I'm MARRIED!! Update and Life Changes

Long time no blog! Life has been crazy lately with all the changes that are happening! I've been so busy doing the last minute wedding preparations, packing and going on my honeymoon and getting ready to move to New York...but I've also been incredibly happy! So much to talk about and not a lot of time to do so, but I'll give you a quick run down on everything.

The wedding went so well! The weather was an amazing 73 degrees and sunny, the lodge looked pretty good if I do say so myself, and there were only a few minor hiccups along the way. Everyone who we've talked to said that they had a great time, and Mike and I had an absolute blast at the reception. We enjoyed all our guests, ate, made s'mores, danced (we even jumped off tables into the dance floor!) and celebrated the crap out of the first day of our marriage. Here are some photos from the day...some are from our photographer Rene Minnis, who was great, and some are from family and friends.

 

 Two days later we were on the plane to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic for our honeymoon, which was amazing. Mostly we just relaxed by the beach and pool and enjoyed everything about the resort. We were planning on doing some expeditions, but they were pretty expensive, and we were having so much fun right where we were! Maybe next time...

So now we are back in Maine and we are moving to New York in 3 short weeks! Now it's time for a whole lot of packing, job/apartment hunting and enjoying the rest of our lives together!  =)

 

I hope there's not such a long absence within our move from blogging...I've been missing it! I'm going to try my darnedest to get some content up here for sure.

Book Review: The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

I just finished The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider, so here are my thoughts and opinions on it.

It was OK. I definitely didn't love it and I probably wouldn't reread it, but some aspects of it were good. I really like the title of the book. It's like you have to read the whole book to understand why the author chose this title. It makes the story so much more beautiful when you think about what it's called. 

The book is about a high school senior named Ezra Faulkner who is a star tennis player. One night at a party, everything that made him who he was got destroyed. He can no longer play tennis and has to walk with a cane. He basically starts a new life, changing his friends, hobbies and way of thinking and acting. It's really cool to see him go through all of these changes and to witness the change of thinking that he has through the first person narration. His new group of friends introduces him to Cassidy Thorpe who shows him new aspects of life, and helps him figure out who he is.

I will say that I was entertained throughout the whole book, but I would still not call this one a must-read.

   

Liebster Award!

A great big thank you goes out to I am Billie for nominating me for a Liebster Award! She has slightly amended the rules to create a Liebster Award 2.0.

 

Here are the rules for a Liebster Award 2.0 nomination:

1. Answer the 11 questions given to you by the blogger who nominated you.

2. Link back to the blogger who nominated you.

3. Nominate 11 bloggers (under 200 followers) and give them 11 questions of your choice.

4. Let your nominees know that they have been nominated and provide a link to your post so they can learn more about it.

 

I think that this is a really cool idea and a great way to get to know and promote other blogs that you love.

 

Here are my answers to Billie's questions:

1.) Whos your favourite blogger?

My favorite blogger is probably Allison Anderson. I'll forgive her for having a cat.

2.)How long have you being blogging?

I've been blogging since mid-February of this year.

3.) Could you blog for a living?

I would LOVE to blog for a living. I'm kind of in this career-limbo because of my head injuries, so I'm trying to find the right fit for my needs when it comes to working. Blogging is an amazing fit, but extremely difficult to do for a living.

4.) What do you do in your spare time?

In my spare time I spend time with my fiance and our dog, usually hiking or visiting the local dog park. I also love to read, run and listen to music.

5.)Who is your favourite musician?

Bruce Springsteen! (this is on the wall in my living room)

 

6.)Whats your favourite tv show?

My favorite show at the moment is Friday Night Lights. Mike and I are addicted to it. It's so good and Matt Saracen makes me swoon. All time? Parks and Recreation.

7.) Would you rather watch a movie or read the books?

I would definitely read the book before I watched the movie, but I'm always curious to see how the movie is after I'm done.

8.)Where are you from?

Originally I'm from Massapequa NY. I went to college in Maine and have lived here for the past six years, but Mike and I are moving back to NY in October.

9.)Whos your favourite youtuber?

 I really love Vivianna Does Makeup. She's always so positive and puts me in a good mood.

10.)Whats your favourite joke?

I don't really have a favorite joke...I'm definitely more of an inside joke person (wings for the boys!).

11.) Do you have any pets?

 

This guy! <3

Ok, so here's who I'm nominating!

Emma

Alexa

Aliona

Camille

Karen

Claudine

Katherine

Missy

Sarah

Christina 

Helen-Jane

Here are my questions to these lovely bloggers:

 

1. What's your favorite blog to read?

2. Why did you decide to start blogging?

3. Where do you get your inspiration for blog posts?

4. Do you share your blog with your friends and family? Why or why not?

5. If you could switch bodies with any celebrity, who would it be?

6. Where do you live?

7. What is your favorite book?

8. What color do you like to wear the most?

9. If you could travel to any country in the world, where would it be?

10. Who is your favorite human being in the world?

11. What's the happiest time of the year for you?

Thanks again to Billie from I Am Billie for nominating me for this award!

Book Review: Paper Towns by John Green

I'm pretty sure this was the fastest that I've ever read a novel. I've just never really been the type of person who CANNOT stop reading. I think my eyes would get tired because of the double vision. It's usually worse when I use my iPad to read. This time I was fine. Maybe these glasses really are helping me. Horay! =)

 

I started this book yesterday and I just finished it. I really can say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are so many different elements of it that I loved, from the spontaneous whirlwind of a character who is Margo Roth Spiegelman to Quentin's naivete when it comes to relationships and knowing people. 

 

The story takes place in Orlando, FL, where Margo and Q are next door neighbors.The book is written from Q's perspective, which I think makes it even more interesting. Margo and Q were close when they were children, and had a traumatizing experience together when they were nine. They grow apart after that, but reconnect one night their senior year of high school. Since they are parts of very different social circles, Q is eager to see if the previous night had changed anything in school the next day. However, it seems that Margo has gone missing...again. Apparently she tends to do this, leaving vague clues for her family as to where she went. Usually she is back pretty soon, but not this time, so Q and his friends go on a mission to figure out where Margo is based on what little evidence they can find.

I think what I liked most about this story was the improbability of something, or someone (Margo Roth Spiegelman) like this actually happening to a person like Q. Q does well in school, doesn't go out or party, likes video games and only has a couple close friends. But Margo seems to have been leading two separate lives. One as the beautiful, popular girlfriend of the star baseball player, and another as a fearless yet damaged dreamer and wanderer. I love how Margo feels about living in Orlando. It seems like she wants to be somewhere with more space and more interesting places to discover. For me, growing up on Long Island was similar. Everything was so congested, and sometimes I felt like there was nothing left to discover, like I needed more space.

Q's last month of high school was more eventful and crazy than all four years combined. He also learns a lot about his relationships with his friends and his parents. In the face of Margo's disappearance, he sees the true nature of each of his two best friends, and also learns how to live with these realizations.

Overall, I was really impressed with Paper Towns. John Green is also the author of The Fault in Our Stars. I liked this book better. There was never a boring moment. It keeps you entertained throughout the entire journey. If you haven't read it...get on that!

How to Register for Your Wedding!

What's the best thing you get out of having a wedding? Besides the husband, your REGISTRY!

Ok, true about the husband, not so true about the registry. Friends and family being there to celebrate the start of your marriage totally beats it, but it is still pretty cool. It's amazing how generous people are. I had two showers...one in NY with my family and one in New Hampshire with Mike's. Can you say spoiled brat? Yeah...I know I am.

 We registered with two stores: Bed Bath & Beyond and Georgetown Pottery. BB&B obviously has all of your appliances and cookware and all that good stuff. The pottery store is where we got all of our serving dishes and also a few other cool things. Georgetown Pottery makes beautiful hand crafted pieces and their first store is located a few miles from Mike's family's summer house. For us, it's a special place to get a lot of matching dishes from. There are so many beautiful patterns and color schemes available. After hours of deliberation, we picked the pattern that we wanted everything to be ordered in. We went with Cobalt/Purple, and we absolutely love everything that we got.

Registering online is definitely the way to go. It makes it easier for the guests and you can change/add/remove things at any time. When each of our mothers needed our registry info for the shower invitations, we just gave them a # (from BB&B) and a username (from GP). Super simple!

The things that we registered for ranged in price a lot, but I think that was a good thing because people weren't obligated to spend a ton of money...and also, we needed things of various price values!

I think that a good thing to keep in mind if you already live with your fiance is to take a look at what you have...what's missing and ALSO what would you like replaced? Mike and I got a lot of our kitchen stuff from relatives or just bought them cheap somewhere, so it's like we're finally creating a well-functioning household.

Here's a look at some of the other things that we got!

Utensil holder and platter and bowl from GP.

A Keurig Coffee Maker! =) It's so beautiful! (From BB&B)

 

Saucepan from BB&B

 Any other questions or points about registering?