Sometimes, for no reason at all, Mr. Dressed and I will get all dolled up and go out to dinner (as you’ve probably guessed, I have no problem being the most dressed up person in the room). And other times, we’ll get all dolled up and go out to dinner for a very special reason. Although I was away on the official day (14 August), today I donned this minty-blue 1950’s confection and my partner in crime donned his original 1960’s suit and joined me in celebrating a lovely milestone – our 5-year wedding anniversary.
It’s hard to imagine a time when we weren’t married. When he wasn’t the person in my life that made everything a bit shinier. I was asked recently how he and I got together – which was rather randomly through a mutual friend when I first moved to San Diego in 2007. I think what struck me the most was how much we had to talk about – those first few months involved us talking till 4am about everything and nothing (after he challenged me to a duel of Ms. Pac Man and Space Invaders on his ridiculously awesome arcade cabinet that he built with his own two hands. I’m such a sucker for old school video games. He had me at Frogger).
Truthfully, I knew within one week of us dating that we were meant to be – primarily because I wasn’t waiting for anything to change. In every past relationship I’d had, I was always uttering the phrase, “It’ll be perfect when…” When I met him, I was no longer waiting for anything. It was perfectly imperfect just the way it was.
Mr. Dressed tends to be the man behind the camera on this blog (though perhaps I can convince him to do an outfit post with me one of these days!) But on such an auspicious occasion, I thought it fitting to give you a bit of insight into who we are. Who he is to me. Cause I don’t think I can express how much I love my partner in crime and how much I love us.
Should you be meandering the streets of Perth and bump into us, I should tell you we’ll be those two holding hands and skipping. Making up songs in the bread aisle. We’ll be the couple that’s all dressed up for a casual dinner out. The googly-eyed ones picking each other up from the airport and smooching like we’ve been a year apart. I still get excited to see him each night as I pull into the driveway.
We’re also the couple that’s comfortable leaving each other for a night to do our separate things. The ones not glued to each other’s side at a party. I’ll catch his eye across the room and he’ll give me a wink.
Mr. Dressed fills our house with music and dancing and infectious enthusiasm. He has his own dreams and passions and invites me along on the adventure. He makes me laugh and makes me better. He supports my career with pride and the occasional move around the world. He tells me I look beautiful every day and tells me how much he loves my style. He’ll say, “I love the way people look at you when you walk into a room. The way they look at your dress. But you’re looking at me. I’m the luckiest man there is.”
He loves my family and loves my friends, even when we’re all talking a mile a minute and he can’t get a word in. He makes me coffee every morning and takes every outfit photo and zips me into my vintage dresses with aplomb. He surrenders a spare bedroom in our house to my wardrobe, notices every time I have a new dress on, and is incredibly understanding when it comes to the mounds of vintage that threaten to take over our lives (and even wrote me an incredible app to organize it all! If that isn’t my version of Prince Charming…). He can translate “Kara-ease” perfectly. Like if I were to say, “We’re out of wine.” he will smile and say: “Translation: Please go and buy wine” and returns 10 minutes later with a bottle.
He takes care of my heart. He loves me the best.
Now, we definitely have our disagreements and can square off from time to time. But we always manage to find each other again. In our marriage, much like the vintage dresses I love so much, it’s really the care and attention to detail that matters most. The pleats, the delicate hand-stitched appliqué, the layers of chiffon… Those are the little moments, the little gestures – each cup of coffee he hands me and each time I organize our trip somewhere; every time I call in a takeout order (cause he simply hates calling people) and every time he runs out in the rain to pick up dinner (because I hate hate hate leaving the house after I’ve settled into my pajamas).
Whether you believe in fate or the concept of ‘meant to be,’ I think there is a force that brings people into our lives. And we can choose to dance with those people for a little while or a long while, or simply let them walk past. I feel ridiculously lucky that I recognized that this amazing person crossing my line of vision was one to dance with for a very long while, and through some amazing coincidence, he wanted to dance with me too.
So, we’re off to Petite Mort to sip champagne and remind ourselves to never take what we have for granted. As usual, I thought we had plenty of time to get ready and ended up having to rush a bit to make it out the door on time. But, there was just enough time before heading out for a little twirl…
So tell me, anything (or anyone?) making you twirl this week?
xoxo
Outfit Details:
Dress: Adored Vintage (similar modern or vintage here, here, & here)
Beaded Handbag: Vintage (similar here & here)
Heart Hairpins: Giant Dwarf (similar)
Shoes: Betsey Johnson (similar here, here, here & here)
Necklace: Sora Designs (similar here & here)
Bracelet: Legendary Beast, DC (similar here & here)
wedding photos by Ann Sumi Photography
.
instagram // twitter // facebook // pinterest
