Maurice + Kelli

{the blog is moving}

2011-01-25T14:58:00.002-06:00

This blog has moved to kelliflores.com. You can click on the logo to the left, and it will take you right to it. Hope you enjoy!

{and wonders of His love}

2010-12-23T20:07:00.002-06:00

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

{the patience and perspective}

2010-12-05T20:01:00.006-06:00

As holidays go, I know that the time for thanks has passed and most have moved on to anticipating Christmas' arrival... myself very much included. But I don't feel like I'm yet done with the "thanks" portion of the holiday season, and tonight, I felt like sharing why that is.

I have, for many many years... for at least a decade... been a Nichole Nordeman fan. I love her simple and beautiful voice and have loved the evolution of her music, but moreso than anything else, I love that she is, in my eyes, a modern day poet. And I love poetry. The words that she sets to music have always been true and real and thought-evoking. Tonight, I revisited an old song of hers called "Take Me as I Am". The words tell a simple story of God's unconditional acceptance of our pitiful and constant state of unworthiness. And in one verse, she laments the fact that she does not have "the patience and perspective of a man like Job". I can remember listening to those words years ago and thinking, why in the world would anyone ever want to experience what Job did?

But I heard those words again tonight, and I was astounded at how differently they tugged at my heartstrings. They hit me directly in my gut, because for the first time, I understood them from a place of experience. And don't take this to mean that I feel in any way that I've gone through what Job did... I certainly have not. But I have experienced difficult times. I have been through times of deep sadness, times of questioning God's plan, times of doubt, seemingly endless seasons of waiting and defiant moments of shaking my fist at God crying "it isn't fair". But each of those periods of my life, whether I deserved to or not, ended with seeing God's faithfulness abundantly in my life.

From time to time the question is posed, if you could go back in life, what would you do differently? And everyone always says "nothing", and I suppose for the most part, that is true. I can of course pinpoint a few mistakes that I would definitely work to avoid if I had another go-round, but when it comes to the difficult seasons of life, I would take them all over again. Because those are the seasons that have allowed me to grow and that have afforded me the opportunity to see His love, His forgiveness, His mercy and His unfaltering faithfulness to His promises in the realest of ways.

So tonight I am thankful for even a small part of the patience and perspective of a man like Job.

{we're bona fide coloradans now}

2010-11-14T22:32:00.003-06:00

Why are we NOW officially Coloradans, you might ask? Because the first snow has come and gone, and we weathered it like pros... that's why. Granted, it wasn't exactly a winter wonderland around here. But I'd venture to say we got an inch or more, and even more importantly... I drove... in my car... WHILE it snowed, and lived to tell the tale. I'll update when we get a heavier snow and let you know how that goes. But for now... victory.

We have been surprised by how much we like Denver. Of course we figured we would like it, but I don't know that we anticipated how quickly and easily we would settle into life in what is proving to be a fun, laid back and overall great city. We live in a great area of town where we're close to everything that you want to be close to, but still a short drive to some of the most beautiful country I've ever seen in real life. It's just lovely here.

Maurice is doing great in school, though I will admit that grad school is keeping him a smidge busier than I would have hoped. I can remember I time in recent history when the only time I saw him for 3 days was when he was asleep. I would wake up and head to work before he was up, and by the time I got home, he was already working hard in the office and I would fall asleep hours before he was done. I guess such is the lot in life for the wife of an architect. To be fair, I was warned well in advance of the long hours they put in, and one of Maurice's most admirable qualities is his talent and hard-working attitude, so who can complain.

I got a great job working at a public relations firm in downtown Denver, and am loving it so far. As most of you know, jobs were one of the things that had us a little nervous in this whole moving situation, but just as I suspected He would... God abundantly showed His faithfulness to His promises to us. I am loving my job, it's keeping me working hard, and I have great coworkers that I'm forming fast friendships with. I am daily aware of how blessed I am to have a job.

And how time has flown... Thanksgiving is right around corner! A small part of my excitement is knowing the turkey time is coming, another small part is knowing that Christmas is following close behind, but MOST of my excitement is because we have family coming to visit us. Ashlie and Marty will be spending the whole week of Thanksgiving here with us, and Stefanie and Adam and the kids will also be up that week to visit both us and Adam's family here in Denver. We are so excited to get to spend time with all of them, and to play with Sofia and Judah. AND... I get to cook my first Thanksgiving meal, and I'm honestly pretty pumped about it. It finally gives me a reason to use some of our fancy wedding gifts that I've looked so longingly at for the past year or so :)

So that pretty effectively brings us up to date! And even though surviving the first truly cold and snowy days may make us Coloradans... we will always be Texans first and foremost.

{... and add to that list}

2010-09-29T17:32:00.002-05:00

So it would appear that I left someone off the list yesterday, who has something truly exciting in their future. My photographer extraordinaire friend, Tom Campbell, is going to have some of his photos featured on the October 10th episode of "Extreme Home Makeover". Normally, I would find news like this to be pretty surprising, but such is not the case with Tom. He's had the opportunity to photograph more than a few high-profile figures in recent years, and is an outstanding sports photog, so it was only a matter of time before the world took notice! So check him out on "EHM", and check out his photography at www.thomasandpenelope.com, and at www.thomasgcampbell.com. My links aren't working, just fyi... so be a dear, and copy and paste.

{i'm about to shamelessly plug my friends and family}

2010-09-28T15:25:00.012-05:00

So now you've been warned.

It seems that there's been some exciting developments in the lives of some friends and family, and I'm just plain too excited to not share them all with you.

My cousin Hannah is one of those people so artistically inclined that you want to roll your eyes, but you just like her too darn much. Her scrapbooking days opened the door for her to foray into making all sorts of greeting cards. How would I describe these cards? Cute, chic, fun, unique, inventive, trendy.... take your pick. I love them, and I wouldn't be writing about them if I didn't know you would love them too. For those of you who may be in the Ft. Worth area, her cards are being sold at a boutique in Burleson called Abernathie and Fritz. The rest of us non-forthworthians can find them online at www.bananahannah.com.

Kristen Minor. You've heard about her before and odds are you'll be hearing about her again sometime in the future. We've all seen those Dos Equis commercials talking about the most interesting man in the world... well Kristen is easily in the running for the most interesting woman in the world. Last year, Kristen and her husband Matt took a trip across North America in their sidecar-toting motorcycle. Their journey roused so much interest that it was covered in the San Antonio news. They began an appropriately titled blog that chronicled their journey at www.bugsonmyface.com. Their passion for photography has now turned them down the underwater photography route, and being the fearless adventurers that they are, what did they do? Move to Bonaire, of course. They've now begun documenting their new home and photography on the same blog, and believe me when I say, it is a worth-while read. I've checked in and caught up on their life a few times since they left, and when I look at the photos they've taken, the whole room just gets sort of quiet. In my head, I can hear the enya-esque music from the underwater exhibit at seaworld. Truth be told, every time I read their blog, I'm reminded how indescribable God's creation is. I'm proud to call Kristen my friend.

And in news of friends of long ago... this just had to be shared. Before we left San Antonio, I was driving down the highway on my way to work one day and had my radio on KLove. A song came on that I hadn't heard before, but I liked it. I might have even said out loud, "I like this song." The DJ announced afterwards that the song was "My Help Comes From the Lord" by a band called The Museum led by Ben Richter. You can imagine my surprise at hearing this, since I went to school with Ben Richter back in my Castle Hills days. We hadn't kept up all that well, but I was so proud that an old friend of mine was using his talent for God, and to see the success that they were having. They have an album out that you can purchase on itunes, and as a closet music snob... I would recommend you give it a listen. AND... they had the opportunity this past Sunday to sing the National Anthem at the Kansas City Chiefs game. You can't tell me that's not cool. You can watch said performance at www.youtube.com/themuseummusic. Ben Richter and I sat together in world history in 10th grade... and I'm not saying I inspired his musical creativity, but I probably did. You're welcome Ben Richter.

So that's my exciting news to share in with my friends and family. I'm proud to know such talented people.

{why i love denver so far}

2010-08-18T12:47:00.004-05:00

- I remember what August feels like in Texas. Today in Denver... high of 83 degrees.

- 3 Crate and Barrel locations to choose from.

- 4 parks within 10 minutes of where we live.

- Everyone's in great shape. It's inspiring.

- If the Rockies hit 7 or more runs in a game... you can get 4 tacos for a dollar the next day at Taco Bell.

- The visibility of mountains from anyplace in the city.

- Fat Sully's Pizza (see last post).

- The availability of hiking locations to work off all the pizza.

- Minimum speed limits signs.

- The fact that even though I already don't like the mayor, I can still make fun of the fact that his last name is Hickenlooper.

- The easy-to-navigate layout of the city.

- Farmers Markets.

- The fact that I know we've only begun to discover Denver.

{Fat Sully's... proof that God loves us}

2010-08-06T16:13:00.015-05:00

I love New York.... as does anyone who is of sound mind. The reasons that I love New York are great in number, but close to the top of that list would have to be the pizza. I know there is a long-standing and epic battle over whether New York style pizza or Chicago style pizza is best, but I am unequivocally and unapologetically team New York. I don't even know that I've HAD Chicago style.... but I can't imagine a circumstance where it would be better than a hot, fresh slice of pizza, so big and so thin that you can't eat it without having to use both hands and/or fold it in half.

But be aware... there are many cheap imitations out there. San Antonio can boast only one authentic New York style pizza joint that I have found (Pizza Bella on Nacogdoches). So when we moved to Denver, I made it my own particular mission to hunt down the best New York style pizza in the city. The first week we were here, I ordered a pizza from one place, and I will admit, they were close. But the slices were entirely too small.

And then we found it... Fat Sully's New York Pizza. As a New York pizza enthusiast, I am about to make a bold statement. Fat Sully's New York Pizza has the best New York style pizza that I have ever had outside the confines of the city of New York, and I would even say that it's better than some of the pizza I've had IN New York. It is superb and as authentic as they come.

What makes it better than some of the pizza that I've had IN New York, is that it is made fresh before your very eyes. Even some New York places will leave a pizza sitting out all day and throw a slice in the oven to warm it up when ordered. At Fat Sully's, the dough is always flying about as they whip up fresh pizza after fresh pizza. I've included a picture to show the size of the pizzas as well. As their slogan states... they're "Big Ass Slices" (sorry mom).

But I haven't even told you the best part. $2.50 a slice. I rest my case. If you're ever in Denver... hunt it down, because you won't regret it. Unless you're team Chicago, in which case, you ought to be ashamed of yourself.

{things to distract me from packing}

2010-07-12T09:45:00.009-05:00

With our pending departure for Denver, my last day at work was over a week ago. Since then, I've been faced with a bit of a dilemma day after day of what to do with all of this time off. I could pack... OR I could do something else. It would seem that doing something else won out most of the time. And now I will show you the product of choosing something else besides packing.

One thing that I should know better than to do, is to go to Hobby Lobby when I'm bored. I go in on a mission, and then after about 45 minutes of wandering the aisles, I will almost always find myself a little project. But this time I had a good reason. If you'll remember, when my niece Sofia was born, I painted a little box for her with her name on it. Well now I have a little nephew on the way, and wouldn't it only be fair that he get something too? Bear in mind... I am not a particularly creative or artistic person. I assure you of this. My husband is the artist, no question about it. But this is actually pretty easy. The only supplies it took was a wall-hanging made of unfinished wood, a little acrylic paint, and a few paint brushes. And voila, a fun little art project...

I was also helping my mom throw a baby shower for Stefanie this past weekend. Typically when we throw a shower, my main job is to find a cake. For a baby shower, I thought it would be a fun change to do cupcakes instead, so I began visiting some of the cupcake shops and bakeries in the area. I was truly shocked to find that they have the audacity to charge as much as $3.50 PER CUPCAKE, even when you're buying as many as 2 dozen cupcakes at a time. I left the last cupcake shop annoyed, and thought to myself "I could make the cupcakes for much less than that, and probably do a better job." So that's what I did.

I used to make cupcakes in college from time to time, so I was a little rusty with my cupcake skills and had to get the hang of it again, but I had forgotten how much fun it is to decorate them. These were french vanilla and chocolate cupcakes, all with chocolate buttercream icing. The blue and green confetti are store-bought and made of sugar. I did, however, make the birds out of fondant. I'd never used fondant before, so I was pretty proud of these. I may just have to start making cupcakes more often.

All in all, I had a lot of fun distracting myself from packing... but with our move now only 2 days away, it can no longer be avoided. We've gotten a lot done, but we still have a lot to do. So next time you hear from me, I will be reporting from Denver! I will hopefully post a few pictures of the drive and our first few days there. So until then!

Cheers

{may... the abridged version}

2010-06-06T17:58:00.008-05:00

We thought that once we'd made the decision about where we were moving, we could finally breathe a sigh of relief. After all... that was the hard part, right?

Wrong. If memory serves, I don't think we've had more than an hour to relax at home since April. I am happy to report though that we DO now have a place to live in Denver. I can't say that I've ever signed on an apartment that I've never personally laid eyes on, which under normal circumstances, would be a little unsettling... but we researched... literally... every apartment, townhome and rental home in the greater Denver area, and we feel completely confident that we've found the right one for us. Not to mention that it's double the square footage of our current apartment. That rocks pretty hard in our opinion. So once we are settled in, there will be pictures of the new place. We're very excited about it.

We have a few hopeful leads on the job front, but nothing set in stone yet, so if we had one prayer request in this whole moving debacle, that would be it. Pray that God opens up the perfect jobs at the perfect time.

We took our little anniversary trip to Canada, and it was a blast. It was relaxing and adventurous all at the same time, and it was completely different from any vacation we'd ever taken. I don't know about the rest of Canada, but the parts that we saw were absolutely stunning. Unfortunately, I suffer from a little affliction known as altitude sickness, so there were a few hours of repeated nauseousness as we drove up into the mountains to go horseback riding, but by that evening, I was feelin' good again. I know what you're thinking... you're moving to Denver and you get altitude sickness? I don't know what to tell you about that. We'll see how it goes.

I genuinely dislike downloading pictures to this blog because of it's dreadful slowness, and because there are so many, I will again employ the usefulness of redirecting you to a link where you can find pictures from the trip. Hope you enjoy!

We're about to take a very welcomed break from moving plans to celebrate Maurice's sister's wedding, and we're so excited to be a part of the joyous occasion. So until next time...

Cheers!

{from miles and miles of texas to the mile high city}

2010-05-03T18:20:00.003-05:00

So let's recap the last post. Most of you savvy minds figured it out, but if anyone should be left scratching your heads... we had a song by John DENVER and Whitney HOUSTON. After another really long process, it was narrowed down to Denver and Houston.

And we've decided that we're moving to Denver! Our excitement is two-fold.

First... this has just been a really long process for us that has lasted over a year. If you'll remember, we nearly moved to Philadelphia about this time last year, but after a lot of thought, we were certain that it wasn't the right move for us... despite what an amazing and beautiful city it is. So we stayed in San Antonio and came up with ANOTHER list of places, and before we knew it, we were playing the "where are we moving" game again. It's a long and frustrating process, but we did our best to hold onto our faith in the fact that if we asked God for guidance, He would undoubtedly show us what to do and where to go. Receiving that answer and seeing God's faithfulness is certainly the thing we are most excited about.

And secondly... we're just excited to live in a new place! We love Texas. We always have and always will, but this is a really welcomed change, and we can't wait to learn about and discover the city of Denver and all it has to offer. And not to mention its proximity to the mountains for some great hiking and snowboarding. I feel fairly certain that there may be some sort of snowboarding on a professional level in our future.

So we're excited. yes. that is a perfectly safe assumption. There is certainly a lot of work to be done in our near future, in terms of finding jobs and a place to live. Let me assure you... in the past few days, I have seen every apartment and rental home in the greater Denver area. No stone has gone unturned. Let me also say this... I quickly learned that the terms "renovated", "fantastic", "updated" and "great location" are all relative and subjective terms. But the perfect home is out there, and we will find it :)

So that's that. We're going to Denver. We're very excited. Hope you'll come and visit.

Cheers.

{so you think you're smart, do you?}

2010-04-19T21:05:00.005-05:00

Last year, when Maurice and I had narrowed down our moving options, we offered a little hint as to what the final considerations were. So it would only be fair that I extend the same courtesy this year. However... I'm not gonna go so easy on you. It is going to take some careful thought and consideration. At least I hope so.

Maurice and I have narrowed it down to 2 places. And here are your clues as to what those two places are:

"Country roads, take me home, to the place I belong"

and

"If I, should stay, I would only be in your way"

... Guess if you dare

{A Brain Dump to Pass the Time}

2010-04-06T11:44:00.004-05:00

My sincerest apologies for not blogging much lately. For the most part, there hasn't been much to blog about. We're still trying to work out the moving situation and working pretty much all the time, and it just doesn't seem like that's left time for much else! So what little news and stories there are to tell, you will receive in a new brain dump. And so it begins...

* Today Maurice and I booked a trip to Victoria, British Columbia for our first anniversary, and I am pumped.

* While we are in BC, we have decided we are going to go on a whale watching tour... also pretty pumped about seeing some killer whales.

* I am already trying to remind myself that the Pacific ocean and Sea World are two very different places, and that when I do see a killer whale, I should probably not try to reach out and hug it.

* Speaking of whales, Maurice and I watched "The Cove" last week.

* Everyone should watch that documentary, but only if you can stomach it.

* We also watched "The Blind Side" last week.

* Everyone should also watch that, but only if you can stomach watching the footage of Joe Theismann getting his leg broken.

* If you know what I'm talking about, it's at the beginning, so cover your eyes.

* Stefanie and Adam found out recently that they're having a boy, and Maurice and I are so excited to have a nephew.

* Sofia can't say "Aunt Kelli" yet, but she can say "Uncle Mo".

* It actually sounds more like "uh mo". We're pretty sure that counts.

* I gave up sodas for lent, and last night I dreamt that I had gone without sodas for so long, that I walked up to the fountain drink dispenser at subway and had forgotten how to use it.

* I woke up feeling equally as frazzled as I would had I had an actual nightmare.

* A lot of people told me that when you give up sodas and then try one after a while, that you don't like them as much anymore.

* What a silly thing to say.

* I just realized that because Maurice and I will be gone on our anniversary, that means we get to get out the top our wedding cake and eat it early.

* I am still very on the fence about Minnesota, but Maurice has begun to bribe me with promises of various gifts, upon my agreement to move there.

* I'm not sure if he's aware of how much a cashmere scarf costs.

{so simple, yet so profound}

2010-03-03T20:48:00.009-06:00

Ok... I'm sure there's a chance that I'm the last person on earth to find out about this, but I am mystified!

Background. I am what you would call a chapstick addict. I have it with me at all times. In an effort to simplify my life, I have strategically placed chapstick in my nightstand, in my purse, in my car, and in my desk at work, in order that I may never be farther than 20 yards from it. But what I have come to realize, is that if you use chapstick often enough, it actually starts to have the reverse of it's desired effect. I noticed that my lips have actually become dryer than they were before this whole chapstick addiction began.

And I can recognize my own vices, so I have recently begun an effort to wean myself off of it. But the whole reason I began using it in the first place is simple... I love having soft and properly moisturized lips. So in giving up chapstick, I was again faced with the dilemma of figuring how to keep the ol' lips feeling good.

Enter wonderful coworker. In talking with a friend of mine at work the other day, she shared with me that she too had recently given up chapstick for the same reasons as myself... BUT... she had another trick up her sleeve. She said she'd learned long ago that honey and sugar are nature's best kept secrets when it comes to soft and lovely skin.

Far be it from me to let this one go, so I tried it, and I am blown away. It made my day. There are several variations of this natural wonder, but this is what she shared with me. Mix equal parts sugar and honey in a small container... it should be pretty thick, not runny... then take a very small amount and rub it on your lips. Voila! Instant lip exfoliator/moisturizer. I did a little internet research too, and apparently, sugar is one of nature's best natural exfoliators, and honey is one of nature's best moisturizers. Be careful not to rub too hard. You aren't trying to remove entire layers of skin here. Rubbing gently will exfoliate the dead skin cells, and when you're done, either wash it off with water. or let's be honest... it's sugar and honey... just lick it off.

Other variations that I've learned of are sugar and olive oil... another great natural moisturizer, or putting a small amount of sugar on half a lemon and rubbing that on your lips. Although I'm told there's quite a bit of burn involved with that one. I'm also told that this sugar and honey concoction makes a great hands and feet exfoliator for an easy home mani/pedi too.

I love learning fun tricks like this... and if I learn of anymore, I shall surely keep you informed!

{the delicious hilarious valentine's day}

2010-02-15T14:54:00.008-06:00

As a newly married couple on the verge of moving and starting graduate degrees, we're not exactly doing a lot of extravagant spending lately. Of course we appreciate the finer things in life... who doesn't, really. But I'm also a firm believer in the fact that every now and then... we deserve to spoil ourselves ever so slightly. And one of Maurice and I's favorite ways to indulge ourselves is with great food at great restaurants. Among our favorites are The Lodge and Citrus Restaurant (inside Hotel Valencia). And for a long time, we've wanted to try Silo Elevated Cuisine, so we figured Valentine's day would be the perfect opportunity! They had a special 4 course meal with wine pairings prepared for the occasion, and dare I say... it may be one of my new favorites.

Our meal started with a lobster bisque soup, which I loved. Maurice wasn't sure he liked the "seafoody" taste, and after reminding him that lobsters do, in fact, live in the sea, we did agree that the wine was off to an excellent start.

Next came salad, and we were even, because I am not a salad person. However, I can usually find something in a salad that I like, so while Maurice scarfed his down, I munched on the cheese crisp and croutons and periodically moved some of the lettuce from my plate to his, so it wouldn't be obvious that I disliked the salad. I don't hold that against Silo... I generally don't like salad anywhere, so they aren't to blame. This round of wine was also great, as was my cheese crisp, and dinner was about to get real good.

For the main course, we got to choose from several menu items. Maurice chose the filet mignon while I had the wood grilled duck. To say it was delicious would be putting it mildly. Both were cooked to perfection and we traded bites back and forth across our table several times. This round of wine? also excellent.

And then came dessert, which was chocolate gelato with cream and crushed espresso. I will confess that I didn't have high hopes for such a simple sounding dessert, but I was pleasantly surprised. The espresso was not overpowering and the wine was a perfect sparkling dessert wine.

By the time the check came, we were full and satisfied, allbeit a little bit tipsy. So put Silo in the win column, because the food was excellent and the staff were extremely friendly and attentive. And if you're big on atmosphere like me, you'll love the modern and bustly New York vibe.

And as if our Valentine's night wasn't already great enough, we had great tickets to see Gabriel Iglesias at the Majestic after dinner. I'm as big a fan of great food as I am great comedians, and he does a great show. We laughed. A lot.

We were pretty late getting home and it was pretty painful to get up for work this morning, but it was totally worth it to spoil ourselves with a great night out for Valentine's day.

{My Big Fat Minneapolis Dilemma}

2010-02-03T17:18:00.007-06:00

I know what you're thinking... is that really how dilemma is spelled? I was as surprised as you are, but alas... that is correct. Dictionary.com has never failed me. But that's really not what this is about at all.

In my last post, I listed off the places that Maurice and I are considering moving to, pending his acceptance to schools in those places. You might have been a tad surprised to find such an extreme a place as Minneapolis on that list. When asked, I typically list that city off last, so that when I see the inevitable looks of total consternation on people's faces, I can quickly follow with "That's right... I said Minneapolis." I assure you, when Maurice first uttered the words "I'm thinking of applying to the University of Minnesota", my knee-jerk response was a firm "Absolutely not". And I meant it.

But Minneapolis continued to make its way into conversations about school. This might be a good time to mention Maurice's passion for sustainable architecture. There aren't many graduate schools that allow students to study with a focus on sustainable architecture... and U of M happens to be one of those schools that does give students that opportunity. And so my hardened heart began to soften a bit, a very small bit, and I offered what I thought was a more than generous compromise, agreeing that he could apply to U of M as his backup school. In other words... if ALL ELSE FAILS... we can go there. I still was not breaking into song and dance over the idea of moving to what might as well be wintery Russia in my mind.

And now somehow... over time and what I can only assume was calculated manipulation, the University of Minnesota has made it's way to the near top of Maurice's list of schools he'd like to go to. And thus... my great dilemma. Let me just say this... I am not opposed to Minneapolis in every way. I have been told by no less than 5 people, who have actually been to Minneapolis, that it is a remarkably beautiful city. It's rumored to have some really beautiful parks, the cost of living is reasonable, the not-winter seasons are supposed to be really pleasant and the job market is better than a lot of other places. Let me also say this... I'm not freaked out THAT it gets cold. It's HOW cold it gets that freaks me out. Bear in mind, we are also considering Denver, Chicago and Philadelphia. Those aren't what you'd call tropical climates. But over the course of the past few months, I've started to question people who know a thing or two about Minneapolis, and the thing that stands out to me, is that when I ask them if Minnesota really gets as cold as people say it does... the response is generally a good, hearty laugh. The only person who didn't laugh, responded with "No, it's worse".

And so there you have it. At this point in the decision making process, I am still very torn between my desire for Maurice to get the best possible education, and my dislike for hypothermia-ridden fingers.

If any of you have been to Minneapolis, whether you did or did not like it, tell me what you thought! In the mean time, I'm going to try and find where I put my Northface coat.

{The Latest and Greatest Flores News}

2010-01-25T12:36:00.006-06:00

This morning I got a text message from an old friend, asking what was new in the Flores household. I began to text back, but quickly came to the realization that I cannot even properly update friends on my life through text because there is so much going on. We have some busy days ahead, and instead of trying to cram it all into a text for you, I decided that a good old-fashioned life update blog was in order. Let's take this one thing at a time, shall we?

Krista arrived safely in Africa, and if I do say so myself, she seems to be adjusting beautifully! She is doing a great job of keeping her blog updated with stories of life in her new home continent, including stories of travel and shopping at the market... which may I add, is no small feat, considering that life in Senegal requires her to know 2 different languages... neither of which is English. And yesterday, thanks to a little thing called skype, we got to video chat with her for the first time since she left. It is definitely hard to have her so far away, and for so long, but she seems to be loving it so far.

And in other sisterly news! Maurice and I are really excited to say that we are going to have another niece or nephew! Stefanie and Adam are expecting their second baby, and are due sometime in August. We are both so excited for them, and can't wait to have another little one around to spoil.

And in even more sisterly news! We're also excited to be adding a brother-in-law to our family. Maurice's sister Ashlie and her fiance Marty are getting married on June 26th of this year, and we are really excited and are honored to be a part of the wedding. I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures of wedding-related festivities to come.

So by now, you're probably starting to realize that summer is going to be a pretty busy time for us. Truth be told, I haven't even scratched the surface yet. You may remember that last spring, after MUCH consideration, Maurice and I decided to spend another year in San Antonio, instead of moving to Philadelphia. Well that year has just about come and gone, and now we find ourselves in a very familiar boat. Sometime in April, we should start hearing from the schools that Maurice applied to for next year. Philadelphia is one of the places that we are considering still, and he also applied to schools in Houston, Denver, Chicago and Minneapolis. So again, who knows what city/state/timezone we will be moving to. Each one of the places sounds like a really exciting prospect to me, and if you asked me 3 days in row where I wanted to move, you'd probably get 3 different answers. It's such a complicated decision, when you think about tuition, scholarships, cost of living and job markets. We are just praying that God will show us really clearly where He wants us to go, because at the end of the day, I really want Maurice to be at the right school, and I know that God will provide us with jobs, even in a less-than-fully-recovered economy.

So long story short, on top of weddings and babies, we will also be moving this summer, and potentially moving out of state. We have really enjoyed spending this year in San Antonio, but we are ready for a change and excited to see what happens! So get ready for round 2 of "where are we moving" and stay tuned this Spring for updates!

I think that pretty effectively catches you up on the goings on of our life lately. It is certainly going to keep us busy, but we are certainly blessed.

Cheers to that.

{Krista Goes to Africa}

2010-01-11T19:03:00.009-06:00

This post is a somewhat bittersweet one for me. I'm so proud of the faith and courage of my sister, but we all miss her sorely as she now lives half a world away. As some of you may know by now, about a year ago, Krista felt that she was being called to move to Africa. This past Friday, January 8th, Krista and I celebrated our 28th birthday here in San Antonio. On Saturday, January 9th, we all got up at about 5 in the morning, headed to the airport in 18 degree weather, and saw Krista off as she moved to Senegal, Africa... where she will spend the next 2 years serving God and ministering to the Fulakunda people.

The Fulakunda are a largely muslim people group, and aside from spending time building relationships with them, she will also be helping to coordinate church groups who go over there on mission trips. She is passionate about Africa and it's people, and has previously been on 4 trips to Northern Africa and Uganda. Before leaving, Krista spent 2 months in Virginia in training, and while she was there, she made a great prayer card to give out, and she greatly covets your prayers during her time over there.

As you can see, she's included an address where you can email her while she is over there. She has also started a blog to chronicle her time over there... the link is on the card as well, and you can also find her on my "Friend's Blogs" list to the left of this page.

I am extremely excited to see everything that God is going to do through her while she is there, all the while hoping that 2 years will go by quickly and that she will be back before we know it! Again, please be praying for her and for the thousands of other missionaries like her who are spread out all over the world sharing God's love.

{So long 2009... was nice knowing you}

2010-01-01T14:31:00.006-06:00

I hope that everyone had the merriest of Christmases and the happiest of New Years. Maurice and I certainly had a busy holiday season this year, but we aren't complaining, because it was full of family and friends and wonderful memories of our first Christmas as Mr. and Mrs.

But before I begin looking forward to a wonderful and exciting and adventurous 2010, and in keeping with last year's tradition, I'd like to take a minute to look back and share the things, both great and small, that I learned in 2009. And without further ado, they are as follows:

- That tiny first apartments as a married couple are meant to be small and humble, and that one day, I'll likely look back on this cramped first year with really fond memories.

- That sometimes, no matter how careful you are, or how many steps you take to prevent it, sometimes people's cars still get broken into, and people's credit card numbers still get stolen. it just happens.

- That marriage is sometimes really tough, and it takes a lot of work, but it is also the greatest kind of love and is completely worth it.

- That when you have a really bad day, say because, your credit card number got stolen, it's pretty great to come home to someone who always has your back and is always on your side in life.

- That wedding planning is something that is inevitably stressful and that it's not something I ever want to participate in again.

- That President Obama is as inexperienced and full of hot air as I anticipated him to be.

- That it is still my responsibility to pray for our leaders faithfully, regardless of political differences.

- That I only have one true enemy in this world, and that others, who may feel like enemies at times, are just his prisoners.

- That Jon and Kate plus Eight couldn't last forever.

- That Saturday mornings are best spent being lazy and watching "Flip This House" with my husband.

- That you can't please everyone, and that many times, it is not your responsibility to try to.

- That it's important, I think especially as a woman, to take the time to take care of yourself, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

- That Riviera Maya, Mexico is a place I wish to visit again. often.

- That the Mexico City Airport isn't a place I wish to visit again. ever.

- That living close to our families is a luxury that I shouldn't take for granted.

- That the right decisions are the ones that pay off in the long run, and that patience is a virtue that isn't always easily acquired.

- That though I may try, God's love for me is still much more profound than I am able to understand.

Etsy Update

2009-11-20T23:12:00.004-06:00

So I'd like to give you kind folks an update on some of the Etsy sites from the previous post.

1. Kristen Minor's photography site is back up and running. So go look at them. Do it.

2. Ashley Carter has added some adorable aprons to "The Art of Domesticity". You are doing yourself a real disservice if you don't take the time to check them out.

3. Hue by Jenny Houston is no longer offering the free earrings, so I hope that you got em while they were hot... BUT! not to worry if you didn't, because she just added tons of new pieces and she still has the trusty $5 deals section!

Cheers!

Etsy goodness

2009-11-04T16:34:00.009-06:00

I may be a bit behind the times in saying this, but nevertheless, it must be said that I have fallen in love with Etsy. I've known about it for a while... I have a few friends with Etsy sites, which I must warn you I am about to shamelessly promote, but I never explored it far beyond that. But one lazy Sunday, I found myself buried deep in all that this wonderful and useful site has to offer.

For those of you who may not be familiar, Etsy is a website for anyone and everyone who may have some sort of hand-made craft or vintage item that they want to sell and for those of us who want to buy them. And let me tell you, there are some amazingly talented people to be found there! I am a full supporter of the way Etsy allows so many talented people to start and grow their own little (and sometimes big) businesses. You could literally find almost anything you could ever want. Believe me when I say this, I have looked for some pretty odd things and have never been disappointed.

So I've decided to make a list of my favorite Etsy sites.... and without further ado! Here they are. (hint: click on the name to see the site)

K. Minor Photography - I decided to start with Kristen Minor's Etsy site because she is such a dear friend of mine, and I believe so whole-heartedly in her. This past year, she did all of our engagement, bridal and wedding photos, and to say she is talented hardly does her justice. Now... disclaimer.... she doesn't have anything up on her Etsy site right now because she just got through spending a few months roaming North America in a sidecar. (www.bugsonmyface.com) I am not making that up. But when she gets it up and running again, you can expect to be able to buy prints of her photos, greetings cards, etc. So keep checking back, because I promise they are worth it.

Nena Von - I am a big fan of throw pillows, and I haven't found anyone who does a better job than Nena Von. I love the patterns and simple colors she uses, and the only reason that I haven't bought any yet, is because I can't decide which I like best. True story.

The Bees Knees Designs - Not only would I buy almost everything on this site, The Bees Knees designs also wins my award for the best Etsy site name. It's just cute. But aside from that, anyone who knows me, knows that I am of the "less is more" school of thought. I like things simple. These wall hangings are cute, simple, one-of-a-kind and best of all! They're extremely inexpensive. I heart them... a lot.

The Art of Domesticity - My friend Ashley Carter started this site and her hand-made bags and wall hangings just ooze chicness and femininity, and once again, extremely affordable. I've got my eye on her for a few Christmas gifts. Mark my words... Anthropologie will be knocking on her door one day soon.

Erin Ruth Giftwrap - I love to wrap gifts. Let me say that again. I... love... wrapping gifts. I spend way too much time, money and effort on it, but I just can't get enough. I have given serious consideration to taking a part-time job as a gift wrapper at a department store. I heard once that Aaron Spelling's wife had a room in her gigantic home that was just for gift wrapping, and all of my dreams for life came full circle. I truly love it. And the only thing I love more than gift-wrapping, are the people who make a wonderfully wrapped gift possible. Erin Ruth is one of those people.

Hue by Jenny Houston - When it comes to hand-made jewelry on Etsy, it was truly hard for me to narrow it down to one. But since it always comes back to simplicity with me, it had to be this one. She has the most simple and elegant pieces and right now she's got some killer deals going on too. She has a fantastic $5 Deals section, and she's also running a promo right now where you get a free pair of bronze leaf earrings with any order of $10 or more. 10 measly bucks! What more could you want, I mean really.

Sparrow's Nest - I couldn't end this blog without including this site. These are more vintage and refurbished items, but they are must-haves. So sophisticated and unique. They are definitely more of a wallet-stretcher, but this is one of the Etsy sites that you need to always check back with, because they are constantly posting new items.

I hope this gives all of you some insight as to why I think Etsy is so fantastic. I would definitely encourage anyone to spend some time digging around, because there are some true gems to be found.

No Apologies Necessary

2009-11-04T16:28:00.006-06:00

I was about to apologize yet again for being such a bad blog-keeper-upper, but everyone is always making that apology and I've decided that I think that's just plain silly. The truth is... life gets busy... period. Sometimes the blog must simply take a back-seat to other more pressing matters. So you won't get any apologies from me and I won't expect any from any of you other fabulous bloggers in return. It'll get updated when it gets updated!

Cheers

a hodge podge of thoughts

2009-08-18T13:49:00.003-05:00

While I wait for a more interesting blog to post, I thought it was about time for another brain dump.

* I'm still a little burned up about that Elizabeth Becton thing from the last post.

* I am working on putting together a blog for you nice folks that I think you're going to really like. It will probably be my next post, but I didn't really have the time or energy to put into it today.

* I have recently begun a love affair with a store called HomeGoods.

* I wouldn't exactly say I'm an accomplished chef yet, but I definitely feel that married life is allowing me the opportunity to become a much better cook than I was before.

* I secretly wish that I was a ballerina.

* If I could go back, I would have gotten into ballet as a kid and not cheerleading. All cheerleading ever got me was lots of bruises, bad wrists, and flexibility that I lost years ago.

*While letting my ipod play on shuffle the other day, a christmas song popped up, which now has me counting down the days until Christmas.

* 3/4 of my excitement over Christmas is the thought of getting to put up our own tree this year.

* The other 1/4 is excitement over getting to wrap presents, listen to Christmas music, sip hot chocolate and be with my husband and family on Christmas day.

* I am now a little depressed that it's still unbearably hot outside and Christmas is months away.

* It has been over 100 degrees in San Antonio for 51 days straight, and this one is looking to be number 52.

* The hotter it gets in Texas this summer, the more Maurice can get away with talking about schools in insanely cold cities. Right now, we are giving serious consideration to Denver, Chicago and Minneapolis. I'm not even making that up.

I think that's enough for today. Until next time!

A Word on Human Decency... an open letter to Elizabeth Becton

2009-08-11T16:37:00.003-05:00

There are some pretty ridiculous stories in the news today. (Insert obvious joke about how Obama's healthcare plan is the most ridiculous of them all) But today, I read a story that gave me a particular disdain for people who lack common human decency.

We live in an age of political correctness... of walking on eggshells so as not to offend any particular group who might take any particular offense to any particular thing that anyone might have said without knowing that any particular individual or group finds it particularly offensive. It's exhausting. And I understand that writing business emails can often be a tricky business, because there is a definite etiquette to follow. I also understand that some people don't like to be addressed by nicknames.

That being said... a woman named Elizabeth Becton, one of those people who you'd be ill-advised to refer to by a nickname, recently took it a step further and crossed the line from correcting someone's improper email etiquette right into a blatant and offensive and unrelenting middle-school-drama-style attack on an unexpecting and misinformed executive assistant.

You may have read this story already, but here is an article that will walk you through the email exchange between Elizabeth Becton and her unfortunate victim who mistakenly called her "Liz" in a simple business email.

Upon a basic internet investigation, I was unable to find any evidence of Elizabeth Becton being corrected by her employer for her behavior which clearly crossed the line, or of her being let go from her position as a result of her actions... nor have I found any evidence of Elizabeth Becton apologizing after this story was picked up by nearly every major media outlet in America. I did, however, find a website that posted other scathing emails from Elizabeth Becton.

At what point, Ms. Becton, do we set aside our convictions about political correctness and proper etiquette and simply treat someone's honest mistake with kindness and forgiveness?

so long, hair

2009-07-13T21:57:00.006-05:00

So around the time Maurice and I got engaged... I got the urge to cut my hair. It had been really long for a really long time, but I didn't want to cut it before the wedding, because I wanted it to be long for the wedding, and everyone else wanted me to leave it long. So I promised that I would wait until after the wedding to cut it.

Well now the wedding has come and gone, we went on our honeymoon, and the week we came back, I had myself an appointment with my favorite hair lady, and off the hair came. I cut almost 10 inches off my hair, and donated it to a good cause. I absolutely love it, and I hope you do too!

hello my long lost friends

2009-06-30T17:37:00.002-05:00

So I know that I've been a terrible blog updater lately... in the sense that I haven't been a blog updater at all. My excuse is that we've been pretty busy getting married, honeymooning, and getting settled into married life. I've been meaning to post honeymoon pictures for a long time, but for whatever reason, this thing has just been taking forever to download pictures, so I've decided to take one of life's little shortcuts and just re-direct you to them. If you missed that... go back, it was a link to a whole album of pictures on Facebook :)

We had the MOST amazing honeymoon! And I like to think that it was partly thanks to the swine flu. While there was a time that I thought it might ruin our honeymooning plans, it actually turned out to be the best thing that could have happened. When we arrived at the beautiful resort where we were staying, they were so happy that we had kept our reservations, that they spent the entire week giving us free stuff. We felt intensely spoiled for the duration of our stay, and there were probably only 20 or so other couples staying there at the time, so that made for a great week of peace and quiet, lots of sun, lots of great food and lots of champagne.

We did have sort of a hell-ish ordeal coming home. It's a very long story, but it ends with us getting to extend our honeymoon one night and stay at a great hotel in Miami for free :)

The week we got back, I chopped my hair off, so one day soon, I will download the pictures of that to show you all.

At long last

2009-06-02T16:46:00.013-05:00

Maurice and I had such a wonderful time at the wedding, and for those of you who were there, we hope you did too. There are too many wedding pictures to possibly show them all, but here are some of the highlights. Enjoy!

honeymoon pictures coming soon...

And the winner is...

2009-05-07T13:31:00.003-05:00

San Antonio.

That's right, after much thought, prayer and consideration, Maurice and I decided that spending another year in San Antonio and getting on our feet was the best option. The decision not to go to Philadelphia was a tremendously difficult one for both of us. It was hard for Maurice especially, to close the door on such a wonderful opportunity. We really loved it there, and I still get a little sad when I think about not moving there... but at the end of the day, we are still totally confident that we made the right decision. We both have great jobs here and we just got a fantastic first apartment, which Maurice will be moving into in a few days. And! the wedding is just a WEEK away! I truthfully have no idea where the time has gone, I felt like I blinked my eyes and it was here.

There have been a few disappointments in our lives lately, that we didn't expect, but that is life. We are SO excited that the wedding is almost here, we are counting down the days to our honeymoon, we're ready and anxious to start our life together, and we have not lost sight of the fact that God has blessed us beyond what we deserve.

Since this next week will be so wild, I will likely not be back to blogging until after the wedding/honeymoon. For those of you who are coming to the wedding, we can't wait to see you very soon! and for those of you who can't, there will of course be pictures up soon of the wedding and honeymoon... all that good stuff.

Hope you all have a lovely week!

no... we still do not know

2009-04-19T20:09:00.011-05:00

OK folks... so as some of you know by now, the last few weeks have been extremely stressful for maurice and myself. Not only is the wedding less than a month away now, but we STILL do not know where we're going to be living. A few weeks ago, our options seemed to be Philadelphia and Houston (you may remember them as option #1 and option #2). Well for reasons beyond our control, I am sad to inform you supporters of the latter that Houston is no longer on the table o' consideration.

That left Philadelphia. As soon as we found out that Houston was out of the running, we booked the next 2 flights out to Philadelphia, because there was much work to be done. To give you a little background, here is the dilemma: Maurice was accepted into the Master of Architecture program at the University of Pennsylvania. The catch is... they want him in their 3 year program. But UPenn is an ivy league school, and those ivy leaguers sure are proud of their schools, and they do charge accordingly. Translation: UPenn is ungodly amounts of expensive. As honored as Maurice was to be accepted, and as wonderful an opportunity as it would be for him... the loans for 3 years of grad school would be a tremendous burden for us... and we aren't sure that we want our first official act as a married couple to be taking out school loans in an amount that would buy us a reasonably nice home in many areas.

So long story short, we are weighing our options right now with Philadelphia. The chair of the architecture department is also reviewing Maurice's portfolio, to see if he can be admitted into the 2 year program. We are hoping to hear something very very soon. If we do not go to Philadelphia, we have decided to stay in San Antonio for another year, before we decide where would be best for us.

We DID get the opportunity to visit Philadelphia, and we absolutely fell in love with it. I think we'd both heard mixed reviews on the city and weren't entirely sure what to expect, but we were both pleasantly surprised. It's such a beautiful city, it's extremely rich in history, it seems like they have the most beautiful parks every few blocks, and the UPenn campus is indescribable. We packed a lot of sight-seeing, campus-visiting, and apartment-hunting into our few days there, and we had a great time.

So until we have some news about where we are or are not moving, here are some pictures from our trip to hold you over!

This is us in the park behind independence hall, on a very chilly afternoon.

Independence Hall... the birthplace of America.

Oh look, another beautiful park. Rittenhouse square.

the UPenn campus

And of course.... Anthropologie.

Lots of showery goodness

2009-04-06T10:24:00.017-05:00

So believe it or not, the wedding is just a little over a month away now, and Maurice and I are so excited for it to be here. And of course, this also means that shower season has been in full swing. We've had wedding showers the last two weekends, had a wonderful time, and now I'm here to share pictures with you!

The first shower was last weekend. My mom and my best friend from college, Tiffany, threw me a lovely shower at our house with a lot of family. Tiffany lives in Dallas and is married with two little boys, and so we don't get to see eachother nearly as often as we'd like. It was such a great weekend having her in town, we got to do a little shopping, go out for drinks, and spend some great quality time together.

And she and my mom did such a great job putting the shower together.

Me with my sisters (my matron of honor and maid of honor) at the shower

Then this past weekend, it was on to Gruene for a couple's shower at Tavern in the Gruene with a lot of Maurice's family and friends.

Maurice's sister Ashlie (on the far left) was the mastermind and planner extraordinaire behind the whole shower, she was so fantastic and generous to do this for us. But of course, she had a lot of great help from some family, like Maurice's Aunt Peggy and his cousin Kelly, who worked hard all afternoon helping to put everything together.

Lauren came! How appropriate to have the person there who introduced us. She is such a neat person, and I was so glad that she was there.

And once the shower wrapped up, we all headed down the road to Gruene Hall and listened to live music and had a great time!

Both of the showers were so much fun, and we really appreciate all the people who so generously put them together for us, and to everyone who came. The only down side, is that I know have so many gifts and boxes stacked up in my room, I'm running out of places to put them all!

and for those of you who are still wondering the results of my last post... we still do not know for sure where we are going to be moving... the options have narrowed down a little more, but they've also changed a little :) We should know something very very soon, and we will definitely update you when we do.

A little hint at things to come...

2009-03-25T11:58:00.005-05:00

Well as most of you know... Maurice and I have been anxiously waiting to figure out where we will be moving as soon as we get married, and while we still don't know for sure yet, the options have been significantly narrowed down. There are two major considerations at this point, and a few minor backup considerations, so I decided that in asking all of you to continue to pray for us as we make a very big decision, that I would also give you folks a little hint as to what the final two options are looking like at this point. And here are your hints:

"It's always sunny in option #1."

and

"Option #2, we have a problem."

Laurie and Justin Engagement Photos

2009-03-09T23:23:00.012-05:00

So these are a little old now, but a few months back, I had the privilege of taking engagement photos for my sweet friend Laurie and her fiance Justin. One would have hoped for a sunnier (and warmer!) day for taking pictures, but I thought they came out really cute. And now I'm sharing a few of my favorites with you nice folks. enjoy!

25 questions... the relationship version

2009-02-24T19:27:00.004-06:00

well I suppose that in my book, answering 25 questions is better than trying to come up with 25 things about us on my own, so here you have it... the anti-"25 things".

1. What are your middle names?

Nicole and Edward

2. How long have you been together?

since April/May-ish of 2007

3. How long did you know eachother before you started dating?

around 4 months

4. Who asked whom out?

maurice asked me out... he had it bad for me

5. Whose siblings do you see the most?

probably mine, because they live closest. but we still see Ashlie quite a bit.

6. Do you have any children together?

nope... one day

7. What about pets?

nope... one day

8. What is hardest on you as a couple?

definitely waiting to see what our next move is gonna be... literally

9. Are you from the same town?

yes... the general san antonio area, at least

10. Did you go to any of the same schools?

11. Who is the most sensitive?

definitely me

12. Where do you eat out most as a couple?

we love trying new places, but whataburger usually wins if we can't think of anyplace else.

13. Where is the farthest you've traveled together?

new york! and pretty soon.. riviera maya, mexico

14. Who has the craziest exes?

HA... I shouldn't answer this, but I'm going to. him.

15. Who has the worst temper?

maurice... but only in traffic

16. Who does the cooking?

we both like to cook

17. Who is more social?

that kind of depends, but generally me, I think

18. Who is the neat-freak?

MAURICE

19. Who is more stubborn?

that could be both of us... but probably me :)

20. Who hogs the bed?

no comment

21. Who wakes up earlier?

Maurice, but I'm getting better

22. Where was your first date?

Stonewerks, I believe

23. Who has the bigger family?

probably Maurice

24. Do you get flowers often?

often enough

25. How long did it take to get serious?

not very long!

raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

2009-02-17T14:16:00.008-06:00

I may not be Maria from the Sound of Music, but in much the same way, I would like to share with you some of my very favorite things in the world... or at least on the internet.

So while brown paper packages tied up with strings are all well and good, here are a few of my favorite things:

- Lemon Tree Paperie. One of my absolute favorites. It may not be quite as marvelous as Kate's Paperie in New York, but you'll find lots of quirky little necessities that you won't find at Kate's. Take the time to check out the personalized notepads with clipboards, cause they're just so darn cute, and they make great gifts!

- DSW. Because shoes are the best. What I love about DSW is the sheer affordability of their shoes, as well as the pitter patter you feel in your heart when you walk into one of their stores and behold rows upon rows of cheap designer shoes. I personally think their logo should read: "DSW... because every girl should have a fantastic pair of yellow shoes."

- The SuzyJack 2009 Calendar. Because it's really cute.

- Cool laptop sleeves. Because laptops are expensive and scratches suck.

- Great cookbooks. Every girl should have a cookbook that, in the event of one of those inevitable bad days, has pages and pages of recipes to get you through it.

my grievances with the wedding industry

2009-02-04T20:20:00.006-06:00

let me just say this. i know that weddings are expensive. i was prepared for that. it is the AMOUNT of expensive-ness for which i was unprepared. i have, on several occasions, had to refrain from laughing in people's faces when we came to the portion of the appointment when they tell you how much they plan to charge you for providing their services.

now let me also say... there are certain wedding services in which i understand the necessity for a higher price. one would expect to pay a lot for food, for instance. food costs money. and anyone who has been to the grocery store or eaten at a restaurant knows that you should be prepared to pay a little more for food. wedding dresses, are another fine example. they're awesome, and should be priced according to the amount of their awesomeness. i had no problem with the price of my wedding dress, as it is the most awesome wedding dress ever. you'll see.

that being said... there are certain wedding services in which those providing them, obviously have some sort of plan to force the general public to begin taking out 30 year fixed-rate mortgages in order to pay for them. allow me to highlight a few which i found to be the most obnoxiously over-priced.

flowers. they LITERALLY grow right out of the ground. the only portion of the flower industry which i might understand charging for, would be the time it takes to grab a pair of flower scissors, or whatever it is they use, and snip them off the ground. if you really plan on charging me so much for them, why don't you just give ME a pair of scissors and point me in the direction of the nearest field of peonies and i'll do it myself. survey says? overpriced.

for my next example, i'd like to talk about cakes. if i were running the cake industry, here's how i would determine how much a wedding cake should cost. i would drive to my local grocery store, buy 3 or 4, maybe 5 of those $15 cakes, and then go home, take them out of their boxes, and stack them on top of each other. voila... a wedding cake. so according to the standard set by the grocery stores of america, a wedding cake should cost... at the most... 75 bucks. for those of you who are right now wondering to yourselves "how much more expensive than that are they?"... here is the answer. a lot.

so if three or so months from now, you find yourself sitting at our wedding reception... i hope to God that you are thinking to yourself "this is the best (censored) wedding cake i've ever had". it certainly ought to be.

The inner-workings of my brain

2009-01-19T00:03:00.003-06:00

My dear friend Ashley, whom I love and respect not only as a person, but as a blogger... has taught me the art of "brain-dumping". As I understand it, it is quite simply the process of spilling the things that happen to be on my mind. This could prove to be a little scary, because my a.d.d. brain jumps from thought to thought at an impressive rate, but nevertheless I am going to give it a try. And here they are:

* I am excited to be writing this blog on my newly-acquired mac laptop.

* Maurice will tell you that this isn't my laptop yet, (he is giving it to me, to replace my ailing laptop, because he is getting a new one), but it has been and will here-to-for remain in my possession, which by definition, makes it as good as mine.

* I am trying not to think about the fact that the wedding is in less than 4 months now, because the wedding planning freaks me out.

* I am NOT freaked out, however, to marry Maurice. On the contrary... I cannot wait for married life.

* Equally as freak-out worthy is the fact that I don't know yet where we'll be living after we get married. I don't mean that I don't know which area of town we'll be going apartment hunting in... I mean I don't know which time-zone we'll be apartment hunting in.

* To clarify... the two time-zones up for consideration are eastern, and good ol central standard.

* I am way more into "The Bachelor" than I care to admit.

* I secretly get really irritated when people suggest that I have a chocolate fountain at our wedding reception. I am not a fan.

* Lunch from Central Market is the newest love in my life.

* Many people have recommended that I see "Marley and Me", which I fully intend to do, but I want to wait and see it on DVD so that I can cry in the privacy of my own home vs. making a sobbing spectacle of myself in a public movie theater.

* I should definitely be asleep by now, and I'll probably be pretty grumpy tomorrow.

* I've been really disciplined about not spending money on frivolous things, but my mom was given a $20 Starbucks card, and she doesn't drink coffee so it was consequently given to me... and I am really looking forward to stopping in the morning to get the coffee I have missed oh-so-much.

That's enough for now. Hope that you all have a wonderful week!

Coming up with blog titles is hard

2009-01-05T17:27:00.004-06:00

But that's not what this post is about.

I hope that everyone had a great new year's. Maurice and I went to Houston for new year's to visit his sister Ashlie, and we had a really great time. We spent some time with our friends and family there, and even learned how to make tamales from scratch! I was better at it than Maurice was, though he will tell you otherwise :) At any rate, they were scrumptious. We also got to go and visit Rice University, which is one of the schools Maurice has applied to do his masters degree at, and frankly, one that we are both really hoping for, or it's at least near the top of the list. But I digress... we visited the area and checked out the campus and some of the obscenely unaffordable housing in the area, and made a mental note of some places we liked, in the event that we move there in a few months.

We ALSO got to do a few wedding registries while we were there. We registered at Crate & Barrel, since San Antonio STILL doesn't have one, and we also found the mother of all Pottery Barn's and registered there. You can find said registries here and here, by entering one of our names.

And while I'm sending you all on a wild internet goose chase... Maurice has finished re-doing his portfolio website and I recommend that you all check it out and get ready to be impressed! There is alot of his architecture work on there, as well as art and photography and other fun stuff that he's done. You can find it by clicking on this pretty blue word.

Hope that your 2009 is off to a great start!

Goodbye 2008

2008-12-29T16:10:00.006-06:00

There are but a few days of 2008 left, and what a year it has been. We started 2008 off by getting engaged, then I graduated school, then we welcomed our first neice, and then Maurice graduated! And dare I say, 2009 is shaping up to be an even bigger year than the last.

Each year on my birthday (January 8th), I always take some time to write a little bit, and think about what life looked like for me on my last birthday, versus the way it looks today. It's a great way for me to indulge my nostalgic side, but mostly to gain some perspective about how far God has brought me, the ways that He has blessed me, but most importantly... the things that I have learned.

So I figured today that this seemed like the perfect time to reflect, and share the things, both great and small, that I learned in 2008:

- That life after school is every bit as wonderful as I imagined it would be.

- That "Jon and Kate plus eight" is possibly the best show on television.

- Not to take my family for granted... because before long, I will probably miss them terribly.

- How much money you can save by cutting frivelous purchases (fast food, starbucks, etc.) out of your spending.

- The importance of taking a day off to get away and invest quality time in those we love.

- That I am much more capable than I give myself credit for.

- That God's best for me is better than my own idea of what is best.

- How good it feels to push myself beyond what I thought were my limits.

- To always go straight to the root of an argument with a person, because you are many times upset or frustrated about the same exact things.

- What it means to truly love another person above myself.

- That God's love for me is much more profound than I am able to understand.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T11:12:00.004-06:00

I hope that everyone is having the loveliest Christmas!! This is BY FAR my favorite time of the year for so many reasons... one of which is Christmas music. I've loved Christmas music since I was a kid. But it wasn't until I got older that I began to appreciate what some of my favorite Christmas songs were really saying. I think because we've known them all of our lives, it's easy to sing them without really listening to them.

So with these words, I wish all of you a warm, happy, and merry Christmas

"Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

'til He appeared and the soul felt it's worth.

The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,

for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn"

So funny...

2008-12-21T02:10:00.003-06:00

This just makes my day

An all around eventful week

2008-12-21T01:25:00.011-06:00

Well it's been a big week around my household. And first up, we have my adorable niece!! Sofia Noelle Schindler was born on December 18th at 9 pm, she weighed 7.9 lbs, and she was 20 inches long. It was a long day for everyone... mostly for Stefanie, who was in labor for over 16 hours... which also happens to be the amount of time we all sat in the waiting room at the hospital. So like I said, it was a long day. Around 8:30, they decided that little Sofia just wasn't going to come on her own, so they did a c-section. Pretty soon... Adam and the nurse came and introduced this little bundle of joy!

at which point... we all oo'ed and ah'ed over her.

She has had to spend a few days in the NICU because of minor problems with her blood sugar, but she's a tough little gal and she's getting super healthy and it's looking right now like mom, dad, and baby will all be going home tomorrow!

Then before I knew it... it was time for Maurice's graduation. Like I mentioned a few weeks ago, Maurice has finished up his undergrad in architecture. He is so talented and dedicated, and it was great to see all of his hard work pay off. And a bonus... once he got to graduation, he also found out that he was graduating with honors!

It's been such a busy week around here, and it feels right now like I haven't slept in about a year, but when I take a step back to reflect on everything, I can see that God is just pouring out His blessings... abundantly :)

The Song Game

2008-12-08T13:34:00.012-06:00

This goes out to all you music buffs... PLAY!!! Here's how the game goes... the ipod goes on shuffle, and I write down the first line to the first 10 songs that come up. Leave comments with your guesses as to the artist and song title, and I will highlight them when they have been guessed correctly. You may guess on as many as you like, but keep in mind that googling the lyrics is not only cheating, but a sign of poor character.

Happy Guessing!! and when you're done, make one of your own. FYI: in looking at this list, I would say that every single one of these songs is a must-have in your ipod or music player of choice. If you don't know them already, go download them... you will be a better person for it :)

1. "Was it you who spoke the words that things would happen, but not to me... " (answer: "you and i both", by jason mraz)
2. "So you think you can hold the world up by a string" (answer: "brace yourself", howie day)
3. "Gonna close my eyes, gonna watch you go..."
4. "Don't you be wastin all your money on syrup and honey.."
5. "From this day on, I own my father's gun" (answer: "my father's gun", elton john)
6. "Love is a burning thing, and it makes a fiery ring" (answer: "ring of fire", johnny cash)
7. "Yesterday I got lost in the circus, feelin like such a mess"
8. "If you leave me now, you'll take away the biggest part of me"
9. "I don't get you, I can't forget what you've forgotten" (anwer: "don't cry out", shiny toy guns)
10. "Another summer day has come and gone away in Paris and Rome..." (answer: "home", michael buble)

and a bonus one!

11. "Trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble" (answer: "trouble", ray lamontagne) the bonus goes to the great shannon)

Christmas on a budget

2008-11-25T15:51:00.011-06:00

One of my very favorite things to do has always been to give gifts. I love picking them out, wrapping them, and especially watching people unwrap them. I genuinely like to give them more than I like getting them. But with all of the weddings/bridal showers/baby showers/birthdays that have found their way into our schedule this fall, the gift-buying has definitely started to take a toll on my wallet. So with Christmas just around the corner, I'm finding that a little creativity can make the dollar stretch a lot more than it has in the past.

Enter Sofia's Christmas gift. With Stefanie a little more than two weeks away from her due date, I wanted to get my new niece a present for her first Christmas! I've gotten a great head start on my Christmas shopping this year, so as to avoid the mob-mentality-Christmas-shopping-crowd, and also to snag up some of the best gifts before they're gone. I've done really great sticking to my budget, but I was still perplexed about what to get baby Sofia that wouldn't leave my bank account with a little negative sign in front of it. Then the other day I was in Hobby Lobby, and I wandered over into an aisle that was full of great gift possibilities. I'll call it the "unfinished wood" aisle. There were all kinds of ornaments and picture frames and things just waiting for someone to make an art project out of them.

And that is what I did. I already had paint brushes at my house, so I picked out a small box, a little paint, and I was on my way. I kid you not... the entire project cost around $5. I spent that afternoon painting my little heart out, and this was the result:

It's not much to write home about, but I am really proud of my creative chops. I assure you, I am definitely one of the most artistically-challenged people alive, so if I can do it, anyone can. And the most important thing is, now I have a great, heart-felt gift and I didn't even come close to breaking the bank.

Our life lately

2008-11-25T15:05:00.006-06:00

It seems like it's been some time since I gave you guys a good old fashioned update, and since life seems to be changing at a faster-than-ever pace, there's lots to catch up on.

Maurice is getting ready to finish up his last undergrad semester, and he couldn't be more excited. I have never known people who worked harder than architecture/design students. After December, he will be able to take a much-deserved break from school (before beginning grad school in the fall) to focus on working, wedding planning, and hopefully some relaxing. He is still working at Marmon Mok, an architecture firm in downtown San Antonio, until we move to wherever it is we're going to be moving to.

I just accepted an internship at an Advertising and Public Relations firm in Alamo Heights called Taylor West, and I'm really excited about all that I'm going to learn there and the experience I'll gain. I'm the public relations intern, so I won't be dealing so much with the advertising aspect of things, but I will get to do a lot of writing, which is always great news to me.

I am not afraid to admit that one of the things that unnerved me the most about wedding planning, was definitely pre-marital counseling. I couldn't tell you why, but I was totally intimidated at the idea. I think I secretly feared that if we gave the wrong answers, they wouldn't allow us to get married. But when we found the church that we wanted to get married in, they informed us that we would do a six week class on Sunday mornings in a group class along with other engaged couples. And I have to say... I truly enjoyed the experience. We were in a class with 8 or 9 other couples, most of whom were around our age. Each Sunday we covered a different topic, such as finance, communication, etc. Not only were the class teachers helpful, insightful, and great, but it was a fun experience to be able to listen to the stories of others who are the same place in life that Maurice and I are. I felt instantly bonded to them, knowing that we're all going through the same joy and excitement, and even fear and anxiety. The church was wonderful to us, they were some of the kindest and warmest people. It seems like every day I get another letter or card in the mail from a member of the church, letting us know that they are praying for us or that we are welcome back anytime. We finished the class in October, and I actually miss it. Maurice and I learned a lot during our time there, and the whole experience was such a blessing. Here is a picture of our class at Central Christian.

There are plenty of things to keep us busy these days, especially with the holidays upon us, but I couldn't be more grateful for all of the things that God is doing in our lives. I hope that all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving this week. There is definitely plenty for us to be thankful for.

Stefanie's Shower

2008-10-31T23:00:00.013-05:00

I thought I would share a few pictures from Stefanie's first baby shower. She's about 2 months out now, and we're all very excited to meet baby Sofia! I figured I would start with the most important part... of course... the presents

These little cakes were delicious, and I was TOLD that the lady who made them also made Jenna Bush's wedding cake... fun fact

The present opening was fun for all. however...

I think Adam was a little confused about how some of the gifts worked and/or what their purpose was, so Alice was happy to explain

Stefanie and Aunt Kelli!

... and the oh-so-excited-parents-to-be

I have a serious bone to pick...

2008-09-22T11:28:00.005-05:00

... with celebrities these days. I was, for lack of something better to do, watching the Emmy awards last night. A few weeks ago, I also happened to catch a portion of the MTV awards. At the opening of that show, the host... whom I had never previously heard of, and can only describe as some bizarre english fellow who seemed to think he was a lot more well-known/important/funny than he was... had scarcely welcomed the attendees that evening before he spouted off on some political tirade about the importance of electing Barack Obama in the upcoming election. Mind you, he doesn't actually possess an American citizenship, but he felt it his duty to interject political opinions wherever he could about a country in which he does not reside.

This brings me to last night's Emmy awards. I counted twelve... TWELVE... speeches by both presenters and winners that inlcuded some sort of political jab at George Bush or John McCain, or at least in attempt to coerce us common-folk into mindlessly voting for Barack Obama... simply because we've been told to by some celebrity with a Tom Cruise-style superiority complex and an over-heightened sense of self worth.

I cringe everytime I hear a celebrity get on tv or in a magazine and start telling people... particularly the younger, more impressionable voters... who they should and should not vote for. As Amy Poehler so poignantly put it on Saturday Night Live one night... "women in this country fought hard for the right to vote for whoever Oprah tells them to". It came like a breath of fresh air, late in last night's Emmy broadcast, when some writer, during his acceptance speech... finally challenged people to decide which candidate stands for the things they believe in, and VOTE for them. Finally, someone understands what it means to have a democracy.

I don't have a problem with celebrities believing in a candidate and campaigning for them. But campaigning for a candidate should not consist of getting in front of any camera they can find and telling people to vote for someone based ONLY on the fact that they are too, and because that's what all the cool kids are doing. If they genuinely want to campaign for someone, why don't they get out on the street and start putting up signs, or why don't they sit down at a phone and start calling supporters or raising money, and leave their name out of it. What they should not be doing is abusing their priveleged status and position in the public to sway voters.

Celebrities should use their public platform for one thing, and one thing only... and that is to challenge people to learn about the candidates, decide who they think would best serve the country, and VOTE for that person. No one in our nation's history has fought in order that we might have the right to vote for whomever we're told to... they fought so that we could have the right to vote and have our own voices heard.

Sorry for the rant, just wanted to get that off my chest.

not the official save the date... but save it!!

2008-09-10T14:29:00.004-05:00

I seem to have gotten a little off track in regards to the original intent of this blog, which was partly to help you guys stay informed about the wedding plans! Just as a side note: I need to start collecting mailing addresses from you guys, so if you get a chance, email your address to me at ktope108@hotmail.com or to Maurice at maurice@mauriceflores.com.

Ok so here is the wedding information as I have it. You all have plenty of time to clear your calenders, so I don't want to hear any excuses :)

Date: May 16, 2009

Time: 5:00 pm (I'm pretty sure. It's at least somewhere in that vicinity)

Where: Central Christian Church (downtown San Antonio)
720 N. Main
San Antonio, Texas 78205

Reception: Community Centre at San Fernando (down the street from church)
231 W. Commerce St.
San Antonio, Texas 78205

Bridesmaids: Krista Tope - Maid of Honor (sister)
Stefanie Schindler - Matron of Honor (sister)
Tiffany Dudley - Bridesmaid (best friend)
Ashlie Flores - Bridesmaid (maurice's sister)

Groomsmen: Alan Tolentino - Best Man (friend)
Adam Schindler - Groomsman (my brother in law)
Bryne Tiseth - Groomsman (friend)
Baha Duraini - Groomsman (friend)

Soloists: Gina Williams (friend)
Adam Schindler (same one as before)

Someone explain this to me

2008-09-06T11:33:00.008-05:00

I drive past this sign in San Antonio all the time, and every time I laugh. I'm not sure I understand, but here you have it... my favorite sign in San antonio:

Quote of the week

2008-07-20T14:01:00.000-05:00

"I saw this sign posted once, it said, 'blasting zone ahead'. Wow... shouldn't that read: Road Closed"

Brian Regan

Engagement Photos

2008-07-18T09:56:00.013-05:00

My lovely and uber-talented friend Kristen took our engagement photos last month, and I thought I would share a few of our favorites!

hmm... best photographer ever?

Happy 4th of July!!

2008-07-04T13:11:00.002-05:00

Hope all of you are enjoying your 4th of July holiday. This is one of my favorite times of year. I don't know if it's the hot dogs, or the fireworks, or the general sense of camaraderie I seem to feel with all Americans. More than anything, it just reminds me how ubelievably blessed and fortunate we are to live in this country. We enjoy freedom and liberties that many in other countries do not. and what's more... those who went before us fought and gave their lives to afford us the opportunity to have the rights that we do. So let's not take any of it for granted today, and let's all have a wonderful, safe, and happy 4th of July!!

Quote of the week

2008-06-22T19:43:00.001-05:00

"The ultimate issue of faith isn't whether we get the gift we seek, but whether we trust the Giver to be good."

Leith Anderson

Houston or bust

2008-06-09T11:07:00.002-05:00

Maurice and I went to Houston this weekend to visit his family, and it was a great weekend away. I got to meet some of the aunts and uncles and cousins that I hadn't met yet, and a good time was had by all. And the cherry on top of our Houston sundae... we got to go to Crate and Barrel, or the mother land, as I like to call it... and we snagged us some stuff for our first place once we get married. This may not seem like such an exciting thing, but San Antonio in all it's lame-ness has failed to build a Crate and Barrel, and so we have to find one whenever we go out of town. It makes us truly happy.

I would like to show you guys a few pictures from the weekend... however... if there's one thing that Maurice and I are genuinely bad at, it's remembering to take pictures. I hunted down my battery charger the night prior-to, charged that baby up, maurice brought his big fancy camera, with his new battery attachment thing that he's been so excited about. We were a couple very prepared for some picture taking.

And we didn't take a single one the whole weekend.

next time

Quote of the week

2008-06-06T11:08:00.005-05:00

"Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it."

- Robert Frost

Our Story

2008-06-03T23:46:00.007-05:00

In keeping with the idea that this blog is in lieu (yes i dictionary.com-ed the spelling of that word) of, but not limited to, a wedding website and all its grandiose story telling, I figured I would take this opportunity to tell our story, for anyone who may not know how all this came about.

It was a snowy, wintery night in San Antonio... jk that never happens. But it was in San Antonio, and it was during what they call the "winter months" here. It was the day after Christmas to be specific and the year was 2006. I had been invited to a surprise birthday dinner for a friend, but had nearly made up my mind not to go, since I would only know one or two people at the dinner. Little did I know... way across town was a guy named Maurice in much the same predicament. He too had been invited, but did not know anyone else who was going, and he had also made up his mind not to go. But God in all His wisdom, did His thing... and we both wound up being coerced into going at the last minute. I walked into the restaurant and took a seat next to one of the only two people I knew there. Already sitting in the seat across from me was a tall, handsome guy who promptly introduced himself. His name was Maurice. Since everyone else at the dinner seemed to know everyone else, except for us... we quietly engaged in conversation across the table. Shortly into the conversation, he told me he had just moved back to San Antonio from New York City, and being that New York City is my favorite city on planet earth... the conversation took off from there.... and as they say, the rest is history.

After that night, we were in contact with eachother within a few days. We spent the better part of 4 months getting to know eachother and building a deep friendship. We liked eachother immensely from the very beginning, but made every effort not to rush into it. I think it's safe to say that by the time we were officially dating... we were in love. Falling in love with him was the quietest, easiest thing I'd ever done. Shortly after we started dating, there was talk of the future. A few months later, there was talk of marriage. Then around October, he started making plans to take me to New York for my birthday in January. I didn't know then just how big his plans were. During that time, unbeknownst to me, he was cavorting all over town looking at rings, getting advice from my sister and brother-in-law, talking to his parents, talking to my dad, etc etc. Then finally, January came and we left for New York...

And it was wonderful. The food was great, the weather was perfect, and I had the opportunity to meet some of his wonderful friends. Then on my birthday, we got up, and he had decided to take me to Brooklyn Heights for the morning. BH is just across the river from Manhattan. It's full of quaint streets, corner cafes, and lovely little shops. It was where he had lived in New York, and it's my favorite place in New York. And my favorite place in my favorite place in New York is a spot called the Brooklyn Promenade. It's more than a spot really, it's a walkway that lines the river side of brooklyn heights and overlooks the city. Its a row of park benches and street lamps with a killer view, and the world is utterly perfect as you're walking along it. So you can imagine my excitement over getting to visit this spot again. It was the first place I wanted to go when we reached Brooklyn Heights, but Maurice kept stalling, and took me to nearly every place in BH before we were finally able to go. Finally we reached the promenade and started walking. Eventually we reached a quiet spot and decided to stop and look at the view and take pictures and what not. Maurice fumbled in his pocket for the better part of 10 minutes, but I didn't pay much attention.... it was my birthday and I was having a great day. After he was done fumbling in his jacket pocket, he looked me in the eyes and told me a series of really sweet things... and after he was done, he told me he had a question for me. I instantly realized what was happening, but before I could even speak, he had gotten down on one knee and pulled out a ring. He asked me to marry him, and I said yes or yeah or something to that effect and a few moments later, after collecting myself a little... this picture was taken by a sweet couple sitting nearby who had witnessed the whole thing...

Looking back... it's crazy to think how much our lives have been changed by deciding to attend a friend's birthday dinner. I cannot, and don't want to, imagine how different things would be if God hadn't brought us both there that night. Two years ago, we had never even met... last year, our relationship had just begun... this time next year, we will be married, and we could be living anywhere from Houston to Philadelphia. When I look back on the eventful turns that these past few years have taken... I am so excited to see what God still has in store for us. It requires faith and hope and love... and I wouldn't have it any other way.

First big blog news

2008-06-03T19:05:00.006-05:00

I'm going to be an Aunt!! Stefanie and Adam are expecting their first baby around December 12th. I've known that for a while, but Stefanie has officially finished her first trimester, and I have officially been given the green light to spill the baby beans! And what better way to do that than on the internet. I can't wait to have a niece or nephew, and Stefanie and Adam are two of the greatest people I know, so I know that they're gonna make awesome parents.

Here is the baby at 3 months

officially a blogger

2008-06-03T13:12:00.002-05:00

Alot of you have been asking why we've yet to make a wedding website, and 1. Don't worry about it. 2. we just haven't had time, but 3. I wanted something that we could continue even after we get married. Then I noticed this growing blogging trend, and I thought I'd see if there's something to it. So here you have it... Kelli and Maurice's engagement/wedding/thoughts/life/marriage/whatever else happens blog. I wish I could tell you what to expect from this, but it's hard to say. Stay tuned...