This Valentine's Day...

... it would appear cupid brought us a baby.

More on this tomorrow and have a wonderful day with the people (or animals) you love.

What Can Happen in 9 Years

For the last 2 years, I've been saying to Kyle, "This is our year. This is totally gonna be our year." Friends, 2010 was NOT our year and 2011 was DEFINITELY not our year... but for once, I'm thinking 2012 might actually be the ticket.

Today is special to me for a couple reasons. One, before Kyle and I got married and had an "official" anniversary of June 20th, we had our anniversary of just being together (you know, the whole exclusivity, off-the-market game). Today marks nine years. Nine years! That's almost a decade, which is almost a third of my life of being with the same person.

Kyle and I met the first day we moved into the dorms freshman year. I introduced myself to him along with two other guys (who still happen to be some of my best friends to this day), but only walked away remembering his name (sorry, Trav and Jacob! I've got it now!). I feel I should mention here that I was dating someone else at this point. We were together the entirety of my fall quarter and he lived a couple hours south, so we did the long distance thing.

All I can say about that boyfriend is that he was one of the sweetest, funniest guys I have ever known... I could not say a single bad thing about him if I tried. But sometimes sweet and funny is not enough, right?

I spent a lot of time with Kyle (and Trav and Jacob), though just as friends. We had a sociology class at an ungodly early hour with the pudgiest Indian teacher known to man, so we'd meet beforehand at the dining commons and have breakfast (we eloquently called it "Breakfast Club"). On Tuesdays, bagels were served and Thursdays, donuts. Kyle really liked Thursdays.

I started to realize how much I looked forward to waking up at the crack of dawn every Tuesday and Thursday morning.

Fall quarter came to an end shockingly fast and during winter break, while snug in my bed in Laguna, I had a dream. I dreamed that Kyle and I were hanging out on a couch holding hands and when I woke up, I remember feeling so calm and peaceful that I started to get a nervous tight feeling in my stomach. The nervousness came from realizing that this dream in my head felt so right in my gut, but seemed sticky when I considered reality. Breaking up with my boyfriend became a thought I seriously began to consider, not because I wanted to "trade him in for Kyle" or anything like that, but because I knew dreaming and thinking of this guy, who I had come to think of as one of my best friends, hinted at feelings that were not necessarily... platonic?

So I ended it with my boyfriend, which was hard because I couldn't give him any good reason for it. I figured if it was meant to happen with Kyle, it was meant to happen and I kind of sat back and relaxed about the whole thing.

Little did I know, Trav and Jacob (yes, the same two from the very beginning!) had heard of the breakup, sat Kyle down and told him to go for it (it being me, I guess?). My husband used to be a very shy guy, so they had to assure him they thought it was mutual.

They really had to assure him.

And luckily for me, he listened... and made a move on January 17, 2003 (the man's no Rico Suavé, but I can remember every detail of it, which I will not be sharing here, and it is a very sweet memory).

Here's the thing about having a blog: you get to filter every bit of your life that you write about. It's easy for me to talk about the love and the happy moments and sweet memories, but it's also easy to ignore the hard stuff, the gritty things people can gloss over when they talk about their daily lives.

Being with the same person for nine years has been no easy task because, let's face it, relationships and marriage are not easy! They take hard work and effort on both parts, forgiveness and acceptance and constant reminders of the good, the great, the love that's there at the root of it all. Focusing on the reasons you fell in love with a person is sometimes more difficult than dwelling on the things that drive you crazy about them. But if you can, if you can force yourself as often as you can to concentrate on the positives, relationships can really be an amazing, synergetic thing.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, thanks for putting up with my bullshit all these years, Kyle... it sure has been fun putting up with yours!  ;)  I love you, honey.

The other reason this date holds significance in my life is that it is the day we officially welcomed Moe into our little family! I've already told you the story of how we found him and decided he was "the one," but I haven't told you about the buildup toward his official appearance.

 

We met him and his foster parents at an adoption fair outside of Centinela Pet Feed at the very beginning of 2009. It was a set appointment through Forte Animal Rescue and apparently 7 other people/couples had already tried to get him. His fosters were a discriminating couple, and didn't want to give him to just ANYONE (this is a good thing, because sometimes the people who want pitbulls want them for the wrong reason); they didn't get the right feeling with any prior visitors. Luckily, they felt good about us, and once they had done a house inspection and he had met the neighbor dogs, we set his "move in" date for two weeks later.

I was in New York for work the entire week leading up to his arrival, and while I do love myself some Big Apple, the days dragged by because I knew what the end of the week held for me: my dog, Moe.

The plane ride home was excruciating. Since it was our six year anniversary, I swung by the grocery store on my way back to the apartment to grab a bottle of champagne in order to toast our togetherness and as a celebratory welcome to our new furry family member.

His fosters dropped him off, which I know was not easy for them; he had been a part of their little family for four months and they had grown to love him. It wasn't easy for Moe either. He was depressed (and I mean DEPRESSED) for about three weeks. He moped around our apartment and sometimes had to be goaded into getting out of bed.

It was like living with the pitbull version of Judy Garland, minus the major drug and alcohol problem.

I don't know when it clicked for him that he could be happy with us, but it did, and since then, he's never stopped smilin' and he's never looked back.

So you see, what seems like an innocuous date to some is truly a huge one for me. It is the day two of my soulmates came into my life to stay. For good.

And I am forever grateful for January 17.

Wedding love on a Friday: Ivory Sparrow and a Call to Action

I remember what it was like being a bride... the excitement, the anxiety, the stressing over decisions and details that, as it turns out, won't stop the world from spinning on its axis. Today I had to start with this little video via The Knot because I couldn't help myself:



A few of you probably saw the title of this post and thought, "Didn't you get married almost three years ago? Haven't we already been subjected to you talking about it and sharing it and reliving it over and over and over again?! Leave us alone, woman!"

But it's actually even more exciting than my wedding, friends (ok, maybe a little less exciting, but it's up there). Today's the big reveal for a project my mother-in-law and I have been working on for the last two years... Ivory Sparrow.

When I was getting married, I was a fiend about planning our trip down the aisle. The websites and blogs I frequented and the wedding magazines I purchased... overzealous may be the word for it. I never brought myself to tally up how much money was spent on those publications from April 2008 to June 2009, which was probably a good thing for me (and my husband's sanity). I bought a cute accordion folder and loaded it to the brim with fabric swatches and brochures and mostly, tear outs from magazines filled with wedding inspiration deemed awesome by me.

During a visit to my soon-to-be in-laws all those years ago, Kyle's mom, Cyndi, and I were looking through the pages when I showed her a tiny little photo of a bride and her bridesmaids getting ready in some cute terry cloth wraps. We thought it could make for a fab gift for my girls and also create a great "getting ready" photo opportunity on the big day, so we scoured the Internet for them. We discovered the options for bridal wraps were, well, less than pleasing to the eye. They were made with cheap fabric, ugly details and provided a less than flattering fit.

Cyndi thought she could do better... and boy, did she!

The fabric she crafted them out of is superb. We spent hours discussing buttons and fit and thread: if we were gonna do this, we wanted to do it right. She developed wraps for flower girls as well, totes and quality flip flops with Swarovski crystals to round out Ivory Sparrow's collection, and plan to include robes in the near future.

Since my own wedding, we've had the honor of working with a few other bridal parties while we toiled to get Ivory Sparrow off the ground. And now that we're ready and open for business, we know other brides will love them too.

The hours leading up to a girl's wedding are special and made even more so by the people with whom the future Mrs. chooses to surround herself. Our wraps make getting hair and makeup done a breeze, and add to the overall camaraderie of the day (because, let's be honest, there's nothing better than sitting back with your girlfriends, sipping champagne and getting pampered).

Soooo, since we're friends, and I'm hoping you'll wish us a fond "Bon Voyage" as we take off on our journey, I'm hoping you'll like us on Facebook and/or follow us on Twitter. I'm sure there's some eye-rolling going on out there, but take into consideration a few things: (1) What can it hurt? and (2) I'd do the same for you! You have to click on the link for Facebook because until we have 25 followers, it won't come up when you search for it.

On our page and blog, we'll be sharing "Ivory Sparrow Weddings," decor inspiration, DIY tips and more! Also, for any engaged or soon to be engaged ladies, we'll be doing monthly giveaways of our wraps, totes or flip-flops.

If you're worried we're going to bombard your feed with posts and links (I'm looking at my guy friends here), you can still "like us" but hide our posts from your feed... it's a win-win for all!

To sum it up, help a sista out: like us on Facebook, check out our site and have an amazing weekend!

Weeping on a Wednesday

This is incredibly moving... please watch!



And never forget:

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return."  -- Nat King Cole

Big Day Memories

It's been an exhausting day. Three and a half hours at the vet which eventually led to a scheduled surgery for next week. Poor Moe!

Either way, two days ago, I finally ordered my wedding album. Some of you may be thinking, didn't she get married 2 and 1/2 years ago?

Yes, yes I did.

I don't know why I dragged my feet in getting it done. There were over 4,500 photos and I am a picky girl, but most brides can't stand the wait.

In having to pull the trigger, I was reminded of how wonderful this day was. K and I felt completely surrounded by people who loved us and wished us nothing but the best in our new adventure together as husband and wife. Almost everyone that had or has an important role in our lives was there, our friends and family, and it was truly a once in a lifetime experience.

Also, I was proud of how everything came together. Even though there are some who would lead you to believe otherwise (she will not be named), I planned my wedding completely on my own. The lighting, the music, the food, drinks and olive oil... it was all organically mine. Please do not think I had no help. To the contrary, without the help of my mom and now mother-in-law, this wedding would never have been as spectacular as it was. Also, we had the kind of guests who boogied before, during and after dinner, including getting down to a few special Indian Bollywood hits.

How often do you see that, I ask?

It makes a difference when it comes to the atmosphere of an event, having fun loving people celebrating you and your husband, let me tell you.

I hope you enjoy these. I'm trying to give a sense of the day, the best way I know how. Note we had a plethora of cute children attend. I know a lot of events are sans kids nowadays, but they wonderfully add a sense of frivolity and joy to parties such as these.

Don't stop believin' and remember, all you need is love.

Let me know if you want wraps like these for your wedding... Ivory Sparrow is about to take flight!

Momo, my godmother, made it out all the way from Kansas City!

Our sweet wedding girls...

My Dorothy Sparkle shoes...

The people sitting in the back row were my grandma's best friends. They sat there every Sunday for church.

I LOVE this photo of my parents.

The mayor of Calistoga stopped by to wish us well!

Kyle accidentally hit our photographer in the face with the champagne cork..

Clearly somebody let their four year old drink too much... and pass out in a planter!

Olive oil for the adults, M&Ms for the kiddies!

Our mutual friends from college... minus a Mong and a Krusty Nut.

A bagpiper led everyone to dinner...

Our first dance to Ryan Shaw's "We Got Love."

Every person in this family has moves.

It's ok... I don't understand what's going on in this photo either...

Gettin' down, just like grandma (see above)!

She may have illegally won this bouquet, but she was proposed to two weeks later, so...

I bet you didn't have resident Indians at your wedding...

 Happy Labor Day Weekend, everyone!