Guest Post: My SIL the Artist

Elise and Emaline

The final guest post is from my sister-in-law (SIL). She is Nick's sister and one of my best friends. She comes from a long line of male engineers but breaks away from the pack with creativity and ease. Elise is kind, thoughtful, laid-back, and so talented. She teaches art to kids- kindergarten through twelfth grade.

For my friend's daughter's birthday. I asked for simple flowers. Perfect.

Art comes so easily to her. She has gifted me a few pieces and at times, I have commissioned her work. She creates beautiful pieces and shares it with a casual grace that leads me to believe, she does not know how amazing she is. For my wedding and again for my baby shower, she made me a dot art photo. They are the best! I'll let her explain:

Baby Shower Guest Book. The tree reminds me of something from Winnie the Pooh.
Childlike and imaginative. Love

Wedding Guest Book. I love this hanging in my house.

Wedding. Engagement party. Baby-shower. Best friends’-kid’s-Frozen themed –birthday party. House warming. Diaper kegger.

As I inch further into my late twenties I've found that my calendar gets filled with these adult-ish mile-markers and events. I’m coming to realize that I am, in fact, old enough for all of it. With this party maturation that’s happening the ante has been upped for proper gift-giving.

I feel I've been acclimating quite well to it all and I've learned that with these grown-up events you ought to be kind and get a thoughtful gift. I can’t even remember where I saw the idea initially; maybe it was someone who brought the concept to my attention, but one way or another I began making finger-print guest books. It was all a little out of the blue, but making these guest books felt completely natural.

Birthday Party!

A finger print guest book isn't really a guestbook, but more like a sleeker evolved version of that idea. All of your party-goers stamp their fingerprint onto the work and sign their name on top. The collected fingerprints complete a picture and create a beautiful representation of all the support and love shared at that particular time and place. I love giving these guest books to my friends. They’re unique, made with my own hands, and beautifully functional. It feels great creating something special for the ones I love. I’m loving all of these new additions to my calendar.

 Bring on the parties that start at noon and end promptly at three.

Thank you Elise! And thanks again to all the creative minds who shared their craft! Your talent, though varied and unique, helps me remember why it is so important to follow your passion!

Did you miss: Rachel Running Wild? Theresa's gift? Ashley's makeup tip? This amazing song?

August 20th: Adventure

Today is our wedding anniversary. Three years. When we got married, I remember telling people that we were also going to continue celebrating our dating anniversary because for us, married three years also means together for ten. And that is something to celebrate.

August 20th, 2004

August 20, 2011

This year has been a wild ride. We survived the harshest winter I have ever known. And when spring finally arrived, we stumbled onto an opportunity for major change. We moved to Portsmouth, New Hampshire from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Nick switched careers. We bought our first home. Our baby girl celebrated her first birthday. And much more.

I always knew that Nick and I would travel, explore the world, and search out new experiences. This last year has taught us that some of life's greatest adventures happen without plane tickets and luggage. They can occur without leaving home. Creating a family, building a life together, is more splendid than the gardens of Paris, the mountains of Peru, the outback of Australia.

Thank you Nick for being my adventure partner. Happy Anniversary.

One Year: An Amazing Way to Celebrate

Left to Right: Carlos, Ketlynne, Abbie, Matt, Adam, Katie, Kris, Kat

When I called the Omni Parker House last week to book a room, they asked my reason for the one-night stay. It was probably more than they actually wanted when I responded- A friend is getting married in Providence and it happens to be the same weekend as our one year wedding anniversary, which took place at the Omni, so the day after their their wedding, we'll be there to celebrate ours.

There was a long pause before the lady responded, "So it's your anniversary?"

I told her that it was and she asked if I minded if she took note. I was hoping she would.

All of the above plus Steve, Nick and I.

 So late Friday night, Nick and I flew into Boston. The flight was fun as we got free beer and watched this dumb, funny show. We landed at 11:30pm, rented a car, and drove to my parents house. My Mom got out of bed to spend a few minutes chatting with us and then we all went to sleep.

Nick and I were out of the house by 9am and driving to Providence. We walked into our first hotel at 10:15am to find our buddy Adam walking his baby girl around the lobby.  The first baby in our ever growing OZ04 family.

The wedding was for my friends, Carlos and Katie. Carlos and I went to college together but did not meet until we were driving around on a bus in Australia. That's right, the same bus where I met him and her. It was an eventful time. 

Carlos quickly became one of my best friends. He is kind and sweet and funny. He can dance really well and even though he's a very successful adult, he is young at heart. He is a romantic, he loves superheros and Disney movies, and he would do anything for his family and friends.

Nick, Carlos, and Katie in Boston a few years ago.

In August of 2005 when I packed up my life and drove to Minnesota, Carlos came with me. I owe a lot to him for that. It was the craziest thing I have ever done, more so than skydive or bungee jump. (Though, he was there for those adventures too.)

 

So the woman taking my reservation at the hotel was spared from details of truly how significant this weekend actually was. 

The wedding was so much fun! we laughed and danced and reminisced and took a million pictures and laughed even more.

Congratulations Carlos and Katie!!

 The next day after tears by me and lots of hugs, Nick and I were on our own to celebrate our anniversary. We arrived at the Omni to discover that we had been upgraded to a suite like the one we had for our wedding. Champagne and chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us. (A+) It helped me dry my tears and we set off for dinner in the North End.

The next day was our actual anniversary and we toured downtown Boston on my signature walk before meeting up with my family. We went to dinner at the restaurant where we had our rehearsal dinner. We sat outside and I could not help but think about sitting in this very spot the year before. It was perfect.

At 6:15 the next morning, we were on a plane back to Minneapolis. It was a whirlwind. It seems almost like a dream now. Did I really just see all those people? Did we really just have our first wedding anniversary? It doesn't seem possible. I feel so lucky. And the cherry on this tale is that our next adventure is right around the corner.

Wedding Photos: They are here!!

Our photos have finally been posted on our photographer's blog and they are outstanding! I absolutely adore each one and I cannot stop looking them over. She is mailing a proof book to our house but until then, I have her beautiful blog to look at.

Nick let me have my way with choosing photographers. He was too busy with work and school to invest time in looking for photographers. He wanted to be involved, but I was captain of this project. We both believe that the photographer is one of the most important pieces of the day and so I spent a lot of time looking at blogs, scrolling through photos, and emailing photographers.

From the moment I came across Tyra, nobody else even came close. These photos and these photos told me I just had to have her. In addition to having the most gorgeous photos I have ever seen, she responded to my emails quickly, she has an easy-going personality, and most importantly- she really loves what she does.



Nick: "She is REALLY good. She made it look like I can dance!!"


Her name is Tyra Bleek, she is from Washington state but lives in Boston. She is petite, kind, fun to work with, and incredibly talented. I found her through this blog and we began emailing. It took Nick and I awhile to make our final decision but once we did, we made plans to meet up next time we were in town. We met Tyra, in person, only once before the wedding.We had a beer at her favorite restaurant in Boston and we liked her right away. I read her blog regularly so between her photo posts and her wedding tips, I felt like I knew what to expect.

I have looked at her photos a million times but until you see your own photos, you still carry worry. Not about the photographer but about yourself. I am overly critical of myself, especially in photos. My family gets irritated with me regarding this and although they wouldn't dare say anything, I am sure they were nervous about whether I would be content with the outcome.

The photographs are amazing to me! Not only are they lovely but the memories that they conjure up, the moments that were caught with a lens are priceless.



A moment I would never have seen otherwise. Two great-uncles from opposite sides of the family. I treasure this photo.



Wish I knew what they are laughing about but I love!



My friend Sam stepped outside and thought she was alone. Upon seeing this picture Sam: "She really was everywhere!"





I love this man with my whole heart.





Updates: Changing with the Times

I read the"About Me" today and realized how outdated it was. Major life changes have occurred this summer and therefore a blog makeover seems appropriate...

I spent my lunch hour messing with the layout. I have a tendency to over think the details. I love messing with fonts and colors until it fits me, until it settles onto the page as though it was meant to be there. At home, I shift vases and picture frames around on a regular basis. The details are easy to play with and can make a big difference. Let me know what you think. Do you miss the old look? Did you even notice? Stay with me as I figure this thing out. Blog design care of me and Cutest Blog on the Block.

Part 1: August 20, 2011

To take any pressure off of myself, I will start by saying this is not my official wedding post. But I have been trying for a few weeks now to embrace my thoughts, whatever they may be. This special time in our relationship is fleeting and I have tried very hard to live in the moment, to not stress too much about the details, and to try to remember as much as I can. The best way to remember for me is to write.

Everybody offers advice whether or not it is solicited and some of the questions have surprised me. Post wedding, the number one question: what went wrong? any big mishaps?

The answer: no.

The extended answer: anything that "went wrong" was more than made up for. The way things played out was not always what we planned but always ended up being better than what we could have thought up. For example, our officiator announced us as husband and wife, everybody cheered, and the music quickly started up. In all of the excitement the officiator did not get a chance to tell us to kiss and as he is blind, may not have known that we did not. So I leaned in and said "Tommy you forgot to have us kiss."

To which Tommy threw his hands up and shouted, "Stop the music!" The music abruptly went quiet and Tommy got his chance to tell us to kiss, at which the crowd broke out into even louder cheering and the music resumed. I loved it! It was fun. It was perfect.

I have spent so much time since the wedding thinking about moments. Asking myself questions about favorite parts, things I want to hold onto, what would I change? What unsolicited advice will I offer to the bride after me?

Something that bothered me wedding week, and it probably seems silly, is that I never got emotional. I never cried. If you know me, you know that I cry easily. If you don't, let me say that I will cry anytime I see somebody else crying. This includes reality TV stars.

Nick told me a number of times that he was putting effort into "keeping it together" and a part of me longed to just fall apart with the feeling of love and happiness and an understanding of what it all means. Instead I just stood around and smiled like a dope (see below).

Maybe as the wedding gets further away, I will have better perspective. For now my reason is that leading up to the wedding Nick spent a lot of time by himself. He was in his hotel room the morning of the wedding writing me a letter when it "finally hit" for him.

I spent that morning surrounded by my girls. My Mom, sisters, niece, cousin, sister-in-law, friends, hair and makeup artist, and a frenzy of random visitors were by my side attempting to attend to my every need. (It's okay, I can lift my arm to drink my oj. But thanks.)

In all honesty, I would not have had that morning play out any other way. What kept me so calm was the happiness of seeing these people that I love so much, supporting me and getting to know each other better. (The people in that room came from six different states to be there. If you are reading this and most of your close friends and family live close to each other, please take a moment to recognize how lucky you are!! If you and your significant other have family in similar areas, please acknowledge, you are also very lucky!!!) Okay now that I have stepped off of my soap box - what I'm trying to say is when I really think about everything that happened, from the time we landed in Boston until the day we flew back to Minneapolis, I would not have changed a thing.

Like most girls, I have had thoughts about what my wedding would be like since I was little. Every time I went somewhere beautiful, I was secretly storing it in my mind as a possible location. Where I wanted to get married shifted drastically. I have thought everything from a wedding on the beach in Hawaii to the top of a mountain in New Hampshire to a park in Australia and ended up in a ballroom in downtown Boston.

The one thing that never shifted was a dream to have my wedding be an event. I did not want it to be one day. I wanted to do a destination purely because it would force everyone to hang out for an extended period of time. It is funny to think of having a destination wedding in your hometown but that is what ended up happening. When I think back on my wedding, I do not think of just August 20th. I think about everything in between. From connolis in the North End and dancing at the oldest bar in America to taking my nine-year-old brother-in-law on his first train ride to playing in the fountains with my niece from lunch on Newbury Street to napping in the hammock at my parents house.

So much more I want to share but I will hold out hopefully for some professional photos. Have a good Labor day weekend!

TGIF: Stumbling Through 8 Days

I'm sure this comes as a shock but it is really hard to be at work today. My hope is that if I write a little bit and then make my zillionth to do list that it will shake off some of my nervous/excited/anxious energy.

I have not been as focused this week as maybe I should be. Not on the wedding, not on eating well, not on getting enough sleep. Wednesday we went to the Red Sox/Twins game and I accidentally got a little drunk. Yesterday I went to Sam's fringe show. It was hilarious! I didn't get home until almost 9pm and then I just read and went to sleep. But despite all of this, I still feel like we are on top of things. We do not have any plans this weekend, outside of my salon appointment, so we can finish our DIY place cards and wrap up some other details. We leave on Tuesday evening for Boston. I need to make sure I am staying ahead of my work.

Today I bought this and this. The dress is to wear on wedding day while I am getting ready and the pocket book is because I do not have one.

In the spirit of randomness let me share with you some other fun things that I found.

• This blog makes me want to spend time being girly.
• This should be read when you need to shake off a bad morning. 
• This dress makes me wish I found it three months ago.

Have you started stumbling yet?? Oh man it's addicting. As a friend said, "Once you think you've found the end of the internet, you start stumbling and you realize there is no end"

How cool are these sinks? c/o stumble upon.

This livingroom with the library would be a dream!

Summer 2011: Turn, Turn, Turn

This summer has been keeping me on my toes and with little time for writing creatively as all of that energy has been put toward planning a wedding. I wouldn't trade it for anything, despite the nervousness that has settled somewhere between my throat and my stomach. What are you nervous about? I keep getting asked. Really?? I would be nervous if I wasn't nervous (ha!).

July 6th we moved into our new home after living with Nick's family for a week. The house is unpacked in the sense that we live there and we can show people rooms and they think they look nice (with the exception of our offices) but there is still so much to do and for now, that is okay.

July 22nd we had our Minnesota Send-Off Party. It was the reception prior to our wedding, held for all of our friends and family in Minnesota that are not able to join us in Boston. It was a great idea that Nick's Dad presented to us last summer and with his financial support, how could we say no? It was a great party and a wonderful success. There were more emotional moments than I expected. My Mom and Nick's Dad gave lovely toasts. My friend Joel sang the most BEAUTIFUL rendition of Unchained Melody that I have ever heard. And Nick pulled me up to the microphone when he went up to thank everyone and he surprised me with unofficial vows. Gosh he's cute! I thought I would have cried but instead I was smiling so hard my jaw hurt the next day. Now that's joy!

I was in Boston this past weekend for a family friend's wedding, my hair trial, and to bring my wedding dress home. It was a great trip. It was so nice to be home. The highlight for me was coming downstairs to show my sister and her baby my wedding dress. My 19-month-old niece came up to me with a big smile on her face, hands outstretched, and walked around me in circles saying "Turn Arouuunnd, Turrrnn Arooound" as she carefully spun me and touched the fabric. Babies don't lie and this baby sure liked my dress.


Kaia

I have to say that the biggest thing I will take away from the craziness of these past few month, is appreciation for friends that have gone out of their way to celebrate with us. The love and support that certain friends have shown is staggering and I can't wait for a chance to shine the love back on them.



Wisconsin Dells Girls Weekend!



Minneapolis Bachelorette



Surprise Boston Bachelorette!



Boston Shower

Two weeks from today, I leave for Boston!!! Unbelievable! I hope to be able to write before that time.