A Baby Shower

One of my bridesmaids in our recent wedding is literally my oldest friend. We started at the same day care at age 2 and even attended the same preschool before ending up in the same grade school classes every year from 4th through 8th grades. Somewhere along the way, she met my cousin and they both developed junior high crushes, although all the way through high school they were both dating this person or that person and never each other. Low and behold, somewhere during the college years they met again, fell in love and just over a year ago got married. Now they are expecting their first baby next month and this weekend everyone came together to celebrate the impending arrival with a really fun jack and jill baby shower. There was a delicious cake topped with momma and baby rubber ducks, lots of balloons, a miniature army of kids running around playing in the water and fishing off the dock, and an overwhelming sense of excitement. Oh, and there wasn’t a single cheesy baby shower game! (Ohhh how I loathe such silly games.) Truly, I’ve never had such fun at a baby shower before and loved getting to celebrate this amazing occasion with two of my absolute favorite people.

A Hint of Fall

The air has changed this week, it’s cooler and just ever so crisp with the hint of fall around the corner. With two bridal showers, two bachelorette parties, a wedding and a honeymoon, plus a really busy season at the office, I can hardly believe summer is here already let alone nearly over. I’ve spent the past couple of evenings bundled up on the couch under a giant fleece blanket, too stubborn to close the windows and patio door to close out the breeze off the lake, but too chilly to go without some extra warmth. Before you know it, we’ll be up to our necks in snow…

The chill in the air got me thinking about a fabulous weekend last fall. Mike and I went out apple picking at a local orchard and then after getting home in the afternoon, took a long walk along the lake with the dog. It was incredible fall weather and I took a handful of photos that I just absolutely love.

Loving the Journey

A few weeks ago, I decided to visit my old blog. My old old blog. The blog that predated weddings and getting married and becoming a complete blog fanatic. It was, in fact, the first blog that stuck with me and it saw me through some rough times during the year Mike and were doing that whole long distance thing, which was also the year I lost my beloved maternal grandmother. I’ve toyed around with the idea of deleting that blog, but somehow I can’t bring myself to part with those random musings, those random moments that were often nothing more or less than an outpouring of emotion – happiness, frustration, glee, hope, confusion. I had no idea at that time just how completely blogging would change my life – which is not to be dramatic, it’s simply true. With that said, there were some really great posts and one in particular made me smile so I thought I’d share it with you here. Roughly eighteen months later, I can tell you that on March 30, 2008, I basically had it all figured out…

“I’ve come to realize that the only thing we can truly expect in life is the unexpected. Expectations, in one fashion or another, inevitably fail to come to fruition with great regularity, and for that reason one should never claim to know the ending of the story when they are still in the first chapters of the book. Never has this been more true than in my own life. There were things I fully planned on happening that never came to pass. The were other things I would have bet my life on never happening that unfolded in a series of unanticipated events that dramatically altered the course of my life forever. Occurrences I would have believed would break me, paved a road to a greater happiness than I had ever previously experienced and in the process, set me free from self-imposed constraints I never realized existed. A year ago, two years ago, three years ago…I never would have imagined I would be where I am today with regards to life, love, career, family nor geography. Perhaps with some irony, I could not be happier to be where I am, and that has served to make me keenly aware of just how uncertain life is, both in beautiful and tragic ways. This weekend marked a major turning point in the direction my life will go from this point forward, and it brings me to the blissful realization that we should always expect the unexpected, and that we should love the journey no matter how unpredictable.”

Amen to that.

And what, pray tell, was going on the weekend of March 30, 2008? We had just picked out my engagement ring, shown here with my custom wedding band…

{Dear Santa} Family Crest Necklace

Is it too early to start my Christmas wish list? (And, no, I’m not joking.) I saw this necklace by Lisa Leonard Designs on decor8 this morning and nearly choked on my Starbucks iced coffee. Is it not utterly beautiful? Of course, for me, because I didn’t change my name, it would still reflect the initial of my original – and only – last name, which is also the initial of my first name. So it’s really quite perfect, because I really really love the letter C. If I were an episode of Sesame Street, I would definitely be brought to you by the letter C, for sure. So, I am officially kicking off my annual bargaining with Santa with promises to be on my best behavior for the next few months if only he’ll bring me one of these.

Please and thank you.
xoxo,
C

{Photos via Lisa Leonard Designs}

The Husband Owes Her One, Volume 1

The old saying, “the woman is always right” is one I heard many times over, mostly in jest, up to and after our wedding.

“Just get ready! You know SHE’S always gonna be right!”

The obligatory chuckles always followed, but I always knew it: my wife is quite sharp where I’m not, and sometimes, the roles are reversed. For my part, I admit I have my share of mental “lapses” if you will; bouts of forgetfulness and even bullheadedness. She is always there to tell me so, and more often than not, she’s definitely correct.

So it was that yesterday morning, I found myself all set to leave the house and head to school for football practice. I put on my sneakers, grabbed my hat, wallet, and phone, and was just about to grab my….

keys.

One quick rifle through the basket by the door where they always are – nothing. Another more meticulous search – nope.

Sudden flash – I had brought them out when we had gone shopping the day before so I could lock the door. My wife drove, so not wanting to jam my wad of keys into my pocket, I just placed them in the well of the passenger door. Many bags of purchases later, there they remained. And there they were when I wanted to leave the next day. She had driven her car and my keys to work a few hours earlier.

What can be said? It was instant recognition that I might as well wear the dunce cap.

Precariously, I called her up.

“Honey, problem.”

Who knows what she was thinking just at this point.

“What?”

“I’m pretty sure I left my keys in your car.”

Sigh. Another longer, more exasperated sigh.

“Don’t you have a spare set?”

“No, not for those ones.”

“I’m at WORK. What do you expect me to DO?”

Long story, short – my tail went squarely between my legs; she came back home, through a legion of construction (sacrificing her lunch hour of course – the shame!), and brought them to me a few hours later.

Now, as penance, and because I enjoy writing, I am now a contributing blogger here on {a year of marriage.} I promise to take better care of my keys and truly remember that yes, my wife is there to help me, and I her, whenever I can.

Whether it’s her saintly actions like this one or me, on one wife-service afternoon last week, hauling all her clothes upstairs from the massive piles sprawling atop the dryer and placing them neatly in dresser drawers and on hangers in the closet – I think we’ll make it. She had to navigate lane closures on her lunch hour, and I had to handle mounds of spaghetti straps and inside-out dresses. If we can keep up this devotion, the future is bright.

Oh so fresh.

Last week I traveled to NYC for work for a few days. There isn’t typically much time for shopping or dancing about like a tourist while in town, but this time around I did manage a quick little trip around the block where I was hanging out for work to do some shopping during lunch. It was a hot, sticky and smelly day and feeling the need to smell something, well, fresh, I wandered into fresh on Broadway. I am basically in love with everything fresh makes, but somehow I had kind of forgotten that in recent months. (Funny how planning a wedding can suck the life out of your shopping obsessions, eh?)

I fell in love with their new Sugar Lip Treatment, but what I couldn’t leave without was their intoxicating Sugar Lemon eau de parfum. It is such a citrusy and vibrant smell, both deliciously fragrant but really sophisticated. I am basically addicted. It might be a little bit early for this, but I vote that Santa Claus (or my husband, for that matter) takes note and stocks up so my stocking is overflowing with goodies from fresh. Yum!

Hello there.

I momentarily interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to say “hi!” to everyone who is just joining us. This blog is still very much a work in progress and I hope it will prove to be great fun for us and for those who drop by to visit from time to time. So, grab yourself a cup of coffee and pull up a seat – it’s sure to get interesting. As far as what you can expect…that would be the “work in progress” part of the equation, whereby we’ll figure things out as we go along. You can definitely expect to hear of my escapades in the kitchen, our dog’s crazy antics, and my new husband’s love for all things football. (I promise to keep him short-winded on that front, I swear!) Beyond that, you’ll just have to wait and read as the adventures unfold. Welcome along for the ride!

DIY Bulletin Board – An Office Makeover Preview

Here is a little preview of my in-progress desk overhaul project. I’ve been buried at work, literally up to my neck in stacks of paper and magazines, and a little makeover/organization project was in order. An old cork bulletin board I had lying around the house, $4 worth of fabric, $4 worth of brass upholstery tacks and 20 minutes later, I had a pretty little bulletin board ready to be taken to the office and covered in the lovely letterpress that inspires me daily. Wondering what a girl can do with roughly $80 and an hour of labor? Stay tuned!

Twigs & Honey

One of my favorite things I bought for the wedding was my hairpiece from twigs & honey. I still love it…I’ve had a hard time packing it away and/or deciding to sell it to some other twigs & honey loving bride. So instead it sits around in a little pressed glass dish in our living room and waits for another chance at celebration. Oh how I love the silk and feathers…

Fishing

While he fishes from the dock, I sit to the side with a book and the perfectly mixed vodka tonic. With a fresh wedge of lime. I live for these moments.