december 19th

i can't believe its already less than a week to Christmas. we've been busier than we ever have been and i think its making time go by faster than ever. its bittersweet. in between regular life stuff we've been squeezing in as many christmas dates as possible, going to christmas parties (is it lame to admit this is kind of the first year we've gone to real ones? usually the christmas parties i'm used to is josh and i and a friend or two), and watching one too many cheesy christmas movies. I still have a few small odds and ends to get before next week and a whole lot of wrapping to do.. and a couple handmade gifts to make still (yikes!).. so i'll be spending the next few days ignoring a few chores and soaking in that extra special feeling thats in the air this time of year.. i know thats SO cheesy.. but i guarantee you know "the feeling".

And let's all keep praying for the families in Connecticut.. I cannot even fathom what they are going through. This was a powerful statement from a father of one of the victims.. heartbreaking. Jesus please bring healing to those families...

catching up: birthday

My birthday was the day before thanksgiving this year, and in keeping with our tradition we set up our tree and christmas decorations. We love christmas alot alot alot so we like to be all decked out.. but this year our space is quite a big larger and it felt a little sparse at first (you'll see). We fixed that with a few trips to the store :)
gifts from josh...






and our sad attempt at jumping pictures this year:



You can see last years set-up here!

Oh Tannenbaum

December snuck up on all of us, didn't it? As of 11pm last night I finished all my orders from November (phew!) and I'm taking some time off to enjoy the holidays and take a few breathers. Which means I'll have adequate time to spend making this blog what I really want it to be.. which is exciting! I'm also hoping for adequate time to make dinners and keep the house tidy.. those things definitely aren't on the top of the list when i'm busy with orders.

But anyway! We went to a farm thanksgiving weekend to cut down a couple trees for our house.. one big (9ft), one little (6ft). I grew up across the street from a ginormous christmas tree farm so i was pretty familiar with the drill. It always feels extra fun to pick your tree from a mini forest and saw the little thing down.

I'll be back soon with a christmasy tour of our house.. it's so cozy right now!

5 years

Our 5 year anniversary was last Sunday but it was a really busy day for us so we decided to really celebrate it the following friday. The plan was to go to an apple orchard and pick some apples and have one last fall hurrah but once we got to sauvie island we realized we were a little too late.. I was kinda bummed but we ended up having a blast anyway... stopping off to explore this old house and the property. It was foggy and perfect... I could've stayed all day.

Then we warmed up at a coffee shop on the way home, chatted nonstop about how grateful we are for life right now, and topped it off with a romantic dinner that evening.

Being married to him is such a gift... one I hope I never take for granted. Here's to a million more anniversaries like this.. (or at least like.. 80)

shop for christmas!

You may have noticed my shop was closed up for few weeks. I needed that time to fulfill previous orders and just have a little rest, to be honest. But the shop is reopened now for a limited amount of orders for Christmas... (or just yourself!) I'm taking fewer orders this time around so I can be sure to have them all done and out in plenty of time for Christmas... So basically what I'm saying is if you've been wanting to order and you'd like an item before January I'd recommend ordering today..

All orders will ship by December 7th!

Thank you (times a million!!) for your endless support!

Visit my shop here!

FLASHBACK

Exactly a year ago we we're finishing up almost 4 weeks of traveling through europe (i think we saw every square inch of germany). I remember lots of driving, and being perpetually cold and hungry but it was also some of the most fun i've ever had..sooo many memories.
A few:
In the Netherlands we got confused and ended up driving our big van down the BIKE(!) freeway thing... there were middle fingers and people punching our car but i was dying of laughter.

In Paris we practically ran to every famous sight so we could see all of them in the one night we were there.. I don't think my feet have ever hurt that much in my life but it was worth it.

In Berlin we stayed at this awesome hostel that used to be an old hospital, it was amazing!

In South Germany (can't remember the city right now..) we stayed with the nicest girl who made us spaetzle (which none of us liked..oops!) and we drank what she called burp water which was a mix of coke and orange juice.. it was weird and did in fact make you very burpy. 

(lets not forget though, i did experience what may be the worst day of my life on that trip--i'm looking at you Ukraine! i've never been so confused and tired in my life...worst 24 hours ever)

If i could have my way, I'd save up every last dollar I could and travel with Josh around the whole world. Maybe one of these days... 

a sleepy end-of-summer evening

Somehow in the middle of the chaos that was our summer, I managed to forget to post these photos from a corn field adventure. We had just finished a relaxing day on the beach and on the way home these fields were crying out to us to stop and take advantage of the amazing light and surroundings.

There were a million of these tiny frogs hopping around everywhere.. and right after josh snapped that photo we ran to the car just in time to dodge a stormy downpour.

I'm thankful for these seemingly uninteresting memories..
and that i have a [patient] someone to share them with.