Married!

As of last Saturday, I am a married woman. It's hard to believe! I am going to blog a bit about married life so far (even though it's only been about 10 days)! But first, here is a picture taken by my lovely sister (see more of her photos here) -



The wedding was on June 1st, and it's already been an adventure.
I won't go into all the little details of the pre-wedding madness, but I will say that our wedding was everything I ever dreamed it would be and more. I had some very kind-hearted friends and family who worked so hard to make the day perfect, and I was humbled by their generosity.

Since Patrick and I are saving money to move in August, we decided against a big, expensive honeymoon. Instead, we chose a nice bed and breakfast called the Inn and Crescent Lake in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. I can't recommend the place enough! Beautiful property, kind and helpful owners, and just a short drive from Kansas City, where we went to Worlds of Fun and saw the musical Spamalot, as well as shopping and some nice restaurants. We had a blast, and we came back to our new apartment that we are sub-leasing for the summer before our big move feeling relaxed and in love. The love stayed, but the relaxation quickly dissolved when we realized there had been a mistake - we had no electricity! Normally, this wouldn't be such cause for panic, but the problem was Patrick (who moved our stuff in a few days before the wedding) had the refrigerator and freezer full of food for us to come home to. The power had been out a few days, and there are no words to describe the smell that was coming from the fridge. We ended up spending our first night home as a married couple at Patrick's parent's house because we couldn't stand the smell. We cleaned all the gone-bad food out, all the while taking regular breaks to run outside and get some air, but the smell remained. We used various cleaners, bleach, coffee grinds, baking soda, and regular old water over every inch of that fridge, but... the smell remained. Finally, we talked to the landlord, who said the smell is most likely in the vents in the back, and he would power wash it to get the smell out. However, it would be a few weeks before he could do it. Going a few weeks without a fridge would be easier said than done - at this point we'd gone a few days, and that was difficult enough! So we borrowed a mini fridge and are using that for the time being, with the real fridge taped shut to keep the smell out of our apartment. Not an ideal situation, but everyone needs a good newlywed story :)

With all our efforts trying to de-stink the fridge, combined with our work schedules, we have barely begun to unpack, so our apartment looks frightful! Boxes, boxes, boxes everywhere. The messiness has been a cause of stress, but now that we have our refrigerator situation covered, we are going right to work on the rest of the apartment.

Regardless of all that, I love Patrick and I love being married! We have learned quickly to deal with these every day challenges and laugh at them later. I've already learned so much about myself, and I am so excited to spend the rest of my life as his wife. God has blessed us with each other and the gift of marriage!

Thanks for reading!

Recommendations!

Since I started working overnight, I have done a LOT of reading.

Here are some of the great things I have discovered so far and would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good book.

1. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

This is an absolutely lovely book about Ernest Hemingway's wife, Hadley. It begins with the day they meet and the story is so wonderful. If you're a fan of the '20's, read it. If you're a fan of Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, or Ezra Pound, read it. If you like books, read it. If you like life, read it.

2. Man Walks Into Room by Nicole Krauss

I am a HUGE Nicole Krauss fan. I recommend all her books, but this is the one I read most recently. It's about a man who is found wandering in the desert with no memory of how he got there, or anything else. He does not remember his wife, or even his name. He decides to participate in an experiment done by a scientist, and the book tells about his journey. Nicole Krauss has a way with words, and this book, along with any other she has written, is definitely worth the read.

3. Stepping on Roses by Rinko Ueda

Stepping on Roses is a manga. If you've never read manga before, it takes some getting used to, but this one is worth it. It's about a young girl named Sumi who lives with her older brother, who has a soft spot for orphans and is always bringing them home to live with them. The problem is that they can barely afford to feed themselves. One day, one of the orphans gets very sick and no doctor will treat that child for free. In a desperate moment, an extremely wealthy man who she has never met asks her to marry him, and in exchange he will guarantee financial security for her family. It's a beautiful story with beautiful illustrations, and I'd recommend it, no matter how much experience you have with manga.

Inspiration

I take inspiration all around, and see things often that inspire me to find out more about them, or cause me to wonder why I never noticed them in the first place. Almost daily, I am inspired to create, and, even more so, things that change my ideas about fashion. In the last few years, fashion (particularly alternative fashion) have become a passion of mine as I see more and more how creative people are and how beautiful it is to be different from everyone else. One thing I love about alternative fashion in particular is that not everyone is going to like it, but that's okay, because it's your art. Just as a painter paints on canvas, and a musician makes music, someone can create a work of art using his or her own appearance. It also celebrates that no matter what you look like, you can still be glamorous, creative, and lovely just by being unique. Of course everyone is absolutely beautiful, but it's more about how you feel inside. If I love what I wear and how I present myself, I will feel beautiful and confident. Here are some things that have made me feel inspired one way or another this week, in fashion or otherwise:


(Source: wanderlust-paradise07.tumblr.com)


(Source: tokyofashion.com)


(Source: weheartit.com)


(Source: weheartit.com)


(Source: moon-of-mine.tumblr.com)


(Source: prettypinkpage.tumblr.com)


(Sourice: tokyofashion.com)
**PS - If you like this one, you should take a look at the whole photoset here

Lately, I'm liking...

From the taobao shop Shirley Deer (shirleydeer.taobao.com)



I love this because it's elegant, not too childish, and winter-friendly. It would be a lovely snowy photo shoot choice. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. It's priced at 486 yuan, which is a little over 78 USD. Not cheap by any means, but not priced any less than it is worth (especially when you consider its weight and that it IS a winter coat). My favourite thing about it: as a future teacher, I could still wear it - even when going to work! Score!

Have a blessed day!

Busy, busy...

My life has taken a 180 degree turn over the past few weeks! I went from sitting around at home watching Netflix all day to working overtime every week between two jobs. On top of that, hubby-to-be and I are in the process of finding an apartment for the fall. We're having to do this online since we can't make the trip down to Iowa! Although we won't be moving until August, a lot of the apartments in the area are already spoken for, so we're going to have to find one soon.
This coming weekend, we will be heading to Kansas to visit my family and get some things done for the wedding, including our wedding shower, which we're very excited for! We're getting married two months from today - the time has really flown by :)
Between working so much and trying to figure out the future, there hasn't been time for much else. The trip will be an awesome break!

Busy morning!

Well, two great things happened this morning: First, Patrick and I decided officially that we will be moving to Iowa in August, attending Iowa State University! Second, I got a job offer - which will help keep me busy until the move, and help us have the financial stability to get settled into a new place. I'm really excited about both of these things!
The job that I was offered is at a place called the Good Samaritan Boy's Ranch. It's a place where boys who have been removed from their homes for whatever reason (whether they have gotten into legal trouble or there are issues with the family) temporarily live, go to school, and receive the help that they need. I will be working on the night watch crew, meaning I'll stay up overnight in one of the dorms as a security measure. It will be an interesting job, and I am excited to get started and work at a non-profit organization!
As far as out decision to go to Iowa - we learned that I will receive in-state tuition since Patrick will be working at the school! That is such a blessing for us, as my potential tuition costs were the thing that was holding us back from accepting their offer. Thankfully everything worked out perfectly, and all my prayers from the last few months are getting answered :)

Decisions, decisions.

Now that Fiance and I have visited all the options for a potential grad school (and undergrad for me), we are finally at a point where we can make a decision. We are both leaning highly towards Iowa State University. However, we can't decide officially until we figure out a way to get around me paying out-of-state tuition. Both of us have been communicating with the school trying to figure everything out so we can make an official decision. I have sent in an application, but it won't be reviewed until the school has received my transcript. However, my school will not send out my transcript until I pay off the final $200 I owe to the school. After paying rent and some bills for this month, I decided today wasn't a great time to pay that off! Prayers that I can have my transcript sent soon. Just a short and sweet little update, because it's difficult to tell other about your future when you don't know anything about it yet :) Thanks for reading!