top five friday: new year's edition.

since it's a new year, i think it's only appropriate to share my top five things from 2011. here we go, in no particular order:

#1. we started our crazy adventure, which is taking on the air force life. we packed up and took the 1,856 mile trip to montgomery, al, only to pick up 6 weeks later and drive another 975 miles to del rio, tx. then, unexpectedly {and gratefully} we left 7 months later on a 1,395 mile trek to cali, where we are now waiting until the day we make the 1,280 mile drive to cheyenne, wy. whew. that was rough. looking at that, you may wonder why it made it to the top five list. it sounds hard and painful and sometimes it was, but at the same time, it has been so very rewarding. i've loved seeing the sights of this wonderful country, learning how to be a grown-up and do things for myself {mostly} and my very favorite part - meeting so many incredible people. seriously. we've made some friends that will be a part of our lives until the day we die, i'm sure. on top of all that, zachary and i have grown together more than i imagined possible in one year. yes, we have kind of been thrown into it, being away from family and such, but it really does a lot when you are all each other has to rely on. when you are the only person each other knows within a 1,000 mile radius. what a blessing in disguise it has actually been.

#2. we welcomed in a new member of our family. a member that is here to stay. {unlike the fish we got for christmas. or the puppy back in april. or the motorcycle. sheesh.} her name is stella.

you might laugh when i talk about a car being part of the family, but let's see you go shopping for one and then tell me how you feel. it has to click and you have to love it. i had the biggest butterflies when we drove her home for the first time. never mind that her tint job is bubbling up, causing her to look like a car straight from the hood. never mind that her night lights are very dim, making it hard to see what i'm doing. and never mind that she happens to be a manual and has embarrassed me many times as i've stalled her in the middle of an intersection. she's perfect and we adore her. i'm so glad we never have to live in one-car-purgatory again.

3. our many trips to utah. we went four times last year and each time it was incredible.

{alex and jodi's wedding - march}

{snow creams - july}

{the bestie's wedding - july}

{bryce canyon 5-mile run - august}

{temple square -november}

{black friday shopping with the sils - november}

#4. i got a job! my first job in over two years. there can be some serious down times:

but i am so so grateful for it. it really is a good job. i have prayed for this for months now, so i am grateful to have been so blessed. it's been a serious miracle. i like the people i work with and i love feeling all secretarial like. i can't even tell you how many times i've felt like pam from 'the office'.

#5. i know it wasn't 2011 when we got married, but come on. it was only 3 days before the new year! i feel like when something happens after the new year, then it's kind of old news, but trust me - my wedding is not old news. at least not to me anyway. someimes i will get on pinterest and see all the cute things that i couldn've done if only it had been around at the time. it bums me out and makes me resent the brides of 2012 that will all have perfect ideas. but then i realize that those perfect ideas will be done by more people that you can count and at least my wedding was an original design by me.

there's nothing like reliving the most perfect day of your life through pictures. it really was like a dream come true.

what are your favorite things from 2011?

-the wife

do you remember?

my dearest luftwaffe-

do you remember one year ago to this exact day and hour?
we were running around downtown salt lake city, freezing our bums off, watching the fireworks, while stealing kisses every chance possible.
what a perfect honeymoon.

can you believe it's already been a year since we sealed the deal of our lives?
one year since we promised to love each other for forever and nothing less.
it feels like it was just yesterday.

remember how early we had to wake up to get ready?
no wait, that was just me.
4:30 came much too soon after staying up until midnight to put the final touches on our reception decor.
remember picking me up from the hotel room where i was getting my hair done with the girls?
my heart skipped a beat when you walked through the door.
the day had finally come that i got you for keeps.
remember how late we were in getting to the temple?
it was a good thing they couldn't start things without us.
remember how beautiful our sealing was and how great it was to have our friends and family with us in the Lord's very own house on our very own wedding day?
remember how you stepped on and ripped my wedding dress in front of all of those said friends and family?
don't worry babe, there wasn't any major damage done.
remember how cold it was taking pictures outside?
it chills me to the bone just thinking about it.
remember how perfect merilee made our luncheon?
remember all the wonderful things that our loved ones said about us there?
do you remember how handsome you looked in your air force blues?
it still melts my heart.
remember how great our reception looked?
i couldn't have asked for it to have turned out any better.
do you remember all the people that came to wish us well on our special day?
remember the great food that was served?
me neither.
next time we get married, let's be sure to eat some of our own food that we took weeks to plan out.
remember the drive up to salt lake and the countless number of times we looked at each other and yelled, "we're married!"?
remember getting to the hotel room, you in your tux and i in my dress, and hearing all the oohs and ahhs from passerbys?
remember the first thing we did {well, almost the first thing ;)} was order pizza because we were starving?
remember the feeling of being able to snuggle up and fall asleep, knowing that we'd never have to say goodbye and part ways again?

oh how in love i was with you that day and how even more in love with you i am today.
happy {late} anniversary honey.
thanks for one fabulous year.

love,
your wife

top five friday

#1. zooey deschanel. she has come a long way since 'elf' if i do say so myself. i've seen her in movies like 'yes man', '(500) days of summer', 'failure to launch', etc., but my all-time fav is her tv show 'new girl'. oh my hilarious! you've got to watch it. i think if i could have any actress' hair, it would definitely be hers. what i wouldn't give to be able to pull off those gorgeous front bangs! anyway, since this weekend is new years', it just so happens that i came across zooey and joseph gordon-leavitt performing a cover of 'what are you doing new years eve?'. i thought it was too cute not to share, so i hope you enjoy it as much as i did:

#2. one of my good friends from high school got hitched today! this is kind of a bittersweet top five. i am so so happy for shandi and her beau, but boy would i give anything to be with them on this special day. they are basically a match made in heaven. they dated throughout high school, he left on an lds mission and they kept in contact and then she left on a mission too and when she came home, they got engaged within weeks. such a cute couple and i'm sure she made a beautiful bride today. congrats shandi. love ya girl!

#3. these boots. they will most definitely be a near-future purchase.

#4. this photo found on ellen degeneres's facebook page:

she posted it and said, "people need to realize that a diamond isn't the only thing that's forever." *laughs* seriously though...who would make something so pointless into a tattoo? if you're going to get one and especially that big, at least make it worth it!

and coming in at #5, {last the best of all the game} was the greatest, most wonderful thing that happened to me this week - being able to celebrate my one year anniversary with my honey!

we went to san fran and oh. my. gosh. it was one of the best vacations i've ever been on. it was like a second honeymoon! there will be more pictures and stories to come soon. i promise.

i hope you all have a wonderful and happy new year and that you get lots of treats from the new year's fairy. over and out.

-the wife

merry christmas.

hope you had a fabulous day!
we sure did.
it was filled with sunshine, good friends, lots of food, and sandy toes.

wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season from the west coast.

love,
the averetts

top five friday.

i'm going to try something a little different here on the blog.
this is my introduction to "top five friday"; a weekly post where i will share five things that i love.

here are this week's:

#1. zachary and i both didn't have to work today. {and don't have to for two weeks. holla!}

#2. this video from david archuleta:

isn't that just the sweetest thing ever? i may or may not have cried a little with him the first time i saw it.

#3. these super easy christmas tags:

after using up our entire christmas budget, i realized we forgot to buy present tags. what's cheaper AND cuter than some kraft paper already on hand and stamps?

#4. this photo found on pinerest, captioned "this is why you marry your best friend."

pretty much sums it up. i'm so glad i married my best friend that makes me laugh everyday.

#5. new jammies. we do a christmas pj swap every year and i've dubbed these as the ones i want. think this is a big enough hint to the hubs to let him know which ones to get?

{found at target.com}

what are your favorite things this friday?

-the wife

27.

someone had a birthday yesterday.
and i'm not talking just any someone, but a very special someone.
my handsome husband turned a whopping 27!
we've kind of made it a tradition that the birthday boy or girl gets breakfast in bed on their big day.
german pancakes to be exact.
sad story though - i set my alarm to wake up with enough time to make everything and catch him before he got up and in the middle of the night....my phone died. {if only i had a dollar for everytime that happened.}
i guess whether it's breakfast in bed or breakfast at the table, it all tastes the same right?

i gave it my best shot in trying to be creative this year. and by creative, i actually mean snagging an idea from 'the dating divas' and customizing it. his present consisted of a flow of presents all day long in the form of envelopes.



there was one envelope for each hour of the day, that he got to open on that hour.
the envelopes consisted of an iTunes gift card, coupons for a "man night" or dinner date, etc., a "choose a gift" card, and letters from nearly our entire family!
i really couldn't thank both our families enough for helping me.
it meant so much to hear from all of them and will definitely be something he will remember.

since we both had to work all day, it was nice to be able to send him on his way with a few envelopes, so he could still open presents when i wasn't with him!

the moment he got home though, we went to dinner at Yanagi Sushi and Grill.

fun fact about zachary: he love love LOVES sushi.

fun fact about me: i don't.

and yet, it was still incredibly delicious.

{zachary drinking his miso soup aka tofu and dirt.}

{yes, vegetable sushi is still sushi.}

to top it all off, we had some friends over tonight to eat cake and ice cream. {while watching the biggest loser. oxymoron?}

{can you believe he was able to actually blow all of those out? sheesh.}

after all was said and done, i think my favorite present was the remote control helicopter:

we played with it for hours after opening it. {we're children at heart.}

it wasn't even my birthday and i had a fabulous day.

i am so grateful for my charming man and for the things he does for me everyday.

he really is the best thing that's ever happened to me.

happy birthday, babe.

i can't wait to spend many more together!

-the wife

o christmas tree, o christmas tree...

we've tried super hard to make it feel like christmas here. it feels so different having sunshine and 60 degree weather in december. {i really can't complain} we've tried to decorate and do christmas activites to get us in the mood though and we even got our very first christmas tree! behold:

ain't she a beaut? i got all excited at the beginning of the month thinking it would be cool if i made all of our ornaments. yes, those are homemade, but as you can see, there is a serious lack in the number of them.i got so burned out in making things these last couple weeks that i don't even care how shabby it looks anymore. all that matters is that it is a real tree and nothing less. {i joke, i joke. fake trees are cool too...kind of.} although i am mighty proud of that tree skirt. lots of fabric and multiple hot glue burns later gives you this:

i followed this pattern and thought it didn't turn out half bad. i've seen it in burlap and red too and it's super cute.

i'd be lying if i said the holidays aren't making me a bit homesick. we agreed on going home for thanksgiving and staying here for christmas, since the air force wasn't going to give zachary much time off. so i was sad not to be with our family, but at the same time i was super excited to have our very first {married} christmas together and be able to start our own traditions. now i just want to bag the whole idea and drive to utah tomorrow. good thing zachary is planning us a sa-weet anniversary trip three days later, or i might do just that.

anyway, happy sunday.
i hope it was merry and bright.

-the wife.

i believe...

...people wearing santa hats around town is adorable.

...money creates way too much stress for a person to handle.

...i should never have been introduced to jack in the box. i'm now an addict.

...in kissing hello and goodbye.

...decorating for christmas has exhausted my creativity fund. and my bank account.

...car shopping is a pain in the #$%.

...scentsy is a dream in a warmer dish. i'm obssessed.

...this {almost} one year of marriage has been the best and craziest year of my life.

...ellen degeneres is one of the funniest people i've ever seen. seriously. how does she come up with this stuff?

...a trip to europe is in order next year.

...talking with meg clifford at work makes the day go by much faster.

...back tickling from the hubs in the middle of the night because of a bad dream is like heaven.

...the soundtrack to breaking dawn part one is a much needed future purchase.

...cake and ice cream for dinner is okay.

...shopping for gifts is hard.

...watching movies and snuggling are necessary to maintaining sanity.

...pinterest could possibly be the greatest invention ever.

...everyone has a hard life. be kind.

what do you believe in?

i'm a working girl.

i start my new job today.

wish me luck!

"jetta"

do you remember a few months back when we got a dog? no? oh, that's right. that's because we bought her and sold her before i even had time to blog about her. here's jetta:

cute right? don't be fooled. after chewing on everything i owned and peeing every time she looked at zachary, we just couldn't keep her. she had to have been the most independent dog in the world and could care less that we took care of her. i think we just jumped into things too fast and didn't take time to actually think about the consequences. she has kind of ruined us for the time being for ever wanting a dog. i hope and pray that changes someday!

-sarah

just a mushy love shpeel.

my boy started his first day of school today.
i made sure to buy him some brown paper bags to carry his lunch in along with a baggie full of keebler cookies - one of his favs.
i can't believe how grown up he is! *tear*

but, in all seriousness, i am so stinkin' proud of that man that it really does almost bring me to tears.
i won't turn this into a "my-husband-is-better-than-your-husband" story, but i will say this: he is one hard workin' dude.
he's woken up at the crack of dawn every day this week and still comes home happy.
i'm grateful for everything he provides for us and his unconditional love.
he's definitely got this husband thing down to a t.
that's all.

-the wife

cali baby.

after weeks of no internet, we are finally back in business! and boy, does it feel good. there is so much to share, i don't even know where to begin. first off, can i just say that i have never been so happy to see this sight in my entire life:



yes my friends, that would be del rio, texas floating away in our rear view mirror. i honestly miss our friends so much, but i am oh so glad that i will never have to set foot in that town again...hopefully.

it took us three long days to get to vandenberg afb. in which time, there was lots of laughing, way {and i mean way} too much junk food eating, and tons of stress. the dingbats at home depot failed to reserve our truck that we asked for, so we were stuck with the only one they had left. which happened to also be the largest one available.

{look at the size of that thing!}

take that and add on a trailer and we figured that we were pulling around 55 feet of truck. phoenix and los angeles were pretty scary to go through. i had to make myself look away several times because i was sure we were going to wreck. not to mention the anxiety attack we got everytime we had to fill the dang thing up. luckily, i have an incredible husband that can handle anything. he really did such an amazing job of weaving through traffic and taking care of things in this whale of a vehicle. i'm glad i married such a manly man. we learned a valuable lesson though and that is that we will never do a full-dity move again. ever.

anyway, moving right along. it took us a while to find an apartment and get settled in, but the wait was well worth it. i absolutely love our new place. it's nothing extravagant, but it definitely has a homey feeling to it. i'll have to post pictures once we get it cleaned up.

santa maria is like living in a vacation world, no joke. so many people have told us it's quite the "sleepy" town, but we have come to find that there is so much to do and see here that we are wondering how we're going to fit it all in. i think what i love most is how much variety there is. vandenberg itself is nestled back in the mountains about twenty minutes from town. in the couple days we were driving around, we saw 5 or 6 coyotes, so that gives you a good idea at how tucked away it really is.

then as you are driving into town, you come across acres and acres of vineyards and strawberry fields and you are just sucked into that country, hometown feel. it makes you want to sit on a front porch and do nothing but drink lemonade and play the guitar. then ten minutes later, you are in the middle of the hustle and bustle of santa maria. which, by the way, happens to have a joanns, michaels, target, and a frozen yogurt store. i could live here my whole life if possible! on top of that, you drive another half an hour or so, and you find yourself right on the beach. pismo beach to be exact. that's where we visited this last weekend.

we were only there for a couple hours, but the whole time, i kept thinking to myself that i can't believe this is the life we are actually living. it felt like something from a movie. even down to the fact that we saw dolphins from the pier:

it was incredible! we also happened to be visiting at 11:11 on 11/11/11, so we had someone snap a photo for us at just the right moment.

i feel so happy and blessed to be here. we have a great ward and have already met some incredible people including this couple. seriously? they. are. awesome. i'm so grateful for their open arms in welcoming us here. they've definitely made us feel a little more at home. i'm very excited for this new chapter in our life and can't wait to see what it has to offer!

-the wife

p.s. remind me next time to introduce you to the newest member of our family. ;)