Life by numbers, Rizdvo edition.

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7: January 7th is Rizdvo, Ukrainian Christmas according to the Julian calendar. I love that we get to celebrate both Christmases, each with its own special rituals and traditions. And who doesn't love an extra long holiday season? 

5: people our apartment is going to house tomorrow night through Tuesday...I'm excited to figure out the obstacle course of blow-up mattresses and sleeping bags that will have to be traversed throughout our one-bedroom apartment! 

12: number of dishes that are traditionally served for Christmas Eve dinner. We're scaling it down to just four of my favorites, and I can't wait to spend all of Monday cooking away. 

-20: the windchill for tomorrow night, but our apartment will stay nice and warm because my favorite people (and puppy) will all be together in the same place.  

30: the number to which my husband keeps rounding up my upcoming birthday...

2: the number of days off (in a row!) I get to celebrate with my family. I am so thankful and so blessed. 

**This is a Christmas cookie?!? Too beautiful to eat! 

Christmasgram #7.

Merry Christmas, everyone! I can't believe it's December 25th. And that 2014 is just around the corner. 

To be honest, this last month has been one of the most difficult I've experienced in a long time. You may have noticed the lack of posts; new recipes have been few and far between lately. But despite the craziness, I'm beyond lucky and blessed with the most generous and supportive family anyone could ask for. I have just the very best husband (of four months, yesterday!), a warm and beautiful apartment, and the means to provide for our future together. The road to that future has been a bit bumpy lately, filled with unexpected turns and detours, but I'm finding my way through it, with the help of my favorite people by my side. 

This is the first time that we haven't been with our families at Christmas. We miss you all so much, more than we can say. But we've had a lovely day together, just the two of us, as our own little family. The apartment building is quiet today, and it's been cozy and calm to snuggle at home and cook all day. 

Here's just a bit of what we've enjoyed over this first Christmas as a married couple...lots of photos (thanks to a beautiful brand new camera!!!), plenty of coffee, constant Christmas music, and delicious food. 

We hope everyone enjoyed some time with their family and friends and was able to share in a meal, a drink, or a phone call together. That's what today is really all about - coming together in any way, shape, or form.

A very Merry Christmas, from our family to yours.

This Month.

It's December, and winter is around the corner. I found this lovely quote about the upcoming season: 

"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home." 

{Edith Sitwell} 

Here's to December, to warmth, and to family. 

Saturday Post No. 10

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Home. There's no place like it. 

We are back in MKE after a wonderful few days in MN. As always, the days fly by and we never get to do all that we'd like to do or see all who we'd love to see. But there's so much to be thankful for this year, especially our newlywed life (as busy as it is) and our families. These are the two parts of my life that get me through every single day, and I'm thankful for them all the time, but especially at Thanksgiving. 

I hope everyone had the best time with their families and friends, ate and drank plenty, and just enjoyed some quiet time as November ends. I can't believe it's December tomorrow. Tonight, we unpacked, ate our leftovers, and are going to put up the Christmas tree. No better way to cheer up after the five-hour drive than to decorate our apartment and chat with our families. 

Much love to all, and Happy Thanksgiving. 

This Month.

November brings with it plenty of changes, but we're ready. A new schedule, a new job, even a new haircut! We're excited, ready to go, but still look forward to the end of the month when we get to celebrate one of our favorite holidays with our very favorite people. 

The best day.

Over two months have passed since our wedding day and I'm still over the moon. So many people I've talked to have said their wedding day was the best day of their lives. I've had many "best days" in my life, but none really do compare to our wedding weekend; those days were truly the most wonderful, happy, and love-filled days I can remember. Everything all flew by so quickly, despite the months of planning that lead up to it, and that's why I'm so, so grateful to our amazing photographer. Sarah Blesener's photos allow me to relive our day over and over again. She captured what I want to always remember as well as those little moments that I didn't even know were happening around us. It's impossible to pick favorites, but here are a few that I love...

We had an absolutely incredible time at our wedding, and Sarah's photos remind me of just how lucky we were to be surrounded by our friends and family on our favorite day. We can't thank you enough! 

Life by numbers.

7: days since October began. OCTOBER, the tenth month of the year. While I'm not the biggest fan of how quickly this year is coming to an end, I do love the colors that are out this month. Anne, from Anne of Green Gables (my absolute favorite books when I was younger) says that she's "happy to live in a world where there are Octobers." I think she'd still feel the same way if she saw October in WI, or MN, for that matter, and not in PEI. 

2: the potential number of sibling visitors I'll get this weekend. I really do think I lucked out in this department - my brother and sister are pretty cool dudes, and I can't wait to see them! Oh, and they take good photos, too.

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5: pairs of glasses I'll be receiving from Warby Parker in just a few days. I can't wait to get new glasses. I've had my current pair since senior year of college...and I think maybe (just maybe) trends in eye wear have changed since then. Warby Parker lets you choose up to five pairs of frames from their website, then they send them to you for free to try on at home for five days! Once you've decided, you give them your prescription and place your order, all for a very reasonable price. And, for every pair that's purchased, the company gives a pair to someone in need. Win-win.

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46: days until Turkey Day 5k. I just registered for this - now it's really time to start running. My sister and I did the race last year and loved it, although I think I was more motivated last year to run than I am at this present moment...but I'll get there. Let's hope for good weather and no snow! 

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7: hours that my mom spent traveling to get to us in MKE last week, thanks to the silly train...but we loved having her here! We went to the museum, out for walks, to dinner, and just really enjoyed spending as much time as we could with her. And we're sorry that it took even longer to get back to MPLS (again, thanks, train).

383: miles between MKE and Des Moines, where we drove this weekend to celebrate John and Kellie get married! Andrew was an usher in their wedding, and we were so, so happy to be able to share in their day. We wish them nothing but the best - congrats, newlyweds!!