Three little words that my wise mother has always said to me, her biggest lesson. Three little words that say so much.
I am on a quest to fulfill and live by these three little words.
Sunday afternoon we went out to our Aunt & Uncle's house to celebrate the birthdays of these beautiful boys.
We had cake, they went swimming, we opened presents...and we played football! Nothing like a little game of backyard football to prepare for the upcoming season (YAY!). I was the sideline photographer and I was able to capture some good stuff.
And then there was a bloody lip...because sometimes that happens in football. Here's my sweet husband making sure he's ok. This picture makes my clock tick a little faster, if you know what I mean!
What a trooper! The little one is back in the game and he's calling the play. They huddle up and he says, "We're the Packers!" That's a nice play call! I mean, what more do you need?
A day spent with family like this just fills my heart with so much love and joy, I wish we could do this every weekend.
Today marks the end of an era. My parents are packing up their home in Wisconsin and moving back across the mason-dixon line. Back with "their people." My excitement for them has carried me to this point and helped me provide them with emotional support throughout the packing and purging period of the move. But today, I woke with a slight sadness in my heart. I didn't really get a chance to say good-bye to the house that helped shape me. We've lived in many homes throughout my life, because we seemed to move every six years or so. Because of that, I've never had that sense of going back to the house that I grew up in. This house in Wisconsin was the closest thing I ever had to that. We moved there at the end of 1994, so this house has been our home for 16 years, which is insane for our family.
Random picture my Dad sent me when the tree in the front yard split
Now when I go home for Christmas, I won't have a home to go do. I mean, I will because I'm always welcomed at my in-laws wonderful home, but it's just different. And I will go visit my parents in their new home, but I'll have no attachment to it.
Our Wisconsin home has been so important to me because I lived there during those pivotal years of my youth. The getting ready for the first day of high school, sneaking cigarettes on the back porch, stealing peach schnapps from the liquor cabinet, going on the first date with the man who would become my husband, getting ready for proms, sitting in the car in the garage pretending like I already knew how to drive, celebrating 16th birthdays with a grand surprise and a poodle skirt, saying good-bye as I drove off to college, holding my brand new nephew, returning from college for long "what's your new major" discussions, sitting at the island and chatting for hours with Mom and Dad, packing up the car and driving off to California, coming home as an engaged couple, coming home as a married couple...
I could go on and on, but you get the idea. It shaped me and I'm going to miss it.
what's better than this?
Lately, I've been hearing this song on the radio and it touches my heart every time. I thought I'd share.
Best wishes to my parents on their new adventure, I cannot wait to visit them in their new home. And farewell to the house that built me.
A high school friend of mine and his wife have been putting up the ultimate fight against her cancer, and doing it with grace, hope and love. They have been keeping a blog, that I have linked as one of my favorites, because their strength and view of things always reminds me to love and live, hard.
Today, this beautiful woman lost her battle. The love of her life wrote about it on their blog, which you can read here. The journey that they have been on is a beautiful reminder of how precious life is, of taking time to enjoy the small things and of true, unconditional love.
I thank them for keeping this honest journal of their joys and tribulations. My heart bleeds for him more than you know. Her friends and family were truly graced by an angel for all these years, I only wish I had been able to meet her.
Hold your loved ones a little bit tighter tonight and savor every single little moment, because they are so precious.
The Boot! I went to the foot doctor yesterday and he said things are looking great, but I've got to keep wearing the boot for a few more weeks. So, until then...I will keep wearing this oh so fashionable piece of footwear!
As promised, here are the pictures from my solo morning on foot in beautiful San Diego. I had a really peaceful and enjoyable morning. It was fun to document what I was doing. It also forced me to get out and enjoy instead of sleeping the morning away in the room that I was able to check into at 6 AM! (When has that ever happened?!) So, thank you for allowing me to share my morning adventures.
4 am
work boots, coffee and we're off in the McTruck
5 am
it's hard to take a picture in the dark, bumpy truck. i clearly couldn't find a setting for that.
6 am
checking into the hotel at the break of dawn
7 am
there's nothing quite like the morning light to awaken the sleeping marina
8 am
peanut butter and banana stuffed french toast. i'm not kidding. best breakfast i've ever had. ever.
9 am
back to the hotel to do a little work.
10 am
hello horsey.
11 am
meeting with my friend Miss Mary, it's always so great to be with her.
12 pm
pool time mixed with a long and wonderful phone call to my best friend.
All of this was followed by a magnificent afternoon and evening together . Late afternoon naps, long walks, a bottle of wine at sunset, late night pizza... we love San Diego and staycations.
My husband came to me earlier this week and told me that he has to go to San Diego on Friday for a work meeting. So, naturally I thought, why don't I tag along and we can make it a mini staycation for the night? I hopped on priceline, named my own price (which I've never done before), got a great hotel for a steal and now I'm packing an overnight bag to head south, down the five, to beautiful San Diego.
Here's the catch. We've got to leave around four am because his meeting starts so early. Yikes. And he's going to drop me off at the hotel and head to his meeting with his truck. SO, what's a girl to do all day long, alone, on foot, in one of the greatest cities of SoCal? Only time will tell. I thought I'd make it into a fun little blog exercise....so here's the plan...
Every hour on the hour, starting when we get into the car and ending when Adam joins me, I'm going to take a picture of what's happening or what I'm doing and when I return I'll blog the pictures. Hopefully I'll be able to find some trouble to get into to make the pictures worth blogging!
Have a beautiful Friday...and do something spontaneous.
Remember when I told you about my new desk? Well, it's still naked because I'm trying to decide how to organize it, accessorize it and style it to represent me. I want it to be chic and clean and one of those places where you love to sit and work. I want it to have a few pops of color and I want it to have some wedding related items.
I've been trying to find the right wedding related items, and since "my office" is in my living room I don't want to decorate the bookshelves with antique cake toppers. Even though I did think about that for a while.
Then I thought of these two ladies. Who I adore. Who are the epitome of style, grace and following your passion. So I've decided I'm going to frame these two pictures of Audrey and Grace on the most beautiful days of their lives and put them on my new desk.
I'm excited to spend my work days with these ladies looking at me. Because I love them. And I'm pretty sure they love me back.
My wedding mind is in overdrive lately, so this post is a bit all over the place. Enjoy!
I would pay about a thousand extra dollars if I had this very picture of me and Adam on our wedding day. Don't you just melt looking at this?
photo by: Abby Ross
This couple and their amazing wedding has been all over the blogosphere as of late and from these two pictures it's easy to see why. So. Much. Love.
A way big YES to a tree swing made of colorful fabric and ribbon. Swoon.
photos by: Our Labor of Love
This post on this lovely blog makes me think I NEED a mosquito net in my life. Right now. And her ideas to use it for a wedding are magical. Read about it HERE.
Remember how I mentioned that I had a big wedding weekend? Well, here is a little snippet from a guests' flip video from Sunday's wedding. One of the many surprises from the Bride and Groom for their guests. If you look closely, you can see a tall dark shadow carrying a clipboard in the background. C'est moi...hard at work.
The magnolia trees on my street have recently been blooming, which makes me want this. Divine, striking and simple. Truly lovely.
Happy Wednesday! May inspiration find you all week long!
My homemade Poisson Cru was a huge hit! We sat on the patio, listened to Jack Johnson and ate until our little hearts were content. It wasn't the same as being in Bungalow 112, but it was as close as we could get from our little apartment. The only hiccup was that the one place I know of that sells Hinano Beer was OUT OF IT! OH no! Their shipment wasn't coming in until today. So, I had to make due with re-creating the cocktails we drank instead of the beer. I know, it was a small sacrifice!
Poisson Cru is basically a Polynesian ceviche. Sashimi grade tuna marinated in lime juice, then tossed with vegetables and covered in coconut milk. Serve it with a side of rice and you'll be instantly transported to an island somewhere. Try it! I went to Nijiya Market for the fish, a local Japanese market that sells sashimi grade fish for a great price. Any Asian market will sell nice fish like this. I used both tuna and yellowfin instead of just tuna and I let it sit in the lime juice for about 8-10 minutes rather than three, otherwise, I pretty much followed THIS recipe. Try it, I think you'll love it!
on our first trip as husband and wife. It was magical, peaceful, fun, romantic, delicious, relaxing and everything else that you want a honeymoon to be.
In honor of that, I am going to surprise my husband tonight and try to re-create our favorite local dish called, Poisson Cru. Seen below, being devoured by yours truly!
I have found one place in LA that sells the local Tahitian beer, so I'll be stopping to pick up some of those to complete our meal.
Hopefully this will help us relive the magic that lived in Bungalow 112 on the heavenly island of Moorea.
I'm deep in preparation for my biggest wedding weekend of the year, but I've been having a horrible pain on the ball of my foot, so I made some time for a quick doctor's appointment today. What did the Doc say?
I have a fractured bone in my foot.
Awesome. Remember how I said I was prepping for the biggest wedding weekend of the year? Right. About that. Now I get to rock it out with a busted foot and a boot. It's so crappy that it's kind of funny.
He can't identify when I broke this little bone on the ball of my foot. And it's hurt for months, so who knows. I just always thought that I wasn't wearing comfortable shoes. You know how we ladies often do.
Ah well, I'll be just fine. Hopefully this fancy tape job and beautiful black boot that he gave me will make it all better. I really hope so, because he said that otherwise I'll have to have surgery to remove the fractured bone. No thank you.
I always say there's a silver lining, so let's see.......ummm......
- It's not broken, it's only fractured, so that's good.
- I'm not on crutches, so that's positive.
- And I just opened a bottle of wine, a Netflix came in the mail today and the hubs is on his way home with Chinese take out. Maybe it's a little pity party for me and my foot, but it'll be a fun one!
Engagements are such a private and personal moment. One that the girl has always dreamed about and one that the guy has been thinking about since the moment he knew she was the one. As my husband put it, "It's the one thing that the man gets. The wedding is more of your thing, but the proposal...that's all us." That's what makes them so personal. The man you love, prepping for this huge, most romantic moment. For a proposal to be caught on tape at all is amazing. But to be captured in such a beautiful way is what makes this one truly breathtaking. This video was done by Stereo Waltz Films, and I think I speak for all of us when I say, thank you for this.
And here is the story, from the Groom, via bridepop.com
Well, I made boxes for each month Amy and I dated (we’d been together for one year, so 12 boxes total)… in each box, I put an object that represented something special about that month. Then, I asked Amy to meet me at Caribou Coffee, the site of our first date. I asked twelve of her friends to hand deliver each box to Amy in sequential order, one after the other. I also asked my friend, Andy, a filmmaker, to secretly videotape the whole thing! So he was there too, catching it all on tape. Some of the boxes held objects or mementos that were serious, some that were sappy, and some that were funny. I wanted her to cry and laugh, all at the same time. The last box, which had the ring in it, was delivered to me… and that’s when I proposed.
A few weeks ago I was working on a design proposal for a client so I didn't want to share it until I sent it off to her. Now I'm excited to share it with you!
I made two inspiration boards, one using teal linens and one using blush linens. I love how you can feel the difference in the two even though they have some of the same elements.
I love it. I think it's beachy, sophisticated, chic yet traditional.
Everyone has quirky little things, don't you agree? Some we hide, some we let fly proudly. I just realized that one of my quirky little things sits proudly inside my coffee table. I wonder if people silently question seeing my "Beauty and The Beast" coloring book and box of crayons sitting on a shelf in the coffee table when they come over? Maybe they think I have a niece that comes over and plays. I don't. I just like to color sometimes. I find it therapeutic and comforting. I don't color often, but when the mood strikes me I've got the supplies right there in my coffee table. I guess it's one of my quirks. I mean...doesn't this blank picture just make you wanna grab a box of crayons?? GO for it. I think I will.
When I decided to start taking my love for weddings to a new level, I decided that I would be working from home as a full time wedding coordinator. It was the best decision and one that I am happy I made, every single day. We do not have a large apartment, so we had to get creative to make an "office" for me out of the space that we do have. In order to make space, we rearranged our living room and I found this little beauty at Crate and Barrel that I thought would be perfect. I didn't want a big ol' desk sitting in the room, which is why I love this because it's part bookcase and part desk. I think it looks functional yet like it can be a part of the living room.
image from crateandbarrel.com
We ordered this desk/bookcase combo back in early JUNE and it just FINALLY came in. Talk about frustrating! My husband and I went for a leisurely breakfast yesterday, then went to pick up the boxes of my desk. I was so excited that I did a little dance in the loading dock. However, I had a wedding yesterday, so as soon as we got home, I was off to help get two lovelies married! I was kind of bummed because I just wanted to put my desk together after so many months of waiting for it to arrive.
I got home just before midnight, with my dogs barking something awful, walked in the door, threw off the very non-supportive shoes that make said dogs bark and what did I see?
My desk all set up with my computer and files all in place! It was such a wonderful surprise and made me feel so loved. I am a very lucky lady. And now I am blogging from my desk. I feel fancy. And productive.
This week I am going to get it all set up with pretty pops of color and fun ways to organize things. Hello, container store...here I come! As soon as I get it all set up, I'll be sure to post a picture or two!
Have you seen the posters for the upcoming movie, Eat Pray Love? I think they're perfect.
It takes me back about six years ago, when these two young ladies did the same thing throughout Europe. Although it was more of an Eat Laugh Eat kind of trip.
Granted we are no Julia Roberts so beautifully sitting on a park bench, gracefully eating our gelato, but I just had to share these somewhat embarrassing pictures. Because every time I pass by that poster I am taken right back to this beautiful day in Siena.
I love the book...and I love me some Julia....so I simply cannot wait for this movie! eeeek!
