Three Cheers for Mom!

Just a quick post today to say Happy Mother's Day to my mama, and all of the mothers out there! This weekend Daniel and I were able to help some friends out by watching their four kids overnight while they were gone, and let me just say...being a mama ain't for the faint of heart (these were great kids too...can't imagine being a mother to little monster children)!

Moms, you are special. Even when you're tired, and you feel underappreciated, know that you are loved.
^I stumbled across these pictures from our wedding while looking for a pic of me and my mom, and I love them so much. They're like the most genuine, silly, and happy pictures I possess of the two of us together. Happy happy.

On another note, Happy Mother's day to me, for being the best mom that Cous could ever ask for! Haha. I couldn't resist posting this picture. It's just so ridiculous...and Daniel's face is priceless. He clearly hates his life in that moment. I wonder if I'll smoosh my future kids the way I smoosh this dog. Only time will tell...a very, very, very long time from now, that is.

Make sure you hug your mom today!

xo,

grace

P.S.-If you're broke as a joke, or a procrastinator like me, I found some awesome printable Mother's Day cards by howaboutorange blog here! They are simple and lovely, and won't cost you a dime! No excuse to not get your mom at least a card now!

Instagram Lately

1.) Pretty springtime flowers.

2.) Grand Canyon (more on that later....!) silhouette for Weekend Hashtag project.

3.) Phoenix Public Market Cafe for Weekend Hashtag project.

4.) Cute baby plants.

5.) Me and Cous having a poolside day.

6.) Just an old picture of my sisters and I being freaks, as per usual!

7.) Inspired by my favorite quote: 

"Allow me to propose a few suggestions about how to handle the natural resistances that your circumstances might offer. Do not assume that you have to have some prescribed conditions to do your best work. Do not wait. Do not wait for enough time or money to accomplish what you think you have in mind. Work with that you have right now. Work with the people around you right now. Work with the architecture you see around you right now. Do not wait for what you assume is the appropriate, stress free environment in which to generate expression. Do not wait for maturity or insight or wisdom. Do not wait till you are sure that you know what you are doing. Do not wait until you have enough technique. What you do now, what you make of your present circumstances will determine the quality and scope of your future endeavors. And at the same time, be patient." (stupid PicLab watermark)

8.) Tulips I bought for Daniel! He was quite sad after he bought me some flowers (that were literally determined to die no matter what), so I bought these on a whim and MAN did they grow. About twice as tall in less than a week. I suggest getting tulips for anyone who is challenged in the gardening department. :)

9.) Submission for a different Weekend Hashtag Project. I call it my Avatar/Lorde hand.

10.) What it looks like when Daniel takes pictures for my blog. Coussie is Confucius.

11.) The best day staying home from work. Two new Nylon mags at once, and cookies and milk. #perfect

12.) Me squishing Cous. Aka, everyday life. 

So there you have it! Just a couple of my little snapshots on Instagram as of late. Sometimes it can be easy to stress over the content of your blog and taking the perfect picture, so Instagram can be a nice breath of fresh air sometimes when you just want to take some quick pics of life around you (unless you're a putz who only takes pictures of macarons...not real life?). My account is far from perfectly coutured, but if you'd like to follow along in my adventures you can find me at graceinrealtime. I'd be honored!

In other news, It's Friday ya'll. Hallelujah. Anyone have any special plans for the weekend? Have a favorite picture from the assortment above? Just wanna tell me that I'm a putz for NOT taking pictures of macarons? Drop me a line below...I'd love to hear from you guys! :)

xo,

grace

Impromptu Easter Portraits

^Goons.^

^Okay, let's just talk about that stupidly cute little baby-toothed smile. I can't. Even. Handle it.^

Jack Skellington got a little handsy...

Her: dress/BHLDN (similar here & here), shoes/Vince Camuto, bag/Kate Spade (little darker color)

Him: sweater/Merona, jeans/UO (similar), tie/Penguin (similar), shoes/Cole Haan

This past Easter Sunday, Daniel and I decided to head out in our Sunday best and take a couple of "family portraits" after church. After all, isn't that what normal people do? We got kind of lax this year in making any holiday plans, so we just took the day kind of slow and had fun with it. I'm kind of glad we just had a quiet day though...that has kind of been a theme throughout our holidays since moving so far away from everyone, but I think that it's been strengthening for us as (somewhat) newlyweds in our new little family structure. After all, quiet is what everyone seems to crave once they get older and start having kids, so we might as well appreciate it now.

Anyway, I thought that they turned out kind of silly and cute, and it's nice to just have some simple pictures of us looking a little bit dapper. I've always appreciated when people dress up for church on Sunday; I think it tends to be somewhat of an undervalued tradition nowadays. Maybe that's just the way I grew up, though...after all, my sisters and I managed to swindle my parents into buying us all some fancy Easter dress every year that we'd never wear again, so I guess we've always been all about the clothes. ;) I just think it's fun to dress up...plus, it makes you feel good!

On another note, I recently tackled the ridiculous process of cleaning out my closet (more on that later!), which better allowed me to see the clothes that I actually have and want to wear, this dress being one of them. It was actually the dress that I bought for our engagement portraits, and I hadn't worn it since! To see how I styled it then, check out some of our pictures here.

So how about the rest of you? Did anyone have big Easter plans...maybe overdose on one too many chocolate covered Peeps (one can only hope)? Did you get a special Easter outfit this year? I'd love to hear!

xo,

grace

one whole year.

February 3rd, today is the day! It has officially been one whole year since the schmoo (Daniel) and I got hitched! In honor of this fact, I am posting some lovely pictures from our wonderful day (all wedding photos courtesy of Shea Christine).You can also see some more pictures from our special day here at Southern Weddings! Fun fact: we were actually married on the SuperBowl last year...woops? So not sorry. Our wedding was so much more momentous and fun than any football game could ever be!

So this dress was probably my absolute favorite article of clothing that I have ever owned in my entire life (DUH). However, because it was tulle (which disintegrates over long periods of time), I decided it was best for me to resell it for someone else to enjoy as opposed to it sitting in a lame box for the rest of it's existence. It was nice to know that another girl was able to afford the dress of her dreams simply because someone else had worn it. I'm actually really glad that I did that, and would encourage other brides to do it as well (unless you are super sentimentally attached to it)! However, that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it to the fullest while I wore it...and I actually ended up making it onto the top 10 wedding dresses of 2013! Too fun.

Check out my handsome man, below!

My. Best. Friends. The absolute best group of girls that you could ever ask be by your side. 

Not too much to comment on in this post other than to say that I can't believe how fast this year has flown by, and that I wish I could relive this day over and over again. There's no denying that marriage comes with a slew of it's own difficulties, but the pros far outweigh the cons. I am so thankful to have someone who loves me so unconditionally, and is eager to live life with me for the rest of his. I hope you enjoy these little glimpses into our day; be sure to check back soon for a yummy cake recipe I'm making for our anniversary! When we moved we had to get rid of the top tier of our wedding cake since it (unsurprisingly) wouldn't keep for a 55 hour drive, so we had to find another way to uphold the tradition! As for me, I'm off to go celebrate!

xo, 

grace