January 1st Holds A Special Place in My Heart

January 1st is one of my favorite days.

On this day in 2006, J asked me to be his girlfriend. On 1-1-11, he asked me to be his wife.

So New Years has been quite a lucky holiday for me! <3

Jan. 1, 2007 - our 1-year anniversary

Jan. 1, 2011 - when he proposed (I was crying like a baby!)

Jan. 1, 2012- last year when we were living in the Philippines

Jan. 1, 2014

Anniversary Celebrations

As some of you already know, J and I celebrated our 2-year wedding anniversary on Tuesday.

We celebrated our anniversary over a few days. Because that's how I like to do things. Here's what we did:

Last Friday, J picked me up from work and we went to Centennial Park in west Nashville. Over the summer, they have the Nashville Shakespeare Festival every weekend and we watched a live performance of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." People brought their picnic blankets, chairs and there were even benches and chairs provided. It was really great and we really enjoyed the play.

Then on Saturday, we decided to get out and enjoy some mother nature. We headed to Randor Lake, a great place for hiking just about 20 minutes from downtown Nashville. There are different trails you can do that are are either easy or difficult. The trails are well marked and well maintained. And the trails, for the most part, are shaded. It was beautiful and I know we'll be going back again soon.

Then in the evening we decided to go out on the town. No pictures of that, because we all know how crappy bar pictures can be.

On Sunday, we went to Dave & Buster's, letting our inner children out. It was fun-- I mostly enjoy the basketball shooting game, skeeball, and the one where you have to try and stop the light at the 'grand prize'. J likes the trivia one (if he has others to play against) and the one where you put in tokens to try and scoot other tokens off the edge. We did pretty well- we almost had 1,000 tickets. We turned them in for a freezer mug and candy.

Then on the night of our actual anniversary (Tuesday), we went out to dinner to a sushi place called Samurai that's close to my work. If J gives me the task of finding a place to eat, it's 97% of the time either sushi or Thai food. Samurai had high ratings, so we decided to check it out-- and it was good! We got a big plate with different sushi and rolls and seaweed salad. In all honesty, I could have killed that whole big plate by myself-- my sushi obsession is no joke! It was a delicious meal and we were completely satisfied afterwards.

It was a great anniversary and I am so lucky to have this man as my life partner and best friend. I could not ask for more.

Thank you all for the love, including my readers for the sweet comments,. So thoughtful and they're really appreciated. xo

Celebrating 730 Days of Marriage

Wow-- I just can't believe it-- J & I are celebrating our 2-year wedding anniversary today. It seems like yesterday we were celebrating our 1-year anniversary. Where does the time go?! Seriously...

Here comes the typical sentiments of an anniversary: J has been my best friend, support system, my rock for years now. He loves me so much and he makes sure to show me every. single. day. He treats me like a queen, even when I feel like I don't deserve it. I am definitely blessed to be married to such an incredible human being. These two past years of wedded bliss have been just that- bliss. I can't wait for the eternity to come.

In celebration of our anniversary, I wanted to share 16 highlights during Year 2 of our marriage:

one// moving to Borongan, Philippines. two// going to Boracay. three// J's garden project. four//starting Cali Girl Sweet Treats.

five// taming a few wild, jungle dogs. six//caving at Talubagnan. seven//Banaue&Sagada trip. eight// Kuala Lumpur.

nine//coming back to the States. ten//spending time with my fam. eleven//doing a treacherous 30-mile, 3-day hike. twelve//camping with friends. 

thirteen//Our Roadtrip Across America. fourteen//moving to Nashville. fifteen//hanging out with the fam for 4th of July. sixteen//being flooded out of our house.

Marriage is always a work in progress, whether it's been 50 years or 2. This year has had some really amazing times, but some pretty tough ones, too. But those tough ones help us grow closer. I love J with every millimeter of my being-- really though. Year 3 will be a good one-- so will the very many years to come.

Love you, J.

Anniversary

On Monday, Jason and I celebrated our 1-year wedding anniversary. And my oh my how time flies! I can't believe it's been a year!

We went on a 3-day getaway to Caramoan where we did 2 days of island hopping. It was so beautiful-- the water was so blue and so clear, the weather was perfect. We got married on the beach, it was only right we celebrated our anniversary on the beach.

I am so blessed to have such an amazing man in my life to be my husband, best friend-- my everything. Everyday he makes me feel special. He makes me feel up when I feel down, makes me feel beautiful when I feel ugly, he loves me even at my worst. I am so glad we have forever to spend together.

It's been one hell of a year-- from Costa Rica, to Ecuador, to the States, to South Korea and now in the Philippines. I can't wait for the many more adventures to come.

Here's a few photos from our trip. I'll be writing a more detailed post about Caramoan and our trip soon.