Christmas has come and gone (and I'm still sitting here crying about it). We always have a big Christmas Eve dinner at my parents' house and a big Christmas Day dinner at John's parents' house. In between, we opened presents, played with Everett's toys, and went to church (did anyone else LOVE having Christmas on a Sunday?). I got a new lens that I've been playing around with, so prepare for a picture overload. Monday was so relaxed and fun - a trip to the mall, a Chinese take-out dinner and movie, and John's homemade guacamole were the highlights.
If only Christmas could be EVERY DAY. (Minus the wrapping presents part. I hate wrapping).
PS. That adorable puppy belongs to my brother and sister-in-law. As much as my husband wants another one, I can't handle a three-month-old, a dog, and a puppy.
Eating: the best grapefruit ever that John got at work for Christmas and insists he doesn't want
Drinking: mostly water from my Yeti (best thing ever, it keeps my water ice cold from morning until night) Reading: The Woman on the Orient Express and so far I'm really liking it Wanting: this freezing rain to turn into snow. Nobody likes cold rain, seriously Looking: at pictures of my baby (all day every day #momlife) Wishing: my gifts would magically wrap themselves. Am I the only one that hates wrapping presents? Enjoying: the giggles Everett is giving us occasionally these days Waiting: for Christmas to be here in TWO MORE DAYS Dreaming: about our upcoming Andersen Family Reunion in Lake Powell next summer. Everett has the cutest teeny-tiny lifejacket (which was of course gifted to him by my parents at my baby shower because summer=Lake Powell) Liking: that the pants I bought a month after having a baby are basically falling off me at this point. FINALLY I'M SHRINKING. Unfortunately there's still quite a bit to go Wondering: why Everett has decided he can only sleep for two hours at night before he needs to eat? Loving: the new floors John's been installing in our kitchen and living room (so so pretty and SO much better than our old orange-y laminate) Hoping: we can squeeze in a few more Christmas movies before Sunday Marveling: that it was one year ago next week that we discovered we were having a baby Needing: to finish our 2016 Coles Family Album Smelling: fresh Christmas tree + cinnamon wall plug-in (a throwback to last year but it's still true) Wearing: scarves! boots! aka all the good stuff Noticing: that my wedding ring fits well again. Swollen pregnancy fingers, I don't miss you
Thinking: Kindle Unlimited is the greatest thing to happen to me this month Feeling: all-around, perfect contentment
Bookmarking: all the kitchens . . . kitchen facelift, I hope you aren't too far away SaveSaveSaveSave
Last night I was in the kitchen making dinner and I heard John talking to Everett. He was saying, "Are we going to be best friends when you grow up? Yes we are! We're going to be best friends!" Heart melted. Later we watched "The Secret Life of Pets" with the baby snuggled in between us and John and I pointed out which cheesy jokes Everett would be sure to laugh at when he was bigger and the whole time all I could think was, Is this real life? And honestly, what did I do to deserve a life so perfect (despite many not-so-perfect days) and full? All I know is Heavenly Father is so, so good to me.
John picked out our Christmas tree this year in the middle of a snowstorm (literally). It was completely covered in snow and when we got home and thawed it out he said, "Great, we bought a dead tree!" It's actually still alive, but the bottom branches look a little pathetic. Everett doesn't care because it's covered in lights (his favorite) and Remi doesn't care because it's perfect for sniffing (his favorite) and I don't care because I just love Christmas so dang much.
I decorated it while John made noises and funny faces at Everett with snow falling and Christmas music in the background and then we (the adults) drank some toasted coconut hot chocolate. It was better than any Christmas movie I've seen. I'm the luckiest girl to get to spend the holidays with my favorite boys.
First let me start off by saying Christmas was perfect this year. We woke up to fresh snow and flurries kept coming down throughout the day. John and I got up early and exchanged gifts. I gave him a Sig Sauer SP2022 (no gun control debates here please - we are Utahns and we like going shooting). I knew he had something special for me because he'd spent a week holed up in our spare room from the minute he got home until 1 AM. I was forbidden from going in until Christmas.
Turns out he'd bought an old piano, taken it apart to clean and repair it, sanded it all down, painted, and polished it. It's absolutely gorgeous, sounds beautiful, and I feel so blessed to be married to someone who'd put that amount of time and effort into something just to make me happy. Not to mention he bought me the sheet music from the new Disney Cinderella movie, which is my favorite.
After we opened our gifts we headed over to my parents' house. They gave me a really nice set of stainless steel pots and pans (which I'd been dying to have ever since we got married). I also got this Irish Pub cookbook and two gorgeous hardcover books (Anne of Green Gables and Pride and Prejudice) from my siblings. We've tried the soda bread and Dublin Coddle from the cookbook and both were excellent. The novels are so pretty I have to just stare at them. John got a fancy shaving set from my parents (think The Art of Shaving type stuff) and was really excited about it.
We spent time with my family and were able to Skype with my sister Kristen for the last time before she comes home from London, then headed over to John's parents' house in the afternoon. His parents gave us an enamel-coated dutch oven (which I was dying to have for making sourdough) and a huge vintage baseball photo for the basement. After a big Christmas dinner we went to see Star Wars with my family.
We're so grateful for all the thoughtful gifts we received and even more grateful for the reason we celebrate: the birth of Jesus. I often hear people complain about how materialistic Christmas is, and that certainly can be true. However, we try to focus less on Santa and more on our Savior. This little video conveys my feelings about the season better than I ever could.
We hope your holiday was just as festive, family-filled, and beautiful as ours was.
I spent three Christmases with John while we were dating, but this is the first time we’ve been married for Christmas and it was so much fun. John had to work until 5 on Christmas Eve, so I wrapped presents at my parents’ house and helped cook dinner. Jared and I made these chocolate tarts with peppermint creme and they were delicious.
For dinner we had prime rib (I was inspired by The Wild Rose and made a dark chocolate sauce to go with it) and a million side dishes.
After dinner we read the Nativity Story and opened our Christmas pajamas. Then John and I went home. While I was showering, he brought our mattress out and set it up in the family room next to the Christmas tree. It was so much fun starting a new tradition (that will have to be discontinued once we have kids because it would make it difficult for Santa to come with us out there) and it made it even better that John was so involved and did it to surprise me.
In the morning we opened our gifts to each other and then went over to my parents’ house again to open more presents with them. We got to talk to my sister Kristen (who’s on a mission in London) over Skype and play video games, then in the afternoon we went to visit John’s grandparents and had dinner with his family. After dinner we went to see The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies with my family.
We were really spoiled this year. We got tons of gift cards, my favorite Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb perfume (it reminds me of London), makeup, hair stuff, movies, clothes, a tool chest + drill, and a tungsten ring (John’s wedding ring is white gold and it scratches easily, so I got him one that he can wear to work without worrying and engraved our wedding date inside). I’m sure I’m missing quite a few things, but basically we’re really lucky.
It was such a perfect Christmas, even if it did sneak up on us too quickly.
PS check out that super neon red lipstick. . . John apparently liked it a lot because when we were at Target he disappeared and came back a few minutes later and told me he was adding it to the gifts in my stocking. I like it too.
I designed this card weeks ago, but then I got really busy with Etsy orders and designing cards for other people and never got them printed. Oops. So here it is: our first official Christmas card. Maybe next year I’ll feel ambitious and actually get some cards mailed out.
This isn’t my first time decorating an apartment for Christmas since I went to BYU for 4 years, but it’s the first time John and I have been able to decorate our own apartment together. I figured I’d better document it.
I love Lindsay Letters. Everything she does is perfect. I didn’t feel like buying frames so I just used washi tape. The snow globes were a Christmas project this year. I used bottlebrush trees from the Dollar Store and kosher salt. The wreath was another project. Evergreen wreath forms are really inexpensive at Hobby Lobby, so I picked one up (with a 40% off coupon) and glued in pheasant feathers, berries, and pinecones. So easy. The nativity is one of my favorites. I found it at a little shop in Nassau on our cruise last spring. I made the orange and grapefruit slice ornaments a few years ago and they're starting to look a little sad, but I still like them. The Santa ornament is something I picked up in Scotland during my study abroad. Isn’t his tartan so cute? The white ornaments were made this year out of clay with a pine branch pressed into them. And the gingerbread men are cinnamon ornaments I made my first year at BYU. Everything smells so good and feels so festive that I can’t wait for Christmas to actually be here. Now if only it would snow. . .
