10 Years is a Long Time

Sometimes ten years can feel like a lifetime, but at other times it feels like we are still seventeen, making googly eyes at each other. I still can't believe that we've been together for TEN YEARS today. Crazy time. 

Happy anniversary Mr. Husband-Man. It was ten years ago today that we sat in our friend's yard and you asked me if we just wanted to make things official. Aren't you glad I said yes?

Life, Lately

I feel like I haven't been sharing a whole lot of person stuff on the blog lately. I guess it's just hard to find that balance between what should be shared, and what doesn't need to be shared. There are some people who live their entire lives online, documenting and sharing every single aspect, but I never really wanted to become one of those people. 

I think there is a balance, though. I won't be posting selfies in the shower anytime soon (yes, I saw that recently), but I do want to share more insight into my day to day life. I think that's the best part of Instagram, you know? Even if I don't share everything on my blog, you get to see a glimpse of my life when I post photos. But it's hard to write so much with your iPhone, so I don't always put a lot of description. Thus, here I am. 

Robert's grandmother passed away on Wednesday. It's been rough for him, even though he wasn't technically related to her by blood, but she was his only grandmother. At Christmas and other holidays we always celebrated with his parents (his mom and stepdad), his brother, and his grandparents (his stepdad's parents). It's only been a few days since she passed, but her absence is already weighing so heavily on all of our hearts. She was the one who spoiled our dog, who always made a point to tell Robert and I how much she loved us (and my freckles) and who clipped things from the newspaper that she knew would interest us. She would save all of the Wedding Celebrations articles for me, writing my name at the top of the clipping. I'm going to miss that. So much. 

Though her health deteriorated rapidly, we were able to spend a lot of time with his family in the past few weeks. There isn't much good that comes out of something like this, but I can't help but feel like it's brought us all together, closer, as a family. 

We've been going through the motions since we found out she was sick at the end of December. January was the start of booking season, and it didn't disappoint. I signed three weddings last month, and brought on a new intern. I've spent a lot of time with my vendor friends, goal setting and road-tripping it to networking events in LA. I'm so thankful for those amazing ladies. 

My anxiety has really improved recently, which is kind of surprising. I'm finding myself enjoying home more and more, without the weight of anything hanging over my head. Robert and I are finding that balance of work and marriage more and more every day, which I'm really thankful for. Working for yourself (which we both technically do) blurs the divide between work and life, but we've been good at communicating, letting each other know when work is taking over a little too much. It lets us enjoy dinner together, without the distraction of school or work, while still getting stuff done when we need to. I don't know if that makes sense or not, but I guess I'm just trying to say I feel content right now. It's a good feeling. 

Anyway, I hope you all have a great weekend, filled with family and friends and exciting adventures. If you could, I would so appreciate it if you could keep us in your thoughts and prayers; we'll be heading down to Orange County to spend time with our family, which is so needed right now.

{merry christmas}

Photo by Anna Delores Photography

{a lemon orchard shoot}

I don't know that I've said it before, but I'm so incredibly lucky to have some of the people that I do in my life. I always struggled making friends before college, but now my heart is overwhelmed with how many people I have in my life. A few of these people I met because of my blog or because of weddings, but I like to think that even if we didn't have these things in common, we would still be friends. 

One of those friends, whom I met last year because of my blog, just so happens to be an amazing photographer. But beyond that, I've found an incredibly close friend in Emily. We just get each other, you know? Not to mention, she is seriously one of the kindest, most generous women I've ever gotten to know. I'm so freaking thankful that she found my little blog and we connected, and now here we are. 

Emily is good friends with my husband as well, and just adores little Olive Duff. It only felt natural that I ask her to take our Christmas card photos for us! I am so excited to send out our cards this year, and I'll definitely share them with you all when I get them. In the meantime, here are a few of the other pictures we took while at the lemon orchards last week. 

Thank you for the beautiful photos Emily! And thank you for being one of my sweetest friends!

{happy sunday + happy birthday}

Today's post is coming early today for quite a few reasons. First of all, yesterday was my last wedding of the season (and I survived! can someone please grab me a glass of champagne now?), and second of all, it's my darling husband's birthday today!

I'm not usually one to post stories that are too personal (at least not of me), but I thought I'd make an exception today. It is his twenty-fifth birthday after all, and Robert's story is more than a little inspirational.

I don't know that I've ever told this on the blog before, but both Robert and I were raised by single mothers. To say it that way doesn't really give my mother-in-law due credit though (we'll talk about my own mom another time, don't you worry), because her story isn't a typical single-mother story. You see, my mother-in-law was only fourteen when she got pregnant with my husband. I'll spare you all the gory details, but know that this wasn't a romantic teenage love story. It was only because of her love for her son and sheer will that got her from soup kitchens to where my family is now. It took me a while to understand when I was younger, but I have no doubt now: what she did was incredible and I have only the highest love and respect for her. She also had to put up with a romantic teenage love story when Robert and I started dating, when he was only fifteen years old. I can imagine how terrifying that was...

Robert was the first person in his family to graduate from high school, and now he is not only a college graduate, but has a Master's degree, and is currently a PhD candidate. In less than two years, he will be my Dr. Duff. Oh, and did I mention he's turning twenty-five today? I love him, more than anything, and I am so blessed to have such an ambitious and compassionate husband. 

I wanted to use this space for a special mantra this weekend. To celebrate all that my husband has accomplished in his twenty five years, all that my mother-in-law has done, for herself and her (our) family and save a little bit for all I've done too. Last night was my last wedding of the season, and I'm honestly not quite sure what to do with myself just yet. But I know that this next year is going to be just amazing. I can feel it. 

{at the moment v.3}

Notice the sign in my grandpa's kitchen. Made me laugh.

At the moment I'm...

LEARNING :: how to make pancit. My grandfather is Filipino, and this has always been one of our favorite meals in our family. It's really just a Filipino version of chow mein, but it's so delicious! We went to my grandparents' house on Sunday, and he had everything prepped and ready to go so he could teach me. It was so sweet! And now I think I'm ready to attempt it for Robert soon...

LISTENING :: to Brave. This is one of those songs that I could listen to over and over and over again. I've always known there was a reason why I love Sara Bareilles so much. 

DRINKING :: whiskey sours. I don't like whiskey, so I was really surprised when Robert made one the other day and I really liked it! I'll have to share the recipe soon. 

WATCHING :: the Avengers. I seriously love this movie, so much. We went and saw Iron Man the other day, and while I loved it, all I wanted to do was go home and watch the Avengers. It's one of the best super hero movies of all time, coming in second only to the Dark Knight (not the Dark Knight Rises, Kevin Holt). 

What are you up to at the moment?

A Recipe

Its been a while since I've posted a recipe, so I thought I would write about my Auntie's green beans today. I made them last night and they were deeeeeee-licious.

1 1/2 lbs green beans, trimmed
2 T butter
1T olive oil
3 large shallots, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 14 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes in juice
1/4 c dry white wine
2 T thinly sliced fresh basil
Salt and pepper

Cook the green beans in a large pot of boiling water until crisp tender and bright green, about 3 min. Drain and rinse with cold water and set aside.

Melt the butter and oil in a large skillet. Add the shallots and garlic and saute until tender. Add the tomatoes and their juices and cook until heated through, about 3 min. Add the beans and cook until the juices evaporate and the beans are almost tender, stirring often, about 10 min. Stir in the wine and basil. Simmer 2 more min. Season with salt and pepper.

*     *     *     *     *

Among other things, I definitely get my love for cooking and wine from my Auntie. I have a few aunts on my dad's side of the family, but my Auntie is my mom's only sister. She, her son {my cousin}, my brother, my mom, and my stepdad pretty much make up our entire family {other than my husband and I, of course}, so we spend a lot of time together when we are down in Orange County. We don't get to see them as often as I would like, but every once in a while I get an email from my Auntie about life and food and wine. I like those emails.

My Auntie was there when I had my first glass of wine {I was eighteen, and we were on a cruise to Mexico}. It was a Pinot Grigio, and I didn't like it. She was also the first one to take me wine tasting, almost two years ago, and I still remember which wineries we went to. We bond over this kind of stuff, and it's nice.

Anyway, I guess this post was just to give a little more insight into my family. I love them all, so much, and I don't think they will ever know how much I truly appreciate them.

I think I'll tell you the story of my mom and stepdad soon. I think you'll like it.

xoxo,

Happy Weekend!

It's 9:30 on Saturday morning, and I'm just sitting on the couch, in my pajamas, with one sock on. Why one sock? I don't know. It fell off in the middle of the night and I just haven't found the other one to put back on.

Aaaaahhhhhh...I love the weekends.

My wonderful weekend started yesterday, when I got a little package in the mail from my mom. Remember how I said that she likes to decorate for every holiday? Well, she gets most of her cute decorations from the sweet store that she works at and sometimes, if she finds something cute, she picks it up for me. That's how I already have so much stuff to decorate for Christmas!

Anyway, she had some adorable little things in that package {that just made my day Mom, I hope you know that}. 

  

And the best part about my package?

I only have one picture of my grandmother, and I've been telling my mom for a while that I wanted some more pictures. So she sent me some, and I absolutely love them. I love these old pictures of my grandmother {wasn't she pretty!} and I can't wait to get some nice frames and put them up on my inspiration wall. 

Oh, and there's a picture of my brother and I in there too. I love that picture and I love my brother {even if he does annoy me most of the time}.

I don't have anything big planned for this weekend, other than some good cooking and shopping. It all started this morning. 

I bought some new organic maple syrup yesterday, so I just had to make something to eat it with this morning. Thus the ableskivers. We got our pan on our honeymoon and I LOVE it. Do any of you make ableskivers? They are amazing!

Here are a few other things that I'm planning for this weekend:

Red Velvet Cupcakes {for no reason other than to just make red velvet cupcakes...}

 

Fish and Chips for dinner tonight.

 

Biscuits and Gravy for breakfast tomorrow. 

I haven't quite decided what I want to make for dinner tomorrow night, but I'll figure it out soon. 

I also get to do laundry this weekend. Confession: I'm terrible at doing laundry regularly. Since we have a community laundry room downstairs, I can't just throw in a load every other day or so. We have laundry days, where we literally do six to eight loads at a time. Today is going to be one of those days. 

Please don't judge me. 

Usually I'm desperate to do laundry by the weekend, but picking out clean clothes hasn't been too difficult these past two weeks. I think I've figured out why, too. Do you remember my Wear Everything challenge?

So far, I've stuck to it! I haven't bought any new clothes or accessories or shoes, and I just have to say I'm quite proud of myself. I don't think I've ever gone this long without buying anything. And so having to find things to wear from the overabundance of clothes from my closet has allowed me to skimp on laundry a bit. 

I actually feel bad for not doing laundry because of my poor husband. He is starting to see clients in the on-campus clinic at his school and can't wear jeans. He only has so many nice clothes to wear, and those nice clothes are starting to dwindle. It's a good thing I have nothing else planned for today than red velvet cupcakes and taking a family trip to the post office. So laundry, here I come!

Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day too. Have any of you ever been to a real flea market? I haven't, but the semi-annual flea market is coming to town tomorrow and I can't wait to go! Maybe I can find some pretty frames for those pictures up there. 

Well, that's it for now. I hope you all have a wonderful Saturday!

Much love,

{Virtual Coffee}

It's the first Tuesday of the year. Which means that it's the first Virtual Coffee of the year.

Today, I'm drinking a grande skinny caramel latte. No, really, I am:

If we were having our coffee together today, the first thing I would tell you is "good morning." And then I would tell you how absolutely ecstatic I am that I got to 40 followers yesterday! What do you think? Can I get to 50 by the end of the week?

If were were having our coffee together today, I would tell you how I'm starting to learn Photoshop and how I'm becoming slightly addicted. My husband showed me the basics while I redesigned this little blog over the weekend. I made some cute recipe cards with little pink cupcakes on them, and I'm starting to make some blog backgrounds {not for anyone in particular}. I think maybe I'll post a few things for all of you some time this week {if you're interested, of course}.

If we were having our coffee together today, I would tell how I'm praying for two of my friends right now. One is on a plane, going to Germany {where she's going to be living for the next year} with her husband. The other is going through some stress with a living situation. I know they are both going to be happy in the long run, but it's hard saying goodbye. And it's hard seeing your friend be so stressed and knowing that there isn't a whole lot to do other than just listen and try to give support when you can.

If we were having our coffee together today, I would tell you that I love my husband so very much. I know I don't say that very often, but I do. He's one of those nerdy types, the kind that got a nintendo controller cover for his iPhone and sometimes has a picture of a pokemon as his profile picture on Facebook. But he's the sweetest person I know, and sent me a cute and cheesy haiku he wrote this morning about me. It's adorable and I'm pretty sure that I'll love him forever.

Oh, and you know what I love even more? That he and my brother {the one on the right} are best friends.

If we were having our coffee together today, I would tell you that I think I might make two new recipes for dinner tonight: potato leek soup {haven't found a recipe yet} and these delicious savory cupcakes from Eat, Drink, Pretty. That would make three new recipes so far this year!

That's all for now, and I hope you all are enjoying your coffee this morning just as much as I am! It's really delicious, isn't it? I honestly can't understand sometimes how people actually live without coffee...

Much love,

Give Thanks

It has been way too long since my last post, and I apologize! But, in my defense, holidays do warrant a break from the everyday (though I won’t go as far as to say writing in my blog is as tedious as the everyday). Anyway, here I am, and I have lots to say.

First of all, Happy (belated) Thanksgiving! How wonderful is it that we have an entire day devoted to giving thanks. And regardless of the reason the original holiday was implemented (believe me, I’m not entirely ignorant of the origins of this holiday), I still believe that we can use the day to be truly grateful for the blessings in our life.

This is what I am thankful for.

The most wonderful husband that a girl could ask for.

Family and friends to spend my life with.

A good job and a place to live. (I don't have a picture for this one yet...)

Truly, this last one blows my mind sometimes. Robert and I marvel everyday about how we could have built for ourselves a life that we are proud of, and how we have a place to call home that is actually ours. I love my home, and for the first time in a very long time, I honestly love my life. I feel so very fortunate, and being this happy has really opened my eyes to the blessings in my life, and how I can help others who may not be so lucky.

*     *     *     *     *

Anyway, as for the day itself, my Thanksgiving was wonderful. My mom and I both agree, it was definitely the best meal that we have made so far for the holiday. The mashed potatoes were delicious (that was Mom), gravy was delectable (that was me), pumpkin pie and cheesecake were yummy (me too), creamed corn was, as always, perfect (Mom), stuffing was different and scrumptious (me), and the turkey? Well, for the first time since my Grandmother died, the turkey was absolutely the best part of the meal! We got it into the oven at 6:30 a.m. (it was a 19 pound turkey…) to be ready for lunch at 1:00. Well, it was done about two hours early, and while we were nervous about letting it sit for that long out of the oven, I’m pretty sure that’s what made it so incredible. It was so moist and juicy (please disregard the connotation of these words, I’m running out of adjectives), and literally fell right off the bone. Even my stepdad liked it, which is saying a lot!

After our first meal, we went to Robert’s, where we had all of the typical fixings, plus a pumpkin soup and sweet potatoes. It was all just so wonderful, and a fantastic day, if I do say so myself.

And what did we do after all this madness? We subjected ourselves to more madness, of course. Because by 9:00 that night, we were huddled in sleeping bags outside of Target in the 40 degree weather. It was cold.

But, we were successful!

Along with this TV, I got a few DVDs (The Blind Side, The Hangover, and Slumdog Millionaire), a Christmas gift for my husband’s little brother, and some jeans. The jeans were the best deal after the TV: I got a pair of 7 jeans for $70 and a pair of Luckys for $35. I also had the Groupon from last week, so I spent $90 on them together. Not half bad…

Well, that was pretty much my weekend. I mean, the exciting parts. I did spend a large portion of my Friday watching a Law and Order: SVU marathon and took Robert’s brother to see Tangled (SO cute! Even he thought so) on Saturday. Saturday night we got home, and yesterday we decorated for Christmas! I know, it’s a little early, but I do have a friend that puts up her tree on November first, so it’s not really that early…

So, I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Love,