The First Year

A year ago today was honestly the best day of my life.  I have had many great days since then, but there is no comparison to our wedding day when everything was perfect, I felt like an absolute princess, and I got to marry my best friend.  

I am so thankful for James and his optimism, and more importantly his love for God.  He is truly a great partner, someone who can always lift me up and encourage me even in my lowest lows, and can remind me of what's really important at the end of each day.  It's a remarkable thing to have a friend like that.  Marriage has been such a humbling experience, and one that has taught me more about myself than anything else I've ever experienced.  Im so glad I have a patient and understanding husband who is willing to put up with me through the learning process, someone who I can be totally weird and silly around and who loves me for all of it.  I don't know what I possibly could have done to deserve a guy like you. 

One down, many, many more to go--there's no one else I'd rather do this with, I love you James!

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Jesse and Kelly and a Weekend Away

This past weekend we had the opportunity to watch two dear friends fulfill their dream of marrying each other in the Julian woods, and what a sweet occasion it was.  I loved everything about the day, but most notably I was just so happy to see friends so in love, sharing the best day of their lives.  I've been to a lot of weddings recently but this time I couldn't help but notice their love practically radiating out of their faces.  It was awesome.

I also enjoyed sneaking away for the weekend to have a quick father's day celebration at home in San Diego, and then visiting Julian, part of my old stomping grounds.  Growing up, Julian was the town nearest to my own where we could see the remnants of a light snowfall, or else just enjoy some amazing apple pie.  It's always nice to visit, and on the way home from the wedding, driving through the golden hills, James and I couldn't help but fantasize about living somewhere as rural and home-y as Julian.  

After this we enjoyed a lazy Sunday and some time spent with James' side of the family; a restful day was something much needed by this point!

Wedding emotions wear us out!

(PS- This is probably my favorite thing about being married right now.. Lazy mornings just talking and laughing until we're forced out of bed to face the day.)

Congrats, Kelly and Jesse!

March; hellogoodbye.

The last month has seriously flown by, but I feel like everyone says that about February because it's a shorter month and all.  But we're in mid-MARCH! How does that happen?! I wish I could say some interesting things have been happening over here in the Doskocil home but sadly that isn't so, time has just been slipping on by.

Since I last wrote I have been to 2 more weddings (#yearofweddings!), one for my friend Melissa (my first black wedding! it was a whole new experience!) and also my friend Allison.  Allison got married at a barn in Huntington Beach that I had considered having as our venue, and it was gorgeous as expected..leaving me a taaaad jealous ;}

February - Melissa & Trent

 

Brides trading places!

March - Allison & Dave

Speaking of weddings and such... February marked our 6 months! Wow! 6 months of being married and also 1 year since James proposed.  Been looking at some photos, taking trips down memory lane- it's our favorite thing to do.

The best day, ever.  I wish I could do it over and over (kind of).

Feels like yesterday :]

This month I also got to take my niece Julianna out on a date to paint some ceramics and have some sushi (a girl after my own heart!).

 

Before, after painting, and a week later after firing it in the kiln... 

 

Her first time at Sushi Studio...

I also got new glasses because we discovered I have latent hyperopia, meaning my vision switched from entirely near-sighted to entirely far-sighted. I didn't know that was possible, but of course if indeed it were, it would happen to me.  I don't know how I feel about the new frames though, they're kind of dark against my fair complexion! We'll see...

Not too many other happenings going on over here. I think one of my favorite things about being married is the time we have in the morning to chat and prepare for the day.  And to take pictures (that's his least favorite thing about marriage...maybe ;}). 

My sweetheart <3 p="">

See you in 4 weeks, Stacked!

I suppose I will leave you with this picture I might have snapped while driving.... I had to! I guess there is a school for everything nowadays???

January and the Happs... happenings, that is.

I think the last time I wrote was just shortly after graduation... and now school is underway again! But not for me ^_^

Many people have asked, and I don't mind sounding like a broken record here, but I honestly LOVE being out of school and having very little scheduled on my plate each week.  I'm not even job hunting.  I have been made to feel very guilty and ashamed for admitting that I don't want to be working full time any time soon, because I would rather catch up on the life I missed the last 6 months (especially my new marriage), but I am trying to let those voices fall by the wayside.  I will have my entire life to work full time, and while we can afford it I would really just like to soak up life right now, exactly the way it is.  Got it? Ok.

Christmas came and went and what a lovely time it was.  I actually had time off this year so I was able to go home for an extended period of time and enjoy my family and San Diego, as well as getting much needed quality time with James before he returned to work and was inundated with his usual holiday load.

 

Now that it's the new year I feel like things are already changing, already new, without my even trying.  More and more I get the sense that I am living the life I have always held in the back of my mind, and that is one of the happiest feelings.  I notice it in the little things, like changing the way I dress and wear makeup, or how the light streams in through the bedroom window in the mid-afternoon, or even the way I spend my mornings reading with multiple cups of tea.... It's difficult to put into words but I really just love the way our life is coming together right now.

A week ago I cut off a chunk of my hair and donated it to locks of love; something that was never on my bucket list but which materialized in a moments notice leaving no time for regrets.  My long hair was so disgusting, for lack of a better word; it was damaged, uneven, fried, and lifeless.  I couldn't even get it to hold a curl anymore!  So I traded it in for a versatile short 'do which I am also quite happy about.

The flu AND sinus infection rolled through our little house starting on New Years Day and have claimed us both as victims.  I had never honestly called in sick to work, but this infection had me out for 12 days.  I think I secretly didn't mind, because it gave me an excuse to truly rest for days on end, which, if you know me (/us), that is practically unheard of.  I was so miserably ill that I could hardly take care of myself, let alone house upkeep, and I had to surrender and retreat to my bed with snacks and movies.

January brought more wedding planning for Heather and me, but I was also very delighted to attend the wedding of our dear friends Andy and Lauren Turner.  Their day was so beautiful, I just watched their wedding video yesterday and nearly cried.  It was my first wedding since my own and it was so cool to me to see how they did theirs differently, but to also have the relief of knowing mine is done and never has to be planned ever again!

Recently James also got a promotion at work, making him into one very happy camper.  It never ceases to amaze me how good his company is to their employees, and I have really seen that in the past few months as the holidays came and went.  Most days I'm jealous--I wish my boss would buy me a snuggie and bring me ice cream sandwiches on my birthday!  Either way, I'm very grateful and excited for this new turn in James' career, and I am always so proud of him for how hard he works to give us the life we have.

February means our 6-monthaversary... can you believe we've been married 6 months already?! I can't.  It feels like yesterday, but it also feels like 5 years ago.  It also dawned on me that now being graduated and married, along with a few other personal achievements, I have completed most all of the "second decade" goals that I made for myself post-high school, and have little that I long for.  Perhaps that's what's been morphing my time?

I still swoon every time I gaze at these guys too long.  Love my rings.

Right now a few of my favorite things are:

Daiso is my new favorite store--it is conveniently out by us in Anaheim and it is the cutest little Japanese $1.50 store, but it carries everything and it's NOT junk.  I know our dollar stores tend to carry cheap or generally crappy looking items, but this store sells everything from men's neckties, to women's slipper socks, to a fully stocked electronics section, and the BEST assortment of school/office supplies for those who like to keep it colorful, and it's actually good quality--I tell everyone about it!  I have to force myself to stay away most days, and I think from now on I'm going to start going in carrying only a specific amount of cash.  If you haven't been, or if you are in need of anything, you should definitely try Daiso.  Just off the 5 at Euclid!

 

Vine is a new app that just surfaced, very similar to Instagram but instead of photos it's a feed for 6-second video clips.  There are so many times that I have wished for an app like this, and now that it's here I'm elated.  I know they still have a lot of kinks to iron out but its so fun to make little video clips and also to be saving these snippets of our life.  I smell a complication in the near future...

Foster the People. Everyone knows them for their overplayed, hipster-esque "Pumped Up Kicks" and for this song I had crossed them off my list, labeling them as annoying.  But lately I heard a few more of their songs and I actually have been enjoying them very much.  Great music for cleaning the house ;D

So that's our January, into February we go! Next weekend I am going to my friend Melissa's wedding (not my bridesmaid Melissa, a different one!).  I am secretly really excited because it's my first ever African-American wedding.... did I just say that?! Anyways, I can't wait to witness another beautiful day for some precious friends, and also experience a great dance party! :P  Posts to come!

This year, to save me from tears, I gave it to someone special...

Part of me feels like apologizing for neglecting this blog recently, but the realistic side of me knows that blogging consistently nowadays is a rare feat.

The past month has been crazy and wonderful at the same time.  Crazy because as the semester was winding down I was struggling to complete my internship hours while balancing working and completing my endless class projects, but wonderful because I am now a college grad. :]  Not too much to comment on about that except that I'm stoked and I am glad to finally be afforded time to catch my breath, enjoy being a newlywed, and truly refocus on the things that are important to me.

My after-finals-week sentiments exactly.

For my Christmas/graduation gift my sweet hubby upgraded me to an iPhone 5, which was perhaps not the smartest thing to do during finals week.  I couldn't tell you what it does (more than the iPhone 4) but I know it's nice to have storage space again, seeing as my old phone had reached its capacity and could hardly take pictures anymore.  The camera on this phone is super spiffy, and I'm sure you'll reap the benefits of that here on my blog, especially since the last time I charged my real camera was on our honeymoon.  :P

Can I just comment on how much I am loving this holiday season? Last year was unfortunate, having to work through the holiday and being depressed as all get out, but this year has been so much more enjoyable and I am embracing it full on.  We put up our tree the week after thanksgiving and we have been playing Christmas music ever since, which is a first for me.  Being on our own has been nice too, because we can decorate and celebrate however we like.  We've even been to a few Christmas parties!  Last weekend we holed up for our first holiday movie of the season, sweetly aided by the lovely rainy weather we've been having.  Even in SoCal, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

This past week was exciting because one of my best friends got engaged.  Heather and I became neighbors when I moved into my apartment in June and since then we have really meshed together.  She has known James for close to 10 years and its always fun for me to listen to them reminisce about times past.  I am excited for what's in store for them and also to participate in the wedding-planning process from a different position this time... ;]

On Thursday James and I get to travel "home" to San Diego to be with my family a bit before returning to LB for the holiday.  I can't believe how quickly Christmas creeped up this year, but I suppose that just means 2013 is coming even sooner, and oh how I am looking forward to next year! 2012 has been good to me, probably the best yet, but I know 2013 is going to be a year of even more change for us, which is always exciting.  

More updates to come, check back soon!

The Day I Became a Mrs.

Sorry I've been holding out, here is what you're all waiting for...

So three weeks ago today we got MARRIED! For anyone who is blind or doesn't have a Facebook, it was a beautiful, beautiful (but hot) day and it was truly the happiest day of my life.  Everyone told me it would fly by, everyone told me to let the little things slide (which I never thought I'd be able to do), and everyone told me to take time to soak up the moments passing by--they were all right!  Man does the day fly!  I mean, we're three weeks out now and I'm like, where did the time go?  I seriously can't believe it.

I'm happy to report that I got a full 8 hours of sleep on the night before my wedding, and I was greeted that next morning with a phone call from my future-hubby (to calm the nerves we thought we were going to be battling).  Getting ready was extremely..peaceful?  I don't know what to say about it; I wasn't freaking out or stressed, it was just so surreal all I wanted to do was leave that little room and go give James a hug.  I don't know if my stylists could believe how un-nervous I was.  I couldn't believe we'd be married in just a few hours.

And the next thing I know I'm getting finished with makeup and they want me to get in my dress, and then we're taking pictures, and then I see guests start showing up, and then I'm stuffed back in the little room....

And then it happened.  After a pre-processional pep-talk from my dad, "Here Comes the Bride" began to blair and it was time to walk.  There are no words to describe that moment, you just have to live it to know.  It was amazing and happy and scary and fun and nerve-wracking and exciting and so much more.  And then I saw James and how happy he was, and I tried to keep my eyes on him like everyone told me to but it was just so overwhelming, it's hard to stick to the rules.

Neither of us remember a word that Jeff (our pastor) said, but what I do remember is how hot I was and how much my cheeks were hurting from smiling--I couldn't stop!  I shakily said my vows, I forgot my bouquet, and I walked way to fast back down the aisle, but that's all small potatoes if you ask me.  Our cake reception was hellish, in the temperature sense, but the fun that ensued afterwards will not be soon forgotten.

I can't remember having a better time than I did at my own wedding reception, and I can't remember a time that I got so much positive feedback.  I think everyone liked it, right?  I mean, everyone danced the whole time and we had to shut it down! We paid for 5 hours of a DJ thinking no one would be there at the end, but people wanted to stay longer!  Sadly (truly sadly) we ran out of there and off to our wedding night; I can't lie, we reminisce about the day all the time and how much we wish we could go back and do it multiple more times, no matter how impossible that actually is.

Married life isn't exactly what I thought it would be.  Besides the fact that our bed is way too small and a source of contention every night, and besides the fact that we have not had a single night where we have both been home and with no plans, and besides the fact that my whole apartment is more disheveled [by gifts and unpacking] than I can bear, and besides the fact that life has a secret stash of lemons that it keeps giving us, we are ecstatic.  I could not be happier to be living every day with James.  It really is like having a sleepover with my best friend every night.  We stay up talking and laughing until one of us falls asleep (which is pretty much the only way to fall asleep in our unfortunate bed situation) and it is a pretty awesome feeling to wake up together every day.  I don't have to go to work as early as he does so I get to stay cuddled in bed while he brushes his teeth and gets ready, chatting and talking about our previous night's dreams.  Not gonna lie, I also love the fact that my bed permanently smells like him.  Is that weird?  The growing pains are being felt, but we take them as a challenge and an opportunity to grow into this new life together stronger than before.

Our toasting champagne flutes were inscribed "Today I Marry My Best Friend" and it couldn't have been more true.  We are so excited to start this journey together and to see what God has in store for our new life.