a moment in time

today is may 2nd 2013.

i am 9449 days old.

niles is 10104 days old.

the best thing to happen to me today was getting to conduct my first interview.

the worst thing that happened to him today was having his show get a 2nd rewrite.

i really like this dress because i think it is super mod.

he likes to wear dress socks at all times. 

we live in our first home together.

our mortgage is our only debt.

we are looking forward to our first screened in porch party saturday night.

i have a sunburn that is peeling on my feet and legs.

he is growing a dirty mustache and sideburns for his best friend's bachelor party in June.

we are happy.

it is supposed to rain this weekend. 

10 on 10

happy anniversary to us!

my friend amanda suggested i do a "10 on 10" post since the 10th is our anniversary. so here it goes, 10 things from our 1st wedding anniversary celebration. the first one is my gift to Niles. the traditional gift for the first year is paper, so i had the lovely Kelsey Roy make this sweet watercolor caricature of our family as of year one. she is so talented! niles and i can't stop looking at it. it is a treasure that will hang in our home always.

1 our family as of year one

2 the angel oak tree

3 my anniversary gift from Niles

4 my card to Niles by oh my deer

5 brunch

6 complementary strawberries and champagne

7 charleston pier

8 dear god make me a bird

9 our rings 1 year later

10 beach day

one year

hello lovely,
this monday is our one year anniversary. i can't believe it. in some ways it seems like only yesterday, in other ways it feels like we've been married for years. people told me the first year of marriage is the hardest. which makes sense when you think of all the changes that have to be made when you combine two lives. but, to be honest we haven't had too many hiccups this first year. niles is a pretty fantastic husband. we share responsibility for chores and making dinners, we complain over who has to fold the laundry and for the most part end up doing it together, and in the evenings we curl up on the couch and watch HBO. it is a pretty lovely life. this past year we wanted to relax and enjoy ourselves and i think we've done pretty well at that. next year we might try to be a little less lazy, but it was fun while it lasted. we did accomplish a few things other than watching a lot of sopranos this year. we bought a car and almost have it all paid off, i got to go on my grand european tour, and niles just built a screened in porch on our deck. i'd call year one a smashing success. to celebrate we are taking a long weekend in charleston and i can't wait! i'm looking forward to many more anniversaries with my moon my man. thanks for making each day an adventure, my love.
xoxo,
alyssa renee

 

blog backup: valentines day! (not an april fool's joke)

hello lovely,
yes. you read correctly. this is no april fool's joke. i am just now blogging about valentine's day. isn't that sad? i've just been so busy i haven't taken photos off my camera. luckily i did remember to at least take photos of the sweet things around me for the past few months. other backed up blogs coming up: roommate reunion skirt making, my first wedding veil, beaver wine and crafting session, and a few "bits & pieces" of our house as of late. so, back to valentine's day. i love giftwrap. it is one of my favorite things. so, for valentine's day i set up a sweet little package for my honey. this year was our first valentine's day as husband and wife. it was very simple. we ate falafel at home and watched a movie. i got niles a harmonica because i'm trying to turn him from electronic rocker to folk singer. he got me a coupon good for one 30 min long massage from him and benjamin button on bluray. (one of my most favorite films) it was a sweet way to spend the halmark holiday without spending too much money.
here are a few pictures. i will also leave you with my favorite quote from that film. i have this one up at my desk at work and read it often.


"For what it's worth: it's never too later or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you'r not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again."


xoxo,
alyssa renee

our valentine's we got in the mail on display

valentine making supplies

niles' gift all wrapped up

i hope you see things that startle you...

valentine's from my coworkers 

this wasn't my valentine' but it was too pretty not to share. a beautiful rose my coworker had on her desk. so lovely!

hope you feel loved today. 

favorite things: instagram

hello lovely,
i was looking through my phone and realizing how much of my life i've chosen to capture in these often blurry small square photos. it is pretty funny to look back on my life through these images. i went through and picked out some of my favorite ones for you. i really can't pinpoint what exactly it is i love most about this free phone app. but it is sort of addicting. i find i check it multiple times a day. i also find it fun to look at my life through this lens. i find myself thinking of photo ideas that represent these tiny moments in my life and instantly sharing them. niles and i were just talking about this last night. we feel like we are living in the future! i can actually video chat someone now. i feel like i'm in the jetsons. these kids these days will never understand how surreal that is to us old folks. any who, i digress. enjoy the instagrams. sort of a photographic journey into the last 8 months of my life.
xoxo,
alyssa renee

my first instagram pic in one of the first nights in our house

unfiltered by the way. we walked outside and the world actually looked like this. it was amazing.

my most favorite one

unfiltered again. such a fantastic flower. 

and then there was this.

if you don't use this app you should give it a whirl. so far it is my favorite.