Saturday, December 31, 2011

Farewell 2011!

Well, it's that time again! Time to bid another year adieu and look forward to what the new year has in store for us. But before we do that, let's look back at how 2011 treated us:

January - What I Wore Wednesday, a.k.a. WIWW, continued into 2011 {a fun way to look back and see how my style has evolved}; all of the kids in Sam's family treated his parents to a Portland Trailblazer game for Christmas, which we attended in January; and we spent quality time with family & friends.

February - I bragged about my brother's accomplishments; some Valentine's baking occurred; and more WIWW posts.

March - You got to know me a little better; we celebrated our SIL & MIL's birthday and a baby shower for our niece; I fell in love with the cute town of Seaside, OR; neither of us get Spring Break off, but we still enjoyed the weather with friends + family; and, of course, Kristi kept us well fed.

April - Sam built us {+ the Weathers} raised beds for our garden, which turned into a complete backyard makeover; Lily got a new Molly Mutt bed; my SIL's church through her a beautiful baby shower; and we spent Easter down in Eugene so we could listen to our SIL sing one last time at her church down there.

May - Kristi & I went to see Something Borrowed after reading the book a couple years back; Sam turned 29 & we celebrated both his birthday + Mothers Day in Sandy; and Linnea Elizabeth finally made her appearance {a little over a week late} & we all fell in love instantly!

June - I hoped on a plane to see one of my best friends in TX; there was some quality time spent with my college roommate; my brother graduated from college; I continued to read more books thanks to the BlogHer Book Club; we moved my BIL & SIL up to Portland; and Sam & I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary!

July - 4th of July was spent with friends + sparklers; I saw Sara Bareilles in concert with friends; and Sam & I went to the east coast {his first time + I haven't been back in 5+ years} to visit my dad, attend my cousin's wedding, + celebrate my 26th birthday.

August - thanks to Kristi & Sherlai, I attended my second concert this year - Gabe Dixon {+ we got to meet him!}; Sam's family came down for a 'staycation' at our house; and Sam built himself a backdrop for my WIWW photos.

September - I shared how I was feeling lately; we remembered 9/11 - 10th anniversary; and I participated in a scarf swap.

October - Sam & I visited the Oregon Garden for the first time {and are already looking forward to using the membership we purchased}; I played catch up - hair color change, breakfast date with Sam, exploring Portland with Kelly, family photos, and a trip to Redmond to see Michelle + the kids; and we all got together for the 4th annual pumpkin carving party.

November - Sam created a moving picture of our adorable niece that I had to share; I bragged about my talented friends - Jon & Rachel; another 'about me' post; we took Lily to her first dog park; Thanksgiving was spent with Sam's family this year + I shared what I was most thankful for!

December - lots of highlights - more dog park visits, fun with friends, watching my BIL do what he loves, seeing family, & selling my car; I participated in another swap - this time gloves; went to the theatre for a holiday performance; Christmas cards were sent out + the house was decorated; and we managed to see both families this Christmas season.

Overall, I would say this year was a good one for us. We traveled, spent some good time with family + friends, and welcomed our first niece. Even with 2011 being so good, I'm still excited to welcome 2012 and see what it has in store for us. So until next year... :)

Friday, December 30, 2011

Christmas 2011


I know this is a pretty late recap, but for memory sake, I want to be sure to remember that we spent Christmas with my mom & brother down in California this year. Our five days down there were filled with food, fun, & family {a few of my favorite 'f's :)}. We were also lucky that Sam's family was able to postpone their Christmas by one day so we could be there to celebrate with them. It's often hard to juggle two families, especially around the holidays, but both of ours are very supportive & understanding, so we just consider ourselves blessed to have a chance to celebrate with both this year!


How was your Christmas?

Saturday, December 24, 2011

OOTD: Holiday Cheer


Outfit breakdown:
headband + necklace + wedges: Target, {headband borrowed from Kristi};
glasses: Coach; sweater: Loft; jeans: Gap

Our house has been decorated since right after Thanksgiving, but last weekend, Sam brought out his camera to document this year's decorations. I'm not really one to change things up each year, but I still find it fun to have it documented. I also enjoy seeing Sam's creative eye expand each year.

Tree: a fake tree we picked up 3 years ago during our first Christmas together.
Ornaments: a combination of our childhood ornaments and ones we've picked up since getting married {a lot of G's, which has become a tradition for me}.
Nativity set: Willow Tree; both my MIL & SILs had this nativity and for each Christmas since getting married, I have received a piece to add, which is almost complete!


Happy Holidays, from our home to yours!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

2011 Christmas Card

This year's Christmas card is one of my favorites ever! The picture was an easy choice thanks to Jonathan David Photography & our family photo session in October. And for the card, I turned to one of my favorite photo printing sites - Shutterfly.

And for a little surprise, we were sure to include our our favorite pup, Lily, on the back of each card!

My only regret is not ordering enough cards in time to mail them out. There were quite a few people who I wasn't able to send cards to this year and to those people I am really sorry, but hope to do better next year!


Do you send Christmas cards out? Do you enjoy receiving them?

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

OOTD: A Night At The Elsinore


Outfit breakdown:
sweater: Francesca's Collection; tank: Anthropologie; jeans: Gap; boots: Target

Last week, I was invited to a holiday music performance put on by a couple of the churches at the Historic Elsinore Theatre. The full orchestra and choir did an amazing job on some classic Christmas songs, as well as a couple new {to me} songs. As for my outfit, I had to work during the day, so I needed something that would go from day to night easily and this one did just that.

{my dates for the occassion!}


Have you been to a great Christmas concert this year?

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

What I Wore Wednesday

Happy Wednesday! Lately, I've been thinking about my WIWW posts - I've really enjoyed linking up with The Pleated Poppy each week and showcasing some of my favorite outfits, but since this is one of the only posts from week to week, I'm toying with the idea about going back to posting single-outfit posts again. No decision has been made quite yet, but to those who aren't big on change, I'm just warning you there might be some in the coming weeks :) Until then, please enjoy this week's outfits!

{scarf: NYC vendor; tee + flats: Land's End Canvas; pants: Gap}

{jacket: Shade Clothing; jeans: Gap; boots: Target}

{top: Eddie Bauer; jeans: Old Navy; shoes: Toms}

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Cold Hands, Warm Hearts 2011


Back in October, I signed up for sandyalamode & muchlove, illy's annual mitten swap, Cold Hands, Warm Hearts. I eagerly awaited my swap partner's information and when I finally received it, I was so excited to start picking out some mittens + a few extra goodies for Molly. {Check out what I sent her over to her on her blog later this week!}

As for me, I feel like Molly spoiled me!

First, check out my new gloves!
I love the color and they are unlike anything I would have picked out
myself, yet I think I will get so much use out of them this winter!

Then look at what she filled the rest of my package with!
Just a few of the items: brownie mix + a cute holiday oven mitt,
Burt's Bee's lip gloss {a favorite!}, a couple soaps, and
a beautiful scarf that matches my new gloves perfectly!

And finally, check out the sweet gift she sent over for Lily! So festive!

So, thank you Molly! I love everything you sent over to us & I really hope you enjoyed your Cold Hands, Warm Hearts package as well!

And thank you to our hosts, sandyalamode & muchlove, illy - I'm already looking forward to next year's swap! :)

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

What I Wore Wednesday

I'm drawing a blank on what to say this week, so I'm going to leave it at this - to find more inspiration, head over to The Pleated Poppy!

Happy Wednesday!

{necklace: Allora Handmade sweater: J.Crew; tee: Modbe; jeans: Old Navy; shoes: Toms}

{tee: J.Crew; jeans: Banana Republic; heels: Clarks}

{sweater: Gap; top: J.Crew; leggings: Hue; boots: Target}

{sweater: Anthropologie; jeans: Banana Republic; flats: Land's End Canvas}

Monday, December 5, 2011

Weekend Highlights

To be honest with you, I actually tried to make an effort to document my weekend with pictures so I had something to post here. Sad? A little. In reality, I love taking pictures, but most of the time I forget to take my camera {or iPhone, usually} out to capture life as it's happening. I do enjoy being able to look back at past posts, even it doesn't pertain to anyone else, so I will continue to post, pictures or not.

Here's a couple of this weekend's highlights:

We took Lily to the dog park again and actually let her
off the leash for most of time. I think she had a great time because
she slept for the remainder of the weekend :)

My Saturday night was spent celebrating Kiley's {Sherlai's husband}
40th birthday party! This party was straight out of Pinterest -
there was live music, barbecue, and a photo booth {above}
all taking place in an old barn! Simply amazing, if you ask me!

On Sunday, we drove up to Sandy to see Sam's family.
We've been following along with our brother-in-law's weekly class at church
via the internet and we're so happy to get to see his teaching in real life!

We also drove up to see this cutie!
I wish she'd stop growing so fast, but I do love seeing
her personality change each time we see her!

And finally, it was the end of an era...
I said goodbye to my faithful New Beetle on Sunday afternoon.
The car that got me through college, my long distance engagement,
and the first few years of marriage, all with very little trouble.
But I was happy it is going to another young girl who will
{hopefully} enjoy it as much as I did!

Happy Monday!