To My 18-Year-Old Self

I'm seeing graduation posts pop up left and right on Facebook of my friend's younger siblings and my little cousins--who aren't so little anymore. Last month was their high school graduation and it's left me feeling a little sentimental and reminiscent. Trust me, I don't want to go back to high school, I'm perfectly fine being in this mid-twenties post-college married chapter of my life, and have zero desire to move backwards. But with all these high school graduations happening around me, my mind can't help but take me back to that beautiful time in my life when every choice I made was going to majorly impact the direction of my life. Oh nostalgia.

I'm 26 years old now and have lived exactly 8 years since my high school graduation. (Um, wow; this is a hard pill to swallow, considering I still feel like a teenybopper sometimes.) If my 26-year-old self magically showed up at my graduation and pulled my young-platinum-blonde-haired-bright-eyed-18-year-old self away for a few minutes to tell me what the next 8 years of my life were going to look like...I would not believe a word of it. There's no way! Would I be totally happy and pleasantly pleased with everything I'd hear? Honestly no, and that's only because I had such different expectations for my life at that time. I didn't know how much I was going to change the following years after high school and I especially didn't know the hardships I was going to face.  And I can't imagine being told in advanced the exact struggle I'm going to experience in a few years. I think it'd be the same concept if God laid out our entire future on this earth in front of us, our future according to HIS plans. I imagine there'd be some disappointment and/or confusion as it definitely wouldn't match up to our plans, but God knows best you guys. "The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps" (Proverbs 16:9).

Besides a little shock and disappointment, some of the things I'd hear would absolutely blow me away! I mean, if I could I'd give myself a huge high-five! Way to Go, self! How'd you ever manage to pull that off?! WHO ARE YOU?!

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With that said, things I would say to my freshly graduated 18-year-old-self regarding my future:

One day, you're gonna wish you hadn't tanned so much. Look at those crows-feet next to your eyes! You should have listened to your mother, Jennifer. Tisk tisk.

That guy that you're pining over right now, the one who never showed up today, he's actually gonna break a little piece of your heart this summer. Hard to believe, I know. Of course you'll go through some healing over time, but then...he's gonna come back into your life and break off another piece and you'll feel the hurt all over again. I wish you weren't going to give him so much of your time and thoughts. Even though I wish you would have just kept your standards high from the beginning, this season of heartbreak you're about to endure will teach you so much not only about yourself, but about the qualities of a guy you're looking for in a future husband, the man that you're going to choose to spend the rest of your life with. I know you're not going to listen to anyone and you'll ignore all the red flags because you're so hung up on him, but just know that God's got you throughout this whole thing.

Your huge princess high-school-graduation dress cost more than your wedding dress. Isn't that funny?!

Our Weekend in Charleston Part III

Hi friends and welcome to the third and final blog entry for our weekend in Charleston! I honestly can't believe that this 2+ day getaway has required 3 whole blog posts, but I'm extremely passionate about photography, and Charleston has got to be one the most photogenic cities I've ever visited. There were so many trees, historical buildings, dinner dates, and even residential doorways that deserved my Canon's attention. So I figured that the best strategy was to sift through the hundreds of photos, choose my favourites (which was so hard because my favourites seemed to be never ending), and divide the photos into different blog entries so that you guys wouldn't be scrolling and scrolling for hours on end. See? There's always a method to my madness.

After our lovely afternoon spent at the beautiful Magnolia Plantation & Gardens (Click here if you missed the previous blog post!), we headed back to our Airbnb house on James Island to get freshened up for our EVENING PHOTOSHOOT!

That's right! Leah Judway Photography, also known as, our favourite photographer ever, moved from our neck-of-the-woods down to Charleston (an excellent career move, right? Actually, make that an excellent life move as well) and was doing a shoot with us that evening!

Before our trip, Jarryd told me about his photoshoot idea (yes, this was ALL him!!) and that he originally was going to make this a surprise for me but then quickly realized that a "surprise photoshoot" wouldn't be the greatest thing in the world to give to his wife. Jarryd knows that a photoshoot is a big deal to me; one reason is because these photos last an entire lifetime and actually longer than a lifetime considering they get passed down to your children. Also, you don't want to wear just ANYTHING for a photoshoot! I can't imagine having on a casual pair of shorts and a tank top with my makeup all mediocrely done and my hair up in a frizzy ponytail (I hate when my hair is up) while Jarryd tells me: SURPRISE! We're actually on our way to a photoshoot! Instead of a happy reaction, he'd receive a tearful and anxious reaction--one that he wasn't hoping for at all. (I don't know, maybe some of you ladies aren't this way; maybe some of you would thrive at the prospect of a surprise photoshoot, but not me. I love and need to be prepared--hello, perfectionist over here!) So because Jarryd is awesome he decided to tell me about it before we left for Charleston so I had my outfit picked out and everything ready to go. Yay!

Our Weekend in Charleston: Part I

When my boss announced to me that my workplace was actually going to CLOSED for Memorial Day, I immediately texted Jarryd, I have Memorial Day weekend off--let's go to Charleston!! 😍  It's so rare that both Jarryd and I get the same holidays off so we figured that this was our only opportunity to make the most of this time!

Over a year ago we invested in Southwest Airlines credit cards, and have been racking up flying-points just with our normal spending (groceries, gas, bills, Starbucks...ect). Having all of these Southwest points, along with a Companion Pass (I get to fly for free with Jarryd!) was probably the only reason we even entertained the idea of flying anywhere for the weekend, because otherwise we'd have had to pull the money from our own pockets and that just wasn't going to happen. (We're definitely not rich over here.)

And why Charleston, South Carolina you ask? Well, to be honest I had two cities at the top of my "long weekend" travel bucket list, (one stored mentally inside my head): Boston and Charleston. But I was wanting to getaway to somewhere that felt different from Maryland. In regards to the colonial states, Maryland is right in the middle of them, but I feel it still has that same New England/Northern mentality that also encompasses Boston. I feared that it wouldn't feel any different from Maryland, which would actually negate the whole purpose of "getting away". Long story short, I was--and still am--a bit tired of the fast-paced lifestyle of the northern east coast. I was in desperate need of some southern hospitality, relaxation, (and palm trees) in my life....

My 2016.

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE! What a crazy, exciting time of year and I can't even believe the beginning of January is about to hit us!

For someone in my shoes, the months of October to December are nuts. I say "in my shoes" because I'm a Canadian who married an American and is living in America. Therefore, in October Jarryd and I celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving, in November we celebrate American Thanksgiving, in December we celebrate Christmas, and now we celebrate New Years Eve/Day! There are four major holidays all within the span of three months for us! (Thank goodness Christmas is the only holiday where gift-giving is expected, or else we'd be sooo broke!)

Last night in the car, Jarryd and I were just talking about how great of a year 2016 was for us. Thankfully, and I say this with a truly grateful heart, nothing drastic or tragic occurred in our lives. (Thank you, God!) We both conquered some things we wanted to conquer, and accomplished things we never even dreamed we'd accomplish. But, there's also things we wish we would have done more of, or wish we would have done less of. Obviously our lives aren't perfect and therefore our year wasn't perfect. But overall, despite how exhausting and busy the year may have been for us, 2016 really was a good year.

We're Baaaaack!

Hey everyone! Jarryd and I are officially back from our 2016 Canadian Thanksgiving trip! Well, we've actually been back since this past Monday but who's keeping track?

The first indication that we were back in America was the weather. Holy smokes--it was wonderful stepping off the plane to feel the warm, humid air soak into my face like a sponge! (This is a no-sarcasm zone, by the way. I'm being completely serious when I say I love humidity!)

And then, driving on the interstate felt SO good. My Canadian hometown has nothing even close to an Interstate so driving in the US is such a treat for me! I often feel the need for speed and after a long flight it was just what I needed. I love going 130 km/hr in my little white honda. It was great, UNTIL we came to a complete stop as there was an accident ahead of us. Instead of a 45 minute drive back to our apartment, it was a 2 hour drive back. And what's worse is we got home at 8 pm and had to ready ourselves for work the next day. Ugh. And I'll have you know, we were SO smart when planning this trip. Our return flight was for Saturday, which would have given us a whole day of rest before we had to go back to work. But, when our return flight got cancelled due to "lavatory maintenance" (whatever that means), our careful planning all went out the window! But it was a TOTAL blessing because we got to spend more time in Canada with friends and family. (Also, missing work on Monday meant a short work week too! Yay!)

I finally unpacked my suitcase. Can somebody please give me a reward for this? In Starbucks PSL form? Unpacking is hard, especially when you leave it for almost a week and you forget what's clean and what's dirty. Although, unpacking this time around was kinda fun because one of my best friends (who has a killer sense of style!) gave me a truckload of her old clothes, so it was like unwrapping a giant suitcase-shaped present full of gorgeous "new" clothes!  * heart eyes *

Oh, and did I mention that I'm sick with a cold? I have visited Canada a total of 3 times since moving to the US and I have gotten sick a total of 3 times on these trips. Can you believe it?! Every. Single. Time. It never fails!
Honestly, I fully expected to be sick this time, so halfway through the trip when I woke up with a scratchy throat, I rolled my eyes and said "here we go, again!". "See ya in a few days, voice. I'll miss you!" And when I say sick, I mean getting an awful hacking-type-of-cold and losing my voice.
I'm either getting sick from the humid US-to-dry Canada climate change, or I'm getting sick from sitting in a winged-germ-tube airplane where you breathe everyone elses air for several hours. :P

You guys, I definitely experienced my introvert hangover in the middle of our trip. IN THE MIDDLE. How awful is that? Introvert hangover = "a withdrawal into oneself brought on by overstimulation" (as said by Introvert Dear). Making plans to see so many different people and never having a moment alone during the day can be pretty exhausting (especially when you're sick with a real hoarse voice!). I mean, we were dividing our days into 3+ sections just to make time to see everyone! I definitely started feeling stressed about my lack of time/energy/health. But what I've learned over the years is that you can't use your introversion as a crutch or an excuse. For example, I could have cancelled plans with people, but that would have been SO dumb. (I'm sorry but "dumb" is the only word I could think of right now). I would have come back to the US with so much guilt and regret for choosing to recharge over seeing people I haven't seen in MONTHS. It's honestly just a conscious choice you have to make, a choice to just get over your exhaustion, because by the time you lay eyes on your long-distance friends all of the tiredness instantly disappears! :) Can anyone else relate with me on this one? I'm so proud of myself for not letting it get to me either, all I did was say to my Mom "I'm stressed", and that was that! High five to myself!

On a lighter, less phlegmy note, it's so nice coming back to colourful leaves on the trees! Where we were, (near Winnipeg), a majority of the fall leaves were already off the trees and on the ground. :'( Fall literally lasts a second there, haha! And I feel like it's just beginning here in Maryland! YAY!

What's also cool is that I used PAID VACATION. Haha I know I know, I'm 25 and only experiencing the joys of paid vacation now, blah blah. But it's a big deal to me! A whole week off of work and I'm still getting paid for it?! Amazing! (I'm such an adult now, it's nuts!) The unfortunate part is that I used up all of my vacation until next October. LOL. It's going to be a loooong year guys...

Also, a whole week without having to go to work = a whole week of being able to do my hair and makeup and wear nice clothes during the day and feel pretty again! And LIPSTICK--I got to wear lipstick like everyday! But Jenny, why don't you wear makeup to work? Trust me, in my profession there's absolutely no point. Why would I wake up any earlier than I have to just so I can wear makeup that's going to get sweated off? This paragraph would be what I'd give the #itsthelittlethings hashtag to. It's the little things in life that can give one joy.

I hung out with 4 babies and 1 toddler on this trip (all girls, by the way), and I think I'm officially ready to be a mom. Hahah. Now, don't you dare take me the wrong way! :P I'm not saying that we're "trying" or whatever; what I'm saying is that it doesn't seem so far-fetched anymore. Here in Maryland, we have only 1 friend who has a kid. Back in Canada, we have only 1 friend who DOESN'T have a kid. When you're surrounded by a huge community of young parents with babies you definitely start to feel the "itch", you know? LOL. I'll let y'all know what happens...

Anyway, after a pretty good four days of work, today is Saturday and I've been doing absolutely nothing! Nothing, except for sleeping in, unpacking, two loads of laundry, two cups of coffee, grocery shopping, replacing my MacBook Pro battery (all by myself, thank you very much!), dishes, cleaning, and now---blogging! OH and how could I forget: Hallmark channel has been playing in the background all afternoon. Hee Hee.

It's good to be back, friends! :) OH and I plan to post a blog entry about our trip with all kinds of photos. Stay tuned.

Our Two Year Wedding Anniversary.

Apparently I have this tradition where I write blog posts for all of our many, many wedding anniversaries; all TWO of them! Haha!

In case you're new to this little corner of the internet, {my blog}, last year we celebrated our one year wedding anniversary in Washington D.C! Also known as, one of my favourite cities!!

Click HERE if you'd like to read/see it!

It's actually so amazing looking back at that blog post and seeing all of the photos from exactly a year ago. It makes you realize how fast the time actually goes... So much can happen in just one year. I mean, a year ago we were living in a different apartment, we only had one vehicle, we both had different jobs which were both only part-time, no benefits, no savings, and ect. According to society's standard of living we have come so far; but also according to our marriage relationship within our relationship with God, we've KNOW that we've come so far. We have loved each other and have forgiven each other more than ever before. It really is true what Brad Paisley said...you think you loved someone then.... but your love for them NOW is just beyond anything you ever dreamed! :)

Anyway! I want to say that Jarryd surprised me with this year's anniversary trip. I would reeeeeally love to say that...except I would be lying.

Originally, I didn't think we were doing anything for our anniversary. We didn't have a single thing planned, and with my job it's super hard to get days off with such short notice. So the Thursday before our anniversary weekend, Jarryd tears his hamstring at his softball game. We ended up spending the evening at the walk-in clinic. Oh what fun...

While I was in the waiting room and Jarryd was in another room with the doctor, he left his phone behind and when he got a text from someone, it showed all of his past messages. {Jarryd thinks that I snooped, but I really didn't, I swear, the messages were all on display!}

"CONGRATS on your booking with Airbnb!!"

Jarryd surprised me with an Airbnb?!?

After reading that text I felt high with a rush of excitement, which then quickly descended into a low as reality sunk in.

We can't do anything or go anywhere with his leg in this condition. :( Of course, the one time we have a romantic weekend getaway planned, we can't even go. Sigh...so there goes that. Hope he can get a refund...

Plus, I already had plans with a friend the next day and I didn't want to have to cancel on her. But this whole hamstring business was sure wearing me out and the temptation to cancel was definitely there. I then received a text from my friend, who has just cancelled on our friend-date night. Hmm.

I decided to "play dumb" to Jarryd about the whole thing and keep my lips sealed. When Jarryd and I drove home from the walk-in clinic, he said how frustrated he was with the timing of his torn hamstring. {Funny enough, he's saying all of this with a half-grin on his face}.

Caving, I say "I think I know what you're talking about..."

And in true LOUD-American-Jarryd-fashion he yells: "YOU SNOOP! You snooped my phone! I knew I shouldn't have left my phone with you back there!!" Hahah! {It was hilarious}.

He said that he did the Airbnb booking the other day right in front of my face too; granted, I was in the middle of photographing a cupcake order so I was WAY in the zone of my own little cupcake world. He also said that he was going to pack a suitcase of my clothes and hide it in the trunk of the car. Aww!!

Later, I told him how my friend cancelled on me, and Jarryd said "Yeah, I told her to do that...so that we could leave for our anniversary trip right after work on Friday!"

"WHAT?!?" I was actually quite impressed with his deviousness. ;)

But my excitement levels remained slim, as I really didn't think we were going to go. If he could hardly walk, what was the point of going on this trip?!

THANKFULLY, the next day he could walk just slightly more normal...so we packed our bags and went on our way.

YAY! Finally a weekend away from our home and out of the norm! Just the two of us. :)

OH yeah, we spent our weekend in Honey Brook, Pennsylvania. The land of Amish, rolling hills, gorgeous farmland, and Smorgasbords. Mmmm!

Following an Amish buggy or two here in PA is a normal occurrence. I just love the "clip clop" sound that the horses feet make.

Here was the outside of our Airbnb {we stayed right up there in the attic. See it??} For those of you who don't know what an Airbnb is, it's a private space in people's homes that they can open up to travellers. It's a unique and personal alternative to staying in a hotel. {And also most of the time it's cheaper!}

Ugh, love the exterior.

Here's the door to our little weekend abode. How cute, right?!

The view as soon as you enter. HEART EYES to everything!!!

They had this pillow there and I just fell in love. In case you live under a rock, it's "Good Night" in German. I'm German, so you can imagine my excitement; anything familiar is something to celebrate when you're living in a foreign country.

:D

My face!! It's as if I just discovered the most beautiful thing.

I LOVE the gold XOXO on the brick. I think everyone's house should have at least one brick wall. I wish!

Complete with a little wood stove!

The rustic door to the bedroom. Some may say it's a door that needs a fresh coat of paint, others would say it's rustic and charming. 

This bed was actually SO comfortable. And the best part is that we slept 11-12 hours in it our first night there. I haven't gotten that much sleep in MONTHS. It was absolutely glorious!

Another view, with a ladder to the loft. Who knew that attics had room for lofts? Not I.

My husband, pretending to be a guitar player. "This sounds good, therefore it must be a chord!"

The dining room! How quaint!! Also, you'll notice that to your left is a decorative sign that says "Taste and See That The Lord is Good"; there are little hints all over this place that show our Airbnb hosts are Christians. We felt right at home. :)

This place had so many skylights--it definitely made it so nice and bright!

I just loved this plant! I could see myself adopting it...

The lovely little kitchen--that we didn't even use. But that's OK, kitchens are my life 100% of the time, so it's nice to have a few days away from it.

And that door right there past the kitchen is the bathroom. I did not take any photos of the bathroom, as it was pretty standard. My apologies to those of you who were on the edge of their seats to see the big bathroom unveiling!

Our Airbnb hosts left us a little "Happy Anniversary" note on the kitchen counter along with roses, which I thought was really sweet. :)

I would buy this rug. I REALLY WOULD!

Cute little shelves. Overall, I probably wouldn't decorate my own home with most of the little pieces in this place, as it's not exactly my style; but it totally worked for a little attic suite. We truly loved this abode and our hearts definitely sank when it was time to leave.

After we got settled into our Airbnb, we decided to go on a hot date to Victory Brewing Company! Jarryd and I love going to brewery's! It's fun ordering flights of beer and testing out the unique concoctions.

Kettle chips for appetizer!

You can't tell in this picture, but I ordered the shrimp tacos and that was the best shrimp I've EVER had. It didn't have a rubbery texture in the slightest; it was cooked absolutely perfect. Gordon Ramsay would be pleased. ;)

So after getting our 11+ hours of sleep that Friday night, we woke up on Saturday morning SO excited to check out the local thrift store we passed on our way into town. {Well, I don't know how excited Jarryd was, but I sure was!!} After enjoying a cup of coffee together in our cute little dining room, we took off for the thrift store, only to see a big "CLOSED" sign. They close at 12 on Saturdays. Pfft! Worst hours ever, right?

Mini golf in Lancaster, PA was calling our name!!

Fun fact: American water is substantially bluer than Canadian water. Haha jokes! This water was reeeeally blue, like it was almost scary...

I'll have you know that I was winning for the first 9 holes. And then I lost...ugh. Ah well, it was still a good time! Note to self: always eat before playing mini golf in the hot hot sun, so you don't feel like fainting half way in.

WYEBROOK FARMS! So, the only reason we heard about this place is because our friends signed us up for a Martha Stewart Living magazine subscription {as I joke I think?! If so, jokes on them because I love it!!!}, and in one of the issues was a piece on this farm started in the 19th century just off the Brandywine River. They have their own market and restaurant where all of their meats, cheeses, and vegetables, ect come from their farm. So cool! We just had to go!

I get a little too excited every time I see Canadian Geese because, well, you know why. :)

We went for a little walk on this farm and it was oh-so peaceful and incredibly beautiful! Even the smells didn't bother me one bit; it all only reminded me of the farm I grew up on.

Pigs really are dirty animals...

Jarryd's unintentional cowboy stance.

Pigs have the cutest little pink snouts though!!

And the ugliest bums...

This farm was so gorgeous!!

A few of the farm house. How cute is that couple to the bottom left? 

My Jare Bear and I. <3 Apparently he's the biggest Nationals fan ever? (?!)

A photo of the restaurant before it filled up. There is sheepskin at every table!! I was SO in love!!

The view from where our dinner table was. I'm so happy I got that bird in the shot!!

We visited the goats after our meal. Unfortunately there weren't any baby goats, or "kids" as they say.

Feeding the goats the "greener grass from on the other side". I was sooo in my happy place.

:D

The beautiful farm house once again. 

That evening we decided to go see Finding Dory in IMAX 3D! It was AWESOME!! Honestly, if you liked the first one you'll definitely like the second one! It had some pretty funny scenes.

After sleeping our second {glorious} night in our little Airbnb, we packed up our bags and headed back to our real life in Maryland. It definitely weren't ready for our mini-vacation to end. Real life gets tough sometimes. Tough and tiring. Truthfully, I don't like waking up at 5 AM and I don't think I ever will. ANYWAY, one of the ladies from my Bible study group had 4 tickets to the Baltimore Orioles game that Sunday and she gave them to me!!! Because it was Father's day we decided to take Jarryd's parents. Baseball games are so much fun!!!

That evening we celebrated with a nice big ole' bushel of steamed, extra-Old Bay seasoned crabs at the in-laws. An amazing little fun fact is that I have lived here in Maryland long enough to recognize amazing seafood and not-so-amazing seafood. This bushel of crabs were good, but not nearly as good as the bushel we had last summer. I just think it's amazing how far I've come since I first moved here!! :)

So that was our second anniversary weekend! It was a perfect contrast from our first anniversary weekend, because as I said earlier, we went to Washington D.C and that was nothing but city city city! And this was pure Amish, and countryside, and farm. It was just fantastic!

Although the weekend wasn't a TOTAL surprise, the things that we did and the adorable little place where we stayed was a complete surprise. So in conclusion, Jarryd is the best! :) <3

I can't even imagine what our third anniversary weekend will have in store for us!!