A conversation this morning, after watching this video:

Me: “I must have a panda bear! RIGHT NOW!”

Him: “No.”

Me: “Wouldn’t it be awesome?”

Him: “Until it kills you.”

Me: “Ya, but at least he would color coordinate with the black and white living room.”

Him: SIGH.

P.S. I dare you to not squeal with delight at the video about 58 seconds in, when the baby panda makes that sound (a bark?). I just rewatched it three times.

Trying out the new flip camera with my new niece on Christmas morning:

Here are a few scenes I shot from our Christmas, which, needless to say, was dominated by the new spawn.

My inner Anne Geddes could not resist putting the baby into a stocking or Santa hat. I only got one decent shot before my model got difficult and decided to pull an attitude.

Hope everyone had the happiest of holidays.

I am hoping that by now most of our friends and family have received our holiday cards. I was so organized this year, ordering the cards the day after Thanksgiving. They arrived a few days later in our mailbox, and then collected dust on the coffee table until December 20. SIGH. Oh well, at least I got them out before Christmas.

I liked the way they turned out though…

…until I saw this adorable card. I love this card so much I want to re-do ours right now. I also want to do a photo shoot for the card. Maybe even rent some kids and sew some matching outfits.

DOUBLE SIGH. Maybe next year.

Meet the newest family member, Addision:

She was born tonight and she is my niece.

Side note: Doesn’t she already look like she is slightly irritated at her mother, even though she is about 20 minutes old in this photograph? I kept waiting for her to roll her eyes, push away the bottle, and ask for the car keys.

Anyway, when I realized Addison was on her way this morning I did the only thing a good aunt could do. I bought her domain name.

Welcome to the world, Littlest Lamb.

I had the privilege of spending the day at The Phoenix Fire Training Academy yesterday. My tour not only included a sneak peek at their new training facility, but included a ride (or 12) on the auto training course, where firefighters-to-be learn how to drive those giant engines with precision at fast speeds in dangerous conditions.

Before we took a lap (or 7) in an engine, we had the opportunity to have a little fun in some passenger vehicles. As my luck would have it, I was matched with this hot ride:

I am fairly certain I was in elementary school when this Chevy Caprice came off the assembly line.

My driver, the lovely Justin, decided to have some fun with me and my fellow tourmate. Basically he guns it, going backwards, and then flips the car around.

I heart firefighters.

I am so excited to be featured as one this week’s top Phoenix Yelpers! Check out the November 11 newsletter here!

Not familiar with Yelp? Then you are missing out on an amazing tool! Yelp allows you to peruse reviews of restaurants, shops, and service providers all over the world. Find a new restaurant, complain about the horrible hair cut you received, or just find something to do. It’s all here! They even have a mobile app that includes maps, which has personally saved my butt several times.

I heart Yelp!

I hate when I think I have carved an awesome pumpkin:

And someone else, in my own home, totally steals my thunder:

After an afternoon of pumpkin carving, we had no plans to go out and deal with crowds, but a friend’s birthday beckoned. So we pulled the old costume box out from underneath the bed, wiped off the dust, and picked something, ANYTHING, that could be thrown together in about 10 minutes. The results:

A cat and a Blues Brother. Hey, we tried.

Our friends did way better than us, even taking the prize for the best couple costumes:

A killer bee and a bee keeper. So very clever.

And, finally, check out thrilled birthday boy Dave being serenaded at Howl at the Moon, a brand new dueling piano bar in Scottsdale:

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

As much as I love a good Christmas light display, I am a real sucker for Halloween decor.  That is why in addition to pumpkin carving, for the last three years I have participated in the fine tradition of pumpkin glittering.

It’s as messy as pumpkin carving, but a lot more fabulous. Plus, it’s the decor that keeps on giving. Trust me when I say that you will continue to find specs of glitter in your home long after even the Christmas tree has been torn down.

The best glitter around is most definitely made by Ms. Martha Stewart and can be found at your local Michael’s.

Do not be fooled by imitators. Martha’s glitter and glue are the best. No cheap glitter allowed! Throw down some newspaper, grab a drink, and prepare for a mess. It’s easy, you really can’t screw it up, and in the end it will look fantastic.

Speaking of looking fantastic, check out these super cute window decals I also picked up while I was glitter shopping at Michael’s:

How fun are these bad boys (cats?)? Also via Ms. Martha. Love her or hate her, the lady makes some great stuff.

Finally, I leave you with my absolute favorite Halloween item, a handmade ghost light made especially for me by my friend’s mother. Is this not the cutest?

What are your Halloween decorating traditions?

I love when other site managers and bloggers ask to use my photos. It just happened again. Hooray!

Check out the uber fun site Phoenix Cycle Chic. If it was not 10 bazillion degrees in Phoenix right now, I might just go ahead and pull my bike out too.