3.

And you,

 I could not imagine, 

 Never ever, having had ♥

Happy anniversary, baby! 

Let there be light.

Builder grade light fixtures can be hit or miss. Luckily for us, most of ours are a hit-- but the dining room light was a big. fat. miss.

Exhibit A:

With Casa Willi's impending holiday debut, we needed to fix the fug, stat. Of course it didn't have to be a rush job, considering I bought the light fixture way back in May.

First things first. Remove the original fixture. Not as easy as it sounds.

After far longer than we care to admit, we could finally get to work. 

Apparently, West Elm thinks we're electricians, because they gave us a lamp with a plug and wires we needed to remove... and not the most specific installation instructions.

Despite my frustrations, I got a little wire cutting and stripping happy-- if that's even a thing. 

This little do-hickey and the screw inside are the only thing that keep the fixture holding on. Suspension wires are the bomb. After figuring out which wires belonged together, and cutting and wrapping at just.the.right.height, we were ready.

Two screws on the outside to set it into place...

After a couple hours, we finally got the sucker up! It's true what they say-- a couple that installs light fixtures together, stays together {if they don't say that, they will now}. 

I love you, West Elm-- but you need to seriously reconsider your installation instructions. For two very smart {and clearly modest} people, we had quite a time with this little job. I suppose this was all just a sign that I need to keep on the grind if I'm ever going to be a bonafide DIY diva! 

Leaving it to the pros.

We needed photos. Badly. And while it was very tempting to put my camera on a tripod and use a remote, I knew we needed to call in a professional to get this right. 

Enter, Heather Avrech Photography! Heather is an amazing photographer based in San Jose, California. Lucky for us, she's also a friend! We were in SJ over Thanksgiving weekend, and were able to schedule a session (woo!). Heather's use of natural light makes me swoon-- so I was very excited to have photos taken by her. Here are a few of my faves:

And just when you thought we could get through the morning without 

completely losing it...

All Photos taken by Heather Avrech of Heather Avrech Photography

These photos were the perfect Christmas present for Moms (and Grandmas) who've been requesting pictures for a while now! I couldn't be happier☺

Go shorty, it's your birthday.

Yesterday, was this guy's birthday...

...he's pretty much the best sport I know...

...because he happily unwrapped 30 presents...

... and wore that crown-- all with a smile on his face.                          

     Way to get through all that tissue paper, baby!

Happy 30th, Amwilli! ♡

Happy 2013!

2012 was such a crazy great year! 

Among tons of tiny little life things to be thankful for, we celebrated two years of marital bliss, a new house, a new car,  and a new job (for Mr. Willi) this year. We know 2013 will bring us more newness and wonder. As in, "I wonder what life will be like after 30?"☺ 

Cheers to the new year-- we hope all your dreams come true in 2013!

Thoughts and Prayers

Oh, Christmas tree!

Nothing like the holidays to rev up the old bloggity blog (good thing I don't get paid for this). Last weekend we set out on our annual hunt for the perfect tree. This hunt was all the more special because it's our first Christmas in the new casa. 

Higher ceilings and more space = bigger and fatter tree. Confession: my tree criteria is painfully simple-- it should be shaped like my grandma-- pleasantly plump with a round bottom. Trust me, she would have LOVED that☺

The journey unfolds...

Success! Seven-footer with a fat booty.

Trusty side pooch.

 She helped again this year...

 And of course, the GOATS! I love them. Am I seriously disturbed?

Aspirations for the next house... the bigguns.

Next up, decorating... Happy December!