Surprise Anniversary Date

This past weekend The Husband planned a surprise day trip for our 3rd wedding anniversary, which we celebrated last week. This day trip was a secret the entire time - even during the drive to the destination he wouldn't tell me. It wasn't a short drive either - for a couple HOURS I had no clue where we were going or what we were doing. Talk about a LONG ride!  I didn't even know what to wear, I knew we would be outside but I still couldn't decide what to wear. I put on jeans the morning of and took shorts.

On the way down I realized I forgot my sunnies and asked if we could stop somewhere for me to buy a new pair. When we FINALLY got on the main road to get to where ever he was taking me, we found a Kohls - one of my favorite stores. The Husband decides he needs a whole new outfit for the day while we are there! That one didn't plan for us being outside and it being warm. It was like 80* Saturday!!! I did find me some super cute tortoise shell sunnies!

We got back on the road and less than 10 minutes later I found out where he was taking me - a wild animal compound/safari!!!! Here is how it works - you drive your vehicle through this compound FULL of African animals that are roaming wild.  Then you leave the compound and go through the mini zoo. Now, if you WANT, you can pay for an insider type of tour. That was the other surprise - The Husband set up a private photo tour for us. This meant we would have a guide, be able to roll the windows down, AND get up close and personal to a lot of the wildlife.

The tour wasn't for a few hours so we did the walk thru part of the excursion first. This area wasn't huge but it was a lot of fun to wander around, holding hands and seeing the animals. AND I fed a giraffe!!!!!

Here is the crazy thing - we walk up and there aren't any giraffes nearby.  I was bummed but The Husband asked the attendant if they would come over once we had food. The attendant said "come here Bobby" and I'm not even lying the giraffe started walking over!!! I couldn't believe the giraffe was being called over by name. Like a pet!!! It was amazing!

 

 

We found the Lory aviary where we could feed the pretty birds.

We actually didn't have any more cash but decided to go in anyway. I'm so glad we did because The Husband was able to get one to eat a Hibiscus flower out of his hand!

Can you tell he wears jeans ALL the time?!

After we ate lunch, it was time for the 'safari'. We started out in a station wagon with back windows that only rolled half way down.  we talked to our tour guide and told her we were not happy with that SO she got us into a blazer and the windows went ALL THE WAY DOWN! yay! satisfaction achieved.

We took over 200 photos for the day but I will save you from all that and show you some of my favorites.

  

 

  

On the way home, we decided we needed some ice cream, so we stopped for Blizzards. I got the mint oreo - pass, if you get the chance by the way.

It was definitely one of my favorite anniversary things we have done so far...not that I have many to compare haha.  We only just celebrated our third year of marriage and are officially into our fourth.  I honestly don't know how we have already been married that long - it seems like we JUST tied the know.  But so much has happened in the past three years and our lives are very different.

For those who don't follow me on Instagram, here is the photo collage I made for the past four years on our wedding day/anniversary.

Happy Almost Friday!!!

Five Years of Happy

Yep - That's how long The Husband and I have been an 'us'

It is crazy to think all the milestones we have hit together; 

all the memories we have made; 

all the things we have done in a few short years. 

You can recap from last year here

The biggest thing we did together this year was buy a house.

We bought a HOUSE people! EEEE! 

I can't believe it has already almost been a year since THAT happened!

We have been to two weddings - November last year and this past weekend.

We have spent a LOT of love and time on making our house a home.

We went on vacation for a few days.

We fished a LOT this past year.

Notice a trend? 

"WE".

There isn't much that we do without the other.

There are many who don't understand this. The idea of being in constant communication literally all day, sounds exhausting to some, ridiculous to others. That is just how our relationship is - that's how we love it. If one of us is tired, we don't stay the extra hour at a party, or go out alone.  To us, time together is THE most important thing.  At the end of the day, he is who I have, for better and for worse...its in our wedding vows. 

I can't believe today we celebrate five years of awesome together =)  When The Husband woke me to say he was leaving for work, he said "Happy Anniversary. I have loved every second of the past five years." Melts my heart! He is so sweet and I can't wait to see what many many more years has in store for the two of us 

Here is a teaser from the wedding we went to this past weekend - recap tomorrow 

The man standing next to me is incredible in so many ways.  I am so thankful every day to be a part of his life and he a part of mine. The past five years haven't always been a walk in the park and getting married didn't mean it all suddenly fell into place and everything got easier.  I do NOT have it all together and we are certainly not a perfect couple - we are perfectly imperfect but beautifully happy.  We wouldn't have it any other way.  

Happy Halfway Through The Week!!!! =)

An Anniversary and a Craft

.......

or should BLOG-iversary!!

That's right! Today this lil' blog of mine (I'm gonna let it shine!) is TWO!!!!

I can't believe it has been two years - that means I have been married that long...

which we all knew from a couple months ago - but still!!

So Happy Blog-iversary to me!!

As I started this baby out with a craft/re-do, so shall I celebrate today with one!

I have been bit by the 'decorating bug'

No I don't know if it is a real thing to anyone else - it is to me.

The problem - absolute NUMBER ONE thing - is that redecorating or decorating at all for that matter GENERALLY costs some dolla' bills.  I am so thankful that I was blessed with a craft/creative gene. I look all over the internet and in magazines for ideas and then I think of a way I can make something similar. Now, I would LOVE to show you my craft room like I did two years ago, but it isn't quite ready for the big reveal. Heck, even when I finally show ya the room - I'm sure it will still not be completed. Anyone who has a house, KNOWS that there is ALWAYS a work in progress =) 

My recent overhaul is our spare bathroom.

This is what it looked like the day we bought the house - Halloween 2011

This is what it looked like 2 weeks later =)

 

Seriously - we did pretty awesome! I absolutely love the spare bath.

But now it is looking a little plain-jane. It just needs a little SOMETHING.

Enter Dollar Tree! No seriously - the ONLY way I'm decorating is if it is NOT costing me an arm and a leg -and  ESPECIALLY because of my aforementioned gene!

First - I hung the shower curtain...well not first - I did that MONTHS ago.

I used the shower curtain from the old house...yes we only had ONE shower.

I seriously wish I would have posted pictures of that house, if for no other reason to share the layout!

Anyhow - I did these little projects for some added decor for about $4

Seriously - $4! you really can't beat that!

Here they are - all done my moi last night:

 

Wine bottle 

White flowers - left over from this project

small glass vase - used in our sand ceremony at our wedding

Valspar gold spray paint - already had for a different project that is still in the works...

greenery - Dollar Tree

Framed 8X10 mirror - Dollar Tree

glass 'beads' - left over from wedding centerpieces

jute/twine - hardware store: $2

I have some wall decor I made with the help of my Cricut E BUT I didn't get to hang them. 

I'll show you the full tour of the bathroom tomorrow...hopefully =) 

Thank you for all your support - whether you have recently discovered Life After the Aisle or you have been here since day 1! your love and support has been amazing and I look forward to continuing to share our life and projects =)  Love love LOVE U!!!

I Don't Even Know My Last Name

The other day, my co-workers and I were discussing our maiden names. One of the ladies here asked what mine had been. I looked at her kind of shocked and made some smart-ass comment about her being crazy, acting like she doesn't know. She just stared at me.  Then everything clicked into place and the light bulb came on! She didn't know me then - she's never known me as anything other than Mr. J's Wife.

In all honesty, that sort of caught me off guard. I know we aren't defined by our names but it is weird to think that people I meet NOW, will only know me as Mrs. J....

I guess it shouldn't have shocked me like it did or caused me to pause a moment. The reality of it is, I don't really recall my life when J wasn't in it. Yes I know I had a life and everything and everyone led me to him but it seems like a distant memory. We have done so much together in the last 4.5 years that most of the memories I recall or stories that are told are more recent; pertaining to US.

When I do think about that time [so long ago ;)] I don't think about the boys I dated or the friends I had, I recall all my family time.
J and I sometimes joke that there were no others before him just as there were no other girls before me.  It is silly but it makes us laugh a lot. Sometimes I want to talk about different experiences we both had with other girlfriends/boyfriends from the past. Those experiences we had, molded us for this relationship - why not talk about them?  Now, don't get me wrong - I don't want to know all the romantic details about it all, I just like to hear the stories...I REALLY like to hear the crazy ones. Hearing about all the crazy he has encountered is like a twisted form of positive reinforcement that I am super awesome -- which I know I am but we all like to hear how awesome we are from our significant other.

 

Today we celebrate our SECOND wedding anniversary. So much has changed for us in the last two years.  When we said "I do", The Husband wasn't working for anyone but himself; he worked full time for his own company. In January of last year, he decided we needed more stable income and he got a job working for someone else. It has come with its own set of adjustments but him taking on this new role allowed us to save for a down payment and buy our house in October.

 

I have learned so much about myself and our relationship in the past two years.

-I have learned that just because someone tells you never to go to bed angry/mad, doesn't mean you have to stay up all night resolving an issue. We have found that we can sometimes agree to disagree and not go to sleep mad at one another.  We have worked out disagreements the next morning when we aren't feeling so emotional and can be more objective to the situation. 

-I have learned to keep my mouth shut...this is a big deal for me. I generally speak before I process what is being said.  This has gotten a lot of feelings hurt and definitely gotten me into trouble. 

-I have learned how to think about what is best for the TWO of us, instead of him being an after thought. 

-I have learned that our relationship is stronger when we pray together.

-I have learned that laughing and being silly is so very important. We chase each other around the house and end up in bed tickling and giggling.  This has led to some of our very best conversations. 

-I have learned that I require a TON of attention. It is a little sad but I need a lot of attention; that is my high maintenance quality. I don't need things, I just need snuggles and cuddles, hugs and kisses. 

-I have learned that we enjoy dinner more sitting side by side; I enjoy sitting across from him to look at him and all his handsome, but I like holding hands, sneaking small kisses on the cheek or forehead, feeling his hand on my knee, having his arm around me. Yes - we are the couple who sit side by side while dining out =) 

There is so much left to learn. There are so many things in store for our future.

Our First Anniversary 

In case you haven't looked before, check out the wedding tab OR you can check out the following links:

Getting Ready

Wedding Party

Ceremony

Formals/Bride & Groom

Reception

Cake

Toasts

Special Dances

Garter and Bouquet Toss

Dancing

Tonight we will be sharing a romantic dinner of The Husband's choice. I asked him to pick and place and make reservations and not to tell me. I love surprises =) Happy Tuesday y'all!!

Our Anniversary Weekend

As many of you know, this past weekend was our anniversary weekend (hence the title lol)! It was our very first wedding anniversary ♥

In light of this, J and I took Friday off from work to spend 3 days together.  We had such a fabulous time!

On Friday, we woke up and had a few errands/business things to take care of before getting into anything fun. After we did that, we went out to Christina's and had lunch with her -- she LOVES Chick-fil-a and since she hadn't had a stellar week, we surprised her =)

Afterwards, J and I made the trip to Plant City for the Florida Strawberry Festival -- we had an amazing time! Talk about eating your way through a few hours!! SHEESH! haha =)

          

 

If you are ever in the area for this festival -- you HAVE to try a doughnut burger!

Saturday, we went to the movies and saw The Adjustment Bureau and LOVED it. 

The premise of the movie was very different from what we expected. It was definitely worth seeing in theatres and I think Matt Damon is a great actor =)

Saturday night, Marc and Christy hosted a surprise birthday party for Christy's mom -- so we went out there where I enjoyed several margarita's.  You should definitely try the Chi Chi's premixed margarita over ice. Oh, My. GOSH! They were SO good!

   

Most of our group was there -- we all had lots of fun and plenty of laughs!

Sunday we just hung out for most of the day.  We spent a lot of time together, talking and laughing, and cuddling (of course!). We had dinner reservations for 7 at our favorite steakhouse.

        

After dinner, we stopped for ice cream (that we didn't need lol) at Marble Slab Creamery -- which is very different from Cold Stone, thank you very much =)

When we got home, we watched our wedding video and got emotional all over again. We also stuck to the tradition of eating at least a BITE of our year old wedding cake.  My parents did a very nice job storing it in the freezer -- it wasn't freezer burnt AT ALL! =)

If I gave you a bite of the cake, you would know it wasn't freshly made but you would enjoy it and have no idea it was a year old =) I may even have some tonight after dinner haha!

Happy First Wedding Anniversary (plus one day) to us! I am looking forward to many many more celebrations together!

You know -- they say the first year is the hardest.  We definitely dealt with some struggles -- not necessarily in our relationship, but in just dealing with everything else and truly adjusting to one another and the idea that we are each other's person. period.  It hasn't been a cake walk but we have had a lot of fun (for the most part) getting through the first year.  I can't wait to see what the second year brings.