Not The Marrying Kind...

Worming Around

2012-02-02T04:50:00.000-06:00

Peeps...I've been working hard on my list for 2012. I may not be winning with everything, but having more measurable goals for myself has made a difference. Number 26 on the list was to "Compost, compost, compost." I haven't been as great about this as I would have wished, but lately I've been getting into the swing of it.

I initially thought I was going to just collect my food scraps and take them to my job, since I run a composting initiative there. But taking nasty garbage to work isn't as fun as it sounds. A couple of weeks ago, though, things really turned around for me. I attended a workshop at the Garfield Park Conservatory (the same place we went on our 1st anniversary!) on worm composting. Besides learning about the ins and outs of worm composting (pun intended), you also got to build your own worm bin and they gave you a handful of worms to get your bin started.

Here's the thing: I actually have a worm bin at work. A colleague started a worm bin for our composting initiative. A while back, though, her job responsibilities changed and she no longer was working with me. I was stuck with the worm compost and I had no idea what to do with it.

Flash forward a few months to me in that workshop and, well, the entire time all I could think was I am a worm murderer. Seriously. I was not taking care of those worms AT ALL. I'm pretty sure I killed them all. Well, I know I didn't, because the day after the workshop I looked through the bin and found some, but I know for a fact that there used to be a ton of worms in there. Now there are a few. I'm going to harvest the remaining worms this week and start over and hopefully, they will breed and we'll get the bin going again the right way. Live and learn, I guess. (Well, kind of, because I was supposed to feed the new worms a couple of days after I got them and I freaking waited a whole week and a half because I kept forgetting. Don't worry. These worms didn't die. They had the initial stuff we loaded into the bin to munch on before I started adding food scraps.)

The new bin, I've kept at home. Technically, I was supposed to take it to my work and use it there, but honestly, it's better off at my home. I can take the compost to work instead. I'm getting better about putting scraps in as I get them and the worms are munching slowly but surely and turning my food scraps into "black gold." There are some limitations to worm composting that have made it so that I can't put all my scraps in there or all my paper, but for the most part this is a great way for us to be a little greener and for me to "work" from home. Here are some pictures from the workshop and some recent pictures of the worms working their asses off (again, pun intended) to give me a beautiful garden come spring. Enjoy the grossness!

Ollie is fascinated by the worm bin. He likes to sniff the air holes on the outside. He takes these deep snorty breaths right outside. It's kind of funny. He just can't figure out what is going on in there!

(Photos by me!)

Wedding Wednesday: Seating Charts

2012-02-01T04:50:00.000-06:00

How did/will you handle seating at your wedding? Our wedding was a mish mash of different sized tables and chairs, which sounds difficult to plan, but for whatever reason worked out perfectly! The wedding I attended last summer was very odd in that everyone sat at tables of six, but in these little alcoves. It was very isolating and you felt far removed from both the other guests and the bride and groom (they sat at a table in the middle of the room).

If you're working on making a seating chart right now and you weren't provided with a template by your venue (if you don't know if your vendor has one, ask! Many do and all you have to do is fill in the blanks), I'm loving this tutorial from Once Wed. So simple and, dare I say, pretty?

(Photo via Once Wed)

January's Books: A Classic Novella & A Bunch of Tricks

2012-01-31T04:50:00.000-06:00

One of the items on my list for this year is to read two books a month: a classic and a whatever I damn well please. Since I didn't finalize my list until a week or so into January, I decided I'd better go with something that wouldn't make me feel like a failure right off the bat. *I chose John Steinbeck's The Pearl for my classic and 101 Dog Tricks: Step by Step Activities to Engage, Challenge, and Bond with Your Dog by Kyra Sundance. Here are my thoughts (don't worry...they're brief).

The Pearl

I first read The Pearl my freshman year of high school. The only thing I remembered about this book is that the word poultice appears in it. Why? Because it appeared on a vocabulary quiz. Of all the words I learned in high school, this is the only one that sticks out. Weird. When I reached that part in my re-read, I smiled.

Other than that, reading this made me wonder why I don't read Steinbeck more often. It's such a simple tale that carries so much heft. And the language is beautiful. The writing is so terse, which always amazes me. As you know, I don't do brevity. : ) I also loved the character of Juana. Everyone talks about Kino, of course, but for me, it was all about the quiet ways in which she was so strong. So lovely. All in all, I'm glad I started off with this; I've been meaning to re-read it for a while.

101 Dog Tricks: Step by Step Activities to Engage, Challenge,

and Bond with Your Dog

This was an easy choice for my second. After all, teaching Ollie one rad trick is on my list, too. I looked through a number of books trying to figure out which one might be easiest for me to follow. A coworker had talked about The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan, a lot, but I felt like those books were a little more touchy feely and a little less here's how you can train your damn dog. I have to tell you that I love this book. I've been working on "sit" and "down" with Sir Oliver and it's going well. He's only five months old, so there's sometimes a little bit of cluelessness on his end, but the explicit directions they give and great photos are a huge help. They also give tips for what to do if your dog isn't quite getting it. Super helpful! Plus, in addition to all the standard commands, they have a ton of rad tricks like teaching your dog to get your slippers!! If you are getting a puppy or just want to teach your dog awesome tricks, I highly recommend this book.

And those are January's books. I'm thinking I'm going to have the same dilemma in terms of book length with February since it's a bit shorter (though it is a leap year). I will be completely honest that it was tough to fit in those two books and one was more of a flip-through than anything. So, again, I'm aiming small. I can expand to bigger, better books as my time frees up.

What did you read this month? Anything good? I'm always taking recommendations!

(The Pearl Book Cover via The Occasional; 101 Dog Tricks Book Cover via Barnes and Noble)

*I choose my books each month. Nobody pays me to read them, including John Steinbeck's estate. I am merely sharing what I read with the few peeps who read here. Just wanted to be clear.

Marriage Mondays: Single Girl Pressure vs. Married Girl Pressure

2012-01-30T04:50:00.000-06:00

Here's something I've been thinking about for a while: the difference between being single and married. Specifically the difference in how you feel pressured to meet others' expectations. For instance, when you are single, people are dying to know when you are going to get married. They are always asking you if you're seeing someone or thinking about someone they could set you up with. It seems like all they care about is whether you will ever get married.

Until you do...then the pressure shifts. Now, it's when are you having a baby? When are you going to buy a house? When are you going to move out of the city and really settle down?

You go from not being taken seriously to being told that it's time to get serious. It doesn't make any sense either way. How anyone thinks their business is your business is beyond me, but the pressure is there nevertheless.

We don't get a lot of baby questions except from my father. Still, the expectations are there, even if they are not constant. About six months after getting married, we had someone tell us that they had a ton of baby stuff for us to use in the next couple of years. The irony was that that couple had waited almost a decade into their marriage to have kids.

Being single means people think they control your love life. Being married means people think they control your uterus...and your real estate choices. We are desperate to get out of our place and we'd love to buy a house, but we are open to a condo, too. And as I've said before, we're staying in the city. There are a lot of questions about where we'll move and how big a place we will get. Why, you ask? The secret hidden agenda is that they want to know if there will be room for a baby. Or will we move to the suburbs.

The truth is that we like our lives just the way they are. Sure, we'd settle for less work, but we like sleeping in and eating whenever and staying up late. We like it and for now, it's all we want. We're not opposed to kids, we're just not in any rush. When the time is right, we'll do what is right for us. I just get sick of the pressure to want to want kids, like, now. Right away. I'm pretty good at dealing with the questions when they hit (and they do, on average 1-2 times monthly, depending on who I talk to in that month), but it does get old. I guess the way to look at it is to just be happy someone cares enough to ask. Even if you've answered many, many times before. : )

Did you feel single girl pressure? Do you feel married girl pressure now? How do you deal with it?

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Shifted Worlds and Blurred Vision

2012-01-26T04:50:00.000-06:00

I've been having some fun with my camera(s) and Photoshop lately. When the weather gets ice cold again, I have a photo project in mind. Then when it warms up again, I have a photography class to take! So that's exciting! But in the mean time, I am playing around with some fun, little things.

Bokeh filter (of sorts):

The cheat? I held those 3D looking glasses that you wear and when you look at any point of light, you see a certain image, which was a snowman, in this case. The neat thing is that you also get a nice vignette. Pretty. : )

Tilt-Shift:

Tilt-shift photos are those awesome photos that make the real world look like a model or diorama. Using this tutorial, I've been playing with some new and old photos. Here are the best ones so far.

Orlando Spring

Chicago Winter

(Photos by me!)

A Birthday (Trip to Milwaukee)

2012-01-24T04:50:00.001-06:00

Today is A.P.'s 32nd birthday. As I told him last week, there's no turning back. He's officially in his thirties. To celebrate his birthday, I surprised him with an overnight trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I made a fake travel brochure for him outlining all the things we would do while we were there. I made arrangements for my nephew to stay at our place and watch the animals. And then I lied. I lied my ass off all week and made him think that we were doing something Saturday and then something else on Sunday. This way he didn't make any plans, but he didn't know we were going out of town. I was worried though that we might have had to cancel since it snowed about five inches the night before. I decided, though, that weather, in this area anyway, is always going to be an issue. So I bit the bullet and decided we'd just go. Saturday, I packed a bag with clothes and told him we needed "supplies" for our "activity." It was pretty funny. Then when we got in the car, I gave him the brochure. He told me he better run upstairs and pack some clothes and I told him everything had been taken care of. I revealed the house sitter, the game plan, and then we were off!

Milwaukee is only about an hour and a half away from Chicago, so the drive goes by pretty quickly. Before know it, you're in another state and then another city with another view of the lake. I've been to Milwaukee a few times before, but not for a while and not enough to know what's cool or where to go, so it was a lot of fun to plan the trip.

We started out at the art museum, which is located right on the lakefront and is housed in the beautiful Quadracci Pavillion. Surprisingly, the museum houses some amazing works of art, including one of my favorites (the Josef Albers Homage to the Square - Early Rising seen below)

From there, we checked into our ultra-modern hotel room at Aloft Milwaukee Downtown. We checked out the room and rested up a bit.

Then, we took a short walk from our hotel on the River Walkway and headed to the one rad place I remember from my last visit: The Safe House. The Safe House is a spy bar and to get in, you have to know the secret password. And guess what? I didn't know it! I thought I did, but I didn't. No worries, though, if you don't know the password, they just make you do silly stuff, which the whole bar watches on a closed-circuit TV. We had to do one of those Russian-style high kick dance moves and go, "Hey!" at the end. Once inside, you find a bar and restaurant covered in spy paraphernalia and collectibles. It's so awesome. A.P. and I were lucky enough to sit in a little private room. There, we had a drink and took in the atmosphere. We even took some nice shots together using my Gorilla Pod (one of my kickass photography Christmas gifts). I also snuck into the women's bathroom, which has what looks like a stall but is actually a viewing area with a two-way glass. You can see people walking around outside, but they can't see you at all. So rad!

(View from inside the two way mirror room)

After The Safe House, we headed to The Rumpus Room, a gastropub in downtown Milwaukee. The food was delicious and according to A.P., so was the beer. Since we had plans to see a movie after and I was driving, I had the root beer, which was also delicious.

After dinner, we headed to Wauwatosa to the Rosebud Cinema to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Formerly the Tosa Theater, the Rosebud now offers super comfy seating in the form of various reclining chairs and love seats and sofas. It's awesome. It was like watching a movie on a huge screen from your living room. We curled up and enjoyed the late show. So fun!

The next day, we slept in and then headed down to the famous Brady Street for brunch at Balzac, a little French wine bar. Brunch was delicious! And after, walked around a bit. It was so fun, albeit a bit cold and rainy. We had plans to go to a lighthouse, but the weather wasn't cooperating, so after, we just headed home.

(Like my tilt-shift? I've been working on this a little lately in Photoshop. More on that later!)

It was such a fun little getaway and so very needed. We decided we're going to try to do some more mini-trips this year. They're a fun way to get away, but they don't cost a lot. And since we can't take a real, long vacation until the spring, it's nice to be able to still get out of town. Thanks for letting me share my photos with you! And please join me in wishing my wonderful husband a very, happy birthday!

(Photos by me!)

Marriage Mondays: Sometimes You Just Need a Break

2012-01-23T04:50:00.000-06:00

Hi all! Thanks for letting me take a break from blogging. It was much needed! I also wanted to thank you all for your nice comments. I'm glad there are people who like reading this blog. I sometimes get discouraged by little things and forget that there are still lots of people who do come here all the time and read what I have to write. And that's no small feat. Thanks for caring enough to swing by. It's really flattering and I sometimes forget how lucky I am that I have you. : )

That being said, today's post is all about how sometimes you just need a break...from anything and everything. Last week, I needed a break from everything and I felt like I can never seem to take one. I can never take vacations unless it's a slow time of year at my job. And so I just pound away at life and every once in a while, I just need a break.

I sometimes dream of running away, just me and nobody else, not even A.P., and going to a cabin in the woods or a house on a beach or lake. I dream of bringing a stack of books and some fun craft projects. I dream of taking walks and photographing everything and reading and cooking good meals and being alone with only myself. My whole life I've always felt this small, strange part of myself that feels the need to run. Does everyone have this or is this just me? When I read books like The Patron Saint of Liars or The Hours (a fantastic movie, too!), I relate to those women who have to escape. Sometimes everything just seems like too much and it makes me wonder if women of every generation have felt this way. I feel like we are so overwhelmed with life these days...work, relationships, kids, etc...that I feel like we never have time for just ourselves. We never have moments to breathe and be alone.

I lived alone for so many years and I feel like I'm never alone now. It's so understated how important it is to be alone in a marriage. I love A.P., but he is here all the time. When he moved here, he was friends with his ex's friends. Then he started dating me. Now he's friends with my friends. What this means is he doesn't have a ton of friends of his own. I mean, he's not friendless, but he rarely hangs out with his friends. I never get a break. He used to travel for work and I would get some time alone once in a while, but now his trips are just day trips. I also feel like because my work schedule is so much heavier now and I work such late hours all the time that I don't get a break. I used to come home a couple of hours before A.P. and get some down time to myself. Now, I'm lucky if I'm here an hour before him. Usually, it's just about a half hour or so and most of that time I'm cleaning up Ollie's room, picking shit up, working some more or whatever other non-relaxing crap I'm doing.

Then there's work. Try as I might, I am constantly working. During the week, after hours, later, on the weekends. In so many ways, my life is ruled by work. It's simultaneously infuriating and exhausting. I am lucky if I have a whole weekend to relax. Often, I work on Sundays and though I've tried to cut back on these hours, I just can't seem to do it. I imagine a future, possibly with kids, and I wonder how that will look and how much more tired I will be, because as is, I barely function now.

And the weather and family and all that seems to pile up without end makes me...well, tired. I feel like I need to escape. As much as I'd like to run away and have a week to myself, these days I'll settle for any kind of trip. So, lately, I've been dreaming of taking vacations with A.P. Because sometimes you need a break from life, even if it's not the complete solitude you long for. Sometimes you need a vacation, even if it's only for a day. Some time away from your grueling life. If you remember, I was complaining to A.P. how we needed a vacation badly. And it's on my list for 2012 to take at least two this year.

Well, this past weekend, as a surprise for his birthday tomorrow, I took A.P. for a quick overnight getaway to Milwaukee, Wisconsin (more later!). It was nice to get away and take a break from our apartment and our pets and our routine. Not just nice, but necessary. And it made me realize how much I needed a break. Sure, I still long for a week by myself with my stack of books, but I'll settle for an overnight getaway to Milwaukee because for at least one day, it wasn't my exhausting, stressful life. I didn't deal with dog poop or cat poop or laundry piling up or cooking dinner or piles of work that I feel guilty about not doing even though I've worked 80% of my waking day. I brought work with me so I wouldn't feel guilty, but I ended up not doing any and, you know what, not feeling bad about it! And most of all, I got to hang with my best friend, which, all things considering, isn't the worst thing in the world. In fact, I'd say it's pretty damn great.

Do you dream of taking a break alone? Or just a break in general?

Marriage Mondays: Confession

2012-01-16T04:50:00.000-06:00

I have a confession to make...I'm at a loss for what to write here anymore. Usually it will come to me and I'll write it down. For a while, I had a surplus of post ideas, but lately, I'm at a complete loss. I have no idea what to write anymore. And it's not just on Mondays, it's every day. Each day, I am at a complete loss as to what I should write. I have to struggle to get the words on the page. I am going through a rough patch with my writing and so I'm going to be kind to myself. Instead of putting pressure on myself to get all these weekly posts done, I'm going to take a break. It's not the end of Marriage Mondays or Wedding Wednesdays or any of the other things I write here, it's just a breather to reboot and get inspired again so that I don't just write bullshit.

Lately, I've just been feeling like this is all a huge waste of time. I feel like what I do here doesn't really matter and that all the time I spend on this blog is, well, time better spent doing other things. I put a lot of time and effort into this blog and I feel like I used to do it just for me and then it became a beast of a thing and now I just don't know. I feel like I thought I could do something and maybe it's okay to admit I can't. So, I think I just want to go back to this being a whatever. A thing with mild focus and a lot of whatever I damn well feel like. I like structure, but sometimes I feel suffocated by it and I'm hoping that maybe if I let the structure go a bit, I will get back to what I first wanted to do here: write.

I hope you'll forgive me, but I also hope that you understand.

Snow Dance

2012-01-13T04:50:00.000-06:00

This week has been soooo exhausting. Last night, I fell asleep for two hours after work! And also yesterday, it finally snowed. After 50 degree weather and so little snow, we finally got hit...hard. It started around 10am and continued until today. It was scary driving home from work, with a definite frightening moment where I couldn't break and kept rolling into traffic. Luckily, people were driving carefully and were nice and didn't, you know, kill me. After that, it was fine, but I kept a safe distance from other cars in case the same thing happened again. I also decided not to attend my guitar class. I figured I'd rather live and play next week than die and never play again.

In honor of the snow, I'm giving you another wintry wedding this week. Photographed by Jessica Watson, Veronica and Grant's cozy lodge wedding is so cute, it made me head explode. I love all the details: the thermos vases, the vintage woodland figurines adorning all the centerpieces, and the bride's winter boots. Plus, you have to feature any wedding where the bride braves the cold and exposes herself to the elements for the sake of beautiful photos. Go, Veronica!

Seriously. Is that not the bravest thing you've ever seen? I got a chill just looking at those photos of her bare shoulders and legs in the snow! But totally worth it. And what a gorgeous wedding (and only 14K!!!)!

So, this weekend, we are (sadly) taking down the tree, though we'll probably hold off on carrying the heavy boxes down the back stairs which are always scary when it snows/rains. I'm always sad to take down Christmas decorations. I love having the tree all lit up in the apartment. Lately, we've been turning on the tree and then just a few lamps throughout the apartment. We call it our "soft lighting" and it's super cozy and makes an evening hanging out on the couch feel instantly intimate.

Other than that, I'm grateful for the 3 day weekend. I know I was just on vacation, but I didn't really have a lot of opportunities to sleep in and relax. So, this weekend, I say bring it! Depending on the weather, too, we may brave the cold and go see a movie. I really want to see Young Adult or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, so it's all about whichever I can convince A.P. to see. What are you up to this weekend? Anything fun?

In the mean time, here are your dance moves for the week:

Craft Room supplies getting out of hand? Try these inventive organizational tips!

50 Non-Photoshopped photos that make you remember how beautiful our world really is

Bleeding Heart Cupcakes

Knot Pony

Thousands of kids + Thousands of Stickers = Amazing

This would be such a simple gift to make for people...

...And you could package it in oh, so pretty mason jars!

Have you heard of Whichbook? I'm going to use it to help me pick some of my books for 2012!

Add this to Your Man's Blogroll: The Art of Manliness

The History of Tanning

(Friday Dance Photo via here; Veronica and Grant's Oregon Wedding photographed by Jessica Watson via Intimate Weddings)

Wedding Wednesdays: Veil Porn

2012-01-11T04:50:00.000-06:00

Le sigh. I wanted this veil for my wedding. Alas, I could not afford to spend $700 on a freaking veil. So I decided I'd make my own. I don't know why I didn't just look really hard and buy a reasonably priced one. I didn't get the veil done, so I had no veil for my wedding. Sniff, sniff. Now, whenever I have a friend get married, I tell them to make sure they wear a veil. After all, how many times in your life do you get to wear a veil??

For your viewing pleasure today, enjoy some veil porn. It's like real porn, but not at all. And way more wedding-y. : )

(Photos via Pinterest; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

A List for 2012

2012-01-10T04:50:00.002-06:00

Here it is! My list for 2012! It's not as long as 2011's, but unlike last year, this year I'm retaining the right to add things to the list. Last year, I felt like sometimes I had shorter term goals that I'd wanted to add, but I had so many things I didn't want to overwhelm myself more. This year, I only have 29 things. It feels like a more manageable number, but also leaves room for additions.

The other thing about this year's list is that I tried to make my goals more measurable. For instance, instead of last year's "read more" goal, this year I have a specific number of books I'd like to read each month. I'm hoping that it will be a bit easier for me to chart my progress this way.

So, without further ado, I give you my list for 2012.

1. Continue to lose weight. Lose 10-15 lbs. by June.

Like every year, this year has a weight loss goal. But this goal is really more a continuation of last year. I lost 12 lbs. last year and was really 13 away from my goal and 7-10 away from feeling okay about my weight. So this year, I want to just finish up what I want to lose and be done with it already. The thing is, I want to be clear that I don't diet or work out to lose weight. Instead, I try to eat healthier and be more active. Take stairs more, walk more, etc. When I was at my thinnest, this was the lifestyle I was living and it made me the happiest. I felt good about my body and what I was putting in it. I don't like to diet and I don't like to exercise. I think that eating well and being active is the way to go and so the past two years have been attempts to fix that part of my life and lose weight in the process.

2. Have a planned date night at least once a month.

A.P. and I need to go on more dates. We just do. We need to do stuff and not just sit around on the couch, watch TV or movies and end up doing work. I feel like in the past we made more of an effort to go out, but lately, we've been slacking. I think once a month is a reasonable number. I'd like it to be every week, but I'm a realist.

3. Go on at least two vacations, not including planned trips (e.g. visiting family, weddings, etc.). One can be long, one can be short.

On Christmas Eve, I got into an argument with my brother. And when I hung up the phone, I turned to A.P. and I started screaming about how we need a vacation. Last year, we went on three "vacations." One was a trip to Florida to visit his family, another was a disastrous trip to NYC that resulted in the end of my one of my oldest friendships, and the last was a camping trip with friends. The camping trip was the most vacation we had, but it wasn't relaxing and it wasn't the two of us. We need a vacation. I don't care where we go, I don't care what we do, but we need a vacation. In fact, we need two.

4. Make and mail one card a month.

I feel like I don't have time to craft or do creative things that I enjoy doing. I really enjoyed writing people cards last year, but felt like I didn't get to do that as much as I wanted either. This is a simple solution to each dilemma. I get to make something, even if it's only a card, and I get to send someone I love a little note. Win, win.

5. Take a sewing course, or two.

I know, I know. Learning to sew was on last year's list. But this year, I swear it's going to happen. For one thing, I purchased a Groupon for not one, but two sewing classes. I have to use before the end of the year. For another, A.P. bought me that sewing machine for Christmas 2010 and I haven't used it once. I'm a bad wife and it wasn't a cheap gift. I need to get on that shit ASAP.

6. Complete at least two photography projects.

In keeping with projects I've done in the last few years (flying and stripes), I'd like to do some more photography projects. The thing is, I still haven't finished those damn stripes photos. Why? Because I can't freaking stand using Photoshop. I like it for a while and then it annoys me. It's so freaking tedious and time consuming. So this year, I want to make sure that my photo projects require as little photoshopping as possible.

7. Train Ollie to do one rad trick.

Ollie is smart. I hate to admit it, but he's way smarter than Radar. Radar was the most joyful dog ever. He loved everybody and was always happy. Ollie is a bit more cynical. He's skeptical of people and their good intentions. In other words, he's more like me than his pops. : ) He's also incredibly smart. He learns things so, so quickly. He mastered the doggie stairs in one evening and "Come Here"in one day. Of course, these are things we still work on with him every day, but it's still impressive how quickly he learns. I think he is capable of learning some rad party tricks and my goal is to teach him one. A tiny dog that does cool tricks? That's like money in the bank, people!

8. Learn to play one song really well.

I feel like I am the jack of all trades, master of none when it comes to guitar. We learn so many songs, but I feel like I never learn one really well. This year, I'm going to change that. I have three songs in mind, but want to see what I get in my new class this week before I make my decision.

9. Write a book.

Lately, I've been feeling like I have a book inside me. Surprisingly, it's non-fiction. I've written long pieces of non-fiction before, having written my Honor's thesis in college (which was approximately 30 pages) and my research paper for grad school (which was close to 70 pages). I know I'd have to write something at least twice that long for publication, but I think I can do it. This is definitely a goal that will more than likely spill over to next year, but it's something I'm starting this year.

10. Get our wedding album done. (And our guestbook. And our engagement shoot. And our prints ordered.)

I'm ashamed to admit that I still haven't done our wedding album. Actually, I did and then when I went to go make the purchase, it was going to cost almost a thousand bucks, which is ridiculous *and* I couldn't figure out how to apply the Groupon. I think if I choose a different size book, it will cost less. But doing that means doing the whole thing over again. I'm sorry, what? So, I've been putting it off again. This year, it just has to get done. And so does all the rest of that crap up there. It's time to get this DONE.

11. Buy a house.

This is carrying over for last year. But this has to be the last year I live in this apartment. We need our own place...badly. We're saving like maniacs and hopefully this year it will happen. Fingers crossed!

12. Read 2 books a month: one classic, one other.

This is, I hope, a more manageable (and measurable) reading goal. This month may be difficult. I haven't gotten very far in my "other" and I haven't chosen or started a classic. I'm thinking my classic should be something short and simple. I'd like to reread some Steinbeck, maybe Of Mice and Men or The Pearl. Those are short, quick reads and I think a good way to sneak in January's classic.

13. Use the crap out of my Christmas present: bike 2-3 times a week this summer.

A couple of months ago, my bike got stolen. It was in our building and it was locked. Needless to say I was PISSED. A.P. is an amazing guy because he totally got me a new bike for Christmas and it's beautiful. It's blue and vintage looking and is so pretty. It simply must be shown off! So my goal is to do so this summer. Yay-hoo!

14. Expand NTMK the way I want to and start my other blog project.

I have big ideas for this blog and I think I can accomplish them. This is by no means a one year project, but I need to not just care in spurts. I write a lot, but my heart isn't in it as much as it was last summer. I also feel like I took one step forward and two steps backward last year. I want to fix that and be a little more serious about things. I also have an idea for a companion blog and I've been doing some legwork for it, but super lackadaisically and, well, I just need to get my ass in gear and make these things happen. If I don't, I might always wonder.

15. Blog on our family blog at least once a week.

Last year, I started a blog for our family. The beginning of the year I was really good about posting there, but I got super, super lazy about it. We have a lot of family that lives outside of Chicago, some even in other countries. I need to get better about updating our loved ones on what we're doing. Sometimes I feel like they think we fell off the face of the planet.

16. Archive all our photos.

Again, a continuation of last year. I got from 2004 to early 2009, digital photos only. I'd like to get all caught up and begin scanning in old photos. I think if I can get all the digital photos done by spring/summer, I'll have time to scan when work slows down a bit, as it always does that time of year. Plus, I can't wait to see it all when it's done. And share that with my family. I think they'll really love it since I also plan on scanning in old family photos I have.

17. Make meal plans and stick to them (also helps to curb money we spend on food).

So far, so good. We started meal planning this week and so far, so good. It will be interesting to see how lazy I get about it, but I'm really hoping to make it happen. I think we can save a lot of money, and it will help with goal #1. Woot.

18. Create a cleaning system and stick to it.

I have one I was designed a while back and I think we can do it. But we need to finish up some stuff around the house this weekend before we can put it into effect. We're also going to clear out the clutter soon. My brother-in-law took a bunch of stuff off our hands for his new apartment, which opened up a ton of space in our downstairs storage. Plus, I have some cleaning projects I want to do this spring (purge, purge, purge). I'm thinking that once this place cleans up a bit, we'll be able to stick to a cleaning system.

19. Keep a work journal.

This ties in to #9. But it also, I think, would be a good way to get my job off my chest. Sometimes I carry around a lot of stress and anger from my day. It'd be nice to unload. When the Half-breed Swede was in town, we were in a downtown gift shop and I saw this sentence a day journal. I thought that was pretty rad, so I want to model this journal similarly. A sentence or two, no more than a paragraph a day is sufficient. Plus, I have soooo many journals floating around this damn apartment, it'd be nice to use one.

20. Floss every day.

Once upon a time, I was an excellent flosser. I flossed the shit out of my pearly whites and won the adoration of my dentist. Now, I suck at it. It's intermittent and, yeah, I just suck at flossing. I want to fix that. As I get older and older, I realize the importance of upkeep. Teeth are no different. I need to be the excellent flosser I once was. This is the year, people. Wax covered minty floss, here I come!

21. Watch AFI’s 100 Greatest Movies of All Time.

This might be tricky, but I think it'd be fun to try. I was a film major in undergrad, so some of this will be re-watching, but there are a lot I haven't seen. I'm excited to see some great movies. A.P. is not a classics fan, so I don't get to see as many old movies as I'd like. This is a good excuse to force him to watch. "But it's on my list!!" : )

22. Learn how to take better care of my skin.

I have incredibly dry skin that also gets oily. Combo skin at it's best. I want to learn to moisturize better. I feel like with last year's goal of clearing my skin, I learned how to wash it better, treat my adult acne better, etc. But now, I want to start thinking about preventing aging and moisturizing better so my skin isn't so flaky, especially in the winter. Suggestions are welcome!

23. Get better at putting on makeup.

Maybe my friend can help with this. I credit her blog with me taking an interest in makeup again. I've totally gotten better at it, but there is always room for improvement. I basically wish I could learn to do two things: 1. Have wedding makeup all the time. For my wedding, I had great makeup that wasn't complicated or dramatic. I could easily wear that look on a daily basis. Plus, it felt so lightweight. I wish I could replicate that. 2. I wish I could do eyes better. I am getting more and more into lipstick, but I will always be an eye girl. I love liner, shadow, brow liner, mascara, fake eyelashes, etc. I wish I could do my eyeshadow better. Youtube tutorials, here I come!

24. Wear my hair in a pretty style at least once a week.

I wear my hair down most days. Inevitably it gets pulled back into a ponytail. I'd like to learn to do some pretty, simply styles I could wear to work at least once a week. I think it can be done!

25. Use less plastic bags! Ziplocs are one thing (though that could be reduced, too), but plastic bags from produce or trips to the store could greatly be reduced.

I'm buying reusable produce bags and I'm putting most of our reusable grocery bags in the car so that they're ready to go. I feel like we can be successful with this goal if we are just conscious about it. We used to be really good about it and then just got lazy. We can do it again if we try.

26. Compost, compost, compost.

This should be easy since I run a compost program at my work, but I hate dragging it from home to work. It's gross. But I'm going to bite the bullet and do it. It's good for my compost, my garden, and it makes me feel less bad about wasting produce. At least it's serving a purpose and not just being thrown away. Though, with goal #17, I'm hoping we'll waste less and less.

27. Eat pizza only 10 times this year.

I used to love pizza. Then I met A.P. It is one of his favorite foods and he practically can't survive if he doesn't eat it at least once a week. Now? I hate pizza. I can't eat it from any of our old favorite places. The thought sickens me. So, this year I'm in pizza detox. I'm going to make a punch card and every time I eat pizza, I'm going to punch the card. When I hit 10, I'm done for the year. It will be interesting to see if I can do this. At the very least, though, I think it will make me more conscious of what I'm eating and how often I'm eating something, even it's only the one thing.

28. Try not to use our credit card.

I could go whole months without using a credit card. A.P. is the kind of person who only uses a credit card and then pays the whole bill each month. Put us together and what you have is a couple that uses a lot of cash and then ends up having to pay a credit card bill, too. Last year, I felt like we used our joint credit card A LOT. I paid off my credit card only to have a monthly bill, still. Some months we didn't have a choice (e.g. weddings in NYC), others we did (e.g. expensive dinners out). We will have two more credit card bills to pay and then I think we can do it. I also think this will help us to save a ton of money...money we can put towards #11.

29. Begin saving towards retirement.

Last year, I met one savings goal, so this year it's time to begin working on another: retirement. Unless I want to be my dad or mom and work until I'm well past 65, I want to get on this ASAP. I already have some retirement savings in place, but the last couple of years, I've gotten lazy about doing any kind of side contributing. I want to open a 401K account, as well as a Roth IRA. A.P. is helping me to figure this stuff out as I am a hot mess when it comes to understanding these things or insurance. I can't tell you how many times what a deductible is has been explained to me and I still don't really get it. Clearly, I'm challenged in this area. Anywho, it's time to get my act together. And hopefully before my 30th, but I'm not putting that kind of pressure on myself.

And that's it, folks! That's my list for 2012. You can access the whole list here and track my progress, though I'll update quarterly again this year. So, what do you think? Do you have a list for 2012 or resolutions you're hoping to achieve?

Marriage Mondays: Divorce

2012-01-09T04:50:00.000-06:00

Wonder if that was just the mom of this Postsecret author putting her "in case" plan in writing?

Has it happened to you yet? Have you had a friend experience a divorce? 2011 marked a year of firsts...1st wedding anniversary, 1st time experiencing the loss of a pet other than a goldfish or hamster, and the 1st time we had a friend divorce. It was rather bittersweet because I never really loved my friend's wife and I certainly never felt they were well-suited for each other. On the other hand, A.P. and I really liked hanging out with them. They lived out of state, but a close enough drive that we would hang out with them a few times a year. They were one of our favorite couples to hang with! I'm happy for my friend because I think that he's happier now, but I know divorce is a mess of a thing, and that, for him, 2011 was perhaps not his best year.

Here's the thing: Divorce is a part of marriage. And it's a part I feel that should not be discussed with your partner but should also be prepared for whether you plan on divorcing or not. A.P. and I have no intentions of getting divorced...ever, if we can help it. But we have talked about divorce and what we would want for each other if we were to get divorced. For instance, A.P. always tells me that he's happy I have a career and that if we got divorced I wouldn't be helpless and my source of income wouldn't dry up. That happened to his mother. We also try to talk about how we would try to be civil to one another. It's easy to say things like that now in the hopes that we never get divorced and it's a non-issue, but the reality is that it's more likely we'll divorce than not. In reality, the hope is that we remember these things, these other vows we've taken in the event that a divorce occurs.

I also feel that as a woman, it is my responsibility to secure my financial future and take care of myself in case of a divorce. Some of the best pre-wedding reading I did was an article about financial planning that emphasized how important it is as a wife to have your own money. It is why when we got serious and later married, I insisted on keeping a personal checking and savings account (I've talked about our finances before in case you're interested). In 2011, I saved a substantial amount of money...for myself. And I continue to do so. This is not for retirement or our house or anybody else but me. This is my "in case shit" money. If I lose my job, it's how I would pay my portion of our bills. If we get a divorce, it's money A.P. and I have agreed will remain mine. Of course, that may end up being money that's used to pay a lawyer, but it's my money. I earned it and I worked hard to save it. It's rightfully mine and in total, it's less than I have contributed to our joint finances all year long.

This does no harm to my marriage but makes me feel secure in so many ways. It means that if I needed to, I could get an apartment in a pinch because I'd have the security deposit. It means that if I needed to, I could buy a plane ticket somewhere. It means I have a safety net. And that is worth more than the money I have saved.

Does all this make me cynical? Perhaps. Does it make me selfish? Well, if that seems selfish, then I guess I'm selfish. But I've seen too many people be destroyed financially after a divorce and, in the end, I'd rather be safe than sorry. Plus, I'd rather know that at some point I could remind A.P. about our conversations, our other marriage vows, the ones where we vowed to be kind in case shit happened.

Do you talk about divorce in your marriage? Or is it more of a taboo topic?

(Photo of Postsecret via here)

Let's Face the Music and Dance

2012-01-06T04:50:00.000-06:00

This is my 401st post! Can I get a what, what? I can't even believe that I've been blogging that much! I can't believe I've shared 400 things with people! That's madness, I tell you, madness! I have such big things I want to do here, peeps, and I have no time to do them. Can you guess what's going on my list for 2012 (which I'm for sure debuting next week)?

This week has been a whirlwind. In addition to last week, I took this week off. The Half-breed Swede and her man, Cash Folds, left us Monday (see pictures of their trip here), then Tuesday I had jury duty. Luckily, I didn't get picked. Then the past few days I've been relaxing and feeling guilty for not doing work. Tomorrow, I swear. I know I don't have to because technically I'm on vacation, but I will feel a lot less overwhelmed if I go in with a bunch of stuff done. So much to do, so little I actually want to do. : )

In honor of the new year, I'm posting this absolutely gorgeous New Year's Eve wedding. Cameron and Jason were married in Vermont at The Murphy Farmhouse, a home dating back to the 1700's! The intimate, cozy wedding was so gorgeously photographed by Alex Maldonado of Alex M Photography. I can't imagine a better New Year's celebration than a wedding just like this!

I am loving the simple ceremony decor. I love that the room is the star of the show. Well, that, and the couple. : )

This weekend, I'm going to get some stuff sorted out before I go back to work on Monday. I'm also going to savor every last moment of freedom and cozy up next to A.P. with the dog and cat. Finally, we're giving my brother-in-law a bunch of stuff from our storage for his new apartment. This is super exciting because it's only temporary (1 year) and will greatly help us clear out some of the clutter in our actual apartment! Yay! What are you up to this weekend? Whatever it is, I hope it's cozy and warm and relaxing!

Amazing trolley depot makeover

Daily dose of beautiful

Better than spotify...drinkify

Tips and more tips to make life easier

A cozy, 16th century drink for a wintry evening

Simple, gorgeous hair even I can do

50 Wedding Websites to bookmark

Transfer old photographs onto wooden blocks

50 healthy recipes to kick off 2012

(Friday dance photo by me; Cameron and and Jason's Vermont New Year's Eve wedding photographed by Alex Maldonado of Alex M Photography via A Paper Proposal)

Visiting with The Half-breed Swede

2012-01-05T11:32:00.035-06:00

I'm still working on my list for 2012 and will more than likely be posting it next week. So far, I've got some good stuff on there. Or at least, I think I have some good stuff on there. : ) And, get this? A.P. is making a list this year, too! I don't think it will be as long, but he's got some good stuff on his, too. Yay!

In the mean time, I'd love to share some photos with you from The Half-breed Swede's trip. I would say that she has been to Chicago at least 20 times, but this trip was different because she brought her man, who shall heretofore be named Cash Folds and who may or may not look exactly like A.P., but who had never been stateside, let alone to Chicago. So, we ended up doing a lot of touristy stuff, which is sometimes nice for me to do because it helps me to remember what an amazing city I live in and how I sometimes take that for granted. Anywho, if you'll let me, I'd love to share some photos of their trip with you!

The day after they arrived, we went downtown for a trolley tour with The Chicago Architectural Foundation. They took us to a few different stops where we could get out and take photos. The tour was only okay, mostly due to our wacky guide. A couple days later, they ended up going downtown on their own and taking a walking tour.

After the walking tour, we went to visit my brother-in-law, who is working at the Obama National Headquarters. He gave us a private tour of the offices, which was kind of rad. Unfortunately, we couldn't take photos. After that, though, we headed to Millennium Park to take some night shots of the bean and some of the other parts of the park.

After a jam packed first day, we decided to take it easy on Wednesday. We chilled out all day and ended up going out for dinner and drinks that night. We started out at Violet Hour, one of my favorite places to get drinks in the city. Located in Wicker Park, it's a top secret bar that has amazing drinks. If you don't know where it is, you'd easily pass it, as it has no exterior sign or doorway, really. Once you enter, though, you're greeted by low light and enormous, tall-backed chairs. Their drinks are strong and delicious and I love the servers, as they always answer any questions you have and are super nice.

After a couple of rounds at Violet Hour, we headed to Fogo de Chao, a Brazilian steakhouse. The Half-breed Swede wanted to go here because a few years ago when she was in town, we took her there for dinner. It's pretty much all you can eat, which in my case, wasn't very much. The rest of them went crazy and ate a bunch of delicious meat, though, so they at least got the full experience.

Thursday was a jam packed day. I dropped our guests off at the train so they could head into town early and do their walking tour and check things out. Then, A.P. and I ended up driving into town to meet them to go to the ~~Willis~~ Sears Tower (I'm from here, people, that shit will never change!). The line was ridiculously long, but we endured and after about two hours in line, we finally got upstairs. Of course, by then, it was dark out. Still, we got some lovely night shots. A.P. chickened out, but the rest of us were brave enough to venture out onto the new glass ledges that jut out 1300 feet over the city. It's like you're floating, but it's pretty freaky to inch your way out there. I was definitely holding on to the wall for the first few minutes. So scary!!

From there, we headed to Telegraph, a new restaurant in Logan Square. I have to tell you, this was our first time there and I was not very impressed. The prices were pretty high for what you got, and I had the cod and it was soooo salty. I don't think A.P. and I will head back any time soon.

After dinner, we jetted home, dropped off A.P. and the rest of us headed to B.L.U.E.S. on Halsted, a blues bar. Cash Folds is a music teacher and amazing guitar player, so he wanted to check out a blues bar while in town. We met up with my brother-in-law, who proved he's not that old by staying out until midnight on a work night. Gasp! There, we saw Eric "Guitar" Davis and the Troublemakers, who were awesome.

After a long, exhausting day on Thursday, I think we were all looking forward to a relaxed day. The Half-breed Swede wanted to show her man where A.P. and I got married, so we drove over to Lovely to have a look around and buy some cupcakes. Then, we went to Lincoln Park to our other favorite bakery, Sweet Mandy B.'s, where we purchased some other delicious desserts. Yum!

Then, we went home, chilled for a little while longer and worked up the energy to go to...MEDIEVAL TIMES!!! And listen, I know what you're thinking, "Why in the world would you take actual British people to Medieval Times??" But it wasn't my idea! It was totally The Half-breed Swede's. And let me tell you something else...it was AWESOME!!! Even A.P., who was a little nervous about the whole thing ended up loving it! We were cheering for the Green Knight and cheer we did. We cheered so damn hard, that at one point, he tossed The Half-breed Swede a flower! Yes! Awesome! After the show, the knights came out and signed things and took pictures with people. I totally got my shield signed by him and The Half-breed Swede and I took a picture with him. Unfortunately, she has that picture, so until she sends it to me, you'll have to wait with bated breath.

(I love the Half-breed Swede's face in this picture! Look how excited she is, people!)

New Year's Eve was another adventure. We planned a Classic Hollywood New Year's Eve party and that day, The Half-breed Swede, her man, and I all went to Costco to purchase party supplies. Then, we came home, and whipped this place into party shape. I wouldn't say it was my most successful party, but it was a lot of fun. In general, I don't like throwing parties on holidays because attendance is always low...too much competition. And...a lot of people dressed up! We told people to come wearing black or white (or purple if you're my mother and completely ignore directions). We even had a couple of people in tuxes! Wow!

We celebrated the new year by going to brunch at The Signature Room. I've always wanted to go to brunch there and figured what better way to celebrate the start of a new year (and to show off some daytime views of our beautiful city to our guests). Brunch was fantastic, but the views were what really blew our minds.

And that was pretty much our entire trip. That last night, we just kind of took it easy and hung out together. I am so sad that I will have to wait an entire year or two to see my friend again. We always say that if we lived in the same city, we're probably never stop hanging out together. The Half-breed Swede is one of my greatest friends and I'm so happy that she and her man got to come visit.

Here's one last picture before they left. Note that she is holding Ollie. That is because I suspect she was trying to smuggle him back in her pocket. ; )

(Photos by me!)

Wedding Wednesday: Including Children in Your Big Day

2012-01-04T04:50:00.001-06:00

One of my favorite movies (with one of my all-time favorite actresses, Meryl Streep) is One True Thing. The movie tells the story of a career woman (Renee Zellweger) who has to give up her job and move home to take care of her dying mother (Meryl Streep) with whom she was really close. At one point, as Meryl Streep's character is getting closer to death, she starts giving her daughter all this advice to keep in mind after she's gone. One of the things she tells her is to avoid having children in the wedding. She claims, "those kids always just misbehave and they distract from the bride." I can't tell you how many weddings I've been to where this exact thing has happened. Inevitably, the flower girl sits down because she's tired of standing there with her basket of rose petals. Or the ring bearer starts crying and fussing because he can't be by his mother. At the same time, they are impossibly cute and it's so nice to involve young family members in your big day.

So, what do you think? Do you include the little stinkers in your big day? Or keep your wedding party adults only?

And for fun, here's one of my favorite kids in wedding moments. Remember this?

(Photo by Ashley Rose Photography)

Reflecting Back on My List for 2011

2012-01-03T04:50:00.002-06:00

2011 was not an easy year. For every positive step forward, there was a step backward, too. It was incredibly tough. I learned a lot about my friends and my family and most importantly myself. I was talking to the Half-breed the other day, reflecting about the year, and I was talking about how it was one of the hardest in a while. But then we talked about how there were also a lot of good things that happened, too. In the end, we decided it was a year of change. I think this is true. 2011 was the year I turned 30, the year I finally felt financially stable. It was the year I stopped being a newlywed and started just being a wife. It was also the year I ended some friendships and realized the damaging effect my family was having on me. It was the year when we lost one furbaby and gained another. I may not have experienced all the luck in the world, but I didn't get permanently damaged either. Most importantly, I accomplished a lot. So, without further ado...

...here it is. My progress on all my goals for last year. I made this list for 2011 in lieu of a traditional resolutions. I got sick of making resolutions that didn't seem to ever get resolved, so to speak. It seemed wiser to make a list of specific things I wanted to do and try to get them accomplished. Some of the things on this list were long shots, some were manageable, and some I knew would spill over into 2012. There were 45 things total on my list. Let's see how many I managed to get done. (Warning, this is a big ol' post, people! Read at your leisure!)

1. Lose the rest of the weight I've gained since I started dating A.P. four and a half years ago. Do it at my own pace, and without headache or self-loathing.

Okay, I cannot officially cross this off, but I think I am looking pretty good. I think that if I get serious again, I can lose the rest easily. I lost 12 more lbs. this year and am only about 15 lbs. away from my goal. I was doing well until we took our post-engagement photos and then the holidays hit. Then I kind of stopped dieting at all. I'm willing to get back on the horse and give it my all, but for now anyway, I'm satisfied with where I am, too. I'd like to lose about half of the 15 lbs, call it a compromise and go about my business. So don't be surprised if you see a similar goal for 2012.

2. Do my knee exercises more often. I have a bum knee. It's sad and true that I have a bum knee and I'm not even 30. Supposedly if I did these exercises 3-5 times a week, it'd be less of a bum knee (but still technically a bum knee).

Ummm, yeah, I suck at being a rehabilitated person, yo! I only do my knee exercises when my knee bothers me. Something is wrong with me, people. Ugh.

3. Wear this sexy green dress I bought several years ago that I, for whatever reason, have never worn.

I didn't wear the damn dress (see why below). Oh well. I still have 2012!

~~4. Find a bra to wear with the sexy green dress.~~

So, I bought a bra and it still doesn't work with this dress. It is near impossible to find a bra to wear with this dress. It's KILLING me. I think I'm going to have to rock that shit Carrie Bradshaw style and show my bra in the back. So for that purpose, I at least have purchased a fancy, pretty bra. So, let's cross that shit off my list. I'm sick of dicking around with this one damn dress.

5. Get measured for a bra. It seems like every time I gain weight, my boobs get bigger. But then when I lose weight, my boobs stay the same size. I've been guestimating for too long what size bra I am. It's time to bite the bullet and let some old lady at the department store grope me a bit.

Did it! Read about it here.

6. Make A.P. take me out on a fancy date so that I can wear the damn green dress!

Well, he took me out on lots of fancy dates, but I never wore the dress mainly because of the bra issue. Sadly, then, I can't cross this off my list. Bummer!

~~7. Take our engagement photos. Yes, that's right. We still haven't done that. Oops.~~

Done and done. You can see some of the best here.

8. After we take our engagement photos, chop off my hair. I found this old picture of my grandmother and am thinking about whacking off my hair so it looks like hers (in a slightly more updated way, though I do sort of appreciate the vintage charm of this cut).

This is for sure spilling over into 2012. Not because I'm not still into the idea of short hair, but rather because it's freaking cold out and I'm waiting until the weather warms up a bit before I go exposing my damn neck.

9. Travel somewhere exotic...again. We went to Belize on our honeymoon and it was my first time really visiting an exotic location. I see what the fuss is about.

Unless you count Florida, we did not do this at all. I guess we'll tack this on to next year's list as well.

10. Join a team sport of some kind. Possibly rope A.P. into joining, too. I want to be a part of a kickball team. Or maybe a good badminton foursome? I just want to exercise in a way that isn't in a gym, with my headphones on, ignoring everyone.

Yeah, did not do this at all. I don't know if I'll throw this on my list for next year or not. The fact of the matter is that despite my strong desire to do this, I really don't have the time nor can I really make the commitment. It's hard enough to do guitar once a week.

11. Scrapbook. That's right. I said it. Scrapbook.

I have not scrapbooked yet, but I have mad plans to do so once my photo archiving is done (see #40 below).

12. Pay off my credit card before my 30th birthday. When I was 21 years old, I studied abroad in Italy. In order to get myself there, I had to put my airfare on a credit card. I've had credit card debt ever since. What's funny about that is how little I actually use my credit card and how totally not reckless with money I am. For almost a year, I carried an expired credit card in my wallet because I forgot to change it out. That's how little I use my credit card. I've just never been in a position to pay it off completely. This goal is almost completed. On my 30th birthday, I will make my last payment, and the balance will be $0!

This felt so, so good to do. Now if only I could not use a credit card each month. That's a goal for next year for sure!

13. Get my life organized and keep my apartment clean.

I don't think this is possible at all. Here's why: we have outgrown our apartment. My brother-in-law is going to take a lot of stuff off our hands, which will open up a lot of space in our storage downstairs. I'm hoping that will help keep the upstairs clean and organized until we move into a bigger space. But yeah, there's just no room for organization and cleanliness.

14. Find a way to get my life organized and keep my apartment clean.

Still working on it. : )

15. ~~Try out the GTD system. (Not GTL...that joke never gets old with me.)~~

This system was not for me. It was too complicated and frankly, I felt like I needed a system for the system. There was a better book title for this book a while back. It was "Write Shit Down." I'm thinking since that's what I do anyway, that's what I'm going to keep doing. I like that GTD allowed me to put really long term things on my list, too, so I'll definitely pull/adapt my old methods to work with what I learned, but other than that, I'll be the guy who just writes shit down. : )

16. ~~Get new glasses. My prescription hasn't really changed much, but the last time I bought glasses was an embarrassingly long time ago. I want some new, rad glasses I can sport around town.~~

Finally got some new glasses! You can see a picture of me in them here.

17. Go camping in Michigan again. For a while, I did this trip annually, but A.P. and I have taken other trips the last two summers (Smoky Mountains, where we got engaged, and our wedding present trip to Montreal), and so didn't end up going camping. I miss it, and it's always fun to take the dog on a trip.

Done and done. You can view photos here.

18. Write random, lovely letters. When was the last time you wrote someone a handwritten letter? Not a birthday card or a thank you card, but a real hello, how are you letter? I want to write at least five random hello, how are you letters. Email is overrated.

I wrote my friend in St. Louis a letter, sent a card to Rev/Rach, and sent my brother-in-law a funny card. That may not be a lot, but I did zero the year before, so guess what? That shit counts. Cross it off!

19. Play badminton more. We registered for, and awesomely got a badminton set for our wedding. We only got to play once last summer, but it was so much fun! I want to make it a point to go to the park, set up the net, and bat around the shuttlecock (love that it's called a shuttlecock, btw).

1 nice long summer, no badminton played. Lame, lame, lame. Next year for sure!

20. Read more. If only you knew what I did for a living. If only you knew how little I read. You'd be as embarrassed for me as I am for me. I read magazines all the time, but I need to find some new authors/books that I can enjoy. (Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments).

I attribute my mild success with this goal to the present I liked the least from last Christmas: the Kindle. For Christmas 2010, A.P. bought me a Kindle, which was not at all what I wanted. But I have to admit it made purchasing books and reading a bit easier for me. I may not have read all that I wanted to, but I read more than I would have without it. Next year, I have a plan for how to make this more achievable a goal. You'll see.

21. Rotate in some new old shows. I watch a lot of TV shows. So many, in fact, that sometimes I have to stop watching shows for a while, and rotate in other ones, which means I can get a few seasons behind. Right now I'm super behind on Mad Men, Dexter, Rescue Me, and Big Love. I aim to get caught up before new seasons start up again (particularly Rescue Me and Big Love, which both end this year).

I haven't worked my way through all of the shows that I wanted to, but I got a lot done. Because of that, I'm crossing this off. I finished Big Love, got through 1.5 more seasons of Mad Men, and did some catching up with Rescue Me, too. I still have to get completely caught up on Dexter, too. I think part of the reason I didn't completely accomplish this goal is because I realized early on that I have to be in the mood to watch certain shows. And I kind of wasn't in the mood for Dexter or Rescue Me. And frankly, I got a little tired of watching Mad Men after my huge summer binge. So, this too shall carry over to next year.

22. Buy a home. This might trickle over to the beginning of 2012 (hopefully before the apocalypse), but we've been talking about it a lot lately, and think that we can start looking for a place by the end of the year.

Obviously since I just complained about not having enough space, we haven't bought a new house yet. We knew there was a chance this would spill over to 2012. But that's gotta be it. 2012 or bust, people! We can't take it anymore!

23. Walk in A.P.'s shoes. My brother suggested that A.P. and I walk in each other's shoes for a month. He says we bicker too much about how we both contribute more than the other. I don't know if I'll truly be able to do this one, or if I'll be able to convince A.P. to do it, but it might prove interesting, that's for sure.

We never did this, but we nag each other less and say thank you more. Call it almost two years of marriage under our belt, call it almost four years of living together, or call it picturing walking through the other's shoes. Call it whatever you want, it's more and more a non-issue.

24. ~~Take a photography course. I have a groupon for one, so this should be a cinch.~~

Done and done. Read about it (and see the photos I took) here.

25. ~~Take a guitar course. Same as above. I heart groupon.~~

Did it (and still doing it)! Here's a picture from my first recital. And here's an actual video from my second recital.

26. ~~Do another picture a day project.~~

Yeah, yeah, so I still haven't posted all the pictures, but here's half.

27. Get regular about doctor appointments. Before grad school, I was super, super diligent about going to the lady doctor and to the dentist. Since grad school started, I've been not so diligent. Time to get back into old routines.

So, I saw the lady doc and the dentist. When I went to both, they didn't set up next year's appointments. LAME. Still, I think the fact that I made these appointments and went was a big deal. From now on, I need to be better about making them make my next appointments before I leave, but I did what I wanted to do, so consider this crap crossed off!

28. Journal again.

Yeah, never did this. Oops.

29. Go someplace new in Florida, possibly Disney World. A.P. is a Floridian, born and raised. Every year, at some point, we make the trek to Florida. And I hate it. I'm bored, and all I see are the insides of people's houses. I feel like I've been to Florida three times, but I've never really been to Florida. I told A.P. next time we go, we have to take a day trip somewhere. I voted for either Disney World, or Eatonville, the birthplace of Zora Neale Hurston.

Did it! You can see pictures here and here.

30. Go on a hot air balloon ride. I bought A.P. a gift certificate for a ride for his groom's gift, but we still haven't used it. It's time to cash that baby in.

So, confession! I got really, really frightened about going. I still want to go, but I think I'm going to get A.P. to make the arrangements. I think if I think about it too much, it won't go well. I also really wanted to wait until I bought a DSLR camera, which I didn't do until after Thanksgiving. By then, it was too cold. I smell something for 2012's list!

~~31. Get our finances completely in order. I think we finally found a money management software, which is going to be awesome once we figure out how to use it!~~

We're not 100% there yet, but we're doing much, much better. I don't think you can ever have your finances completely in order. After all, each month presents a new challenge. However, I think we're doing pretty well. We've got a budget. I'm saving. A.P. is saving. We're trying to get our savings a bit more organized, but other than that, we're doing well. So, guess what? I'm crossing this shit off! Woot.

32. Call my parents more. Call my great aunt more. Part of GTD is to schedule things like phone calls. That may sound silly to some, but I'm the sort of person who at 7pm as I'm cooking thinks, "Oh crap, I have to call my mother," but don't because it's inconvenient at the time. Then, at 11:30pm, I remember again and it's too late. The cycle starts all over the next day. So scheduling a phone call wouldn't be the worst thing.

I can't say I've been a million times better about this. However, I have tried like heck to call my family members more. I've definitely been better about calling my dad and my great aunt. My mother on the other hand has suffered. I think that since I want to be really good about this, I'm not crossing it off and instead I'm going to make a more measurable goal for next year.

~~33. Blog five times a week on this blog, and 2-3 times a week on my other blog (that we write for our family only). That's a lot of blogging! But I think if I try hard enough, I can do it.~~

I'm crossing this off my list. Here's the thing: I wasn't good about our family blog at all. I started out the year posting there fairly frequently, but tapered off around summer. I'm still crossing this off my list, though, because instead of being hard on myself for that, I'm going to give myself credit for being super consistent with my posting here. I know there were some weeks where I didn't post 5 times, but there were others when I posted more than 5 times. And no matter what, I did a lot of work here and I'm proud of that. Crossing this off my list is my reward. : )

34. Prioritize. Family first. Hopes/dreams/personal goals second. Work third. I'd hate to be 40 and still wondering why I haven't done what I wanted to do.

I felt like I was making a lot of progress with this goal until October. Work hit the fan and everything became just madness. I don't want to cross this off because I think I still have a lot to learn.

35. ~~See Spring Awakening. If A.P. won't buy the tickets, I will. I've wanted to see this for a long, long time.~~

Did it, but as it turns out, I wasn't a fan.

36. Learn to sew. More on this later.

I didn't do this. But I'm definitely making it a goal for 2012! I just bought a Groupon last week to take two classes, too, so it should be a lot easier to make it happen.

37. Eat out less. Eat fruit more. Eat candy less. Eat dairy more.

Similar to #34, this went to pot not too long ago. I've been eating fruit and yogurt every day for lunch so that I was meeting my two "more" goals in one fell swoop. I did that well and throughout the year, but eating out less and eating less candy were harder goals to meet. Candy is my stress food. I like to eat things like Skittles or Twizzlers when I work from home. It's a terrible habit. But I'm trying to kick it. In fact, lately, I've been doing a lot better. So, who knows? In terms of eating out less, we were doing really well up until Thanksgiving. That's when work got stressful for both of us and grocery shopping became obsolete. So, I'm going to keep working on it next year, though I don't think I'll make it a goal.

38. Play with our guinea pig, Henry, more. Yes, we have a guinea pig. It's a long story.

I can't say I did this. I did vary his diet a little more. He's a bit picky, so I tried to give him some new veggies instead of his favorite carrots every night. I also pet him a lot more and give him more overall attention, but poor Henry, he's always third fiddle to the cat and the dog, first with Radar and now with Ollie.

39. ~~Find a good pair of gym shoes.~~

Here are the ones I bought. Rad, no?

~~40. Digitize all of our photos.~~

I'm crossing this off my list. I have not completed this at all. However, like #33 above, I have to give myself credit for the work that I've done. This year, I've archived all of our digital photos from 2006 through half of 2009. Plus, I already had a lot of 2010 and some of 2011 in there. I want to get to the point where I upload pictures as soon as I take them off my camera, but it will probably be a few more months until I get to that point. In the mean time, I will keep uploading all of the old stuff and then soon, I will start scanning in the film photos. Yay!

41. Record my father talking about the Olympics. My father was an Olympian. He didn't win or anything, but he won a lot of awards in the Asian Olympics. It would be so cool to record him looking at photos and discussing both. How cool would that be to show to our kids one day?

I didn't do this, but am for sure making this a priority for 2012!

42. Visit my sister and her husband in India. I wish I could have traveled to India before I met A.P., by myself. I think it would have been amazing. I've always wanted to go, see where my father was born and raised, and I'll be excited to do that. But the thought of traveling to such an exotic place with my picky eater husband, and staying with my sister kind of makes me dread the whole thing. Maybe that's a good thing, though. Maybe if we do go, the trip will be awesome because I had such low expectations.

We didn't get to do this, but her contract was extended through 2013, so there's hope yet! I don't know that I'll put it on the list for 2012, but we'll for sure do our best to maybe go visit.

43. Get A.P. to put his keys and wallet in the same damn place every day. This won't happen, but wouldn't it be awesome if it did? And I didn't have to hear, "Have you seen my [insert keys, wallet, glasses, headphones, bag, etc. here]?"

Yeah, still haven't done this. But, tell the truth, are you really that shocked that this one isn't crossed off?

44. Throw at least one party. Back in the day, I threw awesome parties. I would cram up to 30 people into my one bedroom apartment throughout the night. It sounds crowded, but it never felt like it. It always felt awesome. The last party we threw was our housewarming party when I first moved in. Instead, we've been focusing on hosting holidays for our family. I'd like to throw a kickass party again. It's a lot of work, but always so much fun.

Done, and done. You can read about it here. And technically, we threw two, since we had a New Year's Eve party, too. So, take that, list for 2011!

45. Clear my skin. This is the year, I've decided, that I'm done with acne. It sucks to have adult acne. And what's worse is I can never seem to find a product that clears my skin. This is the year I find a dermatologist, and start to look like a grownup, not a teenager!

I'm crossing this off! I still have breakouts, but I finally found something that keeps my skin clear enough 90% of the time to the point that I sometimes even feel comfortable wearing little or no makeup! Yes! I'm sad that it took me so long to find and that I had to suffer permanent scarring in the past two years before I found it, but I'm glad I found it. The problem is that I sometimes have a hard time finding the product and I'm scared that they'll discontinue it. If that happens, I will for sure have to go to the dermatologist. But in the mean time, consider this one crossed off!

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22 things done, people! That's only .5 less than half. I can't say I passed, but I feel like I made progress towards each and every one of my goals. Plus, I did some stuff that didn't even appear on this list:

- I started my Gardening program at my job and was super successful in my first year despite terrible weather and a cucumber beetle infestation.

- I won another grant this year to expand my Gardening program at my job. And this year, I got more money. Woot.

- I met my personal savings goal and then some. I wanted to have a cushion that would get me through at least three months of bills and I did that. Plus, I saved for our joint goal of a home.

- I ended an unhealthy relationship even though it killed me to do so. It was probably one of the hardest things I did this year, but I did it. And I had to learn that it was okay.

I'm proud of all that I've done whether I completely met my goals or not. It's better than I've done in all my years of making resolutions and that's a big deal. Later this week, I'll give you guys my list for 2012. Hopefully, like a fine wine, I'll only get better and only get more done.

: )

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T04:50:00.001-06:00

We had a wonderful New Year's Eve and a lovely New Year's Day (more on that later). We're recovering from our week's visit with The Half-breed Swede and her man (whose blogname is in the works). I have one last day of freedom and then tomorrow I have jury duty and a ton of work to do while I'm there.

I love the new year. I love the intense feeling of opportunity and a clean, fresh start. I've been reflecting on 2011 lately and, well, I don't know what to think quite yet. I'm finishing up my list for 2011 recap and I'm taking a much needed break today. I'm also putting together my list for 2012. In the mean time and in honor of the upcoming worldwide apocalypse, I give you some of my favorite words of all time on the subject from one of my all time favorite poems:

"...on a day nearly canceled by sunlight

when the entire hill is approaching

the ideal of Virginia

brochured with goldenrod and loblolly

and I think 'at least I have not woken up

with a bloody knife in my hand'

by then having absently wandered

one hundred yards from the house

while still seated in this chair

with my eyes closed.

It is a certain hill

the one I imagine when I hear the word 'hill'

and if the apocalypse turns out

to be a world-wide nervous breakdown

if our five billion minds collapse at once

well I'd call that a surprise ending

and this hill would still be beautiful

a place I wouldn't mind dying

alone or with you..."

-excerpt from "Self-Portrait at 28" by David Berman

Happy New Year, my lovelies!

Friday Dance: Best of 2011

2011-12-30T13:19:00.007-06:00

Oh what a week! The Half-breed Swede and her man (whose nickname has yet to be determined) are in town and we have been going, going, going (hence no post yesterday and the late posts this week). My brain has become mush as it is heavily swimming in alcohol, tourism, and fun. Next week aims to bring about both jury duty and hopefully sanity. We shall see.

In the mean time, I'm going strong with my Best of 2011. Here are the 10 best Friday dances of the year. These were weddings that wowed me with either the details or the sheer emotion. Enjoy!

I Will Dance With You

A Johnny Cash themed wedding? Go on!

Circle Dance

A breathtaking Balinese wedding.

Some Days You Gotta Dance

Helen and Lindi's beautifully shot NTMK submission made my list for the amazing venue alone. So rustic and gorgeous!

Dances with Wolves

A engagement shoot that re-imagines the classic children's tale, Red Riding Hood.

Slow Dancin'

A super sweet vintage Philly wedding, complete with adorable couple.

Super Sonic Dance

An awesome superhero themed wedding that takes the cake!

Dance Hall Days

This charming, super small wedding hooked me with the bride's plaid shirt and skirt combo!

Why Don't We Just Dance

A budget bride who looks outstanding in not one, but two amazing (and wallet friendly) dresses and a beautiful reception with an amazing dessert buffet.

Life's a Dance

Michael and Tim's too cool for school Ace Hotel wedding shot by the lovely Noa of Feather Love Photography.

Summer Dance

A gorgeous Up inspired wedding complete with autographs from the filmmakers!

We are getting ready for our Classic Hollywood New Year's Eve party tomorrow and hanging out with the Half-breed Swede and her man until Monday. It's been an event-filled week and one which I will gladly recap for you all next week (I've been taking some great photos with my new DSLR). What are you doing New Year's Eve? Whatever it is, I hope it's fun and fabulous and you ring in the New Year with those you love. : ) And I will see you next year with a List for 2011 recap, among many other things.

In the mean time, here are the last dance moves of 2011:

The Curiosity Shoppe...love it!

Re-purposed suitcases

Coca-cola cupcakes

Sewing Porn

1940's New York (shot by the amazing Stanley Kubrick, who died on my 18th birthday)

A snowy Christmas wedding

The ultimate grilled cheese sandwich

(Friday dance Photo via here; Best of Photos credits linked above)

Wedding Wednesdays: Best of 2011

2011-12-28T04:50:00.000-06:00

In keeping with this week's theme, I'm lining up the best posts of 2011, at least in my humble opinion. I cover so many topics for my Wedding Wednesday posts, that these were a little harder to pick. But pick I did! So, here are the best Wedding Wednesday posts of 2011. Enjoy!

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10. Short, Sweet, and to the Point

Would you wear a short wedding dress? Here's a nice fashion board for some short wedding dress inspiration!

9. Writing Your Invitations

One of the things that drove me craziest when I was wedding planning was not having a sane person tell me how to write my invitations. Here's my solution for that. : )

8. Reader Q & A, Part 1 & Part 2

When a readers asks, I answer. Here I tackled bridezillas, crazy family members, gift registries, and some other pressing wedding issues.

7. Bachelorette Parties

To slut it up or not to slut it up? THAT is the question!

6. Herbal Wedding Decor

These are some of my favorite bits of inspiration. Imagine how fragrant an herbal wedding would be!

5. Bohemian Wedding Inspiration

If I had been born in a different era, I am certain I would have been a dirty hippie. I am also certain I would have cleaned up and worn this on my wedding day.

4. Table Number Ideas

If you're going for simple and sticking to numbers, why not pretty them up?

3. 10 Things I Did Right and 10 Things I Wish I'd Done Differently

Inspired by Hollywood Housewife, I reflected on what I did well and what I could have done differently with my own wedding.

2. Five Details You Need and Five Details You Can Do Without

What do you absolutely need, besides a (wo)man and a plan, that is? What can you live without? Here are a couple of must read lists I wish I'd had before I got married.

1. DIY Day

In one day, I showed how I accomplished some of my favorite DIY pieces from my own wedding, including a cake topper, moss covered escort stand, and our homemade cake mix favors.

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Did you have a favorite Wedding Wednesday post? If so, what was it? Click here to see 'em all!

Christmas Comes Late

2011-12-27T04:50:00.000-06:00

So, we finally got our Christmas acts together...on Christmas. Better late than never, I say. Here are some photos from our holiday. I hope you don't mind me sharing. : )

First, we celebrated Christmas Eve at my brother's. He and his girlfriend made a huge Italian feast (she's Italian). They made a ton of fresh pasta and veal and sausage. It was delicious! We exchanged gifts and then we had dessert: homemade tiramisu. Soooo good! We ended the night with a grab bag, which was a lot of fun. And then we Skyped my sister and nephew in India. All in all, a successful Christmas Eve.

I'll be damned if one of my brother's grab bag gifts wasn't that stupid wine bunny!

Christmas Day was spent cleaning, and then wrapping gifts only to have them unwrapped a little while later. We decorated the tree right before opening gifts. Then I spent the bulk of the evening roasting a chicken and making a nice dinner or the two of us. Everything took so long that we ended up not eating until 10:30 at night. Oh well. Again, better late than never.

So, that was our Christmas! We got some good gifts. I got a lot of photography related gifts, including a Gorillapod and a Ringflash. I also got an amazing new camera bag, which I can also use as a laptop bag/purse. I'm super, super psyched because I've been using a tote that says my husband's company's name on it and truth be told, it was getting pretty lame. I very badly needed a new new every day bag! A.P. got a lot of things he needed: a new wallet, a new work bag. He also got a book on dogs and a milk and cookies mug. And even though it was a gift for me, it was really a gift for the house, but A.P. got us a TiVo. I am so excited to start using it, I could just wet myself!

How was your Christmas?? Did Santa bring you any great gifts this year? If so, what were they?

PS. Stay tuned tomorrow for more Best of 2011.

(Photos by me!)

Marriage Mondays: Best of 2011

2011-12-26T11:28:00.004-06:00

Sorry this post is late today, party people. We had a slow, mega drawn out Christmas yesterday and so, had a nice, long sleep-in this morning. That will probably be my last one as I have the next two weeks off, but this week is all about the Half-breed Swede and her man. And the day after they leave, the first official day I'll have off in my two week vacation, um, yeah, I have jury freaking duty. LAME. Keep your fingers crossed, pray, do whatever you can to help me not get picked. I really, really need the vacation. I'm a wreck, people. A wreck. I need sleep. And TV. And lots of internet surfing. And more sleep. And reading. And a few movies snuck in, perhaps even in the theater. And maybe some crafting. Or photo taking (I got a ton of photography-related gifts for Christmas). I just need to not have jury duty during my vacation. That's what I don't need.

Anywho...all this week, I'll be recapping the best of 2011. There are many features that I started this year: Marriage Mondays, Wedding Wednesdays, my list for 2011. And since I'm one of those people who sits around and constantly reflects on what I've done and how I could have done it better, I figure why not be nice to myself for a change and focus on some stuff I did well. : ) So, in this last week of one of my hardest years, I'd like to pick some of the best moments of the year to reflect on. So, here are the best Marriage Monday posts of 2011.

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10. How Did You Meet?

Wherein we discuss the question of fate and I share the story of how A.P. and I met.

9. The Marriage Role Model Series

I asked a bunch of my friends what their views of marriage were, who their marriage role models are, and whether having positive marriage role models affects their own relationships/marriages. It was not an interesting view into some of my friends' relationships/marriages, but it was also an interesting conversation to have.

8. The In-laws

Do you get along with your in-laws? They influence your relationship so much and in ways you can't always foresee, but for better or worse, they're your family.

7. Rings

Do you wear your ring every day? I only wear my wedding band on a daily basis and I only wear my ring if I leave the house (i.e. work, dinners out, etc.). I'm not a big jewelry person, so wearing my ring during our engagement and now that we're married has been a tough adjustment.

6. The Marital Waistline

This is one of my favorite posts but it was also one of the hardest for me to write. My weight is always a sensitive issue and has been since I hit puberty and started gaining it quickly inexplicably. Marriage hasn't helped my waistline and I've got the pictures to prove it.

5. The Suburbs

My manifesto, if you will, on why A.P. and I will continue to live in the city and, gasp! raise our children here, too.

4. From the Get Go

This is one of my favorite posts of the year mainly because it's all about a simple belief I have about men: they should treat you well from the get go. Anyone else just isn't worth your time.

3. I Like Sex; Is Nice

Marriage changes sex, sure, but really it's life that gets more complicated and changes the equation. Not just marriage. I finally aired my grievances in this post.

2. Time Alone

I like time to myself. How does one work that into a marriage?

1. Being Married Is Tough, Yo!

And of course, the original Marriage Monday post (before they were Marriage Monday posts, that is).

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Did you have a favorite Marriage Monday post? If so, what was it? Check them all out here!

Merry, Merry, Merry!

2011-12-24T10:51:00.003-06:00

Hi all! I apologize for no Friday dance yesterday, but the holidays have made my brain mush. I wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, or a Fantastic Festivus (for the rest of us). Whatever it is you celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful time filled with many memories and great company!

We're celebrating with my family tonight and then having a quiet Christmas together (our first one alone!) tomorrow. Then, the Half-breed Swede and her man (who has yet to receive a good, proper nickname, but who shall get one soon) will arrive on Monday to visit for a week. I'll be back next week with a Best of 2011 series! In the mean time, enjoy the warm, glow of the holidays and be content with the fact that you finally know how Santa gets all those gifts to all those people. Sleigh? I don't think so! ROLL UP, MY REINDEER! ROLL UP!

(Reindeer Photo via Favim)

Oh Ugh, Christmas Tree (and Other Holiday Musings)

2011-12-22T04:50:00.000-06:00

So, our tree is finally up, but only because A.P. finally put it up. It's not decorated AT ALL, though. And I'm so nucking futs this week with work that I probably won't get to put it up until Saturday. So, Christmas will officially arrive on Christmas Eve. Awesome. Not my best Christmas for sure. Still, I got most of my Christmas shopping done, even if meant some packages cost me a bundle to have shipped because of last minute shipping costs. Other than that, we're starving for a little holiday spirit around here. Sure, we've had some work Christmas parties and some gifts exchanged and we've of course received a few cards, but it seems like the holidays are catching everyone off guard this year.

This will be the first Christmas we spend just the two of us. Christmas Eve will be spent with my family, but no one volunteered to host Christmas Day. And since the Half-breed Swede is coming in from across the pond the day after Christmas, we figured we could use the calm and frankly the time to straighten up and get ready for our guests. So, really, the only thing we're looking forward to this year is getting/giving each other presents. Here's what was on my wish list this year:

Guitar Pick Punch

35mm film converter

A few of these posters which I love so much

A ring flash adaptor

A new, kickass umbrella that I've had my eye on for FOREVER

A ring to add to my deer collection

A new camera bag for my new DSLR (my Christmas present to myself) similar to this one

A lens cap strap holder

A gorillapod

And clothes. Mind you, I expect to get like three of these things, I just want to make sure that A.P. always has options. ; )

What are you doing for Christmas? What's on your wish list?

(Photo credits linked above)

Wedding Wednesday: Wedding Hair

2011-12-21T04:50:00.000-06:00

I've always heard the rule of thumb for wedding hair is to wear it the way you normally wear it, but a bit fancier. So, for instance, if you wear your hair down most days, wear it down on your big day. This way, you'll look more natural in your photos. I typically wear my hair down, so for my own big day, I fancied it up a bit, but otherwise it stayed down. So many people, however, seem to wear their hair up. And in such elaborate, beautiful ways!

How will/did you wear your hair? Is hair important to you? It wasn't terribly important to me...I just wanted it to look nice and stay neat. : )

Here's five beautiful updos I wish I could have rocked on my wedding day. These would also do the trick for holiday parties since 'tis the season!

(Updo with Flower via here; Side Chignon via here; Nape Twist via here; Headband via here; Braid Crown via here)

Our Post-Engagement Shoot

2011-12-20T04:50:00.000-06:00

The pictures are in! After nearly two years of being married, we finally took our engagement shoot photos or as I like to call them, our post-engagement photos. If you read this blog often, you know that I had a plan for where to go and what to do when we finally took these photos. Then, right before we actually took them, I freaked out and scrapped the plan. After much discussion, A.P. and I came up with a list of places and then narrowed it down to a few. We ended up going to five places total, but this time we felt like the places we chose had more meaning than an ice cream shop, a bowling alley, and a park. : )

We met our photographer, Theresa Scarbrough, on a warm, autumn afternoon. One of the last of the season. First up, we went to North Park Village Nature Center. Located on Chicago's northwest side, this nature preserve, which is part of North Park University, feels as if you've stepped out of the city right into a secret forest, complete with a wetland, a prairie, and even deer! There's a number of trails that weave throughout the grounds, too. We picked this place for a couple of reasons. For one, we've gone there in the past since it's near our house. For another, it looked a lot like the place where we got engaged. We spent the bulk of our shoot here and got some amazing shots.

From there, we headed to my old apartment and the site of our very first date. We, of course, could only take pictures outside the apartment, but trust me when I tell you that though this was the shortest leg of the trip, it was also the most fun. The entire time we were taking pictures, this guy was sticking his head out of the window of an apartment across the street shouting, "Hey, take my picture!" It was hilarious. We didn't stay here long, but we for sure got a few cute photos.

After my old apartment, we did a quick outfit change and took some photos in front of our current apartment.

Then, we headed over to a laundromat near our house. The second time we hung out was in this laundromat. We had agreed to make each other mix CDs and for whatever reason, I couldn't email him the one I'd made. So, I called him up and told him I'd bike it over to him. At the time, he was getting ready to go on a business trip and was at his local laundromat washing what he needed to pack. I met him there and ended up helping him fold his clothes. While we were folding and talking, A.P. jokingly asked me if I'd miss him when he was on his trip. I said yes and he thought I was kidding (we'd only gone out on one date!) and I pretended I had been. Secretly, though, I really was going to miss him. I always think back on that moment and realize that's when I knew I really liked him. (Insert collective awwww here.) So, to the laundromat we went! And I'm glad we went there because these ended up being some of my favorite photos.

The last stop for us was the south loop, where we did one last outfit change and took some shots near the train tracks with the skyline in the background. We couldn't take the photos and not acknowledge the beautiful city in which we live.

Didn't Theresa do an amazing job with these photos?? Hip, hip!

(Photos by Theresa Scarbrough)

Marriage Mondays: Combining Family Traditions

2011-12-19T04:50:00.000-06:00

One of the things that has been hard about getting married is giving up some of the traditions I had growing up in order to either begin our own traditions or let A.P. have some of his own family traditions. It's sort of strange to think that so much of your identity can be found in the things you ritualistically do with your family and loved ones. And when you get married, you form a new family and with that family comes change.

Growing up, my family had a hearty meal and opened our presents on Christmas Eve. Even Santa came Christmas Eve! He knocked on our front door, and when I went to open the door, my gifts were waiting outside. Then, my mother who sang in the choir at our church, left to go sing in Midnight Mass. My mother sang in a fairly well-known church, whose Midnight Mass was always live telecast. When I was too little to make it through the mass, I watched on TV. We would look for my mother. Then, my siblings and I would wake up Christmas morning, open our stockings, and then get dressed up in our Sunday best for Christmas dinner, which was attended by my great-aunt and uncle each year.

A.P. had a very different experience. He didn't really do much on Christmas Eve, except put cookies and milk out for Santa. Then, Christmas morning, he and his brothers would tear into their million presents (their mom was big on Christmas and giving gifts). They would have a meal, but that's not what really sticks out to him. It was the gifts and the decorations adorning both the outside of the house and the inside that he remembers. His mother's annual Christmas parties and the giant Christmas tree in their front lawn are what stick out now.

Our own traditions are a combination of both, really. We open Christmas presents on Christmas Day, but usually we'll get together with family on Christmas Eve and open a present each. But I'm not going to lie: I still miss what I grew up doing. And I think that should we have kids, I would miss those things even more. Still, I love the things we've created together, too. I love that we decorate our tree together and that each year one of us stabs this crazy, clothespin ornament that A.P made onto the tree. It's a bizarre tradition, but it's ours. And I take pictures each year of one of us doing it right before we put on our tree topper.

I like to think about how these things will become part of the fabric of our marriage and how they all become things we look forward to doing each and every year. Then I think about how one day if we have kids, these things will become part of their holiday memories. It's weird how circular life really is. I may not love giving up some of my traditions, but I love A.P. and I love the holidays we share together and the memories we have together. I love the traditions we've created that I force him to participate in (he's a boy...let's face it, this is girl stuff). And secretly, I think he kind of does, too. After all, it's that time of year, and as we do every year, we just sent each other our wish lists. I'm looking forward to finishing set up our tree and decorating the house. And I can't wait to drink cocoa and eat Christmas cookies and get our Christmas on! Because even if it's not the Christmas I grew up with, it's a Christmas I've created and one I look forward to each and every year.

How did you react to combining family traditions? What are some of the traditions you've created together?

(Bike Christmas Lights via here; Christmas lights in the snow via here)

The Last Winter Dance Party

2011-12-16T04:50:00.000-06:00

Let's talk about A. how fast this week went, and B. how nutty it's been. I worked late every day. I scrambled to get Christmas shopping done (I'm finishing up Saturday, fingers crossed!). I had my guitar recital, which I wasn't going to go to, but I felt bad, so I stayed. I didn't make A.P. go, so there are no photos of me rocking John Lennon's "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)." Oh, well. And to top it all off, I'm terrified of my busy, busy pre-Christmas weekend. I think I'm going to have to work all night tomorrow evening in order to be able to even have a weekend. Suckety, suck, suck. Why must the weeks leading up to Christmas always be such a nutshow??

Speaking of Christmas, are you hoping for a white one? I almost always wake up Christmas morning wishing there is snow on the ground. This year, though, I think I will wish for warmer weather. I'm not wishing for Florida or anything, but we had our first official, stick-to-the-ground snow this week, and it was scary as HELL driving! I almost died...twice. The roads were just ice and I couldn't even break. Yeah...not looking forward to that at all.

But for all wedding intents and purposes, I'm digging this bit of wintry wedding inspiration photographed by Jenny Haas. You so rarely see real winter weddings. I guess people don't want to deal with the same stuff I don't want to deal with as a regular old citizen. Until more brave couples man up and throw some kickass winter weddings, we'll have to use our imaginations.

Wasn't that dreamy? I love that table setting the most. Imagine having a whole winter garden filled with tables like that? Le sigh.

This weekend will go like this: Friday night=work, work, work. Saturday day=shop, shop, shop. Saturday night=celebrate, celebrate, celebrate. Sunday morning=work, work, work. Sunday afternoon=decorate, decorate, decorate. Sunday night=collapse, collapse, collapse. What are you up to? Something more relaxing than me, I hope!

In the mean time, here are your dance moves for the week:

Chocolate chip cookie dough cupcake, say what???!!!???

All the pretty hallways

Floppy disc portraiture

I imagine if I still wrote poetry, I'd like to write it here.

DIY Wedding/Party Favors I want to eat through my screen.

Would you stay in a tree hotel?

Thinking about making these for some of my coworkers. Aren't they too cute?

Art inspired tattoos

Totally weird and totally fascinating: Black Cat Auditions in Hollywood, 1961

Someone asked me the other day what would happen if a deadly disease hit Chicago. My response? Zombie apocalypse. Here's where I want to live when that happens.

(Friday Dance Photo via here; Winter Wedding Inspiration Photographed by Jenny Haas and styled by Ashley Krogman Designs via Green Wedding Shoes)

Gifts I'd Really Like to Give

2011-12-15T04:50:00.004-06:00

I see a lot of gift guides out and about on the internet. My all time favorite is always Joanna Goddard's on A Cup of Jo. I love how she personalizes her gift guide, as if she were really going to buy all those things for all those people!

The thing is, lately I've been super annoyed with my family. They're all acting like a bunch of jerks and if I were Santa, I'd totally put them on the naughty list. See, I come from a big family, there's seven of us total including my parents. You know what that is? That's too many damn opinions. That's what that is. So, in honor of crazy parents, kooky siblings, and overall nutty relatives, I give you my take on Joanna's gift guide, or as I like to call it, Gifts I'd Really Like to Give. It's totally budget friendly, and expresses to those who annoy you best just how much they annoy you.

Here's what to get your...

...Crazy, Steadfastly Becoming Elderly Mother Who No Longer Gives You Real Gifts, But Instead Gives You Wrapped Up Mementos From Your Childhood and Weird Shit From the Dollar Store

Easy. Give her this frame! It's the same one she gave your husband inexplicably for Christmas two years ago. (See photo essay below.)

A.P., excited, before he actually opened the gift.

Scared of what's coming!

Unimpressed, A.P. sets the frame down and hopes for something better later.

The frame, up close. Why in the world would you ever give that to a man??

...Totally Insane Indian Father Who Never Uses a Single, Damn Gift You Give Him and Always Gives You Checks or Cash for Gifts in a Card He Got for Free in the Mail

Duh. A check. And since he's 83, let's make it one for $5. See if he'll get the joke.

...Your Gets Too Drunk at Family Functions Brother Who Sometimes Wears Pink Shirts and Last Year Gave You a Rabbit Wine Opener Even Though You Never Drink Wine Really and You Spent Almost a Hundred Bucks on Him

Um, you're going to regift that stupid Rabbit Wine Opener. He was drunk when he gave it to you. He doesn't remember that shit.

...Your Unemployed Brother Who You Love Dearly But Who Neither Gives Gifts Nor Seems to Appreciate That You Bought Him One Even Though Again, You Spent Almost a Hundred Bucks on Him

Mix it up this year. Give him nothing. And pretend that's what you do all the time. Let him figure it out. Or let him not figure it out. You just got off gift-free. Who gives a hoot?

...Your Other Brother Who You Don't Even Talk To

Nothing. You don't talk to his dumb butt anyway.

...Your Sister Who Lives in India and Who You Swear Doesn't Get You at All and Who You Also Swear Gives You Gifts from Her Emergency Gift Drawer and Who When You Gave Her Curtis Sittenfeld's book Prep Five Years Ago Gave It Back After She Was Done Reading It

Give her Prep. Tell her she forget it stateside and you know how important it is to her. Then wrap up one of your mom's gems and give it to your sister. Yes. Awesome.

...Your Brother-in-Law Who Does Get You (Thank God) and Who You Like to Go to Concerts With on Occasion and Who Is Super Easy to Talk to and..Gasp!...NORMAL.

Actually get him something good. He's good people.

...Your 22 and 21 Year Old Nephews Who Never, Ever Buy Anyone Gifts Really But Who Gladly Reap All the Christmas Rewards Year After Year and Who Two Years Ago Gave You Super Troopers on DVD and Your Husband Amistad. Seriously.

This is a total no-brainer. You give one Super Troopers and you give the other Amistad. They're both still in the wrapper, too. So it will look like you came up with some elaborate joke when really, you're just giving them a taste of their own, not so funny medicine.

...Your Mother's Boyfriend Who Watches Fox News ALL. DAY. LONG. and Who Has All the Answers and Too Many Opinions But Who Does Love Your Mother A Whole Lot So You Tolerate Him

Obama Toilet Paper. Feed into his nuttiness.

Now sing gleefully as you wrap your gifts! Fa la la la la, la la la, la!

(4 U Photo via here; The Frame Photo Essay Photos by me; Snowman Christmas via here)

Wedding Wednesday: To Trash or Not to Trash? That Is the Question.

2011-12-14T04:50:00.000-06:00

When I first heard of trash the dress shoots, I'm pretty sure my mouth fell agape and I was completely shocked that anybody would spend a ton of money just to trash a dress you spent a ton of money on. To me, that's just bananas.

Take this bride, for instance. She didn't even get good photographs from her first wedding, so for her anniversary, she hired Color Me Rad to do a trash the dress shoot. And how did she trash her dress? She had her kids throw paint on her dress!! Guys, there are brain bits all over my computer screen right now because my head just exploded! I'd lose my mind if my kids got paint all over my dress, let alone pay someone to document it! To each their own, indeed!

Yet, so many brides do it! So many brides jump in a lake, get dirty, or grunge up their gowns by rolling around cityscapes! So, spill the beans! Would you/did you trash your dress? Do you like the trash the dress shoots? Or are you like me and you cringe every time you see one?

(Susan's Trash the Dress Photographed by Color Me Rad via Rock N'Roll Bride)

My Boring Life

2011-12-13T04:50:00.000-06:00

Each week, I plan on having an awesome weekend filled with fun stuff that I can blog about later. Each week, I daydream about the kickass things A.P. and I will do together, building new memories and having a blast doing so. Then the weekend rolls around and before I know it, I'm sleeping on a couch. I tell A.P. I'm going to do a bunch of stuff - run errands, go to the store, clean the house, pick a movie for us to go see. But here's what happens instead: I sleep. I sleep in, I lay around the house, unable to move, then if I can, I take a nap. Before I know it, it's too late to do anything. Plus...I'm usually too tired anyway. And I know you're thinking I'm depressed or something, but I'm not. For one thing, I know the difference. For another, I'm not alone. A.P. spends much of his weekend in the same way, though he usually talks himself into getting some chores done more than I do (I hate housecleaning. It's easy to talk myself out of that.).

The thing is, work and life are stressing me out big time. I'm unhappy with my family, working my ass off (and I had an intern doing half of my job until last week), and I'm so tired or stressed that I'm not even able to seek my creative outlets, like blogging or photography or guitar.

Plus, Ollie is great, but he's a lot of work. Sure, it's mostly fun work, but after a long day, sometimes I want to curl up and pass out for an hour. Not play endless fetch. I grin, bear it, and play the endless fetch because I love Ollie and I want him to be a happy puppy. But geez-a-lou! It wears me out big time.

All of this adds up to a nutty, boring life. One filled with not enough sleep Monday through Friday and too much sleep Saturday and Sunday. Rinse. Repeat.

I had on my list that I needed to re-prioritize my life. That I needed to put life and A.P. first and work second. It's so, so hard. And not just for me, but for A.P., too. Plus, I think we're bored of being bored. We want to do fun things. We want to have a life filled with adventure and fun. And we want to be able to walk through the door and leave work behind because, in the end, it's not important to us. But in these tough economic times, it's every man for themselves and so work has, without us trying, become a huge focus. And so, we work ourselves into a stupor and then spend the weekend in a post-work, boredom coma. Guys, what am I going to do??? I need to get out of this funk. We need to get out of this funk.

And no...we didn't get that damn tree put up, though it and the boxes of decorations are sitting outside, on our back porch, waiting to be brought inside to adorn our home.

Why Don't We Just Dance

2011-12-09T04:50:00.000-06:00

The countdown to Christmas is on, people. And the weeks are flying by! This also means that before I know it, The Half-breed Swede will be here! And for the first time ever, I'm meeting her man! Exciting stuff...but also stressful since both Christmas and her visit will be here extraordinarily soon. This gal's gotta lot to do before the holidays! It's time to get my ass into gear.

This week, I'm obsessed with this bride's fashion. When you see the pictures, you'll be jealous of her effortless style. But when I tell you that both outfits were incredibly cheap (1st outfit was a J. Crew maxi skirt and a blouse from TJ Maxx!!), your head will explode. Cynthia and Jamaal married at the gorgeous Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture and their lovely affair was captured by Elisabeth Millay. Besides the fabulous bridal fashion and the beautiful setting, don't these two just look damn happy??

Don't you love her wedding ensemble? And that rockin' mini is to die for, too! Whenever I see weddings like this, I always wonder why so many of us get trapped into standard white gowns!

Soooo...this weekend we are getting our Christmas asses into gear. I'm putting together my list for A.P. and we're decorating the place for the holidays. We're also going to start cleaning up for The Half-breed Swede. Also, I'm going to end up doing a bunch of work since the intern I've had for the past three months is leaving me after tomorrow. She was doing half of my job (and I'm still overworked!!). I want to cry. But instead, I'm trying to get ahead so I'm not so crazy busy. Other than that, I plan on staying in and cozying up next to our "fire" (aka space heater) and relaxing. What are you up to?? Whatever it is, my dears, I wish it to be wonderful!

In the mean time, here are your dance moves for the week:

Ever heard of sea icicles?? Me neither, but they're fascinating to watch.

Inside out carrot cake muffins

How future generations will remember us

Holiday Inspiration

DIY Wrap Bracelet

Vintage Dior

Two favorite gift guides: One old, one new

Eggnog Pie

Here's a fun fact about me: I only take baths, not showers. So imagine how my head exploded when I saw these!

(Friday dance photo via here; Cynthia and Jamaal's wedding photographed by Elisabeth Millay via Style Me Pretty)

Things I Wish I Was Doing Better These Days

2011-12-08T04:50:00.001-06:00

1. I wish I was practicing guitar. Since we got Ollie and since my job has gone completely bananas and everything seems to have exploded, I have only practiced once. It's terrible. And every day I say I'm going to, but I'm either so incredibly busy doing work or stuff for the house or I'm beat to hell from doing so damn much. I've never repeated a class in my life, but I fear if I don't get my shit together, I'm going to repeat Guitar 2. Sniff, sniff.

2. I wish I was a better blogger. And that includes everything that comes with blogging: tweeting, responding to comments, reading other blogs and commenting, etc. Lately, I'm doing the bare minimum and I don't want to take a break because I fear I know how that will go. But I'm sick of the fact that so much of my personal life has been given up completely in order to accommodate my job. And I'm afraid that if I take a break, my job will take over completely and I'll get really sporadic about my posting again.

3. I wish I was organized and had any of my Christmas shopping done. I haven't thought about what to get A.P. really, nor have I though about what to get my family or friends. And as of this Saturday, I'll be officially screwed, with Christmas two weeks away. I also wanted to do cards and I don't think that will happen either. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.

4. I wish I was better to myself. I feel like there's not much of me to give to someone else these days. It used to be that if I was really beat from work, I would sometimes come home and sleep for an hour or so before A.P. got home. Then we got Ollie. Those days went right out of the window. The new schedule is that I work two hours of overtime or so and then I come home, exhausted, only to be bombarded by the puppy. Then I either work some more or I do stuff around the house. I'm up until late, too. These days, I'm lucky if I get more than six hours of sleep. It's terrible.

5. I wish I was better to A.P. I feel like I'm so stressed out and so tired that I'm not a very good companion these days. I'm constantly tired and annoyed and depressed by the weather, family crap, and of course, my job. I'm constantly complaining to A.P. because I feel like I have no one I can talk to at work. I wish we could run away, if only for a weekend. We need a vacation.

6. I wish I was a better sister/daughter. I'm trying, but my family isn't making it easy at all.

7. I wish I was living my life better.

Wedding Wednesday: Jenny Packham

2011-12-07T04:50:00.000-06:00

Getting married next year? Got a big ol' budget?? Please wear something from Jenny Packham's Spring/Summer 2012 collection! How ethereal and gorgeous are these dresses?

(Images by Jenny Packham via Lace & Tea)

Art Meets Fashion

2011-12-06T04:50:00.001-06:00

I do some fooling around on Polyvore, but there are some people who are super hardcore. There are some people who create some seriously amazing fashion boards on there...and in abundance. Take this amazing series of art inspired outfits, for instance. I totally happened onto this and was completely blown away! I love that there some are quite literal and some are more interpretative. Give these a look and then see more here!

Mary Cassatt by georgina-m featuring wide belts

Wall Reliefs by georgina-m featuring quilted handbags

Johannes Vermeer by georgina-m featuring a cord jacket

Munch by georgina-m featuring buckle belts

Maas" src="http://embed.polyvoreimg.com/cgi/img-set/cid/8952030/id/-PHYZ8tI3hGikC9Lajsktg/size/y.jpg" title="Jodi Maas" height="600" border="0">

Jodi Maas by georgina-m featuring oversized clutches

Henri Matisse by georgina-m featuring a knee length pencil skirt

Gustav Klimt by georgina-m featuring gold clutches

Keith Haring by georgina-m featuring a shopping bag

(All fashion boards via Polyvore)

Marriage Mondays: Giving Gifts

2011-12-05T04:50:00.000-06:00

Before I begin this Marriage Monday post, there's something you should know about me. I love to give good gifts. I sort of pride myself on it. I always try to get a gift that I know someone will love, and I'm always super bummed when something doesn't work out. I try to listen to people and the things they say they want. And I always try to dazzle them with a great gift, that's also something unexpected. I would say that, for the most part, I have a good track record.

That being said, with the holidays coming up soo soon, I figured it was a good time to talk about giving gifts when you're in a relationship, particularly when you're married. Do you and your significant other exchange gifts for holidays, birthdays, and other gift-giving events? A.P. and I do, though sometimes we're a bit lazy about it. For instance, we didn't give each other a gift on our 1st wedding anniversary or our 5th year anniversary as a couple, both of which we celebrated this year. Why not? Because we didn't do it, said we were going to, and ended up not. We do that a lot.

Christmas, however, is a big blowout. We do gifts. A lot of them. And it's not necessarily about spending a ton of money either. It's really about finding gifts you know the other will love (and needs). It's about making the other person smile big. And just like me, A.P. really loves to give gifts, too. And he sort of prides himself on his gift-giving ability, too.

The reason we're so big on gifts, though, is because we feel that if we didn't give each other great gifts, we'd never get any. You see, both of our families are kind of not so great with the gift giving. A.P.'s family will either give us stuff we don't need or a gift card (which is actually awesome...when we remember to use them). My family gives weird stuff we don't really need...or sometimes like, which means it ends up being crammed into some corner never to be used. Or, too, my mother's new thing is to give us old stuff from our childhood. It cracks me up, too, because you're always supposed to act like it's so awesome to get random crap you haven't seen in 20 years (and that you now have to find space for in your own home). Anyway, we never feel like we get good stuff. We never get to smile big. I don't know that A.P. and I ever discussed intentionally doing it up big for Christmas or if it just sort of happened that way. We both have a lot of fond memories of Christmas and opening gifts and I think we just wanted to have the same types of memories in our relationship.

The first year that A.P. and I were together as a couple, I had no idea what to get him. I wanted to give him something personal and special. He studied economics and still loves all things related. At first I wanted to get him cuff links, knowing that he likes nice stuff for his dress clothes (e.g. ties, shoes, etc.). I figured that would be a nice touch to his wardrobe. I wanted one cuff link to say "supply" and the other to say "demand." As it turns out, though, A.P. doesn't wear shirts with which you can wear cuff links. He has a hard time finding French cuffed shirts in his size. So, instead I found a beautiful sterling silver whistle key chain, which had a little tag that I had engraved with those words on each side. Then, I attached two keys to the ring. They were the keys to my apartment.

That first Christmas with A.P. was so magical. I would say that was when I really realized that I loved A.P. (though we didn't say it to each other for a long time after). There's something so magical about the season and it is by far one of my most favorite times of year! But it's not just about the gift giving (though that is a lot of fun). It's also about the snow, the magic, Santa Claus, Christmas music, and memories. And most of all, it's about A.P. and the traditions that we are starting in our own little family. And I guess, big gift giving is a part of that.

Some families do kids only gifts, some do grab bags, some do no gifts at all. For instance, my brother and his wife don't exchange gifts at all. In fact, they never even celebrated Christmas until they had kids. A.P.'s father and stepmother don't do gifts or decorations or even anything fancy anymore. They stopped when their kids grew up and had their own families. We have friends who exchange one gift. And I know some people who do a handmade gift. But us, well, we'll do big gift giving as long as we can. What can I say? We love putting those big smiles on each other's faces!

So...do you exchange gifts during the holidays? Or do you have a different tradition?

(Photo 1 via here; Photo 2 via here; Photo 3 via here)

Snow Dancing, Swaying to the Music

2011-12-02T04:50:00.000-06:00

I cannot believe it's already December! I also cannot believe how the temperatures here went from being in the 50's to 30's with that simple month change. I've lived in Chicago from birth and that never ceases to amaze me. It's also made me realize I gotta get my butt into gear and get up earlier since now I'll have to warm up the car and probably eventually brush the snow off. I hate that. It's the one downfall to our car ownership. We'll still take it over the bus any day, though. : )

This week's wedding is a quiet one. Every once in a while, when I need solitude in my own life, I find myself mysteriously drawn to elopements. After all, for those of us who are already married and those who are still planning weddings, you know that whether we go through with it or not, we all at some point dream of running off and eloping. Bonnie and Chris's elopement is gorgeous, though. It's stately and Bonnie's dress is to die for, but what I really love is that it's all for them, just the two of them. Plus, it's photographed by one of my favorite photographers, Emma Case (she also photographed Kiara King's wedding). Oh, and once again, there's a crying picture which almost made me cry! What is my obsession with that lately? Anywho...have a gander at Bonnie and Chris's sweet, sweet elopement.

Is that not breathtaking? I love all those buttons that go down the back of her dress! Simply amazing! And of course my favorite picture is them stocking up on candy bars! Hilarious!

This weekend, we are taking Ollie for his final round of puppy shots and getting sh*t done around our house. Then, B-Mac is having a spa party on Sunday which I'm going to swing by for a while. I could use some relaxation and am thinking about getting my eyebrows done and maybe a pedicure. Fun! What are you up to this weekend? Whatever it is, I hope you have a lovely weekend! Stay warm and cozy!

In the mean time, here are your dance moves for the week:

The Secret World of Disneyland - Cats who eat the rats at night??? Madness!

Bored while you're cooped up in the house? Learn to do a random craft!

Ryan Gosling: So good looking, you could eat him!

Rustic way to display photos

10 Techniques Every Cook Should Know

Cats hugging kittens? My head just exploded from the cuteness!

Minimalist Psycho poster (and other great movie poster redesigns...including this one for The Karate Kid and this one for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which is brilliant)

Cute (and simple) braid tutorial from a blog I just discovered and hate to admit I like because Lauren Conrad is one of the people behind it. I can't help it though! They make stuff so easy. Example: look at this other fishtail braid tutorial. Way better than the one I posted a few weeks ago!

Cheesecake stuffed strawberries = heaven.

(Friday dance photo via here; Bonnie and Chris's elopement photographed by Emma Case)

We Need a Vacation

2011-12-01T04:50:00.000-06:00

This month alone, we've had three family members have health problems, one of which required hospitalization. A.P. and I have both been overworked and underpaid. I've also been saving like a madwoman this year, which means I'm broke. It's worth it, though. I met my personal savings goal for the year, am still contributing to our joint savings (aka our down payment money), and paid off my credit card. That ain't bad! BUT...what that means is that we only spent money on necessary travel this year: trips to Florida to visit family, a wedding in New York, etc. The only vacation we've taken all year was camping in Leland, which was nice, but not super relaxing. On my list for 2011, I wrote that I wanted to travel somewhere exotic. It's looking like that is not going to happen this year. Soooo...instead I'm left to daydream. And since budget is never an issue when it comes to daydream vacationing, I'm choosing to go to The Maldives. Won't you join me on this much needed vacation???

Plus, remember this?

(Ayada Maldives Photos via Adelto)

Wedding Wednesday: It's a Nice Day for a...Winter Wedding

2011-11-30T04:50:00.000-06:00

When you are planning your wedding, one of the biggest things you have to consider is the season in which you are marrying. Are you a spring bride? Or an autumn one? Or are you completely brave and planning a winter wedding? If so, you get sincere props from me. When we were shooting our post-engagement photos a few weeks ago, our photographer, Theresa Scarbrough, was telling us how much her schedule opens up after November. I guess I understand, but having grown up in the Midwest, I have to admit that there is something magical about winter and the snow. The bare branches, Christmas lights (if it's that time of year), and crisp weather. Plus, if it snows? Well, that's even more magical! Winter weddings are obviously not for everyone, but if you can pull it off, I imagine it would be amazing! So, in honor of those that do or want to, here's a bit of winter wedding inspiration. : )

Invitations...

Bouquet...

Wedding Cake...

Centerpiece Idea...

Ring Pillow...

Favor/End of Night Treat...

(Winter Wedding Photo by Rebekah J. Murray via Bridal Guide; Snowflake Invitations by Parrott Design Studio via Oh So Beautiful Paper; Bouquet 2 via Martha Stewart; Wedding Cake via Erica O'Brien Cake Design; Centerpiece via The Wedding Dish; Ring Pillow via The Finer Things; Hot Cocoa to Go Photographed by Kiss the Girl Photography via Inspiring Brides)

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Wedding Wednesday: It's a Nice Day for a...Winter Wedding

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