Weekend update.

M is out of town this weekend for a friend's bachelor party, so I have the casa to myself. Lucy and I are enjoying a girls weekend with lots of tv, sunny walks and chick flicks. In truth, I think she's a little bored, but I'm just loving it.  A slow, lazy weekend was just what I needed to recharge after a long work week.

Last night after work, we (Lucy and I) parked it on the couch and watched approximately 7 consecutive hours of "Say Yes To The Dress." Nothing wrong with that. We took a brief break for a quick dinner and headed to bed at a reasonable hour. Lucy is getting very spoiled because she's been allowed to sleep in the bed for a few nights now....she's going to be in for a rude awakening tomorrow night when M gets home and sends her back to the crate.

Today we woke up early and did a little cleaning around the house. Things had gotten a little out of control with the pet hair, and the couch was very glad to be cleaned. I'm sure anyone who sits on our couch is glad, too. I think I'm immune to it at this point. After our cleaning spree, Lucy and I took a quick walk and I headed out to pick up my Little Sister for a movie date. We watched "Catching Fire," and I surprisingly really liked it. I had seen the first movie a few years ago when it first came out, but I quickly remembered the plot and jumped right back into the story.

After dropping her off, I made a quick stop for a gift for a bridal shower next weekend, and then changed quickly for a run at the gym. While the boys are in Vegas, I had dinner plans with my college roommate/M's best friend's wife. Strange how those things work out. We had a great dinner outside on a beautiful patio. My scallops were spicy and amazing, and now I'm really full. After dinner, I'm more than happy to curl up in bed with the puppy and watch another girly movie before the weekend is over.

Tomorrow I'm planning to head to church, take a walk with my bff and her puppy, and then spend some time with my parents before dinner. So I guess it's been both a full and relaxing weekend....which is just perfect.

To lazy weekends,
L

Book update.

Even though I’ve definitely been doing less blogging in 2014, I’ve absolutely been doing more reading. This is thanks in part to the resurrection of Book Club, which took its annual holiday break and picked back up a few months ago. I’ve also been obsessed with my Goodreads app…I love seeing what other people are reading and add a lot of their selections to be “To Read” list. Here’s a quick recap of what I’ve read thus far this year:

“American Wife” by Curits Sittenfeld: I never read “Prep” because I thought it was too youthful, but I was very pleasantly surprised by the writing in “American Wife.” I really enjoyed the characters and the story (even though it’s a bit unrealistic), but now I’m thinking about adding “Prep” back on my reading list…

“We Are Water” by Wally Lamb: Wally is my favorite, hands down, but I do have to say this was my least favorite of his books. The character development is fabulous, as usual, but I couldn’t let myself connect to the characters as much as I could in his previous works. Still won’t stop me from being first in line for the next one.

“When I Found You” by Catherine Ryan Hyde: This was a book club selection and was one of those books I probably wouldn’t have picked out on my own, but was really glad I read. As I’ve said before, I love books that take place over a lifetime, and this was one of those stories. It was sad and lonely, and I loved it.

“Looking for Alaska” and “Paper Towns” by John Green: Even though I really liked “The Fault in Our Stars,” I think I actually liked these two John Green books better. Very similar characters (and kind of a similar plot), but I’m currently loving YA novels, and these two fit the bill. I listened to both on audiobook, which I think made me love them even more.

“The Rosie Project” by Graeme Simsion: This one was just okay to me. Definitely an interesting and unusual story, but I think I would have liked it better if it were told by two narrators…though I suppose the unreliable narrator angle was really the point of the whole thing. I don’t know…it just didn’t interest me the way I thought it would.

“Dark Places” by Gillian Flynn: Not the same as “Gone Girl” but weird and dark and scary all at the same time. Loved it.

“Where’d You Go, Bernadette” by Maria Semple: I know a lot of people love this book, but it just didn’t do it for me. I was bored the whole time, and mostly wanted to slap Bernadette across the face.

“Infidel” by Ayaan Hirsi Ali: I love non-fiction, but somehow 90% of what I read ends up being fiction. I’m reminded of how much I love memoirs every time I read one, and this is no exception. I learned so much about Middle Eastern culture and saw a completely different response to the US’s reaction to 9/11. Interesting, thought-provoking and very well written.

“Code Name Verity” by Elizabeth Wein: Another book club selection, and one I definitely would not have selected on my own. It’s a WW2 story, and while it’s a very interesting plot, I was kind of bored with the unemotional characters after a few chapters. I love war stories, but this one didn’t have the same sadness or relatability that so many of the others do.

“Labor Day” by Joyce Maynard: I saw this on a “books being made into movies” list and thought I would check it out. I surprisingly loved it. It’s a strange story (and now I’m not sure if I want to see the movie), but I really liked it, and it was a very quick read.

So I finished “Labor Day” last night, so I’m glad to have book club tonight to find something else to add to my list.

To summer reading,

Lia

A mid-week break.

This week we were graced by a mid-week visitor who is currently between jobs and was gracious enough to drive across the state for a quick visit. She arrived Tuesday night and we dug into some snacks for a quick catch-up session. We then headed to the gym for a kickboxing class, which she attended with me…even after a questionable and confusing process of enrolling a guest at our gym. After the class, we picked up Panera for dinner. Big sandwiches and salads were perfect after a sweaty gym session. M met us back at the house, and we watched TV until we were all too tired to do anything else.

On Wednesday, I took a vacation day, and it was such a treat to drink tea and watch morning TV. We headed to Cheesecake Factory for a boozy brunch and appetizers, and I introduced my friend to the avocado eggrolls, which are really out of this world. After fueling up, we headed into the mall for some shopping. We spent all of our time at Nordstrom and definitely did some damage, but came home with fun new things.

We picked up Lucy from daycare on our way home and took our dogs out for a quick walk. It was sunny but chilly, so we just did a quick lap around the neighborhood. We whipped up some appetizers and lounged on the couch until M came home and it was time for dinner. We ate at Tamari, one of my favorite Latin-Asian fusion restaurants. We had salads and sushi and popped into a local ice cream shop for dessert. I was so full by the end of the night, but loved everything we ate.

She left this morning, and it was bittersweet. So glad we had the chance to spend some time together, but it’s always too short! Very thankful for friendships and friends who are willing to make “long-distance” work.

To friends,

Lia

Wedding update.

Since it’s been so long, I thought I would summarize a wedding update (mostly for my own purposes) so when I read back I can remember what we’ve been doing during our engagement.

Venue:

The venue was the first thing we looked for, and it was, of course, the hardest. I think I looked at every single wedding venue in Pittsburgh online and many of them in person, but I have to say that as soon as I walked into Longue Vue…I knew it was perfect. I originally didn’t think I wanted a country club wedding, but it really is the perfect space for us. It’s a really old stone building that looks a little bit castle-y when you drive up, and it’s set high on a bluff overlooking the Allegheny River, so you get nice views out the rear of the club. Plus there is a beautiful dining room, living room and outdoor patio for us to spread out over the evening.

Church:

This was a no brainer. I knew I wanted to get married in the church I grew up in, and luckily M has attended that church with me and really likes the pastor, as well. It’s a small church, but it’s the only place I can imagine getting married.

Date:

Originally, I wanted a date in September, but once we found the venue, that just wasn’t going to happen. October 18^th was the date they had available, so an October wedding, it is!

Photographer:

After the venue, the photographer was the most important decision to me. I don’t love having my picture taken (or taking pictures), so I was really concerned about finding a photographer that I felt comfortable with. On just our second meeting, we found Studio Bash….a super fun couple who we quickly contracted with. We had our engagement session in November on a freezing cold day in downtown Pittsburgh. Despite the wind and the temperature, it was really fun! I’ve finally sorted through the pictures and made prints for family, as well as picked out pictures to feature in our guest book at the wedding.

DJ:

This was a really easy decision for us. Which is surprising because I was expecting this to be one of the hardest. Based on the recommendation of a friend who is getting married this spring, we met with Marquee Wedding Company and totally felt at home after meeting the owner. He got our taste in music, and we can’t wait to dance the night away!

Flowers:

This was one of the FUNNEST wedding decisions, to date. I don’t know anything about flowers, but after meeting with a local florist near my parents, Always in Bloom put us immediately to ease. She pulled samples from their current stock to put together bouquets and centerpieces so we could see exactly what each arrangement would look like at different price points, which was so helpful.

Dress:

I found a dress right at the end of 2013 and ordered immediately. Dress shopping was fun, but to be honest, it wasn’t my favorite part of the wedding planning process. There are so many pretty dresses, and it felt like so many of them would work for our wedding. I didn’t have an “aha” moment about my dress, but I’m totally okay with that. I love the dress, veil and belt that I picked, and I can’t wait for them to come in!

Transportation/Hotel:

Finding a hotel was another tough choice. There aren’t many hotels in close proximity to our venue, but the wedding coordinator suggested the SpringHill Suites in Bakery Square, which I would not have thought of on my own. We visited the hotel, and I think it’s perfect. It’s in a newer area of town and has shopping, coffee, restaurants and a gym within walking distance, which may be a nice option for out of town guests. However, since it is a about a 15 minute drive from the venue, we opted to get a shuttle to transport guests back and forth. Since we have a big bridal party, we also opted for a limo bus to transport all of us around that day.

Still to do:

Cake

Invitations

Brunch

Tuxes

Ceremony

Rings

Other Updates to Come:

Bridal Party

Bridesmaids Dresses

Rehearsal Dinner

To wedding planning!!!,

Lia

It's been a long time.

Hello, friends! Boy, it’s been a long time. Many months, a couple seasons, and lots of changes in our lives. I’ve realized that one of the things I love most about this blog is going back and reading old posts to remind myself about what life was like last week, last month, last year….

So in an effort to fill the enormous gap between October and April, I’m going to attempt to recap the best moments of the past five months.

In October, we kicked wedding planning into high gear. We already had a venue with catering, but we met with photographers and DJs. We culminated a year of fundraising at work with a golf outing benefitting Make-A-Wish. We granted 17 wishes, our biggest contribution yet, and had a great day on the course despite chilly temperatures. We had dinner with friends and a baby shower for my cousin’s wife, who welcomed their first child in December.

November was a month of family and friends. We had a surprise 80^th birthday party for M’s grandmother, which was such a special night. His family is so big that they’re not often all together in one place, so it’s really special when they’re all together. We went to a wedding for friends in Philadelphia and got to celebrate my grandfather’s birthday while we were there. On a sad note, a dear friend’s grandfather passed away and we celebrated his life in a beautiful ceremony. We took our engagement pictures and welcomed our family to visit for Thanksgiving. We had 10 people and 2 dogs sleeping under our roof, and it was just fabulous.

December brought more wedding planning with florist appointments and dress shopping.  We celebrated Mike’s birthday with an overnight stay downtown with LOTS of food. We had a wonderful family-filled Christmas and had Christmas dinner with both of our families together, which was a total blessing. We rang in the new year with friends and spent most of our holiday vacation lounging around the house and watching Christmas movies.

January was cold. Like really cold. Actually, the first three months of 2014 were so cold that I can’t even remember what we did. Well, I kind of can. January brought visitors. My sweet cousins came to visit to pick out bridesmaids dresses for my wedding. My dear friend from college came to visit for a long weekend. We ate and lounged…which was kind of a theme for the month of January.

February was filled with more dress shopping for the ‘maids and my mom. We went to M’s work holiday party (which is in February, weird I know), and celebrated my dad’s 60^th birthday with a yummy meal at one of our downtown favorites, Meat & Potatoes.

March brought some of M’s college friends to town for the weekend, which included very late nights, games and a whiskey tour followed by a loud but really fun dinner. We got all dressed up and went to a gala at Heinz Field with M’s parents and had both of our families over later that week for sweet Lucy’s first birthday party. Yes, we are those people. There was a cake. We had dinner with friends, and I said goodbye to a close coworker who moved a few hours away.

So here we are in April. The weather has FINALLY started to break. We’ve had days in the 70s (but more days in the 40s). The month started with a bridal shower for my best friend who is getting married next month. It was the best day ever. Her family was so sweet and her sister gave the sweetest toast and grace before lunch that reminded me of why women gather before we get married. So many beautiful examples of love and friendship and marriage, and it made me really excited for my own shower later this summer. We went cake tasting for our wedding, which was very sweet, as you can imagine. We went to dinner with friends and celebrated my 27^th birthday with fancy pizza and charcuterie…two of my very favorite things. My grandparents came in for Easter this past weekend, which is always a blessing and we spent so much time with both of our families.

Phew. So that was the past seven months. Aiming to be more timely through the spring and summer. I can’t believe we are getting married in six short months….yay! And we’re lucky to be attending six weddings before our own, so we will be celebrating LOTS of love this month.

To recaps,

Lia

August.

I might as well title this post “August & September” because a LOT has happened. And I’ve been so bad at blogging. I’m hoping to get back on track in the second half of this month, especially because I’ve been thinking about revisiting the blog series I started last November: “30 days of blessed thanks.” So it’s time it get back on track and get in a routine to blog about the wonderful blessings 2013 has brought next month.

So to start talking about those blessings, let’s back up to August. The first week of August M and I went on an absolutely amazing summer vacation. MOSTLY because we got ENGAGED!!!! But also because we went to the most relaxing/beautiful/peaceful/delicious/wonderful resort in Northern Michigan that I want to live in. Every day. For the rest of life. But let’s back up to the engagement. M caught me totally by surprise, and I still can’t believe it. The first night of our trip was a detour through Detroit to catch a Tigers game and eat some delicious Greek food. The second night, however, was for relaxation. We finished the last leg of the trip up north and checked into Marriott’s “Inn at Bay Harbor.” Which is just beautiful. Like picture-book beautiful. With little balconies and the bluest lake water and black & white striped umbrellas circling a pool, a hot tub and a pool bar. We relaxed in our room upon arrival and then went downstairs to the restaurant hotel for a seafood dinner and cocktails. After dinner, M suggested a walk down by the lake to check out a bonfire. I promptly resisted claiming I was too cold and not dressed for evening in Northern Michigan. But he persisted, and we went. A short walk along the lake and two Adirondack chairs later, we were seated by the lake, and all the sudden there was a ring. I honestly didn’t remember at first what M said, and I had to ask him to repeat his proposal the next morning. But it was perfect, both the moment and the ring, and we could not be happier. Just the best way to kick off our vacation.

After frantic phone calls to family and friends to share the good news, we headed inside for champagne, all smiles, and me still shaking with disbelief. The rest of the trip was just as perfect, with lots of yummy meals, beautiful sightseeing at Sleeping Bear Dunes and relaxation by the pool. I think my favorite moment (aside from the engagement, of course) was snuggling up in sweatpants right on the lakeshore, reading a book and watching the sunset. Northern Michigan is definitely a thin place.

So I guess by comparison, the rest of August and September weren’t quite as exciting. We started wedding planning, which is a whole other blog post in its own. Let’s just say I’ve discovered several insanities about the wedding industry, both in it’s expense and sheer number of options, all of which other brides-to-be seem to book more than a year in advance. Crazy town.

In early September, my cousin got married, and I was one of her maid’s of honor. It was a beautiful and perfect weekend, full of happy tears and family and beautiful weddings things. All flowers and lace and music and toasts…really a perfect weekend.

September also brought several work trips…twice to Washington and once to Philly. Which was tiring, but gave me the opportunity to see friends and catch up on my audiobook library.

August and September really rolled by. The summer just disappeared. It’s already halfway through October, and we’re starting to think about pumpkins and Thanksgiving and holiday and family. Which is really the best time of year, but every year it goes by too fast. And with the speed this year is passing by, I can’t imagine this holiday season will be any different. So we’re trying to take in as many quiet weekends as possible. Spending lots of Friday nights on the couch, getting breakfast in our pajamas and snuggling Lucy on the floor (or sometimes on the couch…I’m weak). I want the simplest things, the best things, the tiny moments to be the most memorable thing about this season. Casual evenings with friends, lazy mornings catching up on DVR and lots of family time.

Wishing you the same in this crazy pre-holiday season of fall and hoping we’ll have the opportunity to share those quiet moments together.

To being engaged!!!!

Lia

July.

When I started thinking back to July, I couldn’t really remember anything super exciting about the month, except for a failed trip to Chicago for the 4^th that we never even really started planning. But when I looked back at my calendar, we did have a fun few weeks—filled with friends and outings and a weekend trip.

The month started off a little slow. We didn’t have major plans for the holiday, and ended up having a quiet evening with M’s family and then catching a few fireworks off our kitchen deck. We went to a baseball game the following week and enjoyed the Pirates FINALLY having an exciting season (and still keeping our fingers crossed that it will last). My aunt and uncle came in from Philadelphia, and we had a nice lunch at my parents where they got to meet Lucy (after she puked up all the moss she ate in their yard right on the back patio). We went to dinner at our dear friends’ house and had close friends over for dinner at ours.

In the middle of the month, I headed out to Philly for a few days for work followed by my cousin’s bachelorette party. It was ungodly hot in Philadelphia that week, and I remember walking to the office from my friend’s apartment and wondering how she made that trek everyday without melting. The following evening, my dear from M (not to be confused with boyfriend M) and I went to dinner with my family, and it was so nice to have so many of my favorite people in the same place at once. We missed boyfriend M who was home with the puppy, but it just made me even more excited for my cousin’s September wedding when the whole family will be together.

I was nervous about the bachelorette party for two reasons: 1) It was a surprise, and I wanted everything to be just perfect, and 2) As one of the maid’s of honor and therefore host, I wanted to make sure all the girls had a nice time, not just the bride-to-be. But, it turned out perfectly. After checking in at the beautiful Stockton Seaview Hotel, we had a casual night out at a restaurant nearby for dinner and then hurried home to finally welcome my co-maid of honor to the party. My poor little cousin’s flight was delayed several hours so she ended up missing the first night, but we were happy to have her when she did arrive. The next day was the perfect mix of fun and relaxation with morning spa appointments, a nice lunch at the hotel, an afternoon by the pool, cocktail hour in the hotel room and a fun night out in Atlantic City complete with limo transportation and bottle service. We drove home the following morning, and I was really glad I elected to drive back to Pittsburgh Monday morning. Not interested in a 5 hour drive after such a long, but very fun, weekend.

The month ended with a lot of normal activity. We went to orientation for Lucy’s training classes; my brother turned 23 (which we celebrated in the beginning of August—next post!!); our dear friends had a baby!!

We had a lot of fun for a month I didn’t really remember…but I think that’s only because August has been so fabulous!! More to come!

To July,

Lia