Providence

I spent four of the best years of my life in Providence, Rhode Island (well actually 3.4 years because of finishing college with an internship) attending Johnson & Wales University, meeting some of my best & closest friends and… meeting my husband.

Even thought this past long holiday weekend was our anniversary weekend we knew that we wanted to spend the weekend with our friends in the city that we met & celebrating one of our college friends at her wedding. (We had an "anniversary celebration day" day we enjoyed before we left and I'll be sure to share about next week)

The weekend did not disappoint - the weather was beyond beautiful and had much more of a fall feel than here.  It was the best feeling nostalgic about all the memories and times we had in this city, spending time with our friends and enjoying a beautiful wedding and new marriage just one year after we did ourselves.

We stayed right downtown in Providence (our campus is downtown as well) and the hotel never had a dull moment between the wedding, college move in and all the PGA golfers in town for the President's Cup - I didn't realize until later that I was talking to that cute little Jordan Speith while waiting for the elevator (after my husband and two of our other best friends locked my out of our room) and Derek met Justine Rose with one of our other friends - so it was an eventful weekend.

We took off for Providence on a Friday night flight and got home Monday afternoon in time to enjoy the last few hours of summer.  I'll get to sharing about the wedding next week but here's a peek at our time in Providence (not the best quality due to iPhone 4, 5 and 6 photography and dark settings)… 

The view of downtown from our hotel room

Right when we landed we dropped our stuff at the hotel, met our friends and headed to a favorite spot from college.

All the college memories and feelings came right back to us… Especially staying out extremely late.

We went to my absolute favorite restaurant from college for lunch on Saturday, Fire and Ice.  It's sort of like a mongolian barbecue and quite delicious.

{Right} Walking up a few flights of steps will leave you fairly winded after an all you an eat lunch.

{Left} Derek and one of his best friends… matching head to toe.

We had a two car caravan and did a tour around all our past apartments after lunch.  

{Right} The boys at an old apartment.

{Left} Derek and I in front of the house where we met at a St. Patrick's Day party in 2008.

Some of us girls outside the sorority house.

Claire & I outside of our Fourth Street apartment which we shared with four other girls.

The tour ended with drinks and snacks at one of our favorite places on the East Side.

The romper brigade ready for dinner.  And the boys ready too.

Enjoying a couple WAM drinks at the hotel before the night out.

Derek had coordinated with a couple of the bridesmaids from our wedding to set up a little anniversary dinner to celebrate with our friends the night before our anniversary/the wedding the next day.  Champagne was set on the tables, we dined al fresco and there was live music and dancing as well.

One of my great friends, Morgan got engaged just a couple weeks ago so we celebrated her and her fiancé as well.  Derek and I flew home with them on Monday too.

It was a great group and a great night.

Next time… The Wedding!

Helpful Links… 

Fire and Ice

Tortilla Flats

Providence G Pub

Constantinos

Omni Providence

Blog lovin' I Instagram I Pinterest I Twitter

Checking In: Summer Bucket List

Last night we officially ended summer the same day we started… with a Labor Day BBQ on my parents deck.  It was perfect weather, a perfect time AND we enjoyed wedding cake - yum!  It's a little hard to bounce back today after a fantastic and jam packed long weekend - we took off Friday for Providence to celebrate a college friend's wedding and flew in yesterday just in time for a little lounging/napping and the BBQ.

And this summer's story was… Enjoy

This summer was one of the best.  Last summer was one of the best and definitely most memorable in a different way - it was all about building and moving into a new house and finalizing wedding details.  We had making up to do in the "regular summer activities" department this summer and we did just that. Part of me feels like the summer flew by yet memories of early summer days feel like so long ago.

Today I'm taking a peek back at my summer bucket list that I shared on the first of June.

+ Lay by the pool: We were lucky enough to enjoy a decent amount of pool days (my favorite one: here)

+ Baseball games: The Phillies might not be good this year but our many games down at the stadium were highly enjoyable.

+ Picnic: I was hoping to pack up a basket at home and get to one of the local parks but we packed up a cooler with all the fixings in CA and picniced at a winery so that works too. 

+ Ice Cream Night: We've had more ice cream nights than ever before on the deck this year (I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, ha!) but we had a few nights out for froyo too.
+ Wine Tasting: We went to a winery when in Maryland for a tasting as well as a full day of wine tasting in Malibu on our recent vacation.
+ Golf: The first round of golf was a success (we went on Father's Day) but I think next time I'll just stick to nine holes.  Eighteen is TOO long.

+ Homemade Lemonade: Lemonade was made at the beginning of the summer (here) and it was delicious! It definitely took a lot of lemons.
+ Fishing: Just last weekend at the lake I gave it a few tries.  I wasn't the one to make the catch but we did catch a catfish.
+ Grow Fresh Veggies & Flowers: This was such fun and more successful (some of the items) that I thought.  (all the details: here)

+ Dog Friendly Bar: Not a bar but a restaurant and all three of us enjoyed - pups should be allowed more places.
+ Lake Visits: YES! And quite sad they are over (posts here)
+ Patio Dining: The better question was when were we not dining al fresco.  On our own deck, at patios at restaurants, the porch at the lake, dining under the stars - we were always outside if it was a possibility.

+ Visits with all our out of town friends (and lots of visits with local friends): At least once we saw all of our out of town friends as well as visits with our local friends too.
+ Family Trip: Boston was the best spot to visit - we had such fun.  (posts here & here)
+ Brunches & Happy Hours: Not as many as I'd like but we at least got in one of each.

+ Feet in the Sand: One day is better than none - dipping my toes in the sand was relaxing.
+Anniversary Trip: The best trip at that - we had such a good time being disconnected for over a week. We're already wanting to go back (the first parts of our trip here & here)
+ S'Mores Night: This one barely got in but we finally made these delicious (I forgot how good they were) treats at our last lake weekend.

+Strawberry Picking: This is something I'd never done before and it was a treat - Maybe apple picking is in store for the fall.
+Afternoons/Nights at Home: By home I mean my parents house, ha! Not too many afternoons but we did enjoy some nights out on their deck.

Things not completed and being saved for next summer… 
+ Be a tourist in the city (actually I'm hoping to get this one in the fall!)
+ DIY (this is another one that could be sooner than next summer… I'm thinking holiday season!)
+ Christmas in July
+ New Drink Recipes

Blog lovin' I Instagram I Pinterest I Twitter

One Year

One year ago today I was waking up so excited, having brunch and giggling with my bridesmaids while getting hair and makeup done,  changing my last name, walking down the aisle, saying "I do" and marrying my husband, celebrating the entire night and weekend with all of our closest family and friends.

One year ago I became a married lady and married my best friend.

We celebrated and partied all day and all night long.  We celebrated the entire night before at the rehearsal dinner and the entire day after with both brunch and a BBQ back at our house.  It was the best weekend of love, fun and celebration with our favorite people.

I honestly can't believe it's already been one year.  This past year has flown by and we've had the best time being newlyweds (I've decided I'm going to continue calling myself a newlywed… forever)

In our first year we turned our newly built house into a home and settled in.  We celebrated our first married holiday season.  We made our family a family of three adding little Stella pup to the clan. We traveled to Bora Bora, Texas, Bermuda and California (with visits to New Jersey, Washington DC, New York, Maryland).  We had weekly date nights and tried more new restaurants that I can count. We watched every episode of Entourage together during the coldest winter.  We spent time with our friends and family.  We fell more and more in love.

praying on our new marriage - one of my favorites

It's only fitting that today we are back in the town we met and celebrating another wedding.  We got in some pre-celebrations before we left, will continue with the top tier of our wedding cake (cake, yes!) and some more celebrations tomorrow once we're back at our Labor Day BBQ and possibly into the weekend (is there ever too much celebrating?!)  

Now that it's been a year and the wedding is on my mind again - I'll be getting around to sharing some wedding/bride topics that I didn't quite get around to yet throughout the next month or so.  If your a bride to be and have any questions or topics you'd like covered, now is the time to request below! 

Blog lovin' I Instagram I Pinterest I Twitter

Month in Review: August

Just like last month, the last Saturday of the month turned into the first Saturday of the new month.  Life has been flying by these past couple weeks with a lot going on and it's been hard to keep up with the blog but I love having my little "scrapbook" to remember life so here's a look back at August…

There isn't a ton to reflect on for the month since we spent eight days out in California - that took up a good chunk of the month and we loved every minute.  Definitely the highlight of the month and I'm still in the midst of sharing all the details (Part One, Part Two, Part Three)



I think I shared once or twice or 1,000 times how much I love getting a chance to go back to my parent's and sleep in my own bed - we got that chance the night before we left for vacation plus a great BBQ too.



I enjoyed the "perfect summer day" and Derek and I made a weekend trip to New Jersey to see his family and friends.



While I was away, I had a summer vacation series  and started off sharing some of my favorite travel memories and details then had some of my favorite bloggers do the same.



We enjoyed a nice double date (and mexican food!) out with my parents…

In the midst of a busy summer we spent the nicest, most relaxing weekend at home and had a great "nothing" weekend.



The summer gardening season was finished out with some successes, some fails and a lot of flowers that I loved watching bloom.



A little Lilly sale action, of course.



The month was closed out with a really special family weekend (with 15+ of us) at the lake with perfect weather, a champagne brunch and lots of dock and porch time.

We enjoyed a few nice Dining Under the Stars dinners, a couple Phillies games, some nice time with friends, plenty of family gatherings, heat waves but also some nice walks in the slightly cooler mornings/evenings.

And just because I love it, another peek at my favorite photo of the month… 

Looking forward to the rest of September and kicking off this fall season.

Blog lovin' I Instagram I Pinterest I Twitter