it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

normally i'm the no christmas music/decorations before thanksgiving kind of girl but this year i was ready to start blast elvis' blue christmas as soon as starbucks' red cups arrived. i'm not sure why, maybe because it's our first christmas together or because i have a real house to decorate. i know it's all marketing but the christmas decorations and music everywhere aren't helping the urge to cover everything with glitter and garland. i'm restraining though and hoping to go for the old fashioned christmas look instead.

our christmas celebrations began with the richards' annual christmas tree retrieval. we typically trek to the u-cut farm together to debate about which tree would be the best, even the year when it was pouring outside. this year we headed to the mountains to cut down our trees. the snow added to the christmas spirit and only caused one close call. there was much less debating too for we each got our own tree for our respective houses. oh, we really are growing up!


on the way back we the icecream cones at a nearby hamburger joint called our names -- you can clearly see why.

spooktacular!

frank and i carved our first pumpkin together tonight. after a brainstorming session we decided to copy the likeness of jack from the nightmare before christmas. can you tell? we're going to see the movie in 3d tomorrow night.

we were excited about seeing it glowing on our porch until we relized i had locked us out of our house. but let's not dwell on that.

happy halloween everyone!

it's all in the details.

i agree that it's more than a little sad that i haven't updated since june. but in my defense i did get married, start a new job and move. at least i have the next couple of blog topics cut out for me!

now after planning my wedding i've learned that it's all in the details. the details can turn you into bridezilla, but they also provide many opportunities to infuse your wedding with personal touches.

so without further ado, here's some of the details from our wedding:

old laurelhurst church : where frank and first attended together and near our first apartment. we fell in love with its spanish art deco design and amazing stained glass windows. when our photographer whispered "wow" upon entering, i knew i had chosen the right location.


ceremony : frank and i planned every word of our wedding ceremony. we went against tradition and included a pledge of support from our guests and a tree watering ceremony (instead of candle lighting). to know frank is to know his love of sequoias. we're saving the tree to plant at our first house.

in addition we passed out sequoia saplings to our guests as wedding favors.

decorations : the decorations at the church and reception site were simple. at the church we accented the pews with locally grown dahlias and candles. at the heathman lodge we used plants as centerpieces which my parents planted in the yard afterward. we did our best to have a "green" wedding.

food and beverage : quite a few of our guests were from out of town so we wanted to share our love of the northwest with them. we encouraged them to explore the city and hosted our reception at a beautiful lodge with salmon as one of our dinner options. we were especially happy to provide a local, seasonal microbrew for our guests to enjoy.

dessert bar : although i'm a big dessert fan, i'm not a cake lover. thus, i opted for a dessert bar instead of the traditional wedding cake. our guests were invited to sample a chocalate hazelnut cake, marionberry cheesecake, white cake with espresso filling, a berry tart, and other yummy desserts.

so tell me readers, what "green," untraditional, and/or personal details did you include in your wedding?

happy new year!

instead of ringing in the new year with a party, frank and enjoyed a delicious meal together at pambiche, a cuban restaurant near his apartment. we passed the hours until midnight snuggling and watching lady in the water. just minutes before new year we turned on dick clark's rockin' new year's eve and toasted with two bowls of cereal (we decided to save the champagne for another celebration). although not as eventful as years past, last night was a delicious and comforting way to start a new year together.