wedding bliss

On Christmas Eve morning, 

this sweet girl married this wonderful guy.

The ceremony was lovely - full of tender

love, sweet gazes, a few laughs - and all bathed

in bright morning sunshine.  Perfection!

The pretty handmade background made for

fun group & couple pictures.  (totally dorky

but fun...admit it, you've done it too!)

The reception was cozy - like going to a happy 

family gathering.  And while the food was amazing 

(best french toast of my life), their cake took 

the prize for most fun food at this party.  

 

Who doesn't love pancakes!?

Happy marriage, my friends!  We're so happy 

for you, and can't wait to see what 

wonderful things married life holds for you!

christmas

 

My first Christmas as a married lady was lovely!

We spent a couple of wonderfully low-key days

up in Maine with my family, and did plenty of 

laughing, eating, and relaxing. So happy!  :)

Oh, and we took about a million pictures...

...of everything!  

I hope your Christmas was equally wonderful!

things to be happy about

1.  My husband.

He's handsome, makes me laugh 

with his silly faces, and this year we 

get to enjoy Christmas together!

2.  Today's wedding.

This sweet girl get to marry her best 

friend today, and we get to celebrate 

with them! Congratulations, we love you.

(And welcome to the married club!)

3.  Family time.

We head to ME this afternoon for

a couple days with my sweet family.

I'm looking forward to lots of relaxing 

& yummy Christmas food!

4.  Wise words.

I've been spending time in the verses

from this post, and am grateful that

the Word is so applicable to my life.

5.  We're planning a get-away.

And it will be warm and glorious.

(more details soon!)

6.  Christmas!!!

Wishing you and yours a most

wonderful day full of family,

love & faith!

stockings

It's our first Christmas as married peoples,

so we're having a blast enjoying lots of cheesy

firsts.  Last night - first Christmas stockings!  

(Yes, we know it's early still, but we'll be

traveling on Christmas.  Plus it was 

fun to cheat & open them early!)

Just to show off how well he knows me,

the hubs put spools of fancy ribbon

in my stocking...amazing!   

Hurray for fun new traditions.  :)

celebrations

We spent the weekend celebrating Christmas with

all sorts of family, and it was wonderful.  One of the

coolest things about being married is having double

the family...and double the family gatherings!  

Despite all of the Christmas parties & dinners 

in the last couple of weeks, I'm still having a hard 

time believing that Christmas is SO close.  It seems

like it's come so quickly this year!  

 

How about you?

Are you ready?  Excited?

anticipation

We just got tickets to see Coldplay,

and are ridiculously excited!

Hurray for good concerts!

*via

some wise words

Really loving this reminder today...

(and in such a pretty presentation, too!)

*via

if you're a dork like me...

 ...this might just make your day.

Happy Thursday to the HP lovers

out there!  (And to those just putting

up with my randomness...)

*via

diy polaroid magnets

Right after moving into our cute apartment,

I made a whole bunch of these sweet little 

magnets to decorate our blank fridge.  

Since everyone who walks through my kitchen 

stops to look at them, I figured I should post 

about them!  (Plus - they still make me smile 

every time I open the fridge...aka all the time.)

I was initially inspired by a photo on pinterest, 

loosely followed these directions here, 

but did plenty of improvising along the way...

...like skipping the download and heading over 

to picnik to stick my photos into their free

polaroid frame.  (Plus free editing, yippie!)

...or gluing my photos to white foam-core

scraps so that I wouldn't have to color

the edges.  (total laziness)

I'd love to know if you've made any 

for your fridge!  (Or as cute little stocking

stuffers perhaps??)  How did you cheat

to make it easier / cheaper?  :)

christmas spirit

Are you feeling jolly yet?  After wrapping a whole

lot of presents this morning and listening to 

some of my favorite Christmas music, I'm feeling

quite festive today.  And good thing too, since we

have our first Christmas party tonight!  

*via

warm & fuzzy

 Have you seen this sweet post?  These two 

kiddos enthusiastically send their Dad off 

every morning with lots of kisses and hugs 

- and it's adorable.  (Watch the video 

to totally melt your heart.)

Did you ever do happy things like this?

I vividly remember standing on my tiptoes

(on the heater!) so that I could see out 

the window in the living room and wave

goodbye to my Daddy every morning. 

I felt so loved knowing that he cherished

our crazy antics in the front window,

and got so excited when he would honk

the truck horn and wave back at us.   It was 

a happy tradition in our house for years, 

and even now I still wave and blow kisses

to my family when they drive away after

a visit.  Old habits die hard.  :)

*found via Cup of Jo

a little reminder

Something worth thinking about,

especially in this season of stuff...

*via

yep.

 

Now that's true love.

(And I couldn't agree more.)

 

*via

turkey soup magic.

Thanks to Inbetweenus (a little made up holiday we

like to celebrate each year with our friends), there was

some leftover turkey lurking in my fridge.  So yesterday 

morning I pulled it out, tossed it in the crockpot with 

whatever veggies I could find, and left for work.  

 

Now is it just me, or do crockpots seem like magic?  

Because when I came home, my entire house

smelled amazing, and there was a delicious soup

ready for dinner.  Ready.  As in sit down at the table

two minutes after walking in the door ready.  

 

It's magic, I'm telling you.  

 

 

*image

it's pretty accurate...

I've had this card saved as a favorite on

Etsy forever because it's pretty much

dead on.  There are definitely days when I

spend more time daydreaming about hubs

than doing the things I should be!

And yes, I know that's totally dorky

and lame.  I'm ok with it.  :)

*via

oh christmas tree...

Anyone else love just sitting and looking

at the Christmas tree?  Ever since we put our

tree up, I've been content to turn off all the

lights and just go sit in front of the tree.  

 

I love all of the sparkly lights and mysterious

reflections. I love how the tree gets blurry 

when I squint my eyes. I love looking at 

the delicate ornaments and remembering the 

sweet family & friends they came from.

It's these little joys that make Christmas

so special, don't you think?

women of god...

 Well now, that sure packs a punch.  I'm in this 

crazy busy season at work right now, and it's not easy

to remember things like tenderness when you're 

running at a million miles an hour just to keep your

head above water.  Or, if you're at all like me, isn't it

easy to get into superwoman mode and forget all about 

the importance of faith and purity? 

Anyone else out there like me?

Thoughts?

*via

some family love

We had a great Thanksgiving.  Getting to see both

of our families was amazing, and we had a completely

jam-packed weekend of friends and fun stuff.  

Sister just put this picture up, and I thought it was

too happy not to share.  Hurray for cute family!

Happy Monday, friends.

*stolen from sister

cute video

One of my artists posted this video the other day,

and I loved it too much not to share!

The concept is incredible, but I think the music

totally makes the emotion of it come alive.

Happy black Friday!  

*thanks, sid

thanksgiving...times two!

Sorry for being so absent this last week, friends.  

Work has gotten wonderfully busy, and my head has been

jammed full of spaces and inspiration for my clients. 

(Just ask the hubs - if I get quiet lately, he knows that

I've probably started walking through plans in my head 

and am mentally writing up proposals or brainstorming 

solutions for some tricky space or needy client.)

 But no work can compare to the excitement of this 

weekend, as we will celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow

up in Maine with my family, and then we get to have a

second Thanksgiving on Friday with hubs' family!

Yippie for double the family fun :)

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I've been loving these 

sweet gratitude posts (I & II), and want to encourage 

you to take a few minutes and list some of the 

things you're grateful for this year.  We live such

blessed lives, and have so much to say thanks for.

Hope your Thanksgiving is filled with love, 

joy, gratitude and lots of pie!  

*image

stay cool.

It's been a nutty, busy day around these parts, 

so I figured this was a good reminder.   

 

Hope your Wednesday is cool :)

 

 

*via

good call.

Well there's a question that makes me squirm a little bit.

I think I have some praying to do...you?

*via

little adventure

 The sun was shining, we had the day off 

and no real plans to speak of.  So why not

climb the giant rock on the west side?  

It seemed like a good idea to me, 

so up we went...

I was wearing my most practical climbing 

shoes (ballet flats) since our morning started 

off with errands, but the hubs very sweetly 

helped me whenever the leaves were 

slippery and I had to scramble.

The pretty views were worth the little climb!  

(Check out this great photo for an idea 

of what we saw.)  Parts of our little city 

looked like those collectable ceramic villages, 

and it was great fun trying to identify which

street and building were what. 

Definitely a fun little Friday adventure!  :)

*vintage postcard,  

what to wear

We did some shopping this weekend,

but I can't help but think that these

qualities would make for a better work

wardrobe then anything I purchased...

*via

where are you from?

I get a kick out of this map.  Yes, I know 

that it's one giant stereotype - and frankly  - 

kind of insulting, but it cracks me up.

(Plus the typography rocks!)

What do you think...funny or not?

Either way - happy weekend!

*via

coffee time

Maybe you're not an addict like me, 

but in my world, morning doesn't really start 

until I've had those first sips of coffee. 

Hubs & I have today off, and I'm looking

forward to some lazy morning time together with 

plenty of coffee-drinking and snuggling.

Who knows what the rest of our day will hold, 

but I'm sure it will be a fun adventure! 

Once we've had the coffee, that is...

*via

quiet

Ever notice how quiet it is on a foggy morning?

It's like the world wakes up a little more slowly, 

and everything takes longer to get up to normal speed.  

Or maybe that's just my brain.  Hard to tell.:)

*via

mmm bacon

I made this fun little appetizer for the hubs the

other night, and we both loved it.  Try it soon, 

and I promise you will be a hero to the 

bacon lovers in your life.  :)

WARNING:  This recipe involves a vegetable,

but is definitely a danger to your arteries!

 

you'll  need:

1 lb. fresh green beans

5 strips of bacon

3 tbsp melted butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 clove garlic (or garlic powder)

1/8 tsp soy sauce

Cook halved green beans until tender,

then drain and set aside.  (Add a pat of 

butter if you like, because if you're like

me, you'll have extra & will eat them later.) 

 

Cut bacon slices in half, fry over med-low 

heat until soft, then cool on a paper towel.

 

Wrap the little bean bundles in bacon

and place in a 13x9 pan.  (You can use a

toothpick to hold them together, or just

wrap tightly and place carefully.)

Melt the 3 tbsp of butter on med-high, 

then stir in brown sugar, garlic and soy sauce.

Once everything is melted together, brush 

or spoon the mixture over the bundles.

Bake for 10-15 mins at 400 degrees...

or until it smells so good that you 

cannot resist pulling them out to try!

 

*found, recipe

little moments

I was walking across a grocery store

parking lot the other day, when a perky 

jingle started playing.  As I looked around

trying to figure out where the tinny music

was coming from, I spotted a young

dad standing next to the tiny carousel in

front of the store - and a very happy little

one going round and round.  

It totally melted my heart to see this dad 

love his kiddo in such a sweet way,

despite whatever inconvenience or 

awkwardness it might have caused him.

And that kind of love just makes me 

smile - even in complete strangers.

*image

initial necklace

 How sweet is this husband & wife

initial necklace?  I love the pretty, loopy

letters and the idea of wearing your

initials for the world to see!

*from Etsy, of course.

happy things

Because it's Friday and the sun is shining,

a happy list seems appropriate...

1. Apple Streusel French Toast.

Oh my lands, this stuff was good! 

Thank you, Cracker Barrel for clogging

my arteries & making my morning.

2. New Friendships.

I've been enjoying getting to know some

pretty fabulous ladies over these last few

months.  New friends are the best!

3.  Dark Nails.

I'm loving dramatic dark tones for 

fall nails...right now, a luscious purple.

(Or how about this lovely deep red?)

4. Maine + Family = Happiness.

We're heading home to visit my family

for the weekend, which is always lovely.

I love relaxing and catching up on all

the good stuff happening at home!

*image