15 minutes.

Our wedding photographer earned us yet another 15 minutes of local fame!

It was pretty fun to see a huge photo of Bry and I smooching on the front page of the variety section, and to again be reminded of that very special day.  

Sorta Lacy.

It’s Thursday, which means it’s almost Friday, and Friday is jeans day, so Thursday can be almost jeans day. So I wore my almost jeans (gray denim-looking trousers), flats and my favorite little lacy green jacket. The same jacket that I wore to our wedding rehearsal dinner (our casual beachside BBQ, to be exact) and the same jacket that Bryan recently told me “wasn’t his favorite.” Nice.

Sorta Lacy Green Jacket: Urban Outfitters

Earrings: A market in London

Trousers: TJMaxx

Nude flats: Me Too via Marshalls

Bangles: H&M

And here are a slew of pics from our rehearsal night. Ahhhhh. So fun to reminisce- it was a great night.

Oh Lutsen, I miss you.

Day 4 update coming soon (sneak preview: I used a CHEAT item, in honor of my mother-in-law’s birthday:).

Evil eyes!

Next time, I might consider smiling.

Holiday cards.

Receiving holiday cards in the mail: one of the absolute best parts of the season.

I’m sure you are all familiar with Minted. I ordered our save the dates from them and just love the quality of the pieces- thick paper, saturated color, unique formatting and editing tools. And the design options- seriously overwhelming and amazing. Their “about us” says it all: Our purpose in life is to uncover exceptional design from all over the world and bring this to savvy consumers who won’t accept anything else.

It’s a bit pricey, but sometimes (such as first ever christmas cards as a family!), it’s worth it.

Here are some of the options I considered.

but our final choice was. . . oh wait, I can’t find the digital version! I will take photos and share with you later today:)

Photo books.

I’m a little late to the game, but I recently finished my first online photo book- it should be arriving shortly in the mail, and I can’t wait to check out the quality of the printing and finishing. I used Shutterfly because they have some amazing deals and coupons this time of year, but at some point would love to use Pinhole Press as well.

Anyway, while waiting for our first book to arrive (which is actually a wedding album for the in-laws), I decided it would be fun to have a honeymoon photo book as well. We will be getting a nice album with our actual wedding photos (please don’t ask me about the progress on that) but nothing for the honeymoon. So photo book came to the rescue.

I can’t wait to receive it, and peruse it for years to come-especially many years down the line, when Bry and I might start to forget all the fun we once had together:)

Here are a few screen grabs of my layout. More to come when I receive the actual hard copies!

PS- I will also share our christmas cards shortly- I want to make sure they are all mailed out first. They turned out super cute!

Yarn Letters.

I so want to do this- so simple and so cute! 

I should do it with our wedding letters:

Courtesy of the amazing Jen Loves Kev.

Fam.

Dance Off!

There was definitely some fierce competition on the dance floor.

It all started with me saying:

We’re married now, I’m your wife, and I’ve got my eyes on you,

and my hands on you!

Bry replied: “It ain’t no thing girl. I may be married, but I still have my moves.”

“Mad moves. Check out my AIR!”

I replied “Well, my friends can dance better than yours can.”

From Kanye,

to MJ,

to girly grinding!

Then I thought “Wait, you think your crazy athletic capoeria friend tops all other dancers?”

You and him and your dramatic fight moves? Dangerous, I tell ya.

Or that crazy-eyed zach has a chance?

“I don’t think so!”

 And no, Keith doesn’t cut it either- not with that wrist brace.

I know!, I thought. Sister Megan! She even had the nerve to get in middle of the circle, and this was early in the night.

No no no, we have it all wrong. The best dancer of the night HAD to be our officiant, Tab. Certainly the most virtuous of us all.

Especially compared to this guy, all sleek and sly and foreign:)

Or this gal, all smiley and happy on the outside, but fiercely competitive on the inside.

And just because this one can’t walk yet, it doesn’t mean she can’t dance. She shimmied and smiled to the song of her namesake, no doubt.

Also, we should consider the mother/son duos of the night- don’t they just tug at your heartstrings?

So precious- a mama and her youngest son.

But what about another glaring omission here: the father/daughter dance? Ours was certainly one that needs to be mentioned, as it was emotional and entertaining and embarrassing, all rolled into one big bundle. Talk about precious, right?!

Just check out this sequence of events:

Things start out much like other father/daughter dances. Ooohs and awwwws abound,

But then, wait a second. . .

the music is changing, George and Katie are going nuts, and their moves are changing!

Who knew a slightly overweight and undapper duo could move so well?

We sure didn’t!

and you might be surprised to know that we didn’t have any professional help while choreographing this complicated number.

It was ALL our own work. Very complex stuff.

And then back to the ooohs and awwwwws at the end:

Definitely a crowd pleaser (though at times it’s hard to tell the difference between a wince and a smile):

All in all, a fun dance.

And I think the verdict is one we can all agree on: we’re all movers and  shakers and winners!

Thank YOU for attending our wedding, for rocking out, and for leaving it all on the dance floor.

Even if you actually spent the entire dance outside smoking cigars, at the bar with a bottle of slivo, or upstairs raiding the candy bar. All good and fair options as well.

K&B for-evah.

H-moon Bliss: Part One.

Post wedding, we went on a honeymoon. Whoever came up with such a concept deserves a big hug, because while our wedding was superb and awesome and all that we hoped for and more with all our favorite people at our side, the honeymoon was blissful and amazing and a perfect time for just the two of us to reflect on and celebrate all that we have to be thankful for (past, present and future).

It was a two-part trip: first half in Kauai and second part in Maui.

First up, Kauai.

I loved Kauai and it’s natural beauty. In fact, I’ll admit that I might be addicted to Kauai’s North Shore. It’s right up there with Cinque Terre in Italy, which I thought was the most beautiful coast in the world. But up in Kauai with Bry, it’s as if my soul found its home there (cheesy, but true). My idea of utter bliss is sitting on the beach in Hanalei and marveling at the breathtaking view; watching the sunrises and sunsets over the ocean; strolling the kitschy village towns; hiking the (hard) Hanakapiai trail to 300 ft waterfalls, and watching the waves crash at Ke’e beach — with the Napali cliffs as a backdrop. I love the mystical, misty mountains and the luscious lushness. And when we wanted another version of breathtaking, we loved Waimea Canyon. All in all, our love for Kauai was big and vast, just the sky and ocean around the tiny special island.

The trip went a little like this:

We first set eyes on the island from above, obviously. It was quite beautiful. 

Then we rented our car- some sort of little silver hatchback mobile that was quite efficient. Aloha State!

We spent the first day getting to know the island and the area around our resort (the Westin in Princeville),

and pretty quickly decided we liked the place.

We drank quite a bit of wine.

Wine at dinner,

and wine to-go on the beach,

while watching sunsets like this one. Why not, wine?

One day we decided to see what the Napali coast was all about, and heard grumblings about an awesome (but grueling) 8-mile hike along the coast to a waterfall.

We are tough and had nothing but time, so onward we hiked. Grumbling and grueling be darned!

I was a sweaty, but happy, beast.

Bry was tough and outdoorsy and optimistic, per the usual. He’s a solid sidekick.

We hiked and hiked some more, amazed at the beauty of our surrondings (AND,  I only complained a handful of times about my wet shoes and the hot sun!).

The mid-point of our hike (actually it was the quarter-point, as it was halfway to our destination, and we had to hike BACK as well) was an awesome beach. Unfortunately it was also deadly, so swimming was not advised.

Yikes!

At least there were other neat areas to explore.

After the beach break we turned inland and hiked along a river and through bamboo forests,

past mossy rocks and through piles of fallen guava. . .

until we reached the waterfall! So pretty.

Bry went swimming while I ate peanut M&Ms. See him waving below?

And then we had to hike 4 miles back to our car, which a was A-OK given the scenery.

We rewarded ourselves with a big plate of nachos,

 

and a nice nacho-eating, beer-drinking view to boot.

One day we drove down the road to the St. Regis for brunch (OMG NICE HOTEL),

hung out at Hanalei beach (unfortunately there were no Puff the Magic Dragon sightings),

and enjoyed the company of each other.

We’d often take later afternoon siestas, followed by cocktails, walks and sushi.

One day we took a kayak trip up the Wailua river, and learned about the flora and fauna and history of the island.

I even took a dip in the waterfall this time!

We biked down the waimea canyon,

in hot helmets,

and again marveled at the views and our luck in finding each other.

Other days were spent driving around the island and discovering gorgeous beaches,

and strolling the streets of little beachside towns.

Oh Kauai, I love you almost as much as I love my husband. . . but not quite. We can’t wait to come back someday.

PS: Maui was fabulous as well. But it’s like choosing between the Beatles and Rolling Stones. So different and so great in their own unique way. There are many fabulous places in Maui: the road to Hana drive, Kapalua & Paia, MAMA’S FISH HOUSE, many great snorkeling spots, Kaanapali Beach, etc. Perhaps it was just a bit too busy for our taste. But amazing nonetheless. I’ll share pics from that part of our trip next!

Classy.

There came a point during the wedding (somewhere after dinner and before the dance) when I dropped all my worries, lost my “bridal poise,” picked up some wine and embraced the madness/happiness. This was after that moment.

Bryan looks appalled.

beginning.

Of all the paths I’ve chosen to go down in my life, following the one that lead me to Bryan has given me the most love, beauty and happiness. And it’s only the beginning.

We sure do bicker, but here’s the thing: this is the man I want to spend my life with, raise children with, go on adventures with, bake with, read with, grow old with, and yes, even fight with. Lucky for me, he feels the same way. He’s my person, and I’m his. If we always remember that we love each other more than we are mad at the moment, we will persevere (and thrive). I have no doubts.

One more batch.

One more batch of wedding photos. Then I’ll stop. For a bit, at least. We had the greatest photographers.

and remember this:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Such an inspiring quote from the late Steve Jobs

Sidenote: Now that wedding stuff is over, I have been doing some fun (and cheap) home improvement projects, the first of which involves our nightstands and a lamp. I’ll share more details on those in the next week or two!

Oh, and thank goodness we didn’t have a wedding photo like this! Oh crap.

Joy!

Air.

My husband gots air.

Sneaks.