Have a Beary Scary Halloween!

Practicing for Tomorrow...

So I thought I might should test Bailey in her Halloween costume to make sure she's ready for the big day. Good idea, I thought! Better yet, NOT good idea because she obviously hates having anything stuffed on her back.

Bailey loves all things stuffed... hence the reason our house is still standing. I'm a big believer in supplying her with enough bones and stuffed animals to keep her occupied. Yes, she usually chews the eyes off in one hour and tears the stuffing out in a couple of days but that's why I now buy her stuffed animals at the Dollar Tree.

She would just shake and shake trying to get the stuffed wings off of her back, all while I was trying to get a decent picture. Let's just say that I highly doubt she'll be making her debut tomorrow as the Angel we all know she is. Good thing she doesn't need her wings to get in Heaven!

Whoa, it's been a while...

I had no clue it's been 11 days since my last post! I guess I've just been so busy with work, stationery orders, & parties that I've neglected our family blog. I do apologize to all of our faithful readers out there!

So, to recap what we've been up to...

Yesterday we went to a wedding and two receptions in the Jackson area. One of Russell's best friends from high school, Justin Hall, married Jamie Monsour in Raymond. We then attended their reception in Ridgeland.

Later that night we went to a wedding reception at Lake Caroline in Madison in honor of Kerri Nance & Curtis Utroska. Actually they were married a couple of weeks ago on the beach and I was unable to go. Kerri's parents hosted a party at home in there honor. Russell and I were glad we finally got to celebrate with them.

We also got to see our good friends, Emily & Adam Brooks. Emily is due with her second baby soon. I loved hanging out with some of my sorority sisters that I don't get to see often enough.

Best Wishes Kerri & Curtis!


Emily, Kerri, and Myself


Russell, Me, Kerri, Curtis, Emily (w/ baby "B"), & Adam


We had our Holiday Home Party in Olive Branch this week and have been busy filling Christmas orders galore! I apologize if I've been a bad friend and have not returned phone calls (um, sorry Meg). We've also added several acrylic gifts to the blog. Order your Christmas cards through Wednesday, Halloween Day for your 15% discount!

Pictures from our recent Holiday Home Party

16 oz. Travel Tumbler; Pencil Holder; 15 oz. Sports Bottle-
All from Address to Impress


Last Saturday we had Jeremy, Elizabeth, Brett, March, Brittany, Gates, & Reid over to watch the Dawgs on GamePlan. Unfortunately, it was a big waste of $20 (due to the Dawgs' loss). We did, however, get to see a Halloween costume that was worth every penny.


Brittany brought her Halloween costume over to model for us

Do you see that cute wink in the second picture? If any of you know me very well, I'm a big winker. In college it use to get me in trouble because I would unconsciously wink at everyone. Sometimes they would think I was flirting with them because of this. Brittany picked up on my winks and decided to start winking back at me on her own for the camera! It was too funny.


We all agreed that Brittany definitely looks best as a natural blonde


We'll try to forgive Brett & March for dressing Brittany & Gates in all of that 'Bama garb


Couldn't resist a picture of Reid (in front) and Bailey begging to join in on all of the action. Don't these girls look like sisters?

Warning: Man in Charge

When Russell got home, Bailey had cabin fever and was bouncing off of the walls to play. Unfortunately they couldn't go outside to play due to the thunderstorm we were having. Instead, Russell decided to clean the Jeep & the garage with the shop vac and let Bailey chase him around to wear some of her energy out.

Hmm, entertain Bailey while I finish dinner? I thought this was a great idea!

In the meantime, I look out the window to find this...


Bailey re-energizing herelf for the night!

Apparently the story goes like this... one of the cans fell over and got Bailey's attention... she decides to "fetch" the beer and carry it around until her teeth punch a hole through the can... then the can spews everywhere and Bailey drinks it all. Wait, I thought that beer was an aquired taste. Oh well, one more way for she and Russell to bond!

Southern Dialects, Accents, Regionalisms = Redneck?

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The South   That's a Southern accent you've got there. You may love it, you may hate it, you may swear you don't have it, but whatever the case, we can hear it.
The Midland
The Northeast
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

So, I saw this on another blog and found it oddly ironic to what I've been thinking about a lot lately. I felt I would share with you why I immediately jumped on taking this test... while on business a few weeks ago, my employer (the president of the company) discussed a potential job opportunity with me. It's a job in sales in which I would be calling on major retail accounts all over the United States. I won't go into details, but it sounds like my dream job!

In the meantime, he has challenged me in two ways- 1) to reduce my regional dialect & to learn to "style shift" (turn the accent on & off depending on which territory I'm selling to) and 2) to be less "folksy" (humorous, down-to-earth, neighborly, naive, fun-loving). He suggested that I improve my oral communication skills through Regional Dialect Reduction classes. For those of you who are a little confused, he basically wants me to lose my Southern accent and appear more sophisticated and restrained, more professional. I've done a little research on this training and I have found a handful of ladies that teach Dialect Modification in the Memphis area. I'm just wondering, do you know anyone who has ever taken these classes for their profession? Please leave a comment in the box... even if it's just to show support for this Mississippi Redneck!

Buddies and Bullies

Russell and I were in charge of the tailgate food & decorations for the MSU/Tennessee game this weekend. Both the chili recipe (see recipe below for you, Claire) and painted pumpkins with Bully & Go State! were a big hit. Several people were trying to steal them for their own Halloween decorations (yep, Mary, I'm referring to you)! If you're interested in having your own pumpkins (hmm... Mary, Amy, etc.) or something else painted for you, contact me through Address to Impress.

We started the weekend off by eating at Doe's on Friday night with Russell's Kappa Alpha 5th Quarter tailgating crew. On Saturday, we had a great time hanging out and tailgating with many others including... Truitt, Jason & Jade, Sara R., Stacey, Gracie & Bailey, and Sara Beth to name a few. Even though we didn't win the game, you would have never known it based on the crowd out partying in Starkville. I'm still so proud of myself for staying out until 2am both nights (something to be proud of, huh?). Needless to say, I paid for it at the gym yesterday morning and poor Russell is still trying to catch up on lost sleep. He had to turn in to bed before 10pm last night. I hope each of you had just as eventful weekends!

Easy Chili
1 and 1/2 lb. ground beef
1/4 onion chopped
1/2 bell pepper
Brown above ingredients together

1 pkg. chili seasoning mix
1 can Rotelle (regular)
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce (regular size)
1 can pinto or kidney beans
Mix all together + add beef mixture
Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour

Bailey's Back at Home

It was a lonely couple of days without our Bailey Girl around the house. However, I worried over nothing! I went to pick her up from the family vet in Holly Springs yesterday, concerned that she would be groggy from the anesthesia and mad at me for leaving her there. But what do you know if she doesn't come running out full force with that tail wagging! She hasn't been a bit phased by her "female surgery." We tried to take it easy all day yesterday but she's back to her normal self today...

Fetching tree limbs...
...and chasing our shadows

Russell called me the other day while traveling back from court in Nashville to say that he found a great dog bed for Bailey for $30 at Gander Mtn. Obviously, Bailey's Daddy doesn't read our blog or else he would know that we were giving her another monogrammed LL Bean dog bed to match our bedroom for Christmas. Anyway, he described it as being large, machine washable, and tan to go with our bedroom decor. I was skeptical of just how great it was for only $30 but I reluctantly gave in. I said, "I trust you, just use your good judgement."

When I finally saw the purchase in person, I almost laughed. Wait, I did laugh! I knew it was half the size of her current bed. Not to mention that I about died when I smelled the cedar chips. Who wants their house to smell like cedar? Russell said "what? cedar smells good." Yeah, if you are still in college and you're trying to cover the smell of stale beer.

So, I was telling my good friend Meg about this funny story on my way to pick Bailey up yesterday and she said "Just wait, I bet Bailey likes Russell's $30 cedar sack better than your $100+ egg crate." Well, what do you know? Bailey tried out her Daddy's new bed last night and seemed to like it fine.

Today, however, I've caught her on it five different times (see picture below).
Here she is loving her Daddy's purchase

Bailey might have just lost herself a Christmas present and bought herself a ticket to sleep outside with the cedar sack.

Sweet Savings!

My Address to Impress business partner, Jennifer Springer (see picture below), and I have been incredibly busy this month. Everyone keeps asking me about a website and to be honest, we have one but it's under construction. Until then, check out our blog where I've posted new holiday designs along with some sweet savings.

Jennifer Springer and Hillary Jordan,
Address to Impress LLC

Out of town, A to I, Bailey's surgery, & the list goes on...

Click on the Merry Mod design to enlarge it so you can read it.

If you assumed that I've been busy since I haven't posted in a while, you are correct. I was out of town last week on business for the High Point Furniture Market in North Carolina and Address to Impress has been swamped with invitation orders and preparing for our upcoming party and the holidays. We've got so many cute Christmas Card designs we're working on. I'm going to try and post them on the blog soon.

In the meantime, our Bailey Girl is at the vet for surgery until tomorrow. I'm just lost without her. It really feels lonely as I work here at the house. We dropped her off last night to be "fixed." Don't worry, I'm planning on spoiling her all week!

Russell and I are in charge of the tailgate food & decorations for the MSU/Tennessee game this weekend. My pumpkins are painted with Bully & Go State! I'll try to take some pictures to share.