Friday, February 22, 2013

happy friday, yall



tgif! 
i'll be doing the usual this weekend..laundy, cleaning, grocery shopping, buying A WEDDING DRESS.
eeek so excited! 


"there's power in looking silly and not caring that you do" 
if amy poehler isn't your idol, there's something wrong with you.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

barkbox



i haven't jumped on the birchbox train because i already buy unnecessary skin, hair, and makeup products with every trip i take to target, and i really don't need to have them sent to me via usps.

BUT! a fellow fur-momma told me about "barkbox." it's essentially birchbox but for dogs AND 10% of your order goes to help doggies-in-need. i signed up for the 6 month plan because their website told me it was the best deal, and well, i believe whatever i am told.

polly is small but mighty and we go through a lot of toys. A LOT of toys. amazon prime has been a lifesaver as we are able to buy her favorites over and over again but we aren't so adventurous when it comes to purchasing new products for our girl. now we can be! 

if you're interested and would like to save $5 off your order, click here

ps - pat, i signed polly up for this thing called barkbox. 

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

marriage 101



since we are both catholic, patrick and i knew from the very beginning that we would have to enroll in classes in order to be married in the church. and since ross/eileen pretty much said "ish don't tink so" in regards having the ceremony anywhere but st. marys - we quickly navigated our way through getting married 1200 miles away, but having to attend an 8 week class close to home.

i think we did a lot of grumbling, and a lot of rolling our eyes, and then we actually went to the first class. and truth be told? it is wonderful. on the first week they framed it as "you wouldn't go into buying a house without first talking to someone who had already been through it, would you?" it's less about the church, and more about us. it's two hours, every week, where we get to talk about ourselves, and listen to other couples speak about their marriage, the successes and the failures. the impact in-laws have had on them; the desire to have children, the desire NOT to have children, the decision to keep your marriage the number one priority in your family, or keep your family the number one priority in your marriage. 

now do i think you can have a successful marriage without these classes? absolutely. because quite frankly, i still don't know anything about being married. but for us, in the midst of the planning, they are a gentle reminder that this is a sacrament, and while marriage might not be that for everyone, that's what it is to us. have i heard horror stories from close friends about these very same classes? yes, and i've heard more bad than good. but i think we got really lucky and we're learning a lot about ourselves, our relationship, and feel more prepared to take this next step. 

here are three nuggets that we have found extremely helpful: 

"love is what starts your marriage, but a healthy marriage is what will sustain your love." 

"what if you aren't supposed to be in a marriage to be just happy, what if its so you will be holy?"

"in the old testament they mention three different kinds of love humans experience. the first is friendship, the second is lust and the third is the willful and deliberate decision to join your life with another." 
.....how terribly romantic? 

Thursday, February 14, 2013

if that ain't romantic.


i remember when gmail was first introduced, i thought how amazing it was that you would never run out of space. EVER! 3,397 emails later i realize what a pain that is and have begun the process of combing through emails and deleting 50 a day until i don't feel like such an email hoarder. 

that being said, there are benefits to keeping 3,397 emails. one of those benefits is finding an email from one patrick heckel, dated july 10, 2007. he was returning an email i sent to a generic city year inbox, inquiring about safe neighborhoods to live. little did i know that the love of my life, the father of my future children, was going to enter my life via email.

what's even better is that i apparently emailed him back right away, asking if i got columbus day off. so typical. he didn't respond. also typical. 

what's not typical? 

our wedding falls on columbus day weekend. 
heckels, i knew there was a reason we picked the 12th! 


st. valentine


happy valentine's day! i love you honey.



and our little dog, too! 

Thursday, February 7, 2013

with this ring.

oh wedding bands....

we are a bit ahead of ourselves on this one (seems to be a common thread in our wedding planning) but we started to look at wedding bands. after sending dozens of iphone pictures to my girlfriends across the country, i settled on my band. and ironically, it's one i haven't really shared with anyone other than patricio. it's very plain and very simple, and the perfect compliment to what i feel is the most beautiful engagement ring.

a few weeks ago, we stopped by a little store with a very famous name, and pat was able to find his ring almost immediately. he knew exactly what he wanted and it looked wonderful on his big manly hand. more than wonderful actually. it was one of my happiest moments throughout this process. because it dawned on me that while pat has already asked me to be his wife, i still haven't asked him to be my husband. but in october, i get to give him something that is a token of my love and affection. and that simple, glaringly obvious thought, hit me like a ton of bricks. this is happening. and it's going to happen whether or not the save the dates are square or rectangle. it's going to happen even if we don't quite figure out what the heck we are going to use as a guestbook or whether the flowers are more of a tangerine or more burnt orange. all that stuff? it's just great lighting on what will already be a beautiful picture.


Friday, February 1, 2013

ring of fire.


mr. johnny cash to be honored with postage stamp.

"the taste of love is sweet when hearts like ours meet."


when our wedding invitations find their way to your mailboxes,
please don't be surprised if johnny cash's face is looking back atcha.