playing holiday catch-up

kendrick finally wrapped up finals last week, and I am thrilled to announce that we are filling up every spare moment of every single day with festive holiday activities. last year, Kendrick decided to forego the fall/winter semester, as we were busy planning a wedding. so, this year, I definitely wasn't used to Kendrick being buried in books and studying the first half of december. but, with finals now out of the way, we are finally able to play holiday catch-up with the remaining week that we have before christmas.

challenge accepted. 

last thursday night was my team's holiday dinner party. being the executive assistant of the operations department, it was my responsibility to plan and make arrangements. it didn't take me long to decide on a dinner with spouses at Benihana. almost every single person from the team showed up, and we all had such a great time getting to know one another and watching shrimp and utensils thrown into the air as the food was cooked. with money not being an issue, kendrick and I loaded our plates with chicken, steak, shrimp, and some of the most terrific sushi.

friday night was kendrick's holiday work party. it was held at the natural museum of history, located right behind the university of utah. it was such a gorgeous venue with ceiling to floor length windows that overlooked the entire salt lake valley, and I couldn't help but think how lovely it would be to have a wedding reception there. the party started with an open bar and some of the most delicious appetizers I've ever had. Kendrick and I loaded (and I mean loaded) our plates with an assortment of cheeses, crackers, bruschetta, and Indian spiced chicken skewers. we also helped ourselves to Italian sodas from the bar, and learned the secret to making them the most heavenly concoction ever- cream soda instead of club soda. honestly, it's life changing.

there was a raffle held after dinner, and while we missed out on the big screen tv, kendrick's name was drawn for grizzly tickets in january- dinner and suite included. yeah, it wasn't a tv, but our names are never drawn for anything, so we will take what we can get.

saturday morning was my extended family christmas party. the theme of the party was "star wars", in honor of my uncle bret who passed away earlier this year (he was a huge star wars fan). the party included a delicious breakfast buffet, trivia games, a white elephant gift exchange, and a pinata. kendrick and I both walked away from the gift exchange with two pretty great gifts- a five dollar target gift card and the game scattergories (my favorite!)

the rest of saturday was a craft day with all my sisters. harmony helped jade and nicole sew some clothing, wendy and my mom worked on their own sewing projects, and i painted a canvas.... let's just say the sewing gene that runs deeply in my family did not transfer over to me.

sunday afternoon was the "december birthday party" with my family, as we have four birthdays in this month alone. we pigged out on fajitas, opened presents, and devoured a delicious birthday cake and pie. afterwards, most of us headed over to temple square to look at the lights- definitely my favorite christmas tradition!

it's safe to say that our weekend was filled to the brim with holiday cheer... not bad for half a month's worth of catch-up, right? i'm so excited for what this week holds, as both kendrick and i took work off wednesday through monday of next week. we'll probably fill the week with last-minute christmas shopping, a visit to christmas street, gingerbread house making, christmas movie watching, and a trip to the temple. we are especially excited for my company's party, as they rented out four theaters for everyone and their families to come and watch the new star wars.
 I just can't think of a better week.

merry christmas!

also, p.s. remember how I said we were waiting to get snow in salt lake? yeah that happened, like literally the next morning. crossing my fingers that it sticks around- i want a white christmas!

let it snow...

lately, I have been absolutely overwhelmed by how blessed I am. I have the most thoughtful husband in the world, who will go to any length to ensure that I'm happy. I have a wonderful family and two loving parents who have been the greatest examples of love, devotion, and selflessness. kendrick and I both have great jobs that allow us to pay the bills and save, yet have enough left over to enjoy the things that we love. we live in a darling apartment that we both absolutely adore and got for quite a steal. we have the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives that fills every single day with hope and meaning.

obviously, my life is far from perfect and each day is filled with it's own demanding trials. however, through and through I have realized that there is one way to get past life's difficulties, and that thing is gratitude. I may not have it all, but I do have everything that I need, and for that I am truly, truly blessed.

p.s. we got our first taste of snow this weekend in Richfield! just waiting for it to hit Salt Lake....

deck the halls

I have had so much fun decorating the apartment for the holidays, as this is our very first place together. kendrick has been a pretty great sport, letting me decorate and re-decorate everyday, and making plenty of trips to target for more decorations. honestly, I don't think you can ever have enough.

a little view of our place:

 I had fun making these gold trees, using leftover sparkly gold paper from my and kendrick's wedding invitations. (also- candle stick missing candle)

the uglier the sweater, the better the party

this month has put me in such a great mood, and all I really want to do with every free moment I have is watch Hallmark Christmas movies, wrap presents, and drink hot chocolate (which is admittedly exactly what I have been doing). on Friday, Kendrick and I attended our very first Christmas party of the season- his family's annual ugly sweater/white elephant soiree. now, this is not your typical wrap-up-any-junk-in-the-house white elephant gift exchange. there are high expectations with this one, and bringing something truly hilarious and border-line risque is mandatory.

this year's party did not disappoint- we were laughing our heads off at every gift opened! my favorite was probably the poor sucker who opened up a gift bag to find a plastic bag full of goldfish, a bag of Sun Chips, and a note that said "enjoy your fish and chips". also, apparently the couple who got the gold fish also received a gerbil in the exchange a previous year... so they must have quite the pet collection accumulating at home.

unfortunately, Kendrick and I didn't get too creative with our sweaters this year, and just threw on the ones we wore last year. However, after seeing Chase and Karissa's... we're ready to bring our A-game next year.

'tis the season!

give thanks

thanksgiving week went by way too fast.. which I know is crazy to say seeing that it was basically a five day weekend. kendrick and I had such a great time relaxing in our cozy apartment and spending quality time with each other- I wish every week could be like that!

this year, our Thanksgiving feast took place at Aaron and Nicole's house. dinner was delicious, and we had fun playing games afterwards while pigging out on a large assortment of pies. later that evening was spent at Kendrick's parents house, where we watched a movie and spent time with the family. it was a great day to reflect on how incredibly blessed I am. I can't express how thankful I am for my loving husband, supportive family, great job, and the gospel of Jesus Christ- I can't imagine my life without any of them!

we decided to forego Black Friday shopping this year, which I know is absolutely shocking, considering how much of a shopper I am. however, this year I'm doing all of my Christmas shopping online (and I'm just about done, woo!) so I figured that if I went out searching for deals, I'd end up purchasing things I don't even need. look at me being all financially responsible and whatnot.

the day after Thanksgiving is always my favorite, because it's the day that I finally get to put up the Christmas tree! there is honestly something so magical about putting up Christmas decorations while having a holiday movie playing and a cup of hot chocolate nearby... seriously, nothing beats it. I think this year I might even be turning Kendrick into an extreme-Christmas-enthusiast like myself, as he just told me that he created a holiday "play list" on his iPhone. I just don't know if I've ever heard him say anything sexier.

I've said it before (like, three hundred time), and I'll say it again- I love the Christmas season! I love the spirit of the holiday- from gift giving, Christmas light watching, hot chocolate drinking and holiday movie binge watching to remembering our Savior's birth- there's just nothing like the month of December!

pass the cake and bread pudding, please

last Tuesday I received a couple of Jazz tickets from work. Kendrick and I have been chatting about going to a Jazz game for a while, so we were both obviously excited to attend their opening game for the season. once home, I put the tickets up on the fridge using a magnet (as I tend to lose small things that are made of paper). when Kendrick got home from school, he saw the tickets on the fridge and immediately exclaimed, "um, these are for the executive suite!" I didn't exactly know what that was, so nonchalantly replied with a "...yes."

apparently, there is a huge difference between an executive suite and your basic seat at a Jazz game. ours was on the top floor of the arena, included a large formal dining room and buffet, and seats that overlooked the game. unfortunately, due to parking issues, we ended up being 45 minutes late and missed dinner. however, the staff was incredibly accommodating and put together two plates for us that had a variety of options that were offered at the buffet (the variety was certainly random, as I had a large piece of meat, a cup of soup, and a handful of mini corn dogs). luckily, we were there in time for the dessert buffet, because that was obviously the selection that mattered. kendrick grabbed some bread pudding, pie, and a strawberry cream pastry, while I grabbed chocolate ice cream and a piece of chocolate cake (the other couple that was there with us from work was on their first date, and they both only grabbed fruit... it was pretty hysterical to see who was the married couple and who was the 1st date couple by what was on our plates).

it was a wonderful evening, and for the icing on the cake, the Jazz won!

happy halloween!

I had the idea for Kendrick and my costumes since last Halloween, and naturally, I waited until the night before and morning of Halloween to create them. I have to say, major props to Kendrick... because I really don't think there are many men out there okay with being dressed as a pinata.

making his pinata outfit was honestly so much fun (and really sticky- lots of spray adhesive!) one thing I didn't take into account was the realization that a stretchy shirt would infact stretch when put on.... so, of course, a good amount of crepe paper tore once we he had put on the top half of his costume.

(this is probably my favorite picture of all time- the candy flying in the air was timed perfectly)

as always, Harmony's family hit it out of the partk with their costumes, as they came as the characters from the game Clue! harmony was Mrs. Peacock, Jeff was Colonel Mustard (I'm still convinced he was Professor Archimedes Q. Porter from Tarzan), Keegan was Mr. Green, and Aiden was the cutest little Professor Plum I ever did see. let's just say that after they all came down the stairs, everyone was in agreement to not even go on with the costume contest- we had our winners!

chris and jade's costumes won major cool points, as they came as Black Widow and Hawk Eye. they both pulled of their costumes extremely well, and I'm still convinced that Jade should dye her hair red.

we also had a special appearance from Buzz Lightyear and Woody.... I just don't remember them being so dang cute in the movies?

and last but not least, the zombie prom queen and king themselves!

the afternoon was spent listening to my dad's Halloween CD, eating delicious pretzel bites and caramel fondue with apples, and then feasting on our traditional dinner in a pumpkin. after dinner, Chris and Jade had some fun minute-to-win-it games, in which Kendrick and I shamefully came in last place. we'll brush up on our toilet-paper-mummy-wrapping and water-pong skills by next year!

people starting getting ready to leave for trick-or-treating soon after the games ended, so that's when Kendrick and I decided to leave. we ended up going to Cornbelly's Insanity Point haunted corn maze with our friends Collin and Sara that night, and it was honestly so much fun! I don't know the last time I've been that scared in a haunted house... my heart was pounding for like an hour after we got out! there was one point in the maze where I actually tripped from being scared so bad, and banged up my knee pretty good. It was hilarious! I'm definitely going back there next year.

in all, it was a fantastic Halloween with all of my favorite people- including the cutest lil' pinata in the world.

(kendrick totally gets dibs on what our costumes are next year)