New Season, New Plans

It's almost a new season, which means lots of home cleaning, organization & a new opportunity to personally change things up a bit. The weather is starting to cool down a lot, which means lots of yard preparation (especially for a Utah winter), TV show seasons are all coming to an end (a great chance to abandon ship), & school has started for the little's which means new bedtime routines & homework schedules are put in place.  

This is my 2nd week as a Mrs. which is also a great chance for me to make some changes. I fully plan on undergoing a SERIOUS home makeover. I've been exploring several interior decorating ideas & since I made all of the decorations & flower arrangements for my wedding, I've really taken an interest in crafting (Who knew?). Right now our house has a really cabin-esque, mountain home feel (which I don't love) & I'd really love to romanticize it over the fall & winter. 

Needless to say, I'm making a list of goals, weekend projects, organization ideas & DIY plans to make things a lot more comfortable & homely. 

Costa Rica, it is

After going through our long list of places we want to go for our honeymoon, we've finally decided on Costa Rica! 

We are still working out all the little details, but I'm so happy we made the decision. Although neither of us have ever been there, TP has never been on a tropical vacation & really think he's going to love it. From what we've read about honeymooning in Costa Rica it's equal parts romantic, adventurous and relaxing. On to bikini shopping!!

A Day in the Life

Saturday was the Home Opener for Real Salt Lake. The new season has begun! This year, the group (Salt City United) has invested in a GoPro. Get ready for a lot more videos like this one:

Nerd Alert!

After waiting about as long as I could, I went in to get an eye exam. The results came in & it's worse than I thought it would be. Over the last 3 years, I've noticed my distance vision getting blurry. Not being able to see soccer matches or read distant traffic signs became worse & worse. At my vision test, I was told my eyesight is 20/50, which has eventually brought me to this:

So, I guess it's officially official.. I'm getting old. 

About My Wedding Dress

After getting engaged, naturally I went to Target and bought every wedding magazine on the shelf & made 2 appointments to try on wedding dresses. When my fiance finally got the time, he sat down with me & we went through all the dress pictures in each magazine so that we could get a good feel of what he likes & what I like before my appointments. Overall, it went pretty well. I found about a hundred things I liked & wanted in a dress & Trev found ONE. One dress that he put his little sticky note on that said "Trev". 

As I get to my first appointment, (with 5 of my bridesmaids, my sister & my mother), I tried on just about every dress I liked, and every dress my mom/sister/bridal party liked - needless to say, it was so exciting & so much fun but I didn't end up with even an inclining of what to buy. We all went to lunch before my second appointment, which was at a fancy dress boutique that reminded me so much of the show Say Yes To The Dress. As we were choosing dresses to try on, I saw this absolutely gorgeous long dress that I really hoped was within my budget - of course, it wasn't. I brought it in the dressing room anyway & it was the last dress I tried on. Now, I've ALWAYS thought it was really cheesy when women say that the second they see themselves in the dress, they know it's THE ONE, & then they get all teary-eyed & so does everyone else & it's this big moment & blah blah blah. WELL - I see what they are talking about. I didn't get teary-eyed or start full on crying (although my mom did), but I did get goosebumps & butterflies thinking that this is definitely the dress I want to marry the love of my life in. So, I bought it. 

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the dress I got. It has every feature that I wanted & every piece of it looked GREAT on my body. But, after only going to 2 places, and buying the dress on the very first day of looking - I was starting to get that fright, that panic, that "omg why was I so impulsive, I had plenty of time to look" feeling. So my friend (& bridesmaid) came back to my house with me to help calm me down. When we got to my house & told Trev that I bought a dress he looked really surprised, which only added to the feelings I was having. But after telling him the feelings I was having about it, being the prince charming he is, comforted me by telling me "it's good that you got that out of the way! Now it's just one less thing to worry about". & he was right. Buying your wedding dress is a big decision, & I was happy to not have to decide on one when it came down to the wire. 

To take my mind off the anxiety, my friend & I pulled out the wedding magazines to tackle our next planning task. As I was looking through the many magazines with the many sticky notes, there it was; right there in the magazine. The dress I had bought that day, with a little pink sticky note in sloppy handwriting that said "Trev". I had unknowingly bought the exact & only dress Trev had loved.    

Valentine

As much as I love love, you can imagine that Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays. I'll pretty much take any opportunity to be & feel romantic so I put together a little Valentine gift list with a few sweet & small gestures to 'treat yo self' to for the occasion.    

1. Cat Rings
2. Roses Candle
3. Cristina Re Designer Tea Cups
4. Too Faced Makeup Brushes
5. Love Letter Necklace
6. Chanel Eau Tendre Perfume
7. Kate Spade New York Watch



Today I feel incredibly rewarded & so thankful that I have Trev as my partner. I am overwhelmed with the thought that I have someone to love each day, someone to laugh with, someone to cry with, someone who knows more about me than even I know sometimes & someone that I can rely on, be there for & learn more about every day for the rest of my life. I had never imagined my life being so fulfilling, so adventurous & so worthwhile as it has been since I've met & fell in love with him & I can't envision where I would be without him. 

I love you, my Valentine.

Highlights of 2013

2013 was truly a year for the books! It was a tremendous year filled with lots of love, learning & happiness. Some of the highlights of 2013 for me were:

1. Buying a house. We were not looking for a house by any means. We were almost up on our lease at our apartment & when Realtor friend wanted to show us this house that just went on the market that he thought would be perfect for us - mainly because it's so environmentally safe & 50% off the grid. After looking at it one time, we knew that this is where we wanted to be permanently. The place we wanted to make our memories in & have forever. 

2. Seeing Germany. Ever since I was in 5th grade I've had a weird obsession with Germany (I think it started because my then best friend Alex J's step-dad was incredibly German & I loved it when he would speak German to his parents). I would research things about WW2, medieval towns in Germany, The Berlin Wall, etc. & when I was in 7th grade, I started learning the language in school. So needless to say, most of my life I've wanted to go Germany & never did; until this year, & it just so happens that I was also proposed to there, in the courtyard of the Neuschwanstein Castle. 

3. Getting engaged. This was something I've actually never thought would happen for me. Throughout my life I always wondered what it would be like to have someone love you so much that they ask you with all of their heart to spend your life with them. Which is part of the reason why Trev's proposal was such a surprise and such an incredible event that I will always hold dear.

4. Real Salt Lake made it to the MLS Cup! I know this may not be a big milestone for a lot of people reading this, but this season for RSL made me see them, & my friends in a different way. Our team worked so hard & it was such an amazing feeling to celebrate their success with them & with my friends. It's such a wonderful sight to see all everyone, including my darling fiance, faces light up with pride & hope. We didn't win the cup, but it was such a fun ride all the way to the end. I can't wait for another season & another year of celebrating their success & hard work. 

5. Overcoming personal obstacles to become a better step-mother. This one is a hard one for me to explain. Going from being a 23 year old single gal doing as I please, to instantly becoming a parent was not easy to say in the least. The challenges I faced were some of the hardest things I've ever had to overcome. Now, I want to be clear that it was NEVER hard to be Aiden's friend. There hasn't been a moment in my role in his life that I've wished I wasn't in the situation I'm in. Aiden is an absolute miracle for me &  I am so very thankful for every moment I get to spend with him. I'm mentioning this as one of my highlights for the year because I've worked REALLY hard to establish my place in Aiden's family & to be someone in his life that he can count on, can love, & to be someone who understands him & his many relatives (step families & otherwise). I am quite proud of myself for this because, sadly to say, this is one of the only times that I've ever had to set my feelings, my needs & myself aside to make someone else happy & unafraid. I still continue learning & establishing my role, & I'm sure that will never stop, but it has definitely become easier along the way.        

All in all, I'm very happy with where my life is heading & with who I am becoming. I still have so much to look forward to & I'm trying my very best to recognize & appreciate every moment.    
  

Nailed!

Those of you that follow me on Instagram, Facebook & Pinterest might already know that Trev & I recently got engaged! I'm not sure if everyone got the full story, & I do love to tell it, so here it is: 

3 days into our Germany trip (August 19th) we visited the Neuschwanstein Castle (a lot of people -Americans- refer to it as the Sleeping Beauty Castle). After buying our tour tickets, riding the bus to the ground entrance & walking up the beautiful tree lined path under a shared umbrella in the rain, we arrived at the castle. Waiting for our scheduled tour, we walked around reading signs & taking many pictures. We walked up a set of stairs that lead to the main cobblestone courtyard when the rain briefly cleared. Posing for a picture, I felt him slightly pull a way & when I looked, the love of my life was stark white, shaking, & down on one knee. I wish I could tell you everything he said in that moment, but I was in such an absolute shock that all I remember was him asking me to marry him. & I, of course, said yes.  

Weekend Project No. 1

Now that I have the leisure of doing what I want to the house (because I own it.. still so weird), I've been compiling a To Do List of Weekend Projects. Since I haven't owned a house before, & have very little experience working on a house, I decided to start out with something small & easy; yet very important... I painted our master bathroom pink!! 

After 2 new magazine subscriptions, 3 weeks of research, HGTV, Pinspiration & a battle with our laziness, we went to the glorious Home Depot & purchased all of our painting supplies & 1 gallon of Behr, VOC-Free (Volatile Organic Compound) paint in a pink shade called 'Frolic'. 

It was a lot more work than I thought it would be because I, of course, think that I'm the most coordinated person on the planet & it turns out to be quite the opposite. Luckily, I had Trev there to bring me back to reality & help me tape all the places that shouldn't have paint, that I would most definitely have gotten paint on. 

After the long process of taping, situating our Eco-Friendly drop cloth &  making sure our curious cats stay out of the bathroom, we finally got to painting!

& this is how it turned out:

The day I started this project, I saw a Home Depot commercial where a lady paints her bedroom bright blue & bright green. As soon as she finishes & shows her husband the result, she quickly stands up & says "I wan't to paint something else!" - Well the whole time I was painting, that commercial was playing in my head & I kept thinking, 'That b!%$*! How could she be so excited to do this to more than once? I'm never painting anything ever again!' - But now that I'm finished & walk into my lovely pink bathroom every day, I really can't wait to paint more rooms in our house!

New-New Castle

We bought a new house! 

We've lived here for 2 weeks and we're almost all the way unpacked. It's been really fun finding a new place for everything, including getting the arcades out of the living room! I'm excited to start our weekend projects and our painting and decorating. 
This home ownership thing is a first for us so I'm sure we're going to be learning from our (many) mistakes along the way. & we obviously have loads of gardening to figure out, but I think it's going to be an incredible life here with my darling egg & his little. 

The Castle

I've had on the back of my mind so many ideas & thoughts for changing our living room [our whole apartment really] I've been SO sick of what it looks like, lately especially. I have progressively been rearranging furniture [in my mind and in real life], until finally about 2 weeks ago, I couldn't take it anymore. Naturally, I looked to Pinterest, & you know how women on Pinterest get [especially us Capricorns], & came up with some wonderful, do-able, affordable solutions to my living room problem. 
So last night, Trev & I went to Target & RC Willey. We got new curtains, a new rug, and a gorgeous new ottoman. We set it all up last night [sans curtains; that's tonight's project] & I am feeling SO much better better about the way it's starting to look. I still have a few things to do to get it all together, but with the changes made so far, it feels a lot more comfortable and relaxing. 

I'm not going to post a picture of our actual living room in this post because [I'm a dummy] & forgot to take a 'before picture' so I'll have to look through my old phone for one. Also because I want include the new curtains in the after pic as well. BUT here are some photos I found & used for inspiration. 

I'm Back!

I tried out my other blog for a while, & maybe it's just because I'm not as internet savvy as I thought I was, but I just couldn't figure out how to work WordPress. After all of the frustration & multiple temper tantrums trying to figure it out, I gave up & let myself get out of the blogging habit. Having recently looked through this blog, & remembering all the effort I have put into it & all of the fun I've had with it,  I really missed it & I just can't give it up. 

So, since it's been quite a while, here's a little update on me & mine. No major changes (other than two weeks ago, I cut my hair to shoulder length, which I'm still not used to but I do like the change.)

Work: I work at the same place that I still absolutely love, & about 6 months ago, I was promoted! I am no longer the receptionist! I've moved into my own office, which I still need to decorate & have been obsessing over on pinterest. 

Love: Trev & I celebrated our 2 year anniversary on October 23 (which is Mole Day, so we had a science themed party; pictures soon). After returning from Paris, we moved into our new apartment, which is absolutely incredible. It's been so fun to decorate & organize our little home together. I feel like I have more love for him than I ever thought I would have for anyone. <3 font="" nbsp="">

Family: Aiden is still the most incredible, impressive kid I've ever met. I am so proud of him every day & still get blown away with how his mind works. He's also becoming more and more like his father than I ever expected or thought possible. We got Aiden a gaming chair, one of the best gamer headsets you can buy & a pro gamer Xbox controller for Christmas. Recently, he's joined a very prestigious Black Ops 2 guild and it's become so fun to watch him play.  

Nerd Life: I am now an iPhone 5 owner. My D&D (Dungeons & Dragons) character (the Drow) is almost level 5. Trev is starting to build arcades; we have 2 in our house now & 1 at his work. I've been reading like crazy! At least 1 book a month, including one I've always wanted to read; Ender's Game. I started playing WOW (World of Warcraft) & my Draenei Hunter is level 89, (Max level is 90), & I'm hesitating on leveling to end game because then I have no idea what to do (N00b). 

Soccer: I've been getting way more involved in Trev's soccer supporter's group Salt City United. Since the group has gotten REALLY big over the last year, I've been involving myself more & trying to help Trev keep things organized. We've been working on something for the new season & I can't wait to get it finished! We've been watching the preseason games, but we're SO excited for the First season game on March 3rd & the first home game is on March 16th!

So over all, life has been really good & I'm glad to be back.   
    

Wisdom Tooth Weekend

I got 3 wisdom teeth pulled on Thursday. I was so so scared and after being almost fully recovered, I realized it was not bad at all. When I came out of the anesthetics, I guess I was crying about Boba Fett. (Trev has a video that I haven't given permission to stream online anywhere yet) of me crying because Boba Fett isn't alive or real. its pretty funny and every time I watch it, I get closer to allowing it online, so we'll see if it happens.

So this is what my weekend has looked like, (asside from being completely loopy on pain killers)
I have eaten so many popsicles, started watching a new HBO series called Girls, read a lot of the new book I started (Here There Be Dragons), playing Zelda on 3DS, and I've eaten sooo many mashed potatoes & gravey, which luckily is my favorite food.

Today, I was able to leave the house, still loopy enough to run right into a tree branch in front of a ton of people, and saw Dark Shadows with Trev and Aiden. I don't think I was awake long enough to give a proper review, but from what I saw, it was really cool.

So, its back to work tomorrow, bright and early.

New Blog!

Well, I guess I shouldn't say new blog; more like an additional blog. I decided to create another blog to let my inner nerd out. It's called Hit Points in Heels & is still under a bit of construction [still working out the layout & waiting for TP to finish my header] but I've done a few posts so let me know what you think! I plan on continuing to blog here as often regularly [irregularly] as I have been, mostly because I'm keeping my other blog specific to g33k sp34k & n3rd-n355. 

Check it out here: Hit Points in Heels & let me know what you think! [PS. Its a WordPress blog, so I'm still learning how to use it]

Paris - I really do love you

Here are some of my favorite pics from the trip!

I've been super busy with work, and with TP & I moving into our own apartment that I haven't had time to blog, or even give highlights of our trip. I will do that soon, right now it's mani & then bedtime. <3

Quatre Jours!

We leave for Paris in 4 days!

I feel like the time has crept up on us, its so soon! I still have so much I need to do, like pack, get my hair dyed and do some pre-holiday shopping, let alone pack up our entire apartment so we can move the day after we get back. 

BTW; we got a new apartment! I'm so excited to have a new home. Although Trev & I have lived together for almost 2 years, this is the first apartment we actually chose together. 

It is an absolutely beautiful apartment with a balcony, 2 bathrooms, an incredible walk-in closet (that Trev promised to put a wall of shelves in for my shoes), a dishwasher (drool), washer & dryer (drool) and a-to-die for roman bathtub in the master bathroom!

I am so excited for Paris that it's all I can think about! There's no telling how I'm going to make it through the next 3 days, but hopefully it goes by faster than I think it will and I will be able to get all of my stuff done before Friday arrives.

mini-update

I have been so SO busy lately. A few little updates while I have time:

I lost my camera!!!!! I've been so sad about it for the past week. I lost it at the game last Saturday, which is awful because it was the cRapids game and I had loads of really great pictures of us with the Rocky Mountain Cup, including one of my handsome dear chugging a beer out of it. I'm contemplating buying a new one right now, or spending my $$$ on a pre-Paris shopping spree........ (any thoughts?)

14 DAYS UNTIL I GO TO PARIS!!!! Ah! I'm so excited! (I know what you're thinking, who loses their camera 2 weeks before they go to Paris... the answer; this dummy) I've been obsessing over all of it for about a week now, non-stop on my mind. I'll update my Looking Ahead Page as soon as I can with all of the updates in our plans. 

So far, that's all I can think of right now.... more soon though :)

Weekend

Last week, my work blocked blogging & social networking (so bummed about that) so it's taken me a while for an update. But, here is a sum up of my weekend & some pictures:

Friday night was my darling friend Hailey's 'Bye Bye Boobies' party. She is so incredibly brave and is getting a breast reduction on April 2nd. I'm so proud of her for going after what she wants & I had so much fun celebrating her this weekend!

Saturday night was the ReAl game! We played Chivas, and unfortunately, we lost 1-0 but, as always, win or lose, everyone still had so much fun! Salt LakeTill I Die! You can see more pictures I took from the game on the SCU facebook page.

On Sunday, we watched The Hunger Games. I was a little disappointed that they didn't have as much character build up for Effie, Cinna, Peeta or Gale  as they do in the book, but overall I thought the movie was great! (& already 2.5 hours long). I didn't understand the obsessions I've read about with the fashion and the nail polish etc.. but now I get it and I couldn't help but buy the new Glamour Magazine with Jennifer Lawrence on the cover. (& I think I'm going to get the nail polish collection on Friday)

I had such a great time with my family & friends this weekend. I am already working plans in for this week & weekend that I'm so looking forward to so hopefully I get more chances to update this blog as my plans unfold.

RSL Home Opener

Yesterday was the St. Patrick's Day Parade & The Real Salt Lake home opener game. RSL beat the New York Red Bulls 2-0!

We woke up super early to get ready for the parade. We marched with RCB & Salt City United singing, chanting, clapping and having so much fun! Here are a few of the pictures I took. [If you want to see the full size or more pictures, check out the new album I uploaded on my FB here.]

After the parade, we went to breakfast, ran a few errands and then headed to the tail gate. Although the weather sucked [super windy & it rained for like 20 min], we had so much fun! We set up a tent for the Royal Army in our lot and sold the sweaters & shirts that we had  leftover from last year. Also gave away stickers & temporary tattoos. We went from 60 members [before the game] to 120 members! Here are some pics from the game & tail gate

We had so much fun & we're super excited for the game this Saturday [April 24] against Chivas!

RSL Royal Army

In 2009, my boyfriend started Salt City United (SCU). It's a Euro style supporters group for the ReAl Salt Lake soccer team. Right now, it has 51 official members (myself included), and 8 "Probies". Being a part of this group has easily been the most fun I've ever had. I've met so many lasting friendships and am so happy to be a part of it, let alone incredibly proud of my boyfriend for perusing his ideas and achieving such a great assembly of energetic, vulgar, tattooed soccer fans. With that said, here are a few links to learn more about the group:

twitter | facebook | blog | website 

 

Since SCU is a closed membership group, meaning not everyone can join, Trev came up with The Royal Army.  This is a supporters group that anyone who supports RSL can be a part of. The Royal Army unites ALL fans, including the fans that are also already a part of a supporters group, like me. Trev has designed & made scarves, shirts, hoodies, stickers and lot more and most are all included in the membership. Here is a link of their website where to sign up & their other social media information:

twitter | facebook | website 

I am so happy to be part of both of these groups & I'm so excited to see where they take us. Salt Lake Till I Die!

& Most importantly: Go ReAl!