The Wedding Files: Half way there..

I've been thinking about the process of planning a wedding as more of a journey than just a destination. Many people have mentioned how the actual wedding day flies by, so I am savouring the lead up and want to remember all the little moments.

There was the sneaky secret planning before we were officially engaged, which involved vague conversations with Ps Murray about his availability for a 'big event in our lives', lots of emails to a special photographer and an amazing Will contacting event hire places in Brisbane from the other side of the planet...

Then there was the little 'coincidences' of being at another couple's engagement party, and taking up a friend's offer for a lift, and me happening to look up from my phone and out the window as we happened to drive past a lovely little cafe - a lovely little cafe that looked perfect for a dinner party, and happened to host weddings, and just happened to be available for a wedding on November 19. Perfect!
Of course, then came the big events - Will coming home, and proposing, and celebrating with boiled eggs.

And then there was asking the bridesmaids, and finding the dress, and the suit, and designing the invites, and booking the hair dresser, and makeup and making a billion to do lists - but more on all of that another time, because today's big news is that...

We are halfway there!

Today Will and I have been engaged for 3 months and 20 days, and today also marks 3 months and 20 days until we marry. It's all so exciting!

Happy Birthday Mama Liz

While I will always be a Fraser deep down inside, I am getting so excited about officially becoming a Swanson. I love this family and it was so nice to start the week with a family dinner for Liz's birthday. Happy birthday Liz!! And luckily for me, the night was personality-test-free.

In the midst of planning a wedding, we've been talking a lot about the future and what we want for our marriage. Family and friends and faith are priorities, along with food and fun and fresh air. And yes, the inner-alliterationist in me loves that they all start with the letter F.

But we both feel so blessed to have such wonderful families, and really value the time we spend with them.

Will in West End

Star jumping our way around West End.

The 13 Days of Birthday...

The 13 Days of Birthday are like the 12 Days of Christmas. Except, instead of starting with a partridge and ending with twelve drummers drumming, the 13 Days of Birthday start on my birthday (July 6) and finish on Will's (July 18).

We weren't smart enough to realise our birthdays book-ended a 13 day period last year (it was the year we thought living on two separate continents was an okay idea, we were delusional, obviously!) but this year we really smartened up and realised we could turn two individual birthdays into almost a fortnight of celebration. And celebrate we have!

Here are some of the highlights:


Day One: My birthday! Will gave me a cute succulent plant named Albert, we had International Food Day at work, and we had the entire Salon Lounge to ourselves on the account of it being State of Origin Night. We drank cocktails and ate yummy food and Will didn't even gloat when Qld beat NSW.

Day Four: Will spoilt me with a romantic morning horseriding through the beautiful Mooloolah Valley. We made new friends in Alabama and Grizzly Adams, rode through an abandoned train tunnel and I only rode into a tree once. In my defense, it was Alabama's efforts to avoid walking through mud that landed us in such a predicament - who knew horses didn't like dirt?

Day Six: We had a gorgeous picnic in the park and finished the day with a Fraser family dinner - for my birthday and Jeremy's last night in Brisbane before he moved down south. Things got a little crazy when Father Fraser pulled out a personality test for us all to complete, but Will passed with flying colours and, thankfully, still wants to marry me. Cue some Meet the Parents jokes now.

Day Seven: Unrelated to Birthday week, but a big day in both families. Jeremy flew out early in the morning, and Paul and Lauren announced Baby No. 2 early in the afternoon. Bye bye brother and hello new nephew or niece!

Day Eight, Nine and Ten: I wound up in bed for three days with a nasty fever/cough combination. Will brought all my favourite things - a punnet of strawberries, a packet of pork crackle and an interior design book. He's a keeper.

Day Twelve: We had Swanson family lunch to celebrate 28 years of William. The food was delicious and the company was lovely! Will joked with facebook that he felt awkward with all the birthday kisses I gave him, but I know he secretly loved them.

Day Thirteen: Will received birthday balloons, birthday chocolates, a birthday card with a special birthday voucher, and more birthday kisses after work. We had Pizza Capers, snuggled up on the couch and watched a movie. A very fitting end to a wonderful 13 days.

Only, it wasn't the end! As Brisbane seems to shut down on Monday nights, we postponed Will's birthday dinner to Wednesday and treated ourselves to a delicious feed at Blue Smoke BBQ and a selection of sorbets at Freestyle Tout. We turned 13 days into 15, adding a little extra birthday cheer to a very happy fortnight.

Happy Birthday us!

A long distance 'Hey! I love you'!

Last year, Laura and I spent a large part of our relationship in other countries and on other continents. There are only so many flowers you can send while in a long distance relationship and I couldn't help but feel there was something so unromantic about punching in my credit card details over the internet to do so.

So, on days when there was no emergency unfolding or gantt chart needing populating, I did things like this instead - make a movie with George Clooney in it...

Celebrity Stalking in Sudan from willswanson on Vimeo.

RADelaide

Last weekend, Mum and I got up at 4am on Saturday morning, to be greeted at our front door at 5am by Will, to get to the airport by 5:30am for a 6:30am flight to ADELAIDE!





We were off on a mother-daughter trip to visit family friends. Their eldest daughter, Grace (8), is my goddaughter, and last weekend was her First Communion. Given I'm not Anglican, I had to read up a bit on what that even meant, but it was really special to spend some time with Grace and her little sister Emma.





We went to the park, saw the ducks, drank lots of hot chocolates, played hide-and-seek in the rose bushes, made electrical circuits, visited the most incredible State Library, wandered through the Museum, hurried through Art Gallery, cuddled with Henri the Cat, enjoyed a fancy dinner party, picked mandarins from the garden, played with the most amazing dolls house, and of course, headed off to church on Sunday morning.





Needless to say, I'm glad to be a 'grown up' - life as a little human is BUSY, and tagging along made me sleepy. I've spent this past week taking naps in an effort to recuperate. But there's nothing like a little interstate interlude to mix things up!

And can I please have a house just like this one?