diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 1834f5a..f8c0e7f 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -20,7 +20,8 @@
   "dependencies": {
     "bluebird": "^3.3.1",
     "globby": "^4.0.0",
-    "handlebars": "^4.0.5"
+    "handlebars": "^4.0.5",
+    "js-yaml": "^3.5.3"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "babel-cli": "^6.5.1",
diff --git a/src/index.js b/src/index.js
index 9049076..fc8f75e 100644
--- a/src/index.js
+++ b/src/index.js
@@ -2,33 +2,27 @@ var parseOptions = require('./options');
 var prepareTemplates = require('./template').prepareTemplates;
 var utils = require('./utils');
 
-
+/**
+ * Build a data/context object for use by the builder
+ * @TODO This may move into its own module if it seems appropriate
+ *
+ * @param {Object} options
+ * @return {Promise} resolving to {Object} of keyed file data
+ */
+function prepareData (options) {
+  // Data data
+  return utils.readFilesKeyed(options.data.src, {
+    contentFn: options.data.parseFn
+  });
+}
 /**
  * Build the drizzle output
  *
- * @return {Promise}; resolves to options {object} (for now)
+ * @return {Promise}; resolves to [dataObj, Handlebars] for now
  */
 function drizzle (options) {
   const opts = parseOptions(options);
-
-  // const buildData = new Object();
-  // const readLayouts = utils.readFilesKeyed(opts.templates.layouts)
-  //   .then(fileData => buildData.layouts = fileData);
-  // const readDocs = utils.readFilesKeyed(opts.docs)
-  //   .then(fileData => {
-  //     for (var file in fileData) {
-  //       fileData[file].name = utils.toTitleCase(file);
-  //       fileData[file].content = 'todo'; // markdown file.content
-  //     }
-  //     return fileData;
-  //   });
-  // const readData = utils.readFilesKeyed(opts.data).then(fileData =>  {
-  //   for (var file in fileData) {
-  //     fileData[file].contents = 'todo'; // yaml load contents
-  //   }
-  //   return fileData;
-  // });
-  return prepareTemplates(opts).then(handlebars => opts);
+  return Promise.all([prepareData(opts), prepareTemplates(opts)]);
 }
 
 export default drizzle;
diff --git a/src/options.js b/src/options.js
index ce0cb73..eb5400c 100644
--- a/src/options.js
+++ b/src/options.js
@@ -1,7 +1,12 @@
 import Handlebars from 'handlebars';
+import yaml from 'js-yaml';
 import { merge } from './utils';
 
 const defaults = {
+  data: {
+    src: ['src/data/**/*.yaml'],
+    parseFn: (contents, path) => yaml.safeLoad(contents)
+  },
   templates: {
     handlebars: Handlebars,
     helpers   : {},
@@ -30,8 +35,8 @@ function mergeDefaults (options = {}) {
  * @return {object} User options
  */
 function translateOptions (options = {}) {
-  /* eslint-disable prefer-const */
   const {
+    data,
     handlebars,
     helpers,
     layouts,
@@ -48,8 +53,19 @@ function translateOptions (options = {}) {
       partials
     }
   };
+  // @TODO: Is there are more concise way of handling this?
+  //  If you use the pattern above, an object value for `data`
+  //  will get improperly nested/trounced
+  if (data) {
+    if (typeof data === 'string') {
+      result.data = {
+        src: data
+      };
+    } else {
+      result.data = data;
+    }
+  }
   return result;
-  /* eslint-enable prefer-const */
 }
 
 const parseOptions = options => mergeDefaults(translateOptions(options));
diff --git a/src/utils.js b/src/utils.js
index f3f7194..b4fad9a 100644
--- a/src/utils.js
+++ b/src/utils.js
@@ -5,11 +5,45 @@ import {readFile as readFileCB} from 'fs';
 var readFile = Promise.promisify(readFileCB);
 
 /* Helper functions */
-const basename = filepath => path.basename(filepath, path.extname(filepath));
-const dirname  = filepath => path.normalize(path.dirname(filepath));
-const parentDirname = filepath => dirname(filepath).split(path.sep).pop();
-const removeNumbers = str  => str.replace(/^[0-9|\.\-]+/, '');
-const getFiles = glob => globby(glob, {nodir: true });
+
+/**
+ * Return extension-less basename of filepath
+ * @param {String} filepath
+ * @example basename('foo/bar/baz.txt'); // -> 'baz'
+ */
+function basename (filepath) {
+  return path.basename(filepath, path.extname(filepath));
+}
+
+/**
+ * Return normalized (no '..', '.') full dirname of filepath
+ * @param {String} filepath
+ * @example dirname('../ding/foo.txt'); // -> '/Users/shiela/ding/'
+ */
+function dirname (filepath) {
+  return path.normalize(path.dirname(filepath));
+}
+
+/**
+ * Return the name of this files immediate parent directory
+ * @param {String} filepath
+ * @example basename('foo/bar/baz.txt'); // -> 'bar'
+ */
+function parentDirname (filepath) {
+  return dirname(filepath).split(path.sep).pop();
+}
+
+
+function removeLeadingNumbers (str) {
+  return str.replace(/^[0-9|\.\-]+/, '');
+}
+/**
+ * @param {glob} glob
+ * @return {Promise} resolving to {Array} of files matching glob
+ */
+function getFiles (glob) {
+  return globby(glob, { nodir: true });
+}
 
 /**
  * Utility function to test if a value COULD be a glob. A single string or
@@ -28,18 +62,31 @@ function isGlob (candidate) {
 }
 
 /**
- * Take a glob; read the files. Return a Promise that ultimately resolves
- * to an Array of objects:
- * [{ path: original filepath,
- *   contents: utf-8 file contents}...]
+ * Take a glob; read the files, optionally running a `contentFn` over
+ * the contents of the file.
+ *
+ * @param {glob} glob of files to read
+ * @param {Object} Options:
+ *  - {Function} contentFn(content, path): optional function to run over content
+ * in files; defaults to a no-op
+ *  - {String} encoding
+ *
+ * @return {Promise} resolving to Array of Objects:
+ *  - {String} path
+ *  - {String || Mixed} contents: contents of file after contentFn
  */
-function readFiles (glob) {
+function readFiles (glob, {
+  contentFn = (content, path) => content,
+  encoding = 'utf-8'
+} = {}) {
   return getFiles(glob).then(paths => {
-    var fileReadPromises = paths.map(path => {
-      return readFile(path, 'utf-8')
-        .then(contents => ({ path, contents }));
-    });
-    return Promise.all(fileReadPromises);
+    return Promise.all(paths.map(path => {
+      return readFile(path, encoding)
+        .then(contents => {
+          contents = contentFn(contents, path);
+          return { path, contents };
+        });
+    }));
   });
 }
 
@@ -47,14 +94,24 @@ function readFiles (glob) {
  * Read the files from a glob, but then instead of resolving the
  * Promise with an Array of objects (@see readFiles), resolve with a
  * single object; each file's contents is keyed by its filename run
- * through keyname().
+ * through optional `keyFn(filePath, options)`` (default: keyname).
+ * Will pass other options on to readFiles and keyFn
  *
+ * @param {glob}
+ * @param {Object} options (all optional):
+ *  - keyFn
+ *  - contentFn
+ *  - stripNumbers
+ * @return {Promise} resolving to {Object} of keyed file contents
  */
-function readFilesKeyed (glob, preserveNumbers = false) {
-  return readFiles(glob).then(allFileData => {
+function readFilesKeyed (glob, options = {}) {
+  const {
+    keyFn = (path, options) => keyname(path, options)
+  } = options;
+  return readFiles(glob, options).then(allFileData => {
     const keyedFileData = new Object();
     for (var aFile of allFileData) {
-      keyedFileData[keyname(aFile.path, preserveNumbers)] = aFile.contents;
+      keyedFileData[keyFn(aFile.path, options)] = aFile.contents;
     }
     return keyedFileData;
   });
@@ -65,15 +122,15 @@ function readFilesKeyed (glob, preserveNumbers = false) {
  * partials, etc, based on a filepath:
  * - replace whitespace characters with `-`
  * - use only the basename, no extension
- * - unless preserveNumbers, remove numbers from the string as well
+ * - unless stripNumbers option false, remove numbers from the string as well
  *
  * @param {String} str    filepath
- * @param {Boolean} preserveNumbers
+ * @param {Object} options
  * @return {String}
  */
-function keyname (str, preserveNumbers = false) {
+function keyname (str, { stripNumbers = true } = {}) {
   const name = basename(str).replace(/\s/g, '-');
-  return (preserveNumbers) ? name : removeNumbers(name);
+  return (stripNumbers) ? removeLeadingNumbers(name) : name;
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/test/fixtures/data/05-another-data.yaml b/test/fixtures/data/05-another-data.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b3880c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/data/05-another-data.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+ding:
+  - dong
+  - dell
+  - 'cat is in the well'
+  - 5
+forestry:
+  fob: 'key'
+  bork: 'bing'
diff --git a/test/fixtures/data/data-as-json.json b/test/fixtures/data/data-as-json.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2f97f6f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/data/data-as-json.json
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+{
+  "foo" : "bar",
+  "fortunately": 5
+}
diff --git a/test/fixtures/data/sample-data.yaml b/test/fixtures/data/sample-data.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a3b49d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/data/sample-data.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+foo:
+  - bar
+  - baz
+elfin: 'small things'
diff --git a/test/index.js b/test/index.js
index c006ff1..b4d5bef 100644
--- a/test/index.js
+++ b/test/index.js
@@ -2,20 +2,24 @@
 var chai = require('chai');
 var expect = chai.expect;
 var builder = require('../dist/');
+var path = require('path');
 
-const options = {
-  templates: {
-    partials: `${__dirname}/fixtures/partials/*`,
-    helpers: `${__dirname}/fixtures/helpers/*.js`
-  }
-};
 
 describe ('drizzle builder integration', () => {
-  it ('should return opts used for building', () => {
-    builder(options).then(opts => {
-      expect(opts).to.be.an.object;
-      expect(opts.templates).to.be.an.object;
-      expect(opts.templates.handlebars).to.be.an.object;
+  const options = {
+    data: {
+      src: path.join(__dirname, 'fixtures/data/*.yaml')
+    },
+    templates: {
+      helpers: path.join(__dirname, 'fixtures/helpers/**/*.js'),
+      partials: path.join(__dirname, 'fixtures/partials/*.hbs')
+    }
+  };
+  it ('should return data and context',  done => {
+    builder(options).then(drizzleData => {
+      expect(drizzleData[0]).to.contain.keys('another-data', 'sample-data');
+      expect(drizzleData[0]['another-data']).to.be.an('object');
+      done();
     });
   });
 });
diff --git a/test/options.js b/test/options.js
index 26c8467..e904cf6 100644
--- a/test/options.js
+++ b/test/options.js
@@ -23,10 +23,14 @@ describe ('drizzle-builder', () => {
       });
       it ('should translate template options', () => {
         var opts = parseOptions({
+          data: 'foo/bar/baz.yml',
           layoutIncludes: 'a path',
           views: 'a path to views'
         });
         expect(opts).to.be.an('object');
+        expect(opts.data).to.be.an('object');
+        expect(opts.data.src).to.be.a('string');
+        expect(opts.data.src).to.equal('foo/bar/baz.yml');
         expect(opts.views).not.to.be;
         expect(opts.layoutIncludes).not.to.be;
         expect(opts.templates).to.be.an('object');
@@ -41,11 +45,13 @@ describe ('drizzle-builder', () => {
 
       it ('should provide default templating options', () => {
         var opts = parseOptions();
-        expect(opts).to.contain.keys('templates');
+        expect(opts).to.contain.keys('templates', 'data');
         expect(opts.templates).to.be.an('object');
         expect(opts.templates).to.have.keys('handlebars', 'helpers',
           'layouts', 'pages', 'partials');
         expect(opts.templates.handlebars).to.be.an('object');
+        expect(opts.data).to.have.keys('src', 'parseFn');
+        expect(opts.data.parseFn).to.be.a('function');
       });
     });
   });
diff --git a/test/utils.js b/test/utils.js
index 8c2e705..65d51a2 100644
--- a/test/utils.js
+++ b/test/utils.js
@@ -56,6 +56,21 @@ describe ('utils', () => {
       expect(badGlobs.every(glob => utils.isGlob(glob))).to.be.false;
     });
   });
+  describe('keyname', () => {
+    it ('should strip leading numbers by default', () => {
+      var result = utils.keyname('foo/01-bar.baz');
+      expect(result).not.to.contain('01-');
+    });
+    it ('should strip parent directories and extensions', () => {
+      var result = utils.keyname('foo/01-bar.baz');
+      expect(result).not.to.contain('foo');
+      expect(result).not.to.contain('baz');
+    });
+    it ('should accept option to retain leading numbers', () => {
+      var result = utils.keyname('foo/01-bar.baz', { stripNumbers: false });
+      expect(result).to.contain('01-');
+    });
+  });
   describe('readFiles', () => {
     it ('should read files from a glob', done => {
       var glob = path.join(__dirname, 'fixtures/helpers/*.js');
@@ -65,7 +80,18 @@ describe ('utils', () => {
         done();
       });
     });
-    it ('should be able to key files by getName', done => {
+    it ('should run passed function over content', done => {
+      var glob = path.join(__dirname, 'fixtures/helpers/*.js');
+      utils.readFiles(glob, { contentFn: (content, path) => 'foo' })
+        .then(allFileData => {
+          expect(allFileData).to.have.length.of(3);
+          expect(allFileData[0].contents).to.equal('foo');
+          done();
+        });
+    });
+  });
+  describe('readFilesKeyed', () => {
+    it ('should be able to key files by keyname', done => {
       var glob = path.join(__dirname, 'fixtures/helpers/*.js');
       utils.readFilesKeyed(glob).then(allFileData => {
         expect(allFileData).to.be.an('object');
@@ -73,6 +99,34 @@ describe ('utils', () => {
         done();
       });
     });
+    it ('should accept an option to preserve leading numbers', done => {
+      var glob = path.join(__dirname, 'fixtures/data/*.yaml');
+      utils.readFilesKeyed(glob, { stripNumbers: false }).then(allFileData => {
+        expect(allFileData).to.be.an('object');
+        done();
+      });
+    });
+    it ('should accept a function to derive keys', done => {
+      var glob = path.join(__dirname, 'fixtures/data/*.yaml');
+      utils.readFilesKeyed(glob, { keyFn: (path, options) => 'foo' + path })
+        .then(allFileData => {
+          expect(Object.keys(allFileData)[0]).to.contain('foo');
+          done();
+        });
+    });
+    it ('should pass contentFn through to readFiles', done => {
+      var glob = path.join(__dirname, 'fixtures/data/*.yaml');
+      utils.readFilesKeyed(glob, {
+        keyFn: (path, options) => 'foo' + path,
+        contentFn: (content, path) => 'foo'
+      }).then(allFileData => {
+        for (var fileKey in allFileData) {
+          expect(fileKey).to.contain('foo');
+          expect(allFileData[fileKey]).to.equal('foo');
+        }
+        done();
+      });
+    });
   });
   describe('parent directory (parentDirname)', () => {
     it ('should derive correct parent dirname of files', () => {
@@ -82,7 +136,7 @@ describe ('utils', () => {
     });
   });
   describe('merge()', () => {
-    it ('works', () => {
+    it ('merges objects correctly', () => {
       var actual = utils.merge(
         {a: 1, c: {d: 3}},
         {a: 2, b: 1, c: {e: 4}}