Tribe vs. Redlegs

Danny and I went to the Indians vs. Reds game last night.  This game was fun for the both of us since Danny is a Reds fan, and I am an Indians fan.  Every year they play a battle of Ohio series and this year they only played 4 games.  Going into last night's game, the series was 2-1 in favor of the Reds, so I really wanted the Indians to win.  I met Danny downtown after work and after finally finding a parking spot (since the new Captain America movie is being filmed downtown and they decided to close off the important streets), we headed to City Tap for dinner and drinks.  After good food and good beer, we headed to Progressive field.  I had purchased the tickets through my job, since we received a discount and was surprised with how good the seats were! We were 12 rows from home plate and both being baseball fans, we were excited to watch the game so close.

The view from our seats.

After 4 innings, my wish came true and the Indians went on a 7 run inning and beat the Reds 7-1.  We had a great night and were able to enjoy a wonderful night at Progressive field together since Danny doesn't work for the Indians this year.  I am already enjoying all the free time we have together instead of planning my summer around baseball season.  We are hoping to go to many more baseball games this year to cheer on the home team!

Us at the game.

Half Marathon

Danny and I signed up for our first half marathon!! I am very excited since this is one of my bucket list items before I turn the big 3-0.  I haven't run seriously since before the wedding, but I'm hoping to fall into a routine again.  I am so lucky to have a supportive husband that is willing to do something like this with me! He encouraged me to start running when we first met.  I had never liked it since I never thought I was good at it, but ever since we started running to get in shape for the wedding, I've discovered I can do it.  When I achieve my goals, it is worth the pain that it takes to get to that point.  I can't wait for this new endeavor and to achieve the new goal I set out for myself! 121 days, here we go!

James Garfield Memorial

Last weekend, my Dad was able to visit us in Cleveland.  This was his first time seeing the house and this was the first time in a while, we were able to spend a few days in a row with him.  My Dad is one of the most hardworking people I know and was working every single day, but now that he switched his schedule, he will have Friday nights and Saturdays off to spend with me and Danny up in Cleveland. 

My Dad was raised in a city close to Cleveland called Akron, Ohio.  This is why to this day I am a huge Cleveland sports fan.  When I graduated college and decided to accept a job up in Cleveland, my Dad was excited that I was starting my adult life in a city that was near and dear to his own heart.  Now that we have the house, we hope that we have many more visits from my parents and Danny's parents.  They all visited before, but it was usually just a day trip since we had no where for them to sleep in our tiny apartment!

This past weekend, we took my Dad to visit James Garfield's house located in Mentor, Ohio.  My Dad is a huge history buff and was so excited to learn about him.  Danny and I had been meaning to visit, but this happened to be the perfect opportunity to go.  Overall, a great representation of who James Garfield was and even how people lived back then.

My Dad at the James Garfield exhibit.

 After the tour, we grabbed dinner at the local Applebees.  We had a gift card from the wedding that we still hadn't used.  I love it when that happens :)

Danny and I at Applebees with my Dad.

Our Honeymoon to Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Today I am craving nice weather since its been raining here for the last few days.  I was day dreaming about our trip to Jamaica after a friend was asking me about it since she is planning her own honeymoon.  Even though Danny and I were sick during our honeymoon limiting us to the typical pool time and all inclusive alcohol that we were supposed to enjoy on our trip, it was a wonderful trip that I will always have good memories of.  We have already made plans to go back in a few years to relive our honeymoon and we are planning to pack plenty of medicine in case we are struck with bad luck again.  Here are some pictures of our honeymoon to narrate our trip.



This was our view for breakfast every single morning- It was breathtaking.



First day at the pool/pool bar.



First day in the pool.



First lunch at the beach.



On our way to our couples massage- totally overpriced, but totally worth it!



"White night"- but also Chocolate night, so delicious!



Laying in the pool with my Jamaican smile :)



About to board the boat for our excursion to Dunn's River Falls.



Climbing the 960 ft waterfall!! So amazing!



The day IU played in the NCAA tourney. We, of course had to represent in Jamaica.



The beach and the view everyday from lunch/dinner.



This was one of our "sicky days".  We only left the room to lounge and check out the view before returning to our room to sleep again.



Out to dinner at the Japanese Steakhouse.  Danny tried caviar for the first time!



One of our last days at the pool.



Our last meal at the resort.  We went to China Doll which was one of my favorite restaurants!

My first trip to Trader Joe's

So I know I am behind the times, but I went to Trader Joe's for the first time last week. After moving to a new suburb, I have been struggling to find a grocery store that I like and that doesn't completely rip through my bank account. We really like Heinens, but unfortunately it is a little expensive to shop there regularly. On my first Trader Joe's trip, I learned I could get quality organic food without breaking the bank. My coworker had been talking about going for a long time and I finally took him up on it. One of my favorite things I bought is Cranberry, walnut, Gorgonzola salad dressing. It's pictured here with my salad I had tonight for dinner.

Danny and I ended the night with the second game of a four game series of the Reds vs. Indians. It's the battle of Ohio and since I was raised an Indians fan and Danny a Reds fan, it can get pretty competitive. Although, Danny does have sympathy for my Indians since he used to work for them. Our cat, Teddy is enjoying the exciting game and he happen to snag the best seat in the house!  

Our new home

Since I haven't blogged in awhile, I wanted to catch everyone up on what's been going on in our lives.  One of the more exciting things that is different in our life is our new house.  Ever since Danny and I moved into our small apartment last year, we have been dreaming of the day we could upgrade to our own house.  We knew we would be in Cleveland long term, so it was only a matter of time that we bought our first house.  We had to wait until the apartment lease was up before we could move since we couldn't get out of the lease terms, but that didn't stop us from looking.  We started seriously looking in February.  I remember I was tired of thinking about the wedding and I needed to focus my energy on something else.  At first I thought things were going to be crazy stressful, but it actually acted as the perfect distraction for me.  I was looking online one day and came across a Realtor named, Kayleen McDowell.  I decided to leave her a message and wait for her phone call since it was 8 o'clock at night, but to my surprise, she answered the phone.  She had such a fun, outgoing personality that I knew she was the perfect person to find our dream home. After telling her what we were looking for, she gave us a list of houses in our price range and in our ideal neighborhood.  That weekend, we took a tour of about 6 houses and found our dream home within those houses!! As soon as we walked in, we fell in love with the amazing exposed beams in the finished basement and kitchen.  It was colorfully decorated and had so much personality.  It had a large backyard with a pool (which just looked like a lot of work to me, but Danny admired it).  The house had everything we wanted and more.  That night, we put in an offer. 

The next day was one of the most nerve-wracking days of my life.  I had to work but I wanted so desperately to hear back from the home owners.  Everyone seemed to prepare me for a counter offer, but much to my surprise, they accepted!

This started the long drawn out process of applying for a mortgage.  Although it was tough, we signed and closed on the house on April 15th, and proceeded to move in the following day. 

Even though home owning is tough, as we have already figured out, I find myself more and more in love with the house each and every day.  We have made it our own from the man cave in the basement to the master bedroom upstairs.  I love our house and so glad we have some place to call home.

Our house on moving day!

Spring has sprung- Front door Wreath

As Danny and I moved into our house in April, I could finally start all of the crafts I had been pinning since I joined Pinterest a few years ago!  I decided my first craft would be a door decoration since we now officially have a front door!  I had seen the design for a monogrammed twine letter that I thought would be cute.  However, I did not think it through since gluing twine on an "S" and trying to make it look even definitely did not work out.  A few weeks later, after I had totally given up on the twine letter idea, I saw a flowered wreath on Pinterest that was the same idea but slightly different (and easier) design.  After creating my own, I think it looks better than the twine letter and it was easier to make!  Check it out below!



The twine letter idea was a huge FAIL for me.

Our new front door wreath made with a wooden letter and some silk flowers.

Memorial Day Weekend

First and foremost, we remember those who have lost their lives fighting for our freedom today.  My thoughts and prayers are with the many families who have witnessed this hardship firsthand.  I am thankful everyday to live in a free country and this day always makes me realize that it did come at a cost.

As for our weekend, Danny and I had a fun-filled Memorial day weekend with lots of cooking out and enjoying the semi nice weather. For some reason, the last few days have been in the high 50's here. BRRRR! This made the Saturday night barbeque at our friends house feel a little more like a fall cookout instead of a summer sizzle.  It was filled with AMAZING food by our hosts, Dave and Stefanie and included great desserts including peanut butter cookies, oreo pie, and brownie cupcakes by some of the guests! It was a great night filled with wonderful food, friends, and of course a couple games of cornhole!! (I had forgotten how competitive Danny is...)

Last night, Danny and I tried out the new grill that we bought for the house!! We had just bought it two days prior and couldn't wait to try it out! Danny had a spinach and feta hamburger from Heinen's while I had the usual veggie burger from Trader Joe's.  I made pasta salad with cucumbers and tomatoes, and we had watermelon on the side.  All in all, a great meal and it made me look forward to many more nights grilling out this summer! I hope everyone is having a great Memorial day weekend!

Danny using the new grill!

Pasta salad, veggie burger, and watermelon.

So it's OFFICIAL!!

So it's official!!  I am a married woman now!  We have officially been newlyweds for 71 days now! So much has happened in the last 71 days that it is incredible how different my life was before compared to now.  Not just the rings and new last name have changed.  After we got back from the honeymoon, Danny and I closed on our house! We closed on the house 8 days before my 25th birthday.  It was a long, drawn out process, but I am so thankful that we were able to get everything figured out and now can just start living our new life, in our new house.  One day after moving into the new house, we added a family member...

The first day we took him home

His name is Yogi Steele.  We adopted him from Heaven 2 Earth rescue located in New Philadelphia, Ohio.  My coworker had told me about the rescue organization after his family adopted a new puppy from them.  They rescue puppies that are born from Amish working dogs.  Since the Amish don't believe in spaying or neutering their work dogs, they have a lot of puppies.  The rescue agency takes the puppies from the Amish so the puppies are not sold to people that use the puppies for dog fighting and other sad, terrible reasons.  I also love this organization because the puppies are GORGEOUS!! Since they are randomly bred, you always get a mix of some kind of dog.  Yogi is half German Shepard, half Collie mix.  I grew up with Golden Retrievers and Danny grew up with Labs so we wanted a big dog similar to that breed.  When I saw Yogi (formally "Casper") on the website, I fell in love with his sandy color and floppy ears!!


This was his picture on the website.

Two weeks after we got Yogi, his ears started standing up like a typical German Shepard and I knew that my sweet Golden Retriever looking puppy was about to start changing into a full bred German Shepard.  This last month of having Yogi have been a blessing, but most of the time he is a handful!! I have never raised a puppy before, so it is a learning experience for me.  I am still learning that I can't leave him wandering around the house when cleaning or doing other chores.  He is also too strong for his own good and has learned to get out of his own crate.  We bought him a new one last week, thinking the original crate was too old and he broke out of his new one too.  Yogi is a good dog and we can already tell that he is obedient and will be well behaved when he is older.  He is a joy to have in our house and the cats don't mind him as much as we thought they would! All in all, its a learning curve for everyone with the new house and new puppy, but everyone is adjusting well.

 



Look at those German Shepard ears!!