Cotton Anniversary

Lane and I have decided to try to follow the traditional weddings gifts for each anniversary. We pick out one thing together to celebrate another year of marriage. Our courthouse wedding was in May and our big white wedding was in September. We try to purchase the gift somewhere in between. The traditional gift for your 2nd year of marriage is cotton. We could have gotten shirts or something that we wanted, but I ended up finding the perfect choice.

Helkat Design on Etsy

This pillow has been on my Etsy favorites list for quite a while. I showed it to Lane for a totally unrelated reason and he loved it. It just so happens to be made of cotton. Scotland and Great Britain have a special place in our relationship and were equally represented at our wedding. Lane wore a full Scottish kilt in his family's tartan, and I had thistles in my bouquet. I absolutely love it and think it will be the perfect addition to our home. 

Are any of y'all following the traditional gifts? What did you do for your 2nd anniversary? 

Simple Love

Today's What I Am Loving Wednesday will be short and sweet. I love having a chance each week to focus on the things that have made my heart happy, and this week is no exception. Thank you to Jaime for hosting the link-up. 

I am loving my husband. 

As this deployment as grown closer, I have watched nervously as the countdown changed from months to weeks to days. It was a distant event when we first PCS'ed to Fort Drum, but now a second doesn't goes by where I don't think about it. I am loving these moments we still have together. I love the fact that he is still sitting on the couch with me right now, instead of thousands of miles away. I will probably do this link-up for most of the time he is gone. Maybe pretty dresses and quotes will be the things I love that week. But I will never love anything like I love him.

 I am loving his insatiable curiosity about the world around him. I am loving the fact he makes me tea and the sweet way he interacts with Asha.  I am loving the fact that I have loved him for almost a decade. He knows me better than anyone else possible could. I am loving that I know we will make it through this deployment and come out stronger at the end. I am loving that I have a chance to write more love letters, and to receive love letters from him. 

I am loving that the impending separation makes every moment together seem more valuable. I wish I could carry this sense of importance into the rest of our lives together. I hope that I never forget how much I treasured this time. 

Wednesday Loves

I am so excited it is already Wednesday. This week can't pass by quickly enough. I am so ready for my husband to be home. I am linking up with Jaime at This Kind of Love  for What I Am Loving Wednesday.

1. I am loving talking to my husband. He got his phone back on Friday and just hearing his voice was wonderful. I didn't realize how hard it was for me not to talk to him until I could again. I feel like we got into a good groove this week, and I feel strong and prepared to face this deployment. 

2. I love my job. I work as an academic adviser helping soldiers and army spouses get an education. I get the wonderful feeling of knowing that every hour I have helped someone get closer to a college education.

VIA That's Happy

3. The incredibly supportive girls who all live in my neighborhood. I love having buddies right across the street. This is such a blessing. I love having friends no matter where they live, but being able to dash across the street is something I have never experienced. Honestly, this was one of the things I was hoping would happen when we decided to live on post. I am loving it! 

4. The weather is nicer today! I am still enjoying the cold temperatures, but this bright sun shiney day is also a nice surprise. I am ready for winter in the North Country, but still want to enjoy the sun while I can.

The blogging may be a little light for the next few days as I want to enjoy time with my husband when he gets home. I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week and weekend. 

Self Indulgent Picture Post

Yes this post is almost completely pictures of Lane and I from Saturday night. These pictures have been such a comfort to me in the last few days. It makes me want to do a whole other photo session before he deploys. 

  

I love my little family 

We didn't save any of our cake, so I made some paleo carrot cake muffins. We had a carrot cake for our wedding cake, and these were the closest I could get. 

To make the background I hung three strands of patio lights from nails at about 6.5 feet high. I used floral wire to secure the lights to the nails at each juncture. There were three babies over plus Asha. I didn't want the lights to come tumbling down. I already had the Mr. and Mrs signs from the wedding and simply printed out a quick "I Love Her" "I Love Him". This set up was really really easy and made for some adorable pictures. 

First Year Gifts

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Thank you for all the love yesterday! I am so excited to continue to talk about our anniversary and how we celebrated. The traditional first year gift is paper. We decided that we would rather get one gift together rather than each buying each other something. We purchased an embosser from paper source with our new address in New York. 

VIA Paper Source

I really think this is the perfect choice for us. I love that we can continue to purchase new plates throughout our lives and keep a record of the places we have lived. It is not strictly paper, but I think it absolutely counts a paper-ish gift for our first anniversary. 

 

This is the style we chose. I like the larger single monogram in the middle. Our address barely fit, but we squeezed it in. 

I am so excited to use our embosser on all our Christmas cards this year. What did y'all do for your first anniversary gifts? I have seen so many cute ideas on blogs and of course Pinterest I am already thinking about our second anniversary which has the traditional gift of cotton. 

One Year

On September 24th 2011 I walked down a very long aisle wearing a very long veil and married my best friend. I can't believe it has been a whole year since that day. I know a year will feel like no time at all when we are old and gray, but for now it feels like we have already grown so much.  Here are some of the lessons I learned from the first year of marriage

Separate sinks is so very important. I don't have to deal with the post-shaving facial hair in the sink. He doesn't have to deal with the fact that I can't keep the toothpaste out of the sink basin. 

The little times become the best times. Lane comes home for an hour after PT and an hour for lunch. On the days I don't work I love being home for these little breaks. I still get so excited and get butterflies in my stomach when I hear the garage door opening. 

Merging finances is hard. 

It has been nine years since we first met and I am still crazy about him. Although I am thrilled for our first wedding anniversary, I am almost more excited to celebrate TEN years together next year. 

Lane is out on the west coast for training so we had a small get together Saturday night to celebrate one year of marriage. I set up a quasi photo booth and made some cute signs. I have so many awesome pictures from Saturday night that I will post later. I am a little sad that he isn't here, but I am grateful that we will have the holidays together this year. 

I hope everyone has a fantastic week

Anniversary Weekend

Last weekend we stopped by Thompson Park to enjoy our cider and doughnuts. The weather was gorgeous and our friend snapped a few pictures of Lane and I. I am so excited to get some new pictures of us together. Especially since Lane is leaving this weekend and our 1 year anniversary is Monday.

. I am bummed that he is missing our anniversary, but I am trying to look on the bright side. He will be here for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. I know so many women that have had their husbands miss their children's births or multiple holidays. Our anniversary is not the biggest deal in the whole world. 

Speaking of pictures, I am been planning what kind of pictures I want to take before Lane leaves to mark our first year of marriage. Here are some of the ideas I have kicking around from Pinterest. 

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 I know I am going to use my gorgeous chalkboard to write something about one year. I am not sure if I am just going to do a big numeral 1 or write something too. I am really excited for these pictures and think that they will be something I hold onto for a long time. I love the idea of having one every year to look back on. I will definitely have to get Asha in at least one. 

Eight Years

Photo From Amber of Live It Out Photography

Eight years ago today Lane and I said "I Love You" for the first time. 16 year old Molly had no idea how that high school relationship would turn out, but even then I hoped we would be together forever. Sometimes I can't believe it has been eight years. Other times I feel like it has gone by in a flash. How did we get from being two teenagers to the grownups we are today? 

I am deliriously happy with my marriage. I think that the years of long distance have made us so strong. We can really appreciate the time we have together. Even years ago, I called our long distance relationship "practicing for deployment." In a few months I will put that to the test. I know that we will make it through just fine, but I am definitely nervous. 

I wish I could go back and tell my teenage self how everything works out. I wouldn't do one thing differently. My year of being an Army wife has only made me more sure that finishing my education was the best thing I could have done. I am really happy with my life here, and my marriage is a huge part of that. 

Date Night

I love the idea of taking the time to have proper dates even after marriage. Even if it's not dressing up and hitting the town, taking the time to plan something is so much fun. For my birthday Lane planned a quasi- How I Met Your Mother date with dressed up laser tag and a cigar/martini bar. Here are some of my favorite date ideas. Some of these are from my experience, and others just seem like fun.

1. Manly-Man Date 

All images via Google Image Search

I planned out this date for Lane a few years ago while I was still living in Arlington. First,  we went to Ray's the Steaks for amazing steak and the best crab bisque in the D.C area. Then we headed up the road to Whitlows for a few rounds of Big Buck Hunter. I love this game, and it a fun way to get competitive.
What You Need:
1. Good Steak House
2. Find a bar with Big Buck Hunter ( I would recommend going before the crazy bar crowd arrives so there isn't competition for the machines)
3. About ten dollars of quarters.

2. Art House Date 

This is a date that I think would be really fun. You purchase two white canvases from somewhere like Michaels or even Target. Buy paints in a variety of colors. This is where you can pick an idea, or just paint whatever you want. I like the idea of doing abstract self portraits, or even portraits of one another. It is just fun to be creative together. There is no guarantee that you will create a Pollock like the above, but would be a really entertaining way to spend an evening.
What you Need:
1. Two white canvases
2. Variety of paint colors
3. Newspaper to cover the floor or an area that can get messy
4. Creativity!

3. Top Chef Night

This is another stay at home date night. It would probably be best for a couple that already likes to cook, which Lane and I love to do. If you have seen any of those cooking competition shows you get the idea of how this will go. I think this would be even more fun with two couples. One team/person picks out the ingredients and the other has 30 minutes/and hour to make something delicious. Obviously the judging isn't quite the same as hopefully no one starts crying.

Other ideas
1. Reenact your first date
2. Go for a hike
3. Take a cooking class together
4. Go to a pottery glazing place and decorate a plate for each year of marriage.
5.  Go-karts
6. I will always recommend laser tag.
7. Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity together. Find your local branch here.
8. Go to an afternoon showing for a movie that 1) Has been out for a while 2) Won't have a ton of people there and 3) You won't be sad to miss parts. Then, proceed to make out through the whole movie. Imagine you are teenagers again. I give this idea with the caveat that it is ONLY appropriate in a practically empty theater and not in front of children.

Anyone else have date suggestions?