A Look Back at 2011

It's always fun to look back at the year that was. This year being no exception. I tried to think of my top 6 highlights of the year, and I think I've narrowed them down to a top 5.

However, I do have 1 honorary mentions.  - Fashion Show! - Yes, that's right, I was in a fashion show with Ann Taylor that helped support the Junior League. It makes me giggle every time because I am not a model quality AT ALL. These photos were taken at the event, and as you can tell. I have no cat walk skill. 

Thank goodness for my Junior League gal pal, Merri, otherwise I probably would have fallen on my butt! 

Okay, onto the top 5!

#5 - I expanded my social network. Through the powers of blogging and tweeting, I have gained some amazing  new friends. So amazing, I don't think I could have accomplished my #1 moment of the year. It's so nice to be able to expand your friends and have more perspectives and what not. I love my STL Ladies Lunch gals! Can't wait for 2012!

#4 - I became a raging Lilly Pulitzer Fiend! If I wasn't before, it pretty much went all down hill went I made my first trip to Under the Palm Tree over the summer. It only really solidified that I have a Lilly problem, and its okay! 

#3 - Parties! I love throwing a good party, and so our annual 4th of July Party is always a hit as well as Gin & Juice for Jen & Jesus! Here are a few of my favorite photos

Jenn, Cece, Alyssa and I

Elena, Chelsea, Melissa and I

Marcy, me & Merri!

BFFies!

#2 - Going to my first Charity Gala with my bestie and hubs! It was so fun getting dresses up and looking fabulous and supporting such a wonderful cause like the Youth Learning Center! 

AND NUMERO UNO!

#1 Completing my first half marathon. Not any half marathon - The Hospital Hill Run in Kansas City. The Granddaddy of all half marathons.  I'm not a runner AT ALL, but let's just say finishing that race was quite an accomplishment. I have 3 amazing people to thank for that - Alyssa, Cecelia, and Cliff. While I'm not sure I'm ready to sign up to do another one next year, I will not count it out in the future. 

Pre Race 

Post Race 

So there you have it. My top highlights of the year! I'm super excited for 2012, and I know great things will happen. I just know it! So, stay tuned, follow me on the blogaroo and we'll go through this next year together!

Crave Box is here!

A while back, I told you about Crave Box and how it was going to be launching in a beta to about 1000 people. Well, a few weeks ago, I got my 1st Crave Box! I was so excited! I was pleasantly surprised with the goodies.

Just to recap, CraveBox is a monthly service for $10, you'll get a package of new items and deluxe sized items shipped to your doorstep. Ya'll know I love getting mail and trying new things, so I though this was pretty perfect. Let's go through what came in this pack!

The December Box was called the "Holiday Pamper - Me Box" .

It included:

Baci Chocolate Truffles - Mmmm Truffles! These were hazelnut. Saving them for a spa night!
Perugina Chocolate  - I'm going to make chocolate covered strawberries with this! Yum!
OPI Nic's Sticks - I got super pretty sparkly navy blue. I don't know how I feel about paint coming out in a pen format, but I haven't tried applying it on all 10 fingers. I did 1 nail, and it turned out okay. It's a project for next weekend!
Meredesso Beautiful Body Balm - um, this retails for $54 a bottle! Holy Cow! I am going to start using it this week, so I'll report back on how I like it.
Bic for Her Pens - These pens are so girly! I love them. They have a floral design and one pack had pink and purple ink. Can't go wrong with pens around the house!

So, I'm thinking for $10, it's a pretty good deal. I'll be back next month with the next box! If you want to get on the list, be sure to do so! I'm super excited to see what else is to come!

Christmas at Mom's

I'm not the brightest bulb. We went to 4 Christmases and I only brought my camera out for 1. Go figure. So, I thought I'd share a few photos from that day. Enjoy!

Me, Mom & Brother Geoff. 

Not my favorite photo, but it'll do, donkey.

Husband Jeff. 

Geoff  & his girlfriend, Liz

Mom serving me up some Gooey Butter Cake. YUM!

Mom & Steve

Me & Jeff. Sadly, no cute photos of my new dress. It's got fun horizontal stripe pockets. 

Midweek Randomness

It's only Wednesday, and I'm already praying for Friday! I think that short weeks are always the longest.

So, here are a few fun things I'm excited about this week:

• I am almost done reading The Help. Hubs got the movie for me, so I'm excited to watch it when I'm done reading the book
• Speaking of movies, I have 2 tickets to see The Adventures of Tin Tin, and I have a feeling we'll be seeing it in 3D!
• I won a giveaway for a Tracy Negoshian Dress! I am so excited because I accidentally slept through the Black Friday sale, and missed getting this one for pretty inexpensive! Big thanks to Lori for the giveaway!
• Mega Monday shopping was pretty Mega! I walked away with 3 new work dresses from NY&Co and a pair of pants and a necklace for $50! 3 dresses! Can you believe it? They are simple, solid colors, have some structure, will be comfortable enough on a plane for travel for work and they are cute! It's so weird to think I have to get a work wardrobe again. For the past year I haven't really bought a lot of work clothes because I only needed them 2 days a week. Now that I am going back into the office for 6 months, I gotta pick up a few items. I also got this cute top at Loft for 50% off! Can't beat that!

via

• I have a lot of blog posts that are coming up! Including the Cravebox and my VoxBox, and a few giveaways! I'm thinking 2012 is shaping up to be a great year in blog land! 

Christmas Photos coming tomorrow!

A 2 Year Old Birthday Party

Friday night, Jeff and I were invited to my step-nephew, Aiden's 2nd birthday party.  It was a Thomas themed party. So, here are a few photos that we took from the evening. 

Happy Birthday to you....

He's really into "cheers"ing so, we all cheers our cupcakes

Jeff thinks this photo is hysterical. Now, if anyone knows me I'm not the most maternal person in the whole world. This pretty much sums up how I'll be handling my kid at some point in time. 

Apparently the super cool Melissa and Doug gift we got was a hit! 

When we left he had been sitting there for a good 20 minutes playing with it. 

Devin was also there, he is another step-nephew and his birthday was last week. He got some super cool dragon ship and dragon. This dragon had a fancy hand gesture, I thought I'd recreate it.

The ship had some launching arrows. 

Jeff thought those were pretty cool too.

Jeff and Steve stole the party favors and were bopping each other. Jeff also took the opportunity to give me static hair. I have video, but I didn't think it was as funny as he did. 

Me & Mom

Me and Jeffy Sue! 

Overall, I think Aiden had a pretty fun birthday party! 

Christmas in Florida

In all the years that my Dad and Grandparents have lived in Florida, I have never been down there for Christmas. It's pretty awesome. So, I thought I'd take a few photos. 

The funny thing is there are no standard Christmas Tree's. Dad has a Christmas Palm Tree! 

Here are some super cute ornaments on the tree. 

            

            

Here is Mr. Bubba Gump. 

We found out that he has an ulcer in his eye while I was  down there. 

Dad & Bubba getting ready to go out for my birthday!

After. 

We went to Wyld's Cafe and it was fantastic. Isn't my dad adorbs? He was such a trooper, we got him out 3 days in a row which for anyone that knows him, that's a big deal. I helped him with his computer and put on my tech support hat. Helped him buy a TV,  got a haircut (btw's barber shops smell strange), took him to Moe's for lunch. For someone with ALS for over 15 years, he did very well. He gets super tired and had to sleep a lot, but that's okay. I know that he appreciates me coming down to visit. 

People always say, you're on vacation when you go to Florida? Well yes, and no. While, I am down there, I'm not doing touristy stuff. I make my usual trip to Miromar Outlet Mall for a couple hours, go to the pool or the beach. But really, I'm there to see Dad. I get to catch up my rest, eat some seafood. But really, it's just helping out Dad do normal things that he can't always get help doing. 

Now, we just have to get him on another cruise next year! Jeff and I are ready for a long vacation and a cruise would be the perfect combo! Now, I just need to get my name on my passport changed! 

Merry Christmas from the Cowans!

I wanted to take a moment and wish each and everyone of my readers a VERY Merry Christmas! I have enjoyed sharing our life and learning about others and hope that 2012 is going to be the best year yet! I thought I'd share a little number that Jeff and I have been working on for the holiday season. Enjoy!