Dear Snow, Where are you? Isn’t Frosty the Snowman adorable? I think it’s about time I built him a few snow-friends.
Dear Readers,
I gave this baby a facelift tonight.
Don’t get used to it.
I’m probably going to change my mind in a day or two. But I was tired of the baby blue and purple. I had to get rid of it.
Dear Readers…. again…
Sorry I’ve been quiet recently. I promise I have much to blog about. Including some overdue updates from our Texas vacation, a new Love Note, and a guest post from one of my favorites!
Dear Husband, Thank you for spending your Friday night out doing bachelor party things. Please stay out all night with strippers and alcohol and everything else debaucherous so that I can continue to give my blog some long overdue TLC. Love you!
Now, this week’s recap:
The Sunday Currently
It Happened…. & We Survived
The Byland Family Christmas Spectacular
Life Moves Pretty Fast
And my favorite posts on the blog-o-sphere this week:
What if Money Didn’t Matter?
The Christmas Ornament Swap (as in, you should get in on this!)
Okey dokes. Over and out. Have a great weekend!
Right now I am sitting on the couch typing with one hand because Baci has fallen asleep on my other hand. He’s snoring in a fat cat sort of way and his body is oh so very warm. Like a blanket. So we’re making this week’s letters short and sweet.
Dear week, you’ve taken me on quite a ride, haven’t you? Mostly good, packed with tons of stress.
Dear Kristin, thank you for playing American aristocracy with me on Tuesday. It was mighty fabulous and I think it’s safe to say the husbands enjoyed the little break from reality as well.
Dear holiday season sneaking up ever so quickly, bring it. Visions of sugar plums already dance in my head.
Dear blog, seeing as I’m the sole, self-employed author-in-residence of this little www, I’m taking the rest of the day off. Cough, cough. I’m sure you understand. ;)
Now, this week’s recap:
The Sunday Currently
The Pecan Street Festival in Austin, TX
The C Word
And my favorite post on the blog-o-sphere this week:
Private Moon
Secrets Anonymous
Oh, one more thing. There will be a pretty big announcement on Monday. Consider this your warning.
I didn’t make it to Friday’s Letters last week. I apologize for that. But sometimes, these things happen.
Dear Readers, November is my 1 year blog-iversary. And in honor of my blog-iversary, I’m offering 25% off all ad spots. Interested? Email me. :)
Dear Sandy, We’re getting you out of the way first. You weren’t too mean to us in these parts. You gave me a 2 day work week and a break long enough to constitute a mini-vacay. Awesome. But I’m mad that you took all of our pretty leaves with you. Thanks for that one.
Dear Neighbors, Thanks for being awesome. And for letting us host the hurricane party while you all walked your little butts down the street to our humble abode.
Dear Trick or Treaters, You were cute and all, but whatever happened to a hand made costume? In all seriousness, I judge our neighborhood a little by the fact that every single costume was store bought. Tell your parents they need to find some time in their busy, metro DC lives to make you the costume of your dreams. Where’s the creativity?
Dear Lanaya, You are awesome. Thanks for my new blog award, again. ;)
Dear Leopard Print, I did it. I know I said I wouldn’t. But I succumbed to the realization that I can’t leave J. Crew without something for myself. So, at the register with new shirts for Alex and nothing for me, I picked you up. Even though I said I wouldn’t. But, gosh, I love you.
Dear Readers, Get excited. I’m featured today over at Today Was A FairyTale for her Fall Favorites series where I’m sharing my very first recipe online! Ahh!!!!! So head on over and see for yourself how easy these bad boys are to make!
And a recap of this week’s posts:
Currently
Pretty Little Things: Uncommon Objects
Love Notes: Making “Today” a Sacred Word guest post
Happy Halloween!
Veritas Revisited: 1 Year Later
And my favorite posts on the blog-o-sphere this week:
Lighting Tips from Sheila (on Kristin’s blog)
Celebrating Weekends
Halloween on the Upper West (ok, it’s older than this week, but I just love how Natalie describes autumn in this post.)
IT’S FRIDAY! Not only Friday, but a no-work Friday over here! It’s looking like a great 3 day weekend!
Dear Hubcap, I love you because you go to three stores looking for Octoberfest, find it, and buy them out because Sam Adams is done with it for the year.
Dear Pre-K friends, You are ridiculous. You speak English (a little) now. But I’m still either “Byland” or “Mister Byland”. I’m going to begin pulling small groups to teach you how to properly say “Mrs. Byland”. Yikes.
Dear Anne Arundel County Public Schools, Thank you for giving us our wedding day off last year. And thank you for giving us a long weekend for our anniversary this year. We know you did it jussstttt for us. ;)
Dear Renaissance Festival, Turkey legs aren’t good. I’m disappointed Now that I eat meat, I had high expectations. You let me down.
Dear Alex, One year ago, you were the best groom ever. You don’t make a bad husband, either.
Dear Sara, Katie, Erin, Ariel and Stephanie, Thank you for putting up with me last year. You were the best bridesmaids ever. I had so much fun with you. And you don’t make too bad of friends, either. ;) I love you.
Dear our entire wedding party, You were awesome. To this day, my favorite memory of the wedding was sneaking downstairs to the cellar and passing the Gentleman’s Jack around while everyone was upstairs enjoying the reception. Thanks for that.
Dear Jodi & Kurt, We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again. You are the world’s best wedding photogs. Thanks for that!
Dear Readers, Thank you for indulging me this week with all of my wedding memories. We’re off to celebrate our anniversary tomorrow. That way this blog can get back to normal.
And we call this week “the week that went by like a bolt of lightening”…..
Dear weather, You’ve been AHHHMAZING! And I caught myself saying, at recess… out loud, “I married Alex on a perfect fall day like this”…. Keep the colder weather coming this way, please!
Dear Kitchen, I’ve kept you busy. I’ve never liked you. You don’t have a window, you lack counter space and whoever planned your layout never, ever cooked before in their life. But, it was great to spend some quality time with you this week.
Dear Golds Gym, So we meet again at 5am. I forgot all of the reasons that this is my favorite time to workout. I’ve been a different person since we’ve reignited our pre-dawn romance. ;)
Dear Husband, I’m glad we took our relationship to the next level… Errr, I mean, spending time together before we go to work. I’m liking it. A lot. And I know it’s hard for you, not being a morning person and all. So…. thanks!
Dear Brandy, You are the reason my apple pie turned out PERRRFECT!!!!
Dear loved ones so fortunate as to be receiving a gift next week, I was thinking of you. I love you. Try not to eat them all in one sitting….
Dear Readers, Are you hungry? Me too. Sorry about that. If you are ever in the area, stop by! I’m always looking for a reason to make Alex do the dishes. :)
And, oh, HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
What a week. I miss vacation. Here’s to the weekend. Cheers!
Dear Natalie Portman, I didn’t say anything to you. But all I wanted to say the entire time we I stared awkwardly at each other you at Snack Bar last Friday was this: “I don’t want to make a scene. But I just want you to know that Garden State is my favorite movie ever. Thank you.” Oh… and this “You have the most adorable, perfectly groomed dog ever. Adorable.”
Dear Ashley, Sometimes you read this. Hopefully you do this time. Hi. :) My hair dryer broke during our trip to Texas. And then you vlogged about Hana. I thank you. So do my CU Rewards Points. My husband, however, does not. But the credit card and my hair outweigh his thoughts. Thanks!!!
Dear Austin, You kind of rocked. I love you so much.
Dear Readers, I still have so many Texas adventures to share with you! Stay tuned!
*this next part has been updated because SOMEONE is using the internet on her honeymoon*
Dear Phuongnhu, Turn the computer off. You made the perfect bride. I’ve never seen you so happy. You were gorgeous, inside and out. But what’s new? You shouldn’t be reading this right now because you are on your HONEYMOON! We had a blast in Austin! And, yes, I stole this photo from Facebook because I didn’t do too well with taking pictures at your wedding. I was too busy crying I can’t-believe-we’re-all-grown-up-now tears. I love you.
Dear Fire Ants, So apparently I’m allergic to you. And no, I won’t be sharing any images of what you did to my feet with blog-land because it’s just too disgusting. And it’s more scary on this side of things realizing that I was heading toward anaphylactic shock. You solidified my beliefs that I do not belong in the south. Find a predator and go die off now.
Dear Prednisone, I hate you. Yes, I said that. You are the worse medicine I have ever had to take. However, it’s been four days now with you and my feet are finally starting to look like feet again. So thank you for that.
Dear Husband, Thank you for dealing with me and said prednisone this week. I am sorry I’ve been so mean. Well, mean-er.
Oh, and in case you missed any of this week’s posts:
My Birthday
A Lovely Stroll Through the Park with my Cousins
The Salt Lick
Our Most Recent Date Night
You know the drill. Peace out, girl scouts.
Coming to you from Texas! Howdy!
Dear Baci and Misha, We miss you. Hold down the fort for a few more days and we’ll be back before you can meow.
Dear Kate, I LOVE LOVE LOVE my amazing fall care package! Thank you! I mean, seriously, not only was it awesome, but it came in Washington Redskins colors. Who cares if they lost last weekend? HTTR! Here are some pics from the care package!
Dear Texas, I’ll give it to you- everything is pretty big out here. But what I’m most impressed by is your near lack of taxes at all! Holy cow!
Dear Alex, Thanks for taking me out in San Antonio last night! It’s been awhile since we’ve had a proper date. Plus, it’s about time we finally went to Howl at the Moon! So much fun!
Dear my awesome Texas cousins, Thank you for showing us an amazing time this week! We’re letting time slip by too far without all of us seeing each other. I miss you already!
Dear Readers, Stop by tomorrow! Yes, on a Saturday!
Welp, the first official week of pre-k is in the bags. Whew. Here we go….
Dear Readers, You should go shop my closet. Really. I’m parting with some good stuff.
Dear Wolverines, You’re going to have to do better than that… Hail! (P.S. How do you like my new M22 hoodie? I picked that sucker up this summer and I wore it last weekend… even though it was unbearably humid).
Dear Munchkins, You could’ve waited a month or so before infecting me with illness. This is a new record: strep throat at the beginning of September? We need to sit down and have a talk.
Dear Throat, These blindsided derailments must end. Or else I’m yanking those tonsils out.
Dear Misha, Thanks but no thanks for your help cleaning out my closet. I really appreciate the cat fur on my sweaters.
Dear Closet, I had no idea you had hardwood floors! Thanks for being so cooperative when I cleaned you out. And I’m deeply loving my surprise hidden treasures…. these wedding mementos didn’t belong in the corner of the closet, anyway.
Dear Labor Day Weekend, You rocked. And I couldn’t be happier to welcome September into my life. Once I get rid of this horrible strep throat, we’ve got quite a busy calendar in store.
Onze. Since 9th grade, I’ve read the number 11 in French. So here we are… 11 weeks later. Ashley isn’t writing letters this week, but that doesn’t change my 11 week old habit. So, without further adieu, Happy Friday!
Dear Bozo, I really loved having you back home this summer. Right now you are flying to the Middle East. Best friends shouldn’t have to be halfway across the world… again. Be safe there this year. I can’t WAIT until your R&R in March. Buy rugs. And diamonds. Lots of them. ;) Meanwhile, I’ll send you verbosely obnoxious email updates on the mundane topics that make up my life. You’ll love it.
Dear Lilly Pulitzer Sale, Understanding that I saved 213 gazillion dollars on my purchases, your absurd technical errors were still completely planned and this is why I know: I was so frantic that I would lose everything in my shopping tote that I just kept making purchases- without really thinking about what I was buying. It was a race! And you won. Because I ended up with 3 shirts, 2 dresses, 1 scarf, 1 pair of shorts and a pair of earrings. And all I was supposed to get was a scarf and a dress. You don’t fool me. ;) (thanks for the cute ornaments, though!)
Dear my new pre-k munchkins, You can’t read this letter. In fact, even if I read it aloud to you, you wouldn’t understand it because you speak Spanish. But, here I go anyway. You’ve already managed to make me laugh uncontrollably, smile great and wide, roll my eyes and groan, and come home ex-haus-ted at night. And it’s only our 2nd day together. I’m so completely ready for year #4!
Dear lesson planning, I’m not as excited for you. Nope. Sorry. Necessary evil, that you are.
Dear Hubcap, Next time you take the Megabus to up to New York for the weekend, I’m going to just assume you’ll be back 3 hours later than expected. It will save me from turning the car around every time I get a “You may want to wait a little bit longer” text from you. And save me from looking super excited to drive up to the bus stop. Yeup. That’s me. Super excited….
Dear Summer, We’ve had our ups and downs. Tan days and not-so-tan days (reference picture above). But I’m beating a dead horse. I’ll skip the whole I can’t wait until autumn comes bit and I’ll move straight to the sentimental side. You were definitely one of the most memorable summers I’ve had to date. And with that, why don’t you leave. Summers, like fish and company, go bad after 3 days.
Dear Readers, Have a FABULOUS Labor Day weekend, wherever you are. Run along now.
Because I spent the entire day in the car, I feel like today should be considered Friday. I hope you don’t mind.
First off, Dear truck driver on I-70, next time you want to catch your truck on fire, think about the thousands of commuters and travelers you will inconvenience. Being completely stopped on the highway 10 hours into our drive home is not my idea of a practical joke. Nor is adding 2 hours to our already long drive. I’m not amused.
Dear Pam from Our Love Nest, Sando from The Daily Deelight, Brie from Recipe for a Beautiful Life, Nadine from Back East Blonde, and Rachel from The Random Writings of Rachel, thank you for being awesome guest post bloggers this week! I owe you all big time!
Dear Lake Michigan, You’ve always been my first home. I never want to leave but, you see, I’ve left my life down here in Maryland. You understand, right?
Dear Readers, stay tuned. I’ve got material unlike anything before from this trip and I can’t wait to share it! (after I unpack and catch up on sleep)
