10 Day You Challenge: Nine Loves

I'm feeling inspired today to share some love so it's time for another 10 Day You Challenge post.

Other than loving the obvious (my family and friends), here are nine loves that come to mind:

1. Frozen yogurt or what I commonly call it, froyo.  You can read about how Amy and I grew up eating it here. In early 2009, there were only a few options for so-so frozen yogurt. Since then, Boston now hosts a wide variety of froyo places, including Chill, Berry Freeze, Berryline (our favorite so it appears in a ton of posts, including here), Red Mango (the worst of the bunch - they are stingy with their toppings) and Pinkberry, my one regret is that I didn't open a froyo place myself! :)  My all-time favorite? Original yogurt with strawberries, blueberries and almonds. Heaven.
2. A kind of typical but oh-so true response from a newlywed? I love my wedding dress. And like all brides, it's a shame that you only get to wear the dress for one day. I have to admit, when I saw my dress on the hanger, it didn't fit the picture in my head of what my dream dress was going to look like. But on me, it just fit perfectly. I loved the sheen of the raw silk, the lace at the bodice and hem, and the ruching at the neckline. It wasn't too heavy and was pretty comfortable. And I felt like a rockstar wearing it. This is a picture from the final dress fitting: 

and a close-up of the back and bustle:

3.  The color green. Anyone that knows me knows that it's my favorite color and that I own a lot of it. I actually met my friend Kelli for lunch last week and she told me she didn't recognize me right away in Fresh City because I wasn't wearing any green. What she didn't realize was that I had shed my outer green peacoat earlier in the day! 

4.  Letterpress anything. Our wedding invitations definitely reflected this love - there's just something about a nice, thick quality paper reflecting rich colors and an imprinted design. It instantly conveys a sense of elegance. I used letter press cards for my wedding shower thank you notes and just received the sweetest letterpress thank you note the other day in the mail from my wonderful friend Z (whose wedding invitations were also letterpress, we share this love).

5. Our Roomba Geoffrey. He's like a pet except he requires no food or care, and he cleans on command. Often times, I'm making a mess in the kitchen while he's zooming around our living room cleaning in preparation for guests. I think we've convinced three sets of friends to buy one for themselves, and it's because Andrew and I like demonstrating his abilities in the middle of gatherings at our place. 

6. Andrew's foot rubs. And I'm lucky enough to have a husband who gives them freely (on a daily basis!)

7. Traveling. I love the excitement of planning and packing for a trip, and obviously, seeing new places, experiencing new things, tasting new foods! We really don't do enough of it, and once things settle down at work for me, I'm hoping Andrew and I can plan some new pins to add to our Newlywed Map.

8. French ranunculus - yet another thing that made an appearance at our wedding. I think any type of ranunculus has become my new favorite flower but I love the fact that french ranunculus are such a pretty combo of soft red and bright green (can you spot it in my bouquet?) I had spotted them in a Martha Stewart ad and while Petalena couldn't guarantee that they would be able to locate them the week of the wedding (different flowers being in season, what would be available in the flower market and through their contacts, etc.), they were able to pull off a miracle and locate a few for my bouquet. Love, love, LOVE my bouquet and the french ranunculus:

9. Reading. In all forms, whether it's reading a Harry Potter hardcover, a trashy romance paperback or an e-book on my Kindle. I have a deep love for libraries - the quiet, the little reading nooks, wandering down the aisles, the smell of books in the air.  I would prefer a day of reading on my own to hanging out with a group of people. Sounds a little anti-social, but to me, spending a day in my pajamas and reading a good series of books is just perfect. What started me on my love of reading? Honest to God, a Burger King meal. My third grade teacher used a BK meal as an incentive in our class; the person who read the most books got the meal.  I started reading because of food but got hooked by what I read. :) 

So there it is - the nine things that came to mind today as things that I love. I was a little embarrassed at first that so many things were connected to our wedding but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. If your wedding is going to reflect you, it will naturally include elements of things that you love.