just us in here: December 2011

Happy Holidays everyone! I am currently sitting on the couch, (ignoring all the work around the house that needs to be done) and reflecting on the awesome weekend we had!

We did our holiday season a little differently this year... We decided to make Christmas Eve Day our "Christmas Day".. so that would make December 23 our "Christmas Eve Day".. still following me?! haha..

With the 25th falling on a Sunday this year, we just thought that would be the best things to do, for us... So, let's get started!! :)

Mister Max playing with all his toys.. this was Friday night.. Tyler and I packed up our truck with our overnight bags, food, gifts and our dog and went and spent the night with the Kostenuk's! It was so much fun... Gordie and Megan joined us too and it was a fun night of food and games!

Aunty Jessica and Max!

Christmas Eve Day!! Max was very taken by all the colourful wrapping paper! We have a little tradition that we do stockings with Candace and Colin and us... we buy each person a little $10 gift and they're always fun to open!

Matching winter hats for brother and sister!! Love it! :)

My stocking haul! Tyler and I decided not to do gifts this year for each other (besides stocking stuffers).. We're going to shop the Boxing Week and January sales instead.. :) Plus, we got a holiday coming up at the end of January, so we're saving our pennies for that too!

I got a personalized mug (with a few lines from hymn #365 put on it!) and loose tea from my sister-in-law in Newfoundland (this was part of the Brake Family Secret Santa (that's not actually really a secret)), a clip that goes on the edge of a pot for holding a spoon (it's lime green), a mini box of French cookie recipes, a mini-manicure set for my purse, an iTunes gift card and new ear buds (yes!! much needed!! New music selection for running!) and grey knee-high socks for under boots! Wowzer, just by my stocking alone, I got pretty spoiled!

Tyler got a new winter hat, a chocolate orange (that you bang on the counter to split apart), underwear (from me.. I know, so lame/unoriginal/cliche), new jeans (that we still need to buy) and plus he ordered a new light bar for his truck.. he said he used up four or five Christmases worth of spending money for that! (Good thing it goes through his company!)

We did have our turkey dinner on Sunday, though! Candace and Colin hosted and cooked and it was AMAZING! They said it was their first turkey dinner they ever made, but I don't know.. it looks like a couple of veterans put this feast together, no? :)

YUM

Oh yes, and might I add that the dressing was awesome!?! It was homemade with dried cranberries and celery and it was SO GOOD.

This was our contribution! It didn't really turn out the way I wanted it too... It's suppose to be a Vanilla-Raspberry Charlotte, but the lack of ladyfingers around the edge are a dead give-away that it is NOT a Charlotte. No grocery stores in Red Deer had ladyfingers! What?! So lame.. oh well.. so I guess we'll just call it a Vanilla-Raspberry White Cake. :)

Seriously, so cute. :) Just about to dig in to dessert!

The cooks!!!!! THANKS ONE MILLION TIMES YOU GUYS!! :)

We had the best weekend ever!

How about you guys? Did everyone have a festive-y weekend with lots of food and turkey and family time and trinkets and a whole lot of doing nothing?! That, indeed, is the best way to spend a Christmas weekend, if you ask me.. :)

And seriously, who is pumped for 2012!? I AM! I have a lot of personal goals I want to accomplish and it just makes me so excited to think of a whole new fresh year ahead of us... Also, I turn 29 in 2012 (blows my mind just to write that), so on my birthday I will be compiling a 30 BEFORE I'M 30 list.. it's basically a list of 30 things you want to accomplish before you turn 30. I have seen a few other bloggers that have done it and it looks like a fun idea, so I thought, what the heck!? So watch for that!

A few of my 2012 goals include learning to sew, train for a 10K run (more on that), get caught up on all my scrapbooks and be a better friend. To everyone. :)

What are your 2012 goals? Do tell; I'd love to hear them!

And I just want to say a huge thank you to you guys, my readers... I blog because I love to write and share stuff... And it seriously baffles me that people want to read about our little life... but here you guys are, reading away, leaving lovely little comments and it inspires me to want to keep going.. So for that, thank you! As long as you guys keep coming around, I'm going to keep blogging!

Happy Holidays, again, everyone! Much love to you and your family!

Until next time

xo ~ Tyler and Jessica

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to update y'all and letcha know I picked and ordered my clothing item of choice from Shabby Apple! I am so excited to get my grubby little hands on it and start styling the heck out of it... :) I'm not going to reveal what I got.. I'm going to save that for either a vlog or blog post after it arrives..

But I do want to say THANK YOU for all your awesome comments in helping me decide what to get! There were a lot of factors that went into deciding and I can't wait to show you what I picked!

To hold you over until then, I will leave you with a little bit of Marcel the Shell. Simply because she is amazing. And I kinda sorta love her.