You know those cute little elderly couples you see on the news or social media who dress in matching outfits and are unknowingly photographed doing little things to demonstrate just how much they still love each other after all these years? I used to read about those couples and wonder if it was true. It seemed like over time love would eventually fade away or get lost between deepening wrinkles. It just seemed to make sense that you would probably get to so used to being together that the other person became nothing more than a presence. People grow apart, after all, and there are countless books written and movies made about escaping loveless marriages with boring partners. Could you really could fall in love with someone and stay in love with them for the rest of your life?

The answer is yes.

I know this because in August 2003, I met the man who has proven to me time and time again just how true it is. And today we’ve been married for 9 phenomenal years!

My amazing husband, Nick.

Nick and I met during my first few weeks of undergrad at ECU, and our meeting is one of my favorite stories to tell! I had a printer that wasn’t working so I asked for help on the school’s message board. This guy named Nick messaged me to say he could help but he didn’t live on campus so we would have to arrange a time for him to come by my dorm room. We chatted online for a few days and then classes started, all before he had a chance to take a look at the printer. On the first day of biology lab, I walked in and sat at the first table I saw, in a chair next to this cute guy wearing a white MTV t-shirt, khaki cargo shorts, and red Oakley sunglasses on his head. The TA started taking attendance and called Nick’s name first. I was still trying to figure out why it sounded so familiar when she called my name and the cute guy in the cargo shorts next to me leaned over and whispered, “So, did you get that printer fixed?” I was so surprised that I had unwittingly sat next to the guy I had been chatting with these last few days, but he walked me back to my dorm after class and we’ve practically been together ever since!

Nick and me, in my dorm room. We were two kids who had just met but were already falling in love!

Our 17-year journey wasn’t always the smoothest, but we made it to where we are now, and I’m so incredibly lucky to be able to look at this man every day and know that everything is going to be okay. I look at him and remember everything he was back then, and I appreciate how much he’s grown since (and how much we’ve grown together), and I sincerely look forward to everything he’s still going to become. I look at him every day and love him just a little bit more. I see the gray hair sprouting at his temples and I marvel at how he seems to get more handsome each day. I look at our son and see the same almond-shaped eyes, brown pupils, and love of Legos and cars, and I can’t believe I am so fortunate to share this life with him.

My boys.

Nick has truly been my rock. While he has always supported me through my endeavors–enthusiastically encouraging me to follow my dreams and go to grad school, taking photos of my outfits while I pretended to be a blogger, never getting angry when I moved from job to job because I never quite felt satisfied–it was in the last few years that he really showed how seriously he took the vows we made to each other. He was there to take care of me through my freak heart attack, and then he supported the whole family while I took time off from the work force to heal and bond with Sebastian. And even now he does his very best to ground me when my anxiety and PTSD beat me into an emotional and irrational mess. Look, if I’m the glue that holds this family together then he’s the synthetic polymers that make up that glue. And I couldn’t imagine my life without him.

True love.

So, to my partner, lover, companion, and friend; my greatest ally, my biggest fan, and my toughest critic; my comrade in adventure and my accomplice in mischief: after all these 9+ years, I still vow to laugh with you in joy, to be your comfort in sorrow, and to turn to you in my times of need. I promise to continue to grow with you, to be slow to anger and quick to forgive, and to love, respect, and cherish you through the rest of our days.

I love you more now than ever and I’m so happy to still be on this wild ride with you.

And I can’t wait for us to be one of those cute little old couples who wear matching outfits!

Happy anniversary!

Hi, dear readers! I didn’t mean to disappear for a month, but life has been hectic. Between travel, work, toddler needs, and life, time just got away from me. Let’s catch up, shall we?

Travel

At the end of September, Nick and I traveled to California. It was a dual-purpose trip: My best friend was getting married in Carmel-by-the-Sea and asked me to be in the wedding on September 29th, to which I couldn’t say yes fast enough, and then, because her wedding was two days before our own wedding anniversary on October 1st, Nick and I decided to head up to San Francisco for a few days to celebrate our own wedded bliss.

The wedding was stunningly gorgeous. I’m so jealous of how beautiful everything was but I’m honestly not surprised because it simply matched the beauty that is my best friend, both inside and out. I was so busy helping with and prepping for the wedding that I didn’t get to take many photos, but I can’t wait to see the photos that the photographer took. I have a feeling they’re going to be top notch. In the meantime, here are a few that I managed to snap when in the little bit of downtown we had.

Big Sur, California. This was basically the background of my friend’s wedding!

Happy bridesmaid!

Obligatory Golden Gate Bridge picture

Fashion

In North Carolina, we had about a week of “false” fall in mid-September where the temperature cooled down to a beautiful 68-75 degrees, but then quickly heated up again. In California, it was “true” fall with temps in the 60s-70s every day. I think that was my favorite thing about California aside from the wedding. Anyway, NC’s false fall allowed me to wear a few fall-like outfits, which was exciting. You can find them on my Instagram and I shared them on Nikki by example’s Facebook page, but here’s a recap.

Fall outfits, finally!

Outfit 1: Blouse: Loft Outlet | Cardigan: via Stitch Fix | Jeans: LOFT | Shoes: H&M | Necklace: Old Navy 
Outfit 2: Sweater: ModCloth | Jeans: Wit & Wisdom via Stitch Fix | Shoes: Banana Republic (old) | Necklace: J. Crew Factory
Outfit 3: Sweater & Trousers: Banana Republic (old) | Shoes: H&M | Jewelry: Target | see outfit post here.
Outfit 4: Sweater: ModCloth | Jeans: LOFT | Shoes: Madden Girl | Necklace: J. Crew Factory | Belt: Target

Family

In mid-August, Sebastian started potty training and he’s really been rocking it! We’ve gotten super lucky in that many of his friends at preschool are also potty training so I think he picked up on it really quickly from seeing them go to the potty at school. He’s very good about peeing on the toilet on his own and is slowly overcoming his fear of pooping on the toilet. This is pretty common with kids from what I’ve read and heard. I feel like it has been incredibly easy learning/training process, and that for that I am eternally grateful! This kid is truly the best.

The “baby potty” as Sebastian calls it.

Work

I just accepted an offer to work as a research coordinator in the Department of Population Health at one of the large universities in the area and I start next month. It’s a welcomed change that will come with more responsibilities and more pay, so I’m really excited to start this new career journey. I will miss working in adolescent sexual health but the time has come for me to move on and move up in my career. And don’t worry – the building also has a big mirror in the restroom so you’ll still get regular outfit updates 😉

I will soon be a university employee

I think that’s it for now. Lots of stuff going on and many changes to work through, but overall, life is great! I hope all is going well for you, too.

Yesterday was my seventh wedding anniversary and I was going to take a look back on the day by posting photos and little stories about the day. My plan was to write it up and post it while on a break at work. However, my mind and body had other plans.

The past few weeks have been really rough. I was in charge of a week-long work retreat that was cut short by Hurricane Florence and we were left scrambling to figure out how to reschedule several days worth of work. I also had to navigate a major transition at the office as our CEO prepared to leave, all while worrying about preparing my home and family for the storm on top these regular work responsibilities. On top of that, in the last week or so, Sebastian decided to go ahead and have his 18-month sleep regression, waking us up several times a night. As you can imagine, I was one tired woman. You can see how not enough sleep and too much caffeine became the norm.

Unfortunately, it all culminated yesterday in a small panic attack at work where I spent about 20 minutes in my office with the door closed, crying and trying to ground myself. My anxiety is mostly post-traumatic, really starting after I experienced a heart attack last year, and it’s exacerbated by lack of sleep and too much caffeine, the two constants in my life for the past three-ish weeks. So, instead of blogging, I focused on breathing and making it through meetings without completely breaking down.

Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer.

We were invited to my friend’s wedding in Wilmington, NC over Labor Day Weekend this year and decided to turn it into an end-of-summer family vacation. We brought Nick’s mom, brother and sister-in-law with us. We played in the ocean, had a date night, went to the aquarium, and attended the wedding, and a great time was had by all!

It’s too dang hot out here.

We spent Saturday morning at the beach. It was Sebastian’s first time, but he loves sand and water so we figured he would have a blast. At first, he was not having it. You can see in the photo above that he thought it was just too damn hot outside. He’s very much like his father that way. He wasn’t sure what to think about the ocean or the waves, and he was a little afraid at first, especially when the tide would roll out and his feet would sink into the sand. He was not a fan of that at all. However, he liked the water when it wasn’t knocking him over, and of course he loved the sand. The beach is one giant sandbox, after all. Toward the end of the morning, he was feeling much more brave and started running toward the waves!

Our Awesome Wedding Party. We couldn’t ask for better friends!

Thursday, October 1st, was our 4th wedding anniversary. You can read all about it and see more photos on our wedding page here.

My smile was this big the whole day. It really was the best.

It was definitely one of the happiest days of our lives. Things have been a little crazy in our lives lately, however, so we didn’t really get a chance to celebrate. After working most of the day, we went out for celebratory tacos and a small glass of cava from our favorite local taco joint, Nanataco.

Calamari taco, fried oyster taco, rice, beans, and chips. And a litle cava on the side!

Then we came home and cuddled on the couch, watching episodes of Dexter. It was actually kind of perfect, when you think about it. We got to spend some quality time together, and really, isn’t that what really matters?

Happy October, everyone!