Ten for Tuesday: Girl Stuff

I haven't written a Ten for Tuesday posts in awhile, and I'm inspired to write about some of my favorite girly things after writing about some serious stuff. Something about the warm, sunny weather just makes me excited about all of the brightly colored clothes and accessories that are in stores now. Plus my closet feels pretty boring lately, so I've been doing a lot of online window shopping.

Sorry, dudes. This one's for the ladies.

Ten for Tuesday: Girl Stuff

1. Straw hat, H&M. Wide-brimmed hats are slightly ridiculous, but necessary for sunny days spent on the beach. I need to invest in one of these hats, and I like the yellow stripes in this H&M version.

2. Skinny Jeans, Old Navy. Don't judge me for wanting a pair of jeggings. It's really only a matter of time before I actually own these, so get used to it.

3. Blouse, ModCloth. I'm really into the look of peplum shirts right now, and I like how this one from ModCloth is slightly flowy. I can see this working well with jeans or even under a blazer for work.

4. Ruched swimsuit, Old Navy. I think the last time I owned a one-piece swimsuit was sometime in middle school so I'm a little hesitant to actually own one again. This black one is pretty cute, though, and the low-cut top keeps it from being too "mom"-ish.

5. Nike Free Run+ 3, Zappos. I need new running shoes like crazy, and these are the newest version of the Nike's I currently own. Obnoxious lime green running shoes? Yes, please.

6. Shorts, J. Crew. Drew says that my 3" shorts are too short, to which I say, "Whatever." But I'm also turning 25 in a little more than a month, so maybe he has a point about getting some longer shorts than the ones I wore in high school. I love the J. Crew shorts I already own, so I have my eye on these slightly longer (read: age-appropriate) 5" chinos.

7. Heels, Seychelles. The first and only pair of Seychelles I own are my wedding shoes, so I have a soft spot for this brand. Most of their heels are more retro that these yellow heels, but I really like the color and the cork heel on these shoes. I have no idea where I would actually wear them, but that doesn't stop me from thinking they're cute!

8. Dress, Kohl's. This flowy dress is crazy cute, and looks nice and light for summer. Not that I need any more dresses right now, but this is adorable. (PS - the image is actually from Real Simple)

9. Sally Hansen Nail Polish, Amazon. I actually bought this exact nail polish from Walgreen's a few weeks ago, and I love it. In fact I'm currently wearing it on my toenails. It wears pretty well (on my toes anyway - it chipped on my fingernails in about 2.5 seconds) and is an easy way to wear the mint green trend that seems to be everywhere right now.

10. Wallet, Kate Spade. I'm a fan of larger wallets, and I've wanted to invest in a really nice one for awhile (my bank account disagrees though). This bright patent leather version is so cute, and could double as a clutch for a night out.

Ten for Tuesday: Best Moments of 2011

So, I haven't posted in about three weeks. Yikes. I guess that's what work overload, the holidays and a little baby nephew's birth will do to you. But I'll expand on that in a bit.

Since 2011 is almost over I figured this would be a good time for me to cover my favorite moments of the year. After all, this was probably the biggest and most exciting year of my life so far!

Ten Best Moments of 2011

1. Getting engaged and...

2. Getting married. Clearly some of the biggest life events I will ever go through, and I couldn't think of a better person than Drew to experience both with!

Of course, these are the reasons I started this blog in the first place, so I could share my excitement and frustrations with wedding planning and marriage preparation with my family and friends. But more than being able to write about these experiences was actually getting to experience them!

It's crazy to look back on 2011 and have it be the year that I not only got engaged, but got married too! Probably a shorter time frame than most people would go with, but Drew and I aren't much for conventional time frames (after all, at this point in the year we've only even known each other for just over two years!). I love that we're just at the beginning of our story as husband and wife and have so many more amazing years to spend together.

3. My first nephew's birth. That's right, I am officially an aunt! On December 8 my older sister gave birth to her first kid and my first nephew! Drew and I got to finally meet him on Friday, and he is honestly so adorable.

Baby nephew!

4. Moving in with Drew. I've already mentioned how exciting finally getting to live together has been (and how much I was looking forward to it), so I won't go into it again here. Suffice it to say we're having a lot of fun living together and learning more about each other each day.

5. Spending Christmas with my family(s). Growing up, my family spent every Christmas at my grandparents' house near Chicago. Unfortunately I haven't been able to make the trip for the last THREE years, but Drew and I finally made the trip this year! We spent my four-day break from work spending time with my grandparents, parents, some cousins and, of course, our trip to meet our new nephew!

Since we spent Christmas weekend with my family, we had to celebrate Christmas early with Drew's family. The week before Christmas we headed up to Saginaw for family time, presents and the new Muppets movie. Awesome.

Drew and I also had a little Christmas celebration of our own so we could exchange stockings. So I guess we technically had three Christmases this year. Crazy! Maybe next year we'll simplify and keep it at one or two, but I loved having a celebration with each of my families during my first year of marriage!

6. Our honeymoon. Now that there's snow on the ground outside, my desire to be in Florida and Disney World is even worse than normal. Good thing Drew and I got to spend our honeymoon there a few months ago! Check out my Wedding page for a list of all my honeymoon recaps.

7. Writing more & starting this blog. Anyone that knows me knows that writing and public relations are my top career goals. Although I am so incredibly far away from that in my current job (boo!). BUT, I have started to make more serious efforts in changing this in the past year, and I have a good feeling that my work will pay off in the next year. That sounds like a fortune cookie, but whatever. I'm trying to be optimistic.

Part of my re-dedication to writing and achieving my dream job has been starting this blog. No, this isn't anything I would put on my resume or use as a writing sample, but this blog has given me the push to write on a consistent basis and give me the practice I was lacking. When I first started this blog I felt like I had completely lost my touch with writing and using my "voice," but I feel much more confident about my abilities again. Next step: convince other people I know how to write well and get that dream job!

8. My cousin's wedding. Now that my cousins and I are all grown up and living all over the country, we don't get to see each other too often. Luckily my dad's entire side of the family was able to make it to my cousin's wedding over the summer so we could have a mini reunion!

I had so much fun catching up with everyone and, of course, celebrating and dancing at my cousin's wedding. What an awesome time. I love my family, and I can't wait for our next chance to (hopefully) all be together at another cousin's wedding in August!

9. Moving to our new apartment. This probably isn't exciting to anyone except me and Drew (and I guess our new landlord), but our new apartment is so much better than our previous one. More space, cheaper rent, better location and it feels like our place (as opposed to my apartment where Drew happened to live).

We still have a ton to do to make our apartment look and feel more home-y, but we've got a good start in the month we've lived here.

10. Having LOTS to look forward to in 2012! Seriously, I am so excited for next year and all of the changes that will happen. I have a good feeling 2012 will be at least as good as 2011, if not better. I've already started a list of things I want to accomplish in the next year, so look out for that next week. I am so ready to rock the new year.

Ten for Tuesday: Ten Books to Read

I love reading. Call me a nerd or whatever, but it's true. Maybe it's because I interned at a library one summer in college, or maybe it's because I almost switched my major to English junior year. Or maybe it's just because there are so many awesome books out there.

Well, I've kind of been failing to read anything substantial lately, unless you count the Women's Health magazines I read while I'm on the elliptical. Want serious proof? My Goodreads profile is shaming me with not having finished Steve Martin's The Pleasure of My Company, a 163-page book I started in September. Yikes. Although, in my defense, I did lose that book in the backseat of my car for about a month-and-a-half.

Anyways, now that I'm in a new town and need to get a new library card, I figure I should get back into the swing of reading. Here are the top picks on my reading list right now.

Ten for Tuesday: Ten Books to Read

1. The Hunger Games (by Suzanne Collins). There is so much hype surrounding these books (and the upcoming movie), and I sort of feel left out for not having read this series yet. Plus, the movie preview sounds pretty similar to Battle Royale, a book I loved, so The Hunger Games must be great.


2. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (by Stieg Larsson). Another series I've heard nothing but good things about, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is, in its simplest summary, about a businessman who investigates a cold case murder. A lot of reviews I've looked at mention how misogynistic this book is, but I'm willing to deal with that to find out what makes this book so great.

I'm usually not much for thrillers, but my curiosity of all the excitement for this series is getting the better of me. I kept trying to pick this book up at the library in the spring, but I'm a bit too impatient to handle a 3-month waiting list. Yikes.

3. American Wife (by Curtis Sittenfeld). This book, about a small-town girl who eventually becomes the First Lady, came out a few years ago and has been on my radar ever since. Supposedly it's based on Laura Bush's life, which makes it sound even more intriguing. I read Sittenfeld's first book, Prep, when it came out and really enjoyed her conversational writing style and realistic characters, so I'm looking forward to reading another one of her books.

4. An Object of Beauty (by Steve Martin). It may sound counterintuitive to have a Steve Martin book on a list spurred by my inability to finish a Steve Martin book, but whatever. Shopgirl was fairly entertaining, I loved Born Standing Up and I think Steve Martin is awesome. A book about a social climber in the New York City art scene? Sign me up.

5. Bossypants (by Tina Fey). I love Tina Fey, and that is all.

via

6. Outliers (by Malcolm Gladwell). If you've read anything by Malcolm Gladwell before, then you know that including this book on my list pretty much goes without explanation. His books are studies in sociology and psychology and are so entertaining and intriguing. Outliers focuses on what exactly makes successful people successful: what they have in common and how their lives have conditioned them to stand out from the fray.

7. Reading Lolita in Tehran (by Azar Nafisi). I'm fascinated by books (fiction or non-fiction) that take place in the Middle East, like The Girls of Riyadh or Three Cups of Tea. In this memoir, Nafisi recounts teaching banned books to a group of students, a much bolder move for these Iranian girls than American teachers including To Kill a Mockingbird on their reading lists.

8. Infinite Jest (by David Foster Wallace). I will probably never read this book, if I'm being completely honest. This book is over 1000 pages, which already makes this an endurance read, but Foster Wallace is a huge fan of footnotes, complicating matters even more. There was even a blog made in 2009, called Infinite Summer, devoted to taking on the challenge of completing this book in one summer.

via

I guess you could say I've already started preparing myself to take on the challenge of this book by reading Brief Interviews with Hideous Men and A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, so someday I'll have to just bite the bullet and start this thing. Wish me luck.

9. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (by Dave Eggers). Fun fact: Dave Eggers and I share an alma mater. Irrelevant, but I like it.

Unlike some other books on this list, I don't want to read this book because of the hype surrounding it. Partially because a lot of the hype is about how this book is a bunch of self-indulgent B.S., but also because I don't need the hype. I loved What is the What and Zeitoun, and I want to continue on my Dave Eggers journey and read this. Even if it is a bunch of B.S.

10. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (by Mindy Kaling). I love Mindy Kaling - not just on "The Office," but I've been reading her blog since its days as Things I Bought That I Love. She's hilarious and dorky, and I can't wait to read her musings in book form. Plus it just feels right to end my book list with something lighthearted so you don't think I'm trying to come across as less petty than I actually am.


So there you have it - ten books I'm looking forward to reading someday. I wonder if I'll be able to get through all of these within the next year? I guess I should probably finish The Pleasure of My Company first...

What books are on your reading list? Has anyone read any of the books on mine - what did you think? Am I the only person who hasn't yet read The Hunger Games?

Ten for Tuesday: Bonus Wedding Pictures

Our ceremony program, designed by Drew.

Before the ceremony.

Our "wacky" wedding party picture.

The ONLY picture our photographer got of Drew and me walking down the aisle. Does anyone have one where our eyes aren't closed?

My wedding shoes (picture from Mom P).

Our escort cards from the reception, also designed by Drew (picture from Mom P).

Because I'm the new girl in the family.

Celebrating a victorious ceremony. All right!

Just hangin' out in the park.

One of the reasons we booked our photographer is because he takes awesome infrared pictures like this. Absolutely amazing.

Ten for Tuesday: Reasons I Like Fall

Anyone who knows me knows that I hate being cold. Fall sucks because the weather takes a turn for the worse (read: below 70 degrees) and only means that awful, awful winter is right on the horizon. It's terrible.

BUT, despite that there are a few reasons I like fall, so instead of being a grump about the season I decided to focus (at least for today) on why I like fall.

Reasons I Like Fall

1. I don't sweat all over the place. Okay, I know I just finished saying that I don't like being cold, so maybe this sounds a bit contradictory. It's true, I'll take a 90-degree day over a 50-degree day anytime, but I also sweat a lot. Being cold may suck, but at least I'm not sweating all over the place.

2. The changing colors. The trees are mostly dead around here now, but a few weeks ago (and especially on our wedding day) the leaves were gorgeous. One thing I love about living in Michigan instead of Illinois is that the roads are usually lined with trees, not cornfields. Since I drive so much for work, I appreciate the lovely colors I get to see along the highway on most days. So pretty.

3. The holidays are almost here! It's almost the most wonderful time of the year! Fall means Thanksgiving and Christmas, which means time with family, delicious food and presents! All good things.

4. Drew and I met and got married in the fall. October 2009 = when we met. October 2011 = when we got married. Yeah, I think I have a new favorite month.

5. The good Daylight Savings Time happens. I don't know who thought "springing forward" was a good idea, but "falling backward" is nothing short of genius.

I got roughly five hours of sleep on Friday night, so getting an extra hour of sleep on Saturday night was fantastic. I think my body is still adjusting to the time change, but that's okay. Anything for an extra hour of sleep!

6. Pumpkin everything. Lattes, muffins, granola, candles... all good. I love pumpkin and how delicious it smells and tastes. Part of me wishes that pumpkin products were available year-round, but I know part of the reason pumpkin is so good is because it's a rare treat. I'll be sad when Thanksgiving is over and it's officially time to say goodbye to pumpkin until next September.

7. Sweaters and boots. One benefit about being cold: layering up. I don't care how ugly my Ugg boots may be, I love wearing them. Especially with skinny jeans and a baggy sweater. Judge all you want, but I dare you to find a more comfortable and warm outfit than that.

8. The end of political ads. Election day, be gone! I hate political ads so much, and I always look forward to the day after election day so I don't have to watch or listen to the ads anymore. Although, with 2012 being an election year I'm not so sure I'll be able to avoid political ads for too long. And so it goes.

9. Apple orchards. Apple orchards are so much fun, and one of the things I love most about fall. When I lived in Florida I missed having apple orchards around to visit, and my fall didn't really feel complete. I mean, where else do you get your apple cider donuts and carmel apples?

I think my love for orchards is due to the class trips we always took to go apple picking in grade school. I always loved those days when we got to skip regular classwork to be outside and come home with a giant bag of apples. I thought field trips to the apple orchard were a normal thing for grade schoolers until I mentioned it to my friends in college and they had no idea what I was talking about. I think they missed out on an important educational opportunity there.

10. Fall Festivities. I feel like big, fun activities always take place in the fall. In high school I had marching band (don't hate!), in college I met most of my friends during the fall, and in Disney we had the Food & Wine festival I met Drew. Plus there's Halloween, football and all the other fun stuff I've already mentioned here.

Maybe it's all of the excitement around a new school year starting or the approaching holidays? Whatever it is that brings so much excitement to fall, I love it. I still miss summertime every day, but at least fall has a lot going on to distract me from the cooler temps and lack of sunlight. Plus, it could be worse. It could be winter.

Ten for Tuesday: How to Have a Perfect Weekend

This past weekend was so excellent for so many reasons. I feel like it was the first "real" weekend I've had in a long time, and it was much needed.

My job requires me to work weekends a lot without time off during the week to make up for it, and the weekend before this one was one of those times. That means that Friday was my 12th day of work in a row without a day off. It's rough, but it made this weekend seem even more special because instead of working I got to spend the entire weekend with Drew and had plenty of time to enjoy myself and relax.

This weekend was so good, in fact, that I think it may qualify as a perfect weekend. In case you're looking forward to the weekend already (I know I am) and need some suggestions for what to do, I offer you my steps for the perfect weekend.

Ten Steps to a Perfect Weekend

1. Have the weekend off of work. This is key, seeing as you'll need plenty of time to devote to everything on this list. If you're working you won't have much, if any, time to complete any of the following steps, which is a major bummer.

2. Spend lots of time with your significant other. Or your family or pet or best friend. Whoever you wish you could spend more time with, see that person this weekend and have fun together. Our activities of choice over the weekend included running errands, renting "Bridesmaids" and sleeping in late on Saturday. All excellent choices for quality time with the husband.

3. Run 5 miles. Spend the rest of the day feeling like a badass. Also feel sore and starving. But mostly feel like a badass.

4. Make delicious s'mores cookies. I have an "official" review of the recipe for these cookies planned for tomorrow, but for now you'll have to take my word that these cookies are awesome. So awesome that I ate about 15 of them within two days.

5. Enjoy dinner with friends. On Saturday night Drew and I went out to dinner in Owosso with our friends John and Carolyn. We ate at the always-delicious Wrought Iron Grill which was, naturally, delicious.

I enjoyed a beer whose name I've already forgotten and dominated my crab-stuffed fish entree (remember, running five miles makes you super hungry). We all had an awesome time catching up and are already planning our next "grill" night for the Red Cedar Grill in Williamston.

6. Attempt, and totally fail, the Pinterest Challenge. You may remember that I participated in Round 1 of the Pinterest Challenge a few months ago to make a belt for my wedding shower.

This belt is all squashed and weird looking now, but I totally wear it all the time anyways. Whatever.

Well, Sherry posted a new challenge to Young House Love last week, and I gladly accepted the challenge.

My attempt to create something along the lines of this cookie sheet magnet board, however, backfired horribly.

From Pinterest, via.

I'm going to attempt to salvage my monstrosity sometime this week, but for now I just have a plain & ugly cookie sheet sitting in our living room to remind me of my failure. Sigh...

7. Stay in your pajamas as much as possible. Seriously, is there any clothing more comfortable than pajamas? If I could wear leggings and a sweatshirt all day, every day I totally I would. Jeans are so overrated.

8. Make a tasty breakfast. After sleeping in til almost noon on Saturday, Drew and I had an excellent big breakfast together. I got up first and got to work on preparing bacon and scrambled eggs with cheese, peppers and onion. Delicious.

9. Clean your apartment. Okay, cleaning isn't really all that fun, but I love having a nice-looking apartment as a result. Especially when we know we're going to have company.

Our apartment is small-ish and has basically no storage space, so organizing our apartment requires some creativity.

But, luckily for us, our lease is up at the end of November, and yesterday we signed an application for a new apartment with two bedrooms and extra storage space in the building's basement. The trade off? A much smaller bathroom and no laundry in our unit, but it will totally be worth it for cheaper rent, more space AND the ability to paint the walls!

Our new apartment will be in Swartz Creek, about 20 minutes from where we live now and much closer to civilization (the mall, Target, other retail establishments that make me happy...). It's going to be awesome!

10. Relax. Take it easy (Mika, anyone? No? Okay.).

Seriously, getting to sleep in and take my time changing into real clothes and just be able to sit around is amazing. I love weekends like this where Drew and I can just lounge around together. Except for our honeymoon, I don't know when the last time we had a couple days to just sit around together happened.

Wedding planning pretty much consumed all of our free time the last few months, so it was nice to just be able to enjoy each other's company without having to worry about getting a crazy to-do list completed. We definitely accomplished a lot this weekend, but I never felt rushed or busy. It was glorious.

What are your steps to a perfect weekend? What are your plans for this weekend?

Ten for Tuesday: Mickey's Not-So-Scary

I've been majorly slacking on posting a Ten for Tuesday post since my inaugural post three weeks ago, and I think recapping part of my honeymoon is the perfect way to welcome back this feature!

In case you missed it, Part 1 of my honeymoon recap went up last night with details on our hotel and our dining experiences at the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue and Chef Mickey's. We left off right before Mickey's Not-so-Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom, which we attended on the second day of our honeymoon.

The Halloween Party is a special event at the Magic Kingdom that requires a separate ticket from a regular park ticket, meaning that the park has fewer people, shorter lines and special entertainment. Not only that, but the Halloween Party is special in my relationship with Drew: two years ago we met in a break room at the Magic Kingdom during a Halloween Party. Of course we had to go back to where it all started.

Why I Love Mickey's Not-so-Scary Halloween Party

1. The decorations in Magic Kingdom. Anybody who knows anything about Disney knows that they don't hold back on anything - holiday decorations included (Osborne Family Lights, anyone?). I love the fall decorations in the Magic Kingdom, and Drew and I chose an amazingly gorgeous day to view them all.

Can you believe this isn't edited?!

Plus, everything gets kicked up another notch once the Party officially starts, making everything seem a little bit more special than usual.

Oooh, spooky!

2. Shorter lines for everything. Tickets are limited for the Halloween Party, so the Park is less crowded and lines move much faster. Twenty minute wait for Splash Mountain? Don't mind if I do.

We only had to wait about 15 minutes to meet Mickey and Minnie, too. (Technically this was before the party officially started, but the Park was definitely starting to clear out already. Gotta love the off-season).

3. Candy. Trick-or-treat candy. 

Yes, you do get to go trick-or-treating at "candy stations" set up around the Magic Kingdom during the Halloween Party. Yes, Drew and I went trick-or-treating on our honeymoon.

Somehow we still have some candy leftover from the Party, which is a true testament to how much candy they give out at this thing, considering how much and how often we eat candy in this apartment.

4. In case you didn't catch it the first time, this is where Drew and I first met. Just like the Park itself, our relationship started with a Mouse. Back in 2009 Drew and I worked as interns at Disney World, and we met when we where both working at a Halloween Party.

This was the first time since we met (and my first time ever) that we got to enjoy the party as regular guests. It was amazing, just like this picture a Photopass guy took for us.

If that isn't a good Castle picture, I don't know what is.

On a related note, this Saturday is the official two-year anniversary of that fateful Halloween Party. I can't believe the goofy dude I met in a Magic Kingdom break room two years ago has been my husband for more than two weeks already. That's pretty amazing.

5. Seeing everyone's costumes. People get crazy for the Halloween Parties, since dressing in costume is encouraged. I don't think I saw anything too memorable (except for the super-tall pirate who stood directly in front of us during the fireworks), but it was still fun to see all the kids and families in crazy get-ups.

Drew and I decided not to dress up, as you can see in the picture of us above. We did, however, rock our Tigers gear since they were still in the playoffs at that point.

6. HalloWishes. The regular Magic Kingdom fireworks, Wishes, get a total redo for the Halloween Parties in the form of HalloWishes. The music is totally different and the fireworks span more of the Park (usually Wishes is behind the Castle, but HalloWishes extends towards Tomorrowland and Adventureland at certain times).

I'd never seen HalloWishes before, although Drew and I have been listening to the soundtrack for a few months now. It was so cool, and I'm glad Drew agreed to take pictures during the show so I could focus on watching the fireworks live. I think he took some great shots!

Get your head out of the way, tall guy who stood right in front of us!

7. Mickey's Boo to You Halloween Parade. This, along with HalloWishes, were the two big reasons I picked up that fateful Party shift two years ago (the other reason would be the awesome bat headband).

Although, two years ago I never actually got to see the parade because my three-hour shift before the parade was enough to make me crazy so I never hung around to catch all the action.

This time was obviously different and definitely awesome. Drew and I have a friend who still works at Magic Kingdom, and even though she was out of town during our trip she still managed to hook us up with VIP seating (thanks, Sari!).

8. The Haunted Mansion. Drew and I both love the Haunted Mansion, and it's even better during the Halloween Party.

Parts of the queue are altered just for the Party, and even though I wasn't too impressed with the additions, I still thought everything was pretty cool. We didn't take any pictures of the line, so you'll all just have to live in suspense until you can see it for yourself.

The Cast Members on the ride definitely took everything up a notch, which was so fun. There's definitely a little more fun to be had going on a haunted house ride during a Halloween Party in October versus the middle of July.

9. Getting an awesome Castle picture after the Park closes. Being stuck in line for Space Mountain right as the Park is closing definitely has its advantages.

The Party ended at midnight, but we didn't get off of the ride until 15 minutes or so later, when many guests had already made their way out of the Park.

We weren't the only ones with the idea to get a picture of the Castle as we were leaving, so the view isn't totally unobstructed, but I love pictures of the Magic Kingdom that aren't flooded with other people. Plus, I get a little kick out of that guy smack in the middle of this picture. He looks so tiny!

10. We got a bonus Park day because of the Party. Drew and I only bought two-day tickets to the Parks, which we planned to use on the Thursday and Friday of our trip. However, our tickets to the Halloween Party essentially bought us another full day at the Parks.

The Party runs from 7:00 pm to midnight, but ticket holders are allowed to enter the Magic Kingdom as early as 4:00 pm, which we took full advantage of. That meant we had a full eight hours to spend in Magic Kingdom, which was pretty amazing. We would have been way too exhausted to last all night if we had gone to the Parks earlier in the day too, so we lucked out by somehow having enough energy to last the full eight hours at the Party to make it onto most of the rides and see the fireworks and parade.

We did end up going back to the Magic Kingdom on Friday, but you'll have to wait for my next recap to hear all about that one!

Stay tuned for the next installment of this insanely long honeymoon recap!

Oh, and for those of you patiently awaiting our wedding pictures, I will post those as soon as possible, but we're still waiting for our official photos from the photographer. Hopefully we'll have them by next week, but whenever they arrive I'll be sure to post them quickly!

Ten for Tuesday

I'm starting a new feature here to showcase a list of what's on my mind at the moment, what I'm obsessing over, or whatever other thoughts I feel like sharing.

In case you couldn't figure it out from the post title, I'm calling this new feature Ten for Tuesday.

I'm trying to post more regularly, and I think adding another structured feature (the other being Thankful Thursday) will help me achieve my goal.

Since my days as a single girl are numbered, I decided to write about the ten things I'm most looking forward to about marriage. This should be an interesting list to look back on in six months or a year, to compare it to what I actually enjoy the most about being married.

And now for the inaugural Ten for Tuesday list:

Reasons I'm Excited to be Married

1. No more waiting or countdowns. I don't know how we've been able to bear so much waiting in our relationship. First waiting to be reunited following our long-distance relationship when we first started dating and then the countdown to marriage. Now we'll just get to simply be together.

Only FOUR more days! This is the real final countdown.

2. I get to have an excellent roommate. Forever. I already talked about how much I dislike living alone.

3. I get to be part of a new family. I don't mean being a part of Drew's family, although I'm excited about that as well. But I'm excited to start a new family that's just me and Drew, with our own traditions and habits and other exciting stuff.

4. Drew and I get to do all the boring stuff together. For awhile I've been excited for when Drew and I can do all the lame stuff no one really thinks about together: grocery shopping, folding laundry, running errands, sitting around at home. We already get to do this quite a bit since we've spent most weekends during the past 15 months together, but now we'll get to be boring and normal together all the time. Sometimes it really is the little things.

5. Making my apartment our apartment. Drew started moving some of his belongings into my apartment a couple of weeks ago, and it already feels different than when this was only where I lived. I mean, for a few more days I still am the only one living here, but we're making this place ours instead of just mine. We've already rearranged the living room furniture and redone the bathroom (new shower curtain and bath mat so it's less "college dorm room," according to Drew), but there's a long way to go to making our living space truly ours.

6. Making plans for the future. I love thinking about how, after Saturday, Drew and I get to make plans as husband and wife. We get to go on our first vacation together and start planning for our first holidays as a married couple. I can't wait for all of the plans that await us - where to live, how to spend our anniversary, what adventures we want to have... it's going to be good!

7. No more wedding planning. I've definitely (mostly) enjoyed wedding planning, but I'm completely okay with the fact that I will never have to plan a wedding again. It's a lot of work and can be frustrating and exhausting at times. I'm ready to enjoy the end product and everything that follows. 

8. I'll have someone to share everything with. All of it. Every thought, emotion, hope, fear. Each dream and dumb story. My home, my bed, my closet. The laundry, the dishes, dinner. Good experiences and bad experiences. My heart. Anything and everything. We get to do it all together.

9. Getting to say goodnight, every night. Just like those cheesy decor signs.

Yep, just like this. via

10. I get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend. Self-explanitory.