New Toys: Part 2

Remember way back in April when my mom's friends hosted a shower for me and I showed you some of the wonderful gifts they gave me?  Well, I held back on showing you my favorite gift, because it deserves a post of its own.  It's one of the greatest gifts I've ever received, actually.  It even rivals the three-story fully furnished wood dollhouse my father built for me when I was five, custom made to fit my Barbies.  Yes, this gift is that wonderful.

Ready?

I have this thing for vintage days of the week embroidered dish towels.

My best friend Abby told her mom about this, who, it just so happens, is an expert at embroidery.

So as my wedding gift she made me these towels, which went along with my nautical themed wedding.

The pattern is from the 30s or 40s.

She kept going and made extras... nautical-themed, of course.

This one she designed off of the sailboat on our wedding invitation:

It features my (new) last initial and our wedding date, Aug 13.

And now, the piece de resistance!

Here's a closer look:

The nautical flags spell Andrew <3 Monica.  Awww.

Unbelievable, right??  No one in the history of weddings has ever received a more thoughtful, personal, and beautiful gift than this.  I'm a lucky girl.  Thanks, Diane!  I will cherish them all my life.

Are You Lookin' at ME???

Recently I've almost been mowed over in a crosswalk TWICE, both times in broad daylight.  I'm super careful, but commuting as a pedestrian during rush hour traffic has its own set of hazards; mainly that people are looking for a break in traffic rather than a person in their immediate path.  I'm as diligent as a person can be about staying out of the way of cars, but crossing streets can't be avoided and at 7:30am in Seattle, they're never empty.

Check out my new line of defense!

It's super light so I can wear it in the summer, or over layers in the winter.  The color in this image is only half as obnoxious as it is in real life.  I love it.  I'm going to wear it when I run outside, no matter what time of day or night.  Traffic safety is no joke, guys!

Honeymoon Greatest Hits!

We're back!  We had a great trip through Rome and the Eastern Mediterranean.  Here are a few, but not all, of our adventures:

Borghese Gardens, Rome

Trevi Fountain, Rome

Messina, Sicily

Messina, Sicily

Temple of Athena, Acropolis in Athens

Library at Ephesus, Turkey

Oculus of the Pantheon, Rome

Colosseum, Rome

Inside the Colosseum, Rome

On the steps of the Capital Building, Rome

The Forum, Rome

Well, hey there!

So big news!  I got married!
Well, first I turned 30, then I got promoted at work, and then I got married!  Life is amazing.

Footwear Flop

image source

You know what "hot" trend I'm totally over even before it hits the mainstream?  This flat platform bs.  It's chunky and unflattering to everyone.  Just stop already.  That is all.

A Living Room to Build a Dream On

sources: sofa and chair, lamps, coffee table, white zigzag side table, pillows, rug, window panels, art, bowl

Lately I've had the urge to nest, so just for fun I've been doing a design concept board for a possible version of my future living room.  I'm finally figuring out how to communicate to Mr Husband Elect what my vision of a space might be - get the whole thing visually pulled together before pointing out individual elements.  It's the most frustrating thing in the world to try and get him to agree to items for our home one by one because he can't envision them in a complete package.  See my solution above.  What do you think?  In the end, I couldn't decide on a table lamp, so I just chose my top five and threw them all in there.  What's your favorite?

Weekend Wine Tasting

We're hammering out all the details for various wedding-related events these days, and last night we did one of the more fun ones: wine tasting!  The rehearsal dinner is on a boat, and they allow the client to supply their own beverages, so we spent the evening narrowing down white and red wine selections (beer is a whole other beast we weren't ready to tack just yet).

The idea was to keep it inexpensive, so none of the bottles exceeded $9.  You'd be surprised at how many good options you can get in this range.

It started out innocently enough...

Nine chardonnays later....

I found one that tasted like oysters - not good... unless you're eating oysters.  which we were not.

Several judges with varying palates offered their two cents, and there were a lot of serious contenders for the number one spot.

In the end, the clear winner was Fitzer 2010 chardonnay - a clean, crisp, and aromatic white wine.

The Cabernet was a no-contest situation; nothing stood up to Red Diamond.  Also a no-contest situation: Andrew drove us home that night.