Merry Shindig-2009 Edition

Saturday night we hosted the third annual Eisele Merry Shindig. We kept things low key and casual, with a pot luck menu, as opposed to last year's spread. We provided ham, bread, beverages and brownies and the girls brought some delicious sides and deserts. After a very grown up candlelight sit down dinner at our new dining room table, we moved into the living room for some not so grown up Rock Band, followed by a battle of the sexes, rousing game of Mad Gab. We all know that girls have their own language occasionally, but we girls rocked it out beating the guys by double their score. I wish I would have had the energy to keep going all night, but you know this pregnant girl was losing steam and winding down by 11:30 when our wonderful guests called it a night. This has become such a fun tradition for our little group. We really had a great time laughing, eating and playing, and I can't wait until next year! (Britt and Ryan--you and your skills were missed!)

Starting to Think Baby...

We have decided not to do a traditional nursery, and rather have the crib in the master room with us for the first several months. Later we will decide who has to share rooms and get everyone arranged accordingly. Our master bedroom is VERY neutral, with all shades of ivory, taupe, white and cream, with a couple accents in pale blue. Here are some of my "inspiration" photos. My mother will be making the bedding, as she has for the other two boys. The crib is an antique white/ivory color.

Notice the name poll in the top right corner. All opinions are welcome, and if you hate our choices and have an awesome suggestion, please leave it in the comment section.

Polkadot Design

Serena and Lily

posh tots

posh tots

posh totswisteria

Thanksgiving recap

Our Thanksgiving recap in pictures...

The below picture is for Evan and Leah...Justin made the dressing again this year...only it didn't take 5 hours to finish...ha ha

Thanksgiving Table Setting

"Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever, His faithfulness continues through the generations." Psalm 100:4-5

We are hosting Thanksgiving here at our house this year. It will just be our little family and my parents, so no stress which is nice. We are buying the turkey already cooked. Chef Justin will make the dressing and sweet potatoes, I will make the mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. My parents are bringing rolls, so we are all set. Oh, and there will be chocolate chip cookies and brownies for desert. Sorry, no pumpkin pie fans in our house.
Graham helped me put together a fall table for our meal. He gathered the leaves and hand wrote everyone's name on their turkey place card. I used only materials I had on hand, so it was completely free. The fabric was in my stash and was supposed to have been jon jons for the boys last summer....obviously that never happened. I cut a strip as a runner and threw it in the dryer to start the ends to fray. Then I hand wrote a special Bible verse around the perimeter of the fabric with a sharpie. The leaves are from our back yard and the feather picks were actually in my Christmas stash in the corner of the room. I have several of the glass vases in my collection. They came from the Dollar Tree and have been very useful.


This year we are thankful for suprise blessings, not having to travel during the holidays, healthy family members, a new house, new light fixtures, new business partnerships, special friends and most of all our salvation.

Christmas Stockings: 2009 Edition

While sorting through my totes of Christmas items I realized that I now have two sets of beautiful stockings that were totally wrong for the new house. I didn't really think much about it, until I was cleaning behind a chair in our room and found a bolt of fabric I had purchased inexpensively last summer. At one time I had thought about using it for our headboard, then decided to go with something more neutral so the fabric just got put aside and forgotten about. When I found it there, I knew it needed to be used somewhere. It finally hit me that it's khaki and silver color would be perfect for stockings.

That afternoon while Thomas napped, I cut out five new stockings. I simply found a brown paper bag that was sitting in the dining room and cut out a pattern. I decided I better go ahead and get them sewn while I was on a role or they would never get finished. So that night I got my trusty sewing machine out of the garage, dusted her off and set to work. They went together quickly, but still needed some kind of cuff on the top. While at Walmart, I found this faux fur that I thought would be a nice contrast to the texture of the fabric, and bring in the brown that is part of the color scheme in the new house.
I"m very pleased with how they turned out. I've got to decide now if I want to try and have them monogrammed in a chocolate brown thread, or just add a monogram for each person like I did last year.

Announcing Eisele & Huffman, P.A.

Dear Friends of EFN,

I am proud to announce the creation of Eisele & Huffman, P.A. We have created a brand spanking new website at www.ehfirm.com. We would love for you to visit and share your feedback.

Also, below is a Facebook badge. If you click on this badge it will allow you to be a "fan" of Eisele Huffman. In the age of the blogosphere and social networking Facebook is a powerful tool for businesses. The vast majority of my clients are referrals from friends or previously satisfied clients. Please take the time to add Eisele Huffman as a friend on your Facebook.

Justin Eisele is a fan of

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Itchy Trigger Finger

We have had a sudden burst of colder weather here this week which I am loving. In my current state as human oven, I stay hot constantly, so it has been nice to not have windows open and fans turning for a few days. I dare say, I might even turn the heater on tonight! I've been fighting the holiday decorating bug that usually has me in it's grips, but this weather was just what I needed to start getting everything out so I can gradually get to work. My mom will be here for Thanksgiving to help do the tree. I am considering letting Justin have his dream of a live tree this year. My biggest reservation is how long it can last...

After getting things out of storage and seeing what would work this year and what wouldn't, I decided that I really wanted new garlands. Since any money for decorations has been spent on new ornaments, I knew I couldn't purchase any more greenery. But, I had a can of champagne colored spray paint I bought to use on my gold stocking holders that I thought might just perk up my sad little garlands and wreaths. Within a few minutes I had a whole new look to all of my Christmas greenery that will be perfect with the color scheme of the new house. I encourage you to look around at what you already have and think if there is any way to revamp or revive it for a whole new look.
I am hosting two Christmas parties the beginning of December so I really need to get moving on the decorating. I'm still dealing with "all day sickness", headaches and fatigue so I know I might not be able to get as much done as I would like. But, I think by focusing on a few key areas and making them "wow", I can make of for lack of volume with quality and pizazz.

In other Eisele Family News, baby #3 will be wearing BLUE. I realize most people who know us in real life (or Facebook life) already know this, but for posterity sake I am announcing here as well. So it looks like I will be able to keep my seat as Queen of the household forever. We have a name picked out, but are still keeping our ears open to new suggestions...