Roses and stroganoff

Today I came home to a clean apartment. And I mean CLEAN. Like vacuumed clean. I was so impressed! Luke's job isn't the kind where he has the same, set days off each week. Some days he'll have a weekend off, others he'll have a Monday and Wednesday off. His schedule just depends on camp guests, jobs to be done, and if he is running the retreat/weekend/event or not. He had off today and will have off tomorrow as well because he works this upcoming weekend. Because of this, I came home to a clean, vacuumed apartment and...ROSES! One dozen red roses to be exact. After the long day I had, he couldn't have given me a sweeter gift. I am so grateful for him!!

{Gorgeous}

Just like clockwork, becoming a wife has brought out the cook in me. Now, please note that I did not say gourmet chef, just cook. I guess it was inevitable. "Man cannot live by college nachos alone..." or something like that, right? ;) All joking aside, this whole wife-cooking-for-her-husband instinct has been very intriguing to me. You see, I've never been a cook. My great-grandmother was an award-winning cook and wrote her own cookbook, my mom has cooked perfectly for a family of 6+ for over 19 years, and my sister Emily was the assistant manager of a French restaurant in midtown Houston at the age of 20. In college, I was lucky if I "cooked" Chicken Viola once or twice a week.

But things are different now. I want to cook to Luke; I enjoy cooking for him. My repertoire is a little shallow still, but for now I just want to master the basics. I'll get fancy later. Tonight I made beef stroganoff and steamed broccoli. I know this may sound pretty basic to all you wives and moms out there, but I was pretty impressed with myself! It was my first time to cook this meal for Luke and he LOVED it! I think I'm going to enjoy these wife instincts that are starting to surface. :)

{Yum! It was so good!!}

4th of July Weekend and 1 Week of Marriage

This 4th of July weekend was much needed for the Hintons. After a whirlwind wedding weekend last week and having to go back to work immediately after, we were pumped to have a 3-day weekend all to ourselves to just cozy up in the apartment, chill out, and celebrate having being married for a whole week (not too monumental for most, but we love it!).

Luke didn't get home until almost 9pm on Friday night, but being the impatient committed wife that I am, I still cooked him dinner. I decided on chicken alfredo with bow tie pasta, broccoli, and sun-dried tomatoes. I made a little garlic bread too! In the past, I haven't been one for much cooking, but I'm definitely trying. It helps to have a super cute husband who is always hungry and up for anything. He told me he liked it, so I was content. :)

{Friday's dinner. It was yummy!}

On Saturday, we did a lot of nothing and it was WONDERFUL! We slept late, hung out by the pool at our apartment, watched TV, and then went on our first date as husband and wife to Grimaldi's. There was a lot of good food this weekend.

{Our little family hanging out at the pool. Even Brooklyn jumped in!}

{Playing in the pool}

{He loved his pesto/pepperoni/italian sausage pizza on our date}

On Sunday, we went to church with Aubrey and Pam and then to lunch at McAlister's. After lunch, we made a quick trip over to Luke's uncle's house so that he could pick up a surf board because our next stop was the beach! Luke, Aubrey, and I met up with a group of the Zephyr staff in Port A. We laid out, listened to 80's pop, and played in the gulf. I felt pretty special when Luke asked me if I wanted to swim out into the gulf with him and ride the surf board in. If you ask him about the last time I tried to "surf," he'll tell you a story about how I almost killed us, ha! But we had a great time and no one died. :)

{Driving to Port A!}

{Life is good}

{My handsome surfer husband}

That night, Luke stayed out at the beach until 11:30pm while Aubrey and I went back into town to go see a movie. We saw Monte Carlo. I know, I know, don't laugh. But we wanted to see a chick flick and this was really our only option. It was pretty cute and we made sure to giggle like 13-year-olds when the cute boys were on screen. :)

In honor of having Monday off, Luke and I slept in late again. Glor-i-ous!!! We spent a few more of our wedding gifts cards and bought curtains for the apartment (something we've NEEDED for a LONG time). Luke hung them up this afternoon and I'm loving them! I also did a little more laying out by the pool and worked on more thank you notes from the wedding. I was a little bummed when Luke had to leave to go back to camp (and may have even teared up). It's so hard to be newlyweds and have to live an hour apart during the week. :( But I plan on going out there in a couple of days to watch the fireworks, which makes me feel a little better. I can't wait for the summer to slow down in August because this means that Luke and I will be on somewhat of a more regular life schedule AND it will be time for our honeymoon! 41 more days until Disney!!

 {Sort of a dark picture, but the curtains are a sage green}

 {Poolside, my favorite}

Hope you all had a fun and safe 4th! Happy Birthday America!!

We're Married!!

I'm Luke's wife. Luke is my husband. My name is now Sara Hinton. I've said these words about 1,000 times since the wedding and I'm still not sure it has fully sunk in! We were married on Saturday and it was absolutely the best day of my life!!

I've been thinking a lot about how to even begin a blog post about this past weekend and I'm completely stumped. So many memories, where do I start?? I think my plan is to just talk about bits and pieces as pictures come in. Our incredible photographer posted a hand-full of pictures on her Facebook page from the wedding and they are gorgeous! I can't wait to see the rest, but until then, here are a few of my favorites...

{With my flower girl and ring bearer, two of the cutest little people I know!}

{My sisters and I}

{Luke and his boys}

 

{Husband and wife}

{Mrs. and Mr.}

{We obviously like to kiss...lol}

I can't wait to see pictures from the rehearsal and more from the wedding. I must give all photo credit to our incredible photographers, Jade and Jamie, from Journey Tree Studio. If I had a dollar for every time we were complemented on the quality of our photographers, I'd be a millionaire. Seriously, these ladies went above and beyond to capture our big day perfectly. The Hintons LOVE Journey Tree Studio!!

So, what have I learned in my first 3 days of being Mrs. Hinton? Well...

1. I never thought I could love Luke more. I can. :)
2. I have married a very patient man.
3. I'm really good at writing my new last name quickly. I sign lots of things.
4. Going back to work 3 days after getting married was way harder than I thought it would be.
5. It's fun to stretch gift cards to the best of their ability when sharing them with a boy.
6. I will never try to hang anything on the walls again. Luke is way better at it than me!
7. It's surprising how even more safe I feel with Luke now that we are married.
8. It takes a while for life to settle down after a wedding. I'm not quite sure this process is complete for me just yet.
9. It's really fun (and feels wonderfully normal) to stay in Luke's room at camp now instead of having to get my own room.
10. I love being Luke's wife!!!

What I'm Loving Wednesday: Wedding Edition

Today, I'm loving...

{...this blingy shot of my practice bouquet for Friday. Can't wait to use it!! Aubs did a great job creating it}

{...50% off pictures frames at Hobby Lobby. My bridal portraits are officially framed and ready to be put out at the wedding!}

 

 {...pictures of the beautiful venue where Luke and I will become husband and wife}

{...the fact that the wedding is 3 days away!!!}