Maui Honeymoon...

Last night we booked our plane tickets for the honeymoon! I have already posted about the second stop we'll be making in Kauai. So I thought I'd update everyone on our first stop, Maui. We've booked a room at the Westin on Ka'anapali beach.

I feel completely blessed to be going back to Hawaii. I'm really looking forward to exploring Maui and all the wonderful things it has to offer. We are staying in the more "touristy" area, but we've rented a car (convertible, of course!), so I know we'll be taking some road trips throughout the island while we are there.

A few things to do that are on the top of our list include driving the Road to Hana, checking out Haleakala National Park for a hike or bike ride, and eating at some good local restaurants. (Suggestions welcomed!)

We've also talked about taking a day trip to Lana‘i, Molokini, or Molokai island, we've heard good things about Trilogy tours. These sailing trips look cool because most of them offer the chance to snorkel once your reach the destination island. (Now, I'm not to big on snorkeling because the only time I tried it I had a really hard time relaxing and getting my breathing under control. I basically freaked out, gave up and spent the day laying on the beach while the rest of the group snorkeled and said it was a wonderful experience. I'm not going to let that bad experience hold me back though, I am going to try it again and I'm prepared to let myself relax in the water and enjoy the moment!!!)

So, the tickets are purchased, the cars are rented, the rooms are booked. Now all we need to do it pack our bags, get married and head off to those wonderful Hawaiian islands for 11 days of bliss!

Mmmm...Cake!

How good do all these mini cakes look.....

My sister-in-law's Mom loves baking and makes cakes out of her home, so I definitely had her in mind when we started talking about our reception. We met with Michele, of Michele My Belle Cakes, last Saturday afternoon and had the best time! She made us several tasty mini-cakes with so many flavor combination to choose from for our wedding cake.

First we went over the design of the cake. A few months ago when I started talking about different cake options, JJ didn't seem to interested in helping with the look of the cake. I wasn't surprised by this because he's not much of a sweets or desserts person. Me, on the other hand, could eat sweets & chocolate for almost every meal. What I loved about our meeting with Michele is that JJ sat down the night before and looked through lots of pictures with me and then he sketched out a design that helped incorporate several elements from the pictures I'd printed out. He was so cute when he showed Michele has drawing, presenting it in a very business-like manner, saying it was just "something he came up with". In the end, I know we're going to have a very fun cake with elements that tie in the design of our invitations and our wedding colors of brown, green, and burnt orange.

On to the tasting part...check out these flavors & names of the different cakes:

Luscious Lemon Cheesecake
Whole Lotta Pina Colada
Key Lime Time
Heavenly Hazelnut
White Chocolate Raspberry
Banana Dream
Chocolate Cake with Peppermint Patties
Chocolate with Vanilla Butter cream

What a hard job on a Saturday afternoon, indulging in tasting all that cake! Good & tasty are not words that describe how wonderful all these cakes were...I'd go as far to say that they were Out of This World, all of them! We each like different ones, JJ like the White Chocolate Raspberry, I loved the Chocolate Mint with Peppermint Patties filling. We also both really loved the cake with Lemon Icing and Cheesecake filling. They were all such good and unique options. Michele told us to pick 3 flavors, one for each tier of our cake, and luckily we didn't have to decide that day b/c it would have been hard!

I'm betting we will go with the Lemon option for sure, and then we'll each pick a flavor for the other two layers. We will soon find out in a few months....maybe another tasting is in order to make sure I loved them as much as I'm remembering!!

Calgon Take Me Away!

There is a place near and dear to my heart has been calling my name for the last few months...
And when a place as beautiful and relaxing as Holden Beach calls your name, I say you must answer as soon as possible!

The countdown is on, we are minus 30 days until our vacation to the beach.

I. Can. Not. Wait.

The group has upgraded this year on the accommidation side of things. We're staying at The Wave, this place is completely sweet! Four bedrooms, all with private baths, a HUGE deck with lounge chairs overlooking the ocean, and drumroll please ..... a Swimming Pool!

Most days at Holden are spent lounging in beach chairs nestled the sand, but I'm willing to bet a few hours for me will be spent lounging on a raft in this pool!

Did I say this already...

I. Can. Not. Wait.

Kauai Honeymoon...

Hello dear blog readers! I am very excited to share with you that we have booked our 2nd stop on our honeymoon to Hawaii. We'll be staying at the Islander on the Beach in Kapaa, Kauai. I'm totally jazzed about the condo I found and think it will be a great fit for our 3 day stay in Kauai. The photo below is a picture from the balcony of our room.
It looks to die for, right!!! We booked it through a website called HomeAway, where individual owners of condos/vacation homes rent out their properties. The website is a great way to price compare places and helpful at finding vacation spots that are not part of a huge hotel chain. I recommend checking it out if you're looking for your next vacation get-a-way. (They have rentals all over the world.)

I'm looking forward to checking out the island of Kauai. I know several friends who've traveled to the wettest spot in the world (Mount Waialeale) and have rave reviews of the island with the beautiful coastline. A few things I'd like to do while on Kauai are take a catamaran boat out to see the Na Pali Coast, take a hike at Waimea Canyon, maybe splurge and take a helicopter tour of this heavenly place (I hear it's the best way to see the island!). Let me know you're thoughts if you've been to Kauai, I'd love to get some recommendations of restaurants, things to do and the names of any tours/activities you enjoyed while on Kauai.

We are still working out some detail for our stay in Maui. We'll be there for about 7 days, so any tips or recommendations you have on this beautiful vacation spot are welcomed too!

Engagement Pictures

We finally got our engagement pics taken with our wedding photographer, Bryn Weller. We had to find a new photographer about a month ago b/c the original person we booked cancelled on us for our wedding. In the end, I think we've found someone who totally fits our personalities and will capture all the wonderful moments throughout our wedding day.

These photos were taken at Devou Park in Covington, KY. Since Jeremy and I met in Cincinnati and this is our home, I really wanted a few shots with the beautiful Cincinnati Skyline in the background. Enjoy the pictures!And one final "family" picture with our girl, Ella.
We are missing one "family" memeber, JD the cat!

To my Dad...

I hope you're having a fabulous father's day today. You just left my house after our get together and I wanted to put it out there and say how much I love you and how much you mean to me. You've always supported me and been behind me in every decision I've made in my life. I appreciate your help through all the times in my life where I've called on you for help. You've help me with car trouble, you've helped me move from city to city, you've helped my set up my house by painting and hanging curtain rods, & you've helped me understand what it means to love your family unconditionally. I hope the rest of your day is relaxing and that you get to spend time in the garage, because that's where I know you love to be!


Cheers to you Dad - I love you!

Turning 30...

A few weeks ago marked my 30th birthday. Now, when I was a teenager, 30 seems like really, really old. Like by the time you turned 30, you should have a full head of grey hair and you should have it all figured out with your life "in place".

While I certainly have a few (okay, maybe more than a few) grey hairs, I'm feeling pretty good about my 30's. Life in my 20's treated me to a few unexpected twists and turns, some good - some bad, but still, all guiding me to the place I am right now in my life. Throughout my 20's, I managed to check several things off my life's "to do list".

Finish college with a bachelors degree - Check.
Start my career, in a new city - Check.
Purchase my first house -Check.

All in all, not so bad if you ask me. One delightful thing that happen in my 20's was meeting Jeremy. Many people search their entire life for someone to share it with and I feel completely blessed knowing that I've found that special someone. It is really exciting knowing that my first year in my 30's will be celebrated in a big way - our wedding!

I'm not someone who has always dreamed about what her wedding will look like. This has been good because it has helped me to be flexible in the planning process. I've enjoyed the decision making that goes along when planning the details of a wedding. I am totally excited and thrilled to be getting married this fall. The details are fun, things like picking out my dress, choosing the flowers, and tasting lots of yummy cake!

Having said all that, the thing that excites me more than any of these details is my marriage. That's the part I'm looking forward to the most! Our marriage. I believe that marriages do work and I've witnessed it in my own family. I know that God has guided me through all those experiences in my 20's, leading me to this wonderful moment as I start my 30's, to let me know that I am ready to be married.

So while I spend time making lists of things that still need get done, and I fret over things like the font on our invitations, I know I'm making the best decision of my life. To share it with the person I love, for the rest of my life. It doesn't get much better than that.

Cheers to my 30's, I believe the best is yet to come!