oh, hey. i'm married now and blogging for the first time in forever... :D

i'm married now.
i quite enjoy being married.
to my best friend, nonetheless.
he's pretty wonderful.
it's fun and interesting learning to live with a husband. 
oh yeah, and now i'm living in the country. (i lived in a small, awesome town of about 8k all my life.)
and it's beautiful.

i've been instagramming it up because of my new phone.
my username is: love_beka_hill.
you're welcome to follow me. :)
arranging house is pretty fun. i haven't made many amazing meals yet though. (two people don't eat that much. who knew?! hey. i came from a family of 8. lol.)
trying to get the kitchen all organized and the bedroom, too.

the dining room and living room need to be tackled, that's what i know for sure.
how about some fun stuff now?
pictures from the wedding? how about a few. ;)

photo credit: samantha

here's a few picture from the wedding --we did a first look and got all the photography done beforehand by a friend, samantha, and my now-sister-in-law, jen. it was awesome and so relaxing.

 me, my older sister anna, and two of our besties -- coincidentally, now my sisters in law. ;) love!!

me and the siblings. :D

more besties. :)

 

i'm off to watch some Lie To Me on netflix and wait for the husband to come home from second shift. can't wait to see his face.
maybe some wedding thank you's should be written too. hmmm.
see you around, cyberspace (and real life) friends!!
♥

life? that's happening, isn't it?...

hey hey hey!
so, according to calendars it should be spring, but we've still got stupid cold freezing weather around.

also, today i finished the last of the last of the last of the wedding invite stuff!
i have been taking pictures all along so peeps (and future friends/family) and see a post to come about how fun it was to put it all together. :)

gosh, it's been forever since i've even read a blog
besides young house love, i mean.
hello....we're renting a little house down the country road from his family. :) and it needs a bit of sprucing up, even though the landlord has neatened it up and updated a few things about it, cosmetically.
i can't wait to step inside it myself and hopefully get to paint the kitchen with a color. :)

i made onion soup with my youngest sister, lyd, earlier. our other two sisters (anna and rach) are under the weather a bit.
they are now watching the best version of emma on the awesome new couch, in the newly-painted-because-it-was-so-needing-it living room.

this photo is just more proof of the awesomeness that different shade and styles of a similar color will be pretty cool in my wedding......67 more days. wowza. (more sweet ideas found at my pinterest board. yes, yes.)
i can't wait; it's going to be warm out by then!!!!!
yes. spring, and getting married. how much better will the end of the month of may be. :) ;)

women: my sister lyddie, me, my sister anna, beth, martha, 

(little girl: alice) my sister rach, ?? nancy, anna a.

men: my justin, my brother caleb, justin r. and zechariah, 

my brother ben (The groom;), dad, monty, elijah, jason

also: in other news, my brother got married to a friend of mine --martha-- sunday!!
yes, yes. the pictures are quite handsome (thanks to her friend from ireland, louise the talented and awesome.)
and yes, we know we're good looking.
hahaha.
pretty fantastic, no? and it was freezing as heck outside!

hope you all have a dandy last week and a half of march.
maybe i'll blog again before i get married. maybe. lol.
♥

life update, anyone?

this was the sunset today, the end of my 10-5 day at my favorite rustic furniture shop... ;)

this was one of mom's inspirational finds at b&n the other night.

[engagement pictures that my awesome sister, rach, took of us 11/24 on the most freezing day ever, after thanksgiving was warm and in the mid-50's...we took pictures on a day that ended up being around 30.

and add windchill. and some pictures taken at sunset by a lake. hah!! torture. lol.]

lately i've been figuring out venue choices and pros and cons with mum and a couple other valuable perspectives who are of great help. :)

almost time to unveil a date. almost. ;)

suspense is awesome, right?
it's grand tension.
a very grand sort indeed....
after i worked 10-5 at the store, i closed up and went straight to babysitting a sweet little one, K, and her two older siblings...5:30-9.
i got home at 9:30 and it's the strangest thing to look at the clock and see "10:35pm"...
when i normally get home around 5:30.
oddest feeling ever.
but gotta love having work.
and saving money.
and buying christmas gifts.
and splurging on oneself.
heh. :)

5 things about today.

1. ohmyword! the smell of coffee grounds is absolutely amazing.
tomorrow would be one week since i've brewed it at home.
i  fell sick with a funky cold last friday....had a cup at church on sunday; had an americano at caribou coffee after wedding dress shopping monday night; and had a cup of coffee at church again wednesday night.
but there's truly nothing like brewing your own.
my word.

2. the reese boy. anna usually nannies this boy, but she's gone on a roadtrip to minnesota with two of the other siblings --my favorites: the hilarious ones, caleb and rach, until next wednesday.
this boy is playing with duplos. it's quiet time. he's 3. twenty minutes till he goes home with his daddy. we just got home from a 40 minute outing at the park. fresh air, warmer than our past week has been even though it's windy. [i'm putting up my hopes for an indian summer...]
he has shown me today exactly how hilarious and cute boys can be...you know, instead of just dangerous and quirky as i'd viewed them before. heck, i look forward to maybe having a boy or two.....maybe. especially if they're as cute as my love. ;) the world is so huge and detailed and simple to them all at once. i never knew a balloon could be explained like that before this morning.
...but when it comes to bathroom matters [like this one time today, for instance!], that's where it'll truly get fun. i have a feeling that might be one of my least favorite things about having kids...........

Source: tumblr.com via Alba on Pinterest

3. i'm going swing dancing tonight, with ben and martha. [since anna's gone. gone. gone.]
we're gonna have fun without her. she'll be swing dancing at her own friends-of-friends swing dancing hall tonight or tomorrow with a whole new crowd. heh.

4. chicken curry for dinner? sounds fantastic. over quick brown rice. mhmmm.

Source: eatdrinkchic.com via Beka on Pinterest

5. mum and i have been discussing and looking at tutorials for birdcage veils. i like the idea of one based on a headband. not a clip with a flower, or bobby pins...obviously i'm not having an elaborate updo; my hair won't be that long by then. lol. and not too much poufing. and not too much flowery embellishment. heh. i can't wait to make one! it's amazing the cost difference between $100-$200, or diy with things you can get from joann's or michael's for a total of under $30. heck. yeah.
[btw, did i mention that i found a dress monday night? yes. yes. yes. i like it a lot, and am so happy with my choice.]

p.s. coffee is good. and it's great to be able to taste it again. mmmm.

weddings and crap like that.

Source: ruffledblog.com via Beka on Pinterest

last night i had a weird dream.
part of it, i believe, was inspired by martha's detailed description of her date with ben out at this runway style show thing the other night.
my dream?
it included her picking out some horrendous rusty aubergine and gag-me shade of forest green dresses that cost somewhere between $200-$300 for us bridesmaids to buy and wear at their wedding.
thankfully....it's illogical and weird, considering she's trying her hardest to find a decent-priced, maybe swing-dancy, hopefully blue [maybe not] dress for us all to wear. lol.

it's fun.
weddings are fun.
just the teensiest bit of sarcasm in that. everyone who's been in or starred in or done a lot of background stuff in at least 1 or 2 weddings knows what i'm talking about, right? lol...

speaking of which....something exciting is happening tomorrow, and i can't post pictures. :P the ladies in my family, a few friends who are bridesmaids, and a super close family friend who is so adopted in [sarah;]...we are going dress shopping for me. [at david's bridal.]
yes.
dress.
shopping.
......super mucho fun. :)
i know quite a few women who went only with their mom or maybe one friend to dress shop, but with a few of our close friends [jen, heather, pj] it was the bride-friend and 2-7 girlfriends who were going to be in the wedding. all sitting outside of the dressing room....
so with that in mind, it seemed great in the past with those other many-persons-attending experiences......just hoping [last minute] that it'll be fine and cool and wonderful tomorrow night......
all i know is i need a lot of tea and rest today, and bring plenty of lozenges and wear something cute and comfy tomorrow. lol.

but now, for your amusement and contemplation and thought/input pleasure, here you go...
my status/question:

...what r.e.a.l.l.y. matters in the planning of a wedding?

        KB: Being authentic.....
        AL: Not to drive yourself crazy with it, because when the day comes, yes it will be great....but all you will really want is to get it done and be a Mrs. It's sounds harsh, and no, I ...See More
        ER: Saying how your heart feels thru your vows, and being yourself! After helping plan 2 weddings and working on another one, I've come to realize simplicity is the best. Don't run yourself ragged stressing about details!
        SE: you, justin, a preacher, a witness, and a marriage license.
        RLG: keeping your priorities straight. it helps if you divide everything into three catergories:
        1. bare bones can't live without
        2. nice to have but not necessary to life
        3. things that'd be nice to have but if you don't they won't be missed
        for me, photography is definitely in the bare bones can't live without category. favors for every table however, are not. it helps a lot with budgeting and saves you so many headaches you get from dealing with things that don't even matter anyway. i learned so much from planning a wedding the first time that i swear i'm going to have the simplest wedding ever... but i know it will be the most important things that me and my fiance will want. and it'll be much more stress free that way. just focus on what's important to you and your man and what really matters. not just that day, but what will you remember 10, 20, 50 years from that day? focus on those things and it'll truly be a celebration with moments that will last you a life time, instead of just an event you've worked on for months and is over in a few hours.
        ER: Honestly, think about how many weddings you've been to and remember every single last detail. not very many! Just let it be beautiful and fall together :-)
        CM: not flowers, dear. not flowers. they don't last. (but ♥ does!)
        SM: what YOU and JUSTIN want and think matters...
        SE: we got our marriage license the morning we got married (it's not allowed in illinois but it is in hawaii). we got married on the beach - the location was amazing, but it was where j was stationed. he wore clothes he already had - a white button down with sleeves rolled, and khaki shorts. i wore a little white beach dress that i got for $30 online. his friend is a good photographer so i handed him my camera. that's all we did for our actual wedding. i'd never have it any other way.
        Me: SE, all i can say is a whole-hearted agreeing "mhmmmmm". :)
        PT: What do you think r.e.a.l.l.y matters?
        Me: to put it vaguely.......i guess you might all heart/see what i think really matters someday. ;)
        PT: Once you find THE dress all that other stuff mostly falls in place. It's the years after that you should really be preparing for and not sure you can do that... :-)
        JS You two, the people you care about, and whatever you feel makes the day feel special. :)
        JS: food and you guys but most of all what you two want for your wedding and not everybody around you :)
        GZM: This might sound crazy, but, letting other people have what they want is really one of the best ideas. You get your fiancé, you get the photos in the end, but if your dad loves lemon cake, for example, order the lemon cake as a gift to him, and you'll both have sweet memories; he'll have contributed and will be proud, and truly, it's only one piece of cake. You can order raspberry cheese cake on your honeymoon. Same goes for flowers, colors, dresses, shoes, seating, food, etc.

hello again . . . marriage links, and life lately.

wow, wow, wow.
since when does blogger randomly just start working for me, one night at nearly 11pm?
shoot. i wanted to go to sleep early. ish.
but since it's working, i wanted to get a few words in before it goes funky and fails again, as technology and sites and complicated stuff like that tends to do. :P

i made some cream of mushroom soup today, completely from scratch [and it turned out freakin' yummy, if i do say so myself and quote the family members who devoured it. lol] . . . also, baking powder biscuits, and a 2 dozen batch of blueberry muffins.
oh my word, the last paragraph and the picture line up above makes me feel like my blogging a year ago....food, food, food. ;)
anyways, during that and afterwards, i was reading all over online about young people getting married.
here are a few favorite links i found...

a stunning post by the lovely erika [the life artist]:
12 years and why are we married again?

and this one, by david lapp:
did i get married too young?

the case for early marriage.
found in the magazine/webzine christianity today. [first mentioned to me by jen and craig, justin's awesome older sister and brother in law.]

and this really good one from boundless:
paddling after jake and myrtle.

and another really interesting one via boundless:
i got married young, but not young enough, part 1.

in other news: starting last thursday, rach and i got to spend 5 nights down with justin and his family, and then he drove us up here and he got to spend 5 nights with us. :)
needless to say, the past 10ish days were filled with laughing, fascinating and quirky family members, shopping, hanging out, swimming [hello terribly hot summer weather, anybody?], watching a couple movies, making food, singing, painting [yes!!! you read that right! ;) more on that later]....having interesting discussions face to face for once [mostly they happen over the phone, obviously]......let me just say, saturday when justin and i got to go to panera bread and have a scone and coffee --a chai tea latte for him-- it was so good to just spend one-on-one time talking about all the stuff under the sun that we puzzle over on the phone.

sunday morning with him as he left for home in southern illinois, saying see-you-later was the roughest time yet, but i can feel time speeding up just a bit more, closure coming, the next step drawing nearer and nearer...

so . . . that's been my last couple weeks.
maybe some more pictures and descriptions later.... :)

oh! also. i'm growing out my hair....just trying, right now, to even get to an even-length bob. heh.
kinda rough some days. but i'm getting there. i've had only the back trimmed straight for the past few months....i'm getting there. it's almost to the tuck-behind-the-ears-and-it-stays phase! so excited. hahah. at least i liked the short-short hair cut for nearly a complete, fully year. i'm pretty proud of that.

this was today. me and rach, sharing a dark chocolate coconut frappuccino at a cute little independent coffee/antique shop. :) no, i don't have instagram. rach does though. :P lol

re: the proposal.

this is the ring.

this is "the boy".
[i love him.]

this is "the girl".

this is them together. [saturday, before walking to the new little coffee shop in town.]

oh, and this is him and little danny, reading stories saturday afternoon.
epically cute.
[danny is a boy who's part of our family; we've watched him since he was 10mos old and he's 4 now.]
yep.

it was a lovely friday afternoon. friday, april 6 to be exact.

justin was edging one of the walls at gram's with a lovely new golden shade, i was practicing a song on the acoustic guitar that we were going to sing together at church for the two services easter morning.

we drank echinacea tea.
comes with the territory of having throat/congestion issues in this lovely month of april. :P

rach browsed the internet and laughed at us. [because...you know...we're funny. and weird. and we're us.]

he painted.

we sang.
we teased.

we sang some more.
we laughed.

i complained about being hungry.
he told me to be patient.
i told him not to talk to me about being patient.
he gave me a look.
i laughed and gave up.

after a while, i realized we hadn't taken any pictures together yet.
so he came by my side, and i waited for him to stop fidgeting until i took the picture at arm's length.

i looked at the picture we just took.
noticed a strange little box in the corner.
what...the....
i turned to him.
"what...was that?..."
he gave me a quirky, barely-innocent look.
"what was what?"
"...that....thing..."
i looked around for his hand.
"you mean this?"
everything is a blur from this part on.
he spoke. he went down on one knee. he asked me to marry him. i couldn't stop smiling.

of course, later we joked to lyd that i said "no" and "whatever" but he still gave me the ring because he's just so kind and generous. we must've acted really well, because she gave us a shocked, disgusted look and wondered why he still gave it to me. haha.

there was nothing better i could've asked for; paint, laughter, tea, music, sunshine in the windows, my justin, and heck yes i was surprised.

pictures don't do the ring justice; i love everything about it. simple. sweet. freaking stunning in the sunshine. i still kind of can't believe that the talented, awesome, sweet, God-loving friend and boyfriend is now my fiance. i guess it'll seriously sink in when we actually start planning hardcore...or hopefully before that.
i just feel so darn blessed.

there's not a whole lot of people you can really be yourself around and be not only accepted and loved but held dear because of it all. not really, sincerely, truly. you know how it is. i'm blessed that he is one of those people. one of those people who are my heart. one of those people you are just so astonished at God for putting them into your life.

...so yeah.
mhmmm....
my best friend and i; we're now engaged to be married someday in the next 50 years. el oh el. 
as for a date being set, not yet. we'll let you know when we do. ;)
your prayers would be much appreciated, very cherished.

[p.s. i'm eating easter chocolate to comfort myself because i cannot do that friday justice with this post, not ever. :P so i hope you enjoyed it....and i'll be posting sometime about random life stuff again soon. :) because, you know, life is good.]

my best friend's wedding.

this weekend was full of wonderfulness.
i'm not sure if you can tell. ;)

justin and i sang this song [click here] for pj and drew's first dance. 

[rach, was the photographer for this wedding.]

lots of dear friends, smiles, hard work, a beautiful wedding, laughing, crying, dancing, car rides, sunshine, children, and love love love.
♥