Lately, According to my iPhone

The next time I rave on and on about how much I love snow, and snow this and snow that, I want somebody to smack me.  It's November and Winter has been tagging along for a month.  Truthfully, I really don't mind snow THAT bad.  Except for when we go away for a weekend, spending 16 hours in the car, half of which I'm going "Okay, just take your time.  Taaaaakkkeeee your tiiiiimmmeeee" and he's all "re-LAX" and the best behaved one of the group is the quiet, seemingly angelic pup in the backseat.

In other news, I'm learning to cook. {Something tells me maybe I've said this before?}.  But yes, cooking.  Things that aren't frozen pizzas or 5 minute rice.  When Nate came home to pan-roasted pork chops with rosemary applesauce last week, I think he actually fell to his knees in praise.  Look at me, being a wife and stuff.

Waking up to Winter

It's been snowing on and off here for the last few days.  Flurries, mostly.  But this morning we actually woke up to a white blanket on the ground. While I wouldn't normally crave snow in October, I can't say that I'm even a little disappointed to see it.  Though Winter can be gloomy (and by the time March rolls around I'll want to exterminate every little snowflake that falls), I do love these calm and cozy months.  Any plans we had for running errands today have been postponed due to the slippery roads, but Riku and I don't mind a bit.  We're staying in our sweats.  And we may even make some hot chocolate.

Fall, it was nice knowing you.  Feel free to pop back in for a visit anytime between now and Halloween.

This and That and Thanksgiving All Month Long

Posting has been sparse lately, for no other reason than I am lazy.  Also partly because my photographer has a full-time job now... so there's that.  In any case, we celebrated Thanksgiving this weekend.  Actually I think it might be more accurate to say that we're celebrating all month.  Thanksgiving has been a little wonky this year due to some seriously inconvenient work schedules.  All in all, we'll be eating a grand total of three turkey dinners this month.  Yah.  Three.  Hallelujah or what, right?  Riku celebrated too, with her very own meal of sweet potato.  Her very first taste of human food, I might add.  Don't worry, this pet mama researched hard beforehand.  ;)  Aside from that, I bought a tree and baked a sweet potato pie with my mama.

And that's that.

Even Though

Even though the temperature is supposed to drop to 0 degrees celsius tonight...

... I'm so lucky to have this big, warm bed to crawl into.

Even though I'll be waking up at 4am for work tomorrow...

... I'm so grateful to come home to my Honey in the evening.

Even though I can feel my nose getting stuffier by the minute...

... I'm happy for this cute puppy I get to cuddle up to on the floor.

Even though life's not perfect...

... it's pretty darn good.

Sweater: GUESS (similar), Jeans: GAP, Boots: ThreadSence, Scarf: ShopRuche (similar)

Quiet

Dress: ShopRuche

We've been relishing in the quiet lately.  I love to be busy but this past weekend was exactly the at-home vacation I've been craving.  I put a few finishing touches on my little office space and I'm more than ready now to dive into the wedding planning head first.  It's the perfect space for me to unwind, looking out at the forest, while still being productive and downing the caffeine (or the wine in this case).

On Decisions

Photo credit

I was recently asked the question: What's the most difficult decision you've had to make in your relationship?  I quickly realized that I had a tough time answering this, and, well, that's kind of scary.  Isn't it?  It's true that we've made some big decisions together.  Deciding that we're ready to get married, that it's time to buy a home together, that we're ready for a dog.  I'd be lying though if I said that any of these decisions were difficult.  Every decision made with him just feels like the easiest decision in the world to make.

I knew for a long time that he was the man I'd be with forever, and because I've always imagined myself marrying young, that one was a no-brainer.  Perhaps I struggled with the idea of moving in a little.  It went against a pretty big moral that I grew up with.  While I love the idea of waiting until you're married to live together, I decided I was going to have to dig deep on this one and truly make up my own mind.  Then there's Riku, our poor little rescue.  The sweetest heart, but with more anxieties and insecurities than we sometimes know how to deal with.  Looking in those sweet brown eyes though, that one may have been the simplest.

So, when then?  If it's been this easy so far, when do the hard parts come?  The really, really hard parts?  And how hard are they going to hit?  Don't get me wrong - I would never believe our relationship to be perfect.  Far from it.  Sometimes I feel like hurling things at him, sometimes he feels like strangling me, and sometimes we say things we don't mean.  But at the end of the day, it's easy.  It's always been easy together, and I have more faith in this relationship than I know how to describe.

I decided last night that Riku isn't just preparing us for children, she's preparing us for teenagers.  The tough parts hurt.  Deep down in my heart, they hurt.  Not for me, but for her.  Never knowing what she's been through is tough on us, but it brings us together.  Maybe this is our biggest hurdle - trying to show this pup that we love her unconditionally and that we're here to protect her.

But with our whole lives ahead of us, I'm sure that won't be our toughest.  

Hey world?  Bring it.  We can handle it.

Just One Thought

After a weekend south, helping my brother move into his new home, I can't quite tell you how happy I was to see these two faces again.

Hey, you two?  You mean a LOT to me.

Hey, It's Fall Here

This tree knows what's up.  We've been ready to kiss summer goodbye for a little while now, and I think this past weekend, we did just that.  It's been nice and all.  And believe it or not, I actually checked off a large number of items from the summer bucket list I wrote here.  A successful summer indeed!  I'm ready though, for chilly, foggy mornings, hot apple cider, and absolutely anything that includes pumpkin or cinnamon.  10 points if it's home-cooked.

Hey Fall, I like you.  I like you a lot.

Top: F21 (Similar), Skirt: H&M (Similar), Shoes: ALDO (Similar)