a little kitty

Okay, it's not a little kitty. It's a little baby named Cat. & her name is actually Catherine, but she's just  a little ginger kitty to her Aunt Kelsey. Between my family & Jared's, there is ALWAYS a baby being born, & we couldn't love it more. I get lots of camera practice & we both get a newborn fix at least once a year. It works out perfectly.

& since we're all freaking out about the death of Google Reader, it works out PERFECTLY that I just joined Bloglovin' a few weeks back. Keep up with the tree here!

speaking of brides

Tomorrow, I get to shower my dear friend Dani with all things white & bridey. So, NATURALLY, I'm feeling all sorts of wedding-sentimental. I was searching for something in my inbox last week & the post below popped up in an email I had written & sent to myself back in 2010. Uhhh, that probably sounds weird, now that I think about it, but since I was new at my job the entire spring/summer before our wedding, I would typically use my lunch hour to work on wedding emails. Apparently this day, I just decided to write instead.

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I am currently avoiding a list. THE list. The wedding to-do list. We are at the 8 week mark, and I am feelin’ it. 8 weeks marks the point that people ask, “When is the wedding?” to which I reply, “Why, October 23^rd!” to which they exclaim “OH! So CLOSE! Are you getting NERVOUS??!”

No, I’m not. Not about being married anyway. My countdown should really truly extend to October 24^th, as that will be the day that I can sit back and smile about the beautiful memories filled with every ounce of loved ones in our lives, partying like it’s 1999, and reminisce with my HUSBAND (HUSSSBAAANDDD!!!) about the day before. That beautiful day that we worked so hard for, whether it was finishing college, growing up from 17 & 18 yrs. old together to a point that we can be married or simply surviving the wedding planning process.

Nay, I am nervous about getting it all DONE. As I sit here in my office, I am continually contemplating ideas, remembering inspiration I had about 6 months ago when the wedding was “soooo far away,” and trying not to shove every cute idea I’ve ever seen into the same invitation envelope. I’m nervous about the fact that I’m not going to be able to decorate the reception MYSELF, and am instead expected to hand over the controls to my (very competent, capable, creative and AMAZING) day-of wedding coordinator. Control freak? You say potato, I say potahhhto. I’m nervous about getting off of work early enough to submerge myself in wedding festivities the week of. Nervous about spending time with my amazing cousins from Missouri, my best friend from Indiana, my college lovies from GMU.

What I am not nervous about is being a wife. Or being married. Or not being single. Or being too young. Or being too poor. None of the above. We are about 8 weeks away from being at the perfectly appointed place that God wants both of us to be before we say “I do.” I am my beloved’s, and he is mine. And we are so in love. These last few months have been some of the best times of our relationship, as we finalize everything that says, “I AM YOURS FOREVER!” We’re just continually giddy. It’s been surreal. We were just thinking back to when we started dating and thought 2010 seemed SO far away… & it was ;) But here we are. And that shaggy haired boy that ate too many 7-11 donuts and drank too many Slurpees has become a man that is continually providing for me, supporting me in everything I do, and preparing a home for us to share. *SWOON* Are we really not married already??? UGHHHH.

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Those feelings are still so fresh in my memory, looking back. I was so overwhelmed with my job that year, & it's a little sad that I had that cloud over our sweet time of engaged giddiness. But! The good news is that we survived & the wedding was perfect, just the way it was. (& can I just say that THANK GOD Pinterest wasn't around back then? My brain would probably have exploded.) 

Reading this makes me so grateful that I get to say "husband" on a daily basis. How two lives collide & make so much sense together is nothing short of a miracle. I am so excited to welcome Dani into this Wedded Bliss Club. It's fun. There's a lot of kissing & breakfast in bed. I promise. 

But for now, I have cupcakes to ice.

bridal shower land

Bridal Shower Land - That's where I am this week. Up to my ears in hot glue guns & Dollar Tree goodies. FANCY, I know. But as long as it ends up looking fancy, I win. 

I have completely commandeered the table in our dining room/office. Jared has been sitting in the opposite corner of the room all evening at the real desk, working on, you know, real work. The Shins have been doing most of the talking this evening. But it's still nice! Vicinity is where it's at, people. I can sit over here with my apple slices (because Bridesmaid Diet, yaaaaay!) & he can keep his 400% dark chocolate bar over there in icks-ville.

These are the fascinating happenings of the Bethunes in March. Stay tuned for Chewing Apples - An Essay & DIY: Ignore your wife's pathetic attempt at whistling along to Caring is Creepy.

jared's birthday

Writing about Jared's birthday at this point in our lives is actually just me writing about how awesome/not awesome I am. Like, waking up early to make breakfast in bed, including but not limited to bacon hearts? AWESOME. Burning the hashbrowns & kinda the egg & the other (not pictured) pieces of bacon because I can't multi-task in the kitchen? NOT AWESOME.

Or, picking out perfectly-Jared gifts because for once, I listened to the hints he's been dropping & actually wrote them down? AWESOME. Choosing to photoshop the most manly looking photo of my face into a picture with Noah Gundersen? KINDA NOT AWESOME. Because I still think it's pretty hilarious, manly or no.

It was a really wonderful day together, & I think the birthday boy would agree. There aren't many better ways to ring in your 25th year than brownies & coffee ice-cream, so we're calling this one a success.

Two days in, & 25 is looking pretty good on this fella.

(PSST! Now you can follow my blog with Bloglovin)

sunday best

HIS

 shirts - j. crew // tie - thrifted  // jeans - cotton on // bucks - bass  // watch - timex (vintage), j.crew band

HERS

shirt - ae // skirt - old navy ($4!) // tights & watch - francesca's collection // glasses - warby parker

The sad tale of this Sunday Best is that it's March & it's still freezing outside, so that glorious wall got all of 4 minutes of our attention before we ran back to the car as fast as the universe allowed us. You know, because the wind was beating against our faces & my right eye (which serves as my trusty "It's windy!" meter) was watering so I couldn't really see where I was going. Which was sad, because it was Jared's birthday & no one deserves to be pushed around by the wind on their birthday.

Fortunately, over at my parents' house, there are always doggies that have too much love to give & a back patio that blocks the wind really well. We win, universe.

Except that it's March. & it's still freezing. I had the windows open in our bedroom today as I put away the four mountains of clothes that had built up over the last week (HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN.) & I could faintly smell spring in the air. It's close enough at 14 days away that I can say how completely over winter I am without it being considered whining. Right?