Remember, Remember, Remember

Another Very Good Year

UPDATE! Thanks to all those that have inquired about collaborating on a custom timeline of their own. Click HERE for more info!
Some of you may remember the little timeline I made last year to commemorate our first year of marriage. Well, I've decided to make it a tradition! So without further ado, here is a snippet of our second year together:

Calling my name...

Photo taken as we drove in to the heart of Glen Coe, Scotland.

Wanderin'

You have, no doubt, been checking this little corner of the internet EVERY DAY since April, wondering what has happened to your favorite trio of shenanigan-doers, no?!

Well, the first 6 months of 2013 have been just too chocked-full of adventure to keep up...

We've set foot in 11 states (collectively) and hopped across the pond for the dreamiest adventure in England and Scotland (which I hope to post about someday soon). We crossed an exciting amount of stuff off our Life List in the first half of this year, and we can't wait to see where we'll be off to next! 

Happy April!

April is gettin' fancy with this dapper Giraffe.

Marchin' in

February was a pretty incredible month, so March has some pretty big shoes to fill... 

Snippet from the past

I was trying to forward a message to my email from my Facebook messages just a moment ago, and stumbled across this snippet from 5 years ago. It was a journal entry written for one of my favorite classes at Belmont. I love coming across sweet little memories like this!
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Journal for September 21st, 2007

Lauren Elizabeth Maus

“Everything you can imagine is real” –Pablo Picasso

My vivid imagination has become my best companion, and no, not in a weird schizophrenic way. When I was a little girl, I was often unable to sleep. I was too terrified of the unseen, ominous creature lurking somewhere in my room, so I would try to think of anything to distract me. My imagination created monsters so real, I swore I could feel their fire-laced breath and hear their hideous snarls even as I pulled my flowered sheets tightly over my head. At first, I would simply try to conjure up delightful images to ease my mind, but those too-quickly vanished, and the cold fear soon returned. It took very little to frighten me, very little to send my mind whirling into an abyss of fear. I realized that simply trying to think of random, happy things wasn't enough. I had to devise something else to ease my fears.

The stories started small... I remember that the first "bedtime story" I ever told myself was about a girl in a pink dress and all the lovely pets she owned. I fell asleep that night, feeling safe and content, and thinking nothing about those age-old bedtime monsters. After that, the stories grew longer and grander. They even began to spill over into my daytimes hours, as I would sit at the kitchen table drawing the characters I had created the night before, lovingly rendered in crayon. It soon happened that I couldn't wait to go to bed at night, whether to revisit beloved characters or create new ones.

Though at first my imagination plagued me with fear, I eventual found the key to unlocking a world of imagined wonders. Maybe thats why I've developed a love of reading. Discovering new stories, places, and characters comforts me, just as my own stories comforted me and help shoo away the monsters from my room all those years ago.

February already?!

A New Year is Here!

A glimpse at my 2013 Calendar, Fancy Fauna!

January?! Where did you come from?! Sneaky...

We had a White Christmas in Indiana full of sledding, snowball fights, snow-tinis (yep, drinky drinks made with snow), cozy fires, loving friends and family, tasty food, and a whole lot of weeping (Ren, not Ben) during Les Mis.

Now, these lovebirds are trying to get back in the swing of things and see what 2013 has in store! 

Rejoice! Rejoice!

Christmastime is finally here! It is my favorite time of the year, and such a wonderful reminder of the miraculous birth of our Savior. Rejoice! 

Pip on drugs

Poor Pip got the snip a few days ago and though we hate to see our little gentleman suffer, it does provide pretty priceless, drug-induced hilarity like this:

A Very Good Year

UPDATE! Thanks to all those that have inquired about collaborating on a custom timeline of their own. Click HERE to order!

When I originally started this little piece to give to Ben for our anniversary yesterday, I began with a timeline of the big milestones from this past year, but then I got to thinking... years from now, we will probably still remember all those big events, but the memory of our day-to-day life will be foggier. So, I decided to capture a glimpse into the little details of our very first year together so that someday, many years from now, we can can look back and smile and say "Oh yes! I'd forgotten about that!" I was so inspired by this first try that I hope to make this a yearly tradition!

Owl-oween

Just reliving the glory of our costumes from 2 years ago... maybe they will take flight again this year? (PUNS!)

Squash

Butternut squash, destined for some gnocchi

It is fall, that is all!

Cider and pumpkins and scarves... oh my!

A piece of our whimsical, woodsy wedding decor

Autumn is obviously our mutually favorite seasons since we chose to get married during this glorious time of year and one of the only advantages to the weather in Nashville is we get a relatively long fall.

Though this time last year was full of so many wonderful things, there is much to look forward to this year as well, including (but not limited to):

• Our 1-year anniversary! (Where has the time gone?!)
• My darling friend's wedding on October 13th!
• Pumpkinfest - The most amazing event in Tennessee (besides the Fainting Goat Festival, I suppose). So great in fact, I may have to give Pumpkinfest it's own blog post one of these days
• Cardigan and scarf weather! (I should say "comfortable cardigan and scarf weather" since I have unsuccessfully tried to sport both this summer)
• Apple picking! Caramel Apples! Apple Crisp! Apple cider! 
• Walks in the crunchy leaves at Edwin Warner Park
• Our annual fall viewing of The Village

This list could go on, but I will save my fall-ccetric ravings for another day. 

Fairest Fair

The delightfully crisp air that has overtaken Nashville was the perfect backdrop for a magical evening at the Tennessee State Fair.

Some people go for the rides, some for the fried "food," some for the exhibits... I go with the hope of meeting a friendly alpaca or two. This fair did not disappoint as I had ample hang time with not one but THREE alpacas, shaggy goats, tiny sheep, momma and bebe mules, super stylin' ducks and an ear-less goat (see bottom right... WHAT IS GOING ON THERE!?!?!)

I was thrilled to find the only stand at the entire fair selling Elephant Ears (apparently a Midwest-exclusive treat?) and Ben got his Swanson on whilst devouring a giant Turkey leg.

Thrilling pig races and Kenyan acrobats were the icing on this Blue Ribbon-worthy cake.

Loungin'

We three are currently basking in this gloriously crisp breeze... sure hope this weather is here to stay!

Happy September!

Happy supposed fall season time! We refuse to let the sauna outside dampen (pun intended) our autumnal spirits!

Cheer

I really like this photo from my birthday dinner for some reason. It is candid (except for me being a goober) and I love how relaxed and cheerful my sweet grandma Jane looks. Yay for wonderful family. I am quite blessed.

Kitty comfort

Is there anything better than coming home to an adoring, cuddly Pip?!

Well, maybe for Ben who gets to come home to an adoring, cuddly Pip AND Ren.