thanksgiving...

Here we are...hosting our first Thanksgiving!!! We only had 16 people in our little townhouse, but we managed! It was such a honor to have our family over and for the first time in a long time, not have our Moms stuck with all of the work! I had nightmares about burning the turkey and everything going wrong, but thankfully, I have an amazing husband who never hesitated at all to help out and take charge.

My Grandma got me this amazingly adorable apron for my engagement party! There couldn't possibly be a better opportunity to wear it!

Here is a sample of what the decor looked like! Jen and I worked so hard putting things togther, we were exhausted before the party began! If you would like to see more go to www.ohbabyblush.com and check out the rest of the decor!

Jen an I have started a styling, event coordinating, event planning, etc. business and are so excited for what the future holds for us. We use every opportunity we have to be creative and to push ourselves. I love working with her and I am so proud of the team we make!

Thanksgiving is always a time of year that I reflect on what I am truly thankful for and remember all the wonderful blessings God have given us! We have a roof over our head, food on our plates, and two jobs that we both love...but most importantly we have eachother and we have love. We have an amazing family and we have remarkable friends that give us so much joy and support! We live in a country that offers us freedom and encourages us to be "something & someone"...but, most importantly we have a God that loves us unconditionally and sent His Son to die for our sins so that we can have the gift of eternal life, not on our own merit but by grace alone....and THAT is something to be thankful for. 

halloween...

This year we continued our tradition and visited Bate's Nut Farm in Valley Center! It's a true pumpkin patch with millions of pumpkins to choose from and lots of sweet treats!!!

Jeff hosted a Halloween party together with his neighbors and invited us to share in the fun!

We were supposed to be a Hollywood Red Carpet Couple, until Lauren suggested we be David & Victoria Beckham! I loved the idea, Brad on the other hand, wasn't as thrilled...but we made it work!

our birthdays...

Brad and I celebrated our 27th Birthday's this year!!! 

Brad is probably the only person I know that enjoys receiving birthday presents related to his job, but he does! I got him an "out-of-county" bag and his parents got him a new fire helmet (his favorite gift, by far!) among other things. He is such a practical person who is able to seperate his needs from his wants...how I envy him for that remarkable quality!

I attempted to surprise Brad by asking all of his friends to meet up a local bar in Ladera and they did!

This year, I wanted a simple celebration! Just my family and a few of my closest friends. We all went out for mexican food that night to celebrate with margaritas...

I really do have the best friends!!!

souve wedding...

My little brother got married this June to his beautiful bride, Kelcie!

We are so excited to have her in our family and we are so thankful for the amazing additions our family has been blessed with this year. Of course, his wedding happened to be in one of my favorite places in Temecula, PONTE Winery...so of course I was perfectly content! It was a wonderful celebration of love between two people and it was an honor to be there to witness it.

...my best girl friends...

Jen & I at my favorite local spot!!!

our recent loss...but a new beginning

We lost our first little monkey "Sam" this year and I was completely devestated. She was my little furry companion when Brad was working, so needless to say it was pretty lonely around here for a while when she let herself outside to wander away. We put up signs and spent many days outside walking around our neighborhood calling for her. People must have thought we were crazy!!! We loved her and she brought us great joy. 

So, for an early birthday present, my wonderful husband, decided that a new kitten would be an excellent gift, and it was. We had been looking at the local shelter's website for several weeks after losing Sam, hoping to find her when we discovered two adorable baby girl kittens. We fell in love immediately and went that morning to see them. They fit EXACTLY what we were looking for, a girl that did not resemble Sam. But, of course, we came home with a boy that looks almost exactly like her. 

We couldn't help ourselves...he was absolutely ADORABLE!!! He was so calm and so loving. He purred when you put your hand near him and he would actually wear a collar (so different from the other one). He became part of our family immediately and we loved him right away. 

We named him MYLES!!!

And like I said earlier....he is so calm!!! haha 

to keep everyone updated....

I guess it has been a while since we updated...a long while...so I am going to keep this blog post short and sweet and try to squeeze the last eight months into this entry. We have made several additions to the house since then and because I absolutely adore my house and decorating, I have to share. Some additions are tiny, but bear with me, I can't help it. 

We spent a Saturday painting the guest bedroom (I mean, Jen's bedroom) and the guest bathroom and although it was hard work (haha!) it was definitely worth it. It's amazing what a little paint can do. We are constantly changing this room and adding new things to it...hopefully one day we'll get it right...and just when we do, it will be time to turn it into a nursery!

Here is the guest bathroom with new paint, a framed mirror, etc. All we need is a picture and that shouldn't be difficult to find with Mongo around. 

Our kitchen is pretty much the same with the additions of barstools and a wine rack! We have a project this weekend to fix it up even more....looking forward to that. We will definitely post pictures!

We framed the mirror in our master bathroom...and I love how it turned out!

We received a bunch of Restoration Hardware gift cards for the Wedding and were able to splurge on this amazing bedding. It makes our room look so much more modern and gives me more reason to make the bed in the morning! Thank you to all who contributed. 

This summer we purchased new patio furniture for the balcony...YEAH we can finally use it!!! We love sitting out there, talking, and just spending time with eachother. Since then, we have purchased a coffee table and hopefully (if I get my way), we will have another addition out there soon...stay tuned for that!

This room really hasn't chaged much other than the pictures above the couch and the floor lamp, but I couldn't help but share. 

Our house really is starting to become a home and we really love living in Murrieta! We enjoy finding projects around the house to keep us busy! It's going to be hard to leave it one day...I imagine everyone feels this way about their "first house"! You make so many memories here, it's going to be hard to leave them behind! Well, I guess that all depends on the next house...it may be easier than I think!!!

our wedding album

created by Oh Baby BLUSH!

...we love her...

Honeymoon! Part Two: NEW YORK

NEW YORK

Just the view from our hotel...we aren't spoiled or anything!

Resting our tired feet in Rockefeller Center after a 3 hour train ride from Boston. We went through Providence, Rhode Island and New Haven, Connecticut (putting this on the list of must travel to spots)!

Romantic Carriage Ride through Central Park...enough said!!!

I have the most amazing husband...he treats me to little blue boxes! There is nothing quite like shopping on 5th Avenue!

These are a few of my favorite things in New York! Huge fan of daffodils and tulips...they were stunning. We stayed in Times Square...and loved it. Don't laugh about those hilarious sandals you see there. We finally found A&F and bought flip flops for our pathetic feet. We had walked about 6 miles a day in Boston and did not chose the best shoes...note taken: pack good walking shoes when visiting the East Coast!

Our second day in New York was spent traveling all over Manhattan. We started off at Grand Central Terminal where we jumped on a Subway toward the Financial District. We toured Battery Park for a while and snuck a peek at the Statue of Liberty. It was a gorgeous, sunny day! We left from there a headed to Ground Zero. We were taken back by the memorial...it really hit Brad close to home visiting the Fire Station and the memorial for the Firefighters that were lost that tragic day. After that we walked over to Wall St....amazing! We had lunch in Noho and walked 35 blocks to the Empire State building; passing Union Square and NYU on our way!

Our thid day was spent in Soho; amazing place!!! We at dinner at our hotel that night in their revolving room overlooking Manhattan...the food was outstanding and it was so nice not to have to travel far.

Honeymoon! Part One: BOSTON

Here we are at the airport...waiting patiently for my Mom to bring my "forgotten" wallet...we were already running behind (BIG surprise!)

Here is Brad doing a GREAT job of being the sweet, understanding, patient husband who simply adores his unorganized and forgetful new wife.

THE FREEDOM TRAIL

Our first day in Boston was spent walking the Freedom Trail! Boston is such a beautiful place...we couldn't get over how green and quiet it was. Later we discovered it was Patriot's Day...and the Boston Marathon that drew much of Boston's inhabitants and guests to Copley Place. We had a great time having the city to ourselves for a while...but really, who starts their day at 7am unless you are on your way to work?

We ate dinner at GRILL23....highly recommend it if you're in the area!

All the best things in life begin with B! Those including...Boston Red Sox (above) & Bosters (below)!!!

On our last day in Boston we finished up shopping on Newbury St. (my favorite street!) and finished up the Freedom Trail, while still "finding" time to visit Mike's Pastry & Little Italy.

One of the best cities in America!!!

Aerial Map

...the rings...

...because I couldn't resist! Vartan did an amazing job handcrafting both of our rings and we are honored to consider him family.

Bachelorette Lunch

I celebrated my last unmarried weekend with some of my favorite ladies. We went to my favorite winery and had a spectacular lunch. It was so nice to have a break from all of our unfinished projects. This is definitely something I could make a part of my weekly routine! Thank you to Debbie for treating us, what a wonderful mother-in-law (MIL) I have. I am already a part of the family but I am honored to inherit the last name Boster.