two years

two years ago today, i woke up on the morning of our wedding.
friends & family gathered in indianapolis.
hair & make-up was done with assistance of champagne.
dresses & tuxes were donned along with lots of smiles & laughter.

we had our fist look at 10:45am. it was surreal.
we sat by ourselves for a few precious moments,
sipping champagne, admiring eachother & what would soon transpire.
a ambush of photos with our {gorgeous} wedding party followed.

we savored a few more short moments together before heading to the church.
our guests were seated & one by one my bridesmaids walked up the aisle.
my adorable nephews ushered my neices/flowergirls up the aisle before me.
& at 1:38pm i walked up the long aisle to marry my best friend.

the ceremony was short but sweet.
sprinkled with meaning and filled with love & support. and a few tears too.
more importantly, we were pronounced husband & wife.
by the way, the kiss was perfect. just like we had practiced.
more pictures followed.

our bridal party held an epic {vip only} pre-reception party in our suite.
the reception began & we were introduced as mr. & mrs.
a gorgeous cake was cut. & a slice shoved in my face.
we swayed to our first dance song, by rascal flatts, from the concert we met at.
there were touching toasts & hugs all around.
&, lest we not forget, men drinking beer out of centerpiece vases.
the reception was quite a blur. as a matter of fact, so was the entire day.
but it too, was epic. i don't think we stopped smiling.

so here i sit. two years later. still lucky in love. and still smiling.

the lyrics from our first dance were just as true then as they are today.
in your eyes i see forever. makes me wish my life never knew the day before you.
now you're here & everything's changing. suddenly life means so much.
i can't wait to wake up tomorrow & find out this promise is true...
i will never have to go back to the day before you. - rascal flatts.

i love you, c. xoxo, j.
photo via: nicole green

on turning 26

we were in hilton head on vacay the day i turned 26.
the day before, i took a little stroll along the beach,
by myself, with a drink in hand.

on that walk, i thought a lot about being 25.
on what i had done & not done during the year.
on how, when i was younger, i always thought of 25 as being old.
& now, i was standing on the brink of being 26 & even older.
it was kind of a depressing walk, really.

so i returned to our umbrella, picked up another beer & tried again.

this time i thought about how lucky i have gotten over the past 25 years.

i suppose it all started with having great parents.
i spent summers as a child at the lake, camps & reading under tall shady trees.
i had the most amazing college experience. hands down.
i still have the best sorority sisters one could ask for.
i met my husband, randomly, at a concert at the ripe age of 21.
& never looked back.
we tied the knot shortly after i was 24 & bought a house later that year.

how did i get so lucky, all before the age of 25?
sure, there were dark times & there always will be.
but i still count myself pretty lucky.

as my walk was winding down {i.e. i was almost done with my beer}
i stopped & looked down at my feet snuggled in the sand.
& i realized again just how good i had & have it.
so how do i get so lucky in my next 25 years?

i took in the moment, smiled & saved that question for another day.
& to commemorate my last day of being 25,
i pulled the next beer from the cooler & partook in a little "cheers" to my life.
what a perfect way to, shall we say, put an end to an era & sail into the sunset.

photo via from me to you: summers end in southampton

the end of summer

labor day always marks the unofficial end of summer.
while i do appreciate the end of swim suit season,
i do find it hard to part with the warm weather & golden glow of the summer.

this summer was, as usual, a complete blur.
it was filled with trips to the lake on the holidays & plenty of cookouts.
a bachelorette party in Chi & being the moh at my best friends destin wedding.
then seeing keith urban up close in concert w/ said best friend @ the state fair.
chris played lots and lots of golf. not as much as he would have liked. obviously.
i was busy with my little calligraphy shop
we took little mini vacays to florida {see wedding, above} & hilton head.
and made sure to soak up the sun....and the alcohol.
we were even able to spend a couple weekends at home. which was different.

oh, & chris started a twitter account. which he never updates.

in not so exciting news this summer {read, doing grown-up things}
we bought a couch & breakfast nook table. $$$$
hung a bird feeder in our backyard & spent $$$ on flowers for landscaping.
celebrated my 26th birthday on vacay with a divine steak dinner {& drinks}.
sold my yellow 2001 jeep wrangler {first & only car} & bought a '11 sonata.

these days the sun starts to set on my way home from work everyday.
& there seem to be fewer & fewer fireflies out at night.
& i'm getting the urge to trade in white zin for cabernet.
all sure signs of the end of summer.

dear summer, thanks for warm weather & golden glow. hurry back.
but not before i get to experience a long & glorious autumn.
& short winter, preferably. xo, j.

photo via it's mary ruffle via inspired by love

happiness is...

...when the weather is warm enough to linger on the patio at dusk.
and so, for the next month, i will be a happy {lingering} camper. with wine.
via it's pretty good

this is your life

my mom read my last post on being free
and told me that she laughed at it.
with our dentist while she was getting her teeth cleaned.
thanks mom.

i still believe in being free. because life is short.
it's time for me to live my dream. i just have to figure out what that is.

via holstee and make do and send