Nutty Irishmen

Danny and I had a great few days together this weekend.  It was filled with old friends, good food, and a variety of activities to keep us busy.  I love spending my weekends at home and I know I have to enjoy them before I won't be home every weekend due to wedding showers and such.  The weekends fly by, but I feel like I get so much more done on my weekends when I spend it at home with my future hubby and my kitties.

Thursday night, Danny and I met our friends, Doug and Melissa for dinner in downtown Willoughby.  Doug and Melissa used to live in downtown Willoughby, so Melissa and I always wanted to try Nickelby's when we got together, but it just never happened.  So this time, we decided to check it out.  It was very cold that night and there was still a good couple of inches of snow on the ground, but it turned out to be a fun evening catching up with the newly engaged couple.  Doug and Melissa are planning a September wedding.  It was exciting to hear all of the details that Melissa had been working on.  It brought back good memories of my first couple of months of planning.  Its hard to believe that our Big Day will be here before we know it (48 days, but who's counting).  Nickelby's was good food, just not too much to eat for a vegetarian like myself.  Danny had a healthy salmon entree with brown rice and broccoli, it looked enticing. 

On Friday night, I met one of my bridesmaids at the mall to do some wedding shopping.  I was looking for a wedding necklace.  I have earrings to wear on the day of the wedding that were given to me by my future in laws.  It was their "Welcome to the Family" gift.  It was so sweet and thoughtful and I loved the earrings!  They actually look very similar to my engagement ring which makes them the perfect accessory to my outfit and they also serve as my "Something New" on my wedding day.  I literally haven't taken them off since they gave them to me at Thanksgiving.  When looking for a necklace for the wedding, I wanted something simple, but yet beautiful.  I had purchased a necklace from Charming Charlies which is a store known for their costume jewelry, but I took it back realizing that I wanted something that didn't look as cheap.  I knew I didn't want to spend the money on real diamonds so I looked for the next best thing, crystals.  Ashleigh and I met at the mall after Ashleigh got off of work and we went straight for Swarovski Crystals.  There I found the most perfect necklace for my big day.  Also, it is not too fancy meaning I can wear it for special occasions after the wedding.  After purchasing the necklace, Ashleigh and I went into a store I had never been to before, Arden B.  They have a lot of short, clubbing dresses and Ashleigh was hoping we could find me a Bachelorette Party dress.  She was right, we found this amazing dress that was perfect for my party.  It made me more excited for my Bachelorette Party in March. 

After my shopping trip with Ashleigh, I met Danny and we headed over to the west side to meet up with Danny's former co-worker and her boyfriend.  Danny and Erin had been through everything when they worked with the Indians and they had a lot of catching up since they had both recently accepted other job opportunities outside of the Indians.  Erin and her boyfriend, Marc will be coming to our wedding.  We were so excited when we got their response since we weren't sure how many people from Cleveland would be able to make it since they have to travel.  We ended up going to a restaurant/bar called the Lava Lounge.  I loved this place! It was so artsy and fantastic.  The cocktails were all different concoctions and their menu was almost all vegetarian.  Danny wasn't as excited as I was when I saw most of the items were made without meat, but he settled for an appetizer of fried calamari.  All in all, it was a great night catching up with Erin and Marc and trying some place new!

On Saturday, Danny and I ran a few errands.  We went to the mall to finish up ordering the last of the wedding gifts and then went to Joann's to get supplies for our unity candle.  I spent the afternoon crafting while Danny napped and then at 6 o'clock we decided to head to our favorite restaurant, Manhattan Bar and Grille for dinner and drinks.  I ended up having my usual drink called the Nutty Irishman.  Its coffee mixed with Bailey's Irish cream, Frangelica hazelnut liqueur (which is amazing!!), and whipped cream.  After having three of those, I was good to go!  Danny and I spent the evening hanging out and talking that night which turn out to be my favorite of our nights together!


Nutty Irishman