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?

Weekend report

Where did this last week go? Sheesh, it flew by. I'm glad it did but I feel a little left in the dust, if that makes sense. I neglected blogging, that's for sure. So here's a short recap of what I was up to this week:

- Making lots and lots of coffee to pay them bills.
- Being sleepy but not napping.
- Sewing like there's no tomorrow. Finished up my dress and wrapping up another project! Yay productivity!
- Baking yummy things.
- Distracting Brendon from studying on the daily (what I do best).
- Running!
- Running in the evening and being scared, this city is friendlier in the morning.
- Running with Brendon and being reminded that I am still so out of shape.
- Drinks with one of my favorite ladies in the sunshine!
- Being the awkward non-smarty-pants-longhorn at pharmacy school functions.
- And lots of snow cones, forever and always.

Here at the Hogan household we are preparing for the big ONE YEAR tomorrow. One year of marriage! Can you believe it?? Technically since this year was a leap year it really is one year today, but technical crap is for the birds. Regardless, one year y'all!!! One year of awesome married-ness!

And because I don't have anything better to post, here's a picture of Sophie being extra cute.

That cat is made of softness. How I love my little grey baby!

The heat is almost here and a whole lot of randomness

Yesterday morning when I left for work, I wore a jacket and had the heat on in my car. When I came home from work, it was HOT. Nice in the shade but real hot in the sun. Texas hot. Brendon and I went on a short little walk to get the mail and I was literally appalled by the heat. I got a sinking feeling in my stomach as soon as I felt it. It instantly brought back memories of last summer, the summer of terribleness, and I wanted to get out of it as soon as possible.

Seriously, I need to get a grip. Texas summers are stupid hot, and they always will be. Last summer sucked (and it was ridiculously-record-breaking hot every damn day), but this summer will be infinitely better. I know this. It will probably kick last summers butt into outer space, and I should be counting down the days, but for some reason I am still dreading the months of summer. Silly but true. I am dumb and can't wait for the good memories of this summer to erase the not so good of last summer. I'm just not quite ready for the scorching heat yet. I need to hold on to this beautiful spring for a few more weeks.

In other news, this weekend we were finally able to get together with my dad and Lynne to do a little belated birthday celebrating. Mostly it was just nice to see them! We ate at a little restaurant called Woodland near us. It was good! They had a cool menu and the space was neat. There were hipster servers galore (I think our waitress may have had a heart attack when my dad ordered a miller lite) but hey, it's Austin. They had some amazing chocolate pies on display that I MUST try soon. We will be back.

 Birthday candles on cupcakes and my perfected Katniss braid.

And here's Brendon yesterday, studying hard to be a pharmacist:

Here's Brendon annoyed with me for taking pictures and proving that I am the palest person alive:

And here's me and Greg, he didn't seem to mind the pictures as long as he got to headbutt me:

 Sleepy Sophie napping in the sun, behind my creepy looking sewing machine:

Also, this weirdness:

 Mostly a joke. 

 My scotch tape dispenser matches the dress I'm making perfectly. Kinda weird.

Running

Sophie lifting some weights

  Sophie loving my shoes.

Obviously Sophie appreciates my new outlook on fitness. She has always loved shoes (the stinkier the better) but today when I took my shoes off after my run she really went nutzo for them. Maybe I ran through some catnip and didn't realize it. Or maybe my feet stink.

Is this becoming a workout blog? HA. No way. I am still the same lazy fatass, just trying to avoid a heart attack at 30. But I'm not going to lie y'all, I am starting to truly enjoy exercise. I love the way my body feels just a little stronger. I can't see a difference yet, but I feel good. And I'm becoming addicted to that good feeling. I've been running every other day and doing pilates or some other workout the other days. I've been working out everyday. SO WEIRD.

Last night, Brendon and I did some upper body workout action together. With weights! It was fun! Although he is waaaay stronger than I am (my weights are like 5lbs each and his are like... 15 or 20? I can barely hold one of them). I'm probably going to regret putting this on the internet, but that man has some serious muscles. I was impressed last night. But don't tell anyone, especially Brendon.

And thanks to this lovely site my friend showed me, I figured out that my usual run I've been doing is about a mile! And today I ran the entire thing! I ran a whole mile, non stop. And some of that was up hill (and some was downhill...)! That is insane y'all, because I am the laziest person ever and have always despised running. I am really proud of myself. I am truly starting to enjoy running now. It hurts and sucks sometimes, but I like it. I'm getting used to breathing while running, slowly getting over that hump so my lungs don't burn the whole time. My lungs and legs are getting stronger everyday and it's crazy to see and feel that progress. It makes me feel good.

So to keep this up, I have created incentives for myself. If I can keep running a few times a week for a month, I'll buy myself some new running clothes. Maybe a shirt and some new running shorts. I've been running in the same pair of shorts and whatever t-shirt I slept in the night before. Not cute. And if I can keep it up for two months, I will buy myself a new pair of shoes. So lets get that new gear y'all! Run, run, run! Heads up though, it will probably all be pink.

Tuesday with the Hogans

Yesterday I had the day off and luckily Mr. H got off relatively early from school so it was like having the whole day together! Bonus! So of course I documented our lovely day via instagram. It's just so damn handy.

We had a late lunch/early dinner (linner!) at Home Slice, which has quickly become my absolutely favorite place to eat in Austin. Okay it might be a tie between there and our sushi place. But seriously, this pizza is good and I don't even like pizza normally. I had been craving it ALL week, and we finally got some and it was aaaamazing as usual. If you are in Austin, GO THERE. The margherita is divine and the plain cheese is always a good choice. Yesterday Brendon got the meatball pizza and I was seriously impressed. New favorite?

The cheese and the marg. So good.

After pizza came snow cones. Because duh snow cones are amazing. Brendon got the Bevo (which I thought was disgusting but he liked, I think it was orange cream something?) and I got blue raspberry and strawberry. Yummy and it's pretty!

After stuffing our faces we made a grocery run and then came home and chilled on the patio. Well, I chilled and Brendon studied. The weather has been so great lately, a little warm in the sun (my run this morning was sweaty) but it's perfect in the shade.

Mr. H hard at work!

Mrs. H straight chillin' like a bum!

Little Greg wondering why he can't be outside too.

 Pretty trees that keep our patio and apartment nice and cool!

We have been roaming around Austin lately checking out apartments (and one really awesome duplex), deciding our whether or not we should move when our lease is up. We found some great places, but they all mean paying a heck of a lot more, plus the cost of moving and paying deposits again. And the more I think about it, the less I want to move. We have a nice place here. Sure it's old (and sometimes falling apart) and our neighbors aren't so nice, but it's convenient, cheap, and it feels like home. We would have to relearn a whole side of town. I like South Austin. So I think we'll probably stay at this little funky place for at least another year. Our bank account will thank us and so will our stress levels. We have enough going on already, I can't imagine throwing moving into the mix!

Oh and completely unrelated, but I have to share this greatness of this recipe with you all:

The Best Brownies Recipe. The name doesn't lie, these brownies are the best. It's super duper easy and they are super duper yummy. Seriously though, when it says don't over cook them, DON'T OVER COOK THEM. I accidentally cooked mine for an extra minute or two this time (I dropped my timer and it reset itself, because that's how I roll) and they came out way dryer than the first time I made them. Still good, just a little dry. And the brownie batter is pretty much amazing. Just try not to lick your spoon and bowl clean. Also, there is icing. MAKE THEM Y'ALL!

This has nothing to do with anything

Just hanging out with Sophie. Judging you via the internet. Blogging for the sake of blogging.

I feel like nothing has been going on lately but at the same time, everything has been going on and I feel super busy. How is it midway through April already? I don't even know what day it is most of the time.

I have been workin' out on the daily still. Shocked? I know I am. My body is happier with me I think. It still hates me, but maybe just a little less. If my insides insist on being terrible, at least my muscles can be healthy. On that note, I saw my doctor a week or so ago and we're trying out a new medicine combo. So far, it seems promising. Cross your fingers for me, we're running out of things to try.

And hold on to your butts y'all, I've got BIG NEWS. For the first time in like 5 years I switched to a new make up. (gasp!) I'm still doing it on the cheap, but I switched from Physician's Formula to Neutrogena. I went from using just powder foundation to a tinted moisturizer + loose powder (in the lightest color they make, because obviously I am fluorescent white these days). I like it so far. The moisturizer has retinol in it and I hear that does all kinds of good shit. But I have the worlds stupidest and most sensitive skin so I'm waiting for the backlash of breakouts to occur. Bring it on.

ALSO, THIS:

I couldn't even tell you what round this is, I've read them so many times. All I know is Brendon has read them more than me and that's why I married him. He is also rereading them in his downtime (hahahahahahaaa, downtime), so naturally he's been reading the Half Blood Prince for a couple months. Poor kid. One more month and our first year of pharmacy school is done, done, DONE! Thank goodness, because I miss that man! We'll have all summer to just work, play, and sweat to death in the heat.

Skinny Fatass

I apologize if this sounds real stupid or silly, but it is what it is.

I am a skinny fatass. I have been blessed with good genes that, for the most part, keep me thin. I have always been small and (cross my fingers) will probably be that way for a while as long as I don't start consuming 4 hamburgers a day. It just runs in my family (chicken legs all over my family tree). When I was younger I could eat whatever I want and as much as I wanted and stay the same size. But, as I've gotten older I've noticed that it does matter what I what I put into my body. The summer after my twenty-first birthday I gained about 15 pounds (margaritas y'all, happy hour is killer). 15 pounds doesn't seem like a lot, but when you've been the same size for ever and all of a sudden you've got a fat face and your jeans don't fit right, it's a little unnerving. It took me a little while, but I lost most of the weight I had gained, and after moving down here to Austin and pretty much cutting alcohol out of my diet, I lost the rest and a little more (due to my lovely stomach ruining my life). Let me just stop here and say that even with those extra 15 pounds I wasn't thinking "omg I'm fat I need to lose weight", I just felt unhealthy and I was. So now I eat better and I think more about what is going into my body. I still eat pretty much whatever I want, just not as much and I'm more aware of it when I eat bad things like, a buffalo chicken sandwich. And the things I want to eat now tend to be on the healthier side. Aside from all those pastries I eat everyday at work. DESSERTS YOU WILL BE THE DEATH OF ME.

But unfortunately, eating right isn't everything. I get winded going up a flight of stairs y'all. I mean, I work on my feet all day, so it's not like I'm just sitting on my butt. Brendon has been bugging me like crazy to work out a little so that my bones don't weaken (?? something sciencey), and I figure since I'm getting older and my body is already trying to fall apart on me, getting into shape probably couldn't hurt (irony!). So here I am attempting the impossible. Working out on a regular basis. I try this once a year or so and never stick with it, so lets hope this time laziness doesn't prevail.

Have you ever seen the Princess Diaries? You have, don't lie. You know how Mia says to her gym teacher who is forcing her to play soccer, "I'm more of a horseback riding, wall climbing, yoga doing type of girl". That's me, except I don't do any of that stuff. I pretty much loathe physical activity. Especially if it's rigorous. But I do really enjoy pilates. It's something I pick up on and off again (at home, dvd style), and I like it. I think it's because I danced through my adolescence so this kinda thing is familiar. Although I have completely lost my sense of balance. Pilates hard as hell but your body feels so good afterwards. So I've been doing that. For liiiike a week? Maybe? And today, get this y'all... I RAN. I went running. I got up this morning and went for a run, ALONE. I ended up walking quite a bit, but I did run some! At first it was great. I was bouncing along the sidewalk feeling like a champion. And then I felt like I was going to DIE. Wake up call, I am SO out of shape. I have zero endurance. My legs were fine, they could have kept going, but my lungs were on fire. I thought I was going to pass out, puke, and die all at once.

As an example: this video. Cute huh? (best line, "Kansas City, it's the Paris of the plains!")  But, I'm not that super-pretty-while-running girl. I am that guy. Puking, in the hospital. But I want to be that girl! So even though I barely ran halfway around the block and came home feeling like I may die, I'm going to try to keep it up. Because it would be nice to be able to sing and run at the same time. Or breathe and run at the same time. And I already have the Nike's.

These are definitely from high school. A good 7+ years old. And whats super sad is that they're still in great condition. Maybe if I can keep this up I'll treat myself to a new pair of running shoes from this decade. Incentives. I need them.

Me, post death run. I don't know how I kept my hand steady enough to take a picture. I collapsed onto the couch shortly after.

So wish me luck. Send me lots of active vibes and thoughts of healthiness. I'm trying to become less of a weeny girl and more of a strong woman (HA). And save my bone density or whatever Brendon says.

Easter!

As we aren't religious folks, Mr. H and I don't celebrate Easter traditionally (we both usually spend the day at work, tryin' to get that time and a half y'all!), but we (I) do like to dye eggs. We do it every year and this year was no exception!

I know there are all kinds of fancy egg dying kits out there, but we stick to the food coloring, vinegar, and hot water method. Mostly because usually we do this last minute, late at night.

We drew all kinds of things on them with white crayon, only to pull them out of the dye and find our drawings/messages had disappeared! So sad, that's never happened before. Damn you crayola! You let us down! Such a bummer, it's always so fun to find out what each other wrote/drew. Oh well, we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless!

I sported some bunny ears for the occasion.

 Lot's of giggling, of course.

Sophie got in on the bunny ear action. Doesn't she look pleased?

Message-less eggs. Sad, sad, sad. We summed up our messages and drawings and relayed them verbally, but it just wasn't the same. At least they're pretty colors! Except for that greyish one... not sure what's going on there (I tried, and failed, to make purple). 

And as tradition, after a few minutes of enjoying our master pieces we busted them open,

and made deviled eggs!

Someone (I'll give you a hint, it wasn't me) forgot the mayo at work, so I had to improvise with the filling. Turns out olive oil is a good (and probably healthier) substitute! They were yummy and we ate them quickly. Good food never lasts long around us.

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter doing Eastery things. And I hope the Easter bunny was good to you! He visited us this weekend via Brendon's momma and we scored a giant basket of candy and goodies. Our teeth will most likely fall out by the end of the week, but it will be worth it.

Skirt and shirt shenanigans

My most recent sewing creation is a shirt and skirt combo! Made from the same set of patterns I made my last dress from. I know I always say that whatever I happen to be talking about is my favorite thing I've made, but this really is! I love this skirt and shirt, they've got a retro 50's feel. And I love the fabric. That fabric I made the skirt with was $2 y'all, for 2 very wide yards of awesome fabric. On clearance. TWO DOLLARS!!! It is plaid and gold and shiny and perfect. And I have a bunch left over still. The fabric for the shirt was a little pricier, but it's good soft stuff that is super comfy. And pretty! It's lacy! And both of these things fit me perfectly. Which is a nice change from things always being a bit big (I suck at sizing myself).

This beautiful fabric came with an extra set of challenges however. It was pretty dang see through! No bueno for a skirt unless you're into showing off your panties (I am not). So I had to improvise and whip up a lining. It was a fun problem to solve. I basically made another shorter mirrored version of the skirt and sewed it into the waistband and around the zipper. It's kind of nice because not only is it no longer see through, but it hides all the seams and makes it look pretty from the inside as well! It also adds a little bulk to it to make it a little... fluffier?

Now here are some wonky pictures Brendon took of me wearing this little ensemble. I apologize for the flash. I know that's like a blogging (and photography?) no-no, but we ran out of daylight and I ran out of energy for creative pictures.

Ignore the creases on the skirt from where I sat on it. That fabric is super weird (it's acetate? I need to google it) and likes to hold creases and folds. Forever. I haven't figured out how I'm going to wash it.

I am very happy with how it all turned out. The skirt and shirt were both a lot of fun to make. It felt good to get my hands working on something constructive after a week of laziness. And I already have my pattern and fabric for my next project picked out! Purple linen y'all, get ready.

And just for the hell of it, I'll leave you with some borderline ridiculous pictures:

Sophie. Seriously. That cat is FAT.

And this is what 9pm after getting up at 4am looks like. Tired, tired, tired.

Breaking news in the Hogan world

Two posts in one day? What the heck? I know, I know, I out-do myself. This is just big news, and it has to be shared.

For Brendon's pharmacy program at UT, there is a decent chance that you complete your third and fourth, or just forth, year(s) in another city (such as San Antonio, DFW, Houston, El Paso, etc). There aren't enough places here in Austin for everyone to complete their rotations or something. To decide who goes where, they basically have a lottery set up where you rank your first four choices of cities and some computer system generates a ranking system randomly and they match you up with a city. They higher number you get, the better the odds of getting your first choice. So, kinda scary. I hear they do this kind of thing with med school too.

We picked (in order of preference), Austin, DFW, San Antonio, and then I think Houston. Usually most people get their first or second choice. Picking DFW over San Antonio as our second choice was a big decision. We love being close to family, but we also loved living up north. So for various reasons (it was an insanely stressful decision and I had anxiety for hours about it) we chose DFW as our second option.

But none of that matters because we got Austin! We got our first pick! I am so relieved. Since Brendon put in our choices a week or so ago (and really since I found out we might have to move again), I had been stressing out about it, it was always in the back of my mind nagging at me. It was like before Brendon got into pharmacy school and we had no idea where we were going to live in a few months time. But now we know we're here for good! Or at least 3 more years. Part of me is a little sad, moving back up north would have brought me closer to a lot of my friends and I truly loved living up there. But Austin is becoming more and more our home and being here near family is beyond wonderful. We are lucky ducks and I am grateful.

Boom goes the dynamite, there's that. One big weight lifted off my mind. Sorry Austin, you're stuck with us for a while!

Coconut Macaroons

Y'all, have you ever had a coconut macaroon? I had never tried one until yesterday. We used to sell them at work and they looked amazing, but somehow my will won over and I never tried one (which is saying something since I am a pastry fiend, seriously, I live on pastries and desserts).

WELL, after seeing this post on this lovely blog (someone needs to take the internet away from me), I decided I must make some. So of course, I did. The recipe is on the blog as well as the back of the Baker's flaked coconut bag. It is SO EASY. Make them, eat them, love them.

I will not divulge the unhealthy amount of these that I have eaten already. Let this be a warning, they are very yummy.

Insta-Sunday

Happy April y'all! Did you fool anyone good yesterday? I don't think we participated at all. I'm okay with that. 

Yesterday was a good day. Both Brendon and I had the day off, and even though he spent a good deal of it studying, we squeezed in some quality time. And because carrying your phone around is so much easier than carrying a camera around, I documented everything instagram-style.

We went on a little dinner date for happy hour sushi and some delish banana tempura at this little place called Umi we love. So good and such a good deal. I could eat sushi all day.

We also did some work with our plants and gained a few new flora members of our family! I feel like we've crossed into a weird early middle-aged-ness when a trip to Lowe's is fun and exciting.

My new basil plant! Fresh basil growing on my window sill? Yes please.

This little guy arrived this week all the way from California as a gift from Brendon's momma. It's a money tree (lets hope it brings us good fortune)! We named him Benjamin, I think it's appropriate.

We also planted some potatoes, not sure how successful that will be. We named our future potato plant Samwise just in case we're lucky and something sprouts up.

Puttin Brendon to work! 

We also planted some Lilly of the Valley bulbs.. seeds... roots? We named her Lily Potter, clever eh? You can also see Herbert back there, he got transferred to a big boy pot and is living outside now instead of on our window sill. Wish him luck.

The new window sill arrangement, it's quite crowded. Spike, Benjamin, some little forget-me-not seedlings (yet to be been named), my new basil plant (also not named yet), Teasley, and Norbert.

Yes, I realize we are crazy plant people. Whatever. 

I also baked some banana muffins! I used my banana bread recipe and just poured them into muffin cups instead of a bread pan. I sprinkled a little cinnamon sugar on top and hoped for the best. They turned out pretty dang good!

Pretty fabric I'm turning into clothes. Pretty fabric makes me so happy.

It was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday off. A perfect mixture of relaxation, productivity, and lots of time with my husband. Even if he is glued to his computer, cramming for a test tomorrow. Send him lots of smarty pants vibes y'all!