Making A House A Home

Whether you've been in your house 7 years or 7 weeks, like I have, one of the easiest ways to make a house a home is a candle! And if you've ever had a really good one (read really expensive one), you know there's no going back!

I've compiled a list of some of my favorites, ending with my most favorite....

5. Amy's Country Candles--Gardenia

I'm not usually a floral fan, as you'll see in the rest of my choices, but I will make an exception for this candle. Although the packaging is rather homely, the fragrance more than makes up for it. Matt and I spent a night at the Ritz Carlton in New Orleans last summer, and they burn these candles throughout the hotel. All I can say is the frangrance is intoxicating. It doesn't hurt that gardenias are one of my all time favorite flowers!

4. Aspen Bay Gold Leaf Candles

I've not had one of these candles in forever. My Mom used to have them throughout the house, and we always loved their fragrances. It's been so long, I'm having a hard time remembering which we liked best, but I believe it was either Dining Room or Master Bedroom or maybe both!


3. Seda France Candles--Japanese Quince

If the fragrance isn't enough, the adorable packaging will definitely sell you on this candle!

3. Tyler Candles--Limelight and Panache

I can't believe I forgot these candles my first attempt at this post. I knew if I started listing things I like I would just have a forever list. But these really do rank right up there with the Seda candles. Like the Seda candles, they have adorable packaging too!

They also have two of my favorite Christmas scents: A Christmas Tradition and, of course, Egg Nog!
2. Votivo--Red Currant

I think this is probably EVERYONE's favorite candle, but that's because it smells so good! It makes anybody's home smell luxurious! Trust me, you can't go wrong with this one.



1. Low Country Luxe--New Orleans

Don't let the price deter you. TRUST ME, it's worth the splurge. I can't even describe how much better it is than any other candle. You'll just have to try it for yourself!

Anybody else out there got a favorite candle??? I'm always up for a new fragrance!

I almost forgot...

This chunky monkey turned two months today!

We went for her two month check up, and she weighed in at a hefty 13 pounds, 9 ounces! You'd think her momma would be losing some weight with all the weight she's gaining! But I'm sad to say, it just ain't so:)

A Special Delivery

Most of you know what a fan I am of this crafty momma! So, you can imagine my delight when this arrived in the mail today, especially after reading about all of the hard work she put into getting them shipped out so quickly!

Hopefully, I'll have pictures of Walker wearing his new shirt this weekend as we kick off the start of the 2010 football season.

War Eagle!!!

One Happy Baby

A Mile Long

Now that we are settled into our house (if you count storing all of the unpacked boxes in one room "settled in"), it's time for some decorating! Of course, with a new house, there's not much room in the budget for that right now. But a girl can dream...

I'd like to start with my living room first. So here's my mile long wish list...

1 Jute rug

1 Mirror*

*(I literally just copied this picture from Ballard minutes before copying the link, and now it's gone. So sad, because it was listed at a great sale price. I'm not surprised they were all scooped up!)

1 Wing Chair


1 Coffee table*
*(Note to self, should probably wait until Frances is at least 3 or 4 before purchasing glass top table!)

2 Chippendale style chairs*

*(In either black, chocolate or olive depending on fabric for cushions)

With cushions in one of these fabrics...

Duralee 42041-619

ITD Punch Love Blue

World Linen and Textile Fabric Ravenna

Stroheim and Romann Summit Linens III

Catching Up, Part 2

I have to admit the best thing I heard all summer was when I called Walker and Kathryn's new school and found out they started August 9th! We were in desparate need of a little routine around our house!

Can I just say not only am I spoiled that they now go to school three days a week, but their school provides snack, lunch AND it's less than ten minutes from our house. That makes for one spoiled momma!

Here's Walker outside of school on the first day...

Kathryn refuses to smile on demand, hence the somber face.

After school, we stopped at Pollman's for some cookies to celebrate their first day!

I'm laughing at this picture of Kathryn's shirt because as I mentioned the school provides lunch, but they serve the kids the most unkid-like things. On this day, they ate ravioli. Great for kids, not so great for the white shirt and shorts Kathryn was wearing! Since then some of the funnier items they've been served are "egg" sandwiches (this is what the kids called them, I'm assuming it must have been egg salad???) and bbq short ribs. Walker also refused to eat his corn one day because he said it looked like our corn but didn't taste like it. Funny thing is the only corn we've eaten around here lately has been from a tv dinner:)

Catching Up, Part 1

Finally, I am glad to report the internet in the Busbee house is up and running! So now, let's get down to some catching up business!

Matt was blessed with two weeks off between finishing his fellowship and FINALLY starting what we lovingly refer to as his "real" job! So, we decided to leave all of the unloaded boxes behind and pack up the kiddos for a quick vacation. Thankfully, we didn't have to go too far.

The Grand Hotel in Point Clear was the perfect get away! They have a great pool and even a playgroud built in the sand, but my two enjoyed playing in the bay the most. Matt and I enjoyed it too because there was actually a breeze down by the bay, that you couldn't really get at the pool! Plus poor Walker got an AWFUL case of swimmers ear that just about killed him (and me and Matt too), he was in so much pain. The sandy beach and bay provided a better alternative than swimming in the pool!

"Look, Mommy, a crab claw!"

And daddy found a hermit crab!

Walker running along the beach!

Let's not forget Frances! She basically did this the whole time...

We tried to do some photo shooting under the oaks, but without too much luck. The kids were more interested in swimming than having their pictures made. But we did get a few keepers...

We're almost there!

The cable company comes tomorrow! Until then....meet Capt. Walker!

Don't You Hate It When...

People don't update their blog for weeks!!! I do because blog surfing is what gets me through middle of the night feedings, that and texting Val and Miles who are sometimes up too! Yet here I am weeks without a new post (and this one won't contain any pics!).

The problem is we've been living without Internet, surviving off of our iPhones. We had hoped to remedy that problem by getting our cable set up last week. The customer service lady told Matt over the phone that he had to come to their office to show any proof of home ownership (utility bill, etc.). Matt went gas bill in hand, stood in line for an hour only to be told he needed an AL Power bill and a mortgage note. Needless to say, he was a bit perturbed. A quick call to customer service confirmed that the first lady gave us wrong info and that we would have to provide these two proofs of ownership. So we'll head back at the first of this week to provide our proof.

So that's the long explanation for the lack of posts. Hopefully, we'll be up and running this week. After all, we've got lots to catch up on...a mini vacay at The Grand Hotel, Walker and Kathryn's first day of school, and our ever growing and changing Frances.