That Time I Said "Yes."

Hello, lovelies!

It has been, well simply put, forever.
So, what better way than to reintroduce myself by writing about the biggest decision I've ever made...

That time I switched to dark chocolate. Kidding. (Are you pitty laughing with me?)

More like that time I got engaged....! Yup, I am officially off the market. (Unless Channing comes to his senses and realizes I'm the girl of his dreams...)

*

M proposed on a beautiful day last April. He surprised me with a trip to my favorite place in the universe- Vermont. He smoothly pretended that the reason he was taking me on a trip was because he had received more money than he thought he was going to from his tax return and since we had been so busy lately, that he thought a trip away would be nice. (Sneaky that man!)

He booked us into a hotel over looking Lake Champlain. It had the most gorgeous view ever and still makes me grin.

The next morning, M took me to our favorite place for breakfast. We ran into some friends from college, so we ended up eating with them. (Little did I know, M was on a schedule and was freaking out that I would be my normal chatty self and never leave.)

After breakfast, M suggested we take a walk on the boardwalk over looking the lake. This has always been a special place for M and I. It's where we went on one of our first dates and where I would go whenever I needed to get away during my time at college. The lake is just so peaceful and there are these beautiful wooden swings that make me feel like I'm five years old and are my favorite place to sit.

After we took a bit of a walk and sat on the benches, M asked if he could take a picture of me. I happily agreed. Little did I know, he had hired a photographer to capture our entire proposal and was positioning me so they'd be able to see us!

The next thing I knew, we walked over to the water to take the picture and I happened to put my hand on M's chest. It was beating like crazy. I asked him what was going on, and he started to tell me how much he loved me and wanted to spend our lives together.

He then asked me to marry him, got down on one knee..

And I exclaimed, "is that real?! is this real?"

Once M assured me that it was actually happening, I screamed yes three times in a row and began jumping up and down.

By now a small crowd had formed and began clapping for us. I was too stunned to really notice. It took about ten minutes for my mind to process that I had actually just been proposed to..

The next half hour was spent in tears and the sweetest photographer taking candid pictures of our bliss. I was so focused on M and our happy day that I hardly even noticed them being taken. I am so happy to have the photographs because it all happened in such a blur-it's so nice being able to relive it and see both of our reactions.

Here's some of my favorite shots:

I am so beyond excited to marry this man. He couldn't have planned a more perfect proposal for the two of us. I look forward to blogging about everything wedding during the next year...

Love,

LB

*Photo Credit to Ready Aim Shutter

Give Yourself Permission...To Rest

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Hi Loves!

I apologize, it's been a while. I've been sick with the stomach bug for a couple of days now and it's driving me nuts. I hate when all of the sudden you have to stop everything because you're sick. Yes, you get to watch bad TV and get extra sleep, but it's so much less fun when it's not something you planned.

I have a terrible time with it because I have a hard time giving myself permission to just rest. For example, I start worrying about all the things I have to do/had planned on doing. I wait for someone (usually M) to tell me it's okay to just rest, that I need it to get better.

Which is when I realize-I'm the only one who can give myself permission. And I deserve that permission. Sometimes, our bodies aren't as strong as we'd like, and we can't do it all-no matter how desperately we want to. Sometimes we just have to allow ourselves to rest.

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So, instead of moping about today on day 4 of this no fun bug, I am toasting all of you with a glass of ginger ale and wishing you rest if that's what you need...give yourself permission- sometimes that's all we need.

Love,

LB

When there are no words...

A quote I love reads, "When there are no words...Know that the silences are carrying the thoughts and prayers of all who love you." I've always kept it on one of my walls to remind me of the importance of being present to people.

It wasn't until this week that I truly understood what the concept of no words meant. This past week the six year-old son of one of my dear friends passed away very unexpectedly. I had the immense blessing of babysitting him on many occasions over the past five years and he was the sweetest, kindest, most angelic boy I have ever met. At six years old he had a deep faith- an unassuming, innocent faith. The type of faith many of us spend lifetimes searching for.

When I heard the news I truly had no words. I still have no words. I have silence, shock and deep sadness. I have beautiful memories and so many prayers for his family and friends. This past weekend I attended the services and I have never witnessed such an outpouring of love. This little boy truly changed the world and he continues to do so through the many lives he touched in a relatively short time.

When there are no words and you are shocked by silence-all you can do is be present. Be present to your pain, be present to the pain of others. The only thing to do is to offer your heart up and all it is feeling to what you believe in. In my case, I continue to offer it to God every day and pray that she hears me and holds my and the hearts of all those grieving everywhere.

Because sometimes there are simply no words.

LB

Honor Your Inner Scrub

Hello lovelies!

I'm taking a quick break from writing a midterm paper to share this LB public service announcement with you..

Don't forget to honor your inner scrub.

I got to the library this morning and realized I had on yoga pants with stains, a pink, purple striped shirt and hot pink running sneakers. Needless to say, if I took a picture I would show up on What Not to Wear. I started stressing about what a "hot mess" I must look like to other people (make that just a "mess") and then I realized..

Who cares?

Someday's you need to look like you just rolled out of bed. It's good for the soul. It's okay not to be put together all of the time, heck, I'm lucky if I'm put together 50% of the time (fine, make it 30%).

So, for all of you out there like me who worry what people might think...

Honor your inner scrub. You deserve it. Let those yoga pants shine, girlie.

Xoxo

Making a Budget and How to Make it Not, well...suck.

Have any of you recently moved in with your significant other? Or maybe you've already been living with yours? Ever made a monthly budget and all of the sudden had scary numbers telling you that you make way less money and spend WAY more money than you thought you have?

That was my week. And let me tell you, friends, life is expensive.

Since we moved in together M and I have been talking about making a monthly budget. Living in the city is just plain expensive and with me getting my masters and working only part time, we both knew it would be smart to make one and to stick to it (aka bye bye pretty shoes...)

This was definitely a learning experience for me. I've never created a monthly budget before. I've been more of a check my bank account every couple of days type gal. Going through everything we spend money on in a month and putting it in ink was a bit terrifying. Now that I'm not working full-time, it was definitely a wake-up call to realize how much my budget needs to change.

So, M and I sat down and listed every category we spend money on or will be spending money on during a month to month basis. Aka, rent, utilities, food, travel, going out, clothes-etc. We then decided how much money we can spend or have to spend in each category.

Half way through I had to take a break to go sit in a corner and have a good cry. Stress hit me in full force and all of the sudden life just seemed too impossibly expensive.

When I came back out from having my moment, M put on a song for me that we like to sing to one another, and it made all of the difference.

Ever listen to Ingrid Michaelson? She's my fav. She has a great song called "You and I" that says,

"Don't you worry there, my honey

We might not have any money

But we've got our love to pay the bills"

Although, our love can't pay the bills literally (it be pretty awesome if it could) this song reminded me how lucky I am for what I do have and put my stress in perspective. I'm so lucky to be able to afford to live in Boston while in school. I'm very lucky to have a roof over my head and enough food to keep me well fed. And I've got M and our cute little apartment.

So, my advice? 

Making a budget is important. It keeps you on your toes and realistically makes you realize you may not be able to afford those adorable boots this month. I suggest while making one to take a break, though, and take a moment to live in the beauty of what you do have. If not it can get way too stressful.

So, take a break, enjoy a glass of wine and relish in your love and know the rest will follow. At least that's what I'm hoping.

Any tips of your own?

Halloween Decoration Inspiration

One of my favorite places to visit in the fall is my parent's house. My mom is a modern Martha Stewart and she always decorates the house for Halloween and fall. I love her style-she has such a great eye for detail. I always feel like I'm walking into a cozy photo shoot where I simply want to sit down with a cup of tea-and luckily, I actually do get to do this. There's something so wonderful about coming home, no matter how old you are. 

Here are a couple of the decorations she currently has up: I hope they provide you with some fall/Halloween decoration inspiration! :)

Have a great rest of the weekend lovelies!

PS. How adorable is my "little" brother and his girlfriend? I couldn't help but throw a couple pics of them in...

 

Monday Inspiration/ It's time to Simplify

Hi lovelies!

Sorry I'm a day late with my Monday inspiration post...I came down with a cold/flu type thing on Sunday and it has lingered and lingered. Aka I've missed school/work for two days and there's been a whole lot of watching cupcake wars in my rattiest pjs going on (attractive right?)

This time has led to some deep thinking about what I wanted this post to be about, though. Last week I was walking to school and trying to be a bit more mindful about it. You know when you get somewhere and cannot remember the drive or walking route you took? I hate that. It happens to me often and I always feel like I'm missing out on some pivotal moments of my day.

I've been trying to pay a bit more attention lately, and as I was walking the other day I passed by this perfect pink rose. What struck me about it was that it was all by itself-standing tall and strong without any other roses or flowers in sight.

I thought to myself..."I want to be like that rose."

You see, since this semester started I've been all over the place. I constantly feel like life is passing me by and I have no time to actually live it, but simply am going through the motions to get everything done. I've realized that I truly need to simplify things so I can feel like I'm actually living my life.

This rose reminded me of the importance of simplifying. I want to stand strong and not be constantly leaned over, tired from stress. I want to reach towards the sky with child-like abandon. 

I do not want to look at the calendar and wonder where another week disappeared.

So, where to start? I think I just did. I believe the first step is admitting how badly I need to simplify things. I am determined over the next couple of weeks to spend more time talking with M and not worrying about all the other things I should be doing, write at least one or two letters to loved ones, take a few walks around the reservoir and simply breathe, and cook cupcakes because their delicious.

Hold me to it, k?

How do you simplify?