2014- The Year of Blogging

I have started this time and time again, but always drop the ball on continuing to make time to blog. This year it is one of my new year resolutions to blog weekly! I updated the title of the blog since it's creation two years ago. The title is a play on our last name, but life is about finding balance. In life I strive to find the balance between being a couple and being an individual, living a healthy life and enjoying food, saving/investing money and spending money to make memories. 

I'm going to start by recapping last year. 2013 was a major year for Nick and I. It is hard for me to imagine a more monumental year than this past year has been. In June, Nick and I were married. In July, we went on our dream honeymoon to Hawaii (posts to come about our adventures on the islands). In August, we bought our first house. Being a homeowner comes with a bunch of responsibilities and added chores, but we are learning as we go. In November, I hosted and cooked my first Thanksgiving dinner. To end the year, I paid off my student loans. It feels so great to start the new year debt free (minus the large mortgage debt).

I''m going to start the blog by going back in time to share our wedding. The day was an absolutely perfect day! I am sure many couples feel this way because it's so magical. We were very lucky that the day went off without a hitch! My husband and I agreed about one thing as soon as we were engaged- our honeymoon! We agreed we would rather spend money on our dream vacation, than on flowers, invitations, etc.

My mother-in-law made the boutonniere and corsages, while I made the bouquets  

Meanwhile my mom and sister-in-law made the center pieces and specialty arrangements

My final bouquet- white peonies with random yellow flowers added at the last minute

The base of my bouquet was wrapped in lace from my mom's wedding dress for my something old

                                   
It was a stressful few months leading up to the wedding. As a do-it yourself bride, I had a to-do list a mile long! I am very thankful for all of those who helped leading up to the big day. On top of the invitations, flowers, programs, decorations, place cards, etc. it is an Italian family tradition to have cookie tables, so I spent the days before my wedding baking 50+ dozen cookies. A bunch of people asked me at the wedding or following the wedding for recipes, I'll be sharing those shortly. The best part of the week was the impromptu mother-daughter spa day the Thursday before the wedding. I went in the makings of a bridezilla big ball of stress and emerged a calm, happy bride.

The girls at the rehearsal

                                       

My favorite! My surprise grooms cake for Nick. He loves Scrabble!

We rented a suite at the hotel which we were able to use for getting ready, spending time with family, looking at pictures, and our wedding night suite. My favorite part of our wedding was getting to spend so much time with our families the day of the wedding and the day following the wedding.

Matching robes for getting ready

My beautiful bridesmaids!

The handsome groomsmen

My brother, mother, and I 

My husbands family

Nick's baby bonnet with a hand written poem from his great-aunt about his bride using it as her handkerchief on her wedding day, as her something borrowed. 

 Here are some of our favorite pictures from our wedding day!

We had a memory table at the wedding to honor those who couldn't be there. The center included a memorial for my father who passed away a little under a year before the wedding. The rest of the family was honored through wedding day pictures of our grandparents and parents. 

]Look forward to my next post where I share about our Hawaiian honeymoon!

xoxo,

Erin