Sweet Ever After

Today was a bit of a gloomy day, weather-wise. I am supposed to be cleaning in preparation for the MIL visit this weekend. But I just do not feel like it. I managed to unpack my suitcase and do all of the laundry from this weekend. But beyond that? Not too much. I managed to catch up on the latest Hills episodes. Aaaaand that's about it.

I also managed to bribe Nick to come home early from work. We ended up going to Houlihan's for dinner, and discovered their $3.50 personal pitchers of Long Islands. And we each finished an entire pitcher. And yes, I could still walk out of the building by myself.

We've also been talking about getting an iPad since Ben has one and absolutely loves it. It seems like it would be great to play games on and watch movies/TV shows on, especially when going on long trips. Car trips, airports, on the plane...I wanted me an iPad. Which is ridiculous, because I've been making fun of them ever since they came out. I don't know what got into me...maybe it was all that Long Island...but we decided to go over to the mall and see about buying one.


Well...they didn't have one available in store. At this point, you still have to reserve them, and then pick them up within 24 hours. I was really hoping that we could get one before our trip next weekend, but I don't want to reserve one and then not be able to pick it up. So for now, we are waiting. And making this decision when not under the influence of Long Islands.

Photo Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2010/04/05/apple-ipad-review/

After such a busy weekend and such a long trip, I spent most of the day relaxing. I had plans to clean the house and get ready for Nick's mom to visit this weekend, but just couldn't get motivated. While I was procrastinating, I happened to find out about a sinkhole in Guatemala. Supposedly, it was caused by the heavy rains from Tropical Storm Agatha. But I have never seen anything like it. It doesn't look real. Much more like something out of a science fiction movie. Very creepy.


On a lighter note, I started to get a bit stir crazy and asked Nick if he wanted to go to dinner tonight. We decided to invite Ben and Noelle to go to Entourage with us. We both ordered the filet and crab cake medallions. A-mazing. Love it.

We woke up early this morning to make the trek back home. We piled into the Mini, and left the SUV back in Michigan. Surprisingly, I didn't feel too cramped in the back of the Mini, even during the 8 hour drive back home.

We all felt like the time went by a little quicker this time since we avoided bad traffic. We got back to Noelle's house around 1:30. After I finally got back home, I took a 3 hour nap. I was so incredibly exhausted.

But I'm really glad I went on this trip! I had a great time, and I'm looking forward to going back for the wedding this August!

I went with Noelle and her mom for her first fitting this morning. I absolutely love her wedding dress. It looks beautiful on her.

Afterward, we went to her cousin's graduation. The graduating class was so small. It looked like there were only about 30-40 people in the entire class. After that, we went to another graduation party, and I enjoyed the food even more at this one.

Later, we went back out to the beach to enjoy the sunset and spend some more time relaxing before we have to leave early tomorrow morning.

Today we woke up a bit early so that we could enjoy some time at the beach before heading out to run some wedding errands. We drove just a few minutes down the road to Noelle's grandmother's house which is right on the beach. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Clear blue skies and a light breeze with the temperature at about 80 degrees. It was so nice to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet after the long drive yesterday.

I forgot to bring sunscreen though, and ended up getting sunburned. It didn't look so bad at first, but as the day wore on, I got redder and redder. We decided to go home and change and then meet one of Noelle's friends in town for lunch. After that, we caught up with Ben to meet with the florist.

Noelle decided to use tall calla lilies for elegant centerpieces at her reception. Her bouquet will use 3 large calla lilies and 6 minis, along with bells of Ireland. The bridesmaids will carry a white hydrangea with bells of Ireland. I think it will all work beautifully together.


After a very long meeting with her very long-winded photographer, we headed to a graduation party for one of their friends. I recognized two of Noelle's friends and was introduced to many others as we ate fresh seafood at the lodge.

Afterward, we headed to Noelle's grandmother's house for a bonfire. Several people came, including some of Noelle's cousins, her uncle, some friends, and the cutest little dog named Cupcake. Everyone calls her Cupper, and she's such a smart dog! She knows several tricks, including roll over and they can even make her howl. She's precious.


I loved watching the sunset over the water. It was absolutely beautiful.


The weather was perfect, and the fire felt so nice when it started to get chilly after dark.

It was so good to meet so many of Noelle's friends before the wedding in August. It was a very busy day, but I had a lot of fun!

So today around lunchtime, Ben came to pick me up at the house. We swung by Jersey Mike's to pick up some subs to eat before we began the trip. The plan was to take two cars so that they could bring their dog to stay up North for the summer. Noelle and I rode in her new Mini, which was surprisingly comfortable.

Unfortunately, since it was Memorial Day weekend, there was a lot of traffic on the road. We ended up getting stuck in traffic, which made our trip about 2 hours longer. So instead of it being a 7.5 hour trip, it was closer to 9.5 hours.


We finally arrived at Noelle's house around midnight. We were all completely exhausted and went to bed almost immediately. Tomorrow is supposed to be a busy day.

Today I met up with Noelle at the mall on her side of town. We did a little bit of shopping, but I didn't buy anything. We ate lunch at California Pizza Kitchen, and I ate almost the entire pizza.


She and Ben are going out of town this weekend to their hometown in Upper Michigan. I was a little bummed when I found out because Nick has a Bachelor party to go to this weekend in Indiana. She surprised me by asking if I wanted to take the trip home with them to Michigan. She warned me that it was a super long trip and would be a busy weekend full of wedding planning and her cousin's high school graduation. But it sounded a lot better than staying home by myself all weekend.

After I made sure that I could leave the dogs with someone I trusted, I packed my bags and got ready for the trip the very next day.