i'm still here!

it has been way too long since my last post, i know.  we moved into our new house just two weeks ago, and decided to take a little hiatus from cable and internet, but i wanted to just give you a quick little update while i could -- and while i have 10 minutes online at the in-laws! 

no pictures yet, but the house is coming along!  i've started working on a few projects and i cannot wait to share them with you!  jonathan and i started painting yesterday - we finished the dining room and it looks fabulous, if i do say so myself!  i'm still waiting on some fabric swatches to make a final decision on the fabrics for the dining chairs and dining room curtains. more on that here.

we love where we live. l.o.v.e.  it is an urban area and very different from our home in lexington, but i've always been drawn to urban life, and jonathan has been really excited about the change of pace. we love our neighborhood and have the friendliest neighbors ever.  seriously.  everyone knows everyone and every family looks different one from the next.  i love being around people that are different than me. then there's the whole big city thing, and well, i have, and probably always will have, a fascination and love affair with big bustling cities, so i couldn't be happier about that. 

all in all we are happy. happy and blessed and excited to see what God is going to do in our new little corner of the world. 

i'll be back in full swing in a couple weeks!  see you then!

my husband is cuter than your husband

sorry, but he just is.

so, as i mentioned here, yesterday was our anniversary.  in the midst of a truly crazy week - both of us wrapping up our last week at work, and getting ready to move this saturday - we decided not to spend any money on one another and just postpone our anniversary celebration until after we are all moved in and settled in our new place.  well,  for one, i'm so proud of him for sticking to it and not spending any money - he usually goes big when it comes to gifts/holidays - and second...remember the part where i said he was cute? yeah? well, here's proof::

 (please ignore the packing mess in the background.)

see, i told you he was cute.

if you only knew how un-artistic (self admittedly) my husband is, then you would really appreciate this card.  he says the heart on the back (his "trademark" - ha!) looks like a butt...and...uh...it kinda does. 

best. card. ever.

to top it all off, after i had been packing and cleaning all day, at about 3pm, he told me to stop packing and get dressed, he was taking me on a picnic (i.heart.picnics.) so i did just that and with our pup in tow, we went to the park and had a fantastic, sun-lit anniversary meal.  for us, it was the perfect no-cost anniversary celebration. 

i love my husband.

 p.s. - sorry if you don't like the cheese and the mush. it's just who i am. ;)  i was dubbed "the cheesy one" from my 3 former, beloved, jersey roommates...and, let me tell you, it only got worse after i got married.

winning

no, but really - i won something!!  check it out::

i entered a giveaway at the Fabulous 50's Housewife blog and i won!!!

lucky for one of you, the giveaway comes with strings attached -- jonathan and i have to read it, sign it and pass it along to another blogger, who will keep the tradition going.  so, i'll let you know how it is, and maybe you'll be the next lucky reader. :)

i feel like a million bucks.  i never win anything.

one year ago today

one year ago today i woke up, still in a dream, surrounded by my best girl friends.  still in my pj's we drove to a place that will forever be special to me, where i wrote a letter to the man of my dreams,

had my hair and makeup fixed,

read a letter from the man of my dreams,

and put on a pretty white dress.

i posed for a few pictures with my girls,

and i walked down an aisle.

i took my fiance's hand,

 and stood before God, our family and friends, and vowed to love, comfort, and cherish him and to remain by his side through all of life's trials and uncertainties. i promised to remain faithful to him and to prize him above all others. i promised to honor, support, trust and follow him as i follow Christ, for as long as we both shall live.

***

one year ago today, my husband woke up, surrounded by his best friends, and drove to a place that will forever hold such dear memories.  he put on a tux,

read a letter from his fiancee,

took some pictures with his best friends,

and got ready to meet his bride.  he stood by the pastor, and watched as i walked down the aisle.

he took my hand,

 and vowed, before God, our family and friends, to love and comfort me, to remain beside me through all of life's trials and uncertainties.  he vowed to remain faithful to me and to prize me above all others, to honor, guide, protect and lead me as Christ leads him, for as long as we both shall live.

we said "i do",  kissed our first kiss as husband and wife,

and walked away to start our new life together.

***

it feels close to impossible to put this last year, our first year, into words.  God has given us much, and has blessed us in ways i never knew were possible.  He has been faithful to us, and has taught us much through one another. i am ever humbled, and amazed, thankful and blessed to be able to call this man my husband. 

i am happy. i am thankful. i am blessed.

jonathan beverly, i love you! thank you for an amazing first year of marriage. here's to another year, and to the rest of our lives. 

pictures by grey door photography.

theoretically speaking

if you were going to be moving into a cute new house, and you were going to inherit an awesome new dining set, and you were planning to paint the table white and the chairs gray, and you chose this fabric for the new curtains, in your new dining room::

and you wanted to recover the seats with a different, yet coordinating pattern, and you really liked these two options::

which would you choose?  or would you decide that two pattern in one room wasn't a good idea and just go with a solid fabric for the seats?  theoretically speaking, of course.

(pic credits:: 1, 2, 3)

what i've been up to...

exhibit a::

 exhibit b::

exhibit c::

try not to be too jealous.

meds. water. coffee. repeat.

i've heard that if you are going to be a successful blogger you need to post at least once a week -- and so i've made it my very own personal goal to do so.  it has, however, been over a week since my last post.  (oops!)

life is a bit crazy here, as you can imagine, i've been busy packing, sorting and organizing (t-minus 11 days til the big move - yikes!). jonathan is finishing up his current semester with grad school, and wrapping things up at the high school where he teaches.  then, to throw a wrench in the craziness, i've been a bit under the weather.  i'm still not exactly sure what this little bout with sickness is - a "bug" i've been told (a little vague, eh?) - but i do know that i'm over it.  so, today, i'm home, still in my pj's, curled up on the couch, with my ice coffee and my looooong list of blogs to catch up on.  if only i didn't feel like pooh, this might just be a perfect morning.

so,  soon i'm sure perhaps i'll have more interesting things to report on, but for now, if you need me, i'll be on my couch - downing meds, bottled water, and coffee.  (coffee makes everything better.)