Harry Potter...

Bond and I were so lucky to get tickets to an early screening of the final installment of the Harry Potter movies.  We saw it at 6 p.m. today, Thursday, evening.  It was, like all things Harry Potter... amazing!

Afterwards I came home and hopped on ichat with one of my sisters, currently living in England.  She and her husband saw the movie when it opened at midnight, so we saw it at the same time (cool right!)  We talked about all our favorite parts of the movie and book, what they left out and added new, and she pointed me to an article posted on HuffingtonPost.com, Harry Potter and the Loss of My Adolescence by Meghan Overdeep.  This article does a wonderful job of summing up the feelings I have been having as the Harry Potter series comes to a close.   Especially the very last sentence, because as is true of any great book, the Harry Potter series has the power to truly transport you.

I have moved from adolescence into young adulthood.  But as I contemplate this article, look to the future, and of sharing the magic with my children, I realize that growing up and finding your place in the world never really ends. So the guidance and wisdom gained through the wonderful world of Harry Potter will never really end, only change as I change.  "And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure" (Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince).

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Happy Wednesday to all! The week is half over and as always I will be linking up with This Kind of Love to let you know what I am loving this week.





I'm loving...The Vitamin String Quartet.




I found their version of Taylor Swift's Love Story on one of the blogs I frequent, Confessions of a Twenty Something. I immediately went to iTunes and down loaded a bunch of other songs by VSQ. They are great for the office or cooking. What music do you like for work or play?

I'm loving...The stationary Bond gave me for our first anniversary. the first anniversary gift is paper and he had my tattoo, which I got after we married and it symbolizes a kind of crest for our family, turned into stationary. The tattoo is a V for our last name with an "E" for Evan and a "B" for Beth (or backwards E for Elizabeth) intertwined in it.




(Tattoo on my foot)



He put it on the stationary and the envelope!










I'm loving...These new clothes I got from The Limited. They are having a great sale!













I'm loving...As always my sweet husband!







- Posted using my iPad 2

Lotion and the Little Things

I got a text from one of my best friends that her husband had bought her the "egg" Chapstick. Which is this amazing organic lip balm by e.o.s. I have seen it at Ulta and in the checkout lane at Wal-Mart, which is where it became one of my best impulse purchases ever!  It comes in all these great flavors (berry, lemon, melon).

My favorite so far is the honey suckle melon lip balm!
e.o.s. also makes a great hand and body lotion that comes in a large container or this palm size plastic container.

My favorite is the cucumber scent.

Back to the text... I responded that she had a wonderful husband. This got me thinking about how it really is the little things that sustain a long term relationship. For me it's when I tornado through the kitchen on my way to work and find that Bond has emptied the dishwasher, or moved the laundry into the dryer.  Don't get me wrong the bigger stuff, like remembering your birthday and anniversary, are important too.  But for me the little stuff Bond does around the house, when he gets my favorite candy while renting a movie, or leaving me a card about how much he appreciates and loves me, are more significant.  It shows me that he thinks about me during his everyday activities and that he notices the things I like.

What little things are important to you?

My weekend got away from me...

So I was planning to do at least one maybe two posts this past weekend, but all of a sudden it was Sunday night! My weekend in a nutshell....

Friday I was feeling a bit under the weather so Bind and I stayed in with dinner and a movie. We picked up salads and pizza, and Oscar winning The Kings Speech. If you haven't seen it I highly recommend it. Fair warning that you really have to pay attention to the dialogue to follow the relationship development, so it's not a good movie to watch while multi-tasking or with the kids around.

Saturday I slept in and felt much better. Did a few things around the house, laundry, etc. Then Bond and I went to dinner with his parents. When we got there one of his sisters surprised us by flying in town for Easter weekend! We had a nice long chat over Mexican food, and high tailed it over to some friends to watch an NBA playoff game starting at 9 pm. After that it was home to bed for early Easter service.

Sunday was a rainy Easter morning, but we made it to the 8 am service despite the weather and late night. After service we did some light grocery shopping. Then about an hour talking to one of my sisters on iChat before heading out in the rain again. This time to pick up Bond's Grandmother for Easter brunch with his family. It was a delicious buffet, and I ate way too much! Swear, I gained several pounds in the last 4 days.

It was a lovely Easter weekend, and our first since we got married! I have a busy week ahead of me and already feel drained! So I will be making quick, easy dinners, if I have the energy to cook at all, and trying to get to bed early!

How was your Easter? Did you have a busy weekend too?

- Posted using my iPad 2

First Anniversary

So I haven't written since last week, but I had a very busy weekend! The best part of which was Bond and I's first wedding anniversary! I can't believe it's already been a year.

Since we went out with some friends to watch baseball on Saturday night we didn't do much activity wise to celebrate on Sunday. we did gifts, paper is a traditional option for the first anniversary. I got Bond a subscription to the Wall Street Journal (a paper) and Men's Health. Bond got me personalized stationary. Pictures to come!

Bond did surprise me with breakfast in bed! Then after some normal things...church and grocery shopping, we went to brunch, just the two of us!

Later in the afternoon Bond had a meeting for a leadership group that he is involved with. For me this meant a nap! On the way home Bond called and picked up pizza for dinner. The evening plans included pizza, wine, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (a necessary purchase).

The wine was a special bottle purchased on our honeymoon at the Biltmore Estate, North Carolina. We shared a bottle on our honeymoon and I remember it being really great, which is why we purchased another bottle to bring home. My opinion has changed. After this weekend I think it may possibly be the best chardonnay I have ever had!

For dessert I ordered a surprise from the bakery that created our three tier wedding cookie cake. I got the top of the cake recreated with 6 huge and delicious, chocolate covered strawberries.





It was delicious! Bond gave me the most amazing first anniversary!

- Posted using my iPad 2

The Separate Lives of Couples

Have you seen the new show on NBC Thursday nights, Perfect Couples?  It’s a comical look at the lives of 3 very different couples.  Last week the show addressed couples having separate activities.  It got me thinking how does having a ‘separate life’ from your spouse/significant other affect your relationship.  Let me be clear and define ‘separate life’ to mean activities, events, travel with friends, family, or alone that you enjoy without your spouse, but with your spouse’s knowledge.  Not a secret life hidden from your other half. 

My husband, aka Bond, and I have been married for almost one year.  Prior to that we were a couple for about a year and half.  We have two dogs and no children.  So Obviously my opinion is based on limited facts and circumstance, but I think it is important to have a life outside of your life as a couple.  The common interests you share as a couple are important to building a lasting relationship, but so is individuality. 

Bond and I love to spend time together and have plenty of common interests.    We also have separate interests and activities we enjoy.  Bond loves baseball.  While I enjoy a good day at a baseball park or watching the World Series, I cannot watch baseball mid-season, Saturday afternoon, on television and keep my eyes open.  Bond also enjoys a day at the golf course while I am more of a windmill girl.  I love a good chick flick, or a bad one to be honest.  Somehow a cheesy love story is not the same with Bond’s practical real world commentary.  I also enjoy scrapbooking and cheese tasting, but Bond considers these to be a slow, grueling form of torture. 

Compromising on an activity to do together or taking turns deciding what the next couple activity will be is a valid approach.  But at some point you have to be able to do the things that make you happy.  In a healthy relationship your spouse should want you to have activities you love and that make you happy, even if they don’t want to be a part of them. Life is too short to miss out on the things you love because someone else doesn’t.   

Do you have separate activities from your spouse/significant other? What are they?