i made: man shorts

One of my goals for this year included making more clothes for Morgan. The weather has been starting to warm up here, so I got Morgan to design some shorts for me to make. I used the Burda Style Jochen pattern as the base and i'm pretty happy how they turned out. They are a bit baggier than I planned, and I think later I will bring them in a little. The best thing is Morgan likes them and wears them all the time, so that is all that matters.
-kim

gratitude

Back in December, I had the privilege of taking part in a 30 days of gratitude seminar. A little while ago I shared about a documentary this incredible mother/daughter team are making about the power of gratitude.

This seminar was excellent, but unfortunately due to the last few months being not quite normal (packing up our home and traveling the world) I didn't quite finish the 30 day challenge. I was thinking about this today, feeling a little bummed I didn't finish it and it reminded me of one of my favourite things Morgan and I do, and I want to share a little glimpse into that.

Each night before we drift to sleep Morgan and I ask each other what the best part of our day was. I love this. It is a great moment to pause and reflect on the 16 hours that have passed, and select one moment that made us smile, one moment that made the day worth living. Some days it can be tough to pick one thing because there are so many great things, and others can be really hard to think of something good. However, it is so worth it, to end the day sharing the great things we each have experienced and enjoyed.

I believe this has been so valuable in our marriage. Before we were both unemployed and spending all day everyday together, this was a great time in the day to spend time alone and share the highlight of our day. It's so easy to not quite communicate those little things that happen in the day, and I think there is real value in sharing them.

These moments we share always remind me of the things I am grateful for, and make me even more excited about what the day ahead might hold.

I hope this encourages you to share with people around you, the good things in life (however small or large) and take the time to encourage one another, that life is great and there are many beautiful things to be found.
-kim

recycle: wedding dress

Last week I got a lovely email that brought a big smile to my face, and I thought I would share it with you. You see, when Morgan and I first got engaged, we decided we wanted our wedding not to be a big huzzah of just one day, but to make sure as many things as possible, were able to be used again some how. That was kinda easy for some things like our fabric bunting decorations, the tea cups, black boards and some of our clothes, but one thing I always hoped was able to be used again was my Wedding dress.



I loved that dress, well I still do, and so when I saw a friend of mine, who I knew had a similar style to me, got engaged I knew I should offer her the dress. She loved it and she sent me some pictures last week of her wedding day wearing my old dress. She altered it a little to bring her own spin, and don't they look amazing. I found it so incredible to see this dress be re-used again and for it not to be a one day dress.




I guess I want to encourage and challenge those of you who have been, or are about to be married, think about what you can do with the things you make/use for your wedding. That dress hanging in your cupboard could be perfect for someone else to enjoy on their wedding day.
-kim

dates

In all my experience in marriage... 1 year 3 months and 21 days to be precise. I have learnt this, date. and frequently. Dating never ends and the fun should never stop either. Although as comfortable and fun staying home watching a movie could be, you gotta go out and explore (this works for both single people and people in a relationship). Kim and I will bounce back and forth in a month asking each other out on dates.

Be intentional.

Well thats it from Dr Morgan. Now go out and put it to practice!







-morgan

Morgan & Kim got Married

So today is our one year wedding anniversary so we thought we would share some of our favourite photos and moments from the big day as we have never done that on here.

We had such an amazing day. We tried to be very minimalistic with our approach to the wedding. We didn't want getting married to be all about the wedding day, rather treat it as a giant celebration of all things "us". We wanted as much as possible to do it handmade/secondhand or at least recyclable after the event, like last christmas. We hired a little woodern hall just out of town that had a nice big yard. The ceremony was inside the hall, the after all the guests head outside to play games, eat great food and celebrate.

Our rings were handmade by a local jeweler using new and recycled gold. Kim bought an 'off the rack dress' from a business that closed down (60% off RRP) and made her own veil from an handmade headband and some netting off etsy. Each of the bridesmaids chose their own dresses, so it would be one they would wear again. Morgan bought his and the groomsmen's clothes from a formal wear shop secondhand. Also a close group of Morgan's friends all got married within a year of each other, so we re-used the same black suits in 3 of the different wedding parties. The Bouquet and Boutonnière were designed by a friend of ours, with the grooms men's made out of herbs and the bridesmaids with a wrist corsage. Since the wedding Kim has been able to pass on her dress to a friend who will be wearing it when she gets married later this month, which is so exciting.

In the lead up to the big day, we sewed 3 kilometres of bunting flags from recycled vintage fabric (this was the most time consuming thing about our wedding). This was an awesome bonding experience for sure. We used local flowers as decorations in old bottles around the place, and had heart shaped balloons (not really handmade or recyclable woops). We hung a quilt that Kim's parents bought us as a backdrop during the ceremony and hung paintings from our home everywhere around the hall. We also brought old picture frames from op shops and painted them with chalk paint to make signs for around the venue.

Spoonfed, a local caterer did all our food, using from local products and also alot of free range/organic goods. We gave out teacups as wedding favours, which we collected from opshops for our guests, which they used on the day to drink all our homemade iced teas and lemonade (Morgan is still kicking himself he didn't write down the recipe, it was the best lemonade he has ever tasted/made).

Morgan's dad made an amazing giant frame for people to stand in and take photos, and we also went off his French heritage and played petanque and horse shoes. Morgans godmother also played classic parisian style accordion all through the day which was a definite highlight. We were also honored to have our friends work together as the photographers. This husband and wife duo did an amazing job capturing the day, we appreciate them so so much.

And now for the photos. Enjoy....

















LINKS YOU MAY ENJOY.
Brides Head Band - handmade from yellowyellowdesigns
Brides Veil - homemade from squirlgirl Millinery supplies
Bridal Party flowers - by Sarah
Wedding Cake topper - handmade by VintagebyCrystal

Mawwiage

On May 1st Kim and I have been married ONE YEAR!!!! So stay tuned for a special post on May 1st.