Weekends
We have been enjoying our weekends together around here. It has been awhile since we have gotten to have multiple weekend days together. So we have been hanging out, getting chores done, visiting with friends, and having some fun. This weekend we enjoyed our delayed Valentine's dinner at home of crab legs (yum!) and a movie (Mission Impossible) on Friday night. Then Saturday we headed up to Evergreen to ice skate on the lake we got married back in June. After a couple hours we headed back home for a home-cooked dinner then we went out to the Irish Snug to listen to some Irish music (which we have been trying to do for a few months.) It was a busy and wonderful weekend.
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Gallagher
Meet Gallagher, the newest member of our family.
We adopted him from our local animal shelter last week and he is really fitting into our home and getting lots of attention. Though, Jake isn't quite sure what is going on and why this cat is trying to be his friend :)
Christmas Decorations
Things were so busy leading up to Christmas that I almost didn't even care about getting out the Christmas decorations this year. But since this was our first Christmas married and his family would be staying with us before we headed out to Breckenridge, I wanted the house to decorated. This year I changed up the way I decorated the house and really enjoyed the set up.
A few years ago, I decided that I wanted our tree to be only airplanes, so I have been collecting every airplane ornament in sight. I think we have nearly all of the ones from Hobby Lobby and we finally have enough to fill up the tree (except for the small portion that is against the wall). So I think starting next year, I am going to buy only one airplane ornament each year in addition to an ornament that represents us. This year our representation ornament was our first Christmas. I ordered a beautiful flat 2.5" Nickle Ornament hand-stamped with "Our First Christmas 2011." I just loved the simplicity of it. In addition each of our mom's bought us an ornament, his mom gave us a picture holder ornament with the year hanging below it (which I haven't added a picture to it, since I still have not printed off any wedding photos) and my mom gave us a ceramic bride and groom leaving in a car with the words "Just Married" on the back.
I have collected quite a few ornaments from gift exchanges and gifts from work since I moved to Denver. As I mentioned above, I only want to have airplane ornaments hanging on our Christmas tree, so this year I hung the garland over the french doors in our living room that lead to the study and then hung all of my other ornaments from it. I really enjoyed as it spread out all of the Christmas decorations, which normally only reside around the fireplace. Though, next year I am going to have to get more garland and find another place to hang it, as I won't have anywhere to hang any new ornaments.
Even though each year we receive a stack of Christmas cards, I normally just pile them in a stack after I open them and hang the picture ones on our fridge. This year I hung ribbon across the fireplace below the mantle and as we received Christmas cards, I hung them with clips on the ribbon. Brandon was very skeptical of how this would look since he didn't think we got that many cards each year. But our ribbon was full and I actually ran out of space/clips so I had to double up and in the end he was very pleased with it.
Usually our mantle is packed with the few Christmas items that I do have, but this year I wanted it to have a nice clean look. We had picked up a few items after Christmas last year and then had a few items from the wedding, so I moved some items away from the mantle and found new homes for them.
While I was hesitant to pull out the Christmas decorations this year, I am really glad that I did. The house had a very homey feel and pulled me into the holiday spirit. So now it is time to take down all these decorations and put them away until next year.
A few years ago, I decided that I wanted our tree to be only airplanes, so I have been collecting every airplane ornament in sight. I think we have nearly all of the ones from Hobby Lobby and we finally have enough to fill up the tree (except for the small portion that is against the wall). So I think starting next year, I am going to buy only one airplane ornament each year in addition to an ornament that represents us. This year our representation ornament was our first Christmas. I ordered a beautiful flat 2.5" Nickle Ornament hand-stamped with "Our First Christmas 2011." I just loved the simplicity of it. In addition each of our mom's bought us an ornament, his mom gave us a picture holder ornament with the year hanging below it (which I haven't added a picture to it, since I still have not printed off any wedding photos) and my mom gave us a ceramic bride and groom leaving in a car with the words "Just Married" on the back.
I have collected quite a few ornaments from gift exchanges and gifts from work since I moved to Denver. As I mentioned above, I only want to have airplane ornaments hanging on our Christmas tree, so this year I hung the garland over the french doors in our living room that lead to the study and then hung all of my other ornaments from it. I really enjoyed as it spread out all of the Christmas decorations, which normally only reside around the fireplace. Though, next year I am going to have to get more garland and find another place to hang it, as I won't have anywhere to hang any new ornaments.
Even though each year we receive a stack of Christmas cards, I normally just pile them in a stack after I open them and hang the picture ones on our fridge. This year I hung ribbon across the fireplace below the mantle and as we received Christmas cards, I hung them with clips on the ribbon. Brandon was very skeptical of how this would look since he didn't think we got that many cards each year. But our ribbon was full and I actually ran out of space/clips so I had to double up and in the end he was very pleased with it.
Usually our mantle is packed with the few Christmas items that I do have, but this year I wanted it to have a nice clean look. We had picked up a few items after Christmas last year and then had a few items from the wedding, so I moved some items away from the mantle and found new homes for them.
While I was hesitant to pull out the Christmas decorations this year, I am really glad that I did. The house had a very homey feel and pulled me into the holiday spirit. So now it is time to take down all these decorations and put them away until next year.
Click on photo to view album
Fiesta!
What an amazing season the Oklahoma State football team had this year!! It was a 12-1 year that ended with a win in the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona. Brandon and I along with our parents were able to enjoy a couple days staying in Scottsdale and watch the Fiesta Bowl in person. We had a nice time relaxing and getting to see a few OSU friends that we don't normally get to see!
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Christmas
For our first Christmas, we spent it with Brandon's parents, his Aunt & Uncle, and his cousin Kyle in Breckenridge. Brandon and Kyle skied nearly everyday they were able. I came to the party late, since I was out in Atlanta watching my best friend get married, so I didn't ski any. Unfortunately, the mountains are low on snow for the season, so the resorts are having to make a lot of it still which causes it to be a little icy. I don't care of the icy conditions, so I passed on the chance to stay and extra day and get to ski. The low snow did not stop us from renting Snowmobiles for an afternoon and hitting the sights of Vail Pass. Even though it was a little cold (and after the 3 hours and my fingers being freezing, we found out the my heater wasn't working!), we had a great time with only a couple stories to tell :) Once we warmed up by stopping at a little coffee and donut shop in Downtown Breckenridge (the donuts are amazing!), we headed back to the rental house and prepared to have our Christmas Dinner and open gifts. Then it was time to start packing up and head home the next day. It was a fast trip and would have enjoyed more time to explore and walk around, but hopefully we will go back soon.
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My Best Friend's Wedding
My best friend, Katie, got married just before Christmas. I was honored to stand up for her as Maid of Honor just as she was there for me this past summer. She lives in Vietnam, so we don't get to see each other very often, but we can pick up instantly like no time has passed at all. Katie's wedding was in the beautiful Old Courthouse in Decatur, GA and her photographer Michelle Scott caught all of the memorable moments in gorgeous photographs, like the one below:
Click on photo to check out the wedding photo blog post by Michelle Scott Photography
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