Early Christmas in Utah

Ryan and I decided it was time we visit some very important family in Utah...

Our Grandmothers.

So glad we got to meet each other's grandmothers for the first time.

They are amazing women and well beloved by both of us.

Ryan and Grandma Ellsworth

(He makes her look small, but then again Ryan does that to most people.)

Grandma Newton and I

(Now this is the amazing thing, she makes me look tall, meaning she is really really short :) )

Now while we were in Utah we decided we should see some of the sites, 

which mostly include all the beautiful temples.

Ogden Temple

And it had this amazing nativity.

 Salt Lake Temple

 You will notice our tradition to get both of us in the picture with the temple - this makes 2.

 We also went around the Conference center, and Temple Square.

There was an organ recital going on and the Tabernacle was decorated lavishly for Christmas.

 Always have to go by the Visitor's Center and look at all the displays.

                                                                                          Provo Temple

 They also had the nativity.  I guess all the temples do for Christmas, 

I am not sure I have ever been there around that time of year before to notice.

Ryan found an Authentic Mexican Restaurant that we had to visit.

Cannot say how impressed I was by the fact he was satisfied by Mexican food that was not in Mexico.

 Tacos - they were pretty good, even if simple.

 Then of course, while we were in Provo, I had to visit BYU campus.

Yummy food at the Creamery.

 Ryan wanted me to leave him alone to eat his ice cream and stop taking pictures.

 So I started taking my picture and then eating my ice cream.  :)

 Good Old "Y"

Ryan asked if I wanted to climb it - not this time.

I am not sure if we will ever make a trip where we drive during winter again, 

but it was amazing and so good to see family.

Best Birthday Present Ever

So I have this dream of walking into a room and it being like the library in Beauty and the Beast.

Now I am not anywhere near that dream but believe it or not Ryan and I have a large amount of books for our tiny little apartment and we only had one bookshelf which was full and no extra space on it.  So for my birthday this year Ryan made me a bookshelf.  

Now we discussed several different styles and kinds of wood for building this bookshelf but we didn't hit on the perfect plan until Ryan's parents came back with an idea for a modular bookcase and the plans went something like this.

If you can't tell the plans took me a while to get right.

The final look was a combination of ideas from Ryan, his dad, and Pinterest images.

The first box off the drawing board.

 Ryan and his dad worked very hard on it together several nights to get it just right for me.

 They even used a router on all the edges the round them off so they weren't rough and dangerous to me or any other individual that will use my amazing bookshelf.

 The next step was staining the wood.  

I chose a deep but slightly tinted one of Red Mahogany.

I enjoyed the staining process and watching the grain of the wood come out.

Ryan's Mom helped a lot with the sanding, staining, and the most time consuming stage of polyurethane layers that help protect the bookcase from weather and wear.

 The first stages done the pieces began to come home and be put in place.

It took some reorganization of my home but it was a beautiful thing to see it all come together.   

 All the pieces finally home.

The final product

I am proud to say that now every single book we own is now on a bookshelf in our house.

What an amazing thing to see; I know it is a lot of color but since our apartment is rather lacking in any color it actually helps go beyond the beige.

Thanks to my amazing husband and his very helpful parents.

Warm and Fuzzy and Soft

Ryan's parents did cat sitting for one of Ryan's brother's and his wife this summer and afterward we could tell they were missing having a warm and fuzzy pet around the house.  Ryan took up the challenge of getting them a new one with gusto.

He looked around several weeks and found this beauty at just the right moment for them.

And as requested by Ryan's mom he is extremely cuddly and loving, 

even though his name is Ice.

 His favorite thing in the world might be that brush which is going to get worn out soon.

Wicked

Now I know this was over a month ago but it is still worth remembering.

Ryan and I treated ourselves to a cultural experience that fabulously lives up to its amazing renown.

We went and saw Wicked.

Now I have seen this Broadway before, although it was almost 10 years ago, 

but Ryan had not and neither had any of my friends that went with us.

I was once again blown away by the amazing set up of the stage as it truly comes out at you.

Ryan tried to let me take a picture of him with the stage, obviously perspectives weren't the best.

Anxiously waiting for the show to start and looking over the very green program.

I think she may have been more excited than I was.

Our entire crew in a couple of photos.

IT WAS AMAZING!!!!

Ryan and I couldn't stop talking about the show for days 

and every once in a while it comes back up in conversation and we enjoy the chance to relive the music.

I would recommend any and all who have the chance to go and see Wicked do so.

Amazing and life changing if you let it.

One More Project

I don't know if I will ever be finished decorating my house, 

but I am having a blast doing bits and pieces every so often.  

This weekend it was repainting the coffee table my brother built me almost 2 years ago.

Before

In the middle

 I decided to have a little fun with the bottom of it and sign it.

 All done with painting

The final look...