Mr. & Mrs. Diaz

I absolutely love Christmas! It is an entire holiday reminding us of the greatest gift we will ever receive! 

Unfortunately we get so caught up in everything else that the world throws at us, that we forget our focus and find ourselves pre-occupied with the food, gifts, and even the selfish emotions that the holidays may bring. Although I have tried to continually keep my focus on the real reason for the season, there have been points this holiday season where I found myself "caught up." I was too pre-occupied with how I did not want to deal with certain people and their dramas, what gifts I needed to give or had forgotten, and how I was not going to "celebrate" the holidays how I would have liked.  Thankfully it hit me early enough that I had again overlooked and forgotten the greatest gift, and that NOTHING mattered in comparison. I was able to enjoy my Christmas Eve and Day to the fullest extent, appreciating all that I have and the blessings that He continues to provide! 

Friends as you continue to celebrate the rest of this year and go into 2013, make sure that your focus is on the real reason for not only the season but your entire life! Be sure to lead a life that is continually striving to refocus on Christ and His purpose for our lives! Don't get discouraged when you fail, because we all will... that is why we needed Him in the first place! 

Before I go, here's a few pictures of my Christmas celebrations! 

I baked so many goodies this year as Christmas gifts, since its the only gifts we could afford for our large families! I made pretzel hugs (Pinterest idea), Gingerbread Cookies, Sugar Cookies, and Cake Bon Bons! 

This is going to be our First Christmas as the Diaz family and I am so excited! I have started setting a few traditions that I look forward to keeping. One of the first traditions that we are establishing for our newly formed family, and one that will be that much more exciting when we have children is our ornaments.

Like I mentioned in a prior post, my love and I have bought an ornament at every place we have traveled to during our first year married. We also have ornaments for every year since we started dating with our picture from that Christmas. Our newly acquired collection, also features ornaments of things we love, and those given to us by family and friends that represent us.  

I found an amazing idea on Pinterest, which I intend on trying, which is to create a book of the ornaments and their importance to our family. So our future children will know who gave it to us or why its so important just in case our memories fail us! I am really excited to share some of our ornaments with you and Ill post a picture of our finished tree! 

- Mrs. Diaz

Christmas time seems to be the most chaotic but exciting time of the year! December goes by in a flash but it always seems to be the month with the most memories. This has definitely been true for me this year. I have been nonstop since finishing my exams on December 7th. My most exciting event so far has been the arrival of max to our apartment, I had told my parents that we would take my little baby for the Christmas break since I no longer had school. He is such a joy to have around, although like any dog, he's a lot of work! 

He seems to be adapting to apartment living, although I have not adapted to taking him for walks practically every hour when I live on the third floor without an elevator. Besides that, we have been enjoying his little visit, my husband even taught him to "die" when he says "bang!" What a cutie! Here's my baby getting in the Christmas spirit!

I have completed a Pinterest Project! 

I had seen the idea a few months ago, and I was finally able to complete it today. Unfortunately I am unable to find the pin that gave me the idea, but it was absolutely brilliant! 

I had always seen shadow boxes and wondered how I could possibly find a use for them. I had seen the wedding ones, but I wanted more than that. The picture below is a link if you're interested in looking into getting a frame of your own. ( I would definitely suggest shopping around and using coupons!)

So this is what I did,  I kept maps from the trips my husband and I went on or searched for a map online and used it as the background for each of my shadowboxes.  I placed pictures of the trip and in one case some seashell and made my frames like windows into our vacations! 

Hope you liked them as much as I do! 

- Mrs. Diaz

“A good snapshot keeps a moment from running away.” 

― Eudora Welty

I never realized the importance of wedding photography until I heard the horror stories! Many different couples shared their horror stories with me and I will be honest it scared me. These were the things I learned from their experiences and my own search: (My story by the way was not a horror story!) 

1. Book your Photographer Early!

Luckily after hearing brides tell me that they could not get the photographer they wanted because they did not book him/her a year in advance, I was prepared. Although I did not book my amazing photographer a year in advance, I did begin my search, and was pressured by many photographers to choose quickly because of my wedding date. I did not let this pressure get to me, I stuck to my budget and did not want to lower my standards because of the time crunch. So, while it is important to book early, don't book until you are 100% sure.

2. You do not have to pay $5000 for a great package!

I began to get discouraged when I every time I found a photographer I loved, they were very expensive. I know the importance of having a professional and I know this is their bread and butter, but  if if I couldn't afford it I needed to keep looking. My wonderful sister found my photographer, and he was perfectly priced, his packages were easy to work with and fit right into my budget. You DO NOT want to sacrifice your wedding photo quality because of money, so have faith and keep searching those great photographers are out there!

3.  Pick a photography style YOU like!

There are many many many photographers out there, and they each have their own distinct style. When you're searching for your photographer make sure that YOU and your husband like their style. Sometimes people get caught up with the name  and popularity of the photographer and unfortunately  end up with photos they hate.  Some differences you see among photographers is some edit way too much changing the photos natural beauty and others don't edit at all. There are many in-betweens and extremes in the styles of photography, so make sure you will be happy with the type of photos your photographer will produce forever!

4. Find someone who LOVES what they do!

The worst thing I have ever seen or experienced is a bride on her wedding day dealing with a bossy photographer who was obviously in a bad mood. After seeing this first hand, I knew that my photographer would need to be as excited for my wedding as I was. Thankfully my photographer was  not only energetic, but he was very passionate about his work and the quality of that work.

Those are my tips and I hope you find them helpful.
If it was not obvious enough in my comments above, I loved my photographer and his work. If you're looking for a photographer give him a look over and see if he fits your requirements.  Ricky Stern and his wife both photographed my wedding and did an excellent job!
 Here's  his blog post about our  wedding: miamiphotographer.net - Joniel & Ashley


- Mrs. Diaz

One of the most daunting and intimidating things for me in the past year has been the topic of finances.  I have always been very good with my finances.  I would always be saving and on top of my credit card payments.  The only problem now is that I wasn't used to having financial obligations, like rent and electricity, the most I ever had to worry about was my gas and sometimes tuition.

 Things changed quickly because now, I am both married and in law school both of which are financially straining things. So I have decided to begin a budgeting and organization system so that I can minimize my loans and prevent the financial arguments that many couples deal with. 

People my age don't realize the importance of financial stability, they know they want money, but they don't know how to handle it. There are so many benefits to being organized both now and in the future. 

Before I began working on organizing my finances, I looked for some good resources. Without even realizing it I had already been using a great resource. Im referring to the website mint.com. (I am not getting paid for this just sharing my opinion!) The creator is Intuit, which is known for its finance programs. I had been using the site for a few years without realizing all it had to offer.



This week when I sat with my husband to use the site we were able to accomplish so much. We easily and quickly created a budget, tracked our spending, and calculated how much we have left to pay his car. We were even able to set goals for ourselves, like saving to purchase a home. While tracking our spending, we were able to spot monthly memberships that we were incurring but not using, saving us at least $40 a month! (Thats a date night!)

Using a tool like this to help you is great, not only is it free but it is also easy to use. They have a computer and phone app, so that you can constantly be up to date on how you're keeping up with your budget.


 I also found another site this time through Pinterest, its called The Nest Effect. This woman is very clever! She has so many organizing ideas for all different aspects of your life. The ones I found most interesting and relevant for this moment were her binder projects! The one I have started for myself is the Home Management Binder. She gives you some printables for your own binder but the rest she sells in a package. You can probably make them yourself, but either way she has great ideas that look great, so I will definitely be following her advice to help me organize!


I'll post a few pictures of my binder when Im done!

- Mrs. Ashley Diaz 

I was completely unsatisfied with how BORING my balcony was, so I decided to grow my own min-garden. I wrongly assumed that since my parents had natural "green thumbs," that I of course would have that same great trait and it would be simple! So, I went to Target and I bought these 'simple' (what I hoped to be 'fool proof') kits. 

 But now, its been a few weeks and they're no longer growing! I do not know if it has been the crazy weather or the excess rain, but to no avail they have stopped one of them even died! I also have a plant that we left in the car by mistake and I have tried to revive it back to life and that is not working either! 

My Balcony Gardening 101 is turning out to be a not so success. I will continue to attempt but I obviously do not have the green thumb trait.  Anyone have any suggestions or comments to help me liven up my mini-garden? Please save these plants lives! 

- Mrs. Diaz

             About three weeks ago, my husband and I went on a mini vacation with some friends to St. Augustine. It was absolutely amazing! It was just a small getaway but so worth every penny. We had great food, saw beautiful sites, and plenty of laughs. 

St. Augustine is one of the most charming cities I have ever seen, and the vast amount of history in the town is incredible. To list just a few things we visited: "Castillo de San Marcos", the original "Ripley's Believe it Or Not!", "Flagler College", "The Floridian" restaurant, and "Crucial Coffee". 

Here are some pictures of the wonderful things we saw. 

         I was also on my own quest, to purchase SOAP! Obviously its not just any soap, its 100% organic and so delicious for your skin. My husband had brought it for me as a souvenir from one of his trips to St. Augustine, and I was in desperate need to re-stock! The only problem is he really didn't remember where exactly the shop was located, so we walked until I found it! My favorites are the Oatmeal & Sandalwood, they smell great and they have their own benefits. I also purchased for my mom & mom-in-law. There are so many different products and scents that its hard not to want to purchase the entire store! For any of you interested, they do ship! Here's their site "Hickory Ridge Organics"

There was also a small shop of herbs & teas. I had recognized the brand from a gift my mom gave me earlier in the year, which was a "smoked salt." It was absolutely amazing, so I knew that the rest of their products would have to be just as delicious. I went in and found the most delicious tea! I cannot get enough, but because it was a little pricey and far, I will have to ration my drinking so that it will last me quite a while! 

       The last important thing we searched for was an ornament. I know its kind of odd to purchase  a christmas ornament in August, but I there is a reason to this madness! Typically, people buy different things as souvenirs (like plates, spoons, albums, frames, mugs, shot glasses, t-shirts) but our thing is ornaments. We began by purchasing an ornament for every place we've visited since our honeymoon (not that long ago I know), but it gives us something to track our trips, and during Christmas our tree will be fully personalized! I'll give you a preview around Christmas time! This is the one we purchased, we try not to buy them too cheesy! 

- Mrs. Diaz

           September 3, 2012, labor day, was the six month mark that my love and I have been married.  Its hard to believe that the time has passed so quickly! It feels like just yesterday I was nervously getting ready for our Big Day!  Married life is not easy, but its not so hard either.

(I know, I know, we're still newlyweds... but hey, some do not even pass 72 days!) 

                One of the aspects of married life that I absolutely LOVE, is having our own place. While it's very difficult to get into the habit of maintaining our home and cooking every night, I have decided to make it a challenge. I try to make it as fun as possible, so that when I see that pile of dishes or clothing that I don't really want to clean I can tackle it head on with a smile on my face. 

So, let me show you some of the
"The Diaz Residence"