Meet George Hanna

Introducing the latest member of the Hanna House.....12lbs 4ozs...it's GEORGE

He was born on November 1, 2010 at Break of Dawn Kennel/Breeder here in Richmond; his mother is named River and his father is Super....see below for pics...

George's Mom - River

George's Father - Super

Brian and I picked him up on Sunday December 19th at 11AM.  It was a freezing day when we were introduced to two sleepy male black lab puppies.  We asked the breeder to help us find a low drive (less hyper) dog - from the start, it was clear that one of the puppies was more calm than the other (known as Wags - his tail did exactly that!).  While at Break of Dawn we played and took pictures in front of the random outdoor lighthouse, then it was the first car ride home to the Hanna House.

Such a sweet Christmas Gift

Just got home - think I'll hang here between the shoes

Baby Gates have been set up in the Hanna House so George has limits

Check out those huge paws - he is going to be a big boy

Life with George is wonderful - we get a little less sleep and are exposed to the elements for frequent bathroom trips - but all is all we got a good Dog!

Elf You

It's that magical time of year again - time to Elf Yourself....
Check out this one I made for my mom - in preparation for Christmas, her favorite elves like to boogie!

Christmas Cards for our Soldiers

Send a free Holiday Greeting to a US Soldier -

Xerox has a site where children have created cards that you can select and send for free to overseas US military personnel.  It takes only two minutes and will send a note of thanks to those who are risking their lives for our freedom - click here to send a card....two of my favorites are below....

God Bless America

Free Christmas Tunes

Target has a FREE Christmas album for download here.  Warning its an album of originals which I always think is a bit strange.  One of the things I love about Christmas songs is that you know them by heart and only get to listen to them for a month...or as my father calls it....the month when his favorite radio station (light 98) turns Holiday and he rides around listening to his Jay and The Americans CD.....

Another great way to listen to FREE holiday music (old favorites) is PANDORA - love it - especially the holiday station I created using Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas...check it out.... definitely makes rocking around the Christmas Tree more fun!

The price of being tacky?

One of our favorite parts of Christmas is the annual Tacky Light Tour - we got out of the gates early this year with a trip with The Stevens to see a few the first weekend of December (after an El Cap Fiesta of course)....

While driving around we got to talking about the cost implications of being a truly Tacky Light house...well luckily HouseLogic breaks it down here.

To light this house for example:

1,000,000 bulbs were the average 5 watt C7 bulb. Assuming the lights to run for 4 hours each night and 30 nights in total.....the estimated cost came out to be $686/hour  or $82,320 total. YIKES!  
Note - If they use LEDS, their estimate would drop down to $89 hour and $10,680.


It is amazing how much money these families are dishing out to get into the Christmas spirit!  To check out houses in Richmond...use this guide from Richmond.com.


Our favorites are 8202 Shelley (tune your radio to 99.5) and Asbury Court (two houses - mother/son)....

Santa Came Early

Santa came early to The Hanna House....first check out how the first snow dusting of winter....love our house in the snow...that red door really pops...

Now...take a peek through those front windows and you will see what Santa brought us for Christmas....

Curtains!  We...I mean Santa...got a great deal on these beautiful curtains at Impulse an amazing consignment/fine furniture store next to Bernies (yum!) in the Tuckahoe Shopping  Center.

Yesterday was Installation Day - and my wonderful husband did a great job installing the curtain rod and helping me to hang our new window treatments...

Mr Fix-It

Our finished product!
Window treatments can be outrageously expensive - by finding pre-made (and previously owned) curtain panels and ordering a curtain rod on Overstock.com - we were able to save hundreds of dollars and still get a beautiful refined look!

GLEE Christmas Tonight...Darling

FA LA LA LA!

Things Kate Loves

Kate Spade just released a book "Things We Love" - and there is a preview online....check it out here.

Although the Neiman Marcus Group bought a majority stake in Kate Spade in 1999 and then bought out the Spades in 2006 in order to sell to Liz Claiborne for $124 million in 2007 - the brand still has a simply fun sophistication that always makes me want to visit their boutiques and covet their latest handbags, shoes, and baubles!


The book (at least what is showcased online) is a really cute look at finding inspiration through simple pleasures - a few of my favorites....

I weirdly love the Cha Cha Slide....Slide to the left....Slide to the Right...Criss Cross - Criss Cross - Cha Cha Real Smooth

Hello...check out my profile pic - Brian and I had a photo booth at our wedding - and it was a blast!

Confetti makes me happy!

Happy Hanna Holidays!

I'm back - things were nuts in November...with this post I hope to return to my regular Hanna House updates and random blogger thoughts!

To kick off December - check out these pics of the Hanna House's first Christmas Tree - the arrival and finished product...

Yes - this is the earliest we have ever gotten a tree (11/28) -but we just love the real thing (can't beat that smell) and wanted to enjoy our Frasier Fur throughout the entire month!

Arriving from our Tree Lot - on top of the borrowed Jeep

Decorated and ready for some rocking....

My sister-in-law and her family gave Brian and me Christmas ornaments as our wedding gift -  it was such a thoughtful gift and made our tree decorating even more fun as we discovered all of the gorgeous ornaments that had been stored at Mom and Dad's since March - look closely and you can spot two "H" balls featured....

25 Days of Christmas begins today! "Tis the season to be Merry....well that's my name"