A Trip to Virginia

I’ve been wanting to go and spend a legitimate weekend with Maria since she moved out to Virginia two months ago. I really wanted to go with Brad, but he’s been traveling for work and this past weekend worked perfectly this month, so I went for it. It’s always a little nerve-wracking for me driving somewhere new on my own…especially a place that’s over 5 hours away. I was nervous but, luckily, the drive is actually quite easy. Not a lot of twist and turns. Traffic for sure (since you pass by Washington, D.C.), but it was pretty straightforward and enjoyable.

 
I left on National Donut Day…a.k.a. FREE DONUT DAY! I also had a coupon for a free coffee so it was excellent.

A seriously beautiful day for a ride.

My ETA was 2:45 but I ended up getting there closer to 4, thanks to traffic.
I love their welcome mat…come on, how cute?!

Attention to details: Maria got cute flowers for my arrival.

Maria took me to a cool new movie theater to see The Fault in Our Stars and this was what we walked past on our way to the cinema. There was an outdoor concert happening and couples and families with little kids were all over, enjoying the music and each other’s company. It was awesome.

The theater we went to, Paragon, has power reclining “leather” chairs, a tray for food and a cup holder for your drink (which can be beer or wine, which they sell there as well). We had one beer as we waited to enter the theater, but we didn’t get anything else. That stack of napkins was for crying purposes only and I STILL didn’t have enough. Damn.

 

On Saturday, we went to Virginia Beach and had an awesome time. I have pictures on my DSLR that I’ll share later.

Our view during dinner on Saturday.

 
 

Sunday, we headed to Richmond and stopped at the Bacon Festival being held at the Farmer’s Market. We got Chocolate Bacon popsicles, interesting but perfect in the heat. We did some touristy shopping and got food at a small chain, Mellow Mushroom, a pizza place that was delightful.

 
 

We finished Sunday with drinks and music on the porch/balcony. It was such a perfect evening, comfortable and warm.

I left yesterday around 5:30 pm to beat the traffic.
I didn’t get home until about midnight, but I didn’t have to wait in long lines. Smooth sailing.

I am so sad to be back, but I am ready to start planning my next trip. Brad needs to head down there, so I think we will pick a weekend in the next month and hopefully stay down there a little bit longer. I’d like to be able to go to the beach for an extra day or two. Thank you so much, sis, for entertaining me this weekend! It was much needed.
Love you!

Delayed Reaction: Last Weekend

Is it me or is time moving way too fast?

I cannot believe August is here…really, I just had a birthday party (in May, over 2 months ago)!
My vacation came and went and the weekends are over before they even began.
Hence my delayed reaction post. I had a pretty cool weekend, but it took me this long to go through photos, edit them, and want to post them.
Sure, I posted about nails and books, but whatever.

Anyway…

On Friday, I went with Brad to the bowling alley to celebrate his friend’s birthday. I hadn’t been bowling in at least a year, I’d say, and it was fun. I love bowling, even though I’m not that great at it. I mean, I did beat 3 guys on the second game and got a few strikes, but it takes me a while to warm up. Fun fact: I used to think I sucked terribly at bowling and so I would just throw the ball, no care or aim, and it would land in the gutter all the time. Once I decided to actually take the time to realize what I was doing wrong and take aim, I got better.
Shocker! Negative attitudes make you suck…it’s a proven fact.
I had a lot of fun, drinking from a Foster’s Oil Can (insta-tipsy) and chatting about nail polish with one of Brad’s old co-workers.
Love geeking out about the polish!

On Saturday, we held a “beer-b-que” with our friends. There was a ton of food and, obviously, a ton of beer. I wore my new Budweiser tee, which is probably my favoritest shirt right now. Not gonna lie…makes me feel like a badass. I wanted to take a lot more photos, but I was trying to avoid the phone. I know that I could’ve used my Rebel, but I’m glad I didn’t and here’s why:
I decided I would finally break out the Fuji Instax 210 and I had a plan to take a group picture of all the girls and a group picture of all the guys. And then maybe, somehow, get a picture of everyone. I had two packs of film waiting to be used and a camera that’d long been ignored.
When I went to grab the camera from the side table, I dropped it. Mind you, I was sober. It had a spill once before and was fine. Unfortunately, though, it didn’t make it through this one. I was so upset and frustrated…there goes money, film, and memories.
After a bit of a hissy fit upstairs, cooling off, I came downstairs to play Cards Against Humanity (man, is that an offensively funny game) and saw all of these people I love gathered in one room and it was so hard to stay mad. I could feel the warmth and it was awesome.

Finally, on Sunday, I spent a lot of quality time with Jenna. She is back in the area now that her fiancé (my friend Ed) has been deployed for pretty much the rest of the year. Wishing him all the best and safe travels and work while he’s away! We had a diner breakfast, which was delicious, and met up with some friends later for froyo. I know MYO frozen yogurt has been a thing for a while, but it won’t fail to amaze me. I get to pick my own flavor and all my own toppings and pay by weight? That’s awesome. I had red velvet and tons of goodies on top…delish!

And that was my weekend!
Hard to believe the next one is just a day away.

Back to the Grind

Mondays are already a bummer, but after a week off? Forget about it.

The rest of my vacation (aka: the weekend) was pretty good. We spent all of Friday (which was super insanely hot, like the rest of the weekend) with Brad’s cousin Shawn and his wife Rebecca. I basically consider them my cousins at this point. We grilled food all evening and I was eaten by bugs, but it was a lovely night and delicious food. That picture up there is of grilled jalapenos stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon. I was skeptical, but HOLY MOLY. So good. We also had fresh guacamole and grilled chicken kabobs with orange peppers and mushrooms.
Happy Belly!
The rest of the weekend was rough for me. I found it hard to enjoy my time (even though I got to see my BFF Ed Rafter, which is always awesome!), because the end was so near. And that got me thinking…

I DON’T WANNA BE THAT WAY ANYMORE.

I can’t keep wishing away my days, work or not, for the future free moments. Or dreading the future un-free moments. But that’s what I do. Seriously, last Monday I was already upset that our vacation had begun because that meant it would be ending and then I’d have nothing to look forward to anymore. Talk about pessimism. I find that I can’t enjoy anything without worrying about the past or fearing for the future.

Do you do that? How do you stop?

Regardless, I still had a lovely and much-needed breather.
I’m going to just have to keep working on making every single day a wonderful one.

Happy Monday, guys!
(And don’t worry, 5 will be here before ya know it!)

Take Me Out

On Saturday evening, I went with my father and sister to a baseball game at the field in Moosic/Montage, PA. The local farm team, the RailRiders were playing. I only know enough about each sport where I can get by, but I still enjoy going to live games, especially when it’s free! We were super lucky and enjoyed suite seats, so we got some free food and beer and a beautiful night to be outside in the stands.

Maria actually ended up buying that foam finger. I made my dad put that silly hat on.

The baseball field just had a makeover and it’s really beautiful. You can walk around the entire length of the park, and there are vendors everywhere. There are even lawn “seats” for people who just want to grab a blanket and enjoy a game that way.

The suite just means that, in between watching the game, we could sit in an air-conditioned kitchen room and eat and grab beers from the mini-fridge. It almost felt wrong enjoying free beer, so I kept grabbing the Landshark. No one seemed to want it. Fins Up, you guys!

I almost didn’t go to the game. Most sports don’t interest me and I had to rush to Brad’s to change quickly after a baby shower, but it was so worth it to laugh and enjoy a few beers with my family. I am so glad I changed my mind!

This Weekend via Afterlight…

As much I adore my iPhone like my own flesh and blood, I have to admit that I miss breaking out the Canon Rebel and taking pictures of life.
I am thankful that the iPhone 5 has such a lovely camera and a plethora of editing apps, but the more I looked around this weekend, the more I wished I had my DSLR to play with settings, to get crisp photos, and to have more fun editing later.
I must remove it from the camera bag it’s been sleeping in very very soon.
I miss it.

‘Til then, here are some photos I took this weekend, edited in Afterlight. I added the same instant film frame to each photo to keep a nice flow.

This lime is from Friday night. Brad and I entertained our friend Terry and his girlfriend Julia, which meant that the guys cooked for like, 4 hours and I got tipsy on Hendricks gin and tonic. When I cut this lime open, the fruit was so bright, juicy, and perfect I couldn’t resist a pic!

On Saturday, after a looooong nap, I walked to Goldstein’s to pick up some club sandwiches for Lou and I. On the way back, I spotted this cat watching me from the window of the cleaners. It was a super pleasant surprise, and I swear he/she posed as soon as I brought out the phone.

Now that summer is just about here, that means the hankering for ice cream will get stronger. Brad, Josh, Maria, and I went to DQ for some sweet treats (the waffle bowl sundae is my go-to). I have a massive, itchy bug bites on my feet from eating outside, but it was worth it.

Sunday, we spent half the day at Brad’s aunt’s house and half the day at mine. Both were for cookouts. I nearly exploded from all the tasty food! But I had the most fun taking pictures of Brad’s aunt’s dogs. They are both theatrical in their own way. And I’m not trying to play favorites, but I’m saving some choice Sophie shots for another post. This is Max, who is very yappy, laying in the sun after he got gated out for licking us and barking over the food too much. He was actually pretty cool with it, as you can tell.

Brad’s family is by no means stuck in the past, but I swear they seem to hold onto somewhat “ancient” radios and they work as if they were just purchased that morning. They don’t make ‘em like that anymore. I love that this one has an 8-Track player, haha.

This is the beautiful view we get in our backyard, at my family’s house. It’s so peaceful there, so quiet. I loved sitting on the deck, talking to my dad and Brad. We enjoyed a couple of shandies and more food, of course.

Finally, Maria (being the cutie she is) made these adorable and tasty sugar cookies!

All these little bits and pieces made up for a great weekend. I hope you had one, too!

Barbecue Season!

I had an absolutely divine Memorial Day weekend. I am so thankful for the holidays we get to celebrate in America, the people who have made this country safe and helped us make it so far. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate these holidays (and every lovely day) with the beautiful and amazing people in my life. And that’s exactly what I did.

I spent Monday at my friend Lauren’s parents’ house…it was a beautiful day and a great time. Amazing food, Shandy beer (See all that yellow in the cooler! It’s the most wonderful time of the year!), horseshoes, friends. I cannot wait to spend more of my weekends like this.
I ate and drank more than I should’ve, but I’m so grateful I have that freedom and wonderful people to share it with.