One year in review, sappy, and only slightly house related

Somehow, Alex and I have lived in Wisconsin for one year. One year ago, as of the 28th, we first got into our teeny, tiny little apartment above the shop. Don't get me wrong, it was a lovely little apartment, but it wasn't great if two people wanted to... Oh I don't know, walk through the kitchen at the same time.

Oh, I feel claustrophobic just looking at it...

Within this year, a lot of good changes have taken place. We both started jobs where we are so happy, and well supported. Epic may be super-awesome, but Weebleworld has more slides and random dance parties, so I clearly win.

Fibonacci stairs are not cooler than awesome dance parties 

Of course, we all remember the biggest thrill of this summer. When I grew my own watermelon on the balcony of our apartment. 

Turned out surprisingly sweet and juicy!

Oh, and I got married.

Also very sweet, but considerably less juicy.

 I've got to admit, that was a very fun day. In fact, it's been a very fun three and a half years. If it weren't for Alex, I literally wouldn't be where I am today. He never fails to make me smile, has inspired me to start getting healthy, and is a generally wonderful person that I am so happy to call my husband.

 Since then, we've left the tiny apartment for the reason I started this blog, our very own house! It has it's odd quirks, but it's cozy and charming, and all ours.

Thank you again, Rebekah!

We've spent a birthday and Christmas in the house, and tonight will be our very first New Years as husband and wife. It will no longer be the year in which we got married, or bought a house, and we will be in our second year of living in Wisconsin.

Posey would prefer to never ever have to move again ever

Here's hoping the next year is just as joyful, but maybe a little less stressful.

Baking all the cookies!

This week was the last week of work before Christmas, and we were given an early present with a day off on Friday. When I say "given an early present" what I actually mean is that there was freezing rain Thursday night and the roads and sidewalks were very, very slippery. Walking home from the Pour House on Thursday night was... interesting... I used the day to finish crocheting a couple presents, and then celebrated being done making presents by making many, many cookies. I started by trying to make these but half of them burned to a crisp, and the other half spread out and are more square than circular. A couple dozen of these beauties later and my confidence was restored. They are surprisingly minty, and I can't wait to eat them. (I didn't sample any of these, I swear!) It wouldn't be Christmas without these and I honestly lost count of how many dozens we made. Finally, we whipped up two batches of these this evening and they made the whole house smell like brown sugar and raspberries. I am so glad the Rosenberg family is a large one, because there are so many cookies that need to be eaten.

Honestly, there is very little to report house-wise. The pictures still aren't up, and things are mostly as they were one month ago. (Apparently we have now lived here for two months!) We've discovered how long it takes to shovel our driveway, which really isn't very long, and we got a new drier that thankfully gets everything dry after only one cycle. (The drier that came with the house would dry clothes in about three cycles...)

Within the next couple weeks, we will have lived in Wisconsin for a whole year. It has been a very good year. This will be my first Christmas as a wife, and in my very own home. The Christmas season gets me very sentimental. There are so many good feelings and childhood memories tied up with Christmas. It makes me so happy to think that this year is going to be a source of more very good memories.

And on Earth, peace, goodwill toward men.

Home for Christmas

For the past two years, Alex and I have lived in apartments that have not allowed live Christmas trees. This might not be a big deal for some people, but I've grown up with live trees, and I really missed them. Yesterday, Alex and I finally cut down our first Christmas tree. We found a nice tree farm in town called Sunset Acres Tree Farm and we found a beautiful tree for only 25 dollars. Thankfully the weather cooperated and it was a balmy 5 degrees outside, so it was a good time had by all. The really fun part was fitting the 8 foot tree into Alex's ten foot car, and then getting me in to! We made it home safely, and I really couldn't be happier with the result.

Tree decorated, stockings hung with care, and the lights on the porch glow merrily. While there are plenty of things I wish I had to decorate with, I think I'll just try to build up my collection over the next couple years.

People have been asking what we want for Christmas, and honestly, we're fairly stumped. Having just gotten married this year, we're really set on good appliances and such. All of the things we *needed* for the house we bought right away. Alex set up an amazon wish list here and we've still got a few things left over on our registry. Gift cards are also very welcome, especially from Menards, Pier One, Amazon, or Ikea.