christmas details around our apartment.

Tomorrow is December. 

I can hardly believe it! Especially since it's raining out my window right now, and not snowing. 

Usually, as tradition suggests, we decorate our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. This year, though, was different. I wanted to try making all of our ornaments (and tree skirt and stockings), and it took a little longer than I thought it would. But alas! Zac and I finished making them tonight, and the tree will be decked out tomorrow night, and I couldn't be more thrilled.

So to celebrate December almost being here, and to start out the 25 days of Christmas, look at these little Christmas details around our unfinished apartment.

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a very happy 18 months.

A year and a half ago today, Zac and I drove ourselves to our temple and married each other! I can't believe how long it's been--it still feels like only a couple of months. 

This last year and a half has been a breeze. I've enjoyed it with Zac by my side, and I've learned so much, like how to love, and how to live for two people instead of just one, and how to be patient (still working on that one). This man is good to me.

Before getting married, I got a lot of advice from lots of different people. The best advice I got, though, was this: Put your spouse's needs, wants, and happiness before our own, always. That was hard. I mean, I had needs and wants too, right?! But I learned to put my Zac before me. I massaged his back when I was too tired, and made him dinner when I didn't feel like cooking. Those are the times when I felt the most loved, and felt happy myself, because Zac would return the favor, and do something for me, too. It was a two-way street.

One of the biggest thing I've learned in marriage is said perfectly by Darren King from the band, Mutemath. He said, "Now that I'm married, the bads in my life hurt more and the goods are way better, and that's just it. I've created a polarity." It's because, like I said above, I'm living for two people. Instead of feeling only my pain, I feel pain for both me and Zac. And the joys! The joys are multiplied by 1,000, I swear. 

This marriage thing isn't so bad as everyone says it is. I love you, Zac.

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scavengers.

On Sunday afternoon, after church, Zac and I put on some warm clothes and drove over to the Scera Park up the street to scavenge for pine cones to hang on our Christmas tree. Even though I wore my heavy duty snow boots, there was no snow on the ground (come on, Winter!). We found quite a few of those pretty things under the towering pine trees, and filled up our bags. I snapped this picture with my iPhone just as we were leaving. I'm so excited to hang them on our tree!

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a little hot cocoa date.

Zac and I just got home from a little hot cocoa date. He had the idea of filling our thermos up with our favorite mint hot cocoa, and heading down to the Shops at Riverwoods to sip hot cocoa under the thousands of Christmas lights they recently put up.

We spent half of our time there walking through the shops and looking at pretty clothes we can't buy, but don't be fooled--we bought lots of clothes for Christmas already. And we even saw Santa there! Is was quite a magical, romantic night, even if most of the pictures I took are blurry.

And please admire Zac's hat. He got it after I got mine, and it's the only hat he'll wear. I love it on him!

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turkey day.

Thanksgiving this year was exceptional. We woke up early and met my family at IHOP for breakfast. I made sure to get the lightest thing on the menu (a vegetable omelet) and drink lots of water beforehand, so I would have enough room for dinner that night. My family is the greatest. We talked about Jake using his megaphone for lousy drivers, and my dad stole my phone when we were leaving the restaurant (I almost had a heart attack). 

After breakfast, we drove over to the movie theater at the District to see Skyfall. It was pretty good, and now I want to live in London, because everyone is so classy there.

We made the long drive home (I was asleep for most of it), and started dinner right away. A Thanksgiving feast for two! I think our menu was fantastic. We had Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Honey Butter Rolls with Ginger-Orange Cranberry Sauce, some sides of corn, and leafy greens with raspberry walnut vinaigrette, and for dessert, Gingery Apple Crumb Pie with vanilla bean ice cream. Imagine my surprise when every single thing turned out divine. The turkey was perfectly juicy, and the rolls! I highly recommend these rolls--they were my favorite dish. And I didn't gain a pound. In fact, I woke up starving this morning. It was a Thanksgiving miracle!

We ended the night by watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving together in our pajamas on the couch, and falling asleep two seconds after it ended. 

This morning, we slept in, and had leftovers for breakfast. Today we're planning on getting the leftover Black Friday deals (like we did last year), and decorating our Christmas tree.

Happy Holidays!

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thanksgiving eve.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! I've been looking forward to Thanksgiving all month, and work today was
slower than usual. But Thanksgiving weekend is finally here, and I don't have to go back to work for 4 days! 

I'm spending the evening cooking a few dishes ahead of time, like this blood-red cranberry sauce!
This year will be my very first time baking a turkey. I'm kind of nervous.

Tomorrow we have plans to go out for breakfast with my family, and have a quiet
Thanksgiving dinner at home--just the two of us! 

Let the bake off begin! 

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before my husband.

Before I met my husband, 

I never ate microwaved cheese quesadillas.

I never wanted, or had, a smart phone.

I never made homemade pizza, let alone
considered it my favorite meal.

I never asked people to scratch my back.

I never closed the blinds on my windows.

I never knew that essential oils could be used
by normal people, and not just hippies.

This man has changed me. I love him.

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nighttime dance.

Zac danced with me in the living room tonight. It was after we got off work, after dinner with my parents and Daniel. The lights on our Christmas tree were on, and we danced like crazy people, his hand on my waist, and mine in his shoulder. He even sung out a melody.

It's days like today that make me realize that life isn't too shabby. I've got a sweet husband who loves me, and an apartment with a huge Christmas tree standing in front of the window. I've got parents who drive 45 minutes to have dinner with me, and the holidays are here. 

Today was just what I needed. It made me happy, and I had so much energy (something that doesn't happen these days). My life is good.

Our first dance, 5/27/11.

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life lately: fall edition.

Lately, I've found that I've been taking more pictures of the outdoors than I have of people (namely myself and Zac). Thank you, Fall, for being so pretty this year! 

As much as I've loved Fall this year, the little signs of Winter have been really special, too. There's still snow on the ground from the snow storm last weekend, and it's making me hopeful about a white Christmas! 

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snapshots.

Here are a few photos from Park City last weekend that I took with my iPhone. To sum it all up: we never left each others' side, and there was a lot of snow.

park city 2012.

We spent this last weekend up at Park City with the Swensons. This is a tradition that I've been a part of for two years now. We were pretty nervous about driving up there on Friday night, because of all the snow coming down on the roads, so we rode up with Lyle, Jill, and Sophie. We didn't die!

We spent our time eating (Vinto was first on the list, and it didn't disappoint), shopping for our Christmas presents, watching movies, and sitting in the hot tubs while there was snow all around us and in the trees (it was pretty surreal). 

I was surprised by just how chilly it was up there. It was below 20 degrees most of the time, so we stayed bundled up for a good part of the trip. And for some reason, I didn't take hardly any pictures. These ones below are what I snapped in a hurry today a few hours before we left. I should work on that.

Today, while Zac and I were taking a nap before we had to leave, our niece, Kynlee, who has the biggest, prettiest eyes, came in and played with us. Well, Zac was asleep, so she played with me. We played peek-a-boo, and touch-Zac's-face-while-he's-trying-to-sleep. He didn't appreciate it as much as we did.

Park City was so much fun, and I love spending time with these people! I'm always looking forward to the next year.

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