Counting My Blessings.

I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've sat down to write this post, but I simply can't get the words I want across.

Last Saturday morning, the world lost one of the most loving, Christian women I know; and Heaven gained an angel that is dearly missed by her family.

Her name was Beatrice Bentley,

but known to most as "Granny B."

A saint in the eyes of all who knew her.

She was a simple lady,

A hardworking lady,

A quiet lady,

A lady who knew how to sew the perfect stitches with her eyes closed.

Her love was always felt by everyone around her.

The best Southern cook I've ever met,

With the best hand-patted buttermilk biscuits you'd ever put in your mouth.  

You hardly ever saw her without a smile on her face,

or her arms open wide to welcome her family and loved ones into her home.

Born in 1915. 

She died at the age of 96.

In the wake of her passing, we gathered as a family to comfort each other... but also to share memories. This woman lived an incredible life, and I am so thankful that I was able to be a witness to it for 21 years. Not many people are fortunate enough to know their great-grandparents, and I count my blessings that Granny  was one of mine. 

The amount of people that poured into the funeral home to pay their respects was remarkable. When you are faced with the death of a loved one, I feel like it makes you realize how much of an impact you can make on other people's lives. It was amazing to see how many people were touched by Granny. The stories people shared just put smiles on our faces, and amongst all the tears we were able to smile with memories of her.

I can't begin to express just how amazing Granny was,

but I hope that as I carry out my life.. I can walk with as much grace as she did.

and with that, I just want to share a few pictures, most we took of her a little over a year ago after her 95th birthday. 

We love and miss you Granny B!

My Mother's 29th birthday... again.

Mama decided she was turning 29 again this year ;)

so yesterday we celebrated her lovely birthday.

We opened presents in the office at home before heading out to dinner in Athens.

I LOVE gift-giving and I especially love surprised faces when opening gifts. 

  for dinner we planned to go to one of my favorite places to eat dinner, Casa Mia in Athens.

Well lo and behold the place went and CLOSED for good over the holiday. I'm talking, scraped the vinyl sign off the windows and everything. WHAT. THE. HECK?!

I literally ate there the last week of school.

and they had delicious food and amazing sangria.

not cool.

So we ended up at Speakeasy for some tapas. Definitely another great dinner place downtown. 

tapas are my new favorite.

I'm a major food lover, and so I love that you can order like 10 different things.. and get to try them all without:

A) Breaking the bank 

or 

B) getting miserably full

It was a delicious dinner! and we had a wonderful time celebrating Mama's 45th 29th birthday. ;)

WILW

Holy smokes, 3 posts in one week? I am on a ROLL!!

Starting my new year off right ;)

and TODAY I'm linking up with sweet Jamie for WILW!

What I'm loving...

[one.]

Boot socks.

Considering it went from 60 degrees to 30 overnight this week in Georgia.. I'm in love with these babies. They are so incredibly warm. 

[two.]

My beautiful Frye boots that I gifted myself for Christmas.
[pictured above]

I've coveted these beauts for over a year now.. and I finally bit the bullet. and have seriously worn them every day since they arrived via UPS. ;)

[three.]

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Series.

Woahhh baby, these books are amazing. 

I can't put them down.. I'm on the third one now and I don't want it to end!

The first one takes a little bit to get into.. but don't get discouraged because they are seriously AMAZING.

and basically, you need to go see the movie so they will make the second.
the end.
:)

[four.]
That today is my sweet mama's biiiiirthday!!
and tonight we are going to celebrate at one of my favorite restaurants in Athens. (woot! woot!)
Happy Birthday Mama!! I love you!!

 
What are YOU loving today?!
Go link up with Jamie and share it with us!

Orange-Cranberry Gin and Tonic

Over Christmas we made the BEST cocktail.

It's from the December issue of Southern Living and it sounded so tasty me and Mama decided to give it a try.

It's an Orange-Cranberry Gin and Tonic.

and look how pretty it looks!

   It tastes as good as it looks, I promise. 

and it's easy to make.. but so pretty it will definitely impress your guests.

Ingredients

1 (2-inch) Orange Rind

1 Tablespoon Fresh Cranberries*

1 Teaspoon Sugar

1 Cup Ice Cubes

3 Tablespoons Gin

1 Tablespoon Fresh Orange Juice

1/4 Cup Tonic Water

1. Muddle orange rind strip, fresh cranberries, and sugar in a cocktail shaker. Add ice cubes, gin, and fresh orange juice. Cover with lid, and shake vigorously until thoroughly chilled (about 30 seconds). Pour into an 8-oz. glass; top with tonic water. Serve immediately.

*Frozen cranberries, thawed, may be substituted. (It will probably make the drink more colorful, we used fresh cranberries in ours)

 

Cheers!

2012!

Did 2011 fly by or what?!

The fact that it is 2012 is blowing my mind.

We rang in the New Year in Athens with some of our friends. 

I love NYE, the promise of a New Year with new beginnings and the excitement of new memories that await. Yeah, it's cheesy.. but I love it for that very reason. ;)

We started off our NYE at my sweet friend Grayson's house and met up with a lot of old friends before heading downtown to ring in the New Year.

Taylor, Grayson, and Me

 We hardly took ANY pictures.. definitely kicking myself for that today.

All in all it was a wonderful New Year's, we had a blast meeting up with people we hadn't seen in years... always fun to start a year off with a big group of friends!

How did you spend YOUR New Year's Eve?