It’s Our Anniversary (overview)

I saw the above photo on Pinterest and thought that, in all honesty, it describes the circumstances of true love perfectly. There are all kinds of love but, you can’t truly accept someone into your life, full-time, for better or for worse, until you accept their imperfections and the unique, quirky (even annoying) things that make them who they are. Marriage is constant hard work and, let me assure you, my hubby has to put up with a lot from me; especially when I’ve been a hormonal, pregnant woman for most of our marriage!

On Wednesday we celebrated  3 years as husband and wife and I couldn’t be more appreciative to have this wonderful man in my life. Someone who was my best friend first, who let me become a step-mom to the most adored person in his life, and was willing to have to kids in two years because they bring us so much joy. I’m telling you guys… he’s the best.

He went through a bunch of trouble to book a trip to a resort for our anniversary and surprised me with it; doubling as a babymoon. However, the company that sold him the all-inclusive package didn’t bother telling him that there was no availability for our dates and that they had no vacancies until after November. Unfortunately, they won’t give us our money back. Instead they opted to give us 12 months to use the vacation… I’m not sure when we will be able to do that with three kiddos around the house but, the fact that our plans pretty much got cancelled for us made us just invent a little of our own fun around town. Granted, I felt like a grandma– 34 weeks prego and moving at a snail’s pace; getting sleepy at seven o’clock. But, Hubby didn’t seem to mind. ❤

We opened gifts on Tuesday night so that we had plenty of alone time to actually admire what the other person purchased. We went with small gifts this year; nothing too extravagant. Actually, it seems like we both focused on practicality and comfort.

Jon and I don’t follow the traditional list (or modern one, for that matter) regarding each year of marriage and what it signifies. In fact, last year, we didn’t exchange gifts at all. Sometimes amongst the daily grind, it’s just enough that we can spend some quality time together. That’s why I’m ecstatic that he took off work from Wednesday until the weekend is through!

Anyway, the above photo is of the gifts I got for him. I am so stumped when it comes to gifts for men… If you run across a woman who isn’t please send her my way! His first box was a quirky little hygiene kit, filled with products {like a walnut hand scrub} that I knew Jon would never buy himself. Overall, I’d say that the gift is good value. Some of the scents included are a little strange but all-in-all he has already used it a few times. Anything he will actually use has to be worth the buy! 🙂 His second gift was a pair of Minnetonka slippers, which he loves! Hubby has a bad habit of wearing shoes inside the house because his feet are constantly hurting. In all honesty, I should’ve bought him a pair of these a couple of years ago. He was really happy to receive these and is actually wearing them as I write this… THUMBS UP!

Lastly, I got him a really nice shaving kit by The Art of Shaving. He has been very into his straight razor recently is has been constantly talking about how badly he wanted a brush and all the stuff that comes with it. But, he didn’t want to spend the money; especially since the kits he had looked at were not as good in quality as the one I picked out. Fortunately, I managed to hold him off the last time he saw one and ordered this one immediately after that because otherwise my gift would’ve been ruined. He really likes all of the products that came with this and the “unscented” smell still has a really nice, clean odor. (Although, this kit does come in other fragrances.)

Selfie on the way to anniversary dinner… Glasses: RayBan// Earrings: Swarovski// Lipstick: Nars ‘Bangkok’ (review soon)

Jon got me some really nice bath/soaking salts that smell of Eucalyptus + Spearmint. They have already been put to good use once! Very relaxing and a great way to tell me to take some time out for myself… Which I should probably do a bit more often. He got me a really comfy, microfiber, emerald-green bathrobe (that I was in desperate need of) and it couldn’t have come at a better time since it’s one of the first things I’ll be putting in my “go bag” for the hospital. It’s ridiculously warm and cozy. Also, he surprised me with the blue mirrored Ray Ban aviators that I just posted to my wishlist last week! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these! By far, the best fitting sunglasses I’ve ever own and 100% UV protection…. I can’t take them off!

I thought that was all, but…. right before I started putting on my makeup for our dinner date, the doorbell rang, and here Jon came carrying another gift. Bigger than all the others. A NEW SET OF POTS AND PANS!! We have needed these SO badly since we got married and just never took the time out to buy them because there have been so many other, more important things, to spend our money on. But, Hubs did NOT disappoint with these; stainless steel, oven safe, non-stick, copper bottom 12 piece set. I can’t wait to get cooking with these babies!

 We had dinner at a restaurant we have never tried (above), called Riverboat Landing. It sits right on the river ( a great spot to watch the sunset while you eat!) and the small balconies are perfect for a private party of two. The food was really good too! I ordered the Arancini, a Caesar Salad, and Seared Sirloin with asparagus and mashed potatoes. Yum!

Afterwards, we walked around the corner to “Nine”–  a full service restaurant but, known for its donuts. So we lounged and talked, coffee in hand, had our sugar fill and then drove out to the beach. The air is getting colder now so I was a bit chilly in my ASOS satin, maxi dress  but, it was worth it to sit on the dock and hold hands, with no rush since my mom was babysitting for us.

Now that we have the rest of the weekend to ourselves, I got up this morning and made some awesome Pumpkin Doodles that Heather, from Mmm…is For Mommy, just posted to her blog today. Go check out the recipe ASAP. They are AMAZING! I think we will probably just take it easy, finish painting our dining room, and maybe look for a few home accents since my mom is holding my baby shower here next weekend. Also, maybe go get an iPhone 6 (cross my fingers); I need an upgrade like, yesterday. I hope you all have a lovely weekend and I’ll see you back here next week! ❤