To My Husband

My beloved & best friend,

Time flies when you're having fun...or so they say-it also flies when you are working your tail off and barely have enough time to come up for air.! This week we celebrate 5 months of "newlywed bliss", it's hard to believe that we are halfway through our first year of marriage. Some days, it feels like we've been married forever, others-well let's just say it's a life-long learning process!

We have dreams, hopes and wishes and struggle everyday to make headway towards them. Some days it feels like we make a little headway or have a small breakthrough and other days, it feels we couldn’t possibly be any further. At the end of the day, it’s comforting knowing that at least we can go through all of this together, hand in hand.

You work so hard for our life together and towards growing into the man you want to be and yet, never lose patience at how it takes me to grow into being the woman I want me to be. I know it feels that so much of our life is in a holding pattern while we put our noses to the grindstones with work, but I am so grateful that I get to spend my time in a holding pattern with you. While I long for the day where we have our own dream home, babies and no debt, I know that we will appreciate it much more after we’ve worked hard for it. And there is no one I’d rather work alongside than you.

You sacrifice so much for us, I want you to know how much I appreciate your hard work. I hope that I am always able to take care of you and provide you with the love and respect you need and deserve. As we grow in wisdom and maturity together, I pray for God to give me the ability to be “the woman behind the man”. I love you-plain and simple, for “infinity mostest” & to the moon and back. Here is to another six months and many many years beyond!

~your paprika

#48 - Creative Inferiority Complex

Making jewelry is one of the many costly obsessions creative hobbies that I have pursued for several years. I have made a lot of jewelry for myself over the years, I probably have several pairs of earrings for every conceivable outfit in my closet...and let's not forget all the coordinating necklaces and bracelets to go along with them, my vanity is overflowing with all the jewelry I've made! I tremendously enjoy the creative process but I often find that I make something gorgeous and then don't have the right occasion to wear it. I also give a lot of it away as gifts to friends and family, and I've even created custom jewelry at the request of others, both for weddings and to be given as gifts. I've discovered that I love the creative process and I've dreamed for years about opening up a little online shop and selling my jewelry.

The problem? I always feel like what I create isn't good enough, or that people wouldn't be interested in purchasing items from little ole me... *Sigh* That's my pitiful & redudant excuse for why, over the past several years, I've been too chicken to set up a store. I definitely suffer from an inferiority complex when it comes to my creative side! I think it must be the perfectionist in me, it's easy to be a perfectionist when you work with numbers, it's entirely different when it comes to the creative side. Since I work in a very logical & analytical profession that I feel confident and comfortable in, this whole inferiority complex thing catches me off guard and I find myself at the end, looking around and trying to determine whether what I've done is good enough.

Since I have realized that I just need to get over over my issues and fears of failure already and put myself out there and start selling some of my pieces, I have created an online jewelry shop on etsy and called it Purely Elegant Creations! I haven't actually posted any of my designs yet or even decided on my logo, but this is a step in the right direction (and #48 on my 101 in 1001 list)! Now that I have established a name for the shop it will give me more clarity in the rest of the process. I think that over the course of the next couple of weeks I will have some of my pretty little baubles posted. Does anyone have any ideas for an image to include in my logo? I would like to have something that would give people an idea of what Purely Elegant is (a jewelry boutique)...and also captures what type of jewelry I create (classic, elegant, vintage & fun) . Lots to think about but I am very excited for the potential!


As you can see, it's a completely blank slate right now but I am definitely going to work on coming up with some kind of logo or design for the shop. Any suggestions for fonts, a logo or design? Any feedback is appreciated!

All About Us

Well, this post is constantly evolving but here is a little taste of where we are now... Hubs and I are young newlyweds who were married 2is years ago in front of nearly 400 people. We met while in college and were friends for nearly two years before the hubs finally asked me out! We've been inseparable ever since, attending grad school together, taking the CPA exam together and even ended up working at the same company for two years! Currently we live in Maryland & work in the accounting world at different companies.

We both adore kids and would love to have a whole bunch of them all close in age soon (I'm from a family of 10 to give perspective here). In the next couple of years we hope to transition me from CPA to full-time home manager! We are currently putting the finishing touches on our home remodel, we moved in earlier this spring. We love to travel & fell in love with Saint Lucia while honeymooning there. One day we'd both hope to leave our full-time jobs & become full time volunteers counseling people struggling with debt and money-related issues.

Some of my hobbies & passions include all things related to my husband & our families; baking & cooking; jewelry design & crafting; photography; volunteering; traveling with my hubs; all things Red Sox; TV shows Mad Men, Bones, Glee, Covert Affairs & Undercovers; blogging; style & shopping; ALL THINGS SHOES; Cashmere; etsy; reading; running, rock climbing, golf, baseball, watching my hubs play ice hockey, flag football and just about any other sort of athletic endeavor. Decorating & nesting wherever we're living; budgeting & money counseling; hanging out with our families; drinking hot chocolate while reading in the chairs at Barnes & Nobles; going for walks; going to the theater; camping; road trips; restaurants Bertuccis, Border Cafe & Fire & Ice; visiting baseball stadiums all over the U.S.; planning & list-making; life & my faith.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you'll grab a cup of hot chocolate or lemonade, put up your feet & stay awhile!

101* in 1001

The 101 in 1001 project may not be anything new to many individuals reading this, a lot of bloggers have been posting about the concept and sharing their lists for several months. However, I thought I'd post my own list here on my blog, to hold myself accountable and, as a bonus, you'll get to follow along with my progress! I decided to break up my list into categories so that I could make sure to get a good mix of goals. On the off-chance that some of you haven't heard about the project, I will post the instructions below so that you can participate too!

Creating your own 1001 Day Project

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.
Source


My 101* in 1001

Start Date: Friday, 3/20/09
Finish date: Friday, 12/16/11

Green:
1. Go to the Farmer’s Market four times. (2/4)
2. Set up an indoor herb garden.
3. Grow flowers in the backyard and keep them alive for a season
4. Go Orchard picking
5. Go Berry Picking
6. Grow vegetable garden
7. Plant tree for hubby and me

Learn something new:
8. Bake a pie (from scratch!)
9. Take a Photoshop class
10. Get comfortable roasting a whole chicken & turkey
11. Learn to bake bread
12. Learn to make five kinds of candy (4/5)
13. Read 20 books in 20 consecutive weeks (0/20)
14. Watch 5 documentaries on things I don’t know enough about (0/5)
15. Listen to 5 books on tape while driving (0/5)
16. Make pasta from scratch
17. Learn ballroom dancing
18. Learn Latin dancing
19. Learn swing dancing
20. Learn how to Irish step
21. Take cooking classes (0/5)
22. Learn how to blow-dry my hair
23. Take a photography class
24. Take sewing classes (0/10)
25. Take some interior design classes (0/2)
26. Become CPR and first aid trained

Me:
27. Start a list on Mondays and finish it by Sunday for 2 months (0/8)
28. Write in my personal journal once per week (0/4)
29. Use a skincare regimen for 60 days straight (0/60)
30. Respond to my emails as soon as I get them every day for a month (0/21)
31. Overhaul wardrobe
32. Go to the spa once a month for a whole year (0/12)

Health:
33. Find a dentist
34. Find a dermatologist
35. Eliminate all processed foods for 30 days (0/30)
36. Take my vitamins every day for 120 days (0/120)!
37. Drink 8 glasses of water every day for three weeks (21/21)
38. Get body fat measured

Financial:
39. Put aside specific agreed upon $/month into Savings 12 times (12/12)
40. Put away specific agreed upon $/month into an Roth 12 times (0/12)
41. Pay down all student loans (0/x)
42. Research and invest in 3 stocks (0/3)

Business:
43. Set up a jewelry business online at Etsy.com


Social:
44. Have friends over for dinner 6 times (0/6)
45. Find a home church
46. Make at least 10 new friends (girls and guys) (0/10)
47. Join a young couples group
48. Become friends with 5 other couples (1/5)

Be Creative:
49. Create a Tastebook for myself
50. Create a Tastebook for Mom
51. Upload 500 nice photos to Flickr (500/500)
52. Create photo books for past years (0/3)
53. Create photo books to be updated with events & printed at the end of the year (0/3)
54. Scrapbook my old albums
55. Design & craft my own cards
56. Organize and back-up all digital photos
57. Organize and back-up music library
58. Compile a cheat sheet of 21 guilt-free healthy recipes
59. Find architect and design dream home
60. Finish scrapbooking camping trips

Do Something New:
61. Fly in a hot air balloon
62. Fire a gun at a shooting range
63. Swim with dolphins
64. Visit the 4 states I haven't been to before. (OR, WA, HI, AK) (1/4)
65. Spontaneously visit an amusement park with my husband.
66. Go to a Renaissance festival
67. Fly in a helicopter
68. Visit one of the seven wonders of the world
69. See a baseball game in ALL the major league baseball stadiums (7/30)
70. Visit B&H in New York and buy something
71. Find a personal tailor
72. Go geocaching
73. See a broadway show in NY
74. Go on a spontaneous road trip
75. Go antiquing

Random Acts of Kindness:
76. Become a money coach volunteer
77. Send a random gift to a friend
78. Send a card to someone I’ve lost touch with
79. Become a volunteer with two different organizations
80. Sponsor a child in a third world country

Travel:
81. Visit Europe for an extended visit (1 month) (England, Ireland, Scotland, Holland, France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Poland)
82. Visit Sweden
83. Visit Greece
84. Visit Spain
85. Visit Australia & New Zealand
86. Visit the Turks
87. Visit Hawaii
88. Visit Poconos
89. Go to Walt Disney World
90. Tour all over MA
91. Go to New York City during Christmas


Relationship:
92. Change my name
93. Find a mentor (a couple)
94. Take my hubby away for a weekend getaway

Fitness:
95. Start ice skating again
96. Start rock climbing again
97. Run a 5K
98. Learn to play tennis
99. Take pilates
100. Learn how to fence
101. Learn how to golf
102. Take zumba lessons
103. Complete couch to 5K program
104. Complete 100 push-up challenge
105. Complete 100 sit-up challenge
106. Be able to do 8 minute abs
107. Stretch daily for 10 minutes for 3 months (0/90)
108. Increase flexibility to be able to do a split

Purchases:
109. Buy an iPod (yes I am one of those people that still doesn’t own an iPod)
110. Find the perfect little black dress
111. Buy bikes for hubby and me

Wedding:
112. Make photo album of wedding photos


*please note I am an overachiever and actually have more than 101...I have edited and edited my list until I can't find anything more I want to remove and I fully believe this list is doable, so I'm just going to go for it!

Now or Never...

So I tried to think of something clever or super interesting to write for this first post to really start this blog off with a bang but then I realized...this blog isn't about *bangs* and I should just write something. Sooo where to begin?

I started this blog to have a new space to write about life after our wedding and since my previous blog was all-wedidng, all the time, I wanted to start fresh with a clean slate. I picked the name Life Accounts because I want the blog to encompass our whole lives from building a house and nesting to crafting and cooking and even babies one day! The title is also a play on words cause the hubby and I are both accountants, so in the end it just made sense. (I'm an accountant, everything has to be logical and make sense!)

Enough rambling! Here is to new beginnings and fresh starts! Please feel free to leave comments, I look forward to sharing my adventures with the world at large...on second thought, maybe we'll just start with sharing it with my readers-yes, all of 1.5 of you! :)

Thanks for dropping by!