101 in 1001: #33 Ski down a moderate-sized hill without falling.

We're baaaack! Although you probably didn't even know we'd gone unless you follow me on Instagram. Nathan and I were in Breckenridge, Colo., on a ski vacation with his family. And it was WAY warmer in Colorado that it is in Cleveland. Brr! ANYWAYS, one of my 101 goals and January goals was to ski down a hill without falling. If you know me you know I am NOT a skier, but I am married to one. Nathan goes skiing with his family every year, and I joined for the first time this year! My trip ranged from taking a beginner class to having a panic attack on top of a blue mountain. It was quite the range of emotions. :) BUT. I did ski down some greens without falling. And just for posterity's sake, I'm sharing it here.

I was super tired and not in the mood to be videotaped (can you tell by the freeze frame?! Hahaha!), but looking back I'm so glad Nathan caught this and narrated the entire thing. Haha. My favorite part is when he tells me to go "lightening fast" and the I start out at 0.3 miles an hour. Oh, so embarrassing. I'm a cautious skier, what can I say?

101 in 1001: #101 Decorate our House for Christmas.

Oh hey! Two 101 posts in a row. It feels good to see goals completed. Although this little goal will be recurring every year around this time because I LOVE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS! Honestly, one of the most exciting things about owning our own house is getting to make it all Christmasy. This year, we decided not to spend a lot of money on decorations, but instead see what we could do with what we had. I think it turned out pretty well! Take a look:

You know me, I love the rustic look, but I also wanted to make it look Christmasy. I opted for red and gold instead of the standard red and green.

The wood rounds are from our wedding, as are the jars and bottles and wreath. The only new things are the stockings and stocking holders and the red and gold branches. Plus, I got fresh cranberries for the mason jars. Fill with water and stick a tea light in there and you have a festive votive!

Finding our Christmas tree was not as easy. We really wanted to cut down our own and through our searches found Heritage Farms in Peninsula, which has been in operation for more than 150 years! It was a quaint place with tons of acres of trees. Unfortunately, most of the good trees had already been cut down, so we opted for a pre-cut tree (also offered on the farm). Maybe we'll get to use a saw next year!

They had lots of cute, little trees ... perfect for me! Just not our living room.

We opted for a fraser fir, which has been great so far! Not too sharp, but also not too flimsy.

And then the outside of the house! This year was all about simplicity, although we learned that putting wreaths on every (original) window of a 70-year-old house is NOT simple. We still need a wreath for the front door. What do you think ... something totally different than the others or something similar?

I hope you all are feeling festive and soaking in the season! :D

101 in 1001: #47 Take a Weekend Trip to Chicago.

If I had to pick one major city to spend the rest of my days, it would be Chicago. I love it. All that Midwestern friendliness mixed with skyscrapers and hustle and bustle. I never thought of myself as a city person until I moved to Cincinnati, and ever since then I've just loved all the goings-on of a city. I'm not sure I'd ever want to live in the middle of a concrete jungle, but I like living nearby. Does that still count as being a city person?

Last weekend, my family and I headed to the Windy City to show Paul, my German exchange-student brother a major U.S. city ... other than North Canton, Ohio, of course. Ha! We did the touristy things (walk Michigan Ave., explore Navy Pier, eat deep-dish pizza) and the not-as-touristy things (eat the best breakfast(s) ever at Wildberry Cafe [oh wait, maybe that's still touristy :)], go to a show at Tommy Gun's Garage, attend church at Trinity UCC). It was a good time all around ... especially when Paul got called up on stage at the dinner theater. :D I haven't laughed that hard in a loooong time. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of that (we were strictly forbidden to take photos!), but look at the photos I DO have!

It looks like we're bundled up but it was really 60 degrees. In Chicago. In December. Ridiculous!

I think I've eaten at Gino's every, single time I've been to Chicago. So delicious!

101 in 1001: #36 Get Published.

I opened my eyes and contemplated going back to sleep, but as soon as I remembered that it was 11/12, I jumped out of bed and ran to my computer. Today is the day I get my first photography feature, and I couldn't be more excited about it! When Lauren from Every Last Detail e-mailed me back to say yes, she'll publish Elizabeth and Kevin's beautiful backyard wedding, I did a little happy dance and ran to tell Nathan. I still feel like a newbie in this industry and sometimes I'm completely hard on myself, wallowing in self-pity that I will never be as good as X or I will never be as successful as Y. Today I'm going to forget that negative stuff and just be giddy that I see my fabulous clients and my name on a big-time blog.

If you have time today, head over the Every Last Detail and check out how good Elizabeth and Kevin are making that blog look!