A Wedding Complete with Donkey, Donuts and Tequila Shots

This past weekend, Miguel and I took a road trip back to Charlottesville to attend the wedding of his cousin. And even though the rain couldn’t hold off for the outdoor ceremony, the wedding was still beautiful AND very unique!

I mean, have you ever been to a wedding where a donkey totes tequila bottles, you take souvenir pictures in a photo booth and homemade donuts are served from a truck?

Well neither had I till this past weekend, but now I don’t know why more people don’t do the same! It was amazing, fun, quirky and completely ‘outside the box’…which I perhaps loved most of all.

View of the countryside as we headed to the Rosebrook Inn

The “Plan B” indoor ceremony while it poured outside

Shrek the donkey

Shrek carried tequila bottles so that guests were greeted with tequila shots after the “I Do’s”

The rain stopped just in time for the outdoor family photos

The Carpe Donut truck – the greatest food truck idea ever!

The donut truck touted cute chalkboard signs for the bride and groom

Matt Rohdie, founder of Carpe Donut, obliges us with a photo op

A close-up of the delicious donut and our souvenir photo strip

A shot of some of the other guest photos

Photo booth instructions

The cake – simple and elegant

Even under netting, the cake topper flowers were gorgeous

Petition for Cats in the Workplace

After a weekend away and a last minute climbing class tonight, I’m a tad short on time to write a full-length post.

Fortunately for me, I can rely on the fuzzy monstahs to pick up the slack…and prove that nothing beats a cardboard box for playtime.

Wylie on a box

Sami in a box

MY Happiness Project: Month 2 - Status Report

The first week of month two went by really quickly! And even though Miguel spent a long weekend with his parents, I still found plenty of opportunities to work on my goals…and I think I’m off to a great start!

The best part about doing MY Happiness Project is that I’m always aware of the goals I’ve created, which helps encourage and motivate me to actually accomplish them!

1. Quit nagging – even though my nagging is almost reflexive at this point, I’ve been doing pretty good with this one! I’ve started to just DO things (dishes, picking up the living room, cleaning the litter box) rather than asking Miguel to do them and then nagging when they haven’t been done quick enough, because I’ve realized that having them done is more important to me.


2. Be nicer – we spent the weekend apart because of Mother’s Day so I didn’t have an opportunity to practice my new etiquette in front of our friends but I am consciously teasing less these days…which is a good start!


3. Offer small gestures – this was one of the more tangible goals I had made so it was easier to see my accomplishments over this past week; like surprising him with clean laundry when he got home from traveling and cleaning underneath his sink when I realized it was in desperate need of organization!


4. Cook more often – this week we’ve relied on takeout for most of our dinners, but I did step up and make most of my lunches this week, which I could tell was a pleasant surprise for Miguel!


5. Don’t sweat the small stuff – I also did great with this goal by purposefully not dumping my frustrations about this week’s terrible commutes on Miguel as soon as I walked in the door at night. And it has actually helped improve my mood when I get home because I don’t walk in ready to vent!

CB2 Comes to DC!

When my sister noticed the “Coming Soon” sign for CB2 in Georgetown a few months ago she immediately called me from the car to tell me the good news!

With retail stores in only 6 states in the country, I was super psyched that we would soon have one nearby! And I patiently counted down the months till the store finally opened…and then patiently waited another week till my sister was back in town and we could go together!!

This past Saturday we finally made the journey to Georgetown and I took a few pictures along the way to share with you guys …so enjoy!

CB2’s newest location @ 3307 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007

One of their amazing window displays!

Melissa and I pose for our obligatory reflection photo

We’re finally inside and the store is gorgeous!

First find – a frame perfect for showing off my latest PostCrossing postcard!

Second find – a recycled iron Robot that I’ve been earmarking in their catalog for months!

I love all the pops of color everywhere!

I ♥ this Electric Blue Club Chair but not the $799 sticker price

Another interior shot

Melissa taking an enviable break in their outdoor tie-1-on chair

Victory pose with my purchases after a successful shopping spree!!

Petition for Cats in the Workplace

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend and a happy Mother’s Day!

I spent yesterday with my mom, having lunch and playing miniature golf (her idea!), and then went home to spend the evening with my fuzzy kids who surprised me with dessert!

Lindt Spring Lindor Truffles to be exact…my favorite!! They know their mama so well.

Inquisitive Wylie

Curious Sami

MY Happiness Project: Month 2

Gretchen Rubin’s second chapter in “The Happiness Project” is all about love and honoring the relationship you are in (and your partner) because “a good [relationship] is one of the factors most strongly associated with happiness.”

While I completely agree with that assessment, I didn't initially think that the second month would prove much of a challenge because the relationship that my boyfriend Miguel and I have is pretty wonderful already.

You see, I have been with Miguel for almost fourteen years. Yes, you heard me right…fourteen years. Some people like to call us high school sweethearts but we actually didn’t officially start dating until immediately after graduating from high school, though our first date was to our senior prom – I asked him!

Don’t get me wrong though; there have been plenty of bumps in the road – especially during the four years I was away at college and the first few after I moved back home to figure out what I was going to do with my life – but through all of the experiences that we have gone through on our own and together, we’ve somehow grown into adults with similar goals and dreams.

But while we have great communication and support one another at every turn, I started to realize the more I read that no relationship is perfect and working on the smaller things (i.e. nagging first and foremost) could have a big impact on us both!

So with all that in mind, I’ve compiled the following five ways that I’m going to work on being a better partner over the next month:

1. Quit nagging – on occasion I need to learn to bite my tongue and let Miguel get things done at his pace…not mine


2. Be nicer – sometimes my sarcastic teasing can hurt his feelings, especially when I tease in front of our friends, so I’m going to try to be more cognizant of what I’m saying…before I say it


3. Offer small gestures – Miguel is wonderful about stopping to get dinner for us after a long drive or going out on a whim to get me something that I need and I want to be better about returning the favor


4. Cook more often – since Miguel works from home and likes to cook, he has naturally become the official cook of the house – even making me lunch in the morning (sorry ladies, he is off the market) – but I need to step up and pitch in more often


5. Don’t sweat the small stuff – Miguel has the most wonderful, laidback personality and doesn’t let the stresses in life stress him out...and I want to exemplify that more often by adopting a similar attitude rather than always burdening him with my anxiety when I get overwhelmed by life

After coming up with my goals for the month, I can’t wait to get started! Bringing more balance and even more happiness to our relationship is going to be reward enough but I think I’m going to enjoy doing more for Miguel and really showing him how much he means to me.

Do you have any other ideas for honoring your partner and relationship? What would your list look like??




P.S. Even before finishing this post, I did my first small gesture by getting off the couch (hard at this time of night) and getting something for him out of the bedroom when he mentioned he needed it. It made me feel good to do that for him because I know that he would normally offer to do the same for me and I'm usually too lazy to return the favor...evidenced by the fact that he looked surprise when I offered to go for him!

Motivation from the West Coast!

This past weekend my sister flew to Palo Alto, California for a work conference at Stanford. During some downtime on Sunday, she drove to nearby Half Moon Bay and surprised me with a little note of motivation from the beach.

I honestly almost teared up when I saw that she had written Live Love Life Now in the sand for me.

From the get go she has been one of the biggest supporters of my dreams to start my own company and to challenge myself to a happier life. In fact, she has not only accompanied me on most of my adventures but has initiated many herself as we have both fully embraced the challenge of ‘doing’ rather than talking.

And she is exemplifying this to a ‘T’ as she spends an extra week on the west coast, on her own, to vacation in Portland, Oregon (thanks again to Erika for all your great tips!). It’s something she has talked about for over a year so I’m really proud of her for seizing the opportunity to do it!

She’s having an amazing time and I couldn’t be prouder of her...but I am looking forward to having her back home soon!

First thought: I wish I were there! Second thought: immense pride…

Third thought: this could make for a good inspirational poster, ha!