First Married Christmas

So this was our first Christmas together. It started the weekend before Christmas when we got to celebrate with Doug's family. I had a blast making delicious and gooey Christmas cookies in the kitchen with his mom! Then we headed North.... well North Texas, for Christmas. My family has always celebrated on Christmas Eve, a tradition I got to introduce to Douglas. We are still working out a compromise for how we will celebrate with our future children.  We are thinking presents Christmas Eve and Santa presents Christmas morning. But I guess that's the funny thing about traditions, they sort of just happen and they are not always planned.  So only time will tell I suppose!

I was lazy about taking photos this Christmas, so I will have to steal from my mom and see if I can post any from our Holiday weekend. Me and the husband are headed to Katy, Texas for New Years Eve. I VOW to take pictures this weekend!

xoxo

I love him.

more home videos

Some of my favorite memories are visiting Doug on the weekends before we were married. Nothing better than takeout BBQ and rented movies.

"old" home videos

So I was going through my phone and I found a few home videos from before the wedding. I decided that instead of keeping them locked up on my phone forever, I would share them in the next few posts. Enjoy!

Doug and I both get allergy eyes when we hang around cats! Poor thing. I felt so bad for him here.

so much has happened!

A couple of weeks ago husband and I made a visit to Aggieland with Kyle and Frances!

We made the trip for a couple of reasons... we were dying to get together with Kyle and Fran since they live in Katy, Texas and what better way than to go to an Aggie Football game! Even better than that, Fran was getting confirmed into the Catholic Church in College Station!! We were so excited for her and the weekend turned out so special.

Kyle and Frances outside of Kyle Field.

The boys tailgating before the game.

This picture is a little blurry, but I wanted everyone to see her joy!!

After Fran's ceremony, Kyle and Travis were able to get their rings blessed by a Priest. Even though Kyle graduated last year, he never got a chance to do this. So Great!

Last weekend was thanksgiving. I didn't remember to take any photos, but we had a blast at the In-laws' hunting property. There was so much food and family! Many of the family that was there we hadn't seen since the wedding in September. It was warming to get to catch up with everyone and just relax. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

I am alone this weekend. Husband went hunting while I stayed home to take care of a few things. It has only been a day and I miss him SO much. How we did long distance for a year is beyond me.

xoxo, Leigh

Austin is home

   So my parents decided to visit us this weekend and they were our first guests to stay with us in our settled in apartment. What a treat! It was a cozy fit but so worth it when we all woke up and were able to eat breakfast together with our sleepy faces still on.
   I had planned to spend most of Saturday at the Austin flea market (I love flea markets). Unfortunately this one was a total bust and had nothing but junk. I'm not talking "one man's junk is another man's treasure" kind of junk. I am talking honest to goodness cheap plastic toys and "one day too old" bread kind of junk.  Fortunately my parents were good sports about it all and we turned dinner plans into lunch plans and headed to Saltlick BBQ.
    This was everyone's first time to Saltlick and it was SO fun! We visited their winery first and sat outside sipping wine and fresh squeezed lemonade while we waited for a table. When our table was ready, they took us into a far back room that resembled a rustic cabin and served us some amazing plates of BBQ and some of the best coleslaw I have ever tasted in my life! The day was saved.

My dad and I enjoying the view from the winery's porch.

Everyone in the back cabin together!

   Overall the weekend was so much fun and it ended up being a great way to have an early celebration of my sweet mother's birthday. Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend as much as we did!

It was so windy all weekend and poor husband's tie got caught up with the wind!

Goodbyes

xoxo,
Leigh

Date Night

   Let me set the scene. Doug is working late and I barely get home in time to cook a proper meal. I race to the computer in hopes that I can find a recipe that will allow me to throw what ever ingredients I can find in the refrigerator. I decide on simple enough chicken fajitas, but husband will be home long before they will be ready. Not even five minutes go by and Doug calls. He wants to take me out to dinner! Life Saver!

    I must admit that I am not always in the mood to go out to eat. There is something about being cozy in our home as newlyweds and eating dinner together that I love. But last night's timing was perfect. Thank you husband for date night.

xoxo,
Leigh

apart for the weekend

So, husband went hunting this weekend and I went home to visit my parents.

   I was home for one of my closest friends, Becca, who is having her baby this coming January or February! My mom hosted a baby shower at her house on Saturday and it was so fun to see everyone!!



This is me with Becca and my friend Brytnei at the shower!



This is the SUPER cute diaper cake that my mom made for the shower!

   Then on Sunday my lovely mother and I spent the day together shopping - one of my favorite passtimes.  We were able to explore the new H&M in Dallas and get some goodies for Douglas and me. We also HAD to make a pit stop and get some hot chocolate and chai tea. Of course the hot chocolate was mine.



Check out this deliciousness!!



   Well, I haven't made it home to Austin yet, so I do not have an update on Doug's weekend yet. I'm sure he had a great time with the guys. CANNOT wait to see him.

xoxo,

Leigh

We have jobs!

So this isn't the craziest news ever considering Doug already had a job. BUT he did get a promotion which had almost perfect timing. We were considering moving locations in Austin, but decided we didn't really have the budget to live where we wanted. So instead of compromising for another place, we decided to sign a lease at this apartment for one more year. Almost the next day after signing is when he got his promotion!! Naturally. Well, God must want us here for a reason.

As for me... I have recently been hired by Pottery Barn! Yeah! Love their everything.

This is my pottery barn!

Day one after finishing training included 4 hours of wrapping presents for window displays. Surprisingly I still had fun because I was paired with a great lady to keep me company!

xoxo

Costa Rican Style

Happy Halloween! I know this is a little behind, but...

Two months ago Doug and I enjoyed honeymoon bliss in Costa Rica. Neither of us wanted to leave because it was so beautiful!! Take a gander at some of its beauty.

This was one of the views from the resort. Over this hill was the beach.

This is where we ate breakfast everyday. It overlooked the pools at the resort!!

Our resort!

My only wish is that we would have worked harder to take a picture together. It is so hard to get a picture when there is only two of you on the trip! Most of the ones with the both of us are the awkward angle shots with one person's arm extended. Better luck next trip!

xoxo, Leigh

R.I.P Toby

Toby is the name of my not so trusty laptop. I have spent the last two weeks getting married and being on my honeymoon. With those kind of events come lots of PICTURES and PRESENTS! Sadly, Toby decided to die on me and he took my pics and gift list with him. (I have spent the last few days mourning.) Now Doug and I must begin computer shopping!!! Doug wants a Mac, I want a PC... decisions.

xoxo

wedding week!!

So me and the Mr. wonderful are getting married this week. I am a mix of many emotions. There is obviously the excitement of it all but there is sort of a sense of wonder. I am so curious about what I will feel on the day of and I am even more curious about what it will be like to be married. I have never lived with a man besides my easy going dad and my little brother (by little I mean he is 21). 

I expected there to be more chaos in my house but I am surprisingly calm for someone whose whole life is about to change. I won't get to see Doug until Wednesday, but he seems to be handling it all pretty well too. He has been texting me all day pictures of our apartment. He is so sweet to me. He has been cleaning and straightening up all day. What a man!

Doug and Me at one of the many awesome showers thrown for us!!

 

xoxo

engagement bliss

They are definitely fun parts and not so fun parts to being engaged. The fun parts are preparing to be married and be creative in wedding planning. The not so fun parts would be taking care of all the technical stuff and being broke all the time. But Doug and I will take the good with the bad if it means married bliss in the end.

Here are a couple of engagement snapshots that the lovely Carri Neu took for us from Carri Jayne Photography!

 

xoxo, enjoy!

day one

This is officially my first attempt at a blog...ever. I have followed blogs for years and pretty near vowed to never start one. Why the change of heart? Well, as I am growing older, I am realizing that I am constantly moving from here to there. I gave it some thought (a.k.a. I was reading another blog and decided in 5 minutes) and figured this would be a good way to keep in touch.

About me... My name is Leigh and I was born and raised in Texas. I am a recent (within the last year and a half) college grad. I am scheduled to be hitched in exactly 2 months from today and will be marrying the oh-so-incredible Doug. While we did travel all the way to Ohio to go to college and then to Austria for a study abroad program (where we met), he was also born and raised in Texas (6 hours south of me). Post marriage, our next adventure will be to settle down in the ever famous capital of Texas, Austin. Wish us luck!

My plan... post collected snap shots and share special stories. Enjoy!