Welcome to the Good Life!

wedding cake link up!

 

Today I am linking up with Britt at The Magnolia Pair to show off our wedding cake!  I was so anxious about getting our wedding cake because I'm gluten-free, but I knew I didn't want our wedding cake to be.  So, what does a girl do when she wants a cake with regular flour that she cannot eat herself?  Enter my wonderful sister and maid of honor!  Rachel helped me pick out her favorite cake/filling combinations.  Piece of Cake in the Short North did both of our wedding cakes--the regular cake and the groom's cake.  I LOVED working with them--they were so nice and made the entire process stress free!

Rob is a graduate of THE Ohio State University, so I knew I wanted his groom's cake to be themed for his beloved Buckeyes.  His cake was red velvet, of course and was a replica of the OSU football stadium.  Rob had no idea he was going to have a groom's cake, let alone something so fun!  There were a lot of Buckeye fans at our reception and they all got a huge kick out of it, too. :)

For our actual wedding cake, I knew I wanted our monogram and I knew I wanted some polka dots--but I wanted it to be all white.  Piece of Cake had several options to choose from that were right in our price range and I couldn't have been happier with the way our wedding cake turned out.  The only struggle I had was what type of cake topper to use.  I had thought about doing something personalized, but the price tag seemed a little steep for me.  So, I purchased a Willow Tree Promise cake topper.  I still think it is so beautiful and I hope someday our children will be able to use it. :)

Our cake was chocolate with raspberry filling and I heard from several sources that it was delicious!  I had a small gluten-free cake made at a bakery so that we would be able to cut at least one piece of cake and feed it to each other.  The gluten-free cake was carrot cake with cream cheese icing. 

When we went to cut the cake I was so anxious because I suddenly realized this is the one thing I hadn't planned!  Was Rob going to smash the cake in my face?  Was I going to smash it in his face?  Were we going to use our hands?  A fork?  Talk about major stress! :)

In the end, Rob was a complete gentleman and fed me my piece of cake very sweetly. :)

 Thanks Britt for letting me relive such a wonderful day!

 

what i'm loving wednesday! :)

 

Today is my favorite day of blogging--both reading and writing!  I love the positivity out there in blogland! :)

Before I get started into WILW, I'd just like to ask you to offer up a prayer for my papa.  He's having some minor surgery today, but his health has been in a gradual decline for awhile.  They've transferred him to a different hospital because he's high risk. I'd so appreciate your prayers--and I know my papa would too!

Ok--let's get started with the love and happiness out there today! :)  I'm linking up with Jamie at This Kind of Love, as always, for What I'm Loving Wednesday! :)

I'm loving this pretty Valentine's Day wreath!  I have minimal Valentine's Day decorations, but I think they are so pretty!  Isn't this wreath genius?

I'm loving this owl nightlight.  As a Chi Omega, I must have this in my life!  Isn't it so cute?!  

I'm loving Goodread's 2012 Reading Challenge!  I challenged myself to read 52 books and so far this year I have read 4!  I'm about 200 pages into a 900 page book right now so I know my pace is going to slow down a little.  However, I love keeping track of this goal--I feel so accomplished! :)

I'm loving my husband, as always.  I love that he makes me feel incredibly special and so very cherished.  That's the way every woman should feel and I am so thankful for Rob.  He even made dinner last night--which is another thing I'm loving! :)

What are you loving this week?  I'd love to hear! :)

 

what i'm loving wednesday!

It's Wednesday which means it's time to link up with Jamie at This Kind of Love!  I find myself looking forward to this day every week!  I love preparing this post and I love reading about what others are loving.  It is just the best dose of positivity out there in blogland! :)

I'm loving these spoons!  I received an ice cream maker for Christmas from my mom and sister.  Rob and I have made blackberry chocolate chip and strawberry.  Both were SO DELICIOUS!  However, we may have some disagreements over who gets to eat what and when... :)  So--these spoons would be very helpful! :)

I'm loving all of your sweet comments on my blogpost yesterday!  I loved sharing with you about my pretty engagement ring and I am so thankful for each one of them.  You surely know how to make a girl feel special!  

I'm loving the following Bible verses.  I've seen several posts where bloggers have claimed Bible verses for the upcoming year.  These ones are my favorite...

I'm loving my very sweet husband.  He makes me laugh harder than anyone else.  He is so sweet to cheer me up when I've had a rough day.  He just makes my days so much better.  I am so thankful for him and I love him very much!

What are you loving this week?

my pretty engagement ring!

Today I am linking up with CMae to show off my pretty engagement ring.  Rob proposed to me with absolutely the ring of my dreams!  Evidently I had pointed out a few rings to him in a magazine, however I honestly have no recollection of this ever happening!  I don't know if I've ever shared my engagement story on my blog, but here is the short and sweet version of it!

Rob and I started dating in December 2009 and very quickly knew we weren't going to be dating anyone else.  In March, my sister and I went on vacation with some friends to Mexico.  When we flew home, I talked to Rob in the airport and he told me he was shopping at the mall with one of his friends.  This is so not Rob!  I knew something was up--but I didn't know if he had bought anything or his friend had bought something for his serious girlfriend.

Things were really busy from that time on through the summer.  I was working lots of weekends and after I got over the first stage of thinking he was going to propose every time I turned around, I was able to put it out of my mind.  The summer of 2010 we had planned a trip together to South Africa for a friend's wedding and then we were going to be traveling onto Zimbabwe to Victoria Falls.  I just knew Rob would be proposing there! :)

In June, I flew down to the beach to spend part of the week with Rob's family.  The first night I got there, Rob wanted to take me for a walk on the beach.  I was SO exhausted from finishing up a youth camp on that very day, that I couldn't bring myself to go!  It was late so I just went straight to be. 

The next day, Sunday June 20th, Rob and I started the day with his family.  We all went down to the beach and I was loving my life!  We spent the day laying out and I may or may not have taken a nap!  I seriously could spend every day laying on the beach!  

That evening, we went to dinner with Rob's family.  Here is our last picture before we got engaged!

 

We walked around for awhile doing some shopping after dinner before we all headed back to the beach house.  Rob asked me if I'd be interested in a walk on the beach and although I was still pretty tired, I agreed to go!  I figured since Rob had asked two nights in a row, he really wanted to go! 

We headed to the beach and immediately Rob and I started being lovey.  We were started talking about how happy we were to be together and how much we had missed each other the week before when I had been working at a youth camp.  In the middle of our conversation, Rob knelt down and asked me to marry him.  I was absolutely not expecting this to happen!  I started crying/screaming/jumping around and finally tackled Rob before agreeing to of course marry him. :)

Afterwards, we walked on the beach for a little while.  We talked about our lives together, our dreams for our wedding, and just really took in the moment.  Someone down the beach let off fireworks and it just completely added to the feelings of happiness and excitement we both had!  I really wanted to savor the moment, so our walk was almost two hours long!

When we got back to the beach house, Rob's whole family was there to congratulate us!  I called my mom and sister right away to let them know the good news!  I love that Rob so completely surprised me and completely took my breath away when he proposed. :)

Now for the ring pictures....

With my matching wedding band!

Pictures of both of our bands!  Our wedding bands are engraved with two sentimental quotes and the day of our wedding.  Mine says "You're my only".  Rob's says "You're my favorite".  It's something we say to each other all of the time--even now! :)

christmas 2011

Rob and I had a wonderful time celebrating our first married Christmas together!  I know that little kids make Christmas so much fun, but honestly being married and having someone to share all of the love and joy of Christmastime with makes it so incredibly special.  I have had many single Christmases, and I am so thankful to have someone special to spend the holidays with!

Rob and I started celebrating Christmas the Sunday before the actual holiday with his mom's family.  We went to his grandpa's house after church.  Everyone on his mom's side was there--and everyone gets a present!  His grandparents are so generous and thoughtful.  They ask for Christmas lists from all of us!  Honestly though, I would be just as happy there if we didn't get anything.  Spending time with family is what is most important!  

We continued the celebrations by celebrating with our friends on Thursday night.  Two of our friends bought a new home and so warmly invited us all over to their house to have a Yankee Gift Exchange and yummy food!

Friday, Rob and I headed down to Kentucky to spend quality time with my family.  Three days is just not enough--I wish we had so much more time!  My mom had so much delicious food for us--including potato soup because we were both sick!  Rob and I both had the nasty head cold that's been going around.  My sister makes a delicious homemade ranch dressing and the combination of soup and salad was exactly what we needed to feel better for the holidays!

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early to do some cooking and cleaning for my mom's Christmas Eve Party!  Rob was such a champ and put together a new dresser for two of my cousins.  He seriously worked all day long on it!  

In the evening, a bunch of my moms family came over to celebrate with us!  I love my mom's Christmas Eve parties.  It's a time of fun, laughter, and family.  We also had some very good food!  My mom sure knows how to entertain!  I should definitely have gotten some pictures of the spread, but I was just enjoying myself so much!  I did capture this sweet picture of Tobbie.  He was a little wore out from the festivities...

On Christmas morning after we had opened all of our goodies, Rob and I packed up the car and headed back home.  I was very surprised that I wasn't more emotional about leaving.  The only bad part about being married on holidays is not getting to spend the entire time with your own family.  I love Rob's family dearly so I think that helps a lot!  

We went straight to Rob's parents' home to stuff ourselves with roast beef, turkey, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, broccoli and cheese, and just about every single dessert you can think of!  I tried really hard to limit myself--but seriously everything was so so good!

After lunch, we opened up all of our wonderful gifts from Rob's family.  They go ALL OUT for Christmas and it is so fun to see what everyone gets!  Rob and his BIL always exchange gun/wine/beer gifts and this year was no exception.  They are so excited about these gifts that they are almost more entertaining than my niece and nephew!  So funny!!

And of course I'm sure you are all interested in my goodies I received for Christmas, right?  My mom and sister bought Rob and I a bread maker and an ice cream maker.  I can't wait to get started using these!  So fun!

Rob was incredibly generous, as always.  He is such a thoughtful gift giver and I love that about him.  This year he surprised me with a pretty La Mer watch that I had been eyeing for some time.  I received this pretty purple one with a travel charm on it!  So gorgeous! 

Rob also gave me a purple North Face.  Are you starting to notice a trend?  This isn't the exact one, but it's close.  I wore it while running errands on Monday and it was the perfect lightweight coat!  The color is also pretty cheerful which makes running errands more fun!

My SIL and her family completely surprised me with this necklace--but with my own initials, of course.  This is one of my favorite gifts!  I love my new monogram and am so excited to show it off!

This Christmas was absolutely one for the books.  I am so incredibly blessed to be surrounded with such a wonderful family and to have married into a wonderful family, as well.  I am forever grateful for the times we get to spend together! :)

our fun weekend away!

Rob and I had such a perfect weekend away together!  We headed out right and early on Saturday morning.  Rob and I met up with Rachel to drop off Tobbie!  I am so thankful she was willing to meet up with us so we didn't have to worry about him during the weekend!  Tobbie's feeling so much better after his surgery, but he's still not 100%!  

When we rolled into Cincinnati, we made a stop at Jungle Jim's.  Jungle Jim's is an enormous grocery store.  Grocery store seriously doesn't even come close to accurately describing all of the amazingness that is Jungle Jims.  They have a huge hummus bar, olive bar, cheese bar--we even saw a butter bar!!  When we were on our honeymoon in Spain, Rob became obsessed with jamon, a dry cured ham.  It was pretty delicious--and it was so dirt cheap!  They don't really sell it in the US, but we found it at Jungle Jim's!  We bought 1/4 lb because it was $120/lb.  AH!  It was something Rob talks about all of the time, so it was a fun splurge.  

 

 

 

Also at Jungle Jim's, we saw this amazing gingerbread house!  It was seriously 4 feet tall!  I loved it so much, so I had to take a picture of it to share with everyone!  I kept staring at it--it was such a work of art!  Isn't it beautiful?

After we finished up at Jungle Jim's, Rob and I met up with my friend Sarah while we did some shopping at Nordstrom Rack!  I had never been to NR before, and it wasn't at all what I expected.  I was a little worn out from driving, shopping, and driving again.  SO, I couldn't completely go shopping like I wanted to.  Nordstrom Rack is totally a store that you need to go through all of the racks to see what they have.  I picked out a couple of dresses, but they were just ok so I ended up only walking out with these awesome running pants---

 

Rob and I said our goodbyes to Sarah and we headed to our hotel!  Sarah did give me some very sweet gifts--a Louisville Christmas ornament and a Louisville platter that I will share another day.  I love them though!

When we got to our hotel, there was an impromptu fireworks show downtown!  The fireworks were right outside our window, which was so fun!  Rob and I snacked on the jammon and wactched the pretty fireworks!  I was a little bit lame then and ended up taking a little nap.  However, it seriously let me enjoy the evening so much more! 

Rob had picked out a romantic restaurant for us to go to to celebrate our dating anniversary!  Our first date was to a French restaurant, so Rob stuck with that theme and took me to Jean Roberts Table.  Such a perfect restaurant and I am so glad Rob kept it a surprise! :)  Here we are in the elevator ready for our night out on the town!  

I am so so thankful to my husband for taking me to Cincinnati and for making reservations at such a beautiful restaurant!  Rob really knows how to bring the romance--and it was just the most perfect time for us to get away and celebrate our relationship!  :)

Our Wedding

These posts contain all of the pictures and descriptions of the happiest day of our lives.  I hope you enjoy looking through them and hope they may inspire you for your own wedding! 

Bridal Brunch

Wedding Preview!

Getting Ready for the Wedding

Cute Wedding Candids

Time for the First Look

Before the Ceremony

Onto the Ceremony

Formal Pictures

Reception Part 1

Reception Part 2

Honeymoon Part 1

reception...part 2!

Thanks for sticking around friends while I finish up these last wedding posts!  My goal is to finish up our honeymoon pictures in the next few weeks, as well.  We have been married for almost 7 months afterall! :)

I love this picture our photographer snagged of me getting our of my car!  It gives you a little bit of an idea of just how enormous my dress was.  I LOVED all of the layers, but it looked pretty hilarious in the car--especially with my veil added to it!! :)

Here are a few pictures of us signing our marriage license.  Hurray! :)

This is the outside of our pretty programs, along with our blinging rings!  I love ring shots. :)

This picture is so special to me because it's a candid of my catching up with my two best college girlfriends.  Who knows what we are talking about?  But, I love the expression and the obvious happiness in all of our faces. :)

This picture was taken just before Rob and I walked into the reception. Love it.

Here is our officiant offering up a prayer before we all ate.  I am so thankful for Stephen!  His parents are friends with my mom.  We are obviously friends and he officiated my wedding!  These little details were so important to me on our big day. :)

Aren't my friends beautiful?

I think at some point I've mentioned that I had ten bridesmaids and Rob had nine groomsmen.  Right?

Two of my bridesmaids had to go in with one groomsmen--but look how well they all pulled it off!

Here's my pretty sister and MOH giving her toast.  She's so pretty too, isn't she?! I am always so thankful for my sister because we are incredibly close, but it meant the world to me that she was there to support me so much through our wedding planning and actual wedding day.  She, of course, made me tear up a bunch.  She's just the best.

Here is our first dance.  I love this shot from our photographer so much--and I'm so thankful I waited to take off my veil!  Isn't it beautiful?  It was originally attached to my dress as kind of a veil for the dress.  (Weird, right?)  My awesome seamstress/third cousin-in-law made it into a cathedral veil for me.  So, I ended up with a $500 veil for free.  Amazing.

Our first dance was to "Blue Sky" by the Allman Brothers.  Even though the song was over five minutes long, I wish it was so much longer because the time just flew by!

Rob dancing with his mom.  So precious.  It makes me tear up a little bit, actually.

Funny story about this picture.  Rob picked the song he wanted to dance to with his mother.  I objected because I thought there were several other songs that would be more appropriate.  However, it was Rob's dance with his mom so I let it slide.  Halfway through the song, Rob realized the semi-inappropriate words for dancing with your mom so he grabbed me and Rob's mom grabbed his dad.  So hilarious, but it led to this pretty picture of us dancing once again!  And, I don't have to tell you who ended up being right, do I? ;)

I  was a little bit worried about people dancing at the reception.  (Ok, let's be honest.  I was major worried about it.  I was also major worried about the food, the dresses, the hotel, just about every detail.  Aren't all brides?)  However, the dancing was in full swing until the very end of the reception!  In fact, we extended the reception an extra hour because people were having such a great time.  All of those worries were definitely wasted.  Look at these pictures--everyone's so happy! :)

Here's my cute nephew and some of Rob's cousins dancing.  Aren't they hilarious?

This is one of my very favorite pictures from our reception--my mom rockin' it out on the dance floor.  Isn't she darling?  She's the cutest. :)

Because we got married in the off-season (March), our DJ threw in a free photobooth.  That's right, free!  This turned out to be the biggest hit--as you will see in the pictures!  We have copies of all of the pictures, as well as a scrapbook where our guests were able to write sweet wishes to us.  Such a priceless treasure!

Here are some ladies I go to church with!  Aren't they hilarious?!

Here are some of my cousins in the photobooth--I love the sombrero/feather mask combo!

And of course--our sweet ringbearer, Eli.  Isn't he the cutest little boy you've ever seen?  I think they ended up letting him keep the fireman's hat because he just loved it so much.  So so sweet.

Rob and I cutting the cake!  We were both sweet to each other when it came to feeding each other pieces.  This was one thing I hadn't thought about and I was suddenly filled with so much fear!  However, Rob was very sweet and the cake was delicious.  We had three kinds--gluten-free carrot cake, chocolate cake with raspberry filling, and red velvet.  I heard a positive review about our yummy cakes! :)

Here is my sweet friend and bridesmaid, Katie.  She caught my bouquet.  I can't wait to start planning her wedding. ;)

Towards the end of the night, our photographer snuck us out of the reception to snap a few quick dramatic photos.  I totally stole this idea from our reception site's website.  In fact, it was part of the reason I went out to check out the Jessing Center in the first place.  No judgement? Didn't the pictures turn out beautiful?

Thanks friends for making it through all of our wedding pictures with me!  I'll have all of my wedding posts together at the top of my blog for easy access later.  Thanks for indulging me!  This truly was the best day of my life.  I am so thankful for all of our friends and family who made this day a dream come true.  And, of course I am so thankful for my husband Rob who indulged me a thousand times to make sure the day was everything I had dreamt of since I was a child.  Looking back through these pictures was such a wonderful way to relive the day I married the love of my life! :)

reception part 1...the details!

One of my very favorite things about planning our reception (and our wedding in general) was creating fun details to be included in our big day!  Even though we've only been married for seven months, this was pre-pinterest days, so finding wedding details was much tougher!  Girls these days have it much easier. ;)

First, Rob's groom's cake! Honestly, I maybe loved this cake more than our actual wedding cake.  It was of course a complete surprise and Rob (being a Yankee!) had never even seen a groom's cake.  This cake is a replica of the Ohio State Stadium, Rob's alma mater.

Here's our pretty wedding cake!  I was obsessed with monogramming everything--including the cake.  I thought (and still think!) our monogram is perfect because it's r D r--perfectly symmetrical!

One of my FAVORITE details of our wedding was all of our pretty paper!  One of my friends, Josh, designed it all for us, including our beautiful monogram.  This was his wedding gift to us--and I seriously could not be more grateful.  He designed our invitations, response cards, reception cards, programs, table settings, menus, thank you cards, and I'm sure there's more I just can't think of right now.  He was such a champ when I would give him feedback like--make it more curly-q.  Ha!  I LOVED the end result and I kept so many as mementos.  :)

Anyways, here is a gathering of our table cards.  Instead of doing a traditional numbering setup, we went with things that are special to us as a couple--places we've traveled, our pets, college, etc.  Josh did a little doodle of each of the items and I just fell in love with them.  Aren't they darling?!

Here is our beautiful menu! I LOVED it, as well.  I just have to brag one more time!  When I picked everything up from the printer, they asked me who had designed them.  The owner got his contact information in case anyone wants some personalized work!  I was so flattered that she liked the paper products for our wedding so much--and I was excited to get to brag on my good friend (and groomsman!)

Here is another fun (and beautiful!) detail our florist extraordinaire came up with for me!  Julie, a good friend of my family's from our church, had an art class at her local high school help out with designing the giant D's for the doors at the church and the reception site.  They were then covered in white carnations.  Gorgeous! :)

Here is our wedding cake topper!  I had SUCH a hard time deciding on using a custom cake topper or buying something.  I pretty much obsessed to no end, but in the end I am really happy with our choice.  I wanted something beautiful and classic.  And, hopefully our kids will be able to use this someday.  :)

One more picture, friends!  The week before our wedding, I decided we were missing something...but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.  After much needless stress, I decided to add a candy bar.  This was a huge hit and I am so thankful for my friends and family who made this happen.  This gave the kids (and adults!) an alternative to cake.  We still had quite a bit of candy leftover, but I was amazed at the amount of candy people actually ate! :)

Alright friends, I'll be back soon with one last set of reception photos! :)  Hope you enjoy! :)

let's catch up!

Hello friends!  Thank you so much for your sweet emails and texts about how I am doing/where I've been.  I knew this week was going to be a little bit crazy, but I had no idea everything that would happen!

First, I went to Kentucky on Monday to visit my family.  One of my cousins and her babies are in town from Atlanta and I couldn't wait to go love on them!  Plus, I wanted to see my sister and mom.  They came up to visit a couple of weeks ago, but we haven't had any quality one-on-one time in awhile and I needed some of that in my life! It was a GREAT visit and I am so incredibly thankful for my family.

When I was on my way out of town though, my mom called because my papa was admitted to the hospital and was in the ICU.  I quickly turned around and headed to my mom's house to pick up my sister.  We jetted up to the hospital to see what was going on.  My papa is such a special person to me and we are so close.  He has a cellphone (isn't he hip?) and I love talking to him when I'm on the road!  He has always been supportive of me and my life choices--and he's been there when I've been really sad to cheer me up.  He's also VERY ornery, so it's extra hard to see him not feeling well.  They're currently running some tests to see exactly what's going on, so I'd really appreciate any prayers you could offer up for my family.  

 

Also, Rob and I are having some friends over for dinner tomorrow night!  I love when people come over to eat.  Cooking for more than two people is so much fun!  Last time I made my granny's amazing baked macaroni and cheese which they loved!  I am looking for some fun treats to cook up--so pinterest will be my best friend today! :)

Rob has been such a champ this past week when I have been in Kentucky.  He would text me often for updates and to let me know he was thinking of me and my family.  So sweet!  I am so thankful for him and the ability to face time on our iphones when we aren't together.  :)

I hope you have all had good weeks and I promise to catch up on all of my emails, comments, and your blogs as soon as possible.  I am so thankful for each of my blogging friends! :)