Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

 Well, Christmas is over and we have finally taken down all of our Christmas decorations.

 So to fill the void of the Holiday season being over, I am finally doing a post on our Christmas tree :)

Joel and I went to get our Christmas tree a couple days after Thanksgiving this year. 

The weather was absolutely beautiful, but it was very muddy due to all the rain!!

It took us quite a while to find the perfect tree, as I was being pretty pick--and not in the way you would think; 

I was looking for an ugly tree! 

My family always got a big noble with large gaps when I was growing up, 

and I'm very nostalgic so that is the type of tree that I like.

 We finally found one that was to my standards, and of course there were several dead branches on the bottom that 

we had to saw off, and then it ended up being a lot so our tree was a little bare on one side!  

 A selfie with me and the most patient man in the world. We ended up using this picture for our Christmas card.

 It read "Have your Selfie a Merry Little Christmas". Even though Joel get's annoyed with taking selfies, 

he actually picked out the design, which was great, because it was one of my top choices :) 

I always like to do before & after pictures with our tree. Notice the big bare spot in the back?

 I insisted on putting the lights on myself this year so that I could have more lights. Joel usually just ropes them around the tree, but I wanted them wrapped around every branch...which led to me running out of lights a little over half way up the tree,

 and then having to go on a wild goose chase to a few different targets to find enough to finish.

 The finished product. I love decorating the tree. Most of the ornaments have memories or meanings attached to them. 

Each year we make additions to the collection.

 Joel ordered this custom cardinal ornament with our names on it and gave it to me as an early anniversary present.

 Red birds were a part of our wedding theme and decor, so they always have a special place in my heart.

 My aunt & uncle gave us this lion as a gift this year. My aunt picked it out because I painted a lion's head in high school that my mom framed and hung up. I like to think of this lion as "Aslan" from the Narnia series, guarding our tree.

 Of course I had to get this hippo ornament I came across while Christmas shopping at Crate & Barrel, for obvious reasons.

This is the ornament that Joel & I picked out together to represent our year.

We picked a house, because 2015 was the year we bought our first home!

 Oh sparkly, glass ornaments, you are so pretty, but you take soo long to put away!

And just like that...Christmas is gone.

Fortunately, since we had a three day weekend, we were able to get out and purchase some more items for our home,

 and find some new ways to organize what we already have!

Next step: get those wires covered up & fill the shelves...

Of course I have to be honest...we still have a Christmas tree up in our bedroom that I need to take down!

I am feeling excited for what this new year has to hold!

Celebrating Our 4 Year Anniversary

Joel & I celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary this past December.
To celebrate, we tried out a new restaurant in downtown Salem, called "Davinci's Ristorante".
I was a little nervous because we had never been before,
 and Salem isn't exactly a mecca of fine dining, but I was very pleased with our choice!

I stole this pick from someone else, but isn't this bar gorgeous? We had a reservation, but we arrived a little early, so we had a drink at the bar before being seated. There was a live pianist playing Christmas music, pretty chandeliers, and candlelight .

 It was a very cozy and romantic atmosphere.

We were seated upstairs. This was my partial view from our table. 

"It's a Wonderful Life" was playing silently on a large sheet next to us. 

I was too embarrassed to ask someone to take a picture of us & to use my flash, so these aren't the best pictures, but you can see the pretty lighting in the background! We were served complimentary flat bread with olive oil. 

Joel had a steak, and I had the lobster risotto. Both were delicious!

To finish the night, we shared a creme brulee. It was actually the first time I've ever had it! Oh my goodness it was divine! This is kind of a silly comparison, but, you know how Disneyland smells? Like baking sugar, waffle cones & all things wonderful? 

Well this creme brulee tasted like Disneyland :)

After a attending a couple of Christmas parties, we got away to the coast for a couple of nights to relax and celebrate our anniversary more. It was quite stormy, but we still walked every where from our hotel. We just bundled up in our rain coats :)

We watched Christmas movies, ate some good food, walked down the board walk, did some last minute Christmas shopping and relaxed. Oh, and Joel gave me an early Christmas present to snuggle with! A lovely "doe" blanket from Nordstrom. I was so surprised! It is so soft, I love it.

I think this makes up for doing pretty much nothing to celebrate last year!

Oh how I love him :) It's been a great 4 years!

Happy New Year Soiree 2016!

Sorry I have been MIA on here for the month! I'm back, and one of my New Year's Resolutions is to catch up on the blogging that I would like to do!
We hosted a little New Year's Eve Soiree this year with some of my family members. It was just a quiet evening with food, football, and laughter. I took advantage of this time to decorate :)

Bar cart & table setting finds are a conglomerate from Target, Tjmaxx, Homegoods, Ross Dress for Less, and World Market.

 

We had a lot of yummy food!

My brother & sister-in-law came & brought my adorable nephew...I left out the picture where he was purposely picking his nose ;) The little booger!

I adore him! He's so cute & smart!

The football squad...all sitting with their arms the same!

The ladies table...

My mom & I love any excuse to wear sequins!

 I think I get my night owl tendencies from my Grandma...

The beloved family dog...in her favorite spot in front of the fireplace...utterly confused as to why she is in a strange house, and why we're all up so late, and probably sad because she can't have any of the goodies she is smelling.

Crazy picture with the dog butt...we went outside the front door and blew our noise makers and yelled happy new year to annoy our neighbors that we haven't met yet, haha.

It was a lovely evening! Ready or not 2016, here you are.

Happy New Year!