Dances with Wolves

Today is an easy day at work and I'm happy for that. As per usual, I'm exhausted. I think I was supposed to live a life of leisure. Where are my millions??? Where's my poolside iced tea?!? Why should those Real Housewives have all the fun while the rest of us are slaving away all day and night, five (or more) days a week?? Okay, wish I was rich rant over.

Since it is almost Halloween, I thought this gorgeous and oh so dramatic engagement shoot was PERFECT. I'm so used to sporadic seeming engagement shoots or styled ones, but I can honestly say I've never seen a themed, sort of performance art, engagement shoot. Kelli and Taylor opted for a Little Red Riding Hood engagement shoot that sort of blows my mind. It's enchanting and that cape is so ethereal! Plus, look closely at Taylor's eyes! Yikes! Photographed by Three Nails Photography (they also made that amazing cape!), the concept and photography is simply stunning. Enjoy!

Are you blown away or what? I kind of just want a cape like that to wear around the house. Or Chicago. You ask why, I say why not!

This weekend should be fun and relaxing. My friend from guitar class invited us over for drinks, food, and pumpkin carving fun at her place on Saturday. And I think we're going to do our movie marathon on Sunday. Maybe if I watch the scarier movies during the day I will be less scared by the time it's night and I have to sleep with the lights off. Maybe. We'll see. What are you up to this weekend?

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

Autumn sexiness

What it's like to have backyard chickens

I wish I lived in NYC, I would totally go check out this rad exhibit!

Photosynthesis lamp

Modern skull candy dish

I love that this delicious autumn flavored recipe is for just four cupcakes. Perfect for two!

I'm super psyched because my guitar teacher gave me the music for two Ryan Adams songs this week. If you don't know Ryan Adams, you should. He's amazing. I'm loving this song from his latest album.

Birdcage chair

Pumpkin carving lite

Top 10 Topical Halloween Costumes for 2011 (my favorites are the Barack Obama approval rating and the Debt Ceiling!)

(Friday dance photo via here; Kelli & Taylor's Red Riding Hood Engagement Shoot photographed by Three Nails Photography via Green Wedding Shoes)

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Marriage Mondays: Dreams

A.P. and I like to watch The Marriage Ref. Do you guys watch this show at all? It's usually good for a few laughs and we always marvel at how similar some of the arguments are to our own, which makes us laugh more. The thing is, we were watching last night and one of the things I noticed was that so many of these arguments come down to one person's dream making the other person unhappy. Inevitably, the person who was living their dream didn't want to give it up and an argument would ensue.

It's hard because in many ways, I can relate to this argument. Every once in a while, A.P. and I will talk about buying a house and I will fly into a rage. I feel like I am giving up so much by buying a home in Chicago. I never wanted to live here. I wanted to move to New York. I grew up in Chicago and I love it, but it gets old sometimes. I feel so connected to so many neighborhoods, but at the same time sick to death of them. For me, New York has always felt like the next step up. I feel like when I got married, I officially gave up that dream. I knew A.P. wasn't a big fan of living in New York. I also knew that I would want to live there for a while, not forever, and not necessarily when we have kids.

It's a complicated issue and there's no real good solution. The thing that's hard, though, is coming to terms with the fact that you give up some dreams when you get married. Some people say you give up some to make room for others (kids, home, etc.), but it's been a hard thing for me to let go.

When we were in New York the other weekend, A.P. started asking me some hard questions. He asked me if I really loved New York or just the idea. He asked me if I could, would I stay and not go home. Did I love it that much? I am not sure I had/have good answers to any of those questions. I just think sometimes you have some things that you feel you have to do, to prove something to yourself. This is one of them.

I don't know if we'll ever live in New York. I worry I'm too engaged in my current job/career right now to make a move that big. I also worry a lot about my family. I don't think now is the time to move to a different city and be away from my parents, who aren't getting younger. It would also be hard for us to be away from the support system we've created for ourselves.

The point is, for me, the thing that has always been tricky about marriage is the idea that I was giving something up. Apparently, I'm not alone. If The Marriage Ref has taught me anything, it's that it seems everyone has to compromise their dreams a little bit. In the end, you do it because you realize maybe giving up on the dream for this great person in your life isn't the worst thing in the world.

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Some Pictures from NYC

We really didn't take a lot of pictures while we were in NYC. Truth be told, there was too much running around and trying to get to places on time. The only thing I really wanted to do was go see the Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty exhibit at The Met, but alas, the line was way, way too long. We would have waited in it had we not had a wedding to attend. Hopefully, they'll send it on the road and it will come to Chicago. Fingers crossed!

Walking around Central Park...


The ridiculously long line to get into the Savage Beauty exhibit...

A picture of us from the wedding we attended...

And that's it. I only took about 144 pictures the whole weekend, which is REALLY unlike me. Still, we had a good time. We ate at Cafe Cluny, BXL East and got to walk around town a little. A.P. did all of the shopping this weekend. I stuck to helping him (also unlike me). I was just feeling out of sorts and the weekend had a gray cloud over it for me. Still, as I said yesterday, I was so, so happy to have A.P. there with me. And we were both happy to return home.

(All Photos by me!)

Sweetheart Dance

Happy Friday, everybody! As you all read this, A.P. and I are on our way to NYC for a friend's wedding. I'm not super psyched. I'm sick. I'm tired. And Aunt Flo is comin' to town any minute, which is really killing my mood. And frankly, we're still frustrated at how much the whole weekend is costing us. But we will celebrate and have a good time (or die trying!). I will take lots of pictures so that I can show you how we look when we are not lazy and kick it up a notch.

Meanwhile, we've had an exciting week. Did you know our wedding was featured on The Thirty-Something Bride? Well, it was! And we couldn't be more thrilled. Thank you so much, Louise, for featuring us and for the sweet comments. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, feel free to head on over and take a look.

In honor of the NYC wedding and my Brooklyn friends who are getting married, I thought I would share with you this super adorable Brooklyn boathouse wedding that was shot by the amazing Tec Petaja (and one of my favorite wedding photographers)! I'm in love with this sweet bride! I adore her veil, her dress, and I LOVE that she's just wearing a band. How simple and lovely, no? Take a peek!


Wasn't that so pretty? I am so in love with the relaxed vibe of that wedding! Everyone seems so happy, but also calm, no?

This has been a whirlwind of a week, guys! I wish we could relax this weekend and do nothing, but this weekend aims to be pretty whirlwind, too. Hopefully at some point, we'll be able to take a breath or two. What are you up to this weekend?

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

Love this water balloon engagement session! What a fun idea!

Such a cute DIY paper banner. And it's a great idea that can be used for all kinds of parties, not just weddings: baby's birthday, congrats, etc.

What a sweet treat!

Laundry room lighting

Grownup pudding pops

A.P.'s favorite cupcakes at Sweet Mandy B.'s are snickerdoodle, so perhaps I will be needing to learn to make these bad boys (or go broke with trips to the bakery!).

And of course, the Marriage Role Model Series from this week's Marriage Monday.

And here are five posts you may have missed from July:

Our Trip to Long Grove, IL

Which anniversary do YOU celebrate?

Bits of Pretty

Paul McCartney at home

Tolerance Levels

(Dance Friday Photo via here; Eileen and Jacob's Brooklyn Boathouse Wedding Photographed by Tec Petaja via Once Wed)