7.29.2012

Home Tour!

Since we're moving in a few short weeks, our landlord asked us to take a few pictures of our place so that he can begin looking for new tenants. I realized I never even took pictures of our place since we've lived here and it might be nice to document our first Pittsburgh residence.

I found our current apartment on Craigslist and after being toured shady, run-down apartment complexes, I jumped on this one. It was in our price range, was newly remodeled and had a perfect back porch for gardening. It will be bittersweet to leave this place that has been our Pittsburghian Home-Away-From-Home. But we're moving onto bigger and better things, and need a place that will cut down on our crazy work commutes (it literally takes me two hours to get home from the time I leave work!).

Our budget hasn't allowed us all the decorating I'd love to be able to do, but we've made the most of our small bedroom and limited closet space and are ready to say "Adios!" 

Here's a brief tour of our Pittsburgh Pad:



I took this picture the day Chuck's mom and I toured it and handed over the security deposit. We've been inhabiting the first floor of this historic building for the last year.

A couple weeks later, we packed up our belongings...



...and with a few hiccups along the way (including losing our mattress) drove the four hours from Wilmington, Ohio to Pittsburgh, PA.



My first big purchase for our new place was the couch. I lived in this apartment for about 3 months with absolutely no sitting area in the living room. It was awful. I finally purchased a beautiful, leather couch from a chain furniture store but the movers couldn't get it through our door. I ended up going to a new place, American Freight, and settling on this one because of the low back and it's worked out wonderfully!



A couple months later we went back to American Freight and picked out these coffee/end tables as well as our dresser and night stand. The TV, I bought for $15 at Goodwill and it's been perfect.



You'll notice the dresser and nightstand as I mentioned above. What you won't notice is the clothes rack to the left where all Chuck's shirts currently reside because our closet is so dang small! We were fortunate enough to receive this bedding set from my Grandma off my Bridal Shower registry, and Chuck's parents also bought us the much-needed bed frame we've been longing for- now we're just waiting for it to be delivered. Finally, no more sleeping on the floor!




Our bathroom is nothing fancy. But it looked even sadder a month ago without our bath mats. They were another Bridal Shower gift!



Lastly, our kitchen. This will probably be the thing I miss the most. Horror of horrors- our new apartment doesn't have a dishwasher. I've become so spoiled by having one, I don't want to return to a life of rubber gloves and Dawn dish detergent! #Firstworldproblems

This was such a great place to spend our first year in PA. But I'm so looking forward to the new chapter in our lives and our first newlywed home. Three-ish weeks until our move and almost one month til we wed! 

Praise God for all this goodness!

7.26.2012

A Daddy-less Wedding Day

via
There won't be any pictures like this at my wedding.

Because my Daddy won't be there.

I haven't talked about my Dad on here in some time so I imagine there's a lot of people who don't know the whole story there. When I was 10, only a handful of months after my Mommy told me she and my Dad were getting a divorce, he suffered a massive stroke.

It left him a crippled shell of the Daddy who played us funny songs on his guitar, was the worst tickler you ever did meet and taught me how to ride my bike. He walked with a limp, couldn't say our names and was completely devoid of any distinguishable personality.

Fourteen years later, I invited him to my wedding and received a call from him saying he just couldn't make the trip.

I thought I would be okay with it. My Dad can be a pain in the ass. But as it turns out, it felt awful hearing my Daddy repeat over and over again "I'm sorry. Don't cry." Don't cry. The same words he spoke to me when I fell while rollerskating and skinned my knees. The twenty-something, almost-married lady in me tried to fight back the tears. But the buck-toothed, freckle-faced and wounded little girl in me won.

A girl is supposed to have her Daddy. To walk her down the aisle. To give her away. To share an emotional and heartfelt Father-Daughter dance with. 

I don't. 

And it's hard.

The silver lining is- I have a wonderful, supportive and amazing step-father to do all those things with and I am so blessed that he's a part of my life. 

But there will be a small part of me that will be tinged with sadness when I stare into the crowd at my wedding ceremony and wonder where my Daddy is.

7.22.2012

What Have I Done?

It's been driving me crazy that my blogging has been so sporadic and barely readable lately. 
But it doesn't appear that there's an end in sight for a little while. 
We put in a deposit for a new apartment this afternoon. 

That's right. 

In the midst of planning our wedding and starting out my new big girl career 
(not to mention the start of my second year of grad school), 
we're moving

And we're moving this weekend. 

Oi vey! 
Remember when I said I thrived on stress and feel bored without it? 
I may have gone a little overboard. 

Maybe a little boredom wouldn't be so bad after all.

My current coping mechanism: complete paralysis.

7.14.2012

50 Days and 50 Reasons

Today marks 50 days until I marry the love of my life.

In honor of our impending nuptials, here are my...

50 Reasons Why I Love You

50. You wrote a sign to remind yourself not to put my bras in the dryer.
49. You make me laugh like no one else can.
48. You always open the car door for me.
47. You support me in my career.
46. You respected me enough to wait.
45. You let me take ridiculously cute blackmail pictures of you.
44. You were the first and only boy to make me fall in love.
43. You carry me around like a joey ;)
42. You're so passionate about learning how to play the guitar.
41. You're terrible at surprises.
40. You fell in love with Cape May.
39. You give me a hug the instant we meet up after work.
38. You love music even more than I do!
37. You kiss me and say 'I love you' every morning.
36. You want to travel.
35. You are the corniest person alive.
34. You let me tickle you much longer than I let you.
33. You love being outdoors.
32. You renewed my faith in marriage.
31. You quit smoking.
30. You're a cuddlebug
29. You let me pick your ears.
28. You love food as much as I do.
27. Your family means the world to you.
26. You gave up your job and followed me to Pittsburgh.
25. You went from full-time carnivore, to full-time veg-head.
24. You love watching Christmas movies.
23. You constantly tell me how beautiful I am.
22. You love to learn.
21. You're going to be an amazing father.
20. You read every one of my blog posts.
19. You want my Mom to teach you how to sew.
18. Your smile.
17. You are God's fated choice in my love story.
16. You aspire to live a healthy life.
15. You're lovingly taking on all my debt.
14. You love my Mommy and sister like your own family.
13. You love people.
12. You're much better about keeping up with the laundry than I am.
11. You dance with me in the kitchen.
10. You love Jesus.
9. You text me every day.
8. You're content just to stay in bed and watch Friends with me.
7. You let me bite you.
6. You always help your Mama when she needs you.
5. You're pure of heart.
4. You're selfless.
3. You make road trips 10 times more fun.
2. You're patient with me me when I'm cranky.
1. You're my Mikey and I'm your Gretchen.



Disclaimer: This is not an exhaustive list, as the boy in question gives me new reasons to love him every day.

I love you Charles Stuckert.
I hope these next 50 days fly by, because I can't wait to be your wife.

7.10.2012

A Very Merry Un-Bridal Shower

Work and a 3 1/2 hour round trip commute every day is kicking my butt! It was so tempting to keep putting this off, but I promised a Bridal Shower recap and I want to deliver. Without further ado, I'll let these pictures do the talking...

The Hannaford House Tea Room. Such a good location!
A Mad Hatter Tea Party!
Alice...before the guests arrived.
Channeling my Alice-ness next to the buffet table.
My Mommy, the Queen of Hearts
My friends totally dressed up for the occassion.
Baby Gabby stole the show!
Tea partying.
Playing the Mustaches and Tiaras game. So fun!
Present opening.
So excited about bath mats!
Happy Bridal Shower to me!

I have to admit, I did not handle being the center of attention while opening presents very well at all. I couldn't stop shaking and sweating until my Mom-in-Law put a Jack & Coke in my hand after all was said and done. I'm painfully shy! Otherwise, I couldn't have asked for a better shower. The Mustaches and Tiaras game was a huge hit and I was so pumped that so many of my friends and family dressed up for the occasion. It was a wonderful day in Wonderland, for sure! 

54 days til the big day!

7.05.2012

Our Fourth of July

This is what our idea of a good fourth of July looks like...








Our day consisted of some light cleaning, some major bumming and a bucket full of popcorn while we watched Horrible Bosses. And IT WAS AWESOME! Hope your Independence Day celebrations were just as fun as ours turned out to be!

7.01.2012

Sunday Blessings XXI



(Bee)autiful Blessings







What a crazy, wonderful week it's been. I'm constantly reminded of the blessings God has showered over me and just how truly fortunate I am. Today, I'm feeling blessed by...

job
I'm so anxious about starting my new job on Monday, but I feel really ready for it. I know it's something I can do, it's something I'm interested in learning all about and they must have hired me because they believed I was the best for it! Keep me in your prayers as I start an awesome opportunity and begin a new chapter in my life :)

family
Visiting my family this week was definitely unexpected, but such a blessing. Not only did I manage to take care of dental stuff, but I spent some awesome quality time with my Mommy. As we grow older we only continue to get closer and closer and I'm so thankful for the relationship we share. I don't know what I would do with out her.

I also got the opportunity to speak with my Grandma three days in a row! We share an understanding that we don't need to talk once a week to remain close, but it sure was amazing to catch up with her. I get so much of my personality from her and she's one of those few people that just understands my soul. She's a kindred spirit and is always a source of wisdom for me to draw from whenever I'm experiencing a life struggle.

love
My Mom, step-dad and I all got the opportunity to chat about my wedding and Chuck. It's usually one of the main topics of conversation when we get together, and always helps me to feel so fortunate that I found my best friend and love of my life so young. Some people go their entire lives without finding what Chuck and I share and I'm so humbled that God deemed me worthy to give and receive the love of such a wonderful, godly man.

How have you been blessed this week?
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