2013 Favorites

My Wedding year is almost over! 

It is so hard to believe. It feels like just yesterday we were welcoming 2013 and realizing it was finally the year we were tying the knot and becoming Mr&Mrs Fry.

The wedding countdown quickly diminished and all the showers and festivities were wrapped up with pure success and lots of fun!!! The 1st six months of the year were pretty much a blur to me and all that was left was lots of great memories.

Here are some highlights of 2013

January, February, March & April

These months all flew by and seemed like they were all merged together

Anthony bought his duck hunting gun, we did some four wheeling at Spiker's property,

Bought my new car

enjoyed wedding planning with my girls and wedding gifts started coming in!!!

My bridesmaid threw me the most amazing Bridal Shower and I could not believe the turnout we had.

Thanks so much to my girls!!!!

In April we accomplished lots of little wedding projects my favorite being getting to bottle our own wine thanks to my Mom and Dad!!!! Just thinking about it is making my crave a bottle glass of Acai Raspberry

My girls once again went over the top surprising me with a lingerie shower!!!

I was so surprised and excited!!!

In May we celebrated my bachelorette party in Columbus. 

I had a blast on my night out on the town with my girls!

June we finally became MR&MRS!

The best day of my life to date!!!

We also enjoy our Honeymoon at our favorite beaches in and around Charleston, South Carolina

Married life has been full of firsts as husband and wife, learning more about each other, bills and the cost of living on our own has been a real lesson that we are getting the hang of. 

Some other highlights of the year can be found in these posts...

Becoming a Runner

Hershey, PA part one & part two

Anthony turned 25

We found our Home

Home Tour of our Kitchen and Down the Hall to the Bathroom

Tonight we have an eventful night planned. First stop is a wedding reception for our friends that moved to Alaska last year and were not able to have their wedding here because they had to move so fast. 

After we are the reception for a while we are heading to a concert that is being put on by my cousin Daniel's band Double Cut. They are throwing a huge party with 3 other band playing before they do, a mechanical bull, food, BYOB and even a ball to drop at midnight. It is going to be so much fun!!!

Plus it is like 10 minutes from our house so we will be close to home.

I hope you all have an amazing NYE and stay safe if you are out and about!

Thank you so much to all my readers for an amazing year, I cannot wait to see what 2014 is going to bring to us and this little blog here. I have BIG plans for the new year and I am very anxious to see them unravel.

Happy New Year!!!

Weekend Recap & Rounding Out Christmas Festies

First off I must admit that I am so ready for this work week to be over with & it is only Monday.

This week is going to be just like last week...

Monday 9-4

Tuesday 9-2

Wednesday OFF

Thursday 9-4

Friday - Sunday OFF

This on again off again relationship I am having with work is actually getting annoying. 

I like routine and I cannot have a routine with this type of schedule.

Now that I have got that off my chest...

Here is my little weekend recap.

We finished off our Christmas Festivities on Friday by celebrating at my Grandma and Dave's for the Spiker Family Christmas. We all bring food and gather around and eat at 5:00. After everyone is done eating we all head to the living room to open gifts (with an exception of last year. We actually had lots of snow on the ground and we were all outside on the fourwheelers pulling eachother on the sleds in the dark until almost 10:00 and had to be forced to come in and open gifts) We try to avoid total chaos while opening gifts and since my Grandpa Spiker loved Christmas everyone goes around taking turns opening one gift at a time. It has taught all us kids to truly appreciate our gifts and be thankful.

The total chaos starts after the opening of gifts when we take our traditional family pictures

After the pictures the kids start playing in the basement usually with the new toys they have just opened and us adult head to the dining room for the white elephant gift exchange. Unfortunately I did not get any pictures of it this year but it included 5 or 6 different bottles of wine, some candle warmers, lottery tickets, movie theater gift cards and some other random stuff. 

No one usually wants the game to end so we just keep stealing gifts from each other and the last unopened one is left on the table for quite a while.

After the gift exchange is over most of the little kids are tired so the gifts are packed in the cars, leftovers are put into tupper ware for everyone to take home and hugs and kisses are given and we all head home.

Now that Christmas 2013 is over we are left to think about the New Year, but I will save that for tomorrow.

Saturday I cleaned up a little bit and put away Christmas gifts.

All that cleaning came to a stop when Mom texted me to see if I wanted to go to the movies with her.

We decided to see Saving Mr Banks. 

Anthony doesn't typically get into these kind of movies so when the invitation comes up to go with my Mom I of course jump on it plus I don't remember the last time I went to the movies with her let alone the last time I did go to the movies was on our honeymoon.

Saving Mr Banks was really good and I would definitely consider adding it to my collection of movies. I need to see Mary Poppins because I don't remember watching it before so that would probably benefit me.

Saturday night Mom and Dad added a new furbaby to their family.

Anthony's Mom had sold a puppy almost 2 years ago to a family and their kids have developed an allergy to him so they contacted Theresa and wanted to see if she wanted him back in order to rehome him. That was back in October. On Christmas Eve she asked me if Mom would be interested in him, of course her answer was yes. So we went there on Saturday night to pick him up. Oh and funny tid bit...his name is also TANK

We were talking about changing it to Hank in order to not have two Tanks in the family but decided it should stay the same since he is has been flipped around so much and not being with his family that raised him.

So meet Tank II

Sunday was spent cleaning up more of the house.

Anthony went duck hunting in the morning and I had some stuff to do and swing by Mom and Dad's to pick up our huge cleaning supply tote that they got us for Christmas.

I got home around 3:30 and Anthony had a duck already cooked in the crock pot ready for dinner!

Talk about a happy wife!

We ended up having an early dinner and then decided that we would clean out the laundry room.

Our laundry room also serves as our storage room and pretty much a dump off room. When we had company over we threw a bunch of boxes in there and just shut the door. 

With the New Year coming we decided to get it all cleaned and organized so we can start off with a clean slate and we don't have to worry if someone is going to think it is the bathroom door and wander in there and be lost forever!!! 

We ended up ending the weekend watching our Wedding Video and cuddling on the couch.

My Aunt and Uncle gave us our wedding video and wedding album for Christmas on Friday night at Grandma's. We all watched it there but Anthony and I wanted to watch it again. 

When I figure out how to load it on to my YouTube I will let you all know so you can see it too!

All in all I had a great weekend and obviously Monday snuck up on me like it does every week!

Linking up over at Showered With Design

Christmas Recap & Ornament Exchange with The Joy's

Hello Everyone!
Christmas Day went as fast as this whole Holiday Season snuck upon us this year. 

Technically we have one more Christmas Celebration tomorrow with my Mom's side (Spiker Family) at my Grandma and Dave's house. We started this tradition a couple years ago to avoid everyone running all around trying to get everywhere and this way we can actually enjoy each other's company. 

Another plus side to this is that I can get some more shopping done that we didn't get done earlier.

Yesterday we ended up sleeping in until 10:00...I guess that is what happens when you don't have any kids!

We went to bed late because we went to midnight mass and I couldn't fall asleep because I was trying to get some stuff done. We decided not to set any alarm clocks and just wake up when we were ready to on our own. Waking up so much later we did feel a little rushed because we had to get ready and head to my Mom and Dad's for Christmas at their house and for breakfast casserole.

Every year everyone goes to their house for Mom's breakfast.

My cousin Jeremy and I always end up having a silly string fight but last year we didn't. Yesterday when we got there him and my brother were waiting for me. So after picking that junk out of my hair and eating some breakfast we opened our gifts from Mom and Dad.

They got us a new TV which we were in need of and they also got us a huge tote full of cleaning supplies and paper products. It was great because we are starting to run out of all the cleaning supplies we received as gifts at my bridal shower.  

We made a stop at my Grandma and Grandpa Kuhn's since we missed them since we slept in and they made us the most beautiful Nativity Scene. My Grandpa even painted two of the pieces. I still have to set it up and take a picture today when I get off work and then I will post a picture. 

After The Kuhn's we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Price's (Dad's Mom) for Lunch.

There weren't nearly as many people there like it has been in the years past but it was very nice to visit with the family who was there and we got Grandma to play the piano and the organ which is always fun to listen to. I always wish I had a little bit of a musical talent and could play.

 Of course a lovely photo bomb from my brother... Thanks JK!

This one is better (:

I had mentioned when I did my Christmas Home Tour that I would share more about the ornament exchange I did with Julie Joy who blogs over at Just The Joys. This was so much fun and we decided we are definitely going to do it again next year. We were supposed to only get each other an ornament but that back fired when we both couldn't resist getting something else for each other. Hey we can't help the shopping and gift gifting, its has something to do with those female chromosomes!! and we are not complaining one bit.

Anywho... Julie and Michael went to Bronner's in Michigan and picked out these two ornaments for us and then mailed them to us about 2 weeks ago. She also sent me this awesome headband that has a felt backing on it so it will not slide off of my head. I haven't really had a chance to get a picture of it but it is super cute and it doesn't slip at all. I am planning on wearing it for my half marathon. 

Now for the ornaments...

This is perfect to have on our tree since we are just starting our own little family and it matches our nature theme we have going on.

 And this little owl is awesome!! He fits right in with all of our other little critters on our critter tree. 

And here is what the Joys got from the Frys...

Photo Credit to Julie. 

I had to post a picture of it on her tree.

But I thought these Reindeer were perfect because Julie and Michael are also hunters just like we are.

 I also bought them this lake sign to hang in their bar since they live in Michigan around the Lake.

The other thing I included was this Two Peas in a Pod keychain that I made for Julie. I also made one for myself. They are kind of like those Best Friends necklaces we all used to get for $4 from Claire's when we were little. 

I hope all of you had a great Christmas and to those of you that are lucky enough to have today off from work, congrats! I am now mustering through an extremely slow day at the office but hey if I am not here I don't get paid lol. 

Merry Christmas

From Our Family to Your's!

This week has been so crazy getting ready for this day. Between getting the menu planned out for our first Christmas Eve Dinner at our house, grocery shopping, last minute gift buying and making and finishing decorating I have not had much of a chance to blog. 

Mostly everyone is probably checked out of here at this point...

I on the other hand am sitting in my living room working by the light of our Christmas Tree with a very tired hubby sleeping beside me and snoring big red dog at my feet and it is almost 2:30 a.m. Christmas morning.

We don't have to be at my Mom and Dad's until 10:00 for breakfast and then spend the rest of the day with them so I decided to take this opportunity to get basically my one and only Christmas post done for this year. I had wanted to do a bunch of posts including room tours, present DIY projects, Ornament stories but the 25th snuck up on me and now here I am typing this...

Tonight we went to midnight mass at St. Thomas (our Church) with my Mom, Dad, brother and Shalene.

There were so much less people there than at the earlier times. Actually I noticed that we had more people at our wedding than what was at Church tonight.

sorry for the crappy quality iphone pictures

Nativity Scene at Our Church

Now for a wee little Christmas Home Tour...

First stop is the Kitchen.

I ended up filling my wooden box with some silver tinsel and over sized Christmas bulbs

Here is our little Nature Inspired Mini Tree

(hopefully next year I can have a whole tree dedicated to all these little woodland creatures

This little guy I received from my blogger friend Julie Joy for our ornament exchange we did this year which was so much fun. I will definitely post more about that on Thursday. Make sure you swing by her blog when you get a chance and check out her beautifully decorated house too!

Just the top of our microwave stand

Next stop is the living room..

 Some of our favorite ornaments

 I ended up making this one from our custom stamp we bought for our wedding

 Another DIY ornament 

 Faux mantle...I so wish we had a fireplace.

We have a woodburner in the basement but no fireplace so until then this will work.

This is my little Precious Moments Nativity Scene that my Grandma Spiker gave me in 2009 after I graduated High School and was in College. She said this was the perfect little size for me if I was going to be a college student (so simple, I Love her!) This is still the only one I have and I really treasure it. This year I put it in this antique box I have and hunt a star in the box.

Back to the kitchen..

I normally make a cute little banner that says Merry Christmas then attach all of our Christmas Cards but I decided to try something a little different.

I am not real sure if I like it but I have noticed everyone that stops at our house stops to look at the cards we have received and I don't think they would do that if they were hanging in a window or somewhere else.

and that is one of my favorite parts of my Christmas decorations, our kitchen window display.

I went over the top compared to everything else I have done in the house but I love the way it glimmers and glows at night when all the other lights are out.

And now for our 2013 Christmas Card... aka Our First Married Christmas

designed by muah!!

we also did a bloopers card since the dogs and cat were not cooperating but it is on my flash drive which is in my purse and if I got it out it would involve waking up my sleeping husband and snoring dog which is something I don't really want to do right now since they look so peaceful.

So I will leave you with that for tonight.

Good Night and Merry Christmas!