here we are...

Oh boy... where do I even begin... 
How does one return to blogging after a 5 month hiatus?

First let's establish the reason for my nearly half year departure from something I worked on so meticulously in the past - a wedding. Not just any wedding, my wedding. Yep, that's right, I return to you as someone's wife (which still sounds strange to me after ten freaking years).

Around the time of my last post, wedding planning/designing/crafting, insanity began to shift my life balance in to dangerously stressful territory, so I had to cut something out for my own peace of mind, and unfortunately my blogging platform had to give. Incidentally I have so much to say/post/document, but so little time to play catch up on everything. As I sit here typing this out, my head is filled with our upcoming trip to Europe in just two short weeks... Basically getting things back to normal, i'm afraid, seems damn near impossible.

As much as i've enjoyed working on My Week posts over the past year or so, moving forward I think I am going to have to edit things down a bit more. My plan is to focus more on the the big events, trips, milestones, etc. and less on the every day. Please bare with me as I continue to catch up on those promised posts from the past year (Telluride, San Francisco, John Day, every little wedding detail, birthdays, and soon our honeymoon).

One day in the not so distant future I will be back at it, but for now please allow me to get things in my life back to my version of "normal".

In the meantime, I leave you with our wedding website (that I worked super hard on) to comb through, as well as our awesome preview video! 
And one of these days I promise you will see some "new" posts popping up.

♥ 

a little sneak peak of our engagement session

Last Sunday me and Pat spent the evening with our fabulous photograher Haley Lovett wandering around Smith Rock in entirely inappropriate hiking clothing, and pretending to like each other.

It was so much fun! At first we were both a little bit like, "um... where do we put our hands!?" but then with commands like "ok, grab his butt" and "pretend like you are whispering something in his ear", which lead to inappropriate whisperings and tons of laughter, we definitely started getting the hang of things. Despite the mid 90's heat and the wind making my hair completely out of control (I think at one point I even said "that's it, I'm buzzing it.") we are confident that Haley got some amazing shots. But then again, with the dessert scenery and canyons in the background, how could she not?!

Below are a few of the previews we have received so far. Based on these four I am SO excited to see what else she has for us!!

[[ some preview photos from our engagement shoot. ]]

nine

I cannot believe that it has been nine, NINE years since me and this boy started dating!! It hardly feels like a single one has gone by because I am still so in love with you, butterflies and all. Seriously. Its pretty awesome. I have loved "growing up" together and sharing so many adventures with you. There is no one else on this planet that I would rather share my life with, and I can't wait to make our next big move. Happy Anniversary babe! Love you!!

Hint, we will be celebrating our ten year anniversary a little bit differently... ;)

[[ years 1-8. photo 1 is even our first date! ]]

...smile...

our yearly day trip to newport

friday, june 13th

Me and Pat have been taking at least a day trip to Newport for several years now, and even though we are a lot further away from the beach now, it is hard to break the habit.

Since we had to head to Corvallis for Hayden's graduation we decided to take an extra day off work and take our trip a little early this year. The weather was crap, but we didn't care, and actually despite it raining all day it never happened while we were outside. Lucky us. Of course no trip to Newport is complete without visiting both Rogue locations (three if you count the distillery) and our friend Wally the Walrus for our annual pic. Here are a few pictures I snapped on my phone.

[[ bridge. rogue. pat's happy place. steamer clams and dill halibut fish & chips. rainy day. the marina. antique shopping. WALLY! crab attach on the pier. ]]

eight :)

Happy anniversary babe!! I seriously love you more and more every single year! I think the most has changed for us in the past year of our relationship, and I am excited for all of the moves that we are going to be making over the next couple months. Lets make our 8th year the best one we've had yet! Deal?

[[ years 1-7, and a little bit of now. ]]

...smile...

a monday trip to newport

On July 15th me and Pat headed to Newport before driving home to Bend to partake in our yearly tradition. :) Here are some pics.

[[ the beautiful oregon coast. having a nap in the sand. happy. a tribute. our annual wally shot! more posing in pirate land. antique store treasures. no glove no love. rogue nation. ]]

[[ panoramic pics from newport. CLICK TO VIEW LARGER. ]]

7 year anniversary at king estate

(7/21)

Back in July (on 7/21), me and Pat decided to drive over towards Eugene and spend our seven year anniversary at King Estate Vineyard. It was a perfectly gorgeous warm day, and we even found our own little private patio to sit on and enjoy our wine hidden away from everyone else.

We tasted a few things, and then bought a small bottle of Domain Pinot Gris to share while we sat outside and reflected on our past years together. After a few hours, we decided to head in to the tasting room for another glass and got a tip about an old Pioneer cemetery that had been left on the grounds, so we knew we had to check it out. I think cemeteries are beautiful and really interesting, at least during the day time.

We had also made a reservation for dinner at their restaurant and were given the best seat in the outdoor dining area with a great view of the vines and lavender growing everywhere in sight. Dinner was delicious. I had the halibut and ate almost the entire thing. To go with our dinner, we decided on another bottle of the Domain Pinot Gris, but this time decided to purchase a full bottle from their vault. We choose a 2005 because it was as old as our relationship. :) When we went to pay for our meal and wine we found out that Pat's dad had very stealthily called in and paid for everything. Thank you again!

After dinner, and some creme brulet for dessert, we watched the sun begin to set and then headed for home. It was a great day, and a great anniversary.

[[ the beautiful grounds at king estate. ]]

[[ dinner (halibut) & a vaulted bottle of domaine pinot gris from 2005. ]]

[[ pioneer cemetery on the property from the 1800s. ]]

[[ on our way home. ]]

♥

lucky number 7

I am definitely not done with my California Adventures posts right now, but I wanted to take a break to note something very special to me.


Today is me and Pats 7 year anniversary. :)
We began dating a month before I turned 19, and a few weeks before he turned 20. We were babies, and we quickly fell in love with each other despite our long distance adventures. Nothing has changed in that regard, and looking back I am still excited about how we grew up together and that I continue to have this amazing man in my life. I can not be certain what the future has in store for us, but I know that we will be in it together. Love you babe. Always.

...smile...

[[ years 1-6 represented by 1 picture each. ]]

♥

one

One year ago today, me and Pat were in NYC exploring the city by ourselves while Leah was at work. After breakfast, MoMA, exploring old cathedrals, and playing around in various stores, we ended up back in Central Park where I was determined to find a certain castle. Little did I know that Pat had a lot more on his mind than navigating our way, or that by the end of the day I would be engaged to my favorite person in the world. :)

Love you babe, all the way. 

[[belvedere castle in central park, nyc. ]]

One of these days we will actually get around to planning a wedding... 
Either way I know that you are all mine, and that puts a permanent smile 
on my face.

birthday surprise :)

Yesterday was not too shabby after all, even for a boring old Wednesday...


work
I had to work all day, of course, but around here people make a big deal out of birthdays, and since I let it "slip" that I did not really care for cake but would much rather have ice cream... an 'ice cream social' it was. They won me over with Mint Chocolate Chip (my favorite) and some rainbow sprinkles! I even went back for seconds. While I was at lunch everyone made me a really ridiculous card and my bosses youngest daughter Elise even brought me a "Happy Birthday" crown to wear, and a pen with a creepy cheerleader girl doll thing with pom-poms that move and light up. Why not? I even got some flowers. I thought I was in the clear from the happy birthday serenade people insist on signing to you, but towards the end of the day I was sneak attacked by two of the girls who work with me. Damn. Almost made it. (I hate it when people sing "Happy Birthday").

I also got a sweet card from Fran via Skype first thing in the morning. Thanks for making laugh Fran! That awesomeness is going on the fridge!!

[[ birthday card from my friend francisco. ]]

my birthday surprise
At the end of my work day I finished up my blog post and headed out the door. I was super excited to get home and discover my surprise. Pat had been boasting for a few days about the awesome gift he got me. (Keep in mind that we both agreed not to get the other person anything this year. Cheater!) He told me that I needed to come home after work and get my present before we made any official evening plans because it might influence them, but that is all he told me. I rattled my brain all day trying to think of anything that it could possibly be but I got nada. I was seriously thinking "did he get me something to use in the kitchen even though I don't cook?" Megan suggested it was a midnight trip to Tahiti.

So I get home, brace myself for a moment, and he makes me sit on the couch and close my eyes. Then he drops something in my hands and it is heavy and hard, like a box, so I figured it was something I would have to open. Finally I get the go ahead to open my eyes, which I do, only to discover that I am holding an amazingly beautiful longboard of my very own!! (It is a Sector 9, Mo'Sake Carver Series). 

I have wanted a longboard since I was in high school hanging out with the guys, watching them skate, and pretending to do the same on a borrowed board at a snails pace. I have always made plans to buy one, but never actually get around to it. For the past few months I have been borrowing my old roomate Rory's board, but since it is for a guy, it is really big and hard for me to turn, so I was not using it as much as I would have liked. But not this one, this one is perfect. It is just my size, handles great, and is a beaut. I immediately slipped on some Vans and we headed out the door to take the two boards on a test run through the neighborhoods down the street. So much fun! I am really stiff though, I need to get more practice in for sure. This weekend my friend Meguenther is coming to visit and bringing her board so we can roam around for a bit on Saturday. I would love to be able to use it as a form of transportation from time to time, but I am not that confident quite yet.


dinner & drinks
Anyway, after all of this business we decided to spruce back up, (yes, I had spruce back up like an old lady), and head 'downtown' to Bar 101 for a nice little dinner and some cocktails. I love 101, it is one of the nicer bars in town, but without that air of pretentiousness. I got a pear martini followed by a greyhound (my favorite), and Pat got a peach martini, some french thing, and a classic martini. (I have an olive story, but I will save it for a moment so that I do not get off track). We split lamb taquitos (delicious!) and a pizza (also delicious!) for dinner before heading home to wrap up the night with a few more drinks, some hookah, and a movie. It was a good day.

[[ dinner and drinks. circus elephant cloud!! fountain. posing with my new board. it in all of its beauty. ]]

The Olive Theory:
Do you watch "How I Met Your Mother"? if you do you might know what I am talking about. If you do not, you should! It is hilarious! Just this week we were re-watching some of the first episodes from season 1, and on one of the initial ones they explain The Olive Theory, in which a perfect couple is made up of one part olive lover and one part olive hater, because then the lover always gets the discarded olives. Well, Pat might not be an olive hater, but I sure do love olives, and whenever he has a drink with green olives in it, he always makes sure to save one, or all for me. SUPER CHEESY. But seriously... that is love.


Thanks everyone, I had a pretty damn good birthday!