loving you for 2,191.45 days

happy wedding anniversary to my best friend, my partner in crime, and my love. thanks for sharing your life with me. I love you with all my heart and soul. 

a happy birthday list for me

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My birthday is on Monday and I wanted to share with you a few things that have graced my birthday wish list. 

A Day Spent in Bernardsville

A couple Saturday ago we took a spontaneous trip to Bernardsville, NJ. I had recently read about  Cross Estate Gardens and marked it on our list of things to do this summer. 

The town of Bernardsville was lined with gorgeous houses and mom & pop shops. Before going to the gardens we grabbed lunch to go at the local deli.

The gardens were landscaped in the early twentieth century and they feature a perennial garden, a wisteria- covered pergola, a mountain laurel allee, and a native plant garden. Plus, a maple leaf tree that the family planted when they first built the place in 1905.

The wisteria-covered pergola was magical. It reminded me of the secret garden and how I always wished that one day I would find my own enchanted garden filled with pink flowers and willow trees.

The family that built up this land in 1905 also built a gigantic water tower.  The tower is made entirely of stone and was used to pump well water into the home.

After exploring the gardens, we headed to the ShermanHoffman Wildlife Sanctuary. The area is filled with miles of hiking trails that weave through forests, fields, and along the Passaic River.

With the area being a wildlife sanctuary and Bear being a lover of birds, we did our share of bird watching :)

And toad hunting. These little guys are great at hiding, they camouflage themselves into whatever tree bark they are sitting on.  Bear making sure that we are on the right trail. He makes for a great hiking companion. 

We ended the day with some delicious chocolate and coffee ice cream from the local ice cream shop in downtown Bernardsville.

The day was spontaneous, unplanned, and perfect. I can't wait to go back, next time we will try one of the local restaurants. There was plenty available and they all looked yummy. 

life lessons for the month of may

I've been thinking a lot about lessons, life lessons. I have been working hard to become a more positive person and taking pleasure in small things. Like yesterday, I did yoga on our deck and it was beautiful. The sun was shining brightly and my yoga mat fit perfectly in the shady part of our deck. Life lessons don’t have to be ground breaking, they just need to make you pay attention to your surroundings and make you think.

Every month I will be sharing little thoughts, reminders, and lessons that I have learned or noticed through out the past four weeks. 

This month I learned that a wedding is a moment in time between two people and the amount of love and affection that is felt is incredible. I remember when Bear and I got married, I thought the day was perfect. All of our family and friends were in attendance and we became husband and wife. I thought I couldn't love Bear any more than I did that day. Little did I know that the memories and feelings we created at our wedding will never be replaced, but the love we have for each other continues to develop and get stronger every day.  

I learned that being around family is like an instant boost of sunshine and happiness. Their warmth, love, silliness, and comfort makes everything in the world seem right.  

I learned that facing a fear, a fear that causes tears and anxiety, can feel like you have climbed a thousand mountains and made it to the top to look out onto a stunning view. Being able to look out onto that view reminds me how much strength and control I have over situations. That view is my life in a panoramic picture and every step I take gets me closer to something good.

I learned that I was reminded the importance of appreciation and counting your blessings. It’s the little things that matter and remembering to show gratitude is what it's all about. 

I learned that as time moves forward people change, and not always in ways you expected. Dealing with differences and separation is hard but relying on the saying “Trade your expectations to appreciation and the world changes instantly” from Tony Robbins helped me set things into perspective.