A LITTLE LIFE LATELY {Married + Living Together}

Oh why; hello there! How wonderful it is to see your beautiful faces!  You didn't really think I had forgotten about you, did you? I thought tonight was a good night to have a late night post - and share a little of life lately. I took some time off, no wait - I took ALOT of time off. There has been so many changes in my life - good changes - soul searching and so many things that I want to share with you all. It has been a crazy time away from blogging and social media. Crazy busy, crazy love-filled, crazy, crazy, crazy. Instead of sharing every moment, I chose to focus on what was right in front of me and truly enjoy the moment and be present with my wonderful clients, our new home and my handsome husband who I absolutely adore. We've moved, brought in all our new appliances and some new electronic gadgets as well as a new straight from the showroom floor-vehicle. (I'll introduce our lovely addition to the family: Hemi: a 2014 Dodge Durango - who has been assigned to haul buckets of blooms to and from up-coming events-over on Instagram tomorrow, follow along here) Lots and lots of changes have been happening. Almost overwhelming - but very very much needed. All your emails, texts, calls, tags, kissey faces and comments with your love, encouragement and support over all these changes has overwhelmed this big Greek heart of mine. I just want to hug each and every one of you. For being happy for me, and us, for being supportive, and for understanding that social media is not my first priority. 

 What's on the other side? Is that picture above – of that sexy squad car sitting in our driveway. If anything were to sum up these last weeks away from the computer: it is just that. My popo is home for good. It's been a long time since we've lived together-try 2.5 years- and I really thought it would be tough getting into the swing of things; but it's like we just picked it right back up. Kind of like a bicycle right? I say love is worth it a lot. It has become my mantra, my motto and truly been my motivation for a while. If you are struggling with something, let me tell you; it is worth is. Looking back, I see it very clearly; all the struggles; the heartache; the tears; the missed birthdays and holidays; it was all worth it - love is worth it. 

I have some really great content planned for the end of April and things are really going to get exciting soon - but for now - I bid you farewell - because this Greek has an addiction to her bathtub; and it's singing my name. Oh wait - thats just the popo in the other room; "hey, it's almost bedtime" How annoying, yet loving & satisfying- that he is here and able to know when I've been in the studio too long - oh friends! My popo is home!! 

xoxo

OUR ANNIVERSARY 2013 + ISP UPDATE {One Year}

One year ago today I married this man. This man that I have shared my life with since January 2006. A man that I can close my eyes, hang on to and lean as far back as I can go, because I know he's got me and he's not going to let go. I think we make it look easy. I see a lot of people rolling their eyes at us at the store, because we still hold-hands, he still shamelessly tickles me in public, he still opens the car-door for me and I still put my nose in his neck to breathe in that reassurance that only he can give me.  We do make it look easy - but it's not. It so much work.  I think being a newlywed is hard. You see all these amazingly happy pictures of newlyweds plastered all over the place and you want it to be that way - all the time. But the reality is it's not that way - all the time. Everyone thinks that because you're newlyweds it's all about love and honeymooning, holding-hands and kissing. Or maybe the wedding industry and magazines paint it to be this picturesque scene of the newly married couple walking down the beach, laughing and just gloriously happy. Ha! Gloriously happy? If your like me .. your thinking ... what the hell does that mean? Where's the realistic ads about how you want to claw his eyes out the first time you sit on the toilet in cold water because he didn't put the seat down? Or your cleaning up hair again from the sink because somehow he thought he got it all? (Really? How do you not see the black hair on the sink lip?) Or the irritation he shows because I said "I'll be down in 5min", an hour ago. (true story!) I think getting into your first year of marriage you really have no idea what to really expect. I know what I wanted our first year to be like - a two-story house, a black rod-iron fence, JD's squad car parked right out front for the whole world to see, him home at night helping me finish dinner and a little baby-bump he'd rub and talk to.  HA! That's what I thought I wanted (or maybe what I have been told I'm suppose to want)  Want to know what I got? I got middle-of-night I miss you & love you phone calls, stinky Kevlar to hand wash, missed holidays because he's on duty, a squad car I can't pull out of the driveway - (but I do operate the lights! (YES!) a downtown townhome that I live alone in and a man that loves me to enough to drive the hour and half home after his 2 a.m. shift just to hold me. All I really wanted - was for him to come home, so we can live a resemblance of a "normal" life.  I don't know what "normal" is, but for me it would mean less time in my car traveling to see him, and more time laying in bed with him. Well - just as we were deciding on a move date for me - JD got the call from District 9. He's coming home. Hang on - let me just say that again! Friends!! My husband is coming home! Two years! We've been waiting since February 2012. God is so good.

Saying we are excited/happy/bursting with happiness/joy/excitement & whatever other adjective you can come up with would be an understatement. I simply just cried after he got off the phone. To my poor dear husbands disbelief. ("Baby, aren't you happy?") All the emotions, struggles, fights, late-night drives, doubts, fears, good-byes - everything just came out in the form of tears - ever flowing emotional tears. All the struggles, all sacrifices, all the distance - all the loneliness - was all worth it. To get to this place - and what's crazy - the tough times are really just starting.

Yes - yes it is. Our love, our story is proof. It really is worth it.

We've picked up looking for houses, and are going to attempt to hit 10 open-houses this weekend and pick out pumpkins for our carvings. Halloween really is JD's favorite holiday. Oh- friends a happy happy day to you - grab your loved ones and tell them how much you love them.

XOXO - Cas

Wedding Photo by the amazing Ravetta Photography. Love is worth it design by yours truly.

Choices {Married; Living Apart}

Type. Delete. Type. Delete. That's how this post started so many times. When I tell people I'm married, and my husband doesn't live with me I get this look -- its hard to describe but I'll just say it's rude.

My husband is an Illinois State Trooper.  We've been together since college. Back in 2006; in the days when I wanted to be a hot shot STL attorney and he wanted to be a Child Psychiatrist. When we both worked full time, went to school full time and had a date night a week in the library of the University. Dinners included flashcards he would quiz me on for my legal Latin classes and 8 months of LSAT prep. We struggled for so long and waited for so long for the State Police to call. It was hard. The hurdles, and jumps and tests you take to become a Trooper still amazes me. But he passed them all & went to the academy. Six long months of not speaking during the week and only seeing each other Friday and Saturday nights. Graduation day, couldn't of come sooner. There has to be openings in a district to get assigned there.  The ISP district I live in rarely has openings. So he picked the closest district he could to me - about an hour and a half away. He immediately put himself on the transfer list to come home - but it is a first come first serve list. He was No. 12 on the list. We found a tiny 1 bedroom apartment for dirt cheap for him in the little town he lives in & I rent a nice west-side 2 bedroom that's about 5 minutes from the Courthouse.  He wants to come back to Springfield - and not put all our furniture in storage and force me to drive that hour and a half every day. Its a choice we made together. A sacrifice we both make.

With that I leave you with our reason - because we love each other and after all - it is just an hour and a half. Love is worth it.

with love

- Cass

 Photo above by St. Louis' own Ravetta Photography.

An Illinois State Trooper! {ISP Graduation Day}

Oh happy day! There's not much I can say about this day; except eeeeeep!! So - without further ado a proud, proud day.
 

JD is the last one, last row. In his cadet uniform - this was the Bell Ceremony the day before Graduation.

It was so hard to take photos here with the press there and so many people. But he is in the first row, second from the left.

JD getting his badge pinned on. I wish I had better photos - please please forgive this.

Last, but not least is this goofy pic I snapped mid-sentence.

Oh friends! Pinch me please - we did it. He made it. We are so incredibly blessed and have met so many other amazing new troopers and their beautiful families. Praying for all these new troopers and their families for a safe career.

Much Love,

- Cass