Blogging my holiday card

Blogging a Christmas Card is like saying Merry"X-mas" and I do not approve. But .... I wasn't able to get my holiday cards out in time and I want to send our love and 2011 wishes! This is for you friends and all 3 blog followers!

Merry Christmas

May All Your Christmases be any Color you Like!

Nothing like Mother's Pie

Thanksgiving at home with my family in Oak Ridge, TN. Ben made the family picture this year, for the first and forever time. I am thankful for my family and the new things I learn about them.

To my Father, the Black Friday Shopping Stint you pulled 2 years ago was merely a fluke.
To my dear Mother, if you slept more then 2 hours a night you would be more successful than Martha Stewart. Walking Dead, your latest AMC addition, is now my favorite (only) zombie show.
To my dear Brother, I am ashamed I caught you playing Call of Duty in the basement, does my 2000 petition entitled "Down with Playstation 2" mean nothing to you?
To my dear Sister, I get it- you only like plain, cheese pizza- just like Kevin McCallister.
To my dear Fiance, why are you always the driver for our family when you are visiting our hometown?
To my dear Pooch, I am sorry that The National Dog Show was disappointing for you, the Cavaliers didn't make it far. But that was clearly because we did not enter you.

"WE LEFT THE CANNOLI!"

If you are interested, the History channel has great informative videos on Thanksgiving.

Rally and Race

MARINE CORPS MARATHON! My Bestie, Ellen came in town from Nashville to run it with me. It was A great way to spend Halloween, my favorite holiday. And in typical Musgrave Fashion, barely qualifyed, but did qualify for Boston in 3:40:12 on the 10th of a second!

And Here is Sandra Bullock cheering on her sister. Ben tried to sell this picture to US WEEKLY, but for some reason this "I'm just like you," casually clad celeb shot didn't make the cut, but this one did?!

Rally to Restore Sanity was on 10/30/10. Ben, Brother, and I walked 3 miles to get a taxi to the National Mall. I did not see or hear Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert.

Brother Matthew dressed as a Tea-Bagger, yes that is what you think it is.

And here was a cute poochie dressed as a shark. The rally is really speaking to him.

Queen and Victoria

The 2010 Victoria Secrets Fashion Show was spectacular! The artistry, creativity, hot bods, hot attendees- i.e. Gerard Bulter- made it an aesthetic delight. I felt like I was at my best friend's sleepover, with wings on!


And speaking of Victoria, I thought I would recognize Queen Victoria's Beloved Tri-Color King Charles Cavalier Spaniel, Dash. There is a scene in the movie, Young Victoria, which illustrates how the newly crowned Queen returned home from her coronation to bathe Dash. Dash's epitaph reads:

"Here lies Dash, the favorite spaniel of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, by whose command this memorial was erected. He died on the 20th December 1840 in his ninth year. His attachment was without selfishness, his playfulness without malice, his fidelity without deceit. Reader, if you would live beloved and die regretted, profit by the example of Dash."

And speaking of Queens, it is decided- The wedding will take place in the Queen City- Charlotte, N.C. on 11/12/11 (Catholic Church doesn't budge on Saturday wedding dates- C'est la Vie-no 11/11/11.) The location will be the Charlotte City Club-located at Trade and Tryon, which is the center of the city.

And Speaking of my wedding, I have almost settled on the colors GOLD and HOT PINK. Much like Juicy Couture's prime color scheme. And speaking of Juicy, I am obsessed with my new fragrance-Couture, Couture. And isn't the bottle royal?

Fall O' Plenty!

Clemson v. Georgia Tech 10-23-10 (27 Bday Weekend)

Running of the Hill into Death Valley after Rubbing Howard's Rock!

Ben and I Sporting Orange- yet again.

The Lovely Ladies of Clemson! I witnessed my first "Iced" this Weekend. Whoever is in charge of Smirnoff's Marketing is wise, way to get those nasty, murky white bevs back on the Map!
More on Icing

Scarlett Has a Birthday Soiree!

The Video Compilation brought to you by Fiance Ben

A little belated, but had to squeeze this in before the holidays. Scarlett the Libra turned 1 on 9-25-10!
Here she is with her BFF Emma. They smell Bacon.


Please note Scarlett's Lilly Pulitzer Collar and Sniffney & Co. Chew Toy, what a snotty bitch!
Please do not note Maggie's yellow scrunchy on her wrist- I have never seen that before!


Oh my my, Oh hell yes, honey put on that PARTY DRESS!

Cupcakes in the City

Ben and I went to NYC and stayed with Max and Lara in early October. We celebrated Max's 30th Birthday, after watching the Gator game in stadium seating style, we had some champagne at the Bubble Lounge. Take a moment to admire Lara's home-made birthday cupcakes. Lara and I tried out Tribeca Treats, and next time I am in the 'Apple I will be visiting Babycakes- an all Vegan Cupcakery!

While in New York, a 468.9 sq. mile city with 8,391,881 inhabitants, I happened to run into my only New York Friend from my childhood past in Oak Ridge, TN. I literally ran into Reagan running by the Hudson, right in front of the USS Intrepid.

Reagan, Jake, Ben and I had brunch at Kitchenette and then went to the
Brooklyn Musuem of Art and saw Abdi Farah's from Work of Art (my favorite BRAVO show, and yes I will be trying out for the third season.) winning exhibit!

Reag and I talking Art above, and Abdi's self portrait below.

Art on the West Coast

One of my Best, Jenna puchased two Maggie Mayd Portraits for her Brother and Sister-in-Law. They traveled all the way to San Franciso!
Here is Paisley:

Here is Lilly:

Also, you can now buy Maggie Mayd Luggage Tags at Perpendicular in the Southern Market in Knoxville, TN.

Falling

FALL IS HERE

There is no easy way to define such a season, thus the reason for my three sub devisions of Autumn. Such a season must be further examined and these three sub categories will better provoke the experience.
Pre Fall-
Smell: burnt grass, back to school clothes
Sound: ESPN Football pump up music and lawn mowers
Weather: constant dusk and a lazy burning sun that has made the grass crispy and burnt
Food: The last cookout- knowing it is the last cookout you toast the buns and use the fancy condiments
Mood: Fresh starts, and promise, pool splashes and an oven breeze
Autumn-
Smell: Dying foilage and leather
Weather: The cutest outfits that are warm, but you don't need a jacket
Food: Halloween Candy-the originals like snickers and Reese's cups. As well as anything associated with pumpkin flavoring*
Mood: Like a Saturday morning and you just fell in love
Post Fall-
Smell: fireplaces, chimney smoke in the breeze
Weather: Cold enough for corduroy and a pink nose tip
Food: Chili and Pumpkin Pie
Mood: Warm, cozy, knowing the holidays are next. You stomach is stretched from pumpkin Flavor addiction*




*Falling victim to Pumpkin Flavor Addiction- How can one not over indulge when coffee shops offer a Pumpkin Latte, a Pumpkin muffin, or a Pumpkin Pie Chai twist gingerbread mocha! Every ice cream shop is debuting pumpkin pie milkshakes, every eatery has a pumpkin-esque option like pumpkin and butternut squash ravioli or Pumpkin and Chocolate cheesecake. And the pumpkins in the candycorn autumn mix are the best!

FALL FOOTBALL! This past weekend we went to the UT/UF game. An Amazing Power T cake by Ellen and and edible Gator blood red velvet Cupcake Cake.

Let them eat Gluten-free and Dairy-less Cake!

My good friends Lauren and Brian celebrated their wedding last week at The Inn at Little Washington. They are now currently touring Paris in bliss, but they could be touring the alleys in Detroit in bliss, if you ever met these two romantics with magnetic passion for one another. They truly do share a star-crossed, head over heels love. I was thrilled to be given an important task for their day. That is creating gluten-free, dairy-less wedding cupcakes. A lemon cupcake with almond icing with coconut and lemon zest! They loved them, well I love THEM! It is a pleasure to be in their company in person and pictures. xo

Laborious Days?

Bowling, Running, and Dolphin Watching

My brother's roommate Merek is a physics whiz and a brilliant gamer (Puerto Rico per esame) but his talent as a Potter is un-parallel! Look at the pieces he gave me Pro Bono. My cereal will never taste the same. Happy Belated Birthday to him and his awesome Birthday Suit!

On Sunday I ran the Rock'n'Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon with Michelle and Chelsea, and than "ran" into Colleen who just newly arrived from Seattle home to the East Coast. What a race, perfect post summer/pre fall weather, a nice flat course with the last mile on the board walk. And a Half Marathon PR and a lesson on hashing to boot!

Chelsea and I stayed with our follow Clemson Tiger, Leigh. Leigh and I played Field Hockey together at Clemson, if you can even say we played. Lets just say we rocked out the plaid skirts and mouth guards! Leigh lives right on the beautiful beach where we met some friendly porpoises and learned to play horseshoes.

A Cupcake for every city!

Cities Cupcake Boutique: Knoxville, TN

Big News for Maggie Mayd fans in Knoxville. Maggie Mayd is the featured artist of September. Maggie Mayd Bake Sale ornaments and luggage tags are also for sale!

















Cities Cupcake located off of Kingston Pike, is the most ingenious cupcake shop yet! They have cupcakes that represent cities, national and international. They are auditioning for Cupcake Wars on the Food Network, Check out there audition video here!

My current location cupcake-
Washington, D.C. : Are you the conservative type? Amazed by the complexity of vanilla? The DC Cupcake is a vanilla cake topped with sweet buttercream vanilla frosting--topped off with patriotic red, white and blue stars. You'll always be politically correct with this one.

My personal favorite cupcake-
Orlando : For adults of all ages we bake the fanciful Orlando Cupcake. Think about the dizzying array of rides that'll make your head and your PB & J spin. This vanilla cake is frosted with vanilla buttercream and spirals of peanut butter and jelly.

The most unique city flavor cupcake-
Santa Fe : For customers who have a "savory tooth" instead of a sweet tooth, we offer our groundbreaking, taste-bud awakening Salty Cupcake Line--starting with the jalapeno cornbread, ranch-spiced, cream cheese frosted Santa Fe Cupcake!!!

The best flavor for the fall season cupcake-
Half Moon Bay : Autumn brings crunchy leaves, crisp air, fuzzy sweaters and our Half Moon Bay Cupcake. The tiny town of Half Moon Bay, CA has been hosting an annual pumpkin festival for decades. Our warm pumpkin spice cake is covered in rich cream cheese frosting and a dollop of orange marmalade!

I'm In Miami. . . .

JERSEY SHORE 2- TONIGHT!
I have been anxiously awaiting the return of these fantastic 7- 8 if you count Angelina- who is freaking bringing the drama! And please note that Snookie has made a change to her Bump.

*The only possible downside is that mom is visiting and lets face it- how do you explain this hour of debauchery to your mother- she will second guess her ability to raise me as a morally-capable child.

Looking like a Nelly Video

SNOWMAGEDDON TO HUMAN TOASTER ROASTER:
I prefer living life in the Extremes.
Please note in February Ben and I were suffering from early stages of frostbite in all extremities as we braved the 3 foot high ice cottoned streets. Then July hits and Ben- from Florida- says that this is the hottest yet.

A visit from Kelly (check out her lavender blog) and Will this weekend made a reason to go out and get baked- the natural way. Please observe picture. Excluded is the one taken before entering the un-aced metro car.

The way I see it, I want it HOT or COLD. I hate the summer weather that leaves you with a mild film and b.o. residue- just soak me so I don't have to make the ambiguous shower decision. Not to mention all the sweaty boys would be more confident about approaching girls when everyone has back sweat or a beaded forehead.

Love and Marriage

This is to all of my wonderful friends who were hitched this spring- what a wonderful time. Somebody give me some bugspray- there are too many lovebugs in the air!

Darby and Brian Thomas 5-30-10

Mooresville, N.C.

Cindi and Jason Opdycke 6-12-10

Moab, UT

Priyesh and Manisha Patel 6-19-10

San Francisco, C.A.

Kimberly and Matt Munafo 6-26-10

Knoxville, T.N.

Lauren and Matt Crawford 6-26-10

Charleston, S.C.

GIVE AWAY!

The First Ever Maggie Mayd Blog Give Away! The first person to respond to this post gets 3 Maggie Mayd Luggage Tags personally made by Me!

This is how: Go to MAGGIE MAYD on FACEBOOK and write "I WANT LUGGUAGE TAGS!" on the wall.

Maggie Mayd Sporty

Thank you to Anne from FANNEtasticfood for setting up a fun time at LA BOXING

Before: So Sweet!

After: So Sweat!
We look so much more tough after, do you see Rocky Bolboa?