Weekend Update

Welcome back from your weekend. Hopefully it was another good one. Mine was crazy busy but in the best of ways. It truly feels like summer has settled in when every day of your weekend is packed with activities, get togethers and lots of go-go-go. My pregnant feet are feeling the pains today but I would not take back any of it because the weekend was just so wonderful and fun. 

Friday night we decided to walk over to fermaentra brewery because the weather was so gorgeous. Ryan had a sampler of beers and I had a tasty izze. Our friend brian came and met us and the evening wrapped up with some live music and lots of laughing and story telling between the 3 of us.

Saturday I spent some time with my parents at their house and suckered my dad into joining me at the pool for a couple of hours. It was nice to have some time with just my dad... we talked the whole time about nothing and everything. Saturday evening ryan + I went to dinner with our favs, matt + lindy for a belated birthday celebration for matt. We all wanted to try a restaurant that none of us had been to so we dined at lena which is in the sobo (south broadway) area of denver. We had a tasty dinner of modern mexican small plates and I would highly recommend trying this place out (get this short rib tacos and the chilaquiles). So yummy! 

Sunday was another celebratory day... ryan + I headed to lyons, co to attend the wedding of our high school friend heather, to her now-husband adrian. The wedding was at the most gorgeous setting and the ceremony and reception were stunning. Heather of course looked flawless and there was so much love in the air. 

I went to bed on sunday night feeling tired but blessed to have had such a fulfilling and fun weekend. Happy monday everyone; have a great week ahead! 

Weekend Update

Can we all agree to let me go back and relive this weekend one more time? It was nearly perfection and I want it to happen ten times over if at all possible. Why you might ask? Well here are a few reasons...

- my bff beth came into town for the entire weekend and stayed with me

- my bestest of bestest friends all got together for bachlorette fun, happy hours and late night drinking games

- one of my most favorite couples ever got married this weekend and it was stunningly beautiful

- the weather (for the most part) was sunny and beautiful

- I stuffed my face with delicious food all weekend

From beginning to end, there was not a moment of down time, an hour that went by without hysterically laughing, a second spent without people I love and it was everything I could have wanted and more. Honestly, when there is so much positivity around you, it is hard not to feel overwhelmingly full on so many levels. 

This weekend was one for the record-books, I hope your's was too!

This Weekend You Could...

the 125th annual city park jazz festival kicks off on sunday which makes me feel like summer is finally here. live music and picnics as far as the eye can see… there is nothing I love more than this event which is held each sunday through 8/9.

stoll through larimer street and see over 200 professional chalk artists paint the brightest and most beautiful masterpieces at the denver chalk art festival. this free 2-day event transforms 4 city blocks into a temporary art museum.

an afternoon block party with law games, live music and unlimited tastings of beer could be yours at applejack liquor’s brew-down block party. $30 will get you into this afternoon party and its all to support a great cause, helping disadvantaged youth.

a couple little known music groups are taking over denver; u2 is playing the pepsi center on saturday night and luke bryant is going to rock sports authority field. buy tickets now for your chance to see a performance you will never forget.

I will be attending phil and sara's wedding this weekend while also hosting my bff beth while she is in town with her boyfriend from steamboat but hope we get a chance to squeeze in some of the fun happening around town too. Wishing all of you a wonderful weekend!

Weekend Update

The unusually warm weather in denver (we are calling it our indian summer) made for a weekend in the high 70s, low 80s. Between brunching on the patio to crunching through all the beautiful fall leaves on the streets, this weekend was full to the brim with things I love.

My sister-in-law peyton came down from college for the weekend which meant quality sister time. We had sushi at izakaya den on friday, followed by the perfect after-dinner coffee enjoyed under the stars while telling stories with her mom and ryan. Peyton then got her hair colored for the first time on saturday; she did bayalage just like I have my hair. It turned out beautiful, only adding to the good looks she already has.

Saturday night we got together with more family and close friends for an evening bbq. It was fun to have everyone together laughing and telling stories. It made me excited for the holidays to come and the festivities that are only a few weeks away.

Sunday morning ryan and I went to church with my grandma followed by a delicious brunch on the patio at bread winners. It was idyllic on every level and the best few hours of the entire weekend. The day wrapped up with an afternoon movie, gone girl, followed by a family dinner of ina garten's pasta alla vodka. 

Vacation Wrap Up Vol. 1 // Hilton Head

Our trip to south carolina kicked off nearly 2 weeks ago but looking through at all of these photos took me right back in an instant. I had never traveled to the south before but when we received an invitation to celebrate our friends' jon and becca's wedding, we jumped on the opportunity. 

(clockwise from top left: all my lady friends and the bride (she is in white)  /  the sea pines light house  /  welcome sign on at the pier  /  our group at brunch on sunday morning  /  the pier at sunset for the opening night fete)

The wedding weekend was nothing short of amazing from the moment we arrived at the inn at harbor town on the sea pines resort. A dip in the pool with our friends (who also made the trip) was then followed by an evening spent on the pier with all of the wedding guests drinking wine as the sun set. Honestly, I had never been to a wedding that had so many friends in attendance. It was like a big party but in a town that we were all discovering together.

(the lounge at the wedding reception  /  ryan and stephen post-ceremony  /  beautiful flower arrangements under the giant cypress trees  /  a panorama shot of the reception tent, the harbor and a huge boat docked for the weekend)

Ryan kicked off his saturday morning with a round of golf on the sea pines ocean course where he saw a live gator just off the tee-box. I instead chose a different form of relaxation... a trip to the beach. A few hours spent taking in some vitamin d, getting our toes wet in the ocean and laughing away was the best pre-wedding fun. 

(the reception tent and lounge, lit up after dusk  /  ryan smoking a cigar and making me laugh  /  mark, a bartender and ryan  /  ashley, deb, jill and bria having cocktails at the reception  /  my new favorite photo of ryan and I)

Oh and then the wedding; seriously one of the most beautiful I have been to! No detail was overlooked and the setting was just so nice. For my first destination wedding, the bar was set pretty high. We wrapped up all the festivities with a sunday morning brunch overlooking the golf course and it was the perfect calm after a weekend of drinks, dancing and late-nights with friends. However, the fun was not ending because as we pulled out of the parking lot in our electric blue mustang (rentals of course are ridiculous colors!), I knew we were driving north to charleston for a few days in low-country just ryan and I.

Come back tomorrow for vol 2 of my vacation wrap up!

I also have to give major props to my friend phil who took many of the photos above. He captured so much of the weekend and I totally snagged his photos to include in my recap. Thank you friend!

Say Cheese

Guess who had some serious fun at our friends Matt and Jonnie's wedding a few weeks ago.  Yep... we did!  Maybe a little too much fun in the photo booth but if we didn't, we would not have great shots like these to commemorate the evening with.

(Photos include my brother and sister-in laws, Luke and Krista, my in-laws Liz and John and of course my handsome husband and I)

358 Days In

(our save the dates)

One week from today will be my 1^st wedding anniversary.  It is crazy to think 358 days have gone by since I said ‘I do!’ to the man of my dreams.  I feel like I blinked and the year flashed by me yet, there were some pretty monumental things that have happened.  

• I finally went to Europe (honeymooning in Greece was the best trip of my life BTW). 
• I changed my legal name (something that still catches me up when I introduce myself from time to time). 
• I made a huge investment into my home with our backyard renovation. 
• I got a new SSN, Passport and Driver’s License, on top of switched every email, account, subscription, bank account, password, username that I have ever opened over the past 28 years of my life to my new name.
• I got a puppy which is the closest thing to a child in my world right now.
• I fell more in love with my husband than I already was.

(eating cake at our reception)

I have been thinking a lot lately about what marriage means to me… the vows I have made… the foundation and principles that I believe make up a life commitment.  I can honestly say, I am proud of my marriage.  We are strong, honest, respectful, committed and supportive.  Yes we bicker like crazy but it’s part of our relationship’s dynamic and something that keeps us from taking any situation too seriously. 

(outside our church)

I am really looking forward to next Monday September 17^th to celebrate our first year of many years to come as husband and wife.

Special Delivery

Last night I was welcomed home by my amazing husband, my boy Rocco and a package from UPS.  While the first two showered me in kisses and lots of jumping around (I am talking about my dog here!) another item in a large white slender box was glaring at me from across, just begging me to walk over and open it. 

Let me go back real quick and give a bit of 'Pre-Blog' information about myself.  I am a recent newlywed by approximately six months.  I became a Mrs. in October 2011 when I married the man of my dreams after 10 years of being together.  All of our friends and family gathered in one room, my dad walking me down the aisle in our beautiful Catholic Church, dancing the night away in our modern art-gallery reception and feeling more beautiful and loved than any other day of my life.  To say it was utterly amazing would be an understatement from my point of view.

Well, to catch us all back up to present day, the one thing we having been working on getting together are a few of our favorite wedding photographs to display in our home.  To say we procrastinated going through the hundreds of photos is a total understatement because I think sludge moved quicker than we did to sit down at the computer and sort through. 

However, I am pleased to announce a beautiful white box wrapped with a ribbon and filled with sheets of cream tissue paper encased a few 5x7’s and the following prints in 11x14 that I am now going to get matted and framed to hang in my house.  I just love the effect added to the photos. 

I could not be happier… well I will be when they are hanging up.  I will share once they are.