We're Back Baby!

Please forgive the two-week long blogging hiatus, I've been a tad busy! We had a little event on July 12, you know, a small gathering, and then went on a little vacation. NBD.

But for real, the wedding was a dream and the honeymoon was amazing. Whoever thought of a beach vacation for a week following the busiest and most exhausting and most joyful day of your life was a smart person. I would like to shake his or her hand. 

Brian and I went to St. Thomas and stayed at the Ritz-Carlton...this was a good decision. From the turquoise water to the relax-it's-the-caribbean attitude, we enjoyed ourselves and not having to stick to a schedule for anyone. We also happened to get into the TV series The Wire, and are now hooked on battling corruption in Baltimore. Let me know if you want to talk details on this one, we are now proud members of the Jimmy McNulty fan club. Other than HBO, there was a lot of reading, laying out, beaching, snorkeling, eating, and of course a little drinking too. Obviously we didn't have the foresight to bring a proper camera with us, so here is a collection of iPhone pics to give you an idea of what our week looked like.

It's The Little Things

So this morning my wedding started to feel a little bit closer, a little bit more real. Of course it wasn't the dress fitting or hairstyle trial or seating charts that made this event feel real, it was my friend Sam's beautiful calligraphy that made it sink in. For fear of spoiling any element of surprise to people attending my wedding, I won't show too many pictures or show exactly how these will be used in the decor, but I couldn't help but love the job she did. I tasked her with adding to my centerpieces by writing out great quotes from literature and people I love in calligraphy. 

Of course she was excited about the job, and nailed it. This girl is a jack of all trades (or is it jill of all trades?): Teacher for America, Chicago segway tour leader, farm camp leader, interior decorator, foodie, and now official wedding calligrapher. I'd say you should all call her up and pay her lots of money to write you some beautiful words. 

***This post was not sponsored by Sam Handel Inc. in any way. I just like to hype my friends.***

The Best Camera Sniper Victim

One of my favorite pastimes over the last year has developed by all of my hours sitting shotgun in the car while Brian is driving. We clock a lot of time in the car, driving between the city for church and me, the west suburbs for Brian and his work, Indiana and the south suburbs for college friends, the north suburbs for Brian's family, and all the way up to Wisconsin for my family. It's kind of hectic. (On a regular old three day stretch, Brian put 500 miles on his car!) So one of my favorite things is to take pictures of Brian without telling him. He goes through a range of emotions: surprised, not pleased, annoyed, and bashful. I think I've captured that pretty clearly in the four picture sequence below.

It is officially WEDDING WEEK here in Anna-gesch-ville, and I am so so so excited to get married to Brian. It somehow still doesn't feel totally real as I'm writing this, munching on my cocoa puffs at 10:15 pm and alone in this apartment. I still feel like my regular old self, definitely not more manicured or glamorous or special than I usually am. I can't wait to see how my life changes, how marriage shapes me, the ways I change, and the ways I stay the same. I have a feeling that my love affair with cereal will remain a constant. Here we go, people! #whartnabywedding is on its way! 

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My New Normal

Sometimes I laugh at my own life, not because it's funny, but because it's ridiculous. Today Brian asked how the day went at school. I replied with, "It was good, kind of a chill and easy day." Then I rewound my brain and realized that today involved two altercations between students escalating to inappropriate insults, one bloody nose as a result of a punch thrown during buddy reading time, and a middle finger being raised during a vocabulary lesson. Hmm. Not exactly what I used to consider an easy day. Of course in this past year and a half my definition of "normal" has drastically changed. But nonetheless, on these "normal" days it's nice to have a daydream here or there, and of course I'm turning to wedding thoughts. That's another part of my new normal. Want to see what I'm dreaming of? Can you guess my favorite color as of late? I'm liking the look of this new normal more and more each day :)