I'll be home for Christmas

Christmas break was so sweet.  

It was packed full of fun & I hardly got any pictures of the festivities.

Here are a few we managed to snap on the iPhone-

Movie time! Trevor wasn't mad, I almost considered cropping him out of this picture because he is scary in it, but just know that is not his real face.  We saw Sherlock Holmes (so cool!) & Mission Impossible (so ridiculous.) 

 

Sister love. We had a great time together. I could never love anyone as I love my sisters (as Jo of Little Women would say). Sharing make-up, clothes, hair products and ridiculous/stupid jokes never gets old with those two.

Christmas Day right after church.  I love that Christmas was also on a Sunday; that made it so special.  I also love that Trevor was telling us something very important and it was caught on camera.

Christmas Eve! 

The beautiful temple, we went and saw the lights with some friends and it was amazing. There were nativities everywhere, I loved it. I haven't been in a long while & it was so nice to go again.

Things I wish I had pictures of:

Our family ski day up at Beaver Mountain.  It was beautiful!  I don't think there was anyone on the entire mountain who was worse at getting off the stupid lift. I fell, collapse-sprawl-yelp style, ev-er-y single time. Poor Mckay, it was usually pathetically right onto him.  His bruises are all from me. Besides the falling, it was so much fun. 

The day we spent with Grandma Dunn & Grandma and Grandpa Craven.  It was so wonderful to spend time with them.  It will be a day I will never forget.  I love them so much, we are so blessed to have them in our lives.  

Breakfast with Shanna Tavenner, one of my favorite college roommates.

Breakfast with Krissy & Ali.  

Dinner party with a bunch of girls I went to high school with.

Dinner with Mckay's good friend Shea & his girlfriend.

Lunch with Ethan (the wonderful soul to whom we attribute our meeting/being together).

Lunch with Ben & Holly, good friends Mckay went to SVU with.

Always fun to get together and reminisce and laugh with good friends.

Trev & Mckay battling on the Wii.

Christmas this year was a perfect success.  We were so happy to get to spend our Christmas with my family for the first time.  It did not disappoint.
2012 is going to be a good year- I can feel it.

Winter Love

Time is flying by.  We've been busy little bees, going nonstop.  I am really looking forward to Christmas break so that we can relax and just spend some lazy time together with our families.

On November 30th we scored sweet tickets to a party at the Rockefeller Center for the lighting of the Christmas Tree.  It was magical & such a fun kick-off to the holiday season.  Justin Bieber was prerecorded so we totally missed out on his performance!  I thought Mckay was going to cry.  JK.  We were mostly there for the food (amazing) & the glowing 80 foot tree.

(The artsy shoe shot by mckay, cutie)

A few weeks later (Dec 9) we flew to LAX to attend a wedding in Palm Springs.  Not just any wedding, a gay, 60's themed wedding, quite the experience.  The ceremony, reception and farewell breakfast were held at the legendary Riviera Hotel.  The groom (well, one of them) was Mckay's college roommate, football teammate & good friend. 

Saturday morning we strolled around the downtown area and I got a pedicure, Mckay got a massage & we had a delicious Mexican lunch together.  That night was the wedding ceremony & reception, the venue was fabulous & everything looked perfect.  Ryan (groom #2) is a Hollywood/Broadway-type so all of the entertainment was provided by their Broadway-type friends.  One song was performed by "Christine" from Phantom of the Opera, yes, my jaw was on the floor.  We had a grand time dancing & mingling with all sorts of souls.

 (Immediate stop an In-n-Out the hour we landed, I've missed it.)

(Poolside heaven)

(11pm, right before we left the wedding, which went until 2am.)

(Mckay & blinking Graham)

(Funny "do not disturb" sign at the hotel, I was so amused.)

Lest I forget to mention- our weekend highlights:

Mckay: Meeting Stephanie Tanner from Full House.  She is (of course) a good friend of the couple & Graham introduced us.  Mckay had stars in his eyes, apparently she was the hot-ticket item for him 20 years ago.

Nicki: Nothing so life changing as Mckay's, BUT I did meet Kristina & Zack from Oprah's Own Show.  Kristina & I had on very similar dresses & she was so darling & said she loved mine.  I loved it.  If you didn't watch the show (we did because Ryan was on it) you have no idea who these people are, but they're great.

It's official!

We're moving!!! Just to Darien (a skip and a hop away) but definitely an upgrade.

Bye, bye Stamford, you truly were good to us. Bye, bye little top apartment house. I will miss you because you were the first place we called "home" together. First of every holiday. First dinner together as husband and wife. First big project. It was the perfect backdrop for the first 14 months of marriage. But I am really ready to say goodbye-

Goodbye:
Moldy bathroom
Slowest sink (the latest hoopla, we timed it-29 minutes to drain!)
Broken tub faucets
Yucky, dull, stained wood floors
Dust bunnies galore from radiant heat
Cold, drafty winter windows
Bacon smell every Sunday (3pm on the dot), apparently the landlords need their weekly pork fix (!!??!!)
Cat smell, thanks for that one too, landlords

But there are things I'm sad to say goodbye too as well:
Kitchen pantry
Separate his and her closets
Front and back deck
Arched doorway
The charm of a house almost 100 years old

Hello to the new! A DISHWASHER, thank you. A sparkling new bathroom, a sparkling new everything. No landlords on premise. Pretty, dark floors and over sized kitchen sink. Beautiful fresh paint I deliberated on for hhhhooouuurrrsss. I think we're really going to like it here (there).

Wedding in Palm Springs this weekend. Finals next week. Christmas in Utah the following week. Oh, and we're moving somewhere in all of that. Perfect. I am elated.

Oh! The primary reason for this post... Since we are moving we are also SELLING a few things:
LG  24" A/C unit (6 months old) 12,000 BTU
Grill (also 6 months old)
Microwave (1 year old)
and a rug, possibly two.

Be in touch if you are interested in any of the above items, or pass it on!