7th Anniversary Weekend Recap

I'm finding it hard to believe that today is the LAST day of July. That means there's ONE month of summer left people! I literally feel like I blinked, and it was the 4th of July, and now we're entering August. How is that possible? Dear Time, please slow down. Thank you. 

Before August is in full swing, I want to catch up a little bit, and share our 7th anniversary weekend. Forget summer flying by, how is it possible that we've been MARRIED for SEVEN years? Andrew and I took a couple days off from work to celebrate our wedded "bliss". He planned some day-trip destinations and outdoor adventures for our stay-cation.

Starting with brunch at one of our favorite spots, Simply Crepes, in Canandaigua.

Then we drove to Canandaigua Lake to enjoy the beach. 

Later on, we drove to Grimes Glen in nearby Naples. More to come on that in another post.

The next day, we biked along the scenic Eerie Canal, from Spencerport to Brockport. 

 

It ended up being 18 MILES! Yeah. I need to work up to something like that next time. Note to self: Find out how far destination is before embarking on a long bike ride in the heat of the day. But I did it! Barely. Andrew had no trouble, since he's a professional rider now. There's no way I would have been able to do that on my own. We stopped in town to refuel with some pizza (and water) before making the ride back.

The sky was beautiful when we returned and there was a big band concert playing in the gazebo.

On our official anniversary (July 9th), Andrew made me a delicious breakfast! I could get used to this.

That evening, we dined at Bazil's Italian Restaurant, overlooking Irondequoit Bay. My handsome date and a fruity drink - what more could I ask for?  

We ended up having a really fun long weekend, complete with sunny skies, nature, adventure, fine dining and best of all, time together to take a "time out" from our daily routine and enjoy summer. It wasn't without it's "moments", such as disagreeing over how to operate the GPS (I admit to being technologically challenged at times), when and where to eat lunch, and me questioning how much farther do we have to ride? But at the end of every day, we still love each other more than the day before, and are so thankful to be on this journey together. Our journey.

Break Time

I'll be taking a little (much needed) hiatus. Going to enjoy some summer! Spend time with family. Get away from the daily grind. See you when I get back. Happy Summer!

Tissue Typography

I found these comical travel pack tissues at The Christmas Tree Shop, and I just had to get them. They combine two of my favorite things - typography and tissues. Both of which I use in great amount. I'm rarely without tissues - they're in most rooms in my house, at my desk, in my purse, in the car. It may be a bit much, but I don't think I could live without them. I also can't seem to live without typography. I work with it all day long and notice it everywhere I go. I'm not saying this is the best use of typefaces or leading (some combinations are frightful), but they are clever.

My favorite: "Tissue? I hardly even know you."

All Hands on Deck

We've been enjoying our newly stained large back deck all month. Once again, Andrew did an amazing job. It looks beautiful! I even helped with the railings and the trellis (Ugh. Don't want to do that again!). It was quite a BIG task, spanning about 3 weekends, depending on time and good weather. But the result was well worth it. We used the same stain that we used on the front porch. The existing faded color was red, so "Russet" was a nice update. We have lived in our house for 5 years, and this was the first time we stained the decks.

Here's a look at the BEFORE:

Work IN PROGRESS:

The BIG REVEAL: 

There are a LOT of railings and spindles - that was the most time consuming part! Andrew put two coats on the main floor area and one coat on the rest. It took about 3 1/2 gallons of stain. 

Another big project we can check off our list. I love sitting out here every chance I get!

Milk Glass Centerpiece

Remember the milk glass vases from my last thrift store find? I have been putting them to good use as a collection holding individual flowers, creating a pretty centerpiece. You don't need a huge bouquet to make a beautiful arrangement. 

I cut roses from my garden that were in full bloom, one per vase, and grouped them on a large silver tray.

I love the contrast of bright coral/pink petals against white.

After the roses faded, I bought a mixed bouquet for $4 and split it up among the vases. 

I even had enough to fill another new favorite milk glass piece, this adorable round pitcher. A gift from Christy (she knows me so well). 

I loved looking at them on my kitchen table every day. You can find these style vases at thrift stores and garage sales, sometimes for .50 cents to $1 or $2. They make striking accent or centerpieces.

Source

I found a TON of inspiration online. Just search for "milk glass vases" on Pinterest. Each one more gorgeous than the next.  

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I think I'll keep trying to incorporate new flowers and different arrangements with my milk glass collection. So pretty! 

Lucky Seven

 

Happy Anniversary to my one and only, my wonderful husband and best friend, Andrew. It doesn't seem possible that we've been married for seven years! That's the equivalent of middle school and high school combined - and those seemed like a long time. These seven years have literally flown by. I couldn't be more thankful to have such an amazing man by my side.

I love looking at our photos. Our wedding day was July 9, 2005. We had a "traditional" photographer who captured our special day with traditional poses - on film. You know, film, that stuff you used to have to have developed and could only print more if you had the negative. Seems like light years ago! Looking back, I wish we had hired a digital photographer, or knew one of the talented photographer friends we know now. One with more in-the-moment-capture-the-little-details style. Today, I could recommend a list of amazing photographers - where were all of you seven years ago?!

Two years after our wedding, David, Andrew's brother, was studying photography at RIT, and offered to shoot some photos of us. I decided to wear my wedding dress again and Andrew wore a shirt and tie (and jeans this time), for a fun post-wedding photo shoot. The photos in this post are all from David, and they're some of my all-time favorites. I love how natural and relaxed they are, compared to how formal and "staged" some of our wedding day photos were.

We went to one of our favorite parks on a sunny day. We even received a few "Congratulations!" from passers-by, who thought we had just tied the knot! We had a lot of fun "modeling." The best part is, I was able to edit them myself and still have all of them on my computer. I have a box of wedding day negatives that I have yet to scan. One of these days. David is a very talented photographer and I'm so glad we got to have this shoot with him!

 

I love these photos and I love the man that I married. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us for the next seven years!

Flutter Flower Shirt

I finally finished my flutter flower shirt, and I'm really happy with it. This was the first project I ever pinned on Pinterest, almost two years ago! I was quite inspired at the time, and got the materials right away, ready to go to work. And then, as some of my projects do, it sat in the closet for about a year. Until I brought it to craft night around Christmas time, and decided to give it a go. I cut out all the flowers (about 26 of them!) but didn't feel like sewing them on by the time I was done. Then I brought it to craft night again in the new year and worked on it some more. Then I didn't like where I placed the flowers. I almost gave up on it. But my motivation to have a new article of clothing was strong, so I finally finished it at our most recent craft night, adding the last few flowers. Hooray! 

 This was my inspiration. A full step by step tutorial can be found here. Isn't it cute? 

All you need are two of the same shirt. One in your size (medium, in my case) and one much larger for cutting out flowers (XXL). The best part is these actually didn't cost me a penny, because they were on sale for $5 each at Old Navy and I had two $5 reward coupons. Score! 

I followed the tutorial and cut 1.5 inch strips out of the XXL shirt. 

Then cut and assembled the flower petal shapes with matching thread. 

And two years later (ha ha), I have a new embellished shirt! I do like how it turned out in the end. Ruffles and embellished clothing are everywhere you look. It's not that difficult to make one yourself - you can actually accomplish this in one sitting, I promise. If you don't start and stop and start and stop like me.
 

Glad I didn't give up on this one!

Yes, I took this photo of myself while riding (not driving) in the car. 

And yes, I always wear my seat belt.