One Little Word, Choose.

Choose: verb // to pick out or select as being the best or most appropriate of two or more alternatives. 

It's practically 2015, can you smell it in the air? The chance to restart, refresh, learn from 2014, & really move forward with a clear direction. I most certainly can. I unknowingly started the One Little Word in 2013 with the word BRAVE, a word that fell into place after a year chock full of huge, life changing milestones. In 2014, I felt inclined to make my OLW TRUST, at a time in my life where I needed to learn not to question as much and just trust in my plan. 

This year I am choosing the word, CHOOSE.

After a year of trusting (often times not willingly) I am ready to plant my feet firm and make my own choices. 

In 2015:

I will CHOOSE to enjoy life to its fullest extent.

These are the days! The days I will look back on many years down the road and realize I didn't take enough advantage of the freedom of time I have to read great books, drink good coffee, sleep in late, & spend quality time with those I love. 

I will CHOOSE to be present in my every day. 

This means cleaner eating (possibly trying a bout of Whole30 to get me on track), exercise (getting more active in road biking and running // hopefully a Half Marathon this year), quality time with my husband (less tv, phones, electronics) and basically all of the things that make me feel giddy & refreshed.  

I will CHOOSE how I let things affect me.

Rather than let my emotions get the best of me, I vow to accept the responsibility that I have a choice in how I allow things to affect me in my daily life. There are things and people, I've learned, that I cannot change no matter how hard I try, but the one thing I can be in control of is how I choose to respond (or not respond) to them. This year, I am going to CHOOSE the people in my life who make me a better person, CHOOSE to allow those who don't bring something positive to my life to get packing & above all else, I will CHOOSE myself. 

I will CHOOSE myself. 

This means taking care of myself first & foremost (healthier eating, exercising frequently, and maybe even a massage every once in a while!). I am also choosing to stop being so dang hard on myself & instead focus my efforts on how much I have to offer the world with my God-given skills and abilities rather than second guessing myself. 

When you think about it, it is amazing how many choices we make on a daily basis. While most of these are essentially unimportant (what to eat, wear etc.), some decisions can have much greater effects on our lives & well being. I hope that 2015 will allow me to CHOOSE those options that make me a better person both inside and out. I hope you'll be a part of this journey. 

Peace,

Allison

It's a Fitz Christmas

We had a very Merry Christmas, the second one in our home & our sixth since Brandon & I have been together. After Brandon & I exchanged gifts in the morning, we hosted a Christmas dinner at our house. Our delicious spread included spiral ham, some bangin' homemade mac & cheese I made, Strawberry Jello Pretzel Salad (my favorite!), grilled pineapple with cinnamon, & green beans. After we stuffed our faces we headed out and played a round of Frisbee Golf. All in all it was a beautiful, fun day with family. 

Hope you all had a happy Christmas & cheers to 2015 (and my 25th Birthday eek!!) in just a few days! 

Just for fun here's some pictures from Christmas' past. 

2013

2012

Peace,

Allison 

life lately: december edition

still excited about my new haircut. 

making Christmas jars & deer pillows to round out our Holiday decor. 

thinking constantly about my sweet sister-in-law and her husband going through a terribly hard time after losing their sweet angel boy. Prayers requested. 

eating homemade lasagna, my first attempt that turned out delicious! 

drinking hot coffee and Caramel Brulee Lattes (my favorite!) at Starbucks.

reading Still Alice & just about to start Me Before You.

watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix & any and all Christmas movies on tv. 

wanting a Polar heart rate monitor watch. 

looking through pictures from our Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh & looking forward to our first annual Ugly Sweater Christmas party. 

planning our outfits for the Ugly Sweater Christmas party (hoping they'll be epic!)

playing Cards Against Humanity & Loaded Questions (especially loaded when played with the Housholders!) with family at Thanksgiving. 

enjoying my new Schwinn road bike (Follow my rides on Instagram at #allisonrides) & our Christmas decorations & Tree that are up! 

feeling anxious for Christmas shopping because I haven't even started...

loving our Christmas tree all decorated & the Buffalo Plaid Hello sweatshirt that I got with their Black Friday deals. 

Check back in at the middle of the week for our Christmas Card this year! 

Peace, 

Allison 

with every christmas card I write...

Merry Christmas friends! This Holiday season has taken us by storm but thankfully I was on top of my Christmas card game this year and was able to order our cards at the end of November and got some great promo codes and discounts including one for free address labels that I personalized with our girl, Rhiley. 

I went with Shutterfly again this year (here's our cards from last year) because I really liked their cute designs this year and I know I can always scrounge up a good deal by combining multiple promo codes. For packaging, I added some red & white baker's twine to the middle even though it is already printed on the card, used our personalized Rhiley inspired address labels, and the leftover buffalo plaid washi tape from my Simple Washi Tape Clothespin Christmas Card Display. 

Overall, I love how they turned out! On the front, I used a picture from our Valentine's Day pictures last year and on the back, I gave a brief update on our 2014 year. 

Hope this Christmas Card finds you all well! I will be back later in the week with a little roundup of some of my Holiday DIYs from this year! 

Peace,
Allison 

Simple Washi Tape Clothespin Christmas Card Display

Hey y'all! I know it's been a while since I posted! I cannot believe it's already time for the Holidays already, can you?? It feels like we just put the Christmas decorations away and yet here we are bring them out little by little. Don't worry, we aren't getting our tree until after Thanksgiving but with the colder weather it is kind of tempting to start decorating amiright? 

Today, I've got a really easy way to display Christmas Cards this season. Literally, it cost me nothing except the washi tape that I got for 40% off at Michael's. 

I picked some awesome buffalo plaid washi tape that I think looks festive without screaming "we love Christmas!" The white ribbon I used was some I already had so basically this project was free which is always a bonus. I taped and trimmed the washi tape onto some clothespins and just like that, we had a way to display the Christmas cards we get from friends & family onto our Chalkboard wall. 

In other news, Shutterfly pinned our Christmas Card from last year here! I am really excited about this! I would appreciate it if you would LIKE & Pin it. Thanks ahead of time! 

If your curious, here are our Christmas cards and Christmas Home Tour from last year. I'll be sharing this year's Christmas card after Thanksgiving. 

 Peace, 
Allison 

Our Ceremony

Where did we leave off here in the wedding reminiscing? Oh yea... I was ready to marry my best friend after Our first look. Figures it would take me almost an entire year to get to the heart of the story. But hey, our anniversary month is better than never to get to the good stuff, right? Right. 

After the first look, we did our wedding party and family pictures and then assembled downstairs in the back of the Dairy Barn because the ceremony was on the second floor of the barn in the open beamed area. 

The men were all laughing about something amongst themselves and I was just basking in the fact that all of our best friends were in the same hallway with all of our closest friends and family upstairs waiting for our wedding ceremony  and just how crazy it all felt that it was happening right then. I took a break off of my feet for a few moments while we were waiting for everything to get started. Before I knew it, our wedding coordinator was ushering the men upstairs to go take their places up front. And then, all of my ladies were also gone.. and it was just me and my dad. 

The Men with our Officiant leading them.

Brandon's mother & two of his brothers.

I know I heard the song we had picked out {I am You- Kim Taylor} for the ladies & our moms to walk in to but it all seemed to be going so fast, too fast if only to me. Then, before we even began climbing the stairs for my arrival, I heard the beginning of my entrance song {Marry Me- Train}. It was literally a miracle that I had my dad there to help me walk quickly up the stairs and not step on my dress or slip on a heel. 

My mother & brother.

And then we were at the top of the stairs and there was everyone... my friends, family, our bridal party all looking at me. When people say the whole wedding day goes so fast, they often forget about those times where time just slows down and you are actually able to soak it all in. This was that moment and I remember making eye contact and smiling hugely at specific people and then looking up and seeing Brandon with a little grin of pride that was so cute. 

Our officiant was our college friend, Stephen, who was the best choice we possibly could have had for our wedding ceremony. He officiated with such grace and wit that I do believe he had everyone laughing and crying simultaneously which was a true gift. He shared some funny stories from when Brandon & I first started dating because Stephen had been on Brandon's Resident Assistant staff at the time and saw us fall for each other first hand. He also graciously made it very clear we were starting a lifetime commitment together. 

Photo Credit: Jen Reyes

Our mother's took turns reading my favorite wedding reading called, "These are the Hands," and then we did a literal knot tying ceremony. As you could see in the first picture, we did a double figure 8 knot symbolizing two becoming one and infinity as well as our love of climbing and the outdoors. 

After we exchanged our vows and rings, we were pronounced husband & wife and introduced as Mr. & Mrs. Fitzgerald! We left the ceremony to {Home- Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros}. It was surreal and amazing all at once!

Victory!

With the knot tied, the vows read, and the shoes off we were ready to party with our friends and family... and that we did! 

Hope you enjoyed the recap of our wedding as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Peace, 
Allison 


.: All pictures in this post by our wonderful photographer, Jamie Brant Photography:.
.: If you like this wedding post, check out our Rustic DIY Barn Wedding tab above or click on the link!:.