Harleigh in the HOUSE!!!!!

So, my girl came home on Friday, stopping by my office on the way to surprise me. So very good to see her is an understatement. We spent the weekend shopping (Decatur for vintage clothing stores and the mall for newer duds), watching movies (Beezus and Ramona, The Last Song, Elf, 500 Days of Summer, 10 Things I Hate About You), church, lunch with one of her dear guy friends from Camp All American . . . and she still holds my hand when we walk through the mall. Life is good.

We have our Christmas wreaths on the grills of our cars (thanks Dad!) and are ready for some holiday decorating! Bring it on!

Some images from the weekend.

Here is Mr. Gideon in the on-back-wanting-a-belly-rub position, showing off his new Christmas collar, complete with jingle bell.
Found these wooden disk charms/key rings at Kudzu in Decatur. Harleigh got a couple for gifts for girlfriends (and I got her one since they are so stinkin' cute). Each one has a different saying on the back.

The Indian Summer weather we've been having is divine. Here's the living room of Chateau Gahan. The clerestory windows with plantation shutters make this lovely pattern on the ceiling when the sun shines at just the right angle. Makes the living room feel like a greenhouse.
The front door was propped open all weekend to let the sun shine in.
Even doing laundry left me with a sunny dispostion.
I'm in the midst of cleaning out all my recipes. I've got accordian folders, spiral-bound notebooks into which I've taped recipes, index cards loose, index cards in boxes, ripped pages out of magazines. Must must must make sense of this jumbled disorganization. I came across this recipe from middle school; probably from a home ec class (I remember how much fun those were back in the old days). Didn't everything get a smiley face back in middle school?!?!?
All this lovely weather romping outside (coupled with the damp ground from last week's rain storms) makes for some muddy paws. At a thrift store ages ago I had found all these rag rugs for $1 a piece; I keep them near the back door under this cart so that I can throw one in the wash and replace it with another when Mr. Gideon comes in with dirty feet.