Pictures! :)

The Brown 2011 Xmas tree

Sugar Xmas cookies, we had to make some with our new MI cookie cutters! A Taste of Home

 2011 Xmas ornaments we got while on our drive home from the wedding

Pinterest recipe! Pretzel sugar butter crust, cream cheese cool whip sugar and butter filling, and strawberry jello frozen strawberries and crushed pineapple topping. SO DELICIOUS!

Xmas Eve dinner with our Wedding China

Pudge and his Xmas bone from Grandma Rosie

Our Gifts under the tree :)

Dream Computer!! BEST XMAS GIFT EVER! In Love

Our paradise

Brucie :)

Taking a siesta in the Hammock

My Heaven 

The resorts beautiful Cove area

Outside bar area

Delicious fresh salad

Bottle of bubbly they had waiting for us every night :)

Room Service for Breakfast

Our little Pelican friend

mmmmmmm

Happy Honeymoon :)

Fresh Coconut drinks

YUM!

Our special pink honeymooners bracelets! 

Honeymoon, Holidays, and Happiness

So needless to say we haven't posted in a while.....sorry!! We have been sooo busy!!

I am sad to say that my Uncle Kent passed away at the end of November.  He was a truly inspirational man.  He was paralyzed and fighting throat cancer.  We can take some comfort knowing he is no longer in any pain.  He fought a long hard battle, and now he may RIP! The funeral was beautiful.  My Dad flew out to be with family, and as happy as I was to see him so close to the holidays, I wish it could have been under better circumstances.  I was so happy he could be here with my Grams, as she was so upset, which is to be expected of any parent that loses their child.  The Marines were also preset at the funeral, and they presented my Grams with a beautiful flag in honor of Uncle Kent.  Once a Marine, Always a Marine! RIP Uncle Kent, always in our hearts!!

The weekend following the funeral we picked up my FIL from the airport to come house sit for us while we went on our "delayed honeymoon," as we like to call it.  And can I just say how amazing it is that we have such a great Dad to come out and house and dog sit for us while we took off, truly blessed.  So the trip was absolutely perfect!! No other words to describe it!  We were immediately given pink wrist bands, different from everyone else's.  This was so that everyone that we came into contact with knew we were honeymooners and they treated us like royalty!! We had 24 hour room service, breakfast in bed, fully stocked bar in our bedroom, HUGE jacuzzi, private candle lit dinners, the list goes on and on and on.....

Two of our favorite days were our couples spa day and when we swam with the Dolphins.  The spa day worked out great as it fell on the only rainy day.  This spa was amazing, it was super high-end and the nicest spa I'd ever been too.  For the first hour we prepped ourselves.  We took warm massaging showers before heading to the sauna.  Then we went to three different Jacuzzis.  The first was hot, the second was a cold waterfall that we went under to prep for the third.  The third was really HOTT and super relaxing! Then we headed to massaging chairs and got foot massages in the water massagers as we sat and relaxed.  Then we headed to our two hour couples aromatherapy couples massage.  HEAVENLY is the only word I can come up with.  Bruce fell asleep twice, haha :) This was followed by an hour facial, also heavenly. Then we had a mani pedi, followed by a beautiful view, fresh fruit water, and fresh fruit to recoup.  The most relaxed either of us has ever been, we felt drunk but had no adult beverages.....weird!

Swimming with the Dolphins is something I have always wanted to do.  So this day was so exciting for me! We got to swim, kiss, and pet them! They are truly majestic beings! We will never forget that amazing day!

Most of the time we just relaxed in the sun all day.  When the sun finally went down we would head for our room to take a siesta in our hammock.  We would then wake and get ready for our fine dining five course dinners, that were always delicious! The resort would usually have a very cool show which we would attend at night.  We immediately turned off our phones the second we boarded the plane and left them off the entire time.  We didn't bring any electronics except for my kindle and being cut off from the real world was great and freeing! Spending quality time together is a top priority for us before starting a family and we are so glad we were able to go.  Another trip is already in the works!!  But everything comes to an end, and back to reality it was.  But it was so nice to get home and see Dad Brown and Pudge.

December 23rd marked four glorious years together.  We celebrated by going to a beautiful fine dining little restaurant, it was sooooo delicious!

The holidays were a little bittersweet! We miss family so so so much, but also love the quiet time.  We were able to spend Christmas Eve together and Christmas morning before Bruce headed to work for 2.  Christmas Eve we made our big meal and finally broke out our wedding china.  It was the first time we have used our beautiful set, and I was scared! :) We don't have a china cabinet yet, so they are usually packed safe and sound in their boxes.  I think they will be making an appearance only for Christmas dinner. But they sure were beautiful!  Then we pulled out our spare bedroom mattress and camped out in the living room watching movies.  We fell asleep next to our beautifully lit tree and woke up delighted, this may become a new tradition in our house!

We woke up pretty early this morning.  We had 8:30 mass and I wanted to bake the cinnamon roll casserole I had prepped the night before.  We then opened what Santa had brought, and we must have been super super good this year.  We are truly blessed, not many people can say they have four sets of AMAZING parents.  Bruce got lots of Wings apparel, which he loved! We got a really cool old fashioned theater popcorn popper and about a years supply of popcorn and theater grease and butter to cook it, so neat and we can't wait to try it out.  We also got lots of money and gift cards, homemade hats and mittens which are sooo awesome, and so much more.  We got to Skype with family and friends, and that made the lonely holiday a bit easier to bear!  But the biggest surprise was the MacBook Pro.  This has been a dream computer of mine for quite some time, but we could never quite come up with the money to cover the expensive tab, there was always something else more important to spend the money on.  So when I opened this gift, tears fell down my cheeks.  Not only because it's amazing, but because of the thoughtful and selfless act behind the gift.  My MIL truly thinks of me as her daughter and that feeling is indescribable.

Merry Christmas! We hope you all had an AMAZING day filled with love and happiness.

We love and miss you all so much! And I will upload pictures of everything tomorrow!! :)
Love,
Nic, Bruce, and Pudge xoxox

Visitor, Birthday, & Crafts

This weekend we had a visitor & a birthday! EC, one of my very very best friends, flew in on Wednesday night and is flying out today.  We had such a relaxing weekend.  We drank lots of wine, wore our pj's more often than not, and made some beautiful crafts.  We haven't been able to just have some quality girl time together in the last few years.  She lives in Vegas and like myself, only makes it home for events.  So for the last 3 years I have only had the pleasure of seeing her three times, all three times we were busy little bees with events.  So this trip was amazing to be able to talk and talk and talk and talk and just hang out, it was perfection.  I did however, get sick! I caught a horrid head cold and was sick most of Friday, but I dealt and we had a good day. 

This weekend was also Bruce's birthday!  The big 2-7!!! He had to work a double the morning of, so that was a bummer, but EC had all of his gifts ready and also got him an array of donuts so he could eat and run to the bed! That day we baked and baked and baked. I accidental added too many ingredients and made WAY too much batter for his red velvet cake.  So not only did he have a double layer cake, but also two dozen cupcakes! But he loves the homemade cream cheese frosting, so they won't last too long! EC got him a McDonald's gift card, he LOVED that.. We don't eat out often and I hate McDonald's, so he is always excited to have an excuse to eat his favorite fast food. I got him tickets to the Avs game on Dec. 4th when they play his all-time favorite team, the Red Wings, he is beyond excited! Saturday, his day off, is when we celebrated! We made his favorite meal, a big steak and home made mac n' cheese.  And we also bought some spiced beer, bud light, and ingredients for some mixed cocktails.  We drank, ate, and played games, Bruce's perfection. 

The town we live in is super small and there isn't much to do, so we did a few crafts and put up our Christmas lights.  Bruce was laughing because so far we are the only house on our block that has our lights up, BUT in my defense this was the only weekend that we were available to put them up before Dec. 5th.  And I am SUPER CRAZY (and am not afraid to admit it) about Christmas! I would be so sad if the lights were not up the entire time possible.  So my wonderful hubby climbed the ladder and did the job beautifully, while EC and I fluffed wreaths. 

So all in all this past week was AMAZING! Here are a few pictures of crafts.....(there are more, but I am not going to upload the pictures until some are given away as gifts).  Also, our headboard project had to be postponed, but I will upload pictures when it is complete!

Hope everyone is well! We love and miss you all!
Love,
Bruce, Nichole, & Pudge xoxoxo

This is a jewelry holder made of flower pots.  I had some old orange flower pots and turned them useful. I painted the pots with 'distressed coal' paint and then glued them together and added ribbon to the bases.  Total cost was about $3 for the paint only, $10 if you have to buy the flower pots. You can find it here: http://pinterest.com/pin/2251868533290850/

This I made for Bruce's birthday, it's his 'man bouquet.'  He absolutely loved it! I just took a Styrofoam block, cut it to size and glued the candy boxes to all four sides.  Then I glued Popsicle sticks to each piece of candy and stuck in the top of the block, SO easy.  All things needed can be found at the dollar store.  Idea found here: http://pinterest.com/pin/2251868533272024/

Headboards

So my attention has been completely on our home lately.  We are into DIY projects, as it is way way way cheaper to do it this way.  So my latest obsession is with headboards.  I would like a new headboard, cloth to be exact.  I love the 'vintagy' look of cloth headboards, but they are SO expensive.  So thanks to Pinterest I have found a blog that has given very detailed directions on how to make your own for under $100.  Sooooooo the Mr. and Mrs. are going to try our luck! Ahhhhh, to be honest I am quite scared.  I love to complete small projects, and small always means super cheap, which gives me some comfort knowing that if I screw up, it's OK because I didn't spend much.  A headboard is a bit different.  It's the centerpiece of the bedroom........so basically just WISH US LUCK!!! We are going to need it!!! :)

Here is the link to the blog:  http://www.pepperdesignblog.com/?p=1200

And here is a picture of what we hope to accomplish! :-) (different color fabric) I will post pictures of our finished product, iiiiifffff we finish! LOL

Got my craft & cook on! :)

So today I decided to try my luck on a recipe Bruce has been dying for and some small apothecary-like vases......they both turned out just as planned!!! I was so excited!! Have I mentioned that I LOVE LOVE LOVE pinterest?! Both projects came from there!

For the apothecary vases I went to the dollar tree and used their small and medium candle sticks and small vases.  I clued the vase to the top of the candle sticks, that simple! I filled them will Q-tips and cotton balls and put them in our bathroom! They look great! I want to try a different, shorter and thicker, candle stick type, but they didn't have them at the dollar tree I looked at.  So of course I will stop at a dollar tree in Denver to see if they have them, I mean can't hurt right?! It's only a buck!!

This morning I made a delicious cinnamon bun casserole! It was so delicious and Bruce loved it! I took a pack of cinnamon buns and baked them according to their directions, cooled them, and pulled them apart. Put them in a baking dish and added the egg mixture (eggs, milk, sugar, and cinnamon).  After pouring the egg mix over the entire dish I cubed some butter and put them on top with some pecans. I covered and out it in the fridge for four hours, then baked at 350 for 50 mins. SO DELICIOUS & EASY!

I love crafty days! And days that I am able to bake and not burn anything!  I also made some scalloped potatoes, shake n' bake chicken, corn, and chicken stuffing for dinner! We finished laundry and got ready for the work week ahead, all and all a wonderful fall day! :)

Here are a few pictures of the fun today!  Hope all is well!

Love,
Bruce, Nic, & Pudge xoxo

Pinterest & update

Since the wedding has come and gone, I have maintained my interest in crafts.  I am by no means 'creative' but have definitely become more and more crafty.  I started with doing DIY projects for the wedding and now I am continuing with our home.  We love anything that we can make ourselves, so I am learning to incorporate our style into the projects I am doing.  So with this new interest comes a HUGE obsession with Pinterest.  I absolutely love love love it.  I am still trying to learn and am super hesitant to pin anything quite yet, but the ideas that you can get from this site are unbelievable! I feel more crafty just from taking a look each day.  If you haven't been there to take a look yet, GO NOW!! It's totally inspiring and you'll love it!

So moving on......Bruce and I are doing very well.  Last weekend we were plagued with my sickness.  One of our favorite holidays went to waste! I came down with the flu early Saturday morning and my wonderful hubby took very very good care of me.  Luckily by Monday evening I was feeling a ton better! We had originally bought 4 huge bags fun size candy, but were almost out by 7pm, which is when the trick-or-treating was suppose to be begin! We had early birds! :)  So Bruce ran out and bought 3 more bags, the biggest he could find! We had a fantastic time.  Pudge dressed up in his pumpkin costume and greeted all the kids.  He did accidentally knock over the neighbors granddaughter, he was just so excited to see her and she's little.  Needless to say, she got an extra special treat! We had a blast, and we loved seeing all the adorable kids.

This weekend we are heading to Grams house to visit and bring her wedding photos.  We are also going to an Avs game Sunday thanks to the free tickets from my boss.  We love hockey and I love the Avs, but Bruce is insisting on wearing his Wings jersey, bring on the harassing.   They are not playing the wings, but we will definitely hear it.  Should be a good time anyway. 

We are also planning on taking a trip to the mountains to get our 2011 Christmas photo for our cards, that's always a fun time! Soon we will be heading back to get our 2011 Christmas Tree, that's my absolute favorite! There's just something so amazing about hiking in the mountains to find a tree to bring home and fill your house with that amazing smell.  This is a tradition we hope to continue for many Christmas' to come!

Hope all is well!! We miss everyone very much!!

Love,
Bruce, Nichole, & Pudge xoxo

TRAVEL

So today marks the 50 day mark until we take our delayed honeymoon! We are very excited!! We have never had the pleasure of taking a secluded vacation with each other without already having an agenda to follow and things to do! So this is way way overdue and we couldn't be more excited!!!

We couldn't take the honeymoon right away because Bruce didn't have enough time built up yet from his new job, but to be honest we are happy that we weren't able to go right after the wedding.  We have this fabulous vacation to look forward to and we get to get away during the winter! That is definitely a plus!

We are also excited because there are some visitors coming our way! November is not only Bruce's birthday month, but we have our great friend, EC coming in for a visit!! We usually only see each other once a year for weddings, so this is exciting! I also am lucky enough to have my very best friend Lindsey coming for a visit!! It's not until April, but I am still super super excited!! I wish they could come right now.........

I am also excited to head home sometime in November depending on the birth of a precious little boy! I am going to fly home for a short, but very exciting visit to meet one of my best friends baby! YAYAYAYAY TUCKER!! :)

Until then it's business as usual! We are both doing well, working, and living the dream! This weekend we plan on going to the beautiful Garden of the Gods and carving our pumpkins! Speaking of Halloween, is it time to decorate for Christmas yet?!  I love decorating for all holidays, but Christmas is my all time favorite!!

Hope all is well! Love and miss you all!

Love,
Nichole, Bruce, & Pudge xoxo

TVP!

Ok so I am totally totally obsessed with The Vintage Pearl!! They do amazing work!! I wore their pearl nest ring on my right hand and their personalized pearl bracelet for our wedding.  Both pieces are AMAZING!!!  Please check them out at http://www.thevintagepearl.com/ !!  And their blog at www.thevintagepearl.com/blog/


Here are a few pictures of their amazing work.....

Hope all is well!!!

Love,

Nichole xoxo

Pictures!! :)

We received our wedding pictures last wk!!! We absolutely love them.  Our photographer was a friend that I had graduated HS with and she is absolutely amazing.  We couldn't be happier with them.  I, of course, took forever to upload the BILLION pictures, but have finally done it after many many request by some very eager people! The upload took almost two hours, as there were so many pictures.  I then uploaded only about 300 to Facebook.  After four hours of staring at the computer I could do no more, and lets be honest, no one is interested in that many wedding pictures anyways.  Our family and friends were so wonderful and had such kind words.  Any who, here are a few of our favorites! :)

WARNING.........vent post!!!

So today was a particularly hard day for me, SOOOOO HOMESICK!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE Colorado, don't get me wrong. We absolutely love living here, but it's just so far! If I could pick this state up and move it closer to MI, it would be PERFECT!!!  But obviously that is out of the question, unless anyone has any great ideas?!?!

So anyways, I think after spending some extended time home for the wedding, I just realized how lucky we are.  We seriously have the best family and friends.  And I know everyone always says that, blah blah blah, but seriously we are soooooo blessed! We are so lucky to have FOUR, yes FOUR, amazing sets of parents that would do ANYTHING for us at ANYTIME!  And our friends, wow! Our friends are probably the most supportive, generous, and loving people.  So after moving so far away and not making many trips home in the last 3 years, this last trip just reminded me why I missed these people so much. 

Again, don't get me wrong, I love our life out here!! But I am just a bit home sick.  Bruce works midnights for the state right now and I work 3 days a wk in Denver.  So for 5 days a wk I am completely by myself.  Two of those days are spent in a town that I know NO ONE!! Between traveling back and fourth from Denver every week, leaving for the wedding, and Bruce working midnights and having odd days off, we haven't had time to really hang out with people.  We have met some people here and there, but it's just not the same!!! So hopefully now that things have calmed down we can spend more time with people in our new town.  We do have a BBQ to go to, so that'll be nice. 

Anyways that is my venting sob story today....I am feeling super homesick and missing our amazing family and friends.   Feel free to come visit ANYTIME!!! ;)

But on a bright note, baby Tucker is coming shortly and I can't wait to go home to meet him! AND our honeymoon is coming up!! YAY!!

Thanks for listening.....

Love,
Nichole (just me, cause Bruce and Pudge were not to blame for the venting tonight)

COMPLETE!!

PUDGE IS HOME!!!! I know some people probably think we are crazy in love with our dog, and we have to admit, WE ARE!!!! It felt so weird not to have him here, like our home wasn't a home while he was away.  He truly is our child and we are OK with that! :) 

Paul, my father-in-law made the trip with Pudge, his friend Neal, and all of our fun toys!! We are so lucky.  We had to leave the majority of our fun toys in MI because when we first moved out here we didn't have the room to take it out here with us and lived in a 2 bedroom town house with no where to store it.  But now that we have the house and garage we have our bikes, our boat, kayaks, canoe, and so many more fun toys!! We are very excited to use them. 

THANKS DAD BROWN!!!!

Hope all is well with everyone!

Love,
Bruce, Nic, and PUDGE! :)