Engagement Shoot Sneak Peek!

the day that changes everything

July 19th, 2013


I am so excited and full of anticipation to marry my best friend.


I'm even more excited to take a paid week off of work to enjoy Jamaica with him!


2013 is going to be a great year.

Niagara.

I feel like I've been talking about going on our trip to Niagara Falls for a long time now and here we are - it's come and gone. But it's definitely a trip I will not soon forget...

We got to see the beautiful falls.

And creepy hamster stuffed animals. 

And penguins, too!

And stuff our faces with fries covered in poutine. (It's a Canadian thing.)

And see celebrities. (They were wax.)

And go on the Maid of the Mist!

And ride around a couple of times on the Skywheel until Dan did this...

I'm the future Mrs. Lahr!

Let us commence.

So this past Saturday was my commencement from Baldwin-Wallace College, even though I graduated about 6 months ago. A lot of thoughts went through my head during my commencement. 


I felt so happy to have my family, my boyfriend and my best friend to cheer me on. I was extremely nervous (borderline panicked) to get up on stage but once I heard the cheers from my own little cheerleader section I pranced across that stage like it was just my day. 

License to Wed

I've always wanted to get married. 

I don't know where it started really.

My family often tells me stories of when I was little, running around in my "married dresses" or asking my dad to "marriage me". 

License to Wed

I guess as I've gotten older I've realized how much work goes into a marriage. It's not all about the flowers, the cake, and big, poofy white dresses - there is actually real work required after the wedding. 

UGH, the wedding. How me and my friends used to obsess over the Knot or Pinterest and their endless photos and articles on weddings.

I may or may not have included the Star Wars cake topper on purpose. Class.

  This has been on my heart recently, mostly because I've started reading the Sacred Influence. It's all about how God uses wives to shape the souls of their husbands. I guess it's kind of heavy reading for someone who isn't even engaged, but marriage is work. Hard work. If you're in a serious relationship you should have an understanding of what it's going to take. 

An understanding of the type of husband or wife you need to be to have a successful marriage, so you aren't ripping each other's throats out later. 

I want a happy and healthy marriage. Who doesn't? 

But more importantly, I want to have fun. 

I want to go out and try new things, just like my parents do. 

(Happy almost 25th wedding anniversary, guys!)

Where have you been?

I'll tell ya. 


I've been indulging in my new Kindle and of course, the Hunger Games. It has to be at the top of the charts for best books ever. 

I mean, the bravery of Katniss is something I struggle to wrap my head around as I read. (I would have curled up in a ball and died the first night.) And of course, the twisted love triangle that doesn't seem to be as brilliantly portrayed on the big screen as it is in the books. As I read I just can't imagine how she doesn't love Peeta back. I digress...

But that's where I've been. Oh yeah, and work, too. Work has been absolutely insane, but I'm really happy there. I wish I could tell my boss about my future plans of Raleigh, but for now I have to keep to myself. I'm so excited to travel there in August. I hope it's everything we could have imagined and more. 

In my impatient fashion, I couldn't wait until August to take a vacation so some of you may remember that we're going to Niagara Falls next month! CANADIA!

Stay tuned, folks.

Food, I love you.

I would classify Dan and I as serious foodies. Sure enough, he stumbles upon this amazing website, "foodily.com". 


I'm in this competitive mindset where I need to cook the most delicious dinners for him in order to prove that I will be the best wife ever. It is a little silly, but they always say that a way to a man's heart is through his tum. 


Tonight m&d are going to a St. Patty's Day party, which means I get to play house and cook up a yummy din and enjoy some of my apricot ales with Dan.

So is it chicken enchiladas?

Or homemade sushi?

We shall see!

Travel.

The road to Raleigh consists of me trying to figure out our travel itinerary for August. 


Just a tad stressful. Thank God for tripadvisor.

Away We Go...

Well, where would we go?
I don't know.
We could go anywhere we want.
Anywhere, anywhere?
Yeah.



Just a fun little tidbit from my favorite movie, Away We Go. Now I'm sure you're staring at your monitor/laptop screen/smart phone/chiseled stone/cave wall and thinking,
what the heck is Away We Go? I've never seen it... heck, I'm reading blogs off a cave wall... 



Let me give you a brief synopsis, John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph are a 30-some-year-old couple who get pregnant and decide (after his parents decide to move to another country for 2 years) that they want to pick up and move somewhere. Anywhere. This movie speaks to me, I swear. I've seen it like 5+ times and I've basically showed the movie to everyone I know.


So Roger Ebert, I mean Kayle, why does this movie speak to you? 


Well, I just absolutely love how real their relationship is. There's no need for guessing how the other one feels because they talk about everything and when she's upset he doesn't tell her "honey, it's going to be okay", he makes jokes - which is just so Dan. I don't always appreciate it in the moment, but those are the times that I look back on and literally laugh out loud when I'm driving or sitting in my office. 
There's nothing better than a man that can make ya laugh.


Of course the most obvious reason this movie speaks to me is because they just decide that they're going to leave. They're going to move wherever they want. In the movie, she refers to them as being "untethered" which is such an interesting word to use. I want to be untethered. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love my family and I know I'll miss not seeing them everyday but technology makes it so easy to get over that. We live in a country where we can live where we want, work where we want, go to school or not go to school for what we want, and be in a relationship with whoever we want. 
So why in the world would I choose to stay in Cleveland, Ohio? I want an adventure.


I think it's pretty obvious that I'm getting anxious {Hurry up, August!} for our summer trip to Raleigh. I hope it's everything that we've been praying/hoping for and much more.
Now go out and rent Away We Go, my little cave dwellers! 

The times they are a-changing.

Just had to share this song with you guys because it's stuck in my head and the only way to get it out of my head is to get it stuck in yours.

SO, I feel like I talk about my work all the time, but I can't help it. This life is like a whole new life for me. It's like everything that we've ever worked for, studied for and stressed over all accumulated to this point in life. It's exhausting and scary, but I think the biggest negative emotion I'm feeling about being a working woman would be my struggle to find people who can relate to these feelings and changes in my life. 

(NOTE: There are positive aspects, too. I love human resources, I love my supervisor and I love not having homework. A LOT.)

Because I graduated relatively early compared to some of my friends it's just been hard to talk to them about my life now. They may not understand how I'm so tired when I'm not in school and working, I'm just working. Well, actually, sometimes I can't understand that myself. 

{Getting to the point of my story here.}

I finally got a chance to connect with one of my closest friends the other night. She's a married, working-woman so it's hard for us to coordinate our schedules sometimes. I had such a great time with her, but most importantly, SHE GETS IT. Granted, I may not be married so there are aspects of her life that I don't fully related to, but I felt like everything I was expressing made so much sense to her. It was a breath of fresh air to know that I'm not alone in feeling exhausted and worn out and all around unmotivated after work. 

It makes me a little nervous to work this way because I don't know how I could keep up an apartment or house. It just could not happen. 


On a super happy note, I'm going out with Dan to buy a bluray player, some makeup at Ulta, Away We Go (my favorite movie - on sale at Five Below), and Chick-fil-A! Eek!


Happy Saturday. 

The Thing About Plans.

I just had a mini epiphany or stroke of thoughtful genius. 


When things don't go the way people planned for or expected or hoped for or dreamed for... most likely they will resort to blaming something that they did. Whether it be not listening to God more closely or not tying your shoe correctly - humans have to put the blame on something. Otherwise, they're stuck with all this self pity and nowhere to disperse it. 


But what if...

What if...

What if...

What if a change in plans had nothing to do with whether or not you did this, or did that, or didn't do this, or didn't do that... what if it was God's plan for you? 

I just don't feel like we should blame ourselves or anything else when plans change or things don't go the way we expect them to. I try to take every situation and learn from it. 

Sometimes God wants us to change our paths. I thought I would become an operator of Chick-fil-A - I worked really hard and I prayed about it and I talked about it constantly. "The door" was shut in my face several times for me to ever even become a general manager... but I stayed on that path because I thought that was my plan. I wanted it to be my plan. It wasn't. I wrestled with this for a long time, but I came to terms with it because I don't want to live my life regretting that I didn't keep trying for something that wasn't meant for my life.

Even now when I think of moving to Raleigh, I pray that it's in God's plan for Dan and I's life together, but it's not a guarantee. And I'm okay with that. He will open doors for us if that's where we are supposed to live. I think planning and not being able to adjust when things change is a control issue for some people, but all we have is right now. Honestly, I can sit here and spew every single thing I want someday - the husband, the house, the kids, the great job - but we aren't guaranteed tomorrow. I hate to be this cliche on a public forum, but maybe we should all go with the flow a little bit more, loosen up the reigns, let life go the path it's destined to and understand that there is a plan for you - it just may have a few detours you didn't initially plan for. 

Trials produce perseverance; perseverance, character; character, hope.

Banana Pancakes

The other day I told my mom that I can't wait to live with Dan so I never have to miss him.

She replied, "that is such a sweet thing to say". 
I am head over heels, over the moon, all the way to Pluto (even though that's not a planet anymore) and to-grandmother's-house-we-go in love with him. 

This song makes me daydream and get all giddy about living with Dan someday.

Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson

Can't you see that it's just raining
Ain't no need to go outside...
But baby, you hardly even notice
When I try to show you this
Song is meant to keep ya
From doing what you're supposed to
Like waking up too early
Maybe we can sleep in
I'll make you banana pancakes
Pretend like it's the weekend now

{Pin}

And we could pretend it all the time
Can't you see that it's just raining
Ain't no need to go outside

But just maybe, laka ukulele
Mommy made a baby
Really don't mind the practice
'cause you're my little lady
Lady lady love me
'cause I love to lay here lazy
We could close the curtains
Pretend like there's no world outside

{Pin}

And we could pretend it all the time
Can't you see that it's just raining
Ain't no need to go outside
Ain't no need ain't no need Mmmm MMmmm
Can't you see can't you see
Rain all day
And I don't mind.

The telephone is singing
Ringing it's too early
Don't pick it up
We don't need to we got everything
We need right here and everything we need is enough
Just so easy when the whole world fits inside of your arms
Don't really need to pay attention to the alarm

{Pin}

Wake up slow, yeah wake up slow
But baby, You hardly even notice
When I try to show you this
Song is meant to keep ya
From doing what your supposed to
Like waking up too early
Maybe we can sleep in
I'll make you banana pancakes
Pretend like it's the weekend now

And we could pretend it all the time
Can't you see that it's just raining
Ain't no need to go outside
Ain't no need, ain't no need
Rain all day and I really really really don't mind
Can't you see can't you see,
You gotta wake up slow

{Pin}

In other news, I broke out in hives after I got home from work yesterday. I lovelovelove working in HR, it's just a little chaotic lately. I started drawing again to combat the hives - more on that later! 


How do you combat your nerves? 

Minute to Win It: Christmas Style!

As promised, here's some crazy Christmas photos from the Minute to Win It themed party we had:

This one was called Christmas in the Balance. As you can see, Dan and I are not pictured... this is because he tipped over the whole thing before a picture could even be taken. 

Christmas Cup Stacker... The player had to stack 28 cups with one hand in 60 seconds! Not nearly as easy as it looks - Aunt Mindy couldn't follow the rules to save her life. I look very serious as the official timer.

This one was by far the most hilarious. Jingle in the Trunk. The only photos of Dan are completely blurry because he basically seized his way to 3rd place. I took first! :)

This one was called Holiday Kiss. It was great to see all the couples be so competitive! My mom had the death grip on my dad's arms to keep him close to her. They tied for first with my cousin and his fiance. 

Let me introduce you to Reindeer Nose Dive. Probably the most impossible and ridiculous game ever. Somehow my cousin won within the first couple of minutes by people were just piling on the Vaseline to try and get the pompom to catch. Needless to say, we cheated and stuck ours on.

This one was just your standard marshmallow toss! Each player had 60 seconds to lob the most marshmallows into this bucket that had a wreath attached to it. Once again, not nearly as easy as you'd think it would be!

I had such an awesome time putting together all of these games with my mom and watching everyone enjoy them. What are some of the Christmas games or traditions you have every year?

To Raleigh or not to Raleigh?

That is the question.


No, no, we're still planning on moving, don't panic! I'm just thinking of planning a summer trip to Raleigh in the beginning of August. Sure, we will probably suffocate from the impending heat, but I say LET'S DO IT! We had talked about traveling there briefly but dismissed the idea when I priced it out. However, thanks to TripAdvisor (my new best friend, sorry Pinterest) it seems that a Friday-Monday trip there may be a little more affordable than previously anticipated! Plus, I feel a little more comfortable now that I'm a working woman and not pulling in a solid 20 hours at an internship. 


Here's some places I want to see:

Raleigh's City Market: charming shops and restaurants. 

Lake Lynn Park: I love parks, and running shirtless men. (Kidding.. kidding.)

Raleigh's Farmer's Market: my, my, what nice gourds you have!

Raleigh's Museum of Art: I have a new found love of museums. I attribute this to Dan.

Umstead Park: Like I said, I love parks! I also really enjoy hiking. 

Here are some of the places I want to eat at:

The Pit: is a must eat. A. Dan and I love BBQ. B. Dan and I love Adam Richman of Man V. Food who has eaten there.

The Glenwood Grill: got great reviews on TripAdvisor and looks like a relaxing, nice place to eat.

Locopops: some cute little popsicle place. Perfect for an August day. 

18 Seaboard: look how yummy that looks!? Maybe this could be our celebratory dinner for finding the place we want to live. 

Have any fun summer trips you're thinking of taking!? There's nothing like traveling.