OUR FIRST THANKSGIVING.

yesterday marked our very first thanksgiving together, and the first time we had spent the holiday away from our families. per usual, b was a pro in the kitchen and whipped up an amazing turkey, with all the sides.{yes, yes, i know how lucky i am.}

we got to skype with all our loved ones back in ohio, we said a prayer for all our blessings and then we napped for way too long.

it's back to work for me today, but i am still feeling just so grateful.

A LITTLE BIRTHDAY PDA.

{ellie looks sad, but i promise she wasn't}

happy birthday, sweet bean! i could not be more proud of you or more thankful to call you mine. just think, on your next birthday you'll be my husband!

 

i love you. 

hello siri.

b outdid his other over-the-top gifts with this one! so excited to get it set up and going. who wants to facetime?!

thanks for all the birthday wishes! more photos from my wonderful day coming soon.

tres.

tomorrow is our three year smoochiversary. THREE years!

on cinco de mayo 2009, we told each other we liked each other. we weren't officially boyfriend and girlfriend until august, so get excited for another mushy post at that time.

this photo is from that july when we went on a rafting trip to the ocoee with a big group of people.

we barely knew each other, but i already knew that he was the one for me.

valentine's day mushiness.

happy valentine's day! i saw this fun link-up on jane's blog and decided to overshare our love story. you can tmi too! right here.

how long have you and your significant other been together? 
b and i have been "facebook official" since august 2009. but i count our anniversary as cinco de mayo 09. here's our first photo together, taken in june of that year.

how did you meet? {what's your "love story"?}
we both went to ohio university, graduated in 2008, took some of the same classes and had mutual friends. and we never met at ou! i relocated to nashville right after school, but he stayed and continued to work in athens. he moved down in march 09 and lived on our friend's brandon couch. brandon happened to live with courtney, aka my nashville bff. i made the first move {no one is surprised} and the rest is history. as you can see below, we were both very busy during school, so it's good we didn't meet then.

if married, how long have you been married? if not, is this the guy you hope to marry? 
yes, i do hope we get married. lots has to fall into place before then, but i've got a good feeling about it.

do you have any nicknames you call one another?
haha, YES. most begin with the letter "b". variations on baby, bunny and buzbah are the most commonly used terms.

name three things you love most about your honey?
i love baker for being so calm when i am so crazy. i love that he is giving {to a fault} to anyone he comes into contact with - even homeless people can sense it on him! i love how much he loves his family and how much he loves me.

is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day or strawberries, champagne and rose petals?
haha, neither? he is a pizza and beer kind of guy.

are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl or a pop in a movie and relax on the couch kind of girl? 
i am more of a go and do something kind of girl. although, if someone offered me a couch right now i'd be ALL about it. we are currently sitting on our dining room chairs or the floor.

tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant other one day. 
i would like to travel more. we just counted this weekend and we both have been to 25 states! halfway there. so, i'd like to see the other 25 together. i know it's close to b's heart that we own a home and get a dog someday, too.

tell us what you plan to do this v day? 
we are staying in and making pizza!

are you asking for anything this valentine's day? 
nope, we aren't doing presents. that whole moving-across-country-thing was a pretty big gift already this year.

give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.
honestly, i am the worst to give this kind of advice. i consistently worry, worry, worry. it always feels like people i know {plus some bloggers i love} are going through a divorce. it's hard not to wonder how your relationship will turn out. after one particular instance of me reading him an insane breakup story, b finally turned to me and said "sometimes, things just work out." and dang if that isn't a good answer.

show us a picture of what love means to you.
i should post a mashed-up photo of us with our families. we both have amazing example marriages to look at and i feel really blessed for that. in lieu of that, here's a pretty sweet moment caught by vickie.

and winner of the best christmas present ever goes to...

as you can imagine i sobbed like a baby.

also: his big present was a bowling ball.

i am the luckiest.

27.

do you celebrate monthly anniversaries?

i'm sure no one but me and sixth graders working to hit one month do. 

however, this past weekend was our 27th month as bf and gf.

{we're talking facebook official, people.}

we're really been together since that fateful cinco de mayo in 09.

but that's a story for another blog post.

but that's a story for our memories.

happy birthday b!

today is a special day: it's b's birthday! {i would divulge how many, but i don't think he'd appreciate that.}

happy birthday buzz. you're my favorite chef, an epic snuggler, the calm to my storm and the love of my life.

{i just know that public display of affection will be really appreciated.}

we'll be celebrating on the river. happy weekend all!

road trip.

i know you're wondering, how could i have any more to say after that tmi post about my keyhole?

don't you worry, i do.

one of the benefits to driving 14 or so hours around the midwest? you see a lot of scenery. here's an artsy fartsy vantage point on our way out of michigan.

hoho's are my favorite thing in the world. seriously, we're talking last-meal-on-death-row type love for these things. and i can't find them in the south. it's a little debbie conspiracy down here and i think she sucks. a "swiss roll" is a clear rip off of a hoho AND NOT THE SAME.

awe b's hometown. the only photo i took while we were there. except for of the hoho's. you're welcome. this picture sums up the cute, all-american feel of it though.

poodles = funny. poodles who act like people = adorable. poodles who act like people and love to get their photo taken = my new best friend.

and the real reason i went on this trip: the outlet malls. just kidding. but really, cincinnati outlets are the bomb. AND it was labor day. AND i opened a j.crew credit card. just kidding. {not really.}

this is the last of four of the epic recap of our michigan trip. this was your favorite, wasn't it? poodle wins it every time.

pentwater 3: yachts and keyholes.

okay, let me be real for a min: i thought michigan was kind of a lame duck state. i feel for them with the economy, cold weather, etc.

i saw the pure michigan ads and thought, "who would want to vacation there?"

the answer: ME. pentwater was SO nice.

more scenery shots so you can feel like you enjoyed it too.

can't help myself with the self photography.

can't help myself with the zoomed-in-so-far-my-lens-touched-that-tomato photography either. look at that bruschetta!

and then: storms. the sky was black! it literally swooped in as we got called in for dinner and before the cake was served the sun was shining again.

do you die of the cuteness in this shot? me too.

so: keyhole story. i tried the dress on a few times before the wedding day, but had never moved around in it. as soon as we sit for dinner i realize my entire center-side boob is ON DISPLAY. it was made more noticeable because i had super spray tanned right before... but hadn't done any non-visible areas. AKA the part HANGING out of the keyhole. and at the end of the night, one of b's relatives may or may not gone to hug me goodbye and accidentally caught his hand in the hole. i can only hope he had visited the open bar enough to black it out. lord, hear our prayer.

the end to a great night: they took off on a sparkle-lighted boat!



p.s. i had totally planned to fight to the death for catch the bouquet, but apparently that is not "in" anymore. it's not like i had my single ladies dance planned or anything.

pentwater 2: the wedding.

the whole reason we drove 12+ hours to the shores of michigan was to watch b's cousin get married.

i may be a little wedding blog obsessed {my favs: green wedding shoes, style me pretty, hey gorgeous, etc.} so i was uber excited to see all the details of the event, too. and to cry at the vows. because really, who doesn't cry during weddings?

warning: most of these pics are of us. but really, that's the usual around here.

do you love this as much as i do??

programs.

a note about the weather: it was crazy!! it was WAY warmer than i thought it would be, which is a good thing, but it rained the whole time. we had a light shower when we arrived and then saturday it stormed all morning. then sunday am it was gorgeous. the sky cleared out and the sun shone through. just perfect for their outdoor wedding.

there they are! so beautiful! her veil was omgamazing. i believe i had stopped sobbing by this point.

here's the dress i finally choose. it's from j.crew's bridesmaid line.

next up: the reception. also known as: "that time i found out my dress had a keyhole in the chest."

pentwater 1.

here's a glimpse at our trip north.

when i found this picture on a realty website, i was SURE it could not be as pretty as they'd made it out to be.

i was wrong.

this is the beach off b's uncle and aunt's beach house. it was so nice. the softest sand i've ever experienced! the waves were amazing and the sunset was truly beautiful.

we stayed in downtown pentwater. b's parents hosted us at a rental house (that ended up being a block from the wedding and reception!). we all may or may not now own "horniest bar around" t-shirts from the antler bar, seen below. get it? horns? antlers? horn-y?

i think the best word to describe pentwater is "quaint". here's scenes from inside the local candy shop. how awesome is that zoltar? my fortune was pretty good, too.

this was right before the welcome dinner, on a different beach. it was much rockier, but there were shells for the kids to gather and they loved it.

and a pic with the sister!

tomorrow: wedding pictures!

pentwater.

{via}

and, we're off! i feel like all we've done is travel this summer. this time, it's a trip all the way up to michigan for b's cousin's wedding, right on the beach.

if you're a lifetime follower, you may remember i fretted about what i was going to wear back in this post.

we'll be back next week. happy labor day!

camp: the people.

this is the final installation of the camp posts. okay, one was entirely about the airport. and another was lake placid. but the one did have photos of camp.

now, it's all about the peeps. lord knows i felt like a total weirdo snapping pictures of every little detail, so i didn't catch everyone on camera. but, here are some winners:

dogs are people, too. miss ellie beans.

the boys. being very manly, might i add.

duh, you knew about 800 of these were just of us.

me and the momma. and ellie sitting like a person.

millie.

saying goodbye on the dock. 

my bff.

picture it: camp.

get it? from sophia, "picture it, sicily..." if you don't get that reference, then you probably don't enjoy this blog. since that show is about old ladies, friends and romance. as is my life.

back on track... one of the coolest things about camp is that we are staying in the original buildings. like, from the 1920s. we're talking legit vintage, people.

let's take a tour:

the official camp name.

how camp's boathouse used to look a long, long time ago. the history of this place boggles my mind. the top part of the boathouse caught on fire and burned. we still use the bottom part.

boat house today.

hilltop cabin, where we stay.

another cabin.

the little details.

and my favorite: the views.