Christmas 2012.

we had a good Christmas this year, as usual. we are blessed. throughout most the month of December, i spent a lot of time making traditional chocolate chip cookies. my favorite. (and trying to eat something a little healthier - fruit - inbetween cookie bites.) we had our annual sugar cookie decorating party with the Horrocks's the sunday before Christmas.

we spent Christmas Eve with my family (everyone but the China couterparts). we had a huge breakfast/brunch at my sisters house. pancakes, eggs, fruit, bacon, sausage, juice, milk, muffins...you name it, we had it. soo good. we all opened gifts from eachother, which was fun. all the grandkids got remote control monster trucks from grandma and grandpa, which they loved (even the girls!). it was snowing most the day, which made for such a pretty backdrop for our party.

my parents, oldest sister and her family, and jae and i had Christmas Eve dinner together at Texas Roadhouse. it was super crowded, which surprised me a little. but was delicious as ever. afterwhich, we went back to our house for treats, games, and Elf watching.

Christmas morning, we woke up to our own little Christmas present opening with just Jae, Zoey, and i. Jae got some new slippers (our floors are SO cold), sour patch watermelons, tickets to a Jazz game, eye glasses cleaner (super exciting, i know), and probably his favorite gift - dark knight rises on blu-ray. i think i could've just given him that alone and he would've been happy as a peach. i got some clothes, lots of new nail polishes, jewelry, make-up, long cozy socks, and of course - plenty of reese's trees. Zo got two new chew toys (which were chewed up in pieces literally within about 4 minutes) and a new collar.

we stopped by my parents for a few minutes to see everyone that was there and stuff our faces with some brunch leftovers. i surprised Jae with a (gigantic) framed picture of Paris and the Eiffel tower for our living room wall. i had to hide it at my parents because there's no way i could've kept it hidden at our house. he loves it! success.

next we headed to Jae's moms for Christmas present opening with his family. Jae was "santa", as he is every year (wears a santa hat and is in charge of passing out the presents). we got more fun gifts there, and ate another meal. Jae had to quickly be off to work, but only worked a few hours and was home for dinner, so it wasn't so bad. Zoey and i went home and took a quick snooze while Jae worked. it was such a great holiday with lots of family.

a few photos from here and there during our Christmas season this year:

2013.

let's be real for a minute here.

around this time of year, most people are thinking of what they want to focus on next year. how they want to be nicer. how they want to be in better shape. be a better friend. be more patient. how they want to work hard and make lots of money.

while i have some of these same thoughts, i'm not typically one to write down a big "resolutions" list. i kind of find if unrealistic (my track record speaks for itself.....). i've seen a few people/read a few blogs that pick a simple word or phrase for the coming year to focus on. i find this idea much more realistic. much more doable. if i'm picking something that helps remind me to be a better person in life in one way or another, it's bound to affect most aspects of my life and help me be better at all those things i could be writing on my resolution list.

you feel me?

i haven't quite settled on what i want to pick for this coming year yet, but i have a few ideas rolling around. i'm feeling especially inspired by these thoughts. it will be hard to narrow it down.

the day after.

well, we stayed up entirely too late last night (for a girl who was supposed to get up and get to work at a reasonable time this morning) watching the dark knight rises on blu-ray (one of Jae's gifts). but he was like a kid in a candy shop and couldn't another second to watch it. and i finally made it into work at about 930 today. and tonight, we're using one of Jae's other Christmas gifts....going to the Jazz game! 

so it's all good.

i haven't quite got all my pictures put together about our Christmas fun yet, so i'll post on that a little later. for now, a snippet of what the pup and i did on our Christmas afternoon (while Jae had to go work for a few hours...boo.) hope your holiday was as busy and fun as ours!

Zo and i snoozing watching one of my all-time favorites - the muppet christmas carol.

cozy.

christmas tree lights.

fuzzy blanket.

hot cocoa.

cuddles.

perfection.

cheers to the last day on earth ;)

ps: happy last-minute shopping!

perhaps i'll see you out there.

{un}wrapped.

i finally got a couple presents wrapped yesterday before Jae got home.
there are only two, but i was excited to have something to put under the tree.

a couple of hours later, Jae and i were painting (yes, painting again...or still...whichever).
it was too quiet in the house, so Jae went to investigate.

our conversation went something like this:
J: uh Mara, did you put some presents under the tree?
M: uh oh. what did she do?
J: she tore one apart.
M: well which one?? don't look at it! can you see the present?!? don't look!!!

that little stink pup!!

needlesstosay, that present is re-wrapped (and the ribbon on the other one was re-done as well...) and they're both sitting up on the entertainment center now. seriously, i feel like i have a toddler in our house!

gifting.

i decided to pull out my best crafty-ness and make a little something for a few of my neighbor friends.

yes - this is about as crafty as i get, so be impressed.

i thought they were fun!

what you'll need:

*container with a lid (i got mine at michael's for 50% off!)

*hot chocolate

*red & white peppermints 

(and something to crush them up with...i just used a spoon)

*mallows

*chocolate chips

and bam!

simple, i tell you.

what are your fun neighbor/coworker/friend/whoever else gifts this year?

stripes.

we've been painting fools lately.

it's fun sometimes.

and then sometimes i'm so over it.

either way, the stripes are done!

and here they are.

{sidenote: in case you couldn't tell, it appears i'm unable to take straight pictures. plus they're taken with my phone.  on top of that, i really need to figure out how to get a picture of more of the room so you can appreciate the full stripeness.

so take it or leave it. whatevs.}

**special shout-out to my sister Susan for all your help!!! you rock.**

christmas wishlist 2012

a few things i wouldn't mind seeing under the tree this year...

 

skirt - old navy

fun tights - nordstrom 

jacket - the north face

phone! - iPhone

mixer - kitchenaid

black pumps - steve madden

**i feel like i should comment on the events of this past friday in connecticut. but i'm not really sure what to say. and i feel a little silly posting about high heels and mixers while there are families that just had their worlds turned upside down.  i am grateful i got to spend more time than usual with my nieces and nephews the last couple of days. i don't have any children of my own yet, but my heart hurts for those moms and dads, brothers and sisters that lost someone this weekend. they are in my thoughts and prayers.

empty.

this is precisely what my fridge looks like right now. today. at this moment.

 

{photo taken with my phone...don't hate.}

this mainly happens for two reasons: 

1 - i hate spending money on groceries over and over, 

and 2 - i hate grocery shopping!

so we i usually procrastinate grocery shopping until we're down to the bare minimum.

which apparently consists of milk, jam (for pb&j's, of course), salsa, butter, cookie dough, (probably expired) yogurt, and i think there's one straggly apple left in the bottom drawer. oh and some Ragu for our multiple pasta nights every week.

we're not the only ones, right?

so this one time...

...we were in church...Jae and i were chit-chatting with our friends, Cody and Steph, and we said how it would be super awesome if we went on a trip to Hawaii.

well, fast-forward a couple of weeks later, and we have received our hotel reservation confirmation!! that 2.5 months just got real, folks!

wha?!! how did that happen?

neither Jae nor i have ever been, and we are totally stoked. a week at the beach with my love and our friends. could life get any better? not much, i say. not much.

irrational fears.

so growing up, i watched the movie 'money pit' a lot. like hundreds of times, i watched it. in case you haven't seen it (which, it seems like a lot of people haven't....that's just unfortunate for you), i'll give you a little background:

it's about a man and a woman who decide to pull all their resources together (and the resources of their wealthy friends) and buy a huge, old, falling-apart house and do some remodeling to it.

{sidenote: who knew all these times i watched this movie, i should've been taking notes because some day i would buy a falling-apart house and fix it up too. actually....i should've known it was a bad idea.} 

so problem after problem come up, and they eventually end up spending a ridiculous amount of money and hiring all sorts of crazy people to do the work, all while living in the house through the remodel, and once it's finished........well you'll have to watch the movie to see how it ends. honestly, i'm not even sure why i love that movie so much, but i just do. i laugh so hard.

so anyway! the reason i'm going on and on about this movie is because in one part of it, they are filling the bathtub up bucket by bucket of water just to take a bath. well they finally get the tub full and just as she's about to get in and soak in the nice tub, the tub totally falls through the floor. like it got so heavy and the floor was so old and weak, it breaks through and crashes to the floor below. now, in the movie, it is hilarious! that part is one of the best parts (i'm laughing inside right now just picturing it). 

but i honestly believe it has ruined me and my bathtub trust for the rest of my life.

literally, every single time i get in the shower (not even taking a bath, just a shower!), i think back to that movie and get a little bit of anxiety thinking about the tub crashing through our floor. now, i know this is a little bit crazy. i know! but i can't help it, it happens every time. realistically, the only thing below our bathroom is the crawl space, which is only about 2 feet below the floor. so even if that were to happen, it wouldn't be nearly as dramatic or messy or scary as it is on the movie. but still. i've seen that subfloor we have under all that hefty tile and tub in our bathroom and i'm just saying.....

and that, my friends, is my #1 irrational fear.
please tell me you have one too?

frame of mind.

i've been thinking about this Christmas season on a deeper level a lot lately. it is so easy to get caught up in the gifts and buying and lists and hurrying and sales and errands and money.....all of it. and i am totally guilty of it! it's just all so much and i just stress myself out most of the time. and for what? so we have nicely wrapped presents that probably cost too much to put under our perfectly decorated trees that took hours to put together?

this year, being in our own home, i wanted to make the Christmas season a little more special for Jae and i. we bought a few new items of decor (mostly because we didn't have much of anything), spent an hour or so setting up our simple tree together while listening to Michael Buble's Christmas album, and put a wreath on our front door. we agreed to keep gifts for each other simple - one or two presents and then stockings. and you know what? it's so much nicer that way. don't get me wrong, we both love getting each other presents and doing those fun things, which we still do, but we keep in mind to not go crazy with gifts or stress about what to get. because really...it doesn't matter all that much.

we only get this time of year once, and although time seems to speed right on by most of the time, i need to remember to stop and pace myself. enjoy the music, the lights, the hot chocolate, the extra snuggles, the company of good friends and family. enjoy the simple things. more importantly, remember why we do all of this. remember what happened those many, many years ago. remember that tiny baby that was born in a manger and changed all our lives forever.

i am so blessed.

holiday spirit. {or something}.

we decided to make sure our pup is part of our holiday celebrations and bought her a stocking to hang with ours. (of course, that makes it sound like our stockings actually have a place to hang, which they, in fact, do not, but ya know...)

cute right?
well, if you look closely, you'll find it has become flawed. i very foolishly left our stockings sitting on top of Zoey's kennel the other day. i knew as soon as i set them there 'just for a minute', it was a bad idea. i made a trip to the store that afternoon, and when i got back i found both her stocking and one of ours pulled down in her kennel. i kind of had a mini freak out, since all our stockings are brand new this year. and i knew Jae would be none-to-happy to know i left them where pup could chew on them. i was relieved to only find our stockings in good shape still, and only hers had been affected by her chewing.

 but i figure it seems fitting, right? of course Zoey, master of chewing all things, would chew a hole in her stocking.

in other news, i painted my nails, and tried a little harder than usual to be...creative, i guess? not much, but a little. that's about as good as it gets 'round here.

{i know, Chelsea the nail queen, they're still not up to par ;)}