Christmas 2009

This year, Steve and I celebrated Christmas together in Seattle for the first time.  I had to explain some Erlandson traditions like drinking mimosas first thing in the morning ;), wearing Santa hats, and taking naps.  Steve fit right in!  We had a relaxing Christmas afternoon and celebrated a huge Chargers win in the evening.  

With the Christmas season starting to come to a close, I've been thinking a lot about what this celebration means.  This year I feel especially blessed to be living close to my family.  I'm also so thankful for the birth of Christ and what his coming to earth means to me in my life.  It means that something greater than me is ultimately in charge, knows my heart, and listens to my prayers and hopes.  I believe it also means that even when I struggle, or the world struggles, there is something greater in store for us. I'm thankful for this, and I'm thankful for Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!

Our Engagement Shoot

Jamie posted a few of our engagement pictures and we're having such a great time looking through them!  Taking photos was such a fun experience because Jamie made us feel comfortable (even in the 29 degree weather!).  She is a great photographer!

See more photos here (and don't forget to watch the slideshow for even more) :)

Cupcake Update

I have probably gained eleventy seven pounds after all of the cupcake tastings Steve and I have done in the past few months. Ok, I guess we've only done 3 tastings (plus one unofficial one that my mom brought home), but that's probably too many. At the same time, we didn't find our favorite until the last tasting, so it's a good thing we tried all of our options! ;)

While Trophy was delicious (and arguably the best in town), we were thrilled with Splendid Cupcake, a smaller cupcake company by West Seattlite, Mimi. After a sneak peek at a fabulous 1st birthday, we had a private tasting at Mimi's home. Since then, we haven't stopped thinking about the chocolate cupcake with chocolate mocha frosting. Really. I can't stop thinking about it.

So, we've made our choice! And on another wedding note, last Tuesday, Steve and I took our engagement photos with Jamie, our awesome photographer. And did you see that last 10 on 10 post? 7 months until the big day!

Oh, and if you're wondering about that unibrowed Santa that's plunged into the delicious triple coconut Trophy cupcake? The girl at Trophy was giving them away. She drew the unibrow herself.

10 on 10: December

A Totally Trudelle November

I was lucky to spend a few weekends in November with Steve's family. Between their trip up to the Northwest, and our Thanksgiving trip down to California, great memories were made. There's never a dull moment when you're hangin with the Trudelles! The weekend before Thanksgiving, Chrissa ran in the NAIA Nationals Cross Country race in Vancouver, WA. The Trudelle's weren't used to the cold and rainy weather, but they survived! We cheered on the runners with free megaphones, ran around to keep warm, and watched Chrissa run a great race. Also, who knew that running fans were so crazy?








The following weekend we met up in Portola Valley for an awesome Thanksgiving weekend! Trudelles (and Koltavarys, Grays, and Nanuka too)--I am thankful for you! I'm also thankful for growing babies, kickball in the gym, good coffee in the Espresso Cave, a weird brain power game (that I still think is a scam :) ), and beautiful PV trails. Can't wait til next time!





{future sisters} ;)

Monkey Business!

{one cute monkey and his mom}