LOVE IS IN THE AIR

Valentine's day is in less than a month so I decided I better start figuring out what I am going to do for Ryan. We have never really gave extravagant gifts to one another, but instead we have done something that makes each other feel special. Our very first Valentine's together I made Ryan a home cooked meal complete with his favorite food, ham. If you know me, you know how extremely difficult this was! Luckily, it all came together. Another year Ryan "hired" his roommate at the time to serve us dinner for two. It was so sweet. I am sure our love holiday will go somewhere along those lines.

Planning this years festivities for the national day of love really got me thinking about our wedding and everything that made it special to us. Our family surrounding us, the snow falling, the food prepared by our friends, and so much more that could never be put into words. Which got me also thinking...I never shared pictures or our beautiful video! It has been a little over a year since the big day and I could still watch it every day. I loved every minute second of that day from the moment I woke up next to my "baby" cousin Madison and running outside to a surprise snowfall to falling asleep next to my handsome husband in our first home together.

Our videographer, Brooke, also did a Save the Date video for us to tell our love story.

 

Save the Date Video 

 

Studebaker Wedding Video 

Our photographers also did a beautiful job with our book! Only a few of my favorites...

The boys really did clean up nice...and then there is C.J.

Ryan's grandpa Studebaker drove us away from our wedding in his 1923 Studebaker.

Fun Fact: 23 is our favorite number and our age in this photo.

How can you not absolutely adore this photo of Ryan's grandparents giving us marital advice?!

COFFEE & JESUS

...both are needed to make it through most days. Especially if you are a teacher. An elementary teacher. An elementary teacher returning from a two week break. Luckily for me, my cousin shared with me a Starbucks copy cat drink recipe over break. This drink also happens to be one of my favorites.

Iced White Chocolate Mocha with one pump of caramel, please!

                    Folgers Classic Roast (medium) - Starbucks Espresso Roast (dark) - White Chocolate chips - Caramel (optional)
                                                                     Not pictured- milk and optional whipped cream
For this particular recipe I use my reusable K-cup in my Keurig. I filled the first half of the K-cup with espresso and then the top half with coffee.
Before I brew the espresso/coffee mixture, I put one or two scoops of white chocolate chips in the coffee cup and pour in milk where it just tops the chips.

I melt this white chocolate chip/milk mixture in the microwave and stir. Once the chips are melted, I brew 8 oz. of the espresso/coffee mixture on top and stir. At this point, your drink is ready.

The next few steps are optional.

At this time I stir in caramel and then pour the drink over ice. Top with whipped cream and TA-DA.

ICED WHITE CHOCOLATE MOCHA with one pump of CARAMEL

Enjoy!

TWO THOUSAND SIXTEEN

Last year through the holidays I remember singing, "Have yourself a merry little Christmas, may your heart be light. Next year all your troubles will be out of sight," and praying it would be true. I'm so happy with how this year turned out. God has truly worked in my life this year. There may not have been what most would consider GREAT things that happened, but I accomplished what I hoped to do. Stay happy without stress and worry controlling my life. I can't wait to build on that and see what God has in store for us in 2016!!

2015 gave us so many memories.

January- We moved into to our first home together after we returned from our honeymoon. My great grandmother Mosler passed away the day after we returned. Ryan took me to see Garth Brooks in concert.

February- My dad's cancer scans were ALL CLEAR. Ryan and I's first holiday as husband and wife. It was very punny. >Here are our favorite puns< Our dog, Abby, at nearly 3 POUNDS OF CHOCOLATE and survived. 

April- We bought 10 acres on the pit I grew up on (Mosler's Resort) in hopes to build on it someday soon. 

May- Ryan's sister got married and my cousin Madi graduated high school. We attended several Blaster's baseball games. Ryan's grandpa lost his sweet wife.

June- We attended our first ever Chingawasa Days with my Aunt and Uncle and saw Casey Donahew for the billionth time. My cousin Danny graduated high school in North Carolina and was then sworn into the Army. We made it through another family campout, Great Gatsby style.

July- Our good friends Taylor and Alex were married. We started attending a new church in hopes of finding a fitting church home.

November- Spent the month being thankful for health. It has been about a year since our parents were dismissed from hospitals for health concerns.

December- My cousin Madi got engaged during Christmas dinner. Celebrated our FIRST Christmas as a married couple and then our FIRST anniversary by ice skating at Crown Center in Kansas City. It rained-no surprise.

This is the first weekend in 4 or 5 weeks we have been Ryan and I have been home. It was so nice to start this 1st Sunday morning of 2016 in church again. It has only been 3 days into the new year and so much is starting to play out already. We are seeing excitement and challenges in our coming future, but with my amazing husband by my side and God guiding us we can not fail.

"God will instruct me and teach me in the way I should go. He will guide me with His eye."
Psalm 32:8

BRIDESMAIDS

Whoever said planning the wedding was the hard part was wrong. Finalizing my bridesmaids has been the hardest thing, ever. Ryan, however, knew who his groomsmen were going to be and pretty much in what order they would be standing from the moment we got engaged. You would have thought he had spent his childhood dreaming of his wedding day. Finally after a month of engagement, I had made a decision of four beautiful gals that mean so much to me. At this point, I was just crossing my fingers and saying my prayers that they would say yes.

I figured with such a grand decision, I needed a grand proposal. So after shopping throughout some craft stores, this is what I came up with. By the way, Carly shopped for this stuff with me during a "girls day" and how I kept the use for the materials a secret baffles me. I had to lie all day to her. To those that personally know me, know I can't lie to save my life. But...I don't think she knew! Wooo! Go me!

Now for the line up...

Matron of Honor: (I know I put maid...my bad) Ashley, cousin

Bridesmaid 1: Carly, BFF--She is getting married in August!

Bridesmaid 2: Madi, cousin

Bridesmaid 3: Robyn, Ryan's sister--Does this count as not being an only child now?! I am super excited to gain a sister!

Each box had...

• A black with gold sharpie mug labeled with "Bridesmaid" or "Maid of Honor", the wedding date, and the girl's name.
• A paper chain of "bridesmaids" with the name of the corresponding bridesmaid.
• A personalized card that popped the question.

Ryan's groomsmen are three boys he grew up with and then, my pick, C.J. This past weekend we finally finished asking everyone in our wedding party, including the kids. Aside from how I asked my bridesmaids, I loved how we asked our flower girls. Over Christmas break Ryan "proposed" to my cousin Graci, 2 years old, with a ring pop. It involved candy so that was an easy answer "I want the sucker." Then he proposed to my bold, outgoing cousin, Lily, 6 years old, with a small, gold, flower ring. Adorable.

The video shows just how shy she was, it was so cute. Oh, and ignore the P.J.'s, it was during our Christmas breakfast.

xo
Miss Mal

#studebakerwedding

Snow, snow, snow, snow.  ...I want to wash my hands, my face, and hair with snow.
Is this what it is like in Vermont during the winter? I can't stop singing Bing Crosby's, "Snow," from White Christmas with all of this angelic-like, pure, white snow surrounding us here in Kansas.  However, snow can be a good thing for us teachers...snow day! I took a sick day on Monday and as I was calling in for another sick day on Tuesday, I was notified that school was cancelled. Thank you God. Today was also cancelled. Can you guess how I've spent my past few days, besides listening to my record player? Pinteresting, of course.

And by Pinteresting, I mean planning for my wedding. My mom used to own her own wedding shop and so I feel like I have practically had most of my wedding planned out for awhile, just had to wait for a groom (found him!). She had a great business and did amazing, but it still makes me wonder, what did we do before Pinterest? There are so many really cool (and odd) ideas that I have gotten from the site.

I have sooo many ideas on my "Winter Wedding-Secret Board" and quite frankly, I can't keep them all a secret. So here's a small sneak peek! I have always loved the richness and boldness in black and gold sparkly things. Then after I watched the movie The Great Gatsby earlier this year, I knew I wanted a party like that. Perfect combo and fitting for winter, if I do say so myself. Formal, fun, and classy. My favorite.
I love pictures and constantly post to Instagram, daily. If you follow me, I am sure you are fully aware. Anyway, I love the idea of guests sharing their photos via IG! Then, the parinoid person I am, I was scared someone would already call dibs on the hashtagname I wanted, so I have already been hashtagging my posts. DIBS! #studebakerwedding

Aside from Pinterest, my Erin Condren wedding planner has been awesome for the planning process and organizing all of the dates, phone numbers, to-do lists, the budget, my scattered thoughts, and much more.

***If you are a "Bride to Be" and in need of a planner, here is a code for 25% off your wedding planner! Code:BRIDE2BE25 offer expires on 2/14/14***

IMPORTANT: I have decided on my reception venue and was able to find a place in my hometown. The kicker, it's in the process of being renovated. It is a historic sight downtown and would bring in a lot of business to our small town if the owners were able to finish the project. Money is an issue though so they are trying to get a grant to help the process go by quicker. Please visit this website and vote daily>>> Small Business Grant from Fedex. You can vote daily from each device (phone, iPad/tablet, laptop, etc.). I have faith in them and that it will be BEAUTIFUL! My only other option is to have a reception hall that is out of town and could possibly not work out if a winter storm rolls through next winter. Thanks a million for your vote! :)

10 months and 3 weeks until I become a MRS.! Also, a quick shout out to my main man, Superman, first love--my daddy. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

xo
Miss Mal

The Proposal

Prelude 

     On August 23rd, 2010 I began my journey as a Pitt State Gorilla. Words can not describe how unhappy I was during that time in my life. My grandmother was very sick and we were preparing for the worst, I was attending Pitt State (which I swore I would never do because it seemed like EVERYONE went there and I missed Wichita State), all of my relationships were really rocky, and countless other reasons. I was depressed. All I could do was fully rely on God that he was taking care of me and I was on His path. I remember praying the whole way to class that He would show me love. Love to replace the sadness of my grandma's health, to teach me to love and be comfortable with myself, and love of a person to replace my other rocky relationships.
     As I sat in the last class of the day in Grubbs Hall, General Literature, I was complaining to my friend Carly via text about how horrible this day was. I quickly resent another text to her as a tall, tanned, light haired boy with gorgeous blue eyes walked in wearing dark denim and boots---"I just laid eyes on the guy I am going to marry."
     In the following weeks I found out as much as I could about the boy and loved coming to class. On September 1st, campus flooded with the downpour of rain. This resulted in wet socks, which made for a very unhappy Malarie. Until...the Gen. Lit. cutie randomly ran up under my umbrella in the rain. I thought I was going to pass out. I tried everything I could to get him out of my mind since he was seeing another girl at the time, but I am pretty sure I annoyed Carly with my excitement. Sorry Carly. September went on and on September 25th I spent the evening with my Grandma GG. We talked about boys and other girl things while I also told her all I knew about my Gen. Lit. cutie. I even showed her a picture. I will never forget the look she gave me when she saw his face. She said he was so handsome and I obviously agreed. I got her ready for bed, said goodnight, and then went on my way. I was the last person she spoke with. The next morning when we went to check on her, she had passed.

Friday, December 13th, 2013

     Ryan finally finished school and was about to graduate. The day was all about him! I decided to take a personal day from work to spend the day celebrating with Ryan and his family. My mom had scheduled me a nail and hair appointment, which I desperately needed, for the morning, before the shenanigans began. My hair stylist ended up fixing my hair AND doing my make-up for me. SCORE! All I had left to do was get dressed and I was ready! When I got to Ryan's house he was so nervous and kept saying he was sick to his stomach. I didn't remember feeling that nervous for my graduation, but I just kept giving him sympathy and telling him how proud I was of him hoping to calm his nerves. At about 3:30 Ryan decided he wanted to go tour the college for the last time. Seriously?! It was rainy, my hair was fixed, I was in heels, and it was COLD! I painted a smile on my face and said, "this day is all about you sweetie, so whatever you want to do." As I helped him gather his cap and gown, I teased with him that he should have decorated his cap like all of the girls usually do. "You should have put something like...Malarie will you marry me? on the top of the cap so I would see it during the ceremony. Haha..." As we were walking out the door he handed me an umbrella (the color of the one I had in college) and told me it was for our walk around campus since it was rainy. We jumped in his truck to head to PSU while he changed it to our song Honeybee by Blake Shelton.
     Obviously no one was at the college that day and all of the parking lots were empty, but Ryan insisted we park 2 blocks away where we used to park and sit to talk after class. He was being such a sappy romantic that day for an odd reason. We walked all through campus visiting spots that were special to us, even our General Literature room in Grubbs Hall. About the time by hair went flat, he decided he was ready to leave. Thank goodness! He was being ridiculously emotional that day. On our way back to his truck he started listing reasons he loved me. I didn't understand why, but Ryan is not the kind of guy to say that stuff so I was just letting it soak in. About the time he was going to tell me his #1 reason he loved me, I saw my mom pop up behind a truck that resembled my dad's with a camera looking like the paparazzi. Then, my dad started walking towards us, and out of no where we just happened to be standing in front of his parents' car (I didn't even recognize) and his family piled out. As I looked around confused, trying to figure out why everyone was there and with cameras, I had blocked out all of what Ryan was saying. When I looked back at Ryan, my Gen. Lit. cutie was on his knee and looking as if he was waiting on an answer. Assuming he asked me to marry him, I said yes and instantly began crying with happiness. We had always said that once Ryan graduated we would think about getting married, but honestly, on HIS graduation day, on Friday the 13th, I NEVER saw this coming. On a rainy, Friday the 13th, with an umbrella in hand, we made our own luck and decided on forever together.

 

 

xo

Miss Mal

Smelling the Roses...

Wow. Where do I begin? The past 5-6 months I have been going nonstop and time has flew by.

Right now, I am pushing pause. Breathing. Feeling. Enjoying. Living. 

After swimming (more like doggy-paddling, kicking, and flopping around like crazy) just to keep my head above water, I realized how fast life my life has changed. Teaching has been chaotic, hard, fun, stressful, busy, and so much more, but mostly busy. Between balancing work and my life, I have not had anytime to smell the roses and take in the happenings around me. They can tell you all they want how exhausting a 1st year elementary teacher will be, but until it happens, you will not fully understand. My mind and opinion on teaching has completely changed and looking at that aspect of my life, I am really not quite sure where my God will direct my life's path.

These next few months years are only going to get busier. I can't wait to document every ounce of it.

Welcome to the good life. 

Each year of my life seems to get better and they are always filled with countless blessings. 2013 was great, and the best of the year was saved for last.

On Friday, December 13th, 2013, Ryan Lynn decided he really did want to spend forever with me. He even placed that ginormous rock on my finger to prove it. It was completely unnecessary but of course I did not object. :) It was incredible and there will definitely be more on that story later! Meanwhile, a quick review of 2013.....

xo

Miss Mal

P.S. Thank you Carly for encouraging me to do this and keep it up. :)