Simple Things

I came home from work this evening to find a bundle of fresh flowers next to a note with a heart simple little heart scrawled in pencil. How did I get this lucky?

(flowers from Bastian & Skoog)

Wedding Weekend // The Reception

Our reception was the day after our wedding and could not have been more fun. Splitting up the wedding into 2 days (ceremony with the family and reception with everyone) was probably the best decision we made in the whole process. It gave us quality time with family for the meaningful stuff and the next night was a party with everyone. I mean, I don’t think many friends/co-workers care much about your vows or watching you take group photos with your great-great-aunts from Arizona.

We had the reception at an old antiques warehouse in Northeast Minneapolis called Architectural Antiques. They were super accomidating and let us rearrange and use items in the store (think: filling a bathtub with drinks). All of the food for both nights was done by Chowgirls and everything was so delicious. We also had our friend Adam Puncochar DJ for us which was incredible. He’s mighty talented and makes some killer mixes…like his latest Hellaween2. All in all…one of the best nights ever.

cheers!

Wedding Weekend // The Ceremony

We had a small ceremony in Ned’s family’s backyard, just family so around 60 people. I loved how personal it felt with such a small group of people. It sounds cliché but it really was one of the happiest days of my life. There’s something about having everyone you love with you for an entire weekend. It was like a big, happy family reunion.

One of my favorite parts was how low-key we made it. I never had to do the dreaded “wedding dress shopping”…I ordered one online, it fit perfectly and was even on sale. Yeah! I had all my bridesmaids pick their own dresses so they could find something that fit their budget/style/shape. The result: everyone was happy and felt comfortable. Double Yeah! Family and friends helped out with the set-up and with a nice combination of handmade pieces and simple details, it was everything I hoped. I think the key is to not get sucked up into wedding hype. It’s just one day (or in our case, 2), so make sure it’s a fun one for everyone and you’ll end up with less stress and more time to enjoy it.

Stay tuned for the reception pics soon!

cheers!

Escape to Bora Bora

It took some time for us to decide on a honeymoon spot. We’re naturally very adventurous, not really the beach-going types so we thought about taking a long road trip. Then, after considering it for about 2 seconds we realized the added stress of that on top of a post-wedding brain was just asking for trouble. We then went through the usual suspects, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Greece however in the end, knowing that this would be the one time in our lives (that is, of course, until we become super-millionaires) to do something totally extravagant. So we thought of the most ridiculous place we could imagine going, and after a bit of investigation, booked a trip to Bora Bora!

We spent 6 nights in a hut on a small stretch of land the middle of the Pacific ocean. The ocean waves on one side and a bright turquoise lagoon on the other. Like I said, neither of us are “beach folk” but the silence and calm here were just heaven.

Real coconut milk!

The bungalows were simple but well designed and perfect for 2 people. Recently renovated they were a lovely and even had a section of glass floor in the center so you could look down and watch the fish! We had our own little porch with steps down straight into the water.

The resort we stayed at had a huge man-made lagoon in the center of the property which was home to tons of fish (all safe kinds) and a sea turtle refuge. We just discovered this when we got there but it was by far one of the coolest parts of the place. You could snorkel in the lagoon with the adorable sea turtles and not worry about any pesky sharks or stingrays.

After seeing these little guys I spent the rest of the weekend quoting lines from the sea turtles in Finding Nemo. “Duuuuuuuuude”. Ned didn’t find it nearly as entertaining as I did.

Cheesy but I couldn’t resist!

So much snorkeling.

Ah wonderful, wonderful shade.

The sun was strong here…so much so we both got some pretty gnarly sunburns on our 3rd day. We took it as a sign that we belong in Minnesota but were proud to at least achieve some sort of tan line. Most of the people there were ridiculously bronzed in that healthy, European sort of way.

So many breathtaking sunsets…

Dining next to the lagoon at night.

All in all, it was a perfect week. It couldn’t have been more relaxing and just the change of scenery that Ned and I both desperately needed after the past few months of planning and preparation. Everything I could have hoped for and now I can check “super-crazy-lux-tropical-vacation” off my bucket list. ;)

Also, I’m starting to upload my Instargram pics on Flickr and I have a few from our trip up there now. Check em out!

cheers!

One of the Most Uncomfortable Things a Couple Can Do

Also known as: “The Engagement Photo Session”. Let me preface this by saying, neither myself or Ned are not an overly affectionate couple, at least in public. Nor do we really enjoy posing for pictures. In hindsight, these are two key factors to consider when deciding if you and your significant other are going to do engagement pictures. Ask yourself, “Self, how do I feel about walking around in public with my guy, being trailed by a person with a large camera and being told to “act natural”, “kiss” and “get closer” all while trying suck in the gut and not sweat through your t-shirt on a humid summer day?” If your answer is, “That sounds like torture!”, engagement photos probably aren’t for you.

We had planned on not doing engagement photos, it seemed sort of unnecessary but in the end we caved. I will say, it was a big plus to be able to work with the photographer before the wedding and will probably make that day easier. These are the few photos that really turned out.

Although the whole process made me want to cringe, we got to know our photographer better and even ended up with a couple shots that look real to who we are, not posed. It was sort of a testament to “sticking to your guns” when it comes to your wedding decisions. There’s a whole industry out there to make you feel like you “have” to do this and that to have a perfect wedding. Don’t listen to it. Decide early on what is important to both of you and stick with it. You’ll both be much happier.

Psst…this one is my favorite of all…

cheers!

Pacific Coast, Redwoods and some San Fran

A couple weekends ago Ned and I were able to slip away for a long weekend in San Francisco. My brother has lived out there for a few years and I had yet to visit so when the opportunity came up, it was hard to pass up.

We spent the first day driving down highway 1 right along the coast and down to Santa Cruz. It was a little overcast but the landscape was gorgeous.

After a stop for lunch & shopping in Santa Cruz, we made our way back north through the winding mountain area that lies just south of San Francisco. (I learned a LOT about the geography of Cali on this trip too…). It was full of redwoods and just stunning.

For me, this view was the highlight of the whole trip.

I was pretty shocked at how many FroYo shops there were out there. And so delicious!

This was a little puppy-friend that I made while waiting in line at a coffee shop. Such a sweetie.

The second day we headed into the city. Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised at how much green space there was in such a dense city. Coming from the midwest, I have this view of California as one large, hot, sweaty parking lot. I realize how un-true this is but still I didn’t expect to be able to see so many un-touched green hilltops while standing in the middle of the city.

We strolled around the bay for a bit and taste-tested some amazing street food. Pst…I had the lamb taco and it was ridiculous.

We were staying in Japantown and it turned out to be the weekend of the Cherry Blossom Festival which meant lots of people, great vendors and more amazing street food. I’m a sucker for surprise food-on-the-go.

With a little time on day 3 I spent some time window shopping and stumbled upon my favorite online shop, All Saints’ brick & mortar store. Although there’s no way I could really afford most of anything they sell, it was absolutely gorgeous. The front window is covered, floor to ceiling, with antique sewing machines. Inside it’s full of large black studio lights covering the ceiling with huge industrial metal and wood furniture around the store. Clearly, I get pretty nerdy about merchandising but it’s so fun to see a shop really know their brand and fully design every part of the experience. Plus…then I just want to buy everything I see.

It was so fun to get away and see someplace new, even if just for the weekend. I’ve officially changed my tune on California (at least the Northern half). Even on the plane trip back Ned and I were plotting our return.

Monday Morning Hello // Snowed In

Hi there all! Hope you had a lovely little December weekend in your corners of the map. There’s not much I love more than prepping Christmas decorations, getting together with friends and watching some classic holiday movies all while watching the snow softly falling outside. However, that wasn’t in the cards for us this weekend. Stuff got REAL here in Minnesota. We’re talking 24 hours of constant snow and near white-out conditions.

After watching it fall all morning on Saturday, I forced Ned outside to play in the snow. I did most of the playing. He did more of the standing and looking cold.

The remainder of the weekend was spent keeping cozy inside, watching “A Christmas Story” and working on some orders for Locality. I even made my first attempt at making homemade cinnamon rolls which turned out to be somewhat of a double edged sword. They were a success and incredibly delicious but when you’re trapped inside with limited food choices, eating 4 in a day probably isn’t the best solution. ;)

Sunday the snow stopped but I stepped outside only to survey the aftermath. Other than snow piled up taller than cars and the occasional person or two getting stuck in their driveway (a proud MN rite of passage), nothing too terrible went down around me. Downtown was a different story and I think this video sums it up. I’ve never been a huge football fan anyway. hehe. I love it here.

cheers!

Monday Morning Hello // English Muffin

Today’s Monday hello is from the lovely Bess over at English Muffin. She’s the first guest contributor for OhHi and I couldn’t be happier to have her make a custom Hello! I’ve been following her shop and work for almost a year now and she has the sweetest children’s illustrations (chocked full of wonderful type too!). I can’t get enough of her map prints. You might have also seen her 2011 calendar floating around on a few blogs here and there too. Swing over to English Muffin and say hi.

This weekend was the first snow in Minnesota! (I get super geeky-excited when it snows here the first few times.) I would have liked to spend the entire day inside with hot chocolate but Ned had to speak at an AIGA event on Saturday so we ended up having to drive a couple hours in the wet snow.

After spending Saturday driving all day in snow, Sunday was perfect and chill. I even got to do some holiday decoration making! I’m not a huge decoration person…I like keeping clutter to a minimum because I know I can let it get out of hand. I had made one of these felt wreathes last year (in grey) and it was so so easy. Naturally, this year I made 6. Ha! I was trying to decide between making many multi colored ones or all of the same color and I landed on white.

If you’re interested in how to make them just message me. It’s crazy-easy and relatively fast. If enough people are curious I can probably do a DIY post.

cheers!