Dear Christmas,

May I never forget again your sense of childlike wonderment and belief. May I continuously marvel at fat snowflakes falling, the love from a snuggly puppy and other daily miracles. May I never stop believing in the magic of Santa Claus, Narnia, hobbits and all things made of fairy dust. And may I never forget the sense of awe that comes with the birth of a baby that changed everything.

Well after that rather bumtastic registry post…I think it’s now time for something a little different! And a little different = the hooooomygoodness, I can’t believe we’re so lucky to have these folks/vendors in our lives. Because seriously…I cannot WAIT for wedding day, and a good portion of that excitement is because I am so SO over the moon about our vendors! (Oh yeah, and the whole actual getting married thing…there’s that too.) Bwahaha. So without further ado, I give you part one of my love letters to our vendors.

Almost two years ago, I bookmarked the images below as examples of an interesting and beautiful engagement shoot. It was one of MANY bookmarked inspirational images: found, cataloged, archived, and promptly forgotten about.

Until a few weeks after the proposal, when Ace and I were trying to figure out whether we wanted to do an engagement photoshoot (my thoughts: so expensive! Ace’s thoughts: so cheesy! guess which one of us reads wedding blogs, eh?). I went digging through my photo archives in search of non-cheesy inspiration, saw this one, and thought, “huh. The concept is cool, but that’s actually a wicked awesome photo…whoever shot it knows what they’re doing! I wonder who took it?” And the hunt began.

By digging through the blog where I originally found the photo, I discovered a name: Shannen. “Cool,” went my internal dialogue. “But she probably lives in, like, Maine or something.”

Commence googling. “Huh. She works in the greater LA area!” Cue an internal rush of excitement. More googling. “She went to Cal Baptist!” More + more. “She’s a new photographer! And possibly more affordable!!”

Enter her personal photo blog. And cue my jaw literally dropping as I looked through her photos. Friends…this girl is MAGIC.

Breathtaking, pixie dust sprinkled, light infused M.A.G.I.C. And I’m really, really not easy to impress anymore with photography. And we really, really could not afford the high-end photographers whom I’d fallen in love with (oh, you would like some more linkage? Chennergy, oh how I love thee.)

Anywho. Back to Shannen. As I poured through her photography archives, I saw aesthetic decisions I loved, a knack behind the lens that I could trust, and holy SMOKES can that girl post-process! Need more convincing? Well, okay!

And then I emailed her asking if she’d be interested in working with us, and sent up a prayer that she would be available, and within our budget. And she was! (At the very tippy top of said budget, mind you. But the quality. Oh how you get what you pay for!) Shannen and I met in person, and I must confess that this girl is fabulous. A handshake and a contract later, and I am so relieved and elated to have someone behind the camera who a) has a sense of artistry that I trust, and b) is a genuinely awesome person who I wouldn’t mind spending a wicked amount of time with on wedding day.

I know I am overally gushing but I cannot help it! I am in love with our photographer’s artistry, and this light cannot be hidden under a basket! I am letting it shine!!

SHINE!

If someone gifted us more money for the wedding (or if I end up with a glorious bonus this year) the first thing I’d put that moolah towards would be a few more hours with Shannen on the wedding day. Join me in keeping your fingers crossed? In the meantime, head on over to her beautiful blog and show the girl some love. (Or for the ultimate love, book her! She’s currently living and working mainly in NYC, but she’s fairly bicoastal. And worth it, obviously.)

Original awesome drawing from here. Original hack photoshop job by yours truly. Mixer by Kitchen Aid, pitcher by Crate and Barrel, wooden spoons from Branch.

Thus far in the planning process, registering has been the most surprisingly stressful and un-fun bit. From beginning to end. It probably shouldn’t surprise me that I was set up for failure on this part. I am a) an overthinker, b) generally a loather of shopping, malls, busy stores, and unhelpful sales people, and c) prone to imbuing things with a lot of meaning (and thus, those things really matter to me).

All in all, this ended up being a kind of long post (or, four chapters if you will)…but I promise there’s a happy ending!
there’s more to this article. keep reading…

images from Home & Country and Dream Camera, via dress, design, decor

I’m a BIG fan of the holiday season. Granted, I’m not super into Christmas music (there’s only so many times I can hear Frosty the Snowman before I want to punch a wall), and I absolutely loathe packed retail stores with angry and stressed people. But I love the crisp, chilly weather (ah, the beauty of Southern California winters), and the emphasis on family, friends, and good will to all mankind. Plus, any reason for an extra dose of positivity is good, right?

The overwhelming, glowy Christmastime joy I’ve felt the last few years is a little different this time around, though. I suppose you could say it’s been tempered with a bittersweetness. Is this called growing up?

there’s more to this article. keep reading…

E’rbody’s doin it. So here’s my little take.

I grew up on old, classic stuff, with the Beatles included. But frankly, I just never loved the music. (I’m more of a Stones girl.)

But in recent years, I picked up that greatest hits of John Lennon cd…and it kind of blew my socks off in a way that a Beatles record never did. I know, I know. I’m crazy.

But I love that stuff, man. And I love that, even though I never lived in a world that he lived in, I still get to hear his voice echo through my life. I love that he was so tirelessly passionate about making the world a better place. I love that he left a legacy worth remembering.

(Peace in your mind, peace on earth, peace at work, peace at home, peace in the world.)

Grace + peace.

Okay, so we don’t have kids to shop for at Christmas. Technically, we do buy for our nieces, but at our house on Christmas morning, no squealing children will be racing down the stairs to see what’s under the tree. Our furry children will race down the stairs just like every morning because they can’t wait for their morning potty time. Only once they get downstairs and see/smell the goodies that are undeniably theirs will they realize December 25 is a special day.

Our puppies, Roskoe and Lucy, are my favorites to shop for on my gift giving list. Although I love buying anyone presents especially with the challenge of finding the perfect present on a not-so-perfect budget, dogs are easy and wonderful because no matter what I buy them, I know they will honest-to-goodness love it! My puppies give and give and give their love all year long. Even after we force them off our laps or scold them for nabbing our ham and cheese sandwich (or like this morning, a strawberry and cream cheese danish), they keep coming back to give us more love.

The kids: Roskoe the Poet and Lucy Ramona

Because I don’t know my pups birthdays (they were both shelter pups and their ages are estimates), Christmas is the one day of the year, that I spoil them rotten with all the things they love but can’t have on a regular basis. On Christmas they get real raw hides and pig ears, stuffed squeaky toys (Roskoe’s favorite. He can have one gutted and almost swallow the squeaker in 30 seconds) and tennis balls (which Roskoe can also peel like an orange to the rubber core and then rip a part the core). there’s more to this article. keep reading…

This year, John and I are skipping the Christmas tree. I know, it’s sad, but we may or may not be moving on or around Christmas day, so we decided that a tree would just get in the way. That didn’t stop me from pulling out the rest of the decorations, though, and this afternoon we decked the halls.

This year, John decided to take some old gift wrapping ribbon and wrap it around our indoor twinkle lights. We hung our stockings with care and remembered that since last Christmas, we added a new dog to our family! Lucy is without a stocking! We’ll fix that soon, but in the meantime, here are some pictures of our decked out home.

there’s more to this article. keep reading…

the most difficult thing I’ve every faced in my life — graduate school. I completed and have been recommended to receive a master’s degree in Journalism, specifically Magazine Editing, from the University of Missouri, Columbia, the oldest and arguably best school of journalism in the world.

I’m not really sure what that says about my life, that finishing this was the most difficult thing. It was more difficult than living overseas, climbing Mt. Fuji, competing in a triathlon and moving more than 1500 miles from my parents to go to school.

Even though some might think I’m soft by saying this has been the hardest thing, I’m proud of myself. I didn’t want to get my master’s, but I knew that in order for my life to be what I want it to be, I had to have this. And I did it! As of today, I’ve done it! And I couldn’t be happier! I feel like I could fly if I really put my mind to it. I can do anything. I am invincible.

Here’s another list of thank yous to all who helped me through it!

• My parents for pushing and bribing me to start the program, supporting me throughout it and taking all of my stressed out phone calls no matter how busy they were.
• My husband for being there during all the best times and all the worst times.
• My mother-in-law and her sisters for being my loudest cheerleaders.
• My friends on and off campus for being supportive and understanding what I was going through and when I wasn’t always around.
• My employers for putting up with my ridiculous schedules and those worst days when I wasn’t quite there.

And now for the next challenge: finding a grown-up journalism job! That can’t be harder than grad school, right?

Colder weather has me longing for all kinds of snuggly things. I love my little house, but oh how I wish we had a fireplace at this time! (And how I wish that Ace wasn’t a few hours away too! He and my grandma’s quilt are the best snuggling things in my world.*)

Here are a few other things on my wishlist:

Set 1: Slippers from Target, Necklace (for some inexpensive, June Cleaver-type lounging about) from Swell, Christmas wrapping via SMP, Pajamas and Robe from Aerie (they have the best fleece — so warm and soft).
Set 2: Marshmallows from Whimsy and Spice (I’ll take maple, espresso, and caramel please!!), friends and a fire from Lavender and Cinnamon
Set 3: Beautiful lights photographed by Irene Suchocki, a puppy to cuddle with…preferably a toller, like this one by tenya

*Sorry, I know that was a little too pukey-cute. But if I’m gonna marry that guy, I’m gonna freely admit that wrapping up next to him is my favorite place in the whole world to be. Smoosh.

Anything else wonderfully warm and soft on your lists?