What I Know About Marriage So Far

This is my first evening away from my husband since we were married, so I figured it would be the perfect evening to sit down and write a blog post.

The thought of marriage always excited me when I was younger. I knew that when I was old enough to get married I would feel like I have finally made it into adulthood. I would be responsible, watch the news, wake up and have a cup of coffee while reading the paper, kiss my husband goodbye as he left for work, and then I, myself would leave for my very important adult-like full time job. But the reality is, I do not feel any different. I still love to watch spongebob, I still don't know what I want to be "when I grow up," I still majorly struggle with mornings and often have to push snooze multiple times before I actually can get the energy to get out of bed, and I still feel like the same Samantha I have always been. I am the exact same person, except now I have someone by my side to go through this whole "adult life" thing with me. And it only took me a little less than 3 weeks to realize that being married doesn't mean I am more of an adult than I was just a few weeks ago. But being married for a little less than 3 weeks did make me realize that I wouldn't want to be my goofy, immature, child like self with anyone else in the world. Marriage is not about being a "grown up" but rather figuring out the whole "grown up" thing with someone by your side to help you through the journey. I still have A LOT to learn about marriage yet and I know that I will be spending my whole life learning about it, but I am so glad that I get to do it all with Josh! Josh is goofy, kind, loving and such an amazing man I just could not imagine spending the rest of my life without him.

That being said our wedding trailer was uploaded today and I couldn't be more thrilled with how it came out! Josh and I's day was honestly the best day of my life, it all just feels like a dreamy blur to me now so I am so excited that we got Liam to make this amazing video for us! :)

Some of my Fave Music Videos

Something that not everyone knows about me is that I love music videos. I have spent a lot of time thinking about cool things I'd like to put into music videos, it often includes some awesome awesome motion graphics, a fire breather, a boat and Joseph Gordon Levitt. But that is besides the point. I love how music videos can make you not only understand a song better, but it lets you see the song. It gives you a visual representation. It allows the artist to give you a visible work of art. So here is a compilation of some of my favorite music videos that I wanted to share.

Anberlin- Unstable

Not only is the an incredible song, but the music video is phenomenal. It is placed in some sort of other world, post apocolyptic scene, the videography is stunning, the plot line is enough that it gives you the story, but allows your imagination to fill the holes however you think, plus the guy is super cute and the girl has on an amazing outfit. This is definitely one of my all time favorite videos!

MuteMath- Typical

This band has always impressed me, they are raw, creative and their music is just fabulous! This video is one of my favorites because it's just so entertaining to watch. The whole video was filmed, then flipped so you are watching it backwards. The drumming is especially entertaining to watch. You are pretty much watching a hot mess, but you can't keep your eyes off of it. 

Justice- D.A.N.C.E.

I took a motion graphics course once and learned a bit about After Effects and how to create motion graphics, but I am nowhere near an expert at it. However, this video makes me want to sit down at my computer as long as it takes and become an expert. The movement on their shirts are so fluid and amusing and I feel like every time I watch this video I notice something new. 

Stromae- Papaoutai

So this artist is one I discovered while I was in Italy, and excitingly enough he is gaining an audience back here in the states. I chose this video because (although I don't quite know what the lyrics mean) I can follow the story and know what the artist was intending with the video. After watching this video a few times I came up with my own conclusion about what I thought the artist , what the lyrics were saying and how they coincide with the what I was seeing in the video. Then I looked up the lyrics in English and I was right. I love that about music videos, you don't always have to know what the lyrics are saying in order to understand the emotion and intend of the song. Plus, this song is just makes me want to dance and it has a really inspiring meaning behind it. 

Miike Snow

So for those of you doesn't know Miike Snow, look them up. But what I am about to show you may either 1)Scar you for life or 2)Inspire you in ways you won't believe. I still don't know how I feel about this music video series (2 music videos in total) The first music video is for a song called Paddling Out, and it includes alien children dressed in victorian outfits and a chubby guy dancing. You just have to watch to see what I am talking about though. 

Sorry for creeping you out. But here is the next video in the series. I still don't understand this one, but I don't think at this point it is for me to understand, but to rather come to my own conclusion about. It is creepy, confusing, but all at the same time entertaining. This video is filled with cops with donuts, the "perfect human" running down the road in his leather pants, and also dead children. It's weird and you should watch it so you can come up with your own conclusion.

Katy Perry- This is How We Do

I wanted to end this post with a happy song, since the last 2 videos were weird and creepy. So here is Katy Perry's This is How We Do. I wanted to include this song because, as a former art student, I find the art inspired scenes eye catching, plus the song makes me want to dance. In this video Perry not only uses inspiration from Piet Mondian, but I am also includes a few scenes I would assume was inspired by Rene Magritte. The floating ping pong balls and basketballs remind me of his piece Golconda. Plus she wears an outfit inspired by Pizza, and their are mixed mediums involved including dancing food. It's just an all around fun video. 

Well that sums up a few of my favorite music videos. Some of these videos are weird, some are fun, some are inspiring, some tell intricate stories, but they are all an art piece in themselves. I really enjoyed putting this blog post together, so I am definitely planning for more posts like this in the future.

Wedding, Disney, and Becoming an Adult

I have now been married for 10 whole days! And it has been amazing so far. Our wedding was absolutely perfect, the weather (although it was hot) was beautiful. I can't thank my friends and family enough for being a part of our big day. I am so amazed and still in a bit of disbelief that I am married to such an amazing man.

Stray Lights KILLED IT! Loved my lights <3

Cutest Flower Girls EVER, Practicing for the big day!

Wedding Morning relaxing at the hotel

My Bride Robe

Grabbing some Lunch at the hotel bar

My Dad walking me down the aisle

My phone was stolen during the reception. These girls were adorable! :) 

Thanks for the selfie guys! 

Morning after with my Mother and Sisters in Law! :) 

Teaser Photo from Olivia Rae Photography! I can't wait to see more!

The first 7 days of our marriage was spent at the happiest, most magical place on Earth, Disney World! We had a great Disneymoon full of delicious food, rides and shows (If you haven't seen the new For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-along, you are missing out!) I couldn't have asked for a better Honeymoon, it was definitely busy but I loved being there with my HUSBAND!

On the Plane, ready to go! 

obligatory airplane wing in the air photo

Checking into our Hotel- Art of Animation

Birthday morning, eating Cake in bed for breakfast! :) 

Josh at my favorite park- Hollywood Studios!

Magic Band Love <3 

Selfies because we can. 

We was excited about the R2D2 glow spinning light

Sorry Prince Eric, I already have my Prince Charming! 

Mrs. Disney Shirt

View outside of our hotel- The Little Mermaid section

Epcot on my birthday!

Josh bought me Ears! 

Eating Lunch in France :) 

The most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen

Josh and the sunset

You can just call me Elsa

My all time favorite ride ever!

Josh and the Tree of Life

Hanging out in Morocco at the World Showcase in Epcot 

Mexico!

Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom, Josh's favorite ride

We got to ride the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train before the rest of the Swartz Family! 

Gelato in Italy

Josh was not amused by these Ears

Big Golf Ball at night!

"Look Josh, it's a Dinglehopper" 

Animal Kingdom Selfie

King Triton

Giraffes are the cutest

so are zebras

Our future house <3 

Stitch stole my spot! 

Now we are back home and getting ready to move into our new place together! We opened all our wedding presents yesterday, and I am so extremely thankful for everyone who spent their time, energy and money on Josh and I. We appreciate your love and support more than you know!

Probably the Final Wedding Update Blog Post

8 days until the wedding. EIGHT DAYS!!!!!!!! Like, what??!!?! Were we not just getting engaged like a month ago? I just can't believe how fast time has flown by. The journey has been a crazy one, filled with lots of changing emotions, sleepless nights, hours of pinteresting, crafting, planning. But we are down to 8 days! I am beyond excited to marry my best friend in the whole wide world. There is still a lot to get done in the next 8 days, but I am excited and ready! I am not sure what else to say as I am just in a chaotic whirlwind of last minute details right now. Thank you to everyone for your love and support. I have some of the most amazing people in my life who I would not have been able to pull off this wedding without. My father has worked so hard on getting our venue ready, my mom has worked for hours on DIY projects, my in-laws have been so incredibly supportive and loving through the whole process, my bridal party is awesome, and my incredibly awesome MoH created the best bridal shower and bachelorette party I could have ever asked for! I just want to send out a huge thanks to everyone! You all rock! Sorry for all the exclamation points in this post, but I am just so excited that a period just doesn't seem to fit. I love you all tons and can't wait to celebrate with you all!

My future husband is the most amazing person I know :) 

That "Nae Nae" Song

Sorry I am writing a blog post on something so stupid, I just need to tell the internet how I truly feel. 

This song only has a total of 19 words in it, that are repeated entirely too many times for a song that is 3 minutes and 23 seconds long. That is less words than the vocabulary of most toddlers. I just can’t even fathom the meeting that went down at the record label when this song was being created. “Ok, so we are going to create a song that people will dance to at weddings and school dances, it is going to have less than 20 words in it, but it will be over 3 minutes long because we will just repeat those words over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. Then we will take popular dance moves from the late 80’s pop and lock era and make kids think they are new and innovative!” Yea, that is pretty much about it. Why does the top 40 hits seem to get worse and worse with each song? Or... could it be... am I getting... too old? Perhaps! Either way, this song bothers me to no end. I just don't understand!

Here is a screenshot of all the words in the song typed into a publisher file!

Laina pretty much hit it right on the head with this video about it too!

Coffee Popsicles

As promised, here is a blog post that isn't about the wedding!

Today I want to share a recipe I recently made that is probably my new favorite thing, coffee popsicles! I am huge fan of popsicles, I have been since I was a kid, I have so many memories running around in the back yard in the summer and eating popsicles. Now that I am an adult I figured I'd try to make a more adult themed popsicle. It is the perfect snack for summer mornings!

I started out with buying a popsicle mold. I bought mine for $5 at Five Below (hence why it looks like it should belong to a child) It even has a little straw at the base in case you don't eat your popsicle fast enough and it starts to melt so you can drink it. But let's be serious here, this is so good it won't have time to melt before it is all gone!

1.Start with brewing some coffee, I brewed about 6 cups and what I didn't use I put in the refrigerator to make iced coffee later.

2.Let the coffee sit to cool, it doesn't have to be completely at room temperature, but you also don't want it to still be hot.

3. Once the coffee is cooled pour about two cups (depending on how many popsicles you want to make, you be the judge of exactly how much you will need!) into a glass measuring cup.

4. Add 2-3 spoonfuls of sweetened condensed milk and stir

5. Pour the coffee and sweetened condensed milk into your popsicle molds

6. For more flavor or added texture you can add a small handful of chocolate chips to each popsicle. You can also add chocolate covered coffee beans, vanilla extract, flavored creamer, etc.

7. Freeze until frozen solid (I'd give it a good 3 hours or so) and Voila! You've got the perfect frozen coffee popsicle! :)

If you experiment with this recipe and make something awesome, let me know! I'd love to try it! :)

Wedding Update #6

Well hello there friends and family! A few of you have asked me throughout the last few months "are you stressed yet" and I wasn't really sure how to answer. Was I supposed to be stressed? Well now I am feeling it! There is less than 2 months until I marry my favorite person on the planet, but there are so many small details I need to work through first! Luckily my family, friends, fiance and future in-laws are awesome and have been a huge help.

I also had my bridal shower yesterday! I am not a fan of surprise parties, so I made sure my maid of honor and my mother knew, and luckily they were awesome and let me contribute ideas for my shower! I felt so blessed and honored to be surrounded by so many amazing women who have influenced, motivated and inspired me at some point throughout my life and who I know will continue to do so as I journey through married life.

Some of the details I have been working on is the decorations for the ceremony, I am doing a handful of DIY projects and I am also still brainstorming on how I want to set everything up. After a few days of cutting the invites out, and stuffing them in the envelopes, the invites were finally ready and they went out today (YAY!) The girl's dresses are in, and the men's accessories are ordered! Most importantly though, our FastPass+ reservations are done, hooray for a Disney honeymoon!

The closer I get to the date, the more I realize how in love I am with Josh. I didn't know you could love someone so much, but everyday I find another reason to love him more than the day before (how is that even possible?) He has really been an incredible support system and when I freak out because I am afraid the day won't go as planned, or when I set to high of standards for our day to be perfect, he really pulls me back to reality. He reminds me that the day is not about what color the flowers are, how the reception looks, what food is served, what my hair looks like, or what music is played. The day is about the two of us. It is about our commitment as we start a new adventure. I can't wait to be able to call him my husband!