come home already!

4 days is too long

to be without him.

...only 3 more hours!

back from the windy city

i'm back from the windy (and freezing) city!

i had such a wonderful time with my mom.

we did so much shopping along the magnificent mile

and i got a wonderful new pair of boots

and we ate at giordano's

(although i must confess, i am not a fan of chicago style pizza)

and we of course went and took pictures of the bean!

i like chicago

but i love nashville

chicago!

finally, fall break!

i am going to chicago with my mom tomorrow

to shop

and go to art museums

and shop

and i am so excited!

i will be back saturday with plenty of polaroids and stories.

oh and p.s.

i would greatly appreciate suggestions

on where to eat and shop : )

have a happy weekend!

today

today is just one of those days

where i would have done anything

to stay in bed

and not get up

today is a special day...

happy birthday, lover!

today is bennett's 21st birthday!

i'm taking him to dinner tonight

(where? it's a secret...)

and then we're going to get dessert

and do all sorts of fun things

and this weekend we're going to see

andrew bird and st. vincent

at the ryman auditorium!

oh i can't wait.

and instead of making him a card

i made him a birthday booklet

(see photo above)

filled with letters

and pictures

and secrets

and memories

happy birthday to my favorite person in the universe!

i kind of love you a lot.

bright star

bennett and i went and saw this movie last night...

it was so beautiful

and sad

and lovely

and inspiring

if you get the chance,

you must go see it.

cookies for bennett

right now i am making cookies

(pillsbury ready to bake sugar cookies with pumpkins on them)

as a peace offering

and an apology

because sometimes i can be so ridiculous

and impatient

and stubborn

but despite all my nonsense

emotions

and unnecessary freak outs

he loves me

and i love him

more than ever

and that's all that matters

autumn is here!

autumn has arrived in nashville!

after about 2 weeks of rain and grey skies

we finally have beautiful weather.

there's just something about the

sweaters

tights

boots

cider

blankets

pumpkin bread

caramel apples

leaves crunching under your feet

and the smell and feel of the crisp air

that makes me feel so content

and in love

and inspired.

summer is wonderful, but it's time to move on.

photos via anna wolf photography

date night

tonight i am going to the melting pot with bennett

to celebrate our one year anniversary.

we have been once before just to get dessert

but now we're going to get the complete dinner experience.

afterwards i think we'll get a movie and snuggle.

sounds like the perfect date to me!

HAPPY ONE YEAR!

today is the most wonderful day because...bennett and i have been "officially" dating for one year!

one year ago today we were sitting outside doing homework and i just blurted out "so are we dating?" and he responded with something along the lines of "i mean i want to, do you?" ...DUH! it had been 4 months since our first date so it was about time!

if someone had stopped me right then and told me where i would be, where WE would be, a year from now, i seriously would have told them they were crazy. love is the most magical, wonderful thing.

even more importantly than our one year dating anniversary, it's our one year bennett's health anniversary. less than a week after we started dating, 5 days to be exact, he had an mri where the doctors found a cyst on his brain. i never could have imagined what we would end up going through together during those next few months; the surgeries, the pain. it made us so incredibly close. now, a year, 2 surgeries, and a lot of headaches later, he is recovering and our love grows so much everyday.

i am so blessed to have him in my life. i cannot even begin to tell you what an amazing, incredible, brilliant person he is. he has taught me so much about life and faith and love, and he has helped me in more ways than he will ever know. i cannot wait to love him more and more everyday for as long as i live.

thank you for being so patient with me

for snuggling with me every saturday morning

for cutting my waffles just how i like them

for so many belly rubs and freckle kisses

for bringing me lunch at work every sunday

for teaching me how to play chess

for going on adventures with me

for tucking me in every night

for never letting me forget

that i am loved.

i love you.

more than all the world.