Marvelous March

March was packed full of fun for us this year. Living in Arizona, the weather in March is absolutely beautiful. We spent as much time outside and together as possible. In March I had a week off of school for Spring Break. Tracey was able to take a few additional days off so we had 5 days off together! We feel like we used our time together very wisely. Here are some of the fun things we did together in March....

Bridal Shower for Ciara 

We threw a bridal shower for my cousin Ciara along with my mom, cousins, and sister. The theme was vintage love. We were able to stock up on some cute red and pink supplies for the party in February. We had so much fun planning the shower and celebrating with Ciara. This time last year, they were planning our bridal shower. We wish Ciara and her husband Jake as much love and happiness in marriage as we have had this year.

Pool Time

One of the many benefits to apartment living is access to the pool. Both Tracey and I love spending afternoons poolside. As we live in Arizona, we enjoy the pool almost all year. In March we enjoyed laying out by the pool and on a few warm days actually went swimming. We live right by one of our favorite locations... the Soda Shop. So we brought specialty sodas to the pool. My favorite is the Coke-O-Lime which is a  diet coke with coconut and lime. Perfect treat to enjoy by the pool! I am sure we will continue drinking soda by the pool this summer when the heat is far less enjoyable.

Driving on the RIGHT side of the road 

Tracey obtained her learners permit in March in order for her to practice driving in the US. She has a license to drive in England so driving is not brand new to her, but learning to drive on the other side of the road has been an adventure. Over Spring Break, Tracey practiced driving in parking lots and on side roads. This month Tracey has her formal driving lessons complete with the exam to get her Arizona drivers license. She has done a fabulous job learning the rules of the road in the US. Her continued dedication to acclimating to the life in the US melts me.

Phoenix Zoo

Tracey and I love going to visit the Phoenix  Zoo Lights every year. We decided it would  be fun to visit the Zoo for our "Date-Night In" for March. We realize this is a major stretch as it occurred during they day while outside at the zoo, but it was too beautiful to waste anytime inside in March this year. Read more about our adventure at the zoo here.

Beauty and the Beast 

Belle is the best Disney princess of all time. There are no words to adequately describe the wonder that is Emma Watson. Emma Watson as Belle was basically the best idea of all time. From the moment I heard about the new Beauty and the Beast film, I have been excited. It combines my two greatest loves into one film. The movie was beautiful made and my obsession with both Belle and Emma Watson, only grew stronger. We were able to see the movie opening night with my mom and sister. If you have not seen the movie, you need to revisit your priorities.

Food Findings 

In February a new doughnut shop opened up in town. Hurts Donuts opened in Tempe and we had the opportunity to visit in March. The best donut by far is the cookie monster. Anything with oreo is a win in my book. We were introduced to our new favorite brunch location, The Broken Yoke, by our dear friend Denise. It is the best breakfast either of us have ever had and we are breakfast people. Trust us. It is amazing! A, Pieology Pizza opened up within walking distance to our home. We had to try it out. We were definitely fans. Tracey loves any place that includes sweet corn on a BBQ pizza, and I love any place that serves pizza. The bakery that made our wedding cake, A Piece of Cake, sells the most delicious cupcakes. We stopped by for a treat and quickly remembered how delicious our wedding cake was. Zinburger is a family favorite due to the delicious milkshakes and fries. We went to Zinburger for dinner with my mom. Finally, we have been enjoying breakfast at home on the weekends before Tracey goes into work. A friend recommended we try The Great Gadsby Bakery for its European baked goods. We ended up going on a Friday and were able to try out the cake shakes. Tracey had mint and I went with cookie  dough. On Friday nights "Date Night" they are by one get one free! Finally, we have been enjoying breakfast at home on the weekends before Tracey goes into work. Eggy bread is her go to request for breakfast on the weekend.

March was a jam packed month for us. We have been busy planning our trip to England and are both looking at making some professional changes later in this year. On the evenings we have been going for walks to prepare ourselves for all of the waking in England and to burn off all of the new food we tried this month. We have some exciting changes and adventures in the near future and are so excited for this life we are building together. We can not wait to share more about our plans soon!

Let us know what fun things you did in March. We would love to hear from you!

Shannae

Date Night In: February

Our date night in project continued in February. This year Tracey and I are creating themed date-night-in baskets. We are always looking for ways to maximize our time together. Now that we both are working, and working opposite schedules, it is important to both of us to find fun ways to spend the time we have together.

Originally we had considered a romantic heart themed date night in, but after a very complete Valentines Day we decided on something different. February was a dreary month for both of us. As an Arizona native, the cold cloudy weather has me craving sunny bright days. We planned a weekend by the pool as is started to warm up, just to be rained in which is not common in this desert home of ours. This inspired our February date.... a tropical date in.

On our Honeymoon, we stayed in airbnbs along the California Coast. Our favorite home was by the beach in Encanitas where we spent our days in the sun, our evenings in the bath, and ate at 101 Diner. There I had tropical pancakes for the first time. I have been craving that trip, the airbnb, and those pancakes since our honeymoon so we decided to try to make our own. If you every make to Encanitas make sure you stop at 101 Diner and order the tropical pancakes complete with coconut syrup.

Honeymoon in Encanitas California- June 2016

For our February date night in we made tropical pancakes. We followed two different recipes. One for the tropical pancakes and one for the coconut syrup. Although no pancakes will every compare to the ones we had on the coast, these pancakes were a sweet addition to a drizzly chilly weekend. It also gave us an excuse to use our new griddle which was a wedding present from our California family. Our pancakes were topped with strawberries, pineapples, homemade toasted coconut and bananas.

Tropical Pancakes Recipe 

Coconut Syrup Recipe

After our pancakes we enjoyed our tropical face masks, lotion, bubble bath, and new nail polish. Our tropical date would not be complete without Jack Johnson. I had the opportunity to see Jack Johnson live a few years ago and it was a remarkable experience. If you ever get the chance to see him, do not let it pass.

January's Date-Night-In Basket:

• Pineapple 
• Strawberries
• Bananas 
• Shredded Coconut 
• Tropical Juice/Flavored Water
• Coconut Scented Candle
• Coconut Scented Body Wash/Bubble Bath 
• Coconut Foot Cream
• Coconut Face Masks
• Nail Polish
• Ingredients for Tropical Pancakes 

I can not wait to see what our March Date-Night-In has in store for us.
- Shannae Johnson 

Leo the Cat Update

Leo is our little man. He is our fur baby, and the sweetest cat around. Leo is 2 years old. He will turn 3 in July. We adopted Mr. Leo in September from a local woman who rescues cats. She cared for Leo since he was found abandoned as a kitten as was so happy to see Leo move into a good home. Since Leo moved into our home he has been the light of our home. I consider us to be a very happy family, but Leo made it that much brighter and happier. He is cleaver, funny, and clumsy. He kept Tracey company while she waited for her work authorization and green card. We are incredibly thankful for the happiness he brings to our life. We are so lucky to be his moms.

When we adopted Leo he was checked out by the vet as we adopted him at the animal clinic. The vet noticed that he was in need of a dental and recommended we schedule one. A week later the vet called asking for us to come in for blood work. He was concerned Leo had feline leukemia. He was tested and fortunately the test came back negative. The vet commented again on his inflamed gums.

Leo was settling into life as an only child and started developing mouth sores. His lips and gums would get these angry sores that would take days to clear up. Despite what looked like very uncomfortable sores, Leo remained happy, loving and obsessed with his mum. 

The vet explained that Leo has a disease where his body rejects his teeth. His gums and mouth are extremely  painful and sore due to his body's negative reaction to his teeth. Leo was prescribed medication which he believes will help with his pain. We were absolutely devastated to hear that the vet believed Leo was in a lot of pain. As Leo was new to us we were unable to notice any changes in behavior that would let us know he was in pain.  He never stopped eating. The only sign was that he became increasingly vocal on the evening. Leo began his medicine and seemed calmer and happier. We also scheduled his dental.

Leo went in for his dental appointment and had his teeth cleaned by our fantastic vet. As the vet predicted, Leo's gums are extremely raw and inflamed. Unfortunately Leo's teeth are not the problem so cleaning them, provided little relief. The vet has recommended we continue medication for pain management and monitor him for pain. He also connected us with a vet who specializes in oral surgery. The only other option at this point would be extraction of all of Leo's teeth. The medication Leo takes is a  very strong allergy medication that suppresses his body's extreme reaction to his teeth. We are happy to say that Leo has had no mouth sores since he started taking the medication. 

We are giving the medication time to work, and plan to make an appointment with the vet specialist. Leo continues to spend his days sleeping, playing with his many toys, watching the neighbors out the window, convincing us to give him cat treats, and obsessing over his mum. Leo is highly attached to Tracey. She is his person. His best friend. His soulmate. Watching them together brings me so much happiness. 

Leo has the best vet in the world. His aunt works at the animal clinic and ensures he receives the best care possible. I only hope that we can provide him all of the care he needs to be as happy as possible considering his complex medical needs.

- Shannae Johnson 

February Festivities

February has been a fabulous month so far! We decorated our house to bring more love, cheer, and warmth into our home. We also got some Valentine's Day leggings to feel extra festive. Leo fell in love with our heart table runner and seems to love sitting anywhere we place fabric or a blanket. He is such a snuggler. I also enjoyed a molten chocolate latte from Starbucks thanks to my love.I love all things seasonal.

I also consider heart shaped sugar cookies as a requirement for Valentine's day. My grandmother made them for us each year and I like to continue the tradition. I have been working on finding the perfect sugar cookie recipe and feel like I am so close.The current recipe I use is mostly sugar, butter, and flower with vanilla, almond extract, and coconut extract.

We also painted a string of wooden heart lights. I found these lights at Target for around five dollars and felt they were an absolute steal. We spent a Saturday night in painting them. The whole family got involved including Leo who jumped on the drying project and spread paint all over the place. He is such a character! My favorite heart is the rainbow heart Tracey painted right in the center of the string of lights. We had so much fun preparing for Valentine's Day together. It was our very first one we were able to celebrate in person. 

After Valentine's Day we went out for a date at one of my favorite pizza restaurants. We had hoped to spend the long weekend by the pool, but the rainy weather had different plans for us, so we went out for pizza and worked on a home improvement project. I also got a cannoli which is one of my favorite desserts. Tracey went with her classic favorite, cheesecake. 

For the last two months we have considered many options about where we want to live as our lease is up at the end of March. We looked at bigger apartments at our complex, visited other complexes, and researched rental houses. After much debate, we decided to remain in our apartment for another year and decided to finally hang up photos on the main wall in our family room. It was so much fun buying the last few frames and hanging up pictures and art that is very special to us. We both love looking at all of the memories displayed on our wall. The wall includes wedding photos,map art, photos from our travels, the drawing of our family I got Tracey for Valentine's Day, the Mrs and Mrs sign Tracey got me for our anniversary, and other favorites. We have a little room on the end to expand our photo wall and look forward to adding more memories to our wall.  

In February, I got my new passport in my married name. We are planning a trip to England this summer to spend some time with our family in England. We are looking forward to time with family and friends, sightseeing in London, and Nandos. My parents plan to come on our trip. It will be the first time our families will meet each other. We are so excited to show England to our American family and for some quality time with our family in England. Here are some photos from our very first trip to together in England. 

As we live in a desert, this is really a beautiful time to soak up the sun and enjoy the lovely weather. We plan to spend as much time as we can outside and together. As I write this post, I have 9 days of work left until spring break. Tracey was lucky enough to get a few days off so we are already planning out our time together.  

What fun February festivities have you been up to? We would love to hear from you. 

- Shannae Johnson 

Valentine's Day

"I choose you. And I'll choose you over and over and over. Without pause, without a doubt, in a heartbeat. I'll keep choosing you." — (Unknown)

 To those who know me it is no surprise that I started preparing for Valentine's Day in mid January. Valentine's Day is my second favorite holiday after Christmas. I love hearts, cards, flowers, and chocolate. I also am a big fan of love. This year Valentine's Day is extra special because for the first time we will actually be together. We both work much of the day, but after spending months apart, any time we get together feels special.

This year for Valentine's Day we decided to celebrate like we did last year. Last year we celebrated with a Skype date. We both made lasagna and enjoyed dinner "together" on Skype. As a tribute to last year, this year I made lasagna and chocolate lava cakes. I also made another strawberry lemon heart shaped cake. We both felt it would be more fun to celebrate together at home than to try to go out to dinner on such a busy night. We plan to go out to eat sometime over the weekend so we can continue our Valentine's Day celebration.

Valentine's Day morning started out with a stressful commute to work for me. I had an early meeting and traffic was worse than normal. Another car hit my car from behind while on the freeway. Luckily no-one was hurt and the other driver took responsibility for the accident. My car had only a minor dent a scratched paint. Other than being very late for work, everything turned out alright.

We both had to work during the day on Valentine's Day, so we did not open presents until we go home that night. We had planned to have dinner and then open presents, but I was so excited by my present for Tracey that I made her open the present the second she walked in the door. I gave her a picture of our family I ordered from a wonderful, extremely helpful, and kind shop on Etsy called DrawmePlease. The drawing of our family makes me smile every time I look at it. Tracey ended up liking the drawing just as much as I do. Leo really makes the drawing complete, and our family whole.

Tracey gave me a stuffed love pug (I have a slight pug obsession), Ferrero Rocher chocolates, a London themed pillow case, a stunning engraved wooden card, and a beautiful card. She did a wonderful job making me feel loved, and spoiled. The pillow case was my favorite part because it is adorable, super soft, and reminds me that is just a few months we will be heading back to England to spend some time exploring London and visiting with our English family and friends.

By the end of the evening I was feeling very sore from the car accident so I went to bed early so happy for the chance to celebrate our first Valentine's  day together.

Valentine's day was a fun excuse to remind each other how much we love each other. Being a long distance couple really helps us appreciate all of the time we are fortunate enough to spend together. Although we celebrated this holiday before whole apart, I had no idea how much fun it would be to celebrate Valentine's day together. I hope you were able to share your love with those who matter most this month. I also hope you felt loved, because you are so very loved.
- Shannae Johnson

January Recap

At the end of January we were really feeling the winter blues. We had worked opposite shifts for several weeks and had not had a day off together since boxing day. On a Friday night, after a long week at work, we decided to go out and have some fun.We drove around town and ended up at Dave and Busters. We shared chicken wings, a strawberry mango snow cone, and mini donuts before playing games, and taking photos in the photo booth. This spontaneous night out was a perfect end to a very hard week for both of us. Our goal is to learn how to make these strawberry mango snow cones just in time for summer so we can drink them by the pool. Our photos from the night are proudly displayed on our fridge with the reminder that it is so important to take time to have fun together.

Photo Booth Fun

Tracey was able to take a Saturday off the last week in January so we planned a day together. It was the first day we both had off together in weeks and happened to be our 8th month wedding anniversary. We started the day at Lulu's Chicken and Waffles and then went to As You Wish Pottery to create painted pottery projects. Tracey loves being crafty so painting pottery has quickly become one of our favorite date activities. I pained a plate for valentines day and Tracey created a London themed platter that holds out jewelry and watches in our bedroom. We loved our finished projects and Leo loves playing with our shiny jewelry in the London platter Tracey made. We ended the night having dinner and watching a movie at my mom's home with my grandma and grandpa. Mom mom even bought us a bottle of wine to celebrate. I was finally able to see the Girl on the Train. I just wish the film had been made in England like in the book.

As Valentine's Day is my second favorite holiday I began decorating in January so I could have several weeks to enjoy. I made a Strawberry Lemon heart shaped cake which was so delicious I made it two more times before Valentines day. We also kept flowers on the table to keep our spirits light. These gorgeous colorful flowers Tracey brought me home from work the night before a big meeting to brighten my mood and our home. How did I get so lucky??? 

 "When I say I love you more, I don't mean I love you more than you love me. I mean I love you more than the bad days ahead of us, I love you more than any fight we will ever have. I love you more than the distance between us, I love you more than any obstacle that could try and come between us. I love you the most." unknown 

We hope you found some ways to curb the winter blues. For us the cure was time together, spontaneous fun, seasonal decor, fresh flowers, and appreciating living together after 2 years apart. 

 - Shannae Johnson

Date Night In: January

Happy New Year! We hope you and your loved ones are off to a positive and productive new year.

We decided to start a new project this year. Our project.....a date-night-in basket! We plan to each take turns planning a date night in for us to do together. We got the idea after reviewing the many subscription boxes for date nights. After much consideration I decided it would be more fun to plan the activities ourselves and take turns surprising each other. 

For January's date-night-in basket, I planned a game night. I found a basket that reminded me of my wife while shopping at Home Goods. It is white with natural wood. We both love the look of white with natural or dark finished wood. I am sure there will be many uses for the basket next year (cat toy basket for Leo, cosmetics basket, candle basket...). I also picked up some blue plastic wine glasses, a heart shaped platter, and some "English fudge" while at Home Goods. 

I quickly ran into Michael's to find a way to add a sign for our date night basket and was off to Target. I spent quite sometime in the game section at Target, and finally decided on the board game Clue, which was my favorite game as a child. 

Tracy fell in love with some mint cookies we bought at Target during her first summer here in Arizona and we haven't been able to locate it since. I crossed my fingers and looked for them again with no luck so I settled on peanut butter cookies and a bottle of wine. My mom actually picked the wine as I was taking forever and we had dinner plans. She actually picked a really great bottle considering that she doesn't drink at all and made her decision based on the color of the bottle and the cheap price. I quickly threw the basket together before heading off to dinner with my mom. 

When Tracey and I got home after picking her up from work, I surprised her with our first date-night-in basket. We opened the bottle of wine, I put the treats on the heart dish, lit some candles, and opened the game. 

"I am just walking around trying to assess the situation"- Tracey while losing at Clue 

We played the game Clue a couple times and enjoyed catching up. Tracey and I are working very opposite schedules right now so it was great having an opportunity to just talk to each other. For so much of our relationship we connected by calling, texting, skypeing, emailing and writing letters. I would never want to spend time apart again, but I do miss the communication. In someways we communicated more apart. It is so easy to get lost in talking about the grocery list, or cat food. However, those more meaningful conversations are so easily lost in the hustle and bustle of life. We enjoyed our date-night-in on the 14th of January. 

We enjoyed our date-night-in on the 14th of January. Our anniversary from when we started dating is October 14th, and we like to do something small each month to celebrate. Our date-night-in basket worked perfectly was a way to celebrate our 27th month anniversary. 

We loved our first date-night-in and are already looking forward to next month's date. 

January's Date-Night-In Basket:

• The board game Clue
• A bottle of wine
• Turquoise plastic wine cups- they will be reused at the pool this summer
• A blue heart pillow 
• A heart shaped dish
• English fudge 
• Peanut butter cookies
• Tea candles
• A scented candle

We hope our project inspires you to find fun ways to stay connected to the people most important to you. Do you have any suggestions for a date-night-in? We would love to hear from you! 

- Shannae 

2016 Highlights Part 2

2016 Highlights Part 2- The year we became Mrs. & Mrs. 

July 2016

July is my birthday month and my favorite month of the year. As a teacher, I get to celebrate my birthday with a whole month off of work. This year was extra special. My mom took Tracey and I to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter with my siblings for my birthday. This was after she threw a wedding for us in her backyard. I sure am spoiled by my mom. I had an amazing time. I grew up with  Harry Potter as a central part of my existence. Visiting the park was absolutely magical. Having the summer to spend time together was very helpful in Tracey's adjustment to life in America. One of the benefits of being a teacher... summer vacation!

 

August 2016

I went back to work in early August leaving Tracey at home waiting on her work authorization. It was a long and very hot month. We were able to get away to Sedona for a weekend to celebrate my mom's 50th birthday. We even found a rainbow bench to take a photo. We also drove up to Flagstaff to maximize our time in the cooler weather.  

September 2016

We became a family of three in September. After much consideration we decided to adopt a cat as we live in a small one bedroom apartment far too small for a dog. My sister works at a Animal Clinic and connected us with a local woman who rescues abandoned cats. We set up a time to meet a group of cats and fell absolutely in love with Leo. We did not pick him, he clearly picked us. He was smitten with Tracey from the second they met. It was love at first sight for Leo. Tracey tends to have that affect on people and cats apparently. 

Our fur baby Leo 

October 2016

In October we took a trip on my fall break to Disneyland with my sister and her girlfriend. Our first night at the part we noticed a lot of same sex couples. We asked around and learned that Disneyland was celebrating the unofficial "Gay Days  at Disneyland". We had a wonderful time enjoying the park with other LGBT individuals, couples, and families. We even saw a couple of proposals!  

In October, we also went to a pumpkin patch. We (Shannae) ate everything pumpkin in sight. Tracey carved her very first pumpkin. Both of our pumpkins were cat themed inspired by Leo. We had planned to use our Disney shirts as an excuse to dress up as Minnie but never got around to finding ears so we spend Halloween handing out candy at my mom's house. 

At the end of October, I surprised Tracey by taking a day off of work and driving up north to see fall colors. We spent the day in Flagstaff having a picnic in a park and exploring in the trees. The best part was the cooler weather. It was still way to warm at home so a day in the cool norther air was exactly what we both needed. 

We entered Leo in a pet Halloween costume competition at his Animal Clinic, and he won! He was dressed up as Leonardo DiCATrio. In less than a month Leo turned us into crazy lesbian cat moms. We spend two nights taking hundreds of photos and these were the best photos we could get. We learned that Leo is not a fan of taking photos but does enjoy wearing a bow tie if the occasion warrants it. We also dressed him up in a shirt that said "I love my mummy". It was perfect as he is absolutely obsessed with his mum. 

November 2016

Tracey started working in November at a grocery store next to our home. Of course with the holiday season she worked exact opposite hours as me leaving very little time for us together. We celebrated Thanksgiving at my moms house. Tracey had to work for most of the day, but we saved her lots of Turkey and ended the night with puppy snuggles (with my mom's new puppy Dixie aka Dixie Doodle). We spent the month of November working a ton and preparing for the holidays. We bought our first Christmas tree, took Christmas card pictures, and started shopping for presents. 

December 2016 

What a beautiful end of the year. It inspired our blog because we (Shannae) were again accused of over posting on other social media sites. We attended the Nutcracker with my mom, Shaylee, and Grandma Jean. 

We attended a light festival in town and made our second annual trip to the Phoenix Zoo Lights. Christmas day was family filled. Our family decided to celebrate with Christmas crackers this year so Tracey and I took a photo with my sister Shaylee just as we took one with her sister Sarah last year. We are so incredibly blessed!  

We rang in NYE together once again, this time at home with Netflix, and snuggles with Leo. 

So excited to see what 2017 has in store for us! Happy New Year! 

- Mrs. Shannae Johnson