Our Wedding Film
I could hardly contain my excitement when Jess from JFray Productions told me our wedding film was done. Booking a videographer was something Jim and I debated for weeks, and I can say with 10000% confidence that we made the right choice for us. I loved Jess's work and knew the video would be amazing, and I feel even more relieved seeing the final product and knowing this might not have existed!
The video perfectly captured our day — I can feel the breeze, the sun, the hugs — it takes me back to moments I forgot about in the blur of it all. We'll treasure it always. Enjoy a little peek into our wedding above! You can click "HD" to watch in full quality.
Favorite Holiday Traditions
source: the effortless chic
I'll be the first to admit I used to be a bit of a scrooge when it came to the holidays. Christmas was always fun as a kid, but as life became more complicated, it was less about holiday cheer and more about creating a harmonious schedule of house hopping between parents and families. I'm sure you other divorce kids know what I mean. When I first met Jim, I was still in my jaded "I-hate-Christmas" phase, but making new traditions as a couple has helped to melt my cold, Grinch heart. I also think growing up helps — the cooking, baking, boozing, and family gatherings just seem so much more fun as an adult. I love seeing friends and family visit from out of town, and dare I say, I even enjoy a good snowfall here and there (okay but after January, it's so not cool). I look forward to this time of year now more than ever, and it's mostly because of the way our celebrations have evolved. Here are some of my favorite traditions of the season:
Baking kolaches
My paternal grandma was Czech, and had her own yearly Christmas tradition of baking kolaches, which are an old-world Czech cookie. The dough is a true labor of love – it's a yeasted sour cream dough that takes over a day to rise, and then rolling/cutting/filling the dough with fruit preserves takes its own extra effort. When my grandma became too old to continue baking, my sister and I took over the kolaches to keep our family in full stock. My dad looks forward to these every year, so we can't miss a beat! We usually get together on Christmas Eve and have a beer, roll up our sleeves, and get to work. The whole process takes a few hours, but the reward is ever so sweet — and the process really keeps our grandma's spirit alive. I should also mention that if you're in the Cleveland area and want to try a kolache — call me. I haven't found a bakery around here that comes even close to the goodness of this recipe (and my dad agrees).
The tree (of course)!
After tolerating our old fake tree from our apartment days, Jim and I finally sprung for a new artificial tree that better fits our space. It's a big, glorious fir that's full of lights. I always enjoy decorating our tree, but this year was even more exciting for that reason. It's so much bigger, I had to go out and buy more ornaments to fill it up! However, most of our ornaments were gifts to each other, or represent a vacation, milestone, or joke that we have. I love to open up the box of ornaments and unwrap them, one at a time, and enjoy the memories of when we got it, or what it represents.
The Murray Family Christmas Party (#MFCP)
One of my best friend's families has been hosting a Christmas party for as long as I can remember. They do it up right — killer food with Italian flair, Kevin's oatmeal cookies, overflowing bowls of punch, and the outdoor ice luge brings a new meaning to "vodka on the rocks." Although our group of friends are now spread out across the country, sometimes a few of us are lucky enough to reunite at the party. It's also the place where my mom and stepdad met, 15 years ago, but that's a story for another day ;)
Christmas Eve
Both of our families have annual Christmas Eve gatherings, and no matter which one we go to, I have a great time visiting with our extended families. We are both blessed with lots of wonderful aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins and I love any excuse to see them. Their parties are always full of holiday appetizers, festive cocktails, hugs and laughs. It sounds incredible cheesy but I truly feel the warmth of the season when we all get together. I enjoy it just as much as Christmas day!
Gifting with Jim
Once all of our family time is finished, Jim and I make time for our Christmas — usually that night, once we're home and settled in. We light a fire, make a cheese board, enjoy a bottle of bubbly and exchange gifts. It's quiet and relaxed and we can take our time without having anywhere else to be. It's the perfect way to end the day.
I would love to know what you guys do for Christmas, or if you have made any new traditions. Every family and culture is different and I think that's what makes the holidays so interesting — it's just about celebrating what's important in whatever way that works for you.
Our Wedding: Bridesmaids Boxes
I'd be lying if I said the early stages of our wedding planning weren't stressful, but we've been in a phase of smooth sailing for the last few months. Beyond choosing a venue, everything else has been pretty easy. A few of our vendors have been booked, a bought a dress in one day (I might be crazy...or smart? Still TBD) so we've been able to move forward into the details of the day.
Next on the to-do list was to gather my crew of bridesmaids and ask them to be with me through the next year, and stand with me on our big day. A mix of family and best friends, I wanted to ask them in a special way that set the tone for the rest of our celebration. Desserts and sweets are a serious obsession of mine (and will play a starring role in our wedding) so I enlisted local favorite Coquette Patisserie to create a few dozen French macarons in our wedding palette. The flavors that matched the colors were salted caramel and rose raspberry—it was a miracle that I didn't eat them myself.
Each bridesmaid received a box containing the macarons and a card popping the question, all wrapped up and personalized. I was a little nervous shipping such fragile cookies across the country (word to the wise ladies...think your shit through) but they made it safe and sound.
They all said YES (hopefully not because I manipulated them with delicious cookies) and I'm happy to have them all on board! Dress decisions are next..!
Big thanks to Coquette for creating the perfect macarons on time, and for their awesome packaging!
Our Key West Trip + Engagement Story
Hi everyone! I'm back from a bit of radio silence...we just got back from Key West a week ago and I'm finally getting back to reality – although our reality is a little different now that we are ENGAGED (yay!!) and have been fully thrown into the excitement that it brings.
I posted some photos on Instagram during our trip but there are plenty more to share. Key West exceeded our expectations and I wanted to share our experience and favorite spots in case you ever find yourself down at the very end of the U.S.!
Our beach for the week, at the Pier House Resort. We loved our stay here and couldn't beat the service, amenities, and the private beach. Key West is small and there are only a handful of public beaches on the island, so having a private place to enjoy the sun (and have cocktail service) was a must. And seriously...look at that ocean. We were actually right in this spot later in the trip when Jim proposed.
We had our first drink here after we landed – I forget the name of this bar but it was right next to our hotel. How fun is the bright painted furniture?!
The food in Key West was incredible – so much fresh seafood and tons of places to eat. Our first night there, we walked Duval Street from end to end (think Bourbon Street – lots of bars, live music, and no open container policy) and stopped for some street food from D.J.'s Clam Shack. The lobster roll was so good, and I know it wasn't just my beverage doing the talking ;)
We couldn't leave without visiting the Hemingway House. I am kind of obsessed with his style and did a little portrait of him, so it was really amazing to get to walk through his home and see his collectibles from years of traveling and living abroad. Above is the front entrance.
Here's the main parlor room and the master bedroom.
The size of the property and the lush, beautiful grounds were just as impressive as his stately home. We walked through gardens of palms, sugar cane, banana trees, ferns...which offer shade to all of the six-toed cats that live on the property.
And then there was THIS POOL. It's bliss. I wanted to jump in so bad.
We filled out the week with a snorkeling trip, plenty of bike riding, and tons of food. Key Lime pie basically has its own spot on the food pyramid down here (not complaining), so we had a very delicious week. We headed to Latitudes for dinner on our last night and we both agreed it was the best meal we've ever had. Not only was the food amazing, the atmosphere was so elegant and romantic...the tables are set up in the sand, right along the ocean, with candles flickering everywhere...we enjoyed every minute of that dinner and were really sad to be winding down the trip.
We hopped on the 11:00 ferry back to Key West and decided to hang out at the beach and drink some late-night beers. We did this every night in Maine last summer (there wasn't much nightlife!) so it's become a bit of a tradition to sit and talk on the beach late into the night. Jim filled up his backpack with some cans of Miller Lite (hey, we keep it classy guys) and unbeknownst to me, my ring.
I set up a towel on the beach, and as we're getting settled, it slowly starts to drizzle. A little drip here, a little drop there...I'm thinking, shit, it's our last day here, I'm totally not ready to call it a night. Then it rains a little harder, my hair's really starting to get wet (of course I'm worried about this) but Jim insists we just wait it out, as this does happen a lot in Key West. A little rain cloud passes quickly here and there all the time. So we just kind of sit there, waiting for it to stop, which it soon does. It's dark out, sailboats are cruising by on the ocean, no one around, it's almost 2am already. Our conversation turns to our relationship, I'm not thinking much of it, and smooth as butter, this guy is casually popping the question right before my eyes. Immediately following were lots of tears, lots of excitement and freaking out, another round of beers, and the nice realization that no one at home was awake, and that we could enjoy this amongst ourselves until the next day.
Our flight home didn't leave Key West until 2:30, so we luckily had plenty of time to call our friends and family in the morning, while packing and getting ready to leave. We had time to hit up La Creperie for brunch and Bellinis, and took one last bike ride around the island to say goodbye.
We had a truly amazing trip, even aside from the proposal. It was just icing on a very delicious, very awesome cake, and I will never forget the many little moments we had together. I knew when I met Jim five years ago that he was the real deal, and we've been committed as partners ever since. We chose each other whole-heartedly. OKAY, not going to cry...there's no crying in blogging!
I'm thankful to be home and to still have a bit of a vacation high (and a tan). I'll be back to regular posting this week. Thanks for bearing with me, and please, do not ask me when the wedding is! ;)
Fashion Flash
{photo: Allison Carey for the Plain Dealer}
I had a little moment in the Plain Dealer yesterday – check out my Fashion Flash feature online here. It was so fun to talk style with the editor, Allison, and to shoot some of my favorite looks. It's inspired me to keep remixing the clothes I have, although I'm already itching to shop for spring. At least there's plenty of time to prepare (sadly).
On the bright side – February is almost half over! What spring things are you shopping for?