the Graham Cracker House

pre-feast sisters retreat

playing perudo with cousins.... oh wait. No we're actually just peeling potatoes in this picture

cheese!  A Christmas card in the making!

a fabulous foxtail shot- just had to add this.

moving day!

Bjorn and Dustin loading the U-haul

our (bare) new home!

the duckies have settled nicely into their new habitat

one of our three bedrooms

Bjorn's first breakfast in our new house (eating off a cooler because the table is full of junk)

happy home owners

Merry Christmas!

the semi-finished product

It's true. We're moving.  In exactly 5 hours from this blog post we (okay- Bjorn) will be setting foot inside a home of our own.  Saturday we officially have "possession" of the house, and Tuesday will be our big move day **shout out to anyone in Utah who wants to join the moving party Tuesday afternoon/evening!**

We found the perfect.... first time home.  I am told no home is perfect, and yes, this one does have faults, but for being our first home, it is perfect for us.  A bi-level house with 3 bedrooms, yard, garage, trees, garden,  and a white picket fence.  Need I say more?  I think the fence pretty much says it all.  Did I mention culdesac?  yes. Add that to the pros list. 

The house is in great condition, very livable, but there are still lots of opportunities for creativity and growth and making-it-nicer-ness.  I am tres excited for the variety of projects ahead of us, to get to decorate my own place, and to have room  to put all our stuff!  Neatly organized of course.  

Pictures to come! 

Confession:  we didn't really celebrate Halloween this year.  But give me some credit.  We don't have kids, we both work full time (scheduling conflicts prevented us from attending the ward trunk-r-treat), and we are getting ready to move and buy a house.... so, somehow carving pumpkins didn't get on the priority list this fall. It made me sad, honestly, this is probably the first year I haven't carved pumpkins since.... a long time.  But we resolved to do a go all out with celebrating next year. In a house. hopefully.

Our Holiday Happenings DID include a getaway in Park City to see the new Warren Miller film, hang out with friends, enjoy a nice hot tub, spend the night away from home, and get hyped for the ski season!  The movie was well done, I love how there is always at least some little part mentioning Utah.  We do have the greatest snow on earth here!

And in honor of Halloween we did see "Thriller" in October.   Okay, it wasn't so much to honor Halloween as it was to appease my 10 year desire to see the production.  I have been waiting, watching, wanting for years... Just hoping that someday, somebody would make it happen. Well this year, that somebody was me.  I owe some credit to my sister. She told me of a discount deal they used to buy tickets. I jumped right on the site and scored us seats at Kingsbury Hall.

The Zombies, actors, dancers, singers, choreographers, set deisgners were all amazing.  A couple of the dances were creepy, but most were just funny.  My hubby loved "Jason Jam"  (kind of like stomp, but with Jason masks, and an odd-ball that made us laugh). My favorites were the Frankenstein ballet (dancing like perfect ballerinas alive and dead) and the River of Blood Dance.

My column on our "family wish list" google doc has a line that reads: anything that organizes something.
I did put a lot of thought into this.  And I can't think of anything in this category, that I wouldn't appreciate as a present. (besides a pooper scopper... that's all I've come up with).
This will test my family's  creativity for years to come.  Stay tuned for future posts.

Going along with this theme, my Personal wishing well  (of things I want to buy myself because I want to pick the size, color, shape, etc.) included a purse organizer (for the inside of the purse, not a hanger for several purses.... but speaking of which I probably need that too) and some organizing drawers for my scrapbook supplies.
I finally bought them both for my birthday this year.  and I LOVE them. Why have I waited so long?  All scrapbook doo-dads are safely stowed in a small, white tower (saving space) and my purse organizer has 10 perfectly sized pockets that hold all my purse necessities right side up in easy to see locations. I am in love.  A place for everything and everything in it's place. Feeds the soul.

My husband, going with the birthday trend bought me something to organize my feet it: dansko's ! I have been wanting new shoes for work for quite some time.  I am impressed he remembered!  100 points to hubby.