Winter Park & Granby Getaway

J, Ollie and I headed to the mountains for a mini getaway before the start of school in a few days and the growth of our family in a few months. And it was just perfect. We headed to the condo in Winter Park late Wednesday night and spent a few days with just each others company, no to-do lists or distractions or errands to run.

We spent a day out on Lake Granby that was filled with relaxation, good conversation and smooth waters. We watched O-dog struggle to get on the boat but then swim in a lake for the first time and absolutely love it. We imagined bringing our son to the mountains and on the boat with us next summer. We got sunburnt, dipped our toes in the freezing water and enjoyed the entire day as just a couple before we become parents.

We ordered pizza for dinner and watched stupid movies on TV for the night. We slept soundly knowing we had no where to be the next day and no reason for an alarm clock. We lounged around while Ollie slept from all the swimming the day before. We took an adventure drive through Rocky Mountain National Park on the way home, eventually getting above timber line and crossing over the Continental Divide. We drove through Estes Park, saw an elk casually walking on the side of the road and stopped for lunch.

It was a fabulous few days. I'm thankful we have a place just a short drive away to escape to. I'm thankful for the beautiful weather we had, the gorgeous scenery of the Rocky Mountains and the quiet that leaving the city can bring. I'm incredibly thankful for a husband who will take a day off work to treat me to a trip like this. Winter Park and Granby, you were exactly what this lady needed to recharge and conquer the next few months.

Homeowners: Downstairs Tour

Home: one's place of residence

We are in love with where we live. The house itself. The people here. The city. It's a work in progress and we love every minute.

Home: the social unit formed by a family living together
J & Ollie make this house a home. Our family is little and so, so happy. 

Home: a familiar or usual setting
The place we wake up each morning and share dinner together. The place the finally feels permanent after years of unsettled feelings.

Home: a place of origin
The place where we plan to grow over the next many years. The place where memories are made, love is endless and life together flourishes.

at Home: in harmony with the surroundings

Finally feeling like we have everything that we need and so much more. Finally feeling like this is where we're supposed to be.

at Home: relaxed and comfortable

My favorite place in the world.

Crunch Time

Now that I am officially done with work we're in full-time moving mode around here! 

Stacks of boxes are growing taller and invading every room. Tasks are being crossed off the to-do list but also continuously being added. Cabinets, closets, and drawers are starting to be emptied and yet somehow our house seems like a storm went through it with all the mess we've created. I've been sipping on lots of coffee and letting myself relax occasionally with walks for the pup who is over joyed to have someone home all day.

Here's a glimpse into our crazy life from the past few days. 

Today also happens to be Ollie's 3rd birthday so there might be a bowl full of whipped cream in his future tonight. He's been super cuddly and begging for any & all attention today which just shows that even he knows it's his special day :-) We also have dinner plans for the evening and what do you know, more packing planned for the rest of the weekend. Hopefully we're able to throw in a bit of fun relaxing over the long weekend because I know next week is going to be crazy busy too! Wish us luck!

Current countdown to the big CO move: 

7 days!

Homeowners: Moving to Colorado

This past weekend J and I flew to Colorado to do a frantic, mad-dash of a house hunting operation.

Less than 48 hours after this house was listed on the market, we had a signed offer from the sellers and were under contract on our new home. This house was approximately the 6th one we'd seen that day and as soon as we walked in we were crunching numbers trying to figure out what our best offer could be for this beauty. We ended up putting in the offer that afternoon, continuing the search just in case they didn't accept and by the time we were done for the day it was all finished. J and I celebrated with a delicious dinner complete with margaritas and dreamt of our new life back in our home state. 

We've been trying and wishing to move back to CO for years now. To be closer to our families, to have our amazing friends just a phone call away, to be able to enjoy the seasons, the birthdays, the holidays in the state we've always called home. And now it's not only come true but where we'll actually be is a reality now.

I'm already dreaming of the meals we'll cook together in our fabulous new kitchen, all the nights I'll curl up next to the fire place in our master bedroom (!!!), the BBQs we'll host on our patio, the games of fetch Ollie can play in our huge yard and the memories we'll make for years to come in what is quite literally, our dream home.

It was a fantastic weekend and we feel so blessed for this new house we'll soon call home. Now the countdown to Colorado has really started!

Tying the Knot: Into the Evening

As the night continued, so did the party. Being surrounded by such amazing people made the night so incredible. We laughed, cried, danced, sang, and celebrated until late into the evening. I was, and still am, shocked with how quickly the whole night (and day) went. Suddenly our ceremony was over, then we were sitting to eat dinner, then all the festivities (toasts, cake, bouquet, etc) were finished, then the time ticked by until it would all be finished. 

As tradition with this group of guys continued, they all joined together towards the end of the evening in their ceremonial singing of Under the Bridge by Red Hot Chili Peppers. It's been going on since the first wedding of the group and it's so great to see such great friends as these guys. There was also an appearance of Gangnam Style and of course the great dance moves that come with it. My bridesmaids had some serious moves! We danced as husband and wife and enjoyed the whole night with all of our family and friends until it was suddenly time to go. 

We ended the night with one last slow song, Then by Brad Paisley and as I found my new husband I couldn't help but be overwhelmed with emotions. The entire day had been perfect, everything I had ever dreamt of and I was officially J's Mrs! The love in the room at that moment was so special. 

I looked around to our supportive families and amazing friends surrounding us and felt so immensely blessed. 

Our wedding was over and our marriage had just begun. J and I headed to our hotel in a lovely town car after many hugs and well wishes from our guests feeling like we were on cloud nine. I still find myself wishing we could go back and do it all over again!

All photos courtesy of Ignite Images.

Need to catch up?

First we got ready

Then it was time for The Dress

Lovely bridesmaid photos

Our sweet Ollie pup

Handsome groomsmen photos

The Bride & Groom portraits

Our First Touch before the ceremony

Small wedding details

The start of our Ceremony (Readings & Ring Warming)

We're finally Husband & Wife

Formal family & wedding party photos

How we remembered missing family

Our pictures as Mr & Mrs

Our First Dance

Reception Dinner & Toasts

Dancing with our Moms

The partying begins

Cutting the Cake

The Bouquet & Garter Toss

The Photo Booth Take 1

Photo Booth Take 2

Tying the Knot: Let the Party Begin

After our very emotional dance with our moms I was happy to have all the stressful/anxious/unsure moments of our wedding out of the way. Now it was time to party! And party we did!

Our wedding was an absolute blast! I loved that we had a small guest list of our closest family and friends because it made the whole night so much fun. The dance floor was packed most of the night and I'm so happy with our choice in DJ as he played great music and took requests from J & I plus the wedding party really well the whole night.

We literally danced all night. J got to sing his beloved "Don't Stop Believin'" at the top of his lungs as we all joined him and his guy friends brought back some high school memories with an awesome rendition of "Wasting My Time". At one point our groomsmen started the infamous conga line/train weaving throughout the room, we had a dance-off circle where people danced in the center (including an appearance of the worm!) and we all linked arms when "Sweet Caroline" played.

Literally such a blast! And we're not even half way through the night yet!

All photos courtesy of Ignite Images.

Next up: Cake Cutting

Need to catch up?

First we got ready

Then it was time for The Dress

Lovely bridesmaid photos

Our sweet Ollie pup

Handsome groomsmen photos

The Bride & Groom portraits

Our First Touch before the ceremony

Small wedding details

The start of our Ceremony (Readings & Ring Warming)

We're finally Husband & Wife

Formal family & wedding party photos

How we remembered missing family

Our pictures as Mr & Mrs

Our First Dance

Reception Dinner & Toasts

Dancing with our Moms

Tying the Knot: Mom's Dance

The last and final part of the evening that had me a little apprehensive because of my Dad not being there was our family dances. Between a bride's walk down the aisle and a very important dance, there was definitely some consideration and sadness and fear and anxiety that came along with these two parts of our wedding. 

I also don't have a step-dad or uncle or grandpa that could have stepped in instead so J and I decided to do one dance together with our moms. So following the toasts, the four of us went out to the dance floor and shared a few minutes dancing to Carolina in My Mind by James Taylor. Without question this would have been the song I picked to dance to with my Dad had he been there because it's just so totally him, us, my family, so it was just the perfect song to play. 

This was definitely one of the toughest parts of our wedding for me personally. Well and I guess for my mom too. Not more than 5 seconds into the song the tears started flowing and let me tell you, they were the Ugly kind. But I cherish those moments I had with her out on the dance floor, holding her hand, feeling like a little girl again at least a little bit. It was so very special to both of us to share that dance together.

Meanwhile, J and his mom are spinning and twirling and laughing having no idea what's happening on the other side of the dance floor. Ce la vie, I guess?

All photos courtesy of Ignite Images.

Next up: It's Party Time

Need to catch up?

First we got ready

Then it was time for The Dress

Lovely bridesmaid photos

Our sweet Ollie pup

Handsome groomsmen photos

The Bride & Groom portraits

Our First Touch before the ceremony

Small wedding details

The start of our Ceremony (Readings & Ring Warming)

We're finally Husband & Wife

Formal family & wedding party photos

How we remembered missing family

Our pictures as Mr & Mrs

Our First Dance

Reception Dinner & Toasts

Tying the Knot: Dinner & Toasts

After our first dance J and I took the time to quickly welcome our guests, tell them all how happy we were to have them all there, thank them for coming, and start the night of celebration. Then it was time for dinner!

To help save on cost, we opted for a buffet style dinner for our guests. We had a pasta station where guests could customize their meals, half-orders of Asiago chicken, fresh garden salads, roasted veggies and warm breads. Overall, all our guests loved the food choices we made and many went back for seconds. One of the things that I loved most about our catering company is that they personally brought food to J and I before anyone else was allowed to visit the buffet. One big piece of advice I kept getting for the wedding was to make sure we both ate and drink enough so this gave us both a chance to actually eat our meals (even though feeling under the weather kept us both from eating very much) without having to get up and chat with guests first. The staff then "released" the rest of the tables to go up to the buffet and it really went a lot smoother than I thought it would.

After all the tables had gotten through the buffet and we had eaten all we felt like, we had a chance to walk around to each individual table and personally talk to each guest. I loved that we had the time to do this and that our guest list was small enough to be able to see everyone. I would have hated it if we hadn't gotten to see everyone that took the time to attend our wedding.

Then the night seamlessly flowed into the toasts portion of the evening and I loved every part of it!

J's Best Man was up first and had us both pretty nervous at first when he and another groomsmen both walked up to the mic. I immediately looked to J and said "Uh oh, do you know what's going on?!" and got even more unsure when a homemade guitar emerged from a black trash bag!  These guys are quite the hoot, let me tell you. Thankfully the guitar was just a joke, he strummed it a few times before putting it away and starting into his real speech.

Next up was my Maid of Honor. She has been my best friend for so many years and spoke wonderfully about our friendship and all the adventures we'd been through together throughout the years. She talked about J and my relationship and how happy she was for the both of us for finding one another. On accident she ended up going to the stage without a drink but played it off well, borrowing a glass of water from a nearby table.

My mom, the Mother of the Bride, followed my MOH and did a fantastic job! This was also one of the parts of the night that threw in another tricky situation without having my Dad there but my mom handled it so well. She read one of my Dad's favorite quotes about love, by Katharine Hepburn and it was absolutely perfect, bringing many of our guests as well as myself to tears.

Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - 

Only with what you are expecting to give -

Which is everything.

And finally, J's mom, the Mother of the Groom, spoke to us and our guests. She had some wonderful things to say about us as a couple and definitely made us all laugh a few times. She spoke about always telling J when he was growing up that it takes a good man to know how to dance. Such a funny and unique piece of advice and quite frankly, something J took to heart and one of the reasons I love him. Our first date was actually line dancing and in the years since he's definitely showed me his moves!

All photos courtesy of Ignite Images.

Next up: Dancing with our Moms

Need to catch up?

First we got ready

Then it was time for The Dress

Lovely bridesmaid photos

Our sweet Ollie pup

Handsome groomsmen photos

The Bride & Groom portraits

Our First Touch before the ceremony

Small wedding details

The start of our Ceremony (Readings & Ring Warming)

We're finally Husband & Wife

Formal family & wedding party photos

How we remembered missing family

Our pictures as Mr & Mrs

Our First Dance