A Gift Guide for the Mr.

1. Watch from Tree Hut design   2.Stationery from Tiny Prints  3. Barbecue Rub 
4. Slippers  5. Plant Hanger 

If you're anything like me, buying meaningful gifts for the Mr. can be a challenge. With Bears birthday last week (post on that later) and the holidays coming up I put together a short list of items that I think would make great husband/ man in your life gifts.

I love meaningful gifts, I honestly think that's why I end up waiting until the last second to buy anything, I spend sooo long trying to think of something that is meaningful and has purpose. These beautifully hand crafted watches are everything and more. Plus, you can have them engraved with a special saying or quote, which I LOVE. How sentimental is that? Secretively, I would love to have a matching pair for Bear and I.

Bear is starting the job search and has been sending thank you notes to people he has informational interviews with. Again, I love the idea of making something personal, and this stationary from Tiny Prints is perfect. He can keep it simple and professional looking while personalizing it with his initials.

When it comes to cooking, we like to experiment in the kitchen, especially Bear. I think this barbecue rub would be perfect. Bear can get a little creative while making a yummy dinner.

It gets cold here in New Jersey and we are always wearing slippers around the house. I couldn't help but add these to the list because they look so cozy.

We love plants in our home but struggle at keeping them alive. It's an everyday battle that we go through. But Bear loves his plants! I love that this plant hanger is modern and the copper color is really great. Best of all, it could hold a group of air plants, which take very little maintenance so there is more of a possibility that we could keep it alive.

Good luck shopping for that man in your life.

Easter

Easter is a refreshing holiday. The flowers are starting to showcase their colors and new life starts appearing. The birds are chirping outside and the sun and blue skies shining brightly are an instant pick me up. Oh how I LOVE this time of year.  

For Easter we spent most of the day at the New Jersey Botanical Gardens. Things were just starting to bloom and have some color. I can’t wait to go back when all the flowers and trees are in full bloom. 

After we got home from our day spent at the gardens, we did our annual Easter egg hunt for Shento. He has perfected his craft of finding eggs. Bear hid them all over the yard, on top of a tree branch and in a flower pot, and Shento found every single one of the eggs.

He did eventually find the blue egg in the flower pot :) 

September, October, and November Adventures

I still have updating to do from the past several months. I have made this a goal to get all the updating done so that we have some sort of documentation on the last several adventures Bear and I have been on. This process has seemingly taken forever. I sit down to go through pictures only to realize that I have thousands of pictures all un-organized and in separate folders because that's the way they have downloaded to my computer… ridiculous.  But hooray for me, I'm slowly making progress on the photo organizing front and updating our life over the post 6 months. 

To those who still read this crazy blog of mine, the months and months of updating will soon be over and I will get back to posting regular posts.

September.
We were still on the hunt for furniture to fill our empty home. I stopped by every yard sale I found and frequently visited the thrift store.  I was able to find some great things, see below the 1980’s record player hutch. With some sanding and a new coat of paint it looked great.

We enjoyed our favorite Chinese noodle restaurants in New Brunswick. 

The weather was so beautiful in September that every moment we had we got outside and went for runs/walks to our local park.

We celebrated Shento, it was a happy 7^th birthday filled with dog cupcakes and a new stuffed animal.  

I traveled to WA to visit Miss. Milly, Whitney & Joey.  I had such a wonderful time. We packed the 5 days with eating Cronuts, wondering around the unbelievably beautiful Chihuly garden and glass museum, went on a girls date and devoured Mexican food, took lots of walks, and explored a little bit of Seattle.

October. 
Bear and I wanted an adventure, and we had always heard that upstate New York was beautiful during  the fall months, so the weekend after I got back from Washington we hoped in the car and drove to the Catskills.  We camped out in our car for a night and explored the little town of Windham.  

Janice came for a weekend visit. We walked downtown Highland Park stopping at the farmers market and our favorite bagel shop. 

Vicci and Charlie, Bear’s Aunt and Uncle, were visiting Maryland and it’s only a short drive from our house so we went to enjoy the day with them. We ate the absolute best crab cakes ever.

November

Bear rang in another wonderful year of life. He was busy the entire day so we celebrated that evening with a stombolli, cake, and the opening of gifts.  

Ryan took a spontaneous trip from D.C to come visit us. Always fun having him around. 

Bear went to Chicago to present a chapter of his dissertation. This was a big deal and I was a very proud grad student wife. 

We celebrated Thanksgiving by each picking two new recipes and making them together. The top favorites were the spinach sausage tart and the mushroom pilaf.

July 4th

We celebrated the 4th of July in Provo, Utah. 

We enjoyed the famous parade with some of our wonderful neighbors. 

Bear made a delicious red, white and blue breakfast.

We went to the river to let Shento chase sticks in the water.

We walked to freedom days and listened to music and got a snowy. 

And lastly, we packed a picnic dinner and headed to the park to watch the fireworks. 

Happy Mom Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the beautiful momma's out there. 

To my mom, I am grateful for everything that you have done for me. 

I am so glad that this year we get to celebrate together, instead of just a phone call. 

I also want to say Happy Mother's Day to one of my best friends. 

Watching her become a Mom has been a wonderful thing. 

I look forward to the day that I get to call and ask her for parent/Mom advice.  

Here's to Easter

I love the pastel colors, stuffed bunnies, brightly colored eggs, and beautiful spring blossoms. It was the first Easter that we have spent with my parents, and it was wonderful. They came down to our house and spent the weekend with us.  We enjoyed Mexican food at our favorite restaurant, easter egg dying, a hike on the bonnevail ridge trail, a friendly game of baseball,  a picnic in the park,  an easter egg hunt for Shento, and lots and lots of laughs.


This was the best weekend. I wish all of them could be that good.

luck

i found this four-leaf clover while we were on a walk yesterday.  

what a coincidence that today is st. patty's day. 

i hope this means that i will have good luck for the rest of the year. 

love list

Happy lover's day. Bring on the red and pink. This year feels special. It feels more like a day to remember all the love that I feel, and all the people and things that I love. I LOVE love. and have decided to make a love list…

I LOVE Bear. I love that he is sweet, kind, and gentle. I love that he is patient with me and holds me tight when I need it most. I love that he makes me laugh. I love that together, we are a family. 

I love Shento. I love that he loves to cuddle. I love that he gets so excited when Bear and I get home (he actually misses us). I love that he is adorable. I love that his favorite thing is to chew on a bone when we are watching a movie. I love that he has taught Bear and I so much patients and has made it so we are never actually alone, we always have a third wheel. 

I love my parents, and absolutely love that we are within driving distance from them. I love that they listen and care. They give advice and tell great stories. They have accepted Bear as their own son and I love that. 

I love New Jersey. I love thinking back on all the memories that were created in that state. I love the beautiful nature that surrounds that area. I love all the many friends that we made. I love the attitude. I love the culture and diversity. I love (love/hate relationship) Rutgers.

I love sunshine. I love the warm air on my face. I love the happiness that it brings. I love that it is a great excuse to hang out outside. I love the color and the freshness it brings after a long winter. 

I love walks. I love the freedom you feel. I love watching Shento run around. I love the talks that Bear and I have. I love seeing what surrounds us. I love the beauty that you can find. I love the smell. I love watching my feet move back and forth. I love that walks are something special for our little family. 

a fresh start

We're back from our long holiday vacation. It was wonderful catching up and seeing so many of our family and friends. I miss everyone tremensely, but i am looking forward to a fresh start and this new year.

We rang in the new year in Colorado with Bear's Aunt and Uncle. And although Bear and I were flighting to stay awake until midnight ( I know, lame) we made it to about 12:05 a.m, just  enough time to sneak in a kiss and reassure each other that this was going to be a great year for us. On our drive home yesterday we made a list of goals, plans, and activities that we would like to accomplish and do this coming year. While we have always tried to have goals for our life and fun activities planned, these past couple months seemed to put a halt to those things, and this year we are bringing them back!! Like weekly date nights, eating dinner at our dining room table (not in front of the TV), eating healthier, saying and doing sweet things for each other, and going on lots of adventures in our new town. This year is going to be a great year. I believe that, and my goal is to try to make each day lovely. No bad attitudes, or feeling sorry for yourself days. Those all can stay in 2011.

I am excited for 2012 and am very thankful for all the many memories that we made and lessons that we learned this past year.