Tuesday, December 31, 2013

2013 in review

dear 2013,
how are you almost over?
all i can say is that we loved you,
and can't believe how every year
just keeps getting better and better.
here's an attempt to recap you in one song:
and as for a little 2013 blog recap...
in january 
we rang in the new year by hosting a party 
with friends, enjoyed our winter break and
played in the snow at home, got all dressed up for 
the downton abbey premiere gala, then came back
to california and moved into a new apartment in 
the bay...we got settled and saw friends
explored more and more of san francisco, had
some fun date nights with friends and explored
half moon bay for martin luther king, jr. day.

in february 
we took a last-minute trip home
for the funeral of chase's sweet grandpa...
we then celebrated valentines day,
had a little trip to seattle, then we were
off to paris and rome!! we came home
to warm weather and fun with friends.

in march 
we went to a pro tennis 
tournamentcelebrated st. patty's day in 
style, and threw a party for our bff's birthday.
we had some fancy date nights and 
chase got into lots of law schools
{but has since decided against it.}
we saw the pretty new 
bay bridge lights
and celebrated easter
with friends who have
become family.

in april 
we made a tradition of 
temple + tacos, went on some fun
runs together, and spent a week
in laguna beach with my family.
husband's mom & grandma came in
town for a fun visit, and of course
we kept visiting the SF ferry building
 farmer's market..our fave. my friends
threw me the cutest birthday bbq
and then i turned 23!!

may 
got off to a great start, and
then we headed to miami beach for
the best vacation! we had some
fun weekends and then booked
lighthouse hostel on the coast
for memorial day weekend with
our best friends. we summed up
what we've learned about marriage
so far as we drew close to 
a year of being married!

on the first of june 
our one year wedding anniversary 
rolled around, and chase
planned the perfect celebration.
we finished year one of teach for america,
and summer began. i flew home to surprise
my dad for father's day, and threw one
of my best friend's a bridal shower.
chase got hired at GOOGLE, (!!!) and
i visited SLC solo while he got going.
chase came home and surprised me,
& we celebrated our friends ralph
and abby's wedding and soaked up
some boating and family time.

in july 
we made it back to the bay
just in time to throw a party for chase's
25th birthday with our friends, then
we were off to CHINA for the most
amazing trip ever before chase 
started his job at google.

in august we ran the
SF giants half marathon with our 
besties, and i made it to jackson
for the best trip of the year before
starting year 2 of teach for america.
we explored alameda island, and
hit our one year mark of living
in the bay!! husband went home
for one of his best friend's weddings,
and i finally got the prettiest 
wedding band. we enjoyed the
end of august with some nice
california days, and ended 
summer with some mini golf.
september 
brought a fun labor day
adventure touring all of the california
gold rush towns, and then my brother 
and sister in law came for the most fun
visit. we got invited to go on a 
travel show for the blog, and got to
invite two couple friends for an
amazing week in cannon beach, oregon.
my parents came to town for such
a fun visit...they toured google, we 
hiked muir woods, and we showed
them our favorite spots on the coast.
we also started to do our 
first features for the blog!
i ran the st. george marathon in 
october
with my whole family and got to spend
a gorgeous fall week in utah. we started
posting some travel tips and i got
obsessed with GIF's..hehe. we recapped
our fun visit to portland, and i threw a
baby shower for my cute friend tara. we
checked the half moon bay pumpkin festival
off our bucket list, and paid a little visit to
treasure island...& fell in love with that view!
we posted our bay area bucket list
and kept checking items off. 
we had a new york halloween
which ended october perfectly.

in november 
we had such a fun trip to
new york city..{that place is perfect in the fall} 
then a little miracle joined our family 
as our nephew. we had another visitor and
some perfect, warm SF weekends.
we celebrated thanksgiving with
chase's family in the mountains.

our december calendar was full
of festivities, dates, parties, and fun. we
had chase's holiday party for google,
explored jack london square, tried out
juicing, sent out our christmas cards,
took my TFA students on a field trip to
google, soaked up december in the bay
then headed home for a white christmas
with a special christmas eve and bright
christmas day. we just finished off
december right with the most
relaxing and nice ski weekend
in deer valley with my family,
and got some exciting news
we will share soon!


here's to an incredible year that
i can't believe we got to live.
can't WAIT for 2014.
xo

Monday, December 30, 2013

pre & post christmas

coming into town for christmas is the best thing,
but it sure is busy!! having both of our families + 
friends here, we've had lots of parties, gatherings 
and festivities before & after christmas. we came 
home to a white christmas, then went to chase's 
family neighborhood party, had my high school
friends brunch, and my extended family party 
thrown by my grandma...and that was just the 
first day of being in town! whenever we are
here we stay up late, wake up early,
and soak up every second we can 
with our favorite people. here is some 
of the fun we've had while in SLC.

see all of our fun over the holidays here:
our snowy welcome homechristmas eve with my
family, christmas day with chase's family, and
our little ski vacay to deer valley.

4 words: my mom's sweet rolls.

welcome home!


^^ my mom planned a fun day of pedicures and
afternoon tea at the grand for all the girls
before christmas. it was perfect!
afternoon tea..favorite.
^^ my cutest niece maddie mae at her
first pedicure with all the girls!

••
^^ welcome to grandma ginny's grand family party!
poulson girls-- love these cute cousins and aunts. ^^
^^ some of the guys
••

i love our annual brunch with high school
friends..skyline girls are the best!


the sign of a party!
••
over the break i also made my first french
macarons for christmas eve which turned out
delicious but took forever! labor of love.
 
••
home is always defined by
lots of hikes up neff's canyon..
plus sledding down!
we are pretty lucky that these two will
be grandparents to our kids someday.
we also made it on a hike above chase's
parents house...pretty view of the city!
can't forget the rope swing at the top of neff's!
thanks salt lake city for always feeling like home. 
we'll be sad when the break is over! 

not pictured:
lunch and breakfast dates with friends,
game night our closest couple pals,
movies, dinners, and lots of good times.
xo

Sunday, December 29, 2013

all of the lights

a visit to salt lake city is not complete
without seeing temple square, especially
with the famous lights during christmas time.
we went down with chase's family and took in 
all the pretty lights with everyone after 
a fun dinner out. we walked the grounds and tried to
count all the lights...one day i want them to do ALL the 
lights just white...it's my dream! it would be so pretty.
but, can't really complain-- they are gorgeous
either way. this little outing always reminds us
of the meaning of this whole season, the real light
in our lives. i love the gorgeous temple and all
that it symbolizes...and i love the symbolism of light!
i hope in 2014 i bring as much light as i can into the world.
cheesy, but i mean it.
xo
chase and his cute brother paris ^^
^^ pretty cute uncle if you ask me.
and that wraps up our time in SLC!

see all of our fun over the holidays here:
family, christmas day with chase's family, our
little ski vacay to deer valley, the way we

and...our recap of 2013 here.
xo