Three years

Year three came to a close yesterday!

 I really didn't make a big deal out of it like our first and second anniversary. I even forgot to look up the traditional wedding gifts for the third anniversary. I really could have used some leather leggings!

Since we just came back from two major trips to Mexico and Illionois, work full time, and bought a house this year, we didn't need a big celebration. Does this mean we're old married news?

Actually, we've decided our gift to each other is another four point house inspection to protect our home owner's insurance, and Maria, our maid. That sentence was so mature, I almost didn't write it.

Since our anniversary fell on a Tuesday, and we were both free for the evening, we opted for the local weekly Food Truck festival. We can do a fancy dinner anytime. So we brought our dog and had an outdoor meal. Pizza, a burger, AND a chicken and waffle. (I'm supposed to be jogging not blogging  right now.)

Somehow I got Shawn's sick germs (and I haven't even kissed him for 3 days!). We came home and relaxed on the couch with hot tea and See's. Really, the best ending to a night. Well, if circumstances were healthier, I can thing of better things to do. But I have my sweet hubby here and we're playing tea.

These cute ring mugs were a wedding present. Cute bling addition to our stacks! Counting the ink, that SEVEN rings total.

Two Years

We went to Orlando this weekend and celebrated our two year wedding anniversary! The rest I will say in pics because I'm tired, hungry, and Bully needs a walk. But I'm still pretty excited about it.

1. Me in front of a ginormous tree at the Millenia Mall in Orlando
2. Shawn & I at Hogsmeade
3. Shawn and I in front of Hogwarts
4. Overlooking downtown Orlando from 27 floors up.

Help him out

 Last year, I wrote about planning ahead for the trifecta of holidays that November/December brings. Since Thanksgiving, my birthday, our wedding anniversary, and Christmas is all within a month, and will be until the end of time, there is some planning ahead to be done. I've just taken it upon myself to write in little reminders on the calendar, conveniently a few weeks ahead of the occasion. I think it helps, but we'll see this week ;).

Let's just hope our kids aren't born this time of year. They'll totally steal our thunder.

Paper

Cute anniversary gifts dish towel from Anthropologie. I use mine daily.

Some traditions are really fun to uphold, like  anniversary gifts. I love the challenge of putting together a gift with a certain theme. I probably do this more for me than for my Hubbs, but he appreciates the crafty way I do thangs. I told him the first anniversary gift should be paper, and well, that was kind of a mistake. He just got all confused, and focused on that too hard. He got frustrated. Oops. Then I excused him of any and all pressures to come up with a paper gift. I told him to do whatever he wanted and he pulled through.

Yeah, sometimes it's better to keep it simple.

I originally planned to give him tickets to some sports event, but his two favorite pro teams aren't playing anywhere close  for  many months, and I wanted to give him something he could use soon. I got him a music notebook for which he can make notes while practicing guitar. Because the real gift was classical guitar lessons! He's mentioned an interest in lessons. The timing is great, because he started to play again around the house, practicing his songs for our reception. His first lesson is this coming Saturday.

That's not all.

I had to hand make some aspect of his gift. I thought of our vows that we wrote and how I'd like to put them in a shadowbox. Well, I found the perfect box at Tuesday Morning, and good ideas kept coming.

I started with  the keepsake certificate that you can get for a dollar when you apply for your marriage license.

Let me break it down for 'ya.

1. The first an most important component were our vows. We wrote them on these little place cards. I had extra from a shower I threw.

2. This is a label from a bottle of bubbly from our wedding night.



















3. This in an earring that my friend sent me as a something blue. I lost one immediately, but  I put it to good use and put it on my bouquet, and now it lives forever in the box.

 4. A Crystal guitar symbolizes getting the music he played.

 5. And I framed the certificate with ribbons that say "cherish,"and "forever."

I really enjoyed  making this and was so excited to give it. He was touched. That was the best feeling. We both enjoy it now.

Its fairly easy and doesn't cost much to make. It all starts with the desire make somebody smile.

XOXO

One Year

Some say you are newlyweds up until a year. I am proud to say we are now old news. Just livin.'

We celebrated with dinner at GVG, where we ate a year ago, the day after our wedding day, with some family and friends.

2010, eating freezer burned, year-old cake. It tasted more of ritual, less of German chocolate.

Here we are a year ago:

2009, married for about 36 hours

Recap: There were only nine of us. Small ceremony, small gathering. Big party later. No honeymoon, but we're planning a vacation in April. This wasn't how I envisioned it when I started thinking about my wedding day about ten years ago. Strangely, I'm okay with all of this. As long as I've got him.
It's been an interesting year. Career changes, classes, unemployment, job searches, moving, working, changes in family dynamics, and reception planning, Initially, I was disappointed in the fact that certain close family members would not be able to see us get married. So we decided to do it when we were ready, and maybe, just maybe they could make it to our reception, as if things would be miraculously different in a year. As if we wouldn't feel a certain absence on our wedding day. Well, we realized that it was he and I marrying each other, making a new life together. We were so ready. We went for it. My parents were cool with that.

Certain things have not changed. Those family relationships are still estranged.  My dad was neither at  the wedding or the reception. All of the things I wanted to avoid, like the details of planning for our reception, came and messed with me anyway. Like money. Like time. Some that we thought were good friends really came to disappoint us.

But, the bond that  he and I have, has gotten stronger. We have tightened our little circle of trust with the people around us, made real and new unexpected friendships. We have vowed to never let anything or anyone hurt that sacred bond, and as husband and wife, learned to let go of whatever will not make us a stronger couple. Letting go is the biggest lesson I've learned this year.  The amount of support you give your spouse in a marriage is unfathomable. I'm learning that now. It's overwhelming, it's comfortable. Its an extreme blessing. It's freaking HUGE. I feel so grown-up. A little.

But here we are, life together feels so natural. So we've had to re-evaluate some relationships. But not ours. The one that counts.  We've got our rituals. Every day we lay down more bricks of what really matters on this path of ours.

Here's to living our vows every day.

He he, He wisked me away to the Doubletree after dinner. I call it unplanned, he calls it spontenainety.  It works. We both had to work the next day, so the hotel was like a minute away. Plus, we can't stand being away from our boy. On the first snow day  of the season:

I'll tell you about my "paper" gift to him this week.

Having some snow, gettin' the paper...

It's our official one year anniversary! I have to get ready for dinner, but there will be more on today's events.

And, its the first snow day of the year!