Today is May 15th. 27 years ago Catharine Stevens was born to a loving family who gave her a great home and endless love. Six months ago she married me (the boy) and changed my life forever. I think her parents did an amazing job raising her and I’m lucky to share in her life. I’m so glad we were able to find each other so soon in life because we have so much to look forward to together.
Please join me in wishing the Girl a very Happy Birthday!
Dear Husband,
Remember two+ years ago when you thought graduate school was never going to end? And we wondered how on earth we were going to get through it together with everything going on in our lives? That first semester, I was in the process of getting licensed so I was studying too which meant I was out of your hair. Good timing right? But then those next three semesters I wasn’t as busy so I was worried that I was going to bug you too much when you needed to be working on studio. But then you solved that problem and asked me to marry you. Good thinking! Then I spent that next year planning a wedding and leaving you alone (for the most part). Can you believe we actually got married the week of your finals. Who does that? I think it made our trip to Rome all the more relaxing though knowing you didn’t have to go back to school for a couple of weeks. But then I thought, “wait there is one more semester, how am I not going to drive him crazy?” But then we moved and got a puppy and I’ve been totally distracted with house projects and cuddle fests. See? You always thank me for supporting you for these past two years, but really you’re just the master of distraction.
Anyway, I am so so so proud of you for getting your Masters in Architecture (and for being offered a full-time position with the firm), and I’m so excited to finally live our lives as newlyweds without having to worry about homework or you spending all night in the studio while having to work the next morning. Here’s to trips to the dog park, aimless window shopping at La Cantera, weekend getaways, and cappuccinos every Saturday morning at our favorite spot. I love you, and now whenever we have to make stupid decisions (like where to eat for dinner or what movie to see) you have to decide because you are officially more qualified ;)
Your Wife
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In honor of tonight’s graduation ceremony, I made Derek a little celebratory cake. Also known as the cake that took all day. It was totally worth it though to see the look on his face.
Why yes, that is an ostrich on top in lieu of a roadrunner because let’s face it. They don’t really make toy roadrunners. Or at least ones I could pick up at Michael’s on short notice. His first words were “what’s with the ostrich?” but then died laughing when I explained.
I made the layers orange and blue for his alma mater. The blue layer was actually a blue velvet cake, while the orange was vanilla.
It was a big hit! And considering it’s two cakes combined, we’ll be feasting on this sucker for a while, which works out considering Wednesday is MY birthday! Weeee!
PS: Here is the recipe for vanilla layer (and frosting), and here is the recipe for the blue velvet layer
Lately whenever I ask Derek if he wants to do something (ie: go to the park, get some coffee, go thrifting, go see a movie, eat in the same room etc.) he’s all like:
If you prefer audio skip to about 15 seconds here.
This is my life. Thanks grad school. You’re the best! I hope everyone has a great weekend, it’s supposed to be coolish here (like in the 70s! Yay!!) I wasn’t ready for mid 90s yet. So Geoffrey and I plan to hit the town and let Derek finish up his thesis project. See ya Monday (or at one of these places this weekend). I plan to tackle my Rasts tomorrow, so hopefully they turn out as planned :)
Last week Derek and I decided that we were finally ready to adopt a puppy. We had the plant-puppy-baby plan as in if we can keep a plant alive (shout out aloe plant!) then we can keep a puppy alive, and if we can keep a puppy alive we can keep a baby alive haha, but don’t worry that last one is still down the road a bit.
We searched high and low and filled out several applications at several different rescue centers, shelters, and foster homes. And then we waited. (This was the email I was looking forward to in this post.) We had our hearts set on getting a chihuahua since 1. I love them so much and 2. I already had experience raising one (especially a rescue). But when we got an email from a foster mom for SNIPSA, filled with photos and a background story about this little guy, something in me just knew that he was our puppy.
This is Geoffrey with his brother (who had already been adopted).
Geoffrey and his brother were rescued from the streets when they were just a month old. They were covered in fleas and had patches of hair missing from all of the bites. It breaks my heart to think someone just dumped them on the side of the road. They were delivered to SNIPSA in a shoebox and after getting treated for the fleas, dewormed, fixed, and microchipped they’ve been living with their foster family ever since. His foster mom and I texted back and forth all day Friday and she sent me a bunch of videos of Geoffrey playing with his foster family (they have like 8 other dogs). So that evening she and her husband brought him over to see our house. It was love at first sight!
After filling out all of the paperwork and whatnot, we headed to Petsmart to buy him all kinds of things and pretty much spoiled him right off the bat.
He loves his carrot.
And snuggling in bed.
And laying in your arms.
And his paws are my favorite. They are perfect little cartoon puppy paws :)
We think he’s part Chihuahua part Dachshund with maybe a little Terrier in there somewhere, but we really won’t know until we take him to the vet I suppose. His foster mom thinks he’ll be about 15-18lbs, right now he’s only 7lbs and I hope he stays this small :)
This is his first time ever living anywhere alone (without other dogs) so it’s been a bit of an adjustment. He follows us around everywhere and is afraid of the dark. If he runs into a dark room on accident he’ll scream and run the other way, it’s really cute. We’re trying to teach him to go potty outside, which he’s really good about, except for at night because of the whole afraid of the dark thing, but we’re working on it!
I wanted to Instagram about him days ago, but thought he deserved an official post to tell his story, but you’ve been warned. There will be puppy pictures in your future :)
Now that I’m not planning a wedding, I have the time to take on more interior design clients, and a slew of other things. That being said I’ve spent the last few days updating my website to include the services I offer such as:
Interior Design – full service design, e-design, decor in a box, furniture flipping, custom upholstery, and several a la carte items like personal shopping, consultations, etc.
Graphic Design – branding, marketing materials, web design, personal stationary, and wedding items such as invitations, save the dates, menus, programs, etc.
Wedding Planning – organization and budgeting, designing the look and feel of your big day, as well as several DIY projects such as decorations, favors, embroidery, etc.
I enjoyed planning our wedding so much that I wanted to be able to offer this specialty to my clients as well. When I say wedding planning though, I don’t mean “day – of coordinator” I simply mean that I can help you with the services mentioned above up until your wedding day. For actual wedding day services, I recommend hiring a professional day-of coordinator.
Anyway, if you are interested in working with a licensed professional in your home, for your business, or for your big day. Please have a looksie at my website to see how we can get started together. :)
