“It’s the end of the world as we know it…”
Kiddingggg. But just in case, I figured today was as good a time as any to fill you in on some fun things that have taken place over the past few weeks!
Earlier this month, we hosted an ugly sweater party at our house! The hard part about having a get-together a this time of year is that people are busy/there are a lot of colds/flus going around, and due to this our party ended up being a little bit smaller group than we originally anticipated…but we still had a great time!
 |
| Lola was really excited about how awesome I looked. I actually bought the sweater vest/turtleneck at Kmart, kind of frightening that someone would want to wear this not as a joke. |
 |
| We had plentyyy of food…desserts on one side of the bar/healthy stuff on the other |
 |
| Natasha, Kelly, & I |
 |
| Three men and a baby…ha. |
 |
| Natasha’s husband Ryan also had on a super sweet turtleneck so we though an Olsen-twin style picture was only appropriate |
Our tree this year is probably my favorite one that we’ve ever had. Even though we only had it up for a few weeks between getting back from Israel/
Turkey and leaving to travel to Oregon/Michigan for the holidays, I’m so glad we got it. The other day, I tried to snap a few pictures of Lola in front of the tree…and it didn’t go so well. Most of them were really blurry because the light was really low and she didn’t want to sit still but some of the shots came out pretty cute 🙂
 |
| She was bound and determined not to look at the camera |
 |
| She pins her ears back when she’s annoyed…LOL |
 |
| I thought it would be a good idea to get out to Santa hat…she disagreed |
 |
| Santa Lola |
 |
| Blurry, but funny 🙂 |
Yes, I realize I’m a crazy dog lady and I’m fine with it. Also, I already kind of feel bad for our future kids for all the ridiculous seasonal photos I’ll no doubt make them take one day.
Earlier this month, Cameron and I attended a mixer for Tahoe Regional Young Professionals (TRYP) held at
Basecamp Hotel in South Lake Tahoe. The hotel has the most awesome “modern rustic” decor and I couldn’t help but snap some photos…I’d highly recommend staying here if you’re going to be visiting Tahoe! I’m also happy that I’ve gotten involved in TRYP this year because it’s allowed me to meet some really fun people here in town!
 |
| I loved this farmhouse table and the industrial light fixture with the edison lightbulbs! |
 |
| They have this amazing room called the Great Indoors where the bed has a tent over it and you feel like you’re camping…it was seriously SO cool! |
 |
| Making S’mores! |
This past Saturday,
Natasha had a Cookies & Cocktails party at her house and it was such a fun time! Getting to know the Schue family this year has been such a blessing, I’m so thankful the blog world brought us together!
 |
| Nothing says Christmas like cranberry martinis! Also, I made a batch of these (on the plate in the bottom right corner) and they were a hit once again, seriously the BEST COOKIE. |
 |
| I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Ethan is the CUTEST baby…love that little guy! |
Then this past Sunday, we packed up the car and made the twelve hour drive to Oregon to see Cam’s family. We’ve had a great time spending time with them this week, and although Cam and I have both been working remotely all week it’s just nice to be here!
 |
| I love this picture of Lola from the night before we left for Oregon…she gets so anxious whenever she sees the suitcases come out! She just sits there looking distraught. |
 |
| Pretty snow outside the window at my in-laws’ house |
 |
| Cam’s brother is a fire fighter and he had to work on his birthday (Monday) so we stopped by to visit him and he gave us a tour of the fire station |
 |
| I think it’s safe to say I’ve somewhat fallen off the Paleo train this month…but peppermint chocolate milkshakes are just so hard to resist! |
 |
| We did have the opportunity to try out a “Paleo” restaurant called Dick’s Kitchen in downtown Portland earlier this week though, and the food was delicious! |
 |
| Cam’s parents’ pretty Christmas tree |
A fun holiday thing we were able to do this week is spend the day volunteering with a non-profit here in Portland organizing and wrapping gifts for kids in need. My awesome company encouraged us to take a day this month and go volunteer with a local organization in our community and they gave us a day of free PTO to use for that reason. Because most of my colleagues work remotely and are spread out all over the country, my sweet husband was kind enough to volunteer with me so I didn’t have to go by myself. We had a blast!
Speaking of work, things are extremely stressful right now with my job. This entire year I’ve been working on one client account and it’s been great, but I really want to keep growing and expanding my skills so I let it be known that I’d be open for new opportunities within the company. My wish was granted and I’m now on a new client account as of Monday. However, the positions I’m recruiting for now are definitely out of my realm of my wheelhouse (aka IT positions) and so I have a lot to learn! Everyone on my new team has been super nice and I know that it will just take some time to get ramped up…but right now, I’m kind of drowning in work! Bah humbug.
However, Christmas is almost here and I couldn’t be more excited. Today is my mother-in-law’s birthday (and she is so sweet and always reads my blog–HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATHY!) so we’re all going out to dinner to celebrate tonight. Then after dinner, Cam and I are taking a red-eye to Michigan and will be in the mitten from tomorrow until next Friday! I am so pumped to see family and friends, plus it will be the first time I’ve been home on Christmas day for the past three years so I’m really excited about it.
I think that should pretty much catch you up on everything that’s been happening with us lately, this ended up being a much longer post than I realized! I hope you’re having a wonderful week and feeling the joy of the season!
Only 5 more days! Xoxo
PS: If you have not voted for me yet, I’d love it if you could please cast your vote for me in the Online Shoes blogger contest! I’m in last place right now (wahhhh) as I’m up against some larger bloggers so I’d really appreciate your support! Plus you can enter to win your very own pair of Sorel boots!
