2nd Anniversary

Another year in the books as Mr and Mrs and what a year it's been! 

We celebrated by getting dressed up, leaving the babe at home with Gram and his auntie and spending some time together as husband and wife. The weather was freezing, single digits and snowing, and we were so thankful it was a milder day two years before for our actual wedding. We drove to downtown Littleton and stopped at the Tavern for a drink at the bar. We chatted about the last year, about college football, about how we're both so thankful to be off the dating scene, about people we know and how lucky we feel. Then we headed to The Melting Pot to stuff ourselves silly with all the cheese, lobster tails, fancy cocktails and chocolate we could fit in our bellies. We shared our dinner entries, eves-dropped on the high school kids next to us, smiled and laughed and enjoyed our glass of champagne courtesy of our awesome server. 

It was the first time we had left Mark for his normal bedtime and while I missed him like crazy since he's always been a great baby whenever we take him out, it was so nice to valet the car and not have to lug the carseat with us, to not replace his paci a gazillion times, to enjoy dinner without having to bounce while eating one handed. And while we're always going to be parents now and he came up in our conversations throughout the night, spending some time as adults together was exactly what we needed. And what better reason to get out than for such a joyous occasion. 

J, 
You are my rock, my best friend, my greatest support and the best daddy to our sweet son. I am so thankful I get to do life with you, walk side by side with you and share in all the adventures with you. You have helped me become my best self and I hope you know how much I love you. Thank you for creating an amazing life for us, for taking care of me and for always being the best man I know. Here's to year two and everything amazing it brought with it.

Wedding Weekend

Summer time undoubtedly brings with it wedding season and this past Saturday J and I attended our first wedding of the summer together. One of my favorite med school gals tied the knot at a gorgeous golf course tucked in the hills on a perfectly sunny afternoon. It was a perfect day filled with the celebration of love with close friends. She was a beautiful bride, their ceremony brought tears to many, their silly yellow lab (who also happens to be Ollie's girlfriend) even took part and we had a blast celebrating with them. Not to mention it was a fantastic opportunity for our big group to get together and have some fun!

I love going to weddings, especially with my husband as my date. Watching the groom get tears in his eyes as he read his vows to his bride reminds me of the love J expressed to me so perfectly on our big day. Watching smiles erupt from the newlyweds faces as their announced for the first time as Mr & Mrs while the same exit song plays that we picked for that moment brings back the butterflies I felt. Slow dancing to our first dance song for the first time since our own reception made the rest of the room fall away where it felt like it was just J and I on that dance floor again. 

Marriage has been both the toughest and the most rewarding thing I've ever been a part of and I am so thankful I get to go through life with my husband by my side. I was reminded how special a love like this, a marriage like this, a life like this truly is. I can't say enough congratulations to the new bride and groom as they start on this new journey together and I am thankful to have been included in their big day.

1st Year Anniversary

Some how it's already been a year and what a year it's been!

A year since I married the man of my dreams. 

A year since we said "I do" and promised ourselves to each other forever. 

A year in which I've grown to love J even more. 

A year where we've struggled, triumphed, cried, laughed and grown together. 

We celebrated with a mountain get-away, the perfect escape from the post-holiday stress, constant to-do list and approaching new semester. It was like a do-over mini-honeymoon since I was so sick a year ago. 

We napped and watched movies. 

We ordered bottles of wine with dinner. 

We soaked in the hot tub and ate new wedding cake. 

We sipped champagne cozied up on the couch in a warm condo.

We played in the snow and raced down a snow hill. 

We fell even more in love. 

It was the perfect 1st anniversary celebration, nothing fancy but filled to the brim with love.

I still can't believe this is what we were up to on December 29, 2012.

Dear J, 

People always told me that I would love you more and more and I never thought it was possible. How could I possibly love you more than I did at our perfect wedding? And then the last year went by and I realized how wrong I was. I found a new love for you, a love that warms my soul, a love that I hold in my heart, a love that comforts me every second of every day. Thank you for making me your wife and sharing in this life with me. Here’s to a fabulous first year of marriage, a bright future on the horizon and so many more memories to make.

Wedding Weekend

This past weekend was filled to the brim with wedding festivities and it was such a blast! J and I feel so blessed to know Jenna and Jordan and to have taken part in their big day. Between the rehearsal on Thursday night, a girls salon day Friday and the fabulous wedding day itself, this past weekend was filled to the brim with love and good wishes for the new couple. 

All these pictures were taken either by me or by other people in the wedding and make me so excited to see the professional ones. This was the first wedding J and I have been to since our own and we both definitely had tears in our eyes throughout the night remembering just how wonderful marriage truly is!

nails day with the girls // the only picture of me & my hubs from the whole night // the gorgeous bride

 married in Pine, CO // such a stunning venue

To quote Jenna's amazing maid of honor....

You should never lie, cheat, steal or drink. But if you must lie, lie together. If you must cheat, cheat death. If you must steal, steal kisses. And if you must drink, drink with the friends and family that love you most. 

Bachelorette & Dancing Filled Weekend

This past weekend I joined a dozen other ladies to celebrate in a bachelorette weekend for my great friend Jenna. It seems so long ago that her and I first met when we had just started dating our husbands (or husbands-to-be) and now her wedding weekend is upon us!

We spent the weekend sipping adult beverages, hanging out by the pool, making new friends and enjoying two fantastic suites in a hotel downtown. We stuffed ourselves at dinner, danced the night away at a country bar and were thankful Jenna didn't make us wear tu-tus like the other bridal party we saw! It was such a fun weekend even if we were all feeling it the next morning. All these ladies are so awesome and now I cannot wait for the festivities to continue.

Happy bachelorette Jenna, thank you for letting me be a part of your celebration and big day!

Tying the Knot: Post-Wedding Bouquet

I absolutely loved my bouquet for the wedding and knew I wanted to do something with it post-wedding instead of just tossing it in the trash. Especially since J and I decided not to use flowers in any of our wedding decor, the personal flowers we did get were that much more special. 

After the wedding was over my mom went to the venue the next day to pick up all our "stuff" and included in it was my bouquet that had kindly been placed in water overnight. For the rest of our stay at home it stayed in water in the fridge to keep it fresh. Once it made the trip back to San Diego I decided to hang it from fishing line in our coat closet to let it dry. It stayed in there quite a long time, mostly due to the fact that I forgot it was up there. Oops :-) 

Once it was completely dried I started on the project I was envisioning. I made a quick trip to Bed Bath & Beyond to get a pretty vase as well as some potpourri scents to mix in. I carefully untied the ribbon from around the stems and clipped both flowers and greens into a big bowl. I left some of the roses intact and separated others into individual petals. When I had enough to fill the vase I added about 20 drops of the lavender oil and gave it a quick, careful mix. 

I filled the vase, strategically placing certain items along the edges to be featured and then placed it on a shelf above our entertainment center along with our cake topper and lots of my favorite photos. The lavender oil makes it smell fabulous and now I have a memory from our wedding that I can see every day.

So tell me, what did you do with your bouquet after the wedding? Toss it? Save it? 

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: Photo Booth Take 2

Candid photos are some of my very favorite photos ever. Photos where you can be goofy, show your personality, that aren't too posed or formal. So during our reception J and I made a point to hit the photo booth ourselves quite a few times. 

Both together and with our guests these photos show what a blast we had the whole night celebrating our new marriage,  the endless amounts of love we have for one another and the support we have from our favorite people. 

Like our typical selves, J and I made sure to let all the fun and goofy out in these photos too which I absolutely love!

All photos courtesy of Ignite Images.

Next up: Dancing the night away

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