Happy 2010!

Going to NY today to see Bailey and Beck!! I'm very excited! (The picture above is from New Years a few years back... one of the best!) I'll be away from the blog for a few days so I just wanted to leave you with a little wish for a fabulous New Year.

CHEERS!!!

things'll be great when you're.... downtown.

This past weekend while home in Syracuse I decided to join my sister and some of her friends for a night out in downtown Armory Square. I hadn't been there since last Thanksgiving (2008!). It's so nice around the holidays, when all the Christmas lights are up and you almost feel like you're not in Syracuse (that is, until you go to Mully's and see EVERYONE you ever knew). It's a fun place to visit when you're in town and I always end up catching up with old friends from High School. Here's some pics I took:

Me and Lauren...

reconnecting with Katie!

Roommates!!

I'm loving the old polaroid look!! It's an idea I got while looking for a online photo editor. You can turn your pictures into polaroids too! Just visit The Polaroid Project. It's fun to take some of your favorite pictures and see how they will look vintage-style. Here's some more pics I played with... Me and Mo downtown last year:

Clinton Square Christmas Tree!

New Years Plans?

photo from anthropologie.com

Plans for New Years? Zan and I will be ringing in the New Year together!... pretty sure we'll be laying low with nothing too extravagant or crazy. But not to worry, I will still be dressed to impress.

Fancy necklaces are a must!

Too Cute.

This past weekend Meg and I, and our cousins Virginia and Timmy, went on a mini "baby tour" to see some of the newest members of the Burns Fam. TOO CUTE!!!!! Meg's holding little baby Charlie, and I've got Tyler! He's so precious didn't want to let him go!

Meg and Charlie (4 weeks)... and Cowboy too!

Tyler (1 year)... love his smile!

LOVE that book.

LOVE

THAT

DOG

This book

is

wonderful.

"This is the story of Jack

who finds his voice

with the help of

paper

pencil

teacher

and

dog."

I smiled. I cried.

The ending

made me

happy

inside.

Love that dog.

Thoughts on my new banner? I've been playing around with my blog now that I have a new handy manual. I'll be experimenting with new ideas for awhile, so come along and enjoy the ride....

follow me!!

My new book Blogging for Bliss (got it for Christmas!) says one of the best things about blogging is getting comments and having followers. Up until now, I don't really know who is following my blog (besides family and close friends). BUT Tara Frey (the author of B4B) says comments are encouraging and fun to receive. And you know what? I AGREE! Plus, it lets me know that my words are being read (by somebody, anybody!). So I've added a new feature on the right hand column called FOLLOWERS. Be a follower! This will let you know when my blog has been updated with new posts. And comments are welcome and appreciated!! Thanks all!

A Burns Family Christmas

This year's turnout at the annual Burns Family Hotel Christmas dinner was phenomenal! 58 people!!! This is a tradition that my grandparents started waaaay back in the day. It's changed ever so slightly but still has that good old fashioned family feeling. We used to always go to the Hotel Syracuse (when it was still in business), get a big long table, and eat the most delicious tomato soup on the planet. Well, big long table is still part of Christmas dinner, and there's tomato soup (although a different kind), but the Hotel Syracuse is no longer. The Double-Tree does a nice job, thankfully, and puts up with the food-throwing (my cousins- younger AND older), so we appreciate it. And it's a place for us to all get together and reconnect after a year (sometimes more!) of living our busy lives.

My dad comes from a family of 6 boys. He's the youngest so a lot of my uncle's children are older now with families of their own. As a little kid I always thought my family was large-- and every year it keeps getting larger! Here's some pics of our "Hotel Christmas Dinner":

Bells are ringin', children singin'

All is merry and bright...

Hang your stockings and say your prayers

'Cause Santa Claus is comin' tonight!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Little Women

Last night we went to see Little Women at Syracuse Stage. It was wonderful! The cast was great, I just love the story, and the costumes were awesome! It's a great show for the holiday season. Saw my good friend from high school, Ashley there too! We look exactly the same as we did 9 years ago (WAIT! what? 9 YEARS?).

Home sweet home...

Here's my precious little house! DREAM!!

Came home yesterday afternoon to freshly fallen snow... couldn't ask for anything more.

Happy to be home for Christmas!

Home for the Holidays....

Taking the Greyhound home with Meg and Lauren for Christmas! FAB!! We have quite a lot of bags/presents (pictured) and struggled a bit to get to the station (naturally) but we made it. Luckily, we got there early-- the line was horrific!! And were able to get some McDonalds Egg McMuffins for Breakfast. YUM. Our bus left Boston at 7:15 and we are on the road to Cuse. GO ORANGE! If traffic is nice to us, we should make it home around 2!

So far, my ride on Greyhound has been reasonably pleasurable. I think this bus must be new. I've been on some pretty run down busses in my day. Our bus has free wifi, outlets, and ample leg room (although I have a bag of presents at my feet so I'm feeling a little cramped on that front). I'm also sitting next to a very nice lady who is sharing some of her trashy tabloid magazines with me. Can't ask for much more than that now, can we? The heat is at a good temperature too, which is a relief because when we first got on the bus I thought my toes were going to fall off. Ahh the joys of riding the bus. Safe travels, everyone!! xoxo.

Skype.

Do you Skype? I just started! The other day I had my first ever Skype session with Cal... from sunny FL to the blizzards to the northeast. It was as if we were sitting right next to each other, hanging out like old times at 520 Beacon Street! Do you see her up there in the picture? HI CAL!! That's how clearly I could see her the other day. It's literally like the person is right there talking to you. I took a virtual tour through Caroline's new apartment... checking out things like her new j.crew clothes and her real live Christmas tree!! Amazing. I can't wait to do this more. Oh, technology, you are amazing.

2 days!

2 days til I'm home for the holidays in the good old 'Cuse!!!

I can't wait to snuggle up in the recliner chair, stuff my face with Wegmans subs, and watch Miracle on 34th street (the Natalie Wood version)!! It's going to be GLORIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!

ElfYourself!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Holiday Potluck!

Last night we had a bookclub Holiday Potluck!! Fabulous and delicious!! Everyone brought such yummy treats to eat and it ended up being a huge success! The decorations were up, the tree was sparkling, the Christmas lights on, and the holiday music was a-plenty. It put me right in the Christmas spirit and now, FINALLY, the countdown can begin!!! ONE WEEK until Christmas!! Hooray!

Here's some pics from the night of merriment:

We ended the night with some dancing, of course. A MUST!!!

Bring on the cold.

Today's forecast for Boston:

15 degrees

(feels like 3 degrees).

Do you like my new coat?

This winter's got NOTHING on me.

Ellen: So You Think You Can Dance!

Clearly, I've been watching Ellen everyday to see if I've won on the 12 Days of Giveaways OR the Ellen/Oprah 12 Day Give-O-Way. Well, I haven't been a winner yet, unfortunately, but I'm not giving up hope either. I've never won anything in my entire life but who's to say this isn't going to be the one time I do win? HUH?! Right. I thought so.

Aaaanyways, today Ellen played this awesome video of her dancing with the cast of So You Think You Can Dance. I love it! Makes me want to learn the dance and join in the fun! Here's the clip:

Meet Wyatt.

HEY Wyatt!! HEY Anna!

Meet Asa's big brother Wyatt. Cutie Patootie! This little guy is so funny and so smart too! I just love talking with him. He gets all these funny ideas into his head like going to the mall and putting pennies into the pay phone to call the fire department ONLY if the Children's Museum is on fire. Hilarious! And he LOVES the word sure and uses it in all these different ways... I just love hearing him say it. I sure do. I suuuure do.

Here's some more pics of us hanging out around Boston.

We sure do have a fun time!

TJ's: Dark Chocolate Crisps

So I ended up going to Trader Joe's today just like I said I would. I didn't realize it until I got there, but I haven't been in SO long! But just like a good friend, the minute I stepped inside it felt like we'd never been apart. Love that feeling. Today I was mostly shopping for the big holiday potluck tomorrow, but I also picked up a few things for myself while I was there. There are so many holiday treats in the store it was making my head spin. How can one possibly try them all?!! Instead of getting another box of the milk chocolate hazelnut delights, I decided to try something else. I spent a good 10 minutes just starting at all the goodies trying to figure out which one I wanted to buy the most. French Truffles, Dark Chocolate After Dinner Mints, Soft Peppermint Puffs, Chocolate Covered Ginger Snaps, Chocolate Covered Mint Joe-Joe's, I mean seriously the list goes on and on and on....

In the end I settled for... drumroll, please.... the Dark Chocolate Crisps. YUM! After bringing them home and running them through the taste test I have come to the conclusion that they are delicious! They are shapped like a pringle, but are all Belgian chocolate with tiny crispy wafers on the top. Excellent!! They're the perfect snack if you're craving a little chocolate, which I often am. They are all natural, very rich (so you don't have to eat many to feel satisfied) and they come in a milk chocolate variety if that is what you prefer.

Final Grade: A+