Category: Marriage

{Life Lately} | Mom comes to Minnesota!

This week brought the warmest temperatures we have felt since last fall and our first visitor to Minnesota! Mom made her way to Minnesota on Monday and was able to stay until Thursday. As usual, I am left wishing I took more photos to capture our time together. It was so much fun to show Mom around our new town!

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mom

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My mom is awesomely thoughtful! We came home from work to find Easter treats. 🙂 We also found a new box of Kleenex in our Kleenex dispenser that had been empty since January, extra food in a our refrigerator, Easter cookies…etc!! Mom things. 🙂

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Davey and I have been getting outside every chance we get in this warm weather. We keep thinking it’s going to snow again, so we better get outside when we can. We took a long walk around one of Minneapolis’ many lakes!

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And Baby Hiatt has started to collect handmade baby blankets from my sweet, thoughtful patients!

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We have 14 more weeks until we get to meet Baby Hiatt…I can’t stop thinking about what the baby will be like!

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Davey’s Famous Pretzels

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Sometimes my friends from the South use the phrase “y’all” as a complete sentence. It means, “Oh my goodness, you guys, can you believe it?” For example, we may go to the mall and see an awesome deal. Someone will simply say, “Y’all” to get our attention and hold up the price tag.

When I first tasted these pretzels, I wanted to look around to anyone who will listen and just say, “Y’all.” THESE ARE AMAZING. And no words can really describe them. If Davey didn’t like his job so much, I think I could convince him to quit and open up his own pretzel stand in the mall. He could give Auntie Anne a run for her money, that’s for sure.

Davey typically looks for extremely easy recipes (less than 5 ingredients), so I was surprised when he told me yesterday he was going to make pretzels. (side note: This may or may not have been after he took me to the mall because I told him I was craving mall pretzels — after which we left the mall empty handed because the pretzels looked ‘too hard and dry’ to satisfy my craving…err…). Not to say I don’t have confidence in my husband’s skills, but it seemed like a far-fetched idea for Davey—whose first home cooked meal two years ago consisted of a hot dog on a piece of white bread with shredded cheese on top—to make something that required active dry yeast. Doesn’t yeast make things difficult?

Well, apparently not. This recipe turned out surprisingly easy and surprisingly scrumptious.

I’m willing to share Davey’s recipe with you, but ladies, you’re on your own for finding a man who will make homemade pretzels for you when your 23 weeks pregnant and having strange cravings.

If you don’t want to just say, “Y’all!” after your first bite, then you must be missing some taste buds.

Ingredients

1 cup milk
1 package active dry yeast
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon fine salt
1/3 cup baking soda

Sweet Flavoring:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
dash of cinnamon

Directions
Warm the milk in a saucepan until it’s hot enough to stick your finger in the milk for 5 seconds, (think just above hot tub temperature). Pour into a medium bowl and stir in one packet of yeast. Let sit about 2 minutes. Stir in the brown sugar and 1 cup flour. Soften 2 tablespoons of butter and stir into the mix. Add the remaining 1 1/4 cups flour and salt. At this point, the dough should be sticky. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes. Dough should be softer, but still slightly sticky. Shape into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for one hour. Dough will double in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Punch the dough to deflate it, then place on a lightly floured surface. Use a pizza cutter to slice dough into 12-15 pieces. Roll each piece into the thickness of your finger. Each piece of dough should be about 6-12 inches long.

Dissolve the baking soda in 3 cups warm water in a shallow baking dish. Dip each pretzel stick in the soda solution, and lay on greased baking sheet (or pizza brick) leaving room between each pretzel stick.

Bake 5-7 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

Melt butter. Brush over each stick. Dip pretzel sticks into sugar and brown sugar mixture.

Enjoy!

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Milwaukee, WI

Davey and I went on an adventure this weekend to visit my brother, Rex, in Milwaukee! My sister drove up from Indianapolis for the adventure as well. Living in Minneapolis without any family makes us feel a little stranded at times, so spending a whole weekend with two of my siblings was great. We explored the city, watched some basketball, went to mass, and shared a lot of laughs! Siblings are the greatest —

Enjoy our short video recap of the trip!

Our second home

house, home, minneapolis

Leaving our first home in Carmel, IN was one of the toughest things about moving. We had just moved all my stuff in the apartment after getting married and were making it ours when we got the call that we were moving to Minneapolis. So, just after unpacking in Carmel, we packed everything back up and loaded the Uhual, making our trek up north on Christmas Day.

Until yesterday we still had a few boxes that had yet to be unpacked, but there is nothing like having people over that gives you a swift kick in the rear to get yourself together and unpack those last boxes….and hang those pictures on the wall…and figure our why that closet door won’t shut… So thank goodness we invited a couple friends over for lasanga last night. It gave us the motivation we needed!

We spent yesterday finalizing our move and making our house a home. Here are some pictures!

home, house, minneapolis

house, home, minneapolis

house, home, minneapolis

house, home, minneapolis

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house, home, minneapolis

Feeling loved

Living so far away from family and friends makes any type of contact with them extra meaningful. We had two fun surprises this week that reminded us how grateful we are for our loved ones.

The first surprise was coming home on Thursday night to find a package from our sweet friend, Megan, with a picture frame for our ultrasound picture. So sweet of her to think of us during this time. Since this is the first addition to the nursery, it spurred in me the desire to start looking for a crib and rocking chair! Send me any pins of cribs and rocking chairs you like on Pinterest!

The second surprise was coming home on Friday night to the news that our wedding video was uploaded on Northernlight Filmworks Blog. It was so neat to watch the video on Friday night and relive our wedding day. We will show the video to Baby Hiatt one day. 🙂

Our adventure to Minnehaha Falls

minnehaha falls

This weekend was monumental for a few reasons–the greatest reason being that I finally caved and purchased maternity pants. I entered a new dimension of comfort that I have never known before and I love it. The pants make me feel better about my changing body since I no longer have to pull my pants closed with a hair-tie extending from the button to the buttonhole (see here). Once I put the pants on, I magically felt like my body is supposed to be this way, and I no longer have to compensate for it.

Another reason this weekend was monumental is that we finally had an opportunity to play with one of my birthday presents–a camcorder! Here’s a short video of our adventure to Minnehaha Falls:

Minnehaha (hahaahahaha….) Falls was so beautiful! Melting snow isn’t the most photogenic thing in the world, but I couldn’t love it more. We soaked up the 40 degree weather, which is about 50-60 degrees warmer than the past few months. Maaaaaaybe spring will come?!

Exploring our pretty little town

hopkins, mn

So it snowed 10980982483924 inches over the the past few months. And the crazy thing about Minnesota is that it never melts. Until maybe April/May? That’s what we hear. At least it’s pretty here in Hopkins, MN.

We love Hopkins for its cute shops, local bars and restaurants, and bike trail that goes through town. We went exploring yesterday since it was so pretty outside.

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hopkins, mn

hopkins, mn

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I’m the girl who thought she could move to Minnesota and get by her first winter without snow boots. I’ve been wearing rain boots with 3 layers of thermal socks. Needless to say, I need to buy snow boots.

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When I married my husband

For some reason, older women decide a young engaged girl should know “something will go wrong on the wedding day.” I heard horror stories of the DJs’ speakers being blown out, the roof of the reception venue leaking due to rain, the limo running one hour late, the priest getting in a car accident….

So I just knew something was going to go wrong on our wedding day, and I told myself to just focus on seeing Davey at the end of the aisle.

And guess what…nothing went wrong. I got to marry my husband.

The memory of our wedding day is so sweet and unforgettable. We are thankful to our photographers, Stevi and Andrew Clark of Honey and Salt, for capturing our special day exactly as we would have wanted it captured. All the photos in this post are their work. Since they did such an incredible job, I am going to try to let the pictures tell a thousand words.

Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt

My best friends, my mom, my mother in law, my dad, and I all got ready at my parents’ home, just as I had always dreamed.

Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt

I was so excited to show my dad his daughter as a bride. I got a little teary when he walked out the back door to see me.

Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt

He didn’t want to touch me because he was afraid he was going to “mess me up”!

Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt

It was so calming and peaceful to pray the rosary with my bridesmaids and parents before the ceremony.

Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt

My grandparent’s love story is one that Davey and I both admire so much. Davey was able to get to know my grandfather in his last 5 months of life; I am so grateful for that time. Grandpa told me before he died how much he loved Davey. Here is a picture of my grandma watching me walk down the aisle. I love making her proud.

Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt

There is nothing like looking at everyone you love watch you walk toward the man of your dreams. I had an indescribable sense of peace, joy, and gratitude for everything I have been given.

Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt

Before I met Davey, I had a recurring dream of walking down the aisle, then bolting before I could see my groom’s face. Weird, huh? On our wedding day, I wanted to run to Davey.

Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt

Just before this next picture, Davey said, “You’re my wife!”

Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt

Our reception was in an old church that had taken out the pews. We used the sanctuary as our dining and dancing space and the choir loft as the cocktail space.

Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt
Photo credit Honey and Salt

Around 11:15pm, Davey and I left the reception. We ran under a tunnel made by the arms of all our guests. I don’t have any photos of that moment, but it’s one of the clearest in my mind. It felt like we were getting hugged by everyone we loved. I looked back at everyone right before we walked out the door, and it was as if time stood still—maybe because I wanted it to stand still— I saw everyone looking at us cheering, clapping, waving, crying, holding drinks in the air. My husband reached back for me, grabbed my hand, and we walked out the door, both sad and happy at the same time. Sad to leave our loved ones–happiest for the best life we could have imagined for ourselves.

When I was engaged to my husband

Davey proposed on March 9, 2013 in a chapel of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Carmel, IN after mass. Some of my closest friends were in town from Washington DC, Atlanta, GA, Chapel Hill, NC, and Athens, GA; they were there and all surprised as well when Davey got down on one knee. It was awesome to share that moment with all of them.

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Of course, if Davey was going to marry me, he had to propose to all the girls (he knew what he was getting into):

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I am not the event-planner-type. I hate to-do lists. I hate decisions. I hate looking at color samples. (side note: I also hate waking up in the morning) So planning for a wedding was a little frightening at first. But Davey and I constantly reminded ourselves that we weren’t planning a wedding; we were planning for a marriage.

In that respect, being engaged was SO FUN. We loved our pre-cana retreat. We loved talking about our futures together. We loved reading Karol Wojtyla’s Love and Responsibility. We loved thinking about the Sacrament we were entering into.

With our focus on planning a marriage, wedding planning seemed easy-peasy (for the most part). A lot of decisions we just made on a limb. For example, we never met our cake-baker or did a taste testing. We never met the singer for our wedding ceremony. The first time I heard her voice was during our mass (she was from another church).

We focused on the things that were important to us. I think one of the first things we did was choose the mass readings and songs. We wanted to the ceremony to be prayerful.

After that, making sure our guests would be able to feel how grateful we were for them supporting us was a priority. We made personalized favors by writing their names on coffee mugs and firing them in the oven. It’s been so fun getting text message pictures of my friends on snow days sipping hot cocoa, coffee, and hot toddy’s. 🙂

Photo by Honey and Salt
Photo by Honey and Salt
Photo by Honey and Salt
Photo by Honey and Salt

We also wanted to capture the day in a beautiful way so that we could show our future generations how it all started. This involved finding a good photographer and a good videographer. Mission totally accomplished in that department. 🙂

And honestly, that was really all for the “important things.”

By the way, our cake turned out AWESOME. And the wedding ceremony singer–loved her.

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I learned a lot during the engagement period. First of all, through a lot of prayer, I learned how to surrender my life to someone else. Marriage requires selflessness, and I prayed for it in preparation. My grandma told me that if I always focus on Davey’s happiness, then I will in turn always be happy. It has not been the easiest thing in the world to dedicate my life to someone else’s happiness–but my grandma was right. I feel the most joyous when Davey is happy. I learned how to let go of what I want, and focus on what Davey wants. I am lucky enough to have a husband who tries to make me happy as well. This is something I know we both work hard on everyday.

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My bridal shower

Second, I learned that when we are not focused on our faith, the worldly things become overbearingly important. The days I found myself stressing out about the color of the bridesmaid dresses or the fact that Macy’s could not for-the-life-of-them send us the right ties that we ordered for the groomsmen…well, those were the times I was losing focus on what the wedding was representing and what marriage was about. This lesson also comes up in day to day things as well. I find myself stressing about what we should make for dinner, why my car won’t start, how we should decorate our new house, etc, etc. It’s so easy to lose focus of the “point of it all”, and admittedly I sometimes use worldly distractions if I am not doing a good job of focusing on Davey’s happiness. I am thankful to have learned how to recognize this when we were engaged.

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Lastly, I learned that love is an opportunity. To fall in love is happenstance. But to choose to love someone for the rest of his/her life is to take a risky opportunity to participate in the essence of the world’s joy. I am grateful everyday to have been blessed with the courage to take this amazing opportunity.

Photo by Honey and Salt
Photo by Honey and Salt

When I dated my husband

It’s the week of love! In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I want to share a love story with you. Ours! I love a good love story, and ours happens to be my favorite.

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Davey and I both grew up in Geist, a reservoir town in an Indianapolis suburb. He lived on one side of the reservoir, and I lived on the other. The reservoir separated us into rival high schools and connected us through our community’s church.

I knew of Davey in high school because Davey is…well…how should I say it…spirited. Energetic. Funny. Basically, he makes himself known. I, on the other hand, spent most of my high school career trying NOT to be known because my hair was too frizzy, and I needed to study. So Davey never really knew me.

Seven years after high school, I had travelled the world and lived in 9 different cities for more than two months at a time. I had become resilient, adaptive, adventurous, and more confident. It dawned on me that it didn’t matter that I had frizzy hair, and I no longer needed to study because I got my degrees.

So I accepted a friend’s request to help out at the church for a youth retreat when I moved back to Indianapolis, and that’s where I met Davey, who was also helping out. Believe it or not, Davey told me he liked my hair that weekend.

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So we started dating and quickly realized this was something. Something life changing and exciting. We knew we were never going to be “Davey” or “Kaylee” anymore, but we would always be “Davey and Kaylee.”

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We went about dating in a very traditional way. We didn’t live together or stay at each other’s places. Every relationship is different and living apart while we were dating just worked for us. We are both reflective people, and the time we had apart from each other was just as important as the time we had with each other. It gave us an opportunity to reflect on who we want to be for the other person so we could be the best version of ourselves. Since we fell in love quickly, it also gave us the opportunity to slow things down and go about things rationally so we weren’t blinded by our strong feelings toward each other.

Davey spent a lot of time with my grandpa while he was in hospice
Davey spent a lot of time with my grandpa while he was in hospice

Our work shifts were opposite, so we were very creative on finding times to see each other like over lunch breaks or meeting for early morning masses. We learned how to make time for each other and how to make our relationship a priority, which has made a good impact on our marriage. I was literally so excited every single time I got to see him. In a way, the rush I got walking down the aisle toward him on our wedding day felt like a familiar rush I got every time I got to see him when we were dating. I think I have been walking down the aisle toward him my whole life.

So when Davey proposed on March 9, 2013, I accepted. Ill post about that tomorrow.