps like to think about adopting him. This family left with Huckleberry on Sunday afternoon. We are so happy that Huckleberry has a new home but every now and then B and I say to each other, "I wonder what Huckleberry is doing right now??" We miss him but we know that we did a good thing by providing a temporary home for him.

Have you though about being a foster parent to a special dog or cat? Visit C.A.R.E.'s website to find out more information about fostering or adopting a pet today.

res·o·lute

res·o·lute
Definition:
1. having determination: possessing determination and purposefulness
2. characterized by determination: motivated by or displaying determination and purposefulness

A new year means yes, of course, new resolutions, new plans, new dreams and the realization that last year's checklist might not quite be complete yet. Am I right? It's okay because like those rollover minutes that we all love, New Year resolutions carry over from year to year. Is there something you were working on last year that didn't quite seem to get marked off your list? Do you still have a garage full of boxes? Do you still have rooms that need to be painted in your home? Well, have no worries, my friends, I have right there with you! That's why I have decided to make my New Year's resolutions, not one blog post, but several blog posts. How many, you ask? Who knows! I'll keep going until I have a list too long that I KNOW I can't accomplish that much in an entire year. This year should be fun. Stay tuned for flossing, detoxing, composting, painting, knitting, gardening, and of course losing weight. This is guaranteed to be a fun year!

CB Photography: Plan Ahead

Are you in the Central Arkansas area? Do you need pictures taken of you and your husband or of your children? Perhaps you would like a group picture taken of a large family, THIS is the year to have that picture taken. Perhaps you were recently engaged and need engagement pictures taken... I do those too! :)

One of my BIG GOALS is to pursue my photography. I LOVE taking pictures and I love meeting people and helping families capture beautiful family photos. If you would like a Spring Family Outdoor Portrait in the upcoming months, don't hesitate to contact me! I am VERY reasonably priced! I take all pictures outdoors in a comfortable setting of your choice, usually in your own backyard or a nearby park. I would love to spend an hour or two with your family! You will have pictures that will last a lifetime!

Contact me to set up an appointment:

I shoot on Saturdays and Sunday afternoons. NOW is the time to book Spring and Easter pictures! Please contact me, Cara Beth @ email: carabeth.buie@gmail.com

Want to see more of my work? Click here to view my Flickr page. Thanks for stopping by!

Looking forward to seeing you!

Top 9 in 2009

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a safe and happy Christmas and New Year celebrations! I took about a week (or so) vacation from the blogging world but I have missed reading your blogs! It will be fun to read back over the past week to catch up on your lives.

Since it IS New Year's Day, B and I have been trying to think of things we have been blessed to be apart of or an event or just something really cool that happened this past year. Here is our list of the top 9 in '09: (in no particular order)

• We bought our first house! I still remember the excitement, the nerves (and the annoyance) of signing my name over and over and over and over again on all the many documents and the scary number at the bottom of the paper... but I can honestly say, it was all worth it. We love coming home to our house, kicking off our shoes and especially this winter-in front of our fire place. This is our home and will forever be our first home we purchased together.
• B and I celebrated our one year anniversary in 2009! We were married July 5th, 2008 in my home church in Louisiana and that day couldn't have been more perfect. We had fireworks as we drove away out of the driveway of my grandparents home where the reception was held. So perfect!
• Compassion International became a part of our lives this year! We sponsor a little boy named Alexander from Nicaragua. B and I have corresponded with him several times this year and he is such a joy! We are both looking forward to writing and sending, as well as receiving more letters from him...and who knows, maybe one day we will be able to go meet him in person! :)
• While we try not to focus a lot of material possessions, they ARE nice to have, am I right? This year after much consideration and saving, we purchased B a new truck! He needed one oh so badly! Last year (2008) his former vehicle was stolen and completely trashed. We did recover the vehicle with the help of the Little Rock police, however, his vehicle was never the same. So a new (to us) truck was in order and we love it!
• Began fostering doggies this year! C.A.R.E. here in Central Arkansas is a great rescue organization that places animals in foster homes until they can find permanent homes. Which brings we too our next one...
• We adopted Scooter this year! Scooter was our first foster dog from C.A.R.E. that we brought into our home and of course, we couldn't say good-bye so our home became his permanent home in a record four days! What can we say, we are suckers for dogs!
• Beach Vacation! That's right! You know the beach has to make the list! Anytime we can pack up the swim trunks and head down to Florida, it will always make the list! I try to make it to a sandy beach somewhere at least once a year if at all possible.
• CB photography had a great year! I am still continuing to work on my photography and I had a lot of great photo shoots this past year. I hope to continue to grow my business in the coming year!
• And the most recent exciting news of 2009 is that me and B are going to be Uncle Buie and Aunt CB! That's right, my sister-in-law and brother are pregnant! I've known since before Thanksgiving and have tried my best to keep my mouth shut until they made it official at Christmas dinner. We are so excited to have a little niece or nephew come this July 4th. Yup, that's right! The baby is due the day before our anniversary AND on the FOURTH! A little patriotic baby! Can't wait!

Blog Feature: Live the Home Life

Our friends, Eric & Cara, have an amazing home blog, Live the Home Life, that I just adore! I am actually quite envious of their Rehabilitation Station make overs and secretly wish they were my ideas and my fabulous projects to show off, but sigh...alas, they are not! But they are, in fact, inspiring to say the least! Check out a couple of my favorite before and after shots:You like? Well, I need your help fellow bloggers! This Christmas let's show a little love to Eric & Cara. Help me out by heading over to their blog, checking it out and leaving them some love. THEN, don't stop there! Head on over to Apartment Therapy's Homies blog and leave them some love. That's right folks, Eric & Cara have been nominated for Apartment Therapy's The Homies Blog Awards! Let's help them make it all the way! Good Luck, Eric & Cara! Click here to meet the Wilkersons.

Santa Came to Town

Since we will be traveling Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, my husband and I exchanged gifts a little early. We like to get things unwrapped, cleaned up and put away so we can start the packing process with a (somewhat) clean house. So my husband went a little overboard this year but what I'm most excited about are these things:

my Pottery Barn jewelry box that I have been coveting for oh so long! If you will recall, I've had it on my wish list for quite some time. It is gorgeous in person, even more so than in the catalog! :) I especially love the fact that it has a lock and key (with a little tassel hanging off the key). It is special to me that I will fill this jewelry box with jewelry belonging to my grandmother and it is even more special to me that my husband gave it to me. I LOVE IT!

• My first casmere item: a Christmas red scarf with the initial 'B' on it. So sweet. (I'll take pictures of it later)


• a breadmaker so I can make yummy gluten free bread for my sandwiches
  
• a Garmin because I always get lost. ;)

Also, he bought us a couple gift - an HD pocket video camera (Woo hoo) ... Wait for it.... to use on our trip to Colorado! This is the first time EVER my husband has planned, booked and paid for a trip without my knowing anything at all about it! I'm so proud and so surprised! We will be going to a Golf and Spa Resort with a couple friend Caleb and Lisa. The trip isn't until June, but this gives me more time to save and plan and (lose weight) before we go! :) One thing that we didn't do on our honeymoon (that I sort of regret) is get a couple's massage, so we are DEFINITELY doing that on this trip!

I'm so blessed to have a thoughtful husband who puts time and effort in to our Christmas to make it meaningful each year. We are blessed to even have Christmas gifts this year during this economic recession. The Lord is good! I sincerely hope that you, too, have a blessed Christmas, not necessarily blessed with material things but blessed with family and friends around you this holiday season.

Weekend Review

This weekend was so fun! I have a close knit group of girl friends and each Christmas we try to get together to do something fun. Last year we TRIED to plan a trip but failed miserably, but we at least try to get together and just sit and talk and without a doubt there is ALWAYS eating involved. This year was no different. My friend Jessica made a wonderful baked chicken marinated in spices and honey. Oh my gosh! It was so good! I wanted to swim in it!~

We used to draw names for each other to decide who we would buy presents for but then a couple of years ago we decided to pick an angel tree kid instead. This year our kid is 10 years old and his name is Issac. He asked for clothes, a coat, toys, you know the normal 10-year old stuff but he also asked for a bike! Well, we were determined to get this kid a bike so we pooled our money and bought him a bike! If only we could see his face on Christmas morning we he saw his very own bike and probably his very FIRST bike!

This year our girl's Christmas was extra special because Whitney got us all a unique gift. She hand painted us each our very own ornament with these words on it, "Will you be a Bridesmaid 10-16-2010?" Isn't that such a cool way to ask? We were all there together and all opened our presents at the same time. To read more about it from Whitney's perspective, skip on over to her blog.

It's about that time!

This Christmas is new and different for us in a lot of ways. We are in a new house that we have thoroughly enjoyed decorating. Although, I didn't get much decorating help from B this year, I still enjoyed having more space to spread out all of my Christmas goodies that have been past down to me from generations before me. I will cherish them for years to come! I told him next year to GET READY! We are going all out on the decorations on the outside of the house. :) I might even make him climb up on the roof!

This year we are also enjoying a new town. Although we only live 20 minutes away from our former place we called home, we are still finding that this city has many perks of its own. Tomorrow night we plan to drive around the square and see the lights!

This Christmas we have yet another addition to our family, Scooter. We will enjoy filling his stocking with goodies and seeing him enjoy his first Christmas as a Buie. We also have another *new* surprise this Christmas but I can't post about it until AFTER Christmas. So check back! :)

And here a shout out to my college roommate, Becca! It's her 27th birthday! Happy Birthday, Becca! Love you lots!

I really love this picture, especially Becca's clown costume! I have it framed in my house and it just makes me happy everytime I see it! This was taken before RUSH one night. We were doing 50's night and her sorority were obviously doing clowns. :)

Decorating is for the Dogs

*Disclaimer: This is yet another blog post about dogs. If you are annoyed, to say the least, at all of my posts about dogs, please skip this one and possibly the next 20 or so following. * While, perusing the Internet, I came across this photo article about decorating with things you love - "Whatever your passion is ... put it in your house." We all know we love dogs in the Buie household. Check out these ideas of how to incorporate dogs into your home decor.
images found on Midwest Living

My Weekend To Do List:

I've had several people ask me today what my plans are for this weekend and I hadn't really thought about it until now. Since we are STILL a one car family (going on WEEK THREE now) I will be without a car on Saturday - I am looking forward to getting a lot of things accomplished around the house. The first things on the list is piling up quite high...
1. Laundry - I wish my laundry room looked like this, although the color is quite similar... 2. Make Christmas Cookies for friends and neighbors- We moved into our house in April and I haven't really had a good opportunity to visit with my neighbors much. I thought I would make them a goodie basket this weekend and bring it over. Got any good recipes I should try? 3. Finish Addressing my Christmas cards - We were very please with our pictures this year taken by Grant Harrison. Check out his blog here. 4. Start wrapping presents- I'm really not looking forward to this process but it does feel good when it's all said and done. 5. Find a home for Mr. Huckleberry- A lady from my work is going to stop by to see Huckleberry. Hopefully they will find him as irresistable as I do and want to bring him home! :)
What do you have planned for this weekend?