five on friday: afternoon edition

I full intended on writing this blog this morning, but frankly I was just too exhausted. So you are getting an afternoon/early evening edition. I am linking up with some great ladies for Five on Friday!

1. We're still trying to catch up on sleep from last week, but it has been a good but busy work week. So we're both thankful for Friday. We're ready for a little relaxation together.
2. The boutique is having it's biggest sale of the year right now, so there is a whole lot going on there. Seriously awesome shopping deals!
3. My mom visited yesterday to do some blueberry picking. We walked away with 43 lbs of blueberries. They are my favorite so I am super excited to finally have some yummy fresh berries.
4. I finally got this cook book in the mail this week! I've already tried one recipe and am extremely please with how it turned out. I can't wait to make more recipes. I feel like I just keep flipping through the pages with excitement.
5. Lastly, we're going on our first round of house showings tomorrow!!! I cannot tell you how excited I am to actually visit the houses I've been looking at online. Eek! 

That is all for today's edition of five on friday. Now I'm off to spend some much needed relaxation time with the hubs!

Happy Weekend!

wedding picture gawking part II

So I wrote this blog a long long time ago and promised that I would post most pictures of the our wedding day. Welp, I sure didn't ever do that, so I figured it was time to hold up to my end of the deal. As we're getting closer to our one year anniversary, I still look at these pictures all the time (maybe I should get a hobby?). But they are just so wonderful and I cannot say enough good things about our photographer, Kim. So without further ado, here are some ceremony & post ceremony pictures!

 

 

I promise I will post reception pictures soon!

summer bruschetta

 

One of my favorite things about summer is cooking with lots of fresh ingredients right out of the garden (or from the farmers market). There is nothing like fresh fruits and veggies that can make your taste buds just dance. Now, I am not one who typically loves tomatoes as a major ingredient. I enjoy them in recipes but can't just eat them plain. That is why I love bruschetta. You can enjoy tomatoes as a primary ingredient but have other flavors to compliment them.

The other day, I found myself with a handful of extra tomatoes and basil, so naturally the best way to use those items is in summer bruschetta. I used parts of this recipe but also just added what I thought would taste best. It's easy and delicious.

Start by cutting up your tomatoes, you want them in bit size pieces but not so small that they just all end up mushing together. I used five good sized tomatoes. Once they're chopped, put them in a bowl.

Next, I added three gloves of garlic (adjust to taste).  I chopped 6-8 fresh basil leaves and added them to the bowl. Then, I added one tablespoon or so of olive oil and approximately one teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. Also, as a little salt and pepper (to taste). Mix them all together and you're done!

See simple enough! We didn't have any french bread at the time so I toasted some regular bread and we cut it up into smaller slices. We just spooned some on our bread and scarfed it down enjoyed! We stored it in the fridge for a couple days, but it really didn't last very long in our house. It is so fresh and filled with summer flavors that it's hard to not eat it in one sitting.

So if you find yourself with some extra tomatoes, this recipe is a great way to use them up!

a fair amount of fun

We have returned from the land of corn dogs and cotton candy. But to be honest, it is a bit bittersweet for me. As much as I love sleeping in my own bed and taking a shower with an excessive amount of hot water, I so miss the faces, conversations and laughter we shared. My favorite part of the whole fair is spending unplanned time with my family-- aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings. We rode rides and played skee ball. We watched a rodeo and a lawn mower derby. We shared stories and lots of laughs. We all tried stealing the baby from one another so we could hold her yet again. It's what family and tradition is about. I loved each moment of the weekend and am so thankful to have it. 

And since I'm so darn exhausted, I'll just leave you with a few pictures to tell the rest of the story. Yes, there were tigers at the fair. And yes there were many more animals than chickens but I failed to photograph most of them.

**Just a little FYI-- that is my baby cousin and my parents great niece. Just in case you were wondering.

it's that time of year again

If you know anything about my family, you know that when fair time comes around life as we know it pretty much stops. And guess what?!? It's that time of year again. It's time to head back to Illinois to see the animals, eat some seriously bad for you food and spend some much needed time with the fam. So I am going to be checking out of the blog world til next Monday. But you can still keep up with me via other social media outlets. And don't worry, I'll give you a full recap when I return!

If you haven't already be sure to check out my Facebook page and follow along on Instagram.

Have a great week!

Oh and I'm linking up with the Blog Hop today hosted by The Dwelling Tree and All My Happy Endings.

on missing people

Distance can be difficult. It's hard on relationships. And if there is one thing I've learned in the past few years, it is that it is hard to be away from those you love. Ever since I moved to Indiana for college, I became increasingly aware of this reality. Growing up I didn't really have to deal with being apart from people. Most of my family lived within a twenty minute radius of me. And I loved that. I grew up being close to family and friends. Now a days, distance has become more of a constant reality.

When we moved to Northern Indiana, we were excited to be closer to both sets of our parents. We live about two hours from mine and about an hour from the hubs. This is a big improvement. However, my best friends are spread amongst the midwest-- Illinois, Indy, Memphis, Nashville-- to name a few. And that stinks. I miss them. I miss being able to meet up for coffee or to just hang out. I miss going shopping with my mom on a whim or getting together with my best friends after a rough day.

What makes it even more challenging is that as much as we love to see our friends and family, traveling is hard too. It's tough to be away from your home weekend after weekend. It's hard constantly packing up and jumping in the car. Not to mention, it's expensive. But in order to see the people closest to us, this is our reality. So we deal with it and we pack up and go.

My heart so deeply desires community. I grew up knowing pretty much everyone in my town. I didn't really enjoy it then, but now that is something I truly miss. I miss knowing my neighbors or being able to run and get a cup of sugar from someone down the street. And I've come to realize that is why I so deeply want to be settled into a house. I'm secretly hoping to find those kinds of relationships in a neighborhood. Although, it takes effort and energy, this is what I need to feel settled.

Moving back to Illinois or being close to all our family isn't a reality. We deal with our situation the best we can. I love being married and I am so thankful for Jake. He really is my best friend and it feels like home as long as we're together. But I know that we both needs those other relationships in our lives also. So we're trying. We're striving for something a little deeper. But it just takes time. That is where I am today. Missing those I care for and hating being far away from friends in need. But here is to knowing that at the very least, they are just a phone call away.

winery weekend

Oh, welcome back to Monday! I don't know about you guys but we had a pretty good weekend in these parts. I realized that once you make your Summer Bucket List visible to your husband and family, they help you get things marked off and that is what we did this weekend.

Awesome fact. We live about 30 minute away from the midwest wine country-- i.e. we live near Michigan. There are a good number of wineries not far from us. The hubs and I both really enjoy good wine, so we figured it was time to take advantage of our proximity to area wineries. After I got off work on Saturday, we jumped in the car and headed north.

Since we hadn't been to any of the wineries before, we based our stops off of word of mouth and a couple random picks. We managed to visit four wineries by the end of the day. I would say three of them we really enjoyed. One of them was-- err-- a bit disappointing. So I will share with you about the other three.

We started out at Round Barn Winery. Let me just say we WILL be returning. We had heard good things about this place. And it was just a fun place to hang out. They not only are a winery but also a brewery and distillery. There was lots of options for many different pallet preference. They also had food and live music. If it wasn't our first stop on the trip, we probably would have stayed their all day. It had a great ambiance and we really enjoyed it.

 

Our third stop was at a well known winery and restaurant, Tabor Hill. One of my co-workers told me about this place and I am glad we went. They had great staff that really knew their wine and, of course, very tasty wine. They also had some of the most gorgeous chocolates I have ever seen. Seriously...almost too pretty to eat.

 

(Everywhere we went my favorite never changed. I just really love a good cab sauv-- that's how the cool winos say it). 

Our last stop was just a random selection and it was a good one. It is a newer winery called Gravity. My favorite part was that each wine you tried came either a pairing of cheese or chocolate. Score! The wine was good too. Oh, and they had a great outdoor seating area with a very nice view. 

All in all I would say it was a pretty success adventure. One which we will be eager to take friends on when they come for a visit!

Also, I'm linking up with Northern Belle Diaries & Postcards from Rachel to help bloggers follow along on Bloglovin'! If you aren't already signed up for it, you should. Its a great way to follow all your favorite blogs. Oh, and follow Keep It Simple there, too!