Newest masterpiece.

I never thought the day would come, but on Sunday I made a pie. Completely from scratch. I will admit, I've patted myself on the back quite a few times since I pulled that beauty from the oven. It sat on the table looking all lovely until Westley arrived home. He got home late, but not so late that we didn't have time to share a piece while I heard all the highlights of his Italian adventure.

Filling the void.

It's silly. It's only been a couple days but I miss my husband.

It's almost the weekend and the weekend is when we are at our best. Even if it is just a weekend where we sit in our pajamas all day - we're the best at it.

I got this cupcake as an attempt to lift my spirits. Westley just texted me to tell me all about the delicious dinner he had in Italy.

I am going to need a bigger cupcake.

Why do I miss this?

Westley landed in Italy early this morning. He gets to pick out the marble for his most recent project. He literally gets to select the exact giant block of marble that will be sliced into pieces for the floor of the lobby. It's nuts, apparently he is very important.

It's the longest time I'll be in the apartment by myself since we moved in together. Parts of having all the alone time are quite nice. Other times (well most of the time), I kind of miss having him around. I miss him especially towards the end of the evening. Our biggest squabbles come from which side of the bed we want to sleep on and our constant accusations of the other stealing the sheets. So to have him out of town, means a huge bed, all to myself.

It's an awful thing though. And I am so embarrassed, but I can't sleep in the lovely huge bed if there is no one else there. It goes against everything I love. Before Westley I would lounge in that bed until my heart's content. Limbs everything, not a square inch to spare. And then he comes along, with his extra long legs and crazy pillow demands and made me share. And I so disliked the space he took up, I even made a rule that even though we were different sizes, we both got equal portions of the bed.

But I guess at some point it got to be nice to have someone there. Especially someone who can wrap me all up and keep me warm on these cold winter nights. When I went to go to bed last night, I just couldn't seem to fall asleep. So I took the quilt and my favorite pillow and made a little cave on the couch. Maybe tonight I'll give it another try, but I think I'll just wait until Westley's return. We'll fight for space, but really we secretly love our best bed buddy.

It is ridiculous though. This guy somehow always manages to pull our perfectly tucked in sheet right out. This night he even managed to use it as a scarf. He's crazy. I miss him.

New year.

What good words to live by.

I can't help but think back to a couple weeks when Westley, Hannah and I were driving back to D.C. after the holidays. For some reason Hannie and I began to break out into song and I believe sang nearly every Broadway song we have ever heard. Even Hannie was incredibly impressed by my knowledge of the Oklahoma score. What a delight it was to belt out a few duets with my sister. That's what sisters are for -- singing so out of tune, that together it almost sounds like harmony.

Westley, like a good chauffeur, sat facing forward, doing his best to ignore us. I promised him one day I would learn to drive on the highway and he could sit in the passenger seat and sing to his heart's content. I know he doesn't believe I'll ever drive, but 2013 is a new year and maybe this will be the year. Until then, it's my job to keep him entertained on road trips -- and as always, I am more than happy to take requests.

Cuddle up.

After a few unseasonably warm days, winter seems to be setting in here. As much as I love the warm weather, it's sometimes nice to bundle up and pull out all my cozy sweaters and such. Westley doesn't like to run the heat too much, which is fine by me, because it means snuggling on the couch under old soft blankets. We are putting the final touches on our Christmas tree tonight. It will be a treat to reminisce all the good times we had in 2012 -- it was such a wonderful year for us. And I imagine 2013 will prove to be even better.

A big year.

What are we doing this weekend? 

Celebrating Arthur's big birthday! I went up to visit my sister a few weekends ago to put some final touches on party items. It is going to be such a fun day. That little guy has brought so many smiles and such joy into our lives, he deserves a great big celebration.

Manly drink.

I love Westley because he has no problem ordering a bright pink drink with dinner. Look at how he is longingly gazing at that fruity beverage.

We got back from the beach and as always re-entering the non-vacation world was difficult. Somehow we managed and are back into the swing of things. We are heading to Pittsburgh this weekend to see our favorite nephew. The weekend will be spent planning a very special first birthday for that favorite boy.