Tis the Season

We are in full on Christmas mode around these parts. Our live tree is up and decorated, our house is adorned with lights and yard ornaments, and every nook and cranny of our main living spaces has something to celebrate the season.

Last year was Molly's first Christmas but she was just a few weeks old and had absolutely no clue about anything, let alone the holidays. And this year she still doesn't understand a whole lot but she is curious enough and mobile enough to make it fun!

I have been thinking about and pinning things that could be traditions for us to start. I have lots of traditions from my family growing up but I want to start things just the 3 of us. I have yet to come up with anything that is just ours. So we are celebrating with the good ol stuff.

The tree! Complete with soft animal ornaments at her level that she is free to take off the tree.



And our favorite ornament...



We also started Elf on the Shelf this year. While Molly doesn't understand the rules yet she does have fun finding her and pointing at her, yelling dat dat dat!



We even wrote our very first letter to Santa. I had to help translate. I wasn't sure if Santa can read toddler writing.



And hosted our first holiday hot chocolate and cookies playdate.



This year is a little different than last year. So much has changed. And its making it all the more fun!



I am going to keep working on new traditions but in the meantime we are going to enjoy the ones we have already. Tis the season!

Fall Weather and Pumpkins

It seems this past weekend was THE weekend for pumpkin patches across the blog world. And we were no exception.

I have been wanting to go to a pumpkin patch with Molly since the day I found out I was pregnant. Something about babies and pumpkins. Who knows.

It turned out to be the perfect fall day. Cool so we got to wear jackets and scarves but not so cold we had to bundle up. And just the right amount of sunshine.

We invited some friends and all packed into the car and headed out.



There were animals to feed...







And longhorns to chat with...





Plus cute daddy and baby moments.



We walked around the form and checked out the pumpkins, took lots of photo ops and went on Molly's first hayride! She really enjoyed it.











It was the perfect Fall weekend together as a family. We will definitely be making pumpkin patches a yearly tradition.





Happy Fall Y'all!

Chili Dogs & Politics

Sounds delicious and interesting right?!

One of our stops on our Washington D.C. trip was Ben's Chili Bowl. A famous establishment in DC since 1958 and a favorite among several of our presidents including Obama. We first came across this little gem while watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network. Food lovers that we are, we immediately added this to our list of "must visits" while in D.C.

It did not disappoint.





The place was first made famous by Bill Cosby, who was said to be the only customer who ate for free (they since added the Obama family to the list). The Half Smoke is their signature item, 1/4lb. half pork and beef smoked sausage on a warm steamed bun and topped with mustard, onions and spicy homemade chili sauce. Chase went for this and loved it. I opted for a good ol' fashion chili and cheese hot dog. Yum!



While we didn't spot President Obama (it would have been crazy in there!) we did see some very official government people with ear pieces kicking people out of booths to make room for some dignitary. It was pretty cool.

So chili dogs and politics...a must stop if you are in D.C.

traditions spared

From the very beginning I knew I didn't want a traditional wedding.  Nothing against those that do, its just not my style.  I wanted something more simple and modern, something that was just ours and was special for our invited guests.  So when I started planning there were several things that I omitted, one being the bouquet and garter toss.

As it turns out, my soon to be husband was disappointed that he wasn't going to get to crawl under my dress, pull the garter off of my leg and then toss it to a crowd of single guys.  I was surprised he was so bummed but the thought of doing that at our reception in front of all of our guests was not something I wanted to do.  So we compromised.

After Chase and I made our grand exit from the reception we regrouped with our wedding party and other close friends at the hotel to continue celebrating our newly married status.  It was there, in the hotel lobby, that I gave in and participated in the garter toss.

Searching, locating, removing the garter.


Tossing to the crowd.


Victory dance!


It looks like Nick is next.


My Maid of Honor Patti's boyfriend Nick caught the garter.  He was so excited!

So in the end we kept this little tradition, but with a little modification.  Marriage is all about compromise right.