Date Night In

Yesterday, Phil and I decided to have an impromptu date night at home! I fed Audrey an early dinner and waited to cook our fancy date-night dinner until after she went to bed. I was dubious that our dinner-for-two would go all right (I dunno why?!), but it was AMAZING! It was so romantic and nice to have a stress free dinner together... at HOME!

We splashed out and got two salmon steaks, grilled them with a brown sugar and mustard glaze, and served them on a bed of brown rice with veggies on the side. We ate by candlelight. It was SO lovely.

I highly recommend taking some time to step back from your busy schedule and be INTENTIONAL about spending some quality time together. It's these little things that count. We're having another date night in tonight! Phil is renting a movie and off buying some chips and drink so we can cuddle and snack on the couch.

You guys, I love Phil so much. I'm quite blessed.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the van der Wel's 2012!

I love you all!

xo

P.S. - Can I just mention how cute Audrey is? Look at that cheesy grin. Perfection.
Also. Can I just mention that we took this photo with a timer on a tripod? BOOYA!
Also. Our dog is majorly letting us down in this photo. Come on, Squirrel!!! Ugh!

Sunny Days Are Coming

This Sunday was warm. Really warm. Like, almost hot.

It. Was. GLORIOUS!

After church, we spent the afternoon outside as a family. Phil was working on a project building some custom shelves for my craft room (bless that beautiful, man. He's a good one). Audrey ran around the yard barefoot. I sat outside and read a book.

DOES IT EVEN GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS? It couldn't. It was perfect.









Oh warm, beautiful sunny days. I love you. Spring, I've missed you dearly. You are beautiful. More sunny days, please. xoxo

A Day In The Life

If there's one photographer you should be excited about right now it's Tim Coulson.

His photos are real. Honest. Snapshots of moments in time. They aren't staged and posed. They are documenting. Capturing. Captivating.

When Tim emailed and asked if he could visit and spend an afternoon with us taking photos of our everyday I was thrilled.

I warned him that we aren't the most exciting people in the world. We are pretty boring really. But this is our life, and boring or not, it is beautiful.














I love these little moments at this time in our lives. Time is fleeting quickly and these snapshots hold these moments still for me. What I love about them is how familiar they are to me. This is normal life. Those are my books on the shelf. Those are our photos on the wall. That's our kitchen with the bright red counter tops. That's our tiny daughter who is growing so quickly. That's my husband tending the fire to keep our little family warm. All of these little things are beautiful and we are truly blessed.

We got to spend the afternoon with Tim and his wife, Kesh, and we talked and laughed and got to know one another while he was snapping photos. We asked them to stay for dinner and me and Phil cooked up a Mexican feast.

We really enjoyed getting to know the Coulson's and having them over. It was a pleasure in the truest sense of the word. If you can book Tim to take photos for you, do it. These photos are priceless to me.

I tried to pick out a few photos but there are so many I love. Check out more of the photos at Tim's blog.


xo
Talia Christine

Shoe Love

I am in love with so many shoes this season! I've been dreaming wistfully about oxfords, high heeled boots, and some beautifully precarious wedges. Here are a few of my favorite picks from my wish list! Enjoy! ♥



1. Kimchi Blue Woven Heeled Oxford - UO
2. Kimchi Blue Wooden Heel Oxford - UO
3. Elise Lace-up Ankle Booties - Ruche
4. Verna Bylar Oxford Heels - Ruche



5. Summertime Brunch Espadrille Wedges - Ruche
6. Jeffrey Campbell Mariel Wedge - UO
7. Everything Goes Wedge - Modcloth
8. Espadrille Sergeant Wedge - Modcloth

Aren't they dreamy? I'm in deep love with those oxford heels.

xoxo
Talia Christine

Nursery Sneak Peeks

Phil and I have sorted out the baby room last week. It looks so lovely and serene. I love just peeking into the room and envisioning putting it to use.

Last night we went through all the baby clothes, sorted them by size and put them all away. We decided on what clothes and things to bring with us to the birthing center. We laughed and held up little outfits to each other and imagined how we would dress our little one.

This is how we spend our Wednesday nights together.
I wouldn't want it any other way.

I love you, Mr. van der Wel!

Love,
Talia Christine

The Vintage Stroller

We picked up this little beauty at a garage sale for 10 bucks.
It was the find of our lives! I am sooo in love with this vintage stroller.

We plan on using it as a bassinet for our little Bean.
Convenient too, because I can wheel it from room to room! Love.

I've given it a good scrub inside and out and fitted a new mattress into it. It's gorgeous and cozy. One day I'd like to fully restore it to its original beauty, but that's a job for another day.






3 weeks and 2 days until the due date! Last night I had a dream that we had the baby and sent out an announcement email announcing Baby vdW's arrival. In the dream I kept trying to access and read the e-mail so I could finally find out whether it was a boy or a girl! SO silly. Ah well, we will find out soon enough and I can't wait!

♥
Talia Christine

Goodbye to a Great Moustache

This weekend we said goodbye to Phil's moustache. He started growing the moustache in early March shortly after he proposed. It was the only other time I had seen his (nearly) clean shaven face. I asked him to grow the moustache for the wedding and it had been growing out ever since.

He asked me to snap a few photos to document the occasion.




I love love his moustache. It looks incredible and he sports it so well.





But even without the moustache he is oh so handsome. And look! He has an upper lip!

I've decided that he looks more awesome with a moustache but looks more handsome without it. Either way, I've scored.

xoxo
Talia Christine

P.S. - He's growing out a beard soon. Just to warn you, it's going to be epic.

Evening Walks

Me and the Mister have made it a tradition lately to take walks together in the evenings. It's a great time for us to enjoy this nice bout of weather and to relax and enjoy each others company. He makes me laugh and I love holding his hand. It's a special time together.

We brought a camera along and snapped a few pics to share.







The pretty scenery doesn't hurt either. I love New Zealand.

xoxo
Talia Christine

A Very Special Baby Blanket

I have been working on knitting a baby blanket for my sister Jaime who is expecting her first in January. She is having a boy! Dylan James Overman. I can't wait to cuddle him and nibble on his tiny fingers and toes.

I love you, baby Dylan!

Here is your very first birthday present.




I caught Basil in an embarassing moment while taking photos of the blanket. Just thought I would share.



The blanket was hand knit with love and 100% New Zealand machine washable wool.

I have another project in the works for baby Dylan. It's amazing. Just you wait and see.


xoxo
Talia Christine

Dream Cats

Allow me to introduce to you one of my favorite sites. Ever.

"girls & cats, cats in soft focus, cats on film, dream cats"

The website's brief description perfectly describes all of the gorgeousness you might see on the site, but it doesn't accurately describe the magic that is Dream Cats.

Here are a few of my favorites:







I could browse through this site all day.
What can I say? I love cats! I can't wait for a cat of our own. Is it bad that we've already picked out a few names (and surname) for our future cats?

Enjoy.

http://dreamcats.tumblr.com

xoxo
Talia Christine