christmas, brought to you straight from my iPhone

yes, it's true. i slacked off this year...brought my camera and didn't even take it out of the trunk. ya ya...bad photographer, you don't have to tell me :) i do however own an iPhone 5 now, so the quality of pictures will be drastically improved from past posts. and my app editing skills far surpass the beginning days of instagram filters. but just you wait, one of these days i'll turn mega-blogger on you and whip out my fancy pictures when you least expect it.

who am i kidding? that won't happen *wink

so, if you don't follow me on instagram this post will be way more interesting to you...and if you do, just hang tight..maybe i'll fit in more than 150 characters for my pic descriptions and surprise you with my charm and wit, or is it whit? no that's a name. it's definitely wit.

we started out the morning at my nana and grandpa's house with all my extended family. we've had pretty much the same traditions since we were little, when we celebrate Christmas morning at nana's. as  littles we were especially antsy to run upstairs and see what lay under nana and grandpa's tree as soon as we arrived to nana's. we usually showed up between 10 and 11, said our hello's and merry christmas's, then darted up the white stairs into the living room with the view you see below. where we would then frenzy into an "every man for himself" Christmas present opening event.

my grandparents have literally the coolest house i've ever been in. and i never fully appreciated their house until i started dating jeff. i mean honestly, who sees this view every single holiday for 24 years and doesn't appreciate it until the last 5 years? i guess you just take things for granted when you're young. i feel truly privileged to spend my holidays, birthdays and family parties at this house. i have so many wonderful childhood memories here, and just as many in my adult life. i can't get enough of my fun family these days.

me and my boy...me and my little cousin while we were opening presents 

the BEST Christmas breakfast we've ever had. that would be bacon quiche with bacon chunks on top. my belly is still content from this meal 24 hours later.

cousins doing dishes...don't mind the vampire eyes. i'm still convincing my mom that she doesn't need to use her flash indoors ;)

It was the perfect Christmas with family and fires in the fireplace :)

+ + +

and a couple pictures from Christmas Eve with Jeff's family, of the kids opening our presents to them. love how excited they were!

Apple Hill

Earlier last month my family took a day trip to Apple Hill, famous for clusters of apple orchards scattered through winding roads, freshly squeezed apple cider, and all sorts of apple goodies. I loved going there as a little girl because it was always significant in my mind as the official start of Fall. The same was true for me and my twenty-something self.

Most of the orchards are accompanied by a sort of craft fair where they sell home made treats and crafts. I should have taken more pictures of all the fun little trinkets...but I was soaking in all things that "my little-girl-at-heart" associated with the official start of Fall so I forgot to grab the camera for some of my favorite spots :)

when family steps in

not everything has gone accordingly with our recent move into a home. God has no doubt continually blessed us & kept us safe, but there has been a major hiccup along the way. will share more of it later this weekend, or next week sometime. family & friends have stepped up in big ways & for that i am grateful. i'm also thankful i was able to spend tonight with my sis-n-law & her two kiddos.. keeping my mind off things for now. she seriously has the coolest kids.. that i get to call family.

Day out with the Mutha

Today was a good day. I had planned to get some shopping done by myself, knowing it would be a long, but productive day. Well, my mutha jumps at any chance to spend time with me since I went and got married on her. I can't blame her though, I'm a pretty fun person ;) Anyway, I told my mom what I had planned today and she offered to come along. We had good talks, sore feet, and bought pretty things :) I'm thankful for days like today when I'm reminded of how blessed I am to have a momma who loves spending time with me and walking around the mall for 5 hours until we find the perfect graduation dress. 

I ended up buying myself that super cute mint green book, Domino [off Amazon though...saved $10!]. There's so many great design tips in there and it's a wonderful coffee table book. Also, if there's any bloggers in the NorCal area who would be interested in a blogger meetup at West Elm, be on the lookout for some further info in the next few weeks!

my faj

Happy Father's Day to the coolest man I know!

 He catches lizards with his little brother.

He likes to make sure I don't forget small things
like changing my oil
and bearing a child so he can be a grandpa.

And he'll BBQ for you at any hour of the night,
honestly.

He's one of a kind, and everyone who knows him will tell you so.

Love you pops!

grandma shirley

tonight i had dinner with my favorite little lady,

my grandma shirley.

we talked about movies, food, boys

and she gave me advice on how to deal with 

some negative feelings i've been harboring.

 grandmas are the absolute best,

and i treasure all of the time we spend together.

she's the cutest little lady and
always tells me how much these little nights
mean to her.
tonight she had a table set for two,
just me and her.
i can picture her so excited setting

the table with pink napkins

waiting for her oldest grand daughter to

come over and spend 

the evening with her

<3

when i commented on her daffodils 

she was quick to mention the 100 bulbs

that were planted in pots on her patio

and went out side with scissors 

to cut me a lovely bouquet
of my own. 

i love my grandma

:)