{Life} Christmas 2013.

Christmas was a fabulous time for us this year. With Jake off for the month of December to do interviews, we had a lot of time for hanging out and taking a break from everyday life.

We received lots of love from friends far and near. This isn't quite all the cards (I forgot to take a final pic before taking it down):

The dogs were quite festive. The cat, not so much:

On Christmas Eve we went over to my parents' house and decorated Christmas cookies:

Then we went to the mall for the annual Jasper children Santa photo:

Afterwards we had our first Christmas Eve dinner at Jake's parents' house - his family came over and we all hung out and caught up. Then we went over to my parents for the big Christmas Eve dinner. Dad broke out two bottles from his cellar for our "mystery wine" challenge:

My mom always puts out this sweet picture of my brothers in front of the Christmas tree from sometime in the '90s.

Christmas morning came - Jesus appeared in the manger!

There were presents under the tree ready to open:

And stockings hung on the mantle:

Sebastian got in on the fun:

Jake did well this year!

The guys even got something - toys and bones from Santa:

Jake also got me this present - so excited about my new Costco membership #adulthood

Then it was over to the parentals for the morning. We racked up quite nicely there and it was very fun being able to share what we got for everyone! I got dad this oil painting of my mom - he told me a while ago he wanted one and so we surprised him!

Then it was over to Jake's family for more Christmas. Here's the carnage from their house -

I took a minute to take in the beauty of my Christmas presents from Jake (watch and boots):

After the craziness of the day I settled in with my new kindle, which Jake's parents got me. I've already read two books on it and love it!

Beamer with his fox - we ask him "what does the fox say, Beamer?" and he squeaks it...

I also got to spend a lot of quality time with my bff Chan - I snapped this picture as I left Harbor Town one night after chilling with her:

And then there was our inaugural visit to Costco! So exciting. We got a lot of goodies:

We also hit up the Growler a few more times.. Jake got one of the beer flights. Love that place.

Somewhere in there we had a Christmas Crawl/birthday party for Jake's mom in their neighborhood that was fun per usual:

And a family hibachi dinner at A-tan. Always a good time:

We went out to St. Philip to hear Chan preach (and I listened to her whole sermon!):

Chan helped me find new boots - it took a day with my mom and a day with Chan. Turns out Zumba has given me some beast calves.

We took family photos on New Year's Eve. Here's one:

Afterwards we went to El Mezcal for a big family New Year's Eve dinner. It was a lot of fun!

The following days were full of relaxing and taking in the last of break. We had dinner with my family one night before Jacob & Lydia went back to Knoxville. Oscar was the uninvited dinner guest:

I also spent some time soaking in the last glows of the Christmas tree before taking it down:

We went downtown and spent time with my cousin Amy and Layla, including riding on the trolley. Layla is getting so big!

There was a lot of hanging out with the pups too, of course:

And a final dinner of the break before a new year at South of Beale (their duck fried rice... amazing).

Alas, we finally took down the tree. The guys were glad to have their spot back:

And as much as I like Christmas decorations, it was nice to have a clean living room again:

But what a great break. Here's to a new year with new memories.

{Travel} Thanksgiving 2013.

A little late, but here's our Thanksgiving 2013 adventure!

Typically we stay in Memphis, do two delicious Thanksgiving dinners, spend time with family, and generally enjoy ourselves. This year my family decided to celebrate Thanksgiving in East Tennessee since my brothers are super seniors at UT and won't be there next year. My dad rented a cabin on the Clinch River in Clinton, TN and convened upon it Wednesday night.

Before we did Thanksgiving though, Jake and I had our own little adventure. Jake had an interview in Knoxville so we drove to Monteagle for a night at a bed and breakfast (hoped to do some hiking but the weather was nasty) before spending two days in Knoxville.

In Monteagle we ate at a new-ish burger place in neighboring Sewanee. Our burgers were great - I hear the wings are awesome but didn't try them. It had a good beer selection on tap and definitely had a small town college vibe.

After Monteagle, we drove to Knoxville. The weather continued to be disgusting. Here is the road, which was even foggier than this picture shows.

Once we got to Knoxville we drove around campus a bit - still raining...

We visited the new sorority village and I saw my sorority's house. Super jealous!

We had lunch at OCI (well.. Goal Post Tavern but it is the same thing) and we saw this huge picture of Jake's grandfather's football team:

We were able to find Jake's grandfather - their names were typed on the picture:

The whole reason for the OCI visit was the cheese bings. They were as delicious as ever:

After that we walked around campus in the rain with no umbrellas or coats, which was pretty stupid. Then we checked into the hotel, dried off, and got ready for an amazing dinner at Naples, my favorite restaurant in Knoxville.

The next morning we woke up to snow - it wasn't so much that roads were bad, just enough to be pretty.

While Jake was in his interview I met Beth and Brad for breakfast (and Tori!). They were in town for Thanksgiving.

After breakfast I met up with my brothers and waited for Jake to finish his interview before heading up to the cabin. It was right on the river and made for great views.

Jacob and Lydia brought their dog, Ziggy. Jake said he doesn't like small dogs.. but note most of these pictures have Ziggy with Jake.

We did the Thanksgiving thing - ate a lot, watched a lot of TV/football, and hung around. The guys went fly fishing one morning with some local guides.

There was also some studying on my brothers' part, which made me grateful to be out of school:

Here's Ziggy again with Jake:

The whole fam hanging out:

Ziggy and Jake:

The last morning was so foggy -

Then it was time to head back home! A long weekend of doing absolutely nothing... and loving it.

I managed to read three books on the trip over the course of 5 days. I loved all three, which were very different. I read "My Sister's Keeper", "The Paris Wife," and "Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore."

It was a great Thanksgiving - it is amazing how much quality time you get to spend with your brothers when they don't have anywhere else to go!

In turkey with family,