Wedded Bliss - Our One Year Anniversary

Well, it's been a few months since my last post, and a lot has happened in that time! My favorite thing was celebrating my first anniversary with this awesome guy. :) We returned to the place Dustin took me right after he proposed: the Melting Pot of course! (These return trips were the intention of him picking this place on our engagement night.) Pretty sure my mouth was doing a victory dance. Creme brulee fondue...need I say more? It. was. the. best.

The next weekend, we took a little weekend getaway to Beaver's Bend. We stayed in the rustic gloriousness of this cabin, and enjoyed every single second of our trip. The weather was perfect, the cabin was incredible, and the company wasn't bad either. :)

Excited about our first year (not a sports team, FYI). I have loved, loved, LOVED everything about being married to this incredible man. He makes me so happy. I feel like I hit the husband jackpot.

One thing I've realized that I absolutely love about our anniversary, is the gorgeous weather and foliage. Even the four hour drive was fun, as we saw mountains full of trees beginning to change color.

Did I mention I was obsessed with our cabin? I came in, dropped my bags, and immediately photographed every single angle of each room. It also had a 7 person hot tub on the back porch which was pretty much the cherry on top!

My favorite spot to wake up in the morning and spend time with the Lord.

Amazingly enough, I got up early and cooked breakfast! I think that might be a first in the Loehrs household.

We were really missing our pup on the trip, so we ended up adopting the sweetest black dog for the weekend. I'm sure the fact that we supplied him with endless amounts of bacon and hamburger scraps had nothing to do with his love for us.

We toured the state park, lake, and of course the museum and gift shop.

Balancing the camera on the sloped roof of our car was the real success of this picture.

Enjoying the fruits of his epic, fire-building labor. Of course burgers and s'mores followed. On a side note, I'm pretty sure if I was ever on death row and had a last meal, s'mores would definitely be on the dinner list.

Our attempt at some awesome self-photography as we ate our wedding cake topper. I used to think this was a really gross idea, but it was fan. tastic.

We snuck up the mountain on someone's private property for this view. I l-l-l-loved our anniversary weekend, and I'm so glad I get to celebrate it with such an amazing guy. :)

An Indoor Picnic

Hooray for the hubby's days off work, and a surprise picnic just for him! Bonus points for beating the 100 degree heat, mosquitos, and enjoying fancy cheese and olives from Gourmet Gallery. If you haven't shopped there, I highly recommend it! (Definitely try the chocolate truffles....so good, they're sinful!) We only had enough time for a little stay-cation (i hear that's the new term for it...) before school started, but I'm so glad to be married to a man who makes staying at home so much fun! This was probably one of my favorite dates ever! Have a great Friday, everyone!

Goodbye Summer...

Goodbye unstructured, lazy days of summer. Hello new first graders, music programs, and getting up early. Looking back on my Summer List (click here), I would say it's been one of my favorite summers ever.

Here are the top 5 things I checked off my list:

1) Book worm: check!

I took a chance on this book which was recommended by a Barnes and Noble employee. While I wasn't a big fan, I loved becoming a recluse and burying my nose in a book.

2) Thrifting: you-betcha!

It was something like the "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore" moment. Eryn and I went to Mary's Swap meet on 23rd St. and an OKC thrift store. Let's just say we'd never had an experience quite like that before. Amidst live roosters, garage sale junk, and scorching heat, we found some cute vintage brooches, and an old chandelier!

3) Hooray for healthy (and tasty) cooking!

All of these recipes are low fat and low cal. Above is Roasted Pork Chop and Peaches.

Veggies for the Mediterranean Tuna Pasta Toss

We pretty much have this every Monday night: Sausage and Bean Rigatoni

4) We got crafty: check check

A trip to Hobby Lobby with my neighbor-turned-awesome-friend Eryn, resulted in us starting an Etsy store called Hello Blossom. After weeks of work, we launched our store in July!

5) Local adventures: finally!

We celebrated Cindy's (my incredible mother-in-law) birthday at Red Pin Bowling...except once we got down there, we were informed we could dine but not bowl, because the alley had been rented out. So....we opted for a Bricktown canal ride instead. It still ended up being a fun night!

Woo hoo for a super fun summer! So thankful for time with my friends, family, and the best husband ever. While I have to admit I'm getting excited to see the kiddos soon, I'm already brainstorming a new list for next summer. Can't wait!

Beach Week! Holla!

I'm not gonna lie...I went in to beach week unsure about how it was going to go. Thankfully, I was knocked off my feet by the things God did, and the awesome high schoolers I got to meet. This is our team: Magneto! The theme for the week was heroes vs. villains, and we were definitely representing the evil side. Mwa ha ha ha...

One of the late night parties - rave night! Loved the black light dance fest, complete with glow sticks and neon paint! I even sported some neon false eyelashes :)

Nothing beats spending time with the Lord on the beach. I even spotted 4 or 5 dolphins in the water one morning!!! I heart Laguna Beach, Florida.

Our team about to spray paint our Magneto shirts. Gotta represent the villains!

Love this girl! Kelly and her team, Syndrome, pumping each other up during rec. We don't take competition lightly here!

Some of our fearless leaders enjoying some free time on the beach. I happen to think the guy in the middle is super hot. Maybe we should get married... :)

Precious time with my group. Each of our lives were forever changed by this week, and I could not have felt more humbled and honored to be a part of their lives.

Jacie, and her team the Incredibles. Had so much fun getting to know her and her husband better this week. They made the 16 hour ride home seem like nothing!

Bumper tube soccer. Running around in inner tubes, in 90-something degree weather isn't for sissies. I loved hearing the hilarious chants each team came up with through out the week!

Baptisms in the ocean on the last day. What an awesome picture of the new creation God has made in our lives.

The holy grail of rec. Heroes and villains competed the entire week for this baby. Near heat strokes, bruises, exhaustion and other various injuries were all worth it for the VILLAINS! We get to have our names on this trophy for an entire year. Chillin' like a villain...

Trying to keep our eyes open, both from the sun and very few hours of sleep. We loved our last morning on the beach, and couldn't have spent our time doing anything more valuable that week. Soooo thankful for the opportunity to have gone to Beach Week 2010!!!

This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" - and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.

1 Tim 1:15-16

(Shout out to Pam Yates for letting me swipe some of her pics from the week!)

Oh, the things we saw...Okie Noodling Fest

Words can't describe the gloriousness of the Okie Noodling Tournament in Pauls Valley, OK. I'm pretty sure it's going to have to become a yearly tradition. The Loehrs-Wehunt combination always guarantees craziness and fun, and this day sure wasn't lacking in either. I also got to cross the event off my summer list!

I can definitely see why all of this Oklahoma goodness has earned national attention. We saw...

each team's catch being brought in from the lake...

team after team earning awards for the day's heaviest catch...

and a priceless look on Kelly's face after she got slapped by one of the catfish, as they carried them by!

You can't go to the Noodling Festival without stopping at Bob's Pig Shop and...

enjoying a Catfish fry! We also saw a lot of interesting people such as....

the lieutenant governor, Jari Askins...

lots of red, white, and blue apparel wearin' noodlers...

A Japanese film crew that documented the event for a Japanese reality show. (Check out the video of this guy bringing in his catch)...

and these guys...need I say more?

We came. We saw. We conquered. And I think I'm going to have to do it again next year.

A Wicked Surprise

The only thing Dustin told me months ago, was to leave June 9th and 10th open. I knew we were going on a trip, I just didn't know where. So, loaded up with more country music than he could stand, we headed off on the mystery trip :)

The X at the end of the map was Dallas! I kind of have a weird thing about taking pictures of places we stay, so here is the mirror reflection of our room at the Anatole.

I don't really know...this seemed like fun at the time, and I was really excited. Thankfully, Dustin was sweet enough to humor me, even though he said posing with his hands on his cheeks was a "girl pose".

The reason we were in Dallas, was to see "Wicked"! I was soooooo pumped. Dustin knew I'd been dying to see it, but missed it when it came to OKC, so he bought us tickets, months in advance. I knew I married a keeper :) The icing on the cake was this was by far the BEST show I had ever seen, and the lead , hands down, has most incredible voice I have ever heard.

Favorite line: "It appears the artichoke is steamed..."

Eating at one of my faves, Chuys! I told Dustin I wanted a picture of him and the King.

Um...need I say more?

So happy.

A shout out to my hubby for a wonderful trip! You win the man of the year award for a) planning the trip b) managing to keep it a secret for months c) sharing my love of musicals d) encouraging and enduring trips to Ikea, Anthropologie, and listening to country music. Love!

The List of Leisure

For the first time since I was 16, I have a summer of pure, unadulterated FREEDOM!. No full time side job. No 10 surprise hours of online Spanish that I had to take in a month and a half, WHILE working full time (that's a story for another day). No wedding planning. While I'm glad I did all of that, I'm officially enjoying the wonderful (granted, low paid) life of a teacher. In honor of my lack of obligations, I thought I'd put in writing the Un-To- Do List I've been mulling over in my head for the last few months.

1. Become a Book Worm

The goal is at least two or three novels. Ok, so one of those might include a love story about teenage vampires, but hey, it still counts. After that, I will return to my first (literary) love: mysteries.

2. Learn to be a Thrifty Earlybird

My fellow music teacher and super awesome friend, Kimberly and I have long standing plans to get up at the break of day to find some great bargains at garage sales around town. Also on the list: local flea market with my mom.

3. Healthy, Shmealthy

I've traded in laying out and tanning beds for self tanners and sunscreen. I also want to add more healthy recipes

to my arsenal over the summer.

4. Sand, Repaint, and Restore

I've recently met my long lost twin, from whom I was separated at birth. She lives next door, and we happened to meet while we were both working in the yard a few months ago. Not only is she really fun and sweet, we also share freakishly similar interests. The plan this summer is to buy some garage sale furniture and give it a new life. I'm sooo excited.

5. Okie Noodling Fest, Anyone?

Maybe one of the small town festivals I'm most proud of attending. (There's even a documentary.) Noodling. Yes, men sticking their hands into holes in a lake, into a Catfish's mouth, and retrieving an enormous fish. Then, a great fish fry follows in celebration. There is blue grass music, and even an exhibition tank, in which Miss Okie Noodling Oklahoma does a demonstration dive and catch. All in Oklahoma's very own Pauls Valley. Check it out.

6. Go on Local Adventures

Design Sponge did this great Oklahoma City Guide, in which I think they covered every single cool thing to do and see in Oklahoma City. I've lived here my entire life, and haven't even accomplished half of the list. I hope to visit the Paseo District, go to RedPin Bowling Lounge, eat at Sushi Neko.....and the list goes on.

7. Perhaps Invest in an SLR

Dustin and I have both talked about getting an SLR camera to take on trips and use to take some higher quality pictures. Maybe if I get gutsy, I'll purchase one. I just found out about an Oklahoma-based website that offers great deals for everything under the sun. Check out quibids.com for details :)

8. Explore the Great Outdoors

Things I didn't feel I had time for during the year: Re-landscaping my yard, keeping plants alive, sitting on the

porch and watching a thunderstorm, and going to the lake. Another thing I've always wanted to do once I got

married, is rough it for a weekend and go camping and fishing with the hubs.

9. Do an In-Depth Bible Study

The mom and I are joining a Priscilla Shirer bible study this summer. This woman is where it's at.

10. Enjoy Comfort Food and Grandparents

I plan to visit my Grandma and Grandpa in the grand town of Duncan, Oklahoma. This trip always guarantees great stories and great food, causing me to return home at least 5 pounds heavier.

Hopefully, I'll check off each of these goals over the summer. But hey, if I don't, there will be no guilt here.

It's summer time after all. Enjoy!

-Jessica