Christmas Cheer-o-Meter

We are doing everything possible this year to catch the Christmas spirit and get a little Christmas cheer. I'd say on a Christmas scale of 1 to 10 we are pretty cheery and we have done a lot of fun things to boot!

We went to the Festival of Trees to start the holiday season off. Unfortunately the trees were not as wonderful as they have been in the past but it was still a fun night. I got so many craft ideas from the gift shop and I can't wait to start them all! All in all, it was a wonderful night and all for such a good cause.

The Dickens Festival!

I had never been before so it was treat to go this year. Everyone is dressed up in old-time apparel and they all pretend to be celebrating Christmas during the time of Charles Dickens. If you need more help understanding... 

watch the Muppets Christmas Carol.

The trees are trimmed

Christmas decorating is way more fun when you are married.

Also, How does anyone make it through Christmas without a stapple gun?

It was our #1 decorating tool this year.

Snowed In

We were driving home from California during that huge snow storm that hit Utah. Every complained that it was not so bad... I disagree.

We got snowed in in Cedar City. We made the most of it though by watching movies and drinking hot chocolate in our smelling motel room.

I realize it is totally and completely inappropriate and embarrassing to post bathing suit pictures but just this once... I had to.

We were showing off our muscles...

and our bathing suits all matched.

Chop. Chop.

GUESS WHO....

So basically... I chopped my hair off. That's right, 25 inches GONE!

I really had no reason for doing it. I just wanted to. I thought it would be fun. and you know what? 

I love it.

P.S. I donated the hair to Locks of Love

Halloween

I hate to back it up so far but we had so much fun celebrating Halloween that I want to share it with you all. At the Cobabe house, we dont mess arounf when it comes to pumpkin carving... We got out the power tools this year. As you can see in the pictures the jig-saw was the tool of choice. Although it is not pictured, we also used a power drill to make a polka-dotted pumpkin.

Raymond and I dressed up as geeks on Halloween and spent the night at home with family. We had delicious soup served in bread bowls, a Halloween tradition, and cozied up to the fire to enjoy the night. We also enjoyed a chocolate fountain with friends on Halloween night.

Honeymoon Take 2

When Raymo and I Honeymooned the first time we made a big mistake... We forgot the camera. How do you forget to bring a camera along on your honeymoon? I'm not sure how it happened but somehow it got left behind.

Day after day we would say we were going to buy a disposable camera but somehow the days slipped by and before we knew it our honeymoon was over and we had no pictures to remind us of what a wonderful time we had. Bummer.

Fast forward to present time... Raymond and I just got home from California after Honeymoon Take 2. Good news, we remembered to bring the camera along! Bad news, we only took 2 pictures. I'm not sure how we always manage to forget about using the camera but we seem to forget quite often. Oh well, I guess it gives us a good reason to have Honeymoon Take 3!

Girls Trip!

It has been over a year since I have seen these two girls... 

Meet Robyn and Elizabeth. 

We met in Dundee when we were all there studying. We quickly became friends and spent nearly everyday together. Now, one year later, we joined up for a little reunion girls trip and had an absolute blast. We spent the whole week talking, talking, talking about boys, jobs, marriage, life... you name it, we talked about it. It was such a wonderful trip and I am so glad that I got to spend time with them.

I miss you girls already!

Take me back...

TO THE FAIR!

I absolutely love the Utah State Fair. Just ask me how many times I went this year... 2. Because one time just wasn't enough for me.

Just a few reasons why I love the fair...
1. COTTON CANDY. See image below, I was so excited.
2. Baby animals. Baby anything! But seriously, I was lovin' up that calf. See picture below.
3. Gypsy rides. No doubt the rides are missing a few screws... They are out of control and I love it!
4. Such a good date night.
5. People watching! Wow, Utahns don't mess around...
6. Again, baby animals.

Dinner Date

You know how much I love hosting a good dinner date. I live for that kind of crap.

Last week Raymond and I hosted our best dinner date yet. We set up in the art gallery! As Ali said, it was totally bachelor status (yeah, we are referring to the show on ABC). After dinner we took full advantage of the space and our artistic abilities... if can't tell from the pictures, we were dipping our hands in wax to make a mold. Then we filled the molds with wax and voila! we had casts of our hands. 

Too much fun.

The Good Life

Not a whole lot has been happening around the Hollowell household.

We are simply enjoying just being us, together.

Most nights are spent curled up in bed watching movies on my little laptop.

We rarely cook dinner. Instead, we do things like eat cereal straight from the box and drink a whole pitcher of kool-aid. Dinner of Champions.
We are still vegetarians. And we still do not have a television.

Yes, we are crazy cat people. At least we fit in with our neighbors.

I've been sewing a lot lately and Raymo has started painting again. 

Life is so good.

I'm a Legal Beagle!

21

Finally! 

My birthday was so wonderful. I could not have planned it better myself.

Big shout out to Raymo for spoiling me rotten.

Raymond and I started the day with breakfast at The Original Pancake House. So good. I munched a massive Dutch baby and it was so worth the wait. Afterwards we hit the salon for much needed pedicures. Yes, Raymo got one too and regardless of what he says, I know he enjoyed every minute of it and will be back for another I am sure. 

Somewhere in the day I had to work.

Then it was off to the birthday celebration! My mom had the whole place decorated in pink and green with a handmade birthday hat to match. For my sister's birthday my Mom and Dad made her a darling birthday hat that I was mucho jealous of so you can only imagine my excitement when I saw my very own birthday hat sitting in the middle of the table.  So cute, right?

And then, as if I wasn't spoiled enough throughout the day... we opened presents. YAY!

Husband of the year award goes to Raymo for getting me... a video camera!

What a stud. 

I also got a sewing machine that I am super stoked about. 

To end the night, Raymo and I celebrated with Martinelli's and chocolate dipped strawberries. We toasted to 20, after-all, it was a really good year. We also toasted to 21 and asked it to please treat me nicely. When we drank from our glass we even linked arms like they do in the movies... it wasn't as hard as it looks.

 It was the perfect ending to the most wonderful day of my 21st year (so far).

Thank you, Thank you to everyone that celebrated with me (near and far) on my birthday. I love you all.

There is nothing better...

Than new baby kittens!

These little boys are less than 24 hours old.

I am in love.

Oh my Helper!

We ditched Salt Lake, again, and hit the mountain lands this weekend. My dad was involved in an art weekend in Helper, Utah. If you have never heard of Helper just imagine Radiator Springs from the Pixar movie "Cars" and that should give you a fair idea of what this place is like. Let's just say Main Street is not exactly hopin' these days... Although the town is mostly run-down, there are some redeeming qualities about this little town. 

Helper is an art colony. It is known for its great artist including David Dornan, Paul and Silvia Davis, and David Steele. During the winter this little town is not much of anything but during the summer it is buzzing with artist and art students. It just so happens that the "Salon" Raymond and I stayed in is also home to many student participating in art programs taught by David Dornan.

We had such a good time supporting my dad in Helper. It was so nice to get-a-way before summer is officially gone. 

We were lucky to see the very talented David Dornan give a painting demonstration. I love to see the process it takes artists to get from a blank canvas to a beautiful work of art. David has one of the strangest methods I have seen yet... For the first few layers of paint he basically slaps in on there and rubs it around with his fingers. I just love his finished pieces though.

I'm still not sure if you would classify our accommodations as a hotel or a hostel. The room wasn't so bad and it was indeed private, but the bathrooms were shared and nothing short of scary. I didn't dare take a shower without my flip-flops on... Despite the interesting hotel/hostel situation, Raymo and I made it fun, as always.