Erica M Photography »

I asked Fred to hand me something, addressing him as babe. From the other married couple there was a little snicker and a, “You can totally tell you’re newlyweds!” comment. I thought to myself, no matter how long we’re married I hope we never stop calling each other babe. I hope we never stop being sweet to each other. Never stop being thankful for each other every single day. Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed by gratitude for Fred, it brings tears to my eyes. That’s the kind of love we have. And the kind of emotional person I am ;)

The other evening we were walking Charlie around the block and saw a group of kids about to leave for their prom. I started reminiscing about our senior proms. I had mono. Fred, like he still does, kept me on my toes telling me he hadn’t gotten a tux yet even though he had. His choir concert was the same night as my prom so I sat in his high school auditorium over dressed until he could make his escape. And after prom, in true Jersey fashion, we spent the weekend down the shore with all our friends. Calzones on the boardwalk and staying cozy in sweatshirts on the beach.

I’ll always look back at that time in our lives and cherish it. That bliss in the beginning of a new relationship is like nothing else. It’s hard to believe it’s been 7 years. I had no idea then that I would marry that wonderful person. But here we are. We still have that feeling of bliss. And I never want it stop.

Packing. Unpacking. Packing. You get the point. Story of my life lately. But an interesting life it is.

We moved back to Clovis from Las Vegas 2 weeks ago. On the drive back we made a detour to the Grand Canyon. It. was. big. And actually very challenging to photograph. Not only because of it’s immensity, but also because it was sort of hazy all day. We were able to take Charlie walking around the south rim with us. I realllly wanted to see the National Geographic Imax film but it was too hot to leave Charlie in the car, so we skipped that. I really love Imax.

So we were home for 2 days. Just enough time to get unpacked, do laundry, pack, and have some piña coladas with friends. And then we flew to Ohio to celebrate Easter and my Grandma’s 95th birthday with my big loud family whom I love very much :) Can you imagine 95 years? I think it’s awesome just to think about all that my Grandma has seen in that time! She actually didn’t know Fred and I were coming, which was part surprise and part she couldn’t understand what I was saying on the phone. So when we got to her apartment she was taking a nap on her recliner. The front door closed a little too loud and she woke up from her nap with us standing right in front of her. She blinked. We smiled. She smiled and said, “I had to make sure I wasn’t still dreaming.” It was very cute.

My New Year’s goal was to blog at least once a week, which I have kept except the past 2 weeks. But I’m okay with that. I was busy living my wonderful life :)

Fred and I only have one more week left here in Las Vegas and I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m actually looking forward to getting back to Clovis. Mostly because I miss our house. I’m can’t wait to put more work into decorating, inside and out. My number one project is our outdoor space. I love love love being outside as much as possible in the spring and summer so I want to get it useable. Our patio is a totally blank canvas since our last living space had a tiny balcony, only big enough for 2 camping chairs and a side table. So we’re starting from scratch! I’m looking forward to sharing some before and afters with you as we work on our first house!

Here’s our backyard with our awesome built in fire pit. We’ve used it a few times so far to make s’mores. Excuse Fred. He’s always walking through my shots ;)

I love dining al fresco (fancy, I know) so a patio table and chairs and a grill are top priority. I’d also love to get some outdoor love seats and comfy chairs for hanging out around the firepit! This is my favorite patio set I’ve found so far, that’s in my price range. It’s from Ace, I love the red…we need some color outside, everything is way too brown. The sofa is from wickerfurniture.com and unfortunately out of my price range. Still looking for something that is!

I’ve always wanted to do gardening but I never had the space so the best thing I had were small pots of herbs inside. Now I have the space but Clovis’ soil is less than stellar. So I’m going to build a raised bed garden for some veggies. Here’s a tutorial I found on how to do it. I’m also going to plant some big pots of herbs on the patio! They look so beautiful and are edible too! I use a ton of herbs cooking so having them fresh on hand is so exciting! (Images below clockwise lesliesarna.com, thebackyardpantry.webs.com, bhg.com)

I’m excited to read this book I got, Grow Great Grub. I’m also going to go to a local gardening store to learn more about growing in Clovis since I think the dry heat and wind are going to be big obstacles to contend with.

And to complete this spring backyard post here are two perfect warm weather beers Fred and I stumbled upon. I’m not a big beer person but these two have just the right amount of fruit flavor, I love them! Pyramid’s Apricot Ale and Blue Dawg Brewing’s Blueberry Lager. Yum!

I can’t wait to share our backyard transformation with you!