True TRUE Love

I've titled a post 'True Love' once before, but this occasion calls for that... and then some:

Today is my parents' 30th wedding anniversary! THIRTY years! Can you believe it?? And even after those 10,950 days, they're still madly, deeply, completely in love. True true love.

In a world that sees too many marriages end in heartbreak, my mom and dad have spent the last three decades learning what it means to write their very own 'Happily Ever After.' I'm not naive enough to imply that it's been all roses and sunshine for them, because that's just not how real relationships in real life work...

... But they met, and they fell in love. True love. They realized that God hadn't just brought a young East Coast girl all the way to Montana on a whim... And eventually they both figured out that neither one of them would ever be complete, be their very best, without the other. Since then, they've grown together, raised a family together. They've learned what it means to

respect, trust and truly love another person with everything you have. A love like theirs... It can overcome anything that real life throws their way.

My sister and I count ourselves among the luckiest to have grown up with this seemingly unreal example of what marriage is supposed to be... To one day look back on life and realize that I've lived more days with the man I love than I've lived without him? That is love. True true love.

Happy 30th Anniversary Mom and Daddy! And here's to 30 more...

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

-1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

Another Day, Another Crush

"Well crap. Now I have to find a new, never-going-anywhere Office Crush to creep on."

-A friend, upon learning that her current Office Crush has put in his two weeks notice... This, my friends, is Twentysomething Professionalism at its finest. Gotta love it.

Literature At Its Finest

Will anyone judge me if I admit that I'm totally planning on reading Lauren Conrad's new novel L.A. Candy? Because I kiiind of am... Just as soon as I'm finished re-reading Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince (before the movie comes out on July 15th!!). Oh, and probably after The Time Traveler's Wife. Because Kristen will hurt me if I don't finish that by the time she's back in NYC. And because the trailer alone makes my heart do somersaults.

All this to say: I heart summer reading.

Oh, and p.s. Get excited for a ridiculously gushy post about Laura and JJ's fantastically romantic and perfect wedding in Phoenix this past weekend. I haven't downloaded the 200ish pictures that I took yet, and Laura/it was all so beautiful that I have to make sure there's proper photographic aid to help do everything justice. But for now, let me just sum the weekend up with: Awwwww!! :)

10(ish) Happy Things

There's a super cute blogger, Naomi of rockstar diaries, who collects her readers' "10 Things That Make Me Terribly Happy" lists. Then Kristen wrote one a little over a month ago, and I immediately started babbling about what would soon be on mine. Problem was that once I started spouting things off, the list became a bit more than 10. Darn my indecisive nature...

So after much painstaking editing, here goes! My 10 (of many, many) Things That Make Me Terribly Happy:

1. By grace, through faith.
2. Wandering around the city, and "accidentally realizing" that we're just around the corner from a delicious pink Magnolia cupcake
3. Gerber Daisies
4. Decorating the Christmas tree with my family, while the smell of my mom's caramel corn pours out of the oven
5. New Yorky Sundays (Well New Yorky any day, really. But there's just something about Sundays...)
6. Hearing a song that makes me relive a vivid memory, or sometimes just imagine one that hasn't actually happened yet
7. Mr. Sketch markers (especially the red ones. yum.)
8. Ending a long summer day at my beach with a trip to the Rehoboth Boardwalk for a hot fudge brownie sundae at The Royal Treat
9. Getting caught in the rain without an umbrella when I don't have anywhere to be
10. First (and second) kisses

... Well, shoot. I suppose that's technically 11, now isn't it? Sigh, I'm impossible. But let's be honest -- this post has "To be continued" written all over it anyways. :)

And y'all be sure to share your own -- after all, here's to happiness!

Steps.

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."

-Proverbs 16:9

(Thanks for the reminder, Jamie... Bless your little Tweet :) )

Absolutely.

So I just took Time Out New York's "Do You Belong in NYC?" quiz (because that's a way more productive thing to be doing at this hour than, I don't know, sleeping...). And my results -- drum roll, pleeeease:

120 Points!!

DO YOU BELONG IN NYC?
Absolutely.
You would never dream of moving anywhere else, and we've insulted you by even suggesting you might leave. You love every single thing about this town, right down to its adorable water-bug infestation. Click here for suggestions about how to really enjoy NYC.

Do you belong in New York City?

Ok, granted I'm not so sure I'd call the water bugs "adorable," per se. And honestly, the amount to which you "belong" in a City as incredible and diverse as this one certainly isn't something that a simple (though lengthy!) magazine quiz can even begin to quantify...

But as far as loving almost every little thing about this place? And literally being incapable of imagining myself living anywhere but this joyfully crazy, indescribably blissful City...?

... Oh, absolutely.

"Her heart glowed with a degree of happy assurance."

My mom first started sending me these super cute cards a few years ago "just because" (she's pretty fantastic like that :) ). They never fail to make me smile! These are a few of my favorites - they just fill me with all sorts of deliciously happy thoughts... Enjoy!





And if you like these, there are a ton more that you should definitely check out at Curly Girl Design. Love it!

Happy Music

I haven't seen Away We Go yet, but if it's even half as delightful as the movie's "Road Trip Mix" on Pandora that I'm currently listening to, then I will be a happy, happy girl.

Seriously. These twirling-in-Central-Park-worthy songs almost made me forget that I've spent 7 hours (and counting...) of this beautiful Sunday at the office... almost.

And even if this adorable sponsored playlist ends up being misleading, let's be honest... John Krasinski in glasses is definitely presh enough to justify the $12.50 ticket.

"When it comes to settling down... Never Settle." -Away We Go

Dancing Elephants

"It's 4:15pm... and I just noticed that my shirt is on backward..."

Melissa, the delightful girl I share a polyester cubicle wall with at work, pretty much summed up the last week to a tee with that realization. A few other words come to mind to describe it, but in the interest of brevity and keeping PTTP PG-friendly, I'll just go with hers. And maybe just one more: Riiiiiidiculous.

It was a week of long, long hours. We've all been there (or at least, that's what my New York friends and I keep telling ourselves... that the crazy, mixed up demands of working in this city are somehow... "normal"...ha. But gotta love it though, right?). Nights that somehow turn into the next morning. All but one or two lunches/dinners at the non-comfort of your desk. Fire drill after fire drill. Getting ready in the morning, thanking your lucky stars it's finally Friday because you woke up to a killer cold... and then realizing that no. It's... Tuesday. Sigh.

That's not to say that this week wasn't without it's silver linings, because trust me... it was. And more on those to come, sooner or later I'm sure... :) However, the point of this post is to make just one point: I. am. tired.

And all I wanted out of tonight was a glass of pinot noir, a good movie, and sleep. Blissful, pre-midnight sleep. So here I am in bed, ready to turn out the light after sneaking in a few chapters of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince when... they start: the Elephants. They apparently occupy the apartment above mine and they've decided to make themselves known again tonight. And these aren't just any Elephants, mind you. They are DANCING Elephants. Well at least, they better be putting on a stinking Riverdance up there for how much ruckus they're causing!

Ok, I get it. My complaining about "ruckus" before 1:00 am on a Friday night in the City that never sleeps probably (read: definitely) earns me all sorts of Lame Points. But every now and then you just need a night in, ya know? A quiet night to yourself to unwind from the week. A night without any craziness or small-talk at the bar or... Elephants.

So, dear Elephants of Apt 5C, if you happen to read this tonight, would you ever so kindly hold off on your dance rehearsal for the rest of the night? Just this once? And tomorrow, by all means - go to town. Heck, I'll even buy you all pretty new tutus for your next recital! Thanks for understanding. xoxo

With All Your Heart

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,' declares the LORD."

-Jeremiah 29:11-14