The Benefits of Blogging & Why I LOVE People Like You!

I originally started this blog to stay in touch with friends and family on the east coast after I moved across the country with the love of my life. I thought I would just write brief notes and post crappy pictures for those even remotely interested back home. Yet, this baby blog has become such an asset to me! Through it I have made connections with AMAZING people who a) are weird like me and take the time to blog {it is time consuming and you all are kinda weird}, b) give me awesome advice, c) bring me encouragement through their sweet comments and emails, and d) flatter me by reading about my mundane life.

Recently, I was contacted by Sarah who gave me advice concerning a wedding venue in the Seattle area. She read this post about my wedding planning progress {or lack thereof} and referred me to the venue her and the hubby got married at on Whidbey Island.

What Sarah, and most of you, didn't know is that my original vision was to get married in a barn. That's SUPER easy in West Virginia. I could just go to my neighbors house or an abandoned lot with a barn on it! {HA! Okay, probably not} But I was having trouble finding a barn style wedding venue in WA. The barns I found online were either a) WAY, WAY, WAY over priced! {Seriously? IT'S A BARN PEOPLE! A BARN!} or b) were in no man's land. 

When I clicked on the link Sarah sent me, I knew almost instantly that this is where I wanted to get married. Sarah raved about the the gorgeous views and the food and after reading other reviews, I knew she wasn't exaggerating! I soon contacted the owners and set up a date to meet and view the barn! I already told Steven to have his deposit ready because I know we will be booking this venue on the spot! You can take a look for yourself here. 

The funny thing is that this venue never showed up in any of my online searches {and trust me, I searched A LOT}. If Sarah wouldn't have shared her experience with me, I may never have found this ideal location --and that would have been a shame. 

So with all this said, I just wanted to say Thank You, Sarah! And thank you to everyone else who has left me comments concerning wedding planning and marriage advice! They all are truly appreciated and cherished. 

All Photos Found HERE!

House Hunting & Zombies

Steven: I really like this house by Crest Airport.

Me: No, it's too close to those huge power lines. And your parents scared me talking about the negative effects of living near power lines.

Steven: Well...What if there was a zombie invasion and the power lines...

Me: You lost this argument at "zombies"

Does anyone else have a significant other completely obsessed with zombies? I really don't understand it. If Steven has his way, our engagement photos are going to look like this.

Photo via Pinterest

I'm praying for the zombie epidemic to swiftly pass on by.

My Wedding Gown

When I was younger I always pictured myself in a ball room gown on my wedding day. Something so large and fluffy, people would have to step aside when I walked by. Something that would make me lose my legs in a mess of tulle. Something very Cinderella-esque. 

Photo via Pinterest

When I got a little older {and well, actually up till a few days ago}, I pictured myself in something more fitted and sultry. Maybe with an elongated waist to give me more height.

Photo via Pinterest

All I really knew was that on my wedding day, I wanted to look and feel more beautiful than I ever have before. I wanted to capture the look on my grooms face as he sees me walking down the aisle, and hold that moment close forever. I wanted to take the guests breath away. I wanted to be a memorable bride.

Wedding gown shopping is a weird thing. The first thing they ask is "How do you envision yourself on your wedding day?" Well, I envision myself exactly how I depicted in the paragraph above. What exactly does that look like though?? So, I said I wanted to look classy, elegant, romantic, blah blah blah. Every girl wants to look like those things on  their big day and each of us have a different definition for just what those things look like! I felt slightly panicky. What is she going to pull of the rack for me? What if they don't have what I'm looking for in a dress? What am I looking for in a dress? And lastly, why am I so stressed out about ONE STINKIN' DRESS!?

I tried on dress number one. Didn't like it. Tried on another dress. It was okay. Tried on another dress. Third time definitely wasn't a charm. And then I tried on dress number four. And I was quite smitten. I got teary eyed because it was everything I could have possibly hoped for in a dress.

Women and our emotional involvement in clothing. It's kind of embarrassing, honestly. 

I ended up leaving the store empty handed though. I thought, since it's my first time trying on dresses I needed to sleep on it --because this whole wedding dress business ain't cheap! I woke up the next day and went to a smaller bridal boutique. I found a beautiful dress much more reasonably priced {similar to the style of the second photo above} but couldn't get dress #4 from yesterday out of my mind!  And I just knew when I walked out of that store empty handed again, dress #4 was the one.

I wish I could show you all the dress! But since Steven reads my blog it is absolutely out of the question. Let's just say it is nothing like either of the dresses above, and so so sooooo perfect! It is not the style/material/look I always had in mind for my wedding, but I've definately never felt more beautiful in my life! 

It's a darn shame you only get to wear it once...

Why Losing Power Stinks When You're An Adult

The beautiful winter wonder land I woke up to last week quickly turned into a cold, slippery, rather inconvenient mess. {I know, first world issues...we are so pathetic.}

I woke up Friday morning to no power. At first, this was exciting. Losing power when you're a child means no school, hot coco, boardgames by candlelight, building snow forts and sleigh riding!  I could not wait for the festivities to begin! The side of my little lake house that faces the water is basically a huge window, so I threw back the curtains to let in some natural light, slipped my fuzzy VS bathroom over my shoulders and wrapped it tightly around me, and went to work starting a fire. Once the fire was going nice and hot, I placed a pot of water on top to boil for some hot coco and thought to myself, "I would have been an AWESOME pioneer woman!"  

Before I settled down in front of the fire with a good book and my pup, I headed towards the fridge to grab a bite to eat. As soon as I swung the door open it hit me! {I'm referring to the stench not the door} I'm guessing power went out around 2 or 3am, but my food was already getting warm and the contents in the freezer had begun thawing! Did I mention I had just went grocery shopping and the refrigerator was jammed packed??

I quickly found the smelliest culprit of all {some leftover chicken. ew.} and tossed it in the trash, then began bagging up all the foods that needed to remain frozen/cold and rushing them outside into the snow banks. In my bathrobe. {This took at least four trips.} 

In my haste, I forgot to place the trash can back under the kitchen sink. Cold and winded, I went back inside, slammed the door behind me, turned around and saw Huck --head slightly tilted to the left, ears perked high in interest, and the smelly, rotting chicken clench tightly between his puppy teeth. 

"Huck, leave it!" Usually, when given this command, he'll drop whatever object he has and allow Steven or I to pick it up with no issues. Oh, but not this piece of chicken, not this enormous treat, nooo way. So, obviously, he bolted. I chased him around the coffee table, couch, and dinning room table about three times before I came to my senses. This is NOT going to work. {Moments like this I am glad I live alone. No one around to witness my stupidity.} I turned around to face Huck, squinted my eyes, set my jaw, raised my hand to administer the spanking and yelled, "Huck, stay!" He stayed.. I retrieved the chicken and just decided to take all the trash outside. 

This all took place before 9am...and my day quickly got worse.

Needless to say, I did not play any boardgames by candlelight, build a snow fort or attempt to go sledding. I did however, enjoy a cup of hot coco and then fall into a sleeping coma caused by the heat radiating from my wood stove. Upon waking I immediately went to my in-laws {who have a generator, thank God} to enjoy non-rotting food and some artificial light. 

I hope everyone else stayed safe and warm this weekend!

P.S. I think I finally got my blog button to work! I've been having issues with it for about 2 months! I swear, you have to be a rocket scientist to figure those things out! Anyways, let me know if it's working! {Can you see it? If so, can you grab it? When you click it does it go to my page?}

Snow Day.

I woke up this morning to this!

Lovely, isn't it? Technically, this is my first adult snow day. No work for me. Okay, I actually still have to work..but from home! Which means I can edit away in my bright red bathrobe with my puppy laying at my feet. Huckleberry is overjoyed to say the least.

To top it off, Steven came over this morning before I was out of bed to start a fire for me in my little lake home! {Awww!} It's not that I CAN'T start a fire on my own, it's just that...

...well I can't. I quit girl scouts in 1st grade because my brothers teased me so much and fire starting is simply just not one of my skills. I'm inept. But I still survive.

As far as wedding planning goes, I'm still venue hunting. I could always just get married in a swanky hotel in Seattle this November. That's just not what I always pictured my wedding day to be like though. My mom is now searching for affordable venues in the WV/VA area as well. It would be hard to get married back on the east coast. I don't think I would like not feeling in control of my wedding, ya know? But it is still really pretty in VA that time of year, so who knows, if the perfect place presents itself, it is definitely an option.

But today, I am going to read, edit, sip coffee, and enjoyed the lovely view from my "office" window!

Huck thinks he's such a stud.

p.s. Thanks for all the wedding advice I've been receiving! I love all your comments and emails and take the advice to heart!! :)

Wedding Planning.

For those of you who told me wedding planning would be fun. You lied! And well, that's just rude...

Wedding. Planning. Is. Stressful.

Steven and I hoped to get married this summer, but then schedules conflicted, venues filled up too quickly, people complained, and feelings got hurt, yadda yadda yadda...

Long story short, we are SO NOT getting married this summer. Honestly, I would have loved a small backyard wedding with burlap and blues, some mason jars and simple wildflowers, finger foods and just my most intimate family and friends. But it's ok...it's really not okay.

So, Steven and I started over and have come up with 2 non-official plans.

1) Getting married on Crystal Mountain. 

This would be awesome for many reasons. First off, the venue offers a lot of convenient features that would definitely benefit the out of town guests; shuttle to and from the airport, various lodging options, horseback riding, and multiple restaurants and retail shops within walking distance. Basically, they could use our wedding as a rustic weekend getaway excuse and never have to leave the Mountain! :)

Second, the scenery is breathtaking! Whether your from Seattle or have never been to the northwest, the view of Mt. Rainier (which would be our background at the ceremony) would make this a worthwhile trip.

Third, I could get some super cute save the dates like this one from Etsy.

2) Getting married on St. John, Virgin Islands. 

Seriously, I kid you not. This would be SWEET! Steven is really into the idea of a destination wedding and surprisingly, this would be the cheaper option for us. The location speaks for itself. It is absolutely stunning! And luckily, I found an amazing wedding coordinator who has impeccable reviews and has been extremely helpful and responsive thus far. I know a destination wedding usually hits the guests wallets pretty hard, and would mean that a lot of people we really want to attend just simply won't be able to, so for now, we're going to continue to research and see if this is even feasible. 

Oh yeah, and I could get these cute save the dates from Etsy.

The down side to the Crystal Mountain venue is that we'd have to wait until next July (as in 2013!!!) to get married! That's a long way away...and well, I am just really ready to marry my man!

The destination wedding would be this November...but very pricey for our guest.

Good grief! What to do, what to do...

Our Engagement.

I will always remember the day Steven proposed. Not because of how he looked when he got down on one knee {he didn’t get down on one knee}, not because of the romantic speech he gave right before he slipped the ring on my finger {I have no idea what he said, and he cannot remember either}, but rather, I’ll remember the day Steven proposed because of how utterly bratty I was! If there is an award for the brattiest person in the universe, please notify the officials to pass it my way. I am not proud of my behavior, but hey, it happens and it makes our engagement story rather unique…

While visiting my parents on the East Coast, Steven and I made a trip to Lynchburg, VA where we met in college. A lot of our friends are still in the area and it didn’t feel right traveling 3,000 miles and not seeing them. 

Lynchburg is about a 3 hour drive from my parents home. Since, by nature I am a planner and an extremely time-conscious individual, I calculated when we would be arriving in Lynchburg, got out the GPS to review the route and ensure my calculation was accurate, and let out a sigh of contentment as Steven and I pulled out of the driveway a few minutes ahead of schedule. 

After about an hour of driving, Steven makes the announcement that he wants to stop in Luray, VA to take a tour of the caverns. 

Me: Why do you want to go to the caverns? Let’s just go to Lynchburg.

Steven: We’re on vacation..let’s just go, it will be fun..

Me: No, it’s cold outside! I don’t want to walk in cold caverns. And I’m not dressed warm enough. {Whiny voice in full effect} Therefore, it will not be fun.

Steven: It’s not that cold. It’s a beautiful day! Come on it will be fun.

Me: NO. {pout comes out and scowl comes on}

Despite my whinny voice, pouting lower lip, and unattractive scowl, Steven takes the exit for the caverns. Of course, disobeying me means war. It’s time for me to bring out my most destructive weapon: the silent treatment. 

But my version of the silent treatment usually lasts about 2 minutes. I was impressed with the town of Luray. Cute and quaint –there is no denying it was charming. 

I did win the battle of the Luray Caverns though {seriously, it was really cold!} Steven gave up that plan, but while driving along, he spotted a small river that goes through the town. Along the rivers bend were wild flowers, lush grass, park benches, and even a couple tree swings. He parked and made me asked me to get out and walk along the river with him.  I later learned that while walking, Steven had his hand in his coat pocket on the ring, but ladies, get this, he was too nervous to ask and kept waiting for a better moment! Cute, right?

We walked back to the base of the river where there were a couple benches we could sit on. Steven tried to get me to sit down. In sulky fashion, I refused.

Steven: Is this how it’s going to be the rest of our lives??

Me: YES!

This is where it becomes a blur. Steven gave up on me and we silently walked back to the car. As we headed back I sensed him reaching to open the door for me so I rushed ahead, opened the door myself, slid into the passengers seat, and immediately reached for my phone and began to text my best friend about how annoying Steven can be. {Man, I wish I were kidding you right now. I’m embarrassed as I type this.} I hear Steven get in the car and say something to me, but for the life of me I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HE SAID! All I know is he is holding open a clever looking box with the most amazing ring I have ever seen inside of it, and I’m pretty sure he’s asking me to marry him. 

So, I giggled. 

And then I said yes.

If you are a perfect-moment-ruiner, please raise your hand!

I hope I'm not the only one with my hand up right now!

Come to find out, Steven had dinner reservations at a beautiful Bed & Breakfast called the Victorian Inn where I ate the best steak I’ve ever had in my life and basked in the glow of being newly engaged. 

We walked the festive Post-Christmas streets of that quiet town hand in hand, already discussing wedding ideas, bursting with the excitement of our impending future together, and Steven says, “I’m really glad that’s over. I was very nervous my darling.”

Haha! I was just relieved that regardless of my bratty temper tantrum he still proposed!

Lesson learned…hopefully.

Mumblings.

I like to write. I use to love it. I remember carrying a pen and notebook wherever I went, never knowing when the chaos in my head would turn into something meaningful on paper. Well, at least I'd like to think it was meaningful. To me, it was almost sacred.

I remember how it felt when the unformed thoughts were about to overtake me --demanding to be written down, urging me to give them life. My heart would beat faster as a sense of urgency attacked my being. I remember the frantic scramble to get my thoughts down least they escaped me. I remember the thrill. I remember the pieces and pieces of scrape paper I would find in my purse with incoherent scribbling at the end of each day. I remember the pleasure I felt at perusing each one again and again.

Writing gave me a sense of purpose --a feeling of satisfaction.

Now, writing is my profession. What I've always hoped and never thought would happen. 

I write for a living, and I find it agonizing.

I agonize over every comma, colon, and dash. I agonize over the clarity, readability, and consistency. I agonize over the first sentence again-and-again-and-again, and still feel like it isn't quite right when I hand over the final draft. I find writing draining. 

I remember when it use to fill me. 

Those who write are weird. They write for themselves alone. It is a completely selfish undertaking. It's not their hobby, a mere pleasurable pastime, it is a necessity for them. Just as birds fly, writer's write. 

It is hard to write for others. It is too personal --for them to scoff and criticize and tear it apart. It is hard to compartmentalize your life's bread from your lifeblood. 

Henrietta Update.

Henrietta was replaced this weekend by Jon Paul. 

OH, HELLO Jon Paul!!

Although Henrietta will be greatly missed, it is pretty sweet to have a 27in iMac. Currently, I am in the process of transferring documents, photos and music from one Mac to the other. I have successfully saved all my important documents {financial records, my many stories, poems and novels in progress, etc} and am so, sooooo happy that they are safe and secure on my new Mac! Unfortunately, the whole hotstickycoffeespillingallovermykeyboard incident has corrupted the program that stores all my photos and I think a lot of them are gone forever....

...Please, give me a second to wipe my tears and pick myself up off the floor... 

Pictures or no pictures!! I've decided you all have waited long enough and will get my engagement story this week! If the computer issues are not resolved within the next 2 days or so I'll just draw you pictures, I'll steal engagement pictures from other blogs we will just have a photo-less post.

I hope you have a lovely Monday!

Did I Tell You...

about the time Huckleberry got a fish hook stuck in his lip?

It was a pretty terrible day.

I was cooking dinner for Steven and I.

I'm a bad cook. And multitasking is not my forte. I'm pretty certain every burner on the stove was on...

and I was distracted and reading directions...adding salt...putting in more water...cleaning the overflow from one burner...turning down one burning while turning another one to a hotter setting...

and Huckleberry has to go pee.

He was still pretty young and couldn't go outside without a lease at this point.

But I had about 14 million things going on and didn't want to take the time to walk him outside.

The Solution: Tie him up to the 20 foot lease we have on the back porch. This way he can reach the grass and walk back up to the door when he's done, so I'll know to let him back in.

The Problem: I forgot about him.

The Surprise: While continuing to cook, I see Huckleberry out of the corner of my eye tugging on something --and I hear him give an ear piercing yelp. He had a fish hook stuck in his upper lip and he was tugging HARD to get it out. OUCH!

The Reaction: Surprisingly, I was very calm. I ran to Huck and picked him up so he would quit pulling away from the fish hook and possibly rip it right through his lip. I tried to break the fishing line, but dang! those lines are tough --so, I bit it in half...yep. I really did that. I know. Disgusting. I noticed that the fish hook had a catch at the end of it that was keeping me from simply pulling it back through his lip.

There was no way I could get the hook out myself. I needed someone to hold Huckleberry still so I could cut off the catch at the end of the hook, and Steven still hadn't arrived to my place yet. Keeping calm, I carried Huckleberry with me, trying to soothe him with kisses and a soft tone, while I went and turned off the oven. I then walked over to my neighbors and started knocking on his door.

Did I mention it was raining...and I was bare foot?

This is when Steven pulled into my driveway. Thankfully, my neighbor didn't hear my knocks at the door, and therefore didn't witness me in such a state.

The NEW Reaction: Before Steven had stepped out of his car, I began running towards him..crying. Crying is actually an understatement. I was BAWLING inconsolably. You know, that really ugly cry when you're mouth is wide open but no sound emits and your chests heaves up and down? Yeah, that was me. 

I still remember Steven's face at this moment. The utter despair there. I wonder what was going through his mind? I'm quite certain he thought Huckleberry was dead in my arms...

I tried to explain what had happened but I was crying so hard and having trouble breathing. So I'm sure he didn't understand a word I said. He saw Huckleberry's lip though, and quickly took him into his arms and went inside. I kept Huck still as Steven calmly and expertly took a pair of pliers, cut off the jagged edge of the hook and easily slipped the rest out.   

I love that man.

The Lesson Learned: that much to my surprise, I can keep calm and cool in a high stress moment when necessary. I even had enough presence of mind to turn off the oven!!! But, when Steven arrived, someone I knew could manage the situation much better than me, I just lost it...and all the emotion I felt inside came rushing to the surface. 

The Other Lesson Learned: Put the fishing poles back in the shed after each use. 

Luckily, Huckleberry survived the ordeal unscathed. I'm pretty sure that within the hour, he had already forgotten all about it. 

 And now I can say that my puppy has his lip pierced. Bet you can't say the same! :)

RIP Henrietta

Today, I took my Mac Book Pro, Henrietta, to the tech doctor and tonight she will be laid to rest. No brainiac can reverse the damage that the nectar of life, aka coffee, {Oh! The irony!} has afflicted. 

It is a sad day.

Steven's lucky he asked me to marry him before the final prognosis was in... 

On a more chipper note, it feels so, so good to be back in Washington! I love my job, I love my puppy, I love my fiancé {yes, despite his participation in the early demise of my beloved Henrietta}, and I am soooo excited to plan my future here! 

Things have fallen into place so smoothly since my move to the west coast. I feel very blessed to be where I am today! It's incredible really--when I think about my life just one year ago...

I never imagined I'd be where I am today. Not just geographically, but in my personal life and my relationship with Steven, spiritually, and even within my current work situation. 

Life is good.

And I am happy.

FYI, wedding planning advice/ideas is welcomed and strongly encouraged!! I would blog about all my ideas, but you'll just have to wait..It's kinda a surprise. But no worries, it will be revealed in steps, and you will be giddy with excitement! Okay, you probably won't, but just pretend like you are for me :)

Ahem, I Believe We Have A Wedding To Discuss.

First, thank you to everyone who left the lovely comments and sent congratulatory emails! I was already thrilled, but reading your responses to my engagement further fueled my excitement! Second, sorry if you were expecting our engagement story today. My computer {with all my photos on it} is still currently out of commission :( 

Now turn that frown upside down because we have approximately 18 months to discuss my wedding! {Yep, you read that right} Prepare for a long engagement, folks. The beau and I are currently pinching pennies in preperation for our nuptials, and our guess-tamation {english majors are allowed to make up words. your loss} is that in a year...and...a...half...I'll be dead. 

Or, we'll  have enough money to tie the knot. 

But first comes love, then comes the ring, then comes me buying expensive things...so who knows. We may never have enough money, but I'll sure have some swanky stuff.

That swanky stuff will consist of  burlap, blues, and books. {I know, it sounds weird but you just wait.}

I'm Engaged!

In my last post, I mentioned that Steven and I would be returning to our college town of Lynchburg, VA and I was excited to come back and share our adventure with you...I had no idea the story I would have to tell would be so utterly EPIC!!!!

 Steven proposed! What a great way to start the New Year, and I cannot wait to share the not-so-perfect proposal story with each of you. But I am still on vacation and plan on spending the rest of today soaking up some quality family time. Tomorrow I will be heading back to Seattle, which means by Tuesday my bloggin addiction will once again be indulged on an {almost} daily basis.

I hope everyone had an AMAZING New Year! Can't wait to read all your lovely blogs when life gets back to normal! And to all my lovely future bridesmaids, be on the look out for a cute little note in your mailboxes soon :)