Oh Tannenbaum, Oh Tannenbaum

Ever since we put up our noble fir tree in the corner of our living room two weeks ago, donned it with tiny white lights and ornaments full of memories from our childhood, our home has taken on a newly festive aura, radiating with Christmas warmth. But things got even more festive around here last night!

Our friends Chris and Rachel, who moved from Seattle to Indiana this summer, came back to visit family for a few days. We decided to help them see all of their friends in one place at one time: we provided the venue - and cooked up some tasty bites and spiked eggnog - and they invited the guests.

It was the last night of Hannukah, so Rachel brought her menorah. Once the house was full of people, we turned off the lights, Rachel lit all eight candles, and sang the Hannukah prayers - with the help of Chris and a few others with a print-out of the words to guide them.

With the tree and menorah glowing from different parts of the room, and a room full of old and new friends, it was a beautiful joining of multiple celebrations on one night of the season.

Photos from the Big Day...One Month After

Our wedding photographers, Kristin and Gisele from Hazel West Photography, have posted a selection of photos from our wedding on their blog. We are so excited to see them, and thought we'd share. Check them out here!

Under the oaks

Things to do in H-town (aka Houston)

For those of you traveling to Houston for our wedding next week, here are a few suggestions of activities to check out and sights to see when you're roaming around town. Thanks to our friend/local-events-and-entertainment consultant, Heather, for compiling everything!

EVENTS
Friday – Sunday: Houston Astros vs Cincinnati Reds
Sunday: Houston Texans vs Jacksonville Jaguars
Friday: Bats and Boat Tour on the Bayou (Book soon! Spaces fill up early.)
Friday – Sunday: Italian Lifestyle Expo
Sunday: House of Blues Gospel Brunch

ONGOING ACTIVITIES
Downtown, via METRO LightRail or METRO bus line...
Discovery Green Park: FREE yoga classes, concerts, two restaurants, and a Sunday farmers market
Theater District: Houston is one of only five cities in the nation with permanent professional resident companies in all of the major performing arts disciplines of opera, ballet, music, and theater.
Hermann Park: Pedal boat around the lake or take a leisurely ride on the train.
Houston Zoo
Miller Outdoor Theater
Museum District: 18 institutions make up the Houston Museum District, and 11 are free all the time. Our favorites include: Museum of Fine Arts, The Menil Collection, Rothko Chapel, Museum of Natural Science, and Buffalo Soldiers Museum.

Download a FREE walking tour of Downtown, Discovery Green, or the Museum District here.

You’ll need a car to get to...
Space Center Houston
Kemah Boardwalk: Jazz Festival all weekend, Sept 25 – 27.

LOCAL FAVORITES
The beer can house
What & Why: It’s a house made of beer cans, because it’s the best example we’ve seen of recycling, and a great reason to drink a lot of beer!
Project Row Houses
What & Why: Once a derelict neighborhood, turned into art houses, because it creates a foundation for revitalizing depressed inner-city neighborhoods.
The Orange Show Monument
What & Why: It took more than twenty years for the late Jefferson Davis McKissack to construct this homage to the orange, his favorite fruit. Do we really need to explain why?
River Oaks Movie Theater
What & Why: The oldest movie theater in town (operating since November 1939), because it serves Shiner Bock beer and has Friday & Saturday “best of” midnight movies.

Reminder About Blocks of Hotel Rooms

If you haven't booked your hotel room yet for the wedding weekend, it's not too late to reserve under our Cutler-Tucker blocks of rooms, and take advantage of special rates.

Here are the details:
Courtyard Marriot: $79, Fri/Sat/Sun
Residence Inn: $89, Fri/Sat/Sun
Magnolia Hotel: $119, Wed-Sun

They're only holding the blocks of rooms at these rates until September 13th, so don't wait until the last minute! Feel free to be in touch (or post a comment below) if you have any questions about where to stay.

Grandma Joyce

Today was a very sad day. Tyler's grandmother passed away peacefully in her nursing home in Billings, Montana, surrounded by her family. We are both just so thankful that we were able to see her one last time two weekends ago, at the pre-wedding party Tyler's parents hosted for us in Montana. We know she'll be with us in spirit at our wedding next month...

Get a room!

You should be receiving your official wedding invitation in the mail this week, if it hasn't arrived already! I just wanted to post another link to all the information about the blocks of hotel rooms we've reserved for our guests. Click here for the details. Please feel free to e-mail or call us if you have any questions about your travel plans.

Summer in Seattle

The sun's been out lately in Seattle, so we've been taking it in! We got season tickets to the second half of the Sounders (Major League Soccer team) season and went to games the last two Saturdays. We have a great view of the field and the rest of the Qwest Field stadium from our seats!

View from our seats

Aaron Burby (Leigh's second cousin) invited us to go on a Thursday night boat cruise with some friends last Thursday night - a trip he bought at a charity auction this winter. We cruised through Lake Union and then out into Lake Washington, and couldn't have asked for a more beautiful evening.

Mt. Rainier

Seattle skyline and Lake Union