Valentine's Day gifts.

I know this is a late post, but I've been busy watching movie after movie.

So clearly I had no time to take pictures of our gifts. :)

I've finally gotten myself off the couch. So here goes.

Sean and I exchanged gifts for Valentine's Day.

You know, the holiday that was nearly a week ago?

We always start with cards.

I think Sean won as far as cards are concerned.

He had it made through Shutterfly. And it has to do with this video.

Loving it.

He also got me a snazzy new iPhone case and chocolates. 

I named a star after him or my nickname for him, Nerbit.

In addition to naming the star, I jumped on the blogger bandwagon and ordered a datevitation.

It's so cute and comes in a sweet little box and everything. 

I recommend looking at the site for birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and... anything really.

Now I'm going back to catch up with DVR.

Important things. Important things. :)

Valentine's Day week: our story, part IV.

Wanna catch-up? Read part I, part II, and part III.

He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. And suddenly it didn't matter that it was raining. Or cold. Or muddy. It was beautiful and perfect. And I didn't hesitate to say "yes".

We had a 20 month engagement. I started this blog and also spent those 20 months at bridal expos, and online, and obsessed with flowers and cakes and dresses and tablecloths. Like what? I was excited for the day, yes -- but also for our marriage. And I wanted to make sure that our marriage got off to the right start. A perfect start.

I dragged Sean from venue to venue, talked about DJs & music and catering and decorations and even he started to think I was crazy. By mid-2010 most of the big items on the wedding list were completed even though our wedding wasn't until summer 2011. We spent the summer together going on vacations, being in other people's weddings, and taking our engagement pictures. And Sean started getting excited.

Toward the end of 2010 we realized we would have to make some changes to our living situation if we had any chance of saving up and paying for a wedding/our lives together. We tried finding a cheaper place to live and decided on living with Sean's parents for the next year. So after two years of living just the two of us, we moved yet again.

Our parents threw us a surprise engagement party a year after we got engaged. We were so excited and so surprised and things started feeling real.

Once 2011 rolled around we were both so busy; planning the wedding, working full-time, saving money, Sean was busy with the band and for a little bit we forgot to put each other first. It was sad. But we worked through it together and got on the right track again.

We had all the traditional pre-wedding activities; showers, parties, rehearsal dinner, everything. And with every celebration we got more excited and shared more moments together, and our conversations became less about the day and more about the next fifty years together.

This is not to say our time wasn't partly consumed by wedding crafts, and painting plaques and forcing Sean to take pictures with me. Because part of our time was spent this way. But we also spent our days together laughing, our nights by the fire making s'mores, and our weekends away with family.

On July 16, 2011, on what was sure to be the hottest day of the year we got married under the sun, and the 90 degree weather. We were sweating, and laughing, and we held hands the entire time. We didn't stumble on our vows, we never took our eyes off each other and it was one of those moments where you think about everything and nothing all at once.

While writing our story, I asked Sean if I should stop writing after our wedding, he quickly asked "what... so people think our story is over after the wedding?". To that, I say "no"... our story didn't end with our wedding. Ours is an on-going story that, for now, will have to be continued.

How well does your spouse know you?

I've decided to link-up with Jessica for a "how well does your spouse know you" quiz.
I made a point to ask Sean these questions days ago in anticipation for this day, Valentine's Day.
Happy Valentine's Day. :)
And after each question he said "hmm, that seems like a trap".
He's a smartie.

If you've been reading along you know I've been talking a lot about our love story the past few days.
You can catch up here: part I, part II, and part III.
I'm interrupting the story because I ran out of time and my valentine wants to take me to dinner.
:)

So, enjoy.

Here are the instructions:

1. Fill out the Valentines Day Questions. You can find them here.
2. Hand over the same set of questions to your spouse. Find out his answers to the questions about you.
3. Write a post comparing both of your answers
4. Link up your blog post below!

How long have you been married? 

His: Like exact? I’m not good at math, a year and 8 months

Hers: A year and almost 7 months

Where was your first date?  

His: Official? Olive Garden

Hers: Olive Garden

Where was your first kiss? 

His: In a friend’s kitchen

Hers: At a friend's house

Who first said, "I love you"? 

His: me?

Hers: He did... while watching an episode of MTV's Room Raiders.

What were your wedding colors? 

His: Pink, and black? White?

Hers: Black and pink

What is her most commonly used phrase? 

His: That’s a tough one, "nerbit"? (that's my nickname for him)

Hers: I don't think I have a catchphrase. 

Who is her celebrity crush? 

His: Robert Pattinson

Hers: Robert Pattinson

If she was ordering drinks for both of you what would you each get? 

His: A mountain dew for me and a coke for her

Hers: A mountain dew and a coke

What is the best meal she has ever cooked you? 

His: I don’t know, fake chicken dinner (One time I bought a rotisserie chicken from the market with all the sides, changed the containers when I got home and told him I made the whole meal from scratch)

Hers: I don't generally cook

What is the worst meal she has ever cooked you? 

His: You never really cook dinner that bad. There’s something, but I can’t remember what it was
Hers: Maybe something that didn't cook all the way through, that happens often

What is the most-played song on her iPod? 

His: Anything by t. swift

Hers: Taylor Swift

What would she say is your most annoying habit? 

His: My OCD

Hers: Nothing :)

What is the last thing she does before she goes to bed? 

His: Wash your face

Hers: Wash my face and brush my teeth

If you could throw out one item of her clothing what would it be? 

His: I feel like that’s a trap. But, Uggs

Hers: Probably a "grandma sweater". (he tends to NOT like sweaters?)

What would you say is your favorite thing about her? 

His: Too many things to choose from. You’re my wife.

Hers: I'm hysterical. Obviously.

What's her go-to drink at Starbucks? 

HIs: A water?

Hers: I don't like Starbucks

What's her blog's name?

His: Jasmine and Sean

Hers: Jasmine and Sean

:) happy valentine's day.

Valentine's Day week: our story, part III.

Wanna catch-up? Read part I & part II.

In January 2009 -- after two years together we got our very first place. It was the best. Or so we thought...

Turns out, it's really hard to transition into a first-time renter, recent college graduate, and brand new teacher all within a few months of each other. Sean was busy with work and joined his first band since we started dating so I had to adjust to sharing him with the band, all the new friends that brought us as well as my own commitments with my new career. Oh, and we thought it was a good idea to adopt a puppy. It wasn't.

It was a lot, all at once and it led to change and confusion. It was hard, and eventually led to us breaking up. For 20 days. And it was awful.

We refer to those 20 days as the dark days and don't actually talk about them much. But in the big picture of our lives together those 20 days, while necessary, practically don't exist.

It's a scary thing to not be with the person you know you're supposed to be with. It's almost like your heart is walking around outside your body. You can't control it, fix it, or change it. So instead, you do everything you can so that you can just be near it. Like agree to go to places you always declined before, or watch the movies you always said "no" to before or stay up late on Facebook chat just to see if he'd send a message like before. And just like that, our relationship sparked up again through online chatting, and texting and reminding each other why we were so good together in the first place.

Sometimes I think you have to step back and realize what you have, what you can handle, and what needs to change. I think that the 20 days apart made me appreciate Sean for who he was, made me realize who I was and made me fall in love with him even more... rather than continue to be obsessed with the idea of our relationship.

We spent that Thanksgiving in Maine with Sean's family. On Friday, after eating tacos for lunch Sean mentioned going over to the lighthouse about 10 minutes from the house. It was raining and I kept saying "I don't know... how about tomorrow?" But he kept insisting, so I said I would go. When we got there he asked me to get out of the car. It was down pouring and I told him that I could see from the car; so he made me get out of the car. I thought it was a little unnecessary but of course I did it. 

We walked a little bit and he told me he loved me and I remember thinking about the rain and about his words and then more about the rain. Until he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. And suddenly it didn't matter that it was raining. Or cold. Or muddy. It was beautiful and perfect. And I didn't hesitate to say "yes".

Part IV tomorrow.

Valentine's Day week: Our story, part II.

Wanna catch-up? read part I here. 

In April of my sophomore year of college, for the first time, I saw Sean in a different light. I asked him how his 21st birthday was (which I had missed since I was sick), and he said "it was good, I wish you were there". And he smiled. And I smiled. And I was sold.

That same night, we had a cookout at a friend's house. And we spent the whole night subtly giving each other hints that neither of us would be opposed to other person texting the next day. This was still in the days of AIM, woah, so I figured that would be less intrusive. And so, for the next week, every time I got back to my dorm room I had messages from him on instant messenger. Letting me know that I was missed when I was at school and that he was excited for the weekend when I came home.

The following weekend, during a UFC party we spent the entire night talking to each other and texting each other, even though we were in the same room, and before I left for the night he sent me a text message to ask if he could give me a kiss. It was sweet, and genuine, and I got butterflies. For the first time. Ever. 

The next week, we texted each other constantly. Like, the bill -- when my parent's received it -- was over $400. Whoops.

We spent the next couple of weeks with friends, but together, with our fun and exciting secret. We bonded over our love of 80's love ballads, Johnny Cash, and Back to the Future. And I loved it. Around Memorial day, I guess you could say "ish hit the fan" when friends started to find out. I didn't realize it would be such a big deal but apparently it was or had to be. Sean immediately told me "it didn't matter" and that he was "all in this" and for the next 3 months while our relationship grew stronger between us... it struggled to find a place in the group of friends that Sean was once such a huge part of.

To us, it really didn't matter. In the beginning part of our relationship we took trips together, spent days at the beach, went mini-golfing and bowling, had our first official date at the Olive Garden where he choked and my contacts fell out, he wrote me beautiful songs, we went skateboarding and fishing, we went to concerts, and at the 4th of July fireworks he asked me to "be his girlfriend". I had no idea it wouldn't be the only time I would say "yes".

During my junior year of college, we were together non-stop. I moved out of the dorms and back to my parent's house since it made more sense to me to be closer to where I wanted to spend my time. But I actually spent no time there at all. My mom used to ask me to come home and she would ask me if Sean's parents minded how long I would stay at their house. Sean often jokes about this time saying "You came one day, and never left, and that was fine with me."

We traveled together, went camping, went on date nights and were utterly obsessed with being around each other. So for a while, we didn't mind... or didn't notice that we had lost all of our mutual friends. And by the time it was noticed, they were gone.

At the beginning of my senior year of college, we started talking about getting our own place. We spent so much time together, never wanted to be apart and figured it made sense. It was exciting. We saved up, and in January 2009 -- after two years together got our very first place. It was the best. Or so we thought...

Part III tomorrow.

Valentine's Day Week: Our Story, part I.

I always think it's really interesting to read other blogger's stories about how they got together with their significant other, how they fell in love, how they got engaged, their wedding... everything.

Since, Thursday is Valentine's Day I figure, why not reveal more about us, our love and our story? Not to assume that you will find it really interesting (as I do for others) but since it's my blog I guess I can blog about whatever I want. :)

I generally don't talk about the beginning stages of our relationship because for a while it made me a little sad. Not in the "I regret this" way, no, no, no but I think us getting together kind of ruined lots of friendships. Especially for Sean.

It was sort of one of those classic "boy meets girl. boy likes girl. boy's best friend gets the girl. boys stop being best friends." stories. See? Sad.

I can say, that I remember the first time I saw Sean. I was in seventh grade and he was in eighth. I was leaving the library and he was sitting outside the office... with his eyes closed, sleeping. And I remember thinking, I can't understand how some people can just sleep through school. In all honesty, I came from private school before this year and once I gave public school a couple of years of my life... I could then understand how some people could just sleep through school.

We really didn't have much to do with one another. In ninth grade, my best friend starting dating his best friend so we saw each other every now and then. I've always been a fan of music, and always loved going to shows. One night, I went to a local show (my best friend's boyfriend was the singer of one of the bands) and I remember seeing Sean on stage, playing guitar and admiring from afar. Not thinking too much into it, I went on throughout the rest of high school not realizing the tune of that guitar player would be one I would hear every day for the rest of my life.

He finished high school first, I finished next. He went straight to work, I went to college. I hated it. I mean I hated it. I didn't want to be there, and spent most of my time with a friend I had known for years & years. One night, after a really long and stressful friendship seemed to be coming to an end and I was crying over someone who clearly didn't care that much about me, my friend said "my friend's having a coming home party, let's go". And so I went with tears in my eyes. I had no idea that this "friend having a coming home party" would be best friends with my future husband.

The group of people were really nice to me. I mean, really thoughtfully nice to me. They welcomed me into their group and for the next two years I did everything with them. If I wasn't in class, I was with them. Doing something. Anything. And I enjoyed it. It was not the typical stuff like going to the mall that I was used to. It was more... going four-wheeling, spending time outside with bonfires, going to car shows, going to metal shows, late night drives, and doing less girl-ish things. It was a change in pace and one that prepared me for what was to come.

In April of my sophomore year of college, for the first time, I saw Sean in a different light. I asked him how his 21st birthday was (which I had missed since I was sick), and he said "it was good, I wish you were there". And he smiled. And I smiled. And I was sold.

Part II tomorrow.

Our week.

Here's our week in pictures:

Here's our week in words:

 

I made lots & lots of valentine's day cupcakes.

We celebrated valentine's day with candy and italian food.

We ate at a local irish bar and were serenaded by an old man singing "Oh, danny boy".

We decided last minute to go to a concert.

We ate a lot of Mexican food.

We bought lots of things for our place: carpet, DVD shelves, rugs, towels, etc...

Tomorrow is a holiday. :)