One.

Over the weekend, we went on a little trip to celebrate our one-year anniversary.


Originally, we talked about going back to the beach. But we quickly decided against that for a few different reasons. We did know we wanted to do something special, however, so we settled on St. Louis - it's only a couple hours away, and we wouldn't feel like we were "wasting" a trip by only going for a day.

Since it was so hot, we decided to leave Coop with my parents. Yes, I just about freaked out a time or two, especially with his teething troubles the weekend before. But they assured me he would be just fine, and he was, thankfully. This also enabled us to do more walking, since we stayed Downtown, and go to a really nice restaurant for dinner.

Once we arrived on Friday afternoon and checked in (we stayed at the Hilton at the Ballpark, which is very nice!) we changed clothes and headed out. We stopped at the gift shop at Busch Stadium looking for something Cardinals to take home for Mister Cooper, but didn't find anything we liked. So, we ventured on over to Hooters for some appetizers and a couple beers.  

Afterwards, we stopped at a little market to pick up more beer and a few food items.

View from our room ... they are currently doing work on the old Courthouse

Once we got back to the hotel, we rested a bit, then made a decision on dinner and got reservations. We had lots of suggestions, and mostly just wanted somewhere good, within walking distance. We decided on Carmine's  and it was absolutely delicious!

All ready for a night on the town!

After dinner, we decided to take a little carriage ride through Downtown St. Louis. We've been on one in Memphis, Tenn. so decided an StL one. It was fun!

Afterwards with our horse, Hercules.

 We had great intentions of changing clothes and going out for a few more drinks, but after pumping, I was exhausted so we just stayed in and slept.

The next morning we got on the road decently early so hubby could take advantage of his anniversary present. A few weeks ago, there was a voucher on Living Social for a flight instruction school and 30 minute supervised helicopter ride. Hubby would totally love to be a pilot, so I knew it would be perfect for him!

He totally enjoyed the class. I actually sat in on it because it was about 1 hour from Downtown and there was nothing for me to do, so the instructor actually took me up in the air for about 10 minutes for free

Proudly holding his log book!

Since we only had granola bars for lunch, we were STARVING at this point. Since riding in a helicopter was on his bucket list, we decided to cross something off mine - eating at the Cheesecake Factory! I had a yummy tomato basil mozzarella pizza, and hubby had the biggest burger ever. Seriously, I've never seen my husband fail to eat an entire burger, but he couldn't finish it!

Once we scarfed down our food, we raced to my parents' to pick up our little sweetie. We were so excited to get him. I think he was glad to see us too - once he saw us, his face lit up and he started squealing! A perfect ending to a perfect weekend :)

One year

One year ago today, we said "I Do."

It was cloudy and overcast all day. On the way to the wedding site, it stormed.

But it cleared up. We saw a double rainbow. And everything was perfect.

Over the past years, I've learned that's a lot what marriage is like. You have those tough, difficult, stormy moment. But it clears. And no matter what, you get through it.

This weekend, we did some reflecting on our first year of marriage. I declared it's been the best year of my life, and remarked at how well everything just fell into place.

Yes, we've had our arguments. We've had tears. But we've experienced more laughter, joy and love than I ever thought possible. I can definitely say that I love my husband more now than I did a year ago.

So many people out there say marriage doesn't change much when you are already living together. I was one of them. But I beg to differ. Something about those vows, that commitment, makes it all the more serious.

We were pretty low key for this anniversary. Originally, we planned to go back to the beach, but with Cooper and wanting to save our money for other projects, we opted for a day in St. Louis instead. I'll detail that trip later this week.

Today is hubby's first day back at work after being on vacation last week, and I had an early morning meeting, so he requested spaghetti for supper tonight. Of course, I do have the top layer of our wedding cake in the fridge, and am hoping it's at least semi-edible.

Nothing extravagant. Just living our "old married couple" life. And loving every moment of it.

Happy anniversary, love. Can't wait for all the others to come!

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What I'm Loving Wednesday (aka pictures from my iPhone)

Happy Wednesday! I can't believe we're already at the midway point for the week, but I sure am glad!

Since I was so busy and didn't have time to link up last week, I have lots of loves to share with you.

{1} I'm LOVING that J and I marked our first month of marriage yesterday. Marriage is treating us well so far - ha! Even more, I'm loving this text convo we had:

He cracks me up so much!

{2} I'm LOVING the new outdoor furniture we got. Our house has gray vinyl siding and maroon shutters, which we plan to paint charcoal. So we've been looking for black/gray furniture for the front porch, without much luck. Well, we went to Lowes and found some - that they haven't even had all summer! Plus it was 25 percent off AND we had a wedding gift card, so we paid very little out of pocket for this set :)

{3} I'm LOVING our new ceiling fan! Ha, I know I'm a dork, but the one in our room went out last fall and we've had NOTHING since. We actually bought this one for our living room when we moved, but never could figure out if we really liked it, because the center of the actual room is different than the center of the sitting area. So, J just put it in our bedroom to help cool me off at night :) We went a step further and also installed the remote, so we can change it without getting up. GENIUS! Love it! He also set it up so we can dim the lights.

{4} I'm LOVING how beautiful it has been the past few mornings. I kinda wish I liked coffee, so I could sit out front, on the new furniture, and just enjoy.

{5} I'm LOVING my new job! Not only are my coworkers amazing (not at all clique-y like at my previous job) I'm really loving what I'm doing. Plus .... we figured out how to work my maternity leave! Let's say I don't have to worry about saving up two months of expenses (although J told me I seriously shouldn't) or going on COBRA for my insurance and get to stay at home the entire time. Plus, we have eight paid days off for Christmas, so it's guaranteed I don't have to go back to work until January :) Thank goodness! Now I just need my doctor to be on board.

{6} I'm LOVING my Erin Condren life planner! I purchased it after reading great things from several bloggers and totally agree, it's amazing. Plus, I got it half price, due to a plum district voucher.

{7} I'm LOVING that I ordered tons of wedding photos for our small album thanks to Snapfish's deal this week. 100 print for $1 and free shipping? Yes, please!

{8} I'm LOVING this sweet Mizzou hooded sweatshirt I found at Walmart last night! They were marked down to $3 from $16, so I bought one for Baby R and another for my niece :)

{9} I'm LOVING that we are almost done registering for Baby R. There are just a few items that weren't in stores that I'm going to add from the stores' websites, then we are good to go. I hope, haha. But I'm very glad I've been shopping at yard sales - baby stuff is insanely expensive!

{10} I'm LOVING that this weekend is the first in some time we have *no* plans. So we intend to work around the house so operation nursery can begin very soon. Have I mentioned this is the last week of my second trimester?

{11} I'm LOVING Pinterest. It is *so addicting*. But I'm finding a lot of great ideas for the nursery and so much more there. I know a lot of it isn't reasonable, and some ideas have been vetoed, but a girl can dream, right?