happy new year!

Happy new year! I hope everyone had a great end to 2011 and is looking forward to a joyful and love-filled 2012.

E and I started our night at Music Hall to see E’s dad play with the CSO. Every year they do a concert and special gala and since I started listening to the classical station in the car (short story: I hate all of Cincinnati’s radio stations, thus I listen to classical because there are no commercials and occasionally I learn something about animals from the ’90 second naturalist’ segment’) I knew all about the concert, but never thought E would go. But it was so fun! They played a few pieces from operas and operettas (not my favorite) and ended with several jazz numbers (my favorite). I think we saw E’s dad play in about two of the songs. I guess it was an easy gig!

Music Hall is so pretty and it was a nice date. Even nicer was the people watching. Whoa. Because of the gala, you can see people in anything and everything. Fur. Ball gowns. Tuxes. We were nowhere that dressed up, but maybe someday. What girl doesn’t want an excuse to get all dolled up?

We then went to a friend’s party and proceeded to have too much food and drink…per usual for new years! Needless to say, today has been laaaaazy. The only time we’ve been out of the house was when I took Nico on a walk. It’s been like a mini vacation for a day.

As for 2012 resolutions? Last year I made a whole list of goals that never really were achieved except for saving money and keeping the house cleaner. This year, instead of trying to force things to happen, I want to relax and focus on creating balance in all parts of our life.

That pretty much sums it up completely. I want more out of 2012. Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

We hope your holiday is full of love, light, laughter, and cheer.
-kt, e, + nico

the nico adventures: christmas cards & the dining room table

I just wanted to help, Mom.

one-year anniversary portrait

So while this doesn’t compare to our fab wedding pics, one year later we look pretty good. And look at Nico’s Halloween scarf! Precious!

quick gift: for the designer

Pantone Ornaments

Enough said.

gift guide: pets

Now that we have this little guy:

Nico!

we have someone else to buy a special gift for. He even has his own stocking. And while Nico is already a stylin’ guy on our street, he could always use a little help. Here’s a few ideas for your furry friend (that don’t involve silly outfits and will actually look cute in your home.)

1. Etsy | 2. Crate & Barrel | 3. Martha Stewart Pets | 4. A Dog’s Life | 5. Posh Living

kt + e listen: she & him christmas

I’m just going to skip over the part where I apologize profusely for not blogging since June. JUNE. Our life was busy and fun this summer and fall, with not much time for the internets. Quick recap: we got a dog, went to Pawley’s Island, watched lots of LSU football. Done. Moving on.

Back in February, it was E’s birthday. All he wanted was a record player. As in, the old, outdated technology found gathering dust in your grandma’s basement. So he did some research and we went to the record store in Cincy (ShakeIt)…and left an hour or so later with very empty pockets and a start to our vinyl collection. Since then, we’ve gone to the store a few times and ordered newly released albums from our favorite artists. We only have one old record – an awesome Billy Joel release I found at an antique mall (but we are always on the lookout if you know where to find some)!

Black Friday was “Record Store Day”, a day when stores feature special releases like live albums or collections, so we decided to do our only shopping there. No 4am craziness for us. We again left with empty pockets, but a record player full of musical goodness like this:

A Very She & Him Christmas

As a rule, we only buy albums that both of us like, and both of us couldn’t wait to get our hands on this one. I love the other two She & Him releases and E loves…Zooey Deschanel. Anyway, her voice is so lovely and this album is really wonderful. Most of the arrangements are stripped down and really let her voice shine in it’s vintage-y and totally unique way. Zooey’s sound seems to favor the slow, more melancholy songs, but the upbeat parts of the collection are fun too! Favorite tracks include: The Christmas Waltz, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Baby It’s Cold Outside, and The Christmas Song.

We put it on and cuddled on the couch, enjoying the start of the season. Now to put up the tree…

thinking

I was going to do another post about our Florida trip, hence the “part one,” but I’m a bit Christmas-ed out. Maybe I’ll revisit in a year. Maybe not. THE ANTICIPATION WILL DRIVE YOU MAD.