Her Nashville

Sorry, but I'm going to have to pass the humor torch to this little guy today. He's been making the email rounds, and regardless of the fact that I did not personally give birth to him, he still gets the Cutest Baby Ever stamp of approval. Also, he's got some great holiday gift ideas for those of you who are shopping on a budget. Check it out:

Last year, I met Stephanie and Rebecca of Relish and instantly clicked.  They are creative and fun gals and have created an online invitation company that offers unique options for creating custom wedding invitations. 

So, if you are planning a wedding and your wedding budget seemed to be sliced in half with this whole recession thingy, here's a chance to have those dream invitations for less!

Have I mentioned I love doing the HER Home column for HER Nashville, along with this handy-dandy blog?  Well, I do.  I heart it very much!  One reason for the love:  It's given me a virtual free-pass...ok, an excuse...to visit shops I'd previously driven by and wondered about.  Shopping = research.  Love it!

I'm not quite sure why my type-A personality doesn't extend to my holiday gift-buying tendencies.  It's just about this time of year, while planning Thanksgiving (this year, for 14 instead of our usual intimate six -- five of us plus my mom), that I realize I haven't bought a thing and I'm running out of time. About 6 weeks and counting...fast! Part of it is financial.  I keep waiting for a little "surplus" one month before I start shopping.  Sometimes, that surplus never materializes.  Other years, I'm just late.

“It’s the nicest thing that’s happened to me in quite a while,” said my mother on the phone, calling from Mississippi. At 86, she still gets around on her own, but she is slowing down a bit and, I suspect, growing weary of the impermanent stuff of life. She and I have become accustomed to talking several times a week since my father died in 2000.

“You remember that sweet girl from your Sunday school class?”

A new national study by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, discovered that 213,000 plus children under 18 years of age are treated each year in U.S. hospital emergency rooms for playground-related injuries; the number of injuries stayed consistent during the 10-year study.

Despite playground guidelines and standards, high numbers of playground equipment-related injuries illustrate remaining unsafe conditions for our children.  Parents should be aware of the study's key findings:

Celebrate the launch of The Artist Within: A Guide to Becoming Creatively Fit (Turner) with author Whitney Ferré at RUMOURS East on Saturday, Nov. 15. Learn more at 262-5346.Celebrate an early Thanksgiving at Renewal House's A Women's Thanksgiving on Sunday, Nov. 16. The evening offers fellowship, food and lots of feel-good moments.  Proceeds benefit Renewal House.  Learn more at 255-5222 ext. 106.

A few days ago, I saw this segment on cupcakes called "Cupcakes: A Sweet Spot in a Sour Economy".  As I thought about my own person obsession with cupcakes, especially for weddings and events, I thought - how true! 

About two hours and ten seconds after I thought to myself, “This is great. I haven’t been sick in six months,” I was felled by some sort of head cold that has kept me couch-bound for several days. In-between waiting for my husband to get back from the drugstore with the latest round of syrups and salves and dozing off with frightening regularity, I’ve been thinking about what it means to pray for myself.

Bling in the holiday season with your very own Santa and/or snowman bejweled USB drives. You know you need one.

Hat Tip: PopGadget