get ready folks...yours truly and this one here to my right are teaming up for a grand adventure!

Relapse.

A few months ago, after being inspired by my "extreme couponing marathon" I went crazy for coupons, as seen here.  In doing so, I effectively cut our grocery budget in half, yes, but I also tripled or quadrupled the amount of stress and time that went into buying food.  I got to thinking over our break in Cali...is it really worth it?

Any takers on guessing how much I just love the grocery store?  And for that matter...how much I just loooove making dinner?  Um, I'll give you a hint.  If cleaning the bathroom with a toothbrush was lined up with either of those tasks, it would be higher on the list of things I'd rather do most nights.

AND...so much for couponing...the phase that didn't last.  Hello again, Costco!

In weighing the pros and cons of re-joining the $100 club, (seriously have never gotten out of there for less than $100) for our date tonight Brigham and I decided to take a stroll through the aisles and take a gander of what we may or may not have been missing these last 4 months.  And about 10 minutes later, we were back at the sign-up desk volunteering our fifty bucks for the year.

Hence, our Costco relapse.  I suppose not even student loans could keep us from the appeal of

1. Buying in bulk (aka. grocery shopping LESS frequently)
2. Better quality produce, in bulk
3. Did I mention bulk?
4. The wonderful way that no-matter where you are, when you're inside, it just feels like you're at home.

That leaves me with the only con:

1. Finding room.

But...I'll take it.

Yours,
Emily

The One that Didn't Get Away

I'm not gonna lie...I absolutely love this song.  Not typically a huge fan of Katy Perry's music or lifestyle choices or even style, this song is a game changer.  Fortunately, when I drive to work or through Boston and Cambridge in my daily route, I hear it on the radio a couple of times a day. 

{ps I am equally digging the jack-johnson-ish acoustic vibe in the background}

Play. Now.

So what's a happily-married-to-her-best-friend-in-the-world lady obsessing over this song about long-lost love for?  Um, don't know really, except that every time Katy sings "In another life" I am silently, gleefully, counting the ways of how perfect my husband is, acknowledging to myself that I'm living in the other life where we do keep our promises, where I get to keep him, and where the irreplaceable memories we make will never have to be longed for, or recovered from.  It reminds me how great is to appreciate the moments of present joy of being given the gift of a very happy marriage.  Nothing like the confidence that I'll never have to sing the tune of a broken heart again.

Never in a million years did I ever anticipate the endless opportunities for happiness that could be derived by living the rest of my life with Brigham, and yet, they keep appearing day after wonderful day. 

On that, digging a little deeper here, I can acutely relate to the pain of the song, which makes my above-noted happiness even more gratifying.  Fortunately, I've been redeemed from the lackluster drudgery of the dating world and all of it's various perils...but not withstanding, it was, in fact, a close call.  Had Brigham not showed up when he had, I was about two inches away from joining the Navy and throwing in the towel altogether.  ON top of that, we only had a few months to make extremely life-altering decisions.  We thank the good Lord daily, and sometimes more often than that, that we made the right ones.

I should have had one look at this picture (below - note - both single and not dating eachother) and realized the opportunity at hand back in 2006, when I was a fresh college grad. 

{just look at those gorgeously genuine smiles on our faces!}

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Picture taken at Emily's going-away party circa Summer 2006

4 years before our first date!

 However, dense as I am with matters involving men, I did not. Instead, I opted for 4 years of more fruitless dead-end relationships, sprinkled in with a few choice miserably confusing pickles (aka unfortunate situations), marinated in the prolonged awkwardness of literally trying to "keep up with the Jones's" as the last, youngest, childless daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jones.  Lest you think I am a pessimist, please don't.  Always one for the silver lining, I sarcastically embrace the best quote I've ever heard on the subject of finding silver lining: "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted." -(The Last Lecture) And, as Jane Eyre says, "The shadows are as important as the sunlight." 

What I got from those admittedly lonely and occasionally downtrodden years between 2006-2010 was an acute awareness of all the little things I absolutely need and cannot live without in my life.  Like someone who listens with understanding.  Like someone who is just exactly like him.  How lucky am I that he isn't the one who got away?  You don't have to tell me twice.  Thanks Katy.

Picture taken in our living room, date night out on the town last week!
1.5 years of marriage!

 {BTW...due to my new found pleasure in life in general, I plan to revamp the blog and become an official, full time (daily/weekly) blogger in coming months.  Stay tuned!}

It's on, 2012. It's on.

Things that WILL be happening this year!

1. Get my sewing machine fixed
2. make curtains
3. alter existing clothes in my closet
4. buy an apple computer w/ adobe programs
5. buy a new camera (a really good one)
6. blog more
7. compare outfits with inspiration on pinterest
8. take pictures of my cute apartment for memories
9. write reviews of good books
10. interesting observations about boston
11. go on a cruise in the carribean
12. work less, play more
13. get knocked up (at some point.  OK, its no secret - we both are baby crazy)
14. pay student loans (get started!)
15. go to the temple every month (or more often...like i used to)
16. read the entire book of mormon again
17. listen to gc in the car
18. make a playlist for songs that remind me of being newlywed
19. (I love listening to tunes that remind me of nostalgic college times with bff's)
20. keep a clean and tidy house
21. start writing a book (for reals this time)
22. get on a simple, consistent daily/weekly routine (exercise included)