reminiscing.

Completely engulfed in God's creation. In a constant state of awe and thankfulness. Pinching myself every morning when I wake up just to make sure that I'm really awake. Meeting a client and instantly feeling an overwhelming amount of love for them, even though I may have only known them for a few minutes. Knowing without a shadow of a doubt that I'm living in the moment where I get to do the thing I love most in this whole world. Laying under a cloudless sky and falling asleep gazing at the millions upon millions of stars above me. Waking up to the the sun peaking over the mountain tops and shining on my face. Trying things I've only dreamed about doing. Making a difference in the world, even if just for a moment.

I'd give anything to go back in time and relive my twenty-first summer over and over and over again.

Who is currently missing their life on the coast of the Pacific Ocean? Guilty as charged. And who is currently SO thankful to have been able to experience all of the wonderful things while living as a California girl for three months? Also, guilty as charged.

"Everything changed the day she figured out there was exactly enough time for the important things in her life."

-Brian Andreas, Story People

and all the land will be mantled with snow.

the first snow day of 2011 was a fun one, indeed. Teesh and I spent the day frolicking in the winter wonderland with Wilber, pretending all the while that we were eight years old, too.

I made my first snow angel of the year. yay!

sipping some yummy coffee to keep warm in my favorite coffee mug, courtesy of my P. Sawyer.

she's a beauty in white.

 Belle was happy it snowed, too!

I got to have a playdate with my fancy all day long. what a blissful day it was!

perfect day to break out my favorite shoes, even if they did nothing to keep my piggies warm.

mean muggin'. it's what we do best.

brudder/seeester love.

even with that terrible sweatshirt on, he's still so flippin' cute.

what up, six inches?

my favorite snow buddy.

how'd I get to hang out with these two fellas all day? just lucky, I guess. :)

after a loooong day of playing our wittle hearts out, Teesh made himself comfortable and took a nap. I mean, seriously, could he be any cuter? I think not.

any unexpected day off from work is a good one, but when you've got great company coupled with inches upon inches of white fluff, days like today are perfect.

I am thankful for days like today.

"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event.  You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?"

-J.B. Priestley

Mr. & Mrs. Zach Powers.

Today, Teesh and I attended our first wedding of 2011. It was beautiful and elegant and truly a winter wonderland and I cried more than I should have [which really was no surprise to me at all] and I caught up with several friends I hadn't seen in years and I actually got TJ to dance with me more than once and the moral of this whole long, drawn-out sentence is that I love weddings. Always have, always will.

my, my, what a handsome date I snagged for this joyous event.

 I hadn't seen Jen since we graduated--it was SO wonderful to catch up with her!

they definitely win the award for the cutest wedding favors. this one was my favorite! a spoon dipped in chocolate. clever, clever, clever!

the STUNNING bride. I have the prettiest friends in the whole world; they do a fantastic job of regularly out-shining me, but I don't mind one bit! Sambug, I couldn't possibly be more thankful for you.

the happy couple!

I was MESMERIZED by this cake. it was one of the most beautiful cakes I've ever seen in my entire life. I hated to watch them chop it all up!

as to be expected, the groom's cake was inspired by the greatest university on the planet.

Cara is another friend that I hadn't seen since high school. such a fun reunion!

it'll be our turn soon!

The good news: one of my oldest friends married the love of her life and I got to be a part of it. The bad news: I want it to be July 16th so bad now that I can barely stand it!

only 189 days [and several more weddings in between] until people are chiming about our wedding! Yippeeeeee!

"I think a man and a woman should choose each other for life, for the simple reason that a long life with all its accidents is barely enough time for a man and a woman to understand each other...and to understand is to love."

-William Butler Yeats

"It is not your love that sustains the marriage, but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love."

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

my first few days of a brand new year.

my precious four year-olds enjoyed some yummy cupcakes in honor of Semaj's birthday.

poor little Jaleah broke her leg the day after Christmas and made he debut back at school with this vibrant shell over her left leg. as if she wasn't cute as a button before!

the last picture I'll take with my Ellybeth until April. on January 10th, she becomes a Spaniard for a few months! oh, how I will miss her.

thank you, Coffee Underground, for making such a deeeeeeeee-lish tiramasu.

#HPdoLeather

January, I already love you. Especially since I'm in the middle of having a sleepover with my Cait Cait at this very moment. Who's excited about the remaining 24 days in this beautiful month? This girl. :)

"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right." -Oprah Winfrey

you're already looking beautiful, 2011.

this is how I ended one year and began another: with a handful of my best friends.

on my last afternoon of 2010, I had lunch with five of the most beautiful ladies on the planet and soaked in all kinds of joy as I watched them try on their bridesmaid dresses for the first time.

Nicholas Paul, always the life of the party.

there's no shindig like a Brooks shindig.

who's that lucky girl wedged between two lovely ladies? oh, wait. that's me!

my favorite fellas.

my very first picture of the new year! beginning 2011 with two of my sweet best friends was the best thing a girl could ask for [after smoochin' on my fancy first, of course ;)].

our year has finally arrived. 2011 is going to bring us many, many, many blessings & we can't stinkin' wait!

and speaking of blessings, here's our personal favorite...WE'RE GETTING MARRIED THIS YEAR!

always the perfect host.

it was SUCH a wonderful surprise to catch up with Ashley! and, of course, it's always a treat to see Miss Alicia.

that's my Teesh, the poor sober guy who always gets groped at some point anytime Bieber has a few drinks. lucky for him, David wanted in on it this time, too.

a DJ + extremely entertaining karaoke + several TVs + football + watching the ball drop & ringin' in the new year with my favorite group of fools + getting my first kiss of the new year from my future husband [who happens to be mighty handsome] = a perfect new years eve.

''Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page.''

-Henry Ward Beecher