christmas is in the air...

the tree is up! see pics here.

after spending thanksgiving with my fam in idaho, brandon and i came back to utah on saturday ready for some yuletide fun. we stopped at tai pan trading in clearfield and bought a nativity set and a basket for our coffee table. (love that place, by the way.) then we went on a little dinner date in slc. we ate dinner at spaghetti factory and then went to a sing-a-long concert of handel's messiah at abravanel hall. it was so much fun! they had professional singers perform the solos and then the audience joined in with the choir for the chorus...and it was all accompanied by the utah symphony. i loved every second of it.

the next day, we set up our christmas decorations--the tree, the stockings, a nativity, a tin full of pinecone potpourri, some door decor, and a few other odds & ends. it's not a lot, but it's festive...

we have actually finished most of our shopping. it's been fun trying to suprise each other and buying things for angel tree. angel tree is a program run through united way and the salvation army that provides a way for children from under privileged families to still receive christmas gifts through anonymous donations. we "adopted" 2 kids that we have been getting christmas gifts for--a 12 year old boy and a 10 year old girl. we figured that we have so many blessings that we wanted to bring some blessings to others! i hope that they like what we've chosen and have a very happy christmas morning.

now we just have plans for a day of treat making, building a gingerbread house, gathering ingredients for our christmas feasts, and surviving the last few weeks of school/work. we're counting down the days to our holiday--just the two of us!