210 #2

 Welcome to our home. Little lime green 210 #2. It is one of five little units in town and I have grown fond of the bright exterior. It was hard to get any pictures of entire rooms, but I tried. And if you're that curious to see the rest, come visit!

Above is our front porch, complete with a thriving strawberry plant that Uncle mark and Aunt Sarah brought down when I first moved in. I am really excited about it.

 These guys are the cutest succulants I've ever seen. Aaron's mom Ruth gave them to me after my bridal shower in Spokane, and I love seeing them in the kitchen everyday.

 Our kitchen table has had flowers on it since April. First from my Spokane shower, then lilacs from the alley (yes I cut flowers out of our alley...) and now from the bridal shower my bridesmaids and mom threw me this past weekend. They definitely add to the place.

This mixer is cool. I like it.

 

This is the view of our kitchen from the kitchen table. Can you see now why its hard to get pictures? Its tight quarters, but cozy. We have tons of cabinet space, but don't try to open the fridge and oven at the same time. And yes there are dishes in the sink. :)

 Now this is awesome. We are in the process of building a coffee bar. I will update when it is complete, but for now we've got a trusty drip brewer and a brand new shiny espresso machine. I want to add a shelf for some of our cooler mugs, and set our french press stuff up as well. It's a work in progress but quickly becoming one of my favorite areas.

The living room from the dining room table. The couch was Aaron's, and then at his parents' house for a long time. Now they are ours, and pretty nice for a first place! And yes, our living room is mint green. We did not pick out the colors and aren't allowed to paint, so we're just trying to go with it. :)

This is the other side of the living room. I want to paint or replace that dresser, but we need to storage space for clothes. This place only has one closet! Anyway, we have vertical blinds throughout the house, so making curtains is also on the must-do list. But thankfully all our furniture fits perfectly (so far)!

I am about to live with a boy. Good thing I don't mind video games. (This is only the Wii, Xbox will be joining us in July.) We also use this basket for the few regular games we have... Yahtzee and dominoes! :)

 

Our bathroom is one of the surprising rooms in the house. Everyone who comes over is immediately like, "Whoa! Huge bathroom!" It's because the rest of the house is so tiny. :) I am just super thankful that we have a washer and dryer!

Lastly, the bedroom. And honestly, I can't get a good picture because the bed takes up the entire room. But this chalkboard... I want to do something with it. We're using it for something at the wedding, but I think it would make a cool headboard... maybe?

Dry hands and five important people.

You know what's really annoying? Dry, wintery hands. No, I'm not about to go into an advertisement about hand lotion... not enough people read my blog for that to make money. But seriously, my poor knuckles and nails and are all cracked and raw. SO annoying.

You know what's NOT annoying? The fact that Aaron and I are crossing things off our wedding checklist left and right.

One of the things that we actually squared away while we were still in Mexico was our wedding party. For me, this was such an easy decision because I knew right away who needed to be a part of our day.

First, my maid of honor, Talicia. She'd argue that she knows me better than anyone. I'd say it's pretty close. We met sometime in middle school... and I realize that sounds really vague for someone I am claiming as my best friend, but growing up in a small town means you know people before you really KNOW them. Does that make sense? Anyway, it wasn't until we were on a retreat with our youth group that we actually bonded (oh my gosh, such a cliche term but I had to do it) and we've been best friends ever since. She's the kind of friend that calls me to describe a shirt she just bought, while I am tossing a target bag into my car that contains the exact same shirt she's describing. We're in each other's head or something.

[Photo: Typical. Talicia's 19th birthday, sunburned, overtired and probably hungry because we had no money. 2009.]

Then there is my matron of honor, Katy. I've known Katy for a long time too. I'm trying to think of how to describe our friendship, but honestly, we just get each other. Katy always understands what I'm saying, which is a feat because I talk fast and don't always make sense, and she can usually finish my thought or sentence. And vice-versa. We've spent the last five years of our friendship living roughly 1,200 miles apart, dreaming and scheming of different business plans and dinner party ideas. Now that her and her husband live in Washington again, our business plans have not really taken shape and we don't quite have the set up for dinner parties yet, but I'm just glad to have her around.

[Photo: Me and katy sporting Auburn jerseys on a trip to Alabama in 2006 for a wedding. Yes, that is the men's section in Wal-Mart. How could you tell?]

Kelsey is actually my oldest friend of all my bridesmaids. My memories with her start in 8th grade when we were both TA's for the same class. I was pretty sure she did NOT want to be my friend. Obviously I was wrong. Or she changed her mind. Either way, I have been so blessed to have Kelsey as a friend over the years, through the awkwardness of middle school, many, many lunches in the yearbook room, school dances, Daffodil selection, her first time driving through a drive-thru (yes, Starbucks on our way to a meeting!) and to have been a part of her wedding. We've made some great memories and now I am excited for her to be a part of my wedding!

[Photo: Talicia, Kelsey and me on a trip to Snoqualmie to go tubing. We adventured up the pass in a chained up mini-van and were SO EXCITED to finally reach our destination, we had to take pictures. 2008.]

Now Sarah... oh, this is really funny. I think I've only really told Aaron this, but I was actually scared to meet Sarah for the first time. If you put yourself in my shoes, maybe you can see it. I mean, she is Aaron's cousin and actually more like his sister, and she is so stylish, and I think I love Aaron, and I'm having a bad hair day, and what if she doesn't like me... okay I was definitely over thinking, but I was nervous. In reality, I had nothing to worry about because Sarah is wonderful! There is something about her friendship that makes it feel like I've known her forever. And maybe that's just how God planned it. But seriously, I am so excited to have her as a bridesmaid and as a cousin and as a sister!

Like with Sarah, I know that God planned mine and Sophia's friendship to feel like we've known each other forever. Because as I sit here, I can pretty much count the times that we have hung out on one hand, but that doesn't seem right. Somehow we must just be able to cram years of friendship into a span of 3-5 days each time we see each other. Which, for the record, I think is actually possible. My bridal party would not be complete without Sophia, and I am so looking forward to having her in my wedding and in my life! (And Sophia, I'm still all for you moving to this side of the mountains, just saying.)

[Photo: Sophia, me and Sarah on Christmas 2012. We did not plan on basically matching, but it happened. Also, why did I not get the memo to fold my hands like that? Dangit.]

My favorite part of 2012.

It keeps hitting me... like I could forget. I get my marry my best friend.

Four days after Christmas, on a beach in Mexico, Aaron asked me to marry him. The sunset was fading quickly and a sneak attack photographer snapped pictures of everything. Aaron got down on one knee and I can't imagine a more perfect moment. Of course I said yes!

The rest of the night, and probably the rest of our vacation, I floated around with little hearts encircling my head. I am so blessed to have him and I couldn't be more excited to be his wife and spend our life together! 

continued thankfulness

Did you think from my last post that I was going to post everyday? Gotcha!

I am very thankful that I am too busy to blog everyday. Is that okay to be thankful for?

I'm thankful that my mornings are busy pouring cereal and refereeing foursquare and mushroom ball. (I may not understand their rules these days, because they have changed since I was in elementary... but I love spending mornings with those kiddos.)

I'm thankful that my days are filled with friends... coffee dates spent learning and growing and enjoying these friendships are the best.

I'm thankful that my days are also filled with office time. Being a natural organizer/recorder, I love spending time filing and scheduling and planning.

I'm thankful that my afternoons are spent with sweet kindergarteners and first graders. I get to teach them to tie their shoes, resolve conflict (ALL THE TIME) and most importantly I get to show them how God loves them... not just in my actions and interactions but I can actually bust out my Bible (or their kid's Bible) and read. Ah, private school. :)

All of these daily activities make me even more thankful for the days that I can sit down and relax. And blog. And sip coffee for the taste and not just for the energy. You know those kind of days? Maybe you don't, but they are nice. And I am thankful for them.

day one of thankfulness... orting.

I could start an entire new blog that just chronicles my thankfulness day-to-day.

With that being said, I'm giving in to the stereotypical 'thankful' posts this November.

Today I am especially thankful for my sweet town. No one can convince me that they live in a more beautiful place than I do. I am continually amazed at the beauty of God's creation in the PNW, and especially in Orting. 

Take a moment to look at what us Ortingites... is that right?... get to see everyday. 

 Blue skies, gray skies... it is always beautiful here. 

And let me tell you, the beauty of our surroundings is only a small part of what makes Orting so great. 

I have traveled the country, and seen a little bit of the world, but I am so thankful that God brought me back to my hometown. I love being a part of this community... knowing everyone in town, going to each of the little festivals in town (there are so many!), running on the trail, joining the entire population at the high school football games... its all so good. 

 

 I'm not sure if we have some sort of special bond because we all chose to live under an active volcano or what, but the people in Orting actually act like a community. I love it.

 

If you haven't been to Orting, you're missing out. It's a gem. And I am thankful.