Christmas in Dixie

 How was your Christmas? Ours was everything and more than we could imagine! We started our morning watching Henry (our nephew) open his gifts from Santa. The whole Santa thing was new to him considering it was his first Christmas, but I have a good feeling that he'll be more and more excited in the years to come! After opening gifts with the Coodys, Brince and I headed down the road a few miles to Mom and Dad's house to open more gifts. Oh boy! We were so blessed this Christmas and got some great gifts for our newlywed home. You know that times have changed when you get excited over monogrammed sheets and towels! Heck yeah!

By noon, we were headed to Cordele for the annual Christmas lunch and gift exchange at Mema's house. No one does lunch like Mema...seriously. After lunch, all of the grandchildren fight for a spot on the sofa for a Christmas afternoon nap.

On Christmas Eve, my Dad's side of the family (the McLeods) come over for dinner and gift exchange.  My parents are great hosts for holiday and family get togethers. Their house is so beautiful at Christmas - I just had to share!! I hope you enjoy this little Christmas tour!

At the front door, guests are greeted by these life-size soldiers.

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The sideboard in the foyer remains simple with some greenery and red berries.

This beautiful lantern (which happens to be mine) and Santa sit on the landing of the stairs. 

Their dining room is always beautiful, but the Christmas mantel and centerpiece are a spectacle! I love the natural elements that are incorporated... sticks and greenery of all kinds. On the table, there is a stuffed pheasant that was gifted to my parents from Mema and Daddy Curt a few years ago. Dad and I purchased the teak bowl at Scotts to place the pheasant mount in. Dad surrounded the bird with palm, pine, magnolia, eucalyptus and cotton.

These were the place settings on the kids' table.

Speaking of kids, check out these little lookers many, many Christmases ago (maybe '95 or '96).

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...here's the mantel in the living room. There are matching stockings hung but as you will see, there are more stockings in the chairs below. My sweet Aunt Jane (great Aunt) knitted these stockings for us when we were young kids. We've loved them our whole lives, especially because they stretch reallllly long and fit more goodies in them. :) We've always demanded that mom use our "real" stockings on Christmas, so she just hangs the other ones up for looks.

They only have 5 hooks, so my stocking and Brince's stocking share one hook.

And here's the beautiful tree!

 This sign was hanging up on Mom and Dad's room. Apparently Santa had already set up shop...

We managed to snap a family picture before the end of the night.

Our first married Christmas!

Look Who Is In Print!

I've been so anxious to tell everyone about this fun news!! And finally it's time!

Guess who's spotted in the Winter/Spring edition of Southern Bride Magazine on stands now!

That's right! The Coodys! I am so honored that our wedding was chosen as a Real Wedding Feature by Southern Bride. A special thanks to our incredible photographer, Vue Photography, who shared our wedding photos with the publication. 

Be sure to pick up your copy of Southern Bride on news stands to see our full feature!!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Christmas season is my fav... for multiple reasons. It's such a festive time of the year and I love, love, love all that it represents: sweet baby Jesus, family traditions, Christmas decor, Christmas tunes, brights lights, and gift giving. I actually get the blues a few days before Christmas when I realize that I will only hear Christmas music on the radio for a few more days and that my Christmas tree has to come down soon. I always want the holiday season to last longer! This week has added significance for it is my birthday week AND the birth week of my handsome husband. How lucky are we to share our birthday week?!? Our first married Christmas, B's birthday, and my birthday make for a very eventful and special week.

We are thrilled to spend time back home with both of our families this week, but I wanted to share some pictures of our sweet little home decked for Christmas.

Our sweet friend gave us this fresh greens initial as a post-wedding gift for our newlywed home. It's so pretty! We decided to hang it inside so we could enjoy it as much as possible.

It is so much fun to get Christmas cards from our friends and family! We displayed them in the window in our kitchen.

And we are loving using our new dishes and tableware for the holidays!

Merry Christmas to all!

Football Season Recap

My beloved Bulldogs didn't have as great of a season as we had hoped. We still enjoyed getting to cheer on the Dawgs this season... as newlyweds! We tried to make it to Athens as much as possible. We love the classic city and all of the fun that goes into a game weekend! I didn't get that many pictures, but here are a few great ones from the season.

I love the continued tradition of tailgating with my family. I remember tailgates as a very young girl...

It's so fun to see how the gang sticks together every year and newcomers join in on the fun!

For the last home game of the season, Henry made his tailgating debut! We had so much fun trotting around downtown for a little shopping before the tailgate. Here's Henry and Uncle Brince stopping for a lunch break.

My cousin Bailey came to the game with her Uncle Bob. She had a BLAST! It was her first UGA game but I have a feeling it won't be her last. She tells me she wants to go to school at UGA. :)

Of course, she had a great time playing with this adorable baby bulldog too...as we all do!

I'll be anxiously awaiting football in the fall of 2014 for more family fun and continued traditions!