week in photos

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week in photos

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week in photos

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marriage equality

via human rights campaign

The first time I referred to Ebert as "my husband" to another person was the day after our wedding. He had accidentally locked us out of our hotel room so I went down to the front desk to get another key. As I'm telling the front desk person why I needed a new room key I remember pausing before saying the words "my husband…". In fact, I may have even stumbled a little on those two words, then quickly recovered on "locked us out of our room". I felt nervous and a little scared saying it out loud for the first time- it was as if in that moment "shit became real" for me. I don't know why it was in that moment exactly and not the day before, maybe because up until then "husband" was just another word in the dictionary without any particular meaning to me…but now it meant something. It meant that from then on there would be one person in the whole world who would always love me and who I would always love in return.

Then, all of a sudden, that nervousness turned into this immense feeling of joy, happiness, and excitement! It was thrilling to think about the journey we were beginning together- not only as husband and wife- but as two people fully committed to one another.

And that's why the issue of marriage equality is important to me. Everyone should have the same opportunity to experience that first thrilling moment of referring to the person who makes your heart sing as "husband" or "wife" - and all the thrilling weight those words carry.

seattle fun

Seattle was indeed fun…as expected!

We visited the Microsoft Campus.

We saw the very first Starbucks. The line was too long so we didn't go in. You've been to one Starbucks you've been to them all, right? It was still cool to see because I worked at Starbucks for six years and it was a co-worker there that introduced me to Ebert.

We walked around Pike Place Market: the fishmongers were throwing fish, the fruit and vegetable stands were filled with the most colorful produce I'd seen in a long time, and the vibrant bouquets of flowers made it feel just like spring.

We ate delicious food and drank beers from the Pacific Northwest.

lunch @ 8oz Burger Bar

beers to the power of 5 @ 8oz Burger Bar

St. Patty's Day dinner: Irish Beef Stew, Colcannon & Roasted Broccoli

Red Hook Brewery Tour

But, really, the best part was being out in nature…

Snoqualmie Falls- does the lodge in the background look familiar?

Meydenbauer Beach Park

Bellevue Botanical Garden

Bellevue

view of Seattle from Kirkland

…and spending time with these amazing people.

sister: Ana, Ebert, me, cousins: Andrea & Emilio

Many thanks to Andrea and Emilio for being such wonderful hosts! I feel truly blessed to have such a great family. Here are some of Andrea's photos from our trip.

And, Seattle, you better believe we'll be back. We definitely have a crush on you!

week in photos

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a pep talk

I came home from work today feeling tired and completely unmotivated to do anything. This is always a little frustrating because it's the time that I have for myself to create my happy and more often than not I just don't have much energy. All I was going to do tonight was lay on the couch catching up on blogs and watching TV, but then I came across this awesome video on Black Eiffel … and like her it was exactly what I needed to hear today. It's funny how the things you need to hear often come at precisely the right moment. Black Eiffel isn't a blog I read every day but for whatever reason I decided to read it today. Perfect, right? And now I'm motivated and energized to create my happy!

Watch below or watch it here. I promise you…it's awesome!

via soulpancake

"What will you create to make the world awesome?"

I love that! It's all about creating your happy and sharing it with the world.

happy spring!

via create.your.happy

Happy first day of Spring! Although it hardly feels like spring today…Chicago is cold! There were even little snow flurries this evening. I am so over winter. Is it ever going to end?

I'm definitely feeling a bit stir crazy, especially after spending a few days here, so I bought a bouquet of my favorite flowers to help get rid of these wintertime blues. Aren't they pretty? They add a lovely bit of springtime happiness to the apartment.