Invitation to the Cozy at Christmas Blog Tour

 It was a crazy weekend!  I went to a big holiday brunch and David and

I attended the annual Court of Six Flags Ball at our country club.  We 

pulled out the boxes of Christmas decorations from the garage and 

started decorating.  In the meantime, my iMac died and now I am 

working on my laptop until my new Mac arrives.  I feel completely

disorganized, but it's Monday and I have to keep it all together.

So, while I prepare for my contribution to the Cozy at Christmas

 Blog Tour tomorrow,  grab some coffee, hot chocolate or a cup

of tea and visit today's participants!

Let's Add Sprinkles

Hyacinths for the Soul

Southern Day Dreams

White Spray Paint

Garden Up Green

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs Olson

Ellie and Elizabeth

And a big thank you to our hostess Katie from

Let's Add Sprinkles for organizing this fun, festive,

and cozy blog tour!

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

The Christmas Trees Are Coming

Early this morning I went to my favorite nursery to select two

Christmas trees.   I chose one for the family room and another 

larger one for the living room.  They are being delivered this

afternoon and I am so anxious to start decorating them!

I moved the furniture in both rooms to make a space for each tree.

I vacuumed around the vacant spots I created with assistance from

Bentley who loves to bark at the vacuum cleaner.  I remember when

he was a tiny puppy and I would be so reluctant to vacuum because

I didn't want to disturb his puppy naps.  The first time I started the

vacuum, he came running out in full attack mode.  It was so cute

and funny because he was so tiny, but so fearless!  While he has

outgrown some of his puppy games, he has never stopped

attacking the vacuum :-)

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Some New Christmas Ornaments

Every year I add to our collection of Christmas ornaments, and this

year is no exception.  I couldn't pass up this little red truck filled with

Christmas trees.  It reminds me of when David and I were first dating

and he had a red pick-up truck.  I had never dated anyone with a red

truck before and I fell in love with him and his truck too.  The first

time we traded vehicles and I got to drive his truck all afternoon, I

was smitten.  I have loved pick-ups ever since.  This pick-up came

from Pottery Barn.

These ice skates are new too.  When I was a little girl, my parents took

me to outdoor ice skating rink.  It was the same one that Kevin slid

across in the movie Home Alone.  I took figure skating lessons for a

few years and I loved every minute of it.  These skates from Hobby

Lobby will be perfect for the tree in our family room.

I bought this reindeer just because I love it.  It is also from

Pottery Barn.

And finally, this little snowman, trees and lantern is also from

Pottery Barn.  It lights up too.

I can't wait to see it on our tree!

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Back From Our Mini Vacation

David, Bentley and I headed to Austin over the weekend to

spend our Thanksgiving at Barton Creek Resort.  We left

on Wednesday evening. We arrived to a very festive and 

packed resort which really made the occasion so exciting.

The resort put on a huge Thanksgiving afternoon brunch

with great food, great music and lots of champagne.   We

enjoyed all of it knowing that afterwards we didn't have to

drive anywhere.

Bentley enjoyed a turkey dinner up in our room and a long walk

following his feast.  There were quite a few other dogs at the 

resort and Bentley had fun meeting them on our many walks.

He is just so sweet with everyone he meets, even other dogs,

and I never have to worry about taking him anywhere.

Austin is such a fun city and we had fun joining other

Black Friday shoppers.  I picked up a few extra ornaments at

Pottery Barn.  They have such a big focus on tartan this

year and I just couldn't resist.  Every year I keep saying that

I won't buy any new Christmas decorations, and every year

I weaken.  Does that happen to you?

When we returned home last night, we checked our bedroom to 

see if the mouse was caught.  He had been in my closet.  We knew

this for sure based on two signs.  First of all, I left an empty Coke

bottle with some peanut butter inside.  The bottle was empty and

there were mouse droppings inside.  Then the one bait box that

was left on the closet floor was moved from the wall and pushed

out to the middle of the closet, so he went for the bait.  The sticky

traps were left undisturbed.  According to what I have read, the

bait takes anywhere from four to six days to kill the mouse, and 

since I don't see him anywhere, I don't know if he is in fact dead.

So now, I wait and in the meantime, I spent last night sleeping in

my studio.  

On a very sad note, I am afraid that my iMac desktop has died.

With Christmas coming,  that will be my present.  I can't remember

when I bought that Mac, but it's been quite a while.  For now, I

am using my Macbook Pro.  I am missing my laptop with it's 

27 inch screen, but I will muddle through for the time being.

Tonight we have our meeting with the police department to

discuss setting up a new neighborhood watch program after

the recent break-ins.  Some of our neighbors are talking about

hiring an off duty cop to patrol regularly.  I am glad that our

new security system is working well now.  We had a few

glitches, but it's all functioning properly now.  I am looking

forward to rodent free, burglar free days ahead!

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Shopping, Fun and Food

David, Bentley and I have been having fun since Wednesday night

when the holiday weekend began.  We have been shopping,

eating, sleeping in late and having fun!

No work, no worries, and no news.

The weather has cooled off here and I we are wearing sweaters 

and going for long walks with Bentley.

It's time for trimming trees and stringing lights.  I hope y'all 

are enjoying the long weekend.  We sure are!  

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley