December 28, 2011

Guess who got to go to the spa today and get their hair cut?

Looking all cute always makes Venn really feisty, which sucks for Daijo because it has the opposite effect on him.  It's pretty amusing to watch Venn relentlessly taunt Daijo while Daijo works so hard to ignore him.

December 24, 2011

Spending Christmas with the family takes on a whole new meaning with Skype.  We spent Christmas Eve with Brian's family and Christmas Day with mine.  We hooked out laptop up to the TV, so we got to be cozy on the couch while we chatted with everyone. 

It wasn't perfect, but it was really wonderful to be able to see everyone and least feel like we were a little a part of the festivities :)

December 18, 2011

If I had been prepared for Christmas at all this year, I would have gotten Christmas cards ready about a month ago and been sending them out this week.  As it is, we're still working on Thank You cards from the wedding and Christmas has barely been an afterthought.  Either way, we had to send a few cards to the midwest to both of our families, so it's a mad rush to somehow put something thoughtful together.

This is what we came up with.

I don't think the boys were too happy with our choice :)

December 15, 2011

It's really had to be irritated with bad traffic on my commute when the fog is dancing against the hillside like this...

December 13, 2011

On top of all the chaos Brian and I have dealt with in our own lives, we've also been pretty busy crafting around the house.  We've made six quilts this year: one for us, one for each of our four nieces, and one for our dear friends Erin and Shane when they got married.  I've been a total slacker, and up til now, I've only taken a picture of Emma's pink masterpiece.  (I'll have to catch up on the other ones)

This is what we sent off to Erin and Shane...hoping they like it :)

December 11, 2011

Sometimes, it's the little things that make me feel so overwhelmed by the world.

Like these wine glasses that we got as a wedding present, engraved with a very close replication of our wedding logo.

Yeah.

That's nice.  Really, really nice.

December 10, 2011

I've had a really hard time getting into the Christmas spirit this year.  I'm blaming it on all the excitement of 2011...and I think that's okay.  Tonight, I tried a little baking to see if that would help.

Do I feel more in the Christmas mood?  No.

But the cookies were dang good.

November 27, 2011

And then, there was the moon.  This picture was taken from our room.  Yeah, that was our view...

November 26, 2011

Mostly, because I don't know how not to, I'm going to post an entry just of sunset pictures.  One of the nights while we were in Jamaica, Brian convinced me to haul my camera equipment out onto a floating platform that was tied down about 40 feet out into the ocean.  That's where I caught these shots.  It was a breathtaking sunset.  Probably the best of the entire trip.

November 25, 2011

By the second day of our honeymoon, we decided that we needed to start getting up early to experience the sunrises.  It was completely worth it.  By the end of the vacation, Brian and I were getting up early every morning for a jog and a few laps in the ocean.  Getting up early, we were able to see all sorts of crazy wild kingdom stuff right near the beach.  This particular morning, we walked out on the pier before breakfast and had several stingrays swimming directly under our feet.  We had pelicans dive-bombing for fish less than 20 feet from us.  It was pretty neat-o.

November 23, 2011

Our honeymoon was everything that it should have been.  We ate great food, lounged on the beach, read a ton of books, went for morning jogs before sunrise and in general, just relaxed and enjoyed each other's company.  I didn't take a lot of pictures - mostly, because i don't know how to capture a place like that, but I did take a few.

This is Brian, clarifying the experience for me after a fabulous 20+ hour journey down there:

The view of some of the buildings:

The food didn't nail it every time (then again, we have really high standards), but when it did, it really nailed it.

November 28, 2011

Things have finally settled down and now I can begin to publish some posts...

So, we're Day 6 into our Honeymoon, and I think we both finally hit complete relaxation. It's rally nice when the biggest decisions of the day involve whethere or not we want another piña colada, and which restaurant we're going to for dinner. I havent pulled any pictures off my camera yet, but here are a few snapshots from the iPad.

This is a pretty typical view from lunch

And the sunset view from our room:

November 20, 2011

After a busy weekend, Brian and I took some time out this afternoon to enjoy our city.  In all the hustle of the last few months, we haven't had a chance to take a breather and just walk around and take in the sites.  It was a little chilly out - barely 40 degrees today, but that certainly didn't stop  us :)

Here are a few shots from our jaunt around Fremont

November 18, 2011

So, I've been really tired with all the travel recently, and although I've been studying tons about how to use my camera, I haven't exactly taken a ton of pictures.  Tonight, I went back into the pictures from Erin's wedding to see if there were any other pictures that I needed to post.  I realized that I hadn't posted any from the reception.

That being said, these pictures totally need a caveat.  I wasn't planning on taking pictures during the reception.  I wasn't prepared for the awesomeness of the people that were dancing that night, either.  Anyhow.  Here are a few shots of the night, without a flash.  Don't judge.

So, it started with the guys from Shane's family rocking a Blues Brothers dance-off...

And it turned into a Lady Gaga Explosion...

Obviously, not my best work, but totally fun :)

November 6, 2011

A few shots of Erin and Shane's big day :)

One of the reasons I love Erin so much is because she is just as crazy-psychotic organized as I am.  It rocks.  This is her breaking down the details of the day with Sarah, the hair and makeup artist.

Erin was the most elegant bride I've ever seen.  She spent the day completely relaxed and bustling around keeping all of her ladies happy.  Her personality and grace oozed out of the entire weekend - from the venue, to the dress to the food selections - it was amazing.

November 5, 2011

I kid you not, this is the backdrop where Erin and Shane got married.  (To prove it, I'm even posting a picture where you can see the first row of chairs and the tent.)

I mean, really.  I thought places like this only existed in the magazines and in crazy wedding blogs...

Yeah.

Whoa.

November 4, 2011

Brian and I flew to New York las week to be with our dear friends Erin and Shane for their wedding weekend.  It was a fabulous (and gorgeous) experience.

On Friday, Brian went out for bowling and beers with all the guys while I joined up with Erin and all the women for a cooking class at the New York Wine and Culinary Center in Canandaigua.  It was a brunch menu, so we made (and dined) on everything from baked apples to scones to omelets.  The smells were amazing :)

Here's Erin, ready to flip pancakes, then opting for the much sassier, sans-spatula method.

The chef then gave a quick class/demonstration on how to make three different styles of omelets.  

And then he sent the class to work making said omelets...

I was so impressed.  What a fun idea and neat way to spend time together before the big day :)

October 29, 2011

My amazing friends invited me to come over while they were getting ready for their Halloween party.  I go to watch Ian and Matthew get totally vamped out all while hanging out with Abbe (who may be the coolest person I know).

It made me realize that although I don't have a twitter account, and I don't follow twitter at all, I really have a strong urge to talk in hashtags.  I know.  I am a product of my generation.  But these guys owned these costumes.  #awesomesauce.

Bear with me and the massive amount of pictures I'm about to post :)

We'll start with the makeup:

And then the results:

And then the fun:

Ummm...yeah.  #Awesomesauce.