8.07.2013

engaged.

so about a month ago, I got engaged. Wanna hear the story? Here it is. 


In June, Ethan and I traveled to New York to celebrate my brother's graduation from high school. We spent a week visiting with family and friends, and celebrating the fact that my little brother was finally done with high school. It was a wonderful week, and I had so much fun showing Ethan around town, all the places I used to hang out. On the last day there with my family, we headed to Niagara Falls, because it would be a shame for someone to visit Buffalo and not see the falls. 


So, we planned a picnic to enjoy on the bank of the Niagara River. My family came with us, but since everyone in the world was in on the surprise but me, my family left Ethan and me alone to picnic. They went off and enjoyed their own picnic. It was a beautiful day, sunny and breezy. 

Here's a picture of me eating an egg salad sandwich, unaware of what was about to happen. 

So after we finished eating and feeding Swedish Fish to seagulls, my family had made their way to a hiding spot in some bushes. I suggested we start to pack up and find my family so that we could start making our way down the river to the falls. Ethan said there was one thing he had to do first. 

At which point he reached for the ring and got up from where he was sitting to be on one knee. I wasn't really sure if I should stay sitting or stand up. I stood up. 

My family of course was in the bushes, poised with cameras and phones in hand.

So then he gave a little speech, which I've now forgotten (is this normal? I feel like people are so nervous they don't remember what is said). And then he asked me to marry him. 

And my first response was not yes. Seriously. I was surprised and in such disbelief that I didn't say yes at first. All I could Say was, "Wait. For real? Like for real for real?"

After he nodded to reassure me that he was in fact serious, I said yes (of course) and he put the most beautiful ring on my finger. 

He did so good, didn't he? I love it! 


This is a picture captured by my sister from the bushes. Cool cars in the background. 



This is us right after my family came out. They made us stand there by the river and take pictures. 

But we still hadn't made it to the falls! So we packed up and headed down the river to the falls. We got on the Maid of the Mist, which is a ferry boat that takes you right up to the falls from the bottom. It's a pretty spectacular sight. 

Now, remember when I said it was breezy? It was. And by breezy, I mean that when we got on the boat, it was a full fledged wind. We were trying to be all cute like, "hey, we just got engaged. Look how cute we are!" But the wind wasn't having it. The wind was all, "Nahhhh."

So we ended up with about fifty pictures looking like this:


So cute. 

Well, there's the story. Thanks for reading this whole thing. Now to plan a wedding! 

8.06.2013

why dumpsters are awesome.

Let me start off this post by saying that if I hadn't accidentally deleted the "before" pictures, this post would have been a lot better. 

But I somehow, in a moment of true blondeness, deleted the pictures that would show you what exactly I'm talking about. Bear with me. Keep reading. 

My apartment is on the very end of the row of buildings. Like, all the way. Next to the dumpster. Gross, right? Nope. It's wonderful. Here's why:

One day, as I was getting out of my car, I noticed a strange piece of furniture standing next to the dumpster. I couldn't resist a free piece of furniture AND a great potential DIY project. It was dark, so I couldn't see it too well, but I dragged it to my apartment anyway. 

The next day, I got a good look at it. (This is the part where my "before" pictures would have been useful. Sorry.) It was an old sewing machine table, the kind where the top opens up and the machine flips up from the inside. The sewing machine was not inside, but that was fine, I don't need one of those. Anyway, the thing was gross. Weird sticky floor protector things on the bottom of the legs, blue marker scribbled across the top, beaten up corners, the works. 

This sounds like my kind of project. I needed a new TV stand, I had a gross beaten up sewing table. Perfect. I took some white paint to it, and it suddenly transformed. I had thought about switching the knobs to those super pretty (and expensive) ones I always see at Anthropologie, but with the white paint, I liked the way the original knobs contrasted. 

So I kept them. Basically all I did was put three coats of white paint on this sucker. I'm no decorating genius. And by that I mean, I have no real know how, so I'm probably doing things wrong when it comes to painting things. But who cares? 

Anyway, all that to say this: I love my TV stand. And I especially love that it was completely free. 





And in the end, I have zero shame in pulling this gem from the dumpster. Bring it on, dumpster!