Our Humble Abode

As promised, pictures of our new home.

Before and After

Our Messy Kitchen (we are up to our ears in appliances)

The Other Angle

It's been fun putting all the puzzle pieces together. I still see a work in progress. There are many things I would like to do. Like get my beautiful chair from West Elm to round out the living room, move the desk into a second bedroom, buy a slammin coffee table, and paint the light brown in the kitchen to white - to name a few. But for now this is just fine. I don't need an accent wall or a nightstand to feel like this is truly a home.

P.S. We LOVE visitors (hint). Aimee said we have a comfy couch to sleep on. Josh makes sure the apartment is always a cool 72 degrees. And I will bake you the most amazing chocolate chip cookies you've ever had to accompany your homemade espresso. Enticing? I hope so. 

Negative Ghostrider the Pattern is Full

I'll admit I was getting a little cocky about the wifey gig. Waking up, preparing lunches, ironing shirts, groceries. You know, the whole bit. Nothing like an epic failure to put you back where you belong.

Doesn't this look delicious? I thought so too. 

Excited to put on an excellent meal for our first dinner + guest. 

 I found an awesome Korean marinade that we put together the night before so it would be good and tasty. Josh came home and we set up our new mini bbq. Threw together some delicious sides...and BAM! Thinking this whole wife bit is so much easier than people make it out to be!

At the table, Aimee took a bite and scrunched her face and said, "Odd, tastes salty". Then Josh tried it and said, "This IS really salty" I nervously hoped it was just their chicken. Maybe they got a salty bird? Then I tried it. To say the chicken was merely salty is a gross understatement. It was more like the chicken had been fed salt its whole life, killed and dredged in the stuff, and then cured in it to finish it off! If you hadn't already guessed, I apparently mistook the salt for the sugar. A whole whopping cup of it. :/  To top it off I cooked tons of extra for Josh's lunch the next day and dinner tomorrow night. Frick!

Good thing I have such an awesome husband. Here he is thinking he's all hilarious telling me that they are OBVIOUSLY different because when you shake the containers they feel different. Obviously JJ, obviously. 

Lucky for me he was ultra cool and forgiving about it. Even though he's going to bed hungry tonight, he's still a happy camper.

Please pray for me. The ULTIMATE guests are coming for dinner on Thursday night - Josh's grandparents! To say my confidence waned is a fair assessment. Oh Lord, please forgive me for my premature pride. I learned my lesson. I definitely DON'T need another one. ESPECIALLY this Thursday! Please Jesus!

I'm not sure God cares too much for my selfish request. Eh, what does it hurt to ask!??

Our First House Guest

Aimee came to visit and help us decorate.

She's crazy, and at times can bring the crazy out of Josh. 

My two favorite people. *Sigh, couldn't be happier. 

Pics of our new digs soon!

Settling In

Picked up the keys to our new place. Small but nice. 

Can't help but think of everything I'd like to buy to compliment Josh's our furniture.

Like this beauty

Or this simple stunner

And these pretty puppies

My dreams of grandeur need to wait though. First on our "saving for" list is one of these

We used to have Aimee's or Luke's but now that we're up here and they're down there we need something to document life. At some point the Thunderbolt camera just doesn't cut it. :p One day I'll get that chair to round out our living room and the end table to put behind the couch. Until then I'm content to finally be able to unpack and settle in. Here's to beginning our life together. 

This is Josh. This is J.

Our Wedding Video 

Produced and Directed by Katsuya

Adjustments

When you begin dating you notice all the similarities and disparities. Like, who takes the longest to order from a menu or which one walks faster. After 5 years you'd think you know one another's idiosyncrasies. Apparently once you get married you discover a few more. What!? :)

1. Laundry. Who knew that the whole universe did not separate their laundry into delicate whites, delicate darks, and heavy darks? Who knew. 

2. Sharing a bed. I've always been a bit of a high maintenance sleeper. I need it very quiet and I like it dark. It takes me a while to stop my mind from spinning about whatever's up there so I lay quietly on my back, very still, until I'm able to fall asleep. Josh is a stress free sleeper. That guy can close his eyes to all noise, lights, and movement, and be OUT in two seconds! Jealous. 

3. Bathroom Time. We've realized that we both need the bathroom for an extended time in the morning.  On our honeymoon we had dual sinks. Nice, no problem. Back to reality we have one. Putting on my mac eyeliner in the morning takes me WAY too long, I know it and now he knows it. That dang brush! :/ Must. Work. On. Makeup. Application. Speed. I'll time myself tomorrow.

4. Eat with the tv on, eat with the tv off?

5. Gas. How do you pass gas when he's there all the time?!?! So many stomach aches...

All these things are silly really. We're both enjoying this new stage of life. He likes to come home to someone and I like being a wife. I'm not sure how I ended up with someone so considerate. This morning we did a devotional before he left for work. Being able to do things like that is awesome.

Being married is like getting access to a private club. All of a sudden you start hearing these secrets. What's hard and frustrating. What other people have to work on. It's eye-opening and helpful. I like to be prepared for what may come. But for now, as we figure out how to share the bathroom sink, I am grateful. It's fun figuring it out. And besides, it means I'm with Josh and he's with me. 

A Honeymoon of Honeymoon's

We are HOME, finally. Home meaning in San Jose, Ca. Odd calling this home but that's exactly what it is at the present. Well, until Wednesday and then we move to a different apartment. Josh is in a studio so we decided to go big and upgrade to a one bedroom. Ballers! :p

Our honeymoon was everything we thought it would be and much more. Did you enjoy the photos? I thought it was too beautiful to not share. 9 days of pure bliss. We landed in Tahiti late and stayed the night on that island. In the morning we flew to Moorea. I was telling my girls that Tahiti reminded me of Oahu, and Moorea of Kauai. I LOVED Moorea. It only had one road that went around the whole island. It was sparce, underpopulated, and full of kind people. We read that Moorea is an island for the adventuresome. It certainly was! We stayed here for 2 nights and enjoyed its slow, clean, and beautiful resort. Ate the most delicious food, went on a cool ATV'ing tour, snorkeled a bunch, met some cool people, explored the "town", and hung out at the pool.

The local dish - ahi and cold vegetables in a yummy light coconut sauce.

We then flew to Bora Bora. This was the picture we took from the plane. I knew we were in for a treat - and we certainly were!

We blew our budget and stayed here in an overwater bungalow. I know, big splurge. Although it was a bit of a stretch (to say the least) it was unforgettable. We went snorkeling in a place I can only liken to where Nemo lived before leaving the protective reef in Finding Nemo. The coral was so colorful and the fish so unique and plentiful. We also kayaked, took a tour of the island on waverunners, experienced a polynesian couples massage, went swimming with sharks and giant rays, and ate the best food. We were treated like royalty and surrounded by such nice people. Not pretentious and fat like I thought they would be. =) oops.

 Our digs

Yup, we swam with dozens of these puppies.

 Cabana + Lunch = Heaven

Spa'ing it up

 The view from our hut

 Traveling with Josh is nice. He's a great companion. So excited to learn we are compatible travelers. Future here we come!