Finally....new carpet in the living room!

It was a great debate in our house....get hardwood floors or new carpet in the living room.  Mike won out!  Our carpet was disgusting in the living room, it literally had a dirt trail from the front door to the basement door.  It was horrible!  I wanted to put hardwood down, but Mike really likes having carpet in the living room.  Our son, Brad, installed the carpet for us, and it looks great.  I am happy that we put carpet down, it really does make it cozy.

Growing up

Can I just tell you how much I miss my Bristyn?  Bristyn will be a junior this year at Western State Colorado University in Gunnison, Colorado.  She is a four hour drive from home, which isn't too far, but far enough.  She got a full time job this summer and she didn't come home.  I miss her dearly!  I am very proud of her and what she has accomplished at school and the choices she is making.  She is turning into such a beautiful young woman.  It makes my heart happy to see her so happy!

Western Caribbean Cruise

 This picture was on the beach in Jamaica....it was a gated beach....while at the beach, we found out that the previous week, there were two tourists that had been murdered and two were kidnapped....needless to say, we didn't stray very far from the beach!

 In front of our ship, the Carnival Magic....this is in Cozumel.

 On the ship in the main dining room, the food was always delicious!

 These two pictures were on Paradise Island in Cozumel.  We took a ferry to this island, it was so beautiful!

I am a horrible blogger!  I really do not have an excuse why I haven't posted....anyways....I realized that I haven't posted any pictures of the cruise that Mike and I went on in April!  We went on a cruise to Jamaica, Cozumel and Grand Cayman.  We left out of Galveston, Texas!  We had such a wonderful time, we went with some good friends of ours, Liz and Melanie.  We couldn't have asked for better weather, it was perfect!  It was great to get away, and obviously, we did a lot of relaxing, which we have needed!  The day we got home to Fort Collins, we were hit with a snow storm, but the week of sunshine that we had was heaven!

So excited

I am so excited because in 2 days I will be in my favorite place on earth...WASHINGTON!!  Of course, being able to see my daughter, granddaughter and son in law is what I am most excited about.  It seems like I haven't seen them in forever.  The other day, I was sitting in my dining room and I noticed this little vignette and it made me smile!  All of these items were gifts from some of my dear friends, I am truly blessed with the friends that I have!  Another thing that got me excited lately is this lantern that I got for free!!  yes, free!  It is about 3 feet high and I love it!  It was marked down at a local grocery store, but when it rang up, it was the wrong price, so they gave it to me free, I felt like I had won the lottery!  Life has been wonderful and exciting for me lately!!

 

Isn't she beautiful?

For years I have been wanting an apple green Kitchenaid, I love them and the color makes me happy!  My brother, Mike, surprised me with one and I am absolutely in love with her!  She goes really well with all my green Lecreuset that I have in the kitchen.  Seriously, when I walk in my kitchen I can't help but smile!  Now if I can talk my husband into painting those horrible cabinets.....

FAMILY

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  This time of the year is when I yearn to have my whole family together.  I wish that we were closer to Britnee and her family.  It is hard when your kids grow up!  Bradley spend Thanksgiving  with Laurens family, but he is going to come up here this Sunday for dinner.  We went down to Brighton this year and had dinner at Millies, and it was delish!  I didn't do any Black Friday shopping, I decided that I wanted to spend my time with my family and friends.  It was a wonderful and relaxing day!  Now I am off to do my Christmas decorating!

I love my friends! and Paris....

My dream is to one day go to Paris!  With my Mike....it seems so romantic and beautiful, and the food...oh my gosh, maybe one of these days I will go!  I would also love to go to Paris with my friend, JoDee, who would know all of the great places to shop!  She would know where all the flea markets are, like I have said, its been a dream of mine for years to go....but since it hasn't happened, I live through my friends vicariously who have traveled there.  This past summer, my friend, Liz, had the opportunity to travel to Paris and brought me back this beautiful clock that she bought at a flea market, I absolutely love it!  These pictures were taken during the summer, as you can tell because I have totally redone my bedding.  I even have a little collection of Eiffel Towers that some of my other friends who have traveled to Paris have brought me back. 

Its my most favorite time of the year!!!

Loving my new bedding!

For my birthday this year, I asked my family for Pottery Barn gift cards because I was in need of new bedding!!!  I wish I was more like my mom and daughter, Britnee, who always change out their bed spreads.  I have had the same bedding on my bed for 5 years....I was bored of it, even though I really liked it!!  I loved this bedding online and when I went into the store and saw it displayed, I was totally in love!!  I bought the duvet cover and linen euro pillow shams, I think that I will buy the normal pillow shams this next month when I have some extra money.  Thank you to all my family who got me gift cards!!!