all my ex's live in texas...

Craig's grandmother loves to tell this little story.... After hearing the popular country song "All My Ex's Live in Texas" when he was little, Craig promptly asked: "If all the X's live in Texas, then there do all the other letters live?"

So I guess it's only fitting that he was later sent to live in Texas for two months! His stay in Dallas ends tomorrow and we couldn't be more happy! Well, we could be more happy -- if he didn't have to go to Des Moines for another 1.5 months after Christmas! But while he was in Dallas, we decided to make the most of it and planned a long weekend that I could come down to visit. We also managed to squeeze in a 2 day/1 night trip to Austin, which we've been wanting to visit for years. So thanks, Chartis Insurance, for the free hotel and rental car for the weekend!

Last weekend, I flew into Dallas and got to visit Craig's home away from home. Austin is a 3-hour drive from Dallas, so we headed down that way early Friday morning. We spent 1 night and 2 days wandering downtown Austin, shopping on South Congress, eating LOTS of Mexican (I don't need to see tortilla chips anytime soon), and just hanging out together. We even got to see my old coworker (and design mentor) Donna and her husband, who now live in College Station, TX.

One of my favorite activities occurred back in Dallas before I left for the airport. We took a trip to the Dallas Zoo! Our first official date was to Zoo Atlanta, so I always enjoy visiting the zoo with Craig when we can. We were worried that many of the animals might be inside since it's winter, but luckily the weather cleared up and it turned out to be a really nice day. Many of the animals were very active, which was fun to see. The best was a mother chimp that we saw walking around -- with her 6-month-old baby chimp hanging from her belly!! It was so neat to see something like that.

We had a most wonderful weekend together visiting a new place and celebrating our belated 6 month anniversary. Craig's stay in Dallas turned out to be somewhat beneficial for us after all!


we have arrived in austin! shopping for a christmas ornament on south congress


this is the "mighty cone" airstream trailer -- these little trailers are all over congress street and they each sell a different type of food - cupcakes, crepes, mexican, and the mighty cone!


first food stop: lunch at curra's grill. very yummy authentic mexican food!


we somehow managed to hitch a ride from a pedicab... but dinner was too far away, so we just rode around and then went back to the hotel to get the car :)


our freezing cold view of 6th street while on the pedicab


the texas capitol!


inside the historic driskill hotel while we waited to have breakfast at the 1886 cafe


the texas capitol is the second largest capitol building in the country (only behind the us capitol building)


pit stop: hot chocolate and iced turbos at jo's coffee


craig thought this sign was funny


lunch at hula hut on town lake with donna and rich


hello, penguin!


we saw lots of gators at the dallas zoo


look closely -- can you see the baby monkey?


we took a trip through africa on the monorail. what a great way to end our trip!

I'm thankful for...

This year marked our first Thanksgiving holiday as a married couple. Yippee! That meant lots of family visits, even more delicious food, and some traveling up to Nashville.

My parents were able to come up to Atlanta a few days early to visit with us before Craig and I headed to Nashville for his family's celebrations on Thanksgiving day. The girls in the Sims/Baxter family got a great surprise when our Aunt Lori told us she wanted to take all 20 of us (yes, 20!) to see the Rockettes at the Fox Theater on Wednesday. What a fun and memorable evening! We started off with a private room at Mary Mac's, a famous southern restaurant in Midtown Atlanta. Among the singing and dancing of the little girls, we dined on lots of yummy southern staples like cornbread, pot licker, mac n cheese (although Courtney and Steph say it tastes like mayonnaise), collards, fried chicken, and pie! Any trip to the Fox is always a treat, especially at Christmas time! The little girls were so much fun to watch as they took in all of the dancers, lights, music, and costumes. The show ended with a life size Nativity scene - complete with live camels and sheep! It was a truly wonderful way to start the holiday season.

Thursday we headed up to Franklin, TN to spend the holiday with Craig's family. We arrived just in time for a huge lunch full of every yummy Thanksgiving dish imaginable. Our weekend also included lots of football (yay Georgia for upsetting Tech!), visits with some of Craig's friends and lots of his family. It was a great way to spend our first married Thanksgiving (except for Auburn's loss to Bama).

This year I'm thankful to have such an incredible husband, not one, but two wonderful and loving families, great friends, jobs we enjoy, a home to keep us warm, a joyful life, and faith in the amazing God who gives me every one of these things and so much more. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!


my cousin Courtney, me and Andrew's girlfriend Lauren eating dinner before the Rockettes


some of the girls


Lauren, me, and my cousin Alex


Lauren, mom and me outside the Fabulous Fox Theater


Meet Jonah, Craig's cousin's little boy

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he loved everyone's hats!

happy halloween and goodbye october!

The last weekend of October is the same for us every year... a trip down to St. Simons Island, GA for the annual GA/FL game! We spent this past weekend at the Beach Club with about 12 friends. It was also an extra great weekend because I got to see Craig! :)

Friday is always beach day, and this year didn't disappoint with the weather! It was very hot for fall, but it was a fun, very crowded day on the beach. Lauren's boss lent her 3 awesome homemade Indian costumes that Lauren, Erin and I happily paraded around the beach in. (Mine even had sequins!) We also got our fill of fried seafood at Crab Trap and Crab Daddy's... yum yum!

Saturday we took a fleet of buses down to Jacksonville for the day-long tailgate before the game with about 500 other UGA fans. Knowing we had no chance of winning this year (or really any year... who are we kidding?), some of us chose to not spend the money on tickets and instead got front row seats in front of the big screen at the tent. Even with a nice big loss, it was a fun day!

I can't believe October is already over... Happy belated Halloween and hello, November!


craig and me in st. simons


the three indians with the ginger ninja, aka joe cox (uga's quarterback)


i wasn't kidding when i said the beach was packed!




hunter's mom dressed in an authentic ref's uniform and had a lot of fun with her whistle and flag!


most of the gang


go dawgs!

cupcake experiment #1

I recently received the most incredible cookbook ever made - Martha Stewart's "Cupcake" cookbook! In the spirit of the spooky season, I decided to go candy shopping and attempt to re-create the monster cupcakes that Martha so creatively decorated in her book. I stocked up on marshmallows, tic tacs, m&ms, gum drops, chocolate chips, icing, and gel paste for coloring the icing. It took a lot longer to create these fun little guys than I thought it would, but it was fun! I'm hoping to make my way completely through her cookbook... but I imagine it will be a couple years before that happens!



tic tacs and marshmallows make great monster teeth

giant corn!

Craig is enjoying his second week in Des Moines, Iowa! He sent me this picture tonight... and he never wants to take pictures without me there to make him, so he must be having the time of his life! :)

fall has arrived in georgia!

Fall is finally here and it feels oh so good! Thursday night, some coworkers and I went to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens for "Fest of Ale" and Scarecrows in the Gardens. We had a girls' night out that included a special guest - our friend Sara's little girl Miriam... who was dressed in her ballet outfit, complete with mini tutu!

Our friend David Stephens, who is also a guest artist puppeteer at the Center, has an awesome banjo band called "Banjolicious" and he is the entertainment at the Gardens every Thursday night. We had a great time dancing to his music in the midst of lots of beautiful scarecrows. The highlight of the evening was getting to witness Miriam's incredible dance moves! She was such a sight... I think all the little kids there secretly wanted to dance with her. When they left last night, she told Sara that it was "the best day ever!" How cute!

I have also started playing in a Bunko group one Thursday a month - and it's much more fun than I would ever have thought! For those who aren't familiar, Bunko is a dice game that is played in groups of 4 people and everyone switches tables for each round... it's totally a game of luck and I've discovered there's really no way to have any sort of skill at this. It's a really fun way to meet new people (all girls, of course!) and just have a fun night with friends. We've gotten into having themes each month, and obviously October was a great opportunity for our hostesses to pull out all of their spooky Halloween decorations, including two "dead" guests at one of the Bunko tables. We also got to celebrate our good buddy's 27th birthday. Happy bday, Karen!

And happy fall to you all!


i liked this white pumpkin...
he was surrounded by little white spiders


dragon!


a ballerina just like miriam


miriam was such a fun friend to bring along!


what fun pumpkin sculptures


our entertainment hard at work


this "scarecrow" was made of nothing but plastic bottles and caps!




we made friends with lots of the scarecrows... or scaresheep?


kathryn, me, hilary, elizabeth, miriam, and sara at the gardens


meet elvira, our creepy bunko guest!

slight change of plans...

Update: Craig is safely off to Des Moines, Iowa...but with a (slight) change of plans. We found out 2 weeks ago that he's now going to be gone till mid-February (thankfully just Monday-Friday). Instead of being stuck in Iowa for the duration of the "special" project, he's now going to Iowa for 2 weeks, Dallas for 7 weeks, and then back to Iowa for another 6 weeks. We weren't too thrilled with the sudden change, but I think it may end up being better than we thought!

I for one am much more inclined to visit Texas than Iowa (especially in the dead of winter). We also realized that Austin is just a 3-hour drive from where he'll be living, and we've been wanting to travel there for years. Sounds like the perfect opportunity to me!

So anyway, please keep Craig in your thoughts and prayers as he is flying high above us twice a week for the next 4 months!

kc + jamie get married in the mountains

On October 10, 2009, our cousin KC Smith married his fiance Jamie Kovach and it was one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever seen. The entire weekend was spent at the Brasstown Valley Resort in Young Harris, GA. The ceremony took place outside amidst the changing colors of fall and the sun peeked out just long enough to shine down on us as they said their vows. A fun band played music that was very fitting for the mountain wedding. The pastor even included trivia about KC, Jamie, and their parents, which had everyone laughing and was a fun touch to the ceremony.

After the ceremony, they had an outdoor reception at the sunset pavilion. It overlooked the golf course and the mountains and gave us a spectacular sunset that night. I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking. Congratulations, KC + Jamie! Best wishes on a lifetime of love, happiness and many great blessings.


morning walk. what cuties.


the sims family


my wonderful husband poses for a million pictures with me


some of the sims cousins
andrew, courtney, stuart, alex, and me


the bride and groom


the back of the pavilion. such a great wedding venue!


lauren and drew at the reception


what a view


andrew and me with the groom


and they will live happily ever after!