Tuesday, August 31, 2010

my color-coded printers drawer

i waited all summer until we moved into our new apartment to finally hang my mom's antique printers drawer. 
personally, i think there are really only two ways to go when decorating with one of these: go minimalistic and don't put more than a couple things in it, or load it up. 

obviously you can see which option i've gone for, especially given my affinity for kitsch.

and i guess it also goes without saying that i decided to organize by color. i think it gives a little order to the madness. here it is with all my sewing supplies.



i
 i like it.  someday i think it would be cool to have each main section be one color. or if everything was just red. yeah, i think i'm going to go for red.

Monday, August 30, 2010

look who's back...

i think i'm finally back to my not-so-stressed normal self. well, i'm still a bit cranky, but i'm working on that...
anyway, i thought i'd begin the school year by making cupcakes for the staff at work. which  sounds much more generous then it really was. in truth, i was given these wonderful gifts by my summertime kiddos, and they were burning a hole in my pocket. or cooking cupboard. whatever.
{martha stewart cupcakes and silicon cupcake papers}

i used martha's recipe for fresh strawberry buttercream, and piped that on top of lemon cake. so yummy! although, i don't understand why martha has to be so hoity-toity about things. i'm sorry, but not all of us have a stand mixer. i myself am getting by just fine with my little hand-held. of course, it did break while mixing the batter.....but that's not the point!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

me: now

this is me. 
this is how i feel.
disheveled. 
a little stressed.
definitely tired.

so i'll be back later. 
when life doesn't seem so crazy.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

about hugs

 "It’s like an emotional Heimlich. Someone puts their arms around you and they give you a squeeze and all your fear and anxiety come shooting out of your mouth in a big wet wad and you can breath again."

{photo: we heart it}


Monday, August 16, 2010

i love it...i love it not...

i have a love/hate relationship with manhattan kansas.
which i don't really think is unusual when you move to a completely new and unfamiliar place. it's actually pretty arbitrary how i feel about it on any given day. like a little girl plucking petals from a flower to discover if her crush loves her or not, my feelings about the city have less to do with the city itself and more to do with me.

but lately it's been all love love love.
mostly for reasons i can't explain or pinpoint. it's the beginning of my dibilitating allergy season {and i won't even tell you how much it costs to refill my inhalers} so really i should be dreading the coming months, but i'm finding myself looking forward to the fall. it's getting cooler {finally!} and the sky is so beautiful. all the time. i find myself cloud-watching any chance i get. school starts next week and i'm excited to get back to my routine- blogging, working, practicing, and maybe a little yoga.

i think it's going to be a good year.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

you movin or goin to the dump?

{my mom sent us this last year when we moved}
we may have only moved across town, but moving is hard! and now after all the packing, loading and unloading are done, it's time to unpack.

i think i'm tired already.

Friday, August 6, 2010

the funnies

my wedding was a happy happy day. 
we had fun. 
and we got some funnies caught on film.







this one comes with a story. so we're taking these formal photos with hubby and his parents and i grabbed his butt. to which he promptly said, "don't grab my butt my parents are standing right there!" to which his dad quickly responded, "who cares? i'm grabbing your mom's right now!"
best. photo. ever.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

the man

what can i possibly say about this wonderful man i married 4 years ago today? he's my biggest fan, my biggest supporter, and the love of my life. and it's a good life- it might not always be perfect, but there is no other person i would choose to spend it with.



Wednesday, August 4, 2010

the dad

i love my dad. he's amazing and probably {ok definitely} the funniest person i know {whether he tries to be or not}. every girl dreams of the day her dad gets to walk her down the aisle, but i got to dream of the day he would marry me to my future husband. he pulled double duty.

during the rehearsal, instead of practicing the vows {or whatever it is you're supposed to do} he quoted {word-for-world, complete with goofy accent} the princess bride wedding scene. 
"mawage. mawage is what bwings us togewah today...."
we had a good time.

and since he married us, crying during the ceremony was out of the question. one tear from me, him or hubby and we would have been a blubbering mess {i told my bridesmaids in no uncertain terms that when the cried {because they all did} there was to be no sniffing! i didn't want to blubber through my vows and that would have been impossible surrounded by a sea of sniffles}

but the father-daughter dance was different. while my sister sang eva cassidy's "over the rainbow"  with a jazz band, my dad and i got our moment together. to cry and laugh and celebrate just the two of us. it was easily one of my favorite moments of the day. and most days since then, too. 

because while the rest of the day belonged to hubby and i, for those few minutes, it was all about me and my dad.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

the music

Being a musician (and having played and sung in countless weddings for years and years) I was pretty opinionated about the music. I wanted music meaningful to us. something simple and unique. I had a couple wonderfully talented musician friends play and sing, and the music hubby and I chose together was perfect.

Processional music was "Dawn" from the Pride and Prejudice movie. i'm a huge Jane Austen fan and that movie came out the same year we were married. The soundtrack is mostly solo piano and so romantic! It was perfect. and definitely unique.

Instead of the traditional wedding march, I knew I had to walk down the isle to our song, "Out of My League" by Stephen Speaks.

it's her hair and her eyes today
that just simply take me away
and the feeling that i'm falling further in love
makes me shiver but in a good way
all the times i have sat and stared
as she thoughtfully thumbs through her hair
and she purses her lips, bats her eyes as she plays,
with me sitting there slack-jawed and nothing to say
cause i love her with all that i am
and my voice shakes along with my hands
cause she’s all that I see and she’s all that I need
and i'm out of my league once again

it's a masterful melody when she calls out my name to me
as the world spins around her she laughs, rolls her eyes
and i feel like i'm falling but it's no surprise
cause i love her with all that i am
and my voice shakes along with my hands
cause it's frightening to be swimming in this strange sea
but i'd rather be here than on land
yes she's all that i see and she's all that i need
and i'm out of my league once again


For the recessional we had another song that was meaningful to us, "Life Less Ordinary" by Carbon Leaf. 

Monday, August 2, 2010

the wedding

Thursday is our 4th anniversary. We'll be celebrating later in the week, but for now I'll be bombarding you with wedding wedding wedding! Because besides my hubby and fur babies, my wedding is one thing I think I could gush on and on about. You have been warned.



I think a little detail gets lost in the photos but my mom made my dress (it's covered in Swarovski crystals and ruched tulle)

Sunday, August 1, 2010

the mitten


i've been absent from blogland. and i've been on vacation! i'm home in grand rapids spending the week with family and friends.

and what a week! 
1st anniversary of moving to kansas {i can't believe it's already been a year!}
1st bloggiversary!
4th wedding anniversary! 


it's going to be a good week. 
get the shirt here