It’s official, I am 30 years old. Yikes. With that comes a 30 year old face, one that seems to be much more willing to welcome little lines and age marks that are doing a wonderful job of freaking me out. I’ve never had beautifully smooth or blemish free skin but over the last couple years I’ve definitely noticed an increase in wrinkles, just little ones but still they’re there staring at me in the mirror.
So when I saw that Joanna Goddard (one of my favorite bloggers) posted about her favorite anti-aging cream products last week I decided it was fate intervening, telling me it was time to hop on the bandwagon and start investing in my skin (aka – I’m a huge sucker and saw my bday as an opportunity to splurge on myself).
Olay, please don’t disappoint, this face needs a little love!
So serious…
ok, what am I doing?
it’s a wrap!
In other news, this weekend I made this amazing soup for the second time around. Sharing it because it’s delicious AND easy to make – not always an easy combination to find. Go make it, I promise you won’t be disappointed. Ina knows whats up!
This morning, after making your lunch, enjoying breakfast with you and driving you to the train station, rather than starting my day like I normally do I got home, went upstairs and got back into bed.
If it’s any consolation, the bed wasn’t nearly as warm and cozy without you… but gosh, it sure felt nice to do it.
Love,
Your GF.
PS. When your midwife suggests Kimchi on toast with sliced avocado and you react as though she recommended roadkill with a side of poop BUT then you try it and LOVE it. That’s what happened to me tonight. YUM. Oh and adding a slice of cheddar and some hummus is never a bad idea 🙂
you accidentally skipped over depositing a check last month (how on earth this could happen, I have no idea – blame it on the baby hormones). We’re rich, we’re rich. I wish, I wish 🙂
I declare that tomorrow is “I’m Buying Myself Starbucks” day at the Schwartz household.
Last thing: Movie posters coming to life; how neat is that?
I’ve been introducing more vegan styled meals into our diet not because I want to necessarily go full-blown vegan (I’m too in love with ice cream!) but because we just don’t eat enough veggies, grains and/or fruits. I figure that having some solid, all natural recipes up my sleeve will help solve this problems and so far it’s been super easy to do because of the cookbook Oh She Glows by Angela Liddon. What’s great about vegan meals is that many of the snacks, dessert, breakfast recipes use the same products but in different ways. You have to build up a supply of the more random items, for me they were: brown rice flour, agave nectar, chia seeds, ground flax seeds and things along those lines. Once you have those ingredients it’s very simple to whip up something like, Chia Seed Doughnuts that were really good – even Geo thought so, and he can be a tough audience!
Chia seeds, oat flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, vanilla extract, maple syrup and soy milk. It literally takes 5 minutes to prepare and then you stick them in the oven.
Or a Green Monster Smoothie, which is how we’ve been starting our mornings the past couple days.
One frozen banana, kale, peanut butter, soy milk, 2 ice cubes, vanilla extract and flax seeds. DELISH.
I’ve also made a number of her dinner meals and desserts, the avocado cream pasta is one of my faves! Off to make a batch of doughnuts for my MIL 🙂
I filled this survey out a while ago and thought I’d share it here as well – don’t want to forget anything about that fantastic weekend 🙂
Where was your wedding ceremony and reception held? Migis Lodge at Sebago Lake
How did you two meet? Online! On OkCupid.
Tell us about the proposal… George proposed while we were on vacation in Mexico. It was completely unexpected. Which, I know doesn’t sound believable (how much more romantic do you get than a tropical vacation?! Lol) but we had discussed it prior to the trip and he made it very clear it wouldn’t be happening for some time. Something I wasn’t all too pleased about but decided to overlook and just focus on having a nice vacation. Then, on our way down, we were surrounded by newly married couples! Haha We traveled on a Sunday and couples who’d had a Saturday wedding were all over the place. We were joking about it, even though I was a touch perturbed! Our first night down there, George asked me if I’d marry him while we were on the roofdeck of our beautiful rental. https://www.flipkey.com/playa-del-carmen-vacation-rentals/p116234/
Why did you choose to get married in Maine? My family has a special connection to Maine. My mom grew up coming here in the summers to visit her grandparents who worked for a wealthy family in Old Orchard and we continued visiting throughout my childhood. Mostly to York, KennebunkPort and to Bethel, Rangely for the skiing in the winter.
Did you do something that was uniquely you? We got married in the Fall and chose a location where our entire guest list could stay on-site the whole weekend. We’re both the oldest of large families (I’m the oldest of 5, Geo is the oldest of 4) and we are also the first of either side to get married. So we knew it would be special and we wanted everyone to fill comfortable and taken care of.
The night before the wedding, after our rehearsal dinner, everyone met in one of the large cabins and watched a video my father created of Geo and I (and our families) and then we played a huge game of Pictionary. Family vs. Family. We munched on Chicago style popcorn and vanilla ice cream with apple cider donuts that came from a farm stand I worked at as a kid. It was a perfect way to start the weekend.
Take us on a tour of your big day… Breakfast was in the main lodge around 9. It was amazing to go greet everyone and start the day with all our loved ones. The breakfast was absolutely amazing. Some then headed over to one of the cabins for yoga, taught by Geo’s sister, Kiki. While others headed outside and enjoyed that gorgeous weather. It was sunny and in the 60’s, and this was October 25th in Maine. It had rained, poured all week.
As I headed to the cabin where all us ladies would be getting ready, Geo hopped in a kayak and kayaked around the lake with some of his close family friends. This is something he talks about a lot – just how nice it was to share special moments throughout the weekend with our loved ones. It didn’t feel rushed or tiresome, like it sometimes seems for other weddings where you’re only with people for the ceremony. We were with them all weekend, in this beautiful, romantic, rustic environment. It was very special.
Us ladies got ready on one side of the venue and the boys got ready in a cabin on the other side of the venue, close to the ceremony site. Once the girls were all dolled up, they walked over to the ceremony and my dad and I headed over to the boat that would take us up to the ceremony. It’s not as over-the-top or tacky as it may sound! Haha It’s a beautiful, classic Chris Craft boat. It was so nice to spend those moments with my dad, on the water, and very cool to ride up and see everyone waiting for us.
The ceremony was perfectly us. One of my favorite moments was when a ladybug flew onto Geo’s beard, I caught it and it flew off my arm – felt like good luck, for sure 🙂 As we walked down the aisle, together as man and wife, Geos uncle and cousin sang, “Home is whenever I’m with you” – one of our favorites. We had to slow down and even stop at one point, just so we could take it all in. Afterwards Geo and I got on the boat to share a few moments on the lake by ourselves.
Then, we had a short mocktail ceremony (this was an alcohol free wedding) and had our photos taken. The mocktails were amazing and Migis was great in accommodating us this way. We served sparkling drinks, ciders, a pumpkin hot toddy that was delish – and honestly, everyone kept saying that they enjoyed our wedding so much because of the lack of booze. Things didn’t get out of control and everyone woke up the next morning bright eyed and bushy tailed 🙂
Geo and I danced to Neil Young’s, Harvest Moon, and after a couple minutes everyone, and I mean, EVERYONE came out and joined us. It felt like a big hug by our most favorite people. It was a surreal moment.
We then sat down to eat and the dinner was outstanding. I wish I could have kept going but my dress wouldn’t let me! Then my father and I danced to Tupelo Honey and Geo and his mom danced to You’ve Got a Friend.
Then it was time to get down, and we all did! Everyone was on the dance floor which was great because we were a little concerned that the lack of alcohol might affect the dancing – but it didn’t, at all.
We served pies, pumpkin, chocolate pudding, apple and blueberry for dessert, as well as a family favorite: tapioca.
The band wrapped up around 10 pm and everyone went back to their cabins, changed into warm clothes and headed to the bon fire for hot chocolate and homemade cookies. Geo’s family brought out their instruments (they’re all very musical) and had some fun on the lodges porch.
It was perfect – not one thing I’d change about that day. In fact my biggest/only complaint was that during the ceremony the sun was so bright I couldn’t always look at George because my eyes would get watery – I’d say if that’s the only complaint, we’re in pretty good shape J
Please finish the following sentences:
I wish… I could go back in time and experience that day all over again. Not to change anything, because it was perfect, but just to feel those feelings again.
I didn’t realize… How much I’d enjoy our first dance.
One of my favorite moments was… When a ladybug flew onto George’s beard during the ceremony. As well as coming off the boat with Geo to a dock full of loved ones that wanted to celebrate/congratulate us 🙂
I’m glad that… We had a big wedding. For a while we thought we’d do a super small one but now, looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing.
I really liked… our venue. It was just simply amazing.
My advice to other brides and/or grooms is… get as much sleep prior to the wedding weekend as possible! I wish I had made sure to do that, I was so excited and going off adrenaline but each morning I woke up feeling groggy which I wish hadn’t been the case.
Please let us know who you used for vendors:
Photographer: Nadra Photography
Catering: Migis Lodge
Wedding Gown: Elizabeth Ann’s Bridal (Auburn, MA)
Bridesmaid’s Gowns: Anthropologie
Florist: Marcia Davis
Hair & Makeup: Hamilton Hair (Uxbridge, MA)
Here’s a quick peek into the day 🙂
BridesmaidsI do!We did!So special 🙂The dress!Party time!Migis Lodge
Tonight, I challenge myself to sit down, organize and clarify which “pins” I want to make happen. It’s a BIG task, I mean anyone who has a Pinterest page knows that you’ll go in on a regular basis, see and then pin something you really like and that’s about as far as it gets. Well, I’m challenging myself to make the ones I love into a reality, or at least write them down on paper to remind me to do them. Between household, wedding and holiday ideas, there’s a lot to be done. Wish me luck!
The last couple weeks have been nuts, and I don’t see any reprieve from the madness for another couple weeks – it’s fun but a bit exhausting!
Our first Blue Apron box arrived two weeks ago and it is truly amazing. Geo and I love the convenience of it, it’s healthy recipes and the freshness of all it’s ingredients; to top it off, it’s actually REALLY good. Each meal has been better than the one before and it’s been so nice to eat good meals during the week. Here’s a glimpse: Cod Lemon Chix Peach Pork
Maybe it was the fresh food, or maybe it’s just me turning into my Mom, either way I was determined to do some painting last week – this was the result: Beautiful but a bit worn and old.
A fresh coat a grey and black paint changes that!
Lastly, my Grandmother came into town over the weekend for…. wedding dress shopping!
Can you tell I’m not feeling this one? 🙂
Oh and who’s this handsome dude? Bond is lookin’ good 8)
This week is another busy one! Another wedding dress appointment, red sox game, nantucket wedding, oh and at some point need to fit in some work and sleep – no big deal, I gots this!
The last couple weeks we’ve had a surge of cool nights and mild days, it has been absolute bliss! I do enjoy the summer but I love the Fall, so this weather has me excited for what’s to come over the next few months 🙂 Last week I took the kids I babysit to the Arnold Arboretum in JP and it was a perfect day…
So gorgeous! Does it get any cuter?
Besides the gorgeous weather, I have been enjoying my weekends so much lately. Last weekend I spent time with good friends, and it’s only after a day with a girlfriend that I realize just how important they are to my life. Whether we’re talking about our significant others, our jobs, our parents, by the end of the conversation I always feel like I’ve just learned a little bit more about myself and have grown as a person (even if it’s just a teeny bit!). Besides that, it’s ALWAYS a good way get out some stress and get in some good laughs!
This past George had a frisbee tournament out in Western Mass so I spent time with my family, kayaking on Saturday and hiking Mt. Monadnock on Sunday. I was a bit hesitant about how Liv would do on the hike but she was such a rockstar, she loved every minute of the three hour hike!
Very proud of herself! Liv jammin’ out.
Life is good.
It’s especially good because we’ve decided to try out a meal, delivery service called Blue Apron. Once a week they deliver fresh ingredients for three delicious meals, and it’s $9.99 for each meal; for two people it’s typically about $60 a week but they’re running a great special right now, 3 meals for only $40 – go check it out! I can’t wait to try this for three reasons:
We buy lots of veggies and meat that we end up throwing away because it’s too much for just the two of us. Blue Apron serves the correct proportions for each meal so there should be very limited waste.
We often have the same sort of meals every week, there’s little variety. This new approach will allow us to learn new recipes and enjoy unique foods that we wouldn’t typically purchase.
Less time grocery shopping! Seriously, this is a big win for me. My main focus for grocery shopping will be breakfast and lunch food – easy peasy!
At first the thought of only 3 meals being delivered was a negative but I thought about it and there’s usually a night or two during the week where one of us isn’t home or running late, so we’ll just have cereal or a sandwhich and then on the weekends we typically eat out or at our family’s homes. I’ll be sure to write about our Blue Apron experience next week! 🙂
One of the meals for next week: Spice-Rubbed Pork Medallions with Peach Salsa, YUM.
Where One Goes 