Hugs to all my family, friends, and couples who have made 2013 the best year yet!

Ahh, December. The month of hot cocoa, cozy blankets, and CHRISTMAS!! Since my last edition of laura loves, I have celebrated my birthday twice, Thanksgiving and an early Christmas – so guess what my favorite things were… cupcakes and nephews! :-)

1. This year I celebrated my golden birthday! I always get excited when I see 11:27 on the clock. So much so, that I made my husband take a picture of me *being 27* at *11:27* on *November 27* – really, it’s the little things in life that make me happy. That and free birthday coffees from Caribou & Starbucks.  :-)

2. My family spent Thanksgiving weekend at my parents’ home to celebrate our annual ThanksgivingChristmas, and boy oh boy are my nephews growing up so fast!!

3. My younger nephew, Isaac, spent a good fifteen minutes pretending to be a kitten, sitting on my lap, and communicating only in meows. I didn’t mind one bit. Soon, Jonas came to ‘feed’ him some ‘kitty food’ and we all snuggled on the couch for a ‘cat nap.’ That right there, spending time snuggling and meowing, was more precious to me than any Christmas present. :-)

4. We had our first guests over for dinner!! I cooked and made cupcakes and put together a little golden birthday party dessert table. (Hey, I’m a wedding photographer, dessert *has* to be pretty!) It was so much fun to have friends over and stay up late playing dominoes. This might have to become another yearly tradition – you know, since I don’t have a company Christmas party… :-)

Hellooooo, November!!!!! This month, I am *so* thankful for my family and job that allows me to have a little bit of free time. A couple weeks ago, I went on a road trip to visit some of my favorite people in the whole wide world. Convenient, though, that they all live in the Dakotas… :-)

1. Coffea with my BFF, Jill!! Okay, so I was *really* excited about my Charlie Brown latte art and catching up with Jill, that I forgot to take a picture of the both of us. Next time, friend, I promise. :-)

2. Isaac – my younger nephew is a fan of hula hooping. It’s so much fun to watch him try over and over again until he gets a good spin (which he frequently does).

3. Jonas – my older nephew would be happy to read and play video games all day long.

4. My mom – I spent most of my road trip vacation with her, and here she is showing off a recent quilt she made.We spent hours upon hours visiting (until her Masterpiece Theater show was on and I had to be quiet), we baked numerous cupcakes, we shopped for fabric + antiques, we spent 10 hours together in a car and created stories that ‘you just had to be there’ for them to come across as funny on the internet.

Also, not pictured in my fun-filled road trip vacation were my husband, his parents + sister, my brother (who was totally surprised by our arrival for his birthday) and sister-in-law, my cousin and his wife and their little lentil (due April 2014) in Bismarck, and my aunt and uncle from Dickinson!

This past month has been busy with weddings, engagement sessions, and one, giant snowstorm. So this month I was more ‘thankful for everyday blessings’ than ‘loving the latest chocolate bar or nail polish I found.’ Although, I am super excited for all my favorite TV shows that are back on the air – Parenthood, Modern Family, New Girl, The Mindy Project… :-)

– Electricity. During the snowstorm, we lost power for a little over 24 hours and were snowed in for almost 4 days. I never realized how warmth and hot food makes me a happier person. But it was fun to ‘camp’ in our house – heating soup over a propane space heater, spending time together talking (and shoveling snow), and going to bed when the sun went down.

– Sunsets. With the change of seasons, the sun no longer sets behind our neighbor’s house. Instead, we get to see it set over Rapid City. The above photo is the view from our front porch.

– Fall. And everything that comes with it – the cozy clothes, baking to warm up the house, and especially the beautiful colors of the changing leaves.

What a wonderful time of year! Time spent with my nephews and celebrating our first wedding anniversary makes for a memorable month. :-)

1. Isaac is three! He loves Thomas the Train, and his big brother loves helping blow out birthday candles. :-)

2. Jonas is in Kindergarten!! I’m sure his little brother misses playing with him all day long.

3. Our first anniversary! Thanks to all that sent warm wishes. We were staying with my parents for the weekend (I had a wedding on Saturday, and I can not WAIT to show you the images!!) so we celebrated by having lunch at Johnny Carino’s in Fargo.

4. Lindt Coffee Blast – I spotted this on an end cap in Target a couple weeks ago, and when I went back to get another last week, they were clearancing out! So naturally, I felt the need to buy as many bars as I could without looking like a hoarder. :-)