Oh the places we'll go...

The first time I ever laid eyes on Jake Hill, we were headed to France and Spain with the language clubs from our middle schools. So it should come as no surprise that traveling is one of the foundations of our relationship. We've since spent a semester in London, backpacked around Western Europe, taken separate trips to Nicaragua and Indonesia and then joined back up for India. And there are still so many places left to go - New Zealand, Macchu Picchu, Alaska, Africa, Greece, the Olympics, the moon.

Cue the highlight reel.

London:

Riding the Eye:

Atop the Eiffel Tower:

Florence:

Switzerland:

Switzerland again:

St. Andrews, Scotland:

India:

Our next fabulous destination is.....[drumroll].......JAPAN!

Our very dear friend Drew Kingsolver is in Japan for a year teaching English, and we just couldn't pass up an opportunity to visit him. Here's Drew and his lovely wife Breanna riding around Japan:

We'll be gone March 13-20. It's not much time, but we'll make the most of it. The current plan is to fly into Tokyo and take the train down to Fukuoka to stay with Drew for a few nights. Then we'll work our way back north stopping in Hiroshima and Kyoto, before ending up back in Tokyo for a day before flying back. We should be able to see some cherry blossoms down south and have our fill of noodles and sushi!

Crafty Weekend

I headed to Owensboro last weekend to help my mom with some wedding crafts she had underway. But before we even got to what we had planned, we came up with another project: handmade boutonnieres. It all started when mom found these on Etsy. I loved how intricate and detailed they were, and how small they were. (I've never been a fan of the huge rose or calla lily overtaking the lapel.)

Our first reaction with stuff like this is generally "We can make that!" so we spent the better part of Saturday browsing Hobby Lobby, Joanne's and Michael's for the perfect flowers, leaves and feathers. Then we spent the better part of Saturday night putting them together. Notice the floral carnage on the kitchen table:

The thing you need to know about my mom is that she can make ANYTHING. She weaves baskets, she grows her own gourds, dries them and dyes them in the most beautiful colors. For Christmas, she made my brother a leather holster for his tomahawk, and last year she did knife sheaths. As a kid, I had a handmade hair bow to match every outfit. She grows a garden in the backyard and cans salsa and pizza sauce. She knits. She sews. She makes jewelry. So it goes without saying that she's putting her crafty touch on the wedding as well.

Here's the final product:

I kind of wish I had a lapel and got to wear one of these!

Our Sunday project was managing the wedding monster that was slowly overtaking my bedroom. Bistro lights for the barn roof, muslin for draping, ribbon, grapevine Mom has collected off the farm - all of this had exploded on the floor but ended up perfectly boxed and organized!

Then we did an inventory of vases for the centerpieces. I originally had this wonderful idea to use my mom's vintage cut glass vases, but then we quickly realized we needed to raid my grandmothers' collections as well and then round things out with some antique store finds. It's been really fun to hunt for the perfect things, and I hope we end up with a beautiful hodgepodge on each table.

Here's the idea (with lovely fresh flowers instead of our sad boutonniere remnants):

Finally, I'm putting you all on "swan watch." The kissing swans below were one of Mom's unauthorized flea market finds. I have forbidden them at the wedding but she is determined. If they are spotted, they must be immediately removed from the premises.

2010!

It's the year we're getting married! Work obligations kept me in Nashville, so Jake and I rang in the new year with homemade pizza and Sporcle. (Do not click that link if you have anything important to do today.)

Jake had a two-week Christmas vacation, and when you're used to visits lasting three or four days, it seemed like an eternity. In a good way. We started with a visit to Owensboro to celebrate the holiday with my family and make our traditional Christmas sugar cookies. Then it was off to West Virginia to visit Jake's family on Christmas.

Jake's brother, Clayton, had been observing "No Shave November" and took it all the way through December. We gave him a really hilarious bowl cut before he shaved it all off the next day.

Back in Nashville we braved freezing temperatures to see UK play in the Music City Bowl. We were up in the cheap seats, subject to high frigid winds and random snow flurries. I had every imaginable piece of clothing on in addition to a huge beach towel and blanket and was still an ice cube by the third quarter. But we had a beautiful view of downtown, UK did an awesome fake punt and we had good times with friends.

Now Jake is back in 65-degree Texas playing golf and getting ready to start his last semester. 165 days until the wedding!