had to share my amazing valentine's gift from ryan: gold boat shoes. so, ryan LOVES boat shoes, & i LOVE things with a little extra fun to them. so, so excited to wear these with some cute shorts this spring/summer! p.s. these pink ones are adorable too!
Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 8:00AM 
this sweet friend is getting married in november, which gives me a great excuse to still look at all things wedding. so, i'm walking past h&m with ryan & stop when i see these precious little clutches. the wheels start spinning and i think, how adorable would these be as bridesmaid gifts?!
then, i look at the price tag. (are you sitting down?) they were $3.95(!!) then, i wander up to the checkout counter to buy them & they have these adorable little bottles of coral nail polish for $1.95. ok so for $6 a pop, i have adorable bridesmaids gifts well on their way (this is a little funny, as ryan points out, because i'm a bridesmaid in this wedding, but, hey, further proof we'll love them!)
i'm thinking you could also tuck a pack of gum or little mints inside. i'm in love with these lemongrass & sage towels from bliss & a little journal would be adorable (i recently got this one as a bridesmaids gift!). we will show you the final product when we put them all together, but had to let all you brides-to-be know, so you could run to your nearest h&m (they also have them in blue, so it could be your something blue!)
wedded bliss Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 8:00AM 
on a couple of lists i saw for best books of 2010 was this keeper. i picked it up last week and have been loving it. such a touching story & incredibly well written. it's so good to find a classic, compelling story you can totally get lost in, especially in the dog days of winter.
major pettigrew's last stand is about an englishman widower, who is everything you'd expect in a man that insists on going by his military rank in retirement. it's a touching story about family, the unlikely people who get you through & the things you hold dear .
good read Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 12:12PM 
so, today is a day "off," but my to do list is so long that i woke up feeling nothing but whelmed. everywhere i looked there was something that needed tending too.
ryan reads me like a book. so, he sees this all over my face, gives me a big hug. makes me laugh (currently we have an inside joke around the hysterical ellen degeneres commercial for maybelline make up, where she says, "why do models always look so mad?!" and makes this funny face). and then ryan says, "alright, give me the list." and i rattle off the near endless things i have to do. and then, bless his heart, he gives me a plan. first step, get dressed for the day, you'll feel better (i do). go to your favorite coffeeshop & knock out all those emails. then come home and take things one room at a time. we can go grocery shopping together when i get back from base.
so, here i am, sitting at a coffeeshop, feeling a lot better. there are still waayy too many emails in my inbox & a house that needs my attention & let's not even talk about the piles (how do they grow so quickly?). but that latte sure did soothe me. it's a beautiful day. this chair is really wonderful. there's a hum of the espresso machine & dear friends catching up. & you know what? it will all get done. there's much to be grateful for in the meantime. xo
thoughts Monday, February 21, 2011 at 1:01PM 
so, what a week! valentine's day ended up not being a romantic home cooked meal + movie ... it ended up being a late night trip to ER. no worries, i'm lots better now, but a HORRIBLE stomach virus left me dehydrated, body aching, and gave my husband a good scare.
i've said it before, but if you're considering marrying someone, really, really think through that in sickness and in health vow (all of them for that matter). ryan was AMAZING. he held my hair back while i was so very sick, sat with me at three in the morning when i was scared and exhausted in a ER room, made me laugh (he does this hilarious imitation of himself watching me throw up & trying not to get sick himself), and took incredible care of me. he's not perfect & neither am i, but we show up in this marriage, and we love each other well, and boy does that mean a lot when you're feeling really crummy.
& now i've been in nyc for work (crazy, i know) and am so ready for a three day weekend. wish i could go hang out in the room above, curl up with a good book & cup of tea. sounds really wonderful, right? thanks for your patience -- back with loveliness tomorrow! xo
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 3:07PM 
as i was thinking what to post on valentine's day, i was going through some old photos. i thought the above set sort of says it all about why the past four years, and all the non-valentine's day acts of love, have been such a blessing. we're definitely taking time to pause today & reflect on how grateful we are for one another, but we try to do that a lot. (ok, ok, we got excited & actually exchanged gifts last night, on valentine's day eve, and then had breakfast for dinner. it was awesome.)
some explanations of the above photos, since most of them were pre-t&f:
the top one is one of my all time favs. it was on our first trip to nyc together. it was POURING the entire time we were there, but we refused to let it damper our plans. for some reason we had in our mind we'd begin by finding the financial bull (neither of us can remember why) -- we got super lost & by the time we got there, we were sopping wet. my "rain jacket" actually didn't repel water, so after this photo we switched jackets & ryan looked pretty ridiculous in mine.
the next two photos are from our epic 13 day, 11 state road trip one summer. this trip confirmed i wanted to spend the rest of my life with this guy. what's funny, is look at ryan's t-shirt in the donut photo (it says game over). this was way pre-engagement, but we stopped at a dollar tree in georgia, saw these shirts and bought matching ones. we showed up at lizzie's house in them, just to see if she'd actually think we eloped. we still have 'em.
the next four are all from our time in p'cola. it was such a blessing to begin our married life there (something i realize more each day). i especially love the photo where ryan is about to pour water on me. when i just showed ryan that one he smiled and said, "you probably deserved it." and i immediately responded, "definitely."
the next one is fall in c'ville -- being in one of my favorite places, in one of my favorite seasons, with my favorite person. the last one is from this christmas -- i just love doing life with this guy.
we're making dinner here & watching a movie tonight. what are you up to?! xo
married life Monday, February 14, 2011 at 12:50PM 
so, i mentioned i work from home a decent amount of the time. my lunches (usually 5 min) are most often this old favorite (loved by many bloggers!) or cheese, bread & apple. afraid i was going to get in a rut, and knowing i needed some more protein, i've done poached eggs on toast & greens a lot recently.
first of all, my pods crack me up. i feel like they're looking at me! can't remember where i got them, but you can grab some here. it's a foolproof way to poach eggs (just to be sure to rub some olive oil in them before you put the egg in). lately i've been digging wheat potato toast. and we always have greens around, so i just throw a little olive oil, sea salt and pepper on them. voila, new favorite lunch.
any other go-tos for those of you who work from home?
yum Monday, February 14, 2011 at 8:00AM 
ryan just came through the door in his flightsuit carrying these -- happy friday indeed! excited to spend a low key weekend with him. making dinner + netflix movie tonight, low key day tomorrow doing some work on our attic, babysitting for some sweet friends adorable baby boy tomorrow night, church sunday. can't wait! and it's supposed to be 60 degrees! woo hoo! what are you up to?
happy weekend Friday, February 11, 2011 at 2:27PM 
