feels like christmas

 the decorations are up my friends. finally everything is complete. we don't have that much stuff, but it took a couple weeks to get everything set up, cleaned up and boxes put back in storage. but now we can enjoy. walking out the door in the morning is like torture. i just want to lay on the couch all day and gaze up at that beautiful tree! oh and it smells so delicious. by the way, does the in n out fry ornament make you hungry too? i got that at an ornament exchange last year and we love love love it.

there are a few new additions to our decor this year. the vintage candy dish with stars etched in the glass from my late great grandmother, the fun colored yarn garland from anthro, the other vintage candy dish from my other late grandmother - yes you do need two candy dishes per every 1 apartment, the advent calender crafted by yours truly and the christmas prints i found for free online! the only thing that cost anything was the garland from anthro, but that was on sale so i don't really feel bad about it.

i think my favorite thing is the advent calender. i just cut up left over paper from a past project, taped 24 squares on the wall and each day we add an activity to the calender. we came up with 24 christmas-ey things to do throughout the month and we pick one each day and put it on the calender. that way we aren't sitting around wishing we could have done more holiday fun during the month! we are loving this so far and i think it will be a tradition in our house!

oh christmas tree

she has arrived. the perfect tree. i was all smiles as soon as we walked into the tree lot. can you tell i was in my happy place? i love it. i can't wait to walk in the apartment each day after work and breathe in the smell of my beautiful christmas tree! oh, the simple joys this season brings. 

with sap on our hands and gladness in our hearts we took our tree to it's new home. right now i'm sitting on the sofa, in the glow of the christmas lights. 

life. is. good!

yes, this is what happens the day after thanksgiving

 

 

 

the transformation is complete. i have turned into a christmas elf! for us black friday is not a day filled with lines and department stores. it is the day when the christmas decorations come out and the christmas movies are watched. this year it was the perfect day. a photo shoot in the morning, lunch at in n out, new moon, decorating for christmas, pizza hut and christmas vacation. we had so much fun together.

it was the best day. we were both on cloud nine. so so so happy. 

all day i just kept thinking... days like this make all the rough times worth it. those days where everything goes better than you could have planned make the hard times seem non existent. it made me realize just how lucky i am to have someone like tyler by my side to enjoy my days with. he is such a sweet man and we get along so well. trust me, there are days where we just can't see eye to eye. but there is never a day that goes by that i am not completely overjoyed at the pure thought of having such a wonderful person as my companion.

merry christmas to you and yours! trust me... watch christmas vacation while you snuggle your honey. you will be all the happier for it.

the mcgregor family

head on over to my photography blog to see more of the mcgregor's family session. it was such a delightful morning spent with good friends doing what i love. what a blessing. i am grateful for the opportunity to have captured the love of this wonderful family!

thanksgiving

this year thanksgiving was spent at my parents home. we usually juggle both family dinners, but this year we chose not to. it kind of defeats the purpose of a "holiday" when you are rushing around and looking at your watch the entire time wondering when to make an exit. it was SO nice not doing that this year. the day was calm and relaxing and fun. exactly what it should be.

and who wouldn't want to spend the day with this little cutie? she didn't really want to color, she just wanted to throw the crayons all over the living room. fine by me!

also, what is the deal with the cranberry "sauce" from a can? it looks like jello. no thank you.

 

 

 

 

by the way... how adorable is this guy??? he is probably going to be mad at me for posting this, but i don't care. his cuteness kills me. he is the best. like really.