{ Wassail party }
For those of you who requested to see the pictures from Trish's annual wassail party, here's the one shot I got from the night. Hot Hot! Nothing says Merry Christmas like ugly sweaters and piping hot mugs of wassail.
{ New hair idea... }
So...on my Idaho extravaganza, I saw a girl with an adorable short little pixie hair cut, and for a split second I thought "Hmmmm...maybe I could do that." So, I approached the girl I came to know is named Nina and I took some photos of her hair. Now, thanks to the wonders of Photoshop, we can see what I would look like with her cute little hair cut. I think it would be interesting, maybe even a little bit sophisticated, and possibly a lot like Julie Andrews on The Sound of Music.
{ Saving $78 and getting a cute shower curtain in the process }
So, I've been obsessing over this Anthropologie shower curtain for at least two years. The only problem is, it costs $98.00. That's right, $98 for a shower curtain. No way, Jose, I told myself once I saw the price tag. But that left me with no adorable shower curtain to call my very own. So, my solution: I made my own! After a modest cost of $17.99 + tax for a Laura Ashley queen sheet set (much cheaper than buying the necessary fabric at the fabric store) and 30 hours manual labor. The 30 hours were a bit intense and pretty annoying at times, but now that all is said and done, so worth it. If the shower curtain had been $40 at Anthropologie, it probably would have been worth buying it, but at $98, I think I went the right route for sure.
The Anthropologie version
The Nicki, $20 version
The Anthropologie version
The Nicki, $20 version
{ 2nd Early Christmas with Kates family }
I had another early Christmas with one of my closest friends Katy's family. We celebrated two days early this time, and I would like to say that I felt so at home and so loved while I was there. It was like I was one of the crew, an insider, part of the team. The Broughton's are simply wonderful, and they even got me a scrumptiously comfy pair of pajama pants for Christmas. What more could I ask for? The 5-day trip included two days of snowboarding in Grand Targhee, delicious meals around the dining room table with a pristine view of the Rexburg temple (I am pretty sure it is one of the most beautiful temples I have ever seen), lots of guitar hero and rock band playing, and building a snowman. I really like this whole celebrating-a-holiday-multiple-times thing. It just makes for more fun and more good times all around.
Kates and I opted to make the (un)traditional gingerbread igloo, while Julie and Diana went for the good old house version. Check out Kate's collar bones in this pic -- "I could snap you like a chicken!"
It wouldn't be a Nicki-Kates get together without taking a picture in random clothing/accessories. We found these lovely face warmers at the outdoor store in Idaho Falls while Katy's brother, Gary, was trying on shoes.
And this is one of my new favorite places -- the Grand Targhee resort (on the Wyoming side). We had heavy snow both nights before we went, so we spent most of our days boarding backcountry in 2-3 feet of fresh powder. It felt like we were flying -- seriously heaven on earth.
Doesn't the resort look like a little Christmas village? Here's me a Julie before we headed up the first day.
Don't mind the creepy guy in the back -- that's just Gary.
It was friggin cold on the lift.
This is how my feet looked most of the day when we were backcountry
It doesn't hurt that it's absolutely beautiful there.
This is at the top of the highest lift. We are above the clouds even.
Kates and I opted to make the (un)traditional gingerbread igloo, while Julie and Diana went for the good old house version. Check out Kate's collar bones in this pic -- "I could snap you like a chicken!"
It wouldn't be a Nicki-Kates get together without taking a picture in random clothing/accessories. We found these lovely face warmers at the outdoor store in Idaho Falls while Katy's brother, Gary, was trying on shoes.
And this is one of my new favorite places -- the Grand Targhee resort (on the Wyoming side). We had heavy snow both nights before we went, so we spent most of our days boarding backcountry in 2-3 feet of fresh powder. It felt like we were flying -- seriously heaven on earth.
Doesn't the resort look like a little Christmas village? Here's me a Julie before we headed up the first day.
Don't mind the creepy guy in the back -- that's just Gary.
It was friggin cold on the lift.
This is how my feet looked most of the day when we were backcountry
It doesn't hurt that it's absolutely beautiful there.
This is at the top of the highest lift. We are above the clouds even.
{ Early Christmas with the family }
This year, the Schmidts decided to celebrate the holidays 9 days early. It was kind of nice -- minimal traveling traffic at the airports, cheaper air rates, and a couple free days on the actual holiday to relax around the house. Overall,it was a successful holiday -- my mom made piggies in a blanket "Christmas" morning, we opened half of our presents "Christmas Eve" to ensure we would have sufficient time the next morning to finish before church. My sister and brother-in-law blessed my niece Honor in church (it was great to have the while family there -- we took up two rows of the large benches). And I got two of the coolest gifts I have ever received -- from my mom I got a queen-size, hand-stiched quilt that I'm sure she spent countless hours on (it's beautiful, mom) and an awesome, homemade cutting board from my dad. He cut strips of three different colored woods then glued them together in a geometric pattern for each of the boards (all of the siblings got one), then finished them off by rounding the edges with a sander and screwing little rubber stopper feet on the bottom. It is about an inch and a half think, and it is sweet.
My niece Honor -- I met her for he first time on the trip. She was born in July.
Me, Alaina (my nieces best friend and a Schmidt family member related by love) and Honor. Those super sick boots are Alaina's. She was kind enough to let me wear them for the picture.
My sweet dad and I - I just love him, and i just realized that I didn't take any pictures of my mom and I this trip...
My brother put my niece in this getup, and she hated it, as you can see by the sad little expression and tears that she is wearing. As mean as it may sound, I can't help but laugh every time I see this picture.
The Schmidt family posing nicely -- I like that none of us are wearing shoes.
I announced that I wanted a silly photo of the family before we finished our photo session, and this is the result. My brother, Andy, told me he was going to trow my niece to me when the picture was being taken (despite my sister-in-law telling him not to) and the outcome is now one of my favorite family pictures we have ever taken. The candid reactions are priceless.
My brother and I left from neighboring gates at the Denver airport only a half an hour apart, so I got to hang out with the Seattle Schmidt's until their flight left. This is me and my niece, Anza. While this picture may not seem too exciting, I'd like you to note that Anza is flipping off the camera, that little devil. I bet she didn't think I would even notice.
My niece Honor -- I met her for he first time on the trip. She was born in July.
Me, Alaina (my nieces best friend and a Schmidt family member related by love) and Honor. Those super sick boots are Alaina's. She was kind enough to let me wear them for the picture.
My sweet dad and I - I just love him, and i just realized that I didn't take any pictures of my mom and I this trip...
My brother put my niece in this getup, and she hated it, as you can see by the sad little expression and tears that she is wearing. As mean as it may sound, I can't help but laugh every time I see this picture.
The Schmidt family posing nicely -- I like that none of us are wearing shoes.
I announced that I wanted a silly photo of the family before we finished our photo session, and this is the result. My brother, Andy, told me he was going to trow my niece to me when the picture was being taken (despite my sister-in-law telling him not to) and the outcome is now one of my favorite family pictures we have ever taken. The candid reactions are priceless.
My brother and I left from neighboring gates at the Denver airport only a half an hour apart, so I got to hang out with the Seattle Schmidt's until their flight left. This is me and my niece, Anza. While this picture may not seem too exciting, I'd like you to note that Anza is flipping off the camera, that little devil. I bet she didn't think I would even notice.
{ Toooooooobing. Tubing. }
I went to my company Christmas party earlier this month (sorry for the late update) and took my awesome roommate Jessica as my date. The party was at Soldier's Hollow -- a tubing hill near/in Midway Utah. I'd never been tubing before, and thankfully we got through the night without any injuries. Plus, it was pretty dang fun, and I have to say there is something so distinct about being on a snowy mountain at night. It's kind of magical -- little snow flakes dancing and glittering through the air. Everything is quiet and peaceful. As long as I'm dressed for it, I love it. Here are some photos of the night. We made sure to cap off the evening with snow angel making before we headed down the mountain. Awesome.
The Group
Me and Jes on the mountain -- I like that our benies match our eyes.
Me and Marie at the bottom of the tubing lift
Awesome face picture at dinner. Surprisingly, I like this picture.
The snow angels
Aye aye, Jes!
The Group
Me and Jes on the mountain -- I like that our benies match our eyes.
Me and Marie at the bottom of the tubing lift
Awesome face picture at dinner. Surprisingly, I like this picture.
The snow angels
Aye aye, Jes!
{ Not at work in Utah }
The other day I was searching through a photo-database Web site looking for a photo of something-or-other to put into a brochure I was designing, and when I saw this photo, I wanted nothing more than to be in that boat in that body of water doing what those people were doing. It just looks so relaxing and fresh. So incredibly enticing. So idealistic just to get away for a few hours. It's not even like I'm stressed at work, it just looked so wonderful I just wanted to be there.
