I'm gettin' paper

Envelopes.  Check.  Paper plates.  Check.  Notecards. Check.  Napkins.  Check.  Books.  Check.

Notice a common trend?

These are just some of the wonderful (and very useful) items my thoughtful aunts and uncles sent Drew and I for our one year wedding anniversary (fyi the traditional one year gift is paper).  I was so excited to open up the packages and see them filled with various traditional anniversary gifts!

To celebrate our anniversary Drew Babe booked a luxury beach house in the Outer Banks.  He thought we would both enjoy a relaxing and quiet weekend away together, and boy was he right.  It was so nice to not have anything we had to do and no where we had to be.

I packed up all day Friday and we headed out to the OBX (just a little over an hour drive) that evening.

As part of Drew's Valentine's gift, I had been wanting to prepare a nice dinner for the both of us.  Since Valentine's week was so busy, Drew suggested cooking the meal at the beach house.  Turned out to be a great idea.

I wanted to decorate the table, so I brought all the decorations I thought could be used for the table setting.  Here is what I started with: a borrowed red table cloth from my mom, some cheap decorations from Dollar Tree, and some candles from around our house.

And here is the finished product:

And here it is with the candles lit.  We also brought along our cake from our wedding day.  I used the same "M" cake topper that was on top on 2-19-11.

Preparations for the meal began around 3pm.  The menu for the evening consisted of:  spicy balsamic roast,  crispy roasted potatoes, spinach stuffed mushrooms, roasted brussels with balsamic glaze, and heart shaped dill seed bread.  The roast recipe is from my mom, and I found the rest on Pioneer Woman and Pinterest (both such handy tools).  

My sweet Drew Babe :)

We relived our wedding day cake cutting ceremony with our year old cake.  I thought it was pretty good, but Drew simply said I would eat anything with sugar in it (I have the biggest sweet tooth ever).  Drew took one tiny bite, and quickly moved on to the homemade Ghirardelli chocolate chip cookies.

Spending time together in the quiet Outer Banks was the perfect way to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary.  I really can't believe it has now been over a year since we got married.  It goes by way too fast!

Oh, and I did get a little something "paper" for my Drew Babe...post to come.
Gotta keep those traditions goin'.  :)

Print Giveaway!

A friend of mine, Amanda, is hosting a giveaway on her blog.  The winner gets to choose one of the seven super cute prints.  I entered, and had such a hard time choosing which print I would love to have in my home (that is, if I win ;).  It is quick and easy to enter, so go check it out!

Here is just a sample of one of the many prints you can pick from.

psst....the rest of her blog is just as lovely as the adorable prints :)

One Wonderful Year

It is true that our first year as a Mr. and Mrs. has been a great year.  Every day I fall more and more in love with Drew, and it is a joy to do life with my best friend every day.  I thought I would share with you a couple pictures from our "story," along with some little blurbs from the journal I kept throughout our friendship, dating, and engagement.  Hope you enjoy learning a bit more about how the Lord demonstrated (and continues to demonstrate) his faithfulness and goodness through our entire relationship.

This is where it began:
October 2009
I remember my good friend, Bekah asking me one day what I thought of Drew.  I just bluntly told her I thought he was a nice guy.  I don’t know the reason, but I wasn’t interested in any attention from him.  


Thankfully Drew didn't give up on me:
January 2010
I think it was the beginning of January when Drew suggested we should get a group of people together to do something Saturday night.  After dinner at Chili's I had leftovers and he offered to take it out to my car for me.  Drew later called that night to make sure I had made it home safely.


I finally started to notice Drew Babe's obvious little hints:
February 2010
The next week Drew text me with the following message; “hey, I had this great idea.   We could go get some long-awaited sushi together, then I could buy all the stuff needed to bake your favorite thing at your house.  What do you think?”  Of course I said yes.  I was so excited that whole week before our first "date."  


"Getting to Know" each other:
Valentine's 2010
Sunday morning, Valentine’s Day, I was walking out to my car and noticed something on the hood. When I came closer I noticed it was a can of “fancy” oatmeal and a white rose.   I only knew of a couple people that knew I liked oatmeal so much and one of them was Drew, but I didn’t want to assume anything.  Later that night Drew asked if he could talk to me.  He explained how he has enjoyed getting to know me and would like to continue our friendship even further. 

 Realizing I am liking Drew more and more:
March 2010
Since our sushi night we have seen each other every day.  That’s over 40 days in a row!  He is one of the first things on my mind when waking up in the morning, and I miss him as soon as he leaves.    

Our first day trip and adventure:

March 2010

Drew and I headed on our long awaited adventure to Richmond.  About midway through our day trip, someone sideswiped us in traffic and we had to eat the delicious picnic Drew had prepared out of the trunk of the car in the repair junkyard. 

I really like this boy:
April 2010

I am daily overwhelmed at how the Lord has blessed me so much with Drew already.  I can’t believe how he brought our lives together at the perfect time.  I like Drew more and more each day.


Trying to decipher through my "like" and "love:"
July 2010
Do I love Drew like a brother or something more?  Am I supposed to be with Drew?  How can I KNOW?  Can you really KNOW?  Do I love Drew?  Ugh!  

Falling in love:
August 2010
I am growing closer and closer to Drew and falling more in love with him. Drew is my best friend and there are so many things in life that I would love to experience with him.  He really encourages me in areas I’m struggling and reassures me when I might worry about something.  He gives me confidence that I wouldn’t have without him. 


We are engaged:
September 2010
So tonight I became engaged to the love of my life, Drew Martin!!!  AHHHHHHHH!!!!!  I still cannot believe it!  Drew reached in his pocket and pulled out a box.  I don’t think I ever looked down until he got on his knee and asked me to MARRY HIM!! :D  I said YES right away without any hesitation. 

 Planning our wedding:

October 2010

We have a date; February 19^th, 2011.  And it can’t come fast enough!!!  I am thoroughly enjoying being a bride-to-be though and I have the best bridesmaids.   

 So there's a condensed version of our love story.  I'll soon have a post about this past weekend where we spent a few days in the OBX celebrating our first year of marriage.....and I'll tell you what Drew got me for our anniversary (btw, he did good!).  

All you need is love, love

Love is all you need, especially this week in the Martin House.  All things love have certainly been the center of attention throughout this past week, with the celebration of both Valentine's Day and our 1 year wedding anniversary.

I don't get home from class until late on Tuesdays, so we began our "love" celebration early (which was fine with me!). The Friday before Valentine's we enjoyed a 4-course dinner at The Melting Pot (a fondue restaurant we have both been wanting to visit).  Delicious!  Drew Babe also gave me some Godiva strawberry truffles. We had sampled them in NYC and fell in love.  If you have not tried them yet, you must!

That weekend we had both of our immediate families over for a luau-themed lunch, complete with real Hawaiian pineapple and BBQ sauce from Drew Babe's visit to the islands.

We both racked our brains as to how we could make the family lunch feel most like a luau in the middle of February.  Cranking the heat up and having everyone wear their grass skirts and coconut bras was quickly crossed off the list of ideas.  Dollar Tree was our hero for the decor.  I found packaging paper to use for the table cloths and bought some crayons, so everyone could put their own personal touch on the table cloth (I mean no one is ever too old to enjoy drawing on the table, right?;).  My mom let us borrow the bright and festive placemats for a pop of color.

For the centerpiece, I was planning on combining a little bundle of bamboo sticks (also found at Dollar Tree), wiring them together, and just having them stand in the middle of the table.  Even with Drew Babe's creativity and ingeniousness, we couldn't make the bundle stand up and look right.  We resulted to surrounding a candle in some vases, which we all ready had, with the bamboo sticks.  A little funky and a little tropical, all in one!

On the February 14th, Drew woke up early to prepare my breakfast and coffee, and spend some time with me before heading off to work.  On top of my coffee maker he left a box, which contained a ring that I had spotted weeks ago at a friend's jewelry party.  I had totally forgotten about it, but Drew Babe seems to always remember all the little things that I like or enjoy.  Needless to say, it was the perfect start to my morning, spending a time with my Valentine.

We visited my family during the evening of February 14th for a little Valentine celebration.  My mom also gave us our anniversary gift early: a Mr. and Mrs. mug set and coupon book (I love being a Mrs. :).

The best part of the mugs is when you get to the bottom of your morning coffee, there is a little heart!  So cute!

Right after I got out of class Tuesday evening, Drew Babe also surprised me with flowers (white roses are my favorite).  He always goes over and beyond what I could ever imagine.

JCrew headbands were my Valentine treat from my parents.  I am pretty sure I have already worn all three.  That should tell you a little something about my love for headbands.

Drew Babe got a Black Keys CD from my parents, but alas, I forgot to take a picture.

Just the other day, we received our first anniversary card from my dear friend, Caroline.  I really can't believe it has almost been a year.

Tons more to come on our 1 year celebration, so be sure to check back!

Quick Update: Guest Bath

It has been busy here at The Martin House.  With school back in session it's harder finding time to keep crossing off the honey-do-list things, but I wanted to give you a little update on the few projects that are happenin' around here.

 Our guest bath definitely had a bad case of the "blahs" before I gave it a little pop of color.  I decided to cover up the sliding shower doors with a colorful shower curtain and add some art to the walls.  One day we will probably renovate the entire bathroom, but for now I just gave it a quick, easy, and inexpensive makeover.

The entire bathroom is tan, even the tile.  I knew it needed some color to liven it up a bit.

I found a funky, colorful paisley shower curtain at TJ Maxx for just $12.99.  It has my two favorite colors (blue and green, in case you couldn't tell), and looks much better than the boring sliding doors.  There is also beige/tan in the paisley pattern, so that helps tie it in to the walls and tile.

 We still had some picture frames we received as wedding gifts laying around, so I finally put them to good use.  My grandma gave me some vintage postcards with tropical scenes from Florida.  I thought they would be perfect in the guest bath, but they were too small for the frame and mat.  I rigged it by adding aqua blue colored paper behind the postcard.  It actually worked out great and makes the postcards pop even more.

On this wall I added another postcard picture, but instead of a plain mat I used the backs of several postcards.  I may have formed somewhat of an obsession with vintage/antique postcards now (at least it is a fairly cheap obsession, contrary to my other obsession with anything Pottery Barn).

Adding the aqua blue paper behind the postcards was super easy and goes great with the shower curtain.

Quick and cheap.  Those are my some of my favorite kinds of house projects.  Within the next week, Drew Babe and I are celebrating Valentine's Day and our one year (I really can't believe it has been a year!) wedding anniversary.  I will try hard to remember to take pictures (charging my camera, right now!) and eventually share with you how we celebrated.