O' Christmas Tree, O' Christmas Tree

It's Matt and I's first Christmas married! And I am SO excited to spend this most wonderful time of the year with him! We recently went out to find our Christmas Tree.

Growing up, this event was a favorite. We would go get the tree. Let it fall for a day. Then, in the evening we would fill up on delicious appetizers and treats, listen to Harry Connick Jr.'s Holiday album and drink eggnog. Bring out the ornaments and get to work! My parents always bought us a new ornament- every year- so we always have a lot to get on the tree.





This year, it was just Matt and I. We went to pick out a tree. And it was still SO fun for me! I still LOVE this tradition. It ended up falling into a funny, straggly-looking thing, but I think it's the best tree ever! And boy is it FULL of ornaments!



How lovely are your branches!

'Tis the Season

I LOVE Christmas. The warmth you feel coming in from outside. The extra amounts of hot coco and Peppermint White Mocha's from Starbucks. The family time. The creativity in gift-making and giving. The wrapping. I LOVE wrapping gifts.

This year I wanted to put a fun spin on using the traditional Christmas wrapping paper, and try some new things. I had a lot of fun doing it. I bought a few spools of fun ribbon. I also had a pack of vintage ornaments I wanted to use- they were my favorite part this year. Take a look :)







As you can see I used some different papers for wrapping. Regular Christmas paper. Hymnal pages from an old hymnal I've had forever. And atlas pages. (I collect maps and atlases, so I have an abundance)

Anyway, just wanted to share one of my favorite Christmas activities! Hope you're having a Merry one!

{the urge}

What is it that draws you to the noisy toys in the store? You know the ones I'm talking about... Their specific cardboard holder is plastered with those two simple words.. "Try Me". And you just can't resist, right? Or am I the only one? ... ... Didn't think so.

Last night I went to Target with my honey... I found these:


All different kinds. I tried them. And they were SO LOUD! But I just couldn't help it... can't resist the urge.

GO TEAM!

The first weekend in December changed my life. And I bet no one- not even you- could guess what had such an impact. Are you ready for this?? I went to my VERY FIRST professional football game. And I FREAKING LOVED IT! (my enthusiasm tends to bring out intense language) It was in Minneapolis; Vikings vs. Broncos. I cheered for the Vikes {my hubby LOVES them- bad or good... mostly bad} even though, I love Colorado- and who doesn't love them a little Tim Tebow?! Right? I know!


Here we are waiting in the masses to get in. It was REALLY cold outside.



Matt's good friend got us the tickets- with AH-MAZING seats! Lower level, end zone, 11th row. So close!



Us in our gear. Waiting for the game to begin :)







A look into a bit of the game.



And of course... They have a REAL Viking!

I really had a blast, learned a lot about the game and cheered with the best of them! I also had beer spilled in one of my shoes, and made fun of the "cheerleaders" the whole game. All this to say- I still hate watching football at home. And I'm patiently awaiting our next live kick-off! In the mean time... Tebow like there's no tomorrow.

Smile! You're eating Pancakes!

Matt and I have a disagreement. I say the new design of the Hungry Jack syrup spill-proof pour spout looks like a smiley-face.. and that they did that on purpose. Because eating pancakes and the like makes people happy- duh. Matthew just thinks it's design is to better serve the sticky substance an escape from the bottle. What do you think?






Uh huh. That's what I thought.

Deck the halls with bells of holly....

Yay for Christmas decor projects! Today is the first snowfall of the year... Even though I would hardly say it's "snowing". And I had nothing to do, but that of what I wanted to. So, I decided to work on (and finish) and project I've been not-so-patiently awaiting.

You see, about 45 miles from here, in a tiny little town called Bristol, there is some amazing thrifting and antiquing. Last time I was there I stumbled upon a zip-lock filled with OLD Christmas postcards. SO cool! Some of them date all the way back to 1902. I have always loved old things. I like to imagine the people they used to belong to. What their lives were like. The stories formed around the specific item. So, I bought them. Duh. And then... I made this...







Fa la la la la, la la la laaaaa.

I've decided...

... to follow Jesus... (remember that song??... that's not really what I'm deciding. Already did that)

I've decided that I'm TERRIBLE at remembering to write blogs. I have tons of things to blog on, and maybe sometime this weekend I'll find that time to catch myself up. But until then, I came up with an idea (whilst in the shower; that seems to be where I do most of my inventive thinking)

I will 'Status Blog'. We've got Facebook and Twitter and who knows what else out there to help us inform the world of what we're doing that very second. So, I'm going to blog that way. Just here and there... to get myself back in the groove of things.

Ready for the first one??

Last night I rolled around on my living room floor while asking my husband if he would still love me if I was only a torso. His response was very practical and level headed for the matter of my question. He said "Yeah, you'd be really easy to get around". I'm not sure now, when I read what I just wrote, if he meant easier to WALK around because I would be shorter, or easier to MOVE from place to place... Either way, it was a good thing to know- He would still love me if I was just a torso.

L0V3

It really is crazy to think about how fast the time passes. I've been pondering this all day, and wanted to share with you.. whomever you may be... A little about this past year.

One year ago today, in just a few hours time, I was headed to a coffee date with one Matthew Leonard. Red Rooster was the place to be- they had open mic night going on. Matt's coffee came in a sweet world map printed cup (which I kept) and we talked and learned about each other for 4 hours. I left that date feeling like I was in the right place at the right time for the first time in a while.

You see, Matt found me when I wasn't looking. He found me when I didn't think I could be seen. But he found me, and saw me. And has been a rock in my life ever since.

This last year has been full of hard times. A lot of hard times. And Matt hasn't wavered. Even when I thought he had every reason to get out of our relationship, he stuck by my side. And at the end of the day reminded me how much he loved me.

The amazing thing? That I've learned how much you can learn by going through hard times with someone! I think that's great. It's hard, and sometimes easier to give up. But pressing through is SO worth it! This past year spent with him has been sweet, fun, tough, rewarding, exciting, and just the beginning to our future together :) In 18 days I will marry that Matt Leonard who took me out for coffee one year ago... and I am thrilled!

I LOVE you, Matt! Forever.

{Breaking Habit}

I have a tendency to grab a snack whenever I have things to do on the computer. Actually, I have that tendency no matter what I'm doing. But seeing as I have a wedding coming up I'm trying to break that horrid habit.


I just put this sticky note on my desktop.


Of course I won't completely quit eating. That would be absurd! But you get the idea.

Ok. Off to lift the weights or... walk. {suddenly I feel ill at this idea} Happy Sunday!

the friday night.

Since what seems to be the entire world knows by now that I'm going to be marrying the most amazing and Godly man for me, I thought everyone would probably appreciate "the Story" :) You know; how it happened. Words that were exchanged, and all the fun and exciting details in between! So here you go...


Last week Matt suggested using this past weekend to have a Date Night. These are common for us. We try to do them on a regular basis- which I love! He had also mentioned how it could be in celebration for our nine-month anniversary. Had I really given thought to this, I would have remembered that we've never specifically celebrated any anniversary, and nine months is sort of a random number to start. So anyway, back to the main story...

We has been wanting to try making our own sushi, so we decided that this would be the perfect Date Night event! We purchased everything needed and got to work. It was SO fun, and I think we did a pretty good job considering it was our first time! After we made four sushi rolls, we set the table with our fun sushi-dinner wear and dug in! It was DELISH! Matt had also made this super good cucumber salad. Cucumbers, mock-crab, white wine vinegar. So good!

After we were finished eating we just chatted for a few minutes. Matt said he should probably give me my card. "Um. What? You were serious about celebrating our anniversary?! I don't have anything for you!" (That was exactly what I said) He said it's really ok, it's just a homemade card. (I always give him a hard time about how much money he spends on cards from the store when homemade are way better :) On the front of the card were two stick-people. Holding hands, and one was saying 'Woo Hoo. Nine Months' (lol) When I opened the card there was a disc labeled 9 Months of Elise. And of course I wanted to watch it right away!

Keep in mind, I have NO IDEA where this is all going. Matt is sweet, something so thoughtful was not out of the ordinary for him. Let me just tell you.. The video was SO sweet! It made me tear up and laugh. It was full of pictures of our journey so far and sweet thoughts from mine truly. I wish I could get it to upload for all to see, but I'm still working on that. Anyway, at the end of the video Matt was saying that I make him feel so lucky. All while showing pictures from our trip to Vegas (where I wasn't so lucky) and then said "Would you do my the honor... and make me even luckier?????" Followed by the last picture of the video which was him holding the ring. Ah! "Is this a real thing?" (Again, exactly what I said) He retrieved the ring from a couch-side drawer, got down on one knee, and shakily said I love you.

I wish you all could have been a fly on the wall! I'm sure my facial expressions were hilarious and fun. I could not get over how sparkly my ring was! And every morning since I wake up and still think it's so sparkly and beautiful!

I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with Matthew Leonard- and can't wait even more for what our Lord has in store for us! I leave you with pictures from our evening...













I better get planning! Love!

It's almost time...

I think everyone already knows. Because I'm too excited to keep it to myself- JULIA IS COMING TO VISIT! 2 WEEKS FROM TODAY! AH! In honor of her coming, I've officially created a 'Spare 'Oom'. I wanted to name it even- "Weary Traveler" hehe... But I think it's inviting enough that she'll get that from it without a sign on the door :)

The room originally had one wall and the ceiling dark blue with the rest of the walls a nice contrasting light blue. I'm not too keen on blue. However, I found the CUTEST drapes at Salvies that happened to match the light blue. So I painted the dark blue plain white.



Before and after + the curtains. Note to self: Never paint a ceiling again! SO hard!






Complete :)(Not shown: one corner that holds an old guitar of my dad's and a very vintage briefcase/luggage piece) Pretty cute for a house that's made from mostly plastic, vinyl, and 70's wallpaper!

Can't wait for you to get here, my friend! Long awaited talks, laughs, cries, hugs and... well, you get the picture. See you not soon enough!

I Am My Mother's Daughter

Ok, so Mother's Day was like a week ago. I had the cutest picture of my mom and I that I planned on posting on my 'Mother's Day' blog... somehow in the craziness of life, I'm just now posting it. Whoops!

Anyway. My mom is just that. A mom. She's never been one of those mom's that is always trying to become my best friend and have an in on all the latest gossip and such that the daughter may be into. Robin Elise Moslander has always been just my mom. You know the word mom can be different things to different people at different times. These are some words that describe who my mom is to me:




Thank you for all that you are to me and for me. Thank you for everything you teach me, and for the things you've let me learn on my own. Thank you for being my mom. I love you!

A Night In

Life gets busy. We all know that. Nights like tonight are always welcome, and sometimes feel so few and far between. I stayed at home, and cooked- if you could call it that- an easy but delicious dinner for Matt and I :)



I had this sandwich creation at a local bistro-type diner a month or so ago. It seems like a strange combination, yes. But soo good!



It's your basic tuna sandwich. Add: Avocado and... Green Apples! Sliced real thin.



Matt had me put his apples on the side but was brave enough to try it! He liked it :)I also made sweet potato fries and homemade honey-mustard. It was delish!



So we ate and watched Practical Magic. We also laughed a lot. I love that that's a common occurrence between us. Laughter heals the heart, and makes life a little brighter- there can never be too much laughter!