with this ring...

alright, it's time for me to finally do a post on our wedding rings.

my ring is a difficult shape to pair with a wedding band, so i decided to skip it.

my ring originally had a yellow gold band, but i have always always loved rose gold (my mom had a rose gold wedding band - i always thought it was the prettiest color). (you can see my ring in its original state here).

so we decided to replace my band with a rose gold replica. the way i look at it is the yellow gold was my engagement ring, and the rose gold is my wedding ring!

it wasn't as simple as dipping the ring. they had to make a mold of my band, remove it from my setting, recreate a new band in rose gold, and solder the new band to the original center setting.

levi decided a long time ago that he wanted a diamond on the inside of his ring, so we went diamond shopping and picked out a gorgeous, brown diamond for him.

our jeweler made him a simple rose gold band (out of the same batch of gold that made my band), gave it a matte, brushed finish, and set the diamond on the inside.

it's really beautiful. i love it. and it's so special that no one can see the diamond, but we know that it's there.

when we gave each other our rings, this is what we said:

with this ring, i thee wed.

and with it, i bestow

all of the treasures

of my

mind,

heart,

and hands.

all i am, i give to you.

i'd like to always try to remember the gifts we presented to each other that day, in the form of our rings, every time i look at them.

a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day

yesterday was one of those days.

not good.

i don't know what it was, but i was in such a funk.

it's probably mostly due to how bloated and fat i feel lately. and how messy my life feels at the moment. i'm really struggling with getting myself back into a routine.

so anyway, i found some things that helped me through the day:

1. abba

have you ever tried to stay cranky when abba is playing? i think it might be impossible.

2. target

who doesn't love target when they're in a bad mood. if you're in an especially bad mood, sit down and read children's books for a half hour or so.

3. coffee

duh.

4. hunter rain boots

it rained just a little bit today, so i took the opportunity to put my beloved wellies. i also took the opportunity to stand in a gutter full of water just because i CAN!

5. taking charge

so here's the thing: i have a tiny face. if i gain any weight, like even 1/2 a pound, my face bloats up like a boozy old man... well, that's how it looks to me anyway. this and my bloated stomach were what got me into my funk, so i decided to get myself out of it by going on a diet. just for a week or so to get rid of the extra couplefew pounds that are making me so unhappy.

i didn't snap out of it instantly or anything, but these few things were enough to get me through the day. and i'm sure that today will be better because i took charge yesterday.

what do you do to fight the funky and/or bloaty blues?

my new year's resolution...

...is to become a bit more like queen's killer queen every day.

p.s. queen's my favorite.

p.p.s. have a lovely weekend.

getting dressed

here's another one of the skirts i bought on our honeymoon. i think this one was around $7. SCORE!!!

i wore this simple outfit out shopping with levi. i got so many compliments on my skirt. after each one, i said, "thank you! i got it for $7!!!"

i just can't play it cool.

shirt: i think i bought this at a dance store?

skirt: gap

shoes: jessica simpson from nordstrom

baby boy hunter

we found out yesterday that my brother and sister-in-law are having a BOY!

so we're getting a nephew!

i'm so excited!!!! i need to go shopping!!!

it'll be nice to have some more testosterone in the family... my brother was completely surrounded til levi came along. :)

baby boy might look a bit like his daddy:

or his mommy:

he can't go wrong either way, and i can't wait to see his sweet little face in june!

mini-moon pt. II

it was cold when we were in san francisco!

we loved it!

we bundled ourselves up for a long day of walking.

putting on my fleece welly socks.

i put this on as a joke but ended up buying it because it felt so good on my freezing face. best $8 i've ever spent at walgreens!

i know this will sound perfectly obnoxious... but all the 70°+ sunny weather we've had for the last couple weeks has me longing for the grey, drizzly weather we had on our honeymoon.

mini-moon pt. I

i really miss our honeymoon. it was so much fun and so special.

we were SO excited to finally get on that plane. the thought of that plane ride was what got us through some of the more stressful, sleep-deprived moments of wedding planning.

the sunset we watched from the plane. stunning.

you should have seen us at the airport and on the plane. we were positively giddy.

on our first morning in san francisco, the first thing we wanted to do was visit the blue bottle coffee kiosk in hayes valley.

for some reason, i woke up at 6 on our first full day. i never wake up at 6 voluntarily.

coffee was a must.

waiting in line with all the other early birds.

my beautiful "gibraltar" at the tiny bar where we drank our coffee.

ready for more!

lunch!

wanna see what i had for lunch all last week?

of course you do!

i found the recipe for these sandwiches in the january issue of glamour magazine. they are SO good and very refreshing.

in case you want to make your own:

watercress salad sandwich

1/2 cup watercress, cleaned and trimmed

1/4 cup aged white cheddar cheese, grated

1/4 Kirby cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced

1/2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice, plus extra for drizzling

Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

2 slices good quality whole-grain bread

1 tbsp. mayonnaise (i use cream cheese)

1/2 avocado, thinly sliced

1. in a large bowl, toss together the watercress, cucumber, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

2. spread each slice of bread with mayonnaise (or cream cheese). lay avocado slices on one slice of bread, drizzle with lemon juice, and sprinkle lightly with salt. mound the watercress salad over the avocado.

3. top with the remaining slice of bread.

very easy!

home improvements

i was going to wait to share 'til i was done...but i'm not good at waiting.

soooooo, here is my very unfinished office nook (really, it's just a wall in our living room).

this is what we spent all weekend working on.

my creepy little bunnyman statue whom i loooove.

i love lamp.

so far, i love it, and it's only going to get better!

my little brother

my little brother, zachary, starts student teaching today!!

i'm so proud of him, and i hope he has a blast with his classroom full of cute, little first graders!

my mom, levi, and i decided to go in on a little survival kit for him.

i put it together last night, and we all gave it to him at dinner.

i divided up all the items and put them in brown paper lunch bags with little tips.

we left him a little note at the bottom of his candy bag.

once everything was assembled, i packed it all inside a banker's box...which he may be able to use as well!

good luck, brov! you'll be a wonderful teacher!

affogato

this is an affogato al caffè.

affogato means drowned in italian.

so this is (the yummiest) pistachio gelato drowned in espresso.

jaskdlgjaodbniornjdsboaj'a[k[ WE]A]MNAmj[m an[ [ [p [aojrb maojrgd;

that's how i feel about that.

have you tried this brilliant dessert?? we're getting another one today.

or maybe four.

in & out date

calling something a "date" makes it a little bit more fun and special. every night this week has been a date of some sort.

i'd like to keep it that way.

and, while we're at it, we can make every weekend a honeymoon.

a couplefew more wedding photos

these are the last of my preview photos from monica to share!

me and my maids (minus my bridesman). my mom likes this one. she says it looks like i have a secret. :)

me, my mom, and my sister. the hunter girls.

me and my husband.

another teeny peek

meet the ampersands:

ampersands were the theme of our wedding. they hold a lot of meaning for us. these little guys were very central in our wedding décor.

levi put many hours of meticulous work into each one. they're all made from cardboard we found all over the place. you would not believe what my husband can do with cardboard. i swear he could build us a house out of the stuff.

i love these ampersands. they feel like part of the family now. everyone in our bridal party really loved them, so we've been giving them away. levi even has some custom orders from some of his friends! ha!

love list

(drawing by garance doré)

things i love right now:

1. chocolate croissants from pain du monde

2. daydreaming & planning lots of mini-moons (mini-honeymoons) with my husband

3. husband - the word & the man

4. all the free time i now have to start putting into action all the ideas, schemes, & dreams that levi & i have had over the last 9 months

5. my hunter rain boots...even though the sun won't go away, & it's been in the high 70s all week

6. avocado on everything

7. the sound of my water heater

8. my gretel kitty & my lily kitty

9. my beautiful new camera

10. magazines everywhere

11. my friends

12. the prospect of spring...even though i'm not done with winter yet

getting dressed...again

levi and i were able to do some shopping on our honeymoon. it was awesome! we went to gap, and i was able to buy THREE skirts for $30! score!

i think this skirt is my favorite of the three. i also bought the shoes on our honeymoon. red wedges are honeymoon appropriate, i'd say.

this is a very gap-y outfit.

white tee: gap

skirt: gap

tights: gap

shoes: qupid from shopwell in san francisco

necklace: stone & honey

p.s. levi chopped off my mop of hair yesterday (after these photos were taken)! yayyyy! it feels good to have shape to my hair again. it was driving me crazy! still, it was worth it to have great hair for the wedding.

getting dressed

i have a surplus of outfit shots to share, so i'm doing two getting dressed posts today. this one includes levi too!

'cause my husband is super cute.

oh and p.s. these photos are from foreeeever ago. this is what we wore to levi's work christmas party.

me:

cardigan: from levi's salon

shirt: gap

skirt: j.crew

tights: gap

boots: not rated from macy's

necklace: stone & honey

him:

sweater: armani exchange

vest: gap

jeans: rvca via buffalo exchange

boots: bed|stü from urban outfitters

beanie: armani exchange