Latte Love

obsessed with: knits

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:03:00 +0000

I picked up knitting again after a 5+ year hiatus and I've kind of obsessed. It's the perfect wintery activity. I can't stand watching a movie now without knitting in my hands - it feels so productive! My accessories wardrobe is increasing and I'm starting to make gifts for friends.

A few of my latest projects

The honey cowl (I was directed to this pattern by Holly - thanks!)

Ribbed cowl: I made this pattern up as I went. It's just a single rib pattern stitched into a cowl. Worn here

The Road scarf (worn here)

Montana Scarf for E

And headbands galore. The one I'm most proud of is this blue bow headband. I saw something similar when Christmas shopping at J.crew and I recreated the look. Now if only it was cold enough out here to wear!

Are you a knitting/crocheter? If you don't use it yet, ravelry.com is the best community website for yarn-lovers. Great patterns, advice, reviews, and you can keep a queue of projects you want to try and what supplies you need!

Help! need cruise tips

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:50:00 +0000

E and I are going on a cruise soon (yay!), so I have been researching what to expect, what to pack, etc but I'm a little overwhelmed. Have any of you out there have been on a cruise before? Do you have any tips? There is a whole world out there of cruise insiders and enthusiasts on blogs and chat boards, and I feel like I'm behind already and don't know where to start! (p.s. We are traveling with Royal Carribbean)

photo source

Some questions:

How dressy is formal night? (I've never owned a floor-length gown!)
Can you bring wine/soda aboard without smuggling?
How do you plan for shore excursions if you don't go through the cruise ship?
Should we carry our luggage on or check it?
How much should we plan to spend for 'extras'? (spa, drinks, games, tips)

Any other advice?
We'd really appreciate it!

Giveaway: Shabby Apple Jewelry

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:55:00 +0000

Today I have a giveaway from Shabby Apple's whimsical jewelry line. Shabby Apple is a fashion company that makes flirty but modest clothing and accessories for women. One of my favorite cocktail rings is from Shabby Apple, and I've also purchased a few of my favorite dresses from them so I am excited to share this giveaway with you.

The winner will have their choice of one of the three necklaces below:

Key to Wonderland Unlock the Queen's Castle Light as a Feather

To enter, please 'like' Shabby Apple on Facebook, then comment below to let me know which necklace you'd like to win.
Visit Shabby Apple's website here.

This giveaway is for U.S. readers only. Giveaway ends at midnight on Saturday, January 28.

Congratulations to the winner, Christy! Please email your name and address to latteloveblog at gmail dot com

P.S. Get 20% off almost every item on shabbyapple.com now with the coupon code: NEWYEAR, or a free necklace and free shipping with any order over $50 using coupon code: OURGIFT.

Blog Friend Meet-up

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:14:00 +0000

Sara of Running from the Law has been a long-time blog friend and I was thrilled when she emailed me (months ago!) about a work trip to San Diego. We met up on Tuesday night in Coronado for a dinner of delicious French food, where I sipped wine selfishly in front of her growing baby belly. (which was adorable, by the way!)

Every time I get the chance to meet up in real life with friends I've only known on the internet, it feels a little like a first date. But always I'm amazed by how easy it is to fall into comfortable conversation - after all, we've been reading about each other's lives for years! Sara was no exception and I'm happy to consider her a friend.

Happy weekend!

Sponsorship guidelines

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

My final blog post on blogging in this impromptu mini-series is a list of guidelines I came up with for blog sponsorship. I've been thinking of these for a while as personal rules to help me navigate the blog advertising waters, but I wanted reader accountability on what to expect when/if I ever have blog sponsors.

My main motivation for writing these is that I want to be extremely careful to not let sponsorship dominate my content. The frustration expressed in my blogging philosophy is not directed towards people that have blog sponsorship/advertising, but those that let the advertising take priority over content. I want to guard against that happening here.

For the record, I think making money from a blog is incredibly validating for a writer and is in many cases mutually beneficial for company, blogger, and readers. I fully support it.

Latte Love Sponsorship Guidelines

I will always disclose when links are affiliate (i.e. I receive a small percentage of income on products purchased through my link)
I will give honest reviews for courtesy products with full disclosure, but not more than two per month.
In a product review, I will link to a site homepage and/or to the specific product I'm reviewing, but I will not post multiple or unrelated links or keywords are required in the post.
For giveaways, I will limit the amount of comment entries to two. [I do this only because as a blog reader, I hate having to comment 5x with tweet, Facebook, google friend connect, etc for both the blogger and the product]
I will not require my readers to do more than one of the follow in order to enter a giveaway: "like" a company Facebook page, follow company on Twitter, subscribe to their email list, but I will suggest it.
I will not require my giveaway entrants to follow me on Twitter or Facebook, subscribe to my blog, etc.
I will not write monthly "intro to my new blog sponsors" posts
I will only review a product/hold a giveaway/let you buy ad space if the product or service a company offers is relevant to me/my blog (e.g. No giveaways for children's stuff because I'm not a mom/don't have a mommy blog)
I will only hold a giveaway/sell ad space if the product or service a company is offering is something I would recommend or use. (I am willing to review a company's product in order to determine whether I could hold a giveaway or offer ad space.)

I welcome any questions or comments, but would ask that you not copy and paste these as your own sponsorship guidelines, but think through the issues thoughtfully and come up with a list of your own!

p.s. While still on the topic of blogging - you all should take a look at Jenny's new series: Bloggy Thursdays

Sharing my blog with friends and family

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:09:00 +0000

[This is becoming a week of blogging about blogging. Thanks for reading!]

More (and more and more) lately I've been thinking about my blogging anonymity. Over three years ago I started this blog to record my wedding planning, and I told a select few friends and family about it who checked in every once in a while. But after the wedding was over, I couldn't stop writing. I was loving the creative outlet and getting to know so many amazing blog friends; I had forgotten (chose to forget?) that I'd ever told anyone in real life about it.
I loved the freedom to write beyond the trivial - about my marriage, family relationships, life and faith. Things that I generally wouldn't mind people knowing - but things that I wouldn't overtly share among most family, friends and acquaintances.

In order to protect my outlet here, I started a 'family' blog where I just posted pictures and generally surface-y things so my family and facebook friends could keep up with our life in California (since it is so foreign for most of my Midwest circle). But by this summer, I was habitually reposting the light content from Latte Love (read: photos and "what we did this week" stuff) to my family blog and filling in a few details, because I didn't have the energy to keep up with both.

When we got back from Italy, I stopped posting on the family blog altogether. It felt so repetitive, and while a few people may have missed it, I don't think there was much interest in it that Facebook updates weren't filling. I continued to hope that Latte Love was fairly anonymous from my IRL community.

But between the summer and now, four different acquaintances have told me that they discovered my blog completely randomly: though searches, my guest posts on other blogs, or link-ups I've participated in. My professor's wife even somehow found my style site! Most had no idea that I wrote or kept a blog and were really surprised to find it.

It's hard not to talk to people I know about something that is a part of my life - both the writing, and the relationships I've formed here. But when I do mention a blog friend, or a DIY project found on a blog, or a comment I received, it often leads into an uncomfortable conversation that goes something like this.

"Oh, you blog? I didn't know that...?" *looks expectantly*

"I do. But I don't feel comfortable sharing it with personal acquaintances"

"But isn't it public on the internet for anyone to read?"

"Yes it is. But most people I know don't know about it, and wouldn't know how to find it."

"Oh." *awkward pause*

So, why don't I just tell my family and friends about it?
There are two big hang-ups for me when it comes to sharing this part of my life. The most obvious one is that once I share this place, I'll have to be a bit more guarded and censored about how I write about my relationships with family and friends, my marriage, and certain things that might affect E or our family in future church ministry.

The second reason might sound a little strange. But my other apprehension is that people I know will read this blog and feel like they don't know me. Admittedly, I've changed a lot in the last 2-3 years. Getting married, moving to California away from my whole community, and starting this blog - in addition to just getting older (and wiser, I hope!) - has changed me. It's easy for me to relate to family and friends as myself-of-a-few-years-ago when I go back to visit, but its sometimes hard for me to reconcile the me of three years ago with the me now (who's still evolving), when it comes to long-time friends and my family. My habits, tastes, and hobbies have changed. My lifestyle is really different. I've been able to share those interests here without reserve, in a way I haven't felt as free to in real life. (Blogging has influenced or enhanced some of those changes!) Opening up the blog makes me vulnerable.

While I'd never plan to tell everyone I know, or post the link publiclyon Facebook, the idea of more openly sharing it with people close to me is looking like an inescapable reality.

So, friends, as I'm considering this decision I'm wondering where you are. Did you share your blog with your IRL circle from the beginning on facebook, etc? Do a few select friends know about it? or would you never, ever share it with people you know?

How would you feel if your circle found your blog?
I'd love some advice as I navigate these waters!

A better way to comment: switching from Blogger comments to Disqus

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

I've been struggling for ~~months~~years with the way Blogger handles comments. In the 4+ years I've been using this blogging platform, it seems like they should have upgraded the comment system by now! I've had struggles with non-Blogger users wanting to comment without linking to their Google profile, and I've been looking for a better way to reply to comments so that the commenter can actually find my response!

Several bloggers I know use the platform Disqus, (and I use it at my style blog since Tumblr doesn't have a comment platform). But when I looked into it several months ago for Latte Love, I found several blogs that reported they lost all their Blogger comments with the switch. So, boo. Three years worth of comments wasn't something I was willing to give up for the improvement.

But last week as I was scrolling through all your comments from my last post and trying to figure out the best way to respond, I decided to look into Disqus again...just in case.

It turns out, in September, Disqus launched an update which allows Blogger users to import their comments! Happy day. So I took a deep breath and added it this weekend. Within an hour - all my comments transferred over! Everything looks good so far, so I'm very excited for this change. (and p.s. If you commented on my last post, you probably didn't get a response notification, but I did do some responding!)

If you haven't created a Disqus profile, you can do so here or in the comment section below. Alternatively, you can comment with your Twitter handle, Google profile, Facebook profile, blog/website, or just your name. The best part is, you can get replies to comments via email so you never have to track down the post to see if there is a response!

I hope this is an improvement for you guys when commenting here, and I hope some of you other Blogger-users make the switch as well. It's been such a relief already.

My blogging philosophy

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:54:00 +0000

I've always intended this blog to be a record of my life, not become my life. That's why I don't apologize for absences. If my blog starts to become my life instead of just a way to talk about my life, then it will be time to walk away.

I love my community here. I love chatting with friends in comments, and on Twitter. I spend significantly more time reading other blogs than I do on writing my own. But I've been getting a little discouraged lately by reading blogs written by full-time bloggers. By blogs that seem to exist solely for income and popularity. I followed a lot of them because I felt like I had to. (They're popular! Everyone knows about them! I have to win all the giveaways! Maybe I'll get more traffic if I do!)

So here is my little PSA, which I'm preaching more to myself than anyone else:
You don't have to have 5,000 (or 50,000) followers to have a good blog. Some of my favorite blogs in the world have less than 100 followers, and don't worry about how to increase their following.
The reality is, Latte Love will never be able to compete with the daily, semi-professional, over-edited dSLR photography found on popular blogs. There won't be monthly header redesigns, or sponsor posts. There won't be weekly giveaways and pinterest-worthy DIY craft tutorials. There probably won't be cutesy photos of E and I out on 'date nights'.

I started a blog in order to write. And to share that writing, and a little portion of my life, with the public on the internets. So, thank you for being here, despite the perpetual lack of all things that seem to make blogs popular/profitable. I hope, in one tiny way, that this could be an encouragement to other bloggers who feel overwhelmed in the sea of twee.

/rant.

I really don't mean to offend anyone with this post, (and part of it is just unsubscribing from those particular blogs that invoke these feelings, and letting it go), but since I think the culture of blogging has been changing so much over the past 5 years especially, I wanted to share this and get your thoughts.

Instagrammed: a DIY wedding

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:30:00 +0000

One of the highlights of our week off was a New Year's Eve wedding!

Tricia, the bride, is a co-worker and friend. Her husband's parents have an avocado ranch on a gorgeous hill in a rural area. It was picture perfect.

This was the most DIYed wedding I've ever attended, and I got to be a part of it. (When I say DIY....they even made all the alcohol they served - beer, wine, mojitos, sangria, and kahlua!)

I helped set the reception up on Friday & Saturday. The bride and groom built and stamped succulent boxes for the table centerpieces, with lanterns. The table runners were strips of burlap. We put together all the flowers during the rehearsal on Friday evening, just like I did the day before my own wedding!

The bride and groom created this monstrous succulent wall out of a pallet. It weighed over 500 lbs, and then spent 2 months gradually tilting it up to the roots of the plants would hold when it was upright.

I can't wait to get the professional pictures to share, because once it got dark, my iPhone wasn't doing the place justice, but the whole wedding turned out beautifully with a sunset ceremony, a live band (of friends!), and a cake buffet. I made two lavender lemon bundt cakes you see below :-)

There is something so electric about weddings of friends. As someone who has been married for two and a half years I feel so much excitement for the newness and the romance of marriage on a wedding day. But I also I feel joy that another friend gets to experience the wonder and struggle and comfort and completeness of marriage.

Happy New Year indeed.

Staycation in San Diego

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:34:00 +0000

Part of my Christmas gift to E was a night's stay in San Diego during our week off. A little staycation.

We started with some quiet reading time at Barnes and Noble. E is always reading, but this time it was for fun, not school!

One of E's stocking stuffers was movie tickets. We went to see The Descendants. I'm amazed that George Clooney could pull off the family man character, but he did and the movie was very poignant.

Dinnertime found us in Little Italy at a place called Mimmo's Italian Village. I had looked up reviews and recommendations for moderately priced Italian, and we ended up here. It turned out to be just ok. The pasta dishes were good, but when we wanted to order 'secondo' (and no, we didn't even use the Italian word for it) the waitress was surprised and asked if we wanted to take it to go. Not a good sign for an Italian restaurant. Also, E thought it was amusing that they were playing the Godfather soundtrack in the background. Anyway, we know we're never going to find the same amazing food without paying more money than we have right now. I'd give Mimmo's a 3/5 stars.

We stayed the night at the San Diego Hilton Resort & Spa, which would have been nice, except their jacuzzi had ridiculous amounts of chlorine in it and it ruined my bathing suit (and my contacts, and dried out our skin blah). It's taken over a week to get reimbursed and get it all sorted out. (You may have heard about this on Twitter) So that part was pretty disappointing and frustrating and I kind of want to forget about.

For breakfast we planned to go to a spot that E's been talking about for a while - Hash House A Go Go. It's located in the Hillcrest neighborhood and it's popular. We slept in and didn't arrive until after 10am so we had an hour wait to get seated. Thankfully, there's a coffee shop a block down so we sipped on lattes and read while we waited. It was well worth the wait We had recommendations for our choices...I ordered the sage chicken benedict (with chipotle hollandaise!) and E ordered banana walnut french toast. Each plate was easily enough for two of us, and we eat a lot!

We went home mostly rested, full, and happy.

Holiday week

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 06:01:00 +0000

What a week this last one has been. Ten days off of work and school with no real plans. Good food. (Time to cook!) Time to clean. Time to read. Time to relax. I think I could get used to this - a life of leisure. We both spent the week in a slow, giant exhale after a long year. It's been so refreshing.

I know the holiday recap posts can get overwhelming, so I'll try to be brief.

I cooked the entire Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners. It turned out to be a little too overwhelming for me. Christmas Eve was just appetizer foods: Cheese and crackers, pigs in a blanket, jalapeno poppers and E's favorite: party pinwheels.

I spent all Christmas Eve cooking and most of Christmas morning. The dinner menu:
turkey
prime rib
mashed potatoes
butternut squash casserole
homemade cornbread stuffing (SO yum)
green beans almondine
cranberry salad
rolls
apple pie

My MIL made the green beans and cranberry jello salad. The rest was on me! I was most nervous about cooking the prime rib, but Pioneer Woman helped me through it. But by the time we actually sat down to eat, I was pretty stressed out, so I vowed not to hog all the kitchen responsibilities next year. (I basically begged to make it all) We had a few family friends in addition to E's parents and brother for a group of ten, which was a nice size, but seemed so much smaller compared to my family gatherings.

E did an amazing job on Christmas. I don't mean to guy gush, but I was surprised and thrilled to find my favorite Jackie cardigan and these gorgeous MacAllister wedge boots from J.Crew under our little Christmas tree. He also got me the pair of green BDG jean from UO I've been pining for.

I also received a sewing machine! I spent two hours last night just opening and meticulously reading the instructions. I know a little about sewing from quilting lessons as a teenager, but I still have a lot to learn! I asked for this machine, on the recommendation of my professional seamstress aunt, who loves it. (in case you're looking for a good one!) It's super lightweight, and a steal. I'm hoping to use it to modify/alter clothing I thrift, and maybe try something more adventurous.

In the afternoon, we skyped with my family to open presents. Despite a shaky connection, it was fun to see everyone for a little bit. It was sunny and 80 degrees here, and dark and 30 degrees there! That part I don't miss.

(my two little sisters and the boys in their lives)

We also got some projects done around the house last week- deep cleaned closets, washed windows, put away Christmas decor, and generally got our lives back in order. We had a couple other adventures I'll mention later.

It was such a refreshing week, I wish we could ease back into work/school a little slower, but today it was back to life as usual and this sweet time is already fading in memory. I've had fun reading about all your holiday breaks - I hope they've been as relaxing and productive as mine!

I'll leave you with this little video of the family dachshund, Pookie who learned how to open her own Christmas presents (and promptly destroy them)

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 22:59:00 +0000

to you and yours

Love,
Katie & E

Create: my style

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 15:00:00 +0000

One creative thing I've worked on this year (besides dozens of half-finished crafty projects at home) is my style tumblr blog. After participating in a few fashion challenges over the last year, I had gotten used to taking pictures of my outfits everyday, so in April I created an outlet for those pictures:

http://lattestyle.tumblr.com

I wasn't really sure it was going to work considering I blog 3-5 times a week already here. But I didn't want to turn this blog into a style blog, so it's been a great place to grow and explore my interest in fashion.

This side project has also allowed me to write in a way that is slightly more sarcastic and stream-of-consciousness than usual (and maybe a little more like my real-life persona?). So it's been a fun outlet for creative writing, as well as creative dressing. My readership has crawled up little by little over there, and now about 90 people follow my every-few-days, daily style tumbls.

Here are a few of my favorite outfits from the past 8 months since I started it. (if you click on the photos, they'll link to the posts).

p.s. If you follow me here or there, thank you! It wouldn't be nearly as much fun without you around.

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I'm participating in #WEverb11

The 10th prompt is: Create. Share a creative project you undertook this year (art, writing, DIY, cooking, home decoration, crafts, photography … whatever comes to mind). How do you use your creativity to express yourself?

more, on marriage

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 02:02:00 +0000

My newest readers may have missed this post where I link to, and quote an article by Iris Krasnow on marriage. This has been one of the most influential pieces I read this year - not because it changed the way I felt about things, but rather because it articulated something I find hard to explain to others regarding my opinions on marriage.

Another book along these lines, is the book The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller, which I also mentioned in my previous post. E sent me this link to a talk he gave at Google on the topic of the book, which covers the highlights I'd share. I've only just started the book, but I can highly recommend it to both married folks and singles. The talk below is incredibly relevant in a lot of ways even if you aren't religious, because it's so practical. I hope you'll give at least the first part a listen.

Recently, I've been thinking a bit more about marriage and what kind of work and commitment it takes. Two and a half years in and marriage hasn't gotten exponentially easier for me, though I thought it might. I think it's important to recognize that marriage is a living relationship to be nurtured and cared for and communicated about, and not something that happens naturally and on its own.

----------------

Along with other friends, I'm participating in #WEverb11, organized by Kim. I'm excited to reflect on this last year and look forward to what's ahead. We'd love to have you join us!

The 13th prompt is: Read. What article or book changed your outlook on an issue or life?

(Thanks, Melinda!)

our week, via instagram

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:54:00 +0000

(Or, 'I take SO many pictures of food'!)

1. food truck event at a local brewery. E got a NY style pastrami, and I got pierogis
2. frost on the ground (a first!) and puppy chow as Christmas baking kicks off
3. the makings of saffron risotto, and piles of stuff for a (sadly, unsuccessful) garage sale
4. pesto lasagna and pesto minestrone
5. syrup and dough to make my second favorite dutch treat (here's my first!), stroopwafels
6. the finished stroopwafels, and an oreo/heath/kahlua chocolate trifle.(yes, it was as yummy as it looks and sounds)

How was your week/weekend? Are you working this last week before Christmas? We have a work Christmas party tomorrow night, and a work potluck for those who are still in the office on Friday the 23rd. But then it's off for a week, woo hoo!

WEVerb11: Thrive

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 01:56:00 +0000

Somewhere around this time last year, E and I started talking seriously about some practical changes in our lives for our health and wellbeing. We had both changed out lifestyles quite a bit after we got married - gaining weight, and not exercising at all - and we generally felt physically poor. I was, without realizing it, cooking lots of carb heavy, cheese laden, meat dishes that were packing on the calories. We spent more time at home and greatly decreased our physical activity.

So, right after the holidays (how cliche!) we started on a plan. I would cook healthier, purchase more produce and make more fresh food. I blogged out about the plan as motivation.

Things were going really well for the first month. We felt somewhat better (Admittedly, the working out was much harder for me to start, and I didn't do much). But we has both lost some weight and were fitting into old 'skinny' clothes, which was encouraging. I wrote an update about how things were going with some renewed/modified goals. We were doing well.

And then things kind of stalled; life got busier and our progress slowed down. It was harder for me to be motivated when I stopped losing a pound a week. I didn't step up to the next level, I gave up.

We went to Italy. We had a busy fall where I traveled, E was in night classes, and I did very little healthy cooking. And we both stopped working out. While we haven't gained the weight back, we will soon if we don't change something, again. I'm still 7 pesky pounds from my goal weight and far, far, far from where I'd like to be endurance-wise and generally feeling healthy. I have felt pretty terrible for the last few months-weak and tired. My immune system must be much weaker too as it took me two and half weeks to get past a cold which took E four days to recover from.

E and I haven't talked specifically about a plan for this year, but we do know we have a plan to get back to, soon! Generally I hope to do better at meal planning to buy fresh food that doesn't go bad. I need to come up with a workout plan that fits for me (i.e. not in the morning, and not running outside because its dark when I get home from work), even if it's not as intense as it could be. I tend to set really high goals and then give up because I cant meet them, rather than setting small realistic goals and building up. Hopefully we'll get a chance to work on this over the holidays and get started again.

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Along with other friends, I'm participating in #WEverb11, organized by Kim. I'm excited to reflect on this last year and look forward to what's ahead. We'd love to have you join us!

The 12th prompt is: Thrive. What was your healthiest habit of 2011? What would you like to change or do differently in 2012?

Beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:49:00 +0000

Since we're having a California Christmas and not spending 1-2 weeks in Chicago with my family, I felt more compelled to make our home feel festive over the next few weeks. E and I had several discussions about the purchase of a Christmas tree. We were concerned about storage (we don't have much closet space in our house), and we had a very tiny budget. But I really wanted something. We finally compromised on a little three-foot pre-lit cutie. It is the perfect fit for our current living room, and we'll keep using it as decoration even when we start purchasing larger trees.

I set it up on an end table and covered it with a $5 throw blanket I found at Wal-Mart (FAR cheaper than purchasing or even making my own tree skirt!)

On the mantles: lights leftover from our wedding decor, antique silver bowl full of red and white ornaments. Candle trio, and candle centerpiece, both from Kohl's

A few of our favorite ornaments. A Dachshund for Pookie (E's family dog), and the leaning tower of Pisa - one of the few souvenirs we took home from Italy.

Then, this past weekend we had our annual friends Christmas gathering with gingerbread house decorating. My team did a great job with our house. We used homemade gingerbread and I'm now devouring this house at breakfast...Nom nom!

all finished:

Work Tote

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Disclaimer: I received this tote bag from Red Envelope in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own.

I have a large collection of totes in all different sizes and shapes. From an enormous canvas beach tote from a long ago Victoria's Secret order, to the white pleather tote from Target I used for school, to the monogrammed tote I got as a bachelorette party gift with my new married initials.

But I'm still a sucker for a good tote, and was excited when Red Envelope offered to send me one in exchange for this review. It came a few weeks so I've had a chance to use it for the last few weeks and I love it. [leather + canvas tote]

The tote is a heavy canvas material with a sleek leather stripe on the side, and the bottom. It holds its shape really well standing up. The bottom is sturdy with metal toes which prevent wear and dirt from the bottom of it. The past few months, the amount of things I'm taking to and from work has kept growing, but this tote has managed to fit everything for work. My purse, my lunch, a sweater, a book for my lunch break. Even my work laptop if I need to take it home on the evening!

It's easily my new favorite!

You can check out more leather gift ideas from Red Envelope here. Use coupon code SAVE10 for a 10% discount on your order.

Blogger Map Project update

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:30:00 +0000

Thank you all for your response to the Blogger Map Project! So far I have over 80 forms in, and about 2/3 of you added to the map! I hope to catch up with everyone up to this point, tonight. Thank you for being patient!
I'm really excited about the potential of this map and it's exciting to see it keep filling up and see bloggers from all over the world. (I know there are a lot more of you out there! It only takes a minute: Add yourself to the Blogger Map) I've already found dozens of great new blogs and you will too!

A couple of follow-up notes...

I know I asked you to tweet, blog OR post the button on your blog, but would you guys consider putting the Blogger Map button on your blog either way? This way you can show your participation on the map on an ongoing basis (so your readers can find you, and others!)The more people on the map = the more bloggers to connect to! Because this is all really new, I'm not going to require the sidebar button for membership, but I'm hoping some more of you will be willing to share. (Instructions are at the bottom of this post)
Regarding Tweets: If you tweeted about the Blogger Map, but you didn't paste the tweet link in the form, mention #BloggerMapProject, follow me, OR tweet @ me, then I can't see your tweet and give you credit for it!
If you didn't meet any of the above requirements but already submitted the form, no need resubmit. Just Follow Me and Tweet This - and I'll make a note get you added ASAP! Thanks.
Lastly, I completely understand everyone's need for privacy and security. I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable with posting their location. However, I don't think it's fair to add your blog to the map if you only sent me your state or country (or no location at all). The point of this map is to find local bloggers so please make sure you are comfortable listing both a city and a state/country before filling out the form. Thanks!

To add this button to your site, simply copy and paste this html into your blog editor. (for Blogger users, add an HTML/JavaScript Gadget and paste the code in)

225 px

150 px x 102 px

Back to WEVerb, a little behind.

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 07:07:00 +0000

The biggest choice I made this year isn't something I'm ready to blog about.

I'm not going to feel like I have to quickly qualify - "No I'm not having a baby", because I know that you guys don't automatically jump to the conclusion that having a baby is the only big decision I could possibly make in my young, newly-ish wed life. [And I thank you for that!]

A characteristic of a lot of my decisions from this year is letting go of anxiety. This year has been a year of deep breaths and deep plunges. It's been a year of dipping toes in, and deciding to wait. But it's been a year where we have decided to let go of the anxiety that comes with making big life decisions and just giving it to God.

Being a Christian who believes in a Sovereign God, it can be tempting to avoid decisions and just wait to let things happen on their own. While I do believe God has a hand in even the little things in my life, we also know that He allows us to use the minds He created and the will He formed, to act.

So we've been acting. Talking, praying, asking, and acting. And I look forward to another year of big decisions and adventures doing the same.

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Along with other friends, I'm participating in #WEverb11, organized by Kim. I'm excited to reflect on this last year and look forward to what's ahead. We'd love to have you join us!

Today's [belated] prompt was: Choose. What was the biggest choice you made in 2011? What caused you to choose what you chose?

400 Posts + a Blogger Map

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 06:44:00 +0000

Chatting on twitter on an especially slow day at work I was daydreaming about our next trip. As I usually do when planning for travel - I wondered which of my blog friends live in the area we're going to visit (Miami).

Some of you guys encouraged me to give it a go, and then it started to seem like a really good idea. I've been tossing around the idea of creating a blogroll on my site for a while. I started one and then never got around to publishing it. I wasn't sure how many blogs to list, how to distinguish between 'pretty' blogs and blog friends, and how to categorize them. With the map idea in mind, I did some brainstorming and google searching and a couple hours later - here we go!

The Blogger Map Project

It's open to any blogger, anywhere in the world.

To get started, view my Blogger Map page or click on the link on my right sidebar.

Fill out the simple form below the map, and I'll get you added on the master map. (I got this idea from Rose A La Mode) To find out who lives in a particular area, just zoom in and click on the blue marker. There you'll find a name, location, and blog link.

In order to spread the word I'm just asking those who participate to either mention the Blogger Map in a blog post or in a tweet, or that you add the Blogger Map button to your sidebar.

For those you concerned about privacy - if you'd rather just associate with a nearby big city instead of the suburb or rural area you live in, that's fine! I want everyone to feel as safe as possible adding themselves to the list. It's primarily so we can find new local friends...as well as find out who might live near the place we're traveling next.

I'm really excited about this - and it's a fitting endeavor for my 400th blog post! (I forgot my three year blogaversary last month, so this is my celebration.) I hope at least a few of you will indulge me and add yourselves to the map. :-)

ps. I am so, so far from being a graphic designer so if that button hurts your eyes and you want to try your hand at a different one - let me know!

Gift Guide: Husband Edition

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:56:00 +0000

I have to admit this gift guide is a little bit of a cheat because my husband does an amazing job of making wishlists for himself. No one ever gets stuck on gift ideas for him.

The problem for me is that E likes to guess what he is getting, and he checks his Amazon wishlists so often that it has proven impossible to actually be surprised. Hopefully this collection will help some of you wondering what to buy for the guy in your life. (I'm not saying whether I bought any of these things for E...he'll just have to wait and see!)

Links to each item are provided on the thumbnails below.

Husband Gift Guide

Clark's Desert boot in Beeswax
The Hunger Games series for cruise reading
Levi's 511 Skinny pants - his favorite fit ever
Buffalo pattern flannel shirt
Filson (his favorite brand ever) wool vest
a great Western: True Grit
Buck knife (model 112)

This Year's Travels

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:27:00 +0000

Where did I travel this year?

Chicago (x3), Grand Rapids, New York City, Atlanta, Tucson, Santa Barbara, Boston, Spokane, & Italy!

It was a busy year for travel - I realized I started to mark time by when I was leaving or returning for my next trip. I earned status with both the airline and the hotel rewards programs I participate in.

I loved experiencing some new cities in the US, but my favorite part was Italy (big surprise, right?). Not just because of it's far away location and beautiful sites, but because being in Italy brought out what I love about travel. Seeing new places, experiencing new things, seeing a new culture - and thus seeing my own in a new light, realizing what I take for granted about home. We learned so much from our experience there and E and I have both been missing it lately - especially the people.

We are planning to go on a cruise early next year, but don't really have any other travels plans, so we'll see what happens. I imagine the travel bug will bite us again soon.

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along with other friends, I'm participating in #WEverb11, organized by Kim. I'm excited to reflect on this last year and look forward to what's ahead. We'd love to have you join us!

Today's prompt was: Where did you travel this year? What was your favorite part? If you didn’t get to travel, where do you want to go next year?

A Haiku for 2011

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 04:22:00 +0000

dreams for the future
we traveled so far to learn
there's no place like home

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along with other friends, I'm participating in #WEverb11, organized by Kim. I'm excited to reflect on this last year and look forward to what's ahead. We'd love to have you join us!

Today's prompt was: Sum up your year via Haiku

Lesson Learned: Where Home is

noreply@blogger.com (LatteLove) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 05:24:00 +0000

This year I learned firsthand, that home is wherever we're together. E and I spent a lot of time (relatively*) apart this year. I was gone for about 5 weeks total for work trips, and then we spent another 5 weeks consecutively apart in July. We missed each other in more than just the tangible, obvious ways; I mainly just missed E's presence in our home. The meals shared, messed up sheets, teeth brushed in unison, annoying morning shower concerts.

And then I learned that we could make it in an entirely different culture and environment. Our time in Italy was by far the most life-changing event of the year, and probably of our marriage so far. I learned that leaning on each other forced us to appreciate things about each other that we rarely acknowledge. As we're beginning to face the reality of moving somewhere unknown...sometime in the future, I'm realizing it doesn't matter where we go as long as I'm with you.

*"a lot" is relative to the normal amount of time we spend apart and relative to some couples I know who've never been apart for more than 24 hours, and for the military spouses who regularly spend the better part of a year separated.

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along with other friends, I'm participating in #WEverb11, organized by Kim. I'm excited to reflect on this last year and look forward to what's ahead. We'd love to have you join us!

Today's prompt was: What lesson did you learn in 2011 from “The School of Life” rather than a classroom?