What I Want, You've Got

I always wanted someone to pick me up from work.

Back during my sophomore year of college, when I was working as a hostess at Valanni, I would trek back up to North Philly on the BSL late at night after my shifts ended. I daydreamed about what it would be like to have a boyfriend who would pick me up from work so I couldn't have to go home alone on the stanky subway. 4 years later, my amazing fiance, who I met at Valanni, wakes up early to drive me to work in the morning and almost every day rearranges his schedule so he can come pick me up from work too.

Things are very different now, because we're in Zagreb, not Philly. But even back then, he would do little things that would really make my day. When I would drive to work in Old City, he would run out of his own job to put quarters in my meter (back when there were still meters in Old City!).

It is so sweet of him to drive me, especially during these snowy, freezing cold days, I'm so thankful for him and so happy he is so thoughtful to me. It's things like this that separates Tomislav from the rest of the men in the world! He is wonderful and that's why I don't mind making delicious meals and baking yummy treats for him all the time.

 A little trip down memory lane - one of the first nights Tomislav and I went out after we first met. Tomislav is to the right of me, with Lovro to the left of him! Of course, Peter is right next to me and Kendall is also in this picture!

I feel like we look so young here! Our first trip to NYC together :) 

 One of those nights where I went to Tomislav's apartment after work. I can tell because I'm wearing black and I wore so much black back in the Valanni days!

Together at Philly Fish Co. (Now BBQ Tequila's) where T also worked! We had so many great summer nights there.

This was in March, 2010. We went back to Valanni, where it all began, to have dinner at our favorite table. Tomislav could still recite everything that was on the Medi-Latin plate! What a good food runner he was ;)

Listen Closely Hear the Music Playing, Let it Take You to Places Far Away

Nothing takes you back to a certain place or time like music does. Scents come in at a close second but hearing even the first few chords of a song can take you right back to that exact point in your life. Just as a I feel like I am a citizen of the world, I am a fan of all types of music.

Recently, I remembered an old password for an old YouTube account and had a blast looking back at my "Favorites" from 2008. Although that might not be that long ago, it is the year that I met Tomislav, the summer that he arrived in Philadelphia, when I worked at Continental and had an ex-manager playing me romantic songs over the phone to the hostess stand. (Like Landon Pigg - Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop)

Hearing Built to Spill - Big Dipper will forever remind me of Germantown and Sean and Jimmy's (much better in my opinion) version of the song!

When I think about Brand New, I'm reminded of riding my bike through Gütersloh, Germany. Back when I had basically, fogotten how to ride a bike, crashed several times along my (at least) 5km one-way route to school. I used to switch over to "Jude Law and a Semester Abroad" once I got to the point which I called the "homestrech" of my journey. Tom Petty's "American Girl" is another one that brings me back to those bike rides.

I have made, cultivated, and sustained several amazing friendships thanks to a little song called "Cute Without the 'E' (Cut from the Team)" by Taking Back Sunday. It takes you right back to high school, college, Kentucky Derby parties etc.

Exhibit 1: A Friendship in the Making

Another great one that was favorited on my old YouTube account was Pitbull ft. Trina: Go Girl. Remember that one? It starts like..
I party like a Rock Star
Look like a Movie Star
Play like an All Star...

Then goes on to talk about someone being on his top 8 because he met her on MySpace. Love it ;)

There are so many more songs I could write about but these few that were on this old YouTube profile really surprised me and brought me back. I highly recommend you try to login with an old e-mail address and see what you were listening to back then.

What songs bring you back to a special time in your life?

Word of Advice for the Day

"Fear less, hope more
 eat less, chew more
 whine less, breathe more
 talk less, say more
 hate less, love more
 and good things will be yours."

- Swedish Proverb

Guest Post: Homemade Valentine's Day Cards!

This Valentine's Day I decided to get a little inspiration from the queen of crafting, Martha Stewart, and make my own Valentine's Day cards. My husband and I just got married last May, and we were recently trying to think back to our favorite memories while living in New York City. Over the years we've been saving movie stubs and concert tickets, so after looking through the box, I thought that Martha's Valentine's Day Accordian Envelope was the perfect way to look back at all our memories.

All you need is several envelopes, double sided tape or a glue stick, and any mementos that you've collected.

Begin sticking your envelopes together by putting double sided tape on the inside of the flap and sticking the bottom back of another envelope on top of that. Do this until you have an accordian of envelopes. I used 10 envelopes which made for a very long card.

All that's left to do is to add in your mementos into each envelope!

Check out more of Martha's Valentine's Day card ideas here,

Hope you all have a happy Valentine's Day!
Dominika

This is Dominika's first (hopefully of many!) guest posts on Dream of Home Tonight. She is a very beautiful, talented, and creative newlywed living outside of NYC. She is also my amazing sister.

The OTHER Big Holiday in February

Do you know what it is? In Croatia, it's, surprisingly, very widely celebrated! It's Bob Marley's Birthday! February 6th, 1945 was the day this reggae poet was born. During this snowed in weekend, I read his biography by Calvin Craig Miller. Not only was Marley a singer/songwriter, musician, husband, father, and political activist, he was also a supremely religious being. He is credited for helping to spread the Rastafari movement to a worldwide audience.

“Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.” -Bob Marley

Marley’s music was heavily influenced by the social issues of his homeland, Jamaica, and he is considered to have given voice to the specific political and cultural nexus of his country.

I found his biography very interesting, especially reading about his views on his children and many girlfriends he had (although he was married). I love reggae music and there's nothing better to me then relaxing to some of Marley's tunes. It's amazing to listen behind the music and see how heavily influenced he was in enforcing peace among the Jamaican people. I love the way he described when he first recorded music (with his good friends Bunny and Peter, who made up the original Wailers) and it was played through the loudspeakers of a car driving around, or from a shop's windows. His music literally stopped gang violence because a sense of peace and calm came over the people in the streets when they heard his melodies.

I absolutely loved seeing and being reminded of how big it was back in the 1970's to have great album artwork for the large vinyl records. I love the clever cover art for the Wailers' first major label release for "Catch a Fire" (which had hits like "Stir it Up," "Rock it Baby," and "Stop that Train" on it)

The first 20,000 copies of the original 1973 vinyl release, designed by graphical artists Rod Dyer and Bob Weiner, were encased in a sleeve depicting a Zippo lighter. The sleeve functioned like a real Zippo lighter case, opening at a side hinge to reveal the record within.

So, Happy Birthday to Mr. Nesta Robert Marley! Thanks to him and the Wailers for so much great music and positive inspiration around the world. Leaving me with this great motto (which I definitely have been applying to our wedding planning):

"Don't worry about a thing,

'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."

"Wedding Planning" Winter Wonderland Weekend!

It's been freezing cold as of late in Zagreb but now that it's been steadily snowing since yesterday, I don't mind the cold so much anymore! It's fun to play in the snow and it looks so pretty (before it gets all mushy/dirty/city looking!).

It made our weekend plans change a bit but we're loving it!

Feeling the Love

When Tomislav and I went home to the States in December, we had a long trip. We were flying on different flights (boo) that arrived at the same time at EWR (yay!), but the day was long so we were really excited to get there and to be able to stay the night at my sister and brother-in-law's place. The next morning we were driving up to my parents house in PA. My sister and I are super silly and she suggested, wouldn't it be fun if we got all dressed up for our Mom and I totally agreed. My Mom is super fashionable and loves to dress nicely so it was the perfect idea for her. We even took it a step further and got T-Slav to put his suit on! Anyway, we drove to PA, feeling a bit jet lagged but we were OK.

When we got to my parents house, my Mom and Dad ran outside along with Paul (my brother-in-law) and his siblings (who we knew were gonna be there) and we were so excited to see everyone! It was amazing to reunite! We greeted each other outside, took some pics, and T and I were kind of confused why no one was commenting on how dressed up we were!

Anyway, so we walk up the stairs to go into the house and....