I've Got the Tools Like Martha

One of the best things about getting married has been registering for all of the stuff I've always wanted to have. There's an amazing feeling that comes with making a home, and I love having all of this awesome stuff. One of my favorite has been monogrammed EVERYTHING! Cory's parents got us some monogrammed towels and our monogrammed duvet cover, my parents got us all kinds of awesome electronics (I can't wait to make homemade bread), and I have Martha's dream kitchen. I could write paragraphs about each and every gift we received (I know you all know that), so I'll spare everyone and get to my latest favorite. We registered for all new baking sheets, and while Cory stepped away for 3 minutes at Macy's, I snuck in this fine gem right here:

EVERYONE needs this silpat! I've made the Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookie recipe for YEARS since my dad bought me the cookbook while I was living up north, and never ever, not even once, have they EVER turned out this chewy and delicious. It's no wonder that bitch has her own everything...she has all the best tools!

If you received some kind of variation of the following on your thank you note from "us" (I use the term "us" loosely), I really, truly meant it:

we're making a house a home
I finally have all of the tools to make stuff just like mom
this was one of my favorite things to register for
I've always dreamed of having this
I feel like such an adult

As cliche as they all sound, I will be on a registry high for at least a year. Yes, I think of Jena and Selena every time I see our wine buckets, Anna when I walk by our coffee condiment set, the Peters family when we use our Keurig machine, and so many of you throughout the day (again, I'll spare you the list). What a year to make writing thank you notes my New Years resolution!

Our home is filled with adult things from the people we love. Take THAT, Martha!

Every Little Step I Take

One of my tope 10 all-time favorite songs is "Every Little Step I Take" by Bobby Brown. So, it's only appropriate that this was our grand entrance song for our wedding.

Lately, we've been taking some pretty big steps, actually. We were married this past Friday, and we're expecting our first child in August (she'll probably be early like her dad). I feel like I have a million and one things to blog about, which is terrific because I also feel like I have a little more time to sit and think. Ok fine, I really just make time to write now because I like the way my ring bling sparkles when I type.

Although I want to wait until we get our professional pictures back to write all about the wedding (and the slave labor I put myself and others through to make it all come together), I wanted to post a few of my post-wedding thoughts and some of the pictures that guests have shared on Facebook.

I started off the day with chocolate chip pancakes in bed with my mom and Godmother. Selena stayed with me that night, but left early to go back home to get ready. More on the day later...

The morning after the wedding, we checked out of our room and headed to Aunt Laurie's house for the Peters' family brunch. We both agreed that, since we had so many people in town that we didn't get to spend much time with, we would make an appearance to say hello and visit a bit. It was really nice to sit and chat with everyone! I had 3 servings of coffee cake, which made baby girl jump around. Aunt Pam told me months ago that I'd have to let her know when I felt her kick, so I ran over, put her hand on my belly, and got to share some pretty strong kicks with her. Once she knew that all eyes were on her, she stopped, of course.

After we left Don and Laurie's house, we headed back down to my parents' house to have (yes, another) brunch with my family. My aunt and uncle from Arizona were in town, as well as my "Uncle" Joe, my Godmother from Washington, and my uncle from Northern California. I scarfed down 2 of my dad's (should be) world-famous eggs benedict, and enjoyed visiting with everyone. My mom asked us what our favorite part of the wedding was, and be both agreed that is was the ceremony. Isn't that the way it's supposed to be?!

Cory's cousin put so much work into it, and did a lot of research to make it personal for us. We wanted it sweet, funny, and personal, and that's JUST what Tyler gave us. The funniest thing about the ceremony, for me, was after Cory finished repeating his vows. He struggled a bit with one of the longer verses, and after he finished all of them, he whispered, "Good luck," to me. I thought that was so sweet! I can't wait to see the video of our ceremony because I'm curious as to whether or not any of our side conversations during the ceremony were picked up. Cory and Tyler thought the funniest part was when the wine bottle was too big for the box we had. Cory got a champagne bottle that was just big enough for a wine bottle that we have at home, but it wasn't big enough for the one during our ceremony. I didn't even THINK to check it before hand. When we realized that it wouldn't fit, Cory tried to turn the box to the side to hide it from everyone, but Tyler saw, and just as we thought we pulled it off, Tyler added some comment that announced it to everyone. Fiddlesticks!

Another cool Peters family tradition is taking a picture from the Rev's point of view. It makes a pretty cool picture, dontcha think?!

We had lots of laughs!

We absolutely LOVED our venue, and we were pleasantly surprised at how good the food really was. We all know what a slow eater I am, and trying to scarf down all of that food so that we could visit with everyone was a challenge. The coordinators at the venue were AMAZING, and helped us keep up with the timeline for the ceremony and reception. Their execution of everything was absolutely flawless! The best part is that we can go back and have dinner or brunch any time that we want to.

Now I have all of these cousins! And tucked in there is something I've never had before...a sister!

There were many projects that I concocted for this day, and I really appreciate everyone's help. Many hands make light work! I also appreciate Cory trying (I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt) to overlook the chaos of a mess that was in our house prior to the wedding. Most of it is cleaned up now.

Yesterday, we spent the day by the fire watching sports, opening presents, eating wedding cake, making cheeseburgers, and reading through the cards that we had at each place setting. We are so grateful for all of the gifts that we received; our house is starting to feel like a home, and we can't wait to use the generous amounts of money that we received to purchase a dining room table, a china hutch, and a bedroom set. I'm most excited to finish buying what we need for our bedding. Most of the thank your cards went out today, and the rest will go out tomorrow (when I go buy more cards).

Overall, the best most bestest of all things was having so many wonderful family members and friends in attendance. Everyone says that their wedding was one of the best days of their lives, and I think it's because of the feeling you get when you realize that so many people want to share in the best moment of your life with you. I had (or tried) to hold in the "ugly cry" for most of the evening because I was overwhelmed with emotions. Still, though, I came in under my dad's prediction. I think I cried only 6 times; he predicted 8.

That morning, my mom also asked us if we felt any different. I knew that I felt different because I now felt like I had a true partner in life. I had someone that would fight for and with me, and that would always have my best interest at heart. For the first time in my life, I have a man, a true man, that wants to take care of me, and that I actually let take care of me. I have a man that no matter how mad I get at him, I always want to work it out somehow. I have a man that loves me exactly the way that I am. I have a man that has a wonderful family that I am happy to share a last name with. I have a man that I KNEW I would marry from the day that we went from "single" to "in a relationship with" on Facebook. And most importantly, I have a man that says he doesn't feel any different now that we're married because, in fact, he's thought of me and treated me as a wife since May 25th, 2011. He's going to be a wonderful father in a few months, and I can't wait to see all that this life has to offer us.

You deserve a trophy if you've gotten this far. Thanks for reading...more wedding updates to come!

xoxo Kristen Peters

(OMG that's the first time I've ever written it!!!)

And many more...

I had my second bridal shower yesterday, and it was absolutely beautiful! Ellen and Ashley hosted a beautiful afternoon at Shenandoah, one of my all time favorite restaurants. Each table had this wish tree in the middle:

Each guest was given a piece of card stock on a ribbon. The idea is to have each guest write a wish for the couple and hang it from the tree.  Here are some of the beautiful things that people had to say:

"Love each other. Shut your mouth if it really doesn't matter. Kiss often."
"Never go to bed mad, and always end the day with 'I love you.'"
"Say 'I love you' to each other before you go to sleep. That's what kept us married 67 years."
"Rule #1: The wife is always right. Rule #2: If the wife is wrong, refer to Rule #1."
"Kisses, kisses, and more kisses."
"Compromise."
"Go on several dates and always give little gifts."
"Be VERY VERY patient."
"Love and happiness go hand in hand. Always stay 'best friends' and share life's special moments."

There are several more; some inappropriate for a blog (but obviously my favorites), some that reiterate things mentioned above, and some that were written by children way beyond their years in wisdom. As I read them to Cory, he told me that I am a selfish person, and that I need to work on that. Noted. I don't think I'm selfish at all in the work part of my life, but I guess it's fair to say that I tend to be a bit selfish with my personal time. I've never had anyone in my life before that wanted to spend so much time with me, so sometimes I mistake his wanting to spend time with me as wanting to tell me what I SHOULD be doing with my "free" time. And lately he has been telling me that I need to do laundry, wake up early on weekends, and do dishes. What kind of free time is that?! We always say "I love you" before we go to sleep. This week we've been yelling it down the hall since we're both sick and he's been snoring away in the guest room, but we've been saying it just the same. The best friends, love, and date parts are easy (for now); the compromising and shutting of the mouths will be a challenge.

Anyhow...I was so busy eating and unwrapping gifts, both of which I do in an extremely slow manner (is that correct grammar?), that I completely forgot to take pictures of the rest of the event. The food was wonderful, the gifts were generous, and the company was enchanting. Cory comes with such an amazing group of people, and I couldn't have asked for a more special afternoon.

I am excited about the wedding because, well, it's our wedding. But I am also triple excited to get to spend the day and evening with all of our people. This dance floor is NOT ready for what's about to come. Luckily, it's a leap year, so that gives us an extra day to plan out all of our wonderful details.

xoxo K

The Empty Hapnado

We get married one month from today.

My heart feels like this:

My head feels like this:

My bank account feels like this:

When Cory asked me to marry him, he said it was forever. I sure as all get up hope so because I am NOT doing this again!

Gotta run...there are too many phone calls to be made, pictures to be pinned, and Etsy items to be ordered.

xoxo K

Bride's First (Pseudo) Christmas!

My mom told me this past weekend that when she and my dad were looking at houses after I was born, she wanted a home that she could use to entertain. The house that I grew up in was one that she, one day, hoped would be filled with people for special occasions. And after my bridal shower this past Sunday, she said that's exactly what she had in mind when they put a bid on the house.

I walked into the kitchen, and saw the beautiful spread of food on the table. The decorations on and around it were so romantic! There were beautiful ribbons hanging from the ceiling, and my neighbors/aunts/other mothers worked on making "pom pom puff balls" (I'm sure there's actually a name for them that's less cheesy) that were hung all over. The same decorations were also in the dining room.

And then, of course, they had to go all out on the tables as well!

I lost track of how many times I said, "This is sooooo Pinterest." There was so much love put into the decorations, and I've never seen my house look more beautiful. My mom always tries to make her tables extra special, so all of the decorations touched a special place in my heart. We had lots of wonderful salads and soups, also.

So many wonderful women that I grew up with were there, and it was so fun to chat with them all. It was a kitchen shower, so most of my gifts were things that you could use in the kitchen. Many of the items we registered for were things that I was all too excited about registering for. I'd never invested in a silicone mat, I couldn't wait to use my Martha Stewart mixing bowl, I was thrilled to have matching wine glasses as opposed to mismatching hand-me-downs, and I've been waiting for the day that I had real baking sheets. I received a few adorable aprons as well that I can't WAIT to use. Some people have such a knack for putting together gift sets, and I can't name one single thing that I was given that I won't use. It's hard to make things just like mom made them when you don't have all of the right  gadgets. We were also excited to get the cake cutter that we will use at the wedding!

I just can't thank everyone enough for the beautiful decorations, delicious food, fabulous gifts, and lots of love. I can't wait until my next shower this Saturday!!!!

xoxo

Kristen