Mountain photo shoots. You know, the usual.

Truth be told, I'm still recovering from my whirlwind trip to Arizona this weekend. I had an absolute blast with my sister, her fiance, and their precious dog (Ollie), but as expected, it went by way too quickly. I somehow chose the worst weather weekend to visit, thanks to rain and temperatures in the 50s, but we didn't let that slow us down. Oh, and just to be sure, calories don't count on vacation, right? That's a thing, yeah? I may or may not have had In-N-Out immediately upon arrival.

We actually had gorgeous weather on my first full day in Tucson, so we took the opportunity to head up Mount Lemmon in nearby Coronado National Forest and take some engagement photos. I'm really not that skilled a photographer, but fortunately for me, my camera and the gorgeous landscape did most of the heavy lifting. I was absolutely blown away by our changing surroundings during the ascent, as they slowly transitioned from cacti in the desert to pine trees in the forest. We stopped for pictures at Windy Point, which complicated things a bit with its very fitting name, but I still can't get over the gorgeous view of the mountains and the city below.

After a quick outfit change, we hopped back in the car until we found a nice forest setting for more pictures. I have to say - I'm seriously impressed by photographers who actually get paid to do this. It's much more difficult than it looks...and takes longer, too.

By this point, we were absolutely starving, so we rewarded ourselves for our hard work with some Mexican food. You can't be this close to the Mexican border and not have guacamole. We stopped at Guadalajara, a great local place with made-to-order salsa that the waiters prepare right at your table. Just to be clear - my version of heaven definitely includes something like this.

The rest of the night was filled with movies, strawberry-piña colada slushies from Eegee's, and lots of laughter. Is there anything better than your sister doubling as your best friend?

Tombstone and the rodeo coming tomorrow!

Proof We're Engaged

I'm not sure when engagement photo sessions became a thing. I mean, none of our parents have engagement photos, right? But, I assure you, in 2015, they are definitely a thing. In fact, when Wheat and I started looking around for potential photographers, the engagement session was just part of the wedding package for many vendors, an added bonus you get for the cringe-worthy fortune you spend. I think I blame Pinterest for the most part, but I also blame Facebook because whenever I see a new engagement album on my feed, I'm drawn in like a moth to the flame. Even if it's someone I haven't seen since carving pumpkins in second-grade Girl Scouts, I must analyze each and every one of their photos with doe-eyed admiration and make mental notes of poses and outfits I like...as if I could dream of recreating them.

Needless to say, I was a bit nervous about my own photo shoot. Anyone that knows me at all knows that I'm a picture person, but I'm usually the one behind the camera. The second the date was set for our shoot, I started to panic. What do I wear? How do I lose twenty pounds in a week? What is he wearing? Will we clash? What if it rains? What if I'm burning up and my face is bright red? Should I get a pedicure? Will the photographer know good poses? Should I come with suggestions? Where will we change clothes? Basically, I melted down into the worst, most annoying version of myself.

...and after we got our finished pictures back on Sunday, I realized that all of the worrying was for nothing. The pictures are absolutely wonderful. Not because we look so gorgeous or I'm finally content with my weight (I'm not at all), but because we look so happy and so, so in love.

All of our wedding festivities are taking place in Cincinnati, so we wanted our engagement pictures to capture the city where we met, the city where we live, and the city where we fell in love. Fortunately, our photographers, who are based in Indianapolis, were willing to drive to Cincinnati for the wedding at no extra charge. So, we settled on the canal and White River State Park as the setting for our pictures and I'm so happy we did. This has become such a meaningful place to us and it served as the perfect setting for our pictures.

The shoot lasted about two and a half hours and consisted of two outfit changes, extremely red faces due to the heat and mugginess, lots of wind and hair fixing, several location changes, lots of stares as I walked around in a dress carrying a hockey stick, and cheeks that hurt from smiling so much. Did I feel awkward? Absolutely. But our photographer (Andy at Blissful Kiss Photography) is really awesome, encouraging, and told us exactly what to do...except the tie pull. That was all me. He also kept telling me to lift my chin, so I know he has my best interest at heart.

More than anything, the experience was an excuse to hold hands, kiss, and stare at my best friend for a few hours, which honestly didn't feel too out of the ordinary. I hope these pictures showcase how we feel about each other, even when one of us is throwing a temper tantrum about our favorite team losing. And even though there are no foot shots (partially due to my one-sided sunburn from the Indy 500), it was still the perfect excuse for a pedicure.

Snapshots of Spring

|| What my typical first picture taken looks like ||

|| Chicago through the grass ||

|| I spy Mark Cuban ||

|| High-altitude drinks and the protector of the Art Institute of Chicago ||

|| Midwest street art captivates me ||

|| One disappointed cheerleader ||

Snapshots of Embracing the Cold

|| The perfect place to warm up ||

|| Foggy nights on the canal ||

|| My kind of sugar coma courtesy of Long's ||

|| Cheetahs and orangutans on a sunny January afternoon ||

|| My new and improved view from up here ||

Instagram

This is my first Saturday blog post in ages and it feels very strange. I'm not entirely sure why, but the entire blogosphere seems to adhere to a strict Monday-Friday blogging schedule. Ridiculous.

Today's prompt is: Favorite Photo You Posted on Instagram

Like yesterday, I'm having a hard time with this topic, but unlike yesterday, it's because there are too many good options to choose from! I railed against the idea of Instagram for a long time before I finally caved and got the app. Now, I'm completely addicted and love that it gives me a quick glimpse into the lives of my friends and some of my favorite celebrities.

Wheat, on the other hand, hates Instagram. Everything about it. He thinks it's a cheating way to use a filter and make something appear prettier than it is. He constantly reminds me that most of the things in my life are pretty without a filter, but I choose to use one, anyway. He calls it "the auto-tune of the Internet" and he's probably right.

But I still love it. So, after perusing through my entire Instagram profile (follow me @blettany and I'll follow back!), I've narrowed it down to my top three favorite Instagram posts.

Honestly, there is nothing too special about this picture, except for the fact that it is with my mom. It was taken on my 26th birthday, exactly three months and one day before we found out about her cancer. It reminds me of a happier time in my life, but it also shows me what we can get through when we love and support each other.

Again, nothing too special as far as pictures go, but this just melts my heart. Wheat left this note for me on our kitchen counter one random morning when he left early for work. I still have it.

This picture was actually taken on a non-smart phone by my sister when Wheat and I first started dating. I apologize for the horrible quality and the cheesy blurry filter. We had no idea she was taking it, but once I saw it, I asked her to send it to me. It reminds me of our old apartment downtown, our nightly walks, and the giddy feeling you have when you first start dating someone. Fortunately for me, I still get those feelings every day when he walks in the door after work.

I'll be skipping tomorrow's prompt because it is a Fall Bucket List. I jumped the gun on my list and posted it a couple weeks ago. Oops. Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

Summer's End Snapshots

||Tired feet beneath Chicago streets||

||Sugary sweet cotton candy date||

||A peek through the flowers||

||Graffiti scare in Las Vegas||

||My kind of five-way||

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I've decided to take part in #Blogtober14 with Helene at Helene in Between and Taylor at The Daily Tay. So, I'll be blogging every single day in the month of October - including weekends! It'll be a challenge and some posts will be longer than others, but I'm looking forward to it.

Today's post will be very short: If you won the lottery, you'd...

If I won the lottery, I would give some of the winnings to my family and best friend, quit my job, travel through Europe with Wheat, move into an apartment downtown, then put the rest in savings. I'm a simple girl. What would YOU do if you won the lottery?

Snapshots of June.

||Cottonwood fluff||

||Mischievous Dad gives unsuspecting Mom a wet willy||

||'The Works' at the Strawberry Festival downtown - fresh strawberries, ice cream, shortcake, and whipped cream||

||Lakeside love in Wisconsin|| 

||Riverside hand-holding in Indy||

||Photo booth fun with the ladies of the family||

Snapshots of May

||Beautiful spring blossoms||

||Cyclones game with Jenn, Kelly, and Cheyenne||

||Creepy sign in Fountain Square||

||Happy feet on Mother's Day||

||A bumblebee's daydream||