10 Reasons this month is great

In no particular order:

1. CHRISTMAS!

2. Romantic-y Christmas date days with Tyler, like driving around looking at lights and ice skating in Bellevue :)

3. Christmas cubicle/office decorating contest at work! Our office literally looks like the north pole right now. :)

4. An actual prototype of my wine label comes back this month! HOORAY!

5. Making up with a friend of mine I'd sort of been fighting with. After about three weeks of not talking she apologized and we were able to make up. I am so thankful things worked themselves out -- I hadn't realized just how much I valued her friendship until I actually had to consider what it would be like if I didn't have it anymore. This time of year especially it is so nice to be back on good terms with everyone - Christmas is all about family and friends and love and appreciating what you have, and I am so, so thankful this year.

6. Elf on the shelf-ing! If that doesn't make sense to you now it will soon - pictures to come!

7. Girls Christmas weekend in Seattle with my mom, my aunt, and my cousin Molly!

8. Old Christmas records on the record player!

9. Gingerbread cookies! After waiting for a YEAR they are finally back!!

10. THE BEST NEWS OF ALL: Nic is going to be fine! He's going to be okay. After a truly horrible month where everyone in my family was prepared for the worst, his tests came back about a week ago and he is okay. The relief I feel is absolutely enormous -- I didn't want to say anything to Nic, but based on his first set of test results my family was really worried that he had cancer. What with my aunt Kelsey dying in October and Nic getting the scary test results, November was a terrible month for my entire family. A lot of stress and fear and crying has now been replaced with hugs and laughter and tears of joy.

I really have to thank God for all the blessings he has given me over the last month. I thank Him for the support of my husband, my family, and my friends who checked up on me and my brother to make sure we were doing alright. I also am so thankful this year for a job and a way to pay our bills, feed ourselves and keep a roof over our heads. Tyler and I have really realized that even though we struggle sometimes to make ends meet, we are still so incredibly fortunate, what with a home, good health and some of the best friends and family in the world.

If I don't blog again before the year ends, Merry Christmas everyone! We love you and wish you a joyous and peaceful holiday.

Fall is coming!

Okay, maybe not quite yet. But all of this stormy, cold weather has got me thinking about fall...AND I AM SO EXCITED!!! Plus, labor day weekend is always the last true weekend of summer, so that has gotten me thinking about the coming season and getting excited as well. :)

So, in honor of the coming season, here are some things I am excited about:

1) Tyler's birthday! He's going to be TWENTY SIX! Can you believe that?? He's such a man! I need to plan something fun and special for his birthday since it is only a few weeks away.

2) The beer label I worked on hits shelves October 1st! Ty and I are going to be buying some to celebrate no doubt, so that sh0uld be fun. Haha ;)

3) HALLOWEEN! ohmygosh I LOVE halloween! I love basically everything about Halloween, and I am stoked that yesterday Tyler and I were talking to our friends Craig and Angela and came up with an AWESOME group costume idea!!

4) Pumpkin....everything!! I was looking on pinterest the other day and I came across several absolutely AMAZING-looking recipes incorporating pumpkin, which I will post here:

Pumpkin pie cupcakes!

pumpkin twinkies with lemon filling! YUM!! And BRILLIANT!

5) Back-to-school shopping! At some point in the near future when Ty and I have a little extra cash we are going to go "back to school shopping" for cold-weather clothes. We always do this right around the beginning of the school year despite the fact we are no longer in school....haha.

6) Stormy fall weather...at the beach hopefully! I love storms - the wind, the lightning, the dark skies, all of it! And there's no better place to experience a storm than at the beach. Tyler and I are planning to keep an eye on the weather forecast in the coming weeks and plan a trip out to a beach somewhere when the weather is expected to be stormy.

7) Going for walks with Ty when the leaves start to change! We live in a very heavily wooded area with tree-lined streets, parks, paths and trails everywhere, and after work most nights Ty and I go for walks in our neighborhood. We're super excited to see all of the trees start to change and get all bundled up when we go for our daily walks.

Okay, well since there are about a BILLION things I could write about being excited about, and no one wants to read them all, I'll just post some of my favorite fall-y photos that I've come across recently to help you all get excited. :)

So many changes, so little time.

So, I know I haven't blogged in forever (I've been crazy busy!) but what I can tell you is that since I lasted posted I got this wonderful job working as a graphic designer for the Washington Wine & Beverage company out in Woodinville, WA, Tyler and I moved, sold all our stuff, decorated our apartment with new stuff, and ever since my free time has been spent desperately searching for a car (oh, and my car was totaled over spring break), working on wedding invitations, two sets of shower invitations, t-shirts and wine labels. It's been absolute madness but it's been fun.

This blog post is probably more for me than for anybody else, as there is so much I've had on my mind lately that I just sort of needed somewhere to organize my thoughts! Here they are, in random order.

Thought 1: I need to figure out what the heck we are going to put above our mantle! Our apartment is looking cute but I still don't have anything over there and it's a bit of an eyesore.

Thought 2: now that I am all settled in to my job and new place it is time to get focused on getting into shape! I was doing really well before I left but I've sort stalled out a bit on the diet front-- but I'm starting a new diet and I'm really excited about it! Swim suit whether is upon us and that means full-fledged workout plan for me. However, starting a new job and moving was stressful, so I lost 2 pounds from not being able to eat so hey! that helps a little too. Haha.

Thought 3: I need to find a car. But do I go with something newer and make payments on it, or do I buy something sort of crappy that I can pay out of pocket for? Sigh.

Thought 4: Summertime. I need to make some fun plans for Ty and I so that we have something fun to look forward to!

Thought 5: I'm working on something for work that I am REALLY excited about...but I don't want to stay anything until I know for sure that it is a go! So in the meantime, I've got to do a really good job on this so that I make the most of this opportunity.

Thought 6: Bridal shower. So many plans, so much to do, so little time. It's going to be really awesome and really special but there is still quite a lot to do.

Oh, and here are some pics of the new place!
our living room! I'm so excited about our new gallery wall-- we just finished hanging it last week! We still need photos for our frames. Haha. We're working on it but we really don't have that many printed photos.The other side of the room-- we have a little gas fireplace which we will probably never use. :) We are also looking for a bookshelf/bookstand to go on the right side of our tv stand.Our "herb garden." Haha. We have a patio outside but so far we don't have all that much out there yet-- except our two little pots of herbs. HAHA.

The dining area off the kitchen-- as you can see it is still pretty bare. But we are really excited because we refinished that table ourselves and picked out the mismatching chairs to go with it. :) We want to put a set of shelves on the wall to the left of the table and put little collections of cool things on there. :)Our kitchen. :)Our bedroom - not much in there but i LOVE our new bedding!! It has old love letters printed all over it (Thanks mom!!)The window in our bedroom-- I LOVE OUR VIEW!! it has birds and squirrels and nature outside and it is quiet (except for the nature sounds) and peaceful all the time. Our place feels a little bit like a tree house outside because we are so high up and surrounded by trees. :)

Locket

So, every morning for the last few weeks I wake up, make some breakfast, and search craigslist for jobs once I graduate. This morning I did not see any jobs that I hadn't already applied for, so I was feeling bummed, and next thing I knew I found myself on Etsy looking at heart lockets. Strange transition, I know. But anyways, when Ty and I were in Napa we went to this adorable store called Chateau Sonoma and they had the most AMAZING silver heart locket with a little dove on the front of it and I totally fell in love. Only problem is, It was about $150 when I took a look at the price tag. It nearly broke my heart. But anyways, ever since then I've been thinking that a heart locket like the one in the store (but, ahem, cheaper) would be the perfect everyday necklace for me, since I never wear any jewelry besides my rings (both from Tyler). Anyhoo, here is what I've found so far:

I love the pattern on the front of this locket and the tiny flower-- so beautiful! Silver Heart Locket - Enchanted Daisy Love by TheEnchantedLocket.

I love this locket because it has that vintage-y look, it has the little dove connected to the necklace, and I think the little clock inner workings are super neat! Plus, it actually opens, so I could put stuff in there!
Silver Heart locket - Enchanted Love Bird by TheEnchantedLocket.

I also really REALLY love the new Tiffany lock necklaces. They are closer to the price of the locket I couldn't afford, but one can dream, right? I love the really "mini" sized locks -- both the round one and more angular one. Here are some lovely pics:

I really love both of these-- I'm not sure which one I like better. The rose-gold plate on the front really adds a lot but I also love both of these in sterling silver! They are both super tiny in person-- very delicate and antique-y looking.

Anyhoo, that's about all I've got for now! I'll probably update with something more substantial once I've figured out what the heck is going on in our lives. Wish us luck applying for jobs!

Spring is in the air!

Aaah spring. Spring in Pullman is pretty much Pullman without snow, but I am still pretty stoked about it! Today I even went for a bike ride, and although it was freezing near the end of it, it was sunny and tons of people were out on the ol' Bill Chipman trail.

Anyhoo, Tyler and I just got back from our road trip to San Francisco and Napa Valley, and it was such a wonderful trip! Truly, I think, one of the best we've ever been on together. I think part of what made it so nice is that we've gotten to in our relationship where we just really have a good time hanging out together, even when we're doing absolutely nothing, so it was REALLY fun doing something so outside of the ordinary!

Anyways, most of you who are at all interested have probably seen photos on facebook, but here are a few I never got around to posting that sort of sum up our trip.

San Francisco is so fun and weird and colorful-- Ty and I had a blast hanging out with Nic and walking around downtown. Nic lived in this really adorable neighborhood that had tons of old Victorian houses and cute little coffee shops and cafes. He was even just a few blocks from Alamo Square and the Painted Ladies!

Shoe garden across from Alamo Square. Seriously-- how cool is that?!

One of the few pictures I got of the Victorian houses. :)

Wine tasting at Chandon! It was St. Patrick's day so they gave us green champagne (or sparkling wine if you want to get technical). It was SUCH a fun tasting-- all sparkling wines, all delicious.

Yountville! It's my favorite area in Napa Valley that we visited-- home to The French Laundry, adorable little hotels like the Vintage Inn, and a million (seriously) amazing restaurants and cafes!

Ty is such a goof. :)

Ty hanging out in Artesa winery. The architecture was amazing!

The fountains at Artesa.

So that's pretty much all I have-- but big stuff is coming in the next few weeks! Party bus with Craig and Angela, Ty is graduating, I'm getting a new car (long story), we're heading back to Lake Tapps for the summer, and we'll know whether or not we are going to London next year in two weeks! Wish us luck and cross your fingers for us!

So. Much. News!!

WARNING: LONG POST!!

First off, I am terrible about posting regularly-- lately I've been in this state of total lethargy where I couldn't even motivate myself to upload the pictures off of my camera. Luckily, however, the huge amount of things going on have jolted me into action, and after a very long hiatus I am now back to posting.

Tyler and I have been having a wonderful couple of months, that included a long and relaxing break at home for the holidays and a very romantic anniversary weekend out in Spokane and Valentine's day here at home.

Unfortunately, however, I didn't really get any good pictures from our date in Spokane, as I was a total spaz and left my camera (BOTH of them, actually!) at home. However, I did get a few pictures from Valentine's day, which I will include below!

so, after spending all day in the kitchen, I wanted to make sure it LOOKED romantic in our apartment so that I lit a whole bunch of candles and put them EVERYWHERE. Counters, tables, even in front of the tv! Haha

kind of nerdy, but I decided to set our coffee table instead of our actual dining room table because we had a bunch o' crap on and around our table at the moment and I wanted to make sure we had room to spread out with all that food!

For the main dish I made steak with crab and bernaise sauce and herbed sweet potato wedges! I also made a cranberry walnut spinach salad on the side. :)

by the time I finally sat down to eat, THIS is what I was most excited for! And that champagne was yum-my!

now, THIS was a bit of an experiment-- originally I just wanted to make tiramisu but in the end I found it was a lot easier to make a tiramisu bread pudding and turn the mascarpone cream sauce into an ice cream! It actually turned out pretty good-- and mascarpone ice cream is tasty!

Next- the BIG NEWS! Over Christmas break tyler spent a lot of time applying to grad schools for architecture, and over the last two weeks he has finally started hearing back from some of them! Namely, from WSU and the AA in London...and he got into both! Now, AA was Ty's dream school-- it's one of the most competitive and distinguished architecture schools in the world, and so when he received his acceptance letter the other day we both went into shock! I was actually in the shower in the morning when I suddenly hear Ty pounding on my door, so I left him in (thinking he must REALLY need to go to the bathroom) and he says "I got into AA! I got into AA!" and it takes me a second to realize he means THE AA in London, but once I get it I start shrieking and screaming and running around the apartment (still naked of course) until Ty tells me to calm down and put some clothes on because I am sick and I will freeze to death (I was actually getting ready to go to student health that morning because I was so ill. Haha). So I (s0rt of) calm down, but it takes about four days for me to realize what this means-- that Ty and I might be moving to LONDON next year!

At first I thought that it was a huge honor but that Tyler and I couldn't possibly afford to go there. However, over the last few days Ty and I have been doing lots of calculations and trying to figure out whether this might actually be a possibility...and more and more it is looking like we might actually be able to do this! This weekend we've been looking over some of the financial aid information that they sent to Ty, and it looks like they have a few different options to help students with the cost of schooling, including something called a bursary, which helps pay for a semester of school. After looking everything over, and considering our personal finances and loans, I've told Ty that if he gets the bursary, we can definitely go. He's working on the application as we speak and he is going to send it in tomorrow! So please, please, PLEASE pray for us-- this bursary could make the difference between us going or not, so any prayers you can send our way would be greatly, greatly appreciated!

Anyways, I don't know if that's really big news to you guys, but just a day or so ago Tyler and I realized that this might actually happen-- that we might actually be moving to London in September! And honestly-- tyler works SO hard and he is such a generous, selfless person that I can't help but feel that this is his opportunity to do something amazing and I just pray it will all work out. But yeah, in the meantime I have composed a mental list of reasons why moving to London for a year would be awesome that I feel the need to right down to remind myself in case I start to feel like a chicken again about moving to a foreign country. Here is my list, in no particular order:

1) Tyler and I both really, really wanted to do study abroad but never got to as part of our undergraduate degree. I didn't do it because Ty and I were already doing a long-distance relationship and I was worried about putting added pressure on our relationship by going for months and months at a time without being able to see eachother. Ty also wanted to study abroad when I moved out here, but financially it looked like it just wasn't in the cards for us.

2) I need to get a job and work full-time anyway, so why not do it out in London? It would be a great cultural experience even if I was doing something completely unrelated to graphic design, and since it is only for a year it wouldn't set me back very far.

3) If we were living in London we would be the same distance from Paris as we are now from Seattle! We could go to PARIS on the weekends! PARIS!

4) The AA is Tyler's dream school...he would get an AMAZING education and it would make him so, so happy to go there!

5) School starts in September, so Tyler and I could go work and stay with my parents for the summer and not have to worry about moving right away-- we could save some money and look for jobs in London and have a little time to get our ducks all in a row instead of having to find a job right now so that we can move as soon as school gets done in May. I am going to miss my family like crazy if we end up moving somewhere out of state for grad school, so having this time to spend with our families before we have to move is a very serious consideration for Tyler and I.

6) And a BIGGIE - Trish's wedding! I really, desperately want to be able to be there for my best friend during the most special day of her life, and I would love nothing more than to be in Lake Tapps for a few months beforehand so I could be a proper bridesmaid and not have to fly back in forth from say, Arizona or California for the bridal showers, bachelorette party and wedding. Not having to leave until September would give me plenty of time to spend with Trish and the opportunity to be there for all of the wedding events instead of just some of them.

7) Ty and I are young and married, but do not have children yet. I've always fantasized about living in Europe for a year so that we could travel all over and go all the places that would take too much time to do in one trip. An opportunity like this is probably never going to present itself again-- and the timing is perfect. If not now, when?

Anyways, these are some of my thoughts on everything! For the meantime I guess we will just have to wait and see! But please, if you can, send some prayers our way! :)

Falling for fall

Seriously, what's not to love?

A picture recap of some of my favorite things from the last month (plus tyler's birthday):

tyler blowing out the candles on one of his many birthday cakes

tyler is an excellent uncle because he can build super tall lego buildings.

tyler (and nephew caleb) attempting to open some birthday presents at ty's parent's house

pumpkins are heavy?
super sweet corn maze-- it was alice in wonderland-themed and went through tunnels, over bridges, and even through a round room with a set of and little bottle that says "drink me"

pic with my little sis!

halloween party complete with glow-in-the-dark margaritas with creepy crawly worms!

and a picture in the dark :D

Nic and his lovely girlfriend Lindsey. You can just look at Nic's expression and see why I included this photo.

So, there are LOTS of fun things coming up (and hopefully lots more photos!) but one of the main things I am excited about is Tyler and I's Christmas Date Day (yes, with caps!) with our friends Craig and Angela. It was actually Angela's idea-- we were talking about how we miss out on Christmas in the city living all the way out here and she came up with the idea for an epic date day in Seattle on the weekend before Christmas! I am SO EXCITED!

Possible plans include:

• Christmas shopping downtown (including FAO Schwartz)
• Adult Christmas drinks at happy hour somewhere
• Ice skating (maybe?)
• Christmas-y (somehow haha) dinner!
• Possibly the Nutcracker or this Christmas boat trip thinger where you get to listen to carols and float around the sound :D
• Driving around looking at Christmas lights with hot chocolate!

Anyways, nothing is set in stone, but I would LOVE to hear some of your favorite Christmas-y things to do in the city if any of you have suggestions-- we haven't settled on a for-sure plan, but I feel like there are a ton of possibilities we are probably missing on our list here! :)