As the family gears up for Cabo, I can't help but reflect on the love that we are going down there to celebrate. A love that has literally taken a lifetime to perfect. A love so true, it was worth waiting for.
I know many people say I'm lucky for finding love at a young age - and I do 100% agree. I don't want to downplay our "success" by any means, but sometimes, when I look at loves that have taken decades to find, I marvel at the couple's strength, unwillingness to settle, and ability to believe in the bigger picture.
My old youth director just got engaged this past week too. Another example of a person who found someone worth the wait.
These people in my life show me that no matter what age you find love, it can last a lifetime. And when it's right, it's right. The whole world will celebrate in your marriage when you find the right person. You could be 18 or 48. It doesn't matter.
Bottom line: true love is worth the wait. And I love having examples of that fact.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Los Cabos Bound Soon!
The whole family is in full Cabo planning mode. I mean crazy planning.
That's all we're doing these days.
We leave SUNDAY! That's in 5 days!! And I'm already packed. Passports have been located. Itineraries have been printed. Emergency contacts have been given important numbers. The bride and groom are already down there with their families to soon follow. Shopping has been completed.
We are SO ready.
That's all we're doing these days.
We leave SUNDAY! That's in 5 days!! And I'm already packed. Passports have been located. Itineraries have been printed. Emergency contacts have been given important numbers. The bride and groom are already down there with their families to soon follow. Shopping has been completed.
We are SO ready.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
As Promised...
Anniversary Pictures!!
Thank you to our hotel for the complimentary dessert. It made an awful wedding cake look like a minor blip in our celebrating.
Cheers to another great year!
Diamond earrings that were Tabo's (Phillip's grandmother). Re-dipped in white gold just for me.
This looked much more promising before we opened it...
Again, thank you to the Harkins for giving us a great way to add to our one-year celebration.
My gift for Phillip. I will post a how-to blog entry some day.
Picture outside of the Stoneleigh.
This was a whole lot more promising before the box was opened.
Phillip's gift he got me!! Doesn't it look great!?!?
Friday, June 15, 2012
Countdown Post
It's been a really long time since I've had one of my countdown posts. If you recall, it's where I spew out a huge list of great things I'm looking forward to and tell you how many days until those events happen (all while pretending you actually care and are secretly counting down with me).
7 days ~ Alyse, Samantha, and Sarah will be in town for Cabo shopping! We will be getting pedicures, celebrating two very special birthdays (Samantha and Meme), and shopping for all of those last-minute items we need to pack for our great trip.
16 days ~ Trip to Cabo! It is finally approaching! We will have so much fun and I truly cannot wait!!
17 days ~ Phillip's 24th birthday while we are on our trip! We always seem to be vacationing on/around his birthday and this year in a different country will be very special. I already know what I'm getting him for a present but it has to wait until we get back from our trip. I'll explain after his birthday. It's a perfect idea!
19 days ~ Tiffany and Adrian get married on the 4th of July! Can't wait! A beach wedding and the whole reason we are making this trip out to the beautiful destination of Cabo!
24 days ~ We move into our house! Woohoo! You know how excited I am about this - no need for further explanation.
So excited for all of these great events! I love summer! Work and pool time mixed in there, of course.
7 days ~ Alyse, Samantha, and Sarah will be in town for Cabo shopping! We will be getting pedicures, celebrating two very special birthdays (Samantha and Meme), and shopping for all of those last-minute items we need to pack for our great trip.
16 days ~ Trip to Cabo! It is finally approaching! We will have so much fun and I truly cannot wait!!
17 days ~ Phillip's 24th birthday while we are on our trip! We always seem to be vacationing on/around his birthday and this year in a different country will be very special. I already know what I'm getting him for a present but it has to wait until we get back from our trip. I'll explain after his birthday. It's a perfect idea!
19 days ~ Tiffany and Adrian get married on the 4th of July! Can't wait! A beach wedding and the whole reason we are making this trip out to the beautiful destination of Cabo!
24 days ~ We move into our house! Woohoo! You know how excited I am about this - no need for further explanation.
So excited for all of these great events! I love summer! Work and pool time mixed in there, of course.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Great Anniversary!
Our one year anniversary was great. Definitely worth the money spent to have a great time with my husband.
It started off great with our wedding video coming in! Yes! We got to watch our video on our first anniversary. How fitting. It was great reliving the moments and really feeling like we got married just yesterday. I loved seeing everyone and being reminded how stunning and in-love we looked that day. I mean, in my opinion, we still are that stunning and in-love, but it's different when you can watch yourselves in such an intense moment in time.
When we got to the hotel, they gave us a complimentary suite upgrade - corner suite on the 8th floor! Hello luxury! It was a great room with a great view. After getting ready for dinner and watching our video, we walked a couple of blocks across the street to a restaurant for a pretty good meal. Dessert was to follow, back at the hotel, with our year-old wedding cake....
... that looked like this....
It started off great with our wedding video coming in! Yes! We got to watch our video on our first anniversary. How fitting. It was great reliving the moments and really feeling like we got married just yesterday. I loved seeing everyone and being reminded how stunning and in-love we looked that day. I mean, in my opinion, we still are that stunning and in-love, but it's different when you can watch yourselves in such an intense moment in time.
When we got to the hotel, they gave us a complimentary suite upgrade - corner suite on the 8th floor! Hello luxury! It was a great room with a great view. After getting ready for dinner and watching our video, we walked a couple of blocks across the street to a restaurant for a pretty good meal. Dessert was to follow, back at the hotel, with our year-old wedding cake....
... that looked like this....
Needless to say, we did not try any of it. It didn't survive the year, which was heart breaking. Luckily, when we called for room service brownies/ice cream to make up for the cake disaster, they remembered it was our anniversary and brought us a complimentary bottle of wine and chocolate covered strawberries. I'd say that was a positive in this cake mess.
So what gifts did we exchange? Well, pictures are definitely coming soon, but I gave Phillip a five foot by four foot canvas collaged with maps of places we've been since we've been together and a quote about love and distance. He gave me homemade fence picket art (who knew he was so creative!?) and his grandmother's re-dipped diamond earrings. Beautiful. Again, pictures to come. I have an entire entry to write about the how-to for my project.
What a perfect anniversary. Even the cake disaster will make for great memories in the future.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
The Night Before Our Anniversary
It seems like exactly one year ago from this very moment, I was doing the same thing I'm doing now - laying wide awake in bed. I can't sleep and I have no clue why. Phillip is sleeping soundly - no doubt what he was doing exactly a year ago. His nerves have always been calm.
Tomorrow is our anniversary. A big anniversary. Our first anniversary. One to remember and one to reflect. So how on earth could I possibly sleep on the eve of all of that!?!?
Tomorrow is our anniversary. A big anniversary. Our first anniversary. One to remember and one to reflect. So how on earth could I possibly sleep on the eve of all of that!?!?
Friday, June 8, 2012
Approaching One Year
I still can't believe we've been married for almost a year. It's hard to think it's only been a year since we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off. But once the festivities started, our stress was gone. I guess that's the perk of being so on top of things - we got to relax as soon as family got in town. How nice. :)
What were you doing a year ago today? I was off work to run last minute errands, pack for our honeymoon, and clean the apartment from top to bottom. The flowers were scheduled for delivery. The seating chart was already complete. Family was starting to arrive. It was finally starting to feel like I was getting married.
I can't wait for all of you to see what I am giving Phillip for our anniversary. It is going to be incredible and it has taken a lot of thought. I bet he will love it and I know we will keep it forever. Now I just have to finish it in time for Monday....
We are going to have a great time on our anniversary. We check into the hotel at 3:00. We'll get to bask in the beauty of Uptown and take our time getting ready for dinner. If we get bored, we will head to a happy hour wine spot around the corner. Otherwise, we will head to a nice casual dinner at a BYOB italian place - wedding day bottle of wine in-hand. After dinner, we will hopefully enjoy our wedding cake. I made sure to hang on to our cake serving set during the move (thank you again Jones family!!) so we can use that. We can also use our gorgeous crystal toasting flutes (thank you mom and dad!!) to have a toast to our first year of marriage. The next morning will be breakfast in bed and a casual lunch somewhere after check-out. I am so ready to have a full 24 hours without phone/internet to spend with my great husband.
Cheers to one year!
What were you doing a year ago today? I was off work to run last minute errands, pack for our honeymoon, and clean the apartment from top to bottom. The flowers were scheduled for delivery. The seating chart was already complete. Family was starting to arrive. It was finally starting to feel like I was getting married.
I can't wait for all of you to see what I am giving Phillip for our anniversary. It is going to be incredible and it has taken a lot of thought. I bet he will love it and I know we will keep it forever. Now I just have to finish it in time for Monday....
We are going to have a great time on our anniversary. We check into the hotel at 3:00. We'll get to bask in the beauty of Uptown and take our time getting ready for dinner. If we get bored, we will head to a happy hour wine spot around the corner. Otherwise, we will head to a nice casual dinner at a BYOB italian place - wedding day bottle of wine in-hand. After dinner, we will hopefully enjoy our wedding cake. I made sure to hang on to our cake serving set during the move (thank you again Jones family!!) so we can use that. We can also use our gorgeous crystal toasting flutes (thank you mom and dad!!) to have a toast to our first year of marriage. The next morning will be breakfast in bed and a casual lunch somewhere after check-out. I am so ready to have a full 24 hours without phone/internet to spend with my great husband.
Cheers to one year!
Saturday, June 2, 2012
My Favorite Saturdays
I haven't had a lazy Saturday in a very long time to sit up in bed, drink a cup of coffee, listen to Pandora, and blog. Yes. It's a great morning to be Ashley Long. Phillip even brought me my coffee so the only reason for me to even get out from under the covers was to brush my teeth. What a great life.
I'm so ready for more of this. The slowdown that comes with moving out to a more rural area. The slowdown that comes with not having gas stations, restaurants, or stores within at least a 2 mile radius. Now, we're still going to be in suburbia in a growing area so it's not completely country. But you have to admit, not having anything but homes and fire stations within roughly 2-3 square miles is considered country in the metroplex. Did I mention the city of Argyle has a population of only 3,000?
As we come up to our one year anniversary, my mind is filled with a lot of reflection and a lot of looking forward into the great things we have coming up in our lives.
Remembering the past year, remembering our wedding day, remembering how fast this year went by and remembering how we got here. We have grown so much. We have survived that fateful first year. We are stronger than ever. We have learned so much about each other and our relationship. We have overcome in-patient surgery, unemployment, work trips, plane phobia, college graduation, shifts in friendships, house hunting, uncertainty, a new puppy, making traditions, filling a home together, moving in with Phillip's parents for a little while, water leaks, and so much more.
And for the future we look forward to so much. Eventually we will start a family, buy a house, plant our roots, and further establish ourselves as the "Little Longs". But for the immediate future, we look forward to renting our first house, finding Phillip a permanent dream job, exploring post-graduate education, enjoying our little family of two people and one dog, figuring out what is truly important to us, enjoying our families, heading to Cabo for a magical wedding, and loving every second of growing into our marriage. Growing old together. Spending so much time together. Loving together.
Our anniversary is in ten days. This means it's crunch time. We are still trying to decide where our celebratory dinner will be that night. But we will be heading to the Stoneleigh hotel in Dallas, where we took our engagement pictures. We have a nice room and will enjoy unplugging from the rest of the world for a night. Room service breakfast the next morning will be a must as well.
We are finalizing our gifts for each other. You know, the first year is an important year for gifts. It's the most creative challenge. We are each creating unique gifts for each other with very small budgets. I'm excited to see what he gives me and excited to see his reaction to what I'm getting him!
I'm so ready for more of this. The slowdown that comes with moving out to a more rural area. The slowdown that comes with not having gas stations, restaurants, or stores within at least a 2 mile radius. Now, we're still going to be in suburbia in a growing area so it's not completely country. But you have to admit, not having anything but homes and fire stations within roughly 2-3 square miles is considered country in the metroplex. Did I mention the city of Argyle has a population of only 3,000?
As we come up to our one year anniversary, my mind is filled with a lot of reflection and a lot of looking forward into the great things we have coming up in our lives.
Remembering the past year, remembering our wedding day, remembering how fast this year went by and remembering how we got here. We have grown so much. We have survived that fateful first year. We are stronger than ever. We have learned so much about each other and our relationship. We have overcome in-patient surgery, unemployment, work trips, plane phobia, college graduation, shifts in friendships, house hunting, uncertainty, a new puppy, making traditions, filling a home together, moving in with Phillip's parents for a little while, water leaks, and so much more.
And for the future we look forward to so much. Eventually we will start a family, buy a house, plant our roots, and further establish ourselves as the "Little Longs". But for the immediate future, we look forward to renting our first house, finding Phillip a permanent dream job, exploring post-graduate education, enjoying our little family of two people and one dog, figuring out what is truly important to us, enjoying our families, heading to Cabo for a magical wedding, and loving every second of growing into our marriage. Growing old together. Spending so much time together. Loving together.
Our anniversary is in ten days. This means it's crunch time. We are still trying to decide where our celebratory dinner will be that night. But we will be heading to the Stoneleigh hotel in Dallas, where we took our engagement pictures. We have a nice room and will enjoy unplugging from the rest of the world for a night. Room service breakfast the next morning will be a must as well.
We are finalizing our gifts for each other. You know, the first year is an important year for gifts. It's the most creative challenge. We are each creating unique gifts for each other with very small budgets. I'm excited to see what he gives me and excited to see his reaction to what I'm getting him!
Friday, June 1, 2012
Real Housewives of Argyle
So long Bedford and hello Argyle!!!
That's right readers, we have decided on a house finally and have signed the lease. It's official. We move on July 9th - aka two days after getting back from Cabo. It will be an exciting July to say the least.
I am ready to move out there. It's a beautiful perfect house with plenty of room to live. The neighborhood is in the middle of a field and across the street from a corn field. I'm not kidding. It's about 2 miles south of Denton. Further than we originally planned but I am already falling in love with the city and its possibilities.
Did I mention there are no gas stations, grocery stores, or restaurants within a 2 mile radius!? Hello healthy and cheap eating!! Plus, my plan is to buy a whole lot of our food from the farmers markets out there. I mean how could you not with that much area to work with? And I will have a garden of my own. A small garden. But still a garden.
I'm so excited to move and let you guys see some pictures! :)
That's right readers, we have decided on a house finally and have signed the lease. It's official. We move on July 9th - aka two days after getting back from Cabo. It will be an exciting July to say the least.
I am ready to move out there. It's a beautiful perfect house with plenty of room to live. The neighborhood is in the middle of a field and across the street from a corn field. I'm not kidding. It's about 2 miles south of Denton. Further than we originally planned but I am already falling in love with the city and its possibilities.
Did I mention there are no gas stations, grocery stores, or restaurants within a 2 mile radius!? Hello healthy and cheap eating!! Plus, my plan is to buy a whole lot of our food from the farmers markets out there. I mean how could you not with that much area to work with? And I will have a garden of my own. A small garden. But still a garden.
I'm so excited to move and let you guys see some pictures! :)
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