TWO THOUSAND TWELVE

brandon and i talked it over and we've decided that 2012 was one of our best yet. 2012 has been straight up bliss. 

every year  like to choose a focus for the year. in 2010, the year we were finally able to conceive, i chose creation. last year, it was finding beauty. this year i think i'd like to work on being more mindful. 

for christmas i put together a book of all our favorite photographs from the year for us and both sets of grandparents. as i flipped through our copy on christmas day, i was struck by how great life is. it really is a pretty snazzy life we got. we're lucky to have it.

cheers to us, friends.

a few of my favorite photos from 2012 after the jump. 

I WANT TO WASH MY HANDS, MY FACE, MY HAIR WITH SNOW

we took advantage of the fresh utah powder that's been falling nonstop and found ourselves a cute little sledding hill this afternoon with brandon's sister and her family.

don't let my expression fool you, this hill was tiny! obviously sledding's not really my sport.

turns out i'm much happier taking pictures of the snow than falling down the snow.

it sure is fun being back in the place where brandon and i first fell in love.
look out provo, we're going to come and smooch our way through all our old haunts soon!

LIVE, FROM THE IN-LAWS!

we flew out of jfk late christmas day to spend new years with brandon's family in salt lake city. since we arrived, the sky has done nothing but empty itself all on top of us. it's beautiful and quiet and serene. we've stayed indoors mostly and i am happy to report that cabin fever strikes equally in plus-4000 square feet, just the same as it does in minus-800. cabin fever is the great equalizer. 

i popped through the house today and snapped a few photos when huck was busy with a cookie. enjoy the snow!

p.s. a quick shot from christmas morning that i've been loving:

A HAPPY PRE-CHRISTMAS WEEKEND!

@1brokegirl // @lilsunpacker

our last weekend before christmas! and a quick note of thanks to everyone who's been sharing their trees with me this year through instagram. i hope you know what it's meant to me. it's been so lovely and moving to see all your trees! and at night when i'd browse through the hashtags, i'd often get a little lump in my throat. i feel so honored to have been included in all your lives this christmas season. thank you so much for sharing! and thank you for reading, and thank you for commenting... and for emailing and leaving sweet notes to me on twitter... sometimes i get all confused about blogging. honestly, what am i doing. but i think, in the end, the most important thing is that we're making connections and sharing what makes each of our lives special. and building each other up. i hope so, anyway.  (woah, way to derail from christmas trees natalie?)

as always, a few on the front, a ton after the jump.

@clarkmendrix // @aruffledlife

 @beckyrutis // @simplehands

 @ashleycopier // @ashmaddox

 @lilsunpacker // @lilsunpacker

 @amieglauser // @lilsunpacker

MEET ME AT THE CHRISTMAS SHOPS

heyyyyy christmas shops! i look forward to these christmas shops all year long. they are so much fun to poke through. it's becoming quite the comfortable little christmas tradition to stop by with brandon one evening and split up and try not to bump into each other while buying christmas presents for each other. like a tactical mission. mostly we end up with silly tchotchkes for each other and that's sort of the fun of it, too.

there are holiday shops at columbus circle, at union square, at bryant park, all over the city. we love stopping by whichever one is closest at the moment for a quick lunch. sometimes it's freezing and we get hot apple cider. come on what could be wrong with that! we like to buy a little from here and a little from there, then share it picnic style while we freeze our bums off. we stopped by the other day after brandon was sworn in to the bar, so he got the added bonus of freezing picnicking in a suit. spiffy!

it's my goal this year taste every last thing there before the shops pack up for another year. huck recommends pretzels from sigmunds. take his advice and get the salted, oh golly.

christmas time, you are my favorite!

CHRISTMAS CARD PHOTOS!

kaitlyn came by a few weeks ago to assist us in some christmas photos, and kaitlyn is my favorite. it was a fun time.

i love getting peeks of everyone's outtakes from their christmas card photos on their blogs, and well. here's ours. 

there's the winner.

kaitlyn, i kiss your face!

p.s.

kaitlyn also did these and these and this video project 

she's rad and you should book her. the end.