Music

Did you know that I love it?

Did you know that Chris loves it?

Did you know that it's something that brought us together in the beginning and, I know, will be a part of us in the end?

Music has stayed a constant comfort in our friendship, our relationship, our engagement and now our marriage.

"His" became mine, "mine" became his, and "ours" comes with every new day.

It has been the source of many romantic moments, has eased tension when we fight, has made us laugh and has made us cry and everything in between.

We have made new friends because of it, have traveled near and far to get it, and have looked at each other a time or two with an, "oops, what were we thinking?" due to it.


It's something that I will cherish for years to come when I think about "us".


I've traded (thank god) those few days of poppy-punk-wannabe threads during high school for my current outfit of trouser jeans, a pink ruffled t-shirt, and a pair of black heels with a flouncy flower adorning the corners (j-crew would be proud).


Chris, too, has shed his Chuck Taylors (scratch the previous All Star comment, oops), rolled up sleeves and slicked back hair for Seven Jeans, a Patagonia button up and flip flops.

Our musical taste has come a long way as well. We like just about everything (good that is) and depending on the day, you may find us melting away with Ray Lamontagne or running away with Mike Ness.


Last week we saw this guy belt it on stage:


Tonight, we are headed to this little festival for some Grateful Dead tributes:



And on Sunday, we will watch these guys take the stage:


Music...we love it and I know that we will always be listening.

Happy Friday!

Current Obsession

Letterpress.

And lucky for me, we have one large blank canvas downstairs that is waiting to be filled.

I have had the idea of filling up this bad boy with eclectic pictures and prints in varying sizes, all in white frames. And because Etsy provides endless opportunities to find fabulously addictive, handmade items for purchase, this may easily be a reality.

And no, for the record, Chris does not let me completely rule the household decor.

In fact, I sense some type of all out war regarding the basement furnishings. The poor guy wants a pool table and/or a poker table down here - A man cave of sorts. While I prefer a calm, relaxing reading/office/guest space. And as far as I can tell in the way of compromise, pretty letterpress + a manly pool table = a 'pretty' pool room? Hmm, not so much.

All I'm saying is that he might be wise to get a move on with this pool table business, seeing as how I may or may not have already purchased a few of the prints below (and have no problem hanging em' right up upon arrival):

(this one will go in the kitchen - a "gift to me" with purchase, lol) purchase here

Amanda, don't completely hate me for getting a print that you have - I just love it too much! purchase here

purchase here

TYH and Kate have intorduced me to this fun one (thank you!) purchase here

purchase here

purchase here

purchase here

purchase here

purchase here

Here are a few more that I think are very sweet...

purchase here

I love the simplicity of them all - soothing in a way, don't you think?

Thoughts

While I do love me some postings about shoes and the like, the reality is that my thoughts have been annoyingly preoccupied with the not so small, but rather very consuming, topic of...

Kids. Gah - even typing the word makes me a little nervous.

I have always wanted kids. Have desired to be a mom since I was old enough to a hold a doll (I even spent my 7-year-old allowance on real baby dipers for them). I have honestly admitted, "I want to be a mom", to the question of: "What do you want to do (fill in the blank) ...when you get older? ....with your degree? ...with your life?" I watch a baby story daily, light up when I spend time with kids and know what a 'Bumbo' is without having a clue about pregnancy.

I am now madly in love with and happily married to a man who also wants kids. We have one little house, two little incomes, and countless reasons why a baby would fit happily into our lives.

Can someone please tell me why then, I am all of a sudden scared to death of the aforementioned subject? Why it has consumed me and every other conversation I have with my poor husband?

Although we have never wanted a "plan" per say, there still has to be some sort of "no plan" that we commit to in order to ...let's just see what happens. In our minds, the "no plan" is planned to happen in the next year or so. Hmm, follow me?

There are several things that excite me to no end and also some that seem to scare me right out of the "no plan" timeline.

Some of these things include: Will we make "friends with kids" friends?, can we ever go out again?, will our "friends with no kids" friends still like us?, will I hate having to share the time I get with my husband? will this really be fun - forever? Can I still have wine every night? Oh, and can someone please answer Chris's burning question: WILL HE BE ABLE TO RIDE HIS MOUNTAIN BIKE AFTER WORK?

I guess what I am having trouble recognizing the most is if these feelings are telling me that we. are. not. ready. or rather that we'll never be "ready" and to embrace this new (potential) chapter in our lives.


We hear that we should wait. We hear that we shouldn't. We hear we should have more money - kids are expensive. We hear things work themselves out. We hear that we need to take time for ourselves, for our marriage. We hear that too much growth and you become fiercely independent. We hear that kids change things. For the best and for the not-so-much-the-best. We hear that we are so young. We hear that we would make great parents. We scare some, excite others.

We have heard and truly listen to all ends of the spectrum and ultimately we know that no one can make the decision except for ourselves. This is proving to be the hard part. Daily, we change our minds about where we should go from here. We are also fully aware that when we do decide, we may not be blessed to have it all work out as we had hoped - which is so scary in itself.


I would really love and appreciate your thoughts on the subject, as I am driving myself nuts with my own. I wish I could just appreciate the moment we are at without looking towards the future. Then again, the future is just too exciting and scary not to peek...

This Weekend

We...

Were here... For their...Telluride Wedding.

And let me tell you, what an amazing wedding it was. Thank you Meghan and Aaron for such an awesome weekend - Congrats to you both!

mountain mama

12 miles, 3 trails, 2 backpacks, 1 sleeping bag, 4 sore limbs, 5 s'mores, a 6-pack of beer, one cold 40 degree night, 1000 acres of pristine forest and 1 amazing husband - pretty much sums up this past weekend!

Chris and I headed to Steamboat on Saturday for our first camping adventure of the season. Our weekends are filling up fast, so we wanted to make sure to get in at least one trip before the summer came a went - which always seems to be the way it goes, doesn't it?

Here are a few pictures of our trip to the high country:

the end.

for the 4th we're off to Nebraska and Iowa - Somehow 'Midwest Mama' doesn't have the same ring...

chris + tiff = love... (usually)

tiff: "what's wrong, do you not like dinner?"
chris: "I do, I just wonder why when I talk about work you're not interested and when you talk about work, you expect me to get excited"
tiff: silence.
chris: "What? Are you mad?"
tiff: silence.
chris: "Are you going to say something? I mean I feel like if people asked what I do you wouldn't know all that i do."
tiff: "What?! I listen to you ALL the time. That is so unfair. And so NOT true. You are a Mechanical Engineer for a construction company and you put together RFP's."
chris: "No. I am a Project Engineer for a mechanical company and I put together RFI's. See?"
tiff: "Well exuse me. ugh. I mean it's a lot of words to keep track of. What do I do then, huh? What's my title?"
chris: silence.
tiff: "huh?"
chris: silence.
tiff: pick up dishes and LOUDLY clean up dinner and load the dishwasher. Chip a plate.
chris: smirks at me for chipping the plate.
tiff: "You are not perfect!!!!!" and storm out of the room. For some reason I feel the need to pull out this line every time we fight - totally random!
chris: An hour later, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you mad"

Now, this is where it gets worse - I can not move on. Read:

tiff: "well, you really hurt my feelings. Why do you have to say things like that?"
chris: "I know, that's why I'm sorry."
tiff: "well, I'm still sad. You hurt my feelings. Are you really sorry?"
chris: "YES. I am sorry.
tiff: "I mean, Chris, I do listen to you. And you really did hurt my feelings. Why do you have to say that to me?"
chris: walks out of the room.
tiff: "Well, okay. Fine. It's fine. I mean, I just wish you didn't say that."
chris: silence.
tiff: "Ahhh. whatever. it's fine. But, I mean....
chris: "OKAY! Enough."
tiff: "Well, it's just. Chris. you hurt my feelings. Why did you say that?"
tiff: Reading the VERY unpleasant look on his face: "Okay, okay, I know. Fine. I'm over it. I'm sorry."
tiff: "want to come on a walk with me?"
chris: "No thank you."
tiff: "Are you kidding me? No thank you?! See, you aren't sorry. You're still mad. Ugh. This is not MY fault! Fine, I'm going by myself. Hmph."
chris: "okay, please leave."
tiff: slams door. Comes back in. "Really you are not coming? Why?"

...Oh yes folks, this nothing-ness fight continues until morning - I think we were still fighting during our sleep. We were still cranky when we grudgingly gave each other a hug this morning.

Pretty sure he thinks I am a pain in the you know what....

BUT - I love him. I love Chris and can't think of anyone I would rather be fighting with (if that makes sense). After all, I AM a pain. We'll get over it - until next time.

Ah, such is life.

I'm sorry husband. I think you are the best project engineer for your mechanical company ever. Please forgive me.

Where's the Beach?

We're back from Cancun and this is the first question I asked after waking up this morning to cold, damp weather!

Chris and I had a lovely time, despite it being a very busy (but informative) trip for me. I am glad that we were able to go. I think our time in paradise was just right- after all, there is only so long I can sip on endless caloric Mojitos...sigh. Rough life I am told.

Anyways, for your reading pleasure, here is my semi-professional recap of our experience in Cancun during the past 4 days.

Cancun's beaches are pristine. With movie-like crystal blue water and fine white sands, I have yet to see another coastline as picture perfect (Note: Cabo, Costa Rica, California and Hawaii have all been included in the running).

The service in Mexico is impeccable. Hotel staff, tour guides and locals in the area are willing and happy to help you at a moments notice. The majority speak English and love to help with your skills (or lack there of) in Spanish.

Cancun is the place to do...virtually nothing. In a good way for most - but in a bad way for adventure enthusiasts. While there are a few tours such as snorkeling, shopping, sailing and day trips to Chichen Itza and Telum, plan on reading a book, sitting on the beach and soaking up some (very hot) rays, as activities are usually exhausted in the first two to three days. Cancun is the perfect 3-4 day trip.

Cancun, and Mexico in general, is hurting for our business. Most of the resorts are hurting in terms of keeping their staff employed due to lack of tourism - and some are running on as low as 9% occupancy. While that's nice in terms of avoiding crowds, most want to go on vacation where the resorts are buzzing, the nightlife is plentiful, and the dining outlets are busy enough to know that something is not wrong with the restaurant. Honestly, it is sad to see...these hotels NEED business. Mexico could not catch a break this year.

After site inspecting several hotels, dining at several locations and staying in a beautiful property, I can say that there is no reason to exclude Mexico from travel plans. There are no Mexica drug cartels on the resort beaches, no one walking around with masks and no epidemics that seem to be looming. Although, they will hold a funny thermometer up to your skin in the airport to take your temperature...

Lastly, Coco Bongo is perhaps the. best. night club I have ever been to. What with impersonators from Elvis to Britney and Cirque de Soliel style acrobatics combined with a few of those shots with the salt and lime, it's bound to be a delightful evening (and, ahem, a rough morning). Good thing Chris and I were some of the early ones home - at 2:30am.

Ooh - and a random fact:

- Cancun can be translated to mean "The Nest of Snakes". Kind of creepy, right? Before settling here, this strip had more species of snakes than anywhere in Mexico. Relax - I did not see a one during the trip and am told that they moved out almost 20 years ago.

We're glad to be back, but looking at these pictures sure makes me ready to book a flight again soon! Enjoy.

Headed South...

To CaNcUn that is...Gah, so excited!

Chris and I are headed out this afternoon for my last minute "work" trip. I have to put work in quotes, because, work or not, I am still in for a mini vacation, chips and salsa, and a cold drink - all with my favorite person in the world.

While I am there, I will visit 8 properties, several local vendors and a destination management team with other planners from around the country. As for Chris, he just has to decide which book to read and what drink to order next - and he deserves it; he has been working up a storm lately. I'm a bit nervous to represent our company solo, but am looking forward to the learning experience.

Anyways, we are staying here for 4 days. I really can't believe it - we just may be a little too spoiled sometimes.

Ooh, and our camera battery arrived yesterday - so no phone pictures!

Until next week, Adios my Amigos.

ps - rain is in the forecast all weekend. What's with that?!