December Haps

Ok this was in November- but ya just gotta go to the lights at least once- we've been probably 3 times for other reasons but I guess we never took a picture... I've been too busy videoing everything- but love these lights and this boy

Jess Jess

We wanted to have a s'mores night with friends- Ryan wanted to try to have the fire inside... he made a pretty cool penny stove that would've worked if only he didn't blow the sink up, drop the stove, and watch our floor burn- ha. Probably won't be getting our apartment deposit back for this one. Oops.

 So we had the fire outside- love these girls!

Then we made a whole batch of copycat Swig sugar cookies (recipe here) and delivered them around like lil Christmas elves- it was quite exhilarating really- sneaking them into libraries and such- which is actually hard to do cause these things are ginormous

& We graduated! Maybe it because there is still no snow- which I'm not complaining about- but it didn't really feel like the end of the semester. But we are both graduated and moved out of our apartment now... I'm sure it will feel a lot weirder when it has settled in that after Christmas we won't be going back to Provo (*tear*). Don't worry, we'll still come back and visit ;) But we are D-U-N done.

Ugly sweater party- clearly we were not prepared with our sweaters- DI to the rescue. Ha the most ghetto ugly christmas sweaters you've ever seen.Yup. Just safety pin that sucker right on. No probs.

Christmas shopping is DONE. It's a great feeling. Also I'm obsessed with this simple wrapping job

And since it is almost Christmas, I just thought I'd share one of my favorite videos this season. I'm sure everyone has seen it- but I absolutely LOVE this video because you hear phrases all the time like "remember what Christmas is really about".. but that's all people really say and don't really explain what exactly we should be remembering other than the idea of Christ- BUT this video explains it! He is the Gift. A gift that we don't deserve to receive/ will never be able to pay back- but hopefully we can all do a little each day to become more like the Savior and offer this gift to others. 

Have a Happy Christmas! 

xoxo

Holiday Gift Guide: Women

let's be honest... this is basically my christmas wish list- shameful, I know... but i also think these items would make excellent gifts for any woman. 

cause who wouldn't want these things??

 

1. Polaroid Camera

2. Hello J Crew Shirt

3. Rifle Paper iPhone Case

4. Rifle Paper Travel Calendar

5. Kate Spade Watch

6. Essie 'Fiji' Nail Polish

7. J Crew Sweater

8. Sperry Duck Boots

9. Ice Blue Beats By Dre

 

Holiday Gift Guide: Men

This is more for me than anyone else... cause guys are just so dang hard to shop for. But if you're interested- here are 8 super great gifts to get a guy for Christmas- courtesy of 

J Crew Factory. Thank you. 

1. Heathered Sweater [$29.50]

2. Chevron-dot Sweater [$49]

3.Wool Dot Tie [$24]

4.Horizontal Stripe Shirt [$27.99]

5.Slim Washed Shirt [$28]

6.Tipped Microstripe Socks [$5]

7.Calvert Boots [$58]

8. Leather Magic Wallet [$9.50]

Happy Holiday Shopping :) 

Things I Actually Like About Snow

i guess i can't really complain... making it to mid November without snow 

is pretty good i think. 

but today was the day. 

and ya know what... i wasn't even mad about it.

 it was quite lovely actually. 

THINGS I ACTUALLY ENJOY ABOUT SNOW IN UTAH:

• After the leaves fall and the mountains turn brown- snow makes them look pretty again
• For some reason it feels warmer when it snows... I prefer this than -2 degrees, thank you
• It is now too late to hike Mt. Timp like Ry wanted to.... maybe next year ;)
• You get to wear cozy socks and mittens 
• Cuddling - preferably while watching The Holiday
• Though I'm not really a winter sport person skiing/snowboarding is pretty fun the first couple times down the hill.. until you freeze to death on the ski lift- seriously, that's the worst part
• Dad's caramel hot chocolate (Dad we need a refill)
• Throw blankets- good thing we received 8 from our wedding- thank you all
• I can start making winter crafts 
• It feels one step closer to CHRISTMAS!! (i know i shouldn't skip over Thanksgiving... but i'm just so dang excited for christmas)

so happy first snowfall everyone 

DIY Ghost Pics

guys... what do married people do for halloween??

seriously though. you can't just walk down condo row anymore and jump

from party to party.. well i guess you could, but that would be weird. 

sooo what did we do?? took pictures and made ourselves look like ghosts. 

naturally. 

now i will share this wisdom with all- in case you have the sudden urge to take ghost pics

 STEP 1: take 2 pics (one of just the background and one with you in the picture)

 

STEP 2: Load pictures on some sort of photo editing software (I like pixlr cause it's free)

            Load the background picture first- then click on the layer tab and "open image as layer" 

 then insert your next picture

 on the right- click on the lil toggle layer button

& then just play around with the opacity! 

so easy. and you get a sweet looking pic. 

so happy halloween everyone.

maybe next year we'll have married friends to go trick-or-treating with :)

Cara+Ray

they win the most beautiful couple award. 

seriously. 

just watch....

password: cara+ray

see, told ya. 





*song: I Choose You- by the lovely Sara Bareilles

Miss to Mrs.

the beautiful caroline is getting married!

so naturally we had a party. 

if i could just be paid to decorate and party plan... that would be ideal. 

cause crafting is my fav. 

parfaits for brunch

donut love <3

 i'm a sucker for paper straws

 and sparkly ribbon

 also! target has these cute little paper baking things that you can pour batter right in them and bake. what a great idea target, thank you.

Europe Business Study Abroad

so i realize this post is not about both of us... 

but i am going to forget details of this trip if i don't document it. 

 if anyone is thinking about traveling around europe. this may be helpful. 

 5 weeks. 8 countries. a lot of cities. 

ENGLAND

             honestly i need to go back to england. cause it was kind of a blur. i got off the airplane, rode a taxi to our hotel, was given a tube pass, and was told, k bye have fun. i was so out of it and just followed everyone around cause they seemed like they knew what they were doing. but i think i would really enjoy england if i was awake and functional. the things i do remember were great though. seeing sites, shopping at primark (seriously we need one here), riding the tube... ya know all those fun things.

 

THE NETHERLANDS

              from england, we flew to amsterdam where we met our bus driver for the remainder of the trip. i wish i had a photo of peter. he is the man. the funniest guy i've ever met. we once had a nice chat over breakfast about marriage. 

              i love the netherlands! seriously it's great. i would go there if i were you. 

  cause they really do make wooden shoes still. and cheese. lots of stinky cheese. 

and amsterdam rocks. just don't get run over by the bikes. but go to the anne frank house! and take a boat ride. it's lovely. 

BELGIUM

      hmmm this one was interesting. i'm sure people here are actually really nice and friendly... maybe our hotel was just in a weird spot... 

 bruges is adorable though. and has great chocolate. 

 and when in belgium, you kinda have to get a waffle. 

FRANCE

        i am a big fan of paris. first night we went on a boat tour and saw the city. 

   it didn't feel like real life. 

 don't worry Ry, I locked our love. so it's forever. 

 and we went to normandy. it's incredible. 

and disneyland paris. for those of you who don't know, this space mountain goes upside down... yeah, i know. it rocks. and the sweetest firework show is at the end of the night. what a great day: until we missed the last train home and had to take a taxi ha. 

  

i wish i would've taken a picture of the streets of paris. the cutest buildings ever. 

SWITZERLAND

           expensive, yes. but where we stayed was the coolest. go to wengen. it is a teeny tiny city in the swiss alps. it is just so quaint and lovely. 

 from the hotel window. 

 went hiking in the alps. 

GERMANY 

            germany was sweet, cause we were there for the world cup finals. it was soccer everything over there. 

here is a castle. 

   this is Hitler's eagle nest. kinda crazy going up there. 

 from the top. 

AUSTRIA

          we stayed in Vienna for a few days. honestly i don't know what everyone did for those 3 days. i ran out of stuff to do the first day... but my favorite part of austria was the sound of music tour! mom you would've loved it. 

   you are 16 going on 17...

 their house! 

ITALY

       i also need to go back to italy. i would spend more time in venice. that finally felt like a vacation to me. staying on the beach, eating fabio's pizza. it was great. 

   and sophie and maddie were wonderful. 

rome was alright too :) real life lizzie mcguire movie. 

       hmm now that i look at this, i didn't say anything really detailed... ha oh well. i just like looking at pictures anyway. but europe was super. and hopefully i'll be able to go again to spend more time in each place than just a couple days. but i recommend going! 

Best Day of My Life

after 4 looong months of skyping at 6am while on the other side of 

the world each morning... 

august 15th finally came. 

and it was perfect. 

 andrea, you are darling.

 so are you tori.

 haha dad...

 sisters are just the very best :)

 love all these girls.

the models.

 moms... what would we do without them??

 love you too, dad.

 best roommates a girl could ask for

 OBSESSED with this bouquet- and my ring :)

 we're funny.

 sure wish i could've eaten one of these...

off to mexico!

sorry for the picture overload- only not really. ha. 

xoxo