April Showers, Bring May Flowers

Whitney & Ryan: Wedding Anniversary #2

Today Ryan & I celebrate our 2nd year of marriage. Sometimes it feels like we were just wed. Other times it feels like centuries ago. Wow that makes us sound old ;)

You might recall last year when we celebrated our first anniversary and the gift that kept on giving all year long. We had a great time on our monthly dates and continued to enjoy our passion for exploring.

This year I wanted to *again* stick with tradition and put a spin on the modern gift. Traditionally cotton is the gift of choice for year #2. Cotton is thought to be durable and versatile which are both important in a marriage. China is the modern gift due to its beauty & elegance much like how people view love.

I got to thinking really hard and my creative juices started flowing. Ryan loves snowboarding. He often complains that he isn't able to partake in his hobby enough. Wah, wah cry me a river, I know. Well snowboarding jackets & pants are made out of cotton right? Yes indeed. So I decided to get him a new outfit for the 2013/2014 snow season. Cotton...check!

Now I don't know many men who would like China as a gift. It is sort of one of those things that you register for and the guy is like oh yea cool and pays no attention to it. Ryan is one of those guys. Outside the box thinking required. Insert Mont Tremblant, Canada and viola you have beauty & elegance. A big thank you to my friend CNY for suggesting this hidden gem months & months ago when I was looking for snowboarding spots around New York.

We are heading up to Canada over Thanksgiving weekend to spend a little family of three time on the mountain. I honestly cannot wait to get away for a few days with just the 3 of us and no where to be. I have a massage booked. Adelaide has Kidz Club with playtime in the snow. Ryan has plenty of time to enjoy his cotton & china.

Cheers to another year of wedded bliss on the books and many more to come!

The Big Wedding: A Movie Review

Having a baby has meant not being able to get to the movie theater nearly as much as I would like ever. So I have been fortunate enough to order several films lately from Netflix. Enter heaven on my couch. A few weekends ago Ryan went on an all day hike while Adelaide & I hung out at home. During one of her naps, I decided to treat myself to a movie.

The Big Wedding. With an all-star cast in Robert de Niro, Diane Keaton, Robin Williams, Susan Surandon, Katherine Heigl, Amanda Seyfried, and Topher Grace, the flick had me laughing & crying and thinking my lucky stars that my family is not THAT crazy. The premise is simple. A family reunites for the wedding of their son. The plot thickens as secrets, white lies, & emotions begin to leak out. Weddings can bring out all sorts of true life confessions, wild passionate nights, and all sorts of comical memories for years to come.

This light-hearted movie will have you feeling dual emotions with this strange, twisted yet sweet & loving family. Loyalty is a key ingredient in a successful family. Just ask the Don & Ellie...and Bebe too!

The Big Wedding, for your viewing pleasure...

Halloween 2013: Grease is the Word

A few months ago I saw the most adorable black snakeskin leggings (for Adelaide) and right then & there I decided we were being Pink Ladies for Halloween. Thank you Heidi Klum for your Truly Scrumptious baby clothing line. I grabbed a pink wig as Halloween stores started popping up to play Frenchie and a scarf for Adelaide to moonlight as Sandra Dee. Ryan just wore his usual weekend attire to play Danny.

We set out around 6:30 to trick-or-treat down our street. The weather was perfect with a cool 60 degrees which allowed for full costumes and no coats needed. First let me just say that our neighborhood is bad ass. I have never seen such decoration enthusiasm in my life. We are talking real life cemeteries, life-size dead people hanging from all sorts of trees, giant blow up figures/scenes, horror music & movies playing, and swinging monsters coming from all angles. Oh and bomb candy.

We pushed Adelaide in her trike which was perfect. She got a lift from house to house then would walk up to the door, ring the bell, and stare. She generally would hand them back the candy. Don't worry I grabbed it back from the neighbors. I needed chocolate! She would walk in their house if they had a dog. She loved riding past the other kids and admiring their costumes.

Once we were back, we had crowds and crowds of dressed up kiddos. They were all adorable especially our 4 year old neighbor who was dressed as a cop. He thought I was a clown. Haha adorable. He then invited me down to his house to get some candy back. Perfect! We ended up giving out all of our candy which made me one happy camper...of course I had my Adelaide's stash to munch on.

Halloween 2013 was a great success! Now to go get some spooky decor for next year...I need to step up my game!

Music Mondays: John & Katy

You love who you love, who you love...