RECAP since July!

Hi again, friends!!

I may have been absent in the blog world, but that doesn’t mean I was absent I life! All else aside, I did my best to live the fullest life I could over the summer and so far this Fall! It has been a B U S Y few months! Let’s see what all has happened, shall we? J

Celebrated 4^th of July with my bestie

Spent a weekend in Mackinac Island

Showered a new baby entering the world

Happy 1 Year Anniversary Trail Point

Chicago & Wisconsin trips for work

Spent a weekend in Ann Arbor with my favorite Beebies

Art Hopped around Kalamazoo and kicked off the Summer Olympics

Inspired by WFF, the “Before I Die” wall went live at my Corporate office (a project that took me months to finally see through!)

So many 30^th birthday’s celebrated at Bell’s Brewing

Wine Clubs… oh the Wine Clubs

Speaking of Wine Club, celebrated an awesome couple in Grand Haven… Bachelorette and Wedding Day (with the best date around)

The Verve Pipe at Bell’s

Labor Day Boating

MSU Home Opener!

Traveled to Texas for a week of meetings

WFF Leadership Workshop in Chicago

Louisville Food Show where I had the best meal ever at Varanese!

WMU Homecoming

Bottom 40 – Party Animals

MSU vs. Michigan in East Lansing

What’s In My Bag - 2016 Edition

Since I haven’t done one of these for 3 years (almost exactly!), I thought it was about time I posted another installment of “What’s In My Bag?” I’m older now. A little more grown up. More mature perhaps? And definitely lead a more minimalistic life when it comes to my bag(s). I got sick of so much “stuff”. Not to mention my purse choices are shifting to smaller sizes, meaning I really need to be picky on the things I consider essentials and “have “to be with me at all times. Many of the things you see have been featured at one point or another in my Friday Five series, I guess that’s why they are in my purse on the reg… cause these few items are my favorite, most needed things to have with me wherever I go.

I no longer carry a planner! I KNOW crazy since I was planner OBSESSED for years and spent a good amount of money on one for 2016… but alas, the purse I bought in Paris didn’t leave much room after that planner was inside (I now use a planner from ban.do as a to-do list guide that I keep in my laptop bag for work). So for my personal to-do lists, I use a combination of Seize the Day and Wunderlist apps on my iPhone. They have been working wonders on getting stuff done (especially since that stupid red bubble stays there until everything on your list is done).

I also don’t currently waste any space with sunglasses, cause let’s be honest... it’s Winter in Michigan… but that space is now used for gloves! Gloves that were given to me by one of my most favorite retirees at work. They hold a special place in my heart...

What else is in my bag?!?!?

•  Favorite FAVORITE portable charger. This thing charges long and fast. The best. Plus for under $10 I can have new covers created and sent to me in case I get bored of my black and white Europe photo’s (PSHHH like that’ll ever happen
• Lucas Pawpaw Ointment. A friend brought this back from Australia a couple of years ago and I’ve been hooked ever since! I mostly use it on my lips, but you can use it on elbows, hands, etc. It’s a winter time god send!
• Happy Pill bottle. This is an old bottle (that I’ve covered with stickers to make more appealing), but basically it’s my one-stop-shop drug store. I have everything I could ever need on the go in this little guy… extra strength Tylenol, ibuprofen, Midol, allergy meds, advil cold and sinus. All of it.
• Granny’s gold change purse. I’ve been using this as my wallet 9 months or so and can’t seem to stop. Not only does it have sentimental value, but it’s so fun to the touch. It’s soft in a weird way and perfectly fits all I would need in my wallet. Even though it can get a little annoying trying to find my insurance card or something else that’s buried, I can’t bring myself to swap it out. 
• Random things I always keep in my wallet: Metro card from NYC, gold coin that I had made when we toured Sagrada Familia, and guitar pick that was thrown into the crowd from my most recent City and Colour concert in Chicago. 
• Key chains of Europe. I’m not normally a keychain person, but I decided to buy a fun keychain from each place visited in Europe (and also on my New York trip this past Fall) and it’s just a fun reminder of many many great memories
• Grapefruit Oil. A while back I read that grapefruit essential oil can be used as massage oil when you have joint or muscle pains and can also relieve menstrual cramp pains and headaches. I was having a particularly rough day and decided I would give it a try. I’m not sure if it actually works or if I just wanted it to work so bad that I believed it did, but for reason whenever I have a headache now I simply rub this oil on my temples and it makes me feel better… plus it’s super refreshing to smell
• Misc things – purple pen, spare keys, headphones and Burt’s Bee’s Soothing chapstick. 

Dirty 30: Sister-in-Law Edition

A couple of weeks ago, Max and I ventured down to St. Joe and celebrated his sister’s 30^th birthday! I haven’t been to a house party in YEARS so this I was looking forward to. The evening started off visiting a local brewery, The Livery, before heading over to the celebration. Once the guests started to arrive a wicked game of Never Have I Ever was busted out and the party really got going. Between the meatballs, beer, games, cocktails, pizza rolls, champagne and conversation there was always something going on and entertainment all around! We had a blast from the second we left our house all the way to our Taco Bell breakfast run on the way home!

What else is there to do in January…?
Nada :)

52 Week Hand Lettered Project

{yes, I am drawing on graph paper...}

Ok, so my girl Emily and I were talking at Wine Club last week and I brought up that I have been feeling really inspired lately. I feel motivated to be my best and happiest self. I already got the fitness and food thing down, got the yoga thing in check, I get plenty of sleep, drink lots of water, work hard at my job, LOVE the home Max and I are creating, etc etc. I feel so full, yet I have all this pent up energy that I need to be released somehow, but haven’t figured out what to do with myself yet. Make sense? No? Ok well just keep reading anyway…

She convinced me to try out Pen and Peplum’s 52 Week Hand Lettered Project. Basically there is a theme for each week, and you create some an artsy fartsy piece (like drawing words in cool ways…). At the end of the year you have 52 pieces of word art that you created and describes things about you, your year and your personality! Neat, right?

Now, I’m not an artist by ANY stretch of the imagination, but this sounded like so much fun to me… maybe because in my “tortured emo days” I would plug in some depressing music and draw words with thin tipped markers. I’m serious, this actually happened, I can show you proof of a page drawing of words I did one time when Max and I were in a fight. Pathetic. Or is it? This project may show me otherwise… maybe it was a personal outlet to express my emotions? Or maybe I'm reaching... 

Anywho, my hope is that this project not only gives me the (small) creative outlet I've been craving, but could also grow into additional inspiration. The first week’s project (that I had to catch up on since we’re already in week 3) was “2015 Mantra”. I thought for a few minutes on this and decided on Wanderlust, meaning a strong desire for or impulse to wander or travel and explore the world. I thought this was only fitting given that 2015 is going to be the most adventurous travel year of my life thus far!

I’m so excited for this project! Make sure to check it out on the Pen and Peplum blog or Instagram account. 

2nd Annual Birthday Scavenger Hunt

The 2nd Annual Birthday Scavenger Hunt commenced this past weekend. It was just as memorable as the first year. Although this year we did have a pregnant girl in our midst, and no fell asleep at the bar or was kicked out. I guess you can say we’re getting older… and more mature. But regardless, it was a blast! And I can’t wait to continue this tradition for years to come!

Last year’s extravaganza seen here.

{Eugene got a wife!}

{Rupert @ Rupert's!}

{birthday girl got the fish hook!}

{we rolled a 12... therefore 6 of us had to have 12 mini beers}

{haha}

{so many fake tattoo's!}

{that I promptly regretted when I woke up in the morning...}