merry [christ]mas

 bridgetts first christmas was simply wonderful. we started christmas eve in the sun on the patio with some dear old friends, went to the christmas eve service at our church, enjoyed my parents annual christmas eve open house for family + friends, spent the night at my parents, woke up real early to sing happy birthday to jesus, opened presents with my family, drove down to my sisterinlaws, opened presents with the cousin twins & cutter, and then.. crashed. asleep, of course.

 

 [bridgett and her great grandmother mary lou, whom she was named after]

from our family to yours.

merry christmas.

our family

photo by corey morgan photography, card design by stewart design studios

the wells family

photo by a larson photography

the couch family 

sewing holiday

happy holiday fellow bloggers

i'm curious to know how you are spending your long weekend?

i've been busy putting together some holiday creations for wellies this fall. do you have a little one you'd like to celebrate a holiday with in a custom onesie or ruffle bum outfit? let me know all your ideas .

p.s. what do you think of my old school sewing machine? it's my moms! maybe i'll put a new one on my christmas list this year, hmm..

one year of wedded bliss

i can't believe we have been married for a year today. it seems like just yesterday it was our first dance.

we spent our anniversary weekend up at the lake arrowhead resort & spa. this is the view from our suite. here's to another wonderful year of love and family :)

twenty ten glitz

may you sparkle in new ways this year.

photo credits to my dear friend, kay.

o night divine

o night divine. i love this christmas song, because it makes me really think about jesus being born.

our family tradition on christmas eve is to host a party for our

families & friends to get together {eat, drink & be merry}.

la jolla in december

... isn't much different than in august: great weather, great food, great family.

my christmas list

growing up, my favorite part of christmas was making my list.

i grew up with all sisters, and when we were little, my parents would set up our presents christmas eve after we went to bed. as we got older, they soon realized it was more fun for us girls to do our own shopping then it was for them. thus began the christmas tradition of making lists for ourselves. the day after christmas, mom & dad would take us to south coast plaza and we would get to pick out all our own presents. i am more fond of these memories, as i can actually remember waking up early, piling in the car, and running around like crazy women all over the plaza with my sisters. since nothing was opened on christmas day, and we didn't have as many presents to open, we were able to spend all day bonding with each other.

now that we are growing up, my mom has been complaining she doesn't know what to get us. even my 17-year-old sister doesn't have a list. (well it's short: french bull dog named francesca and an iphone). maybe it's because as we get older what we want changes. we start to want to do things that we enjoy... more than get things we like right now.

so mom, here is my christmas list this year:

1. wrapping your christmas presents.

2. hanging wreaths.

3. collecting christmas cards.

4. baking holiday treats.

5. and, laying on the couch enjoying cold days next to fireplaces.


what are you wishing for this christmas?

meet giada.

The day before Thanksgiving, we got Giada.

She is a 10-week-old boxer. We wanted a guard dog so we checked out a few different breeds of dogs, and then went to meet more puppies. Well, when we met Giada's daddy- I was more scared than I have ever been in my life. Seconds later, I fell in love with Giada. So I knew she would be perfect. Cory was more hesitant, and made me wait and look at others (like labs). But, he liked her the best too. It took us a little while to come up with a name, but we finally settled on Giada (like the Italian cook from the food network). Anyway, we love her so much!

cookie exchange

ahhhh, cookies. 

10 dozen different cookies= yum.

I'm going to a cookie exchange the 2nd week of December, and I can't decide what to bring.  I'm going to do some testing this week while I'm on Thanksgiving break. So far, here are my favorites::

chocolate-orange expresso thins

s'mores cookies

chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies

molasses sandwhich cookies

Which do you like best? Have any other ideas?

fa la la la [deck the halls]

I know, it's not even Thanksgiving yet... 

but it is our first christmas being married (!) so I just couldn't wait :]

We spent our weekend setting up our christmas tree {and decorating it} so we could look at it for a whole month... if not longer, ha. Last year, Kelly and I went Christmas shopping the day after Christmas, so I was able to get all my Christmas decorations on sale. I chose to do a white/black/silver tree last year, and was given coordinating ornaments as wedding/shower gifts from friends and family. 

It turned out prettier than I thought, even though the picture below doesn't really look that great =/ But, hopefully we'll see you over at the house this holiday season, so you can see it for yourself!

Isn't this wrapping paper so pretty? These two are to Aven & Easton and Cory.. I've only wrapped two, haha.

Happy Holidays :]

pumpkin craves

Here are some pictures from last weekends pumpkin carving party::

my little sister, Victoria, and my cousin, Amanda

the winning pumpkin eating another pumpkin, haha

and finally, the creators of the winning pumpkin: our friends stacy & chris.

Also, Cory's sister Allison took some pictures of the twins

in their pumpkins down in La Jolla. Really, how can you get any cuter?

For those of you that don't read her blog (fico fam), here are the photos::

Miss Aven

and little Easton ♥

creepy cupcakes & apple baking

Tomorrow, we are having over friends and family 

for pumpkin carving contests. 

But what's a good party without some fall baking and creepy cupcakes? 

i love the one with buckteeth, ha

i also made some apple spiced bread. yes, i already took a bite :)

and an apple pie from scratch... I'm not sure if it will make it to

 tomorrow though, so don't get your hopes up!