christmas time.

since i work today, jared and i celebrated our christmas yesterday...

one of my favorite traditions is driving around on christmas eve to see christmas lights. i LOVE good christmas lights. so friday night (our christmas eve), jared drove me around on the way home from work to find some. we ended up in the avenues and there were hardly any lights!! the avenues need to step it up! we still had a blast with groceries in the trunk, listening to christmas music on the radio, and trying to scope out some solid lights.

yesterday morning we opened gifts, rocked a little sherlock holmes at the theater (pretty great), and had an incredible dinner. we had a great day.

i will admit that i would much rather be at church with my sweetheart today, celebrating christmas, than at the hospital for 12 hours... but i'm grateful for our day yesterday.

merry merry christmas everyone. i hope you all have a beautiful day!

avenues christmas lights... i enjoyed these enough to have jared pull over.

can you tell i'm excited for my new stainless steel cookware?! thanks mom !

merry christmas!

wishing you all a very merry christmas!!! jared and i will be celebrating on christmas eve this year as i will be working christmas day. both of our sweet parents in arizona and in washington keep mentioning how much they wish we could come home for the holidays... and we wish we could, too! hopefully next year.

much, much love to all of you. we are truly grateful for wonderful friends and family. and we are especially grateful for our savior, jesus christ. we love this christmas season and the opportunity we have to remember christ's birth. merry christmas everyone!

feel better Interpol.

so, remember Christmas? remember my fabulous make-my-husband-wet-himself-because-he's-so-stoked Christmas gift? Interpol concert tickets. if you don't remember, click here.
last night was the magic night! or so we thought... we arrived at the venue, parked about a block away (thinking there wouldn't be anything closer) then as we continued walking we both realized that the place was deserted. on the doors were flyers stating that the show was cancelled! poor Jared got a bomb of a Christmas gift huh? we then went to get a refund for the tickets and then on to the Sugarhouse Sundance Outlet to see if Jared could find a replacement Christmas gift. we both scored some great finds then enjoyed a nice dinner out.

thank you for a great evening, husband. and for not hating me for a bogus gift. if I had known this was going to happen... I would have sent Interpol some garlic and vitamin C.

xoxo

(my disappointment outside the venue. yes, that is a snowflake.)

(my hot husband all dapper in his new quilted, wool jacket.)

a wonderful Christmas.

we had a fabulous Christmas morning! so fun. we are children.

Jared loves his "Team Zissou" shirt. yes, that is Bill Murray.

and, as you can tell, he LOVED the Interpol tickets.

By the way... welcome to this intimate bed-head look into our lives...

I was SO surprised with my gift! I think framed butterflies/moths are BEAUTIFUL.. and I have wanted one for so long. Jared did very well...

then we went on a Christmas day walk... this is one of my favorite buildings on South Temple. Thought I'd share..

dinner time..

brussel sprout recipe here (amazing)

herb crusted pork tenderloin recipe here (also amazing)

merry christmas eve.

Merry Christmas everyone! This nativity painting is a favorite of mine.
Done by the talented John Singleton Copley.


My wonderful Aunt Jody shared this beautiful quote today and I wanted to pass it along...

"Christmas is a time for remembering the Son of God and renewing our determination to take upon us His name. It is a time to reassess our lives and examine our thoughts, feelings, and actions. Let this be a time of remembrance, of gratitude, and a time of forgiveness. Let it be a time to ponder the Atonement of Jesus Christ and its meaning for each of us personally. Let it especially be a time of renewal and recommitment to live by the word of God and to obey His commandments. By doing this, we honor Him far more than we ever could with lights, gifts, or parties." -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I'm kinda loving this Christmas stuff... I love checking out at the store and being wished a Merry Christmas by the cashier. I love smelling the cinnamon pine cones in our place when I come home. I love how goofy Jared and I are trying to give little hints about each others gifts to drive each other crazy. And I especially love the meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. How truly blessed we all are by His love and atoning sacrifice. So blessed. Merry Christmas, dear friends, and much much love to you!

(pretty sure my amazing mother gave me something in every single one of these photos. our Christmas tree, for one, and many more below... she's pretty rad, love you Mom!)

(every single item in this photo is from my mother, goodness!)

(crystal candlestick, from Mom)

(AWESOME wreath, thanks Mom)

(nativity carousel, thanks again, Mom)

little treasures.

I thought I'd share some choice little treasures I've happened upon lately. Some of these would be killer Christmas gifts! So, if you need a little help finding fun, affordable gifts, maybe this will help you out...

:::via:::

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this next one makes me laugh so hard... and yet, if I had a little dog like this, why not have a fancy little outfit for it?!

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and the grande finale.......!

I love this. Very much, ::via:::