I am still in full holiday mode. We have made it safely to Nashville and have been camping out here for almost a week. The whole fam dam was here for 2 days, and we have slowly been dwindling. I think that the current tally for the Nashville vacay goes like this:

Total card games played: 27

Total Scattegories games played: 18

Total Meals eaten together: 15 plus so many snacks its not even funny

Total Times I have tried Whipped Vodka: Twice (so freakin' good... Thanks Mae Mae)

Number of Drives through the gorgeous TN countryside: 1 Glorious Drive

Types of Restaurant cuisine enjoyed: Seafood, Mexican, Irish, Sushi, Americana

Total Gifts Received: Way too many

Total Houses occupied on our street by Mcconnell Family Christmas Celebraters: 3

Max Beings in the house at one time: 10 (including canine guest stars Sarah and Arthur)

Total Graduations from College Celebrated: 1 - GO, JAMES, GO!!

Total States traveled from to meet here: 4

Total Nights we have been here so far: 5

Total Nights I will remember forever and hold tightly in my heart: 5

Burley and I were supposed to leave town this morning but thanks to the horrible team over at US Airways (No, they did not pay me to mention them) we have been blessed with one more day here in Nashvegas!

So tonight we will be ringing in the New Year with the people we love and I couldn't be any happier.

(Part of me thinks my family may have called the airlines and told them to screw us over... I don't think I would care even if that were true).

And now... In closing... Here are a few pics I have taken along the way. 

Happy New Years, Thriftarians. Let's do right by 2012.

Maddie

And to All a Good Night!

Ill Cry If I Want To!!

Check it out Thriftarians...

I AM 25!!!

Holy Smokes... Where has the time gone?! I feel as if it was only yesterday that I was in diapers and people took care of me, and I didn't have to worry about buying toothpaste, paying car insurance, or buying plane tickets. Where are the days where I never cared or enjoyed mundane things such as a bobby pin carrier so I don't lose and rebut them all the time? Where are the days when I used to genuinely want to feel the hurt and pain that I heard in lost-love songs, because I had never experienced emotion like that, and I thought it would be really beautiful like it is in the movies when bad things happen and hearts get broken, and then you drive away in a car on a rainy day and you stare out the window with your hair and lipgloss looking perfect, because you know that TRUE love is just around the corner and you will learn to let it in again... Somehow...

What?

That was so messed up.

OK - I'll be honest. I am really excited about 25, and I feel so blessed and honored to be living the life I have been given, no mater how old and wrinkled I am getting. Worlds greatest husband? Check. Family that trumps all others? Check. Dreams, Passions and a Bright Future? Check. I'd say 25 is a good year.

The way I explained it to my dad was "I am older than 20, but younger than 30, so I can still be immature, but people have to take me seriously"

I am working on a "25 things to do while i'm 25 list" and I will share that with you in the days to come.

But for now... I just wanted to say thanks for hanging around this blog, because it is one of my most favorite creations of my 24th year... and that is saying a lot. You guys are awesome, and you make me not feel lame for posting daily accounts of something as silly as one little thrifty life. Cheers to you.

And Cheers to birthdays.

And Cheers to me. Because yesterday was my birthday.

We are here!

Hey all you party people!

We have safely arrived in Atlanta GA. It has been a whirlwind since the first night.

We landed, picked up our rental car, unpacked at our hotel and headed STRAIGHT out to Roux (A cute restaurant/bar) in Downtown Roswell GA to enjoy some incredible music, dancing, cocktails and friends.

The next couple days I went into my Atlanta office for the day, and then we hit up my company work party and our good friend's wedding rehearsal dinner.

We then headed out to their wedding on Saturday and then stayed in a hotel with our BFFs for a couple of days before they head out to LA for a fun life adventure.

And yes... all of that was since Wednesday night.

So I am now reaching you from Starbucks, sitting next to all of Burley and I's luggage like we are homeless people. Except that I have a phone and computer and luggage. So no, I am not a stuck-up rich kid who will tell you that I am homeless because we don't have access to a car for few hours. Except I just was.

So please forgive me.

Oh Yea.. and here is a recap of all the things we have lost and left behind so far, in true Richardson fashion (some of them can be recovered, so I can laugh about it... Kind of)

• My computer charger
• My camera
• Burley's sunglasses
• Burley's phone
• My perfume

Ah - life on the road.

We can't wait to get to Savannah tomorrow to celebrate with our family (and leave all of our luggage in one spot so that we don't keep losing things!)

Hope you are all having a great week before Christmas!

I will check back in soon.

Until then...

Chaos.

Maddie

Travelers

Hey Thriftarians!!

Burley and I are packed up and are shipping out to the east coast. I've got a suitcase full of gifts, way too many clothes due to non-planned last minute packing, and an SOOOO excited to spend some much needed time w friends and family.

THIS is why the holidays are awesome.

See you on the other side!

Check It Out!

Hey Guys -

Hope you had a FABULOUS weekend. Burley and I kept pretty busy. Caught up with some great friends before we skip town for two and a half weeks for an insane family vacaytion plus a friend staycation plus a company party plus a wedding weekend. That's a lot!

In the meantime, I wanted to share a fun webiste I found on Pinterest, where you can make these fancy shmancy antique monograms in minutes!

All you need to do is click the link, follow the directions and then save to your computer!

BAM.

Here is the monogram I went with...

I've never really been the monogram type.. but I am kind of in love.

See my computer?

I wasn't lying :)

Anyways - have a blast! Let me know if you get to use your own fancy shmancy monogram on anything. It makes me feel dignified. I only hope it has the same effect on you.

TTFN.

Party Time

It's Firday Y'all. I'm excited about that!

2 Very important things to share today, very quickly.

FIRST

Burley worked his butt off and jumped through a lot of hoops to finish his EMT Intermediate certification (while moving across the country and throwing paper work and tests into a tizzy).

He is now an OFFICIAL LIFE SAVER. We got the paper work this week to prove it.

So proud of this guy and EXTREMELY turned on my his accomplishments.

What? No she didn't!

... Yes she did.

SECOND

Macey wanted to tell you something...

Have a great weekend!

Here We Go Again...

It's that time again. Time to move things around in our little 780 sq/ft.

Now, before you judge me and feel bad for my husband, here are the reasons we WE legitamately needed to switch the locations of my office and the bedroom.

1. Our bed was sitting next to 2 EXTREMELY large windows that were built before the garden of eden. Henceforth, the craftstmanship, though beautiful, is a little bit less than wind proof.
I was comind down with an illness basically, every night.

I was freezing.

2. Our bed was sitting next to 2 EXTREMELY large windows, on which we couldnt afford to adorn with proper curtains that block out light.

We couldn't sleep in. Ever.

I was tired.

3. Did I mention that our bed was sitting next to 2 EXTREMELY large windows, outside of which was a buzzing city that never sleeps? Including the Light Rail (Public Transportation Train) that sounds like you are constantly boarding some time of ride at a carnival?

We couldn't sleep, Ever.

I was very tired.

4. Did I mention that our bed was sitting next to 2 EXTREMELY large windows, outside of which is Chipotle, whose employees alwasys forget to turn off their outside music at night, so my husband and I would have nightmares of Mariachi men coming to murder us?

We couldn't sleep, Ever.

I was very tired.

So we decided, to switch the office and the bedroom.

The bedroom isn't complete yet, but the office is as good as its gonna get, so I thought I would share.

** Please note Macey in the corner, eyeing my trash can, waiting for me to take my eyes off of her for one second so that she can ravage through it. Dogs are so strange.

I got this lamp for $25 at World Market. They have a section where you can pick your lamp stand and the shade to go with it. SUPER cute seletions and the perfect size for a desk! And the colors? How perfect.

I hung this shelf myself. AH THANK YA.

I call this... "Beautiful Productiveness"

Me and Christmas. 2 peas in a pod.

And there she is! The place that I sit for 9 hours every day. Gotta love it!

Thanks for tuning in, Thriftarians.

Jello Shots. Classy.

DISCLAIMER: You must be over 21 to read this post or laugh at any of the jokes inside

or drink alcohol. Duh. It's the law.

So, I have seen this idea on Pinterest a few times... and around the interweb.

And I think to myself "aren't jello shots immature and trashy?"

And then I look at the pictures and I think to myself "no... no... these are awesome and cute"

So I decided to try it out myself.

Tonight, I have my bookclub ladies coming over for our Christmas Extravaganza.

And I have made jello shots.

The only time that I have ever HAD a jello shot in my life was one time at a random bowling alley in Georgia. I saw a sign for a special on jello shots.

Me: Haha. That's funny. Who orders a jello shot anymore?

Burley: What? They are good! Have you ever had one?

Me: No. I am a lady.

Burley: Oh geeze - we are getting some

Burley buys 2 jello shots...

Me: So, how do you shoot this thing? It is a solid food...

Burley: You just kind of... squish it up a little and shoot it

Me: OK... Doesn't sound physically possible to shoot a solid food but here goes...

Burley: Done!

Me: I need a spoon

And now.. years later... here we are. I am making them in our kitchen.

So enough about me, let's talk about my jello shots.

I got this recipe and how-to from Michele over at That's so Michelle. Thanks, Michelle!

Super simple ingredients. I added the lime to mine for a little something extra.

Ingredients:

Vodka

Jello

Limes

add lime juice if you would like

Done!

How To: Make the Jello shot mixtures

You will just follow the instructions on the Jello box, but instead of cold water, you will replace that with vodka. Tadah!

How To: Clean your limes

This process took me a minute to figure out. Cleaning out 12 limes (24 halves) is a daunting task to say the least. The BEST way I found to do this is to throw the limes in the microwave for 30 seconds.

THEN, slice them in half (the long way), and start thumbing out the inside.

You will want to try and dig your nail in a little deep, so that you can pull out the whole inside in a clean sweep. MAKE SURE THOSE HANDS ARE CLEAN!

Then, rinse and perfect the cleaning.

Then, leave the limes to dry on a towel.

Tadah!

And that's how its done folks!

Cheers,
Maddie