Yesterday we celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary!

In July we hit our decade mark of being together, and it seems like so long ago, and also like it was just yesterday. That's a long time to get to know somebody!

I'd like to think we've learned a thing or two over nine years, but I don't think I'm one to give marriage advice. We've had our ups and downs, good times and bad, like any marriage. And nine years is enough time to get comfortable and know each other pretty well, but even after all this time, I think we're still learning some things. As your life changes, so do you, and still, on occasion, we learn things about the other one that we didn't know.

Overall though, we know each other's likes and dislikes and I always joke that we are two peas in a pod! We have a tendency to say the same things and read the other's thoughts all the time, and we always get a good laugh out of it when we do.

And that's probably what I'd say my favorite thing is about us, the laughing. We are both kind of dorky, and we love to make each other laugh. We have the same sense of humor, and we enjoy being silly. I would say laughing is the best way we get over arguments. It's hard to stay mad when you're laughing together, haha!

Alright, that's probably enough mushy-gushy about us, and I wanted to share how we celebrated this year! I had a hard time coming up with something fun to do that was a little out of the ordinary. We wanted to go out, but we've tried most of the restaurants in our town, and even though we love to go to our favorite places, I wanted something a little different.

I was up the night before, wracking my brain, and since southern Oregon has some cool hidden spots, I decided to get on google maps and see if anything came up. We both enjoy being outdoors, and the weather this week has been perfectly fall, so it seemed like something would work out! I was scanning around our area and the name Mckee popped out at me.



I looked it up, and it turned out to be the Mckee covered bridge over Applegate River. It's no longer in use for driving, but it's a pedestrian bridge with a day use park next to it. Apparently in the summer, it's a great swimming spot, but I figured (correctly) that 57 degrees and a chance of showers would give us the whole place to ourselves. So, after work, I had Dane pick up pizza and meet me and I drove us out there. He didn't know where we were going until we arrived, and I lucked out and he'd never been there before either ;)


So we had ourselves a romantic little pizza picnic, and checked out the old bridge. There was also a covered gazebo that had a neat vintage piano (that worked!) but I didn't get a picture before it got dark. It was so nice, and we both agreed that we enjoyed it more than if we'd just gone to a nice restaurant. And the setting was so neat, I think we'll definitely be back.

Now, in the interest of transparency, here's some blog/instagram vs. reality for ya! ;)

Here's what I had pictured in my head:


And here's what it actually looked like, haha!!


Still nice, but definitely less pretty!

If you live in the southern Oregon area, I definitely recommend checking this place out, and if not, maybe check and see if there are any cool historical places in your own area!

Happy Thursday, and happy fall eve! Thanks for stopping by :)
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It's well into October, but I forgot to mention that last month we celebrated our 7 year wedding anniversary!

<3 <3 <3

I can't believe it's been that long already. I still remember when we started dating like it was yesterday! But, seven great years it has been, and I can't wait for the many more to come. Every day I know I am so blessed to have the amazing husband I do, and I still consider myself the luckiest girl in the world!

This year we decided to spend a night away, but not too far away. We drove about an hour-ish from where we live to Idaho City. It's a cute, tiny little town that has been described as a living ghost town! It is full of so much history, and at one point in it's gold rush hey-day, it was bigger than Portland! (though you wouldn't know it now).

There are a lot of very cool historic buildings there, and we had a great time walking around the town and looking at them.

For the evening, we went to a hot springs that has been built into a spa and resort, and we spent the night in an adorable little cabin!

As those of you who have been following this blog for a while know, I love to do special things for our anniversary weekends, and this definitely fit the bill!

And if you're ever in the Boise area (or if you live here already) I definitely recommend taking the drive up to Idaho City and checking it out!

I'm back!

I can't get this song out of my head!

Well, actually yesterday was.

But I feel like I haven't really blogged much since I wrote about our last anniversary!

This year marks six years since we've been married. We've had our bumps along the road,like everyone does, but we all know that bumps just make you stronger.

I love planning fun things for us to do, and I love to go all out. It works really well, because there's not much I enjoy more than planning an event (whether it's a party, vacation, or date night), and watching an idea unfold is almost as exciting to me as the actual occasion!

This year, I wanted to do a picnic, even though that's similar to what we did last year. This time though, I wanted to go somewhere special, instead of staying at home.

Since our move to Idaho, we have loved spending time in Boise. One thing that we haven't gotten to do yet though, was hike in the foothills. I decided to find the spot with the best views, and go there to have a picnic, so off to Tablerock we went!




I managed to keep it a surprise until we got to the trail head, and we had a bunch of goodies packed in back packs to take up the hill.

Now, I figure that I'm in pretty decent shape. I work out and go to the gym pretty regularly, and I didn't think the hill would be any big deal. Oh, so it takes most people an hour to climb to the top? Pshhh, well we would probably do it in 45 minutes, tops!

Hahaha!

Let's just say, that trail knocked me down a couple pegs....




Anyway, after about an hour (and a whole lot of stops for rest), we made it to the top. Right in time to catch the sunset! The views were stunning, and it was definitely worth the climb.



After we watched the sun go down, with all of the other sunset chasers and their cameras, we found a quieter spot nearby and set up our picnic. I went with all the works! Italian themed, sandwiches, chocolate, strawberries, candles...you get the gist.

And we watched as it got darker and darker, and the lights of Boise glowed brighter and brighter.




It was such a nice, relaxing dinner, even if it took so much work to get there! It's definitely somewhere we would like to go again.

I would recommend it to anyone, because you really can't beat the view. One bit of advice though: if you're coming down after dark, like we were, don't forget to bring a flashlight that works! It's a challenging trek when you can't see where you're going. Ooops!




Now, I'm going to continue to lay around and rest my sore muscles, because the gym is going to come too soon! Enjoy this last evening of the weekend!

I knew Dane would love something like this, because he's such an outdoorsy guy, and even if it was just camping in our backyard, he would really enjoy it! Plus, who doesn't love a good sheet/blanket fort?

I was so excited that I got started right away! I went to the store and bought all of my wood and supplies. I think I spent about twenty bucks on all of the stuff for the frame, which consisted of several lengths of 1x2 and 2x2 wood, some bolts, and a couple packages of rope. Everything else, like the lights and coverings, I already had. Most of my information came from a couple of tutorials, here and here.

Now, you can go as fancy or as simple as you want, and I went with very simple. My coverings just bed sheets, and they weren't really attached very well to my frame, just to each other (although that would have been helpful when the wind was blowing!). And I didn't use a dowel rod on the top like that first tutorial did, but in hind sight I think that was the way to go. Instead, I just used screws to attach one of my boards, and I ended up snapping one! It never fell down on us though, so I guess it worked just fine. Like I said, this is no tutorial. I am not a good enough craftsman for that! So, just refer to those links up there :)




For dinner I wanted to go with something light and easy, and I'm glad that I did! Setting up the tent took a lot time and energy, so when it came to the food, I didn't want to have to put a ton of work into it. I still wanted it to tasted good though, so I made some bruschetta with fresh tomatoes from the garden, basil, and fresh mozzarella! I also set out some pita chips and hummus, prosciutto, and a bag of assorted dark chocolates (because those are Dane's favorite!).

 So, besides the fact that I basically spilled the beans (twice! Both on the what and the when) Dane never knew exactly what I had up my sleeve, and he was very impressed with all that I did! We pretty much just hung out and did our usual thing, talking and watching netflix (because what's glam-ping without internet access?) but it was all the more special, because everything is better with twinkle lights!


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Day 12, Sunday: What do you miss? (a person, a thing, a place, a time of your life...)

Day 8, Wednesday: A piece of advice you have for others. Anything at all.

Today I came across this link-up, and I just had to join! I would like to share more outfit posts with you guys, and I feel like this is the perfect way to start!

It's a once a month link-up, based around a theme, and it's posted on the first Tuesday each month. This month's theme is date night!

Well, it just so happens that we went on a date night last weekend!

Today kicks off day one of the Blog Everyday in May Challenge! I am really excited about this link-up, and I think it was such a great idea! I hope you all enjoy all the content that is about to be heading your way this month, because I know I'm going to enjoy writing it.

Day 1, Wednesday: The story of your life in 250 words or less

The story of my life is not a very exciting one, but it is a good one, (you could even say that it's fabulously ordinary! Pun intended.) and it's one I'm happy to share.

 I was born the oldest of seven, and raised in the country in Idaho. I grew up on a small cattle ranch, where I learned that I really enjoy being lazy the importance of hard work. Family, friends, and faith were what my life revolved around. I was always the tough one, and as siblings, rough-housing was our way of communication (and it kind of still is!). It was a great way to grow up, and while I may not have loved every minute at the time, I wouldn't change a single thing!

Then I met this sweet Oregon boy. He swept me off my feet, and whisked me off to his hometown! He brings out the best in me (most of the time!). He calms my tempers, and taught me that I always don't need to act so tough. They say home is where the heart is, and that's definitely true. I miss all of my friends and family, but wherever he goes, is where I'll be!

So there you have it! Like I said, not too exciting, but I definitely wouldn't change any of it!

Thanks so much for stopping by, now go link up!



And of course, I can't forget about OHP! It's one of my favorite link-ups of the week, when I get to share all of my favorite pins with you!  But since this post is already getting long, I'll only share a few of the best ones.

I'm Molly Mae, the voice over at MaeLiveFree, and I'm pretty excited to offer up some grade-A embarrassing story over here today! Lucky for me, and you, it's a love story too. This guest appearance came about in competition (which is actually pretty typical of me and Amy, as are embarrassing stories really). When I recommended choice literature for her to read, and then noticed that she was as unmotivated to read it as I was I said, "Hey, let's say whoever finishes first does a post for the other?" She agreed.

Amy and I go a long way back! We met on my second day of school in Marsing, that little town in Idaho she loves, when we were ten year olds. She was my first best friend in that new school. Then my nemesis, and back and forth it went all the way to graduation. We were pretty similar, both oldest siblings, both loved reading and singing cheesy pop music, both highly opinionated, both royal pains I'm sure as well... We could have been a great pair of friends if we didn't insist on butting heads, and when we were, we were. For some reason though, we couldn't resist a little competition. During the times we got along we had a lot of fun, like at our 8th grade basketball season end party (it's still weird that I ever played basketball) when we were in this weird and apparently hilarious competition of offensive and non-sensical words with Cera and Danielle at a Chinese restaurant. We've also witnessed some embarrassing moments of each other's.  Like me tripping up the stairs at the basketball game we went to at the same party, and tearing my shin up. Or when Amy forgot the words to her solo at one of our Christmas concerts... In the spirit of our history, and her penchants for sharing embarrassing stories here that's what I want to share with you (her awesome readers) today.

On June 7, 2009, I met this random stranger of a guy on facebook (Myspace was losing steam). He sent me a friend request and I accepted just so I could look at his private profile and write him off as a creep...and instead my curiosity was piqued. I thought there was a really good chance that I could love him. Crazy, I know. Especially considering I had just broken off my engagement with my high school sweetheart. Even more so because I had decided that I was really thrilled at the prospect of self-exploration. I told my mom maybe the DAY BEFORE that I would never date someone I met on the internet...then he showed up. It was the worst timing for romance too! My dad had just moved out, and my great grandma was in bad shape with dementia in a nursing home. But for some reason I felt so compelled to know this guy, so I called him out, and messaged him saying that we could be friends as long as he actually wanted to socialize. He thought my initiative was charming and eloquent, so we started talking, via message and text, and I knew I was in trouble! We texted almost non-stop for two days, he stayed up late to talk to me while I stayed up for 64 hours straight in the nursing home leading up to my grandma's passing. Then we decided to meet. He drove 26 miles to pick me up for our first date (I didn't have a car or license at 19!) and when I let him in the door my heart hit the roof. I KNEW that he was my life from that moment on, it was like I'd been hit by a speeding train, and that he had a specific gravitational pull that affected only me. It was the craziest. When we got in his truck he said I smelled delicious and I giggled because my perfume was DKNY Be Delicious.


Fast forward through half a day spent at his apartment just talking like old friends and watching a movie...I meet his roomate, and then his best friend and his girlfriend. The two latter, this fella, and myself decide to go out to his favorite sushi restaurant for dinner. I'm equal parts excited and mortified. I had always wanted to try sushi, but I wasn't the biggest fan of seafood. So off we went in his truck, onto the freeway, when he realized he forgot his wallet. His best friend laughed and remarked on how common that was, and we exited to go back and get it. We arrive at the sushi restaurant and the gentlemen proceed to do the ordering, they know what's good, I trust them. The sushi arrives and we share 4 rolls. Thing to note: I've never REALLY used chopsticks before, so they give me a lesson. I managed to grab a piece of the Spicy Hawaiian roll and bring it to my mouth. Everyone is talking and carrying on, and I'm trying to figure out how to eat it without looking gross or stupid because it's huge! I decide to bite off half of it and the whole thing starts crumbling like a old house being demolished. My mouth is full, and I'm helpless, and suddenly all eyes are on me... I quickly bring my free hand up to cover my mouth and attempt to chew and push the rest into my mouth while they are looking at me: one smugly, one laughing, and one acting like nothing is happening. The latter being my date thank God, he doesn't seem like I've embarrassed him. The good news is that it was delicious, and also that it wasn't the last date like I feared.

We were pretty much inseparable after that first date, I practically lived at his apartment at least half of the week until I did move in, in October. Somewhere in that still-dating-and-not-yet-one-hundred-percent-comfortable stage we were out at KFC eating lunch, those bowls with mashed potatoes, corn, chicken, cheese, and gravy AKA failure piles in a sadness bowl (forgive the strong language, but watch it, do it). We were sitting in a booth, facing each other, and talking about something that I was apparently excited about and I had set my plastic spork down in the bowl to talk with my hands. Are you starting to see the danger here? No, read on...at some point my hand started to come down, hovering somewhere above the spork for a split second (imagine this scene in slow motion, it's best) before coming down and scattering flinging the heck out of mashed potatoes all over me, my face, the table, and probably across the restaurant, but none on my laughing boyfriend. Some guys might have up and run out on a girl then, or grabbed me and got me out of there fast, but he didn't. If I hadn't already known he was the one, I would have learned it then.

As if those two ugly faced, slobby food scenarios weren't bad enough, things like this happen with me all the time...dipping my hair in farina, slopping coffee all over my face and chest, dropping a glob of ketchup on my swaddled nursing newborn, etc. Even today! After spending 10 minutes hand grinding coffee beans for my aeropress coffee, I set out to remove the bottom canister of the hand grinder and dropped the grounds all over the floor. This time my now husband was covered in my shame as well, standing a little too close when it happened.

I'm lucky to have such a soul to witness my awkward encounters though, and reminded of this everyday. He wrote in his wedding vows that it wasn't despite things like me flinging mashed potatoes in my face that he loved me, but because of them. If that's not a victory for the grace challenged like myself, then I don't know what is.


Thanks for having me here! Maybe I'll see you around my corner of the internet sometime. ;)