Camping next to water...

We had pretty decent weather while we were up north - it got a little chilly at nights, but that just made for lots of snuggling with lots of blankets. We thought we were going to be able escape without any rain, but we got hit one day - Jimmy jinxed us by saying he had never been up north when it didn't rain at least once haha

I will admit, that it was nice sleeping "outside" in the rain. I don't think I've ever slept that well! Unfortunately, even I can only sleep so much so once we were up and about we had to find something to do since the fire was out and the chairs were all wet.

The nearest town was about 30 minutes away, so we got dressed, grabbed some breakfast at a coney island (so Michigan haha) and headed even farther west.

We were actually planning on going to the beach that day anyway, so we went...and looked at it. haha Still pretty, even though it was rainy and foggy.

You can only look at an empty beach for so long, so after that we walked around the town a little bit - we explored some antique shops, a few pawn shops and stopped to have lunch at the Jamesport Brewery. We also stopped by the farmers market but there wasn't really much going on because of the weather.

We went back to the town we were staying in and found the bowling alley so we decided to play a few games. They also had a pool table to we occupied ourselves with that for a little while as well, before decided to go get some dinner (we had been making most of our meals over the fire, but since it was raining and wet, we couldn't really do that)

We found a restaurant right on a little lake so we stopped in and ate before heading back to our camper for the night.

Can't really complain about a view like that...

Today's the day I'm going camping

When I first scheduled my vacation, I was honestly a little worried about how I would feel when the time came to have over a week off. To that point, the longest I'd ever really been away from work was a four day weekend.

But, I think we scheduled our vacation perfectly. We started off with Chicago and ended with...

camping.

That was our campsite - our camper, firepit and some trees. (there was also a port-a-potty, but I was pretty sure ya'll didn't need a picture lol)

 We spend the first couple days exploring the town we were staying in - we made lots of trips to the grocery store and to get firewood!

This was pretty much my view for the first few days - to be honest, I didn't really need anything else!

First day of school and I'm prepared

We were only able to spend the weekend in Chicago because we had to be back in town for the first day of school!

I found a printable and had a little photo shoot with her before we left for the morning

she sure loves her silly faces lol

Her good friend is in the same class so we met up with her and her sister to walk into the school. We had a few minutes to wait and then we had to wait some more while the teacher checked in all of the kids - I forgot how hectic the first day of school is! But by the time we left, she was all situated and ready to go!

She is loving her new school so far and I'm so glad I was able to go with her on her first day. It was so fun to see all the kids!

Go to Mr. Jelly Bean

My one request while we were in Chicago, was a Chicago-style hot dog, so on Sunday morning we got up and went to get lunch...

before heading off on our next adventure...

 to the Jelly Belly Factory! 

None of knew what to expect, but we got to learn all about the history of Jelly Bellys, how they are made, saw art made of Jelly Bellys and even learned all about Regan's love of them. And of course, we got free samples and all sorts of treats to take home with us (we still have a bunch in our pantry, actually!)

While we were driving to the factory, we saw a sign for a cheese shop near by so after we finished up, we went to check it out - it ended up being an antique/cheese shop so we looked around for a while before buying some stuff to bring home with us - including honey sticks, which I had searched every where for to get Jimmy for his birthday. I guess I should've just gone to Wisconsin to begin with haha

We made one more stop before heading home for the night - to see a elk preserve right outside of the town Jimmy's dad lives in. It was a nice relaxing, way to end the day and our time in Chicagoland!

Through winter snow, the scarf's a flyin.

A few weeks ago, I signed up for a Scarf Swap organized by Meredith at The Tichnor Family. She's done it for a few years , and this is the second year I've participated (though only the first time I've gotten a scarf lol)

I was matched up with a sweet heart named Camila and was so excited when I came home last week and saw a package waiting for me!

It was all wrapped up so I took my time undoing all of it...

And I was so excited for what I found inside!

I've been on the hunt for the perfect grey infinity scarf since sometime last year and apparently, I shouldn't have just gone to Atlanta to find it haha


I am in love with it! It's the perfect color and I can tell it's going to keep me nice and warm when the weather here starts to turn!

Thanks so much Camila - I hope you like your scarf even half as much as I like mine ;-)

I do it for Chicago.

The birthday girl only had one request for her birthday dinner so of course, we indulged while we were in Chicago...

and she wanted crab.

And not only did she want to eat, she wanted to break it apart all by herself - we were dodging errant pieces of crab shell all dinner long! It was too funny to watch!

Apparently, Jimmy hadn't gotten his fill of the Billy Goat because after dinner we went to the original Billy Goat to grab a drink and look around at the rest of the stuff hanging on the wall. Jimmy has already said that the next time we're in Chicago, he wants to go back so he can look around some more - there was so much and no way we could see it all!

 

Soon, it was time to head back so we hopped on the train again while she dressed up Max in his Tiger gear (don't worry, he got a Cubby uniform as well - but absolutely no ChiSox ;-)

 

 Meanwhile, Jimmy decided he was hungry and couldn't resist the leftovers he had been carrying around all evening...

 

 I'm really not sure why I found this so funny...but I couldn't stop laughing!

Drove to Chicago, all things know, all things know

Once we got to Navy Pier, we stopped at the Billy Goat to get some food - Jimmy was so excited! He's been talking about going to the Bill Goat for months!

After we got a cheezborger and some cheeps, we made a bee-line to the place the birthday girl had been looking forward to the whole trip...

Build-A-Bear!

She picked out a sweet puppy named Max and had a blast building him - the best part was the stuffing and picking out the heart. If any of you have ever been to Build-A-Bear, you know they have a special thing they do with the heart - Rub it on your nose so it smells good, give it a kiss so it's loved, rub it on the top of your head so it grows big and tall, etc - and the guy helping us was so great during this part, he included each of us into his little spiel. She got to rub it on grandpa's heart so he loved his family, on dad's legs so he was strong and - my favorite part - on stepmom's (ie me) hair so he had style! hahaha I about died laughing!

After that, we took a stroll through Harry Carey's restaurant to look at some of the memorabilia - Jimmy and I probably could have spent hours there, it was packed with stuff!

But we couldn't take too long, because we were on our way to a special birthday dinner....

But there's a light on in Chicago, and I know I should be home

Jimmy's dad lives right outside of Chicago, so we decided to take his daughter down there for her birthday and to visit with his dad. She was so excited - she talked about it non-stop pretty much all summer!

We left after he got home from work that night and got in really early on Saturday morning. After catching some sleep, we got on the train and headed downtown.

It started off a little grey and cloudy, but luckily it never really rained! We got pretty lucky with the weather - a little cold, but nothing we couldn't handle :-)

After we got into the city, we got on a boat to travel down to Navy Pier. Even though I'd been to Chicago quite a few times, I'd never actually done this so I was really excited to see a different view of the city.

Next up....

Navy Pier!

Baby, oh, you're a birthday girl tonight

Our first day of vacation started with Jimmy's daughter birthday which was a pretty great way to start!

Him and I stayed up the night before wrapping gifts, decorating and getting balloons for the next morning and she was so surprised when she came downstairs! I even got her a birthday cupcake that she got eat for breakfast - lucky girl ;-)

 Please excuse the bed head - I she was so excited we just dove right in!

After we got ready for the day, we ran some errands and got ready for the rest of our vacation.

 She made out pretty well, but the best part was yet to come...

Guess who's back, back again?

Well, I'm back from my first official vacation.

11 days off in a row.

It was not easy to get up for work after that, believe you me.

But, it had to be done, so I'm doing it. And soon, I'll recap our vacation, along with the rest of the summer.

In between going back to school and finishing up my moving.

But even with the work and the school and the moving and the getting only about 1/4 of the sleep I got on vacation, it's good to be home.

Now, I just with the temps would remember it's September and drop a little bit!

All I do is win, win, win no matter what.

I've had mixed results with Pinterest - most of the recipes I've made have been pretty good, but there was that one pretty epic fail.

For my next project, I decided to try something basically fool-proof, and wouldn'tyaknow, it actually worked!

All you do, it get a blank canvas and using tape, write down whatever you want it to say. The pin said to do kids names to hang in bedrooms, but we did this as a Father's Day gift for her grandpa so we did "I love you".

After you mark off the words, put down some paint and have them go to town! Finally, you pull up the tape and - TA-DA!

Super easy, and like I said, pretty much fool-proof. Her grandpa loved it, so if you need a relatively inexpensive and easy homemade gift, I definitely recommend this one!

Have you had any Pinterest wins?

Or fails?

If we were kids...

I know I just did one of these, but she's been saying so many funny things, I just had to record them!

• Talking about fireworks: I don't like the mouses that squeak in the sky. The frogs are ok though. 
• We can't eat deers 'cause they are quiet.
• Eating mac and cheese: Are there potatoes in here? I taste potatoes.
• No, everyone's from Michigan 'cause Florida flooded.
• While buckling her seatbelt: It's like pulling a dog in the basement!
• In the car one day:

Her: Where's my mom?

Jimmy: She's at Cedar Pointe.

Her: No! I said where's my mom!?!?

Jimmy: She's at Cedar Pointe.

Her: WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T SEE MY POINT!

See what I mean?

Silly girl 

We'll keep movin' on, we're movin' up, keep movin' on

On Friday, I moved.

I loved my apartment - it was all mine and I loved it. I put a lot of work into (and even more that I never wrote about.) It looked like me. And even though my neighbors were less than desirable and it was pretty small, I'll miss it.

I've been moving things slowly over the past few weeks, but last week, my brother and I loaded the rest into a van and stuffed my Jeep to the gills with the rest of my stuff.

I dropped some off at my parents and moved the rest into my new place.

Living on my own was one of the best experiences I've had - I didn't have to worry about being woken up, or waking anyone up; I could clean and do laundry when I pleased. But most of all, I supported myself - I was on my own. No one to help with bills, no one to make me do things, just me. I learned a lot about myself over the year I lived there and I am over the moon grateful for the opportunity.

I went back to finish up and it looked so small. For some reason, when my furniture and books, and clothes and shelves were in there, it looked much bigger than it actually was. Maybe it was all the personality I put into it spilling out.

I moved to a new town, in a new county. And I'm no longer by myself.

But I'm so very much looking forward to sharing my space with two of my favorite people.

Which one's the birthday boy, she said. I ain't got all night.

Luckily, I get to start my vacation with not one, but two birthdays...

Happy birthday, Jimmy!

Thank you for everything - I'm so, so, so lucky <3 p="p">

I'm not afraid, to take a stand.

Source: thesilverpen.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Birthday girl, birthday girl let me see your hands

There's no better way to start vacation than with a birthday...

Happy birthday, little one!

I'm so glad I was able to share it with you!

Outside in the backyard, underneath the trees, we're gonna grill it up

While we're on the subject of picnic and BBQ's, a few weeks ago, Jimmy's cousins held a house warming party with all of their family so we brought his daughter to go run around on their property.

As you can see, our day involved quite a bit of corn hole! I'm pretty sure we spent 75% of our time playing! Jimmy's cousin had a daughter a few months older than his so the two little ones spent most of the time playing and got along great. Pretty much his entire family showed up - aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters - including a few I hadn't met yet, so it was nice to meet everyone. Jimmy's uncle retired recently and now he does a ventriloquism act - everyone loved him! He did the "PG" version with a puppy dog and an alien, but I guess there is an "adult" act, too. Jimmy and I are really looking forward to seeing that one!

After everything wound down, the night ended with a bonfire and fireworks - just like any good Michigan summer gathering haha

Kind words and a real good heart

Source: emilia-jane.com via Amanda on Pinterest

I just recall picnic time with you

A few weeks ago, Jimmy's work held a picnic at an apple orchard out by my house. It was a pretty hot day but we went and had fun anyway!

There was lots for the kids to do - the first thing on our agenda was the play ground so she could show off her new gymnastics skills! Then we tried everything else including the bounce house, face painting, some games and mini golf. All of the guys played horse shoes, so while Jimmy did that, me and his daughter went back around and played some more.

We sat down for a few minutes and I took this series of pictures - I just wanted a picture of her with her face  painted but every time I would take one, she would get super close to the lens! 

I kept taking pictures like that because I thought it would look cool in a collage and I was right - I love the way all these pictures look together!

After Jimmy was done with his game of horse shoes (he and his partner came in third so they scored $20 - wahoo!) we did the rest of things offered before heading out - which meant getting balloons from the clown, of course!

They also had a ride on a fire truck around the orchard so the three of us did that (that's what the picture of Jimmy and his daughter are of) before going to look at the petting zoo and heading home. Pretty sure I ended up taking a nap afterwards - all that fun wiped me out!

Oh, honey you're so funny all the time.

I have a list on my phone of the funny things that Jimmy's daughter says - I love being able to look back and read them! She is such a silly girl!

• I'm like a raccoon, huh?
• There might be monkeys at the bottom of my oatmeal.
• Loose top lippin' is the right way to drink.
• If you fall in the street and get run over by a car I'll scream 'noooooo!' 'cause I love you too much.
• I got a joke- why did the chicken jump on the cow? So he was up high! How did the tree walk? He used legs! How did the tree fly? He used wings! How did the tree get into space? He used a spaceship!
• Sometimes oranges are called tambourines. 
• I can't look in the mirror because I'll get distracted and it will eat me!

She always has us cracking up!

Pizza, P-I-Z-Z-A. Gimme pizza.

One of the perks of my job that I've mentioned before is that I have the opportunity to take baking classes. I honestly don't think I take advantage of this enough! I took another one this past week and not only was it fun, and I learned a lot, but I left with so much food - we had to give over half away because the two of us just couldn't eat it all!

This time, I took a class on making pizza!

In class, we made two different kinds of pizza: New York style, with a thin crust and light toppings, and Chicago style, deep-dish, with lots of cheese, sauce and sausage.

(I totally blanked on taking pictures of the Chicago style-but it was just as pretty as it was delicious, I promise!)

We were able to make both doughs from scratch and made pizza with those, so we left with two full, ready to eat pizzas. We also had enough dough left over to make two more NY and one more Chicago! Told you it was a ton of food!

One of my favorite parts of the class was being able to bake our NY pizza in our wood fired oven.

It was amazing how fast the pizza cooked in there and it smelled so good! I even got to load my own - which I did successfully without ruining it ( it's harder to use a pizza peel than I thought it would be haha)

I'm trying to convince Jimmy to take a class with me - I think it would be so fun to do it as a couple!

Have any of ya'll ever taken a baking or cooking class?

Anyone make homemade pizza on the regular?

All my heros have colorful names and a bad attitude, short-lived fame with an even shorter fuse.

So before I hop in my way-back machine (Jimmy James, anyone? NewsRadio?) and go over everything I did this summer, I should probably start with something recent.

Like last night. That recent enough?

Jimmy's dad was in town and mentioned he was going to the Tigers game, so Jimmy pretty much instantaneously decided he wanted to convince me to go along. It doesn't take much to convince me to go to a baseball game, so after we found some tickets we were on our way.

There was a Kenny Chesney concert going on at Ford Field (which is right behind Comerica Park) so there were a TON of people and a TON of traffic. We left early, but were able to find some parking and walk a couple blocks to the park in time for Jimmy to show off his pitching abilities and grab something to eat before heading up to our seats.

It was also Elvis Night so that provided us with quite a few laughs throughout the game.

We were seated up pretty high so around the 3rd inning we decided to go see if we could find something better. We ended up finding pretty much the perfect seats- upper deck, right behind the plate, second row. I'm convinced that they are the best seats in the house. Unfortunately, they lost but we still had a lot of fun.

After the game, we stayed and watched some fireworks before we went out to Buffalo Wild Wings to eat and play some trivia. We both kept saying what a good time we were having - in fact, by the end of the night, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. I'd say that was a pretty successful night.

How's everyone's weekend going so far?

Happy Sunday, ya'll!

I'm writing again, these letters to you.

Dear blogging, I missed you. I think our break has been good, but I'm ready to give it another go. Whatdya say?

Dear blogging friends, I missed you, too. Hope you're ready for an intense game of catch up!

Dear Jimmy, I'm excited. Really, really excited. I hope you share even half of that-if you do, I think we're in pretty good shape. 

Dear Apartment, I'll miss you-we had some good times. You weren't the biggest of spaces, but you were mine. Because of you, I'll always be able to say I lived completely my own :-)

Dear Crackheads Underneath Me, I won't miss you at all. But thanks for being occasionally entertaining...when you weren't waking me up in the middle of the night screaming.

Mexican kids are shooting fireworks below.

 Happy Fourth of July, everyone!

PS-I finally got my phone all straightened out so expect lots of catch up posts coming soon!

No phone No phone I just want to be alone today

Remember last weekend when I said that, among other errands we ran, I had gone to Verizon because my phone had been freaking out and not charging even though it was plugged in, and it had been relatively painless because the phone was still under warranty? They were going to send out a new one that week-all I had to do was send in the old one and -poof- problem solved!

I was pretty stoked because dealing with Verizon hasn't always been the easiest thing (and I'm sure I'm not the only one who's had that experience...). 

So, I get the new phone, go to my parents to grab it and activate it, package up the new one and go about my way. Because, hey, problem solved, right?

Not so much.

I tried to type something and notice the "q" key isn't working-there must be a dead spot on the touch screen. This didn't seem like too big of a problem - I mean, how often do I use the "q" key? - until I tried to log into the app store.

The "q" key also doubles as the "1" key. And there's a "1" in my password.

Meaning, I can't long in to the app store.

Meaning, I can't download anything to the new phone.

Meaning, I'm without Twitter, and Instagram, and all the camera apps I use to blog, and the games I use to occupy myself...and everything else I had on the old phone.

In the scheme of things, it's a pretty small problem, but it's frustrating nonetheless. So, I have to go back to the Verizon store and have them send another new phone...Ugh. I'll be getting that done early this week so hopefully by the beginning of next week this whole problem will be solved, for good this time.

Like I said before...

Damn, my dependence on technology!

Sunday morning, rain is falling.

This was fun, so I'm doing it again! Go link up and share your answers!

Favorite movie of all time?

It's kind of embarrassing, but I love love love Big Daddy! I love Adam Sandler and this is my absolute favorite movie of his. I could (and probably have) see it a million times...it never gets old!

Favorite movie quote?

"What do you want to eat, Frankenstein?"

"Thirty packets of ketchup!"

That's probably not actually my favorite, but it's my favorite from Big Daddy lol So funny- I'm seriously laughing to myself right now

Best movie to watch for a girls night in?

I'm not big on chick flicks, but whenever I'm having a girls night in, that's what we always seem to watch so I'm gonna go with Love, Actually. It usually turns into one, big cry-fest, but that's kinda the point, right?

Best breakup movie?

I have no clue, honestly! When I was going through my last breakup, I watched the World Cup nonstop lol

Favorite celeb eye candy?

Charlie Hunnam from Sons of Anarchy... I die every time he comes on the screen. Yum. 

Source: Uploaded by user via Amanda on Pinterest

Which movie stars closet would you want to raid?

This one is so hard! I dunno if she counts, but I kinda love Lauren Conrad's style... super simple and chic. 

Happy Sunday!

So don't you worry your pretty little mind, people throw rocks at things that shine.

Source: pinterest.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Not many ninja's exist today, yet they all have indomitable fighting skills.

A few weeks ago, my friend Katie at work went on vacation and when I got back to my desk, she left me little present...

A cute little voodoo ninja!

But the best part is the description on the package:

Seriously, so perfect lol