I'm baaaack!

Why hello there little blogosphere!  It's been a while a little over 3 months!  Whoops.  I sort of fell off the face of the {blog} earth!  Obviously, you all noticed!  I mean how did you survive without me!?

I didn't exactly mean to drop off the {blog} planet, but it just kind of happened.  I was kind of stuck in this rut back in July, if you recall.  I tried to keep on blogging, but the rut won.  Rut - 1, Michelle - 0.

I still don't really know why I backed away so suddenly.  I sort of felt fake this summer in my blogging life.  I don't know why....I've never been fake on this blog or tried to convey a picture that doesn't really exist of my life.

It kind of just felt like I was blogging to put on this pretty show, to keep up with this chore.  Looming over my head...but I had a lot going on and I just didn't want to, to be really honest!  I couldn't keep up with my blog...it felt like work.  So I needed a break.

I wanted to be in my life, be intentional.  And that meant letting go of the blog, and of twitter, and Pinterest for a while.  So I let go!

I kept reading all of your blogs!  I still love keeping up with everyone's lives, but I think I just needed time away to miss my blog.  And, finally, after 3 months....I miss it!  I miss recapping our weekends, funny stories, sharing pictures, & recipes.  All the good ol' boring stuff!  So I'm going to give this another chance & hopefully keep this journal going.

I'm baaaaack!!  And just know that's a very loose term ;)  I may only still post once or twice a week or not a all a week here and there, but, I want to be back!  So here goes....

3 months in a nutshell!

End of July/August

I ran the Electric Run with some friends, we continued to enjoy drinks in our driveway (because we're classy!), worked out (a lot. duh!) at the box, & traveled to the Mitten for B's work summer party - we got to see our cutie nephew Weston oh so briefly, step our feet into chilly Lake Michigan & enjoy a rodeo!

September

We enjoyed double dates with great friends, celebrated Labor Day, threw an awesome Mustache Bash for Brandon & Warren's 30th Birthdays, and celebrated our friends' Greg & Ashley's wedding in the beautiful city of Charleston with good friends :)  It was such a great weekend away!

September/October

We celebrated multiple Oktoberfests, got new tattoos, celebrated lots of October birthdays with sweet family in town, killed some more workouts & got some sweet new Reebok CrossFit gear - it was like Christmas in October!

More October & early November

We bought a gorgeous new chair for our living room (which I feel is finally complete!), drank lots of Cottonwood Pumpkin Ale (our new fav!!!), snuggled our cute Halloween pup, & enjoyed a wonderful weekend away in the Mountains with awesome friends!

It's been a great & busy couple of months!  I'm already feeling so mushy & thankful approaching this Holiday season....busy or not, there's always so much to be thankful for & I love documenting it all here!  I'll try to fill in the gaps here & there on these last months when I can & I'm going to be more intentional about blogging.

So if you're all still out there, still reading, thanks!  It's good to be back!

Ginormous Sized Update

Hello blog world!!!  Man have I missed you!

I think I'm finally {bless it} getting into a good routine with school, which means I've found a few minutes to actually blog! :)

Since it's been {ahem} 2 weeks since I last posted, there's a lot to share!  But in an effort to keep this from being the world's longest blog post ever, I'll just detail the highlights, bullet point style!

• The last weekend in August, B & I flew off to Michigan for his company's summer work party! Friday night was spent on a dinner cruise on Lake Michigan with everyone in the sales department...

We kept the party going in the bustling town of Muskegon and went out with everyone afterwards!

Saturday, we were off to Michigan's Adventure where we got our roller coaster/water slide on {aka waited in a lot of lines!} and I nearly died on the Rip Cord {video posted here}!

We were glad to get back home to this naughty boy...

Someone shouldn't be on the pillows!!

• It was back to real life on Monday after getting back as school started!  B sent me a gorgeous bouquet on my first day, as he always does :)  He never fails to make me feel special!

• Our Labor Day weekend was full of family, friends & fun!  We had a family cook out at my bro & SIL's house up in Concord.  It was pretty much a dog party (their 2 dogs, Berkley & my parents dog!) and Berkley got to meet his doggy cousins :)

Sunday night of Labor Day weekend, we finally caught up with our friends Kelly & Ryan!  They brought their {huge} pup, Bentley, over and we all ate some awesome food and watched the pups play!

Tug o' War!!

• Somehow, even a short work week after labor day was still exhausting!!  But I survived the first 2 weeks, so I'm counting it as a win :)

• I started the Paleo diet on Labor Day and I'm on week 2.  I'm loving how I'm feeling & really loving how I'm looking!  So far, it's much easier than I was prepared for and I don't miss dairy or grain near as much as I thought I would....but Paleo requires a post of it's own, so more on that another day!

• This past weekend, I helped host a baby shower for my sweet friend, Rachel, at my house! Rachel is expecting a precious little baby girl toward the end of next month, so soon now!

Rachel with the hostesses :)  Katie, Erin, Rachel, Ashley, & Me

2 out of the 4 hostesses are also expecting!  Something's apparently in the water, but don't worry, I filtered mine before I drank it ;)

The shower was so, so gorgeous!!  Unfortunately I didn't take pics, but when Rachel, Erin or Katie blogs about it, I'll share the link!

• B & I grabbed dinner with some good friends Saturday night and then enjoyed a busy, productive Sunday together!

Surprisingly, I think that pretty much sums up the past 2 weeks in a nutshell!  I had several meetings today at school, but the rest of my week is shaping up to be less busy on the school front, so I'm going to relish that and this amazing weather while I can :)

Ahhh...feels good to blog again!  Hopefully I'll be able to manage at least a post or 2 a week, but I can't make any guarantees just yet!

Happy almost hump day!  Here's to a speedy rest of the work week friends!!

Oh the place you'll go...

Over this summer, I've seen a few other bloggers recap all the places they've traveled alongside their significant other.  I've loved seeing all the places each blogger had been & I like the idea of keeping a log of all the places Brandon and I have traveled...so I thought I'd follow suit!

A few places are obvious repeats (MI, VA), but each trip was unique so I wanted to document the repeats anyway.

Hopefully, as we travel more over our lives to new, different, and exotic places (a girl can dream right!?), I can come back and update this post :)

Since March of 2009, when I first met Brandon, we've traveled to...

Matoaca, VA - Lake Chesdin - June 2009

My cousin Ashley's HS graduation - and the first of many trips to the lake

Myrtle Beach, SC - July 2009

A first for B, although I'd visited many a time!

Folly Beach, SC - September 2009

When my love affair with Folly Beach began

Crowder's Mountain & Chimney Rock, NC - September 2009

Hiking on Labor Day

Grand Rapids/Hudsonville, MI - December 2009

Meeting B's family for the first time!

Crystal Mountain, MI - December 2009

Squeezed in a little skiing while in the Mitten :)

Beech Mountain, NC - January 2010

A little local ski day trip!

San Juan, Puerto Rico - April 2010

My Spring Break & a very memorable trip - where we got engaged!!

Atlanta, GA - June 2010

A weekend in the ATL & the Tigers vs. the Braves

Matoaca, VA - Lake Chesdin - July 2010

Back to the lake - my family vacay

Hudsonville, MI - August 2010

Our Michigan wedding shower :)

Folly Beach, SC - September 2010

Labor Day Weekend at the beach with good friends!

Blacksburg, VA - VT - October 2010

Central Michigan vs. VT

MTNs of NC - November 2010

A weekend in the Mountains 2 weeks before the Big Day!

Negril, Jamaica - November 2010

Our Honeymoon!

Hudsonville, MI - December 2010

Our first married Christmas in Michigan

Myrtle Beach, SC - December 2010/January 2011

New Years at the Beach

Greenville, SC - February 2011

A weekend away

Atlanta, GA - March 2011
Visiting my Parents

Coco Beach & Orlando, FL - April 2011

Spring Break & my first visit to Universal Studios!

Blacksburg, VA - VT - May 2011

My cousin Erin's College Graduation

Durham, NC - July 2011

Durham for the night for a Durham Bulls Game

Corolla, NC - OBX - July 2011

Family Vacay in the Outer Banks

Grand Rapids/Husdonville/Muskegon, MI - July 2011

B's Company's Summer Work Party & my first helicopter ride!

Nashville, TN - August 2011

Traveling with B up to MI for a long weekend with the fam

Hudsonville, MI - August 2011

Long weekend with the fam

Virginia Beach, VA - September 2011

Another Labor Day at the Beach :)

Detroit, MI - October 2011

Our friends Ryan & Kelly's Wedding Weekend

Black Mountain & Mt. Mitchell, NC - October 2011

Hiking & Camping

Asheville, NC - November 2011

Our 1st Anniversary Trip and a visit to The Biltmore!

Rothbury, MI - December 2011

B's Company's Christmas Work Party

Hudsonville, MI - December 2011

Michigan after Christmas

Naussau, Bahamas & Key West, Florida - April 2012
B won a cruise through work so we took it over my Spring Break from school!

Matoaca, VA - May 2012
Up to the Lake for E&R's Engagement Luau

Folly Beach & Charleston, SC - June 2012
Our favorite spot

Blacksburg, VA - VT - June 2012
Erin & Ryan's Wedding Weekend

Virginia Beach, VA - July 2012
July 4th at the Beach!

Carolina Beach, NC - July 2012
Family Beach vacay


Unless I've somehow left out a trip that I just can't remember, that's every trip we've taken together!  Each has been so fun and special in it's own way...so here's to many more trips together, babe!

Labor Day Weekend

This post is rather late, but better late than never right!?  Blogging was on my "to do" list each and every night this week and each and every night this week I would cut and paste it onto the next days "to do" list.  Needless to say, this week was a rough one and I'm glad its over :)  I was a bug on the windshield of life last week, haha, but luckily, next week will be a new start again!  Ain't that grand!?

Anywhoo....back to Labor Day weekend!  After school last Friday, our friend Andrea met us at our place and we set off for VA Beach about 430, only the worst time to try and leave Charlotte!  Haha...we encountered massive amounts a bit of traffic which set us back a little, but we finally made it to Justin's about 1030!  This girl was exhausted so I tried hanging out til 1130 but then I had to hit the hay.  But after a good nights sleep, I was ready to go!!

Justin did a great job playing host and took us to an awesome place for brunch called Citrus.  Their mimosa's were to die for (I had a watermelon mimosa with freshly squeezed watermelon juice!  Who knew you could squeeze a watermelon!?!?) and the strawberry banana chocolate chip pancakes were probably the best thing I've ever put in my mouth!!

Justin lives about 2 blocks from the bay so we packed a cooler with some beverages and good eats and parked our butts at the beach til about 430. PERFECT DAY!!

The bay is calmer than the ocean and a little warmer.  You get some little waves from the boats and traffic passing by.  One of Justin's good friends and his girlfriend drove up to meet us from Raleigh and we met another couple Justin & Andrea and Erin & Ryan had met earlier this year out on the beach!  They brought their all terrain radio so we had a party =)

The boys passing out brews.  Unfortunately we didn't really take many pics (what else is new!?).  I'm SO bad about this.  The boys tossed the football and played in the water while the girls relaxed, got our tan on, and talked about all things girly!

Saturday night we went out for dinner & then got our dance on!

This pic alone proves I am letting go of my vanity for the sake of the blog.  Hah!  We took turns catching each other "in action"!  Clearly we have awesome dance moves!  

Caught Justin in action too!!

Sunday it was more of the same!  We soaked up the beach as long as we could and didn't leave til about 530.

Sorry for the poor quality phone pic!

There was a cool little band playing at a house not far from where we were parked and they were decked out in American spirit!  That night we got some Mexican for dinner and stuffed ourselves silly!

Monday we headed back pretty early which left us with a little time to get ready for the next week.  Our Labor Day weekend was the PERFECT close to a sweet, sweet summer!  We spent it with great friends on the beach and made lots of fun fall plans for the weeks coming up!  

Hope your labor day was perfect as well!