Can somebody please pass the Holiday Cheer????

Can someone please pass the Holiday Cheer?  Don't lose that Christmas spark! Not yet anyways....Let me just serve you up a little Holiday Cheer via The Austin house! This is a collection of my favorite Christmas decor and Christmas traditions. I know it's a little late but hey, the Stizzle had a bowl game to win!

Anywho, I couldn't wait to share a bit of my Christmas!

These are a few of my favorite {Christmas} things:

(which have disappeared back into storage so I can reclaim my house and breath from the  claustrophobia):

 - I replace pictures throughout the house at Christmas. It's impossible to keep everything up all year long and I always get excited to see them when I pull them from storage. 

I also LOVE old ornaments - most of these were mine or Sean's when we were little ....awwwwwww 

My mama gave us an ornament every year so that when we left home we would have our own. Sean's granny also gave him one and wrote the year on the back! We also had an ornament that was just alike with our names - Fate...don't you think? 

The third one my dear friend Alisha made with our wedding invitation cut into swirls on the inside. Isn't that just precious?  Thank you Alisha and Pinterest!

Last but not least, here are a few of my fave Christmas shots! It was a great Christmas weekend, spending time with family and friends. Hope you had a great one too!

Roasting hot-dogs and Marshmallows in the fireplace at Daddy's - hey, it's tradition.

Next year, complete vintage decor, etc. for the entire house.... It's on!

Happy New Year if I don't get checked back in before! 

XOXOXO

The Rox Does Main Street

Ever since I was a little girls I have LOVED the parades. From the days of riding with Smokey when I was younger, to dance studio performance, cheerleading for PHS, and not to forget Jr. Miss, I have always loved being in parades. ESPECIALLY the Christmas parade! In case you have not gotten this by now...I LOVE me some Christmas. Hey, I get it from my mama. 

Well, when GA was born, I made it perfectly clear that she would in fact LOVE parades too. This may quite possibly be my first parenting success documentation. GA LOVES the parades too! 

This year, we didn't just watch..it was her first parade participation (with mommy of course!) - Back on the float with Smokey in more than 15-18 years (trying not to reveal any ages), there I was with my baby; handing out candy, waving, freezing, and getting my Christmas spirit on. I really thought that I would miss watching the parade and seeing GA's excitement. HOWEVER, participating is so much better!

She thought it was soooooo cool to throw candy out to her friends (while she ate her weight in it too), and to wave at complete strangers.   Pageant material?????   I think yes.

Stellar waving skills lesson in progress....

I so enjoyed spending that time with her. All of Roxboro was out. The largest crowds I've seen in years. EVERYONE was happy....smiles all around (and a few Pall Mall's here and there and koozies with beverage cans of a questionable nature.) 

Much to my disappointment we did not make the front page of the Courier Times in the parade section. Oh well , there is always next year! Here is a somewhat lengthy recap in parade photography anyway :) - You gotta see what it is really like here On the Rox - 

We let our children get dirty - 

 

Future construction worker or pageant professional?

 We <3 Bojangles and friends from back-in-the-day.

lovely ladies from Jaycee's - and longtime friends of mine from PHS and middle school!

Some people abandon their horse drawn carriages to socialize-

We support our parents!

 

We force our children to smile for numerous photos.

Kayla & Kelbie with GA

 We love our babies!

We will ride anything with wheels in order to be in the parade....

This is what "shootin' the breeze" looks like..... They (fire departments and such) also call my daddy "Booty" - weird.

Additional photo resources for your enjoyment :

Merry CHRISTmas Y'all!

The last of the 20's

Is 30 the new 20? Is it really? That's what everyone keeps saying as I turned 29 on Tuesday last week. All I gotta say is,

BRING IT ON 30 -

(hey, it's better than the alternative anyway)

 Lets hope by next year that the saying is still true! I am going to do something fab when I turn 30. Any ideas? I am the first of all my besties to turn 30. I say RoAd TrIp ladies!!!!

 I haven't even been 29 for a week yet and I have had mega hip pain this week, a twisted ankle, and I am trying to come to grips with the fact that my doctor says that these are ma' probalem....

remember these????

I have to find a compromise over Christmas. I went to one store today to search for NOT.old. lady.cute.shoes and I came up with 2 inter-shoe-departments: HOT! or GRANDMA! Where is the middle ground people?

ANYWHO -

I had such a fabulous B-day (week) !!!!! Intercepting Birthday calls and 135+ Facey messages made it so special! I also got to spend some time with many of my faves and receive some VERY thoughtful and fun gifts!!!!
 Royal Treatment: I Began celebrating by taking my baby, my mama, and my MIL to Disney Princess on Ice. I still do not know who had more fun of the four of us. It always comes to RBC right before my Birthday and I've always wanted to go.  This year....it was on! Thank you Sean Austin :)

This is why I love parenting - joy on your child's face is priceless!!! What is NOT priceless is paying $12 for a snowcone in a Tiana cup. But Hey, we are princesses right?

Completely magical. 

Check out the B-day goods:

magical candelabras 

love me some cards - I always save them!

LOVE LOVE LOVE - circa 1991 - Rmember PBS television on channel 4???? anyone??? It even smells vintage and it has some stories about the advent, the nativity, and so forth that I have been reading to GA when we do her advent calendar at night. 

get ready for canning season y'all!

THE HELP movie - so freaking excited and new leopard rainboots - don't be a hater, I love me some rain boots. AND some nice vino, notecard, and soap collections - All my favorite things!

  I ALWAYS have dinner at my mama's for my B-day- STANDARD! 

Daddy ALWAYS takes me to lunch. 

Memaw and Tracie always call and sing to me. 

Jenn and D' always call and sing to me ;)

And it just so happens that the annual Christmas dinner and photoshoot with some of my best ladies commences that week every year! Cropping of said photos was indeed necessary....

And since my birthday is in December, I get the pleasure of celebrating it throughout the month of December, while doing many of my favorite things: spending time with family and friends, the Christmas PARADE (I am a HUGE fan!), and food! Can I get an AMEN????? Thank you!!!!Christmas parade in true Rox fashion is coming up. Stay TUNED!

Continue to share the love - It's CHRISTmas y'all!