Man, I'm tired. Tired but energized. Can those two exist simultaneously?

Last week was crazy. Atlanta to meet PW on Monday, Tuesday to Asheville for an all day meeting, and back to Asheville on Thursday for a full day of shopping. All fun.

Last night we cooked up a heaping portion of Low Country Boil for several good friends and this Saturday we are hosting a church wide Christmas party. Fun times!

While I am inbetween events I thought I would join in on the Christmas Home Tour going on at The Nester and Hooked on Houses, along with "holiday linky Friday" at The Inspired Room.

This year I have aimed to keep things relatively simple. The only thing we have purchased is the tree and my "Joy" sign over the fireplace. Apart from our Christmas stuff packed away in the attic all other decor was pulled together from around the house - inside and out.

So, let's begin shall we. Here is the front entrance. I'm just going to show you around and skip the commentary.

Hope you enjoyed some of my imperfect Christmas accents. Go check out here and here for more holiday fun.

Oh, and I might have eaten an entire can of Pringles while uploading these photos. But I'm not sure. Does it count if no one saw me?

A little over two years ago, during a small group ice breaker, someone posed the familiar question, "if you could spend a few hours with anyone (and it can't be Jesus), who would it be?"

We circled the room to hear everyone's answers, "John Calvin - I'd love to hear about the reformation through his eyes." "C.S.Lewis - favorite author, his writing has really impacted me." "The Apostle Paul - would love to really know what that thorn in his flesh was." And so forth.

With several hours to kill before we had to report back to Border's we did what any well adjusted, estrogen filled, trio of women free from their daily responsibilities would do. We shopped and ate. Ikea, Trader Joe's (where, by the way, my two friends were carded for buying alcohol and I WAS NOT -this is important for you to know as you read how the rest of the day unfolds), DSW, Anthropology, and a delicious mexican meal.

It was a fabulous day and the cherry on top was meeting The Pioneer Woman.

Ree has the sweetest voice and personality, she was just delightful. And then. Then, something happened.

While Caroline (in the white sweater) and Dorothy and I were standing in front of Ree's table gathering our books Ree said to Caroline, while gesturing to me, "This is your mother?"

Simultaneously the following comments were made:

Me: What?! Mother? No!

Caroline: No, no, no, she's my friend!

Dorothy: *laughter*

Ree: Wait. No, nooo. Of course you're not. You would've been, what, like 12(?) when you had her! No, It was a misunderstanding.

Ahem. Way to recover, Ree.

Of course. . . I forgave her. I mean, she couldn't have possibly really taken a good look at me, right? Don't answer that.

After gathering our books our next stop was to meet Ree's sister, Betsy, and her friend Hyacinth, who were handing out PW t-shirts. They had been chatting it up with the people ahead of us and did not hear the, ahem, misunderstanding concerning my relationship to Caroline.

Aren't they super cute?

While the three of us were picking out our t-shirt sizes and gabbing with these two lovelies Betsy said to Dorothy, gesturing to me, "is this your mother?" (I know what you're thinking. . . "she had to have heard what just went down with Ree. She's playing off that." I assure you she did not hear any of it.)

Again, in unison the following comments ensued:

Me: What the hell? Really? No. . . do I look that bad tonight? Your sister just asked if I was Caroline's mother!

Dorothy: No, we're friiiiends.

Caroline: *laughter*

Betsy: Wait? What? Noooo. . .

Hyacinth: No, no. . . You look like 'A' mother, not 'HER' mother. 'A' mother, NOT 'her' mother. Right, Betsy? You are 'A' mother, right?

Me: (laughing) Um, yeah, that's making it worse Hyacinth.

We all laughed. Some of us more nervously than others. Then we left, me feeling every bit my 40 years. Plus 20.

It was such a fun day! No, really, it was. :) I wouldn't change a minute, or word, of it! But I do think Ree, Betsy, and Hyacinth need to invite me to the Ranch for a girls weekend so they can experience my youthfulness.

A year ago our family, along with a core group of fantastic people, made the decision to plant a church in downtown Columbia, SC. We all felt called by God to embark on this endeavor and have been richly blessed through it. Much has been accomplished that, humanly speaking, didn't seem possible this time last year. We are humbled and grateful! Here's a look at some of what has been going on at Riverside Community Church.

but, inside

the fire is burning

the lights are glowing

handel is playing

and the drink is warming

I had a bunch of burlap laying around.

So, in order to help with my goal to not have an explosion of red and green this season, but, rather, have a more natural and warm feeling throughout the house I found a few ways to use it.