How Do They Do It??

How do puppies make you feel so warm inside by just looking at you!?

Maximus & Zeus are my favorite doggies in the whole world... I mean, how can I resist them?

I just love them!!

Today, one of TL's buddies from work brought in his brand new St. Bernard puppy... he comes in second behind Maximus & Zeus for the most adorable pup I have seen!

TL said he was so cuddly and so sweet... let's not tell Maximus & Zeus about this picture!!

Hope you are enjoying your Sunday and these puppies bring a little joy to your day! :)

Christmas Is Over... Already!

The holidays came and went much to fast this year. 

Working full time through them, and spending as much time as possible with my amazing family has kept me busy!  I have hardly had time to get on here and write, which bums me out the most :) 

Yesterday was a fun day!  I stayed the night over at my parents house and woke up Christmas morning in the same bed I slept in growing up.  TL had to work Christmas Eve until 7am Xmas morning, so he came to my parents house strait from work.  We opened our stockings, had green eggs and ham (well, minus the ham this year) and opened our presents under the tree.  My family gave me clothes, bath mats for our house, pottery barn shelves we loved, and so many other fun things.  We were so excited to give the gifts we bought for all of them... it is just so much fun! It was especially neat to see my 8 month old nephew enjoy his first Christmas.  Santa brought  him a new little horse... it was SO cute! After many hours of opening presents and spending time together, I left for work at 2:30.  I was bummed to go, but lots of people work on Christmas... and having TL and my dad come visit me for a few hours definitely helped!

This was my parents living room on Christmas morning.  It brings back some of my favorite memories and traditions of growing up.  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family!

I hope you had a very merry Christmas...

can't wait to catch up on all of your blogs!

Happy Holidays!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

We thought this was so funny!  

I have seen it over the years, so we decided to make one :)

Hope you are having a fabulous Friday!

Things are so busy with Christmas a week away... hope you are enjoying the season.

Honeymoon: Interlaken, Switzerland

My favorite part of the whole trip was the 4 days we spent in Interlaken!

It is absolutely breathtaking there... huge mountains, sparkly blue lakes... the entire place looks like a postcard!

Although Switzerland is pretty expensive, we found our own ways to eat good food and explore.  Because it wasn't the peak travel season, a lot of deals were happening.

The hotel we stayed in... gorgeous views!

TL standing right in front of our hotel... that grass area behind him are where all of the parachuters land!

One of the days there, we rented this tandem bike.  We rode everywhere on it.  People would laugh as they watched us because I figured out that if I didn't pedal, he didn't notice.  So I pretty much just rode :)

We rode our bikes a few miles and came to a high ropes/ zip line place.  It was something I had to do... so we did it.

It was all explained to us in German, which we have no experience with, so they handed us the stuff, and we pretty much just hung on tight!  TL is a hundred feet up here!

It was actually pretty challenging... but SO fun! :)

Another day we rented this awesome dune buggie!!!  If you ever go there, this is a must.  It was so fun to drive, and with the pretty weather - we were able to cruise all over the place!

On a hike

Pictures from the hike... gorgeous, right!?

Instead of eating out... we went to the grocery store and purchased stuff for a picnic.  Then we drove our dune buggie around one of the lakes to find the perfect spot.

And we found one.  Just the two of us and the beautiful view.

A little side view of the buggie!

The cows were so funny... TL pulled over in the dune buggie so I could get this shot.  They all had giant bells around their neck!

Looks just like a postcard outside our buggie!

I absolutely LOVED Interlaken... it was so adventurous and fun.

If given the opportunity, this place is a must for any traveler! :)

It's Beginning To Feel A Lot Like Winter

Rain, rain... please stay!

The rain & stormy season is here.  I have always loved the rain, the way it sounds, smells, and the way it cleans up the entire town.. it's just such a cool part of nature.  And even though it's not a white Christmas... it's still a cozy time for the holidays!

What's the weather like where you are?

pretty picture via

Christmas Shoes

Time passes so fast!  I can't believe we are already a week into December!  I hate that this month moves so quickly, because I love enjoying the time before Christmas.  It is such a warm time of year.  (Even though it is so cold in Nor Cal we had SNOW in the valley the other day!)  I love the feeling of this month - and being with family.

There is a particular Christmas song that I really think captures the feeling of Christmas.  Have you ever heard the song "Christmas Shoes"?  It was made into a movie, which I loved as well.  If you haven't, take a minute to listen to the words :)  Hope you are having a good week and enjoying the season!

I know the video is kind of cheesy - but the words are really good :)

Apple Hill Xmas Tree Hunt

I love the mountains... especially in the winter time.

Even though Apple Hill is not technically the "mountains", it's close enough for me.

36 years ago, my mom and my dad were just dating.  They decided to go together to cut down tree's for their families and they went to Indian Rock Tree Farm in Apple Hill.

Through rain, wind, snow - you name it - they kept going year after year.  They got married, had three girls... and the tradition has remained the same every year.

Needless to say, it's an exciting tradition for our family.  The family-owned tree farm is beautiful... and every year they know we are coming back again.  This year, we got FOUR trees - one for all of our houses.  It was such a fun day!

Maximus & Zeus gearing up for a cold day of running around in the mountains.  Their scarfs and Christmas tree shirts kept them warm!

The family.

The silly family.

My sisters and nephew... he will grab your face and suck on your nose.  I think it's his way of smooching.

Our little family picture.

That's our tree before it was chopped down!

My dad and his favorite little "sidekick".

What are your family holiday traditions?

The Decorations Are Up!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

The pretty trees, smells, cuddly feelings, and love.

We got all of our decorations up & decorated the tree today!

(sorry the pictures are blurry)

Our tree!  We got it from Apple Hill

(pictures of that to follow soon!)

Maximus & Zeus have their own stockings... our mantle :)

The baby tree in our kitchen!

I hope you are all finding your own ways to get into the Holiday spirit.  :)

It's a beautiful time of year!

Christmas Music

I have always loved Christmas music. I can't help it, I listen to it during all months of the year... but right after thanksgiving, I keep the cds loaded in my car and sing along every where I drive! Currently I have Julianne Hough's xmas CD and a mix. This is one of my all time favorites :)

What are your favorite Xmas songs?

Honeymoon: Venice, Italy

Beautiful Venice

was our first stop after the cruise!

We flew to Venice from Barcelona, then got onto a water taxi!  (how cool is that!?)  Our "taxi", or boat driver, took us on the 50 minute journey through the water to our hotel.  He spoke wonderful english so we learned a lot from him about the city.  It was so incredible there - definitely one of the most unique places I have ever been!  The first day we were there, we walked around and got completely lost!  We ate yummy food and had no idea where we were.  The good thing about getting lost was that we explored a lot of the city and eventually found our way back :)

In the back of the water taxi!

The crazy canal drivers... we didn't do one, but they were fun to watch.

Beautiful San Marcos Square!

The famous Rialto Bridge

Together in beautiful San Marco Square

Walking along the pretty water front!

Venice was stunning and very unique.  We really enjoyed the few nights we spent here!

Thankful Thursday: Thanksgiving Edition

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for...

TL.  He is such an amazing husband and I can't imagine my life with out his affectionate and sweet personality.

My Mom & Dad.  They are absolutely-with out a doubt- two of the most special people in my life. I am so lucky to have them.

My beautiful sisters (and their sig others) - because they are always there no matter what and I love them dearly.

My adorable nephew... can't get enough of him!

My big family - 20 cousins (who have 3 babies), 6 aunts & uncles, and an amazing Grandma & Grandpa who started it all... and this isn't including my mom's wonderful family!

My friends... because a girl needs 'em, and I have some of the best!

My weenie dogs - Maximus & Zeus.

My job - we all know what a tough economy it is!

Living in a home, close to my parents, that is filled with love.

I am so lucky... and SO very thankful.

I hope you have a beautiful and loving Thanksgiving filled with delicious food and amazing family!

I work today... but still get to celebrate with my family.  Tomorrow we take off to go get our Christmas tree!  I am SO excited for the holidays! :)

turkey here

Thanksgiving Already!

Thanksgiving is almost here!

Hard to believe.

Today we are heading over to TL's family in the Bay Area to celebrate with them.

I am excited to see everyone... not to mention, I am excited for turkey, stuffing, gravy, pumpkin pie and all the delicious food.  A couple of days off work, too!

I am also excited for the holiday smells - the candles, the colors.

I love this time of year... and it means Christmas is just around the corner!

I am so thankful for family.

Hope you are having a wonderful Sunday!

turkey found here

Honeymoon: Marseilles, France

Marseilles was our next stop on our honeymoon cruise!

(it's been a while since my last post, so if you need a reminder click here)

I really liked this stop - it was laid back, but fun for us to just walk around the shops and view the sights.

TL drinks a lot of water, so we were able to see the bathrooms pretty much everywhere we went.  This was his favorite one. :)

In front of the pretty farmers market flowers.  My mom loves flowers - so I took this for her.

We thought this was cool!

The really big bay that had thousands of boats!

I thought this building was cool.

This was the only place we got a little bit rained on... we had pretty good luck overall with the weather.  It was also our last stop on the cruise.  Man, I miss these days!  I want to go back :)

Thankful Thursdays

It's Thursday already... waa hoo! :)

I am thankful to be spending the evening at home with TL.  This whole full-time thing makes me really cherish my time with him!

I am thankful for my job - and the great people I work with who are helping me adjust.

I am thankful that it is almost Sunday... because Sunday I head over to the bay - hanging out with a girlfriend and celebrating Thanksgiving with TL's family.

I am thankful for my mom, dad & sisters... because I love having a supportive family who cares so much about me and my happiness.

I am also thankful for starting work at 2:30pm tomorrow... finally time to get the 411 on my fave blogs!

Happy Thursday!!

What are you thankful for?

First Day

It was a good first day at the new job... I feel so fortunate to be in a place with so many wonderful and helpful people.  So many people reached out to me, and remembered me from when I was there as an intern 3 years ago!  It was a long day of training and getting acquainted, but it was overall a good day!

Thank you all so much for all your sweet comments and support!

The best part of the day was coming home to a homemade dinner (pasta) and a dozen of my favorite roses. I have the sweetest husband!  (Not to mention he filled my car with gas and fixed the tires for me!)

Hope you had a good Tuesday!

New Job, New Opportunities

Tomorrow is a big day for me...

I start my new job, and I am very excited for all of the (hopefully) new opportunities it will bring.

I am a little nervous, I think thats normal, but also very excited to see where I can go with it.

I think it will be a busy week :)

LA with my girlfriends was amazing!

We spent time talking, eating great food, dancing, and just being together.

It was wonderful to see them and I am so thankful to have them in my life!

I don't have any pictures yet... but hopefully soon so I can share. :)

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend - looking forward to catching up on everyone's blogs this week!

picture found here

Girls Weekend

A weekend with some of my BEST girlfriends from college... I could not be more excited!

We are planning a Thanksgiving dinner, a night out, and some good, hearty girl talk.

I love them to pieces and I am so excited!

LA... here we come!

(just a few of the millions of pictures)

I love you, girls!