Eric & I celebrated one wonderful year of marriage this past weekend and it was simply lovely. Our anniversary was Saturday and to celebrate we had what I like to call “Eric & Morgan’s Day of Fun!” We woke up and swapped cards and gifts before we were off to the UC/UConn football game at Nippert Stadium. It was their last home game of the season and they won, woohoo! We were bundled in our red and black and cheered the cats on to a win. After the game we went home and bummed around before getting ready and heading downtown for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. We ordered champagne and toasted to the continuance of our blissful marriage and many blessed years ahead. We talked about what this past year brought us and what we would like to accomplish in year number two. There were Christmas activities going on downtown so while we dined we were able to enjoy fireworks. It was perfect. After dinner we had our picture taken in front of the Christmas tree on fountain square and then headed home and ate year-old cake that, surprisingly, tasted pretty good. All in all it was a great way to spend our anniversary and I can’t wait to see what the next year brings us. J

Hello, we meet again. Long time, no blog & I’m sorry…life is busy. Eric and I have been busy with work, school and such; nothing too crazy, just normal stuff.

We are entering into my most favorite time of year. I can’t get enough of autumn & all of the activities that accompany it. Not to mention, the ‘fall’ scented candles are the best!

Something exciting in the Lohbeck house: Eric and I made a big adult decision this past weekend and bought a new car. We are so grown up! My car, my lovely Ford Escape, was racking up too many miles so we figured we should take advantage of the fact that it is still in great shape and trade it in while the value is decent. So, we did, and we bought a brand new Mazda3. Eek. I love it! I drove an SUV for a little more than nine years, so switching to a sporty little car is an adjustment but so far it is so fun to drive and very cute. I will say, though, that getting rid of my first and only car was very difficult. I wish I could tell you that I didn't cry, but that would be a lie. I also wish that I could tell you that I didn’t have my picture taken with the car, but that would also be a lie. Let’s just say I get attached to things and have trouble with change.  I have so many memories in that Ford Escape and all 131,980 miles were driven by me! But, on to bigger and better things, right? Here’s to many many miles to be driven in my new car :)

There are certain things in life that will always bring out my inner child, and vacation is definitely one of those things. No matter how old I get, I am always so anxious before vacation. It’s the kind of anxiety that won’t let you fall asleep - even though you have to wake up at 3:15 am to go catch a flight – because you are just too excited! That’s exactly what happened to me last week when my husband and I flew down to spend a few glorious days on the beach with my family in Kiawah Island, SC. Nothing brings out that inner child more than going to the beach with your siblings and parents, no matter how old you are.

We had a blast; days full of sand, sun and endless lounging, and evenings spent eating good food and laughing a lot. One of the evenings, after dinner, we all went to the beach for some good photo ops and ended up walking along the edge of the water until we could no longer see our own feet. It was great – all of us walking together talking and laughing and just being with each other. I definitely treasured that evening because normally life moves way too fast and with everyone’s schedules and hectic lives, we certainly don’t find much time to just leisurely enjoy each other’s company.

Kiawah is easily one of my most favorite places to be. I love everything about being there and, as I told Eric, if they bottled up that ‘Kiawah’ smell and sold it as a candle, I would buy it. Although it was a short vacation for Eric and me, it was wonderful and well spent! Thanks mom and dad for everything J

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my mom and I are devoted Potter-heads. So, it goes without saying that we attended the midnight premiere of the final movie: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2. It is truly amazing the size of the crowd that comes together for this event. The midnight showing for all of the Harry Potter movies has always been impressive, but the crowd for the finale was unbelievable.

My mom and I arrived at the theater at 8:45pm and got in a line that wound its way all through the three story building and out onto the street. People were camped out with books, games, and food and so many of the movie-goers were decked out in their HP garb. It is such a cool experience to witness and be a part of.

They decided to go ahead and seat us at 9:30pm, so luckily we weren’t standing in line for very long. All twenty of their theaters were sold out for the midnight showing of HP! We bought our tickets weeks in advance and I am glad that we did. The movie was so good and bittersweet. The cast and directors did an amazing job with everything. They stuck very closely to the book and the changes and details they left out weren’t detrimental to the overall storyline. Now, of course since I have read the books multiple times I would have preferred them to include every single detail, but that is obviously not possible.

In my opinion this was the best movie of the series as far as acting, special effects and storyline go; I also felt as though I was getting to say goodbye to the characters. The deaths of some of our favorites and the fact that this adventure has come to a close left the crowd teary-eyed and wishing for more. It’s pretty crazy the effect a series of books and movies can have on a generation! Even though it is over, I will continue to re-read the books and enjoy the movies and wish I was part of that magical world. Here’s hoping JK Rowling will decide to write more!

Three day weekends truly are the best. I honestly can’t believe it is already July and time for a holiday weekend, but I like it J No crazy big plans for us – just some rest, relaxation and time with family and friends. I am going to try my best to cram as much summer as possible into these three days. I certainly miss being a kid and having what seemed like an endless amount of freedom ahead of me. So – here’s to the 4^th of July weekend and a little bit of freedom. Hope yours is happy J

June 18th

A quarter of a century. That is now how old I am. I turned the big 2-5 last Saturday and I am not lying when I say I woke up on Sunday morning feeling way more tired than when I was merely 24. I had a wonderful weekend of birthday celebrations, though, with a Reds game with friends, a massage, lunch with my dad, a wedding, and birthday pancakes with a candle served to me in bed by my lovely husband.
Speaking of my husband, he got me a kindle for my birthday. I am so excited about it and I spend as much time as I can playing with it and reading. I am a lover of books so I kept delaying getting a kindle. Call me old fashioned, but there is just something about the feel of an actual book in my hands and being able to flip through the pages that I love. I went back and forth so much because one of my dreams is to someday have a house with my own library. You know, the kind with the walls covered with floor to ceiling shelves full of books, and a ladder that is attached and has wheels and can move around the shelves. I could spend hours in there! So – I decided that I will still have that library one day; I will just also have a kindle because they are cool and convenient and will be great for traveling. Also – I can get newspapers and magazines on my kindle, so it is earth friendly :) Overall, turning 25 was pretty easy...here’s to a great 25th year!

don't worry, be happy

Happiness is one of those words with a thousand meanings. Meanings that are different for each of us. Happiness is a state of mind, a way of looking at life and seeing all the good that it has to offer. Happiness is a feeling of contentment and peace. To me, happiness is my family, freshly brewed coffee, a good book, new shoes, city streets, vacation, a clean house, nail polish, Christmas music, good morning kisses, babies, a glass of wine, carving pumpkins, summer sunshine, walks with Eric and Daisy, going out to dinner, scented candles, writing, chocolate, our wedding pictures and a very long list of more experiences and simplicities that keep me looking forward to the next one.