Today

One year ago.

One year ago I woke up on a couch in our hotel lobby.  I didn't get much sleep the night before (surprise surprise), and shared the room (and bed) with two delightful amazing friends.  So, I went to the lobby to just get a change of scenery.  It was suppose to be the most important day of my life.

When I noticed it was a decent hour, you know, after a hotel person made sure that I wasn't a drunk homeless girl, I texted my soon-to-be-husband. I then snuck in his room for a quick hug and kiss before I went to get ready for the day.

What do I remember most about that day?  So much!  I hope that in eighty years I can still remember Ali and Sharelle getting ready with me at the hair salon. Ali running to get me a cappuccino and Sharelle painting my toe nails.  My mom's ear-to-ear smile, while my dad got choked up.

I remember my dad coming to tell me how nervous my fiance was... with a smile on his face.  He kept peeking through a crack in a slightly open door to check out the processional before the ceremony.  I remember a college friend leading my bridal party in prayer.

I remember arriving to the entrance of the chapel in the Church where we would marry.  My husband was turned around, reminded me of what Prince William did when he got married to Kate Middleton.  Then, the Bridal March (or whatever I chose), began on the organ.  He turned around.  I  cherish the pictures our photographer got of his cheese of a smile as he watched me walk down the aisle.  I did the whole blusher veil thing, so I was looking at him with some fancy tulle in front of my face.

My dad gave me away and our Matrimonial Mass began.

I remember our first prayer as husband in wife.  It was right after we received Holy Communion.  We held hands and we prayed.

I remember our embarrassing first kiss and so incredibly grateful our photographer capturer our kiss!  It was so quick because I was so petrified to kiss him in front of everyone.  I hate PDA!  But, there is a set of five or so images that capture this embarrassing moment.... And then that one perfect photo of us kissing and my maid of honor, Sharelle, smiling from ear-to-ear as she watched on.

The pictures afterward?  Embarrassing and time went to quickly.  I hate that we didn't get some amazing formal shots of us together.  But, we went to the reception.  And we had fun.

We left the reception feeling so incredibly blessed by the amount of love and support surrounding us on our "big" day.  We were pretty over the moon, you know? Back at the hotel, family and friends joined us for an after party.  Some amazing memories with great people.  We drank, laughed, ordered pizza, and smoked cigars. 

Whenever I drive past that hotel, I feel happy.  For that hotel hosted us the weekend we became man and wife.

Today.

My heart is filled with my love for you.

My best friend, my biggest supporter.

The smartest and most generous man that I know.

You lead our family so well and

I am forever blessed to have you in my life.

Thank you for all that you do for us.

Happy anniversary!

Cheers to another eighty plus.

Wedding recaps:

A Glimpse // The Ceremony // Formals

Details // The Reception // The Dress

For wedding planning tips and ideas

read the following labels: 

Our Wedding // Wedding Planning //Wedding Wednesday

Happy Valentine's Day!

Melissa from TLNSOW came up with questions for husbands to answer.  We were supposed to answer as well to see how many the husbands got right.  I thought this would be fun because my husband has never been on this blog before!  Plus, we don't celebrate Valentine's in real life, so I thought this might be a way to celebrate with the blogging community.

P.S. for those of you who aren't married or with someone, my favorite Valentine's ever was with a few friends in high school.  We stayed up all night watching movies and even made a 5am run to Kroger (to get food or something? I don't remember).  It was awesome.  Why don't I celebrate with husband?  Eh, I don't do the mushy gushy, I'm on a diet, and I tend to kill flowers within days.  

Shall we proceed to the Q&A?  If there are any other questions you want to ask husband about him, me, etc, feel free to let me know in the comments!

Format = 

Question? "Husband's answer."  

My commentary/what I wrote down if we answered the questions differently.

November 2011

1. How long have you been married? "8 months."  

Attaboy.

2. Where was your first date? "Twilight/Arby's" 

Then we did the cool kids thing and stayed up all night with a few other friends talking and watching movies (literally, my girlfriend and I went to our dorms at 5am that morning... then continued to chat).  I think that was literally the last night I stayed up all night.  I'm such an old lady, now.  I believe that was the night of her first kiss with her now husband.... me and my husband had our first kiss like a few weeks after that night.  (Proof that boys and girls can be together overnight and keep it G-rated.)

3. Who first said, "I love you"? "Amy"  

I had already had two serious relationships before him, so I kind of already knew that he was different/special.  He, on the other hand, had never had a serious relationship so he wasn't so sure until maybe a few months later.  No worries, I was a good sport. ;)

4. What were your wedding colors? "Yellow, green, etc."  

Ivory, pale pink, buttercream yellow, green.  Close enough, right girls?  He's a guy and he just knew we had a garden themed wedding.  Though the bridesmaid dresses were pink...... so shouldn't that been part of the answer?  

5. What is her most commonly used phrase?  "'I can't find my phone!'" 

Yep, that's right.  I don't have a special location for it in my purse.  I tend to leave it in various places. And because of school/work/the hospital, it's almost always on silent (yep, not even necessarily on vibrate).  Twice in the course of our relationship have I actually left it at an eatery and had to turn around and go back hoping that someone didn't take it.  The last time was February 8, 2013.  

6. Who is her celebrity crush? "Liam Neeson."  

Yes, I put that, too.  I love me some Liam Neeson.

7. If she was ordering drinks for both of you, what would you get? "A - mudslide, me - Stella."  

My response: "me: sweet tea or water, him: sweet tea or coke."  We misinterpreted the question, obviously.  But, for the record, I haven't ordered a mudslide since 2009 (that's right, I know the year because it was a friend's 21st birthday dinner).  If it's drinks it would be: a Moscato for myself and a beer selection for him (Stella, probably, but that's not often an option).

8. What is the best meal she has ever cooked you?  "Lasagna."

9. What is the worst meal she has ever cooked you? "Some vegan dish... tofu or something."  

It was a ratatouille recipe gone wrong.  It either was too salty or too vinegary....  I couldn't even eat it and I'm all about 100% vegetarian/vegan.  There was no tofu, for the record.

10. What would she say is your most annoying habit? "Swearing."  

Why, yes.  I used to never curse.  Then I got in to nursing school.  Now, it's a habit we both must break, especially for when there are kiddos in the picture.

11. What is the last thing she does before she goes to bed? "Watches TV and reads blogs."  

Well, I don't necessarily read blogs, I just check my phone.  I do, however, fall asleep to the TV 95% of the time -- it's the only way I can fall asleep most nights.  I am rarely too exhausted to fall asleep without it.

12. If you could throw out one item of her clothing what would it be? "Boots - all of them."  

Yep, I knew he was going to say that.  He apparently isn't a big boot fan.  I don't care and collect them anyways. :)

13. What would you say is your favorite thing about her? "Infinite passion without bounds."  

Awh, now isn't that sweet..... I thought he would say it's that I run errands and cook..... oops.  -1 point for Amy.

14. What's her go-to drink at Starbucks? "Chai tea soy latte."  

And he likes it, too. ;)

15. What's her blog's name?  "The Charming Blog" 

The man is my biggest supporter, he probably knows more about my blog than I do... okay, not really.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Melissa from TLNSOW came up with questions for husbands to answer.  We were supposed to answer as well to see how many the husbands got right.  I thought this would be fun because my husband has never been on this blog before!  Plus, we don't celebrate Valentine's in real life, so I thought this might be a way to celebrate with the blogging community.

P.S. for those of you who aren't married or with someone, my favorite Valentine's ever was with a few friends in high school.  We stayed up all night watching movies and even made a 5am run to Kroger (to get food or something? I don't remember).  It was awesome.  Why don't I celebrate with husband?  Eh, I don't do the mushy gushy, I'm on a diet, and I tend to kill flowers within days.  

Shall we proceed to the Q&A?  If there are any other questions you want to ask husband about him, me, etc, feel free to let me know in the comments!

Format = 

Question? "Husband's answer."  

My commentary/what I wrote down if we answered the questions differently.

November 2011

1. How long have you been married? "8 months."  

Attaboy.

2. Where was your first date? "Twilight/Arby's" 

Then we did the cool kids thing and stayed up all night with a few other friends talking and watching movies (literally, my girlfriend and I went to our dorms at 5am that morning... then continued to chat).  I think that was literally the last night I stayed up all night.  I'm such an old lady, now.  I believe that was the night of her first kiss with her now husband.... me and my husband had our first kiss like a few weeks after that night.  (Proof that boys and girls can be together overnight and keep it G-rated.)

3. Who first said, "I love you"? "Amy"  

I had already had two serious relationships before him, so I kind of already knew that he was different/special.  He, on the other hand, had never had a serious relationship so he wasn't so sure until maybe a few months later.  No worries, I was a good sport. ;)

4. What were your wedding colors? "Yellow, green, etc."  

Ivory, pale pink, buttercream yellow, green.  Close enough, right girls?  He's a guy and he just knew we had a garden themed wedding.  Though the bridesmaid dresses were pink...... so shouldn't that been part of the answer?  

5. What is her most commonly used phrase?  "'I can't find my phone!'" 

Yep, that's right.  I don't have a special location for it in my purse.  I tend to leave it in various places. And because of school/work/the hospital, it's almost always on silent (yep, not even necessarily on vibrate).  Twice in the course of our relationship have I actually left it at an eatery and had to turn around and go back hoping that someone didn't take it.  The last time was February 8, 2013.  

6. Who is her celebrity crush? "Liam Neeson."  

Yes, I put that, too.  I love me some Liam Neeson.

7. If she was ordering drinks for both of you, what would you get? "A - mudslide, me - Stella."  

My response: "me: sweet tea or water, him: sweet tea or coke."  We misinterpreted the question, obviously.  But, for the record, I haven't ordered a mudslide since 2009 (that's right, I know the year because it was a friend's 21st birthday dinner).  If it's drinks it would be: a Moscato for myself and a beer selection for him (Stella, probably, but that's not often an option).

8. What is the best meal she has ever cooked you?  "Lasagna."

9. What is the worst meal she has ever cooked you? "Some vegan dish... tofu or something."  

It was a ratatouille recipe gone wrong.  It either was too salty or too vinegary....  I couldn't even eat it and I'm all about 100% vegetarian/vegan.  There was no tofu, for the record.

10. What would she say is your most annoying habit? "Swearing."  

Why, yes.  I used to never curse.  Then I got in to nursing school.  Now, it's a habit we both must break, especially for when there are kiddos in the picture.

11. What is the last thing she does before she goes to bed? "Watches TV and reads blogs."  

Well, I don't necessarily read blogs, I just check my phone.  I do, however, fall asleep to the TV 95% of the time -- it's the only way I can fall asleep most nights.  I am rarely too exhausted to fall asleep without it.

12. If you could throw out one item of her clothing what would it be? "Boots - all of them."  

Yep, I knew he was going to say that.  He apparently isn't a big boot fan.  I don't care and collect them anyways. :)

13. What would you say is your favorite thing about her? "Infinite passion without bounds."  

Awh, now isn't that sweet..... I thought he would say it's that I run errands and cook..... oops.  -1 point for Amy.

14. What's her go-to drink at Starbucks? "Chai tea soy latte."  

And he likes it, too. ;)

15. What's her blog's name?  "The Charming Blog" 

The man is my biggest supporter, he probably knows more about my blog than I do... okay, not really.