Belated Anniversary Wishes!

Two important dates passed recently! May turned one year old, and Carolyn and Brandon celebrated their first wedding anniversary! It's kind of hard to believe - time passes so quickly, bringing many changes and reasons to be happy along the way. May has developed a favorite facial expression over the course of a year :)  

There is an Orchestra in my Mouth

Yesterday I was chatting with Carolyn in the morning while we were both drinking coffee, and she thought hers was particularly flavorful, so she said,  "There is a marching band in mouth.  Oh wait, that would be horrible.  There is an orchestra in my mouth!"   :)

~xomo


ps:  The delightful cups above are from the Frothy Monkey in Nashville!

Carolyn is Married :)

Carolyn is married!  Hooray!  She and Brandon tied the knot this past weekend.  The whole celebration was wonderful, and happiness radiated out of them so strongly that guests were able to soak it up like rays of sun.  Very joyous :)  Don't they look amazing in this photo?  I'm excited to see more pictures eventually.  The many hours they put into planning everything, from the basics to creative, small details, helped their guests feel an extremely warm welcome, and were worthwhile.  But, what I loved most about the day was that their commitment to each other took center stage, and all those plans served to highlight it.  It was incredible to see how fully they grasped the vows they were making to each other...there was a very tangible feeling in the air.  It made me think, "Now that's what it means to get married!"  They are off now continuing their celebration in Belize on a two week honeymoon!  Cheers to them!

ps:  This picture was shot by a friend of Carolyn's sister named Bridget Schams, who has a lovely eye for photography :)

Weddings and Babies

Big things are happening people, BIG things.  Big plans, Big changes, Big bellies.  First of all, Carolyn (also known as my best friend in the entire world) is getting married in two months!  I guess I never mentioned anything about her engagement, but that's obviously old news now.  Her husband-to-be is in those pictures above.  His name is Brandon, and he is a very intelligent, quirky, funny, and faithful companion to Carolyn.  I don't think I would have let her go to anyone else :)  I am super excited for their wedding!  I get to be at home for about a month before it, too, to spend time with Carolyn during her last single days, which I'm really glad about.  Time flies - It seems like Trish and Justin's wedding was just the other week.  It was actually about 7 months ago, however, which you can see by the size of Trish's belly (she calls it an aspiring little mountain).  I can't believe they will have a baby soon!  Those are a couple photos of her in Egypt, where she and Justin are currently living.  She recommends these books, and also check out this article that another mom-to-be wrote, about having a satisfying pregnancy experience, which is interesting.  I am totally in awe of the changes that Carolyn and Trish are undertaking right now.  Love those ladies to the ends of the Earth!

~xomo

ps:  I feel like I see a decent amount of people marrying someone that they slightly resemble.  Don't you think Carolyn and Brandon share some physical characteristics?  I wonder if we unconsciously gravitate towards a face that feels a little familiar and comforting, or if we start to look more like our partners as time goes by because we pick up on facial expressions and style?  I guess some people looking nothing alike, so...whatever.

Birthday Breakfast

Happy Happy Birthday to my best friend in the world!  Carolyn turned 24 today, and we celebrated with a great brunch on the porch, cocktails in the very late afternoon, and a festive dinner with lots of laughter and stories at night.  Food, family, and friends; what more could you need?  Well, we all gave her presents too, I guess :)

The Very Early Birthday Gift

Check out my birthday present from Carolyn - a super cute set of measuring cups from Anthropologie!  They're cheerfully colored, and stack together to form a milk bottle.  My birthday isn't for another month or so, but we're both in La Crosse right now, and she didn't want to have to mail anything.  Last year I celebrated the date while I was living in Israel, and she was in Germany.  She mailed a little package, and after some stupid confusion, I finally got it when I returned to the States 3 months later.  Good grief.  No mistakes this time!  Now I just have to make sure I don't break any of them...