30 Years

 Today is my parents 30th wedding anniversary!  30 years of marriage, isn't that amazing?  I'm very proud of them, to me this is an admirable milestone.  I am so grateful for all that they've taught me, and I want to recognize and share their lasting, loving union, and celebrate their commitment to each other.

Congratulations Mom & Dad, we love you!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my handsome husband!  I'm so happy you are in my life.  It's been just 5 months since we were married, and I can't wait for all the months and years to follow!    

We'll be celebrating with a birthday dinner tonight  at comfort food restaurant of his choosing - just the two of us.  Can't wait to celebrate you!  

I love you, love you!  

Quote of the Week

I'm still in a blissful wedding daze and thus not quite ready to return to my regular postings about ordinary things.. so on this happy Friday, I leave you with an Irish wedding blessing I love that we included in our wedding program.

You are the star of each night,

You are the brightness of every morning,

You are the story of each guest,

You are the report of every land.

No evil shall befall you, on hill nor bank,

In field or valley, on mountain or in glen.

Neither above, nor below, neither in sea,

Nor on shore, in skies above,

Nor in the depths.

You are the kernel of my heart,

You are the face of my sun,

You are the harp of my music,

You are the crown of my company.

~ Irish Wedding Blessing

image/www.agirlandacameraphotography.com

via bloom

Happy Birthday Mom!

To the best mom in the universe, Happy Birthday!! Hope you a fantastic day! Excited to celebrate with you tonight over gourmet pizza and wine! Here's to another great year full of fun, laughter, and happy memories.

{Mom and the girls at Disneyland, 1989}

Quote of the Week

"Where there is love, there is life."

~ Gandhi

image/maryruffle

Snow Day

Today was a "snow day," if you can even call it that. Scattered flurries and dustings on and off for a few days constitutes a snow day, right? My fiance took the day off and we enjoyed the entire day off together. It was fabulous!

Our agenda didn't consist of anything out of the ordinary; we ran a few errands, picked out his birthday to me (a darling pair of Kate Spade sunglasses), made dinner together (salmon with pesto-butter, yum!), and watched a few episodes of Season 1 of The Wire. All in all, a perfect Thursday, albeit so much better because it was all in good company.

image/maryruffle

Eggcellent

Who doesn't love heart shaped food, right? Here's simple how-to make a heart-shaped hard boiled egg via Anna The Red.

Wouldn't this be an egg-cellent surprise to find in your fridge?...sorry I couldn't resist!

images/annathered

Hot Dog of a Valentine's Day

My fiance and I have a tradition of doing a low-key night out for Valentine's Day, which I love! Throughout most of HS and college, I've spent many a Valentine's Day single. Rather than chocolates, roses, and the like, I'd spend my lovey dovey night watching movies or doing takeout with my best girlfriends as opposed to a significant other in years past, I appreciate all the pink and red of the holiday but was never big about going out for a fancy Valentine's night meal.

Therefore, B & I have started our own tradition - a casual dinner and a movie. Two years ago we dined at our favorite burger joint - Red Mill, last year we were in Cabo and enjoyed nachos and fish tacos on the beach, and this year we hit up Po Dog in the University District. (Added bonus: this counts are New Restaurant #4 in my restaurant challenge!)

They have every kind of crazy hot dog you can imagine - mac & cheese, PB & J dog, fajitas dog, even a wasabi-egg roll dog. We tried some unique dogs, but we were not THAT adventurous.

French fries and deep fried pickles to start.

My Dub-T dog; cheese sauce layered with crushed potato chips, ketchup, and mustard. The potato chips gave the dog a satisfying crunch, super yummy!

B in true MidWest form ordered the Chicago dog, topped with peppers, onions, tomatoes, spicy deli mustard, and relish. We capped off the evening with The Kings Speech, very good!

Happy Valentine's Day my love!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone out there! While this was never a favorite holiday of mine, it has grown on me substantially since I became a teacher. The magic of sharing valentines just shines with a new luster in the eyes of 7 and 8-year olds. We'll be having our Valentine's Day party today; decorating cookies, playing musical chairs, and delivering valentines to respective classmates. Looking forward to an afternoon of pink and red, and lots of sugar!

Last year we were in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico over Valentines Day, but the year previous we V-Day dinner at our favorite gourmet burger place in Seattle, which was refreshingly low key but still fun and romantic. This year, he surprised me with a bouquet of beautiful flowers and a sweet card yesterday when I came home from running errands. We'll be doing dinner and a movie tonight, details TBD.

Happy Valentine's Day!

image/marvelouskiddo

New Orleans Recap

Well my blog friends, I have to tell you: thank you so much for the blog comments of ideas on what to do and where to go for our trip for New Orleans. I didn't even buy a guide book as planned! Seriously! I received so many comments with helpful hints, suggestions, and recommendations, we were thrilled to just go off of friendly advice - and we ended up with a fun-filled, action packed trip.


Of course New Orleans is all about the food, and I tried to sample as much "N'Awlins" flavors as possible; po boys, gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, king cake, praline candy, beignets...the list goes on. Needless to say we were stuffed all weekend!


Here's a photo recap of our adventure in New Orleans.

Colorful architecture

Beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde

St. Louis cathedral and Jackson square

touristy but worthwhile buggy ride through the French Quarter

Buying a seasonal "king cake" at Southern Candymakers

Bourbon Street at night.

Dinner at the amazing bistro, Mr. B.'s

Trolley ride on the St. Charles line to the Garden District

Walking through Tulane University's campus

fantastic street musicians

trying out hand at Mardi Gras costumes

Good times!

Jump for Joy!

I'm so excited, we have a date and a venue!!! We will be getting married next fall, in October 2011. A lovely little fall wedding! I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Now I can relax and enjoy the planning process...and start shopping for dresses (the fun part!). Thank you Mom & Dad for making this happen!

image/sacramentostreet

Baby Love

One of my best friends Sarah had her beautiful baby girl last Friday. Her lovely little name is Olivia Rose - isn't she darling?! I'm so excited to meet her. Sarah and I have been friends since middle school, I can't believe she's a mom!!

Miss Olivia arrived bright and early on black Friday (the biggest shopping day of the year). The family is already teasing she was born to be a shopper just like her mama! Welcome to the world Olivia!

The Engagement Story

Okay, time for the details!! I'm still floating on Cloud 9 thinking about the fact that I'M ENGAGED!!!!!!! It's been a whirlwind 48 hours of pure bliss.

So, the morning of the engagement, it was a gorgeous, crisp Saturday - no rain clouds in sight, but a touch of wind. He and I went to my favorite French bakery for a late breakfast and picked up some croissants to take later for a picnic at the park. We drove to Carkeek Park (for those of you who aren't familiar - this is a beautiful park in North Seattle that has a little bit of everything, wooded trails through the forest, beach access to Puget Sound, and stunning bluffs that overlook the mountains all in one).

First we took a stroll down to the beach, but the windy was blowing so crazy, I felt like we were going to blow away. (I later found out, he had wanted to propose on the beach, but the wind had kind of "blown" that plan - haha, pun intended).

So we continued back up through the picturesque trails, chatting and walking hand in hand with our coffees. We walked up this steep trail to a beautiful clearing that overlooked the sea, the mountains - and it was in a protected nook so we were sheltered from the blustery wind. We sat down on one of the picnic benches and ate our croissants and talked, and just as we were about to leave, he stopped and said, "Before we go, I need to ask you a question." Now he says my eyes went WIDE and I froze, as he got down on one knee and told me all these wonderful lovey-dovey things and then popped the big question, "Will you marry me?"

Of course I said yes, and he took my glove off and put the gorgeous ring on my finger. It was so exciting and overwhelming, I started smiling and don't think I've stopped since. I surprisingly didn't cry, but I think I was just so stunned and excited I didn't even think of it! We hugged and kissed and hugged some more, and then ran to the warm car to call everyone.

The best part was after we shared our big news, we came back to our house where he had flowers and champagne waiting, and we just got to kick back and enjoy our new status as "engaged fiances," for a few hours all to ourselves. Later, we went out to a romantic dinner at one of our favorite restaurants and then met up with friends to celebrate at another friend's birthday party.

It truly was the best day, and I'm so excited for what lies ahead!! Thanks for all the kind wishes and excited reactions - we am so lucky in love and couldn't be happier!!

image/maryruffle

I'm Engaged!!!

I'm engaged, it's true! My boyfriend popped the question Saturday afternoon on our day date around Seattle. I'm just bursting with happiness, excitement, and joy!!! The entire day was AMAZING, truly the best day ever. Later that evening, we got to celebrate our news with a few close friends - and it was exciting see see my friends' thrilled reactions!! (Also, I can't stop staring at my shiny ring)...More details to follow soon!

image/sweetnothings

Flashmob

I just can't resist a flashmob! Love this!

via thoughtsfromthegirlnextdoor

Love the Weekend

So excited for the weekend to begin! Tomorrow two of my good friends are getting hitched - congrats to Alex & Anna! Can't wait for the big day. Sunday, I'm going pumpkin picking and apple cider tasting with my boy, followed by dinner with Dad. Should be a fun, festive fall weekend!

What are you up to?

image/naturally nina

Happy 80th!

This weekend was a celebratory one in my family, it was my grandma's 80th birthday. In her honor, my parents organized a party-filled weekend where all our family and friends flew in from all over to Seattle to celebrate 80 fabulous years with our Nonie. It was such a fun-filled weekend, full of reminiscing, old photos, and laughter together. Also, since we have many June birthdays in our family, we were able to celebrate a few others during the weekend as well, my grandpa, uncle, and cousin!

Happy Birthday Nonie! We love you!

image/maryruffle

Pop Pop Pop

My boyfriend is Mr. Jalapeno Popper, he loves those spicy things more than words can describe. In light of all the pub food and we've been devouring while cheering on the World Cup games, I saw this little contraption and knew it's be love at first sight. A Jalapeno Pepper Roaster - the ultimate do-it-yourself jalapeno popper maker. Jackpot! Christmas has come early this year babe!

image/williamsonoma

Happy Mothers Day!

To the funniest, silliest, hip-to-the-real world mom in the world,
Happy Mother's Day!
You're the best! I love you!

Happy Birthday Babe! ♥

It's my boyfriends birthday today! Happy birthday to him! He's a dedicated reader of my blog, and reads it every morning before he heads off to work...so here's a message for my most devoted reader: Love you babe, I'm so happy you're in my life. I love you, love you! ♥♥♥
image/iamblessed