wedding anniversary celebration + travel!

i'm feeling like the luckiest girl in the world right now! 

last weekend brian and i celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary! and i have to say, i feel crazy spoiled! he planned the entire weekend! not only did he surprise me with my first introductory flying lesson (where i actually flew a plane!), but he packed the rest of the weekend with all of my favorite things!

it's really incredible to know someone as long as i brian and i have known one another (we went to high school together and i completely fell for him when he dressed in a pinstripe suit and sang so sweet and lovely in the play Guys & Dolls. plus he always seemed to visit me in the art room).

since we've been married we've changed and grown a lot. and knowing so much about another person is sort of amazing! 

i'm definitely someone who loves surprises. and i adore lots of little surprises all piled up. so not only did we enjoy a day of motorcycle riding, plane flying, gellato enjoying, and dinner and limoncello at my favorite italian restaurant... 

but then brian told me to pack my bags! and if you're a regular reader of this blog or follower on twitter or facebook, you know just how much i am delighted to travel! especially when it means a surprise vacation!

first we headed out for lunch. then we continued on to milwaukee!

we checked in to this phenomenal hotel, the iron horse, which is a renovated warehouse downtown. 

from there, we wandered around and picked up cheese and sushi from the public market. then we sat for hours beneath this heated awning and watched the rain. 

it was really one of those slow, beautiful, enjoyment weekends. the hotel even treated us to breakfast and i ordered my new favorite smoothie...with prickly pear juice and tamarind. and of course i had to get the pancakes! 

like i said, the LUCKIEST girl in the world! i love that brian and i could spend the time together. land so fun to look back on wedding photos and the years we've been together (and read our how we met story too). and to really celebrate just how much we've grown and changed...and just how wonderful it all is! 

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* on monday i have a super sweet little project i've been working on that i cannot wait to share with you...Limited Edition 2012 Calendars, featuring 12 of my most popular owls! i can't resist...i'll be starting preorders on Monday, but here's a sneak peek just for you!

** thank you to the lovely tam of willowing for this wonderful interview! so excited to be working with her on the upcoming Life Book ecourse, inspirational art making for an entire year!