Off to CB for NYE!

We're leaving for Crested Butte today! I'll be back Monday with regularly scheduled posts :)

I'm looking forward to sporting my new Hunter Wellies and JCrew Peacoat in the Mountains, thanks to mine and Dave's parents! I'm not looking forward to the 15 hour drive ahead of us... at least it's pretty, expect some random mobile posts.

Did I mention the place we're staying has a hot tub? We're totally going to the hot tub time machine! I hope everyone has a fabulous new years!

The current state of my living room..

We were blessed with many gifts this Christmas.

Christmas Card Photo Fail

This weekend we had a holiday party to attend and decided before we left it'd be the perfect time to take our Christmas card picture.  I really wish Santa would have brought me the tripod I asked for early, but alas he didn't, so TV tray, gift box, cookbook and a dvd were stacked up in order to get the perfect height for the camera.

We tested it out with just us first.

Then I tried to adjust the height of our camera by eliminating a few things and using just the tv tray and a roll of ribbon... which quickly fell and unrolled the entire roll.

Then Dave decided we should just to solo shots...

Yeah, not exactly the look I was going for... So we grabbed the dogs and prayed for one good shot.

blurry.

And Nigel looks like a zombie in this one..

We were laughing too hard at this point so we gave up and went to the party...

Which was a lot of fun! Here's the pics to prove it!

I made PW's buffalo chicken dip

It was yummmy!

We played Dirty Santa, Dave and I gave a bottle of wine and some Cheesy Poofs. The classy way to have wine and cheese. The poofs were a big hit!

Paul fit 15 cheesy poofs in his mouth at one time! He was the winner.

Ryan and Audra won the shake weight! Everyone had fun trying it out.

It was black and white themed in case you didn't notice...

Same theme as LC's party on Laguna Beach circa 2004.

Dave stayed up all night studying for a Physiology final the night before the party, took the test that morning, came home and slept for maybe 3 hours. He was a little bit goofy due to lack of sleep.

(please ignore that hand back there.. I told you he was goofy)

Per usual, the girls had a dance party!

Group Pic!

Good times with great friends!

The next day we tried again...

Nigel doesn't seem to understand we're telling him to look at the camera not at the ceiling.

He wouldn't be in any AP classes in any Dog Academy.. let's put it that way.

We tried a new position and almost got it... I don't really like this pose though, it makes our tree look small.

I gave up and used an old picture. Maybe next year we'll get a decent picture for the card.

It's Finally Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Our first real tree, in our first home!

Dave brought it in and got it in the stand, then went off to study while I decorated it!

I decided that decorating a tree by yourself is not very fun... I almost quit a few times. Then I put my big girl pants on, poured myself a glass of champagne and got to it!

And I'm done!!!

Sorry it's a little blurry... turns out it's hard to get a good pic of a tree.

Also, if anyone wants to get us a Christmas Tree Skirt that'd be great! Thanks! :)

Here are a few of my favorite ornaments. We don't have many yet, but I hope to collect memorable ornaments over the years.

This was last years, "Our 1st Christmas" and the little heart says 2009. I love it!

I got Dave this Herbie ornament last year. We found out he got into Dental School right before Christmas.  And I thought it was only fitting to get him the Herbie ornament! Remember Herbie was the elf who wanted to be a Dentist.

I actually got two Herbie ornaments for him last year, one of them is too heavy for the tree though, so it goes on his desk.

Oh and it talks and Rudolph's nose lights up! "Just fixing these dolls teeth, now this won't hurt a bit" "You're going to be a what? A Dentist, at least I hope to be, someday" So cute! Dave loved it, he said it was his favorite gift last year! Funny how that happens. It's always the little gifts that people love the most.

of course there's an owl!

And now onto the mantle.

Some close ups of my favorite parts:

Most of this stuff is from target or hand me downs from my Mom! Thanks Mom! The vase fillers are my favorite! I got this pack from Target and they smell like cinnamon, so pretty too! You can get them here.

 My friend Maureen, gave my this sweet little dish a few years ago, it's always been one of my favorite things to put out each year.

Christmas came a little early for Coop, he was in dire need of a new sweater.

And I upgraded his cage with a new squishy insert. He tried it out last night and was so proud to have his own little bed. (It's not in his cage yet in these pics)

I pimped his ride.

First he had to make it soft by digging on it for at least 20 minutes... I took a video I'll have to upload later. He's a silly little guy.

Ahh finally! Pure comfort.

This morning I caught Cooper and Nigel snuggling before I left for work.

Have you ever seen anything cuter?

Fine Dining at Taco Bueno

Last night I decided to take the night off from cooking and was craving my old favorite, Taco Bueno.

Before you judge, here are a couple of the delicious dinners I have provided for the household lately.

Delicious grilled turkey and cheese on tuscan bread (Tulsa girls - get some of this bread from Petty's it is THE best!) with tomato soup. Sidenote - my Juliska ramekins are the perfect size to hold half a can of tomato soup, Dave had the other half and it was just the right amount! (Lindy this is for you)

Parmesan chicken, potato latkes and grilled veggies. Yum!

So after finally conquering the dirty dishes I decided to take the night off. A friend of mine had told me there was a brand new "state of the art" Taco Bueno nearby and I just had to check it out.  A little background for you, I have always been a loyal Bueno fan. We grew up having Bueno nights at our house and we all looked forward to it. I always got the same thing and have ventured outside of the box a couple of times but have stuck to my main faves throughout the year. That would be cheese nachos, a party burrito and a crispy beef taco for all you weirdos out there who care.

I convinced Dave to go with me, as he has yet to find "his order" at Bueno and I didn't want to have to guess.

We pulled up and I first noticed the sign was totally new and the interior looked more like a taco cabana than a Bueno.

While waiting in the drive through lane, I had to share my excitement with my brother, who is also a huge fan of Bueno. (I remember one Thanksgiving when he was younger, he suggested we have Bueno and Wendy's chicken nuggets for Thanksgiving instead of the usual turkey and vegetables.)

Here's how our convo went:

Now if they just served margaritas I'd consider dining at this new Bueno for date night.