Engagements

I have been meaning to post about our wedding for a while now. I mean we've been married almost three months and I haven't posted a single wedding picture on here! Crazy! Well, when I saw that my good friend Joelle at Something Charming was doing a Wedding Wednesday link-up, I thought it would be the perfect motivation to get started on my wedding posts. I apologize in advance because I'm probably going to post a lot of pictures - and you will probably get very sick of hearing about my wedding. But, to keep you from getting too sick of it, I'll contain my wedding posts to Wednesdays. 

 I decided to start by posting our engagement photos. They were taken by our very dear, and very talented friend Molly Hunter. You can see more of her work here. Molly is a fantastic photographer and it was so much fun to have her take our photos. She really did a great job bringing to life all the ideas I found on Pinterest and throughout the interwebs.  

So without further ado - here are the photos! 

A few notes in case anyone is wondering:

We took the pictures in a farmer's field in south Provo that Molly happened to stumble upon. When I saw that amazing tree in some other engagements Molly had done, I knew we had to take ours there too.

I actually made the blanket we're sitting on - it was Erik's Christmas present last year. We had to throw some glass bottled sodas in there. Erik is a major Pepsi fan and everyone knows I'm a Coke girl all the way. I made the "LOVE" sign out of construction paper and twine. The cute flowered basket was a DI find a couple of years ago. I also found the frames at thrift stores and just spray painted them in our colors. 

True Love

Have I ever mentioned how much I love this guy?

He makes me happier than I can even express. I think I'll keep him around for a while.  

New Years Eve: Part 2

The second part of our New Year's Eve was spent with the Self's. 

These guys are two of our very best friends. Brillante and I met on our very first day of college and we've been bosom buddies ever since. I was so happy when she married Darin! He really is her perfect match.  

We are one wild and crazy bunch so we got all dolled up and hit up all the hottest clubs...haha...just kidding. I'm pretty sure we're all like, 25 going on 50 so we spent the night eating lots of yummy food and playing Sequence. And you know what? I wouldn't have had it any other way. 

 Everybody got their game face on...especially Darin.

Of course the Self's beat us. They are pretty much game experts. I'm not exactly terrible at games...but let's just say it takes me a while to get a hang of the rules. I'm not sure we ever stood a chance. 

Around 11:30 we turned on New Year's Rockin Eve and watched the ball drop with Ryan Seacrest, Dick Clark, and my personal favorite - Lady Gaga. 

And of course there was lots of kissing at midnight :)

Somehow I didn't catch these two kissing on camera...

Then it was time for a little sparkling cider. 

I think the cider is my favorite part of New Year's. I'm pretty sure I could drink a whole bottle myself. De-lish. 

As if our night wasn't wild enough we decided to brave the cold and go outside for to pop some poppers. 

  I was cracking up looking at all of these pictures on my IPhoto. Erik's faces were priceless. I just wish that second photo hadn't gotten cut off! You can catch just a glimpse of his pure joy as he let those streamers fly. 

Brillante's faces were pretty great too.  

I am proud to call that happy man my husband. I do feel sorry for Brillante standing next to him though...she looks a bit terrified. 

Darin will probably kill me for posting this picture, but I couldn't resist. It was the only one I had of him and I couldn't bear to leave him out. 

Once the driveway was thoroughly covered in streamers we went back inside and promptly went to bed. I told you we're senior citizens. 

If you'd like to read a much funnier recap of our NYE extravaganza, check out Brillante's blog. 

New Years Eve: Part 1

Erik and I spent the first part of New Year's Eve with my folks. We had such a great time! It started with a yummy dinner at Macaroni Grill. I don't think I'll ever get enough of their bread and Penne Rustica. Then we headed over to Temple Square to see the beautiful Christmas lights.  

It was just as beautiful as always. And it was so neat to be there with my parents. I've always been in CA for Christmas and New Years so it's the first time we've gone to see the lights together. 

After walking around for a bit we were all freezing so we went into the Joseph Smith Building and found out that on New Year's Eve they have tons of free performances. What a great surprise! We grabbed a schedule for the evening and then went over the the Tabernacle. 

We were able to see a group called Broadway & Co and another called One Clear Voice. They were both amazing! One of the men in Broadway & Co sang "Music of the Night" from "Phantom of the Opera" and it was out of this world. I definitely had chills. And One Clear Voice ended with a great rendition of Go Tell It On the Mountain that had everybody clapping and dancing in their seats.

Before we left we had to walk by the Christus statue. There is such a special spirit in that room, and a great way to end our evening. 

Christmas Part 2

Although we might not have been with my parents on Christmas day, we still got to celebrate together...even if it was a week late. Better late than never, right? 

My mom was really excited for us to open our presents. Aren't they wrapped beautifully?

 My mom brought us lots of fun things. Erik got some great looking sports books. The one on the left hand side is even signed by John Bytheway! We just love him! 

I got a new de-baller - and yes I made up that word. You see I really hate those balls you get on sweaters. This nifty little tool takes care of those. I also got our very first Christmas book. 

We gave my parents a zester that they asked for. My mom also got a really neat framed quote from the children's book, "I'll Love You Forever". It says, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be." It's something she used to say to me all the time when I was a kid. When I found the print on Etsy I knew I had to get it. I also gave her a copy of the family proclamation that's bordered by family photos. I made it here. And I forgot to take pictures of both of them :(

 A couple more gifts: Coke coasters and a gorgeous red candle. 

Some beautiful ornaments that my mom brought us.  

And finally, just about the cutest snowman ever. My mom found him at a craft fair. He's definitely going to be one of our Christmas staples.