Friends, today is our two-year wedding anniversary! I thought I’d celebrate by sharing a favorite photo, but who am I kidding – I can’t stop at just one :)

I actually write Tanja Lippert a thank you note every year, because I am that to-my-knees grateful for these treasures.

As if it needs to be said after those beautiful photos, but what a magical day. I feel so lucky to have absolutely no regrets, looking back – so thankful, in hindsight, that we took the time to do things our way, to do them meaningfully, and to do them with great love. I have absolutely no desire to do it over again; instead, I love looking forward to what is to come.

The kind folks at Southern Weddings shared our marriage advice yesterday on the blog and in print in Volume 6, and I thought it might be fun to share it here, too:

You know that saying, find a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life? Well, we like to switch it up a bit: marry your best friend, and you’ll never work a day in your marriage. That, of course, is not entirely true — even the best marriages have harder days and easier days — but if you truly LIKE your partner, and love spending time with him or her more than anyone else, everything else seems to fall into place. Or, at least, that’s been our experience! Other tips that have served us well throughout our eight years together: forgive again and again, and don’t hold a grudge (easier said than done). Put your partner before yourself in small things — it will help to have that muscle in shape when bigger things come around. Take great joy in surprising and delighting him or her. Always speak well to others about your spouse, and about marriage in general. Stay humble. And finally, because it’s one of the main causes of divorce and marital issues, get your financial house in order. If finances are simply not a cause of stress, you’ll have a huge leg up on life together.

P.S. One year of marriage
P.P.S. Want to hear my Dad’s marriage advice? That’s right here.

John and I are coming up on our second anniversary (September 15!) which means our dear friends Jackie and George just celebrated their first anniversary (September 7!). I shared a little bit about their wedding right after it happened last year, and you may also recall the inspiration board I put together for Jackie back in January 2013. I thought you might like to see how everything came together, and of course, the photos from Bryce Covey are too good not to share! I’m pretty proud of that photographer recommendation – he’s blown up since 2012! :)

Yes, Jackie is one of the cutest people in the world. We’ll just get that out of the way right off the bat. Is she not a modern day Audrey Hepburn?

This sweet groomsmen photo was one of my favorites!

John and I had the honor of reading at the ceremony, and we were so happy to do it! I might be getting mixed up, but I’m pretty sure I remember Jackie telling us that the only time she cried at the ceremony was during our reading (aww!!). This is only fitting, because when she read at our ceremony, she got choked up right at the end, which made me start sniffling, too.

The cocktail hour and reception were at George’s parents house, and let me tell you, there are few things I love more than an at-home wedding – and one with a Sperry tent, to boot! His mom’s collection of vintage floral linens was used on the cocktail tables, a detail I loved.

Sliders! Pigs in a blanket! Pizza! The food was totally up my alley.

John and I had the pleasure of being the only two guests that got to be in both the high school and college photos. That’s the high school group on the left! I’m going to give a little shout out to Amelia and Jeremy here because I’m guessing they are reading :)

Jackie is one of the kindest, smartest, most compassionate, funniest, and all-around loveliest people I know. I’m so grateful to have the privilege of doing life with her, and so very happy that she found her great love. Here’s to many more September anniversaries!

Any questions on sources for this lovely New York wedding, just leave them in the comments and I will try to answer them (or Jackie will – she is one of my most loyal, and favorite, readers!).

Have y’all SEEN the new Puffin in Bloom books by Rifle Paper Co? They are perfection.

I love almost everything Anna does, and these books are no exception. I think they’re even prettier than the Penguin Classics! Anne of Green Gables is one of my very favorite books (I made an inspiration board here!), and I also love A Little Princess. I actually don’t think I’ve ever read Heidi or Little Women, so I guess that gives me an excuse to buy the books! :) They’re definitely going on my Christmas list.

All four books are available on Rifle’s site for $16 or for about $11 on Amazon.

P.S. All of these photos are from Anna’s instagram stream – so neat to see the paintings that became the covers!

P.P.S. My brother-in-law is Anna’s literary agent! So proud of him, too :)

My husband would NOT be happy with me for saying this (he resents fall because it leads to winter), but I’m looking forward to all that the next few months will hold! Of course, I fully intend to celebrate summer until it’s good and over (it was 95 degrees yesterday, after all), but I’m also getting excited for the fall adventures we have in the works. Happy September, friends!

Happy mason jar flowers riding home in my car’s cup holder!

August goal recap:
Sort pile in small bedroom. (I would say this is about 25% done – sliding it down to this month’s goals!)
Plant a few hardy bananas against our backyard fence.
Make a trip to the Ballard Designs outlet and possibly buy a bed, if the one we’re interested in is there. (Bed was not available :(
Get our summer dinner party on the calendar. Not only did the dinner party get on the calendar, but it happened! Report coming soon!
Make plans for our two year anniversary! (Plans have been discussed, but I would not say they’ve been finalized.)

September goals:
— Sort pile in small bedroom
— Weekly tennis dates with John in addition to our monthly couples tennis dates
— Edit and sort photos from Natalie + Joe’s wedding weekend, Maine, and family Christmas card shoot
— Open an account at my local consignment shop and bring in items to sell
— Write at least 8 blog posts this month. I have so many things I want to write about that I’m challenging myself to get them out!

If you’ve posted September goals, I’d love to take a peek – leave a note in the comments!