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Love and Lattés,

Katie Faye

Let the festivities begin!

The last piece of turkey has been eaten, and so has the pumpkin pie (which I did, after all, decide to bake!). Santa has made his appearance at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, signaling the start of the Christmas season.

Last night, we caved in and put up our Christmas tree, but were disappointed when all three strands of lights died. A late night run to Wal-Mart solved that problem, but the look still wasn't complete, since we decided to ditch the old, cheap ornaments we had been using since our first Christmas together (they were plastic, Dollar Tree bulbs). So, today we went to Lowe's and bought some new, pretty ones. Finally, this afternoon, our tree was finished.

Justin and I also went to run a few errands today, which included stopping at Zales to have my rings cleaned. While we were there, I tried on several wedding bands.

I should pause for a moment to explain why, after three and a half years of marriage, I would try on wedding bands. Justin told me - before the new car - that for Christmas, he wanted to "upgrade" my gold band to a diamond one. I was ecstatic, but agreed to put off the purchase when we decided to buy the car.

That said, we didn't plan to buy a new wedding band today. I just wanted to try a few on to get an idea of what I liked. Everything was pretty, but nothing stood out as "the one." I decided to try on just one more... and there it was. It looked perfect next to my solitaire. A simple, dainty diamond band. It was beautiful! We had the information written down so that we could come back for it later, but then we realized that, thanks to the big after-Thanksgiving sale they were having, the ring was 40% off. How could we pass up a deal like that?

So, we bought it!!! It had to be sent off to be sized, and I won't have it for a couple more weeks. I know the anticipation is going to kill me! I would post a picture, but the one I picked isn't available through the website, so you're just going to have to wait!

Between our awesome new car and my amazing Christmas gift, not to mention the fact that my family will be here in a mere 25 days, this holiday season is shaping up to be one of the best EVER! Let the fun begin! :)

Love and Lattés,

Katie

From Me to You...

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Santa came early this year!

Yesterday, Justin and I drove to Georgia to pick up our early Christmas present to each other.

I couldn't be happier with our new car! It's technically our first car together, since Justin bought the Corolla before we were married. It is extremely spacious inside, with three rows of seats. The back two rows fold down to give even more space.

As I told my best friend, I can picture this car with a couple carseats or a Christmas tree in it. It's a good reminder that these past few years, we've been working toward something. We're still not quite "there" yet, if you know what I mean, but we're getting closer. I am so, so thankful for my sweet husband and all that God has blessed us with.

Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone!

Love and Lattés,

Katie

Love Love Love

This afternoon, I was sitting behind the Information Desk at work when a delivery man walked in with a green, rectangular box. I said the usual, "Hi, how can I help you?" and he said he was looking for "Kathy Vaughan." Okay, what? First off, I'm Katie - not Kathy. And secondly, I definitely wasn't expecting anything. But, I politely said, "that's me." I signed for the box, and squealed when I noticed the word "flowers" on the side of the big, green thing. The delivery guy must have thought I was crazy, because I blurted out, "It's not even a special day!" He laughed. Once he left, I opened the box to find these:

Along with the roses was a sweet note from Justin saying that he misses me (he comes home tomorrow from a two-week work trip) and just wanted to let me know how much he loves me. I kept the flowers on my desk the rest of the day and received lots of "oohs" and "aahs" from coworkers and customers. I smiled like an idiot all afternoon, but I didn't care! I am so lucky to have such a sweet, thoughtful husband. This Thanksgiving, there is so much to be thankful for.

Love and Lattés,

Katie

Turkey Day!

As Thanksgiving approaches, there is so much to look forward to. Of course, the whole purpose of the day is to celebrate all the blessings in our lives, spend time with loved ones, and remember the ones we can't spend time with.

But, let's be honest. When someone mentions Thanksgiving, the first thing on everyone's mind is the FOOD.

Of course, I am looking forward to the turkey, cranberries, side dishes... all of it. My contribution this year will be a whole cranberry sauce. I've made it before, and it reminds me of the one my mom likes to make. I could eat a huge bowl of it!

Anyway, today there's only one thing on my mind...



PUMPKIN PIE. Oh, man.. there's just nothing like it. The Vaughans aren't huge fans of it, but to me it just isn't Thanksgiving without a nice, big slice of pumpkin pie with a generous helping of whipped cream on top. So, here's my dilemma. Do I bake a whole pie that only one or two others will help me eat, or do I stick it out and try to get myself a slice somewhere else? Decisions, decisions. Any ideas?


Love and Lattés,
Katie

Confession

Hi, I'm Katie, and I'm a Christmasaholic.

As much as I love the holidays, I have often scoffed at the people who put up their Christmas trees in early November and the businesses that put out Christmas merchandise as soon as Halloween is over. I even remember talking last year about how it's a shame we don't spend more time thinking about Thanksgiving before diving into the Christmas season. Well, it is with embarrassment that I admit to you that I've got an acute case of Christmasitis this year.

Today I listened to this on the way home from class:

This CD has quickly become one of my favorites to listen to during the holidays. I mean, who doesn't enjoy some JG every now and then? He's got the smoothest voice I think I've ever heard. Also, his arrangement of "I'll be Home for Christmas" gets me all choked up every time I hear it. We all know the chorus:

I'll be home for Christmas

You can count on me

Please have snow

and mistletoe

and presents under the tree

Christmas Eve will find me

where the love light gleams

I'll be home for Christmas

if only in my dreams...

For the past two Christmases, Justin and I haven't been able to make the trip to Michigan. Last year, I was incredibly blessed to have my sister here for the holidays, but of course, I missed my parents and brother so, so incredibly much. Every time I hear "I'll be Home for Christmas," it brings back a flood of memories that make me pine for the Christmases of my youth. The "if only in my dreams" part is what always gets me.

Today when I listened to it, I got a little teary eyed again, but for a different reason: this year, my family is coming to celebrate Christmas with us! People say that home is where the heart is. Well, a piece of my heart always stays with my family, no matter how much distance separates us or how long we are apart. So, in essence, this year I will be home for Christmas, and let me tell you -- it is an amazing feeling!

Now, I don't plan to put up the tree early or anything like that. I love autumn, and want to enjoy the season while it lasts. But if you happen to stop next to me at a red light and see me singing my heart out to "O Come All Ye Faithful," don't think I'm crazy... just blame it on the Christmas spirit that came a little early for me this year.

Love and Lattés,

Katie

A New Era

Right now, it's on everyone's minds and is the center of conversations across the country: the election, and President Elect Barack Obama. I, for one, have mixed feelings about the results of this controversial and historic election. In the words of John Wayne, "I didn't vote for him, but he's my president... and I hope he does a good job." The Bible says that we should respect our authorities, and I plan to. However, I can't help but feel a little disappointed to have, in essence, lost. This was only my second time voting in a presidential election, and I have voted Republican both times. I must say, it feels strange to have voted for the losing side. Sort of feels like a let-down.Even so, I sincerely hope that Barack Obama is a great president. I hope he proves me wrong. I hope he is able to pull our economy up by its bootstraps and accomplish some great things in the next four years. Sure, I worry about his "share the wealth" idealism, which has obviously not worked out for other countries in the past. I also worry about what will happen with the wars we are currently fighting, and hope that Biden's experience with foreign policy will be just what we need. And yes, as a Christian I worry about the morality of our country under such a radical presidency. A lot of what Obama says simply sounds too good to be true. The fact is, you just can't please everybody.

I should mention that it is, indeed, historic for the United States to have elected its first African American president. We are moving forward in a lot of ways, and that's awesome. I'm not trying to cheapen the magnitude of that huge milestone in our country. All I'm saying is, Barack Obama is not a messiah. I'm just being realistic. The U.S. has fallen into some awful circumstances in the past few years, and by winning, he has inherited a huge mess. It's going to take time, people. Even if he does have some good ideas, it's not over yet.

At the moment I am still a bit in shock, and have to spend some time processing the implications of Obama's win. In the meantime, I will be praying for our country, and holding out hope that America under Obama will change for the better.

Love and Lattés,

Katie

Halloween

This year, Halloween was an absolute blast! Because I had to work a full 8-5 shift at work, I had to wake up a little after six, which was pretty rough for me because I'm currently trying to kick my coffee addiction. Anyway, I took care of the dogs, showered, and donned my costume. I went as Elizabeth, the director (my boss's boss) at work. I wore a grey pencil skirt, pink top (Elizabeth always wears something pink), and a blonde wig, and I carried a Mountain Dew (Elizabeth's drink of choice) and a notepad - something she always has on hand. I must say, I was pretty convincing.

So I was out the door by a quarter after seven. My plan was to swing by Krispy Kreme on the way to work and pick up some Halloween-themed donuts as my contribution to the office Halloween party. When I made it to Krispy Kreme, there was a line of cars wrapped around the building and an equally obscene amount of customers inside. Bummer! I didn't have time to wait, so I begrudgingly left empty handed and went to work.

The morning passed by quickly. Word of my costume spread throughout UTS and dozens of coworkers trickled into the Information Desk area to laugh and take pictures of me. When Elizabeth poked her head in the door, I was with a customer but she burst out laughing anyway. Once the customer was gone, we had a good laugh and had our picture taken together.

When the time came for the Halloween party, I entered the costume contest. Each contestant had to walk in front of a small panel of judges and "do their thing." There were a lot of great costumes. "V" from V for Vendetta was there, and so was Joe the Plumber. Captain America (Stephen) and an "iCARE zombie" (Katie) made appearances as well.

When it was my turn, I walked up, accessories in hand, including Elizabeth's actual nametag and Blackberry, and said a few of her famous catchphrases such as "Hey, happy people!" and "Stop the bus!" I also stopped for a moment and pretended to send a text to someone on the Blackberry. Well, apparently I was convincing to the judgest because I won the contest! My prize was a giant bag of fun-size Snickers bars. Deeelicious!

The rest of the workday was smooth and went by quickly. Afterwards, I came home to find my hubby, who had been away for a two week work trip. We went out for dinner at Texas Roadhouse, where there were tons of people in costume. After that, we returned home for a night of Guitar Hero: World Tour.

All in all, the day was great, start to finish. It was a nice distraction from all the craziness that has been going on lately between school and work. I hope everyone else had a great Halloween!

Love and Lattés,

Katie