XMASGRAMS.

here are some quick pics from our holiday. too much mimosa for moi. one of our fav gifts: a toaster from my mom! it's off our registry, which was a theme of presents - we also got some pans and an oven mitt my dad would describe as "bad boy." speaking of my dad - he sent me this photo of miss. jade in all that snow they're having in ohio. he TEXTED it to me. so 2012, my dad is.

more gifts - i am inlove with those jcrew gift boxes. the necklace and scarf are pretty amazing, too. this kate spade frame from betsy made me cry. our halls, decked.

christmas stuff is getting packed up later this week and on wednesday our tree will be out by the curb. {denver offers free recycling - they turn all the trees into mulch that you can go pick up at no cost in the spring, so cool.} we are full steam ahead into 2013!

I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS... NEXT YEAR.

this year, traveling to ohio just was not feasible between wedding expenses and lack of pto. i didn't think it would be that bad, since we both had to work wednesday and there's ample technology to enable us to talk to and see our families.

but, it totally sucked. i cried after talking to my fam on christmas eve, which i knew was just the beginning. we both teared up while on the phone with his full extended family and we did the ugly cry when opening gifts.

the one pictured above was a real tear jerker. b's dad wrapped it up for me with a note. his mom used to gift silver bells to her son's wives many years ago every holiday. after she passed away, he kept up the tradition. it's my first year getting a silver bell, and i don't think i've ever received a gift i will treasure more.

next year is going to be even more crazy than 2012, but we already know where we'll be in 362 days - home in ohio with our families. you can count on us.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS.

OUR HOLIDAY CARD.

designing, writing and sending holiday cards is one of my most anticipated activities of the year. i grabbed these when minted was having a 20% off sale.... in early october! b thought i was crazy, but it's not often you see that good of a discount.

there is our top 10 of the year. i thought that was a cute idea - and a quick recap for those family or friends who don't follow the blog and get the daily tmi of what we are up to :)

happy christmas or hanukkah to you blog friends!

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LITTLE BIT LIKE CHRISTMAS.

it's december! it certainly doesn't feel like it here, but we braved the 70 degree temps to head to a local tree farm and find our christmas tree.

it's family-owned and operated and they had a bunch of dogs running around, ready to be pet. we took advantage of that - we did not take advantage of their offering of gorgeous blue spruce, though. $65 is a biiiit pricy for something we'll have for just a month.

see - t-shirt weather! b picked out our tree and cut it down. it was quick and easy.

so quick that he talked me into stopping at left hand brewery on the way home.

we even did a tour! check out those goggles.

the view on the ride home. not very much snow up there, but it still makes for a beautiful backdrop.

decorated tree photos coming soon - we're hosting a holiday get-together for my prsa committee this week, so hurried cleaning and organizing starts... now!

christmas from a dog's perspective.

"from the smell of these, i think they are my gifts."

 "are we ever going to open these?"

"no, really, let's get to it."

 "yes, yes, yes, yes!"

"i love christmas."

"and i love all of you. even if my face doesn't show it."

hope your christmas was as good as jadie's, bloggy friends!

and winner of the best christmas present ever goes to...

as you can imagine i sobbed like a baby.

also: his big present was a bowling ball.

i am the luckiest.

ice! at opryland.

thanks to courtney, we got to go ice! last week.

check out these awesome coats everyone gets to wear! so, ice! is basically an indoor exhibit of ice sculptures. and it's totally a kid thing, so this year's was all about madagascar.

we weren't the only group with no kids there. promise.

look at that detail.

slide time!

we weren't the only group with no kids going down the slides, either.

there it is! we all were totally frozen after that.

but luckily, it was 65 degrees outside that night. {the weirdest december weather, ever.} so, we walked around the block to check out the lights at the opryland hotel.

opry's lights are kind of a big deal. people drive in to see them {and to meet santa, which melanie was ballsy enough to sit on his lap.}.

here's the gigantic tree. inside! with full-sized teddy bears as ornaments!

and outside: jesus! the start of the wisemen's journey is on the other side of the lawn, palm trees and everything.

opryland: frozen trees, palm trees, giant trees. they've got christmas covered.  

here it is: our christmas card!

it's a photo you've seen before, but i let b pick and it's his fav.

happy everything {and happy friday!} friends.

christmas at our house.

welcome to our house! it's holiday decor overload time.

this post was alternately titled, "a christmas decoration hoarder comes clean".

doesn't that wreath totally look kate spade-ish? target. of course.

there it is! freshly cut down and now decorated.

christmas nativity via dayspring. which i heard about from local fav the mom creative. my friend sandra has the same thing, and filled hers with color-changing lights.

stockings! handmade from zaney jane's. it looks like she is sold out for this season, but i really would recommend her. they're super high-quality and look just as good this year as they did last.

and a close-up of the tree. i could have included photos of about a dozen different ornaments that are special to me, but i think this one sums it up. i don't think i've ever told the story on here, but b and i went to the same college, ohio university. {an amazing j school, the best bar scene (for when you turn 21), our football team went to the mac championship this year... i could go on and on about ou.} anyway, we went to the same school, took some of the same classes, knew some of the same people, etc. but never met each other. so, it's only fitting that we have a place on our tree to celebrate the school we both love that eventually brought us together. 

oh christmas, it makes me emotional, clearly.

happy wednesday, friends!

currently craving: christmas cards.

{letterpress {!} from sycamore street press}

{via minted, which i've heard very good things about}

{my fav via rifle paper co}

i am a sucker for holiday cards. b's doing a card swap with his internet friends {no really}, so he finally agreed to let me get some printed! i've designed my own for this year's card, but i would totally be down for rifle paper co. to draw out our likeness. it's never too early to plan for christmas 2012, right?

o, christmas tree.

for the past three years, b and i have gone to cut down a real christmas tree. we both grew up with them and knew it was a tradition we wanted to continue. this year, vickie and courtney came too.

that wasn't the only thing different for this year: it was also the first time there wasn't snow on the ground. which is because it was almost 70 degrees here on saturday. #globalwarming

doing our part to off-set above mentioned crazy weather. in reality i'm sure the impact of real v. fake all evens out in the end, but the experience makes it. the place we go is so great, too.

look, hay pine needle ride!

chubbiest little tree ever! and they totally cut it down. #girlpower

above photo taken by me on vickie's AMAZING dslr camera. as if my desire to have that type of camera wasn't already intense - just look at the difference between my {really good!} point and shoot and hers, even on auto.

one reason i like going places with v, besides that she is ready to be weird and funny at any moment, is that she is taking pictures constantly. more than i do {which is saying a lot}. i LOVE this picture. tempted to blow it up on canvas and put it on our mantle. holiday 2012, we shall see.

our tree! it's not the regular pine, which we've gotten in the past. it's a leyland cypress. i googled, but still really don't know how to explain what makes it different from the normal christmas tree. we thought it was southern, since we had never seen that type in ohio, but wikipedia doesn't agree. either way, the needles are soft and it smells super awesome taking up seven feet in our living room.

a group photo! thanks to the random lady who shot that. it's a keeper.

more holiday photos coming later this week, including our decorated tree! tis the season, friends!