lights & sparkles.

oh, christmas tree.

as a tradition, hubs and i love going together to pick out our christmas tree right after thanksgiving. this year, we thought it would be fun to make a big hoopla out of it by driving upstate and chopping down our own. instead, our eagerness got the best of us and we couldn't wait until morning, so we rented a car that night, drove around town, and loaded up the biggest pre-cut tree we could find. we may not have cut it down ourselves, but it is beautiful, smells delicious, and i love it just the same! oh, how i love the holidays!

so much to be thankful for.

happy thanksgiving!! 

hope your home is smelling as delicious as mine with baked pie and cooking turkeys. 

while hubs is out playing football with the boys, i wanted to take a minute to list out all i'm thankful for this year. 

there is so much and this list could go on & on if i had the time: 

baby girl's kicks and tumbles

husband's sweet guitar serenades

kind people who give up their seats on the subway

fresh peonies

god's love and compassion

hub's love for his job

bubble baths

having my brother in nyc

the priesthood

my washer & dryer

working with my best friend

a fresh winter's snow

patience

chipotle chicken burritos

across-the-street subway access

my strong & able body

husband's smile

our growing family

my double vanity

making my dream business a reality

the comfort of grilled cheese sandwiches & tomato soup

living prophets

my frye boots

my parent's example of true love

warm, puffy german pancakes

loving in-laws

a healthy, growing baby girl

j.crew

eternal families

a sister's love

supportive friends & neighbors

contagious laughter

smiles from strangers

brunch

mint hershey truffles

as of late....

this:

has been leading to a whole lot of

this: 

i'm in trouble.

 i wasn't supposed to begin crewcuts for another 2 years!

what's a girl to do now!?

i need a pair of these

a couple of those

and this.

oh, i'm in love,
and can't wait to see what else comes out.

sweet november.

saturday, todd and i strolled through central park, enjoying all of the changing leaves. since nyc had its unexpected snow storm the day we planned to go apple picking, this unfortunately has been our extent to enjoying the fall weather. since when did life become so busy?! luckily we picked a beautiful day—the weather was perfect and the park was glowing gold.

love on top.

this song makes me so happy and instantly brightens my day!

and can we talk about this video?
her hair...her wardrobe...her voice...her moves...
amazing!

i love b!

and while we're on this topic,
have i mentioned that our girls are going to be besties?
since they are both due in february, i'm feeling pretty lucky that we'll end up
sharing a hospital room together.
{that is if she hasn't already bought out the entire east wing}

brgr.

 nothing smarter than milkshakes 

on a freezing day!

batmobile occupies wallstreet.

all week we've heard how dark knight rises has been filming on wallstreet, 

and we finally had to see if for ourselves. 

luckily, we found ourselves a great spot and were able to catch some of the action. 

the only thing that would have made it better is if i had seen mr. bale himself.

our first week in november.

ikea—always a good idea until you get it home,

holding my little 'M' train, a stroll through trinity church's cemetery,

the things i do/drink for the baby, sick day with the hubs

french toast brunch

  ......

november. so far so good.

a spooktacular halloween.

at our halloween party this year, we had all sorts of characters arrive—

 a little garden gnome

mta workers accompanied by their M train

fred flintstone

a clown—which the kids were not too fond of

jelly bellies

and even the black-eyed peas

as for hubs and i? we dressed up as the hosts :) 

we enjoyed great food and even better company.

things got especially crazy once we brought out the envelope game—

a get-to-know-you-a-little-too-much game that always seems

to make an appearance at our halloween parties. 

love you friends!