Currently.

Seen this on a few of my favorite blogs and thought it was fun.

Obsessing over: TJ's peppermint hot chocolate with whipped cream, all the beautiful brown boots this season, white Christmas twinkle lights, fried egg and cheese sandwiches.

Working on: our Christmas card, my last two finals for Fall quarter, a few crafts for this event!

Thinking about: my dreams for next year, Nicholas, where we will live when I graduate, when we will have little ones.

Anticipating: wintery date nights, giving meaningful gifts, more quality time with our families!

 Listening to: Hotel Cafe (so good).

Drinking: coffee.

Wishing: I was better at slowing down, I had more time to experiment with meals, we had more to give to others, next quarter wont be as busy as I think it will, Nicholas was not so tired when he comes home from work. 

Corn Maze and Squash Shopping.

Nick and I often talk about how blessed we are with the community God has given us in Santa Barbara. In the last 3 years, since we got married and I moved up here, it has been a joy to share in the difficult and the wonderful things of live with our family of friends.
These friends are truly our family.

Pumpkin Hunting 2009-

2010-

{...still need to photoshop Chase in}

 Latest Family Photo-

{baby belongs to momma in the middle}

As always we had a lot of fun- racing through the corn maze (girls won!), taking photos on the big pumpkins, picking out our squash and flavored butters and then going back to our place with a loaf of bread and stick of butter (a tradition we have of getting "gluten poisoning"-- by eating unlawful amounts of toasted bread -- I do not partake).

=)

ramblings.

There is so much for me to write in order to keep the blog world caught up on the haps of the Pope family... instead of rambling for the next 4 hours here's my week in a brief 7 bullet points!

-last Friday I took my last final (aced it!) and then slept for 2 days so I could go to work on monday and not feel like death.
-Sunday hubs and I had a very romantic date night! He made bacon wrapped filet mignon and grilled veggies while I worked on roasted potatoes and roasted apple and vanilla bean souffle yum! (Aran knows what shes doing over at Cannelle et Vanille!!)

-Monday I went back to work and felt like death... lame! I taught all my little kiddos about how God made them beautifully unique--which was a great reminder for myself...
-Tuesday, we celebrated a good friend's birthday by going to see Josh Garrels play here in town. You can take a listen here, his album is free to download =)

-Wednesday- work, then came home and made progress on the baby blanket I started back here... at this post... which  I'm knitting for a special little girl! pictures to come...
-Thursday I had a doctors appointment and then we had dinner with some of Nicholas' friends from work. Amazing taco bar! My love made award winning homemade corn tortillas... all night people raved about them! Recipe found on the back of the masa bag-- 1. add water. (haha)
-Friday night Nicholas worked so I did laundry, and worked on the blanket...
-Today we slept in and then went on a walk to grab coffee, had dinner with some pals and now im catching up on my real simple mag.

How was your week?

celebrating.life.

sweet family photo!

dinner at our place with the crew

goleta is beeeautiful!

happy birthday Nikki and Brandon, we love celebrating you and what God is doing in and through your family!

everyone is going baby crazy!

Seriously it has got to stop! I know a million (or twelve) people that are pregnant. Soon Nick and I wont have any friends left to hang out with at night, they're all going to be like "blah blah blah... I can't I have to put (insert babies name) down..."

all that... up there ^... not true. I can't WAIT to meet all of my friends new babies... i'm just a little jeal i'm not having one too! (cue gasp) Hold your horses folks... all in good time.

With that I give you my newest project... In my spare time, like i have a bunch of that- HA!...

(mind you i have finals in 2 weeks = im supposed to be write a paper not a post,

we are planning a trip out of the country for a month,

its Nicks birthday TOMORROW, 

we are driving to SD this weekend for his grandma's 80th, 

I have a wedding shower to attend, 

Nick is in a wedding next week = rehearsal dinner, and all that other stuff, 

we are flying to Colorado after the wedding, 

and I have been sick for, well, EVER... 

wow, I needed to get that off my chest.. ahum. where was I?) 

I will be starting this little beauty!

hooded baby wrap