Be A Princess

I always wanted to be a princess as a little girl - well along with being the first woman on mars, a ballerina, a scientist and a cartographer. I apparently wanted to be an accomplished princess!
Anyway back to the point. I wanted to be a princess. Not necessarily a disney princess per-say, more of a modern princess. Please don't let your mind jump to Princess Kate - it did, didn't it? Ugh. Ok no, not modern princess as in Kate - honestly, not a fan of her style. I'm thinking maybe more socialite style minus the tacky short be-glittered dress and huge jewelry. More Blair from Gossip Girl (minus the silly hats she wears on occasion which are more Princess Kate). My idea of a princess was more like this:

Light, airy and regal

 

Simple and sophisticated

 

Classy and stylish.

 

And of course, poufy!

 

And princesses were supposed to have stunning jewelry.

The all important tiara

 

Lovely bracelets

 

And of course the matching necklace.

 

I'm not sure why, but when I was little I got it into my head that princesses wore sapphires and diamonds and I wanted blue and silver jewelry so badly, convinced that once I had it I would be a princess.

 

But I no longer wish to be a princess. Yes, I'd still love to wear beautiful clothes and stunning jewelry. I still would like a house with a spiral staircase (the kind I swore all princesses had when I was little), it would be great fun to have all the money in the world, but being that kind of princess is no longer my wish.

 

I am a princess in many different ways. Instead of ballgowns and sapphires, I have boots and gold wedding bands. Instead of a castle, I have a warm comforting home. Instead of classic dresses, I have giant sweaters. Instead of a prince, I have the sweetest man in the world. Instead of maids, I have a baby on the way. You see I don't need expensive jewelry, fancy clothes, lots of money, a castle and servants to make me happy, I need my husband and my family. I am a princess because I've decided that riches don't make you royal, contentment does.

 

 

 

Your princess content wife,

At Home

So lately I haven't been the best house keeper and I haven't cooked much and my poor husband is usually stuck taking care of me. I have a million excuses of course... Nausea, round ligament pain, fatigue and the latest one: a cold. But I have managed a few things and my loving, sweet husband has been so understanding.

My "pantry" filled with canned goods, baking goods, tea and recipe books.

 

My stove and white pantry thingy. We live in a 1940's farmhouse which explains the green stove and not so lovely wall paper (thankfully this is the only wall with this particular wall paper).

That's bread dough rising for cinnamon rolls on the stove top there.

 

Thanksgiving center piece that Lys and I did for the big Thanksgiving dinner my family does every year.

 

Cinnamon rolls I made one day when I had an energy spurt (please let me have another one of those).

 

The view from my back door. Lovely, huh?

 

 

 

Your sorta home-maker,

Changed...

Is it real that this time last year I wasn't even married? Now I'm married, three months pregnant and about to graduate college. No more school for me (until I homeschool that is). It's kind of weird that I've moved past school now. No more studying, no more freaking out about a test... nothing. Three more assignments to turn in and I'm done. Graduated with a diploma in photography and ready to try and get some work published. Crazy huh?
Life moves so quickly, but I find that sometimes the change is subtle and sometimes not so much. Changing from a homeschool elementary student to a homeschool high school student wasn't that big of a difference, but going from unmarried to married felt like a major one and a subtle one. It wasn't different because I already cooked and cleaned, but it was different because I had to budget the money for the food and it was my house to clean. So it was the same but not.
Being pregnant is a major change, but originally an unbelievable one. I couldn't see the baby, I couldn't feel the baby, I couldn't hear the baby, but there was a baby. My body hadn't changed and originally I was just tired, so all I had to go on was this little blue line on a pregnancy test. Of course the evening sickness came (I didn't have morning sickness) and the tiredness increased and I just felt ugh so there were more symptoms and it finally began to feel real. Now I'm 14 weeks, showing a bit (not much but still), have heard the baby's heart beat and am having all the not-so-fun ligament pain.
So bascially everything has changed, but somehow in the midst of it, it never really felt like it... Here is hoping for some not-so-subtle changes in 2013 (ehem - actually having the baby out here).

The same, but some how not,

I Am Obsessed

I have many things I'm obsessed with. Photographs (particularly B&W, particularly Ansel Adams, particularly Richard Avedon, particularly Steven Vote). Baby Lips Peach Kiss lipstick. Shared Journals with Lys. Fall smells and colors. My wedding and engagement rings. The color yellow. Birds. Paper lanterns. Purple nail polish. Bico Australia Necklace Charms. Books. Knit tops. Grey flats. Maurices (which sells afore-mentioned knit tops and grey flats). Notebooks and pens (and pencils).

One of my many (many) obsessions is tea.

Thankfully my friend (and Lyssa's sister) Bee also has this obsession so we can talk about it all day long. As a wedding gift to Bee and her (now) husband, I went to this amazing store (which I've been in before but with my whole family so there wasn't much browsing time) called Teavana. Now Teavana is a tea lovers dream. It has every tea pot, every tea set, every tea thermos, every kind of tea you can imagine. It is amazing!!! I love love love going there. Any way... I got Bee (and her husband) a tea set and when I went to her house the night before her wedding we used it along with some amazing tea they got at Teavana (they are both tea lovers). It was great. I love tea and all and Bee got me this wonderful electric hot water kettle as a wedding gift to me, so I have instant hot tea the moment I want it, but fresh lose leaf tea is sooo much better.

 Here are some of the teas I'm dying to try:

Samurai Chai Mate Tea: http://www.teavana.com/the-teas/mate-teas/p/samurai-chai-mate-tea

Strawberry Paraiso White Tea blended with Precious White Peach White Tea: http://www.teavana.com/the-teas/white-teas/p/strawberry-paraiso-white-tea
and http://www.teavana.com/the-teas/white-teas/p/precious-white-peach-white-tea

Copper Knot Hongcha Black Tea: http://www.teavana.com/the-teas/black-teas/p/copper-knot-hongcha-black-tea

And

Joie de Vivre Herbal Tea: http://www.teavana.com/the-teas/herbal-teas/p/joie-de-vivre-herbal-tea?cm_sp=Recos-_-BlendsWShow-_-<%=index

And don't even get me started on German Rock Sugar!! Oh my gosh. It is sooooo good. Of course regualr sugar is fine, but german rock tastes amazing!







Ok, I'm starting to drool and I need tea, so I'm going to go finish my stuff now and then go home and have a nice cup :)

Much Love,

Sincerely

Dear Bridal Stores,

Just because I tried on three dresses at your store does not mean I'm interested in every single sale/giveaway/brides-maids dress release.

Sincerley,

Annoyed with phone calls and emails

Dear Facebook,

I have no clue who that weird person on my side bar is and no I don't care if we have 5 friends in common, I'm not going to friend request them!

Sincerely,

Tired of "friend suggestions"

Dear Party City,

Not all bridal stuff has to be silver and/or white.

Sincerely,

A bride who knows




Dear Shampoo Commercials,
It doesn't matter how long I use moisture shampoo & conditioner, my hair never looks like that!

Sincerely,
I still have dry hair




Dear Nail Strengthener,
I have put coats and coats of you on and my nails still break.

Sincerely,
That stuff only works if you don't




Dear Pandora,
I think I should be allowed to skip more songs per hour then you let me.

Sincerely,
I don't like listening to bad songs




Dear Sewing Patterns,
You need to be more user friendly.

Sincerely,
I can never follow those things




Dear Chefs on Food Network,
Quit making it look easy to cut mangos

Sincerely,
I'm now sporting a cut finger

Dear Readers,

I love y'all

Sincerely,

Being Honest

"Some people are beautiful.

Not in looks.

Not in what they say.

Just in what they are."

-Author Unknown (to me)

We all want to be something other than what we are. We want to be taller or shorter. We want to be skinnier or curvier (is that a word?). We want to have blue eyes or brown eyes or green eyes. Our lips aren't full enough (or too full), our jawline not defined enough. Our skin isn't clear or tanned or its not a pretty complexion.

Being completely honest here, I have to say I think the same things. Some of the stuff that runs through my mind is as follows:

"Gosh my face is so broken out."

"I wish my nose was smaller."

"My hair is such a boring color and it's sooooo dry."

"My thighs are too heavy, I really need to work on that."

"I look so dumpy in pictures because I'm too short for my figure."

"I wish my eyes had stayed blue, not changed to this non-decript color."

"My eye shape is so horrible."

"Wow, this shirt makes me look so heavy."

"I'm getting softer around my abdomen, I should do some crunches."

"My teeth are horrible."

And my newest:

"Oh - oh this is just great. I'm already nerdy, I already had glasses and now I have braces too."

No, I haven't been handling the braces/glasses duo cliche very well - it's not that I'm pitching a fit or fussing and screaming about it, but all I can think is how ulra horrible it looks on me. I don't feel like I'm one of those cute vintage-y girls who can pull it off.

please ignore the random add the the bottom of this photo

Yeah - I think all that. I look at pictures of teeny girls and think "wow I'm dumpy". I see a cute dress, fall in love and then try it on and think "if only I were skinnier this would look good". I'm sure that there isn't a person on the planet who hasn't thought something at some point was wrong with them. We wouldn't be human if we didn't think things like that. Sometimes we've wondered if the person we had a crush on would like us better "if...". We've wondered if the other person was more popular simply because they were prettier (in our opinion). Sometimes we look and look at the girl/guy who seemly has all the dates and everyone likes them and wonder "Why? Why is everyone in love with him/her? Is he/she that much better looking than me? How ugly am I?". If you haven't thought anything like any of this then I am begging you, please tell me your secret!

So we need to come up with a solution right? I've thought of a few, but it doesn't seem to always work. Like when I think "My hair is so awful" I should correct myself and say "Well at least I have hair". Not that you can't look beautiful without hair, you can. Some of the most beautiful people in the world are those who have lost their hair due to illness or such, but I'm trying to make a point about counting blessings. When I think "My waist is getting soft" I should think "Well that can always be fixed with a bit of work". But I don't always think that. I beat myself up, I tear myself down. I forget that an all - perfect God has designed me. That he made my nose just the right size for me, that he made me shorter than some, that he made my eyes the color they are. We should be happy with how God made us. I'm not saying "No make-up, God made you perfect". Yes, you are beautiful with out make up, you do not need it, but sometimes it's nice to wear it, like when we paint a house to make it look all nice. And no, please no heavy make up. Make up should be used to enhance, when we paint a house we still see the house underneath, the paint is there to enhance the looks. I'm also not saying "Don't worry about working out or eating healthy". We should take care of our bodies, but we need to also accept we may never look like a model, that we may be bigger boned so its ok if we're never a size 2 or 4 or even 6. Its ok to be 8 or 10 or 12. Heck its ok to be who you are, whatever that maybe, whatever size that maybe. You are handsome. You are beautiful.

Just being me,