All of these patterns....

...were found inside our room or outside in the hall of the hotel where Danilo and I celebrated our anniversary. I had never stayed anywhere so beautiful and so I tried to capture the smallest details.....as well as the whole effect....


This was Little America where we enjoyed the honeymoon package which meant sparkling cider, chocolate covered strawberries and a beautiful balcony view of downtown Salt Lake.
I am so thankful for my husband and his efforts in planning something that would make me feel so special to him (and you bet he got a dang good deal--it wouldn't be true Danilo style otherwise).
Happy Anniversary to the love of my life and the man of my dreams!!

Bring On Those Wonderful Holidays

A Saturday ago my family had tickets to Savior of the World at the Conference Center. The program was really beautifully done and even though it wasn't even quite Thanksgiving yet, I feel like it opened up the Christmas season. It brought the story of Jesus's birth and life on earth to life in a way I had never seen before and I am thankful because I have thought back on it many times since. Here we are with my family just before going to see the show. Our smiles are a little larger than usual because Danilo and I had just made a special announcement a few minutes earlier that I'm sure will be a post all of its own once Brittney has been to a doctor's appointment.

I have a husband named Danilo

In case you haven't met my husband, I'd like to a minute to introduce you! For some reason, I really fell in love with Spanish while I was in college. I jumped into a beginner's Spanish class and advanced each semester until I had a minor. I met my sweet friend Marlene from Chile during this time. We had a lot of fun together and she knew as much English as I knew Spanish. I know spending time with her helped me a lot. When all was said and done, I was fairly fluent in Spanish and didn't really know why I'd done it!! I began attending a Spanish branch in the area to keep up the language and after several invitations, I finally began attending their young single adult activities. It was at a fireside where Danilo approached me and asked me where I'd learned Spanish. Had I served a mission? he asked. I was flattered and after a few phone conversations and a Saturday night latin dancing date, I was pretty well whooped. Danilo was born in Italy. His parents were Chilean and returned to Chile when he was eight months old. He lived there until he was 13 and then his family moved to Miami. He spent his jr. high and high school years there and moved to Salt Lake at 19. He worked and played and decided something was missing, and that's how he ended up on a mission to Orlando at age 26. I came into the picture five months after he got home and I've been grateful we bumped into each other ever since. He speaks fluent English with a darn cute accent.