Gosh, I know, it's already Tuesday, February 18th. Hard to believe that 9 months ago today I married my Mr. Mister, Steven Michael, and became Mrs...
and 9 months later he still writes me sweet notes, not as long as this one from our wedding day, but the notes keep coming, even if short & sweet.
I know he'll be so embaressed by this post, but I don't care, he truly is the most handsome man I've ever set eyes on. In every way Steven is genuine, nice and so caring.
Happy Nine Months my love.
Hard to believe that Christmas has one-month-past. I'm proud to say that I have completed my December Daily. I just had a really hard time photographing and posting it all during the month of December with preparing for the CHA show. Here's the best family photograph we go this year, our first married Christmas and Mr. & Mrs.
Would you still be interested in seeing posts of my December Daily Album 2013? Or are you over it? Let me know...
Happy birthday my love. This is sure to be the beginning of the next chapter of our lives. Let's make thirty the new twenty-one :) Here's a brief montage of the places we've been this year!
I love you Steven Michael.
I cannot believe it's December already. Our house is still sporting pilgrims, pumpkins and all things Thanksgiving as I'm trying to recover from one CRAZY Thanksgiving weekend. I cooked 3 birds in 4 days and hosted two large gatherings. How was yours? Mine was definitely worth it, but typically I have a solid week in between to get into Christmas mode...but this year the calendar is so tight!
This week is birthday week for my Mr. Mister you know! We are both turning the big (dare I say it) three-oh this month. Craziness! So I thought I'd share this layout from 2011, remembering the good ol' days (lol) of 27!
My Kiss Me collection (valentines themed-Bella Blvd) is one of my favorites, naturally because it's full of pink, pink and more pink!
Makes me happy to see "boyfriend" on this layout. I'm so thankful I am done calling him that, and he's been promoted to hubby, hubster, Mr. Mister. Much more grown-up, don't you think!?
I'm excited to be starting my December Daily as well. My journaling and photographing has begun and I intend to share with you on a weekly basis my progress. While we talking about mini albums and christmas, have you seen what the amazingly talented Julie Johnson has designed over at her kit club, Paisleys And Polkadots?
Julie used my Christmas Countdown collection for the kit! I'm sure she was inspired by all the Elf on the Shelf craze when she created this mini album. Check out the darling elf shoes with jingle bells, poinsettias, twine, ribbons and more! Isn't it beautiful? The kits are for sale now on her website, and considering at Bella Blvd several items from the Christmas Countdown collection are sold out, I'd venture to say supplies are limited! Be sure to get yours today!
Merry merry :) Hope you have a great day!
It was a successful adventure to Puerto Rico as I stayed for several days teaching Bella Blvd workshops. Nilmarie was a fabulous host and her customers were just the same. It's always wonderful to see familiar faces sign up for the workshops; I feel like these ladies are part of my extended family. Thank you Nilmarie and Scrapbook Gallery for a fabulous week of Bella Blvd, laughter, fun and more. Together we make such great memories!
The crop party I hosted included a Halloween costume requirement. The staff showed up all decked out!
Before one of my workshops this beautiful woman came up to me with this handmade gift, a puppy blanket for Mio! Last year I told the students how my dog is like my baby, so spoiled! She found my Puppy Park fabric with Riley Blake Fabric Company and created this thoughtful gift, with hand embroidering along all sides. SO BEAUTIFUL!
Mio has already grown quite accustomed to it :)
This was also the first education trip that Steven traveled with me. While I worked, he played :) and then at the end we spent a couple night together before heading home. Check out this gorgeous sunset!
(Puerto Rico Oct. 2013)
Today makes four months of wedded bliss :) Married life is good. Married life is definitely work though, especially these first few months as we sort out all the details in becoming husband and wife, ownerships, name changes, tasks around the house, routines, and so much more. Thankfully we both have some great examples of husbands and wives around us to learn from.
Steven, I know we aren't together today, and I'm sorry I'm away. But we both know the cliche is true, that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Together I know we can accomplish anything, and day-by-by we become stronger and stronger as one. I love you. Happy 4 months (if there's such a thing :) lol...
Today is the first Green Bay Packers game of the season! And while it's really hard to say goodbye to our very short Wisconsin summer, the fall weather is a great trade for the NFL season! Today I have a 2-page layout to share from the 2011 season opener.
The two page layout is all Bella Blvd products. My newest Daily Chevies & Everyday Bits, Designer Tapes, Crochet Hearts and some Play Date & Snapshots too. I dug through all my stash and coordinated everything Green and Yellow that I could find!
The giant title are letters from MME Lush collection, nd the small black alphas throughout are a collection of different Doodlebug fonts. Everything else is Bella, Bella, Bella :) Who would have thoughts you could create a 2-page NFl layout with the happiness that is Bella Blvd, right?!
We had a fun story from that day, so I made sure to print it out as I started. Then I added my two favorite pictures from the group and added them to this page, along with the 50th Anniversary tickets. I love saving memorabilia like this!
On the coordinating right-side page, I needed to find a way include a bunch of photos that I didn't want to eliminate so I used this 5x7" gray/white chevron bag that I purchased at a local paper store (Broadway Paper).
But before I get to the pocket/bag, I created this border of Crochet hearts, adding the "go pack go" chant as the title.
I embellished the bag with Designer Tapes and sticker arrows (Snapshots collection).
Then I matted each photo inside the pocket/bag onto white cardstock and created a pull-tab by folding over & then stapling the Designer Washi Tapes. Now they're really easy to pull out!
Here's a glimpse at some of the photos that are tucked inside the bag. I embellished a bit with tapes and titles.
Had to include a bit of my favorites: Donald Driver and Aaron Rodgers. Let's hope for a victory today against San Fransisco.
Go Pack Go! What are you doing this NFL Sunday?
The cruise started and ended in Venice, Italy...one of the most romantic places in the world. I was so excited to show Steven around, walk the streets and enjoy some gelato!
St. Mark's Square, very early in the morning....I've never been there so early that the pigeons weren't around....until now!
The Bridge of Sighs.
Before we knew it, we were on our way to the Dominican Republic for the second half of our honeymoon in La Romana where we would spend time with some really great friends, enjoy the beach and relaxation before heading back home to real-life!
We got to spend a week with these adorable little peeps, Alberto and Lara. Alberto was so helpful in translating. I had a hard time switching from Italian and Spanish and was getting it all confused. I don't know much spanish at all...only the couple years Steven and I both took back in high school. But my Italian came back pretty quickly while we were in Europe and so I was all mixed up!
Date night at the Marina.
Just the boys!
And guess who was there...at the same beach as us......!!!! Vin Diesel! For real!!! Do you see him below sitting on the paddle board with his daughter...and the paparazzi off to the right and his sexy girlfriend in the white waaay on the left! Steven and I were major stalkers and gawkers!
Steven took tennis lessons just about every morning--loved it!
I even rode a donkey...lol! That poor little donkey!
And Tato taught us to paddle board. I loved it!
Just about 2 months ago we returned from our honeymoon, the most magical 2 weeks of adventure, sun, international travel and romance. We had a lot planned and a lot to see. The two honeymoon posts will be photo-heavy with just a couple blurbs here and there. If you're interested in more details or have questions about our trip just email me or leave a message!
The first half of our trip was on a Royal Caribbean Cruise, Splendor of the Seas.
Croatia was a gem, and surprised me in every way. It was beautiful, breath-taking.
It was important to us, when planning the honeymoon that we traveled to boy Croatia-where Steven's family roots (hence the Smokovich name) and ancestors are, and Italy of course where my mother's family heritage is.
Krka National Park in Split, Croatia.
Steven made a point to taste beer in every country we visited, while I enjoyed a bit of wine :)
Onto Greece....
This is me telling you that this was the most amazing drink I've ever ever ever had. Made with fresh strawberries. Best. Drink. Ever.
This was by far, in both of our opinions, the most beautiful beach we've been on, ever. In Mykonos, Greece.
Next Stop: Kusadasi, Turkey
Well-known for the handmade turkish carpets.
And the infamous Turkish Baths. After Steven and I saw the turkish bath tradition on a season of The Amazing Race, he really wanted to try it out. So we picked up a map and searched one out.
This Turkish Bath experience could be a whole-nother post in itself, but let me just say... A hefty sized, really hairy turkish man wearing only a small towel covering his front parts...who didn't speak any english basically bathed the two of us in this beautiful marble-sauna bath. It was awkward and awesome at the same time.
Makes for a great story let me tell ya! And the massage afterwards was amazing too! Worth every kuna we spent :)
Steve's turkish beer...
And also the famous turkish meat kabob. Everyone told us that we had to give this a try while in Turkey. The chicken was delish, I must say!
I have so many photos from the honeymoon. These are some of the highlights and my favorites from this part. Tomorrow I'll be back with part 2: Venice and the Dominican Republic.
Have a happy Wednesday!
Good times in La Romana, Dominican Republic at the very end of our honeymoon.
Yes, I'm still editing honeymoon photographs. I promise more are coming soon! I totally love this one from Krka National Park in Croatia.
We enjoyed a stroll through Central park & also walked in & checked out the famous Plaza Hotel.
We ventured on the subway and navigated to Grand Central Station.
While on that side of town we visited Park Avenue and awed at the hundreds of thousands of business men dressed to the nines in their work suits out on their lunch break in the near 90-degree sunny temperatures.
We purchased tickets to see 2 broadway shows. Steven totally LOVED Jersey Boys at the August Wilson Theater!
And I adored my first chance at Wicked. We had great seats at both & expensive drinks too ;)
During our visit to the NBC Studios we snagged tickets to see Jimmy Fallon perform his monologue rehearsal inside his tv show theater. It was cool to see him make mistakes, improv and be so close to him!
I had to have a photo in front of this window of my all-time favorite show ever! I still watch FRIENDS re-runs every single night before bed. How many of you remember "Must See Thursday Night TV"? Good times.
And we checked out the shops on Fifth Avenue. It's crazy to see how much $$ is spent on the displays in these stores. The window displays and inventory supply was crazy. Along this journey was the Trump Tower!
And last but not least I have to share this series of photos with you. Steven officially discovered his second love in life (besides me, his new bride, that is!).......
FOOD TRUCKS.
This kid must have ate nearly every single meal except dinner at these food trucks!
Every day was a different one.
(as you can see he's wearing the same outfit in some of these photos, which means....only one thing! Multiple visits in one day!)
Let me tell you how not fair it is that he can eat junk like this....and I have to work out every day just to maintain my weight...something is just not right about this picture!
And I fell in love with the Frozen Yogurt trucks! How awesome was this!? And it's pink!!!
And I did cheat once when we randomly, by total accident, discovered the hugely popular and famous Magnolia's bakery. Cupcake, anyone?!
So...because Steven wasn't able to get a full couple of weeks of work for our honeymoon until June we planned an extended weekend in New York City right after the wedding...so at least we'd have somewhere to head off to after the wedding festivities were over.
And honestly, is there any other place like New York City!? There's so much to see and do...I can totally see us going back there for future anniversaries. I have a lot of photos....so enjoy! I've split the NYC photos into Part 1 and Part 2.
I shot this photo while we were waiting to check into the hotel. I must admit, seeing this ring on his finger is extremely sexy...both on the honeymoon and still now. I don't exactly know what about it that turns me on: whether it's that he never wears jewelry and I love the look of it on him, or just that fact that he is finally and officially mine :) swoon. So sexy. I think I told him that at least 5x a day while we were in NYCity.
View from our room in Times Square. We stayed at an awesome hotel-it was beautiful.
We walked around and just enjoyed the views and the people and the sounds of the street. We stopped at Rockafeller Plaza where the Today Show is taped (since I watch it every.single.day).
Also on our wish list was to see the 9-11 Memorial, including the park and the new tower that has been built and will be opening very soon.
This was definitely an amazing and emotional part of our honeymoon getaway. Being in the very spot of the tradjedies and participating in a walking tour with survivors that were actually in the building on September 11th was amazing. There aren't many words to explain this experience, but I'm so grateful that Steven and I had it together.
The tribute center offers tours by survivors. In 2008 when my sisters and my mom came to NYC for a girls weekend we did the walking tour, but nothing was rebuilt and there was just a plan for the new park and new towers and museum. For me it was pretty amazing to see how far New York City has come since my last visit in 2008.
The tour started at Ladder Co. 10, the first fire house to respond, literally just a couple blocks away from the World Trade Towers. We were lucky enough to have 2 different tour guides. They took turns sharing their stories. This was one of our them:
This plaque is fixed to the building of Ladder Co. 10 and remembers the men and women that responded to the emergency calls that day.
Here's our other tour guide. This man was working on Tower 2 on September 11, 2001. Nearly 12 years later he still gets emotional sharing his story and educating people like us about the events and horror of the day.
The new park is complete and absolutely beautiful. Resembling both a cemetery and a new life, it's amazing peaceful all the while in the center of the craziness of New York City streets.
And here's the newly constructed Trade Tower. Plans were made for 2 towers to be built, but due to lack of interest in rental space it has been put on hold.
Within the park are the 2 most amazing reflecting fountains, the centerpiece of the park. These fountains are the exact footprints of the original Trade Towers, will water cascading down it sounds beautiful and peaceful and calm. No sounds of the outside streets whatsoever.
It was hard to smile in such a humbling place, but it was really important to me to have a photo of Steven and I here. This is part of our history as US citizens, and will be something we share with our future children for sure. I thought it interesting that they asked people not to take large group photos in efforts to respect the thousands of people that think of this park as a cemetery. Because many bodies weren't discovered there are literally remains within the earth and ground of this park. Therefore, large group photos are discouraged, as many people don't see it as a tourist attraction. Completely understood.
This is the Survivor Tree. Saved and rescued from the original grounds and-replanted here in the park, it's strapped in and isn't going anywhere. What a symbol of survival and strength.
Love this photo of our group listening to our tour guides (there in the top center with the photos). She was sharing her story that she was 9 months pregnant on that day, and actually went into labor. It's interesting to me how Steven isn't looking at her, but rather down to the ground. It's hard to look these people in the face, it's humbling knowing what they have survived. This memorial is something I would recommend for anyone and everyone of all ages. There's a lot to be learned from each of these tour guides. I know it brought Steven & I closer together as a couple. Sure, it might not be what you imagine a "honeymoon getaway" to include, but growing as a couple and sharing our feelings about life's events is so profound.
Stay tuned for Part II of our NYC getaway. Coming Soon.
So...the title above still works because my name isn't officially changed yet :) It's such a process that's for sure...a couple more weeks and I'll be Stephanie Smokovich :)
Since Graphic Design is kinda my thing ;) it was important to me that the photographer caught a portfolio style shot of all my printed materials from the wedding. I kept snippets of everything and handed it off to Carl. After the wedding he took this shot inside the studio of all the stationery! I totally love how it turned out. It just makes me so happy :)
We got a lot of compliments on the church/ceremony programs that I designed with these graduated pages. The programs were displayed in the narthex of church inside old sewing machine drawers.
The covers of the programs were a small variety of Bella Blvd patterns (from my Lovey Dovey and Love & Marriage collections) and also one Heidi Swapp floral pattern. But all the pages inside were identical...just mix and matchy covers for more color.
The ushers handed some out as well!
Inside the bulletins guests had an opportunity to read a couple short sentences about each of "The Ladies" and "The Gentlemen" that Steven and I wrote. Some were funny, others straight forward about memories we have and how we knew each of our attendants. Here's digital file of those two pages in case you're interested in reading. Click on the image to enlarge.
Wedding Wednesday is officially coming to a close. I can't wait to share some honeymoon photos with you soon...I don't think I have enough time in my life to edit them all :) so you might get the raw version :) Hope you're having a wonderful Wednesday, wherever you are today !
Ciao! Ciao! I'm Stephanie, also known as Bella! I'm the designer and owner of Bella Blvd, a fabulous scrapbooking company located in the sweet little town of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. For as long as I can remember I've loved drawing, crafting and creating handmade gifts and cards.
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