year one.

Today we have been married one year.  

On one hand, it feels like we haven't been married long at all.  On the other hand, it feels like we've been married much longer than a year.  It is the craziest thing!

We have loved being married.  We have learned a lot, and have grown a lot.  I can't wait for many more years with this handsome man.  I definitely married up!  He is so ambitious, hard working, and has a strong testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  He is so nerdy (in the best way possible), and is very loving and helpful.  Gosh, I love him so much!

Enough of being mushy.

Some highlights from our first year:

Getting a calling in the nursery.  It has been the BEST serving in there with Chase.  At first he was nervous about hanging out with the little stinkers, but we both immediately fell in love.  They are the sweetest kids.  The sweetest thing is watching Chase hold the babies when they cry.  Ugh makes my uterus hurt.  :)  I'm only a little baby hungry haha.

Going to Las Vegas for Chase's first time.  We both gambled $2 each and promptly lost all $4.  We've decided it's more fun to gamble away our nickles at Nickle City! :)

Going to Disneyland on our official Honeymoon in May.  It was SO fun going just the two of us..  And it was awesome being there on May the Fourth. .. as in May the fourth be with you. (get it? :) We are big Star Wars fans. 

Welcoming home my little sister from her mission to Dallas, and sending off both of our brothers on missions.  Mine is serving in Tallahassee, and his is in Tulsa.. And his sister will be leaving in February for Chile!  We love the full-time missionaries!

Going to NYC and DC with my family before Evan left on his mission.  Fao Shawtz... Haha. (inside joke).  On this trip I learned about Chase's obsession with giant candy.  He still wants a giant gummy bear!  He's a little kid at heart.  Haha! 

I rarely call him Chase.  I call him baby, and when he's "in trouble" I call him honey.  I NEVER thought I would be one of those that uses pet names.  Especially baby.  Typing it out makes me feel gross.  Haha, but seriously It's not that bad when it's just us, I promise.  And it's definitely not as bad as my parents.  When they were first married, my dad called my mom Boojie Woojie. Oh my.  

**Sometimes instead of punctuation after a text, I accidentally end the text with "b" instead of "!" So it will look like this:  Hey when do you get off work b

And bless Chase's heart, he thought b was short for baby, so now he's started calling me b.  Hahah.  These are the things I want to remember in 50 years. 

We enjoyed so many dates.  Our favorites are going to Hale Center Theater, Nickle City, Mini Golf (Pass of All Passes!), and playing Nancy Drew. (Guilty Pleasure.  Haha!)

 Love you Chase!  I'm the luckiest girl. 

featured!

A few months ago Jessie of Jessie Alexis Photography asked me to be part of her cute friend's elopement.  I always thought it would be super romantic to elope(not to mention easy minus all the wedding planning!), so of course I said heck yes!  They got married up above Sundance, and so the flowers needed to have a whimsical, wild feel.  I am in love with how the flowers turned out.  Not only that, but the lighting was perfect, and Patrick & Tricia look sooo happy. (And one of my good friends married them!  Small world!) 

Today that wedding was featured on Rock n Roll Bride!  I am thrilled and so honored to be featured alongside Jessie, she is extremely talented!  

Check her out here:  Jessie Alexis Photography  

And check out the feature here: Rock n Roll Bride: Mountain Elopement
Oh and my flower blog here: Floral Design by Erin

being healthy and stuff.

Confession. I've gained a lot of weight this year. Yikes.

Life has been working against me a little bit... Between getting a desk job, getting married (taking birth control. blegh.), and being totally busy, I don't have a ton of time to be as active as I'd like.  (I know it's not an excuse.  But it's the reality :)

I've discovered the unfortunate fact that I carry extra weight in my tummy.  I can't tell you how many times people have asked me when I'm due, or asked if I'm expecting.

It doesn't make a gal feel good if so many people ask if she's pregnant when she's not...  It's really not good on the self confidence.  I know I need to do something about it.  I've never been skinny, and I've never been one to regularly exercise.

So here I go.  Somehow I feel like if I tell the blogging world, I will be held accountable.  baby steps!  I'll get to where I want to be.  My goal is to lose 40 lbs by April 30, my birthday!

I want to be healthy.  I want to feel good.  I want to have more energy.  I want to be strong.  And let's be honest... I want people to stop asking me if I'm pregnant.  :)

What do you do to eat clean, be healthy, and exercise regularly with a full and busy schedule?  I know this will be a lifestyle change, not a temporary fix.  Weight Watchers?  Insanity?  Green Smoothies?  I want to hear from you.  Maybe I'm not thinking of something that I could try that I might like.  Oh, and I HATE exercising.  I love it when it's disguised as something fun, like Zumba!  What have you tried that's fun?  I want to pick up running, too.  As much as I hate it, I think I could learn to love it!

My cute little (big) brother and I before he left on his mission in September

.....

And I just have to throw this out there...  I always thought "being skinny" would automatically make me more attractive.  And let me tell you, that is SO not the case.  I weighed the most I'd ever weighed when Chase and I got married.  Chase tells me every day that I am hot/beautiful/gorgeous/pretty even though I don't feel it all the time.  (How did I get so lucky?)

My point is, it's all about being confident in your own skin.  It doesn't matter what the scale reads as long as you're healthy!  Right now, I'm not even in my healthy weight range, so that's why I want to fix it.  I don't want my weight to get out of hand. and I want to be a good, healthy, active example to my future kids, too.  So I might as well get in the habit now!

Thanks for tuning in and wish me luck!

Camera.

Ever wonder why I never post pictures?

Simply, it is the fact that I don't know how to use a camera.  It's sad, I know.  

I desperately need to learn.  I hate reading blogs that don't have pictures, so why would anyone want to read mine?  

I'm working on it.  I'm saving up for a camera.  What camera do you recommend?  

When I say I don't know how to use a camera, half of the battle is I don't know what camera to invest in!  I've heard the Canon Rebel is great for beginners (I am a beginner for sure)  but I really have no idea.  And even though I'm a beginner, I still want to have beautiful images.  So.  HELP!

I have so many things I want to blog about, but I need pictures to go along with it... 

Like, 

A house tour!  It's still not decorated completely, but it's ours and we love it.  And we need to document it! 

Artwork I'm currently working on.  

....there's more but I can't think right now.  It's been a long day.  :)

Any tips and suggestions you have for cameras and/or where to learn how to use the camera would be amazing and very much appreciated!  

Invest in yourself

I stumbled across UVU's YouTube Channel a little while ago.  One of the playlists is featuring the women's success lectures(which you can view HERE).  Seriously they are interesting and uplifting.  Maybe that's just me... who's to say?  Check them out and see for yourself.

One of the videos really struck a chord with me.

This woman told us about how one day she was talking to an accomplished neighbor of hers.  They were talking about work, and the neighbor asked why she hadn't gone back to school.  The woman had been working a $10/hour, 9-5 job to help support all the things her kids would need.  (missions, school, getting married, etc.) She said they just couldn't afford to send her back to school at the moment.

(What the neighbor responded with really hit me: I'm paraphrasing, FYI)

You need to invest in yourself if you really want to invest in your kids.  I make probably l0-15 times what you do an hour.  Tell me who has the greatest flexibility with their schedule to be with the family and tell me who is going to make the biggest impact on their family! 

She then goes on to talk about how that was a big slap in the face and how she immediately went back to school to invest in herself so that she could invest in her kids and her family!

I love that she uses the word invest.  When we invest in something, we make a little sacrifice now to gain a bigger return later.  

That same day I signed up for classes.  I have been thinking that I need to go back, but I didn't feel like it was the right time for our family quite yet.  After Chase and I talked about it and crunched some numbers, I am now registered for some generals I kept putting off before.  I only have 2 semesters until I get my associates, and then another 3-4 until I get my Bachelors Degree.  Seriously, I can't wait.  I know it will be a sacrifice now.  I want to do it to be an example to my future kids, too.  I don't want the excuse "well, mom didn't finish college!"... So I need to finish!  You have to invest in yourself if you want to invest in your kids.  (Or if you want your kids to invest in themselves!)

Happy Monday!

Fresh starts and a little update

I haven't blogged in ages.  I stopped when Chase and I started dating.  He stalked me on FB and found my blog and told me he read it!  I was self conscious about writing anything on here because I didn't want to mess up my chances with him.  So weird, I know.  But I have gotten out of the habit and I really need to get back into it.  I have really missed this type of journaling and documenting my life.  Now that there are two, I have given Chase permission to blog here.  (which probably won't ever happen, but be warned just in case. :)

Here's to fresh starts!  And here's a little update of our family:

Chase is still going to school and working a ton.  We don't see each other as much as we're used to, but it will be worth it when he's all done in a few years!

I'm working full time and I am loving it.

I want to get back into school, but probably won't for a bit until Chase is done with school.  It's going to be tricky, but I'm determined to finish.  In the meantime, I have been sharpening my skills and trying to learn new ones!

I've been trying to decorate our home... finally! I can never make any decisions and so nothing ever gets done.  BUT this past weekend I actually made some executive decisions.  I went out and bought fabric, wood panels, paint, a chalkboard, and some other things to finish my living room.  It's slowly but surely coming together!  I'll post pictures soon!

One Year Photo shoot with Evelyn Eslava

A few months ago I had the opportunity to create some bouquets and floral headpieces for an inspiration shoot with Evelyn Eslava Photography (I'll keep you posted... It'll be up in February and I am SO excited to show you that shoot.  It was GORGEOUS!)  Anyway, as a thank you for helping with the flowers, Evelyn kindly offered to shoot our one year anniversary pictures.  Oh my goodness.  I love them.  I finally had a chance to look at each one tonight and they are so sweet and perfect.   Here are a few of my favorites! 

act well thy part

i loved Elaine S. Dalton's talk from LDS General Conference.  This little phrase has been stuck in my mind and I decided to make a little something i could print out and hang on my wall.  

i know that my savior loves me

his sweet little voice melts my heart.  i love this primary song and the testimony that comes with it.  i know that my savior loves me!  enjoy!

happy

here are a few fotos from my engagements/bridals/wedding that make me really happy.

i don't think i've stopped smiling since i met this boy.  

today marks our first texting conversation.

and tuesday marks our first date.  

i love that boy so much.  

he makes me so happy.

wednesdays

dear wednesday, 

you are not my favorite.

...

it's been awhile since i've posted on this here blog.  i have far too many projects going on right now to even remember this blog exists.  sometimes i feel sad for this poor neglected blog.  but by sometimes i mean maybe once every few months.  so.. not very often.  

you can find me 

here. 

home sweet home

love this little cottage.

and the little hearts on the porch. 

it's perfect.  

and who else is ready for warm weather??

Blog update

I finally updated my Floral Design blog!

The last couple posts are special to me because they're my own wedding!

I need to update the blog with all the weddings I've done since August!  I've been a little lacking in the blogging department but am going to be better.

Go check it out !

new home

being a newlywed is fun, i tell ya.

off topic.. but i'm excited to get back into blogging now that we have internet!  hopefully i can keep it up.  
2012 was not a good blogging year for me, but that's why we have new year resolutions, right?... 

anyway.

we have been moving stuff into our cozy little cottage for the last few weeks and things are starting to feel more like home around here.  it's pretty great.

we are also discovering all the many quirks about our home that we... lets say we love them. yes.  we love the quirks.

our living room is nice.  it has a giant fireplace with a mantle (i never had a real fireplace growing up so this was very exciting for me.)
there are 2 light switches which turn on the main lights and the accent lighting for above the mantle... then there's another light switch by the front door.  it doesn't do anything when you flip it on and off, yet it needs to be flipped down in order for the two light switches to work?... curious..

our kitchen is lovely.  all white cabinets and a character-filled original wood floor.
the fact that we don't have a dishwasher doesn't bother me at all. actually i think the dishes get done a lot faster because of that.. nobody likes to unload or load anyway.  what kills me about our kitchen is the oven.  it beeps every few hours.  not consistently either.  sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes for a lot of minutes. and we can't figure out how to turn it off.  so that's fun.

and then there's our bedroom.  it is really cozy and fits our bedroom furniture perfectly.  i'm really happy with our dresser and where it's placed, because it covers up this mysterious vent that leads to the bathroom... haha.  one of the first days we were in our house I was in there doing something and I hear Chase, Hey honey!  I can see you from the bedroom!!  ha.  That was really funny/creepy all at once.  glad we semi-solved the problem with the dresser!

we love it here in our little cottage.  pictures will come eventually... maybe next week, maybe in a couple months.. who knows!

happy 2013 so far!

2012. Aka the greatest year yet. {picture overload}

Anna was in the MTC.  She and her companion (who she knew from PGHS) both had green pea coats.

Remember THIS post?  And how I was so dreading 2012?... Man, I'm so glad it came.  Even though 2012 was Anna-less (in person...we talk every week via email!) it has been the best year thus far.  

Because Anna was gone, I played with lots of friends.  Dave and Tali are great. 

I slaved away that semester and got my first 4.0 ever!

I started dating a really funny nerd who I was smit with immediately. 

He and I spent nearly every day together. 

And then I left for 6 weeks to live out of a suitcase in Italy.

I met and became friends with some of the greatest girls I know. 

And guys.  Remember Devin?

Got a sunburn in the most beautiful place (after Paris) I have ever been.  

Me and Steve.  Love him.  He would walk me back to the hotel so I wouldn't have to go alone when I had Skype dates with my man.  

Rode a gondola in lovely Venice. 

Ate WAY too much gelato (and somehow lost 10lbs?...explain that to me.)

massagi?   (on the beach in Monterosso- part of the Cinque Terre)

Then, a few of us ventured to Paris.  Oh Paris.  It was so magical in every way. 

Proof that I've seen the Mona Lisa.  At the Louvre.  Spent 6 hours there. And I still didn't see everything.

Then I flew home to the states (God bless America.  I remember being so relieved to be home)   where my mom met me in NYC.  We spent 5 glorious days there going to Live with Kelly!, The Newsies... I dragged her everywhere.  And found a new favorite shopping area in SoHo.

Came home and this guy was still here waiting for me.  

This was not a happy day, but one that changed everything.  This was the day I was so angry with Chase/my last day at Taco Amigo (where I worked more than 1/3 of my life. wowza).  

After the terrible day, we were inseparable for real.  

We got engaged in Disneyland on October 25th 2012 

Chase saw a palm tree for the first time.  He needed to hug it.

my floral business flourished, and I was blessed to do so many weddings including my own! 

so in love with the flowers.. My Auntie Fran is on the other side taking pictures from the moment she walked in the door.  I love her! 

So many wonderful best friends came to support me on my big day

Happiest day ever.  Married the love of my life!

Gained a new family

And Anna was there!  :)  Haha.  Oh, Chase.  I love him so much it hurts. 

Can't wait to see what 2013 brings... (The return of Hermana eSpencer!!!! So excited!)  Happy 2013. I hope many blessings come your way!