DIVINE

These are my new-all-time-forever-and-always favorite holiday treat.

They are so simple it's not even funny.

I highly recommend you give em' a go. You will not be disappointed = )

Ps.
If Tay & I made Christmas cards,

this would be the picture for them,

 

  

Ha.

Just kidding, but I thought it was a good one.
Supposedly we're bad photogs.

It says, "Merry Christmas from Florida. A Breezy 85 and humid."

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. not.

MerryHappyChristmas everyone!

Happy Holidays!

Some people are so outdoorsy they cut down their Christmas Tree.

We're so outdoorsy,

We make our Christmas Tree.

My husband's an artist.



He made the trunk tall to fit all of our presents underneath.
He.plans.ahead.

Can you find the "I <3 J"?

He even carved my name in the trunk ; )

Don't worry, I traced the ornaments with a tomato sauce can.

And cut out the star.
Hand-drawn. bigwhoop.
I.am.helpful.



MerryHappyChristmasTime.

TRADITIONS

My family has a tradition...of creating a new tradition every year...which in and of itself doesn't make sense. But what do you do?




I made one this year,

I think I'll keep it.


Enter "Gratitude" wall.

Everyday Tay and I posted something up that we were grateful for.  It was a life-changer.



I want to keep it up year-round.
It's our HOL-I-DAY wall!

Everything from trees, the Atonement, scriptures, time, indoor plumbing, and Texas are on our wall.
I LOVE Grat-i-TUDE

HAPPY THANKSgiving

We hosted this year.

Check out our practically, award-winning turkey!
It was delic.

Enter Thanksgiving memories via Picture mania:

 **Pre-bake, post-brine

 Yano, just get the "rub-down"

Boo's mad oven skills.

Perfect color, if we do say so ourselves = )

Note our joy!

And my Julia-Child wannabe pearls and apron in the kitch. big whoop.

Taylor can carrrrrrve a turkey.

Focus. Perfection.

I wish I got a picture of the finished product, but alas, I did not. It was finished with a beautiful arrangement of turkey legs, sage, and rosemary sprigs. We're chefs.

No big.
It was delic.

We LOVED Thanksgiving.

Thank you, Alton Brown recipe with 3468 reviews. They all knew.

Around 2 a few of our friends came over with the WORKS (spinach dip, mashed potatoes, green bean cass, etc.) and we had a FEAST.

Post feast rally of SCATTEGORIES and pumpkin brownie/cookie chow down.

Did I mention we love COO WHIP?

Taylor's a Catch

Last weekend I came home to the following,

 ***You probably can't tell, but that says "I LOVE YOU," in leaf = )

And THEN, after my tough day at work, I got surprised with tickets to Twilight. That's right. He won me right then, off to our date!

Happy Fall!

I love this time of year~

Pumpkin Brownies

First off, let me just admit something: i HATE pie. just. hate.it. ... I don't mind the fillings most times, but man o' man.

Pie crust, I loathe you.

So, I make pumpkin brownies. Which are practically the greatest thing every invented.

Please indulge. As we have several times over,

** I nilch the nuts, but that's just me

Thank you. allrecipes.com

A Much Needed Date Night

Last week I worked 6 days in a row. I know that's really nothing to you ballers out there, but I was pooped.
So, much to my surprise, Friday was still date night (even though I had to work Saturday morning).

Here's to a fabulous date from my boo, he's a catch!


I found this fabb note, wrapped with my scarf all ready to go! ( I LOVE fall weather)

Ch-check it out!

The blues were pretty great! There was quite a crowd at Bo-Diddly, mainly because that's where the local "Occupy Gainesville" ...is residing.  There was this cute old man jamming out in his camping chair. Oh, he was having a blast!

Anyhoo, we didn't stay too long, but got a quick pic to remember the event!

This is the Hippodrome Theater downtown; it plays all the arts-y films/plays. ...future date nights. yes.






Happy FALL!

An Ode to my Momma

Dear Mom,

The other day I wore a button-up shirt. And then I remembered when I was 5 and HATED wearing those, especially when you made me tuck it in.  And then I realized present time, how much cuter tucking in a button-uo makes you look.

And then I put my hair behind my ears and thought, "Why am I not throwing a tantrum?...and I surely miss my mother."


Remember when I was 6 and we had those "Etiquette Nights" and when I thought I had graduated you took me to that uber-fancy fish restaurant in the Bay Area...and then I threw the red beet across the table and it landed on the white linen table cloth.  I distinctly recall having the thought. "I don't like beets. This can't be on my plate. It's touching my lettuce." And then I flung it away...ohh you were not so very happy with me.

Well to make it up, I have begun holding "etiquette nights" on Sundays. I place all my silverware on the proper sides, tuck the knife blade under the plate, make sure the glass is placed appropriately...and while thinking this all looks lop-sided I can't stand it... I lay it all out and we enjoy having a veryyyy classy-yet-casual meal together.


I attached photos for proof of my progress. I hope you enjoy = )

*friends. ...and pinkies.

FFHE

Tay and I have created this "tradition" that every Sunday we hold FFHE.

That's right. If you didn't know that stands for  

Family Financial Home Evenings.


Oh, how I love them.

Seriously. I think every couple should have them consistently. They are a life saver.

FFHE for us usually means a budget plan, a break down of our most recent income, and bill planning. 

I think one of the best highlights is touching base with one another, trying to determine if there are any necessities that need to be budgeted for.. i.e. school books, doctor's apts, work clothes, etc.

Our most recent "big picture plan" is trying to avoid excessive debt---while accumulating educational debt, which we see as a necessity.  

An interesting dichotomy.   

It has been an EXTREMELY rewarding experience to sit down together and analyze everything, knowing we're both on the same page. 

Initially, I think I took on the responsibility of writing all the checks for bills and maintaining balance between accounts, but it is nearly impossible to do solo.  

And just not effective.  COUPLES should really manage together. duh j. I don't know what I was thinking, Tay's the one with the accounting degree = )

Anyway, the whole point of this was to inform everyone how much I sincerely love FFHE. my husband. and budgets.

Note to all you solo family budget-ers. do it as a fam!


Here is the link  for our

BUDGET

sheet.

HAPPYnewHAIRday.

I have been waiting like a million and one years for a new haircut.

Can I say it is the hardest thing ever finding a new stylist? bane of my existence.
let.me.tell.something.to.you.

But, I was supper uber happy when we put it into the family budget and WALLL-LA!

new, beautiful, wonderful hair done by my indian new gal-pal hairstylist Veena. iloveher.

p.s. it may not look like much, but i was not about to post a BEFORE picture if yano what i mean. mmkay.

On Awkward Family Photos

The other night over dinner I was talking to Tay about our upcoming Christmas vacay,

And how I am oh.so.very.much.enthused.! about the whole ordeal.
And then I asked about family photos, yano.
Because I think the last time his family took a "fam photo" 

..was a few-weddings-and-a-couple-a-babies-ago.

SO much to our excitement, we decided to plot out poses for the best fam photo shot. yano. the winner.

..of most awkward family photo.

Tay thought he could lay on his stomach with this head propped on his hands...and then i thought i could squat over him...and then he thought it would seem like i was birthing him...and then we thought that was prolly good enough.

So of course we then proceeded to indulge in 10 minutes of much needed, AWKWARD FAMILY PHOTO joy.

Here were some of MY favs:

BUT THIS ONE took the cake.

(i enclosed the caption because it was just too good to leave out)

“So, I had just given birth to my first son at a local birthing center and there had been another couple that had given birth just before me there as well. The midwife told us that the couple in the other room wanted to come over to say congratulations and introduce us to their child as well.  Little did I know that they would come into my room with no pants on. Even better, they both had NO UNDERWEAR ON. And from my vantage point, I could see everything. It was disturbingly awkward to say the least. I have no idea why my husband had his shirt off, but I assure you, he had his pants on. To this day I still have no idea why they were both naked from the waist down. Even more importantly, why was HE?”
(submitted by Jillian)

thank you awkwardfamilyphoto.com




...future inspiration. we.think.so.

On Holiday Spiritttts

This year was the first year in 19...that I have not gone trick-or-treating. or even fed a trick-or-treater. if this is what it means to be an adult... TAKE.it.BACK.

So this entire month has been a blurr, note lack of blog posts.  My family is huge on holidays and always does super stellar activities, but tay and i are so busy and ..poor. ha. we just can't indulge. but man, we have had a pretty rad time.


this past weekend we attended a halloween party.. that was completely off the charts awesome. i thought arriving (after having worked all day) in jeans and cat ears would suffice... but that was not up to par with the other guests.

next year, tay and i might need to up our cat-n-mouse- ear idea. what do you do?

Anyway, the whole party was just 3 young married couples having a blast.. and can I say, Tay and I are quite the team. we won the mummy-fying contest. that's right. prroooof below. we wrapped the leftie.

perfectionists? ha.


other than a small party... there have been no celebrations, but can we say, when we have money and some babies and some time.. and no school... maybe we'll celebrate a lil' more.
but ohhhmann. I made some dellliccc-pumpkin cookies if I do say so myself.

That's right. merryhappyhalloween to us. we love pumpkin cookies. who knew?

merrry happyhalloween!

Temple Times

we love going to the temple.
it seriously is the greatest therapy ever. 

like a bajillionmajillion times better than retail therapy.


Anyhoo.
Taylor and I have been really blessed to have attended the temple every month since we've been married. I think it has been an IMMENSE strength to our marriage.

Our first month here we decided to take a trip to Orlando to visit...only to find it closed. 

Saturdays are no-gos for Floridian temple abiding people. I guess they close early :/

not fun when you just spent the past 1 1/2 hrs in a car looking forward to it.


So I took pictures from outside the gate: 

..If you can't tell, there was a GINORMOUS tree obstructing my view.

In all honesty, it is a stunning structure. It truly is.

But fancy our luck, we somehow called the temple (while sitting outside our gate) to check the hours, 

lo and behold! 

the security man answered and offered to come down and personally open the gates for us.. 

what a sweetheart. He even turned on the fountain lights!

..and took a picture of us ! ha. we lovehim.

happythankyoumoreplease. temple attendance.

my new obsession.

introduce mochi froyo.

everyday for the rest of my life, i want to eat here.

If you come visit. I will take you here.

And if you come again, we'll go again.

I seriously contemplate being fake sick many a day, just to indulge on some sick mochi froyo joy.
its redic.

9.4.10

 

 

 

And one year later...

 

 

 9.4.11

(so basically my camera went on the fritz and didn't have a battery charger for a while...so these grainy pics are courtesy of my hi-tech laptop. )
thankyou.

We did our first anniversary. p.e.r.f.e.c.t.
We made dinner together.
We ate via candlight.
And we reminisced our first year.

Could it be better? Not. so.
Happythankyoumoreplease.

the art of apologies.

I have always been terrible at apologies.....so my family has forever told me.  I don't think I have ever intended to be a "poor apologizer," but for some reason, that is a lesson I never fully passed.  I either had poor timing, bad intonation, or just simply didn't say sorry. 

**Please don't think I never say sorry.  That is incorrect. I just happen to stink at it most times.

Things I have gradually realized (and the September Ensign has taught):

.tone matters

.timing matters

.sometimes apologizing even if your aren't the one totally at fault is necessary

(which usually it is my fault anyway--let's be honest)

.be honest

.provide explanation. simply saying "sorry" is insufficient.  explain as follow :

 "i am sorry i _______. that was unkind and i will be better.

In marriage, I am slowly and surely learning that art of apologizing. And I am forever grateful for that principle.  (It's super easy when you have a stellar husband who is patient and kind.)

Apologizing is a lifetime art.  i.e., I don't just use it in marriage. But, as of late, I seem to be using it a lot of places. 

**Personal note. I happen to be writing this in my family blog because as a person who has struggled with I'm sure needless moments of angst and frustration--I realize many a moment could have been avoided if I simply learned how to say, "I am sorry."

So, babies-to-be-in the future, your momma will teach you at a young age the importance of the value of apologizing.  I'm sure we'll have our ups-and-downs, but that is one lesson you will not miss and I will equally learn to implement.period.

my favorite movie. period.

"I love you every minute. 

I love you more than band music and cookie-making. "

i LOVE the other sister.

And we're not talking just like, "oh yah. i love it." 

--i mean fully, completely, whole-heartedly LOVE that movie.

Dear Taylor Richard Dalby,

(my knowledge acquired over 12 months of marriage)

**Disclaimer: This post is mostly for my boo. And for my future babies,

(that for those of you who are intending to read this otherwise should realize we are not having as of now. Meaning as of right now I am not pregnant.  Which for some may be a disappoint, but it's still a super cute post, mmmkay?)

Regardless, nothing ridiculous/outrageous is below. I mean, c'mon? This is my family blog. But seriously. These were a few thoughts I had, as I recollected on my past year of one fabbb marriage to Taylor Dalby.

**************************************************************************

This morning I woke up and realized that I have been married a year.

I can’t believe all that we have done in this small period of eternity.

Do you remember when we got married and you moved to Washington to be with me?

And then a couple months later we moved to Idaho.

And then a couple months later we moved to Texas.

And then a couple months later we moved to Florida.

In 12 months of marriage I have lived in 4 states with you.

And I’d follow you to the other 46 if that’s where you’d be.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wonder why people put off marriage. 

I’m sure I could imagine what life would be like without you.

The only thing is I am positive I would hate it. 

Twenty years without you was enough, Taylor Richard Dalby.

I have an eternity to look forward to with you, and I don’t intend to waste a moment.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It is my perfect understanding that my hand was specifically made to fit into yours.

My hand has never been happier than when it is rightly positioned in your grasp.

I don’t know what we’ll do when we have babies and I’ll have to share hand-holding time.

(I guess that means we can only have two kids, one on either side of us.)

Just kidding.

But seriously, we’ll have to allot certain rules for hand-holding privileges.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remember that one time I forced you to share a nectarine with me because I didn’t want to finish one all by myself?

And then it practically killed you. Literally.

Who knew you were allergic?

After several doses of Benadryl and your face still swollen like Hitch, you slowly tried to fall asleep.

Did you know I was completely panicked and I spent the entire night checking to make sure you were still breathing?

In a completely non-creeper way,

I still check to see that you are still breathing at night sometimes.

In all instances, you have been.

Rest assured.

I don’t think I have ever been more worried about another person’s health. 

I think it might be a good thing for me to become an RN.

**Honey, I know it’s difficult to cut those onions in the kitchen.

Sometimes they are slippery and you get your fingers instead.

I really, really, do appreciate all of your help. 

I also appreciate all of your fingers in tact as well.

Thank you marriage for making me a complete basket-case, worry wart.  Honestly. Thank you.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remember how it took me 8 months to figure out that there is a manner in which toilet paper is properly placed on the holder?

And I think I only found out after some exasperated small tiff we had.

That’s rough. 

Here is an acknowledgment I would like to make known:

 Yes, I am the one who, for all of our marriage, did not know that there was a methodical way of toilet paper placement.  And thus, I am most certain I have improperly placed many a roll.

 However, I will have everyone know, I have always replaced an empty roll-methodically placed or not. I have never left a toilet paper holder empty.

That.is.just.cruel.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who knew that sharing is caring when it comes to a queen size bed?

I don’t think I was ever a “hog” of anything… but you take the blankets and I take most the bed.

I like our system.  It works.

…but what I really like is that I don’t have to worry about being afraid of the dark anymore.

You always let me crawl in first, which really means you also always get the light.

I love you for that.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Want to know something else?

You are such an example to me.

Did you know that my personal scripture-reading/journal-writing/prayer-giving statistic has nearly improved abajillion% since marrying you?

Thank you.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’ll also have you know the following:

I love that you smile and I only can see your top row of teeth.

*And I love that it is physically impossible for you to show me your bottom row.

I love that when we wake-up together you rush and make the bed before I can help.

I love that you always give me the comfiest pillows-AND the largest serving of lemon bars.

I love that you always tell me I am beautiful.

I love that when I am completely nonsensical and a wreck, you are logical and a rock.

I love that our non-celeb nickname is j&tay.

I love that I really LUV-UH you. And you LUV-UH me too.

I love that our example of a good time is PLANET EARTH and home popped corn.

I love that you value education as much as I do.

I love that when I say “I can’t,” you say I can. And mean it.

I love that you hand over your suit coat when they induce hypothermia at church.

I love that you give me the newest GPS (GiGi) because our older GPS (Nancy) went on the fritz and just confuses the heck out of me whenever I want to go anywhere.

I love that I have been married a year.

And I mostly love that I will have an eternity to discover an infinity more reasons

Of

 Why

 I

Love

 you,

 Taylor Richard Dalby.

First day of LAW SCHOOL.

In the DALBY home you take pictures on your first day of school... so here's Taylor's.

Ohhhhhhh
Back To School
Back To School



I just love it.
Don't you?



And here's mine:

 W.e. l.o.v.e. s.c.h.o.o.l.