Four years

I think we'll always just be a little bit awkward. And that's okay. And also fun.

FOUR YEARS. Each better than the one before. And man, this year was by far the craziest. In a good way. Life has been getting so real and it's such an adventure. Not always an easy one, but it's easier when you're stumbling through with your best friend who you also like to smooch. Sometimes I'm like wow, we've only been married for four years? SEEMS LIKE A TEN. But mostly I'm like, what the heck? Where did time go?? So much has happened in the past four years (like someone ALMOST  getting a doctorate!), it's crazy to think back on who we were four years ago. Such babies! But happy babies, who got thrown head first into life and had a lot of fun figuring it out. (This is still happening, lets be clear, we do not have it figured out.)

But gosh, in the midst of the stress of big life things, being married has been so much fun. Like, you guys, I married a winner. As I was typing this Brendon faux-flipped me out of my computer chair. Because that is just business as usual around here. Life will never be boring with Brendon. He is absolutely ridiculous 90% of the time, and sometimes I'm like omgwtf, but mostly I'm  smiling and giggling and having the time of my life. He drives me up the wall, but he also makes me so so so happy. He goes so far out of his way to make sure that I am happy. You guys, the princess complex is just spiraling out of control. I AM A LUCKY LADY.

So yes, four years of happy. Here's to four gazillion more.

(SIDE NOTE: I did the annual going through wedding photos today and OH MY GOSH thank you everyone again for making that such a lovely day. I know wedding photos are only the "highlights", but honestly, every moment our wedding was a highlight. Best day ever. And I mean, not just because I married by boo, but because of all the fantastic people who celebrated with us. I think the majority of people who attended where from out of town if not out of state; you guys traveled so far to celebrate with us! I will never get over that. I will always be in awe of all the wonderful people in our lives. We love every one of you.)

Three Years

Three years of marriage, y'all! Threeeeee! Where has the time gone? Every day time seems to be moving faster and faster, we'll be old and wrinkly and toothless before we know it. These past three years have been the most fun and best of my life. The theme of year three of married life seemed to be FUN. We had a lot of fun this past year together. Although we're still in the throws of pharmacy school (ONE MORE YEAR) and I'm continually working my tail off, we seemed to get a hang of it this year and managed to squeeze in a whole lot of adventures when we weren't hustling our respective games.

Mr. Hogan is my favorite person in the world to embark on adventures with. Really, that's my end goal in life. Have fun with my other half. But life is BUSY and it takes a certain amount of effort and work to make time for adventures, and more importantly each other, and this past year we made it happen. I think it's what keeps us sane. Life is often messy and hectic and not so awesome, but making time for fun and love makes all the rough parts worth it and seem not so rough. I think this last year we've realized how important this is, and we've gotten pretty good at making time for each other when we can. Making sure that "married time" happens, even if you're the busiest and super stressed (erryday, y'all). It's just so crucial. Even if it's something as small as cuddling and giggling on the couch for the random 20 minutes of free time you've got, it matters. And as silly as it sounds, running together has been a huge deal. It creates time together and has been so fun. Because we take running fairly seriously and work it into our schedules, it's scheduled time together. Time to sweat and struggle and hate your legs, but time with each other, no work or school involved. It's the sweaty things, y'all. But really, making time for each other. No matter what you're doing (fun things are recommended!), it's so good.

So cheers to three wonderful years. Looking back three years ago still gives me chills. April 30, 2011 was such a wonderful, unperfectly perfect, and happy happy happy day. We were totally spoiled with love by the most lovely people. I can't say it enough, we are so fortunate to have the people in our lives that we do. They're such winners. And all so good looking! ;) I really wouldn't change a damn thing about our wedding day... except what we wore. As any girl would, I would LOVE to pick out a new wedding dress. Not that I don't love mine, because I do, but I'd get married in something light and flowy, with straps or sleeves because dancing is so much easier when you're not worried about gravity causing your dress to peace out on you and show your goodies to your nearest and dearest. And less dress is bueno when you're getting hitched in Texas heat. Also, HALF as much makeup. I mean, word? Coulda woulda shoulda.

So thank you for the best three years ever, Brendon. Married life is the bomb when you're married to you. Also, you keep getting cuter every year (there's these very few grey hairs that are appearing in Mr. Hogan's fantastic mop, y'all... ooooooo!) and that is trouble. The good kind. I love you, a lot. Year four is going to be amazing, I know it.

Can't get enough of our baby wedding faces? Here is Year One and Two, as well as "the Wedding Posts".

Two Years

Not in the mood for smooshy gooshy love? Don't read this.

Our second year of married life has been... good. So good. This past year of marriage has been all about learning and growing with Brendon and appreciating and loving him more than ever. Even though I swear I know him backwards and forwards, he never ceases to surprise me. I learn new things about and from him everyday. Going through life with him is the greatest and most fun thing in the world.

And goodness, the things this man makes me feel. So many butterflies, after seven plus years of messy life together and two years of being his wife. I fall for him more and more everyday. I am crazy about him like a school girl. It's wonderful and scary, in a good way. How can anyone love this much? My heart hurts when we're apart and when I'm with him I cannot get enough. I'm addicted, big time. I crave his touch and his glances and his words. I want everything about him. I want his thoughts, his dreams, his future. I want to make him smile, to make him laugh, to make him happier than he's ever been. There is never enough. I miss him. Life gets in the way. It sucks and it hurts being away from him, but it is that much better when we're finally together again. And being apart gives us good things to talk about and share, although even if we spent every waking second together I don't think we'd ever run out of things to say.

I don't know how this man does to me what he does, but I love it. And I love him more now than I did yesterday and less today than I will tomorrow. Forever and always. I am the luckiest girl in the world, because he picked me. He wants me and he loves me. He loves the bad and good things about me, and is patient and kind with me when I am rotten tomato of grumpiness. Being married to him is the easiest and best thing in the world. I know marriage is not supposed to be easy, but it is. Life is not easy, life is hard and tiring and mean sometimes, but being married to him is like breathing deep gulps of air after life holds you under the water. Having each other is our protection against the dark and crummy things that so often threaten to appear in our simple little lives. Even after or during the most terrible day, knowing that we still have each other makes everything okay. He is my safe place, he is my home. He is everything and he is mine. And I am his. Two years down, forever to go.

And so you don't think we're all serious business:

Holy pit stains batman!

Photos curtesy of Powerhouse Studios. More wedding goodies here .

One Year

One year ago today, my sweet husband and I tied the knot! We did the damn thing and made our love official. It was hands down the best day ever. I wish I could relive that day over and over and over. And over. And the honeymoon too please! We haven't been on a vacation since and I think we are both in need of one.

Our first year of marriage has been a wild one! Nothing either of us could have predicted that's for sure. We were young, crazy, and a little naive (still are all of those things), starting out on a new little life together. We had no idea what we were in for. After coming home from the best honeymoon ever, we packed up our lives and moved to Austin. And thus began the wildness. We hit a few bumps along the way (some bigger than others) but here we are today, together in one happy little married piece.

And although this last year was definitely was not easy, being married to Brendon was a piece of cake. Loving him and being his wife is so easy. It's like breathing. I have never loved him more and I am crazier about him every day. I have no idea how that's possible after all these years, but I dig it. Yes, I want to punch him in the face sometimes (who doesn't? Kidding babe! ...kinda), and I'm sure he feels the same about me. I know I can be a bee-otch fosho! But everyday is an adventure and even at our grumpiest I am happier than ever. No matter what life throws at us, we've got each other and that makes everything seem a whole lot easier.

Thank you Brendon Hogan, for being a wonderful husband for one wonderful year. Thank you for loving me and all my craziness. For putting up with me on my bad days and loving me no matter what. Thank you for making me laugh and laughing with me everyday. You are so much fun. You are as weird as I am (if not weirder) and can handle even my oddest quirks and habits. On that note, thank you for being patient with me. I know I can be am a mess. Thank you for being adorable and handsome and such a cute little nerd. I swear you get better looking everyday (not fair!). Thank you for inspiring me to be a better person. You work so hard at everything you do, I am envious of your determination and endless supply of motivation! And your charm! How you work your magic on people blows my mind. Thank you for always supporting me in everything, seriously. You have no idea how important that is to me. My life has changed so radically this past year, I am doing things I never thought I was capable of. And I highly doubt I would have been able to do any of it without you.

So thank you for being you, Mr. Hogan. I love you more than anything and I can't wait to spend a gazillion more years married to you.

 

 Post ceremony victory dance across the lawn!

Photo cred to the amazing Breanna at Powerhouse Studios.

Recap of our wedding here, here, and here. Honeymoon part one, two, three, four, five, six. Yes there are six parts. It was an awesome honeymoon OKAY?

Wedding - Part 2

As before, these photos are property of the amazing Breanna at Powerhouse Studios.

After the ceremony came the par-tay! Food and drinks! The Vineyards is first and foremost a restaurant so the food was delish as always. Unfortunately, between wanting to talk to everyone and how tight my dress was, I didn't get to eat a whole lot. But, I am proud to say that I am almost positive we were able to talk to and thank every one of our guests. This was very important to us since I'd say 80% of our guests came from across the state/country to watch us tie the knot. We have wonderful friends and family.

 Us and our vows.

GRUB!

 We made a pact before hand not to shove cake in each others faces because, A. that's over done, and B. no one wants a sticky cake face at their wedding.

AJ was ready to start the dancing. He had been waiting for months to show off his moves.

Kennedy! My favorite toddler!

The Chasak's are a good looking family.

My dad, sister, Brendon, and Z gave a toast and they all rocked it. I lucked out and just stood there and smiled. Everyone was highly entertaining and had us all laughing. Oh and of course I cried.

Mother/son, father/daughter dance. Yes I cried again. 

MY LADIES! Thank you so much for making the trek from up north. You guys brought the party. We will reunite soon!

 And thus, began the party:


 

All us hooter chicas sang "You are my Sunshine" as a surprise to my grandpa who had a birthday coming up. He loved it!

To say we danced the night away would be an understatement. We danced to every song and attempted to drag everyone on the dance floor, including the staff. Brendon and I are TERRIBLE dancers, but we love to pretend we're not. We got everyone dancing and it was a blast. People were busting some serious moves. I've got to hand it to our families and friends, they have some skills on the dance floor. Everyone was a hot, sweaty, and possibly drunken mess. It was so fun. Throwing good parties runs in my family and I think were pretty successful. Definitely a night to remember.

Getting our legal ends all tied up. Also, LOOK HOW GROSS WE ARE. So sweaty.

Can we talk for a second about the weather? It was HOT and it was HUMID. The day before it was rainy and gross, the sun didn't come out until the afternoon the day of the wedding but when it did it came out with a vengeance. It was 90 something degrees and muggy as all get out. The weather had been beautiful and mild all week until that weekend (thanks Texas). Needless to say, everyone looked a little less put together leaving than they came in, us included.

As we were leaving we had fireworks to send us off. FIREWORKS! So cool. Perfect ending to the most awesome day I've ever experienced. We were stinky and sweaty (Brendon didn't even have his shirt tucked in) but giddy and excited when we headed off to the Riverwalk in our limo. I'd never been in a limo before so I was pumped. It was big and super spacious. I felt fancy. We talked the whole way to the hotel about how much fun it was and how lucky we were and how we wanted to do it over again and again. And then when we got to the hotel we found another wedding going on! I went to the bathroom in the lobby (in my wedding dress. And this is so weird, but I went through our WHOLE wedding without going to the bathroom once. How does that work?) and ended up comforting the crying sister of the bride. Wedding goodness all around y'all.

Although it was easily the best and most perfect day of my life, there are a couple tiny little things I'd change, and these are superficial and stupid but whatever. I would NOT have gotten my make up done. I don't wear a lot of make up, but I figured since it was a special occasion I'd step it up and get it professionally done. Bad idea. I felt like I had makeup caked on my face and then because it was so hot it felt like it was melting off. It looked pretty, although a bit too much for my taste, and I really liked the fake eyelashes since mine are kinda lam, but I didn't feel so much like me. Plus it was pricy. Also, Brendon got a haircut the morning of which I did not approve of. He looked a little too clean cut. I like the messy haired Brendon I see everyday personally. BUT that's just me being picky. Also, if I could control the weather I would have had it NOT feel like a sauna all day.

Seriously though, best day ever. I want to get married everyday. I freaking love weddings. Someone I know needs to get hitched asap!

So basically that's it! BOOM, our wedding has been blogged. If you missed the first half it's posted here and decor details are here. Thank you for putting up with a plethora of wedding photos. We'll be back to usual programming shortly.

Wedding - Part 1

Here we go! Bloggin' the wedding. The first half at least. Again, all these lovely photos are curtesy and property of Powerhouse Studios.

I was a little stressed out the morning of the wedding, but as soon as I got to the Vineyards (and we got all our decorations up) the amazing staff took care of everything (seriously they are all rockstars) and I was at ease.

Brendon and I decided to see each other before the wedding and have a "first look" so that we could knock out the majority of the photos and focus on hanging out with guests after the ceremony. I would seriously recommend this to anyone and everyone. It saves you a ton of stress and precious wedding time, and gives you and your soon to be spouse a chance to breathe and relax together before the big walk down the aisle. Plus you get to actually enjoy the cocktail hour! And no, seeing each other first does not make it any less special when you walk down the aisle. It was still beyond awesome.

My beeeautiful sister and best friend!

I had a mullet dress, short in the front, long in the back! I wanted something simple but nontraditional and something I could be somewhat comfortable in since we'd be outside. After one seriously long day of dress hunting I found this baby. After a few alterations it was perfect. And of course, it has pockets! I put them to use, I had my lip gloss and vows in there!

I was really nervous about seeing Brendon before the ceremony. He had no idea what I was going to be wearing and as it was not your typical wedding dress, I was hoping he'd like it! And he did! We got to hang out and be giggly for a bit while our photographer took pictures and then we headed over to do some family shots. And I have to say, we have some good looking family and friends.

After all the pictures were taken the girls headed up stairs to hide out while the guests arrived. Then before I knew it, it was time to walk down the aisle.

LOVE this picture!

An AWESOME picture of Kristy right before the ceremony. Guurrrl, you so pretty!

Z!! Seriously the best, best man ever. I might have even stolen him a bit to be a bridesman at times. He was there for us all day throughout the entire wedding ordeal. We cannot thank him enough for being so awesome. And dang we miss you Z! Hawaii is calling our names.

 Cutest flower girl and ring bearer ever? I thinkso. I had a tough act to follow down the aisle.

I cried my way down the aisle. As soon as I heard my song start playing I lost it. Walking down the aisle with my parents by my side, surrounded by everyone I love, to meet my soon to be husband is enough to make any girl tear up a little. And as I am a big baby, I teared up a lot.

Our ceremony, for us, was absolutely perfect. I think I've talked about it before, but I'm going to do it again because it was just so awesome. Since we are not religious, we kind of butted heads with the venue provided minister when we told him we wanted a non-secular ceremony that didn't mention God (gasp!). He didn't want to budge so we fired him. Just kidding, it wasn't that dramatic and we respect everyone's beliefs, we just all agreed it wasn't going to work. Luckily we have an insanely gifted with words friend who just happened to be ordained. Our good friend Derek wrote and officiated our ceremony. And it was wonderful. He is a truly amazing writer (he recently finished writing a book!) and we couldn't have asked for anything better. He knocked it out of the park. My favorite part was a quote from our beloved Albus Dumbledore, "Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light." Thank you Derek. You are the bomb.com and should seriously do this professionally. 

We also wrote our own vows, which I would highly recommend to anyone getting hitched. Seriously, there is nothing like promising your love to each other in front of everyone you love, not to mention legally, using your own words. We chose a number of lines to stick to so they would be about the same length and then went from there. I finished mine the morning before the wedding and I think Brendon did too. I was super nervous about writing and reading my vows but when the time came it was easy peasy, although I choked up a bit. I loved hearing Brendon's and I loved reading mine to him. Best. Thing. Ever.  

PDA!

Officially hitched!

 

The next half will cover the reception portion of the wedding where we all dance our butts off, and in my case, the bottom of my shoes off. 

Wedding details

So we've been married for almost 9 months and I have yet to blog anything really about the wedding, aside from a quick summary. It was seriously the best day of my life. There was so much wonderfulness that I feel like I will never be able to do the day justice. But I am going to try, starting with all the crafty details. Because I am a crafty lady.

But, first and foremost I have to say that all these fabulous photos are courtesy and property of Powerhouse Studios. Thank you Breanna for documenting our special day so beautifully. I highly recommend her if you are in the San Antonio area and in need of anything photo related. She's a genius behind the camera. Check out her website, you might see a couple familiar faces on the home page.

When I first started looking at ideas in wedding magazines and blogs (which is a very scary process, the wedding blog world is INSANE) I was like, omg this is too much, lets just elope. But then I was more like, I can do this. I can make this stuff. So I did. I made all of our wedding decorations, as well as put them up the day of with help from my mom and sister... in 90+ degree humidity... post hair and make up, aside from the beeeeautiful flowers that our venue provided.

I spent a LOT of time crafting our wedding (but not nearly as much as some people do. Bridezillas y'all, they exist). Brendon helped a ton too. I had a billion projects I wanted to do but I narrowed it down to a few things I felt were worth the time and effort. I'm glad I did because even just the few I did kept me busy up pretty much right up until the wedding actually started. At times it was overwhelming and I thought I had bit off more than I could chew, but it was worth it to see it all come together that day. It made our wedding feel like us. Plus, it probably saved us a ton of cash. PLUS, the venue is beautiful on its own and the flowers were phenomenal, so I didn't have to do much.

      

I was on the fence about having a program, I mean people know how weddings work. But I decided to have a little fun with them, they turned out to be a blast to make. I wanted them to set the tone for the day, let everyone know it was going to be nontraditional and fun was the name of the game. I was really proud of them except I'm a super douchebag and put my best friend and bridesmaid's maiden name instead of her married name. I was mortified when she pointed it out, I proofread those suckers 10,000 times and I didn't catch it. So embarrassing.

Brendon and I made 200 pinwheels for our guests. TWO HUNDRED. The idea sounded great at first, but then we started making them and I never thought we would finish. Our fingers nearly fell apart but it was worth it when we saw everyone holding them up as we giggled down the aisle post-marriage. I also sewed yards upon yards upon yards of white bunting. Because that's what the wedding blogs said was cool.

I think my favorite detail was our little "LOVE" backdrop for our ceremony. I collected a bunch of various blue, yellow, and orange ribbons over the months before our wedding. I got letters Hobby Lobby and painted them white then attached them to one of the ribbons. I had no idea what I was going to do with them until the day of, and I ended up with this. The flowers coordinated pretty perfectly. "LOVE" now resides in our dining room, aka the corner of the living room where we eat. It makes me happy.

Okay, obviously I didn't make the cakes. My mom found Jessica from Jessicakes (cutest name ever?) in New Braunfels, and Jessica made these delicious beauties. I pretty much left the details up to her and she did a fantastic job. How cool is that hamburger groom's cake? If you're in the area and in need of a cake, I can totally give you her number. She's amazing!

This is also not something I made, but something I loved. Obviously animals are an important part of our lives and there are way too many of them suffering out there without a voice to speak for them. So instead of traditional favors we donated to the ASPCA in honor of our guests. They sent us these sweet little cards for all our guests. I kind of felt like our animal family was represented this way, plus we got to help some four legged friends in need!

 I lined our flower girl basket and made our ring bearer pillow out of the same fabric and ribbons. I wanted them to have a kind of quilted feel so I ended up actually using one of those quilting star designs on the pillow. Also, check out our bling! Our rings look nothing like that now, that was the cleanest they will be for years. Or ever.

Instead of a veil, I opted for a headband. A veil for an outdoor wedding in Texas seemed a little silly. I could just picture being slapped in the face by it via an unfriendly breeze mid-ceremony. Plus a veil felt a tad too traditional for me. Originally I had just planned on tying a simple ribbon in my hair, but I started wanting something a bit more special. I found lots of lovely decorative headbands online, but they were all outrageously expensive. So I figured I'd try to make my own. And I was really happy with the end result, and it's not something anyone else will ever have! I found some pretty trim, sewed on a gazillion pearls, and added a satin ribbon. I wish I could find an excuse to wear it again!

Of course, eventually (and hopefully soon), I'll post pictures that actually include people and wedding events. There is just so much goodness! How do I condense it into one post?