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half of a year in

Yesterday marked six months we have been married! It has certainly been an adventure so far and it truly feels like the wedding was yesterday. 

We spent the weekend in Auburn celebrating a win with friends. 

 (love this)

 (June 11- adopted Molly)

 (attending a summer wedding in Auburn)

 

(summer hike in the mountains)

 (April 16- MARRIED!)

 (April-Now name changes and decorating our first place together)

Storing, not Boring.

I want our space to be functional while reflecting our personalities. Two ideas I love:

 Chalkboard with shelving and hooks. I would hang this piece in my front entry way. The hooks would be perfect for the dog leash, umbrella, etc. I like the vintage feel of a chalkboard for writing messages and leaving my personal favorite, love notes.

(This is from Urban Outfitters)

I love floor to ceiling bookshelves. This is a little more organized than I would prefer, but I imagine my house to have a giant bookshelf with books, vases, photos and trinkets. 

(I found this on Pintrest)

Check out this above post from Cupcakes and Cashmere on personalizing your storage space.

living and loving

When I was in school I always hated reading; probably because I was forced to read books I didn't care about. As an adult, the second I am done reading one book, I have three more I am dying to pickup. After reading a series of best sellers, I found this one by comedic writer Jenna McCarthy. 

Although I just started it last night, it revolves around Jenna's (and others) real life adventures as a wife and how many/most of our marital struggles are living together. Like having a roommate, you notice every single (irking) thing your spouse can do and traits that were once endearing when you were dating can often loose their charm.  

Do you stop loving this person? Never. Would you rather be alone? No (ok, sometimes, but not forever). As a newlywed, she hit the nail on the head for me, in her introduction with a remark about how you spend a year (your whole life) planning a wedding, honeymoon and how darn cute your babies will be, but you don't always think about "ever after," and "till death do us part." 

I feel grateful that Michael and I's religion required us to go through couples counseling prior to marriage, as once a week we were taken out of wedding planning and forced to deal with real-life marital situations. However, as we chose not to live together before hand, something I still stand by, that is often the biggest wake up call. 

I am excited to read through this novel that promises to shed a comedic light on living with the man you love... till death do you part.

FALLing in love

Picture collage of many reasons I love FALL.

 (I made a mini pumpkin tree! Assorted fresh floral and these cute miniature pumpkin trees I found.)

(Lots of new fallen leaves, twigs and acorns for Molly to explore.)

 (Scarecrow couple I found! Put these little guys in front of the house.)

(Molly gets to wear her AU bandanna on game days.)

i'm dreaming of a white....kitchen

Michael and I have slowly started looking at houses, and as we do like most shoppers, I am drawn to the kitchen. I think white has made a huge comeback in the kitchen and while dark granite and cabinets were once considered the way to go, white adds a rich, elegant, light, country feel to me. Took some pictures off Pintrest.

 

I think the punches of color in the upholstery showcase personality

 I love, love, love exposed brick!

My dream white kitchen will also have an island.

Don't settle

I think Steve Jobs said and did some of the most inspirational and visionary things I will see in my lifetime. Beyond his professional life, his personal life and how he led it with such privacy and dignity are moving. This is an excerpt from his commencement speech at Stanford in 2005. 

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle."

This hits home all too much, certainly with most people my age.We are the age of technology and innovation, but mixed with recession and a struggling economy. It is hard not to settle when you have to pay the bills. I have not seen in my (short) professional lifetime a hiring boom or surplus of jobs. But, as Jobs said "if you haven't found it yet, keep looking."

more Steve Jobs quotes