Archive for category First Year of Marriage

New Tradition: Christmas Cookies

Nov 22

Posted by Lauren Allen in Cooking, Family, First Year of Marriage

I think I started a new family / annual Christmas tradition. Martha Stewart thumbprint Christmas cookies (here’s a similar, but slightly different recipe). I started this for many reasons. One- a good excuse to visit/meet our new neighbors other than just being plain awkward and standing at their door trying to strike up a convo. Two- I want my neighbors and friends and coworkers to (hopefully) look forward to my annual homemade Christmas cookies. Three- I hope that some type of fellowship can come from these little cookies. Four- I hope to have this fun annual project to do with our future kids.

Okay, so maybe I’m looking way too much into these little cookies. So what.. it’s fun.  I documented the entire cooking process yesterday (was hoping to use natural light, but it ran out because of daylight savings time. Booo) Here’s a sneak peek… I’ll post them all soon.

Thumbprint cookies1

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Quarter Century Birthday

Sep 21

Posted by Lauren Allen in First Year of Marriage

Wow. I’m 25. That’s the age I would choose when playing house with my childhood best friend. I would pretend I was 25, had my own apartment and job. I felt so excited and proud. Now that I’m actually 25, it’s surreal. So much has happened in the last year. Crazy how fast we grow up. Here’s a photo of Brian and me at the movies on my birthday about a month ago.

Laurens 25 bday

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Our New Home – A couple of firsts

Sep 16

Posted by Lauren Allen in First Year of Marriage, Photos

I can hardly believe that we’ve lived in our house for almost two weeks now.  I posted a blog entry last week with a cute photo from the little set up the previous owners left us. You can view it here. It was so nice having family and friends help us tape, paint, and clean the first couple of days! What a blessing. Here’s  a slide show of some neat photos of some  “firsts” in our new home as official home owners.  Click here to see the gallery on Flickr.

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Gammy’s Gumbo Adventure- preview

Jul 29

Posted by Lauren Allen in Cooking, First Year of Marriage, Photos

Head on over to Lauren’s photography blog to see the full post for Gammy’s Gumbo Adventure. Here are some photos to entice you…

Most of the ingredients

Gumbo!

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Sanctus Real- “Lead Me”

Jul 20

Posted by Lauren Allen in Church, Family, First Year of Marriage

I heard this song on the radio a couple weeks ago and fell in love with it (lyrics below). It’s not the most up-beat- happy song, but it’s inspiring and motivating and a realistic song. It’s also beautifully sung.  I heard the lead singer being interviewed about where the story for this song originated and it was so encouraging to hear his honest perspective on life and marriage.  Basically, his life seemed great from the outside, but his wife had the courage to approach him in love and ask him to become a better spiritual leader for her and their family.  There’s more about the story of the song here (scroll to the middle of the page to read more).

It makes me sad to know that so many couples out there suffer because one of them doesn’t have the courage to speak up out of love and keep an open dialogue about resolving issues.  It also hurts to see so many men who are still acting like boys and not living up to what God called them to be. How amazing would this world be if men would strive to lead as the Lord has called them to lead (their wives, families, etc…)  Now, that doesn’t go without saying that wives have certain roles to fulfill, as well, and many of us fail too.  I know several families/couples that are currently (and have been) experiencing this problem. Some have had the courage to speak up out of love, and some are too afraid or lack hope.  I pray that more couples strive to lead the way God called them lead. We must let HIM lead us in order to fulfill this calling.  We cannot do it ourselves.

As a new wife, I’m currently reading this great and humbling book, “Sacred Influence” by Gary Thomas, that reveals what a man needs from his wife to become the husband she wants. It’s nothing new, but at the same time, I’m learning so much (about how I can really stink as a wife sometimes.)

It is my hope and prayer that Brian and I can continue to strive to fulfill our Biblical callings (roles) as husband and wife and never cease to fight for each other in love.

Our Pastor, Matt Chandler, constantly speaks about this topic and has the past 2 weekends. Check out his podcasts (specifically  7/11/2010 “Colossians (Part 15)”)

Go listen to the song, “Lead Me”, on iTunes.

Sanctus Real – “Lead Me”

I look around and see my wonderful life
Almost perfect from the outside
In picture frames I see my beautiful wife
Always smiling
But on the inside, I can hear her saying…

“Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can’t
Don’t leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you’re willing to fight
That I’m still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone”

I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes
They’re just children from the outside
I’m working hard, I tell myself they’ll be fine
They’re in independent
But on the inside, I can hear them saying…

“Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can’t
Don’t leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, but what about us?

Show me you’re willing to fight
That I’m still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone”

So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I’m called to be
Oh, Father, show me the way
To lead them
Won’t You lead me?

To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can’t
Don’t want to leave them hungry for love,
Chasing things that I could give up

I’ll show them I’m willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this our home
Lead me, ’cause I can’t do this alone

Father, lead me, ’cause I can’t do this alone

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Honeymoon In Antigua

Jun 30

Posted by Lauren Allen in First Year of Marriage, Photos, Travel

Honeymoon. It doesn’t get much better than that. We put a lot towards our honeymoon with the hopes of a relaxing and somewhat luxurious getaway. We got exactly that!  We opted for the all-inclusive Sandals resort in Antigua. We assumed since it was all inclusive that we’d get jipped somewhere. However, this was false! We couldn’t figure out where we were jipped. The service was genuine, the grounds were beautiful (with a variety of places/rooms to stay), and the food. Oh my gosh. The food.  Most honeymooners probably desire to sleep in. Not us. We set our alarm to assure we’d make it to the awesome buffet breakfast of fresh (island fresh) fruit, veggies, meats, custom omlettes and pancakes made while you waited, and I could go on forever. We even had a sushi bar (where we befriended the chefs) and they’d whip up delish combo-dishes for us. I (kinda) jokingly mentioned I was craving dessert and the chef literally ran to a different restaurant on the resort grounds IN THE RAIN to fetch me a dessert.  The last night we went to the hibachi grill at the same sushi restaurant and our chef/waitresses ended up singing and performing for us (not a part of the job description.)  It was probably one of our favorite experiences!

That’s the great thing about an all inclusive- you can eat and drink all you want. We’d eat during any time of the day we desired at whatever restaurants/cafes on the resort’s grounds were open. Then once we were done, we just got up and left. No check to sign for, no tip to configure. It was so nice not having to think about money while on vacation!

We stayed in the newest remodeled part of the resort (Mediterranean) building. It was perfect. We had a cute little balcony with a view of the ocean and the room was very nice and furnished with quality pieces. We also had an in-room bar that was re-supplied each day. (Gosh I’m making this out to sound like we’re alchies. Not so much. It was just nice to have these things at such a convenience.)

Ok… I could write so much about this trip, but since pictures are way more fun to look at, I’ll just list some words that describe the duration of the trip:

- 4 am departure for flight to Antigua morning after our wedding
- Two hour wait at arrivals/ Antiguan airport customs
- New (awesome) luggage
- Hammocks
- Sunshine
- Aqua colored water
- Dread locks
- Pina Coladas
- Sushi Bar
- Breakfast Buffet
- White sands
- His/Her Massage at spa
- Tennis
- Smell of sunscreen
- Pool volleyball
- Lots of games (ping pong, pool, checkers, shuffle board)
- Surprise candle light dinner on the beach
- Afternoon naps
- The cafe on the beach in the sand
- Nighttime BBQ on the beach

- The smell of “ganga” on the beach

Here are some photos that will speak for themselves. The beginning is from our Rehearsal Dinner  & my bridal brunch (wedding photos to come later). The rest are from our wonderful time in the land of Antigua (pronounced An-teeh-gah).  TO START THE SLIDE SHOW FROM BEGINNING – click on the icon that looks like this |<–

NOTE: Since these were taken with 2 different cameras, they’re a little out of order. (Sorry). The first 3 images are at my Dad’s in Katy after we returned.

This SlideShowPro photo gallery requires the Flash Player plugin and a web browser with JavaScript enabled.

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Home Buying Process – Phase 1

Jun 29

Posted by Lauren Allen in First Year of Marriage

Home buying = emotional process.

As hard as I try to see buying a house as a business investment, I can’t help but see our future home. A place that we can make our own. Where we will raise kids. Where I might one day have an in-home photography studio.  Where we will host church home groups and meals with family and friends. Where we will build relationships with surrounding neighbors. Where laughter and memories will be made. Where we will wake up on Christmas morning. Where our future children will fall down and scrape their knees, or draw on the walls with markers.

Whenever we visit houses on the market that could potentially be our first home, I can see flaws, but by nature try to bypass them as a part of my optimistic personality. Brian is of course there to remind me of the re-sale value (or lack there of). He’s the business. I’m the emotion. This can be good and bad. Brian keeps me in check about how to buy the perfect home.  I get easily frustrated because I am so excited, or some may say desperate, to have my own home. In the past, when I’ve found something I want, I work hard to make it happen (financially and in a timely manner). I’m learning to see that this may be called “a sense of entitlement”.  I’m workin’ on it. This home buying process is forcing me to learn patience like I never have before.  I’ll admit I’m not good at playing games and negotiating. Thankfully, Brian is blessed with this talent.

To me, a home is a safe comfortable place. A place to grow. A place to cultivate memories. It’s difficult for me to mix that with the word “investment”. I’m still learning.

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Our Honeymoon Sneak Peek

Jun 2

Posted by Lauren Allen in First Year of Marriage, Photos, Travel

We spent our honeymoon in the beautiful, Antigua. (Lots) more to come soon… whenever I find that free moment to post all the beautiful honeymoon photos.  This was my favorite hammock by the beach. I can still hear the water lapping up against the shore and feel the warmth of Brian lying closely next to me in the hammock whenever I gaze at this photo.  If only everyday could be like that. So peaceful.

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Chicken & black beans

May 30

Posted by Lauren Allen in First Year of Marriage, Photos

This is one of my typical dinner dishes. Chicken. Some type of veggies. Jasmin rice cooked Brazilian style.   This particular dish features a sauted chicken breast in olive oil and spices, a can of low sodium black beans, sauted bell peppers (red and green) and onion over a bed of jasmin rice sauted with minced garlic. Mmm. Mmm.  20 minutes and you’ve got dinner!

Chicken & black beans

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Fresh Pineapple on a Hot Summer Night

May 29

Posted by Lauren Allen in First Year of Marriage, Photos

When there’s a sale on fruit, I stock up. We’re big fans of fresh fruit and veggies… which usually means expensive grocery bills. However, I love the summertime, because produce is usually on sale and super reasonable (compared to other seasons.)  The other day whole pineapples were on sale, so I grabbed one for an at-home-culinary adventure.  I am always humbled and amazed by God’s creation. It’s incredible that such a sweet and juicy edible good time is housed inside such a prickly and mean looking facade. God made this beautiful fruit for our enjoyment and His glory.  Now, this pineapple wasn’t quite as delicious and pretty as the ones we saw at the DOLE plantation in Hawaii last summer, but it was pretty pleasing.

Pineapple head

pineapple chunks

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