Friday, December 7, 2007

our gala and other stuff

***EDITED TO ADD A COUPLE MORE PICTURES (We borrowed lighting equipment over the weekend and since we had it, we were able to get some pictures of our decorations with better lighting.)***

I am so glad it's Friday! This has been a stressful week (last week of classes) - the quarter is almost over! I just have a presentation and a final next week and I'm done. While I do love school, I'm getting tired of staying up until 3 am writing papers (and I'm sure Wendel is sick of staying up with me to edit them). Blah. I'm going on four hours of sleep right now. Awesome.

So since I finally have a few minutes, I wanted to post about our gala last weekend. This is an annual event, three years running. We enjoy throwing a party every year to bring in the season with our friends. We missed our Arizona friends this year - this was our first one in Washington, so pretty much everyone was new to our little tradition (except for Laryssa and Kyle, who were also living in Arizona last year, came to our party there, and then moved to Washington after we did. It was fun having them there).

I love having our party the first weekend in December because a) it forces us to get our tree and decorations up and b) things aren't too crazy yet.

[the decorations]


(Just a side note that I love our tree star, given to us by our friends Dave and Stacey last year.)

(One of my favorite ornaments. Dub got it for me the first Christmas we were married.)






(I love hanging red and silver balls like this. Such a simple and inexpensive decoration.)



[the food]

I didn't take many pictures of the food, but here are two plates that Ashlee and Crystal brought.


[some of the guests]

We had a white elephant gift exchange...so funny to see what people opened. I had very poor lighting to work with, but here's the rundown. There was the Scooby-Doo chia pet,

the thigh master,

the sea horse (a returning gift from last year),

the silly putty,

the purple paper weight,

the decorative home decor piece,

the dancing santa hat,

the garlic thing,

and many others. Dub ended up with an electric beater, and I got the garlic thing (which I actually gave as a gift and took back once I found out its purpose - and plus there wasn't much else I wanted). We had a really good time.

In other news, it was Wendel's 30th birthday on Monday. I knew him when he was eighteen...hard to believe we've known each other for twelve years. He wanted a very low-key celebration so we just went to Outback Steakhouse to eat. It was fun though.

And in yet more (non-related) news, we realized the other night that thirteen of our friends are expecting. Dang! That's crazy!

Okay, I think this post is getting long enough. Must go relax...

13 comments:

Marci Coombs said...

Everything looks so cute! I love your decorations! How fun that you've continued the tradition of the 'gala'.

Kristi said...

Reading about your gala makes me wish we were all back in Mesa. We miss you guys. I enjoyed seeing your decorations - I love decorating for Christmas. Here's a funny side note - we have the same star for the top of our tree - except that last year I painted it gold.

The Weed said...

Um, I'm incredibly alarmed that my picture is posted here--on the internet!--twice without my consent. Ashley. Identity theft? Ever heard of it? It happens all the time because of random pictures posted on the net.

Okay, totally kidding of course. Haha. I was really happy to re-stumble upon your blog and see your recent updates. I'll definitely be by more often. And thanks for the picture taking today. (You'll note, I'm not sleeping. I have no idea why.)

In closing, that really was a great gala.

Kthxbye.

TamBaum said...

Sorry to have missed the fun. And I lied. By looking at these pictures I don't thing we have the same floorplan as you.

Kim said...

I love the decorations!!! Your gala sounds like it was a lot of fun!

Talia said...

your house looks super cozy...looks like you had lots of fun!

Anonymous said...

Great pictures! I enjoy reading your blog! Could you tell me what kind of lighting equipment you have/used? I am starting to do some photography and would like to know what to get...thanks! :)

ali mclaughlin said...

Sounds like fun.. we are doing one of those dirty Santa gift thing this week.. although our group tends to buy nice things, I tell them thats not the way the game is played-. lol. Happy Holidays!

CF Is Not Forever said...

Your home is beautiful! Also that is awesome that the seahorse survived another year! We gave that away last year at the 2nd Schults gala from when we got it at the first Schultz gala! I am sad we missed it:( But it looked like a great time!!!

Ashley said...

Janay and Tim, Here is the link to the light equipment we borrowed last weekend:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0010FW7H8/

We didn't love it though. It was just okay. We have borrowed other stuff in the past that has worked much better. This kit I linked you to is good for one person in a close-up setting, but not good for big groups or for taking pictures on stages in large buildings, etc. I wasn't able to link to your blog but if you email me, I will send you more information. (ashleylschultz@gmail.com)

Ashley

Anonymous said...

Looks like a great party. Ashley, your tree star is stunning! - Molly

Anonymous said...

Thanks! :)

*C said...

Oh how fun!!! White elephant gifts are a hoot!! And how CUTE are all your decorations?!! I love them! You have such a good eye for things.

... And also, Happy Belated Birthday to Wendel!!