Spring is here!!! Nice weather, weddings, and season finales. :-)

1. I’ll be the first to admit that I enjoy going for a walk, but only when the weather is just right. Too hot? No way. Too windy? Uh-uh. Mid 60’s with a light breeze and lots of sunshine? Perfecto!

2. The Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Rapid City just celebrated it’s 50th anniversary. We attended the dinner and re-dedication ceremony, and I was recognized for “risking my life and limbs to take the photos” for the new booklet and prayer book. I really wasn’t that concerned for my life nor my limbs… but I don’t think I’ll be climbing up five levels of scaffolding anytime soon.

3. I watch all my shows on Hulu during the day, because when my husband gets home from work in the evening, I like to spend time with him instead of watching tv. Last night was a different story. There was no way I was missing the series finale of The Office. It didn’t disappoint. I don’t want to post any spoilers, but I am so happy with how it all turned out – especially all of Jim’s pranks. :-D

4. My best friend’s wedding!!!!! I got to be her matron of honor, but it was so hard not to have my camera in hand!! My dearest Jill – I had a wonderful day being by your side and I hope you are having a wonderful honeymoon! I can’t wait until you get back so we can have another coffee date to catch up, because last weekend went by too fast. :-)

Here it is, the moment you’ve been waiting all winter for… the beginning of wedding season! This season started off better than ever – with a vow renewal!! Aaron + Beth will have been married for ten years next month, but they decided to celebrate early with their friends + family at the cozy Reunion Cabin in Custer State Park.

It’s no secret that I love being such an exciting part of a wedding, but being part of Aaron + Beth’s vow renewal had my heart overflowing. This is exactly what I hope and pray all of my couples get to experience. Ten years of love for each other. Ten years of hard work. Ten years of growing a family. Plus many more years and many more shared life experiences. :-)

Beth’s father led the ceremony as he did ten years ago. I enjoyed watching the interactions between Beth, her husband, and her father – SO much love!!

Aaron + Beth snuggling during one of the songs – with four of their five kiddos in the background. :-) Heart. MELTING.

Baby #5 joined the ceremony for the final blessing, while two little ones took advantage of the warmth of this loving huddle. (seriously – I couldn’t find an angle where I could see the whole family!!)

Naturally, I was so excited to start wedding season that I forgot to take my favorite photo – me with the couple!! Good thing it isn’t one of those photos that my couples *need* to have. :-) Just know that I hold Aaron + Beth and their family close to my heart, along with all my other couples. Hugs to you all and I hope you enjoyed my favorites!!

Welcome to my monthly favorites blog post! This month I am thankful for quality time at home with my husband, a newly-discovered coffee shop, and uncontrollable giggles. 

1. potato art – Spring tends to be a busy time of the year for us, and so by the time Easter rolls around, we can’t wait to spend a weekend at home and cook a delicious meal together!

2. GEICO commercial – ‘Happier than Paul Revere with a cell phone. I’m not a big fan of commercials. Unless they’re funny – and this one makes me laugh out loud every time it plays. :-)

3. more home projects – We are still ‘settling’ into our new home and storage + decorating are constantly on our… my mind. Recent projects have included putting shelving units together, creating wall art from our wedding readings, and getting *all* my purses off of the floor in the closet.

4. game nights – When we’re not working, we’re playing! My parents taught us how to play Mexican Train with Dominoes and we’re both getting pretty good. We’re just hoping these snowy days will be done soon so we can turn our yard from dirt into lawn!!

5. Caribou Coffee in Mitchell – For one whole year, there has been a Caribou Coffee in the County Fair Foods store in Mitchell – and I JUST found out this month!!! Now, this may not be exciting news to many of you reading this… but for this girl, whose last fuel-up before her non-stop trip back to Rapid just got a dose of tasty caffeine, this is big news. :-)

6. warm spring days – Exactly two weeks ago, we were having a fabulous spring. 60-70 degree weather, constant sunshine, birds singing… and then last week we had a record 20 inches of snowfall in one day. That still hasn’t melted. And now they’re predicting another 8-12 inches this week. I am SO ready for summer. Or to go back to Hawaii. Either would be just fine.

 Sunny days, birthdays, craft days, tasty days. March for the win!

1. Lance’s Birthday – we celebrated by going out to eat at our favorite pizza place in town – Piesano’s Pacchia – and ordering our favorite pizza – Chicken Alfredo!

2. Hello, sunshine!! We’ve had plenty of 70+ degree days here in Rapid City this past month, which means engagement sessions and weddings are just around the corner!! Yippee!!

3. Silk Mocha Iced Latte – With these warmer days, I’ve been sipping on iced coffee in the mornings and this is SO tasty – especially with a splash of caramel mixed in. You know how I love me some chocolate and caramel. :-)

4. My custom nail polish display shelf!!! Somehow, my nail polish collection has continued to grow over the past few months, and I was in desperate need of a way to contain them *and* see them all at a glance so I wouldn’t *accidentally* get duplicate colors. So I researched on Pinterest and searched through Google images. It seemed my only options were to a) build one from scratch, or b) get a spice rack. Now, I’m a pretty crafty girl, but creating a shelf from scratch is just not within my patience levels. So as I’m searching online for spice racks, other kitchen organizing gadgets caught my eye and I found this expandable bamboo utensil tray at Bed Bath & Beyond (similar one here) – I even brought my tallest nail polish to the store to make sure they would fit. I found the perfect utensil tray, took it home, super-glued the expandable drawers in the ‘expanded’ position, and Mr. Helpful Husband took care of the installation in our closet!

Oh February… you give us more daylight and a wonderful excuse to stuff our faces with endless amounts of chocolate. Let’s be friends forever, k?

Number 1 of my monthly favorites for a reason… the one and only card I received for Valentine’s Day – from my 5-year-old nephew. But don’t think my husband didn’t spoil me just because this was the only card I got – he surprised me the day before with Mostly Chocolates caramels and a lovely bouquet from Jolly Lane – which is still looking great two weeks later!!

2. Bailey’s Caramel Irish Cream Cake –  This Pinterest-inspired cake quickly became a disaster when we decided that flouring the 9″ pans was unnecessary  My friend Halley and I were picking up large crumbs off the counter to re-assemble the layers of cake before using the ganache as a glue and pouring the frosting on, since spreading frosting onto this cake simply would not do. This was definitely not a pretty cake. However, it tastes WONDERFUL and so we have been too busy chowing down to stop and take a photo… until now… when it is half-eaten… and even less pretty. :-)

3. Colorful file folders – Twice a month, the creative side of me would dread filing my receipts. My folders were all different colors, the tabs didn’t match, and some folders weren’t even being used! I decided that by prettifying my file drawer, my right and left brain would both enjoy this chore.

4. Crafting bracelets – February is the perfect month to snuggle in with a blanket on the couch and mindlessly string beads while watching Live with Kelly & Michael.

5. Shamrock Shake  – mmmmm hmmmmm!