Monday, October 22, 2012

a week in sunny Mexico











 
Ben and I just got back from our honeymoon and I'm having a pretty hard time transitioning back to reality here in rainy, dark, late-fall Chicago! We spent a week at a resort tucked into the mangroves on the coast between Cancun and Playa del Carmen on the coast of the Yucatán peninsula, aka heaven on earth. It was everything we could have dreamed of...spending entire days laying by the pool, endless fruity cocktails and as much delicious food as we could eat. It's off-season so the place was weirdly deserted and quiet, which I guess served our purposes well. The staff kept trying to convince us to check out the amazing beaches of Playa del Carmen and this apparently baller nightclub called Coco Bongo but we were there to relax and be as boring as possible! Check, check.
 
Highlights included
-snorkeling and kayaking in freshwater springs called cenotes
-Mayan liqueur and tequila tasting
-spotting dozens of the most adorable lizards everywhere
-brunch buffet with make your own mimoa station every morning
-hot hot sun so bright I lost the edge off my whiteness despite sticking to the shade
 
Next time we go (because there will obviously be a next time, someday...) I want to explore a little more and check out the Mayan ruins nearby. I'm also inspired to learn Spanish! Traveling abroad as an American is always kind of awkward and humbling for me because it's assumed that everyone knows at least a little English while I can't speak their language.
 
It was a perfect week and just what we needed to recover from the crazy stress of moving, Ben's new job, and of course the wedding. I'm looking forward to some calmer days, clearing out the endless pile of moving/wedding boxes in our living room, and settling into our life here before the holidays hit!
 
 


Wednesday, October 10, 2012

we're married!!

{photo by my cousin Corey Smeaton}

We did it! The last month of planning was the most crazy and intense month of my life, but I would do it all over again to re-live the overwhelming joy and love of our wedding weekend. I keep re-playing all the details in my head while I'm awake and dreaming. We're back to "reality" this week until we leave for our honeymoon in Mexico on Saturday! Yeah, we're pretty excited.

 Here are a few sneak peeks from our amazing photographer Christy




Tuesday, September 4, 2012

blue city





{Photos from a recent walk on the waterfront}
 
Lake Michigan looks a different color everyday and lately it's been dark turquoise blue for late summer.
Did you have a fun Labor Day weekend? Ben and I got into the city for some shopping (I have discovered Sephora for the first time, and love using our wedding as an excuse to buy lots of fancy makeup!) and went to a low key and delicious cookout.

I'm very excited it's September, and very very excited that we're only a month out from the wedding. On the other hand all the little wedding details that you really never considered are starting to pop up, yikes! I've been working on my veil and I think it's going to turn out! When you attempt DIY projects for a wedding it's always stressful until the very end.

On another subject, if you have a gas stove that floods your apartment with smelly gas and won't light, it means the pilot lights between the burners have blown out, and you can relight them easily without blowing up the kitchen. That's my favorite thing I learned today, other than that apples and peaches are in the rose family. I like roses better now.
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