One Year Ago...

Our Wedding Day

As if I haven't reminded you enough, this weekend is my 1 year wedding anniversary.

I was not a blogger back then, so to mark this special date I am recapping the day here and now.

Like many other girls, I have dreamt of my wedding day for years and years. I used to love paging through wedding magazines and picking out my dream dress, flowers, ring, table settings etc.

The funny thing is that when it came down to actually planning my "big day", none of that material stuff even mattered. All I wanted was to be with Mike and to seal our bond forever.

I have never been too traditional and I knew that my wedding wouldn't be either.

After our plan to elope in Vegas failed, we came up with the most perfect location:

Central Park, New York!

Sure, some might call me crazy for having an outdoor wedding in Winter; but at least it kept most of the tourists away and even though the temperature was close to freezing, I never felt a thing in my strapless dress thanks to the adrenalin pumping through my body at 100 miles per hour.

That morning I got dressed at the B&B that my parents were staying at. I did all of my own hair and makeup with some help from my mom and sister of course.

My family and I all piled into my parents rented minivan and with my Dad driving in New York City for the first time in his life (with me leaning over him shouting directions and telling him to use the horn more) we sped down Central Park West to arrive at the entrance of the park only a few minutes late for my own wedding!

My dad walked me down the "isle" to the Ladies Pavilion where my very handsome husband-to-be was waiting for me with a smile on his face that was completely priceless.

Our ceremony was short and sweet and both my mom and Mike's dad read passages out of the Bible before we exchanged vows which left very few dry eyes.

All that was running through my head was "I cannot believe this is happening!" and before I even knew it we had said our "I do's" and were declared husband and wife.

The time we almost eloped in Vegas!

Almost 1 year ago, Mike and I got married in what I feel was the most perfect way possible.

But just 1 month prior to that, we were still planning  on flying to Vegas to elope!

We thought we would do a "quick" Vegas wedding and then perhaps a year later renew our vows in a bigger ceremony in front of family and friends.

I had purchased my "Vegas" wedding dress and statement red shoes.

We had reviewed all the legal gargin and located the Nevada wedding registry.

We had chosen the cheesy chapel where we were going to get hitched.

I'd picked out the all-in-one flowers, suit rental, limo ride and photo package that we were going with,

and the plane tickets were almost booked.

But then at the very last minute (exactly 1 month before our wedding date) we changed our minds.

Ha ha!

I was on the phone with the wedding coordinator in Vegas and something made me hesitate when the exact "wedding package" wasn't available for the exact date that we really wanted as our wedding day.
Also, after hearing news of our plans, the guest list seemed to be growing and growing; so we decided to spare everyone a trip all the way across the country (especially my parents after already travelling halfway across the world) and tie the knot a little bit closer to home, in The Big Apple.

So, although a Vegas wedding would have been fun, adventurous and would make one heck of a great story (and I STILL have my short, sassy Vegas wedding dress) I am so happy that things turned out the way that they did.

So how did the big day go down? And where did we eventually get hitched?

Well, that's a story for another day. (Tomorrow to be exact. Stay tuned!)

Our {love} Story

Our first photo together on our 2nd date

I've had a few people ask me how Mike and I met.
How does a South African end up with a Peruvian-American?
Well, our very first wedding anniversary is coming up (this Sunday to be exact) so I thought it was the perfect time to share our story.

We met just before Summer 2010.

A friend of mine was dating one of his friends and one night she dragged me out (literally!) because her date was bringing a friend.

I was not in the mood to go out after a long day of work, dirty hair and no time to make myself look presentable but at the last minute I decided to go, and ended up spending the whole night talking to this guy who, in just a few months, I would be calling "husband". 

To say that our romance was a whirlwind is an understatement.

We began dating in the Spring, became boyfriend-girlfriend in the Summer, got engaged in the Fall and were married by the Winter.

Some people are a little shocked when they hear that, but when you meet the right person and you just know that they are the right one for you, then why wait? ha ha.

Engaged!

The day I married the love of my life was the happiest day of my life and this past year has been the most amazing time of my life filled with so many adventures.

I feel so lucky to have found the man of my dreams. I love having someone to share my day with, someone who makes me laugh almost daily, and most importantly someone who supports and builds me up to become a better person. 

Mike, on our wedding day I vowed to love you more and more each day. I didn't know it was possible but my love for you has multiplied so many times over and I know it will keep on doing so until death do us part.

Our wedding day

19 weeks

How far along? 19 weeks, 4 days

Maternity clothes? Nothing new. Living in leggings & sweatpants. Also bought a few sweaters that button in the front.

Stretch marks? None

Sleep: Good besides the scary dreams I've been having.

Best moment this week: Getting to over stuff myself with Thanksgiving dinner and not caring if my belly sticks out. ;) Miss Anything? Couldn't eat the brie cheese on the cheese platter and missing the occasional glass of wine.

Movement: Ive been looking out, but only felt it a couple of times.

Food cravings: Been eating a lot of strawberry jam toast.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Still getting headaches, and had a few "growing pains" in my belly.

Have you started to show yet: Yes, still not obvious though.

Gender: ?

Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!

Looking forward to: 20 week scan on Monday. Hold thumbs that we'll be able to find out the sex.

My First Thanksgiving

Are you guys still stuffed full of turkey?

This year was a special Thanksgiving for me. It was Mike and my first Thanksgiving as a married couple and the very first Thanksgiving in the 3 years of living in the US that I've celebrated it the way it was meant to be celebrated: with lots of food, family and fun!

Carving the most delicious turkey I've ever tasted in my life! My cousin cooked it in a smoker so it was juicy and just sooooo tasty!

Food, glorious food.

The family

We went around the table and everyone expressed what they were thankful for. After dinner we played a few games before passing out in a total food coma. 

What a perfect Thanksgiving!

Black Friday madness

My Black Fridays of the past have looked something like this...

I head to a specific store with 2 or 3 items in mind that you really want to get your hands on.

But then...

Hours and perhaps some bumps and bruises later you end up with a whole shopping cart full of stuff that you never really needed in the first place.

This year I was very good. I had to get up for work at 6am, so that stopped me from lining up in the cold at midnight. The top 2 items on my list of things to find deals on were a sofa and a bed. Since we are moving from our shoe box to a bigger apartment, we now need furniture. We settled on a sofa and loveseat combo which I think we got a good deal on and then ended up at Baby Depot and purchased a crib which was $100 off the regular price! Score! At the end of our trip we were buying a shower curtain when we found out we had totally drained our checking account. That brought our Black Friday spree to an end, but at least our baby (who is not coming for another 5 months) has a place to sleep. haha.

How was your Black Friday?

Did you go totally crazy or did you grab a couple of really good deals?