Spa Time!

I'm happy to say that my husband and I are headed to a spa for the next two days. It's a little babymoon getaway -- a chance to pause, relax, get a bit pampered and spend some time together. I'm definitely more of a spa person than he is, but hopefully we can both unwind and have a great time. I can't wait!

Photo from here.  

'Love Hard'

Today is my husband's birthday. It's hard to believe he and I have known one another for a third of our lives. It's been such a blessing to grow with him and share so much over the years. I admire the incredible sense he's always had of who he is and I love the combination of strength, quirks, wit and compassion that make him uniquely him. The way Bob Marley describes it, I think he's the one guy who's perfect for me, and I can't wait to celebrate his birthday this weekend.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Photo from here. 

Love

Love can be grand gestures -- roses and gifts and declarations of devotion. But sometimes the most beautiful signs of love are small, regular moments made special because you're together. The latter was the type of weekend I got to spend with my husband and our dog. A particularly nice point was yesterday when the sun was shining, the snow was melting and we went for a walk. It was perfect.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Photos by me.

Date-iversary

Eleven years ago tonight, I went on the first date with my husband. I met him over winter break my freshman year of college and was eager to get to know him better. On our first few dates, I learned he was so much fun, easy to talk to, insanely cute and incredibly funny ... and I'm happy to say he's all these things -- and much more -- today. He's my full love and my true partner on this adventure of life, and I'm so grateful to be celebrating our date-iversary tonight.

Photo by me (taken this fall on our trip to London).

A Great Reminder

My husband and I have been together (dating first, then married) for ten years. Thus we know one another's quirks pretty well. One of my husband's that baffles me -- and that I also think is quite adorable -- is his the way he unconsciously hoards pen caps. I find those suckers everywhere! In pants pockets, in drawers, in the laundry, even in our bed. I don't know where he gets them and, surprisingly, we don't seem to have an abnormal amount of cap-less pens around the house.

In any case, when I saw this sterling silver pen-cap necklace (featured on Splendora), I immediately thought of my guy. Maybe I should get the necklace -- and wear it proudly as a I reminder of how much I love this one-of-a-kind man.

Photos from here.

Thankful Thursday

Today, I feel overwhelmingly grateful for home.

Not just my physical house, although I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how much I do love it. I love how we're little by little fixing it up and making it our own. I love how it's this oasis of comfort no matter what's going on in the rest of the world. All day, I kept thinking about how I wanted to walk in and curl up in a blanket by the fireplace while it's chilly and drizzly outside.

But as much as I crave being in my house, it's the others that also call it home that are really the best. My husband and pup make my life so wonderful, and I can't think of much nicer than spending time with them at home. Whether cuddled inside or romping in the backyard -- as they're doing in this photo -- it doesn't matter. What matters is that we're here.

Since we've been away the past few weekends, he and I have expressed how much we are looking forward to this week and weekend, just being at home together with the dog. We've been carefully guarding the upcoming weekend, not saying yes to any invitations out just yet and not making too many plans. I think we both recognize how much the three of us just want to be together ... and be together at home. And I think that's a beautiful thing.

Photo by me.

So Much Love

What a wonderful weekend I just had. I know it's nearly halfway through the week but I find myself thinking again and again about how I spent those days.

My husband and I went to Vermont for his best friend's wedding. The celebrations were lovely, the people we met were friendly and the fall color was absolutely gorgeous. The leaves were such rich shades of orange, red and yellow that they looked electric, while the hills in the background tinged a beautiful shade of blue. (My photos definitely do not do the scenery justice!)

But I have to say, the best part of the long weekend was how loving my husband was to me. He made me feel so special, so important, so amazing. We had such a blast dancing and chatting with his friends and just hanging out. I think I fell in love with him all over again.

Photos by me.

Thankful Thursday

I've been married for five years. I can't believe it's been that long. And I can't believe I was lucky enough to meet my husband. We met in college, so while I can't say we grew up together, I do think we became adults together. He's wonderful -- smart, funny, kind, sexy, adventurous -- and I can't imagine my life without him. I'm thankful that I've been able to create a life with him.

It can be difficult to grow together, in the same direction with someone, but I'm so grateful we've been able to so far. I want us to support one another and help each other become who we're meant to be. I want to always appreciate each other and remember why we came together. I hope we can always be good partners. I hope we can always be in love.

This photo was taken a few years ago while we found ourselves living in a new city. I like how this picture turned out. It reminds me that I always want us to walk side by side.