Wedding Moments

Ah, relaxation. I've loved having the past week off. I feel so rested and relaxed. It will be hard to adjust to work schedule again on Monday but I am exited to see my little ones and hear all of their Easter break stories :)

So...did everyone watch the ROYAL WEDDING?!? OMG!!!

I didn't.

To be honest, I got kind of disgusted with the ridiculous amount of media coverage and the hyperbole of the whole thing. Yeah, it's kind of romantic but I think we may be over-stressing the importance of this marriage just a teensy little bit.

After all, every marriage should be a representation of true love. We just had an extremely public example of it.

I couldn't help but look at the pictures online though. Kate looked radiant and I loved her dress. I was so impressed with how calm she looked throughout the whole thing!

From Elle via A Cup of Jo. Check out the little girl covering her ears. Heehee :)

The whole royal wedding thing reminded me of my own wedding. I thought I'd share some our wedding moments in pictures. Hey, it's not a royal wedding, but it is a representation of true love. And really, what is more important than that?

My wedding band was connected to my engagement ring. Here it is, nestled in my bouquet.

I got ready at my parents' house and I love that the backdrop to this picture is a place where I grew up. I loved playing princess for a day and giving my dress a good twirl :)

I was soooooo nervous at this moment. There was no waiting room in the church so I had to wait in the "cage" with my bridesmaids standing guard so no one would sneak a peak.

Waiting to walk down the aisle with my dad. I really thought I would be bawling at this point but the nerves kept it away. I couldn't wait to see my husband!!!

Our church was beautiful! I was actually baptized here. 

Our priest was a family friend of my husband's. He is from Haiti and he is amazing! It was a very special mass.

Our vows. I was actually most nervous about this part. We both got through them perfectly though. I was just glad I wasn't crying the whole time!

Our first kiss as a married couple :) We went in for a second kiss afterwards. We were grinning like idiots the whole mass.  I remember calming way down once I saw E and we got through the ceremony together. 

Love this shot. At this point I was just so thrilled and was kind of in disbelief. It wasn't quite sinking in yet that E was my husband. The whole mass seems like a dream now. I mostly remember the emotions and nerves of the day.

I love this shot too. Our nerves were gone because we had done it. We were married. We couldn't help but sneak another kiss on our way out.

My husband on my right and my grandpa on my left. Oh, and look, you can see my manicure too :) (Confession: I had never gotten a manicure before the wedding!)

Right after the ceremony, our photographer whisked us around Pasadena for some pictures of just us. This was a blast. Here we are across from Pasadena City Hall. We didn't mind having to kiss for any of the pictures. Not at all ;)

My colors were navy and magenta. Thinking back now, it seems so silly to even have worried about that. Our reception hall looked great though and I'm glad they got some shots of the decorations.

Our cake topper. It kind of looks like us, right?

Another gorgeous shot. We just saw this building and loved the European look of it. Our photographer just went for it and we got some beautifully romantic shots like this one.

Our first dance. We didn't practice at all and didn't care! My husband managed to twirl me just fine. Dancing with him was one of my favorite moments of the night. There's just something so intimate and romantic about slow dancing with the one you love.

We played this hilarious game. It's basically a version of the Newlywed Game. The DJ would ask questions like, "Who's family is crazier?" and we would either hold up our own shoe or our partner's shoe to answer. Our guests loved it and got some great laughs!!!

Cutting the cake. Surprisingly challenging.

Not the neatest cut :) Oh, well. The cake was delicious!

Towards the end of the night (evidenced by my hair starting to fall out). It's interesting how I have no memory of the photographer taking this. I just remember looking into the eyes of my new husband. Sigh.

Photography by Epic Imagery.

Easter

Happy (early) Easter everyone!

My husband and I are attending an Easter Vigil mass tonight. One of my friends is officially becoming Catholic at the mass and I look forward to celebrating with him.

My very pregnant sister-in-law and her husband are also coming into town tonight. We're heading over to my in-law's house for a steak dinner with them before mass.

Tomorrow, we're going to attempt to see both sides of the family for lots of food and catch-up time.

I haven't dyed eggs or had an Easter egg hunt for years :( Everyone has grown up and the next generation of kiddos isn't quite old enough yet.

To be honest, I didn't do a lot of Easter crafts with my class. We did a mini classroom Easter egg hunt and several Holy Week crafts.

However, here are some Easter-related links I'm inspired by. Maybe next year :)

Natural dyes from Martha.

Beautiful eggs from here via here.

A wonderful religious Easter egg activity. I did this with my students. Found at Catholic Icing(a favorite).

Beautiful naturally dyed Easter eggs.

I love beautiful soap!

Super cute from here via here.

I love poppytalk! Via here.

I want to do this with my students. Via here.

Cuteness! Via here.

Marble eggs from here via here.

Cute Easter lamb craft.

And I want to decorate my house with everything from Terrain!

Happy Easter!!!

Found on the best website ever.

Never Leave Home Without It...

Ahhhh...How good it feels to be able to sleep in on a weekday. I have to say though I'm a little sad my hubby can't join me in my utter relaxation today. It was hard to see him leave for work today knowing I wouldn't see him for several hours (sappy, I know!).

Usually I'm the one who leaves first, at the crack of dawn, and he groggily sees me off before falling back asleep.

One thing that both of us must do before leaving for the day is give each other at least several good smooches and a couple "I love you's". No matter how early one of us leaves or how rushed, grumpy, or exhausted we may be, we do not leave the house before kissing each other.

We're a fairly smoochy couple (although I never thought I would be that way before being in this relationship) and it's hard to leave without a few dozen good kisses. Some mornings it is excruciating to tear myself away.

Yes, shake your head at the ridiculous newlyweds if you must. Go throw up now if you must.

But we plan on continuing to see each other off each day with a kiss.

We wouldn't want it any other way :)

At our engagement shoot.

Love :)

Spring Break!

Soooooo, I took another extended hiatus from the blog. I have to admit I've been physically and mentally drained these past few weeks. Mustering the energy and motivation to simply throw my dirty clothes in a hamper or rinse a plate has been nearly impossible. There are a couple of reasons for this.

First of all, Easter is really late this year. Because I teach at a Catholic school, I have to wait for a break that corresponds with Easter which happens to be the last week of April this year. Let's just say it's a looooong wait for that break not only for the students but the teachers as well. I'm in need of a recharge and a break badly.

Second of all, I don't feel fully recovered from the WASC preparations that consumed my life for most of the year. Add to that First Communion planning, field trips, math conferences and you have one tired Reluctant Overachiever.

Luckily I made it! I'm off tomorrow through May 1st and I fully intend to take full advantage of my break to SLEEP!!! I'm definitely one of those people that needs her sleep.

With the proper rest and nourishment, I hope to have the energy to plant some things that I won't kill in two days. I was so inspired in Germany last summer when I saw window boxes brimming with flowers on what seemed like every windowsill. How I would love to cover our sad looking patio with green life and flowers.

Overachiever away!!! Enjoy some lovely photos that I took in Rothenburg, Germany and take a break this spring :)

Living Room Tour

I've survived yet another week and have made it to the weekend. Today, all my hubby and I have done is clean, clean, clean. I feel so much better when the house is clean and organized. Our problem is just maintaining the level of cleanliness/organization that we aspire to.

It's not that we're lazy people. We're just both procrastinators, have stressful jobs, and work long hours. Neither of us are neat freaks either, so keeping a perfect home usually isn't the priority after a long day.

Recently though, our house had passed from being livably disorganized, to stressful and kind of...well...gross.

I can now say our house is clean...for now. I took the opportunity to take some photos of our living room to share with all of you.

A view coming in the front door.

To the right is our little dining nook and our tiny kitchen.

A framed print of Rothenberg that we bought in Germany and our Waterford crystal candle holders.  I can't wait to add more artwork to that wall. That project is on my list of things to do.

A view of our tiny kitchen.

A vintage cabinet that belonged to my husband's grandparents. We store nice dishes, serving bowls,  alcohol glasses, and other entertaining-related stuff in there. Beer, wine, and alcohol (along with our German beer glasses) sit on top.

Extra chairs serve as tables to put bags on when we get home from work or from the store.

A vintage side table from my parents. Mail, a framed picture of us, and a bowl filled with chocolates sit on top. Board games and cards are inside.

Magazines, books, and the remote sit on the coffee table. My Macbook is inside.

A side table holds books and random small items.

Cords. Need a way to hide these...More books and our National Geographic magazines.

Our DVD collection to the right (zombie figurines are on top). A signed copy of Hot Fuzz's DVD cover graces the wall (yes, we're geeks).

Frames and vases sit on the mantel. The painting is from Haiti (my husband's family goes there quite often). The vase on the right was made by my aunt. Another project is to put pictures in all the frames and rearrange items on the mantel.

Another shot from behind the couch.

Another project is to find different art for the wall behind the couch. The zombie posters are mine from college (I love horror films). I'm looking for something a little more grown-up though :)

View of the hallway. Our guest bathroom is to the right. The two bedrooms are to the left.

View of our little balcony. We live on the third story so we have a nice view of the grassy area in our complex.

Our cleaning schedule...That we don't really follow. It does give us motivation though and it feels satisfying to check off items during our cleaning binges.