Tag Archives: love

Be Brave, Live Small

be brave, live small

Terrified, excited, nervous, relieved– these past few weeks have been a roller coaster of emotion. My new job will force us to move and it has forced George and I to have long car-ride and late-night talks about our future.

Through those talks we’ve often discussed that world is not as it once was. I was told, we both were, that when we got out out of college the world would be waiting for us. As college graduates, no matter our major, someone would want us. They would pay us well. We would have healthy 401(k)s and retirement plans and we would soon be ready to buy a house. It’s the dream that our blue-collar parents did not easily achieve.

And as we are learning, it is not a dream we will easily achieve either. The world is not as it once was. An undergraduate education does not equate job safety– nor does a graduate education.  The job prospects in 2008 when I got out of school were abysmal– especially so for an English major and an Art major.

We hid out for a while in underemployment and in our parents’ houses. Then I hid out in graduate school where I was lucky enough to get a couple of assistantships, internships and a few very small scholarships. After a very long job search, George got an elementary school teaching position. We were thankful. And we were happy.

But our happiness was short-lived. We were again fearful when I graduated from my graduate program in 2011. The constant thought of how difficult my job search was in 2008 loomed in the background. I worried daily and we lived off canned soup and saltines. (Ultimately, our diet combined with the stress of looming unemployment made me very sick, but that is a story for another time.)

I applied to over 100 jobs and out of those 100 applications, I got one interview for a job at a small, rural community college. One job interview. But by some miracle, I got it. Again, I was thankful and relieved, but the job was in a rural area, hours away from any of our family and friends.

We were sad to leave the place that we had made our home for the past two years. We lived in a tiny, old apartment– only 400 square feet, but the rent was affordable, the area was walkable, and it was clean.

Moving to a rural area was hard for me. I still  struggle to find fresh fruits and vegetables at the grocery store and it is a 30 minute drive to the nearest Wal-Mart. Our rental choices in the area were slim and out of the two apartments available, we chose the more expensive choice because it was safe and didn’t have mold. Throughout it all, we made the best choices out of limited options.

During the time we’ve lived here, we’ve had some of the best and hardest times of our lives. Most importantly, we got married! But throughout the entire planning process, we struggled with the finances of a wedding. Ultimately, we made it out unscathed by being incredibly realistic with ourselves and I am so proud that we made that choice. But we ended up depleting our meager savings in the process.

We are also incredibly grateful to have very little debt. George and I worked throughout the time we were in school. (At one point, I had 3 jobs; it was kind of insane.) We got some scholarship help and our very middle class families helped us too. We know that we are incredibly lucky. And we know that we are better off than the majority of graduates.

Despite all of our luck and hard work, we still can’t get ahead. We still live paycheck to paycheck. If our rent and other bills stay the same, we won’t be able to buy a house in the foreseeable future.  George will never be able to pursue his art full-time. We won’t be able to afford a vacation or adopt a dog. We won’t get out of the cycle.

But we think we may have found a way to get ahead. To lead the life we want to lead, debt-free. And the answer is to live small.

For the next year, George and I will live smaller than we’ve ever lived before. Our budget will be smaller and our house will be much smaller (more details on this later!). But our bravery, our bravery will be big.

Have you ever had to take drastic measures to get out of the debt or break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle? I genuinely want to start an honest conversation about this in the comments.

living small but loving large,
melanie

Never Before Seen Wedding Photos!

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As you guys know, my wedding was featured on Junebug Weddings. While I was totally honored to be on the blog, they didn’t pick my favorite photos. Wedding blogs, in general, are really interested in the details of it all. But I really didn’t care too much about the little things. Yes, I made my bouquet, but I didn’t carry it. It felt unnatural. I carried a purse instead.

So I decided to share some of my personal favorite photos today!

942470_10100399052672446_1147552471_n 577642_10100399052328136_927283539_n 394540_10100399054518746_762294373_n 311539_10100399055861056_1341165238_nWeddings aren’t perfect. Life isn’t perfect. But it sure is amazing.

love,
melanie

Our Wedding is on Photobug today!

Photo by Richard Israel

Photo by Richard Israel

Our wedding is over on Junebug Wedding’s photoblog, Photobug today. Check it out!

love,
melanie

Happy Birthday, George!

Photo by Richard Israel Photography.

Photo by Richard Israel Photography.

Today is my love’s birthday. I love this dude more now than I did a year ago. We’ve been through so much in the past year and I couldn’t be prouder of you, George! You are patient, kind, handsome and so, so talented!

Happy Birthday, Georgie! I hope the next year is even happier than the last!

If you want to wish George a “Happy Birthday” follow him on Instagram or check out his website.

love your wife,
melanie

Easy Wedding Favors: Printed Brown Bags

Wedding favors on paper lunch bags

During the wedding planning process, DIY projects were not high on my list. I did manage to carve out some time to do a few easy and inexpensive crafts though. And I plan on sharing a few of them with you! I was super pleased with the way my wedding favors turned out. So, I’m sharing the how-to on those first!

For this project all you need is a little photoshop know-how, paper bags and a printer. (I would recommend a top-loading printer. Although it is possible to do with a bottom-loading printer. I have just found the top loading printers work better with the bags.)

wedding favorFirst, we designed our logo in Photoshop. We used the image of George and myself on our wedding invites too. Your design doesn’t have to be anything as elaborate as ours, a monogram would look nice too. If you don’t have Photoshop skills, you could even create your design in Word and then change your printer settings to the size of the bag.

Next, we changed the dimensions of the image in Photoshop to the dimensions of the paper bag and did a couple of test prints. After printing each bag, we added a can of RC Cola and a Moon Pie. In the South, an RC Cola and a Moon Pie is known as a working man’s lunch and both George and I have fond memories of eating Moon Pies and drinking RC Colas as kids.

Finally, we punched two holes in the top of the bag, looped a ribbon through and tied a bow. Quick, easy and cheap! Done!

**A helpful hint is to buy more bags than you need and be patient! If the bag has any kind of small tear or inconsistency, the printer may eat it. Just keep calm and carry on!**

Questions? Leave ’em in the comments!
love,
melanie

Engagement Photos… One of the best wedding purchases we made

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Taking engagement pictures was one of the best decisions we made when planning our wedding. At first I thought the idea of engagement pictures was totally frivolous, unnecessary and maybe a little narcissistic.  But after I got thinking about it, I realized that I wanted a few professional pictures of George and I in our everyday clothes. We don’t wear wedding attire everyday, ya know?

So we called up our photographer and told him that we regretted not adding engagement photos to our wedding package. He then told us to meet him the upcoming weekend to take a few pictures! Engagement pictures was one of the best wedding purchases we made. I think I might even blow a few of the shots up and (finally) decorate our walls.

All photos credit of  Richard Israel Photography. He’s a great guy. I highly recommend him.

Did you decide to get engagement pictures taken? Let me know in the comments.

love,
melanie

 

 

a little reminder…

Here’s a little reminder for you all on this Monday morning.

EnoughI need this reminder today– maybe you do too. Here’s wishing for a brilliant week.

love,
melanie

Love Quotes: The Mariner’s Bride

Pheobe Cary PoemWe are going through a huge weeding process at work. Weeding is just a fancy librarian term for taking books out of the library. We weed to get some of the outdated titles off the shelf to make room for updated titles. Anyway, last week when I was weeding I came across a very old book (1880-I think) of Pheobe Cary’s Poems. The first page that I happened to open had the loveliest poem inscribed. The poem was entitled The Mariner’s Bride and told the tale of a sailor’s love for his bride. The line written in the picture above really resonated with me. I don’t think it is for me, but this poem would make lovely wedding vows for a sea-faring couple. The poem and book in it’s entirety can be found here.

Did you incorporate literature in your wedding vows? Let me know how in the comments.

love,
melanie

Things No One Told Me About Planning a Wedding

Who has a Victrola at their wedding?

Well, folks, I know I’m trying to make this more of a library and book themed blog, but all of my free time lately has been consumed by wedding planning. George and I will be getting married in 3 months and I am feeling the crunch– literally– I’ve been working out like it is going out of style.

I’ve been failing miserably to make planning stress-free and I feel it is partly because I’ve been totally misinformed about the whole planning process. Everyone told me wedding planning would be fun and a great chance for you to spend time with your family and your “hubby-to-be.” (That phrase is gag-worthy, by the way.) Well, everyone was, for the most part, wrong. It’s been stressful, and hard, and I’ve seen even less of my family and fiancee.

I know it sounds a little surly, but I wish someone would have told me that WEDDING PLANNING SUCKS. It sucks all the free time out of your life. Hobbies, forget it. Chores, forget those too. This blog, yeah, neglected. Now you have another job. And that job is planning. Those people who told me that “Oh, you’re having a small wedding, it will be nice and stress-free” should eat their words.

Here are some of the things I wish someone had told me about planning even the smallest of wedding gatherings.

6. You may get more self-conscious about your own appearance. (Wedding pictures last forever, right?!)

5. Some people, be them the bestest of friends or the closest of family will probably get mad at you during some point in this process. (If you are having a small wedding with a big family, be prepared for the hell that is the invite list.)

4. People will judge you for doing unconventional things. I heard this one as not doing things “right.” (It’s a very Southern thing to say.)

3. You may start to understand the women who appear on the tv show, Bridezillas. It is a disgusting display of humanity, but I heard the “bridezillas” say a few key phrases that I’ve spit out. (I.E. Well, this is MY wedding, not theirs!)

2. Even small weddings can be ridiculously expensive. (Tack “wedding” onto any phrase and it becomes $1,000 more in price.)

1. Wedding planning is not fun. (You may start to even hate your own wedding at some point and have elaborate elopement fantasies.)

I don’t have much advice on how to avoid the perils of planning and sometimes I wonder if it can be avoided. I simply hope my unpreparedness helps future-brides. And I hope my own planning journey reward is a relatively stress-free wedding.

What do you wish you were told before you began planning for your own wedding?

love,
melanie

Books to Give as Wedding Gifts

Photography property of Corey Balazowich. Discovered via Flickr.

Photography property of Corey Balazowich. Discovered via Flickr.

It is upon us! Wedding season! For many of you wedding season has already begun, but for George and I, the majority of our wedding activities are beginning this weekend. The dresses, and devotions, and drinks will kick off with a trip to a friends’ wedding in West Virginia. Then, we’ve got two more weddings in September and our own wedding in December.

Questions always arise about a gift when one is playing the role of wedding guest. The majority of the weddings we will be attending do not have a registry– which can be a blessing or a curse. The idea of a gifting on such a momentous occasion has inflicted a little bit of worry in my mind, but going registry-less can also be exciting. It gives the chance to show-case talents or give the people what they really want– CASH.

With registry-less weddings, I like to give a thoughtful book with money inside. Picking out books is my talent. And yes, I’m spoiling the surprise. Oops! Here’s some of my tips and favorite books for wedding gift-giving.

1. If the couple is going somewhere exotic on their honeymoon, a phrase or guide book is a helpful and entertaining choice. For our friends who were going to Italy on their honeymoon, we got them a Dirty Italian phrase book stuffed with cash. I hope they stunned the Italians with their knowledge and dirty-word skills.

2. I think marriage help or marriage advice books are way too personal to give at a wedding. Those types of books may even send the wrong message to the happy couple. But a book of other people’s love letters? Well, that just sounds divine.

3. Have the bride and groom expressed interest in learning a new skill or do they have a collective hobby? Now would be a great time to give a book on canning, gardening, or homemaking skills– if your couple is into that sort of thing. I particularly like Canning for a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry. It’s filled with hi-res pictures and makes canning look surprisingly hip.

4. Does your couple like fiction? Classic love stories like this illustrated Bronte Sisters collection would be fitting. Personally, I would prefer a few lovely classic novels to start a personal library in our home together. I’ve been swooning over this classic novels box set for over a year and would love to receive it as a wedding gift. Hint, Hint!

Do you have any tips about wedding gift giving? Have you ever given a book as a wedding gift? Let me know in the comments!

love,
melanie