Finals...

Andrew has one today, and then we both have ONE LEFT!

Can't wait to be done so we can get on to some real holiday celebration!

And, we are going to paint our office this weekend. Woo!

Hope everyone else's finals are going well.

Bridals

So, one of my friends wanted to see my bridals, and I've been so busy that I have never posted them! But here are a few--courtesy of Elise Capener. She's amazing! Her website is eliselphotography.com. Enjoy, and don't make fun of my serious faces...ha :)

White Christmas

Well, my dreams for a snow-free winter have been dashed--it snowed this weekend! And it didn't just snow, it covered the entire city in white and dropped about 20 degrees. Andrew is loving it, and I'm less than ecstatic. But, I guess it's all in line with the spirit of Christmas right? We'll see how we all feel in April, when it's still snowing!

On a happier note, our house looks darling all in white :)

And another happier note--we got a Christmas tree! Amazingly enough, it's not the "Charlie Brown" first tree that a lot of married couples get. It was $25 at Smith's--such a steal! Our ornament collection is miniscule, but will expand over the years I'm sure. I also played around with Andrew's "fancy camera" and took more pics of the house.

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season, and that those of us in school do well on finals this week!

The Tree!

My fav ornaments--a wedding gift from the Draschils!

The Mantle--the painting was also a wedding gift from some friends in FL

Cute stockings--only two for now!

And of course, the chimney that Santa will come down through! I'm still a kid at heart :)

Driving in the storm. Yikes!

Timpanogos Harley-Davidson

Andrew here. So last Saturday, my buddy Tyler and I went to check out the fairly new Harley-Davidson dealership/museum/cafe in Lindon. Not gonna lie, probably one of the coolest places I've ever been. 70% of the building materials were salvaged from existing warehouses and factories.

Now, I'm not really the Harley type, I'm more into hot rods; but seeing some of the bikes in there made me want to take one out for a ride. Must be the rebel in me. The Harley-Davidson culture fascinates me. A couple months ago I learned that BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall is a proud owner of a Harley and holds occasional team meetings in a conference room here. In addition, Governer Huntsman frequents the place with his crew of leather bike rats. So it seems as if Harley is a way to escape the norm. Anyways, if you get a chance to go, you'll find it a great experience.

We all scream for ICE CREAM!

So last night Andrew and I were craving some ice cream--not a rare occurrence for us. We were by Smith's, and decided to just buy a couple half-gallons that would last us longer than just one serving!

Our ice cream flavors is one area where Andrew and I differ--I'm a vanilla with mix-in's fan, and Andrew is a chocolate lover. I also love sprinkles and frosting (yes, I was and still am that girl who eats the only the icing off the cake). So, while perusing the frozen food aisle, I found the PERFECT flavor for me--"Take the Cake", by Dreyer's. It is cake flavored light (!) ice cream with sprinkles and frosting swirls mixed in. HELLO! It is like heaven in a carton for me. I highly recommend it if you like sweets like me :)Andrew also found his dream-come-true flavor--double fudge brownie. Way too much for me, but he loved it! So, of course, I was happy too. Overall, it was a very successful shopping trip. And, I highly recommend all of Dreyer's slow-churned flavors--Peppermint, Girl Scout Thin Mint, and Cookie Dough are my favs. So check them out :)

Lights and Lockouts

Okay, so the other night we went to Target and bought some garland and lights for the outside of the house! It was like 9:30 at night mind you...and we get home, and what does my wonderful husband do? Puts up the lights like a champ in the freezing cold, just to brighten up my holidays! I love him :) And I love our little house.

Funny story though--I was at home alone studying while Andrew was at class when I decided to take a break and capture his handiwork on film. I get outside, take my shots--all is good. Until, I try to open the front door and it is locked! I locked myself out. No keys. No phone. Car is locked. No neighbors home. And the sun was practically gone, so the temp was dropping fast! I slightly panicked, and decided to walk to our church building to seek shelter (it's right down the street). I get to the church and see a car that looks like my mom's, and a boy getting out who looks just like my little brother...so I run, screaming, through the church parking lot and flag down my mother (with much help from Brennan). It was a small miracle in my week. I think I would have frozen to death if it weren't for that--Andrew wasn't scheduled to be home for another hour and a half!

So anyway, funny story, but it was worth it for the pictures! Ha.

Our child--the cute gnome "Martin", decked out in his little elf hat. So cute.

The cute winter wreath that Andrew's mom bought us! Love it.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

At the Grove

Happy Thanksgiving! So we spent the holiday week with Andrew's family in California and Arizona and it was a blast! The whole crew was there--Mom & Dad Garlock, Summer & Bryan Katie & Tanner, the nieces and nephew, Grandma Jeanne, and Uncle Auggie--and we tore up Prescott, AZ. We ate tons of yummy food, I discovered a new love of thrift store shopping (thanks to Jeanne), and we got to experience the chill of winter in Arizona's "Christmas City".

Back in California, I was able to take my first drive through Beverly Hills decked out in Christmas decor, eat at the famous Tito's Tacos, go to Disneyland, and hit up some amazing sales at the Grove outdoor mall. The only thing I didn't do on this trip is take pictures! I'm so bad...but here is the ONE I took at the grove with all the pretty lights behind us.

And now -- on to Christmas!! Yay! Anyone who knows me will tell that I am a huge Christmas fan. Haven't slept a Christmas Eve night yet! Andrew didn't know what he was marrying. So, right when we got back from our Thanksgiving trip, I got to decorating our humble abode. My mom always does an amazing job of decorating the house, so mine looks like a feeble attempt--but it's a start!

So, everyone, have a happy holiday on the way to Christmas! We'll celebrate with you once finals are done in couple weeks...

The Casa