One Lucky Girl

Our two year anniversary is coming up in about a week (where has the time gone?!), and what an amazing ride these past two years have been. If you had told me that I'd have packed up shop in NYC, left the job and industry I worked in, got married, moved to England, lived with my in-laws for 8 months, been a full-time housewife, then would start a new job in marketing AND a family in less than 24 months.... what?!?!

No dear, that's not how you eat a pumpkin.

Steve's sultry pumpkin face.

Well, as a little "thank you" from the world's best husband, I came home to a big red gift bag last night. Completely out of the blue, and I had no idea what was inside (though I was hoping it was edible, and chocolate, because, I mean, #preggoproblems).

It was a camera. My first real camera. I've been playing with my P90 bridge for about 3 years now, and I've been wanting a DSLR for a long time. More importantly, this one. My absolute dream come true. He's a keeper, that's for sure. I cried... a lot. Like, my ugly cry face. All night. The pregnancy hormones didn't help that one, that's for sure.

Then, of course, I needed to try it out! So this morning Steve skipped golf and we drove to a pick-your-own farm to go pumpkin picking, because this beautiful October weekend was just begging for activities that screamed autumn.

He found a winner!

Which is bigger: the pumpkin or the bump?

It was picture perfect. It was the best day. It's still the best day. I'm on cloud 9.

I am one lucky girl.

Happy Weekend, everyone.

Paper

It's a well-known tradition to give anniversary gifts based on an annual theme. Not many people adhere to it, but I think that it's a fun inspiration. One's mind immediately jumps to all of the opportunities that this year's theme allows: plane tickets, cash, etc. Mind you, if I could think of a really great gift that didn't fit in the theme, I'd go with it. But this year, and because of financial restrictions when it comes to gift-buying, I've made a homemade anniversary gift in keeping with the one-year theme: paper.

For those of you who don't know Steve and my story, here is a [slightly] abridged version:
I was studying abroad in London when I was 20, and Steve and I met through a mutual friend.
He fell in love with me at first sight, so he says, but I blame the leather leggings I was wearing and the fact that I'm pretty sure I danced on a table at some point during the evening we met.
Classy girl, aren't I? Well, he kept coming around to see me, so he must be telling the truth.

After I left London, we kept in touch via Skype for a few months, almost a year maybe. But as things do, our contact fizzled out.

{Time Lapse}

April, 2013 - I was going on a 9-day vacation in Ireland, beginning and ending in Dublin. Steve happened to be on Facebook the day I arrived, and saw a photo of me drinking a pint of Guiness. He commented on the photo, saying that the only appropriate place to drink Guiness is in Ireland. Well, I said, I was.

I went about the next week traveling around the pretty Irish countryside, and returned in Dublin on day 8 of our trip. Walked into the hotel, and while my mom checked in, headed to the bar (as one does). And do you know who was sitting there? Yep. Steve.

I ditched my family, and tour group companions, and the two of us spent the rest of the day pub crawling through the Temple Bar area. I don't think I stopped smiling, or laughing, for a second. Somewhere between pubs, while walking down the street, I blurted out, "doyouwannagetmarried" in some sort of silly, slurred speech. Well, to this day, that counts as my proposal. Yep. I proposed. But he did bolt into a church at the end of the street, mid-sermon, and demand that we get married on the spot. After that, I think he asked our taxi cab driver to perform the ceremony. It all got a little blurry, but the proposal stuck.

There was a really romatic horseback ride through the mountains the next day, but that's part of the longer version. You'll have to buy the book, for that.

I returned to NYC two days later, back to my "normal" life, but it wasn't going to be normal for long. Steve started the visa process to come to the states, and I had to kick my then-roommate out (sorry, Greg) and start preparing for Steve's arrival. My friends and family all thought we were nuts. Well, we are. But it suits us.

He arrived in late August. I remember standing at "arrivals" in JFK, thinking he wasn't going to walk down that ramp. I thought it couldn't be real.
But it was. And on October 18th, 2013, we tied the knot at City Hall in New York. You can read more about our fun day here.

So since our story crosses space AND time, I made a little gift in keeping with that, as well as the first-year theme of paper. It's all of the important places in our relationship: where we first met, where I proposed, and where we tied the knot. There are little hearts stitched over the exact geographical location on the map where all three of these events took place. So, I think I did a pretty good job with paper. What do you think?

Day 1 & Weekend Recap

Our anniversary weekend was amazing. I came home from grocery shopping to a candlelit, four-course meal prepared by my one and only. At the exact minute we were married one year ago, he handed me an adorable book - a fairy tale book, written about our love story. It's title? "The Princess and The Idiot." I have photos, I promise - I just haven't gotten around to uploading them yet. Dropbox sometimes decides to hate me.

Sunday it was cold and breezy, perfect football weather. Since the pitch was just a 2 minute walk away, I was able to go watch Steve play as the colorful leaves blew across the field. It's a much slower seasonal transition, but I definitely need to get some of my cold weather clothing (especially scarves!) shipped over here ASAP.

Don't forget... Today is the start of my 30 day candid photo challenge - so get on Instagram and hashtag #Disowned30Days to join in!

Time Flies

Today is my first wedding anniversary.

And by "first," I mean, one year. It's also the first of my two wedding anniversaries. 

(Legally married in October 2013, married in the church in June 2014. Hey. I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to celebrate two anniversaries.)

Yep, one year ago we won the award for casual weddings. We said our vows with our closest family and friends during a ceremony that lasted all of 2 minutes at City Hall in NYC. Then I took off my shoes and we walked to our favorite bar, where we had our "reception."  I changed into a dress that I pulled off the sale rack at Target, for that.  Our fancy wedding menu included buffalo wings, mozzarella sticks, and nacho mountains. We forgot all about a cake and champagne, but luckily my buddy at the bar provided us with a cake from a nearby Chinatown bakery, and two bottles of bubbly. About 8 hours of fun later, we headed home with my best friend and new brother-in-law, where we [drunkenly] ordered a pizza and watched The Inbetweeners Movie. Romantic, right? 

It was perfect.

It's hard to believe how incredibly quickly time has flown in the past 365 days, and how much my life and our lives together have changed in the process. It's been a beautiful, magical year, filled with growth and learning and sacrifice, and I wouldn't change it for the world. Here we are, 3,000+ miles away from where we said "I do," in the midst of starting a brand new chapter of our lives together.
I don't even want to imagine where I'd be today, what I'd be doing, what my life would be like, if it wasn't exactly as it is at this moment. And I'm more in love each and every day.

Here's to many, many more years that are just as wonderful as the last.