Comfy, Cozy are We

It's that time of year! Ah, yes. Christmas is quickly approaching, our lights and decor have been up since Jake gave me permission to on December 1st after hearing me whine for 2 weeks, I've already attempted my first homemade Christmas goodie that was oh so goodie, my annual eBay Christmas shopping has once again been victorious, and I have much to be grateful for and look forward to...like that red purse "Santa" bought me that's hiding under my bed. 

As Jake and I approach the second month of being in our new home, I think it's safe to say we're all settled in organized. Yay! I realize this now means I don't have an excuse as to why I haven't taken pics of my home yet to post on here, so let's just chalk that up to me being lazy instead of me originally being busy arranging my house. Seriously, how do people have so much time to constant be downloading pictures from their camera to their computer all the time in order to slap a few pictures on here?! It's so time-consuming and makes me want to throw a toddler tantrum. Phone pics are so the way to go. Thank you Jake's iPhone! So, until I get house pics up, I shall mesmerize you all by the Jones family Christmas tree! Feast your eyes upon our magnificent spruce, Bruce! (No, I don't really know our true species of pine tree. Jake probably would though...nerd!)

Yes, Bruce is a real tree that we proudly adopted from the nearby tree lot and boasts a height of 7 feet and has full, fluffy branches. Bruce also drinks about a full 2 glasses of water a day (thirsty fella!) and puts off the most wonderful Christmas tree aroma and has even overpowered my plug-in pine scent from Bath & Body Works. Way to go sprucey Brucey! As for the decor, that is something I can boast about. Quite proud of our festive tree this year!

Joyride!

Now, on to Jake's ultimate present (that wasn't really a birthday present but since it coincided so closely to it we'll joke that it is). We are proud new owners of a beautiful, sleek black Mazda6! Jake had previously been driving a POS 97' Chevy Cavalier that should've been killed off years ago. Emphasis on the POS. He's had it since as long as he can remember, and it had such spectacular features such as a duct-taped steering wheel, melted crayons on the backseat (Gage's contribution), no radio due to it being stolen twice, no A/C, and a delightful permanent dew smell due to one too many times of the manual windows being left down in a rainstorm. So, finally the poor thing died a few weeks ago, leaving us scrambling to find a new car and a big smile on my face...until I realized we just bought a house which means we're poverty stricken. Eek! Luckily, Jake's brother in Alabama is the manager at a BMW dealership and came to our rescue! We looked through his nation-wide inventory and had our hearts set on a Mazda in California. Paperwork was signed, the car was shipped and arrived late Thursday night. (Nevermind the fact this was the SECOND car we were now trying for. The first car, a silver Mazda6, was sold to us, paperwork signed, and when the trucker arrived in CA to pick up the car, the dealership had pulled a fast one and sold it out from under us. Unbelievable! This is where profanity should be inserted, but we're keeping this family-friendly.) 

So, amidst all of our bad luck lately, I'm happy our new car is here and just wonderful!!! It matches Jake's style so much more and will be such a gem for roadtrips because of the gas mileage. Vegas, anyone?! And now time for pics! These are pics of our exact model of car from ones found online since our own photos didn't turn out as well and were also taken at night. Don't sue me for copyright stuff!

08' Mazda Mazda6 Sports Value Edition

Black microfiber interior. Did I also mention the 6-disc CD changer? Blam!

Look at that cute bum!! Would I have liked a spoiler like we were told it had? Yes. But whatevs.

 And that, ladies and gents, concludes the new addition to our family...and also concludes us ever spending money again. Christmas? No! Santa is skipping our house this year! Ramen Noodles to all and to all a goodnight!

Birthday de Jacob

First off, I'm proudly announcing I've been listening to Christmas music for about a week now. YIPPEE!!! (Side note: My fave Christmas song is O Holy Night. Second side note: Josh Groban's version or Celine Dion's is phenomenal! I usually get goosebumps. And third note: I can't stand when people call goosebumps "goose pimples"! It's just wrong.)

Ok, now that that's covered, onto our recent events! Jake celebrated his (top secret age) birthday on Sunday the 13th. Yes, we all have our birthdays back-to-back...Gage in October, Jake in November, and mine finishing up the year in December! For festivities this year, we did our own hubby & wifey date on Saturday night where I took Jake to the Blue Iguana in downtown Salt Lake City. It turned out perfect! The food is so delicious. I enjoyed enchiladas with mole poblano sauce instead of the traditional red or green sauce--this is more of a deep red chile sauce that is rather sweet in flavor. So tasty! Oh, and we both ordered non-alcoholic margaritas that were beyond fabulous...I had to order two and plotted a third. We also got to enjoy Spanish songs sung all evening by an older couple accompanied by only their guitar. It reminded me of the dinner scene in Lady and the Tramp, only this was the Mexi version. Cute, huh?! It was a very enjoyable dinner outing, and the only thing that could've made it better was if I had taken a picture of us at the restaurant! Grrr. After our delightful dinner, we headed to see the movie Moneyball. It was just great! Hello, Brad Pitt. Hello, baseball. Nuff' said.

Then, on Sunday we did Jake's birthday celebration #2 with the family, and Jake decided he wanted us all to go to Cafe Med (our fave Greek restaurant) instead of cooking at home. It was yummy, as always, and I think my parents actually enjoyed it too. Such tasty meats and rice! But not so fun to attempt pronouncing names on the menu. Kubideh? Tzatziki? Spanikoplta? You've got to be kidding me...the only Baba Ghanooj I know is Vince Vaughn in Wedding Crashers. Don't worry, I played it safe with lemon chicken kabobs and a long ground beef log that seriously looks like....
Anyway, afterwards it was back to the house for Better-Than-Sex Cake that Jake loves me to make, ice cream and presents. He was quite happy about his Home Depot giftcard, Your Highness DVD, comfy Nike sweat pants, and plenty of kisses from me! Overall, a fun birthday weekend for my hunny that I'm glad he enjoyed. Love my hubby!

Our New Humble Abode...(That I'm not so humble about! Hear me boast!)

Who knew a few weeks could fly by so fast! Quick update...on October 14, Gage turned the big 8 years old! He had quite the party over the weekend, which included a pizza and bowling outing to Fat Cats with our family and friends, as well as a surprise visit from Grandpa Jones and Uncle Jaem from Oregon! Gage was very surprised and was happy to see them since it's not often. (Oh, and can I just add that we had THE yummiest white cake from--hold your breath--Walmart! (Gasp!) Who knew? We thought we were totally cheapies by getting a cake there and it was freaking delicious! So, touché.) After the party mayhem, my little cousins Tristan and Aiden got to have a sleepover with Gage at our new house! (House story to follow...) The house was empty but we set up a huge tent for the boys in Gage's room and they stayed up until almost 1 in the morning feasting on candy and playing Legos. They thought they were pretty hardcore staying up til "the next day." Ha! Next up, baptism on the horizon! Posts to follow once that comes along.

Gage with Grandpa Jones and Uncle Jaem. Gage thinks the ball is heavy!

Here's Gage (in the hat), Tristan (in the tent), and Aiden (in the back not looking social).

Ok, on to the subject of our NEW HOME!!! It's been a battle of 8 months for this short-sale home and lives were almost lost, but finally, we were able to close on our dream home at the beginning of October and were officially moved in by the 22nd. YAY!!! No more sharing one bathroom with two smelly, messy boys!...ok, Jake isn't that messy. We went from Jake's little 2-room duplex to a spacious 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath townhome with an unfinished basement and 2-car garage. Heaven, I tell you! Simply heaven! It is an end unit so although it is a townhome, it honestly feels like a real home in our own space. We're excited to have so much space, live in a developing area, have Gage be able to finish out his elementary years at his new school (which we enrolled him in at the beginning of the year so he wouldn't have to switch in the middle of the school year) and hopefully start planning for new little bundles of joys over the next couple of years...and I'm not talking about laundry bundles. Whoa.

Anyway, as much as I would love to post pictures of our home with our current furniture and taste in it, there are still boxes and things needing to be unpacked! It is rather cluttered in areas right now, and I want to make a good first impression to all you avid readers (all 2 of you)...so, I'm instead going to post a few of the model pics that were posted on realtor sites when the home was for sale.  

And now, I present to you...the home of Jake & Jenny Jones!

(We removed that hideous satellite on the front! Seriously, who chooses to put a satellite dish where everyone can see it? Grrr...)

(We kept the gray color, but painted it a bit darker...our furniture is definitely different.)

(Visualize toaster oven and canisters added. Nobody's counters are this clutter-free.)

(How cute is that mirror and vanity in the half-bath?! I know. Love!)

HOORAY!!! Isn't it adorable?? Of course it is! Yes, yes, I know I didn't post pics of the bedrooms or bathrooms, but seriously...the model pics are not very good of those, not to mention Gage's room and bathroom is girl themed in the model pics. Can't show off that! Our bedroom sets are sooo much snazzier, so once they are box-free, I will take pics and post some. Deal? 

And that, I guess, concludes my second post! Over and out.

First-Timer!

Hello world! I present to you, my first post. My first blog. My first "Hey, come see how good I look!" invitation. For the record, I had wanted to start a blog a few years ago simply because I enjoy the writing aspect so much and love that it's a way I can tell stories to whomever wants to listen. (Or, in this case, read.) But let's face it, blogs are usually for the married folk who want to update their extended family on their kids, trips to Disneyland, and whose kid lost their first tooth. I was NOT in that clique, so I felt that maybe I'd wait to start blogging when I started my life as a married gal. 

Well my friends, that day came on May 20th this year when I became the new Jenny Jones! No, I'm not planning on having my own talk show or wearing red glasses any time soon, but it did mean that I started this blog up and am ready to start chatting about my new life with my husband Jake and our kiddo Gage. So without further adieu....