Making Summer Count!

Happy Friday!  I woke up this morning and looked at my phone and thought 'How is it August 17th?'  I am having a hard time accepting the fact that it's already mid-to-late August.  It feels like summer is just flying by and I am not quite ready for it to end yet.  Brett and I are trying to embrace these last few glorious weeks of summer by doing as many summery things as we can.  Here's to making them count!

Row 1:
Flowers from the farmers market
Biking on the trail by our house
Delicious fresh veggie salad

Row 2:
Braids are the only way to deal with the summer heat
Strawberry pancakes on the 4th of July
Relaxing at Edinboro lake

Row 3:
Orange & vanilla twist
Our little pepper plants growing strong
Tasty bakery sweets

Row 4:
Strawberry, pineapple, & fresh basil salsa
Pirates game at PNC Park
My stud on a sweaty bike ride

Row 5:
Old Crow Medicine Show at Stage AE
Um, getting stung by a bee IN my nose on my run...
The most beautiful anniversary flowers from the most wonderful husband

Row 6:
Fresh homemade salsa & beers on the patio
Froyo!
Gyros while biking on the trail

Row 7:
Grillin' up something good
The cutest cupcake bouquet from my mama for our anniversary
Watching the 'Beatles' along the water

Row 8:
Coffee oreo ice cream (aka my new favorite thing ever)
A short stop along a pretty river
The dancing fountains in Station Square

Row 9:
Rock climbing at Coopers Rock
Picnic in the park
My love during a mini brewery tour

Ahh, these pictures make me smile.  Sometimes I freak out and think 'We aren't doing enough summery things!  We need to take advantage of this awesome weather while it's here!'  But then looking back at all the things we have been doing, I'd say we're doing a pretty good job of embracing summer.  It's going to be over before we even know it.  But the fact that we're going to California at the beginning of September definitely makes the transition from summer to fall a little easier... ;)

What have you been doing to cherish these last few weeks of summer?*

Through the Eyes of My iPhone...

Lately...

Row 1:

The start of my new inspiration board

Gorgeous morning sunrises in South Park

Happy times biking on the trail

Row 2:

Mountain biking season is officially here

Taste testing Brett's homebrews

Cosmic bowling, complete with black lights and all!

Row 3:

Delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies

My inspirational coffee mug

Brett and his constant battle with the groundhog that lives under our shed

Row 4:

Just me saying hi

Pretty flowers blooming all over our yard

It's 5 o'clock somewhere

Row 5:

My insanely gorgeous artwork from Kelli Murray

Sooo proud of my little sissy, Brita - 1st place in her Winter Guard Championships

Um, I mowed our entire lawn with this push mower...

Row 6:

Picked some flowers from the yard to spruce up the kitchen

Beer and sunshine = automatic good mood

My now daily detour through the park which I love

Row 7:

Another beautiful sunrise

Ice cream!

Found our new favorite Mexican restaurant, and it's BYOB!

Row 8:

Surprise chocolates from the husband

Mountain biking as often as possible

Weekend waffles and coffee

{instagram username: annat314}

Life has been hectic lately.  Good, but busy.  We are soaking up every single ounce of the good weather we've been getting and trying to stay outside as much as humanly possible.  We are finally getting out of the cold winter months and into the warm, sunny, beautiful spring and summer months.  My absolute favorite time of year.  There's nowhere else I'd rather be than outside.  

We've got a long weekend planned ahead.  No work tomorrow (WOOHOO!).  We plan on grilling out tonight, doing some mountain biking tomorrow, and eventually heading up to Erie to see the in-laws.  Then it's back to Pittsburgh to hang with my family on Sunday.  Now I just need to get through a half day more of work and then the fun weekend can begin!

I hope everyone has a really great weekend and a happy Easter (if you celebrate).

I'll catch up with you next week!!*

Sunrise, Sunrise...

The sunrises on my morning drive have been gorgeous lately.  It seems that the sun is starting to make more and more of an appearance these days and that is definitely fine by me!  Something about the huge sky and beautiful sunrises make me feel so alive.  Just knowing that I'm a tiny little piece of this big beautiful world, it's refreshing.  I think (I hope!) Spring is on the way...

6 Year Anniversary!

Today, January 13th, is the 6th year anniversary of when Brett & I started dating!

{2006}

The year we started dating...

and went on our first road trip together to Washington, DC.

We were such babies!

{2007}

The year we spent living together in Johnstown...

and spending most of our days down by the lake at the Que.

{2008}

The year we moved out of our first apartment together in Johnstown...

I still miss that place!

{2009}

The year we got engaged!

In front of the Marblehead Lighthouse...

{2010}

The year I married my best friend!

One of the best days of my life...

{2011}

The year we bought our very first home!

These past 6 years have been the best of my life.

I can't wait for a lifetime of more adventures and memories to come.

I love you, babe!!

Lately...

Lately my life has been consumed by 'new homeowner tasks'... hence my random & sporadic absences from the blogging world.  Ever since we officially got the keys to our new house, we have been going & going nonstop.  Packing and cleaning and moving and unpacking and organizing.  And then all the random home projects.  Installing overhead lights, painting kitchen cabinets, making & putting up shelves, breaking down a billion empty boxes so we can throw them out, and the list goes on and on.  All this while still managing to fit in normal things like working, eating, and sleeping.  It's a little overwhelming, but we are having fun with it!  It's such an exciting time!

So since I don't have time to blog everyday,

here is my photo attempt at filling you in on my life recently...

Row 1:

Packing fuel in the form of cinnamon rolls

Moving out of this old house & into our very own home!

A lovely bag my Mom got me last Christmas that I just found

Obsessing over Panera's adorable holiday coffee cups

Row 2:

Eating dinner on the floor of our new empty house on the night we got the keys

Fudge covered ice cream cones for dessert

Pretty morning sunrises

Loving this gold nail polish for the holiday season

Row 3:

Our new kitchen island that we are obsessed with

Indulging in the usual: pizza & beer at Market District

Drinking my first peppermint mocha of the season

Our first home cooked meal in our new kitchen

(and eating it on the island since we have no light in the dining room yet)

Row 4:

My cutesy little nephews on Thanksgiving in Erie

Organizing all of my Toms Shoes in our new house

Cooking dinner at 11pm because we have no other time to

And last but not least, cooking dinner by headlamp...

because Brett was installing a light & had to shut off the power - awesome

So that about sums up my life lately...

Random, but I'm enjoying it!

"Adventure is out there!"

I can't believe it's already been over a month since our Southern California vacation.  I was looking through my drafts of posts and realized I never finished blogging about it.  We had such a great little getaway and we're already dreaming about our next adventure.  But until then, some more California vacation photos will have to do... :)

 First day in California - Stopped at the Bruery for some tastings.

San Clemente is a great surf spot.

Brett surfed every day, all day.

And for being from Pennsylvania, he was damn good!

 I attempted surfing once...

but mostly just relaxed on the beach and took a billion pictures :)

 We are beer geeks (Brett made me that way).

So we made sure to go to Stone Brewery...

which was AWESOME (separate blog post coming for this place!)

Spent a looooot of time hanging out at the beach.

No plans, no worries, no work = heaven

 We stayed in the cutest little beach rental.
It had a grill & full kitchen, which we definitely took advantage of.

 Walking down to the pier...
San Clemente at night is beautiful.

View from out on the pier in the ocean.

 There was froyo...ohhh, there was froyo!

San Clemente... gorgeous when the sun comes out!

 One of my favorite days.
Exploring the coast of California...

 Overlook in Dana Point

We packed a little picnic and ate it right here.
We had the place to ourselves :)

 California is beautiful.

 I love him :)

 Strolling along the pier in San Clemente before dinner

 Happy hour on the pier in San Clemente!
Watching the sunset and all the surfers below us.

 Bagels & coffee from the Bagel Shack.
I still dream about this bagel, YUM.

 Headed into the desert and mountains for some exploring...
and I found Bigfoot!!

 Amazing views...

And sooo windy!

 :)

What a skyline...

 The desert was beautiful...
but so so hot.

Moments before Brett got completely attacked by a cactus...

 I am not a red meat kind of person...
but I'm pretty sure we ate In & Out burgers at least 3 times on this vacation
and they were DELICIOUS.

 Biking along the beach in Santa Monica on our last day of vacation.

 I like him a lot :)

 Oh, hiiii!

 Gorgeous sunset on the last day of vacation.

Studly husband :)

Bye bye California.
You were fun, as always!

Ahh, putting this post together makes me miss this trip so much.  One of my favorite things in the entire world is traveling and going on adventures with Brett.  Being able to explore and discover this big world together makes me so giddy.  I think no matter, throughout our lives together, we will always find ways and make time to travel.  And of course, we're already dreaming of our next exploration...

"Adventure is out there!"