4 years!

Happy anniversary, Caleb. I cannot believe 4 years have flown by! Marriage with you has been the absolute best. Choosing you, again and again, every day, will always be my favorite thing. There is no one else I'd rather do this crazy thing called life with!

Thank you for always making me laugh (and for not judging me when I CAN'T STOP laughing)!

Thanks for that adorable way you looked at me on our wedding day. I don't know how I didn't fall into a puddle on the floor right then and there.

Thank you for just letting me vent when I need it, and for being my sounding board when I'm going crazy.

Thank you for surprising me with pizza on random weeknights. Thank you for praying for us before bed. Thank you for being my rock, every darn day.

I always have a really hard time putting into words the way you make me feel, but I'm going to try. You're the most selfless person in the world, and I'm so insanely PROUD to call you my husband. I tell people almost every single day that you're the nicest human I've ever met. You're constantly looking for ways to make me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world. There is no problem too small, and you're always willing to listen, even when you can't fix it. 

 I'm so thankful that you're a total kid at heart. I believe that is a quality that most people lose, and I'm thankful you want to hold on to that for us. You don't let anything embarrass you, and that's one of the most attractive things about you - other than your calves ;)

I just can't say thank you enough for all that you are! I'm so so so grateful to not only be your wife, but to be your best friend. I love you! Here's to a lifetime! <3

Love, K

Celebrating three years!

Tuesday (the night before our anniversary) when Caleb fell asleep, I snuck to the bathroom to write him a lipstick letter on the bathroom mirror so that would be the first thing he saw on our anniversary! I thought it was a cute idea and something he'd appreciate. One thing that hadn't crossed my mind is that it might scare him at the early hour of 5:00 am - which is exactly what happened, ha! I should've thought that one through, big red letters all over our bathroom probably wasn't the most romantic thing - we've just seen too many horror flicks! ;)

Wednesday night Caleb and I celebrated our anniversary together!

We got home from work and exchanged some gifts. The traditional gift for year 3 is leather, and although we haven't intentionally followed it in the past, I wanted to give it a try! He's been talking about getting a new basketball for weeks and, with a little help from my brother in law, Jared, we found him the perfect one! I also snagged a couple of  Golden State Warriors playoff t-shirts! Sadly in this point of the playoffs things weren't looking good, they were down 3-1. This meant they had to win the next 3 games to advance, and thankfully, that's just what they did over the course of the last few days! WOO!

Caleb made me the most amazing photo book, including the lyrics of the song he sang me on our wedding day! My other gifts came over the series of the next few days, and I must say he did an amazing job!! These gifts included an adorable pineapple print, a summer scarf and THE CUTEST YELLOW MAXI SKIRT in all of the land! He saw me oogling over this one and found one just like it and made me the happiest yellow-lovin twenty something there ever was!

He always does such a great job on gifts. I never ask for anything in particular -neither of us ever do - yet he always does an incredible job of picking things/experiences that I'll love!

We hit the road to head to our favorite Mexican restaurant and when we got home we decided to keep it low key by relaxing on the couch. We knew we had a long weekend ahead of us where we could go out and about, so we wanted to keep our actual anni low key!

So thankful for a man who constantly pursues me, loves me, and makes me laugh! I love you, Caleb!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Three (amazing) years!

Today, Caleb and I celebrate our 3rd anniversary. I can hardly wrap my mind around it! It seems like just a few months ago we were at our rehearsal dinner and I was cracking up at Caleb's burnt nose from golfing with his groomsmen that day to begin our wedding weekend.

Marriage is something that Caleb and I knew we always wanted. We knew very early on in our relationship that we'd spend our lives together. As cliche as it sounds, there was something about Caleb that made me weak.

I'll be the first to tell you that marriage isn't always a walk in the park like we thought it would be, but I wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING. Not even unlimited sunshine and soft puppies and marshmallow fluff.

Excuse me while I write a quick note to my one and only;

Caleb, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! These 3 years have been the best of my life. I absolutely love coming home to a husband who gets off the couch the second I walk in the door to hug me hello. You continue to make me feel beautiful, even when I look like a total dump truck. I love that we both get a kick out of the simplest of things, like new kitchen utensils, taco bell runs, post it notes and clean laundry.

 I secretly love that you still spell my name wrong on purpose to remind me of our first few weeks together. I pray that one day, our future children will grow to be leaders like you, with the cutest eye wrinkles and dark brown hair. You've made me into a better person. I strive daily to be more selfless and to give more, like you. I am so proud to call you my best friend and my go-to person. 

I have to thank you, though, for your never ending grace. Some days, I know I come home grumpy from work, but you deal with me anyway. Or when I lose my temper in the kitchen because a recent Pinterest find turned into a giant fail, you are quick to remind me of all the things I'm amazing at. I can't thank you enough for always leading us to Christ, and keeping Him at the center of our marriage.

I hope that you know how much I love you, today, and always! Stay awesome, you hunk!
Your thankful wife.

A few squares for Friday.

All those in favor of 3 day work-weeks and 4 day weekends sayyyy "I"... 

I'm currently trying to decide when I can wear this amazing anniversary dress Caleb got for me. I know I said it yesterday in our trip recap but guys, he knocked this years gift outta the park. How in the world did he find the cutest dress in the mall AND it fit perfect?! I can't wait to plan a fun date night out with that stud!

Although its Friday...I'm absolutely exhausted because last night Caleb had another full (late) night of softball, and right before THAT I had an engagement shoot Downtown, which was right after a full day of work. We didn't get home until nearly midnight and I'm BEAT today. However, I've also said before that I truly wouldn't trade these fun moments for anything. It can be a hassle getting to the fields, but watching him do something he loves brings me a whole lot of joy...and that'll never get old.

This is an extremely old but extremely awesome picture with my favorite people. Yesterday was E&J's 4th wedding anniversary and I just love the crap out of them. They are equally as weird as us, share a love for all things Disney, and are completely content (and even excited) by game nights in with us instead of crazy nights out. #mykindofpeople.

Here's a (totally unedited) little sneak peek from last nights Eden Park shoot!

That actually brings me to my next question...has anyone else using blogger noticed a significant decrease in quality of photos that you're uploading? These files are HUGE and at such high resolution, but I felt like some of my Pittsburgh recap photos looked grainy? Any ideas??

We've got a wedding to shoot tomorrow and we can't wait! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Our Anniversary trip to Pittsburgh!!

Our road trip was AMAZING. Guys, I don't really know where to begin. Early Sunday morning, we prepped the car with all of our luggage, some awesome CD's and of course, our road trip snacks.  We so enjoyed the 4 and a half hour car ride together...I love road trips and wish we could do them more often!!

So a quick back story...a few days before our trip, I had an off day. Things just weren't going my way, I felt insanely overwhelmed with life, and just needed to be home. Fast forward a few hours and Caleb surprised me with an early anniversary present... (fyi - year 2 traditional gifts are cotton-themed)... he freaking designed and had a shirt MADE for me for the Pirates game we were going to right away! He's the best!

I truly was in awe of this city. I kind of expected the Downtown area to be kinda "ehh" (mostly because of my dislike for the Steelers, hehe)...but holy COW, you guys! It was so pretty. The view from across the bridge of the stadium (behind us in that above picture) was just amazing. We honestly just stood there for about 10 minutes just staring at it!

As annoying as it can be sometimes to carry around a lunky DSLR...I'm really glad I chose to take it with me on this trip. I'm obsessed with these photos! I still used my iPhone about 50% of the time, though!

They ended up winning the game 9-1, but we left after about 2 hours so we could explore the city some more! We had a blast just adventuring and like I said...it was gorgeous, guys!! The buildings were really neat, and you can tell this town LOVES baseball.

Once we were done with all the city views, we checked into our hotel. Caleb booked us a king suite (woo!) and it did not disappoint. I didn't take any photos but we had a whole living area aside from the bed/TWO sectioned bathroom.

He told me he had a "pre-anniversary" gift for me (best husband ever)....... this is what I got:

IT FIT PERFECT! I mean... he did so well! He instructed me that I had to wear it for our "fun date night". My man took me to Primanti Bro's for the biggest sandwich I've ever had...then a whole night of bowling and fun. I actually did REALLY well, too! I think I had a total of 5 strikes all night! ;) and I scored over 110 three games in a row!

We stayed up wayyy too late watching silly TV shows and just being together. Then we woke up and it was OUR ANNIVERSARY! You guys. We had the BEST day, the best weather, etc!! We woke up, grabbed breakfast and headed to the Carnegie Science Center. We immediately bought tickets for the first Great White showing at the Omnimax... and it did NOT disappoint! The entire museum was such a blast. We only paid a little over $24/person and spent nearly 4 hours in there!

We got to play with water, air...and even pretend to be meteorologists. It was hilarious and we had way too much fun acting like kids.

They had a whole museum dedicated to robots and we even got to play air hockey WITH one!

Part of the museum had a HUGE room dedicated to just trains and lights so we got a ton of photos but this was my favorite...

Then we headed over to the Sports section and got to be super hands on. Throwing fast balls, playing hockey, racing against an olympic athlete, and rock climbing...(YES, this was all included in the $24/person price)....

We had a blast that entire day...and we were STARVING after so much exercise and fun! We grabbed a quick sub at a nearby local shop (Lebo Subs-sooo good!!!) and my man and I finally exchanged gifts. I got him "pairs" of everything (get it, cause we're a perfect pair ....bah! Socks, shirts, action figures...), and he loved it all! 

What did he get me? ANOTHER amazing dress, you guys!!! Every gift he got me was cotton (and he didn't even MEAN to do that, ha!) I mean seriously...he hit the nail on the head again this year. It was a Lauren Conrad (how did he know?!?!) and it fit me like a freakin glove. I only took a picture of it on my polaroid right after I tried it on so this is what you get for now...

I was supposed to wear it that night but he forgot a "fancy" outfit so I went more casual with a maxi dress and promised to wear it in Cincy for a night out! We headed to The Cheesecake Factory and practically had the place to ourselves!  The waiter we had truly made our experience unforgettable and he even lit our candles with a stinkin blow torch! He rocked! PS... we were totally that couple who sat on the same side of the table. We're usually not like that, but we were feeling extra sappy!

The past two years have been amazing. I truly fall more in love with my husband with every day that passes, and with every small act of kindness he does for me...for no other reason than because he loves to make me happy. I am the luckiest gal and can't wait to see what our future holds!! Happy 2 years, Caleb!

2 years!

Two years ago today I woke up after only 5 hours of sleep to the most beautiful light shining in my bedroom window. It kind of hit me in that moment that I'd never again wake up in this home...I'd never get ready in the same bathroom that I had gotten ready in for half my life, and that things were about to change like crazy. Sure, I was a little nervous, but not in a bad way... more so in an omg I'm so excited lets get moving kind of way! I showered, grabbed my dress, and hit the road to head to the church.

Hours later would I marry the man of my dreams. It blows my mind that two WHOLE years have gone by since that very day that we promised to be each others forever... yet, here we are. If I had to do it all over again, I'd still choose him. These have been the best two years of my life!

Caleb has taught me a lot in these tiny two years. Like not to bottle everything up until I'm about to explode...that actually confiding in him will help, and that no, I'm not a burden. He's taught me that it's okay to go to bed with dirty dishes all over the place sometimes, time spent together is more important. A lot has happened in these two years, but I wouldn't trade one day of it for the whole world.

I know God has big plans for our future and I can't wait to continue seeking His will for our lives and  I'm excited to continue celebrating every year to come...Caleb, you've been amazing. I LOVE YOU! Happy anniversary!

and if you were wondering...yes, I am wearing my adorable yellow wedding shoes again this year! We're celebrating our 2 years in Pittsburgh and I can't wait to tell you guys about all the fun we've had so far!!

Our anniversary plans!!

Happy Friday. I knew this was going to be a great day from the moment my mom surprised us this morning with a heaping box of Holtman's Donuts. I love that woman! ;)

I mentioned very briefly yesterday that Caleb and I made the spontaneous decision to get away for our anniversary at the end of the month. Before I dive into that, HOW in the world is it almost my SECOND WEDDING ANNIVERSARY?! I feel like I was just wrapping jute around all the centerpieces, planning the introduction songs and ordering the cutest yellow flats I'd ever seen. But alas, here we are... preparing to celebrate our second anniversary. I'm so lucky I get to do life with that husband of mine.

Anyway... we were initially planning on staying local for our anniversary, as there's so much of our city that we still have yet to explore, but we ended up deciding we wanted to see a new city together. Somewhere within driving distance...nothing TOO expensive... so what did we come up with?

Two days in Pittsburgh!

via

I know, you might be thinking how can we even  GO to the Bengals rival city? ;) Well, I'm looking past their one flaw (the Steelers) to explore the beauty that they have to offer. We've heard amazing things about the city and there seems to be SO much to do and we won't be able to fit in everything, obviously...so this is where you come in!! If you've ever been, or are local, where should we eat? What should we do? We want your help!

In other news, I shot one of the best engagement shoots I think I've ever done last night, more on that to come next week, hopefully! I hope you guys have a great weekend!!!

Our very first anniversary.

Caleb had quite a few adorable things up his sleeve for our anniversary. His original plans kind of got messed up, so he improvised. His theme for our weekend was to recreate pieces of our wedding weekend (aka - the best weekend of our lives thus far)!!

On Sunday, on our way back from hanging with friends in Columbus (separate post on that to come later), he stopped at the Outlet Mall and told me I had to spend this cash in his hand (ahem- my "paper gift") for a quick shopping trip! Heck yes! This is something we spoiled ourselves with the day after our wedding, and as it was a holiday weekend, I got a LOT for a very little amount! Once we got home, we finally exchanged gifts! Caleb said he loved the traditional gift item idea, but said he already had something else in mind...so I couldn't argue when I saw this beauty in my hands!

I got a Tom Tom Runner!! You can tell I was ecstatic. Seriously, he knew how badly I wanted a GPS watch, and would never buy myself one. I couldn't help but feel so giddy. I got him a fun Iron Man book (he's obsessed), a few cigars, and also a hobby box (aka, a huge pack of awesome baseball cards...his #1 love...you know, other than me)!

There's a story behind this... when I saw it, I HAD to buy it.

He told me we'd be doing more the next day, and I didn't mind stretching our celebration into another day one bit. So the rest of Sunday night we munched on yummy food and rented a Redbox. I love date nights in!!

Monday morning we woke up and he started cleaning our place right away. I'm 100% convinced that cleaning is a "love language" of mine, and it meant so much that he did this. Like I'm talking laundry, scrubbing, spring cleaning, trash, EVERYTHING was getting done. He's the man. Later once I had showered, it was time to leave! A week or so prior, I had mentioned the idea of getting a quick photo shoot done for us by a friend for free, but told me he wanted us to visit the church we got married at, and do it ourselves. We decided we should recreate some of our favorite wedding pictures. So we made the trek up there, tripod in tow...and had ourselves a blast...even if we were trespassing.

Ah, that man...I love him.

Then we decided to have a little fun.

I promise he thinks I'm lovely...sometimes.

Then he treated me to dinner at Mimi's Cafe where we had our rehearsal dinner last year. It was incredible and was so nice to have quality time with him. I seriously love this man with my whole heart and it meant so much that he made this first anniversary so memorable!

We talked about all the places we've visited in our first year, and all the hilarious and awesome memories we've made along the way. I can't even wait to do it all again after year 2 has passed. That's so exciting to think about. Being married is fun!

*bonus points if anyone noticed those are the same shoes that I wore on our wedding day!!