10 memorable moments from our third year of marriage

Happy 3rd anniversary to my one true love! It's hard to believe that it has been three years already since we said our vows and began our journey as husband and wife. It seems like just yesterday when we were running around in the rain on our wedding day. Three years goes by in a blink but at the same time, each year is filled with hundreds, if not thousands, of beautiful moments and memories, and I wouldn't trade them for the world. Here is just a list of 10 memorable moments with you in our third year of marriage. I hope you know how much I love you, because it's impossible to express in words. Without you, my life would be lonely and sad and full of trash and recyclables (because that's your thing) and the grass would be overgrown and the mailbox overflowing. See? I'm acutely aware of all the little and big things that you do for our family and I am thankful every day to have you. 

10. Hanging a new ceiling fan in the living room. Man, I know this seems like such a small accomplishment, but it was tough and it was frustrating and at points we almost killed each other. However, as a team we were able complete the task at hand, both picking up the slack and staying positive when the other was feeling frustrated, and because of that, we have a beautiful new fan and get to enjoy the outcome of our hard work every day. 

9. Our trip around the world (in Philadelphia) Rodin Museum, Pizzeria Vetri, High Tea at the Four Seasons, and dinner at Marrakesh with friends - it was an awesome way to celebrate my birthday and we got to try a bunch of new things in Philly that we've never done before. 

8. A camping trip in freezing cold weather. While I was a little anxious about doing this when the temperature in the Adirondacks were going to drop below freezing, I had such a wonderful time with you and our friends. There's nothing like a campfire, s'mores and an old school R&B sing-a-long to warm you right up. 

7. Witnessing the marriage of our wonderful friends in Charleston, South Carolina. It was so awesome to see the joy (and a few tears) on their faces and join with them in celebration. Charleston is definitely a special place and we'll have to get back there to see more of it. 

6. Our visit to Boston to see our friends and meet Baby Guy. This was such a special trip because we were able to celebrate new engagements, a healthy baby boy, and a baby on the way, plus Boston blessed us with unseasonably warm weather! 

5. Our winter weekend in Cape May. We have been talking about getting to Cape May in the off-season for a long time now and we finally did it. We had an amazing dinner, and witnessed a lot of inebriated people singing Christmas carols.

4. The long holiday break spent in New York. I loved that we both had an extended break of sorts at the end of December. While it was filled with some stressful moments it was also filled with a lot of laughter, joy and quality time spent with our families. 

3. Our family vacation in Cape May. It was awesome to have my parents there to help us with the baby and see all of the wonderful reasons why we've fallen in love with this quaint shore town. 

2. Buying our first home together. This was something that I could've never predicted would happen for us this year and I feel so blessed that we found this house and that all of the stars aligned for it to become ours. It's the perfect place for our family and I truly feel at peace coming home to that residence every day. 

*Drum roll please* And the number one memorable moment is..... 

1. The arrival of our little Lulu Bug. This one is pretty self-explanatory but it has been an amazing experience to bring a baby into this world with you. You were a wonderful husband and supporter during my pregnancy, a wonderful cheerleader during labor and you are an amazing father to her each and every day. 

I love you. Happy Anniversary! Cheers to three years of great memories and for many many more! 

You might also be interested in: 

• Wedding photos
• Happy Anniversary BryGuy - Year One
• Happy Anniversary My Love - Year Two

Southern Sunday Y'all

BryGuy wanted one thing for Father's Day and that was homemade coconut cake. Seeing as though it was his first Father's Day, I thought granting his dessert wishes would be a nice thing to do. And since the weather forecast looked pretty good, he decided to smoke some ribs and some pork butt. While the meats were cooking, I whipped up some coleslaw, and Bry mixed up some tasty bourbon cocktails... and my friends, Southern Sunday was born. Check out more photos from our Father's Day below. Also, if you're interested in making the most refreshing bourbon cocktail in your own home, here's the recipe for a Whisky Smash.

Guest Post: 10 Tips for Survival (When Living With a Pregnant Woman)

It's time for another guest post friends! BryGuy imparts some wisdom for expectant fathers-to-be and demonstrates his love of gifs. 

Congrats...you are the father! That beautiful woman you are so in love with is now the host of your seed and the miracle of childbirth is forthcoming. Don't panic. Be cool brotha, because it is a beautiful thing. Yeah, right! It is easy for me to say that now, but I wasn't so cool when we found out. Of course, over the last 6-7 months my tune has changed and I am pumped to meet this little human of mine.

My response went from this:

To this:
I'm the man!

With that and 28 weeks in, I would like to impart some wisdom. There are some things you should know about living with a pregnant woman, so here we go. (Note: I am writing this before the actual birth to ensure no details of the birthing process are divulged. I'll let Marissa lead that discussion)

Guest Post: Shmokin' Ribs

It's time for another BryGuy blog takeover. So without further ado...

IIII'm back y'all!

Ah, and this time I have some deliciousness to share with you guys and gals, so gather 'round so Papa B can drop some knowledge bombs of epic and irresistibly tasty proportions. This post is about BARBECUE. If you don't like barbecue, go apply to Mars One because this world doesn't need you.

My mom purchased me a Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker for my birthday and I have been holding off on using it for months. Barbecue takes time and the summer was just too darn full of fun to find a day to smoke. My mom was also on my tail about using it, so I decided to break this bad boy in.

Some explaining to do

You may have seen my post yesterday, or if we're friends on social media, possibly even a little earlier. I think I owe the readers of this blog a little apology. Because I've had this big thing on my mind that I couldn't share with you all, it felt almost artificial to write about other things during this time. So, the blog took a hit in the content department. I slacked off on compiling my ten happy moments, because honestly, there's this ONE happy thing that tops them all. And also, the exhaustion, oh the exhaustion, I hardly had the energy to change out of my work clothes and into pajamas when I walk in the door after work, let alone research topics, cook, take and edit photos, and write amazing blog posts. So again, I apologize. It is my hope and commitment going forward not to let this thing take the back seat any more.

With that being said, I think I also have a few things to address. Yes, we're having a baby. Yes, that means that eventually I'll be a mother. No, that does not mean this will be a "mommy blog." This is a "lifestyle" blog. Whatever the hell that means. But to me it means that it's about MY LIFE (and style). So will I talk about things related to pregnancy and being a parent? YES, because they are parts of my life. But will I also continue to post content completely unrelated to those things? Absolutely.

Guest Post: Summer Blockbuster Guide

BryGuy is back with another hostile takeover a la Gordan Gekko. It is only fitting that we start with a short film clip, because this is the inaugural Summer Blockbuster Guide. Big-time, high budget, explosion laden, CGI filled movies are as quintessential to summer as hitting on that older girl on the 14th floor during your summer internship and hoping against all hopes this thing can make it to Christmas (this might be how I met the illustrious founder of Marissa says...) Some of my favorite summer blockbusters of all time include Independence Day (duh), Mission Impossible's 1 and 3, Air Force One, Bad Boys II (also major duh), Iron Man and Transformers. Why not the OG Bad Boys? Unfortunately, that was released in April and just misses the May release date criteria of "summer blockbuster." But, we all still wanna be like Mike. Okay, here we go with the ones I'm most looking forward to this season.

Happy Anniversary BryGuy!

I try not to get too sappy here, but ya know what?! This is my blog. So I'm going to do what I want.

Happy One Year Anniversary Bry! One year isn't that long, but we outlasted Kimmy K and Kris, so that's something right?! To the man who can always make me smile and laugh and who frequently turns my bad days into good ones -- I love you. Here's to one year down and 60+ to go.

Happy birthday BryGuy!

I would like to take a moment to say happy birthday to the coolest guy in town. You are the kindest, goofiest, and sexiest person I know, and I am so happy to call you my best friend and husband. 

Thanks for being my partner in crime, my workout pal, my drinking buddy, and my fellow beach bum. I'm so happy your parents decided to get down and dirty 26 years + 8 months or so ago, so that you could be created and be stuck with me for the rest of your days. 

Happy birthday! I love you! 

The thrift shop score of the century

BryGuy has been looking for a black leather biker jacket for about...a lifetime (well realistically like a year or so). We thought maybe he'd find one on our honeymoon in Italy. We stopped in Florence, (known for their leather goods), but unfortunately, he didn't find the style he was looking for. 

A few weeks back, we made a trip to Boston to celebrate Greek Easter with our besties. On Saturday morning, we woke up and took a little stroll from my friend's place in Southie over to the South End for some fabulous brunch at Gaslight Brasserie. After brunch we strolled around the neighborhood taking in the sites and sunshine. 

We stumbled upon this little shop, Bobby from Boston, and I asked Bryun if he wanted to poke around a bit. He reluctantly agreed, thinking it was going to be one of those trips where I browse for way too long, while he sits in a chair looking at sports scores on his phone. As it turns out, the store carried mostly men's vintage clothing and accessories. We walked in and BryGuy's eyes lit up, then he bee-lined it for the leather section. 

Guest Post - BryGuy Takes the Wheel

From Marissa: 
The other day, BryGuy says to me, "You're so cool, you have a blog and write about all the fun stuff we do. I feel like I'm just here, not doing anything with myself..." I mean, it's true. I'm significantly cooler than him. But I didn't want to make him feel bad. So, I proposed an idea. I suggested that he guest-post on my blog from time to time. This way you can learn a little bit more about him in his own words and I can take a day off. So here he is, BryGuy in all his glory.

From BryGuy: 

Thanks Marissa. Oh thank you thank you for being ever so gracious and allowing me to taint the sanctity of your precious blog.

Marissa gets so much love on this blog and I am just a mere prop she places here and there for her own enjoyment. I'm sure a lot of you feel this way and are thinking,"Wow, does BryGuy just sit there and watch Marissa do awesome things?" The answer to that question is YES. But, the few times I am a functioning individual, this is what I am doing (in no particular order):