{three years, married to my love.}

H A P P Y ANNIVERSARY to me and the mister! ♥ Today is our day!

Isn’t it crazy how quickly your mind can flip back to a certain day like it was just moments ago? Since our wedding, we’ve conquered many challenges with our love {tee hehe}, like a 7-month span of unemployment; 4 address changes, including from Michigan to Minnesota in 2009 [yikes!]; completing 1 [successful] year as a handmade business owner; and adopting the cutest puppy ever. I’d say we’re doing great ;]

An overnight trip.
It has been for-evah since Zack and I snuck away from our house for an overnight. Actually, probably an entire year. One of our favorite things is to date each other ~ we have a very playful, open-communication, adventurous relationship. Zack and I started dating when we were freshmen in college, back in 2004, so we have a huge weakness for summertime dates and the butterflies that come along. Over the weekend Zack and I went away for a quick overnight trip ~ we drove over to Stillwater and stayed in a bed & breakfast Saturday night, perched a few blocks from Main Street.

Our room overlooked the front porch roof and it was seriously picture-perfect inside. I’ll spare you the details *wink*, but let me just share that the bed was round & the room included a GIANT tub.

I swam laps. Just kidding.

Laughter. Love. Birds chirping outside.
We woke Sunday to a lovely coffee/muffin tray left outside our door. Then at 9am sharp breakfast was served downstairs. More {delicious} hazelnut coffee, orange juice, orange ice-water, strawberries + fresh cream, blueberry stuffed french toast + sausage links, and a itty-bitty slice of cheesecake with strawberry + chocolate toppings. YUM!

Summer sun casting shadows + sunglasses + ice-cream + laughter + walking around outside, holding hands… The weather was a batch of perfection. I am so thankful for our fierce love for one another :]

There was a quick 5 minute walk from the B&B to downtown Stillwater. And this staircase? Don’t let it fool you… it’s really 3x the size you see here and made me ultra grumpy to climb it! Sorry, Zack… [xo]

Oh, is that homemade chocolate?
It is, it is! And there’s an entire case of truffles {hazelnut & lemon are my favorites} just to the right a bit… Can you see white case over there? Yummy! And you know we stopped to put a few scoops of sour patch gummy fruits into a white paper bag to bring home :]

A compromise.
We both love food, and there were so many cute, local estaurants to choose from, so we decided to celebrate Saturday night with a fancy dinner at an Italian restaurant and then Sunday’s lunch would be more relaxed and fun. Good relationships are all about compromising, right? :] We toasted to the past 3 years, feasted on creamy tomato-y dishes, and finished the evening with a lemon & raspberry dessert. On Sunday we ordered burgers and fries “to go” and sat on the break wall of the St. Croix river while we ate. I talked, Zack nodded. Zack talked, I nodded {and talked}. Perfection ♥

An antique shop + Rose Mille.
Little {or large} collections of other peoples things that are old are incredibly fascinating to look at and touch and comment on. Some of my favorite collections we saw were kitchen gadgets/spices/dishes {the china we saw, oh my!}, an old chest of thread, and a Junior Miss Rhinestone Setter Kit ~ so darling that I contemplated bring it home to pretty up my Gussy items.

One guess on what caught Zack’s eyes.

The guns.

Last fall I saw a little glimpse of what Rose Mille has inside their brick & mortar shop at The Creative Connection’s handmade market, so when we walked past their store front Sunday helloooooo, inside we went! So many pretty things to decorate your home or craft room. The photo below reminds me of Lisa Leonard’s style… Lovely.

Look what I found, hidden in the back…

My favorite part of last weekend is that it was just Zack and I, me and Zack. No work or computers or phones. Just my love and I celebrating life.

See this face?…

This is the face of a happy wife.

I LOVE YOU ZACK! xoxo