Sweet Surprise

Today, I came home from work... only to find this fresh, beautiful centerpiece - "Just Because."  Or as the Mr. said, "Beautiful flowers for my beautiful wife."

I married the most thoughtful of men.

-Laura

His & Hers

Reading Materials of Choice: 

Baseball Express / Journal of College Admissions

What He's Excited About...

At risk of completely divulging the extent of the Mr's complete nerdiness... here are a few things that he is ridiculously excited about:


1. Ocular Disease, Systemics, Retinal Detachments... that kind of stuff.

2. The Fantasy Baseball Draft. He's been studying all weekend.  Who knew it took so much studying?!

RBI, ERA, Net Worth...

3. His Friday lab wherein he used liquid nitrogen on raw chicken to practice eye-doctorly procedures.


4. The latest edition of Baseball Express.

5. Parkour and FreeRunning. It won't be long before he's double-back-flipping off of our coffee table.


6. Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast. Duh, who wouldn't be excited?!

Note the adorable bed-head :)

7. Church this afternoon at 3!

I sure love my man  :)

-Laura

What I'm Excited About...

At risk of completely divulging the extent of my complete nerdiness... here are a few things that I am ridiculously excited about:

1. I just received [this] book in the mail. Yes, a book entirely about how to feed your family in a clean, healthy way - for under $75 a week. (Probably less if it's just two of us)  I'm pretty stoked about it.

2. Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast. Duh, who wouldn't be excited?!

                             

 




3. WINCO. Yes. I'm in love.  That bulk food section completely captured my heart. This is love.

Quinoa, Oats, and Yeast!

4. Leftover Homemade Pizza from last night. Even the day after, it's delish.

5. 21 days until I get to see my seester! Can't wait!!

6. [This] song. Train, you nailed it.

Train - Marry Me (Official Music Video). Watch more top selected videos about: The Train

That's all for now, folks. Have a happy Sunday!

-Laura

Love Letters

Dear Beloved,

Right before we fall asleep each night, we always talk about where we'll meet up in our dreams. I wish we really could do that. Our Arctic adventure sounded fun last night. Also, thank you for your love letters emails that you send me every day. They always come at the right time - and never cease to make my day. :)  I'm looking forward to the weekend with you!  ♥

And PS - I'm so proud of you for acing your test yesterday.  I am truly in awe of you.


-Laura

Latté My Heart

I just found these wonderful gems on Anthropologie's website.  Aren't they just the cutest? Whether you're a coffee enthusiast who must have your latte in an authentic bowl or not, I think anyone would agree that these bowls are amazing. I just think these would be perfect for bowls of ice cream on a summer evening, or a dish full of leftover Valentine's candy, or a bowl for salsa at a party, or simply on a shelf looking cute... I think they're just so charmingly versatile.

Now, if only my kitchen had more storage for them... maybe someday.  *sigh* :)

-Laura

Mission: Mexico

If you think of it this week, be praying for my dear father-in-law who is currently on a mission trip to Mexico - providing free eye care to the people in the surrounding communities. Pray for his safety and his health - as he is not feeling super well.

With my mother- and father-in-law

Well, I'm off... After a 12-hour workday, I get to hang out with my bestie!

-Laura

PS - I just read [this] excellent article. I'd highly suggest it.

Totally Wicked...

Yesterday, I received some incredible news!  For those of you who don't know, I have an insatiable love for all things Broadway. When we traveled to the East Coast for 2 weeks when I was in high school, one of the run-away highlights of the trip for me was attending Phantom of the Opera on Broadway in New York!!! Talk about a dream come true!

Anywho, yesterday, my momma informed me that she has made plans for a girls night out - over Memorial Day weekend - with my sisters and I to go see the Broadway show, Wicked. In Spokane!  Holy Moly. Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth - yes, please!  I'm thrilled beyond belief. Though, to be honest, I'm not sure if I'm more excited to see the show or to spend the weekend with three of my favorite ladies!

Here's to Defying Gravity!

-Laura

Tonight's Dinner [2-21]

Well, after a whirlwind of a week/weekend, we find ourselves at another Monday. Does anyone else find it crazy that it's almost March?? Weird.

As mentioned [here], it is Fish Week at the Boboth house! Which pretty much just means that we're eating fish all week. It's almost as cool as the Discovery Channel's Shark Week, but with fewer "Jaws of Steel" and more melt-in-your-mouth recipes.

Tonight, the all-star in our lineup was my mom's amazing Lemon-Dill Salmon recipe... it carmelizes when you cook it. Amazing - especially when paired with garlic-infused broccoli.

Photo by Circle B

On a sidenote, I know -like- a million people who are pregnant, so I've been spending quite a bit of time looking at fun stuff like [this] and [this]... anticipating many baby showers in the future.

Anywho, here's to another week! It's already off to a rough start... (No three-day weekends for Private Universities!) I've been spending the day (and will likely be spending the week) in Psalm 61. (vs. 2&3 - From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.) 

I am beyond thankful for a Rock whose ways are much higher than mine. Whose love is stronger, whose will is perfect, whose plan is flawless.  Let us find rest in that.

-Laura

PS - I married an incredible guy... did you know that?  He met me in the middle of his day to speak truth into my life and give me the reassuring love that I needed at just the right time. What a gift he is to me!

Tonight's Dinner [2-15]

Despite my better judgement, I find myself posting more and more pictures of food. Sorry.

Tonight we had homemade burgers (on homemade buns). It was a fun change of pace for sure. While the Mr. loves meat just as much as the next red-blooded male, I must admit that my wonderful brother was my inspiration behind tonight's dinner.  He is the ultimate connoisseur of all things hamburger. He and his wife experiment with different toppings, techniques, etc. My sister-in-law makes amazing food like [this] and [this]. Wowza.  So, thinking of him, I endeavored the following:

Beginning the Buns

Queso!

Burgers and Such

Consumption

So there you have it. It's Beef Week at the Boboth household... next week, we're back to Fish!

-Laura

Our Valentine's Day

For me, Valentine’s Day causes far too much inner tension.  The Marketing-Major- turned-Marketing-Cynic part of me is at war with the hopeless romantic side of me.  Either way, the Mr. and I managed to have a wonderful day.

The day had a rough start when I got up early to make a special breakfast like [this], but was met with an unexpectedly empty fridge. (Unbeknownst to me, Cole had made a wonderful breakfast for our guests the day prior, and we were out of eggs.)  So we settled for cinnamon rolls and bacon… breakfast of champions.

Cole's Amazing Dinner!

I came home from work to a candlelit table furnish with a beautiful bouquet of roses and lilies, a stack of new crossword puzzle books, Swedish Fish (my favorite!), and a new candle in my favorite scent.  Cole insisted on making dinner as per our tradition (apparently), and he made a delicious stuffed chicken breast with broccoli. It was amazing. He even broke in my dutch oven! We had yet to use it! So he tried it out and it worked fabulously.

The Handsomest Chef!

He proceeded to present me with a bag full of gifts.  He made me feel so loved.  It was not that I loved the wonderful gifts that he gave me, (and trust me, they were wonderful, and I did love them), it was that – in choosing those gifts – he made me feel so known.  He gave me things that I would have never thought to ask for, but in the instant I received them, it was evident that he knew what I wanted even before I did!  What's more is that he finished all of his studying before I got home from work so that we could just spend the evening together… and THAT was the best gift of all.

I hope you had a wonderful Valentines/Hallmark-created Day; and that you felt known and loved.

I did.

-Laura

Weekend Recap: Sweet Fellowship

We had such a wonderful weekend full of old and new friends and - best of all - my parents!  We had our first overnight guests on Friday and Saturday - Matt and his fiancée, Kara!  We enjoyed dinner at McMenamin's Grand Lodge on Friday with them and spent most of the day on Saturday just talking and playing card games. It was SO nice to see friends from home!  Eases the homesickness a bit...  Oh, and their big day is just around the corner, so Kara and I enjoyed talking "wedding details!"

Saturday evening, Cole and I had the honor of participating in a bowling tournament put on by the Optometry program with one of Cole's classmates and his wife.  In a moment of late-night loopyness, Cole named the team "The Bowl-erinas," (clever, eh?) only to find out a week later that this was a costume contest as well.  So we all - (including our husbands) - securely sported our tights and tutus.  It was a sight.  And out of respect for the guys, I won't post our pictures from the night.  But we had a great time with Warren and Brooke - though my bowling score left A.LOT. to be desired.

Sunday dawned far too early for me, as I had an event for work all day. I was bummed to be away from Cole all day, but it was incredibly fun to meet students with whom I have been working for the past 6-ish months.  It was a great - and reenergizing - reminder of why I love my job!

Sunday wrapped up with a wonderful -yet all too short- time with my parents - a game of Hand and Foot followed by dinner at the Venetian! LOVED having them here.  Time with them is never quite long enough!

And now we're off to a new week... Happy Hallmark Day today!  I better be off... my Valentine made me dinner tonight and spoiled me rotten. Stay tuned for pictures ♥


-Laura

Adornment

Our walls would really love to wear this:

Kinda apropos considering today  ♥  

-Laura

Date Night!

Tonight was a good night.  For a number of reasons... I made cinnamon rolls, I finished my Book of 100 Crossword Puzzles!, I have been able to get a lot done around the house in preparation for our guests coming this weekend, AND I had a date night with the hottest guy alive!  We had a bit of sushi to celebrate 7 wonderful months of marriage.  And after dinner, my hubby presented me with the sweetest  love letter ever.  Boy, do I love him!

And did I forget to mention that, when I got home from work, he had done the dishes, laundry, AND taken out the garbage?!  If you ever catch me complaining, please slap me across the face. Hard.  I am so blessed by this man.  Now I'm off to start Crossword Puzzle #101.  Oh, and hey, Baby? Seven months later, I still do.

-Laura

PS - If you think of it, be praying for the Mr. tomorrow... he has a big test on Ocular Disease. Aren't you jealous?  

Sheltered

I will never forget that rainy Friday night. It was my first year of college; I was living in Portland.  I was driving around downtown Portland with my friend Chris and our friend Micaela - who had come to visit us for the weekend.  This song came on the stereo and I will not soon forget the conversation that followed.

(I hope you weren't too distracted by the beard...) 

I distinctly remember commenting that - though we were all single and no where near serious relationships - this is what I had hoped marriage would be like. That, even when everything around us is falling, my husband and I would be a shelter for each other. 

Chorus:
All of this around us'll fall over

I tell you what we're gonna do...
You will shelter me, my love
And I will shelter you.

Now that I have the incredible blessing of being married, I find great joy in the fact that my wonderful man is, indeed, a shelter - a safe place for me.  I know that, with him, my heart, hopes, dreams, and fears are safe. He sees me at my best and at my worst; and he loves me no matter what.

Lately, I have been reading through Psalms.  There, I have found reference after reference to God being our shelter.  Ps. 31: 1-2 says, "In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me."  I find great comfort that, even if everyone (including my amazing man) lets me down, I have a fortress, a shelter in an unchanging God.

I kinda wish that I could go back 5 years and tell myself that, with Christ at the center, married life is indeed a sweet, sweet shelter.  Oh, how I love that man!


-Laura

PS - Stay tuned tomorrow for some fun pictures of my girls night tonight!

There Were Never Such Devoted Sisters...

I am blessed. Beyond measure. I have been blessed with an incredible family - I have married into an incredible family. Wow. It's overwhelming.

My Sisters Three and Me

On March 22, 1991,  my whole life changed. My first girl-friend was born. She did for me what no one else has... she made me a big sister. Kelly Anne has - more than anyone - kept me up for more cumulative hours talking, made me laugh harder, been the target of my playful banter, cried as a result of my tormenting, been the best friend a girl could ask for. Growing up, there were days when we looked less like friends and more like .... well, not friends.  I will never forget the many times when our dad would catch us actually enjoying each other's company and he would ask us if we were acting like friends again... we'd just roll our eyes and go back to whatever pressing issue we were talking about.  Kelly just gets me like few people do.  She is the most loving person I know.  Her wit and humor make me laugh SO hard.  My entire week is brightened by a phone call from her.  Though I am three years older than her, you would never know it.  She is wise beyond her years, and I am always thankful for her well-grounded advice. I really could go on and on about how much she has impacted my life.  Immeasurably. I miss her so much and can't wait til MARCH when I get to see her!!

On August 1, 2009, my whole life changed again, my brother got married and gave me my first big sister! Our family became a family of 6, and it took no time before it felt as natural as ever. Kelly Marie has brought so much joy and delicious cooking to our family.  She seems to have been born with the gift of hospitality and an impeccable eye for interior design. (Yes, Kells, it's true) I am so thankful to see my brother so well-loved and well-taken-care-of.  I love just chatting (and most often, laughing) with her.  She is an amazing gift giver, and I now have a new-found love for all things Euchre, homemade pasta, and bread thanks to her.  I am so blessed to call her my sister. I just wish we lived in the same town!!

On July 10, 2010, my whole life changed a lot. I kinda married my bestie.  But, in addition to marrying the most incredible guy ever, I now had three sisters standing beside me.  I married into a family and gained two brothers and a sister.  And let me tell you, in that sister, I have found a best friend.  Carrie is easily the most giving person I have met.  She will often thoughtfully pick up two packages of some awesome thing she finds at the grocery store so that I can experience it too. She challenges me constantly with the way in which she loves people.  I am not sure how I would have survived this initial time in Forest Grove without her, and I dread the day in May when she leaves. Boo.

I am blessed.  I am related to 3 of my best friends!  And I am so looking forward to the stories we will tell, to the food we will create, and to the memories we will make!  I love you, ladies, so much - and my life is far richer because each of you are a part of it.

-Laura