"Laugh as much as you choose, but you will not laugh me out of my opinion."

My aunt and cousin have both convinced me that I need to read Pride and Prejudice at some point. I saw this completely lovely copy of it when I was in Borders the other day and I think it would be the perfect version to read.

On the other hand, I've also seen this around the internet and I think it looks absolutely hilarious.

Scarf Exchange.

A photo of the reversible cowl I made for the scarf exchange that I am participating in. I wanted to get a picture of it before I mailed it off on Monday. One side is a plaid flannel and the other is a chocolate brown corduroy. Super cozy.

"...it's the most wonderful time of the year..."

Normally I'm the person complaining about the fact that there's holiday decorations in all the stores a week before Halloween night, or that the cups in Starbucks have turned red before Thanksgiving, but not this year. This year I'm pretty excited for Christmas already. I'm not really sure what's caused the change in me. Possibly because it will be the first Christmas I spend with my new husband, or possibly because I've spent the past week immersed in designing the album artwork and digital booklet for volume two of "A Very Standard Christmas". Either way, I kinda like it.


Here's a preview of the album cover. It's going to be available as a digital download only and the album has a pay-what-you'd-like pricing model. However, all proceeds will go to help support FACE, the low-cost animal clinic in Indianapolis, so do a little good and give a little more. There are some great bands on the album including Margot & the Nuclear So and So's, Kentucky Nightmare, Harley Poe, and more. To find out more about the album, or to purchase a copy, go to www.StandardRecording.com.

Our Wedding: The Getaway.

And away we went to sunny California...

(All photography by Ely Brothers Photography.)

Our Wedding: The Reception.

Andrew and I aren't really big fans of dancing and our ideal night would be spent at home by ourselves...but we had so much fun at our reception that we wished we had planned to have it last longer than we did. The nature of the lodge made for a very cozy atmosphere, buffalo heads included. People were on and off the dance floor, having fun in the photo booth, and enjoying some of our especially delicious cake selection from Presti's. Near the end of the night Andrew and his dad joined my dad and uncle in our of our family get-together traditions, the "shot ski".

(All photography by Ely Brothers Photography.)

Our Wedding: The Bridal Party.

I think taking these photos was one of my most memorable parts of the day. I think I feel this way because it was the few times that it seemed like we weren't being overwhelmed by everything that was going on. It was just a nice chance to spend a little time with our closest friends and laugh. A lot.

(All photography by Ely Brothers Photography.)

Our Wedding: The Ceremony.

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day for the wedding. Sunny, 70s, gorgeous. I was definitely concerned about having an outdoor wedding because of unpredictable Ohio weather so I came up with a somewhat logical way of picking a date that would hopefully be rain-free. I've been keeping a diary for the past 5 years in which, in addition to my daily entries, I happen to record the weather. We knew we wanted to get married in September so I looked at all the past Saturdays in September and picked the one Saturday in which it had not rained in the past 5 years. I guess it was a good method.

My dad made the Chuppah for us. Although we are not of the Jewish faith, we both felt the symbolism behind it was meaningful to us. It was perfect.

(All photography by Ely Brothers Photography.)

Our Wedding: Preparation.

We just got our wedding photos in the mail today and we are so happy about them. I couldn't wait to share. We love so many of the images that I decided to break this down into sections so I can share more without overloading one post. Our photographers, Caleb and Levi Ely of Ely Brothers Photography were absolutely great to work with, and have hilarious personalities to top it off.

C is for Cookie.

Andrew and I taking a moment to relax in our homemade costumes. We're not big party people, but we did walk away from this weekend with the title "Best Couple Costume" and a bottle of champagne.