All the Pretty Things

Last week, Daniel and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. At the time, we were visiting Elmhurst, IL so Daniel could take his brother Joe's senior portraits. Joe is, without a doubt, ready for college. Just take a look at this guy... he simply oozes intelligence.

Seriously, though. This is what college is really about, isn't it? Being comfortable enough with yourself to dress up like a banana and walk around downtown like you own the place. We had a lot of fun taking these pictures- everyone in Elmhurst was simply delighted to see a banana amongst them. Joe was an instant celebrity. The public was especially pleased when we got in the car. His stem was getting squashed down by the roof, so Daniel opened the sunroof and we stuck it out the top. People were practically in tears for joy.

So we celebrated our anniversary in Chicago. Daniel's parents very sweetly got us tickets to see the Broadway musical, The Lion King. It was one of the coolest live performances I've ever seen. You really have to appreciate how much creativity goes into it... the costumes were beautifully ornate, and not at all what you'd expect. (I have to admit, I had my doubts about how someone was going to dance around the stage dressed as Simba without any road bumps.) The best part, hands down, was the music. A lot of the musical numbers are the same as those in the movie, but when you hear it live, it's a lot more powerful. You start to notice that there's like 30-part harmony in every song, a lot of it is sang a cappella, and it's perfectly executed. We were pretty impressed.

Then we went to dinner at this place called Girl and the Goat, which was right up our alley. Then we went and got each other's names tattooed on our bums.

Ok... we didn't do that last part, but we did get our wedding bands tattooed on. Daniel's is a simple band, and mine is an, err... this thingy:

This was taken a few days after I got it, and now it looks like I drew it on with a blue pen then washed my hands several times. I'm going to have to get it retouched once it heals up, but overall, I'm very happy with the design.

People have funny reactions to this, by the way. People are very hesitant about the idea of getting, of all things, your wedding band tattooed on. The most common response I've gotten is, "well, that's certainly a commitment." My answer? "Yes. Incidentally, so was getting married." Another thing I'm experiencing is people's responses to the design. The first thing most people ask is, "What is it?" I would describe it as a fan or half a flower, but it's not really anything other than a shape I thought was pretty. Here are some of the interpretations I've gotten: stained glass, (cool... I can see that. I like stained glass.) lace, (I like lace, too... nice!) and "a chief hat." Seriously? No. I do not like Native American headdresses. At least not enough to get one tattooed on my finger.

Last Friday, we had an anniversary party. Entertaining has been a huge part of our first year- we love having friends over for dinner, to play the Wii, or to make s'mores in our fire pit. So it only seemed natural to celebrate with yet another shindig. I wanted to make this one extra special, so I started reading up, and I found this article that suggested making the party paper themed, since your first anniversary is your paper anniversary. I thought that was awesome, because it involved hand making a bunch of pretty things, which was my favorite part about planning the wedding. I even decided to make Daniel and myself outfits out of paper to wear that night. Now, if you know me at all, you already know how this worked out: it didn't. Why? Because, although I love this kind of thing, I'm not great at it. I can do some semi-artsy-craftsy things that involve minimal hand-eye coordination, but I'm really better off sticking to small projects. I did make an honest attempt, but was quickly disillusioned. To give you an idea, I ended up taking a creme paper tablecloth and cutting a hole in the top for the neck, then cutting holes for my arms, cinching it with crepe paper, then admitting to myself that this was not going well at all. I don't even know how to describe what I looked like. It wasn't good. Same with Daniel's paper vest.

But here are some of my projects that did turn out...

I made garland out of tissue paper flowers (the white ones are made from paper doilies) and raffia, and hung it across the dining room wall.

In between every string of flowers, there was one of paper hearts strung on embroidery floss.

Since Daniel and I lost the top layer of our wedding cake in the flood, I decided to compensate by making a paper cake of hat boxes covered in pretty paper. Then I made cupcakes in the same flavors as our wedding cake.

Remember those tea stained cards we had you write on in lieu of a guest book at the wedding?

I strung some raffia in a couple of places around the living room and fastened those cards on with tiny clothespins. It was so much fun getting those out and reading them again... we have such loving, supportive friends and family. Aaron and Nate, yours both stood out. You made me tear up a little.

We also got out some wedding pictures and set them around, lit candles, and made a playlist of songs we played during different parts of our wedding (pre-ceremony, ceremony and reception). Daniel made a slideshow of wedding photos and highlights from our first year together.

All of our friends from the wedding party who live in town were able to make it, as well as a few new friends. When everyone had arrived, we played a few games, including Mafia, which was definitely the highlight of the evening. Nothing quite like getting a bunch of friends together and having them accuse each other of murder.

It really was so perfect to gather and celebrate with the friends who have been here for us through the ups and downs of our first year. We are constantly reminded how blessed we are to have such loving community.

In other non-news, most of you probably already know that I have a seasonal job at Obelisk, a housewares and gift shop in Green Hills. I've been there for a month now, and am thoroughly enjoying it. The people I work with are wonderful, and it's such a fun, laid back environment. Plus, we sell awesome stuff, like this thingy:

Before I finish this post, I have to brag on my man a little. Today I got to sleep in, and when I woke up I found that Daniel had called around to find a florist who had my favorite flowers (ranunculus) and driven across town to get them.

I am really a very lucky girl, and I hope I never take for granted how much love I have in my life.