..recap..

Christmas has come and gone (way too fast for my taste!). My tree is dying and has been for about a week. No idea why it dried out so quickly this year. It will be quite the mess to clean up!

Our Christmas pic from last night...tree must come down now...

We started off the Christmas celebrations a week early with J's family. His sister's birthday is the 17th so it was a good time to head up there. We got to spend time with cousin Ron and his new fiance Amanda (who I LOVE). They just built their first home together and have a fun little dog named Lucy.Amanda and I with our little furbabies

We spent time with them, his aunt and uncle then we headed to his mom's for the rest of the weekend. We got to meet her new boyfriend Lee. He seems really nice and likes her a lot. If he makes her happy, we are happy. It's just weird for us to see her so giddy about someone, cuddling on the couch with him, kissing and holding hands. Must be strange for J because this man is still a stranger to him....

Anyways, J worked all week before Christmas but had Christmas day off. I, of course, decided to get a terrible head cold on the 24th..so therefore we did not go out to our usual fancy dinner on Christmas Eve. We tried out a new place called Lazy Dog Cafe. Cute and fun atmosphere. Steph-what was the drink that Curt and Mike were ordering at Applebee's? They were making it up right there or something...I think they have it at this restaurant :)

We had a wonderful Christmas day together. Filled with too much food, movies, presents, puzzle, desserts, and playing with Molly. I like when he has days off-we treasure them! J spoiled me this year with some great gifts. My favorite being a purse I had been eyeing at Target for awhile(similar to the one in My Favorite Things post). I love it. And some new fancy shampoo and conditioner that Santa brought me. It was a great Christmas but just went by too fast!!

Ohhhh and we hungout with our friends Josh and Christina on Saturday and played the game Settlers. Have you seen it or played it?? Sooo much fun!! Everyone was raving about it in our young marrieds group so we were glad we jumped on the band wagon and played it!! Tons of fun!


One of my favorite parts of Christmas happened a few weeks ago actually. We decided to do the shoebox ministry and filled up 2 shoeboxes with some fun and useful gifts for children who otherwise would not have a Christmas. We want to continue doing this every year. Or maybe adopt a family with some friends. The Christmas season means so much more when you are sharing God's love with others. Consider doing this next year...
What did you do for Christmas? Did you get a wonderful or meaningful gift that you love?
Do share ;)

..my favorite things..

After my straightner broke in May, I invested in this bad boy. CHI is awesome!!Using a straightner calls for some good hair protectant, I love Silk Therapy.

LOVE it!!

TOMS are a must have. They donate a pair to children with no shoes when you buy a pair. Awesome way to give back!

American Rag jeans are super comfy and all I own right now
I love these hats..I wear mine all the time
Every girl needs some funky nail polish color every once in awhile

I LOVE this big purse!! I have a green one that I adore!

I just did a fun collage on my wall at home..you should all have one too ;)

Arrested Development is hilarious..please watch it.

Long cardigans are great and go with almost anything.

Colder weather calls for some nice boots. I love to walk Molly in my comfy boots!

Sephora has some great makeup brushes.

I love Calphalon pans...amazing.

What girl doesn't love a cute peacoat?!

Alright now, these are my favorite things..and you all get them!!! WHOO HOO!!!
I wish...

What are your favorite things of 2009???

..cause I'ma pothole..

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..tis the season..

Keep your eyes peeled for my Melrah (Melissa/Oprah) Favorite Things 2009!!!!

Tis coming soon...

..gingerbread house..

Here's the back story:
Jesse's old youth pastor's family, The Todd's, are Thanksgiving fans. The only reason I think they like Thanksgiving is because it kicks off Christmas season-which they LOVE!! So every year they make a gingerbread house and it has turned into a competition. We have spent Thanksgiving with Mike and Sandy for the last 3 years. Every year we get a lot of flack for not making a house. Last year Sandy went out and bought a fake one that was awesome. It plugs in and has little lights, just perfect. So we tried to pass it off as homemade. Threw some flour on Sandy's face, put on aprons, and scattered candy all over. Emailed them the pictures that afternoon and yep, they discovered it was false (Dang it..haha) This year, we stepped it up and created the below masterpiece:



hahahahaha Let's tour this house, I mean masterpiece.
-On the left we have Jesse and I holding stick snowman hands, the awkward third wheel behind us is Michael Jordan.
-We have a very proud and patriotic snowman who owns the home.
-His little friend in the front, a Notre Dame alum-aka Brandon (son of Sandy and Mike)
-Scottie Pippen also joined the party and E.T. snowman as well.
-And last but not least is little one-eyed snowdog named Molly.

Tacky, Yes.
Creative, Yes.
Took a long time, Yes.
Won the contest, No.

We will be back Todd/Boswell/Huntsinger family..we will be back.