one year.

scotty and i celebrated our one year wedding anniversary this past weekend. we had planned to spend the day together outside (it was gorgeous out) and then have a beautiful dinner @ geoffrey's on the beach.

instead we sat on the couch while i nursed my cold and watched bad television. i didnt even shower. i am a terrible wife. i did make breakfast for us... an egg sandwich has to count for something. and our romantic dinner got switched to soup from whole foods and a pint of ben and jerry's ice cream.

he did spoil me though. i have hinted that i wanted a rose gold band to match his. now we are best friends with matching rings. love you husband. thanks for the lazy, kind of romantic day. and for not making me feel too bad for ruining our plans.i really should have taken a better pic...

i made scotty a little "year in review" card. i thought doing one of these every year would give us something fun to look back on when we have a 25 or 50 page booklet.

it has been QUITE the year husband. indeed. thanks for every one of the 365 days. even the bad ones. i cant believe how much more i love you than i did a year ago... how is that even possible?

missing this:

that husband of mine has been gone since thursday. he is camping with the men, so that means no phone contact either. it is unbearable. come home.

aside from missing HIM, i am missing this: date nights in our backyard. wine, fire, him. seems like forever ago.

wedding!

hi,

scotty and i are almost one month away from our one year anniversary. crazy. we also just got our wedding pics. i spent the morning at work going through every single one slowly- huge smile on my face. it really was the greatest day ever. the pictures make me so so happy.

maybe next time i am whining at scott about a bug in the bathroom or taking out the trash, i will look up and see one of these pics and smile instead. probably not... but what a day it was!

thanks scott. for giving me the most beautiful courtship. the most perfect proposal. the most patient partner while wedding planning. and a great first year. not perfect, but truly great! im so so lucky! we have so much to look forward to. its ridiculous.

like we said in our vows... you are my heart, my love, my future and my home. i am honored to call you my partner.

so heres some pics. mostly just to make me happy.

just a few...

mitsuwa.

we were just introduced to mitsuwa japanese marketplace. oh em gee.

first: it is a huge market with the oddest things. we picked out three different drinks based on the label and ended up with milk flavored soda. grapefruit pulp in water in a can. and iced tea with a picture of dirt on the label, which, ended up tasting like dirt. oddly enough.

second: the store "trendy" is basically one big engrish store. so funny. and they have talking toilets. what trendy shop doesnt?

third: the ramen shop has 72 varieties of ramen. heaven. i had #31, spicy ramen. it hurt my throat going down it was so spicey and so good.

scotty went a little nuts. here is what he ordered, and ate:

the housekeeper who shits.

i will start by saying i do not care about my birthday. and i mean that.

but on monday, scott got me a video game for my birthday. a wii video game. for the wii that we havent played since, basically, the weekend after we bought the wii. it also happened to be a game i had played a few days ago, and didnt like. scott happened to love it when he played it a few days ago. hm.

so it wasnt the best present. for me. for him, it was a great present.

i didnt throw a fit (not a BIG fit at least). but i did say that it wasnt really an ideal birthday present and maybe next time he should just get me a card. i'm easy, i said. he was upset.

when i got home yesterday from work i realized that scotty had thought about what he had done and realized that maybe it was a little bit of a boo boo "present". maybe.

he had left me little hearts (that he cut out himself, cute) around the house in places that he knew i would find them. with sweet little messages on them.

what are places scott knew i would be frequenting you ask? well, the first one i found was in the bathroom on the toilet paper roll. the second one was found in the washing machine. the third, the dish washer, and so on... so i am the housekeeper who goes potty a lot? haha. but it was kind, and the guesture was not lost on me.

so i ran around the house this morning looking for more. i found one in the shower this morning. one in my makeup bag. and the greedy girl inside is hoping for more.

too funny mahn. too funny.

home. over it.

husband and i were talking on our drive up to santa barbara last weekend about how basically... we are over the house... and we wish it had already been two years so we could avoid taxes and just sell the bitch... too bad we have one year, seven months, seventeen days, and 21 hours left to go.

anywho- fence. we tore down the (rotted) picket fence that came with the house. see below.

we built a semi-contemporary redwood fence. and by we, i mean scott. last monday, i white washed it with a semi-transparent stain that in my head looked amazing but in reality** looks like this:

**as scotty pointed out: the reality is that the fence really does match what we want the house to BE- just not what it is IS. very deep stuff going on with scott and i.

i will remedy this "situation" by doing the following.

1. on each brick post sits a terra cotta pot with some sort of death defying plant in it that "came with the house". we will replace these plants with "string of pearls" succulents. if we buy them old enough we can get them to hang up to three feet, draping over the brick... like this...

hopefully it will give it a more contemporary, beachy, boho feel.

2. shutters- thanks to coastal living i have finally discovered what type of shutters to go with. this picture is my full blown wet dream of the vibe i am going for. and i think i manifested it when i painted our door tiffany blue a few months ago...

so some rustic, earthy pots (most of the terra cotta pots are super weathered and perfect)... some draping succulents, some bright shutters.... and a grey roof.... we should be close.

3. i just ordered this from crate and barrel. i think it will also help convey that I AM REALLY TRYING TO MAKE THIS DUMPY ASS 15 FOOT WIDE RED AND WHITE NASTY HOUSE LOOK CUTE AND BEACHY!

valentines day...

i woke up with an absess coming out of my eye... i rolled over to say happy valentines day to my hubby- and looked like a dragon. he drove to urgent care, sat with me, and went and filled my prescription while i got ready for work...

all day i felt like a queen. i dont need a box of chocolates, or flowers or an expensive meal to know that my husband loves me. and its true.

and then i came home to a clean house, the dishes done, flowers, and reservations at piccolo, the restaurant that scott proposed to me with.

i feel so so lucky. and i am writing this so the next time i am bitching about god only knows that- i will remember that it isnt about the flowers and yummy dinner. they are really really nice, but picking up my prescription when i am the ugliest i have ever been- thats the bees knees.

xoxo

woo flippin who de nanny!

i got a job. a real job. and i really really like it. and there is opportunity for growth. and it is dog friendly, so little pups are everywhere. i feel very very lucky and it was SO worth the wait (not sure if the husband agrees yet on the "worth the wait" part, but he will). fo sho. woot woot.

Well...

its been a while.

dear diary,

i am still looking for a job (but i have gotten to spend time with my other man- grayson!).

our house is still a work in progress. i still love our little house.

my hair is literally the color of dirty toilet water. not cute.

our little puppy, huntley, is still sweet and completely unmanageable.

we are joining a country club (barf).

i have gained 8 lbs since the wedding.

it is already february?

marriage is hard work, but it really is the best thing ever.

i have been working as a temp receptionist for too long (where all i do is read "modern love" and then when i am done with that, i read blogs that i love that have cool things featured. so i have a ton of wants (not a single need in the bunch). here are some:

i need this moment in my brain bank filed under "do this a lot":

i want to have a succulent garden. because they are beautiful, and more importantly, i cannot kill them:
i LOVE this. my bedroom ideas are conflicting and very different and there are a lot of them. this could be a problem because we have a one bedroom.
and this one. i think i love this one more:

i want a nook... i want this nook:

i swear i would get a lot of "work" done if i had a corner like this:
when we have our baby, i am going to make this it's habitat. or in the mean time, maybe i will make this the puppys habitat. i neeeed this. i know i said there were no needs but i really do... especially once we have a baby. hahah

and then when babu grows up... what? this could totally be a boys room:

ugh i would not get a lot done if this existed in my house. but life cant be all about work, so i want to create this too:
our backyard needs love... this screams LOVE:

other than that life is pretty good. lots to look forward to.

highlights:

grayson said i love you leesha (thats me)

scotty built us a new fence... or started to... pics to come

annie is totally showing! so fun! and i am visiting oly in march.

i have three interviews next week.

i have lost three pounds. 250049228371246147124 to go.

scotty is sending me to new orleans to see my gaycee. (!!!!)

we have a black tie affair this weekend- always a good time!

it is sunny is california!

we have gas again. not to be crass- but fuck you edison.

my family is healthy and they know that i love them!

Dear Diary...

i am at a bit of a loss.

i have been out of work for a while now. i think i may be depressed about the situation. of course, i wanted to be a wedding planner right after i completed planning my own. but now i am over it. i want to be in some sort of support role. whether PA, event coordinator, anything, really... i need work. my poor husband is stressed.

also- we are renovating our new house and packing our old. i think i am sad about that too. i dont do well with change. my husband is also stressed about the move. of course.

also- we have a new puppy now. her name is huntley. she is sweet as pie and stole our hearts immediately. but she also has had terrible diarrhea all over the upstairs on three occasions and i am worried about her and also repulsed. my poor husband is also stressed about this.

me on diarrhea patrol.

i want to put it out there- i want work! i want to contribute to my new family (love, open heart, mind and ears, laughter, and financially).

love, me

Drooling over kitchens...

I need our new kitchen to look like this. IKEA? Way to go! When did this happen?

But keep in mind... this is what our kitchen looks like as of now:

CUTE! BARF! it provokes many emotions in me. Mostly it makes me nervous/anxious and sweaty. Not from doing work, from nerves. I stink.

HOME- Day One

So- we officially have keys to our new home. It took the boys all of six hours to start demolition (even though they do not have any form of construction background (they would kill me if they knew I said that) whatsoever). Here is "progress" made DAY ONE. Yes, the image below is my future "living" room:

1:15 pm:

2 pm:

he is clearly a very proud, happy boy... And yes, I am well aware that the "before" or picture taken at 115 is not impressive- but you have no idea how unimpressive it was walking in to the 2pm home. Happy wife bringing Gatorade and snacks to the working boys, to get hit in the face with 30 year old urine soaked carpet and asbestos. I am almost positive it was asbestos.

Honeymoon

HONEYMOON-

We just returned from our most wonderful wonderful honeymoon.

Mykonos has some of the most beautiful beaches and clearest water that I have ever seen, and the most interesting old town. It isnt a movie set or set up as a prop or a schtick it is the Old Town, still operating as a bustling place. It is overwhelmed by tourism- but that is just a sign of the times. Aside from focusing on the junk in all of the stores, we waked the winding roads, getting lost, appreciating that there are still gems like this on our planet. And the food is soooo yummy, and wine and beer is cheaper than water...

oh, and I got a ghetto gold Daytona Rolex knock off for 50 Euro... whatever. It was FUN.

Here is a peek of our set up:

Santorini is truly one of my most favorite places in the world. It was total paradise and the only thing I didnt like about it was the one morning that I woke up after three bottles of Santorini's famous Boutari wine. Other than that- Bliss. Capitol B. I want to go back, like yesterday... Being there made me really wish we werent tied down by *jobs* and anxiety and responsibility (*yes, I am aware I do not currently have a job... but the idea of it... the one I am GOING to get... first thing Monday morning).

It is so easy to get caught up in day to day life... TV, gossip magazines, fretting over napkin colors, weight, money, clothes, zits, etc... but every time I travel, and catch the "bug", I really do come back with a much better perspective on life, and what matters. Americans are seen as so uptight and high strung and money obsessed and work obsessed. I would not really describe myself as these things- but in Greece, people were constantly laughing and joking and playfully teasing and talking loud, and over eating, and drinking and kissing children and understanding and appreciating their dependence on one another, and the land, and the sea... it was inspiring. So, I am NOT going to make it a goal to be louder, or kiss Grayson more or eat or drink more (Ithink I do all of those things more than I should already) but... I am going to make a conscious effort to get my priorities a bit more where I would like them.

At this moment in time the things that matters to me most are:

-my new role, as wife. being the best person I can be for myself, him, and everyone we come into contact with.

-my family. and my new family. we are the luckiest people to have them. making them aware every single day of how much I love and appreciate them.

-getting outside of our bubble more often. truly considering what others experience in day to day life. remembering that there is SO much more than crossword puzzles and the hot new restaurant.

-finding my creative outlet again, and again, and again.

-being a good aunt, daughter, sister, friend, and granddaughter.

-making travel a priority. making saving a priority. not for a rainy day- but for sunny days so we can enjoy our super blessed life to the fullest!

-finding a job that makes me feel happy on monday mornings while also helping me to take strain off of my very patient husband.

-keeping in better touch with those that I love.

At this moment in time and in the future I am going to appreciate the things that matter most to me a lot more and keep them at the top of my totem pole.

Projects and Love

we are getting hitched in 6 days. i am sort of relaxed and sort of not. i love scott more than i ever have in my life and i have literally been amazed with him hourly. he is a great, great man. i feel very lucky and proud.

here is what he has been doing all morning, he is very serious and intense and actually, a great brander. our home smells of cedar and it is heaven...

on the to do list at this point- tables, table seating cards, music, booz, my groom needs socks and shoelaces, and i need to buy seeds and...

also, i have been watching too much rachel zoe project and i find myself talking like her. not good.