a year in review

When I look back at this time last year I would have never thought the things that happened would have happened. I fell in love, got engaged, traveled a ton, accomplished goals, made new friends, deepened relationships and survived three semesters of school, watched a ton of Utah sports and many many more things. 

The best part of this year though was making this guy my husband. It was the most perfect day and we have so much fun. I couldn't imagine anyone else by my side. 

This year could also be described as the year of travel. It started out with a trip to Disneyland with all my siblings, niece, nephews and parents. It was such a fun trip and the first family vacation we have taken in years. Then meghan, Karli and I headed to seattle for a few days. It was much needed and so fun to see a new city. We then went to idaho, back to disneyland (where I got engaged), Wyoming a few times, europe, hawaii, and back to Wyoming (these trips were made possible through frugal living and point saving).

Bring on 2015.

zoo lights

i had mixed feelings at first about zoo lights but decided that $7 was worth it to go see even more christmas lights. it was actually really impressive. we went with my best friend luke and had so much fun. most the animals were asleep, but we were able to see the cutest cat i have ever seen. it was pretty crowded so i would avoid weekend nights of course, but towards the end of the night hardly anyone was there and we could see whatever we wanted.

we saw santa numero dos as well

of course the night would not have been complete without a trip on the carousel (sorry for the blur we were just having so much fun)

christmas bucket list- candy displays at macy's

when it comes to christmas, salt lake sure puts on a show. it is almost comparable to that of a much bigger city with the flagship macy's store (hint: new york).  back in the day when zcmi was still around, they put giant displays of candy in their windows and macy's decided to bring it back a few years ago. they are beautiful and intricate and so much fun to look at. boy is salt lake a great place to be at christmas time.

for more of my other favorite christmas things to do in salt lake check out our christmas bucket list

festival of trees

oh man did i get lucky in the husband department. i am a lover of all things crafts-making them, pinning them, craft shows, you name it. the festival of trees is one of my most favorite events of the year. d put up with rows and rows and rows of trees as well as the million pictures i wanted to take. this year's festival did not disappoint and it only encouraged my dream of  having 12 christmas trees in my home. we had fun taking bets on how many frozen trees there would be (me: 12 d: 9). how many there actually were: 8 i think. it was such a great night. after we went to tai pan and picked out stockings together and had dessert at the waffle love truck in the parking lot.

christmas parties a plenty

often we think of holiday's as stressful, busy, non stop commotion. i prefer them to be jam packed full of fun things to do. this year 4 parties have already happened and there are plenty more to come. i can't wait. 

first up: d's mom's family has a huge christmas party the day after thanksgiving with all 80 members. it was quite the ordeal. the man in the big red suit even decided to make an appearance and the children all left with balloon animals and candy. it was a lot of fun to meet even more of his family that weren't able to make it to the wedding and start the christmas season early. oh and our first picture with santa to complete our christmas bucket list. 

second: we had our ward (church congregation) christmas party and it was actually pretty fun. any time a polaroid camera is involved it is bound to be a good time. we had a cute christmas program with our one primary child, and then played christmas trivia. 

third: my work had a christmas get together and the turnout was great. we had a white elephant for the kids and they surprisingly loved it. then the adults had a gift card exchange which was quite hilarious to see. cafe rio, gift cards and great people sure make for a fantastic work party. 

fourth: not really a christmas party, but my dear sister's 22nd birthday was the 10th and we had a fun get together with her. complete with cookie butter cupcakes, a hot cocoa bar and a few round of werewolf,  we all had a lot of fun.

bring on the rest of them:)

christmas coasters

aka the easiest craft project ever. meghan shared this back when our blog was still up and running but i love this project so much i will share it again.

what you need:
15 cent coasters from home depot
scrapbook paper (in as many colors as coasters you are going to make)
mod podge
glue gun
felt

cut the scrapbook paper to the size of the coaster and spread a thin layer of mod podge on the tile. put the scrapbook paper on and let dry 15 minutes (you can skip this step if you want, mine just bubble if you don't). paint a few more layers of mod podge on top to seal the paper. when they are dry hot glue a square piece of felt to the bottom to keep from scratching tables.