Category / Family

September 29, 2007 . Galena, Illinois

Time really does fly when you're having fun.

In some ways, it seems we've been married our entire lives, and in others, I can't BELIEVE how quickly we've gotten to this point, together for more than seven years and about to start our fourth year of marriage.

September 29, 2008 (courtesy of Megan Clausen Photography)

It's funny. You walk down the aisle thinking you know this person better than anyone else in the world, and probably rightfully so. But I love that with each anniversary that passes, we each continue to learn more and more about the other, appreciate each other deeply, and allow each other to continue to grow into the people we are ultimately meant to be.

October 2009 . Minneapolis

Every year has proven sweeter than the previous, as we've hit a stride while navigating this crazy thing called life. In a mere three years, we've made our share of major decisions together that have impacted the direction our life together has taken, and we are keenly aware of many impending decisions and directions to be made in the future.

August 2010 . Atlanta, Georgia

For right now though, at this moment, life is quite sweet and we are blissfully content.

I am very grateful.

What's more, I am very blessed.

Happy anniversary, Mr. Smith.

Here's to many more years of bellyache laughter, toasting our glasses, dancing to vinyl, yelling the Iowa fight song, bossing the other around, great times with amazing family and friends, daydreaming about what we'd spend our lottery winnings on, late night drive-thru binge eating, and of course, less-than-legal joy rides in that sweet convertible. Looking forward to all that comes next…

XOXO,

Me.

How to celebrate a golden birthday (or ANY birthday for that matter):

1. Make it a week-long celebration. Seriously…WEEK-long.

2. Go out for drinks and laughter with girlfriends.

3. Make your favorite kind of cupcakes (or get your husband to make them).

4. Blown up yellow balloons the eve of the big day and let them float around at the bottom of the stairs so in the morning it feels all celebratory as you come down to leave for work. 🙂

5. Have breakfast in bed, even if it IS a Tuesday and you feel rushed. (Thank you, Page <3).

6. Dress up.

7. Upgrade your grande size latte to a venti, en route to work.

8. Explain to anyone who doesn’t understand the “golden birthday”
concept just HOW big of a deal it is, and that they should really catch
up.

9. Eat a cupcake in lieu of the typical healthy mid-morning snack, while chatting with a happy-birthday-wishing bestie.

10. Gratefully read Facebook birthday posts (don’t you just love that Facebook reminds you of all bdays?)

11. Skip the brown bag and go out to lunch.

12. Buy yourself a present, taking it as a sign that MJ’s This Is It came out on DVD on your birthday. 🙂

13. Check the mail. Nothing beats an old-fashioned birthday card. And grandparents are always SO on top of that game.

14. Take a day off from the gym.

15. Squeal with delight as you unwrap gift cards for mystic tanning. No skin cancer this year!

16. Read a blog post featuring you through the years, compiled by Mom.
A mix of misty eyes, then mortification at just how bad your eyebrows
were, washes over you as you read her words and look at the pics. What
a lucky girl to have such amazing parents these 26 years.

17. Forget the diet for one day and splurge on your favorite deep dish pizza for dinner.

18. Have a drink. Or three.

19. Enjoy phone calls, texts, and emails from friends and family, (in particular a text from Dad, telling me he can still remember just how funny I looked the day I was born) :). So lucky to have each and every one of these people in my life.

20. Take some reflection time. Write an email to your future self on your 27th birthday. Set Google Calendar to send it to your inbox one year from today.

21. Try not to kill your husband when he points out it’s only four years until you’re thirty. (And your grandmother, when she makes it known that you’re more than halfway to fifty).

22. Eat your second cupcake of the day. It’s your birthday – there’s no “stop after one” rule.

23. (Resolve to make tomorrow’s workout extra long).

24. Settle in on the couch to watch a good movie, courtesy of Netflix.

25. Smile blissfully, reflecting on a simply delightful day.

26. In the middle of blissful state, glance out window. Make mental note to self that next year, it should be considered that you live in freezing cold, icy, blizzardy Iowa and that January 26, 2011 should and will be spent at a resort in the Caribbean.

……………………………………………………………………………………..

Thank you to all the family and friends that bless my life in small and large ways every day, and celebrate with me not just on January 26, but every day. You are all loved beyond sane reason.

The original plan for our two-year anniversary was to do a whirlwind 24 hour trip up to Minneapolis to get dinner and do some shopping. I was supposed to be traveling until Friday evening so we were going to leave Saturday morning and come back Sunday afternoon.

At least that's what I thought!

After my travel plans were canceled at the last minute, Page arranged with my boss to take Friday off. On Thursday night, he surprised me by telling me that not only did I not have to get up for work on Friday morning, but that we were leaving early and had an extra night in the Cities!

But the surprises were only beginning. Pager had done his research with some help from friends and made dinner and brunch reservations, and bought tickets to a Mat Kearney concert. I learned about all of these fun things throughout the weekend…they just kept coming! The over-the-top thing was when we loaded up the car to leave and Page had gifts (wrapped wonderfully nonetheless!) to load in the car. I'm not sure what I did to get so darn spoiled. Feeling very lucky to say the least!

We got into our hotel Friday afternoon and my parents were so sweet to surprise us by learning our hotel and sending champagne and strawberries to our room! We took the light rail to the Mall of America (Page's first trip there) and I just have to say…I LOVE having a husband who is efficient and loves fashion and shopping. We mapped out our must-hit stores and skipped over everything else. We only got about an hour in before we had to get back and change for dinner at Max. (delicious!) Max is in our hotel, which used to be a bank, so they have turned the vaults into wine cellars that you can walk through. Very cool.

Saturday we woke up to (gasp!) SNOW but bundled up and headed to our reservation for brunch at Hell's Kitchen – might be the best brunch I've ever had! Portabello Benedict and AMAZING mimosas! The decor was a riot – We walked in the entrance to a chandelier of butcher knives, and sat at our booth under a bare bulb reminiscent of a creepy dark basement. The servers were all wearing their pajamas in the spirit of breakfast, which was funny to see.

We got more shopping in and then back to the hotel to change for the
concert. We saw him at First Avenue – a venue that has stars stenciled everywhere with names and dates of performances past. It was really cool to see names like Joe Cocker (1970) all over the wall. The venue was great and Mat was awesome live (even better in person if that's
possible!) and we made it back to our hotel to catch the fourth quarter
of the Iowa game (Thank you, Hawks, for a great anniversary present!)
The night ended with a midnight run to Luc̩ for pizza Рdelicious again!

Sunday morning was gloomy and cold but we toughed it out to head to the Sculpture Garden. My ultimate goal for the weekend was to get pics with the giant spoon and cherry statue – a Minneapolis landmark. By then, it was time to get Pager his coffee (definitely past due by then!) and we went to check out Cupcake, a place I had heard about online, for breakfast/lunch, coffee, and of course CUPCAKES.

And what was in those presents? Well here's a hint 🙂

Like I said…best (and most organized surpriser!) hubby ever. Here's to 2 years and many more! 🙂

If you have been on Facebook recently, you’ve probably seen some of your friends doing the “25 Things” post. The idea is simple; tell 25 things about yourself, tag some people to do the same, and learn all kinds of things about the people you already thought you knew so well. It’s been so fun for me to read about friends/family and for those of you aren’t on facebook (you need to join!) here are my 25 things, at age 25. If you’re a blogger, post YOUR 25 and leave me a link in the comments – I can’t wait to read everyone’s!

Just turned 25 last week. Here are 25 things, about myself, at 25:

1. I have recently decided I want to “become a runner”. I run a little
over a mile in each workout, and am training for a 5k. I like to use
phrases like “going for a run” and “training” because they make me feel
cool and so much more hard core than I actually am.

2. I am obsessed with anything and everything yellow. (Thus the blog
name). If it comes in yellow, that will be my first choice when making
a purchase. Seriously, is there a happier color out there than yellow?
Good stuff.

3. I’m not an everyday journal-keeper, but especially when something
rough is going on, I find myself drawn back to write it out. When shit
hits the fan, my biggest encouragement comes from reading back through
old entries, and reading my own panic/stress/sadness/anger

My super-creative friend Megan spent a little time downtown with us last night, shooting tons of fabulous photos! Here is just a sampling – thanks so much, Megan, you’re the best!

We were all digging this checkerboard wall!