insta vacation

here are just a few more pictures i snapped with my iphone that make looking back on vacations sweet.

have a great weekend!

simple moments captured with my iphone

last Friday Jordan surprised me by coming home with the ingredients for sea scallop casserole (we are huge seafood fans). he told me from them on Friday nights were going to be "make-dinner-together-date-nights." so tonight we will be trying our hand at homemade tortilla's and guacamole!
he is the best. i love him.


enjoy the weekend!

anniversary trip part 2

on the second day of our vacation we visited the Shedd Aquarium. i was so amazed at all the different varieties of aquatic life. we spent the entire day hand in hand learning about fascinating animals. my favorite part was the jellies exhibit. 

this was the first time visiting the Field Museum for both of us. i kept thinking, "i can't believe all these animals were alive at one point!" it totally blew my mind. we were a little rushed because of getting stuck in a 2 1/2 hour traffic jam on the way. 

once we got there it was so peaceful. we walked at our own pace reading as we went and learning so much about history and animals i've only seen on Planet Earth. we will definitely be planning a trip back  there soon. 

some of the highlights for me were Sue the T-Rex and an exhibit called Extreme Mammals. this exhibit differentiated the kinds of mammals and explored different aspects of them. (we weren't allowed to take pictures in that exhibit.)

the picture of Jordan above is what inspired this museum vacation. for as long as i have know him, he has always wanted to see the Lions of Tsavo. there was a movie that came out a few years ago detailing the true story of two man-eating lions in Africa at the end of 19th century. ever since watching that, these lions has become an item on his bucket list; i am so happy he was able to see them. the lions in the picture are not the actual lions themselves, but it is their actual pelts.

ok, can you guess what animal this skeleton is of? i was so blown aways by this, you can tell by my face. (this is another man-eating lion. this taxidermy is of the real, original lion. amazing)

after a wonderful day of being stuck in traffic, walking around marble halls, staring at taxidermy animals, and reading panels, we decided to order take out sushi and have our anniversary dinner on the pool deck of the hotel. we brought some champagne and toasted our first year of marriage.

it was the greatest. 

tunes::something in the water

photo via

Brooke Fraser is probably my new favorite artist. i have listened to her non-stop for about two months, no joke.
her lyrics are inspirational and her voice is gorgeous. i really appreciate everything she does.

enjoy!

a day at the zoo

this past saturday my dad's company hosted a family day at the zoo. it was the first time both my brother's and their fiancée's and Jordan and i spent an entire day together. it was great fun.

we also visited the white river gardens which was were Jordan proposed to me almost two years ago! it was very special, especially when everything was in bloom. so beautiful.

 this is the same bench where it happened! right inside the wedding garden.

i was telling Jordan that we had seen more animals in one week than we have in our entire lives! 

i love the zoo. (that last animal is a red panda. most of the other animals were sleeping and out of sight. but i managed to get a few good ones.)

happy monday!

p.s. i will post the rest of our anniversary vacation pictures this week. we used a friends digital camera for most of the pictures and i have not gotten them off it yet. so look forward to more animals! 

year one cake

tonight Jordan and i are going to eat our year old wedding cake that has been dormant in the freezer. 

we will be sipping wine we received as an anniversary gift and just chill out. i love just doing life together. so excited for what the future holds for us both. 

(Jordan was convinced that this cake would not last one year in the freezer. hehe.)

anniversary trip part 1

after spending quality time with my dad on father's day, Jordan and i headed north on our first anniversary vacation. to save money on lodging we booked a hotel in Merrillville, IN, which was 45min from Chicago's museum campus. after settling into our hotel we went to dinner at Red Lobster, one of our favorite restaurants. 

because this was our first vacation together i was very involved in the planning process. growing up we never planned vacations, just winged it. but i have found it's less stressful knowing what hotel you will be staying in and waiting 15min in the will call line instead of an hour in the regular admission line. just saying. so i pre booked the hotel and pre ordered the museum tickets and budgeted for food and souvenirs. it honestly was a fun experience. 

on the drive to the hotel i kept looking at Jordan and saying, "we are really doing this!" or "we are really on vacation!" or "i am so happy we are married, i love you." 

i was so full of emotion with the realization that we had been married for an entire year and thinking back on all of the decisions and choices that lead us to this place. just the fact that we could afford this vacation made me realize how far we had come in one year. 

plus Jordan and i really needed some time together, just the two of us. the past month has been difficult with Jordan being sick and both of us working more. we were both drained to say the least. simply going to a different state and spending time together experiencing new things was just what we needed.  

tomorrow i will share more photos of our time at the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum!

one year of marriage

one year ago on June 18th i married my best friend. 

it's been a great first year and i look forward to many more. i am so blessed.

happy anniversary, husband.

xo

tunes::i am lovely

photo via :: lyrics sara haze 

be encouraged. you are beautiful.

i am on my anniversary vacation for the next few days! i will be sharing pictures soon. 

here is some encouraging music for your week.

enjoy!

a simple father's day

today Jordan and i took my dad and brother out for lunch at a soup cafe. it was the greatest.
i am so blessed to have such a loving and gracious dad who has supported me through everything in life. his gentle spirit means so much to me.
afterwards, we played corn hole and had some good laughs. my dad also loves gardening and it was so cute to listen to him tell us all about his new flowers and veggies he has growing.
i love him.

happy father's day!

the mint herb that could

i am so happy that i have managed to keep my herb alive for more than a week! this is the second time a plant has been in my personal care, (the first time didn't end well). 

in my defense we were house sitting for four days and i...well...forgot about it.

but not this time! i am determined to keep my little mint herb alive so i can make cool mint water among other adult beverages.

yay for summer days with refreshing drinks!

simple moments captured with my iphone

going to be honest and say that i have had a rough couple of days. but aside from that i have managed to make a small dent in my to-do list, clean my kitchen, do a few loads of laundry, update my blog, and have a lunch date with an awesome friend. i guess my two days off have been productive.

Jordan is recovering well and feeling much better. he returns to work tomorrow and so do i. for whatever reason working in the morning puts me into the right mindset to accomplish my errands in the afternoon.

let's hope i finish my to-do list by the weekend so i can be worry free on our anniversary trip. i am looking forward to getting out of town and seeing new sights, plus taking awesome pictures. 

tunes::skinny love

lindsey pavao is one of my new favorite artists. i found her by watching the voice this past season. 

she is so talented and her voice is so unique. she reminds me of regina spektor. 

enjoy friends!

pick list for June

photo sources: 1 ::  2 :: 3 :: 4 :: 5 :: 6 

this weekend is looking to be one filled with lots of resting, movie watching, cuddling, and catching up on our shows. Jordan is still recovering from a recent flare up. it's mine turn to take care of him.

so i have just been lounging on the couch cruising the web looking at pretty clothes. here a few of the gorgeous things i found, most of which i consider staples for summer. all are from Forever 21, a store i want to invest in this summer.

hope your weekend is well!

chill time

today i worked early and came home to a sick husband. he has not been feeling well this whole week but today was the worst. we made an appointment with the doctor tomorrow to see if we can get him feeling better. i am thankful that we will be able to see the doctor on short notice and avoid the ER.

so i took care of my love all day long. it's been great to have him home. actually, the reason he got so sick was because his job is physically demanding and he has a pre existing condition called crohn's disease.  so he will be recovering for the next week then we will leave for our anniversary trip. 

speaking of which, i booked the hotel rooms for our anniversary! i am so excited for our first real vacation married. i say real because, while we have had plenty of date days and time together this year, we never left Indy or took time off for a vacation.

 so we will be going out of state on a road trip visiting the great city of Chicago to do a little museum wondering. we are both huge fans of museums and we got a great package deal! 

i am very grateful for the timing of this vacation. it will be a great oppurtunity to reconnect, enjoy each other, and take a much needed break from daily life. 

sometimes you need to just step away and breathe.

surrounded by clothes

this is how i feel most mornings at work. literally surrounded by clothes. my job at Macy's gets me up at 5am most mornings and i usually get home before noon. i am a support associate which means i do everything in the morning to get the store ready for customers when we open. i specifically set and take down the sales (Macy's has a LOT of them). i also merchandise (put out new collections that come in), do fulfillment (find items customers purchased online), and markdowns (marking price tags on clearance items).  

when i started a year ago i was only setting sales and was having a hard time adjusting to only working two days a week. i felt disconnected from my co workers and a little clueless; i was thrown in during the spring sales and had no idea what i was doing. but i committed to keep a positive attitude and continued to work hard. now i am working 4-5 days a week and really enjoying it and feeling like part of a team. 

working early mornings at a retailer has taught me a few things: 

1:: learning to go to bed early is healthy. 

2:: bringing a snack to a 4 hour shift is necessary

3:: you don't need coffee to wake up in the morning, just get good sleep, like i said, and drink lots of water.

4:: getting home before noon most days has taught me to be more productive with the rest of my day. 

5:: discounts are a great incentive, (especially when it's a discount on rent!) i know, right?

i really do like my job and plan on staying there for a while. or at least until i am the one with a baby in my belly! have you noticed a lot of bloggers are popping babies? anyway.

have a good week.