~Birthday Fun With {ALL} My Honey Buns~

~Nov. 3 was a fabulous day! I was able to spend it with my friends and my family. I was delighted to have my friends Heather & Kati come to take me out to lunch to my favorite.. Thai food. Thanks so much for all of the phone calls, emails & cards -

y'all know how to make a girl feel loved~

~They gave me this awesome fall decor for my dining room table. Of course I couldn't just say "thank you".... I asked if they would also do the decorating for me - it was the gift that kept on giving. It looks great, and I keep walking by and staring into my room~

~Steve was so good to take me for a night out on my birthday. We headed to downtown Stuttgart where we went shopping and even decided to brave the outdoor ice rink. Do I look nervous? Well, I was smiling from ear to ear.. but just seconds from falling on my butt~

~It kills me because Steve always makes everything look so easy. He was spinning circles around me, skating backwards, looking like a pro. I spent more time giggling and getting cheered on by the people around the edge of the rink... who were probably thinking.. oh that poor girl - but were definitely giving me that encouraging head knod. I am just glad that they had some fabulous 80's music playing and I got to be on a romantic date with my boyfriend~

~We had the best time on our {Ladies Shop 'Til You Drop 2008} weekend. From left to right - Angie, Me, Kati & Heather. The rules were that we had to pack VERY light for our sleepover, because I knew that there would be no room in my car for us to sit if we didn't. We headed to Heidelberg to a Holiday Bazaar. There were some amazing things and after we got over fighting for the same items... we were able to make some great deals. I was starting to get worried because the car was starting to get very full. That didn't slow us down at all... we just joked and said.. there is always room for one more treasure~

~After a long day of shopping and no lunch... we were starving! We headed over to the American Diner to stock up on some hamburgers and club sandwiches. It was fun to talk about all of our purchases and to be able to be silly with our girlfriends. Angie was also lucky enough to be my bed-mate~

~Do we look full? It was time to call it a day and drive the 1 1/2 hours to one of my favorite towns in Germany... Rothenburg ob ter Tauber - it is a magical "Christmas" town that is surrounded completely by a castle wall. Unfortunately, we got stuck in a "stau" - which is the German word for a really sucky traffic jam. So needless to say.. our 1 1/2 hour drive turned into a 3 hour drive. Luckily it went fast because we were with such good company. We even got the pleasure of watching man after man pull off the side of the autobahn to take care of business... this is also as "German" as the bad traffic is. With a little woohoo from the ladies - we were on our way to our dreamy town~

~When we got to our magical hotel, it was dark. When we woke up the next morning (we all naturally woke up at 7 a.m. - what is up with this? Our kids have ruined us all) we went out on our deck and looked out over the valley that was beyond the castle walls - it was breathtaking~

~The fog was nestled above the farms, and it felt like a crisp, fall morning. We had another full day of shopping.. so we took some pictures and then had to get ready for a delicious German breakfast and some more great finds~

~The view from our room was splendid.. and so were the memories that we were making on this trip. We definitely got to know eachother in a whole new light. Lucky for them.. I was even comfortable enough to burp and pass gas in front of them. I just told them that they were not worth a stomach ache :) It is actually my way to test my true friends - kind of like dating - who are you really able to relax around? Lucky for them we were outside most of the time~

~When we got into town that night, we walked around and window shopped so that we could attack the stores when they opened the next day. We had it all planned out - and once again... we had more and more treasures to fill the car... and less and less room to sit~

~This is a popular Christmas store in Germany. They have thousands of pyramids, smokers, and nativities to choose from. It just costs a lot of money. There are a lot of friends and family that we shopped for that are going to be very lucky receivers of our good finds. Merry Christmas to all ... from magical Germany~

~I was getting tired of shopping, so I decided to join my fall friends for some drinks & smokes. It felt good to be able to sit and relax :)~

~If you are wondering where all of our bags were.. we had to take trip after trip back to the car because it was just too much to carry. We very rarely have a picture without a shopping bag in one of our hands~

~How can you not love this town? Doesn't it look like it comes straight out of a calendar? We had so much fun and laughed so hard the whole time. I am so lucky to have met these lovely ladies while I am here in Germany. We are sad because Angie will be leaving next June to go to Westpoint with her family... but Kati and Heather will be here with me until we leave. We will have many more chances to make more memories together~

~We found this booth at the Bazaar on the first day. They were actually a vendor selling Christmas tree skirts and stockings... Kati discovered the furniture that they were using to display them. They were giving us amazing deals and we were creating such a scene.. that people were stopping to stare to see what it was all about. Kati got this corner piece for $10 and she gave it to me as an early Christmas gift - thank you Kati - I love it and it looks great~

~Three of us got these screen dividers.. but the catch was that we had to go back to Heidelberg the next day so that they could go to their store and bring us back more great furniture to choose from. I was able to get this for $40~

~Do we look like professional woman schmoozers here? Well... let's just say we worked our magic. We all picked up some trunks from $10-60, and three of us got the Bombay - this one here was $10 because it has a little damage. The best part is that as we were buying this furniture out back... I was starting to get anxiety on how I was going to get all of this home. The car was packed to full capacity. We were being "cute" enough that they offered to deliver it to my home for free!!! Can you believe it? I was able to get a beautiful Bombay, two large trunks with leather belt closures, a divider, and a corner stand for $200!!! The prices on the floor had all of this at over $800 - let's just say it was a great day for making deals~

~Do these look like happy faces? Notice that there is not even room to sit in my car. The back was full, the seats were full, and we had a full truck coming to be delivered the next day!~

~Thanks girls for a great birthday & shopping weekend! I could not have dreamed it up any better. Thanks for tolerating me and all of my nicknames and laughter. It was an amazing trip~