There is a downside to Christmas

I can't believe the holidays are over :( I need to have one more post about Christmas and I want to share with you our first tree!



There is a downside to Christmas. Can you guess what it is? Yep, taking down the Christmas decorations is officially 2nd on my hate list (right after grocery shopping). Putting them up was so much fun! Listening to Christmas music while trimming our tree made me merry. But after spending 2 days cleaning and taking them down, I've turned into a Grinch. Until this Christmas our decorations, ornaments, etc. were stored in my mom's attic. Now that Christmas is over and mom's attic is no longer available, I have to find storage in my own house. One of the things we love about the house is the immense amount of storage. There are 3 alcoves in the master and guest bedrooms and a small attic. I decided to use one for holiday decorations. Guess what I discovered in our storage spaces? Noah's stuff. He has stuff everywhere! He has more UVA t-shirts, pants, shorts, hats, shoes, footballs, and other gear than anyone should accumulate in one lifetime. Noah says one of the perks of being on the football team was free stuff. I have to disagree with the word "perk." He doesn't wear half of it! It's in storage bins and bags in all of our storage space. And instead of choosing one alcove to store it in, he has spread it out throughout the house. In the guest room closet, I found a huge basket full of athletic shoes and cleats.

So I asked him, "Why is there a basket full of your shoes in the guest room?"

"There's a basket of shoes in the guest room?"



We've been living here 8 months and those shoes have been forgotten about (because his closet is already full of athletic shoes). And even though he just bought a pair of running shoes a few weeks ago, we must continue to store the basket of shoes.



Now ladies, here is a perfect example of "choosing you arguments wisely." I choose to let this one go. There are bigger fish to fry. For example, the garbage receptacle that is Noah's car.



So until next year, our ornaments and stockings are stored neatly with care,
along with the footballs and t-shirts that will forever be there :)

A Christmas to Remember

WARNING: the following post is somewhat sappy and sentimental.


It's Sunday and Noah's watching football (which means I'm bored). I have plenty of laundry to do and I should be going to bed early since I know this week will be busy busy with customers coming in for last minute gifts. Everyone is bustling about town to prepare for Christmas (which is somehow less than a week away). It seems as though every year I tell myself that I will buy all my xmas presents early. Yet here I am with 4 days to go and I still have shopping to do. I love Christmas time with the sparkling lights, Christmas music, apple cider (which my mom serves EVERY year on Christmas morning) and of course the holiday parties!


My shopping was put on hold this weekend from the HUGE snow storm that dropped about 14 inches of snow on Richmond. Jeter loves the snow. He hops about not knowing whether to eat the snow or play in it. Something changes when it snows. It's as if time slows down. I guess it's because you can't go anywhere but all our neighbors were in the streets with their dogs and children. One of our neighbors even brought us Christmas cookies. It's as if you're in your own Christmas movie.

What did I do on this snowy day?? I wrapped presents. And I'm not trying to sound conceited, but I am Martha freakin' Stewart when it comes to wrapping presents. It truly is an art form. I am bad at a lot of things; however, I am confident in 2 of my abilities: wrapping presents and baking chocolate chip cookies. Ask my mother (who has always been a cookie monster and taught me how to wrap).

This is a very special Christmas as it is our first as a married couple. I want to remember every second of it. Noah and I have been together for almost a decade and I find myself forgetting some of our happiest memories. I had just finished a long workout on the elliptical machine this morning. I was breathing heavily and staring at the Christmas tree. I looked at each ornament and tried to remember who gave it to us or where we purchased it. Each one has a special meaning and I don't want to forget. Finally, Noah looked at me and said, "babe, whatcha doin'?" I gave him a hug (even though I was gross) and I took a deep breath. My life has been a roller coaster ride with huge pitfalls and mountainous highs. It scares me to think about how great my life is because I'm so afraid of what may happen.

But you can't think like that. I'll enjoy the here and now and I'm ready for whatever life may throw at me.

I have the memory of an 85 year old. I want to get some of my memories written down.
So here are some of my favorites:

- We met in Costa Rica on spring break in high school. Our friends set us up and we were both so shy. Our resort was pretty large and everyone stayed in bungalows. There were little buses to cart you around the resort. Noah rode with me one night to my bungalow (just the two of us). He gave me a little hug but I remember getting butterflies.

- My sister hated Noah at first. We went horse back riding in Costa Rica on the beach at sunset (could that be more romantic?) Noah ruined it because his leg was rubbing on the saddle and he refused to go faster than a trot. Bonnie and I, on the other hand, were galloping up and down the beach.

- Our first kiss was pretty awful. His breath smelled like onions. To this day I refuse to kiss him if after he eats onions.

- Our first date was at Hermitage Country Club (a double date with Kevin and Blair... the ones who set us up)

- For my 16th birthday, Noah gave me a ring (which I still wear). My dad gave me a car a month before I turned 16 so Noah drove it around. He's probably driven that car more than I have!

- The first time I went to NYC was with Noah. It was amazing. We went to the Central Park Zoo and Noah was so afraid of the bird house. This is when I found out that he HATES birds.

- I made this adorable baseball cake for Noah when he turned 17.

And the one that tops them all.....the night Noah proposed

We went to Georgetown (for HIS birthday). We always stay at this one hotel right in the middle of Georgetown. We walked to dinner enjoying the surprising cool July evening. On our walk home, Noah asked, "Do you want to walk down by the canal." I declined since I was wearing these amazing Christian Louboutin peep toe pumps that were killing my feet (later I found out he was going to do it by the canal). When we got back to the hotel room, champagne was waiting for us. I changed into my pjs right away and Noah started acting weird. I didn't pay much attention because I thought maybe he hate too much or something. I hopped into bed and Noah handed me a glass. He told me to scoot over to the edge. I started making a toast about how much I loved him and ended it with, "Happy Birthday." I took a sip of champagne and realized Noah was making his own little speech. Before I knew it, he was down on one knee. I honestly can't remember what he said. I was so shocked I couldn't think! Somewhere in there I heard, "will you marry me?" Of course I said yes. We spent the next hour on the phone with our family (who already knew) and our friends.

Wait!!! This one tops them all...our wedding day!
- I loved every minute of our wedding day. I was nervous all day and didn't speak very much (I have no idea why I was so nervous). My wedding day felt like an out of body experience. It was so much fun and I wouldn't have changed a thing! Even if something goes wrong on your wedding day, you are so happy you don't even care (and I can say that because our groomsman passed out and our ring bearer threw up all over Noah's dad).

The first time I felt like Mrs. Greenbaum... was on our honeymoon. The morning after we arrived, we were woken up with a phone call. The operator said, "Good morning, Mrs. Greenbaum. Would you and your husband like breakfast in bed?"


I warned you this post was sappy!!!

BAD MOOD BEAR

Don't you just love Christmas?

Everywhere you look...wreaths, ornaments, lights, presents, elves, Santa...I could go on and on!
This is a very special Christmas for Noah and me as it is our first as husband and wife (I'll pause for the "awe"). We put up our very first tree and stockings (even one for Jeter). We put on Christmas music and spent the entire night decorating. Noah even danced with me a little (even though I know he thinks it's corny). It makes me realize how truly lucky I am to have such an amazing husband, a cute house, and the world's best dog :)

Fast forward one night...

We have no plans for the night which is good because I'm in a terrible mood for no reason (if you are a girl, you will understand this ... if you are a boy, you won't understand it and you never will). I call Noah on the way home to inform him we have nothing to cook for dinner and I am not about to go to the grocery store (it's cold and raining...and I DESPISE the grocery shopping when I'm in a good mood). I decide it's definitely a Chinese night. I'll go home and put on my pjs and engorge myself with moo goo gai pan.

As I walk into the kitchen (dreaming about snow peas), there's Noah with groceries.
"I'm going to make grilled chicken and put it on a salad."

Now normally I would give him a huge kiss and say, "that is so sweet of you." I mean he's cooking and he's making something nutritious!

But not tonight. No, tonight I am a bad mood bear.

All I can think about is the fact that I don't get to waste 3 days of caloric intake on my Chinese. No, I HAVE to eat healthy. I bite my tongue. That's a lie...here's what I really do...

"Babe, you are going to mess up the entire kitchen. Which means that I will have to clean it. I don't want to clean tonight. I'm not feeling well and I'm not in the mood." (I'm such a bitch).

Noah assures me he will be neat. I ignore him and stomp up the stairs to change into my pjs.

The meal was delicious and nutritious! It actually put me in a much better mood (maybe I was just hungry all along). I felt terrible for being so nasty to Noah and spend the rest of the night making it up to him. When Noah goes into the office, I decide to sneak into the kitchen and clean up the entire mess before he notices.

OH MY GOSH. He managed to get olive oil EVERYWHERE. I guess he used the olive oil to cook the chicken. He must have had the burner up way too high because there was oil burnt to the stove top, on the microwave and all over the counter. Just as I finish assessing the damage, Noah walks in afraid of what I may say to him now. All I can do is laugh. I remind myself of how lucky I am and how insignificant a little mess is. Besides, Noah is so cute I can't resist myself (I'll pause for you to gag).

Most importantly, you never know when Santa is watching...

Is it already December????

Where did November go??? I turned on my car today and Feliz Navidad was playing on the radio! 'Tis the Season already!?!?

Looking back on November....

1. Sophie Theallet: Every year Coplon's (where I work) teams up with the International Hospital for Children for a benefit auction. They provide the auction items and we provide the night's entertainment...a fashion show. The event is always a huge success raising over $500,00! Hank (boss man) asked Sophie Theallet to be our guest designer. She was INCREDIBLE! She is a french designer who has worked for Jean Paul-Gaultier (drool). Read more on the Virginia Living blog. Coolest part...Just days after leaving Richmond, she won the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, which includes a $200,000 prize for her collection! Nicole Kidman and designer Alber Albaz presented Sophie with the prestigious award!

As far as the fashion show goes, the collection was beautifully chic and made for a real woman. I love this part of my job because I fit all the models and stage manage the show. Our 11 models have 30 seconds to change clothes and we never went out of order! It was an amazing (but exhausting) night!

2. Urbana Oyster Festival: Noah and I were invited by our amazing friends to go to the Urbana Oyster Festival a couple weeks ago. While this was my first time, this is the 52nd year of the Urbana Oyster Festival. I am not usually a fan of festivals, carnivals, fairs, etc. but we had so much fun! We spent the entire weekend at the river (so beautiful). The weather was amazing and the festival was fun. All the local wineries hosted a wine tasting event (which Noah and I always enjoy). Noah ate a seafood fritter (see photo). Basically they found every sea creature they could find (fish, clams, squid, shrimp...) and fried it. I don't have to tell you it was disgusting. I still can't believe he ate it.

3. FLORIDA! Ever since my mom was 16 years old, my family has gone to Florida for Thanksgiving. I was 3 months old the first time I went. It's great because my step-dad's family has houses about an hour from us so we all spend Thanksgiving together (19 total this year and a lot of family couldn't even make it). I love my step-dad's fam because there are sooo many of them and they are all so nice. I am really lucky. While my life has been ever changing (constantly moving because of divorce), Thanksgivings have always been something I could count on. It never changes! And what better way to spend Thanksgiving than sitting by the pool or walking the beach on an 85 degree day??? I come back totally relaxed and a little tan.

Best part of Thanksgiving....pumpkin pie! Nobody in my family even likes pumpkin pie so I have no idea why I love it so much! When chocolate isn't the main ingredient, I usually pass on dessert. Oh who am I kidding??? I have the worst sweet tooth. I don't need the turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, or cranberry sauce! Just give me the pie :) Plus, pumpkin is a vegetable right?

While I was on vacation I actually had time to read books. I read 2 really good ones!

- The Help by Kathryn Stockett was recommended to me by my friend, Sally.

Taking place in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960's, the book follows three brave women on their journey to make a change in an extremely segregated world. All of Miss Skeeter's Ole Miss friends are married and having children at 22. But Miss Skeeter doesn't dream of Junior League, babies and afternoon tea. With the aspiration of moving to New York to become a journalist, she takes a job with the local paper writing a housekeeping column. Since she knows nothing about how to get rid of stains or rust, she asks her friend's black maid, Aibileen, for advice. She quickly learns of the hardships Aibileen faces on a daily basis. Trying to impress a big-time NY book editor, Miss Skeeter thinks of a courageous and dangerous idea...a book. She teams up with Aibileen to write a book about the experiences of 12 maids. It's a really interesting book and keeps you wanting more!

- Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts was my second read. This is the 2nd book in Nora Roberts' bride quartet. My mom gave me the first book, Vision in White, to read on my honeymoon and I loved it. I actually liked this book better than the first. It's about four friends who run Vows, a wedding planning business. The event coordinator, Parker, was left her parents' huge estate when they tragically died. The other girls take care of the photography, flowers and pastries. This book follows the florist, Emma, on her journey to find true love. Obviously, each installment follows each woman on her love quest.

This book is not suitable for children! I was reading it on the airplane when Noah started to read over my shoulder. He couldn't believe the sex scene :)

New Moon: I've already discussed my vampire addiction. Clearly, I had to watch New Moon when it came out. Problem...I was in Florida! I wasn't about to waste my time in a movie theater when it's beautiful during the day and there are restaurants to dine in at night. So I waited until it rained. The island is very remote and the one movie theater is TINY! Each row had about 5 seats and there were maybe 20 rows. It was so cute (like Noah....and Jacob). I loved it and I don't know if I can wait for the next installment. Don't care what the movie critics say....

4. Al Groh is FIRED! We came home from Florida on Friday so we could go to the UVA/TECH game on Saturday. The tailgating was fun but the game was TERRIBLE! It was sooo embarrassing. We fell apart in the 4th quarter. So we ran from the stadium with our tails between our legs. I was so relieved to learn that Al Groh was fired less than 24 hours after the game (if you can even call it that). I'm going to forget this season ever happened and enjoy the 8 months of bliss until football season starts again (just kidding).

November was so busy I can't remember everything! I am really looking foward to Noah and I's first Chrismikkah together as a married couple! Time to trim the tree :)

I want to suck your blood...

Even though the word "Vampire" didn't appear in literature until the 18th century, Vampire myths can be traced back to prehistoric times. Of course the most notable Vampire story is Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1897. But by 1897, these mythological creatures were old news. "In ancient times, the term vampire did not exist; blood drinking and similar activities were attributed to demons or spirits who would eat flesh and drink blood; even the Devil was considered synonymous with the vampire. Almost every nation has associated blood drinking with some kind of revenant or demon, or in some cases a deity" (Wikipedia..DUH).

Yet somehow our society has become obsessed with these blood-hungry descendants of the devil. Everywhere you turn, there are heroins falling in love with a vampire. And contrary to the centuries of believing vampires are evil, these vampires aren't out to kill you! In fact, they are out to protect you!

And why wouldn't you fall in love with these cute vamps?

From True Blood, Vampire Diaries, and the Twilight saga, women everywhere are swooning over vampires! Don't get me wrong, with every good vampire there is an evil one lurking in the background.

Whatever....I love it! Guess what? Noah is to blame for my vampire obsession. He got me to watch True Blood (which is pretty gory so I wouldn't start with True Blood). Before you judge, give a show, movie or book a chance! I promise these vampires will have you hooked!

My favorite part of watching/reading these stories are, what I like to call, "vampire rules."

- Most can't go out during the day (unless they wear a special ring or it has to be cloudy...no sunlight)

- All of them drink blood (the good ones only drink animal blood)

- You have to either tear the vampire to shreds and burn it or run a wooden steak through the heart to kill a vampire

- They can run incredibly fast

- They have super human strength

- Their eyes turn funny colors and their fangs come out when they are "hungry" or upset

- The only way to "become" a vampire is to be bitten by a vampire

I could go on but I think I've hit my dorky limit for the day :)

Egg Hunting

Nope, it's not Easter! But there seem to be some extra eggs around the Greenbaum house!

As I've mentioned in the past, my family is full of animal lovers (especially my mom). My mom and I had the great idea to have turtle doves at my wedding. We have 2 beautiful antique bird cages which we thought would be beautiful on either side of the entrance into the ballroom. Here is a picture of my mom with her doves :)

You can't tell but there are 2 doves in that cage (which made a total of 4 doves at our wedding). Guess what happened to them after the wedding??? My mom took 2 and gave Noah and me 2.

I grew up having doves as pets. Noah, however, HATES birds. They totally freak him out. On our honeymoon, peacocks roamed our hotel. Noah wouldn't get near them (even the little baby ones). He doesn't go anywhere near our doves either. When I open the cage door to give them food or water, Noah leaves the room!

I discovered something very interesting today when I gave our birds (who have no names because we can't tell them a part) fresh water...one of them laid an egg! Of course I have no idea which one the egg came from! I don't even know if one of them is male! I told my friend, Sally, about my egg discovery and she quickly googled for some fast facts on egg hatching.

What did we discover?? (allexperts.com)

- Doves can have babies have 46 days!

- You should leave the egg in the cage even if it is infertile (if the mom lays too many eggs she could deplete her calcium levels)

- Male doves usually sit on the eggs during the day and the females at night

- Don't tell Noah...doves in captivity can live 12-15 YEARS!!!!!

Very interesting.... My mom's doves have laid many eggs and 8 hatched! Now my step-sister has 2 doves and my mom has 5! With the number of eggs her dove is producing, I'm pretty sure I have 2 female doves. After closer inspection of the egg, I realized it is cracked. I think I will put a nest in the cage for any future eggs.

Moral of my post...if you want doves at your wedding, get the release doves. That way you won't come back from your honeymoon with 2 new pets :)

Key to the Cure

Do you know that 1 in 3 men and 1 in 2 women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime?

I didn't until yesterday. I had no idea the numbers were so staggering. My friend and I went to Saks Fifth Avenue's "Key to the Cure," which benefits the VCU Massey Cancer Center. This was my first time attending the event and I can't wait to go next year! Not only does it benefit and promote a wonderful cause (women's cancer research), it is lots of fun. There were tons of area restaurants with great food and good drinks. During the evening, there was a fashion show featuring fall looks from Saks.

2 side notes from the event:

1. We wore name tags: I love name tags because I forget names. It is one of my many faults. Anyways, my name tag looked funny. Why? It had a strange name on it... I searched the table with rows of organized name tags for mine with no success. The woman behind the table working the event found my name tag and handed it to me. It read, "Muffy Greenbaum." Oh yea, that's me! I have gotten used to the sound of my last name and even writing it. However, it still surprises me when I see it. Clearly, this was my first post-marriage experience with a name tag. After the initial shock of it, I was proud to be wearing my awesome new name on my dress! I love name tags :)

2. Cakes by Graham: Graham Haddock is an ex-chef in the British military who owns this fabulous cakery in Richmond, VA. He made this delicious and beautiful cake for the event last night. I also love Graham because he made our beautiful wedding cake! Most wedding cakes look beautiful but taste like cardboard. Not Graham's cake, they're as wonderful to eat as they are to look at! I would recommend him to anyone in need of good cake! Just look at our beautiful cake!