mm, paper love.

so we don't do a "joint blog" per say, but we did do the big

christmas cards.

so fun!

kyle is so great about this stuff, letting me think and overthink my design and packaging, whether I want pictures, whether I want a picture collage, whether it should fold, how it will look best cut, etc. etc. What a patient man :) and he even cut them all!

As I mentioned previously, I was able to use my latest love, Curious Metallics paper. Oh, it is just lovely. Shimmery with a 92 lb wt., this paper might make me happy forever. plus, it comes in almost any color necessary.

I printed our thank you notes for our wedding (seen above, and below) on Curious Metallics gray paper and just loved the result. The original design with gray with white lettering. Place that on top of a shimmery gray paper and I couldn't get enough! I was so worried about having gray on top of gray, and how the white would look, but no need. Take a look!

ps. I will post pictures when I am not in an airport, and can actually take some pictures of the printed product :) don't fret!

when it rains, it pours.

we arrived almost 3 hours early for our red-eye flight to New York,

so I'm doing what I do best at airports: blogging.

thought I could catch up & maybe make up for the fact that I blog only once a month :)

this month has been filled with so many projects, I'm not even sure where to start! Let's start with the most important: Courtney's graduation! My best friend Courtney graduated Summa Cum Laude from ASU in Elementary Education this month, and she asked me to design her graduation invites.

We think they turned out with just the right amount of fun and elegance :) She printed them on my new love, Curious Metallics paper, which is amazing and way too pricey for me use as much as I would like. Add that with a shimmery maroon bellyband and a gold envelope: gorgeous!

documentation.

me & the husband, in our tiny, tiny apartment

(no, but really. this room barely fit the camera and flash I set up!)

One Sunday afternoon, Kyle's grandparents showed us an entire album filled with 30 years worth of Christmas pictures, one for each year. We both looked at each other, and I could tell we were both thinking the same thing:

"We have to do that."

So, one night I had our camera and flash from work overnight, and we decided to experiment with our own Christmas card-like photo. We decided to include our apartment because it's us right now. Magazines galore, a macbook, a wedding picture we love so much and a bookshelf full of books.

It's itty-bitty, simple and just how we like it.

projects.

life has been so busy.

this month, I have:

- sent our biggest magazine (Bride, 164 pages of pure wedding bliss) to the printer...check out sneak peaks here.

- pulled together this weekend project for my pretty cousin Lindsay, getting married next week. I think it turned out quite well for a speedy project, don't you? Also, my talented Dad took their engagement photos. Truly a Wasson project!

- went to my work Christmas party at Chef's Table, an award-winning restaurant. such a fun night with such wonderful people! After Jeanette, our lovely magazine editor and owner, spoke some opening words, I realized I hope I can be right where I am in 10 years.

(my cute husband at Chef's Table where an iPad was circled around in our "Yankee Swap" giveaway from the Bennetts)

a Wasson-turned-Aldous.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about families. About how far away my family is, about how I miss family dinners, how I wish I could invite my brother over for dinner, how I miss birthdays at home, how my mom should be close by so I can cook with her, how I miss Sunday game nights, how I need Courtney within five miles of my house so I can keep my sanity, the list is endless.

But one of the amazing things about getting married is you gain a family. That circle of love and trust, unity and forever, is expanded, and suddenly, I am surrounded by another family. Not that my family can ever be replaced, but I am amazed at this transition, of gaining another sister, another cousin, another brother. I am filled with gratitude that Kyle's family is so wonderful. I am so blessed to have a second family that I know I can love as much as my own family.

Last weekend, I got to spend some time with my new sister-in-law Kourtney. She played hostess/manager/doctor/tour guide for me and four rowdy boys (yes, my husband is included in that) at Zion Ponderosa, a ranch a few miles outside of Zion where she works. She must be one of the sweetest, most patient girls I know!

I have yet to mention how legit my sister-in-law is.
Oh, she’s legit.
Kourtney took us on ATV's, zip lining, clay pigeon shooting and gave us tours of multi-million dollar homes for a family reunion next summer.

Thanks for such a great weekend Kourtney!

leah&kyle, bridals.

Kyle and I took bridals on Thursday before the wedding, after a long and busy and absolutely wonderful day at the temple. That experience in itself made September 2, 2010, one of the most incredible days of my life.

This was the first time we had seen each other, me in my custom Badgley gown and him in his new gray suit.

Photos included sweat dripping down our backs, sprinklers turning on us and a lot of smiling. My husband was such a trooper :)
I cannot express my gratitude and joy about having a father who is a professional photographer. Not only did this save my family a small fortune, but I think his work is wonderful. Truly, I could not have had a better photographer! He brought bottled water and snacks for us to munch on during breaks, coaxed smiles and poses out of us, and used his body to cover my dress when we were surrounded by sprinklers :)

The best part? Dad worked extra, extra hard to get photos proofed and printed for our reception on Saturday. We had beautiful 8.5x11 photos in our black matted frames around the reception, and as another wedding gift, Mom and Dad gave us two of our own black matted frames!

september 4, 2010.

it's pretty great that after all the
stressing, anxiety, worry and tears...

I can look back on September 4, 2010
and truly say
there isn't a thing I would change.



the happiest day of my life.