SOCIAL MEDIA

31 January 2017

My Bachelorette Party

On Saturday Megan, Caitlin and Jessie threw me a bachelorette party and I had a blast!
We went to Nineteen Sixty One for dinner and then we pretty much bar hopped the rest of the night. I had a lot of tequila sunrises. Unfortunately Jessie had to leave earlier than planned, but Megan, Caitlin and I had a fantastic time. It was all around sillyness. It was definitely a night I will ever forget.
Disregard the grainy photos... I just don't care. Hahah.
20 January 2017

Another Avenue

I don't think I'll ever forget the morning Alex & I walked from the Victorian Historic District to downtown Savannah. We stopped into antique shops and book stores along the way. He wanted to take me to this incredible diner for two reasons: 1) he loved their food and knew I would too and 2) he knows my obsession with good diners. For whatever reason inspired him to take me there, I'm glad he did.

So we sat there inside of J. Christopher's drinking our coffee and waiting on our food. I couldn't help but let my mind wander as I looked out onto the sidewalk. I sat there in a dream-like state, letting my mind create stories of our future together. I stumbled across the idea of living in Savannah with the man of my dreams.. thinking about what our lives would look like. Would our Saturday mornings be spent discussing our everyday lives at this same table? Would we discuss the finer points of life and decided if one day we would ever really want to have a baby?

And it's funny now, to look back on that and realize that a piece of us got left behind in that diner. Surely, it could have been another avenue our lives might have taken. Moving to Savannah, starting a life away from family and friends. But we opted to remain where we are. In a state that's too hot. In a city where we grew up, a charming town where we first met and then re-met again. Although we did carry a part of my daydream with us. Because now we both want what we both thought we never wanted before - at least not with anyone else.
18 January 2017

What Hygge Is and How I Hygge

After hearing about hygge for awhile now I've decided to dive head first into the concept. I recently finished the book, The Little Book of Hygge Danish Secrets to Happy Living by Meik Wiking, and I'm glad that there's actually a concept to describe what I've been doing my whole life.  Hygge (pronounced hue-gah  or  hoo-ga) stems from the Norwegian word which means "well-being". Hygge is also both a verb and an adjective. It's hard to define, because Hygge is different to each person.

When it comes down to it, hygge is based on a feeling. It's the feeling you get when you're curled up under a blanket and reading a good book, or cuddling with your loved one. It's an informal dinner with your family or anything that makes you feel comfort and bliss. Honestly, it can be anything to anyone. It can be the feeling you get when you're cuddled up under a blanket and there is a thunderstorm outside.

Hygge is all about what makes you feel cozy and relaxed. It's whatever makes you feel happy and calm. It's the art of creating intimacy. It's your surroundings, filled with pools of light and lots of candles. Natural elements, such as wood and cozy things. Since hygge is different to each person, I thought it would be fun to share what I consider hygge to be. Maybe it will better explain what hygge is all about....
  • a hot cup of tea or cider out of my favourite mug
  • cuddling with Alex
  • snuggling with Olive
  • reading a good book in a cozy nook
  • rainy days and thunderstorms
  • cold days spent both indoors and out
  • latte dates with Alex
  • spending time out amongst nature
  • picnics under a shady tree
  • homemade dinners with family
  • candles, lots of candles
  • time spent at home relaxing
Have you heard of hygge? What are some things that are hygge to you? Let me know in the comments below so we can discuss.


*Thanks to fellow blogger/friend Yelle for helping me discover this.
15 January 2017

Olive: A Furry Little Update v.2

I'm pretty sure I've done a blog post with this same title before, but I'm just going to roll with it here.  For the most part, Olive is a cage free bun. She has the freedom to explore our room, and as much as we try to encourage her to leave our bedroom on her own free will, she doesn't Mainly because her little paws have a hard time moving around on the linoleum floor. But whenever we are home, even if we are in our bedroom or not, Olive's cage door is always left open. The majority of the time I'll scoop her up and bring her into the living room with us. Despite her having that same freedom when we are home, we always close her cage door whenever we aren't. Even though our room is heavily bunny-proofed, I still worry that she'll get hurt somehow. So it goes without saying that we would even close her cage door whenever we'd go to bed too...

Towards the end of last year Olive started to develop an annoying habit of violently shaking her cage door at six in the morning - like a furry, little convict wanting out of the cell. We couldn't figure out why either. At first I thought it was due to the time change and that maybe she just wanted her breakfast earlier than normal. So I'd comply and feed her at 6:00, instead of 7:00. However, I started to notice that she would only eat for a little bit and then automatically hop into bed with us. So, after a week or two of her rattling her cage door like a mad bun, Alex & I made the executive decision to let Olive roam free at night.

And it's been the best decision we've made. It makes all three of us very happy too. And yes, Olive loves to explore but the moment we turn out the lights she tends to settle down. The first night we left her cage door open she hopped into bed next to me and cuddle with me for a long time. So, that's become "our thing". Every morning when she feels like it, she'll hop into bed and cuddle with me. It is the sweetest thing ever. Even if she does have a tendency to start licking my face, I'll gladly take that over having to get out of bed to open that damn door. ;)
10 January 2017

Wedding Anticipation & Knowing You're Going to Marry Him After the First Date


I've begun the less than a month countdown over here. There are twenty-five more days left until Alex & I get married. And honestly, it just hit me this morning as I was putting on my mascara. It's funny to have this countdown. It's funny because I knew I was going to marry Alex after our first date. That's nuts I know, but hear me out...

The night we re-met, we spent the whole night together hanging out well past three a.m. It was fun and it was crazy. From the moment we started talking that night, I felt safe. It was as if I could tell him anything. And I did. I had never been so honest with another person before. Both of us had opened up to each other, so easily... so unguarded. The next morning I made the decision that I had to see where this would go. Because deep down inside, I knew that it was the start of something incredible.

So, the next night, Alex took me out for sushi. And I was nervous - even after the night before. Don't ask me why. It was silly, really. I mean, after all we had dated when we were younger, so we weren't strangers. I mean, yeah we hadn't spoken to each other in seventeen years, but we still knew each other for the most part. So, as I said, I was nervous. I must have changed my outfit a total of three times before meeting him at the restaurant.

At the beginning of our date I remember that I couldn't stop blushing. In fact, there was A LOT of blushing going on. Actually, Alex has never mentioned if he noticed me blushing or not, so I'm hoping I just did a really fantastic job of hiding it. Anyway. Dinner was perfect. Our conversations were perfect. He was perfect. I just remember sitting there across from him in awe; my mind taking note of my heart. Everything felt right. 

The next morning I woke up and I just knew

Now, I have to preface this with a little Danielle knowledge here: I am the most indecisive person EVER. Seriously, the majority of the time I don't even know what I want to eat. You can ask Alex - it annoys him to no end. But after my date with him, I was positive he was the one for me. I have never been so sure of anything in my life before. I  knew that I wanted to be with him implicitly. I was ready to dive head first into something incredible and nothing was going to hold me back.

So now, a year and a half later, there are only twenty-five days left until we exchange our handwritten vows. Twenty-five days left until we become husband and wife. And here I am looking back on the beginnings of US with so much love and certainty. A certainty that I still feel so strongly.  A certainty that has grown as each day passes. 

And my favourite moment from the beginning of our relationship.... the two of us sitting on his bed, my legs crossed, asking each other 36 questions that lead to love. It was after the questions had run out when we sat there staring into each other's eyes for 4 minutes. At first it felt awkward, but by the third minute something within me shifted - it was something I had never felt before. My heart felt full, my soul felt at ease and I knew that I was finally home.
08 January 2017

My Bridal Shower

Yesterday Megan and Alex's mom threw me a bridal shower. And it was AMAZING. It was tea party theme, which completely catered to the anglophile that resides within me. There were cucumber sandwiches, pimento cheese sandwiches (cut into bunnies and hearts), scones, petit fours (thanks, Mom!), raspberry tea, mint tea, little wedding cakes, and chicken salad (um, Megan - give me your mom's recipe...). It was so lovely celebrating with everyone.

Megan came up with a lot of fun games for all of us to play. And it honestly got a little raucous at times. People we're really wanting those fake Jeopardy points. Hahah. Seriously though, it was a perfect day.
And as a bonus, Megan even conspired with Alex to have him come pick me up afterwards. Which, the second I saw his car pull up in the driveway, I ran to him and was given a beautiful bouquet of starfighter lilies.

There are a lot more photos from the shower from others, but these will have to do until I get the other photos.

I felt like a queen yesterday, thanks to my sister and Jessie waiting on me like one. It might have gone to my head a little. ;)

04 January 2017

12 Books in 12 Months

For my new year's intention I've decided to start with reading 12 books in 12 months. My secondary goal was to just use books that I already had in my library. Ones that I haven't finished or even started. So, I perused our book case and actually found twelve books.
I'm excited to start reading more like I used to. And who knows, maybe I'll read more than twelve!