I have all this free time now that I'm not planning a wedding.....

This weekend we are going to have a little fun making our rental feel more like a home by doing this. My current challenge is making our giant bedroom feel more cozy and intimate without painting or buying too many things (particularly furniture) without knowing where we will end up next. After starting with some incredibly lovely towels as my inspiration from Anthro (they probably will be less functional and more decorative) and some spa/sanctuary like bedding & pillows from West Elm - we are ready to to the rest on a budget! We've even found a few gems at Marshall's Home Goods, my thrifty decorating haven, to help complete the look. Since our sweet friends, the Kerseys, moved away to Texas this week and let us buy their king sized bed they left behind, we decided we needed something special to frame the space and make our room come together. We think a DIY headboard is the perfect (and cost effective) solution for our maybe not so long term situation.

Here's a little inspiration for what I envision our room coming together to look like. Isn't it lovely? Maybe these relaxing shades of grey with a little bit more of a modern twist (mixed with my must-have anthro style, minus too many girly touches). I'm trying my best not to make it overly feminine for my new hubby! I have a tendency to love things to be fresh, flirty and floral - that just screams masculine, right? Ohh the fun this will be!

I'll make sure to have the camera by our side for the (hopefully) successful DIY project! I'll post the results if it turns out to our liking! Happy Weekend!

Can Cookies Be a Love Language?

Because if so, that's definitely Blake's love language. Last night we christened the Kitchen Aid mixer with Blake's favorite, Chocolate Chip Cookies. Nothing fancy, nothing too complicated, just the good old fashioned Toll House recipe. Yum Yum. I also loved using new spatulas, cookie sheets and mixing bowls all that arrived yesterday. I think I could get into this baking thing. I really haven't been too excited about it in the past, mostly because following a recipe feels like you have to color in between the lines. But having some fun tools to use sure make it a lot more fun!

Isn't she beautiful?

That's one happy husband :)

We're going to try to make them last for at least five days....we will see how that goes with a cookie monster on my hands.

Thursday Night Date Night

Thursdays are usually date night for the hubby and me. We started this during our engagement and have tried to keep our standing date each week. We try to make an effort to get out and connect, across the table from one another (not sitting next to eachother - we don't want to be "that couple"; how do you chat when you're sitting side by side anyway?) and just spend some time focusing on us. It always proves to be a great time regardless of where we go, what we do, or what we eat.

Tonight we decided to try out a new spot near our house called Blue Wasabi. I love trying out new places in the valley. I think in my 3 years of living here, I've done a pretty good job of covering most of the must-eats, but I'm always up for something new! I can eat Sushi at least once a week in the summertime, but the only affordable way to do that is to make sure you hit up the good happy hour spots. We were really impressed with the food overall, the service was excellent and very friendly too. They have a very large selection of happy hour items. Maybe over half their regular menu (including drinks) is featured at half price from 4:30-6:30. I always appreciate happy hours that go past 6 for the working girl that doesn't always get out of the office right at 5. We would agree that it's worth checking out for happy hour!

What's your favorite spot for Happy Hour in the valley?

Back from Outer Space

....or at least I feel like I am.

I think wedding world seriously put me in another world. I'm trying to come back from the planet of wedding and get a reality check. It was a wonderful, incredibly special and very surreal time. The day was more special, overwhelming, beautiful and sacred than I could have imagined. The honeymoon was the perfect combination of adventure, relaxation and genuine time to connect and catch up. I need to take the time and write down all of the thoughts that I can think of and remember so the feelings and emotions of the day, week and month won't escape me. Don't worry, I'll share the details with you too. Just give me some time to get back in the groove and get my head out of the clouds. :)

I've changed up the blog's look a bit (thoughts/suggestions?), added the few wedding photos that I've gotten my hands on so far, and have a few things in the works for future posts. I'm feeling good about being back in the game again! I'm re-energized about blogging - maybe from being inspired by other blogs that i'm hooked on. I'm excited to share a little bit about our newly wed life, my domestic ideas and projects, a little creativity in the kitchen and maybe I'll even get around to putting some pics up (don't get your hopes set too high)!

For now I'm taking a quick break from working from home to say hello. I love Thursdays. By far my most productive day of the week: free from office chit chat (though I adore my work friends), interruptions, hallway traffic, and must-show-up-but-you-don't-really-need-to-be-there meetings. Plus, I get to have my husband working side by side with me. It's really a joy. No one really believes us that we actually get a full day's work in sitting side by side. I think you would laugh at us if you watched us sit there in our office, not talking, typing away. Kind of makes me laugh just thinking about it. At least he's good eye candy when my computer screen is making my eyes go nutso.

Since Blake's day wraps up a bit before mine, he's setting up our new printer in the office. Compliments of Rob & Linda. A belated Christmas present that arrived in a mondo crate today. It was insanity. So many presents in one room. A collection of gifts and treasures that we have been generously given through showers, our wedding and even last year's Christmas, all waiting to arrive in one tremendously huge (600lbs +) shipment. Our sweet dads built the crate (complete with some hilarious graffiti on the side) and our moms packed everything up to ensure that nothing would break on the transport to Texas. Have I mentioned how amazing they are? They teach me more about generosity and service than anyone I know. We are blessed.

I can't believe that we've found a space for almost everything. Another reason why I heart our kitchen in our super-fab rental. (More to come on our casa soon!) I might be most excited about two gadgets in particular: 1. the mandoline slicer (that I happened to hug and jump up and down when I registered for) 2. my shiny, cherry red Kitchen-Aid Professional Series Mixer (I called it the Motherload when it came out of the box). I already have recipes brewing in my head to utilizes these little beauties! Blake is excited about his tools and his bike repair stand (not new, just sent from his house). Oh the little things in domestic life that make you so happy!

OK, that was a lot of randoms. At least I'm writing. Back to work for me. Must finnish up so I can have a sushi date with the Hubby tonight. Yum.

A gift

Well I didn't make the countdown all the way to zero. But I never promised perfection. I had an abundant amount of blessings touching my life during the last 25 days before my wedding. Some of the moments were emotional, some stressful, some anxious, some exciting - but what an incredible, blessing experience.

More to come on all of my thoughts, preperations, reactions, etc. on the wedding. For now I am LOVING married life. It's hard to even describe what I love most about it. But I will tell you it's a gift. A sweet and special gift from the Father. I'm starting to understand just a glimpse of why He created it. It's sacred, it's intimate. I am overwhelmed by love and joy to be on this journey with my best friend....