The Most Wonderful Time Of Year

sparkling lights. winter coats. hot chocolate. homemade candies. family. candy canes. boots. christmas music. mistletoe. decorations. balsam scented candles. sugar cookies. parties. presents. snow.

Yup. This is absolutely, 100%, the BEST time of the year. I love everything about it.

But first, let's back up a little....

Colby and I had our siblings sleep over the night before Thanksgiving, and it was perfect. We made apple pie, bought some ugly DI sweaters, watched a movie, and just hung out. The next morning we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade while Lauren and I made a yummy fresh green bean casserole.

Then we headed off to Thanksgiving Dinner at Colby's grandparents' house, fully decked out in our nasty sweaters.

Naturally, as soon as we got home from dinner, I recruited my sister to help me put up the Christmas tree...and I've been enjoying it's warmth ever since!

December 1st marked the start of my 25 Days of Christmas. Basically all that means is that I've been trying to do at least one Christmasy thing every day to "savor the season." So far, I've been successful! I've made a cranberry + popcorn garland for my tree, had hot chocolate, listened to festive music, sat under the light of my christmas tree, made yummy treats, gone to a christmas party, watched christmas movies, and done some holiday shopping! It's been amazing. Oh, and we're going to the Salt Lake Temple tomorrow to see the lights, and I can't wait!

Colby and I head back to New York for the Holidays on the 18th, and Colby's family is coming out for a few days too! What better way to spend the holiday season than with our families in one of my favorite places on earth? I am blessed.

Birthday Boy.

Colby turned the big 2-4 on November 19th! It was fun having a whole day dedicated to spoiling the man I love.

He loves Reeses, so I made him a yummy chocolate cake with a peanut butter buttercream frosting. Delicious...and I don't even like cake! 

We went to dinner with some friends, and had a ton of people over to our place after. Turns out all of Colby's friends are boys! My sister was the only single girl there, and she didn't seem to hate it :)

I decorated in blue, since it's Colby's favorite color. (This was before the drinks and appetizers were laid out). 

Short post...just wanted to give you all an update and let you know that it was a successful day of celebration :)

Lately.

Where do I even begin? With the exception of my post on chocolate chip cookies, the last time I blogged I was a single woman. Now I am a Mrs...and that's super weird to say, no matter how many times I say it. What's even harder to get used to is "Mrs. Zimmerman." Every time I say it I feel like an old woman..."Mrs." makes me think of grandmothers and teachers. Not only that, it's just odd not having the word "Frogley" tacked on to my name. I mean, 75% of my nicknames involve Frogs. I guess these are things that will become more normal with time. I think I'll like it here at the end of the alphabet :)


Let's take a trip back to just under two months ago...to the best day of my life. Colby and I were married on Sept. 24th at noon in the Draper Temple, and it was perfect. As Colby and I walked into the sealing room we were both slightly shaky and nervous. My heart was pounding and I had butterflies like never before. Despite all that, we had never been happier and I couldn't help but have a perpetual grin plastered on my face...that is, until I started crying my eyes out the second my parents came up to give me a hug. 

All in all, everything that I feared might go wrong ended up falling into place perfectly, and I actually had FUN at my reception! Colby and I managed to completely avoid a receiving line and it was awesome. What is the point of those anyway? No one likes them...they should be banned. We still managed to say hi to everyone who came in, and we were able to chat with them for longer than a split second because they didn't have a trail of other eager guests waiting behind them. 

All in all, I love being a wife and homemaker. I work from 8-4:30 everyday, and my husband doesn't get home until 7:30 each day...Therefore I have 3 hours to tidy up, get dinner ready, and even catch up on the random TV shows that I like. It's really quite nice. Though I must say, coming up with a nice meal EVERY day is not the fun/easy task I thought it would be. I need to get in the habit of planning all my meals for the week on sunday so that I can go to the store just once, instead of everyday as I have been.


I have a lot to learn, but I couldn't be happier about it. Being a wife is the best! 


Oh, and just in case you're interested...we were rockstars for Halloween, and it was a little too convincing, if i do say so myself! 

the beginning of forever

I am officially engaged! At 6:15 a.m. on July 7th, 2011 Colby proposed in Central park overlooking a beautiful lake, and it couldn't have been more perfect. We thought it would be fun to take some engagement pictures in NYC so my dad agreed to take some even though Colby hadn't proposed yet...I had every intention of just hiding my hand from the camera lens. 

That morning we woke up bright and early and walked a few long avenues over to the park in the thick humidity so that we could get some pictures before the crowds took over. Once we were at the first location I turned to my dad quizzically and asked how he wanted us to pose. When I turned back around I found Mr. Zimmerman down on his knee. At first I thought he was trying to sit on the ground in the dirt and I was very confused...it wasn't until I saw him reach in his pocket for the ring that I realized what was going on and that he was about to propose! Fortunately my dad was there, camera ready, so we got the whole thing captured on film. 

It was perfect...and he is perfect. I can't believe how lucky I am :) Oh, and the ring is gorgeous! He designed it himself, and it is exactly what I wanted. The wedding will be September 24, so save the date! 

part of your world.

You would think that a girl named Danielle would be able to recognize a capital "D" anywhere. Unfortunately, that is not the case. For a long time I thought the Disney "D" was a symbol of some sort instead of a letter. I have always known the word was read "Disney" so I never really thought to question it...I still remember how enlightened I felt the day my mind was able to see the letter for what it really was: a capital D with one too many swirls.  To be honest, it still looks more like a backwards "G" to me every time I look at it, but I guess that's just something I'll have to deal with. 


Despite my issues with the "Disney" lettering, I am a huge Disney fan, and have been since birth. When I was two I wanted to be The Little Mermaid.

I literally had the entire movie memorized and I would record myself singing along to the soundtrack with my parent's big ghetto karaoke machine. Let's just say we have some priceless cassette tapes and home videos :) For Halloween one year my mom sewed me my very own Ariel costume, and my 8-month old brother was Sebastian. We were quite the sight. The following February I had a Little Mermaid themed birthday party with an Ariel-face cake and home-made Flounder gift bags, all made from scratch by my mom...

My mermaid obsession did eventually come to an end, but I can still be found singing "Part of Your World" at the top of my lungs in my apartment or car from time to time.

A few years ago I went and saw this Disney classic come to life on Broadway. Though it wasn't my favorite show of all time, it was still pretty magical to see my childhood fantasy unfold in front of me. I have recently been obsessed with the quartet "If Only" from the musical. 

I find myself singing it A LOT, and playing it on repeat occasionally at work...Haha. I'm obviously really cool. Here's a version someone put to clips from the original movie.

So, why the heck am I writing a blog post on The Little Mermaid and Disney? Basically because I'm such a Disney fan, and if you want to know more about me, this is a good place to start. There are very few days where a disney song DOESN'T go through my head, and most people who hang out with me hear me humming them constantly. Not long ago I had a guy ask me if my life was a Disney movie. What can I say? Alan Menken is a talented songwriter, and his tunes have been engrained in me since birth! 

I love everything about Disney, from the parks, characters, fantasies, and melodies all the way down to the Disney Channel and it's corny shows. Walt Disney was a smart man. There are few things more magical than the world of fairytales he created. To him, I tip my hat.

books.

There's nothing quite like the smell of a nice book. Whether or not the book is paperback, antique, hardcover, or newly printed, the smell is redolent of my childhood and makes me feel right at home. I will choose a real book over an electronic version every time. 


The Harry Potter Series has been at the top of my "favorite books" list ever since I read the first one back in middle school...Cliché, I know...but I can't deny my love for J.K. Rowling's creativity. Something about the magic, adventure, mystery, romance, heroism, and comedy all tied into one with that delicate British flare makes me a #1 fan. I used to literally count down the days till each book was published, and then I would bury myself in a cozy spot and read until there was no more reading left to be done. 


It makes me kind of sad that Hollywood so often fails at doing books justice. Though some of the Harry Potter movies are done quite well, I can't ever seem to get past the fact that SO much is missing from the original story. Oh well, I guess that's the way it has to be in order to keep the movies under 20 hours. To be honest, I'm actually pretty excited for the last Harry Potter film to come out. 

I made a personal rule for myself in order to avoid disappointment: Never re-read a book right before the movie comes out. Give yourself at least 6 months to forget the details of the book and you might be satisfied with the feature film.  


So far this plan works, assuming the movie is made well. This is what I plan to do with one of my other favorite Young Adult Series: The Hunger Games. If you haven't read it, now is the time because the movie is already in production. As surprised as I am that I'm saying this, I think Jennifer Lawrence is starting to look the part.... 

Fingers crossed that they do it justice! 

My Newest Obsession

foodgawker.com

If you don't know what I'm talking about, you're missing out. Here are a few of the things I've "favorited" (I have already chosen over a hundred that I like, so this is a small preview). Click on the pictures and it will take you to the recipe.

Reader's Digest Update

School:

Well, I just graduated from BYU with a Bachelors Degree in English...This is a picture with my Young Ambassador Director, Randy Boothe. And yes, this is from LAST april, since I walked a year early... :)

Work:

I am now officially "grown up"...meaning, my dad doesn't pay for my life anymore and I have a full time job. I currently work 40 hours a week as the Content Director of an Internet Marketing Agency called Lava7: 

Family:

Though I am still nestled safely in the bubble of "Happy Valley" Utah, my family is experiencing life to its fullest through both the excitement of our NYC apartment and the tranquility of our converted barn upstate. 

However, I won't be alone for long. Lauren is about to graduate and make her own memories at BYU, and Adam returns home from his mission on July 8th. By August there will be 3 Frogley siblings making their mark on Provo.

Love Life:
Ah yes, my favorite topic of all. This year has had quite a few ups and downs concerning the boys in my life. I seem to have quite a knack for falling for the all the WRONG ones. Luckily that streak finally came to an end and I started dating Colby: a guy that is...well, perfect for me. Not only is he charming and fun, he's smart, passionate, ambitious, and outgoing—not to mention extremely handsome. Luckily he's also a punk, so he can put up with my sass AND dish it right back. To put it simply...he's pretty great.

Granger: Where the Dinosaurs Roam

Good news Jurassic Park lovers: dinosaurs still roam the earth in Granger, Washington! In fact, there are about 28 of them, and no...I'm not kidding. For some reason the town of Granger thought they needed something to make it special...and they chose dinosaurs.

When I was visiting Colby last week we decided to drive around after church in search of the creatures, so naturally a photoshoot was in order.

And to think we thought dinosaurs were extinct!