Showing posts with label Newlywed Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Newlywed Christmas. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

CHRISTMAS | 2016

And just like that our second married Christmas is over! I am so sad to see it go but had the best time with my sweet husband, adorable puppy, and all of our family. This will be a picture heavy post, so get ready!

Christmas "break" started for me early Thursday afternoon once I turned my out of office on and darted out the door. I met my best friend at my house and we went for a Smoothie run and then finished up some Christmas shopping! After that Matthew and I grabbed dinner and then went shopping for our girl...we may have gone a little overboard, but it was her first Christmas!! Some of that stuff was for our other puppy friends, too ;)

Friday morning we woke up and did our Christmas together since we would be spending the rest of the weekend with family. It was the sweetest morning with the fire and Christmas music going. Reagan was our big Christmas present to each other this year, but we decided to do stocking stuffers and of course, we did a little extra. We just can't help it!! :) We let Reagan open her gifts first and it was just THE best. She was so excited and we could not stop laughing at her. We wrapped a couple and then left a couple in her stocking for her to pull out.
 Also, we have completely come to terms with how crazy we are about our girl...no shame!
 Safe to say, girly had a great first Christmas!! She was also spoiled by our families :)

After she opened her presents Matthew and I exchanged gifts. Matthew's stocking was filled with Pred's stuff, some new headphones and candy and my stocking was filled with hair stuff (he just GETS me and I love it!!), candy, and tickets to go see Sound of Music live in February!! Matthew knocked it out of the park again this year and I am so thankful for him. 

After we did our Christmas together I headed for the kitchen to make my cinnamon rolls. I made the Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls this year for our neighbors and loved ones for Christmas, and REALLY enjoyed it.
 I made two batches and had soooo many pans! I definitely see this becoming a tradition. 
They took longer than I thought so I spent most of the day in the kitchen. I also made white chocolate cookie dough fudge and it was fantastic, but so very rich lol.
I had a sous-chef in the kitchen with me for a little bit, but she got sleepy very quickly!

Saturday morning, Christmas Eve, we woke up and finished wrapping the last of the presents and watched Santa Claus and then packed up and headed to my parents house for the day. 
Before we left for the weekend I had to snap a picture of our girl in her Christmas dress ;)

 We spent the day hanging out and cooking the last of everything. Mom had most of it done already. I made a cookie pie for dessert that night and my youngest sister helped me with it!
Matthew with the fur babies!
Christmas Eve with my loves!

After dinner that night we changed into our Christmas pj's my mom got us all and then opened gifts with the whole family. Our families were too sweet and gave us some really nice gifts! After most of my family left we did Christmas with my parents and sisters and it was so much fun!! We were so excited to give everyone their gifts. The best reaction was from my sisters, we made them open their presents at the same time and loved it. 
They loved their Patagonias!! 
My parents bought us a lot of cute coastal decor for our coastal themed guest bedroom and some other goodies. I also got stocked up on some clothes...woo hoo! My parents surprised Matthew with some tools and a huge flashlight that he loved lol.
Our matching Christmas pj's! Christmas traditions are my favorite!! Matthew and my dad also got matching Christmas pj's :) My dad finally has someone to have matching Christmas pj's with lol. Side note about the pj pants...I forgot mine at home so had to improvise with a pair of my dad's Christmas pj's from a few years ago...thankfully they were really similar to the other ones lol. We just didn't want to drive all the way back home for pj pants so those worked. My mom had us these adorable monogrammed shirts made to go with them. These are all iPhone pictures, maybe one day I'll remember my camera ;)
 Aunt Mady
 Crazy aunt Mady!
After we opened presents and made pictures we sat around talking and checking out our new gifts.
We headed to Matthew's parents house later and went to bed after we unpacked our stuff. We woke up early Sunday morning and did Christmas with his parents and brothers and SIL!  We loved giving everyone their gifts and enjoyed our time together.  Our families were too sweet and gave us some really nice gifts. We got the Amazon Echo Dot and are so pumped about it!! We actually got two which works out great because we can have one upstairs and one downstairs. Matthew's older brother got him a really cool gift. His parents have always had a carousel that went around the bottom of their tree and played Christmas music. Well it's a tradition to have it out at their house and the boys love it. They stopped making them the year Matthew was born and they are really hard to find now but his brother searched and searched and found the same exact ones. So now we have one for around our Christmas tree next year...so exciting!
I got an adorable Pandora charm of a puppy to add to my bracelet and some comfy pj's and a cute Vera Bradley bag! We also got some date nights from my BIL & SIL and my cousins!

After we opened presents we got ready and then headed to church. After church we snapped a quick family picture in our Christmas outfits before we changed into comfy clothes for the rest of the day!
my skirt can be found here, and they are sold out, but this shirt is somewhat similar.

We had Christmas lunch and then spent the afternoon hanging out and talking while snacking on tons of delicious desserts. We had the best time with everyone and Reagan loved playing with her cousin, Darcy! Sadly, I hardly took any pictures on Christmas Day. Later than night after everyone left we watched The Help with Matthew's immediate family. My SIL and I never watched The Help when it first came out so we all watched it that night and it was such a good movie!! After the movie was over we all headed to bed because we were just exhausted!
Monday we woke up and had brunch with Matthew's family and then loaded up the car and headed back to my parent's house to get some gifts we left because we didn't have room to load them before we left and to see what all my sister's got for Christmas. We hung out with them for a bit before we finally headed back to our house to unpack everything! Late Monday afternoon we headed to my mema's house for our third and final Christmas celebration. We had a delicious dinner and then gave everyone their gifts. We got them hand painted Christmas baskets while we were on our cruise in Cozumel, and they loved them!

Matthew and I both took Tuesday off to catch up on some rest because we knew we would be exhausted from the long holiday weekend. We had the best day together. We cleaned early that morning and then lounged around the rest of the afternoon watching Christmas movies and playing with our girl! We went to dinner with our best friends, Ethan and Rachel last night to Macaroni Grill, it was our first time trying it! And then did some shopping after since we were at the mall already.
I am holding on to Christmas for as long as I can...I'm still listening to Christmas music and enjoying our Christmas decorations until the end of this week! We'll take it all down by New Years Day. 

I planned on going out the day after Christmas to check out the sales but never made it. We stopped at Home Goods on the way to my mema's Monday afternoon and I found Spode Christmas dishes there for $7 and then they were 50% off!!!! You better believe I was freaking out and bought it all! I had been looking that morning online at the same exact dishes and just didn't want to pay $80 for 4 dinner plates. I am so excited and can't wait to use them next year on our farmhouse table that Matthew built us! I also found a white pre-lit Christmas tree at Wal-Mart and some silver and blue ornaments for 50% off for our coastal guest bedroom next year! 
 We are now at 5 Christmas trees (lol) and Matthew has officially banned me from buying anymore. I got the two main things I was looking for and could not be happier about them or what we spent on them. Talk about a deal!!

 This time of year is so fun, and I love being around everyone and spending tons of time with family. I am already looking forward to next year!

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

FIRST MARRIED CHRISTMAS

And just like that our first married Christmas is over and it was one for the books! It was the sweetest few days and I am so sad it is already over. I don't like to pack up the Christmas stuff right away so I'm going to enjoy the lights and Christmas pj's through the end of this week....or until the storage totes we ordered deliver (they are supposed to deliver this Wednesday!) I'm a firm believer in enjoying Christmas decorations even after Christmas is over just as long as they are down by New Years Day. I'll probably start taking them down Wednesday night, and everything will be packed away by early Thursday afternoon. 

On to our Christmas celebrations...

I got off early Wednesday and we met my best friend, Sarah, for dinner. If you haven't been on social media this past week or have watched the news then you missed "spring" happening here in the south and along the east coast. Wednesday night a lot of strong storms moved through, there were multiple tornado touchdowns and even more on Christmas day in the south. Temperatures have been in the low to mid 70's and we've had our air running for over a week. It's crazy! I was sweating in my Christmas attire on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day...how's that for trying to look cute on Christmas lol.


We woke up on Christmas Eve morning and ate breakfast with his parents and then headed to my parents house for the day. We decided to spend Christmas Eve (day) with my family and Christmas Day with his family. For both of our families it works out perfectly! We spent Christmas Eve (day) watching Christmas movies, cooking, making pictures, eating, spending time with family, and swapping presents. After my extended family left Matthew and I did Christmas with my parents and sisters. I'm going to be so honest, it was weird giving my parents and opening their presents on Christmas Eve, I've done "Christmas" with them on Christmas Day morning for 22 years. 
This is one of the presents we gave my parents.
I made a chalkboard sign that said "forever you little girl" and gave this picture to them, they loved it!

 My parents got Matthew a ladder...woo hoo! (Sorry, this is terrible iPhone quality)

We loaded up our car and headed back to our apartment for Christmas Eve. We decided to stay at our place for Christmas Eve so we could wake up Christmas morning and do our Christmas together.
Waking up beside my husband Christmas morning was something I have always been excited about.

Christmas morning I woke up early and turned on our Christmas lights and Christmas music. Matthew woke up shortly after and we opened our stockings and gifts. It was such an exciting time. I was even able to surprise him with a few presents. It's hard to surprise each other when you live together and share the same bank account! I had to get creative and sneaky this year and it was fun lol. Matthew even managed to surprise me big time, more on that later. We made monkey bread and sausage balls after that and they were delicious.

So fun starting new little family traditions together.

My heart is so full that I have a husband and home to love on this year. Our first married Christmas was so special and I will always remember these sweet moments we share together. Being married has been such a sweet thing to me, I can't wait for, Lord Willing, many many more Christmases shared together.

After we ate breakfast we lounged around until it was time to get ready and head to Matthew's parents house. We loaded up the car with presents and our bags, we stayed the night with them.

Soon after we got to Matthew's parents house Matthew gave me my last present...my sweet, sweet husband surprised me SO good y'all! Remember in this post where I found my dream desk?

This desk...

Well Matthew went back the very next day and bought it for me. He has been hiding it at his parents house this whole time. Y'all, I am SOOOOO excited about this beautiful desk! Matthew is THE best!

We spent Christmas day spending time with family, eating delicious food, taking pictures, playing games, swapping gifts, looking at Christmas lights, and watching Christmas movies. Such a fun day!

Feeling so blessed to have doubled the size of my family this year!

Such a fun Christmas!

We all three showed up in similar green shirts...not planned, but made for a fun picture!
Again, sorry for the awful iPhone quality. I need to remember my camera!!

Jenny and I got cute pj's from Matthew's parents and we put them on early that afternoon because we were stuffed and they were so comfy! We all loaded up and went and looked at Christmas lights and then came back to his parents house and watched Christmas With The Kranks. We love that movie!

We woke up the day after Christmas and had breakfast with everyone and then headed to my mema's house for Christmas #3, and out last Christmas celebration! It was good to see everyone and eat more delicious food! My aunt and uncle gifted us this beautiful Lenox tree platter with our last name on it.

Can we just do it all again?? This time of year is so fun, and I love being around everyone and spending tons of time with family. 

Thursday, December 24, 2015

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVE!

Merry Christmas Eve, friends! My heart is so full that I have a home with a husband to love on this year! I am just beyond excited for Christmas morning tomorrow with my sweet Matthew, and I am hoping to take it all in and really enjoy every second.

Thankfully we were spared last night, as the strong storms missed us, but praying for all those who lost loved ones and their houses. I am heartbroken reading all of the news stories today of the damage all the storms left night. We decided to come to Murfreesboro a night early because of the storms, we are so grateful Matthew's parents let us stay with them last night. Tornado warnings and living on the 3rd floor just don't go well together. Please pray for all those who were affected last night by the storms and tornadoes. 


From our little home to yours, Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

CHRISTMAS CARDS DISPLAY 2015

Growing up my mom always hung each Christmas card up as they came in the mail. They hung on our door frame in the kitchen leading into the living room, it was the first thing you saw when you walked in our back door and I loved it, and still do!

This was our first year sending our Christmas cards and I spent a lot of time picking out the design, the pictures to put on it and handwriting a little note on the back of them, So I know just how much time people put into their Christmas cards. 

I know not everyone puts as much time into them but they are still special! So I wanted to hang them up to display them somehow. We had this blank wall in our dining room and it was the perfect place to hang them up. I love how it turned out, and it was pretty simple! 

I just bought some red and white twine from Hobby Lobby and pinned it on our wall and I used these clothespins that were left over from our wedding reception. This display cost less than $4 for us!
 I decorated our console table a little with stuff I already had, and picked up a couple of cute items. That "oh deer" piece is from Target's dollar section. I loved the Christmas plaid on the deer and it ended up matching my ribbon that I used for the bows on the lanterns!

These clear glass lanterns are left over from our wedding. I LOVE them and LOVE decorating with them. We have about 10 and I am putting them to good use each season. For Christmas I just bought some cheap (AMAZINGLY scented) pine cones and stuffed in there. I found this ribbon for our wreath and made bows for both lanterns. My bows are lacking a little but they'll do for this year lol.

My favorite milk glass dish, ever! I just placed some extra pine cones in it.

 I am going to be so sad seeing these go next week. I really wish Christmas decorations stayed up longer!


Christmas card season is the sweetest of all!


Monday, December 21, 2015

THE MARRIAGE DIARIES VOL. 4 & 5

I completely skipped right over Marriage Diaries Vol. 4 last month, so I decided to combine them into one post. So here we are...Month 4 and 5! Y'all, I still can't believe our wedding has already come and gone, let alone almost 6 months of marriage under our belt! Tomorrow marks a year ago that Matthew got down on one knee and asked me to take his last name. So much has happened since that perfect night, and I just love this journey we're on together.

Marriage is so fun. And as always, I am so grateful for this beautiful gift, even through the disagreements, happy times, miscommunication, and compromises- I'm thankful. I didn't think our relationship would change when we got married, we had been together over 5 years so what really could change? I was wrong. So much has changed (all in positive ways) and I am still learning SO much. I must be intentional. I must be intentional even when it's hard. I must respect my husband. I must respect my husband even when we have a disagreement. I must choose communication. I must choose communication even when it's hard. What a joy it is knowing we are working on these things together every single day, and sometimes we don't even realize it.

Lately, especially these past couple of weeks before Christmas, I've felt that I need to be more intentional with my husband. I need to be more intentional with our time together. Less time watching T.V, less time on social media and more time in conversation, more time just doing what we love, more time talking about our future and what all it holds. I just want to soak up every second of our first married Christmas season together.

These past two months we've done a lot, and I feel as if everything is happening so quickly yet so slowly. There were a couple of nights where we just sat there and talked about everything- finances, where we're going to live, plans for the holidays, planning events for 2016 and it hit me one night as Matthew was talking. I completely zoned out of our serious conversation (sorry, babe!) and realized how much I trusted him. When you sit back and think about just how much you trust your spouse it's the best feeling. Knowing that no matter what happens in the future you completely and wholeheartedly trust your husband. It's a huge weight off your chest! I'm not saying that I didn't trust Matthew before, because I completely trusted him pretty much from day one of our friendship, but you get so busy and life happens and don't really think of these things. It's nice to sit back and take it all in.

We've made some pretty big adult decisions in the past few weeks (more on that later!) and I know without a doubt that Matthew has done plenty of research and put in so much prayer, thought, and time into it all. We've prayed together, been disappointed, celebrated, researched stuff together, and have been just beyond excited. And I honest to goodness can't think of anyone else I would rather experience life's ups and downs with.