Camping at the Que

So as I mentioned last week, we went camping this past weekend at one of our favorite places!  We were planning on camping Friday through Sunday, but the weather was acting up on Saturday afternoon, so we cut it short.  We still had a great time though!

We spent Friday night grilling dinner over the fire, drinking home-brews, looking at the stars (and spotting a planet!), and just chatting the night away.  After a good night's sleep in our tent, we woke up Saturday to beautiful weather.  We cooked breakfast over the fire, made hot coffee with our french press, and just enjoyed the great view of the lake.  We went for a walk through the woods, napped in our tent, then went for a run.  The weather was gorgeous in the morning.  We floated around the lake on our rafts, enjoying the sunshine.  By the time we made our way back to our campsite in the early afternoon, the weather started to turn.  It got really dark really fast.  We were cooking lunch over the fire when it started thundering and raining.  So we decided to pack everything up and call it a day, instead of staying another night.  Which actually worked out nicely because we ended up heading into the town of Johnstown (where we went to college, met, had our first apartment together, fell in love, etc etc etc!) and had a nice little time reminiscing about the 5 years we spent living there.  All in all, a great weekend for sure!

Look at those storm clouds!

We left shortly after this...

Can't wait until our next camping adventure!

Que, We're Coming!

 Today at 6:30pm, I will be here:

Brett & I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go camping this weekend!  This is one of our only free weekends for the entire Summer, so we wanted to take advantage of it & do something we loooove.  I think we also convinced Lee & Jess to meet us there. :)  After work, we are heading up to Johnstown, PA to go camping here, at the Quemahoning Reservoir.  We used to go here all.the.time when we lived in Johnstown.  We haven't been back since last Memorial Day weekend.  It is still one of our favorite places in the world.  Camping right on the water, witnessing some of the most gorgeous sunrises, swimming in the water, and relaxing under the stars... now that is my idea of a great weekend!

How are you taking advantage of the weekend?

HAPPY FRIDAY!*

It's June?!

Did May even happen??

I feel like it was April yesterday...

May was a blur to me, but a very awesome month for many reasons...

We had weddings, vacations, my birthday, and finally nice weather!

 And now it's June?!

Sloooow down, year!

Next thing I know, it's going to be Fall...

And I need this Summer weather to last.

June brings...

more weddings,

parties,

camping (!),

the arts fest,

cook-outs,

and many more days enjoying this beautiful weather.

So happy June!

Make it a good one!

PS - Still winding down from our vacation & then weekend away.

Hoping to get some Hilton Head photos posted soon. <3

{Photo by me - Taken of my new dream catcher that hangs in my car... loooove}

Living on Island Time...

Our island vacation was one of the most relaxing weeks we've had in a long time.  For 6 days, we had no schedule, no commitments, and no concept of time.  We relaxed and did whatever we felt like doing whenever we wanted to.  We didn't have to answer to anyone and weren't expected to be anywhere.  It was a picture perfect vacation (more on this later).  

It's pretty difficult to come home after a week of bliss and immediately be thrown back into the fast-paced, go, go, go lifestyle we have.  We got home at 1:00am Wednesday night, went to work bright and early Thursday, came home immediately to unpack from vacation and repack for an out-of-town wedding we have to go to this weekend.  Since getting home from vacation, the only thing I've had time to do is unpack, repack, and vacuum my house.  That's it.  I haven't even had time to load all my vacation photos onto my MacBook so I can do a proper blog post!  (The above photo was taken on my iPhone).  And now I'm at work, which right after, we have to drive to Erie to make it to the wedding rehearsal on time (Brett is a reader in the wedding).

It's a pretty harsh slap in the face getting home from a vacation of having no obligations.  Our Summer is packed full of things we have to do and places we are excepted to be.  While most all of them are fun things like weddings and parties, sometimes I can't help but wish for that care-free island lifestyle.  While on our vacation, we easily fell into the mindset of the laid-back islanders.  I can only hope that, in the mist of all the Summer craziness, we can still keep that easy-going island mindset and make sure we slooooooow down and appreciate the simple things in life as often as possible.

{Photo by me - Taken at Coco's on the Beach on Hilton Head Island}

We're Hooooome...

Hi friends!

Just wanted to pop in real quick

to let you know that we are back from our

wonderful,

relaxing,

fantastic,

perfect,

romantic,

amazing

island vacation.

We got home late last night,

so I'm running on about 3 hours of sleep.

When I am able to think full thoughts

and not act like a walking zombie,

I will do a full recap of our vacation!

Until then, just wanted to say

Hiii, I'm baaaaack

and depressed I am still not on vacation...

What have you guys been up to?!

Fill me in on what I missed!

{Photo by me - Hilton Head Island May 2011}

It's Finally Here!

Today's the day!

In just a few short hours, Brett and I will flying high in the sky, heading down to Hilton Head.  I.CAN'T.WAIT.  I'm soo excited!  This vacation is much needed and I can't wait to relax on the beach with a drink in my hand, hubby by my side, and not a care in the world.  I'm planning on trying to completely unplug during this vacation... and I don't think the service is very good on the island anyway.  I'll be back late Wednesday night and hopefully back to normal posting on Thursday!  The forecast is looking perfect: mid 80s and sunny all week long... 

Paradise, here we come!*

PS - I finished my '365 in Year 25' project!  I took a photo every single day as a 25 year old.  Check it out here!  And for my 26th year, I started a new project: "Year 26" where I'm going to take a photo of myself every single day.  I'm excited!

I'm 26!!

Today's my birthday!

The big 2-6...

Does this mean I am officially in my "late 20s"?!

Tomorrow we leave for our Hilton Head Island vacation!

From the looks of it, I'd say 26 is going to be a pretty great year!

Dale's Best Man Speech

In my brother's wedding this past weekend, his Best Man was his roommate from college, Dale.  Dale had been talking all week about how excited he was about his Best Man speech and wouldn't tell any of us what it was.  Well, come Saturday, Dale got up at the reception to give his speech.  But instead of standing there at the head table, he made his way over to the microphone and played a little song....

And it was HILARIOUS! This is probably the BEST Best Man speech I have ever witnessed. I loved it.  We had such a good time on Saturday... I'm kinda sad it's all over!!

Lee & Jess are MARRIED!

This past weekend was a very special one!  My brother Lee and best friend Jess got MARRIED!  The wedding was so beautiful and the reception was a blast!  The weather turned out to be seriously p.e.r.f.e.c.t.  I couldn't be happier for these two.  I am so very luck to finally get to call my best friend my sister-in-law.

Guys, I love you and hope you have an AMAZING honeymoon!  Can't wait to see all the pictures when you get back!! xoxo

Be Grateful

Twinkle Lights*

I'm quickly falling in love with this Spring weather and our back porch.  Since we moved into this house, the back porch has been one of my favorite places.  At our old apartment in the city, we didn't even have a tiny balcony, let alone a back yard!  So this porch is like a palace to us.  The rain has finally let up (it's been raining for over 15 days straight) and the sun has been out in all its glory.  The porch was practically begging us to come out and play.  And so we did.  And I realized that spending the evening lounging on our back porch with my husband and our twinkle lights is the perfect way to end any day.

(PS, 10 days until Hilton Head...)  

9 Month Wedding Anniversary!

Hi friends!*

How was your weekend?  Mine was quite nice.  Saturday was Brett and my 9 month wedding anniversary (yes, we celebrate every month)!  We celebrated with a little date full of gigantic sandwiches (proof above), delicious brews, and live music.  Perfect.  We also spent the weekend sleeping in until almost 10am both Saturday and Sunday.  This never happens.  We are usually up and moving around by 8am, but for some reason we just relaxed in bed and it was blissful.  Though I will say, it was basically impossible to wake up today for work at my normal time of 5:15am.  Woof.  Is it bad if I'm already ready for the weekend and it's only Monday...

This week is going to be busy, busy, busy.  My brother is getting married this Saturday (to my best friend, score!) so we have lots to do this week!  Also, we are down to only 11 days until our Hilton Head vacation, so we are trying to finalize all our plans for that.  I also need to fit in cleaning my house somewhere in there... uhhh, but we won't talk about that.  Oh!  And Brett had his check-up appointment for his foot this morning and they said it is healing perfectly and he doesn't really need to wear the boot much longer!  Happy happy joy joy!

And this concludes the most random post ever.  Onward with the day!

PS - Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!  Happy Mother's Day to all the momma's out there, especially mine! :)

Olé!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I could use one of these margaritas...  It looks so cool and refreshing: the perfect warm weather beach drink.  Too bad it was only 39 degrees when I left my house this morning.  It IS May right?  Spring, you can come back any day now...

Have anything fun planned for tonight?  So far, all that's on our agenda is going to see a house for sale.  I was planning on making chicken parmesan for dinner, but in the spirit of the holiday I may have to switch to something Mexican!  We don't even have any Coronas in the house...  I am so unprepared! 

 Olé!

Happy May!

 Happy May!  (a few days late...)

I honestly can't believe it's already May.  This year is seriously flying by.  But I must say, I love the month of May!  It's my birthday month and reminds me that Summer is near!  We have a lot going on in the month of May this year & I can't wait.

On Saturday night, we will be seeing one of our newly favorite bands in concert: The Bridge.  We saw them for the first time this Winter and their show was so.much.fun.  We've been waiting for them to come back to Pittsburgh and the time is finally here!

Throughout the month, we are also continuing to go through the process of buying our first home.  We've been looking at a lot of house and narrowing down exactly what we want in a home.  It's a lot to think about and figure out, but just knowing that soon (hopefully) we will be living in our very own home makes me so happy and excited.

One of the biggest things I'm looking forward to in May is Brett's broken foot finally healing.  He has his check-up appointment next Monday and will hopefully get the okay to take his walking boot cast off for good.  This past month has been really hard, obviously for Brett more than me, and I have felt so helpless.  There's nothing I can do to make him feel better (...besides not break his foot to begin with!).  I just can't wait until things are back to normal and I have my 2-footed husband back.

My brother's wedding is also coming up in less than 2 weeks!  On May 14th, my brother Lee and my best friend Jess will be getting married and I'll finally get to call Jess my official Sister-In-Law!  I can't wait, it's going to be a great time.

Then, on May 19th, I'll officially be in my mid-to-late 20s... I don't know how I feel about this.  I think 26 is still considered mid 20s, right?!  My 25th year on this Earth was a really, really great one.  I hope 26 will be even better!

And of course, I cannot forget our Hilton Head Island trip (and I'm sure neither can you because it's all I ever talk about...)!  In 17 days, we will be road-tripping down the coast to our relaxing, perfect, island paradise.  It is this that I am most excited about in the month of May...  Nothing makes me happier than traveling with my favorite traveling partner, the husband.  We have so much fun together and I can't wait to escape the day-to-day routine to go spend the week in true vacation bliss.

What do you guys have planned for May?  Anything fun?  I want to hear!*

Fill in the Blank Friday

 

1.   I am looking forward to   vacationing in Hilton Head with my hubby in a couple weeks!!!

2.  Something kind of embarrassing that I still love anyway is   ‘The Hills’.  And I can’t wait until Lauren Conrad’s new reality show… Embarrassing, I know.

3.  My favorite car is   my Honda Fit!  Loooooooooove it!

4.  If I could pick one type of weather to live with for the rest of my life it would be   SUNNY and upper 70’s with noooo humidity!

5.  My favorite thing to do after a bad/stressful day is   workout.  It is SUCH a stress reliever.  I always feel way better when I’m done with my workout.

 
6.  This weekend   is a girls weekend: Jess’s bachelorette party on Saturday and going to a play on Sunday with the girls in my family.

7.  If I were a color, I'd be   yellow    because   it’s sunny and happy and positive!

As always, play along here!

We did it, guys!  It’s FRIDAY!!*

Hefeweizen Brewing & a Super Mario Video

This past Saturday, I helped Brett brew some beer!  Usually this is something he does on his own.  But with a bum foot, he needed some help.  I gladly agreed because we were brewing a hefeweizen!  ...basically my favorite beer.  I brewed with Brett once before and this time around was way more fun.  We opened up the garage (where he brews) and were able to enjoy the beautiful day, while creating a deeeeelicious brew.  It went a little something like this...

 Fueling for brew day.

Breeeeewing!

Getting distracted by pretty things...

Hey, I AM a girl!

Taking pictures of really random things...

Ending the night at the bar with pizza & a hefeweizen...

that isn't nearly as good as ours will be!

(It takes a couple weeks before you can actually drink it,

but I KNOW it will be awesome!)

And now I will leave you with a video (I can't believe I'm posting this...).  After we got home from the bar, we played some Super Mario Brothers on the Wii.  I am ALWAYS toad because I love the noise he makes every time he is given more lives.  I often make the noise with him...



On that note... hopefully now you feel a little better about yourself because you are not as crazy as I am.  Hope your Wednesday is off to a great start!  Happy hump day!*

"I want to have adventures with you..."

Just a fun flashback to our honeymoon...

Can you tell I've got traveling on my mind?

Luckily only 27 more days until warm, summery, island bliss

with my favorite travel partner, the husband.

Cheers to a happy weekend!

  

{Photo: By me (self-timer) on our honeymoon in Yosemite - August 2010}

Fill in the Blank Friday

 

1.   Fridays are   GREAT!  But not as good as Saturdays! 

2.    My husband, coffee, and road trips   make me terribly happy.

3.  Something that inspires me is   seeing people take risks to do what they love… and succeeding.

4.  If I had the day off today I would   hang out with Brett all day because he gets the day off!

5.  If I had to put a label on my home decor style, I would say my style is   earthy, relaxing, and OURS.  All of our décor has a special meaning to us.  We don’t just by wall art or home décor from places like Target.  We like to find unique things that have a story and that we know no one else will have hanging on their walls.   

6.  Concerning politics I would say I'm   not interested.  They all suck.

7.  I'd like to go to   Costa Rica    so I could   go hiking in the rain forest and zip-lining along side monkeys!!

As always, play along here!

Happy FRIDAY!*

And more importantly, Happy Earth Day!

(I hear Starbucks is giving away free coffee

if you bring your own travel mug!)

Green Tea, Sparkly Nails, & Random Countdowns

Some random countdowns for your Thursday afternoon:

~36 days until we see the Avett Brothers in concert

~29 days until warm, sunshiney, relaxing Hilton Head Island bliss

~28 days until my 26th birthday

~23 days until Lee & Jess's wedding

~18 days until Brett is done with the walking boot

~16 days until we see The Bridge in concert

~9 days until Jess's bachelorette party

~7 days until my much-needed hair appointment

(you don't even want to know how long it's been...)

~2 days until we brew a hefeweizen (my FAVE!)

(Brett usually brews beer by himself

but with a broken foot

he's going to need some assistance

and I have volunteered!)

~1 day until the weekend!

What are you counting down to lately??

PS - My current sparkly french manicure makes me really happy!

Spring, You Really Do Exist

The weather turned out to be really nice yesterday.  They were calling for rain, but it never happened.  After work, Brett and I just sat on the back porch and enjoyed the Spring weather and gorgeous sky (above photo).  We didn't want to go inside.  We even ate dinner out there.  I am so happy that Spring is finally starting to show up more and more.  It may be raining today, but at least it's still in the 60s.  I'll take it!

PS - Thank you for all your well wishes for Brett and his broken foot!  He is still in the walking cast and will be for the next few weeks.  We are just hoping it heals fast and he can be back to his normal routine soon!  He is so bummed.  I feel so helpless... there's nothing I can do that will magically make it better.  Here's to hoping for a speedy recovery!      

Fill in the Blank Friday

1.   My favorite daily responsibility is   showering??  Well, I can’t say that’s always a daaaaily thing. ;)  But it’s so refreshing and relaxing to me!

2.  My least favorite daily responsibility is   DISHES!

3.  My favorite cuisine to eat when going out is   Thai.  Yummmmm!

4.  My favorite cuisine to prepare at home is   homemade pizza.  It’s such a fun dinner to make together as a couple!

5.  Andy Warhol said that everyone is famous for 15 minutes. My claim to fame is   probably being in Hanson’s “Take the Walk” book on numerous occasions…

 
6.  If I could have 3 wishes I would wish   for eternal happiness, a healthy family, and a money tree in my backyard. ;)

7.  My biggest pet peeve is   people who write CHECKS to pay for something… it’s 2011!

Play along here!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

I am so ridiculously tired today.  I only got about 3 hours of sleep last night.  We went out to Rock Bottom Brewery with my brother Lee & soon-to-be sister-in-law Jess last night and didn't get home until 1:30am!  But it was fun, so it was worth it. :)  I just need to get through the work day, then a NAP is calling my name...

Any fun plans this weekend??

Bum Foot Brett

Sooo, this past weekend didn't go exactly as planned...

On Saturday, Brett and I headed out for a great day of hiking and rock climbing.  Well, it did NOT turn out to be a great day.  We hiked up the mountain to the same place we went a couple weekends ago.  It was supposed to be nice outside but it just stayed cold and rainy all day.  We bouldered around on the rocks for a bit but everything was pretty damp.  Then, after only about an hour of being there, Brett was climbing a rock and came to jump down onto the crash pad, only to miss the pad by about 3 inches, landing his foot on a rock.  I didn't guide him down to the pad correctly either.  FAIL.  His foot hurt pretty bad, so we stopped climbing and hiked back down the mountain.  The whole drive home, Brett examined his foot and just knew it was broken.

On Sunday, we went to an Urgent Care center where they took an x-ray of Brett's foot and yup... broken.  We were/are so bummed.  It was just starting to get nice outside and we were really looking forward to getting outside as much as possible to go climbing, hiking, running, etc.  On Monday, we went to an Orthopedic doctor who put him in one of those walking casts that he can take on and off.  The doctor said it wasn't too bad of a break, so he should heal fairly quickly.  That is good news!

Now, we were supposed to be going on our Hilton Head vacation next week!  But with Brett's broken foot, we decided to push it back to the middle of May.  It wouldn't be very fun for Brett to be hobbling along the sand!  We are actually even more excited to go in May instead of next week.  The weather will be much better and we were upgraded to a nicer resort because the original one we were staying in was booked.  So now instead of "8 days until Hilton Head!", it's "37 days until Hilton Head!"  By then, Brett's foot should be completely back to normal and we can frolic through the sand and ocean like planned. :)

So that's what I've been up to!  What have YOU guys been up to lately??

Happy Wednesday!  Half way through the week!*

"Be Happy."

A little happiness inspiration for your Saturday.

I just really, really love this.

<3

Fill in the Blank Friday

1.   Something that makes me a great friend is   that I’m a good listener.  Sometimes you just gotta let it all out and have someone there to just sit and listen.  I like to think I’m good at that.  And then if they want advice, I’m there for them.

2.  I am   a wife, daughter, sister, friend, coffee addict, lover of all things outdoors, dreamer of crazy ideas, blogger, tweeter, traveler, and explorer.

3.  I am not   a fan of mean people!

4.  If I had to describe myself in 3 words, they would be   positive, creative, crazy.  ;)

5.  Something I'm really cheap about is   clothing.  I cannot bring myself to pay more than $25 for a pair of jean.  Target is the best thing that ever happened to my closet. 

 
6.  Something I'm willing to splurge on is   not necessarily a “thing”, but more so anything that creates a great lasting memory: a great vacation, a nice dinner out, fancy cheeses for a romantic at-home dinner, etc.

7.  I would trade   this craptastic rainy/snowy/windy weather   for   SUMMER SUNSHINE HAPPY WEATHER   in a heartbeat.

  

Play along here!

We made it, guys!  It's FRIDAY!

Got any awesome plans for this weekend??

Mingo Creek Hike

It may be Spring, but Pennsylvania is pretending it's not.  It has been cold, rainy/snowy, and windy.  But this past weekend, we didn't let the crappy weather stop us from getting outside!  We are starting to get serious cabin fever, so we make sure we get outside every single chance we get.  After eating breakfast Saturday morning, we looked outside and saw the clouds part ways, so we jumped in the car ASAP and decided to go for a hike.    

We hiked for a good 2 hours (we may or may not have got lost a couple times...).  The weather was funky... it would go from sunny to cloudy to a light drizzle and back to sunny all in a matter of 5 minutes.  Luckily, the worst we saw while hiking was a light drizzle.  The weather Gods must have been on our side that day though, because literally as SOON as we got back in the car, it started POURING.  

On our way home, we drove by THIS!

Biggest watering can I've ever seen!

(Mom, I thought you'd appreciate this)

 These are our deer friends.

I tweet about them a lot.

They hang out in our backyard 24/7 and I feed them leftovers.

We are BFFs.

:)

That night, we decided to continue with our "pretend it's Spring" attitudes and grill dinner outside.  We grilled some delicious portobello burgers and sauted veggies.  We also made homemade kaiser rolls for the buns!  It was a delicious little Saturday. :)

One Day Without Shoes

Are you going barefoot today?

Join Toms Shoes to raise awareness for those who don't have shoes.

Learn more here.

I'm ready!

Be sure to let me know if you are joining in too!

Cinnamon Waffle Happiness

All I have to say is

I'm eating homemade cinnamon waffles,

drinking tasty Trader Joe's coffee,

listening to Bob Marley,

and staring at my sweet husband across the table.

I love weekends.