This Photographer&#39;s Life

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Whatever happened with... (water bill, diet, wedding plans) and a new listing from Anne Powers!

Blayne Beacham October 8, 2012

There are so may things to tell you guys!!!

Last week, Glennis and I went to the Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. This is one of our favorite conferences. They always have great speakers, and the conferences are always held in really cool places. (Remember last year when we went to San Diego, and the year before when we went to Seattle?)

Except this time it wasn't cool, it was HOT! :)

But there were tons of pools there :)

On Wednesday we went to the awards dinner, and I got an award called "Outstanding Social Media Savvy."

I was THRILLED! Over the years Beacham has gotten a lot of awards for our magazine, our print marketing and our marketing package, but this is our first award for social media.

It means so much to me because I run the social media campaign here at Beacham, and I am really proud of what we've accomplished. We have this blog, which was ranked #5 real estate blog in the world last year. A few months ago we launched a new Beacham Blog, we have more fans on Facebook than any other real estate company in Atlanta, we are very active on Twitter, and we even have a new Pinterest account.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is that people read THIS blog, and they remember what I talk about! Every time it happens I do a double take. Over the last few months I've run into people I haven't talked to in a year or so and they will say "what happened with your water bill," 0r "how is that diet going?" A lot of times it happens when I'm introduced to someone for the first time. I'll shake their hands and they say, "how are the wedding plans coming along? I read about them on your blog?" That happened to me a lot this past week in Arizona. It made me realize two things... one, that people actually take the time to read the blog, and two, that I've left a lot of loose ends!

First thing's first... the water bill.

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Read this story to see the initial story of what happened with my $9,000 water bill. A few weeks later I wrote this post explaining that the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management replaced my water meter and wiped away everything but $800, which they said I still owed them. I decided to wait a few months and collect a few bills. Every bill I've gotten has been under $50, so I clearly had one of those bad water meters that are all over the city. Now I just have to go back before the board, argue my case one more time and hope they erase the final $800 balance. WSB actually interviewed me about the water issue last week, but my hair looked so horrendous I just cannot post it here. I've since stopped using leave-in conditioner. ;)

In a huge karmic joke, I actually walked over my water meter last night and the top was off just slightly. It slipped off and my foot fell INTO the water meter hole. It left three big scrapes on my leg, and it's all bruised today. I guess the water department is out to get me one way or another!

Next loose end?

The Dukan Diet. I started the Dukan Diet about a month ago for two reasons. I wanted to lose a few more pounds before the wedding, and I was also just having a lot of stomach pain. I did the Dukan Diet for about 2 weeks and lost 4 lbs. I guess that's not a huge amount of weight, but it was 3/4 of the weight I wanted to lose, so I would consider it fairly effective.

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At the same time I started the Dukan Diet I also gave up gluten and dairy in hopes that it would help my stomach pain. My friend Ginny also suggested I go see Dr. Tasneem Bhatia. She is a holistic doctor here in Atlanta who was on Dr. Oz and went to Westminster. I loved her! When I went to see her I still had significant stomach pain even thought I had dropped the gluten and dairy. I also had headaches and low energy, which was a result of all the meat I was eating. She did a lot of test and got me all turned around. She put me on a low acid diet, kept me off the gluten and dairy and got me some supplements. I've kept the 4 lbs off and feel SO MUCH BETTER now. If any of you are interested in holistic medicine I recommend her 150%! She spent a lot of time with me and listened and really tried to figure out a way to help me. Please email me if you have any specific questions about her.

And now a wedding update...

We did a food tasting, YUM! The food at The Grand Bohemian is amazing. I even liked the sea bass, and I don't even like fish!

And we picked out a save the date. We are so excited because it's orange, the best color ever.We picked out flowers :) We decided to work with Flora in Asheville. She is going to do a beautiful mix of succulents for me. It was really fun talking to her. She totally understood what I wanted.

And we will end with a house...

A few weeks ago I shot this house at 2128 Lucerne Lane. Anne Powers has this house listed, and I loved it!

Isn't it pretty? The kitchen is so wonderful. it opens to the family room and breakfast area. The whites and greens go together so well. The master bedroom suite is also large and cozy with a huge master bath and fireplace. The gazebo pictures show a large common area in the neighborhood. To find out more about this house please visit beacham.com.

Talk to you guys soon!

Remember to Enter our contest to win a free ad in "The Beacham Series!" The contest ends tonight (Tuesday September 18th) at midnight!

The Owner of Fab'rik's House!

Blayne Beacham September 18, 2012

Linda Williams listed the owner of Fab'rik's house a few weeks ago (1653 Johnson Road)! I was planning on putting it on the blog, but she got it under contract before I could post it! The house is so good I decided to show you some photos anyway :)

I love the foyer. Isn't that great looking?

Here it is from the other direction. That's a beautiful Todd Murphy painting above the fireplace.

I love this view into the office.

Isn't it fantastic? I really like that they painted the windows black. It makes the office look really handsom.

The dining room is so simple and elegant.

The kitchen opens up to this wonderful keeping nook, which is perfect for families! There are also skylights in the kitchen which make it feel lofty with tons of natural light.

I love the porch... it's like being at a resort in Miami!

Isn't this the cutest child's room you've ever seen?

The entire upper floor is a master suite.

Don't you like that exposed brick?

I love this view of the bedroom!

There is a full guest suite on the terrace level...

and a full blown man cave! How good looking is that?

Congratulations to Linda Williams for getting the house under contract so quickly!

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For more information on this great house (and upstairs pictures), please check out Erin Yabroudy's blog.

Water Bill Update+ Dutch Colonial Masterpiece!

Blayne Beacham July 5, 2012

Wow! My water story went viral! I was on AOL, Yahoo the Huffington Post and on TV three times! The people from Fox & Friends even called me!

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See that nice screen shot of me? ha ha.

Well, I wish I could say that all the publicity fixed the problem. It didn't. The City of Atlanta Department of Wetershed Management DID replace my meter, so that's a huge step in the right direction. They also said they would erase the $6,00o bill that I got last month. That was human error that occurred after they put on the data logger. They also erased the next two highest bills, which were for several thousand dollars. That leaves me with a $900 balance. I still don't think that is fair since I have been overplaying them for a year. It also does not totally solve the problem of why the bill has been so crazy. I had another plumber come out (the 4th) to confirm there were no leaks. Now I have to get a 5th plumber to come out at the same time as a person from the city, which is called a water audit. After the audit I have to go back to the water board appeal hearing. I am so tired of dealing with this. I have put at least 40 or 50 hours into dealing with this for the past year. I am just so ready to have a normal water bill and get back to life as usual.

Moving along...

I shot this amazing Dutch Colonial home a few weeks ago. It is located at 537 Hillside Drive with interior design by Mandy Culpepper. Listed by Erin Yabroudy and Wendy Wood Leebern.

It's been a while since I was totally floored by a house... and I was thrilled to pull into this driveway!

It feel like you are in Europe as soon as you hit the gravel.

I started outside photographing the grounds. It was all so lush and perfectly landscaped.

Loving this bench!

You know my favorite color is orange!

No, the house does not come with this super cute dog!

I could take a snooze on this hammock, especially after my late night last night watching fireworks at Cherokee!

There is a treehouse! My entire adult life I've wanted to build myself a treehouse... although I would NOT run water to it! (re: my $9,000 water bill).

I love this picture because of that swing... If I knew where that was from I would def register for it. Awesome!

When I was finished with the grounds I headed inside...

The foyer reminds me a little bit of our famous Neel Reid House on Andrews.

Office with fireplace off of the foyer.Another view from the office back into the foyer.

This is the view right as you walk into the front door. Love the carpet!

This is the dining room to the right of the foyer.

I love the kitchen! Any type of exposed shelving always gets me... and the stainless steel island... oh my.

This kitchen opens to this amazing breakfast room, which opens to the porch. Those chairs are fantastic!

This is the view looking back into the kitchen. Great looking!

537 Hillside Drive -FMLS38

The formal living room is off the kitchen and the library. The red is such a bold choice and works so well. I'm also slightly obsessed with the bird painting above the fireplace (it looks kind of like the shirt I am wearing on the news in the screen shot at the top of this post).

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This hallway leads from the kitchen to the great room. That's a great coffee table/ottoman.

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This is my favorite room in the house. I'm a sucker for cathedral wood ceilings... AND cow rugs... and framed American flags. Duh.

Loving the color of the walls and the fun pillows!

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"Beacham Series" Party Tomorrow Night + Catch Up!

Blayne Beacham April 18, 2012

I'm sorry ok. I know I have been gone forever. If it makes you feel any better, the latest issue of "The Beacham Series" is finished! Thank God. It is a massive amount of work for three people to do... but Laura and Rod and I managed to finish it up and are convinced it is "the best one ever" (quoting Glennis). Tomorrow night is "The Beacham Series" party, but before we go into that, lets play a quick game of catch up. Here's what's happened in the past month...

Glennis and I went to the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World conference in Orlando. According to beacham.com, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (www.LeadingRE.com) is the largest network of top independent local and regional brand-name brokerage firms in the residential sector of real estate. The 550 firms affiliated with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® are represented by 4,600 offices and 140,000 associates in more than 30 countries worldwide. The organization's leadership is demonstrated by the fact that its affiliates comprise 15 of the top 25 real estate companies in the country. Collectively, LeadingRE affiliates produced nearly 800,000 home sales valued at $225 billion in the U.S. in 2010. In addition, LeadingRE locally-branded affiliates hold the Number One position in sales in 40% of the top 96 markets in the U.S., more than any national franchise organizations. For complete information on LeadingRE statistics, visit http://stats.leadingre.com/. <-- BIG DEAL. :)

We won first place in the Property Brand Advertising category of the marketing contest!

We also got second place in the "New Media" category... so many thanks to all of you for reading this blog... Thank you! Thank you!

Glennis and I worked the whole time, but we took a few minutes to stick our feet in the pool...

and celebrate our wins with a Miami Vice.

Jimmy and Charlotte were very proud of us!

Once we got back I went straight into picking a cover for "The Beacham Series."

Rod and Laura and I went over to Janey Lowe's listing at 94 Peachtree Way and started scouting shots.

We loved this porch shot...

We also loved this picture going into the family room. Isn't that archway pretty?

Here is Rod setting up for a shot through the front door.

There I am holding the reflector. :)

After we picked the cover we had to get the ad designed for the WINNER OF THE AD SPACE COMPETITION: Calligraphy by Kristen Flournoy Hay

We were thrilled that she won, and we love her ad, don't you?

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After the ad was ready, we sent the magazine out to Tucker Castleberry to get printed.

That was a cause for celebration at Local Three!

I spent last week at Tucker Castleberry making sure all the colors were right.

The magazine looked amazing... So I left it in Kent's capable hands and went to Palm Beach with my love to see his family.

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We had such a nice time, and I came back refreshed and ready for "The Beacham Series" party tomorrow from 5:30 to 8 PM.

House 3

The party is at Janey Lowe's listing on 94 Peachtree Way. The house is such a treat. According to Janey's remarks: Stunning to the studs renovation & restoration of this 1900 era home designed by Frank Neely & Davey Construction. Photographed & published nationally. Sweeping front lawn leads to porch with redwood floors. Bright family kitchen with walnut island, highest end appliances, 2 dishwashers, 2 refrigerators, hand-painted custom cabinetry, walk-in pantry, bfast area, all opening to a fireside den. Handsome study w/exquisite hand stained built-ins& brass lighting. Mstr bdrm suite with its own sitting area, dual walk-in-closets, 3 large other bedrooms. Herringbone brick patio & fireplace. 2 car garage w/full guest house.

Here is the amazing news: this house is already under contract! So, this really is your last chance to see it!

Here are a few photos just to get you in the mood to see an amazing house.

fireplace detail

entryway

I hope to see you all tomorrow night! Email me if you have any questions. [email protected]

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Farms are cool. So is Widespread Panic.

Blayne Beacham February 1, 2012

I've always fancied myself a little farm-ie... Screen Shot 2012-02-01 at 3.29.52 PM

Here I am in college with my rabbit, Napoleon. I bought this little guy without telling my mom... not smart. Then he grew to be like 8 lbs and would chew up all the wires/hardwoods in my apartment. I really loved him and was able to tolerate it, but as soon as I moved back in with my mom on Habersham we had to find Napoleon a new home. Bummer.

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Here I am holding a goat. Classic. If I had a back yard big enough you better believe I would have my own goat. How cute is he??

And who could forget the great chicken experiment of 2010?

I got 8 of these little fellows... and 5 of them were... well, fellows. That left me with three of the meanest hens you've ever met.

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See, she's plotting to peck my eyes out. Kidding... kind of. It turns out chickens don't really love being raised in the city on a concerte slab. They would much rather be out in the country... like me.

If I had my own farm I could own all the crazy animals I wanted, thus I was THRILLED when Nan Haverty asked me to go shoot her new farm near Serenbe. (Hey, you never know when the opportunity might present itself and you just NEED to buy a farm.)

8275 Chochan Mill was exactly what I was looking for in a farm property. I love that wide front porch!

Here is the barn, which is located just steps from the main house.

Of course I had to get a peak inside. Don't hate me, but I am not a huge fan of horses. I had a scary experience riding one once when I was little and have never really had any desire to climb aboard... that being said I do think they are beautiful and love watching them... from afar. BTW, there is an artist studio in the attic space of this barn, so go ahead and sign me up for spending time in there!

There are acres and acres of horse paddocks behind the house. We walked back so you could see the home, barn and garage/guest house. The homeowner told me that every night she pours herself a glass of wine and walks around the property checking the fences. I'm sorry, but how pleasant does that sound?

I was really impressed by the inside of the house. It was so bright and comfortable!

Isn't that great?

Digging this fireplace in the master!

This is the perfect place to cook meals for your family while they are out tending the pigs!

My favorite part of the house is the huge back poch overlooking the fields. I would love to sit out here at night with a glass of wine. Apparently when I move to the country I am also going to start drinking a lot of wine. :)

I asked Jim-Bo if he could ever see himself moving to the country. He didn't answer... but he did buy me a nice little ticket to Widespread Panic at the Tabernacle last weekend (wood tour, for those of you in the know).

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City Mouse + Country Mouse = Two very in love little mice.

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Photographer Angela West's Personal Home: Before and After

Blayne Beacham January 17, 2012

Famed photographer Angela West and her husband were the buyers. Angela and her husband have decided to sell the home, and they listed it with Glennis once again. I went to shoot the home last week! I was so excited. I have always loved this house....

Angela West got a BA from UGA and an MFA from Yale. I've seen a lot of her pieces at Jackson Fine Art.

Since my main two loves are photography and houses, I was so excited to see the changes she had made to the home. How did her skills as a photographer influence the choices she made in the house? Lucky for you guys I have the before pictures (I know, I spoil you), so you can see for yourselves how skilled Angela is not only at photography, but also at transforming a home! Before the home was done very traditionally. I loved it then, but I am really enjoying Angela's modern approach to the home.

Here is the kitchen before..

And here is is now. I never get tired of seeing how fresh paint can change a room. I love the bare walls and that simple green vase on top of the cabinets.

The before breakfast area...

I love the paint color and new pillows. Did you see the chairs? The different fabrics on the front and back are really cool. The table is perfect as well. It's much lighter.

Here is the dining room before. It's very Traditional with the Oriental rug and furniture.

Here it is now. Obvious changes: wallpaper, curtains, chandelier, larger table, rug removal, de-cluttering. I am usually a fan of rugs, but these hardwoods are so beautiful I am glad we can see them. I believe Angela and her husband had all the floors refinished.

Here is another view of the dining room where you can see Angela's beautiful photograph on the back wall!

The living room is where you can see the biggest difference. Here is the before picture. I remember being amazed with how large this room was the first time I shot the house.

Here is an additional before picture form the other direction.

Ready to see it now?

Doesn't that look great? I love the style of this room now, and the painted beams almost seem to disappear. The room is light and airy. They added custom fireplace screens and a built-in bar in the second enclave. Also, isn't that chandelier beautiful?

I wanted you to see Angela's photography above the fireplace. Those are the same pieces highlighted above on the Jackson Fine Art website.

Here is a better view of the bar they added.

And I include this overview so you can see how large the room really is, and how functional the room is with this furniture layout. Didn't she do a great job?

To see more of the amazing rooms in the house, including these...

... and to see the gardens...

... and the guest house...

Have a great week everybody!

And my new years dress!!! Success! And see how I am trying to make my arm look skinny? Success.

Phish... and a restoration???

Blayne Beacham January 4, 2012

Well, here we are in the new year! Hi! Are you loving 2012?

I had the nicest Christmas/New Years break with Jimmy. (yea, I know... I talk about Jimmy all the time. What are you gonna do? I'm going to show you guys a house, so I get to talk about Jimmy as much as I want. A deal's a deal! -- see the results.)

We started out our visit in North Carolina where his mom's family lives. We went to his aunt's house for lunch. You may remember her from the kitchen she designed in Jimmy's grandma's house. She has a great eye for design, and I was really looking forward to seeing her house. Her home used to belong to Jimmy's grandmother's sister (great aunt?). She lovingly restored/renovated it and did an amazing job! There were so many unique things about the house I had to take pictures so I could share them with you. I found out later my camera was actually on the brink of death, so forgive me if these pictures are not my best. One more side note... Jimmy's aunt had an awesome lunch for us. It was so great that I got distracted and forgot to take a picture of the kitchen. #totalfail Don't blame me though, I was on vacation and didn't have my head totally in the game. Ha.

This is the foyer, which I love. Why? I love a glass front door. It's nice to be able to open the wood door and see out to the front yard. I also like the wood floors. The man in the picture is Jimmy's grandfather. Unfortunately he died before I got to meet him, but everyone in the family raves about how kind he was.

This is the other side of the foyer. I was really drawn to the bronze wallpaper. I tried to get a close up of it...

Aren't those pretty imperfections?

This is the formal living room. I love those bay windows. They looked like iron to be, but I am not positive. You may notice Jimmy's sisters in this photo :)

This is the fireplace in the living room. I loved the carvings on the mantel!

I really like the dining room a lot! The China Cabinets probably had the most space of any I have ever seen.

See?

Here is the solarium. Loving the oversized windows and brick floors. You guys know I am a sucker for brick floors. Duh.

His aunt told me that she chose these Christmas decorations to echo the bronze in the foyer. How clever is that? I would never have thought of it and really admire the fact that she did. The decorations look amazing. Let's walk outside.

This is the other side of the window we were just looking through...

and here is the back patio. Is that flagstone? Or maybe bluestone? It looks great. I love the size of the stone.

Here is a view of the home from the pond in the back yard. They put in a lot of landscaping that all looks so natural and lush (even in December!).

More landscape and the pond :)

Lets head back in show I can show you my favorite room!

We are heading up the stairs. I put in this picture of the window seat because that's Jimmy's favorite place in the house. He said he would hang out there a lot when he was a little boy.... awww.

We end in my favorite room. She vaulted this ceiling and added the beams, which really opened up the space. The recessed lighting is such a nice touch because it really lightens up the room. We had such a nice time sitting and talking in this room, and before we left we even got to have a fire in that great fireplace! Jimmy's sisters hung out on that bench seat in the corner. I love it now, but wouldn't that have been such a cool nook as a kid? Jimmy's family has been visiting this house for their whole lives and were kind enough to share all their childhood memories with me. I can imagine this would have been quite the place to explore as a child.

Here is a closer look at the craftsmanship on the ceiling. They even had a stained glass window made and put up in the corner. If my camera had not been failing every other shot I would have had a picture of it for you. Sorry! Just believe me that it was beautiful.

Here is the other side of the room, which had great buil-ins! If I were in high school/college I would have done all my studying here... it just makes me feel studious.

A close up of the fireplace where we had the fire...

This is the coolest balcony off the room. It was warm enough to open the doors and go out there for a little while, which was so pleasant!

Finally we have Jimmy just doing a little hanging out in the room. Can't you imagine him there as a child? No? Let me see if I can help you out a little...

How's that? I KNOW, RIGHT!!! CUTEST BABY EVER! Thanks for letting me use that picture :) And thank you to Jimmy's aunt for having us over for a wonderful holiday lunch! I love your house!

Moving along... What did we do the rest of the break?

Phish MSG night 1...

Phish MSG night 2...

Phish MSG night 3...

Phish NYE and MSG...

Did I have fun? Yes. Am I glad it's over? No. What was my favorite song they played? 46 days. What song got stuck in my head the most? Quinn the Eskimo. What was my favorite set? NYE set 3. "How were you able to make it through four nights? Didn't you get tired?" Yes... but it was totally worth it! Am I glad Jimmy took me? Absolutely. Thank you so much honey. I had a wonderful time.

HAPPY 2012 everybody!!!

Let's sell some houses this year!

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Keith Summerour, the perfect glass of wine, my NYE dress...

Blayne Beacham December 14, 2011

For those of you who have been reading this blog a while, you know I am slightly obsessed with Keith Summerour.

If you are looking for a laugh you can read this post I write about him 2 years ago titles "Keith Summerour: What makes it a Summerour?" I think it was maybe my 3rd blog post ever. Cute Blayne.

I somehow got the nerves to interview him a year later about this house. It was a wildly popular post. Read it if you like.

People like Keith's houses because it is modern without being too modern. It's clean and European and just a tad bit equestrian. I adore his work, and that is true for Glennis Beacham's new listing at 5549 Long Island Drive. It's lovely and everything a Summerour should be.

The home is beautiful from the approach. I love the arches (back right), which are so characteristically Summerour.

The heavy wooden doors are very wide (like barn doors), which provides a nice entrance to the home.

This foyer is open and welcoming.

Love this dining room with the wood windows and cathedral ceiling.

The best part about the living room is the curved/trey ceiling. Oh yea, that fireplace is pretty amazing as well. Oh heck... I love the floors and the arched hallways as well, so it's all great!

What a great kitchen! There is so much prep space with the center island, and then you can have people eating at the island closest to us in these pictures. The wood beams on the ceiling tie the kitchen to the rest of the house and echo the floors nicely.

This is the family room right off the kitchen. You can see how the wood beams are continued in here, and the oversized windows let you look out to the back (we will see that later).

This hallway leads to the master suite, and is so reflective of Summerour's style with the arched doorways, beamed ceilings and wood doors opening to the front porch.

I like the trey ceiling in the master, and all the windows allow for tons of natural light. That's also a really cool fan that I am just noticing for the first time!

Look at the archway leading to the master bath! It's interesting how it's open from the bedroom into the bath, but the shower is off to the side, so it's still private.

Let's head outside!

Not to shabby, eh?

Oh yea, this is the approach to the house. Amazing, right? It's like something out of a childhood fantasy. Once again Keith Summerour=Perfection.... duh.

To see the rest of this dream home, click here.

In other news.... (I'll make this quick... I know you only came for the houses! ha ha.)

My NYE dress came in, and I couldn't be happier!! If you don't ignore my horribly messy closet behind me I'll die. I cropped it as tight as I could. Now I get to wear this $70 dress that looks much more expensive for the Christmas party and New Years! Shhh. Don't tell anyone. Also, sorry for the confusion in the dress post. I am FOR SURE going to NYC to see Phish at MSG for NYE (wow!). I have THE BEST boyfriend ever. He got us 4 nights FREE at the Four Seasons New York and got us tickets to all four nights of Phish. He is amazing... I am a very lucky girl with a REALLY cool dress.

We finally took our Christmas card picture. This is usually painful because Ben bitches and mom and I always think we look bad. This year was a breeze! My uncle, Rod Collins, took the picture. He's very talented, especially when it comes to people. Let me know if you would like him to take a picture for you!

I discovered the perfect glass of wine. Jimmy and I went to Roswell on Saturday and ate at Salt Factory Pub, which Jimmy claims was the best place he's eaten in Georgia... so there. This glass of wine is called "Knights Valley" by Beringer. I went to Beringer when I was in Napa a few years ago and and was really impressed. I have tried a lot of their wine, but this was the best glass I've had by them.... maybe by anyone. Do yourself a favor and order a case. Since I don't know how to talk about wine, I am stealing this from The Wine Enthusiast, "an appealing wine showing likable softness and flashy flavors. The palate brings cassis, mocha, licorice, sweet tobacco, sage, Asian spice and smoky oak; finished long and rich. Notable for its superb structure." See? Told ya.

Don't say I never gave you anything! Happy Holidays Kid-Os