'Tis The Season:)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Matt and I had such an amazing week. Sorry this post is so long, but I just had so much I wanted to share! Early last week Matt and I went to Roseville to give some family the Christmas baskets we put together. On our way home we went to look at some houses that had light displays set to music. There were entire neighborhoods that were decorated. It was so much fun:) I took a couple pics of my favorites.

On Wednesday night Matt, Mona, Katie and I went to see The Nutcracker in downtown Sacramento. I had never seen it. Matt's dad got us all tickets as a Christmas present and I have to say it was one of the best gifts ever! We were so close I felt like I was part of it! If you have never seen The Nutcracker you should make sure to see it next Christmas. It was absolutely magical. I loved every bit of it. It made me want to live in Christmas forever!

Here we are at the play. I know, I know my head looks enormous lol.

Mona got me a nutcracker ornament to always remember my first time experiencing the magic:) Wasn't that so thoughtful?

Because we spent Thanksgiving with Matt's parents, we spent Christmas Eve with them and Christmas day with my parents. We had such a wonderful Christmas Eve. We played games and had AMAZING enchiladas!

This is the awesome vintage sewing basket Mona gave me for Christmas! Isn't it so pretty? I love it so much. I needed one so bad and this one is so pretty.

The absolute most thoughtful and wonderful gift I received this year was this amazing painting from Danny, my brother-in-law. I don't know if I've ever been so surprised when opening a gift in my life. It's so gorgeous and is the most perfect gift. It's just this amazing piece of original artwork hanging in the perfect spot in our apartment and I know it will always make me feel so special when I look at it:) By the way, I had zero idea Danny was an artist. Imagine my surprise!

This beautiful tin has a homemade candle inside. I love it. It was from Katie:)

Here's some more wonderful gifts. (I felt like a giddy little kid this Christmas with all these goodies to open!) Fluffy socks, knitting markers and an awesome tape measure! My beautiful cousin Sasha got me this gorgeous locket! It was the weirdest thing because I just told Matt how I really wanted a pretty locket that was round instead of heart-shaped for Valentine's Day! Now he is off the hook cause I already have one!

We got so many new books!! Hooray!

We had a great Christmas with my family as well! I was so happy to be home. It had been like 6 weeks since I had been to my parent's house! My mom still treats Christmas morning like we're little kids:)

This is my baby bro and his beautiful girlfriend, Amy:) Aren't they adorable?

Dad and Mom!!!

This is my grandma:) Isn't she elegant? I hope I look as great as her when I'm 76!

My mom and dad got us this much much much needed bookcase! It is so nice to not have random stacks of books in every corner:) Gotta love IKEA!

My mom and dad also got Matt some things he wanted like a juicer, kitchen sheers etc, and they got me a new hair straightener and vanity light and some other things we needed. This was the year of practical gifts from both sides, which I love because there's nothing like getting something you've been really in need of.

We also got this bathroom shelf from IKEA. I thought it looked totally retro and I love having the extra storage.

Amy and Jordan gave us this card with our gift of enormous delicious smelling candles (always a must-have when you live with Matt;) ). Anyways, this sweet little guy looks EXACTLY like Oliver!!! It was my favorite Christmas card ever!

Oliver got a bunch of little gifts from family too! He's already lost some of them but here he is playing with a few. My mom got him this little wand with a glittery feathered ball thingy hanging on a string and I swear it has not left his side since! He broke the ball off of the string and he carries it with him everywhere. He sleeps with it and everything! It cracks us up:)

My sweet 82 year old great Aunt Melba gave me this blanket. It was my great grandmother's (her mom) and she wanted me to have it because I love yellow:) I am so excited about it. It looks so pretty on our bed and it's just the sweetest family heirloom ever. I love it.

This WAS of my Aunt Bev (we all call her Granny, long story) and my Aunt Brenda, but my Aunt Brenda asked me to take it down because she didn't like it of her so now it's just the basket she's holding lol. They are my Mom's sisters. I didn't even think to take a picture of our Christmas baskets we gave out, but Aunt Brenda is holding her's here:) Matt made peppermint bark and the most delicious pickles and I made dishcloths and strawberry jam. We couldn't really afford to do extravagant gifts for everyone, but we thought homemade goodies were fun no matter who you are!

After dinner and gift opening at my parent's we went to Granny's and had dessert and played board games. It was such a good time. We played the most fun game ever called Pass the Popcorn. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for some good laughs:) Of course, my movie buff hubby won. We also played Apples to Apples, which was even more hilarious. All in all it was the perfect end to a perfect Christmas. What if Jesus would have never been born? I'm so thankful that He was and that He has blessed me with such a wonderful family and wonderful life:)

On the 27th I turned 25... The night before we met my friends out in my hometown, Gridley. We all get together pretty often throughout the year, but we make it a point to see each other during the holidays every year. It's so weird how old we are all getting. We had sooo much fun:) I love my Gridley High Class of 2003 friends!

I'm the blonde one... lol;)

On the day of my birthday Matt and I went and picked up our baby cat at his Grandma and Grandpa's (Matt's parents haha) and then came home and relaxed. It was perfect. Obviously no birthday is complete without a piece of yummy chocolate cake and your favorite chocolate gelato from your honey:)