tiny tree

so i was wandering through target this morning wanting to get some new decorations. i wanted a tiny tree to set on top of one of my shelves, but wasn't loving what i was finding. i love my red, green and silver ornaments and decorations and just couldn't find anything i loved. as i was wandering i stumbled on a cute cupcake holder shaped like a tree and well, basically i really wanted it and had to find a way to use it. as i was looking at it i thought, hey i bet i could put extra ornaments in place of cupcakes. and so was born my tiny ornament tree. i just grabbed a bow out of the gift wrapping section and attatched it to the top. above is my final product. i love it, and it was super cheap and now it matches my decor perfectly. and now i have an excuse to make holiday cupcakes!

i love this tiny tree. it makes me smile...and want to get the big one up soon! only 72 hours left. pace has agreed to help me put it up on thursday! pics coming soon!

thankful thanksgiving

happy thanksgiving my fellow bloggies! i wish you all a fabulous day. hope that no matter where you are you are staying warm, eating lots of good food and enjoying fabulous company! pace and i are having thanksgiving down in cali, just the two of us. a relaxing day spent lounging, eating and watching football! i just don't see how it could be any better! we are also planning on going to old town orange and taking a step back in time to see all the cute decorations and festivities around the town square. it pretty much should be awesome.

on a more serious note, many friends have experienced the loss of a loved one in the past weeks. i feel so grateful for my family and friends. i am thankful for all of my loved ones. my heart goes out to my best friend, cole. be strong buddy. you're going to be a great daddy. baby hunter is in good hands with his grandma for the next four weeks. and when he gets here, he'll bring lots of love down with him; lots of love from his grandma. and my heart is with you brave brie, for the loss of your beautiful baby girl. she knows how amazing her mommy is.

we miss our families greatly this time of year, but are thankful for all that we have. we are thankful to have families that love and support us. great friends who do the same. thankful that we have been provided this awesome opportunity to live down here and for all the experiences (good or bad, large or small) we have had down here.

i am thankful for pace. for his support, for taking care of me, for doing his best to make me smile...every single day. and for loving me.

i am feeling very blessed this thanksgiving and very grateful for everything i have.

happy happy thankful thanksgiving.

it's christmas time again...

and as i can't put decorations up in my casa yet, why not deck my blog? so that's what i did. working on getting my christmas music uploaded, as i know my mom and the ladies at ihc so enjoyed that last season. i am so very excited for christmas this year, don't know exactly why, but i am feeling super holiday-y this year. maybe it's because i have been listening to christmas music in my car since, oh, october 31. i totally broke my own rule one day early and it has been worth it!

'tis the season!

there's no place like...

super super excited about this one! just booked our flights home. trading the sunny bright california christmas for a snowy white utah christmas. we get in on christmas eve, with time to celebrate with our families this year. last year, i was chillin' at the airport and pace was trying to warm up from his awful night in nephi. anyway, this year, we travel together.

dear santa,

don't forget to deliver our presents in utah. we've been extra good this year!

love,

katie & pace

i am so dreaming of a white christmas!

little big news

ok, so i am like four days behind on posting my little big news. but, it's time. new job, new job, new job! so excited about it. still retail, i actually don't mind the retail hours as much as i thought i would. pace is super busy with school and work right now, so it is hard on saturday and sunday when i work and he is home. but, it is also nice because he is able to read and write and work while i am gone. and with my schedule being all over the place, i don't spend tons of time at the apartment by myself. it works for us for now. so anyway, back to my new job. i am leaving victoria's secret. trading in my all black dress clothes wardrobe for american eagle. i was offered an assistant manager position at south coast mall. probably my favorite mall...ever. it is truly fabulous. so, yeah, i start on november 16th. and i get to wear jeans and flip flops to work...its like every day is a super uber casual friday. i'll miss my girls at victoria's secret, but i am super excited about this new challenge.

plus...we get to come home for christmas! which pretty much makes a job change worth it!

too much time on my hands

yeah, way too much time on my hands. so today is my day off...rad! been up for oh, bout an hour or so. still in jammies, still cuddled up under the latest birthday present faux furry blankie and yeah having internal battle numero uno of the day. internal battle numero uno is usually the only internal battle of the day that changes. i have like 50 of these little guys a day. 99% of the time they stay the same: go to the gym, don't go to the gym; hair up, hair down; wear a dress, or wear pants; black short cardigan or black long cardigan...catch my drift? internal battle numero uno is usually the "decision of the day".

so this is the internal battle of the day, today. saturday is halloween. i heart halloween. love love love this holiday. maybe it is my old spartan pride coming back...true love for the orange and black. or maybe it is because i love dressing up, putting on make-up, i don't know guys. but, i love this holiday. for the past, oh lets say 24 years every single halloween i have had the same dinner. at my moms, at my grandmas, at my apartment, doesn't matter where i am it is the same meal. what meal is that? classic "halloween" meal. a truly awesome katie friendly dinner.

sloppy joes, chips, glazed donuts (maybe krispy kreme, maybe not), chocolate milk and olives.

i love this meal. simple, quick, easy, messy. donuts and chocolate milk? for dinner...c'mon! ok, so here is the internal battle. i have found some seriously seriously awesome halloween recipes. like pumpkin alfredo with cresent moon ravioli's...this is where the battle begins. do i let go of 24 years of tradition to serve my own selfish craving? will my mom and grandma dis-own me if i don't have sloppy joes for dinner on halloween? can i live with myself if i ruin my own halloween tradition? i don't know! that is why it is an internal battle!

my heart is telling me to go with the traditional and my tummy says...try something new! yikes. so needless to say this is what i am going to be internalizing for the next 48 hours. it is gonna be rough.

see what i mean? i have way too much time on my hands. oh, and no guys, this is not the ch-ch-ch-ch-changes that i was talking about. that will still be discussed at a later date. it really isn't a big deal, just something new and fun.

wish me luck. will it be heart or tummy? only time will tell.

as david bowie once said...

" i still don't know what i was waiting for

and my time was running wild

a million dead-end streets

every time i thought i'd got it made

it seemed the taste was not so sweet

so i turned myself to face me

but i've never caught a glimpse

of how the others must see the faker

i'm much too fast to take that test

ch-ch-ch-ch-changes..."

a minor/major change is in store down here in sunny california. nothing too major in the large scale scheme of things, but it has the potential to be a major one. nothing bad, it's good. i just can't talk about it until friday. so this is just a teaser post...





stay tuned.