family photos.

Jeff and Marisa surprised everyone by showing up Christmas morning, just flew in from new mexico that morning! it was so fun to spend time with his whole family. i'm lucky to have such kind, thoughtful, and fun in-laws. we even had a photo shoot with TH's family, and discovered the continuous self-timer function.


Created Here

ahhh christmas.

it was the best one i can remember.

beautiful tree.

ahem. let's try that again.

beautiful tree. (so maybe ours died last week. and maybe this is TH's parents beautiful tree.)

family everywhere. friends abound. of course i did not take pictures for i was too busy eating and talking. and even though we didn't go to bed before 2am all weekend and even though we were barely at home, it was such a perfectly relaxing holiday.

and did you notice? TH got me a brand new pretty lens for christmas! and he's toting around a new gee-tar.

merry christmas to everyone! we threw our christmas tree out the window last night, we're referring to it as "the defenestration of the tree". and then i blew a fuse while running the space heater, vacuum cleaner, washing machine, TV, and stereo at the same time (i was asking for it).

i think we're spending new years listening to blue grass at one of our favorite local venues. happy holidays to everyone, and i hope my new york friends are staying cozy in their 2 feet of snow drifts!

xxoo

you are a tricksy one, mr. grapefruit.

via xkcd

disney.

back from disney world and suffering from post-vacation head cold. the week was exhausting and wonderful. my dad completely spoiled everyone and we all had a great time staying up late, watching fireworks show after fireworks show, laughing at the babies, riding scary rides with tanner, riding scary rides with brooklyn and lizzie (4 and 3 yrs) "i don't want to be on this ride anymore" - at the ET ride, and eating entirely too much food. seriously, my pants laugh at me every time i try to button them. but look at all the fun!

lalala- disney world is so magical at night.

brooklyn kept me entertained most of the trip. and she is a hand holder, which makes me infinitely happy.

before mt everest roller coaster, best ride in the whole park!

TH did have his mouse ears but refused to wear them on friday on account of all the roller coaster riding. and don't worry, he had the boy mouse ears.
and we all pretty much felt like this by the end of the week.

lastly, i cannot express how happy giggly girls and fireworks make me. lizzie and brooklyn playing with bubbles before the fireworks show.

apartments.

our apartment is relisted for rent and we have no house to speak of. no future plans for another cute house to live in for a year. no idea if we'll be in a basement dungeon or a weird condo above a smelly neighbor.
but one things for sure - if i don't reupholster the settee that we have, i'll probably just burn it when we move. so first things first, i guess.

send good renters wishes our way! i know we still have plenty of time, but the not-knowing part of it all is really getting to me.

pink walls.

i don't think TH would ever go for this, but wow - pink walls make quite the impact!
images from The Selby, Miss B, and unknown.

Love + Parties.

This weekend I fell in love a little more with TH. It was one of the busiest weekends of life, that basically included 3 parties (what's not to love, really?) and getting ready for Christmas.
White Elephant exchange with the Capitol Hill friends on Friday at Matt and Christina's beautiful home (we have been thinking about that grey couch all weekend!). Saturday was our ward christmas party that we were in charge of throwing, and then Sunday was Cristy's first (annual?) sing-a-long christmas dinner with the gang.

We really loved every bit of this weekend, and seeing all the friends we love. My favorite part of the weekend was when Eli, the 4-year old wunderkind in the ward, begged to sing jingle bells in front of the ward at the christmas party. If you ask me, he totally made the party! Nothing says Merry Christmas like a 4 year standing at the pulpit, shouting the one-note jingle bells into the microphone, complete with fist-pumping and "Hey"!

Second favorite part of the weekend was when TH was explaining how the weight of molecules is owed to their elemental weight, and then ripped open his snap-button shirt to reveal a tshirt with the periodic table. Super-scientist to the rescue!

But TH really did save me from going crazy this weekend. And so I worked on his Christmas stocking, knitting him a little scottie dog for his stocking. Pictures soon, I promise.

What did you do this weekend?

tea run.

today, a quick walk to whole foods for a new tea resulted in this. maybe i went a little crazy in the grocery department, but i did get a few new teas to try. i have high hopes for the honeybush.

(and look! i can make my own teas now with all those cardamom pods and nutmeg!)

i am also trying out new salad dressings in an effort to like salad that isn't $7.50 at sweetgreen. so i feel that is worthwhile, don't you think?

update.

the owner took the property off the market and the apartment search is BACK ON.
good, because i don't know what i would do if i couldn't look for apartments all day. i'm not joking at all about that.

cold. like, really cold.

i bought a new coat and every single button has popped off. since it's 20 degrees below zero outside (or so it feels), it doesn't help that my coat does not close. every. single. button. it's almost comical - i have a purse full of brass buttons and i'm freezing.

in other news, we have the apartment if we want it. apparently the owner wants to have a "sit-down" meeting with us before we sign the lease, which worries me since we are signing the lease through a management company. doesn't that seem weird? and the management company also told us this morning before we signed the lease, we should know that the owner (he lives upstairs) gets up really, like really early (3-4AM!) and the kitchen is right above our bedroom. so i can't figure out what he is doing in the kitchen that would wake us up in the morning, but apparently that is a huge concern of his. this is all just weird information that you usually just deal with after you move into a place. so now we have to consider if the good apartment, location and price is worth a potentially crazy neighbor.

do you have any sage wisdom for us?

monday night, family night.

we don't often do a strictly "family night" with mark and me, since it's just the 2 of us. well, last night we lived it up like families do.
1. we looked through wedding pictures and video. yay for our new family!*
2. we drove to target and talked to our families on the way (and my brother was ALSO at target, but in utah. we tend to think alike).
3. purchased christmas decorations and hung them on the tree with care.
4. grocery shopping!
5. we filled out applications for a new apartment and just crossing everything that we get it. it's exactly what we want and the bedroom is a log cabin bedroom, it's so cozy and hilarious. please let me sleep in a lodge bedroom.
6. cuddling and watching Friday Night Lights - we are on the 3rd season and can't get enough. i love that show.

anyway, i feel like we had some great together time for our little family. me, mark, and the christmas tree. we're just all so happy together.

* yesterday marked 9 months that we've been married. i seriously cannot believe this.

the cold snap.

not to be outdone by january, december decided to be a super cold month. does anyone else feel like it kind of came without warning? luckily this now means that snow is a possibility and i am just nearly ready for snow. got my boots, got my hat, but i do need to stock up on gloves and a really warm coat. i'm looking for a really warm mid-length puffer coat here, here, and here but it's so hard to shop online. any suggestions from my fellow cold-weather friends?

off to bal'more

papa mickey!

this weekend i'm a proud daughter. after 30 years of continued persistence, my dad is graduating from college tomorrow! most of his kids will be there to watch him walk across the stage and cheer him on from the stands. congrats, grad dad! we are all so proud of you!!

we're all going to Disneyworld to celebrate.
no really, he's taking all his kids (and grandkids) to celebrate in Disneyworld for Christmas. what a kook. i love my dad!

iceland.

i kind of wish we would have saved up our money for a new years trip to iceland. could you imagine celebrating the new year under the glow of the northern lights?

we saw them when we stayed in iceland last september. we were in a quiet town just south of Reykjavik, with a few clouds overhead, sitting in a geothermal spring hot tub. and the sky just started pulsating, moving, and changing colors. it was one of those moments in life that make the world seem full of magic. those moments are so precious to me.

and maybe once a week or so i look up airfare to iceland. and maybe today i sent mark an apartment listing in Reykjavik. i can't be the only one who does this - where is your dream place?

goodbye warm weather.

it was 62 degrees this morning and now my thermometer tells me it is 42 and dropping. eeks! at times like these, it's fun to reflect on how you get from 62 to 42 in a matter of hours.

it was 62 degrees when i left my house this morning.

right as i came out of the metro, the wind picked up and i honestly could not walk forward for a few steps. i had to drag my umbrella like a heavy dog into a starbucks just to escape the wind. it was madness, i tell you.

i hid out for a few minutes waiting for the wind to die down, then swung the door back open for round two. now i was only a block and a half from my office.

just then, the wind picked back up so i just trudged forward with my umbrella closed unTIL the heavens opened up and the rain started pouring the heaviest rain of my life. WITH the wind still blowing.

I couldn't put up my umbrella so i just ran to work holding the closed umbrella in front of my face (i'm sure i looked like a goon).

i reached my office, and took a look in the mirrored door and saw a lady that looked like a poor little drowned rat with a bad haircut.

what a way to start the day.

hello december, welcome to my life. now if you can just turn that rain into snow, we can start talking business.

lizzie and christmas.

4 days of having a 3 year old will wear you right out.

and unrelated part 2 of this post:
the journey of our first christmas tree.

1. north carolina

2. fragers hardware, where we picked it up. hello beautiful!A quick stop by the grocery store, with a new bench we purchased from E.M. We thought this was so funny - it looked like we were having a little photo shoot for our first christmas tree. and well, maybe we were.

Welcome home, little tree!!

Funny story about this tree, it took a while to walk it 10 blocks and we got a lot of funny looks, what with TH carrying a tree and me carrying a bench. Not to mention we were trying to hide from any church neighbors since we bought all this on Sunday. Hahaha.

what our house looks like this week.

i hate the cat. i love lizzie, but she drains the energy right out of me. honestly, i've never worked so hard. right now she's "asking" me "could you get me another cookie?" and now "i told you, get me another cookie". the girl doesn't quit.

we've gone to museums, to the zoo, made cookies, played with her dolls, read books, walked around the neighborhood, pizza and milkshakes, playground, legos, etc. and she still has so much energy. the old lady in me just wants to sit around all day, so i'm glad she's here to force me out of the house.

back to the cat. the cat is up in my face 24-7, requiring my attention, and i guess i'm just not a cat person. lizzie, every time she sees the cat, cuddles up to him and says "ohhhh baaaaabe". it's hilarious. the cat likes to hide out in lizzie's little fort and if you walk by it, you WILL get scratched or bitten and then I get a little upset.

needless to say, i'm having fun, but rest assured that i'm not having children anytime soon and i'm never ever having a cat. i've always been a dog person anyway.

ok, gotta run to get lizzie a cookie.

the ring cycle.

do you have any interest whatsoever in the following?
1. opera
2. norse myths, influenced by greek tragedy
3. lord of the rings
4. public radio
5. getting the chills

then please please PLEASE, listen to this podcast. i've now added "see the ring cycle" to my list of things to do before i die. amazing.

i am home!

hello people of the blog. i wish i had kept a journal in atlanta because i really feel like a lived a thousand lives. 6 days is a long time to be gone, and a long time to be working 15 hours every day.

highlights from the trip:
1. the atlanta aquarium: home to whale sharks and the largest saltwater aquarium in the WORLD. and the coolest jellys that make an awesome wallpaper on my iphone.

2. apple cider: i swear it was a little spiked, because then this happened:3. the day i discovered baja fresh was right around the corner from our hotel
4. downloading netflix to my iphone
5. my 2nd trip to the atlanta aquarium
yeah i really liked the aquarium, and if you ever go to atlanta, you should drop everything and GO.

and now just finishing up this day and then i have a week off from work. and i get to hang out with this little munchkin while her parents skip town for a bit. we have so many fun things planned for our 4 days together! she called me last week to ask if we could sing her favorite song together and left a voicemail with her singing. my ovaries exploded and i melted into a puddle of motherly desire.

short weekend.

hotlanta, here i come.

heading to atlanta for a conference. its one of our big ones, and i'm excited to see all my work friends. while i'm down there, hoping to check out the coca cola factory, the aquarium, and the dali exhibition at the high museum of art.

if i'm still alive at the end of next week, please send me a good pat on the back for making it through. these meetings are always pure crazy.

on procrastination.

it's getting worse, my procrastination.

i used to push things off for a week or so, maybe a month, but with my hectic schedule and newly married life, i have failed in so many departments. and i think i can chalk it up to some major procrastination.

we have been in our apartment for 9 months. it never really reached its potential because i am much more indecisive about decorating than i thought i'd be. so it just doesn't get done and i sit around every night wondering what i should do about it.
result: our lease is almost up and i think we'll be moving in february, so now there's not really a point in decorating and buying the perfect ottoman.

which is why i'm terribly happy that christmas is coming so i can just decorate our place with christmasy things until we move. problem solved.

the only picture i took in nyc last weekend.

on the way home from queens, where abby and travis had their reception (at the gorgeous metropolitan building), we saw this picture in the long island city subway. omgah i just laughed and marveled at the humor and brazen boldness of other people like me. they are just like me, except they have the genius idea to draw moustache on a poster that will make people smile for a few weeks.

i'm glad for people like that who improve our public spaces with art, or humor, or life. whatever it might be. it makes me so very happy to feel connected in a strange way to other humans.

Jónsi.

Yes, he is wearing a feather cape and full head dress. Yes I want to wear this every day.
*via dcist*

We went to see Jónsi on Monday at the 9:30 club. Jónsi is the genius behind Sigur Ros, and has now branched out on his own to continue along the same route as the Icelandic band, Sigur Ros. Amazing theatrical and extremely emotive masterpiece. I've been putting this post off for the last couple of days because I'm still processing what I experienced.

Jónsi has the ability to channel your emotions and bring an entire room of people to tears and silence of the "hearing a pin drop" type. Plus, he is perfect for our generation of ADD music listeners. You see, I get bored at most concerts and so I must be carefully entertained by the artist. Jonsi holds your hand with his haunting melodies and pairs it with moving animation in the background.

Like this song, where he had a storm raging on the screen behind him that kept building and building through the song until it was a full blown tornado with branches blowing all around on the screen, with crazy flashing lights that seemed like lightning. And it WORKED. I didn't even know the song was called tornado, but I found myself feeling really sad and broken for people who experience devastation from natural weather events. Does that even make sense?:

I love Jonsi. He makes me want to wear an Indian head dress as a fashion statement, which is really saying something for his convincing powers.

new shoes!

i went on a shoe rampage last night. added 3 more pairs of shoes to the pair i bought on saturday. i am in LOVE with these. for a recovering shoe addict, i've been really well behaved for the past year or two. not a lot of shoes i wanted to spend money on or take the time to break in.
well, i don't know what got into me last night, but i purchased 2 new pair of flats and a some black boots. my favorite are the kate spade knockoffs that i will wear EVERYWHERE in the next couple of months. just wait.

fail.

i typically like to focus on the positive things in life, but let's talk about something that i hate for one sec.

the budget.

we created a budget - no scratch that - I created a budget that we started on November 1st. It was fine and great and everything was going swell. Then TH decided he needed to improve it by adding subcategories and sub-subcategories, and well that was all fine and everything until he spent EIGHT ever-loving hours on his laptop all day sunday working on the new budget.

so i am mad at the budget. the budget and i are not on speaking terms right now. it took my husband away from me on one of our only Sundays at home in a long time. so guess what i did in retaliation? i went out and blew all of our food category on cheese, canned pumpkin, icelandic butter, and a fall-inspired wreath. HA! teach you to mess with me, budget.

...and if you think it's a problem that all i have to eat is cheese, pumpkin, and butter, then we should probably get to know each other better.*

*yes, this means i am OFF the cleanse. hello again sugar! i missed you.

this is the new face around our house.

kristin wiig cracks me up. we like to get in pretend fights just so we can make this face at each other. and i told TH the other day the next time I find something he says or does unfair, i am protesting. I will inflate a giant rat, bang on pots and pans, and march around the living room.

we have really exciting lives. haha.

new york, new york.

i have a huge nyc shaped hole in my heart.

i will probably never stop missing it, with its beautiful neighborhoods*, its ridiculous food**, its bagels spilling out of every bakery, its pizza making schools...its cobblestoned...wait - did i just PIZZA MAKING SCHOOL?

yes.

Pizza a Casa. For $150 bucks you can spend 4 hours with the pizza expert, learning how to make the best dough, working with a regular oven to get the best crust, tomato sauce, etc. I cannot think of a better way to spend 4 hours, unless maybe we're talking about eating cinnamon rolls while shopping. cause i like that too, quite a bit.

Who wants to make pizza!?



*our hotel was so beautiful!:
the andaz in wall street. priceline for $120!!

**this trips new york eats:
kossars
the doughnut plant
baked by melissa
lowcountry
wall and water
best pizza near penn station - arome

hello new york!!

taking the bolt bus to nyc early friday morning. i'm THRILLED to be coming back to the city i love so dear.

on eating.

last night i made a stir fry with so many vegetables, i almost cried of happiness. and then i put it next to some millet that was so mushy i almost cried of sadness. oh, you diabolical grain, i WILL figure you out.

and you too, lentils.i'm on day 11 of the cleanse. i haven't broken any rules yet, but haven't been super diligent in drinking all the vegetable juice and eating of the sauerkraut. it's hard, people, but with some planning i'm learning how my body likes to be fed, and that feels pretty good.

willpower is the name of this game and i'm just proud of myself for getting almost halfway through this. and i'm learning it's not about cleansing, necessarily - this is also teaching me how to cook new things, how to eat healthy, and how to be creative with food. it's tough sometimes to find time to cook and teach yourself the hard things, like how to make good beans, how to make a soup, how to steam Kale just perfectly.

so, i'm heading to NYC this weekend for a wedding, and I might have to cheat the cleanse a little. shhh...don't tell. but you try to go to NYC and not eat a bagel or a sweet.

my favorite thing about today.

Lizzie's story, from my sisters blog (private). Lizzie is my 3-year old niece, who I get to babysit later this month while my sister is on vacation. and by babysit, i mean hang out with and have a super fun time with a girl who's idea of a good time is painting your nails and eating cookies. Hello!

Guess What

Setting: Lizzie and I are playing Guess Who.

Lizzie: Are you wearing earrings?
Me: No, Lizzie, ask something like "Are you a woman?"
Lizzie: Are you a woman?
Me: No. Are you a man?
Lizzie: ARRRGHHH!!!!
Me: What??
Lizzie: Which ones are the womans? The boys or the girls!?

do you like my hat, shannon?

this is from the rally last saturday. hannah did a good recap on her blog, but i noticed that there is something a little funny about this picture. doesn't the capitol dome look like a little, teeny, hat? i'm so stylish.

sick day.

guess i had too much fun this weekend. woke up this morning with bad stomach (mal estomago), so taking a day away from work. sitting at home in my jams, sleeping and watching movies, and trying to not dream about bread.

i had really odd dreams about tornados and escaping from avalanches and old boyfriends. i kind of don't want to go back to sleep!

hope i feel better tomorrow - it's a big week with work, and we have tickets to see Oklahoma! tomorrow, and then we take off Friday for NYC to celebrate abby and travis getting married! so excited for friday.

i didn't get much into the halloween spirit this year, minus the pumpkin we carved into a DC flag and the s'mores party at the hamills complete with errant trick-or-treating teenagers. and now it is november, my favorite of all months. hooray.

st. elmos fire

i watched this brat pack drama last night and it really captured some horrible things from the 80's, some of which hasn't yet resurfaced in the latest 80's revival.
things that are back in style:
*bows in hair.
*nerd glasses.
*blazers.
*the saxophone (*wink* TH plays the saxomaphone).
*throwing huge parties.
*um, cocaine?
*crimped hair, although i think that already went back out, and perhaps was only "in style" in logan utah college dorms for a few semesters.

things that have not come back in vogue, and hopefully will not:
*dangly earrings for men.
*dorky laughing to make fun of someone.
*80's hair (think glamour shots with a crimper).
*whispering words.
*jeeps.
*demi moore's party girl character.


anyone else?

sweet frustration.

but cleanse, i want these, this, and these! i am holding onto my willpower with all i've got.

you know what's going to be really really tough? when i spend next weekend in nyc and cannot have a bagel or black and white cookie! (i might have to break the cleanse for a day...)

shocking revelation: a day really DOES make a difference.

wow, yesterday felt like doom and gloom and i have to say that today is a brighter day. maybe its the weather, but i think its also the fact that i took my life back a little yesterday. i actually did some productive things yesterday, last night, and this morning when i woke up. i swear getting up early makes all the difference. i really like being in the kitchen in the morning - it makes me feel like a real adult, creeping around in my slippers and PJ's, making oatmeal, or doing last night's dishes. and i really like the morning light that brightens up the room. even though our kitchen is beyond tiny, i have really grown to love that space. shall i take you through a tour tomorrow? ok.

let's talk about being a morning person vs. night owl. i have always always been a night owl, even when i was young i would stay up all night with my flashlight, reading books late into the night. so i really want to turn that around and start getting up early. do you have any tips for this night owl?