An Evening in Louisiana

*I originally wrote this post for writing prompts noted at the end of the post.  If you're reading it again, I think you'll agree that I couldn't change my idea of the perfect gift.

All week, our swimsuits stayed tucked into suitcases, tank tops and sundresses hidden beneath cardigan sweaters and, one night, a black and silver feather boa purchased from a little store that didn’t mind us shopping with to-go cups of deceptively sweet hurricanes in our hands.

Cool air kept the infamous humidity at bay, hidden behind the wrought iron fences embracing the lush yards of the Garden District Home. 

I planned one night of relaxation before driving back to Michigan, but raindrops and cloud cover meant the tiny, private pool would languish unused during our stay at Nottoway Plantation.

Wrapped in a sweater, I settle into a wrought iron chair in our courtyard, glad Ryan upgraded our room as a surprise.  After the garish lights and bustle of Bourbon Street, the privacy is luxurious and surreal, aqua lights shining from the pool to cast a cool glow onto the stone walls barring us from any distractions.

Champagne flutes sit on the little table between us, pushed back slightly when we pull our chairs together, edges touching.  He sips once or twice, then his glass is forgotten, effervescence bubbling to the surface like our conversation, natural and effortless.

I relax.  Even in the cool air, the chilled champagne is cold on my tongue, sweetly tickling the roof of my mouth before dancing dryly down my throat.  The ornately detailed chair presses into my thighs, etching its pattern onto my skin like a memory.

My bare legs are ready to go inside before long, but Ryan takes my hands in both of his, his warmth banishing the chill in the air.

Looking into his eyes, blue and grey and green, the cool breeze grows still.  Slowly, our effortless conversation morphs into something else.  The turquoise water bathes us in a reflective glow, powered by words that do more than ask a question, the question. 

Yes.

Tears prick at my lids but are whisked away by our matching smiles, the fierce tenderness of our embrace.  Laughter bubbles as we realize he’s still on one knee, making our hug perfectly awkward and unforgettable.

Yes.

He lets go of my hands at some point, because suddenly there’s a ring nestled in black velvet, the sheen of platinum circling around to a diamond, made for my finger, made for this moment.

Twinkling in the muted light, each facet reflects a new color, every color a promise.  In its sparkles, I see our family, hugs of comfort and celebration, this ring circling a finger bent and riddled with old age.  I see a life together.

Our life together.

Forever and ever, yes.  

Every MONDAY join us…
Write, post, link-up, share your story and your voice. Be part of carrying the weight of confidence and share our mission
to empower, inspire, and remind women, parents and children
that the time has come to celebrate ourselves!

Next week’s prompt: Priorities

(Remember you can also write on a topic of your choice.)

the prompt:

Choose a moment from your personal history and mine it for sensory detail. Describe it to us in rich, evocative details. Let us breath the air, hear the heartbeat, the songs, feel the fabric and the touch of that moment.

I'm also linking this over at the Lauren Nicole Gifts Blog, for their new monthly link-up.This month's theme is "the best gift you've ever received."

It All Began with a Vanity

It seemed so simple.

Pull out the outdated vanity in the bathroom, toss it in the trash, and install a pedestal sink.

Have you seen pedestal sinks?  They’re compact and don’t have many parts.  I couldn’t think of an easier first project to ease ourselves into home ownership.  HGTV figured prominently into my television viewing line-up, and pedestal sinks were so basic they didn’t even have their own show.

Looking back, I must have known it wasn’t going to be exactly painless, because I neglected to tell Ryan about my plan before enlisting my mom’s help to rid the bathroom of the offending vanity sink and cupboard.

Awkward and unwieldy, it protested only slightly as we pulled it into the hallway, making room for modern, streamlined bathroom décor.

Not wanting to sit on the curb alone, the vanity convinced parts of the plaster wall to come along on its next journey, leaving gaping holes in our bathroom wall.

Undeterred by the prospect of patching a wall, I stood by the decision to start remodeling before even deciding on a paint color.

My eyes drifted down, noticing that the tile border along the floor stopped where the vanity had once started.

We would have to find matching tile.

Inspired by the unique and quirky finds HGTV home designers manage to conjure from thin air, I traipsed out of the house to buy some tile.

Trips to several tile stores failed to find matching tile to continue the border.

Trips to several more tile stores failed to find anything remotely close to complementary tile to continue the border.

Discomfort began to set it as we pulled the rest of the tile away from the wall, planning to replace it with wood molding.

Projects always take a little detour, right?

More wall damage.

So we would need thick wood molding.

Perhaps we could paint it a funky color, like an HGTV home designer would.

Still more wall damage.

Make that extremely thick wood molding.

Maybe white molding would work.

We lacked any knowledge of miter saws and cutting on an angle and somehow making straight, extremely thick wood molding fit against the curved wall in our bathroom.

Ninety-seven trips to Home Depot, several panicked calls to my dad, and countless borrowed tools later, our bathroom was again presentable, complete with a gleaming white pedestal sink.

I turned off HGTV.

Lesson learned.

the prompt:

start or end with "lesson learned"

a little note: years later, when cleaning out our basement, we found an entire box of brand new tiles, obviously leftover from the bathroom project

curse words were spoken

giggles ensued

Going Down the List

There are fifty things on my summer bucket list, and more of them were crossed off this week!

run through sprinklers

frog sprinklers at the zoo

we always do this last, because Dylan inevitably ends up soaked

pictures (again) courtesy of my friend Rachel

take a spontaneous road trip

(day trip to Michigan State!)

photos from the Children's Garden

drive with the windows down

no pictures of this

that doesn't seem safe

Jackpot

We're back from Vegas, and I wanted to let everyone know that we hit the jackpot. 

If you define jackpot as countless uninterrupted showers, complete with putting on my make-up without sharing it with either of my kids, then I won.

If you define jackpot as hours and hours of time with Ryan, laughing about nothing and talking about everything, then I won.

If you define jackpot as drinking a banana colada on a beach (a man-made one, but there was sand!) while devouring Water for Elephants and In Style magazine, then I won.

If you define jackpot as taking a long, leisurely nap while Ryan played blackjack for a couple hours, then I won.

If you define jackpot as having an impromptu dance party while getting ready, with the music loud enough that Ryan called from outside of the room to see what exactly was happening inside, then I won.

My favorite winnings, though, came back in Michigan when I got to hug and kiss Abbey and Dylan millions of times while hearing about all the fun they had with Grandma and Grandpa.

As for the money kind of jackpot?  I guess that'll have to wait until our next visit, because my paltry $30 in gambling money stayed in Nevada.

probably the best of the five pictures I took

it's like I forget what to do with a camera when the kids aren't around!

And my not-at-all professional travel opinions are:

Mandalay Bay - two enthusiastic thumbs up (I told Ryan I never want to stay anywhere else, but who knows when it's time to plan again)

Viva Elvis by Cirque de Soleil - two thumbs up with reservations (I get that the slow songs are some of his biggest hits, but they didn't hold my attention)

Burger Bar (Hubert Keller) - casual but delicious and maybe my favorite meal, even though I got a Cobb salad (I don't do burgers)

Feel free to share your Vegas favorites!  I love hearing about other people's vacations.

Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is a special day around here.

First of all, a holiday where Mexican food can be freely consumed without (much) guilt?  That's already fairly close to perfect in my book.  Mmmmm, nachos...

Second of all, a holiday where margaritas are meant to flow like water, at least through the homes of those without two little ones wandering around all day?  Again, pretty sweet (or sour with salt, as that's how I prefer them!)

Most importantly, however, is that Cinco de Mayo is Ryan's birthday.

I don't know what I would do without my best friend, my voice of reason, and my comic relief in even the craziest of times.  I would be lost.

Ryan is in the midst of studying for (yes another) actuarial exam that he takes next Wednesday, so I doubt we will be living it up Jose Cuervo style today.  I hear there's a lot of tequilla in Vegas, so I believe a round of margaritas will be consumed sometime late next week.  Cheers!

Happy Birthday Ry
xoxo

in case you didn't see our Easter pictures, this is what Ryan looks like