Valentine's Day

Well hello, and happy Valentine's day! : )

If your Facebook/Instagram feed is anything like mine, you have probably seen 100+ pictures of flowers, chocolates, purses....you name it. Pictures of those things paired with sentences like, "My husband made me a homemade Valentine's Day dinner with an "I love you" cake and hearts and xoxoxo cupcakes! He never ceases to impress me!" have been keeping my cheeks hurting from giggling today. {I didn't make that sentence up by the way, it's straight from my Facebook.}

Don't get me wrong...Garrett and I got eachother a couple of things and said, "Happy Valentine's day!" several times, but something this year was different. I didn't feel the need to blast to the social media world every single gift I was given and go on and on about how lucky I am that he is my man and blah blah blah.

Again, don't get me wrong, I know without a doubt that I am the luckiest girl alive, but who am I trying to prove that to? Why post pictures of the gifts I was given and say how lucky in love I am? Why brag and be sure everyone knows that I wasn't left out Valentine's day? It seems unreal and cheap. Garrett knows how in love we are, so do our friends and families. That's all that matters. 

It felt weird not to share pictures of the gifts we gave eachother because I truly am excited about them and feel lucky to have a husband who wants me to have nice things. But, again, Garrett knows that. Who cares if my old roommate's sorority sister's cousin's girlfriend knows? Ok, that was extreme, but you get the point. 

I guess what I am trying to say while on my soapbox is this: I think that if you love someone and they love you and you have this great relationship, everyone who is important already knows about it. It seems to me that the one's who consistently talk about how in love they are on Facebook are the one's out to prove how great their relationship is when it actually isn't. They want people to think, "Well he bought her flowers, chocolate, AND a stuffed bunny rabbit? He must really love her!" Love should be celebrated year round, not just on the one day out of the year when you are told by corporate America that you should go out and buy your honey something. It's not as special that way. If you are lucky enough to have someone by your side in your life, then show them everyday that you love them and that they are special. Prove to them you love them, not everyone else.

I swear I am not anti-Valentine's Day at all. Even though this post makes me seem like a liar. I just couldn't believe how full my Facebook feed was today of "look at me! He got me this!" posts. I get that not everyone share's pictures of their gifts in order to get attention, but it just seemed that way. It was comical but also a little sad. It made me not want to post a single picture of anything Valentine's related....and we both know that's not me! : ) It felt like all of these people were more excited about their balloons and roses than they were about the actual relationship, if there even is one.

Now that I got that out of my system, I really do hope you each had a special Valentine's day with your babe and that you remember to show them your love year round! A great relationship isn't based on giving eachother chocolates one day out of the year, it's about being there for eachother every single day with little surprises thrown in along the way! 

Alright. Done. Now for the important stuff: Don't forget...Valentine's Day candy will be on sale tomorrow!! : )

Christmas in Denver (Part 2)

Oh hey!

Yeah. Still talking about Christmas over here.

Christmas morning we woke up, set everyone's stocking's out and got busy getting lunch ready. I don't know about y'all, but Thanksgiving and Christmas day are the two days out of the year where we eat good. Turkey, ham, dressing, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, rolls, and for mom...cranberry sauce! : )

I couldn't wait to open my stocking, so in the middle of getting lunch ready we opened them. Stockings are the best! There's just something about sticking your hand in a huge sock not knowing what you will pull out. It's the mystery I tell ya!

*Disclaimer: Yes, I realize that these pictures are cheesy and that most of you probably don't care to see a billion pictures of us opening gifts/stockings/eating Christmas lunch...but my 80 year old self will and that's what this is all about! 

After everyone's stockings were empty there was one big gift covered with my Taylor Swift blanket left. It was the one I had been dying to see too. 

Y'all...Garrett made this for me!

Oh. My. Goodness. It has my SIGNED shirt in it that I wore when I met her, our ticket stubs, my Club Red bracelet, signed album covers, the Red Tour book, my Club Red pass, the note Garrett wrote me last Christmas telling me I was going to her concert in Denver VIP style, and confetti that fell from the sky during the last song of the concert. He saved some! 

I couldn't quit looking at it.

Then I saw what the caption said. 

My favorite all time song by Taylor is called "Long Live" and it starts out saying "I said remember this moment, in the back of my mind...". The caption he had put on there says:

"Remember This Moment"

Taylor Swift The Red Tour

2013

How perfect is that? I was bent over looking at it, getting all teary eyed, trying to talk myself out of crying in front of everyone, but I couldn't do it. I cried, and inside I wanted to cry harder, but I kept it in check. It's PERFECT!

And then it was lunch time! 

That night we went to Blossoms of Light at the Denver Botanic Gardens. It was COLD but so pretty!

My family left the next morning and I was NOT ready for them to go! It's just so much more fun when everyone is together. Especially when one of them has an adorable baby belly. I hate missing out on my sister's stomach growing and all the things that come along with it. I almost wanted to get in the car and go with them.

The next day Garrett and I both had to work and his family got in that night. It was a nice feeling knowing that we had more family in town for the weekend. We had a great time with them as well and didn't want them to leave either. I hate saying goodbye to family!

Our Christmas this year was wonderful and we can't wait to spend time with our families again soon! Maybe one of these days we will be talked to moving back to Texas.

Christmas in Denver (Part 1)

Yeah, it's past New Year's Day and I am just now writing about Christmas. I'm late. 

But, like they say, late is better than never!

Christmas was GREAT this year. Garrett and I got lucky and had both families visit us in Denver since we were not able to go home. My family was here for 4 nights that went by incredibly too fast. 

The night they arrived we had homemade chili for dinner and sat around visiting for a couple of hours. I was so excited to see them and especially to see how much my sister's baby bump had grown!

The next day we messed around in the Cherry Creek area, one of my favorites, before I had to go to a stupid doctor's appointment. More on that later. That evening we had dinner at Cherry Cricket, one of mine and Garrett's favorite places to eat in Denver. They have the best burgers and fried mac & cheese! Tip: try peanut butter on your burger next time, it is SO good! : )

The next day was Christmas Eve! The girls spent the day shopping at the outlets while the boy's went to Cabella's and a liquor store. Does that sound typical or what? We all had lunch together and us girls went to do a little more shopping while they headed home. 

When we got home, they were playing Cards Against Humanity. 

My dad won.

Everyone but me was ready to open presents, especially Garrett, and they ended up talking me into opening them that night. I like to save presents as long as possible, because that's the best part! 

That night we cooked the pies, and the breads for the dressing, for Christmas lunch. We also watched Home Alone. That movie never gets old!

After my family went to their hotel, Garrett hooked up his new PS3 and I cooked another pie. We were exhausted but too excited about our new gifts, and about getting Christmas lunch ready, to sleep. Putting that turkey in the oven at 7:30am the next morning was rough.

New Year's Resolution

I'm not usually the type to make resolutions for the New Year. In fact, I think I have only ever made them one time. I posted them onto my blog and then never looked at that post again. 

Typical me.

But this year, or new year I should say, feels different. Something from deep inside is screaming at me..."CHANGE!". 

2013 wasn't the easiest year for me, and honestly, I don't really know why. If I could put my finger on it, I would guess it was all about my attitude. 2013 brought me many more blessings than it did hardships, and I know that there will be years that are much more difficult in the future.  Nonetheless, 2013 has been filed in my head as a difficult year.

I want 2014 to be different. I want to be different.

That voice inside that is screaming "CHANGE" is finally loud enough and I want to listen to it. I'm not sure what all change will mean for me. I'm not predicting that I will become a nun and move to Africa or anything. {Do nuns even live in Africa?} I just want to be a happier, healthier person. I want to be interesting, to myself. I want to try new things and be adventurous this year. 

I want to live for myself.

I haven't decided yet if I want to sit down and do a classic "this is what I want to change/do" list, or if I just want to live my life with the theme of being adventurous, happy, healthy, and living for myself. I'm such a list person, but as of right now I don't even know what I would put on it, I just know I want to be different.

Do you make New Year's Resolution's?  If so, do you write out a list or just come up with a "theme"?

On a different note: I hope you all had a great Christmas, I can't wait to catch up on your posts! I'll be writing mine as soon as I get all of my pictures together. We had a great time with family that went by way too fast!

A Weekend of Firsts

As many of you already know, I am a sucker for anything holiday related. Since this weekend was full of holiday related goodness, it went down as a good weekend in my book. And, as the title implies, it was a weekend full of firsts for me and Garrett.

Saturday evening we went to Fright Fest at Elitch Gardens. This was my first time to experience a theme park while it was Halloween themed. I loved it! There were decorations, performances, people in costume chasing people around the park, a seance, and two haunted houses. 

Garrett and I have been together for 8 years and this weekend was our first time to ride a roller coaster together. He's a roller coaster junkie, whereas I'll ride them if someone wants me to, but I don't get too excited about them. This one was fun though, twists and turns and upside down. Oh, and it was the kind where your feet dangle, I love those!

We also went to a seance performance and two haunted houses. This was my first time to go to a real haunted house. I LOVED it. I'm definitely addicted. I'm already ready to go to another, more intense, one. I thought I would be clingy and make Garrett go first but it was the opposite, I wanted to lead the way and not miss out on any scares. 

Sunday we carved our first pumpkin. I was better at it than I thought I would be! I don't think I could ever do anything fancy, but it atleast resembled a face when we were done! Just having it lit up in our apartment feels so festive and makes me happy.

This coming weekend I am going to Austin for my sister's gender reveal party. I am SO excited to find out if that sweet baby is a boy or a girl. I'm also just excited to see my family, I can't wait. 

Now if this week will just hurry up!