Happy Four Year Anniversary To the Love Of My Life!!

To My Handsome Husband,

I know I didn't have a chance to get you a card this year and said that we'd keep everything low key this year because of our extravagant Christmas so I compiled a (regrettably) digital version of our amazing four years together.  Obviously there are way more memories than this but you and I seem to be averse to photos ironically.  Shame too because I think we make a really handsome couple with the exception of my sometimes thick legs appearing ala our wedding photo which has previously never been released.

This is quite public and perhaps I'll remove it in a few days time because it's a bit strange to have all our photos out like this but I did want to declare to the world how much I love you as I have always told you how my love for you makes me want to shout it out to the world.  We've had so many amazing moments together that I'm proud of and am so happy that you were the one that showed up when I wrote my intensely long list of my ideal man.

Recounting the entire ordeal of our meeting and getting to know each other brings such a big smile to my face.  Not only are you romantic and super manly, you're the best partner a girl could ask for on this adventure which is life.  All the simple things we do together mean everything to me, so much so that all I want to do is come home and cuddle up next to you. As long as you're with me, I feel like I can do anything.

Thank you for being you.  Most of all, thank you for making my fairytale come true.  I LOVE YOU!!!! Forever and ever and ever!!!

Subconscious Whispers

                                                         Illustration from East of the Sun West of the Moon by Kay Nielsen

I love when I get to wake up later than my husband on a weekday because he has a lovely habit of giving me a light kiss while I'm sleeping to let me know he's leaving.  On this particular hazy winter morning, I warily opened one eye that was still heavy with slumber and my first thought was, "he's so handsome", which I must have mumbled to him before I drifted back into sleep.  When I woke up, it felt like I dreamt the moment, which made it all the more romantic.  It still leaves a little smile on my face when I think about it. 

"Fall In Love For Life" - Burning the Toast

Right before getting married, a book on Amazon.com caught my attention. Barbara "Cutie" Cooper's book Fall In Love For Life Inspiration From a 73-Year Marriage was a little present to myself and my husband as I firmly believe in happily ever after. The book is filled with lovely little stories and lessons from Barbara's marriage to Harry. One chapter in particular was so cute I just had to share it.  A quick summary of the situation before this paragraph is that Barbara had bought a tiny six-inch pie for dessert for dinner and told Harry they were going to have something special.  As she waited for him to get him, she couldn't stop thinking about the pie so she took a little sliver of it.  It was so good she couldn't stop and ended up eating 2/3 of the pie.  She felt it was meaningless to have so little left so she felt the only logical thing to do was to eat the rest of it.  

"When Harry came home, I confessed and showed him the empty pie tin, and once again, I started to cry. He just laughed, but very sweetly, and he said, 'Don't worry, Barbara. We'll get another pie.'  And we ate our sad little dinner, which was probably a can of tuna or soup, with tears in our eyes and big smiles because we were happy to be together.  Of course, there would be many more pies, but what mattered was that we could enjoy NOT having pie as much as we would have enjoyed sharing it. If you want to know what love looks like, it looks like that." 

The Vows

Our wedding was a small ceremony at the Chelsea Town Hall.  We decided to keep the decor simple but embellished the atmosphere by writing our own vows.  We didn't show them to each other so that they would be a surprise on the day.  While writing them though, I wanted to see what other people did and felt that it would be nice to share ours as other couples did in case anyone needed a bit of inspiration.

My friend who was my witness at the ceremony pointed out that the vows were great because we both completely wrote our vows with the focus on the other person.  The writing may be hard to read so I'll transcribe them here.

Christian's Vow (The most beautiful thing my ears have ever heard when read out by him at the ceremony!):

From the first moment I saw your infectious sunshine filled smile, I knew, in a weird and magical way, that this wonderful day would come.  And although at times I felt undeserving of such a wonderful person, I vowed I would do everything to prove to you that I was the one.  The days seemed so long while you were away and yet would go by so fast when we were together again.  Nothing has changed. My love has never waned or faltered. My love and affections grow still by the day, and yet I can never do enough to show you. And so, this ring is my heart's promise to you that I will spend the rest of my days and nights loving, caring and showing you love and happiness. That I will make you feel special everyday. That I will share in my fortunes and adventures. That together, we will overcome any obstacle. That I will protect you and carry you. That we will grow old together and eventually journey through to eternity, holding hands, side by side. The universe has given me a gift beyond anything I could have ever wished for.  The gift of you, my true love and happiness, forever.

My Vows (Personally, I think Christian's are way more romantic, but in my defense, I did write them for a guy so didn't want to make it too gooey):

My darling Christian, on this day, I am so excited to become your wife. To spend everyday with you as I have for the past three years has been heaven on earth.  As we embark on our next adventure, I would like to make you a few promises.

I promise to remain a hopeless romantic and show you everyday how I feel about you.

I promise to cherish every second we have together, even if we could live for eternity.

I promise to support and encourage your dreams and to be patient on our journey to complete happiness and freedom.

I promise to make you laugh and remind you to enjoy life by igniting your imagination.

Most importantly, I promise that I will love you forever and will fill our life with all that is required to live happily ever after.

We're MARRIED!!!

We're Married!!! And what a day it was!! I wish I could re-live it over and over as it was the most perfect day! Considering that neither of us ever thought we would get married and didn't think at all about what it would be like, it came together surprisingly nicely.

Although not all our loved ones were present....or invited, I wouldn't have had it any other way, for now.  Every couple should have a wedding with practically no one except the witnesses because then it truly becomes about the two of you.  There's no fear in crying, in expressing your love, in really looking into each other's eyes or even wanting to burst into a fit of laughter.

My wedding ring (pictured above) is the most beautiful ring I've ever seen! The best thing about it is that it didn't cost us a fortune but means so much.  I don't really care about diamonds, nor do I necessarily want a strong wedding band as I don't feel it is very me.  Luckily, we stumbled on this Alex Monroe ring which literally looks like a fairytale on my finger.  It reminds me daily of the miracle that is our love!

In the near future, we'll get married all over again not just for all the people who couldn't be there, but also because it would be such a shame to not be able to remind each other how much we love each other in the most elaborate way, all over again. One of the strongest emotions I've ever felt was the longing and wishing for the day to never end.  I love being married to Mr. Alegria (Happiness)!

So Magical!!!

I have crushes on Celebrities who look like my Boyfriend

There was a time when I used to get random crushes on film characters and ignore my now, ex-bfs. But these days, I've gone into full reversal mode where I crush on film characters who look like my boyfriend. He likes to think that I'm using it as an excuse to check out guys, but really, I think it's romantic because this has never happened to me before! I actually think my boyfriend is so incredibly handsome and feel super lucky! Yay!

Signs

Always keep your eyes open for signs and answers. Today I found these! If they are too small for you to read, I'll start with the Love one because it just feels so familiar and wonderful!!

"Fall in Love. Be passionate and fearless. Listen to your heart. Be thoughtful and generous. Believe in love at first sight. Holds hands. Laugh nervously. Write love letters and make homemade gifts. Get dressed up for a date. Feel butterflies in your stomache. Run away together. Stay in bed all day. Create memories you will tell your grandchildren about. Cuddle. Learn from each other. Be patient and kind with your words. Grow old together. Be spontaneous and impulsive. Kiss each other goodnight. Remember why you fell in love. THIS IS YOUR HAPPILY EVER AFTER."

And as for Friends:

"A friend is one that knows you as you are. Understands where you have been. Accepts what you have and allows you to grow."