Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Featured on Style Me Pretty!

I am so excited! Today our wedding is being featured on Style Me Pretty, one of the most well-known wedding blogs there is! When Sarah Culver (our awesome photographer!) passed along the good news, I could have cried! Planning a wedding is really, really hard turns out. And not only that, but creating a wedding with a consistent and unique "feel" throughout it is even harder. I'm really proud of all the work that my family, friends, and vendors put into making this day beautiful. It makes the feature that much more special. Take a look at the full post here: http://www.stylemepretty.com/2012/10/30/maryland-diy-wedding-from-sarah-culver-photography/

Also, we've been married for four months today, and this was the perfect gift!

Monday, October 29, 2012

Halloween 2012. Corpse Bride and Groom.

Right now I'm cuddled in at home steering clear of the "Frankenstorm," and it seemed like just the right time to share our Halloween costumes with you. We originally thought we would go as Fred and Wilma Flintstone (costumes are always easier when you have the right hair color), but we changed our minds as we perused the thrift store and found a legit (and new!) wedding dress. Corpse bride and groom! Of course! Being that it's still our "wedding year," we figured we would live up the role as bride and groom one more time. I watched a dead make-up tutorial on Pinterest, and after a few squirts of fake blood, our costumes were complete. It was super easy, and my favorite part was having strangers in Annapolis ask me if it was my real wedding dress. Also, how cute are my sister and Sam? They went as a Mermaid and Merman!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

February Vacation.

In February we're taking an 8 day vacation to California and we've mapped our trip to stay in LA, Palm Springs, San Diego, and Baja for two nights each. As we've planned, it's been a priority to stay in spaces that we love (while also affordable), and I am thrilled with our choices! We just booked our final destination in Baja today and I am so excited about it that I had to share. I can't wait to document our times at these places. It's going to be so much fun, and such a nice break from the winter coldness that'll be happening here. Take a look!

LA:
 

San Diego:
 

 
We're so excited! I can't stop looking at these pictures!

Monday, October 22, 2012

A Weekend of Good Eating.

A lot of kitchen conquering took place this weekend (with lots of easy recipes listed below)! 
 

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Butler's Orchard.

I woke up today feeling like it might be Christmas. I think it had something to do with the fact that it was cool enough to sleep in a sweatshirt and sweatpants, and that we had a completely free day to spend however we liked. Such a rarity for us! We hopped down to Rockville for brunch at Founding Farmers before heading out to Butler's Orchard. We get our Christmas tree there every year which also might have contributed to my Christmas excitement. We came away with $20 worth of pumpkins, homemade caramels, and a bushel of apples to make a pie tonight. Thank goodness the Christmas trees weren't for sale yet because I just might have had to come away with one!

Monday, October 15, 2012

Sunday evening.

After a leisurely lunch of pork roast, and way too much chocolate fondue at Aaron's parents house, we headed back to Capitol Hill for the lovliest little evening. We took a long walk around our neighborhood, ran into the Capitol Hillbillies band playing on East Capitol Street, and decided to watch the dogs and families play in Lincoln Park over a picnic dinner. The weather was that perfect temperature where you're neither too hot or too cold, and we laughed as we watched several dogs actually bark up trees. I'm thankful for nights like these, and so happy with our neighborhood.

photos taken via iPhone

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Natalie and Derek's Wedding.

Aaron and I had such a nice weekend a few weeks ago celebrating the marriage of my dear friend Natalie. I wrote more about it here, but I wanted to share a picture of us. My sister asked me if I was wearing white stockings, and the answer to that question is no, although I know you must be shocked.


Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Locked Out.

This is the story of our night.


A date! Good food! Happiness!


 ...And then we realized we locked our keys inside.

Monday, October 1, 2012

What we've learned in 3 months of marriage.

Yesterday marked 3 months of marriage for us! Holy cow it's gone fast. I know they say times flies when you're having fun, but it sure would have been nice if our engagement could have felt this quick when we had three months to go. Those were the looongest days ever. But now, the days and weeks pass ever so quickly. That doesn't mean we're having fun every.single.second, but it does seem like every.single.second is that much better because I am married to Aaron. I don't think I've had any earth-shattering, life-changing realizations about marriage yet, but I have learned a thing or two about Aaron, and myself, and most days I'm just glad I haven't died from happiness. Here's what I've learned so far!

1. I don't need as much alone time as I thought. It's been interesting to find that my introverted alone-time-loving self is much more content and energized when hanging out with Aaron. We do spend plenty of time in quiet, but I much prefer being with him than being alone these days.

2. Aaron's legs are hotter than the surface of the sun during the night. This is potentially an exaggeration, but an entirely real circumstance I encounter almost nightly. Those babies get HOT, and I constantly need the air turned down and the fan blowing if I want to get any sleep at all.

3. Going on runs with another person is nice. I didn't think I would like running with someone else, mostly because I'm not THAT good at running (you know, like good enough to talk), but since Aaron IS good at running he tells me stories about the Navy and other smart things while I huff and puff and feel safe beside him.

4. We like routine. Whether it's what we do when we get ready for work, or the same exact bike ride we go on every time, I've discovered that we both really really love routine. I had always considered myself a spontaneous type, but in actuality I think I really do love routine. And most of all the ones we have together.

5. I want to get married every day. It's not that I want another wedding (noooo, thanks!), but I do want to choose Aaron as my husband each and every single day. The jump-out-of-your-skin as you walk down the aisle to the person you love the most is the best thing in the world, and it's even better when you wake up next to them and feel the very same thing.


I asked Aaron to write what he's learned, too.

1. I love normalcy. I spent the last five years wishing for something normal. Before I met Jill, that meant simply not having to worry about being called in for duty, being sent underway on short notice, and so many other things. When Jill and I were dating long distance it also meant having dinner with her on a Tuesday night, going on weeknight bike rides, and not having to drive four hours to see her on the weekends. Three months in, this is the most joyful state of being I have ever experienced.
 
2. Jill thinks that if she’s awake in the middle of the night, I should be too. And soon after she has this thought, I am.
 
3. I have SO MUCH MORE to learn about Jill. It’s so easy to think that I know everything about my best friend with whom I spend nearly all of my non-working hours, but daily she surprises me. In such good ways. Whether it’s a reaction to something I didn’t expect, or a suggestion she makes to do something I didn’t think she’d be interested in, she’s always shattering my notions about her. I love knowing her, and I love learning everything I can. I’m so excited I’ll never stop learning new things!*
 
4. One of our favorite hobbies: creating new nicknames for each other. And they would all be (and have been, when discovered) very embarrassing if they got out.
 
5. Living in a tiny apartment makes avoiding conflict nearly impossible. And I’m not entirely sure that’s a bad thing. When we have a fight or have hurt one another’s feelings we have physically no place to go to avoid each other. While it makes for some discomfort, it also forces us to fully reconcile to each other quickly. I love that, because if there is one relationship I want to be right, it’s this one.

This remains one of our favorite pictures ever.
*Aaron is so sweet, I promise I didn't make him write nice things about me.