ice skating!

Let me just begin by saying this: I was definitely not meant to be an ice skater.

Richard & I took Maci & Hali ice skating, and I don't remember this last time I saw my little sisters laugh so hard. It was Richard's first time, and he is a natural like Maci. They're so cute spinning around on the ice as Hali & I literally can't force ourselves to let go of the side.

And all those blurry pictures? That's us falling. Whoops.

And do you see how beautiful my sisters are? It amazes me. I love them.

weekend love.

What a wonderful weekend. My love and I spent it in his hometown at his parents' house.

We played with my sister & niece Hannah on Friday night & laughed at The Hangover for the millionth time.

We spent all day Saturday with Richard's best friend David. We played arcade games, drank chery limeades, went on a mini-road trip & toured an abbey/monastery, stopped for chocolate malts & fries in the town where I grew up, gorged on greasy Mexican food, and went to Richard's cousin's 20th birthday party out in the middle of nowhere.
Today we slept terribly late, had lunch with Nanna (which ended up being an all-day event), and visited my grandparents before heading home.

I love simple weekends like this one! I'd have to say my favorite part came at the very end, sipping Earl Gray tea & reading magazines. Ahhhh.

a few thoughts

1. richard & i agreed to keep our valentine gifts minimal. he surprised me with two perfect bouquets (he said one was simply not enough!), the silver nailpolish i'd been dying for, & some sugar scrub which was also on my wish list. the flowers are still so pretty & have served as an excellent pick-me-up this week.

2. i've had christmas music stuck in my head for the entire week. i'm sure richard must be so tired of me singing & dancing round the house to "jingle bell rock" & "rockin' round the christmas tree" especially because i don't know all the words & i keep repeating the same part over & over.

An Education

I finally got around to seeing An Education last week, and let me just say that I was utterly in love. The story was beautiful, yes (although I wish it had ended a bit differently), and I love a good British accent, but it was the early 1960's London fashion that really sent me head over heels. There is nothing more lady-like than feminine florals in shapely silhouettes paired with red lips, a chic up-do, and pearl earrings. I left the theater yearning for false lashes, vintage florals and cardigans, and the perfect school-girl outfit. I could also stand for a cigarette holder and for my boyfriend to suddenly adopt a British accent.

my funny valentine

i love love. all kinds of it!
but i won't lie, i'm not too fond of valentine's day.
i'm all for continuously displaying affection 365 days a year rather than obnoxiously exploiting it on february 14th with over the top jewelry gifts, giant teddy bears, chocolate hearts, and especially roses.

my love and i are having a tiny celebration with my sisters, brother, and cousins. tonight we're going black-light bowling and to play laser tag.

richard DID buy me my dream yellow coat, though, and i'd love to get some pretty flowers. no roses though! seriously, no roses.

{photo via weheartit}

love tree

so, maybe i never took down my christmas tree.

i'm not terribly into football,

so tonight during our little super bowl party

(which i made some incredible blueberry cupcakes for!),

i turned my tree into a love tree.

it makes me so happy!

i just love it.

happy birthday richard!

my love's 21st birthday was friday. i spent weeks planning a big party in fayetteville for him & lots of his favorite people. but by the time friday rolled around, we were completely snowed & iced in & unable to leave the house, much less drive two hours to fayetteville! i couldn't even get the poor guy to a liquor store so he could make his first legal alcohol purchase. :(

it was a big letdown, but i think i helped him to make the most of it. we went on the longest hike of my life even though it was frigid (he thinks we are bear grylls people) & discovered a beautiful cliff overlooking the river. we went sledding on saturday morning up in the mountains with my sister & two precious little girls. my niece hailey was such a good sport on our two-mile trek even though she was up to her little knees in snow!

it was quite inconvenient, but i absolutely loved our snowy long weekend together.