Julia Talking :)

Playdoh Time

Siegelbach Zoo

Waving hi to the monkeys!

Looking at the tiger :)

Over this long weekend we decided to take Julia to the zoo! It had snowed and was freezing, and about an hour before the zoo closed, so we had it pretty much all to ourselves :). I was suprised by how many animals were actually out! We saw a tiger, lion, emus, zebras, lots of monkeys (Julia's favorite), birds, reptiles, a sloth, farrets, camels, ducks, and some farm animals too. The monkeys were especially friendly and were coming up to the windows, so Julia tried to touch them and kept saying "hi!".

Christmas Countdown Calendar!

While Julia was napping yesterday, we put up our very large Christmas countdown calendar! We showed it to her when she woke up, and she had a lot of fun pointing out all the cute pockets on the calendar. I also made a few cards to put in the pockets, and for all the other ones, I'm putting little gifts and treats in them :).

Mama and Jules

Just like Mama

A few weekends ago I had to go into work, and while I was gone Julia decided to get dressed up in my dress uniform shoes and her hat!! Sometimes, well, a lot of the time, she has Tom and I in stitches with her antics ;). I think she likes the "click clack" my heels make on our hardwood floors, but since I'm sure our neighbors don't appreciate it so much, the heels are now kept in our front closet :).

Cinque Terre

A little trolley used to go up the side of the hills...

The view of the Sea from Monteresso

Happy camper :)

The beach at Monteresso

Warming up with some cappucino...

The tiny beach at Vernazza

Vernazza

The crazy windy roads Tom had to navigate

Vernazza from the road

It was pouring, but we wanted to see the Mediterranean!

What we really wanted to see in Pisa (around Pisa...) was Cinque Terre. It's a set of five little towns along the Mediterranean that have hiking trails connecting all of them. Scott planned on hiking from the first to last town, so we dropped him off and set off to drive to all the towns ourselves. It was raining for the most part, but we still walked through 4 of the 5 towns. There weren't too many other tourists, and unfortunately, many of the shops and restaurants were closed because of the weather too. We still had a good time, but when we met back up with Scott, he said all but the first trail were closed, so he ended up riding the train to some of the towns. We probably crossed paths throughout the day, but just didn't realize it! Tom and I picked out a cool painting from one of the shops that had the coast line of each of the five towns, so once we get it framed I'll post pictures. All in all, it was a great time, and we're glad we went. Sometimes (especially with a little one) the hassle of going places doesn't seem worth it, but we are always proved wrong! Julia did great, but was getting pretty antsy by the last day. She's a very good traveller!!

Pisa

Porche and Mercedes Museums

Mercedes Museum

South American Mercedes tour bus

Unimog!

Race car and trailer

Huge truck engine

Julia playing at the Porsche Museum

Tom's Favorite

So cool! Tom explained "downforce" to me...

Having a snack at the Porsche museum

Even the napkins say Porsche...cool!

This week we've had the pleasure of having our good friend, Scott, stay with us. We all met each other on the same trip to Heidelberg about 4.5 years ago, and have stayed in touch ever since. It's been a few years since we've seen each other, so this was a big treat! We went to Stuttgart, where both the Porsche and Mercedes museums are, and since Tom and Scott are both big into cars they really enjoyed it!

Lanigan Christmas Card

Christmas Blessings Christmas

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Here's a sneak peek at the Christmas card we designed and will be mailing out this year!

'Tis the Season Pillow Covers

I made these pillows (like the other linen ones below) to decorate for Christmas. I still have the beige ones out, but these will be coming out soon to get into the Spirit of Christmas!

Happy Veteran's Day!

I'd like to take the time on this Veteran's Day to thank all my friends and family who have served, or are serving in the U.S. military (the world's greatest!). The freedoms all Americans enjoy have been, and are being, paid for with the blood and ultimate sacrifice of a very FEW. Below are some statistics that resonated with me:

• Currently, only 1% of the U.S. population is serving in the military


• 50% of those serving have been deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan


• 5,772 service members have given their lives in defense of our country during OIF/OEF


• 320,000 service members have suffered from Traumatic Brain Injury during OIF/OEF


• 40, 464 service members have been wounded during OIF/OEF

Pillow Covers

I spent the last couple evenings sewing these pillow covers - inspired by Pottery Barn's collection, but way cheaper to make my self (I spent $15 for a yd. of linen, but PB is selling covers like this for $25 a piece!). I have red linen and pale yellow linen to make Christmas and spring/summer covers (respectively), so I'm going to try to finish those soon (before we have to have movers come and pack up everything, including my sewing machine!).