merry christmas!

sorry for my absence. i will be back soon. have a very merry christmas & happy new year.

flowers for your weekend.

i am traveling this weekend to chicago. i get to see all of my family and spend extra time with the little ones and my sisters. once husband comes to town ... we will be celebrating christmas with my family & husband's family. it is going to be wonderful seeing everyone again. since we haven't really seen too many since our wedding last august. what are your holiday plans? image above found here and here. 

husband and i first christmas.

we celebrated early. we couldn't wait to give each other our gifts and we will be visiting family soon. the day was wonderful. we went to church, had brunch at egg and i, went to an old fashioned candy store, made our own recipe for cookies, and opened presents. a lovely first married christmas ... i must admit.

recipe wednesday.

ingredients...

mixing/kneading...

more kneading...

almost done...

let rise till double in size...

all done...

ready to eat...

as i am writing this i can taste the deliciousness and my mouth is watering. this is my second go at homemade pretzels. the first recipe i tried was good but lacked something. this recipe is amazing. i found it here. there's a cool video too. i think i will just have to make these "mall pretzels" tomorrow for game night. i really think they taste like Auntie Annie Pretzels. you will love them. husband and i really do.

old shoes.

husband showed me this video a few months ago. i love the vintage feel and his raspy voice.  i think he sounds like a wonderful mix of van morrison, amos lee, and ray lamontagne. the video is "old shoes" by sean rowe. enjoy!

design monday.

sorry for the late post today. husband and i had christmas yesterday so i am a little behind ... pictures later this week from that. on a different note: i have fallen in love with images like this found here. trees always seem to brighten my day ... healthy trees that is. i would love to have a window or even a big print like this. what brightens your day?

flowers for the weekend.

aren't these beautiful. i spotted them here and then here. have a wonderful weekend! husband and i plan to finish up our christmas shopping! i plan to make our christmas cards and finish sewing our christmas stockings. what are your fun plans?

country life.

antique stores in a person's home. horses in back yards. beautiful sunset. all things enjoyed by husband and i ... a weekend or two ago.

recipe wednesday.

homemade hot chocolate mix is the best. i realized the other day i could save money by making it myself instead of those store bought packets. plus it's better homemade. here's a good recipe i found and now love. i use 2% milk. i add a little hazelnut creamer, whipped cream, and a dash of cinnamon to top it off. it is the perfect winter drink.

jelly bean.

this is definitely worth watching. 2,460 frames, 1,357 hours, and yes 288,000 jelly beans. "in your arms" by kinna grannis.

this is the behind the scenes making of "in your arms" by kinna grannis. also worth watching to fully appreciate the first video.

design monday.

this bathroom is lovely with that pop of color. i also love the deep sink and attractive shower/bath combo. image found here.

plant trees for free.

this is the best. arbor day and green universal are amazing. go here or here to plant trees for free. i already planted 5 trees. how many can you get planted this weekend? have a wonderful weekend! any fun plans ... besides planting free trees?

christmas time is here.

tree is up. nativity scene out. little christmas things here and there. a very she and him christmas record on repeat. husband and i just love this time of year. we can't wait to start our advent book tonight (my parents got us a signed copy last year).

recipe wednesday.

mmm. these look delicious. i can't wait to make them for my husband's co-workers. super easy too. only two ingredients. find the recipe here. enjoy!

marcel is back.

my favorite part is when marcel is talking to the dog. "all he cares about are treats and snoozing, snoozing and treats". so true.

design monday.

i love this. velvet, stone fireplace, patterned pillows, bold hanging light, and dark wood floors. image found here.

our wedding film.

to end the week i will share our wedding video by studio 272. the photo above is from here. have a wonderful holiday weekend! we will be heading to chicago to celebrate with our family and friends. any fun plans?

our wedding day.

 this day was better than i ever could have expected. all the hard work paid off. everything fell into place perfectly. our bridal party was fantastic. and the way he looked at me was the way i had always hoped. have a very happy thanksgiving! all photos are provided by melissa hayes photography.

our wedding flowers.

we had three different arrangements used on our reception tables. these photos are courteous of kehoe designs. this is from our trial viewing before the big day. some slight changes were made from what you will see. i had them add wooden blocks and change a green succulent to a purple one. clearly their work is amazing.

our wedding invitations.

 

these our the letterpress wedding invitations we used. i designed the invitation with my friend, sasha cerrato, who letterpressed them for us. my mom, sister emily, and i tied each one with brown bakers twine and stuffed them for delivery. that was a long process but i love how they turned out!

our save the dates.

we made the save the dates for our wedding. they were a huge success. our best man helped big time with getting the file size correct and the photo to be crisp so we could send it to the printer. the only downsize was i should have checked with the post office before i had them printed. turns out i had the layout a little off. so mom to the rescue, ran to the store for plain white envelopes so i would keep my sanity. yep wedding planning can be a bit stressful. but luckily that is over now, everything turned out perfect, and we can all laugh.

flowers for the weekend.

love this combo of dusty miller, pink english roses, and glitter vase by the amazing flowerwild designs. any plans for the weekend? husband and i have zero plans ... only to relax all weekend with each other because husband was away all week at a conference. next week i will be sharing all things wedding. our wedding!

grayson cole.

welcome to the world little one. we are so excited to have you here. we love you so much already! you are so very handsome and love to make all kinds of funny faces!

denver visit.

my oldest sister had her second. a precious little boy. elise and i played while mom, dad, and baby brother were in the hospital. we had lots of silly time together. it was wonderful. i miss her smiling face and the way she says, "jess".

we love hats.

more from the girls with glasses ... video. i love hats. husband loves hats. adorable.

color & pattern.

fantastic use of color and pattern. wouldn't mind that tall bookcase and lots of light. heart.

bedroom.

my other favorite room. happy veterans day!