the latchkey kid

Andrea & Nick's Wedding

I had the privilege to attend the wedding of two of my coworkers/friends this past weekend. Funny enough, Andrea and Nick were married on our anniversary (May 19), so it was nice to celebrate another couple's beginning, on that day.

I've known Andrea, and her sister Stefanie, for a few years now. They have been amazing people to work with and I've loved having a pair of sisters to relate to. They are both friends with my sister, their age difference is the same as mine and Emily's and there are several other things we have in common.

Nick came to work at the spa about two years ago, and thus began our version of Jim & Pam. :)

I posted several of these on instagram, so I apologize for the overlap, but I wanted to post all of them on here too. This wedding was, no joke, one of the most beautiful events I have ever attended. I know their photographers had to be salivating (yea, that happens when the shoot is just that good!). I cannot wait to see their photos. Speaking of pictures, I ran a photo booth during the first part of their reception. It was rather hot before the sun went down, but it didn't ruin the fun. I will definitely post a few of those after I give the newlyweds their copies. 

 

I really made an effort to capture as much of the little things, as I could. I particularly loved the fact that they utitlized the barn that sits on her mom's property. Inside the barn there was a wall of framed family photos, from both sides, which I thought looked really nice. The inclusion of old-fashioned bottled coke was a favorite for the Ginge and of course, I had to take a picture of the moonshine tasting!

 

I had to get a photo with Sarah (coincidentally one of the bridesmaids) and my coworker Frances & her husband Ricky. You already know the Ginge and I, so feel free to scroll past us. ;)

 

Both of the toasts were great, but I thought Stefanie's was particularly hilarious (and so did the guests). Aren't Andrea and Nick so sweet during their first dance? I might just need an insulin shot, it's too much.

Later that evening, the guests lit these sky paper lantern things, which was so.much.fun. I want to do this again, very soon. What a magical (yea, it's cheesy but I'm serious) moment it turned out to be.

The night was so lovely, I cannot express with enough flowery words how great it everything turned out. I'm sure those two were so happy with their day, and I'm sure they are even happier on the cruise they are currently taking. Andrea's updates about Greece and Capri are killing me. Call me a doughnut, because I'm full of jelly. Lots of hit. When I shake around, it's noticeable. ;)

Well, I hope you all are having a nice Thursday. Just one more day until the weekend!

 

Better "Late" Than Never

If you know me AT ALL, you are keenly aware of my ongoing "quarter life crisis." However, you might not know that the Ginge is turning 30 in September.

The Ginge and I, well, we are not were we thought we would be. <------ that's seriously a lot of w's.

A certain milestone, plus my neurosis, has manifested into a project I'm calling: Better "Late" Than Never

In order to motivate us to not give up, I thought aloud: I wonder how many people "made it" after 30? Of those people, who decided to change it up or finally go after their dreams when they weren't young (this is relative, I know)?

Since actors/actresses cannot pop a squat without someone documenting it, I found a couple of lists comprised of famous folks who made a career change better late than never. Here's a few I found interesting:

 

                                                                              (photo source)

1.) Steve McQueen- Apparently he worked every kind of job, before deciding to act. McQueen started his career on screen as he approached his thirties in Wanted: Dead or Alive. He made Bullitt his top movie in the famous car chase scenes. The actor went on to make other films: The Great Escape, The Sand Pebbles, The Getaway and Papillon to name a few.

 

                                      Remember kids, Han definitely shot first.(photo source)

2.) Harrison Ford- The actor was in his thirties when he acted in American Graffiti, but turned to carpentry when his career wasn't going anywhere. Four years later, he met with George Lucas again ( Lucas directed him in American Graffiti) who cast him as Han (freaking) Solo in Star Wars. He went on to make the Indiana Jones movies, etc etc.

 

                                                                                (photo source)

3.) Alan Rickman-  Snape, I mean Rickman, turned to acting in his early thirties after working as a graphic designer. He went on to appear in Sense and Sensibility, Die Hard, Robin Hood and he's SNAPE in the Harry Potter film series ... so yea, he's pretty awesome.

 

Unfortunately, I didn't not find many actresses who fit in this category, which is disconcerting. Randomly, Martha Stewart was mentioned with the actors. Apparently, she was a stock broker into her 30s, before creating her life style brand and just generally producing superior food, crafts, etc, compared to everyone else. ;)

Additionally, I like to mention that Sylvester Stallone, Gene Hackman and Chuck Norris were also on the original lists I referenced. They are here & here.

I plan on investigating others who fit the bill, who chose other careers (actors are certainly not on the top of my list of people to emulate, but this was an easy one to start off with). If you know of any writers, CEOs, etc that I should look into, I would love the input.

So, here's to project Better "Late" Thank Never and the inaugural post. Happy Saturday, everyone!

 

A Garden Party & New Habits

Sunday I attended an indoor garden party. Yep, you read that correctly. Sometimes it rains, so you have to move the garden party indoors. However, it was possibly the prettiest birthday celebration I have ever attended, so way to go, to the party planners! Here are a few pics from the evening:

Do you see that pretty lady on the far right? Well, her name is Monica and at this very moment she is trapsing around France. She will be traveling around Europe for the next month, so if you can take moment to wish her a safe trip, I would certainly appreciate it. :)

I uploaded several more on Instagram, so if the party photos strike your fancy, you can follow me here: user name- fastasyoucan

 

Previously I had mentioned a few new things going on in my life, and while nothing "major" has happened, I'd like to share a new habit I've taken on.

I warn you, if you do not appreciate what I will deem "Oprah-like" practices, this next part might not be for you. Just scroll back up and look at the pictures again. ;)

For the rest of you, here it goes: For a week now I have been writing down five things that I am grateful for every day.

                                                               (See look, here's my notebook!)

I make an effort to not jot down "obvious" things such as: I'm grateful to be breathing. While I am grateful for my oxygen intake, more than most people can understand, I wanted to reach for the tiny moments that might escape me.

Admittedly, this new habit hasn't been easily cemented into my usual routine. Three out of seven days I had to play catch up and write down the previous day's "gratitude items." This is still new, so I'm not beating myself up too much. I will get the hang of it.

The reason I decided to take this on was ... well ...

I heard about it through Oprah. I realize she is polarizing, but even her staunchest naysayer can admit her words help people and that she is very successful. Maybe I can adopt one of her mantras, one of her habits as my own.

I'm looking at it this way: when I physically express gratitude (and a believe me, on many days out of the past seven I initially came up empty in my attempt to recognize positive things), I can focus on the good things that are happening in my life. For a few moments I do not let my inclination toward the negative take me over.

Although I have my Pollyanna moments, most people see me as a Daria. I will always be sardonic, but it strikes me as very important that my Mom was trying to teach me this lesson, the last year or so of her life: put positivity out into the world and if you work hard, you will in turn have positive moments,people and opportunities meet you in the middle.

I found I've been daydreaming about bigger goals for myself, things I haven't allowed my mind to replay in a long, long time. In short: I realized, just today, that I had given up on myself. The certainty of my life is still just outside of my grasp, but I will be grateful. I will keep my chin up, no matter how hard gravity is trying to pull it back down.

I encourage you to take up this practice as well, because just in one week, I can tell a difference. My life isn't the most enviable, but there's plenty of wonderful things to recognize. I want big things for my life. Whatever my "big" thing(s) turn out to be, I'm ready for them.

To end this post, I've decided to share The Optimist Creed by Christian D. Larson. I found this on one of my favorite blogs earlier today, and thought it would fit in quite nicely with what I wanted to share.

 

 

Happy Tuesday, everyone!