Autumn Date

The hubs and I are always trying to plan date nights for each other.  I was the lucky one last week and Danny planned a date night around me.  It makes me feel special when my husband picks out special things that I like to do, but I also love planning date nights too.  I stumbled across Elizabeth at Army Ever After and Stephanie from Real Army Wife.  They have a link up called Autumn on my Mind and today's prompt is about the perfect Fall date.  I thought I would borrow their link up to plan my next date night with my husband!

One of our engagement photos taken during the Fall last year.

Fall is my favorite time of the year and Danny and I have not taken full advantage of it yet!  I love the changing leaves, cool weather, and sports that are associated with Fall.  Danny loves all that and the Fall beers that stock the shelves in our local supermarket come August.  I wanted to plan a date night around all of things we like about fall and this time of year. 

 

That's a lot of fall beer

I received a picnic basket from my Aunt and Uncle for the wedding and I have since then wanted to go on a picnic in the park near our house.  What better way to enjoy the nice weather and the beautiful scenery than a picnic before it starts to snow?  I can pack sandwiches and treats for us to eat and I can bring a football or baseball and we can play catch in the park.  I grew up throwing a ball with my dad in our front yard and enjoy playing catch when the weather's nice.

Afterwards, we can end the date with a beer (or two) at Willoughby Brewery Company.  It is one of our favorite restaurants and a hometown brewery that brews some delicious tasting beers.  We have been waiting for their fall beer to come out which we have never tried.  We've heard it's so good, they sell out within weeks due to the popularity.  It's supposed to be available early October, so hopefully we can try it.

That's all I have for my autumn date day/night.  Hopefully I can convince Danny to go on our autumn date day in the next few weeks! We need to get it in before it starts to snow here in Cleveland.  I seriously wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't the first time it's snowed in early October.

Happy Fall, Friends! Enjoy the season!

Linking up for Autumn on my Mind.

tbt: Green Bay, WI

Last October, Danny took me to Green Bay for my first ever home Packers game.  It was a birthday present  from April (even though he told me about it in March because he can't keep a secret...) so it was a long awaited trip to Lambeau.  We drove all the way from Cleveland, but the drive surprisingly wasn't that bad.  Danny planned the trip to stay in Appleton, WI.  Since Green Bay is such a small city, the hotels that they do have are really expensive to stay in on gameday.  Danny also found a bar that does a party bus from Appleton to Green Bay the morning of every game day.

Our first night in Appleton, WI was a fun one.  We discovered the small, college town by checking out the local bars including a Christmas bar!

Our first night in Appleton.

The Christmas bar was AMAZING!

The first night we also went to an Irish pub.  Guinness gives legit Irish pubs this countdown to St. Patrick's Day sign.  We were married on the day before St. Patrick's Day so whenever we see these signs, I always joke that Danny needs one so he can remember our anniversary every year.  Too bad I tried to find one for his man cave and they are hundreds of hundreds of dollars.

The next day we woke up extra early to get to the bar so we could get on the party bus in time.  The bar we went to had a Bloody Mary bar which started my very own Bloody Mary obsession!! After a morning drink, we headed on the bus to Green Bay! It was a short 30 minute ride and they had beer on the bus if you wanted it.

As soon as we got off of the bus, Danny and I were walking through the tailgating area when we suddenly heard someone shouting at us.  It was a nice group of family and friends that invited us into their tailgate! Danny's coworker is from Green Bay and told him that the people in Green Bay are very nice and welcoming.  They offered us food and drinks and we talked with them for the next hour before the game started.  I met a girl named Ashley and after talking, we had a lot in common.  We even found out we had the same birthday! They were the nicest people to welcome us into their tailgate and we had so much fun with them.

The group we tailgated with.

Danny and I tailgating.

Ashley, my birthday twin!

Before we knew it, it was game time.  We started to head to Lambeau Field.  It was such an indescribable experience since it's something that I've always dreamt of seeing.

Danny bought a Rodgers T-shirt, so proud :)

Outside the stadium.

After we got through the crazy crowd to get into the stadium.

Once we got to our seats, it was so surreal.  Our seats were amazing and we ended up making friends with the two women next to us.  All the tickets at Lambeau are season ticket holders, so they immediately knew we were new and were so nice to us.

The nice women that sat next to us.

Me and Danny in our seats.

How close our seats were.

After the game, we headed back on the bus and back to our hotel room in Appleton.  We had dinner plans, but because of the crazy, long day we had, we ended up going to sleep early so we could get a head start on the drive home the next morning.  Going to Lambeau was an amazing experience and I loved every minute of it.  The people in Green Bay were so friendly and I loved the small towns surrounding the area in Wisconsin.

St. Helen 5K Race

Saturday was a busy day for me.  I woke up bright and early because me and the hubby had a 5K scheduled at a 9 am start time.  The 5K was for St. Helen's church.  When we arrived, it was a lot smaller than we expected.  We have only ran one other 5K together and that was last year.  That 5K had a lot more people, but I didn't seem to mind the small crowd for this 5K (less people that actually had to see me run!)  The other minor detail that both of us overlooked was the course.  Our first 5K was very hilly, so I was looking forward to running a flat race, but I was severely mistaken.  The course could have been one for a cross country high school race.  We started out on a trail in a forest and then ended up rounding an apple orchard and then going through the same forest again.  It was brutal and the whole time I kept thinking why did my husband sign me up for this!?  Danny is a faster racer than I am, so he was ahead of me from the beginning.  Whenever I run, I'm always in the zone, with my music and my pace that I don't pay attention to anything else.  Well, I guess after the first mile, Danny pulled his hamstring and was sitting on the sidelines and I ran right past him and didn't even notice him.  The kicker was after I finished I was so annoyed with the fact that he wasn't there to greet me at the finish line that I walked to our car and waited for him to be done with his warm downs (I had assumed).  Danny came a few minutes after and asked why I wasn't there at the finish line for him (this is why we are the same person sometimes).  I was shocked when he told me that he got hurt and that he was behind me since I hadn't seen him.  After our mixup, we just laughed about the whole situation and how we thought the exact same thing.

It was a fun morning, but it definitely was the hardest 3.1 miles I've ever run.

Danny getting ready for the race

Danny and I before the race

I was so amazed with the course, I had to take a "running" picture of it to show you.
This was the apple orchard.  Very beautiful, but not runner friendly.

The Boys Behind the Blog: August Addition

Today marks the next addition of The Boys Behind the Blog.  Check out Danny's answers to the following questions posted the first Thursday of the month.

Danny, the boy behind the happy Wife

1. What would you do with $1,000,000?

I would pay off our debt, go on a vacation to Hawaii, and then save the rest.
2. What is your dream job?

Owning a local sandwich shop.
3. Who is your celebrity crush?

Scarlett Johansson.

4. What is your favorite sports team?

It's a toss up between the Cincinnati Reds and the Indiana Hooisers basketball team, but because I used to play baseball, it would have to be the Reds.

After the Reds/Cardinals game last year.

5. What was your AOL/AIM screen name back in the day?

Bigdan1244

Check back on the third Thursday of every month for The Boys Behind the Blog link up and to hear more from Danny!

#WeddingWednesday: The Dress

The journey to to find my dress was a short one however, the journey to fall absolutely head over heels with it was a LONG one!  I first went dress shopping with my mom and at the time my soon to be mother-in-law.  Since the dress was a such a big part of my big day, I wanted them both there for moral support.  And boy did I sure need it that day...

Ever since Danny and I had decided on our bridal party, I knew that I would need to go to David's Bridal to get the bridesmaid gowns since my girls lived all over the place.  I needed one central store that they could all get their hands on (this is how David's Bridal gets you, ladies).  Knowing this, I scheduled my dress appointment with David's because they give a discount to the bride if she gets her bridesmaid dresses there (this is how they get you too).  AND we ended up getting the tuxes from Men's Warehouse which resulted in getting the groom's tux for free (and that's the icing on the cake), so at the end of the day, we were okay with getting a ton of free stuff if it meant sucking the bridal party into it too.  Believe me ladies, they know what they're doing.

My appointment was scheduled for our first "wedding weekend" in Columbus.  Since we lived 150 miles away from where we got married, Danny and I would often plan these trips to Columbus that involved jamming everything we could in two days of wedding monstrosity.

Also, this was right after we got engaged, so I was not in wedding shape yet so I was feeling super self conscious.  I have always worried about the size of my hips.  Even at 1 day old, the nurses in the hospital nicknamed me, thunder thighs and for good reason (I was scared even from a young age).  I don't think my mom and mother-in-law were ready for the self conscious Suzy that was about to be.  I tried on dress after dress and they were all horrible! When you go dress shopping for the first time, rid your mind of all those images you pinned on Pinterest of the perfect dress because that's just not real life.

After trying on what seemed like a few million dresses, I finally found one that did not accentuate my hip area, but actually covered it up.  Without anyone noticing I started to tear up because I was so happy that a dress actually fit me and looked good.  From that moment on, I fell for the dress, but I wasn't in LOVE love. Turns out too that the very next dress I tried on, my mother and mother-in-law absolutely LOVED on me and I said absolutely not, so that made me overthink my decision too.



My first time with the dress on!
(Slightly obsessed with the train.)

That day we bought the dress because I did really like it and it was the best dress for my body.  Fast forward and I've tried the dress on a few more times and even once while I was alone in my apartment.  (It's so tempting when you're home alone and the big dress bag is just staring at you!)  I kept falling more and more in love with my dress the more I tried it on.  This was especially true at my final dress fitting.  6 weeks before the wedding, two of my bridesmaids and my dear friend came along with me to try on the whole shebang (dress, shoes, veil, and tiara) and I was mesmerized with the whole ensemble.  That moment was when I was head over heels, drooling over my dress.  That night I could not wait to show Danny what I looked like on our big day (believe me, I tried to convince him to let me show him a picture, but he would not give in).


At my final dress fitting

On the wedding day, the dress was perfect, but it was especially perfect because of the way it made me feel.  The dress was everything I dreamed of and I would not have wanted anything else.  It fit me perfectly and I was absolutely in love with it.

Below are some of my favorite pictures our photographer captured of the dress on our special day:

 

Picture Post: PIB

Unfortunately I didn't get too many pictures from this weekend in Put-In-Bay or at least not as many as I would have liked to of the island and the environment surrounding the island.  Of the pictures I did manage to capture, I thought I would wrap into a picture post.  I'm a woman of few words today, so hopefully this will suffice!

Perry's Monument located on PIB.

Waiting for the ferry to take us over to the island.

Unfortunately the only picture we got together on the way to the island.

Matching V-necks

Matchy matchy

The first night

All of the girls

First night in PIB

#WeddingWednesday: Invitations

This Wedding Wednesday is dedicated to the paper I used to create our save the dates and wedding invitations.  From the beginning of the planning process, a friend of mine told me to look at Wedding Paper Divas for all of my paper product needs.  As soon as I logged onto the site, I fell in love with their adorable designs and colorful invitations.

Finding a save the date that I liked was easy, but for some reason finding an invitation was a lot harder.  I went through invitation after invitation until I stumbled on the new collection that Wedding Paper Divas just released last winter.  Instantly I knew the design went with the theme and colors of our wedding.  I also wanted a invitation pocket to finish the look and I found a great deal at Card & Pockets.  I was able to order samples of both the card pockets and also the invitations, however Danny and I made the mistake of showing everyone the samples.  We learned through this process that everyone has their own opinion and we had to pick what we wanted and not what everyone else wanted.  I ended up choosing the invitation and just barely showed Danny a preview before ordering them (he's pretty easy-going, so I knew he would be okay with whichever I chose).  This way, I chose the invitation I liked best and didn't have to worry about everyone else's opinions.



Our save the date- it acts as a refrigerator magnet too!

This obviously wasn't our wedding invitation, but it's just a sample of what ours looked like.
I loved the flowers and subtle pink tones since it was a spring wedding and our colors were Champagne and Pink.

The Boys Behind the Blog: July

Today I'm linking up on the third Thursday of this month to answer some questions from the hubby in a link up called, The Boys Behind the Blog.  Below are the questions for the month of July and Danny's answers!



Danny, the boy behind the happy Wife

1. What celebrity would play you in a movie about your life?
Matt Damon

2. What is your dream car?
Jeep Wrangler

3. Do you have any tattoos? What, where, why?
No

4. Boxers or briefs?
Boxers

5. List 3 random facts about yourself...

I've lived in 5 different states (Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio)

I've been stung by a jellyfish while on vacation.

I've worked for two different professional baseball teams (the Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Indians)

Danny and his coworkers with the Reds when they clinched their division.

Us while Danny worked for the Indians

#WeddingWednesday: The cake

This week's #WeddingWednesday is dedicated to the cake! We chose Sue from Le Gateau to create our beautiful wedding cake and after it was all said and done, it turned out amazing!

One of our favorite things to do during the wedding planning process was to taste test the different flavors of cake and Sue's cakes did not disappoint! We ended up choosing a chocolate mouse, a lemon cake, and an Italian pound cake with fresh raspberries! All flavors were amazing at the tasting and on our special day. 



Cutting the cake.

We were nice to each other...no cake smashing.

We also had asked Sue for a special request.  Since members of my family needed a sugar free cake, she made their own smaller cake to accommodate them so that they could still enjoy cake at the wedding.  We also had a guest that had a birthday on our wedding day and we wanted to commemorate with a small birthday cake in his favorite flavor.  With both of these requests, Sue was more than happy to provide us with the extra details that made our day that more special.

As for the design of the cake, we decided to go with a simple, yet elegant look.  We wanted to incorporate our colors (Champagne and Pink) and we wanted flowers on the cake.  I had found something I liked on Pinterest (of course) and showed it to Sue to recreate.  Our cake was perfect and we even got to keep the gum paste flowers that Sue created just for our cake.  They are something that we can keep forever to remember it by.  I already can't wait to have a piece of our wedding cake for our one year anniversary in March!


Check out Le Gateau if you are looking for an amazing cake for your wedding!

Man Candles

One of the many reasons why I love being a homeowner or really just able to have my own space (not including the space I share with my husband), is so I can decorate it according to my personality.  One of the most important parts of that are the smells of our living space.  I feel like smells can take you to a whole new place, mainly because smells can be linked to memories.  They can help us remember times in the past or create new memories all on their own.  In my apartment, I used to burn my yankee candles all the time.  Once Danny moved in, I started bringing him with me to the Yankee Candle store if I needed to stock up.

After awhile, Danny and I noticed a section of candles specifically catered to male noses.  They had scents such as "First Down" which smells like football leather, "Riding Mower" that smells like freshly cut grass, and even "MMM, Bacon!" which smells like you just cooked bacon for breakfast.

This is a clever marketing ploy by Yankee Candle and I know we are sold on the man candles.  Danny loves having them in his man cave because it helps cover up the musky smell of a basement without smelling like a garden down there.  One of our favorites is called, Man Town pictured below which smells like a man's cologne.  If you have men that are in need of manly scents, try the Yankee Candle's Man Candles!