Anniversary Date

Since I'm not on my computer as much, I started writing posts from the blogger app. The only problem is sometimes they don't save right, so I wrote this whole post and then it was gone.  So here's a short version:

I liked this outfit, but the skirt is too big and looks kind of goofy.  I need to find time to do some quick alterations on a few skirts, but it's hard to find time for normal stuff, much less sewing!

I wore this to go to Noodles&Co for our traditional anniversary date.  This year, John and I had a third wheel, but he is so cute that we don't mind.  

And we even took our annual selfie in front of the sign:

And when we got home, John took outfit pics for me and captured this gem:

We did go on a real date that weekend, and left the little mister with his grandparents.  But I didn't even think about taking outfit pics.  Since you are all dying to know, I wore my green shorts and polka dot popover.

Top: Gap Factory

Skirt: Gap

Sandals: Target

Eight

It's hard to believe that John and I got married eight years ago!  It has gone by so fast and this last year has been pretty amazing!  And now our family looks like this:

Weekend in Des Moines

Friday after work, John and I hit the road for a weekend away.  Since we prefer a short drive, our destination of choice was Des Moines, IA!  My most difficult task - trying really really really hard to not sing "You really ought to give Iowa a try!" all weekend.  (Where my Music Man fans at??)

We rolled into our hotel around 9:30, and there just happened to be a Sister Hazel concert on the green space right next to it.  We listened to them for a bit, and then went looking for a coffee shop, or (let's be honest) dessert.

I highly suggest Java Joes, if you are ever in downtown Des Moines.  They have ice cream AND board games.  We played Scrabble, because that's what we do.  It was an epic game, with FIVE seven-letter plays.  It was crazy.  At the end, we realized that the set was missing the J and X, so that really changed the dynamic.  Okay, I'm talking about Scrabble too much.  Moving on...

On Saturday, we went to check out the Farmer's Market and then walked down to the sculpture park.  It was a little warm out, but the park was really cool.  And I did cliche poses, because that's what bloggers do!

After hiding inside for a little while in the afternoon, we got cleaned up and went to dinner here.  (We tried to go here, but the line to even put your name in was out the door, so we abandoned that plan pretty quickly.)  Then we were on a mission to find some live music.  The internet wasn't helpful, but we noticed some guys setting up sound equipment and went to check it out.  Success!  They were a cover band, and played an assortment of stuff, but mostly 90s alt-rock, which we were happy with.  Then we may have gone back to Java Joe's.  Because what's a Saturday evening without board games? 

Sunday was my favorite.  A little backstory - I can't ride a bike (Or really do anything that requires balance, like skating, or you know, walking without frequently tripping).  But I really love the idea of going on a bike ride.  During our walk around the lake last week, we saw a guy on a recumbent trike, and I decided that would be the perfect solution!  I've heard of the Trestle Trail, and wanted to try it out.  So we rented trikes and had the best time!  The weather was absolutely gorgeous, so that helped.  And now I want a trike!  So if anyone is looking to get me a very expensive birthday present, there's a hint.   

After that, we were starving, and ended up at Jethro's BBQ.  Amazing!  I would eat smoked turkey every day.  Then we thought a movie would be fun.  Lucy started out cool, and then just got really weird and boring.  So, I don't recommend it.

Then we drove home.  It was a really fun weekend!  Des Moines gets my stamp of approval for an easy weekend away.   

7 Years

Today marks 7 years since John and I got married (and 8 since we started dating).  I am genetically predisposed towards sentimentality/nostalgia, so I like to think back to what I've been up to each year on this date.  Back in 2012, I wrote a whole week of posts about July 28th.  Some of you may have seen them, but I think I had about 9 followers back then (and surely I have DOZENS of followers now), so if you are interested in anniversary recaps, here you go: 

2006,  2007,  2008,  2009,  2010,  2011, 2012

Last year, we spent the day driving home from the Montana trip, but we got home in time for our traditional anniversary dinner at Noodles&Co, and then went on an official anniversary date later.

This year, we decided at the last minute to go on a little weekend trip to Des Moines.  I know - that's the top place you think of for a romantic getaway!  But when you live in the middle of the country, there aren't many options for a drive-able weekend away.  Honestly, we had a blast.  I'll work on a full recap for later this week, but you can see a few pics on Instagram.  Spoiler alert - there may be tricycles involved.

Anyway, an anniversary is a good excuse to share a couple more of my favorite wedding pictures.  And otherwise, just be thankful for such a wonderful husband.  (Blah, blah, blah - sappy love stuff - I can't even write it without feeling cheesy, but I really do love this guy!)  

 Happy 7 years! Here's to many more!

6 Years!

This is a couple weeks late, but as of July 28th, John and I have been married for 6 years.  It also marks 7 years since our first date, because we are cool and got married on our date-iversary!  Last year, I did a full week of anniversary posts, so I will keep it simple this year.  Since we were driving back from Montana on our actual anniversary, we went on our official anniversary date last weekend.  Nothing too fancy, just a nice dinner and a random movie.  You can tell it was a special occasion because I actually put on eye makeup.

I don't want to get to sappy on the internet, but I will just say that I am so happy this guy decided to keep me.  I think he's pretty wonderful!   Here's to 70-ish** more years of marriage! 

Dress: Gibson&Latimer via Dillard's
Cardigan: Gap
Sandals: Carlos Santana
Necklace: H&M

**or maybe more?   I heard a rumor that life expectancy may be on the rise - although living to 100 seems like a really long time.  This post just took a weird turn.  More evidence that I am lucky John puts up with me.   

Half a Decade

On Saturday, John and I celebrated 5 years of marriage!  If you have been hanging around the blog this week, you knew this was happening.  If you want to know how we spent the last several July 28ths, catch up here:

 2006,  2007,  2008,  2009,  2010,  2011

Anyway, for the big 5 year anniversary, we took a trip to St. Croix.  I tried to trick John into another vacation but he was to smart to fall for it, so on Saturday, we just hung around here.  We went to brunch and then had a lazy afternoon.  John got me a new iPod, so I was playing around getting it set up.  Then we went out for a nice dinner.   Here we are dressed up for dinner: 

At the restaurant, I asked John to take a few outfit photos, which proved more difficult than we expected.  The wind was not cooperating:  

 

We finally got a few good ones:  

We had a lovely dinner and then walked around the outdoor mall.  There was some live music, but I think we were a few decades younger than the intended demographic, so we didn't hang around too long.

On Sunday, we continued the anniversary festivities with Noodles&Company for lunch after church.  

Sunday evening, we went to see Weezer - one of our favorite bands!  I remember listening to the Blue album when it came out (many many years ago).  I thought Buddy Holly and Undone were the coolest songs ever.  It kind of blows my mind that 17 years later, I'm at a Weezer concert with my husband of 5 years, listening to them play those songs.  Ten-year-old Andi would never believe it!   

Anyway, I'd say it was a pretty successful anniversary.  Here's to many more years!

Top: Preston&York
Skirt and Belt: Limited
Necklace: inPink
Shoes: Steve Madden

Anniversary Week - 4 years!

2011 - Last year, we bought a house at the end of June, so we were in money-saving mode, so we decided to have another low-key anniversary.  If you haven't figured out the trend yet, we went to Noodles&Co on the 28th, which was a Thursday.  Then that weekend, we went to a local vineyard on Saturday, but didn't take many pictures.  For dinner, we dressed up and went out to one of my favorite restaurants.  We spent the rest of the weekend being lazy, because that was really all we wanted to do.  2011 was a pretty crazy summer for both of us at work, plus I had several trips out of town, and then we were busy getting packed up and moving.  It was pretty great to have the weekend to do nothing!

Which brings us to our 5th anniversary tomorrow.  I really can't believe how quickly the time has gone.  We will be celebrating 10 years before I know it!

Anniversary Week - 3 years!

 

2010 - For our 3rd anniversary, we decided to keep it simple and just went out to dinner.  I was happy for an excuse to wear this dress.  Since it's white, I can't wear it to weddings, and I don't have a lot of other dressy events to attend in the summer.

For some reason, I was posing with the roses John got me.  This was a pretty good outfit picture, before I was even blogging my outfits!   

Calvin Klein dress, Mossimo shoes

Of course, on the 28th, we went to dinner at Noodles&Co!

I'm also guest posting for Amber, over at Obviously Obsessed.  She asked me to write about a favorite vacation, so I figured I would go along with my anniversary theme and write about our honeymoon to Jamaica.  Go check it out!

Anniversary week - 2 years!

2009 - For our second anniversary, we decided to take a very quick weekend trip over to Lincoln.  First, we spent that Saturday at a local vineyard.  It was really beautiful to walk around and just relax while tasting some of their wine options.

Then we headed to downtown Lincoln and checked into our hotel.  I worked at this hotel gift shop while I was in college, so it was kind of weird to be a guest there.  Then we got all dressed up and went out to dinner at Misty's, which is where we ate the night we got engaged.

After dinner, we went and saw one of the worst movies ever.  Then we walked around campus and the Haymarket, which is pretty empty in the summer.    

July 28th was a Tuesday in 2009, and it was the day before we were driving to Colorado for my family reunion.  My mom, sister and nieces were crashing at our place on their trip across America, so we all went to Noodles&Co.  

John also got me some really cool roses!  I'm sure they have a name, but I don't know it, so I'm sticking with "really cool".  

Anniversary Week - One Year

2008 - For our first anniversary, we spent the weekend in downtown Omaha.  We got all dressed up and went out to dinner at a fancy steakhouse and then walked around in the Old Market.  

The next day, we went to the zoo.  It happened to be one of the hottest days of the year, but we still had fun.  I may have been projecting my own feelings onto the animals, but don't these otters and rhinos seem like they are in love??

Our actual anniversary was on a Monday, so John sent me flowers at work, and then we had dinner at Noodles&Co and then had cake at home.  The idea of year old cake didn't sound appealing to me, so we had eaten our real cake topper on our one month-iversary.  For our first year, I just ordered a little cake from the same bakery, and got a bottle of our sparkling raspberry juice that we had used for our toasts.  Both were delicious!

Anniversary Week - Gettin' Hitched

Yesterday, I kicked off anniversary week with a little story of how John and I got together.  Fast forward one year, and we are Mr. and Mrs. Smith!  I've already shared some of our wedding pictures on the blog, so I'll just share one more of my favorites.  This was right after the ceremony, before we went to the reception.  I pretty much love this picture.  

Our ceremony was at 2, and only took about 15 minutes.  Our reception was also pretty low-key.  We just had food and cake and had fun talking to all our friends and relatives.  We were out of there by about 5pm and already knew where we were going for dinner:  

Originally, we thought we wouldn't get a chance to eat at the reception, so we'd go straight there in our wedding clothes, but we actually got some food at the reception, so we went to dinner later, in normal clothes.  I wonder what the staff and other patrons would have thought of us in our dress and tux.  It's become kind of a tradition for us to get Noodles and Company for our anniversary each year.  It's a pretty financially sustainable tradition!