Christmas & NYE 2012

Is it just me or did this year go by fast?

Let's recap...

Made it through my PTA clinical experiences, celebrated 1 year of marriage, graduated and became a licensed PTA, moved, traveled with my hubs, got a real big girl job...and I'm sure more that I will remember the second I press "publish"....

I get so excited towards the end of each year, as Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday. What is better than celebrating our creator, getting in the "giving" mood, the smell of a Christmas tree, red Starbucks cups, and slightly cooler weather???

  

I might add, this is also the time of year where I wish we lived a little more north {we're talkin' Georgia or the Carolinas here} so that I can actually be cold on Christmas day. I told hubs I'd like to have ONE white Christmas in our future. I don't care where we go, or who we're taking with us, but I'd love to wake up and see snow everywhere on Christmas day. I blame movies and holiday cards for making me think this is how it should be =)

This Christmas was spent here in town with my family. It was nice to not have to get in holiday traffic and just stay put this Christmas. I'm blessed to have family so close!

Christmas Eve my parents threw a par-tay with lots of food and friends.

  

Christmas morning was spent at our place, just the two of us. We bought a REAL Christmas tree this year, which made this girl very happy =) The Christmas tree scented candle just wasn't going to cut it.

Handsome hubs showing off the 5 footer ;)

Late morning, we headed over to my parents' to spend the rest of the day with them and my brother and my dog! It was very relaxing, eating leftovers from the night before and watching endless Christmas movies.

Matt's wrapping. He must've learned from his older sister.

Gracey gets rather excited Christmas day!

Bear needed a nap after all the raucous happening at the Greens ;)

  

I've never participated in a big, blow-out New Years Eve party, we usually keep it low key. No fancy dresses or "good-luck" food. But we always have fun doin' what we do! {Aka hanging out with a few friends, and staying up till midnight-something that rarely happens!}

Last year we stayed with our friends Matt and Ashleigh at Disney's Fort Wilderness, and this year we did the same! Disney's fireworks are incredible! We chill on beach outside a resort, staying warm in big blankets, and getting excited for 2013!

  

 

I don't make new year resolutions, but I'm looking forward to all that 2013 holds! I'm ready to take on challenges, travel with hubs, attend and participate in weddings, and better myself in who I am. Bring it =)

Pinterest Party

This past week my cousin Chelsie and I got together for a little Christmas fun!

She had cookie recipes she wanted to try from Pinterest, and I had a little project I wanted to give a go, from Pinterest as well!

We started off the day with some Starbucks, and really every day should start with some. {Side note: if you haven't tried the caramel apple spice, go get you some}

  

Though it's December, we live in funky-weather Florida and it was warm and muggy for our date =( But we were in the Christmas spirit regardless, thanks to our hot beverages and finishing all those wine bottles below, so forget the outside weather! ;)

Chelsie made these

 

And these

And they were both darn delicious. Hello Holiday calories!!!

Pretzels, peanut butter, and chocolate??! Baby approved, too!

I have been saving wine bottles to use them for this project I saw on Pinterest a while ago. I'm not a very crafty person, per say, but the step-by-step process assured me I cannot go wrong. =)

They turned out pretty cool! A definite Christmas decoration =)

See a cooler version of this pic here

 It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!!!!

Giving Thanks 2012

Since I'm married now (wait, what?) Ryan and I alternate our Holidays...switching between his parents' and my parents' with Thanksgiving and Christmas.

This year Thanksgiving took place with the Casey's!

After a decent trek to the panhandle, we made it to Ryan's mom's new home. It was so nice to see everyone. Throughout the year we usually are able to meet up/visit with his siblings and parents but all at different times since nobody lives in the same place! All live in Florida but all over Florida. That's one of my favorite things about the holidays...everyone coming together.

Jogging with his sis, playing with our adorable new(ish) nephew, and catching up with everyone sharing stories was of course the best part.

(We won't mention a certain football game that made certain people certainly unhappy. No negativity on this blog).

A lot of eating took place too! Molly's favorite hobby. Since I have become a little more comfortable in the kitchen, I happily volunteered to help out. As long as no one puts me in charge of the turkey, side dishes only, we are all safe.

There's so much to be thankful for that I find myself taking for granted on occasion. And even though it's a one-day holiday, I try to remind myself constantly of everything I have been blessed with in life. From the people I am surrounded with, to the opportunities God has given me, I've got nothing to complain about.


On our "20 minute walk" that turned out to be 4.5 miles. Got a little lost, what's new with us. PS- like Ryan's "Movember" mustache??

This looked way cooler on my Instagram...but can't figure out how to send it to my blog... =)

When you move houses, you happen upon boxes of pictures, like this little gem below.

Hope you had a happy Thanksgiving as well! =)

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as member of one body you were called to peace; and be thankful.

My 25th

I'm 25! This was actually an exciting birthday for me, because since I turned 21 it's been rather boring saying my age. 25 seems like a good solid number to me, though =)

Months prior to my quarter-century turn of age, I thought I'd go all out, have a big party, go buck wild =) but the closer it got, and the time in my life, all I wanted was to relax. Dang maybe I am getting old!

This year my birthday plopped right in the middle of me getting a new job, learning how to do that new job, and oh yeah, studying for my boards so I can actually be licensed to do my job! That being said, by the time my birthday rolled around, I wanted to enjoy a day of not studying (how daring!) and not having any responsibilities.
That lead to:
..going for a nice jog in the a.m.
..reading my favorite blogs
..pinning this and that
..singing happy birthday to myself
..meeting Ryan for lunch
..shopping (I didn't end up purchasing the dress below, and good thing because Ryan told me it made me look Japanese, and we wouldn't want that I guess)

 ..hanging out with this cutie (I guess I should consider this a responsibility =)

..ate a cup cake cake cake cake
..and I think I took a nap at one point , real exciting stuff!
That evening, I asked Ryan to COOK, CLEAN UP after what he cooked, and rub my FEET! Highlight for sure. He did a very good job, and I'm considering hiring him full time.

Oh, and I got a million calls from my family, friends, extended family, family friends, family friends' neighbors - you name it!- because ....ahem:

Last year I received one happy birthday phone call from my family....my mom. (Texts don't count, dad). However, Ryan's whole family found time -and remembered- to call me. I gave my family so much crap about it (in a nice, I'm-only-kidding-guys way) but my mom felt so bad (hehe) that she made sure EVERYONE called this time. It was a tad overkill, but Ryan and I thought it was pretty funny. Then he got everyone in HIS family involved, and in total Green-Casey fashion, it became a competition. =)

The next night, we went over to my parent's house for a nice home-cooked meal by mama, and watched some football with my fam. GO NOLES.

The next morning (oh, btw I like to turn my bday into a week long event apparently)Ryan made brunch reservations at Jackson's- a really nice restaurant overlooking the water downtown.

The weather was beautiful, I ate endless amounts of sushi, and afterwards we walked around the area along the water enjoying the end of our weekend.

I'd say I had a great birthday, thanks to great friends and family!! So thankful for another year of life God has given me, and everyone in it. Everything seems to be happening fast lately, so its nice to have relaxing getaways, even if we don't leave town =)

Move

Ryan and I made a move!

We moved from our "first home" together to our condo, an entire FOUR MILES away!!

Phew! What a drastic change in our lives ;)

Our first place was a rather small apartment. It was meant to be temporary till I finished school, and that is just what it turned out to be. At first, I was a wee hesitant about our apartment because of how old it was and the location was not prime. But it turned out to be just right for these newlyweds .... it turns out home is where you are when you're with those you love =)

Our first place

.......But seriously, we were ready for a new crib.

Thanks to amazing help from my parents and some friends, our move was successful ... with LOTS of cleaning and febreezing and box-put-awaying, our place is starting to feel like a home!

My mom used baking soda to get rid a of a funky smell. And also threw in there a Spirit dance. Because you just never know.

Tiff doing some heavy lifting.

A few of my favorite things about our new place:
kitchen ...cabinets! I dont need a big house or big walk-in closet, gimme cabinets and space to make a mess and we're good! We even have some remaining space (something unheard of at our old place) ...perhaps I should add more cute coffee mugs?
outlets that work. It's the little things in life people.
built in bookcases ... these things are brilliant. Not only is it one less furniture piece to lug up to our place, but they run floor to ceiling and hold all our books movies.
location ...Ryan and I are blessed with a beautiful view for our evening walks!


There are definitely some projects that will need to be done in the future. But I'll be putting that off as long as possible, because decorating isn't my forte. Ryan and I are just enjoying our new place for now .... we don't want to budge. We plan to stay here till lil Casey nuggets start making their way ;)

Come visit!