This is What 8 Years Together Looks Like

Though we may have just celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary last month, Mark and I have been together as a couple for 8 years this Saturday, November 15th.  This Saturday also marks 2 years since Mark popped the question and I said "Yes" to spending the rest of our lives together.

The decision to date Mark wasn't the easiest... in fact I wanted to set the guy up with a bunch of my friends and sorority sisters before he and I started dating.  It wasn't that I didn't have feelings for the guy, it was that by the time I had admitted to myself that I had feelings for him, I felt it was too late to do anything about it.  See, Mark and I met our sophomore year through my sorority twin and bff, VM, on one crazy night after a party at Chi Phi.  Chi Phi's house was next to Mark's dorm building and when the party was over, VM called Mark's roommate to come and get us from the party because we didn't want to walk across campus to our dorm.  Somehow we ended up going back and hanging out in their room for a little bit before heading back to our dorm.  Goldfish, Cheez-Its and ramen noodles were involved in this first meeting and let's just say it was a night that produced many laughs both back then and even today as we look back on it. ("Cheez-it downnnnnn!!!!)

After meeting each other that first time our paths crossed as being friends with VM meant that I saw her and a lot of the Chemical Engineers that she was friends with.  Plus, most of her ChemE friends were in the fraternity Sigma Alpha Mu (Mark included), so we spent a lot of time together.  VM and I both went abroad in the Spring of 2006 and I didn't see Mark again until my return to the U.S.  When we got back to the U.S. all of us headed back to Bucknell for Reunion Weekend... I was there to actually work, while my friends were there to just have fun.  This weekend also happened to coincide with Mark's 21st birthday.  I am pretty sure that his birthday was when I really started to realized that I had a crush on this guy, but I knew that I shouldn't do anything about it because I had planned to graduate from Bucknell a semester early, which meant that starting to date someone just wasn't in the cards for me.

Yet somehow, despite it all we continued to hang out a bunch that Fall of our Senior year and somehow in November I agreed to be Mark's girlfriend.  The best part about it all was that Mark never actually really officially "asked me out"... he changed his Facebook relationship status to "In a Relationship" and I got a Facebook message saying that "Mark has said that you two are in a relationship" and I had the option to accept to deny the request.  Obviously I hit accept and the rest was history!  The best part about all of this was that he changed it while I was in class, so by the time I got out of class I had text messages from friends asking if Mark and I were officially dating and I was so confused because I hadn't seen Facebook yet!

So in celebration of 8 years together... here is what 8 years has looked like for us!

year one//

Before we started dating

First Formals Together

Date Party

Chi Omega Formals

Our Graduation from Bucknell

year two//

Back at Bucknell for a Sammy event

Matching each other and totally not on purpose

Jersey Shore for July 4th

year three//

year four//

Hanging with the Bison at Hershey

We survived Law School!!!

year five//

Nisha & Matt's Wedding

Liz & Jeff's wedding

Jacksonville Zoo

Amanda & Andrew's Wedding

year six//

Longwood Gardens with my Love

TSO Concert

Flyers Game

Bucknell Reunion

And we are engaged!!!

Engagement Weekend in Williamsburg

year seven/

Philadelphia Brewery Tour

Trying to get me with cake at my bridal shower

And we are married!!!!

Honeymooning 

year eight// 

1st Married Christmas in NJ

1st Married Christmas in Millerstown

We have had a lot of great times together over the past 8 years and I am looking forward to all of that good times that we will have in the future!

Do you have any milestones that you have celebrated recently?

#tbt... The Original 3

Recently I have seen a lot of people posting about "home" and where exactly that is for them.  At this point in my life, "home" is where my husband is, but "home" is also where I grew up.  When people ask me where I am from I automatically say "I am originally from Northern New Jersey, but am currently living in West Chester."  I don't know if that response will ever change... I mean I am sure it will once we have a house and settle down somewhere for good... but for now "home" means a few places for me.  When thinking about home it makes me think about when I first moved down here for law school.  I didn't know anyone besides Mark and I had heard such horror stories about law school that I was convinced that I would never make any friends.  Thankfully fate stepped in and my car broke down.... I was already in a ton of debt from school and I knew I would never be able to afford to fix it, so I knew I needed a job.  I did what any normal law student would do, and started to apply for restaurant jobs at the 4 restaurants located across the street from my school.  I didn't have a car, so I had to be able to walk to work.  I ended up getting hired as a hostess at Friday's and the rest is history.  Through working at Friday's I met two of my best friends in the entire world.  Sure there was a group of us that grew and then shrunk and then grew and then shrunk again... but 2 of the girls have remained my besties through it all.  We call ourselves the "Original 3" or "O3" for short... and I don't think West Chester would feel even remotely like "home" to me if it weren't for these two girls.  So today's #tbt post is going to be a look back at the "O3" and how we have grown together through the years!

First Night we all ever hung out together

Original 3

First Christmas together

These girls have been there for me through thick and thin.  We have celebrated accomplishments such as graduations, engagements, weddings, new jobs... We have been there for each other through losses such as breakups and deaths.  No matter the distance (when one of us moved to NC) we have always managed to stay in touch and pick up right where we left off.  I love these girls so much and don't think I ever would have been as happy as I am here had I not met them. 

Have you ever moved and made friends who made your new home really feel more like home?

Why Fall is the BEST Season of All

It is no secret around here that I love anything and everything having to do with fall.  It was my dream to get married in the fall at Bucknell with all the beautiful leaves and colors, and I managed to do just that.  Now that November is here and it is starting to get colder, it is starting to feel like Fall is on its way out and that just makes me sad. In fact, we are 4 days into November and there are already Christmas commercials playing on TV, Christmas decorations are out in all the stores, Starbucks has brought back their red cups, and Christmas movies are playing on the Hallmark Channel (now I am not gonna complain about the Christmas movies, because I love them and would watch them all year long, but I mean it really is only November.). 

In an effort to hold on to fall just a little bit longer, today I am going to be sharing my reasons as to why I love fall with you.

one// Pumpkin Spice Lattes.  Though I may have just complained that Starbucks brought back their red cups so early this year, you will never hear me complain about them bringing back the PSL early.  They could bring back the PSL in August and I would be a happy camper.  PSLs are probably my all time FAVORITE coffee drink and I get so excited when they are back and so depressed when they are gone again until the next year.

two// Actually, pumpkin everything.  I pretty much adore anything pumpkin flavored... pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin scones, pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice latte cupcakes, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin soup, pumpkin ravioli... basically if it has pumpkin in it, you can bet that I will fall in love with it.  Funny thing is, I don't think I really started eating pumpkin stuff until later in life because I didn't think I would like it... boy did I miss out on many years of pumpkin goodness because I "thought" I didn't like it.

Homemade pumpkin bread

Perfect afternoon pick me up... Pumpkin bread and a cup of coffee

three// Leaves changing color.  Part of the reason as to why I wanted a fall wedding was because I love when the leaves change color and I think they make the perfect backdrop for pictures.  There is nothing more beautiful to me than seeing the beautiful hues of red, orange, yellow, sometimes purple, etc. as the leaves on the trees change color.  I think everything just looks so pretty when the leaves are changing color.

four// SCARVES.  I am a scarf fanatic.  I love when scarf season starts and get sad when it is over.  Once fall starts you can find me wearing a scarf almost every day, and I think I can go an entire month without wearing a scarf more than once if I really wanted to.  A scarf is such a fun way to accessorize an outfit and can totally change your look.

First scarf of the season pic... I was ridiculously happy the day that I could finally break out the scarves again

five// Perfect temperature.  Besides fall meaning scarves, it is also the start of sweater weather.  And boot weather.  And not needing a heavy winter coat and not so hot that you are sweating profusely weather.  I love that in the fall I can wear a scarf and a light jacket and be good to go.  I love that I can wear big fun sweaters, leggings and a scarf and be good to go.  I may not really be into fashion, but I just love the outfits that I can wear during the fall!

six// Apple Picking.  I am so sad that this year it doesn't look like we are going to make it apple picking.  Apple picking is one of my favorite fall past times and I love when we get home with all of our loot and we get to make all kinds of appley goodness.  We actually got an apple peeler/corer for a bridal shower gift last year and I was so excited to actually get to try it out this year (last year we were too crazy with wedding planning for apple picking)!  Oh well, there is always next year!

seven// Hayrides.  Hayrides are another fun fall tradition that I love.  Growing up in the suburbs of NYC, we didn't have that many opportunities locally to go on hay rides.  Sure we had Demarest Farm and Tice's Corner for a while, but the abundance of things involving hayrides where we live now is AMAZING!  I mean there are your traditional hayrides, there are haunted hayrides, hayrides to go pumpkin picking, hayrides to go apple picking... you name it, there is a hayride for it.  Though I don't think my allergies love the hay so much, the little kid in me LOVES going on hay rides!

eight// Owls everywhere.  I know I have told you all time and time again how much I love owls.  Well fall is amazing because owls are apparently the perfect fall decor.... which means I can stock up on all sorts of owl things for my house.  Now just because owls are considered to be "fall" decor, that doesn't mean that you won't find them all around my house all throughout the year.  As long as it doesn't look too "fall" or too "Halloween" you can bet that those owls will be sitting out all year long.  Right now Pier 1 has some fabulous owls that I am dying to get my hands on, but I am also trying to be good and not spend money.  Here's hoping they go on clearance soon and that I can use my 20% birthday coupon that applies to clearance goods!

nine// Fall beer.  As everyone also pretty much knows I am a craft beer fanatic (thanks husband!) and I love the beers that come out in fall.  I am a HUGE fan of Oktoberfest beers and if it is even possible I am an even more HUGE fan of pumpkin beer.  I love when the pumpkin/Oktoberfest beers start coming out and I pretty much start stocking up on them as soon as I see them.  I think I may need to take a beer run soon as the holiday beers will start coming out soon and I won't be able to purchase my pumpkin beers again until next year... gotta get them while I still can!

Some Oktoberfest beer even made it on tap with our keg-o-rater

ten// Oktoberfest.  Speaking of Oktoberfest beer, I love going to Oktoberfest in Delaware every year, so I get really excited as fall gets closer knowing that it is almost time to celebrate Oktoberfest.  As fun as the Delaware Oktoberfest is, I believe M and I both have it on our "Bucket Lists" to go to Germany to celebrate Oktoberfest one year.  Maybe once we stop going to a million weddings and life calms down we will be able to make the trip out there!

eleven// Football is back.  Of course I am saving the best for last. Football is back.  One of my favorite things about fall is that football comes back.  Don't get me wrong, I like other sports, but football is by far, hands down, my most favorite sport to watch.  I love rooting for my Giants (even when they are having a terrible season), I love tailgating for football games, I love watching football games at home or at the bar with my friends.  I pretty much love everything about football and am so happy that it is back! (I love football so much, I even wrote an entire post about it here)

What are your favorite things about fall?

Book Review... The Fault in Our Stars

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As many of you know, I participate in a variety of book clubs, both online and in person.  I am definitely what people would call a book worm as I pretty much read anything and everything that I can get my hands on.  No genre is off limits... I will try to read anything once.  Back in September I got together with the Beta Book Club of the Philadelphia Area Alumnae Chi Omega Chapter to discuss The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.  I was really excited that we had voted to read this book because I knew the movie was coming out and I am definitely one of those people who REFUSES to see the movie until they have read the book, so I knew if I wanted to see the movie ever I was going to have to get on this book reading thing.  I also had heard good things about it so I was looking forward to giving it a try.

And give it a try I did.  Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying that I didn't like this book, because I did.  But I definitely didn't like it as much as I thought I would.  Perhaps it was because of all the hype surrounding it that I expected more, but it just wasn't all that I was expecting.  It ended up being a VERY quick read, I think I read it in 2 days over the course of maybe 6-8 hours?  In fact I actually finished it in the 2 hours before I had to go to book club because due to my crazy schedule and the fact that I like to read the books closer to when we are discussing them, I didn't start reading it until the couple of days before we were meeting.

The book just ended up making me angry.  I understand that it is a work of fiction... John Green makes that VERY clear at the beginning of the book and then again at the end... but it still made me angry.  Although many parts of the book seemed very realistic, there were so many other parts that seemed so unrealistic that it just made me angry.  Hazel and Augustus have a very "interesting" relationship.  The two of them meet at a cancer support group that it seems as though neither one of them have any interest in attending.  They end up becoming friends and eventually are more of a "couple" than just friends.

Augustus makes many grand gestures towards Hazel... planning a "Dutch" day so that she could dream about meeting her favorite author, Peter Van Houten.  He uses his one wish to actually take her to meet Mr. Van Houten, which turns out to be a disastrous trip, but the two of them managed to make the best of it.  They even had sex on their trip abroad which totally threw me for a loop because prior to them having sex it seemed as though they had barely touched each other, let alone even really kissed each other.  I guess this is part of the whole "I am dying of cancer" thing, but it just seemed so unrealistic to me.

One of the things I really did like about the book was the swing set. The swing set seemed to represent to me the childhood that Hazel and Augustus we both denied due to the fact that they had cancer.  To me it seemed as though the swing set represented their hopes and dreams and what they knew their lives could have been like had they not been diagnosed with cancer.  I love that Hazel ended up deciding to sell her swing set because to me that represented her acceptance of her fate, but that she wanted her hopes and dreams to live on through a child who would be able to enjoy the swing set. Despite the melancholy nature of the book at times, there really were some rays of sunshine to help you remember that although cancer is a horrible disease, it doesn't always get people down.

Sorry for the lame book review this time around, this book just didn't do it for me like I thought it would.  I think if you can get past the fact that there are a lot of unrealistic elements to the book you will enjoy it, but for me I got so focused on how unreal things were that I just couldn't get into it.  If you are looking for a quick read I would say definitely give this a go as John Green's writing style is really easy to read, and I am certain you will be able to read it quickly.

Have you read "The Fault in Our Stars"? What did you think about it?

T.G.I.M. .... Thank Goodness It's Monday!

Yes, you read the title of my post correctly... T.G.I.M.  Thank goodness it's Monday.  I might be the only person in the world who is excited for it to be Monday, but after the crazy weekend I had, Monday means a much needed day off!!!!

Working in the restaurant industry means that I don't really get to celebrate holidays like normal people do.  Not that Halloween is a holiday, but in the bar business it can be a crazy night.  So while friends were dressing up and getting ready to go to the bar to relax, unwind, and have some Halloween fun, I was putting together a crummy costume to head to work and take care of all those people who want to unwind and enjoy the day.  We ended up not being as busy as we normally are for Halloween, but our specials were killer.  Killer in that they were the only thing that people ordered and killer in that they hurt our pockets because people were being really cheap.  I was so glad when the night was over, the only unfortunate thing was that after getting home after 2am, I had to be back in the building at 8am to do a supervisor shift.

Bartending with my favorite ladies... Dressed as 2 servers from Friday's past and a Flyers Princess

Jello Shot special at the bar for Halloween

Saturday at work went by pretty quickly and uneventfully.  Despite the fact that I was exhausted and living off of caffeine, I was in a fantastic mood because I was going to get to leave early to pick up my hubby from the airport.  M went to the UK for work and I was pretty much miserable without him home.  It was tough because we didn't have much communication while he was gone due to the time change, our still completely opposite schedules and the lack of international cell phone plans. This was the longest he and I had spent apart since I moved down this way for law school in August of 2007 and I must say, I am not a fan. I give all you military spouses out there a lot of credit... I had trouble for a week... I don't know how you do it for months at a time.  I may or may not have even cried a little after he called me to tell me where he would be waiting for me... just hearing his voice made me so happy!

After picking up M from the airport we headed to Black Walnut Winery to catch the end of a surprise party for my law school bestie RC.  I was really sad that we were unable to make the beginning of the party, but I was so glad that we were able to stop by for a little bit and to get to celebrate her birthday with her.  RC is pretty much the only person I still keep in contact with from law school and I am so glad that she and I became friends towards the end of our law school careers.  I only wish our schedules were more conducive to hanging out... especially since we basically live right down the street from each other!

Couldn't be happier that this man is finally home from his business trip

Law School besties celebrating RC's 30th birthday with our hubbys!

Sunday was another fun-filled day of work.  I was scheduled to open as a supervisor and then close as bartender.  Thankfully this Sunday I was working with another more experienced bartender and was actually able to leave early... so I only worked 14 hours instead of the 17.5 I was scheduled.

So yup, thank goodness today is Monday and I have the day off.  Today is an even more awesome Monday because my Giants are playing in the MNF game this evening versus the Colts.  The only downfall is that my one BFF and I won't be friends tonight (she is a huge Colts fan), but don't worry, we will be back to being BFFs by the time the game is over no matter who wins!

Today I am linking up with Biana at B Loved Boston and Meghan at Champagnes and Suburbs for their "Weekending" link up!  Head on over and check out both their lovely blogs and see what everyone has been up to this past weekend!

What did you do this weekend?