tis the season.

I'm loving this winter. 

The snow, the lights, the food, the ornaments, the movies, and Chrsitmas trees…

everything. 

I adored decorating our little home and had to share our apartment with yah!

Oh and that box of chocolate heaven is from by best friend. 

Isn't she the best!? 

Sees candies is the bees knees. 

  xoxo

oh christmas tree.

Last Friday Zakary finished his first semester of medical school.

Time is flying by! 

I'm extremely proud of him. He's gone this week visiting AZ, so before he left we had to celebrate {of course}.

Right after he finished we went to lunch at the cutest little place downtown in Old Market called The Kitchen Table. It's healthy and they have vegan options, so you know I'm all for that. 

Zak had the Grass Run Beef Meatball sandwich and I had the alternative Cauliflower Barely Ball on Rosemary Focaccia bread. It. Was. Amazing. 

See pics below. 

And they served popcorn as our side. I told yah it's my kinda place.

Afterwards we went and picked our very first Christmas tree. I was waiting all week for this! Zak has never had a real tree before, so I couldn't wait to take him. 

We thought we had picked a small tree when we were checking but once we got home, we realized it was a tad too big and now it's taking over our apartment. It's fine.

We put all our decorations on the tree, and even made one that has an imprint of our house key and says "our first home" with the date and address. 

Our goal is to make one each time we move so we keep track of our little homes along the way. I know, we're cheesy.

That night we went out to dinner {we ate a lot last weekend, don't judge} with the four other couples we've come to grow super close with this semester. 

I'm so grateful to have met them. 

The wives are a wonderful support system for myself, and they guys all study and help one another with school- it's a perfect match. 

We went to an Italian eatery downtown and grubbed out. I had a large plate shrimp scampi- enough said. Zakary had large plate of homemade spaghetti and meatballs- again, enough said.

We relaxed Saturday and then went to my FOX42 Christmas party that night. It was such a blast. I'm thankful to be working for this wonderful company and I absolutely adore my coworkers. 

I was so glad to finally introduce them to my hubby. We ate a lot {obvi}, took tons of photo booth pictures {hey, it was free and unlimited}, gambled {with fake money} and had a lovely time. Oh and then that's when my bestie got engaged!

Early Sunday morning my hubs left for Arizona.. and I headed into work. 

It's really weird not having him here. Romie and I miss him so much!

He'll be home in a few days, and excited is an understatement. 

Also, my pop comes into town tonight! 

I'm blogging a ton to take my mind off of the clock. 

His flight is delayed and I feel like time is going by soooooo slow. I haven't seen him since the first weekend in October and he hasn't been to Omaha since we first moved here.. so I can't wait to show him around. And to mostly just spend time with him. 

I have a little schedule full of Christmas-y activities, Anchor Man 2 tickets, lots of eating out and long walks with Romie boy-of course. 

xoxo

engagement.

MY BEST FRIEND IS ENGAGED! 

Yep yep yep- Miss Charlcie Fulmer will soon be Mrs. Judd, and I can't wait!

I could literally go on and on and on and on… and on about this girl. We've been very best friends since junior high and she's pretty much amazing. Her fiancé is the sweetest gentleman and I'm so excited for the two of them. Their wedding is going to be picture perfect, and I'm already counting down the days till I get to see the new Mr. and Mrs.

And of course I had to share her beautiful pictures of their engagement.

Swooning over her ring.

They're perfection.

And here is us on my wedding day! Goodness now I cannot wait for hers.

xoxo

weekend update.

This weekend {or my days off which are Thursday, Friday & Saturday} was just lovely. I don't know if it's the holiday season or what, but we were just swarmed with get togethers each night 

{no complaints here}.  

On Thursday night I went to my Alpha Phi Alumnae ornament exchange. I went with one of my ASU sisters, and it was no nice catching up with her!

 Those parties are always my favorite because I get to meet new sisters and strengthen my Alpha Phi bond even more. 

I spent Friday running around gathering some new pretty Christmas decorations.

I think I have an addiction with ornaments and a new obsession with fresh garland. 

And then the M1 (med school first year student} wives had dinner and a girls night {the boys had finals this week so we had to get together since they were studying their lives away}. 

These ladies have been such a blessing to me. We can all relate to one another and they totally understand the med school life. From the crazy class schedules, exams galore and countless hours of studying- they are the people who really understand. 

And after we were done with dinner the boys ended their study session and joined us, which was a perfect ending to the night. 

Saturday started with baking. And you can never go wrong with morning baking. 

Just wait for the photos.

We had our Married to Medicine ugly sweater Christmas party that night so I was getting our dessert ready to share. Zak and I waited till the very last minute to find out sweaters {we went to a thrift shop 30 minutes before the party} so don't judge us. 

It was a lot of fun catching up with everyone, seeing all the cute babies {yes there's a bunch of M2M babies} and eating the amazing food. P.S I ate way to many sweets this weekend. But I blame holiday season, so it's okay right?

We played the white elephant game and Zak and I walked away with a quesadilla maker {woo hoo}. Some people got a can of yams and an at home drug test {funny people I tell yah} so I think we scored.

And on Sunday it snowed! And I worked 12 hours...

So I was very glad we got to celebrate the Christmas season with people we love on my few days off! Oh and Zak has finals this week {only one more to go} and then he's DONE with his first semester of medical school. I seriously can't be more proud of him. He's done such an amazing job. 

And he's going to be a wonderful physician one day. 

I hope you're weekend was lovely and a little warmer than ours!

xoxo

happy december.

Happy December everyone.

And happy six months of marriage to my hubby!

It's been a beautiful {and crazy six months} for sure. We graduated in May, got married in June and moved to Omaha in July. It was a whirlwind. 

And for me it was a little hard to adjust to such a new place in the beginning.. {just refer to my emo blog posts about making new friends and not having a job}, but in all seriousness I wouldn't have any other way. When Zak and I were dating we always said we never want to live in just one state. We want to travel the world. We want to call several places home. 

And boy did that wish come true! We always talk about how crazy {and exciting} it is that we have no clue where we'll be living in four years. I mean, in two years we could even be back in Arizona. This medical school thing is a wild ride, and we love the spontaneity of it.

Even though we miss our family and friends like crazy, moving to Omaha was such a blessing. It let us really be married and independent. 

We're able make our own decisions, figure things out on our own and tackle challenges with only the two of us, which has been such a great thing for our relationship. 

We're a team, and together face anything that comes our way! {I know, that sounded so cheesy, but hey it's true.}

I love our little apartment, our date nights, trying new restaurants 

{like all-you-can-eat sushi}, cuddling on the couch, watching Netflix {lots of Netflix}, being your pretend patient when you study, watching you grow into a future doctor, laughing non 

stop together, cooking for you {and you being nice and eating everything even when it was burnt or overly salted, whoops}, playing with Romie, that one day we tried Cross Fit and day dreaming about the library we'll have one day. I love it all. 

The good, the bad and the ugly {like when I wear Uggs} it's all amazing, because I'm married to my best friend. 

Thanks babe for wonderful six months of marriage. 

Here's to an eternity with you!   

miracle on farnam street.

On Saturday night our neighborhood had a a little window front contest, and I couldn't pass it up. Zak and I have been to New York around Christmas time when all the store fronts deck out their windows in elegant displays {and even though these were not NYC level} it was a fun little way to celebrate the holiday season. We grabbed some hot coco, listened to carolers sing Silent Night, awed over the beautiful Christmas tree & looked at the creative store fronts.  It was a great way for Zak to take a little break from studying and get us out of the house! Oh and it was free, and abnormally warm outside.  So it was a must.

our first thanksgiving.

Happy {very belated} Thanksgiving!

I hope you had a lovely time celebrating with friends and family. 

The night before I worked so when I came home late we ordered take out Pizza Hut and watched Home Alone 2 to kick off the holiday, it was perfect.

And well since television news never stops, I had to also work Thanksgiving night so we had ourselves a little Thanksgiving breakfast before I went into the station. We didn't really want to make a full blown turkey dinner {since it's just the two of us and 9 am}, so we picked a couple of our favorite dishes.. mashed potatoes & stuffing.. and paired them with some good ole fried eggs and waalaa Thanksgiving breakfast for the Hambsch's!

Afterwards we took Romie boy to the park to walk off some of those calories. We made it home in time to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade {dreamy} and then I had to get ready for work! I was actually excited to work Thanksgiving, holidays always bring out crazy situations.. and even though there wasn't any breaking news, I covered a tree lighting ceremony in Downtown Omaha and it was a great way to end the night. 

holiday traditions.

Can you believe Thanksgiving is two days away! 

Time. is. flying. bye. 

It's my first Thanksgiving away from my parents and immediate family, but also my first Thanksgiving with my hubby! It sounds cheesy, but I really look forward to Zak and I's "married firsts." We've been together for five years now, but it's totally different being married and we ride that "married" meal ticket. First Halloween, first birthdays, first Independence Day, first road trip, it goes on and on. And I love it. We take any opportunity to celebrate! 

Zak and I talk about wanting to start fun holiday traditions (especially when we have littles) that we can do year after year. And because it's just us two and the pup this year I thought it'd be fun to pick out favorite traditions. And because I'm a crazy lady I've already come up with a list. 

Here's what I've got so far:

1. Purchase plastic wishbones (see photo below) so everyone can make a wish together.

2. Host a Thanksgiving day brunch (we're doing that this year).

3. Family football game. Work off those calories with some fun games in the backyard.

4. Jar full of gratitude. Have everyone write down what they're thankful for, put the pieces of paper inside a mason jar and to read aloud during dinner. 

5. Watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. This is a must. And one day I would LOVE to watch it in person.. hint hint Zakary.

6. Animal name card holders: see the cute photo below- it says it all. 

7. Table centerpiece contest. Have everyone bring a centerpiece and then vote for their favorite. If none are up to par for your table then stick them on the kiddo table, easy enough.

8. Break out the board games. While dinner's cooking in the kitchen start a round of Monopoly! 

9. Take a family photo. Get everyone together, smile and say cheese! Then you can compare the photos as years go on. Maybe display them as well? 

10. Wind down with a holiday movie. You know when you're in turkey coma and need to adjust your belt.. (or is that just me)? Put on a movie or head out to your local theatre to see the latest blockbuster film (something we're doing this year as well). 

11. Black Friday leftovers. Pull out the extra food on Friday and invite people over for a little leftover lunch.  

Growing up we would go camping in the desert and then all the girls in my family would come home early to get our shopping on (of course). 

What family traditions do you do?