Off to another wedding

I'm off to another wedding today! My friends from college, Lindsey and Dan, are getting married this afternoon. Let's hope the rain holds out, though I've heard it's good luck to rain on your wedding day.

I just got a few pictures from the photographer of my other friend's wedding and I really like how a few turned out, so I thought I'd share.

{all photos via}

coffee with inspiration

it's a very rare occurrence that a coffee cup lead the conversation. but that's exactly what happened on my most recent trip to caribou coffee. my cup, tattooed with words of inspiration, had my attention and thoughts. starbucks red cup holiday campaign, i thought, was and always will be one of the best non-marketing marketing campaigns, but this comes pretty close, in my mind. caribou coffee asks, what do you stay awake for?

i must have spent at least twenty minutes reading my cup and pondering the words marked over my {absolutely delicious} turtle mocha. it was an added perk to my caffeine intake.

a few favorites of mine:

• be the first to enter and the last to leave the dance floor
• dare to adventure
• step 1: rake leaves step 2: jump
• have a favorite charity
• learn to say thank you in ten languages
• you'll only be your current age once

i definitely recommend stopping by a caribou coffee and checking purchasing a little inspiration. {see, amazing marketing.}

Stressful wedding fashion

Ever notice how women always stress over weddings? You know why? It's all about the dress.

My friend got married last weekend in a beautiful {but stressful wedding for all involved}. But as a bridesmaid, I didn't have to worry about what I was going to wear. I have another wedding to go to next weekend that I have no idea what I'm going to wear. I'm not a dress girl so I don't have options in the closet and my recent shopping trips have resulted in nothing wearable. See what I'm talking about when I say stress?

I wish I could just call up a stylist like a Hollywood starlet. Life would be so much easier.

{images via nytimes}

little notes

dear maggie & patrick.

i'm so glad i got to spend a great weekend with you. it was so much fun, i wish you didn't live all the way on the east coast. i will miss you a ton and can't wait to see you again.

dear the nook.

your coffee is strong, your hummus plate delicious and your atmosphere the perfect cross of cozy and edgy. you will be seeing me again very soon.

dear madison girls.

thanks for an amazing night out at our old college haunts. also, and even more, thank you for showing me that while i miss the undergrad lifestyle, it is much better left in the past.

dear craig.

i'm glad we got a chance to hang out during your leave. enjoy your time in north carolina and be safe in iraq.

dear agatha christie.

you write amazing mysteries full of surprising twists and interesting characters. and one day, i will solve a murder before hercule poirot.

{image via weheartit}

bye bye weekend

sometimes weekends are just bittersweet. they're so completely perfect that it's sad to see them pass. while this is the case for most weekends, this time monday hit just a bit harder.

this amazing weekend was chock-full of friends, family, picnics, a trip back to college days, embarrassing stories of childhood, the most delicious fish fry EVER, a debate over miller lite vs. bud light, visitors from out of state, long conversations during even longer car rides, intense volleyball games, a graduation party and little sleep. a-maz-ing.

while i always need time to recover, i enjoy these busy weekends. now, it's back to the grind of work. can't wait for next weekend, i have big plans.

{image via dustfromheaven}

Adelyn Rose

My cousin Katie and her husband welcomed a beautiful daughter into their little family three weeks ago. Big brother Carson is loving his baby sister, though, he said, she's not very exciting yet. It's so cute, he's already trying to play baseball with her, but she's not very good so far. I'm sure he will be a loving big brother and teach her some day. Congratulations Katie and Matt!

Isn't she just the cutest little peanut? I mean, all babies are cute, but she's just a bit more.

Wedding Bells

Congratulations to Marisha and Bobby!

They were married this Saturday in a beautiful ceremony at the zoo with a ridiculously fun reception to follow. I'm so happy that I was able to stand up next to Mish and share such an important day. Love you and wish you all the best in the future!

{This amazing photograph was courtesy of Kevin at Optic Light Photography}

Brewers vs. Giants

My family and I went to Miller Park for a Brewers game a few nights ago. They were slaughtered by the Giants, the score was something like 15 to 4, but it was still a great night.

My favorite part during games at Miller Park, the racing sausages:

I swear Hart was looking directly at me for this one. Weird.

Visiting from New York

In just about two weeks, my big sister and her husband are flying in from New York to spend the weekend. I'm excited to finally see them both again. It's been over four months since I helped them move into their new place in Poughkeepsie. That's so long. Phone calls and text messages have been great, but it's just not the same. I miss sitting at the coffee shop talking with Maggie or going out to dinner with the two of them. I know they're really enjoying their time out east, but I miss them dearly.

And so does everyone else. They're going to be ridiculously busy trying to visit all their friends and family in such a short time, but I'm sure it will all be worth the exhaustion.

Two weeks! I can't wait!

Zoo Trip

I was lucky enough to get an extended holiday weekend and I wanted to make sure I didn't waste one bit of it. Friday, I collected my family from their various lives and we all headed to the zoo. With our busy and much different schedules, we haven't been able to do that in years. It was great, but made me somewhat nostalgic for past trips.

Besides some minor sunburn, it turned out to be close to a perfect afternoon. The sun was shining, the animals playful, the zoo busy but not crowded and the ice cream delicious. If it weren't for the necessary smells, it would have been perfect.

Happy Fourth of July

I hope everyone enjoys a fantastic and safe holiday!

Today, I'm headed to the 20-something annual family golf outing, the city parade and a few picnics. I hope there's plenty of watermelon, beer, hot dogs and silly costumes.

{image via}

Book Review: And Then There Were None

Lately, I've been trying to explore all things literary. Instead of my typical depressing non-fiction choices, usually focused on war or ill-treatment of groups of people, I decided to give fiction a try.

I haven't read a mystery since my slight obsession with Trixie Belden and the Boxcar Children during my Elementary years, so I thought it was the perfect time to try the genre out again. My mom has over a hundred mysteries on her shelves easy. Probably hundreds actually. (She has at least two copies of every Agatha Christie murder mystery.) Since Christie captured my mom's heart so easily (along with millions of other readers- she is by far the bestselling murder mystery author), I decided I would read her first.

I read Agatha Christie's novel And Then There Were None. And I can honestly tell you, the book was ten times better than the movie or anything else it spawned. Her writing is clear and simple, but you can tell she is weaving a twisted mystery behind it. The characters are so well-written and the story so thought through, that the entire time I was trying to solve the crimes, I kept changing my mind. It is full of fantastic, mind-boggling little twists.

I think next, I'd like to meet her character Hercule Poirot and see if I can solve the Murder on the Orient Express before him. Just fantastic writing.

{image via agathachristie.com}

What to do with your bridesmaid dress

"And the best part about it... You can shorten it and wear it again."

"That's so true."

-27 Dresses

But, honestly, it's usually not. I'm lucky enough to absolutely LOVE the dress I'm wearing in my friend's wedding next weekend. Very lucky. I've been to several weddings in years past that I've actually been a little surprised and appalled by the bride's choice in dress. They were definitely not re-wearable. I'm thankful that my dress next weekend is a gorgeous midnight purple that I will definitely put on again.

While looking into weddings for my bride, I came across a silly little book about what to do with your bridesmaid dress after the wedding. A few suggestions were so funny, I thought I'd share...

"Show up for jury duty in it- you'll be back in your office in 10 minutes

It's just right for tea in Savannah

Wear your dress to guest host Wheel of Fortune

If you're bored, wear it to your little sister's prom

The athlete in your life would love a custom jock strap

You can never have too many hair scrunchies "

{101 Uses for a Bridesmaid Dress by Cindy Walker}