Memorial Day Weekend

I'm not really sure how it's happening, but time is absolutely flying. I wish I had more time for consistent blogging, but I can barely keep the laundry clean and the dishes washed around here. Imagine if I had actual responsibilities!

Our Memorial Day weekend was an eventful one, to say the least. On Thursday, we headed to Ohio to pick Wheat's parents up from their hotel to finally introduce them to my parents. Despite some initial, understandable jitters, the introduction was painless and our parents got along wonderfully for the duration of the trip. That, of course, is code for my parents acted like normal human beings for 48 hours and I commend them on their excellent behavior. We spent that evening discussing all things wedding, catching up with each other, and devouring Mexican food from our favorite local place.

The wedding talk continued on Friday afternoon when we ventured to the Oscar Event Center for a food tasting. For some reason, I was expecting the 'tasting' to be a small sampling of food. Instead, it was a massive three-course meal for all six of us, set in a private room at a table complete with candles, dinner rolls, and house salad. In all, we tried chicken parmesan, chicken stuffed with spinach, artichoke, and ricotta cheese, mashed potatoes, a vegetable medley, and three flavors of cake from the bakery downstairs. For our wedding, we opted with the stuffed chicken because I actually moaned while chewing it. Probably a good sign, right?

After a quick stroll through Jungle Jim's, we finalized our spot for the rehearsal dinner and checked out the hotel where we will be blocking rooms. That night, LP and Elizabeth came to our house for our second enormous meal of the day, complete with steak, broccoli cheese casserole, potato bacon casserole, sauteed mushrooms and onions, and ice cream cake. I'll pretend it was someone's birthday to make myself feel better about all the food.

Mom's highly personalized shopping cart.

Wheat's parents left for Tennessee the next morning and my parents jetted off for Florida, so we had full intentions of heading back to Indianapolis early. However, LP stopped by the house just as we were locking up, so we watched the Reds lose (again) and stopped by Iron's Fruit Farm to laugh at the pigs and get some cinnamon-cider donuts. On our way back to Indy, we stopped by Jenn and Paul's apartment to say hi and ended our night with some Steak 'n Shake.

LP affectionately nicknamed this one Hodor.

Partly on a complete whim and partly because I begged him we missed the 500 Parade on Saturday afternoon, Wheat and I decided to bite the bullet and fight the crowds to watch the 99th running of the Indy 500 - separate post on that to come. The rest of the weekend was spent getting ready for our engagement photo shoot on Monday evening. It'll be a few weeks before we get the pictures back from that, so I'll save that for a separate post, too. We closed our weekend perfectly, however, with dinner on the outdoor patio at Bourbon Street (where we went after we got engaged), another gorgeous sunset, and hints of race day all around.

Even with Monday off, my brain is sufficiently fried for the week. Hooray for Friday, eh?

Happy Thoughts Thursday

My stomach is still rolling, I'm super tired, but guess what? It's my Friday and we've got a busy, exciting weekend ahead of us. I think that calls for some happy thoughts.

- Blaze Pizza. Uhh...yum. How have I never been to this place before? We have one walking distance from our apartment and ever since we tried it last week, I've been dreaming about the white top pizza (white cream sauce, mozzarella, bacon, garlic, oregano, and arugula).

 - Backstreet Boys and Show 'Em What You're Made Of. I'm lucky enough to have a fiance who not only puts up with my teenybopper tendencies, but also embraces them. Wheat loves boy bands almost as much as I do, so when I heard that the new Backstreet Boys documentary, Show 'Em What You're Made Of, was in theaters for a one-night-only special event, I roped him into going with me. The movie itself was actually really great. I thought I knew everything there was to know about my childhood favorite band, but I learned a lot of new things and loved reliving the moments I remember so vividly from elementary school. It was interesting to see how the band is coping with the rigors of touring as they get older and settle down. It focused quite a bit on my 5th grade boyfriend Brian and the medical condition that is causing him to lose his voice. If you like the Backstreet Boys even a little bit, I highly recommend this film to give you a glimpse into their day-to-day life and the road they took to reach super-stardom.

- Indy 500. It's pretty obvious what time of year it is in Indy. Most weekends, I wake up to the not-so-faint sound of the roaring engines at the Speedway. Signs outside of store fronts and painted on windows welcome race fans to the city. The 500 Festival parade route has been lined with empty bleachers for weeks now. I'm not a race fan by any means, but ever since I covered the event two years ago, I have a massive appreciation for IndyCar and the 500 in particular. I'm looking forward to the race on Sunday and hoping for no rain delays!

- Gorgeous Sunsets. As Wheat and I were leaving Marsh on Monday evening, I was stopped dead in my tracks by this absolutely breathtaking sunset. Pictures don't do it justice, but I thought I'd try, anyway.

- Indianapolis hidden treasures. I've lived here for almost three years now and I'm still blown away by the awesome things I see while walking around downtown. Gorgeous flowers, tires made into Grumpy Cat and Lil' Bub outside of a Mass Ave shop, beautiful murals (I'll save these and do a separate post on them), and intriguing street art. Oh yeah - you can also spot the Batmobile or a car that looks like a UFO with an alien driving it if you're lucky.

- "Talking Body" by Tove Lo. Yep, love it. On repeat all week.



Were you loyal to the Backstreet Boys or N'Sync? Be careful with this answer or friendship terminated.
Are you a racing fan of any kind? Will you watch the Indy 500?
What's making YOU happy this week?

Soccer and Baseball and Doughnuts, Oh My!

This weekend was the calm before the storm. You know the vibe you get when you're sitting on the couch feeling relatively relaxed, but you can see the specter of busyness to come? Quick trips, weddings, concerts, and all the other goodies that come along with summer? It's practically here and I'm beyond excited to make this summer one worth remembering.

We filled our weekend with lots of Indy favorites - an Indian food and ice cream date night, complete with walks along the canal and Mass Ave. My online presence has been flooded with canal pictures for the last month and I regret absolutely nothing. The place is as dreamy as it gets in the Midwest - fountains, bike and paddle boat rentals, blankets for sunbathing, Italian ice and gourmet burgers, gorgeous views of the city skyline, monuments, geese, ducks, and as of this weekend, a fresh crop of baby ducklings that cause me to elicit squeals that hopefully only dogs can hear.

Saturday, we tried Rocket 88 Doughnuts in Fountain Square for the first time. When you wake up to the pitter-patter sound of drizzly rain on the windows, it's time for a new doughnut shop, right? I tried the strawberry filled and toasted coconut doughnuts while my better half opted for the old-fashioned and chocolate chip cookie dough ones. Don't worry - he's nice enough to share.

After breakfast, we set off to create the personalized shirts we wanted for our save the dates. Without spoiling anything, they're cute and I love them. While we waited for them to finish, we split an order of breadsticks at Kilroy's because when you've already had fried dough once that day, you should probably do it again.

That night, we took advantage of free tickets from a good friend to attend our first Indy Eleven soccer game at IUPUI's Michael A. Carroll Stadium. Although it drizzled throughout the match and Indy Eleven fell to Minnesota United FC, 3-1, we had an awesome time. The seats (and concessions) were great and we loved that we were able to walk there from our apartment! Also, right before Indy Eleven scored their only goal of the match, a magnificent rainbow appeared that seemingly ended in the goal. Coincidence? I think not.

After the game, we walked over to Victory Field so I could channel my best Squints-on-4th-of-July impression during the free firework show. The sportiness continued into Sunday when we enjoyed our first baseball game of the summer. The Indians, a Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates (BOO!), won their game against the Norfolk Tides (the Orioles' affiliate - any idea who we were rooting for?) in an offensive showcase, 8-5. I distracted myself nicely with a delicious bowl of nachos. Oh, and we were on the kiss cam for the first time ever. I may or may not have squealed like a child at an amusement park.

...and like all good things, the weekend came to an unwanted end. There is some light at the end of the tunnel for most people, though. You know what it's called? Memorial Day Weekend.

Wedding Advice? Please?

Whoa, guys. I had absolutely no idea how complicated wedding planning is.

Don't get me wrong. It has also been really fun, but I'm not one of those girls who has had her dream wedding planned out since childhood. Sure, I have a secret wedding Pinterest board (I'm not some kind of wild animal), but that's about the extent of how much thought I'd invested in my seemingly long-off possibly nonexistent nuptials. Suddenly, I look at the calendar and realize that we have a lot of decisions to make (and money to spend - woof) in the next six months.

So, as I do in all facets of my life, I'm going to talk it out here on my beloved blog. Maybe some of you crafty, incredible, magazine-worthy blog friends have some advice. Here's where we currently stand:

Things We've Done

- Picked a date and booked the venue
- Bought my wedding dress
- Created a guest list and chose our wedding party
- Booked a photographer
- Scheduled a tasting of dinner options (basically the most exciting thing so far)
- Booked an officiant

Things I Think We Need to Do Really Soon

- Book a DJ
- Have our engagement photos taken
- Send out Save the Dates (which I think we'll be doing online because $$$)
- Secure a block of rooms at a hotel and a venue for the rehearsal dinner

I can't even begin to make a list of long-term things to do. My head starts spinning when I even begin to think about flower options, tablecloth colors, wedding party entrances, centerpieces, hotel welcome bags, and transportation. One thing at a time, yeah?

So, here are a few of my questions:

- I don't drink at all and Wheat's not much of a drinker, either. Will my guests be upset if I only offer them a couple kinds of beer and one red/one white wine for the reception? Because I'd much rather save my money or spend it elsewhere.

- A videographer. I desperately want one, but I'm not sure I can justify the cost, especially since I just spent a fortune on our photographer. Should I take the plunge? I know I'd love to have video of the day.

- Is it tacky to send out Save the Dates via email? My dad is trying to convince me to send the invitations via email, but I absolutely drew the line there. I want paper invitations, but is it lame to do online Save the Dates?

- Am I supposed to buy my fiance's parents a gift for the day? That's a thing, right? Any good, unique ideas for that?

- Dessert. Which would you rather have? One big cake, several smaller cakes of different flavors, or cupcakes? I know which is cheapest...While we're talking about cakes, what's the deal with groom's cakes? I know it's a fun way to do something cutesy and themed for your husband, but I feel like I'm missing something here.

I went to the gastroenterologist yesterday because I've been having stomach issues for a while now. While talking to him, he asked if anything stressful had been happening lately. I told him no (other than my mom and her treatment), but over the course of our conversation, he found out I was recently engaged. Instantly, he pounced on that as an explanation for stress-related irritable bowel syndrome. He explained that even though it's positive stress, it's still stress...and when I find myself knee-deep in bridesmaid dress options, song lists, invitation etiquette, tux rentals, and wedding favor ideas, I think I know what he means. :)

A busy home and a full heart.

As has been the case for a few months now, life is absolutely wonderful chaos.

Wheat and I traveled to Ohio over the weekend to celebrate my mom's birthday and Mother's Day. It's honestly not fair how the calendar shakes out for her. My sister was born on December 18 and my brother was born on December 20 and they still get birthday and Christmas presents. Mom, though? Some years, her birthday actually falls on Mother's Day. Most years, she gets half the gifts and tries to pretend her birthday doesn't exist at all. Seriously, I corrected her on her age this weekend.

But, we spent lots of quality time together, which was just what my weary soul needed. Friday night was a blur of the 'Happy Birthday' song, chocolate cake, a brief visit from my best friend and her mom, Gold Star Chili, sparklers, and a massive bonfire down the hill that nearly singed my eyebrows off completely. Oh, and miscellaneous fireworks my brother found in the basement and decided to set off. Most of these fireworks were boring and we politely clapped to show we were paying attention. However, one of these fireworks, the big kind where a series of five, well-timed, multicolored explosions occur safely in the sky for your enjoyment, completely malfunctioned, tipped on its side after three blasts, and launched the remaining two explosions inches away from where Wheat and I were sitting. After the first explosion, I struggled to stand up and run away just as the second blast whizzed right past my head and detonated red fire in my face. Then, in a showing of immense bravery and calm collectedness, I full-on peed my pants. After the initial revulsion surprise, everyone laughed and I finally understood how soldiers feel in war movies when they pee themselves.

The rest of the weekend continued with wedding planning, ice cream stops at two of my favorite hometown places (Whipty-Do! and Whit's for those who need suggestions), another brief visit with a close friend and her family, golf chipping in the backyard, another birthday/bonfire celebration for my best friend's sister, Memphis Grizzlies playoff basketball, and a delicious steak and potatoes dinner. As always, it seemed to end before it even began.

All weekends seem to fly by, but those spent in my hometown are gone in the blink of an eye. It's impossible for me to do everything I want to do, see everyone I want to see, and still spend time soaking in the comfortable coziness of my family. I suppose this just calls for more trips home. I don't mind it one bit - I can't see the stars or the fireflies around here.

Loving my four eyes.

 This post is sponsored by Firmoo, but opinions are completely my own.

Calling all bespectacled friends and readers!

I'm having some issues with my beloved - and super necessary - glasses. 

When I was first handed the 'bad news' in seventh grade that I required glasses, I was absolutely mortified. Although I desperately needed them to see the chalkboard at school, I refused to wear them until I was a sophomore in high school. The decision to publicly wear my glasses also coincided with driving a car for the first time, so high-fives all around for public and personal safety. Since then, I've come to absolutely love my glasses. They're a part of me and when I see pictures of myself without them, I actually wish I was wearing them.

So, I decided long ago that I would wear my glasses on my wedding day. This, of course, presents a few problems for me:

1. I've done quite a bit of wedding research and of all the magazines, books, and Pinterest posts I've scoured, none of these blushing brides are wearing glasses. What's the deal?
2. Will the glare of my glasses affect my pictures on the big day? This is my biggest concern.
3. My current specs have transition lenses. In other words, they become sunglasses when hit with UV rays. Helpful and functional in day-to-day life, but that's not okay for wedding or outdoor engagement pictures.

Enter Firmoo, a one-stop shop for fashionable, yet affordable frames online.

With engagement photos right around the corner, I knew I wanted a pair of frames that weren't drastically different from my current pair. But the little hipster part of my heart has always wanted to try a larger, more square frame. When Firmoo contacted me, I decided to finally take the plunge and I absolutely love them! One of my visitors this weekend even said she preferred them to my normal pair!

First of all, the ordering process with Firmoo couldn't have been easier. You simply choose the frames you want (which was probably the toughest part considering the wide selection), input your prescription information (including the distance between pupils), and that's it! If you're one of the lucky few who doesn't require prescription lenses and you want that coveted Russell Westbrook look, Firmoo also provides clear lenses. The glasses I selected also came with anti-reflection and anti-UV coatings.

If you're feeling unsure about pulling the trigger on a pair of glasses you've never seen on your face, Firmoo also allows you to upload a picture of yourself to test out the look before you buy it.

I was shocked to find that even without a professional shaping the temples to fit me, the glasses fit perfectly. They didn't slide down my face, weren't too tight on the nose, and didn't scratch behind my ears. The frames are also super light, unlike my current pair. Aside from the initial period of adjustment that you feel when wearing a new pair of glasses, these were perfect.

And best of all? You don't spend a fortune with Firmoo. My dad worked in the eyeglass business my entire life, so I know how expensive new glasses can be. Firmoo, however, offers high-quality frames and lenses for unbelievably low prices, low enough to buy several pairs to diversify your look! I'm currently shopping around on the site for my first pair of prescription sunglasses.

If you're a new customer, Firmoo is currently offering a 50% discount on your first pair of glasses. If you're in the market for a new pair of glasses or shades, I highly recommend checking out Firmoo before spending a fortune elsewhere.

...and now I can get my engagement photos done without looking like the third Blues Brother. Are you a fan of the square, hipster frames or is it just me?

Visit us, please.

Over the years, I've found that blogging inspiration seems to come and go in waves. I'll be overwhelmed with exciting ideas and stuff to share for a while, then go for months with empty drafts and nothing to say. Unfortunately, the last few months have been the latter. I don't know if it's the wedding planning or the nasty upper respiratory infection that turned our little apartment into a haven for mouth-breathers and a chorus of coughs, but life lately has been of the just-get-through-today variety.

This weekend, however, was a breath of fresh air infused with all things spring in Indy. Since the Pacers didn't make the playoffs, Wheat has had more free time than usual and nothing makes me happier than time spent with him. Flowers are blooming, temperatures are climbing, and the canal has finally sprung to life. We also hosted our first visitors of the spring, my lovely friends Ben and Emily.

We kicked off our weekend with a leisurely walk on the canal, complete with lemon-lime Italian ice. We decided on a whim to hit the driving range for a bit before our visitors arrived and I was pretty impressed with Wheat's ability. I guess he's had those clubs in his trunk for a reason.

When Ben and Emily arrived, we decided on Scotty's Brewhouse for dinner and waited for our table on the fireside couches outside. After dinner, we headed to Fountain Square for a bit, where the generous worker at duckpin bowling let us bowl a frame for free.

We began the next afternoon with another walk on the canal, including a quick pitstop at Quills Coffee. Next, we gave our visitors a quick tour of Mass Ave, my favorite neighborhood in town, and enjoyed lunch at Bru Burger. We attempted to digest our food by perusing the racks at Indy Reads Books and strolling around White River State Park before heading home to watch the Derby.

After I spent a solid hour wishing we were in Louisville, we embraced reality and took advantage of a beautiful evening in Broad Ripple, instead. We had dinner at Brugge Brasserie, where I demolished a cone of Belgian frites with four dipping sauces. As if we hadn't eaten enough already, we finished the night with dessert: Wheat and I had sno-balls while Ben and Emily indulged in Cake Bake Shop goodies. May I take a moment to acknowledge how dreamy the clean, Parisian atmopshere is at Cake Bake Shop?

We finished the night by pretending to know something about boxing and being disappointed by watching the highly-anticipated Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight. On Sunday, we sent Ben and Emily home the best way we know how: filled to the brim with delicious food. This time, courtesy of Yolk and their delicious red velvet french toast, diced red potatoes, and strawberry-orange juice.

If you think all we do is eat, you're basically right. If you think you'd like to visit, you're right again. Hope you had a wonderful weekend!