NashVegas

It's official - after two bachelorette parties in Nashville, I can confidently declare it the Vegas of the Midwest. If Nashville's tourism office hasn't jumped on that marketing ploy, they are seriously missing out.

My dear friend Ally - who got married yesterday!! - decided Nashville was the perfect place for us to celebrate her impending nuptials, and surrounded by sorority sisters, we had a blast. Here's a brief look at our weekend in country music's home.

NashBash

Also known as, my sister-in-law Lauren's bachelorette party in Nashville!

This weekend was an absolute blast! I could not have had a better time celebrating the beautiful bride-to-be with her aunts, my mother-in-law and fellow bridesmaids. Here's a glimpse into our fabulous bachelorette weekend. Congrats, Lauren!!

After a long drive from Indy, we arrived at our hotel and quickly went for dinner.

Bride and her bridesmaids!

We opted to stay in Friday night, as we had a very busy day Saturday, beginning with a tour of the Grand Ole Opry. I really enjoyed the tour, and that's coming from someone who doesn't listen to country music regularly. Though I do love the show Nashville!

Name twins!

The gang (minus Leslie, who graciously took the picture!)

The famous circle!

Bridesmaids and Bride on stage

Rayna's dressing room on Nashville! Loved seeing this one!

After the tour we went on a historic Nashville pub crawl, complete with trivia, ghost stories, fun facts and history about the city. It was a great way to see more of Nashville and actually learn a few things too!

First stop!

The bachelorette with her special hat and veil!

End of the pub crawl (and with the other group of girls who went on it with us)!

We returned to the hotel after our pub crawl to get ready for the evening. We played bachelorette games, ate tons of food and snacks, and then went out to celebrate our bride. Lots of dancing and laughing ensued, and it was a perfect way to round out our day. 

Beautiful bride with beautiful mom and aunts!

Rapp ladies!

Maid of Honor, Bride and Matron of Honor

"Love" it!

Dancing queens!

After breakfast Sunday morning we journeyed back to Indy. It was a perfect weekend, and I can't wait for Lauren's wedding in less than two months! We love you!


On a side note, I have to give a HUGE shout out to my sweet hubby who has been beyond thoughtful this week. He ran all my errands and picked up dinner Monday night so that I could focus on unpacking and getting the house back in order (I'm a spaz!). Then I came home yesterday from a long day, and he had cleaned the entire kitchen, including hand-washing all the pots and pans that I'd neglected for a few days. To top it off, he went out last night and got me a McFlurry because my heartburn was unusually bad. Very blessed girl over here, who is oh-so-thankful for her hubby. Men...take note! :)

Spring Break in Sanibel!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter, rejoicing that He is risen! John and I just got back from a fun and relaxing vacation on Sanibel Island. We spent five days with John's grandparents and had an absolute blast. I've shared some highlights of our trip below, and I wish we were back there already. Here's hoping for warm, spring-like weather in April!

WIAW: Quick Trip & Summer Staples

Hello, August! My you came quickly. I'm blogging from Chicago, where I'm visiting my good friend Jessie for the day/night! She's working on her MBA, and finished her last final Monday night. Since she has a few weeks before fall classes resume, it was the perfect time for a fun night away.

Sorry about fuzzy self-portraits!

I've been dying to check out RPM Italian, but never seem to get a chance because I'm usually in town for specific events. Jessie suggested we walk there for a drink since it's only a few blocks from her place. I happily agreed, and we tried the "G-Rizzle." It's not on the menu, but I follow Giuliana Rancic on Twitter, so I knew to order it. It was delicious! Lime and ginger combined for a perfect summer cocktail.

After our drink we decided to walk to Portillo's - my favorite! - to get chopped salads to go for dinner. Not only did I save money, but I loved every bite of my salad. It's so good!! It's probably good I don't live in Chicago anymore or else I might have a bit of problem. We ate our salads at Jessie's apartment, and spent the rest of the night watching the Olympics. It was a perfect night with an even better friend. To top it off? I get to have lunch with one of my best and oldest friends before I head back to Indy!

Honestly I was too busy having fun with Jessie to be good about taking pictures, so my WIAW post is a bit different this week - in case you didn't notice already. ;) In honor of this month's What I Ate Wednesday theme, "Summer Staples," I've included some of my favorite new recipes of the summer in this post! Thanks to Jenn for the suggestion - and for hosting!

Seared Scallop Salad w/ Orange Champagne Vinaigrette

This was absolutely amazing! I saw a recipe for a seared scallop and grapefruit salad from Skinnytaste, and I knew I wanted to put my own spin on it. The hubby and I aren't crazy about grapefruit, so I substituted oranges, and even found an orange champagne vinegar at Trader Joe's to use for the dressing. This is easily my favorite new salad. {Recipe coming tomorrow!}

Creamy Smoothies

I've been going crazy combining various flavors of Chobani Greek yogurt with fresh ingredients. My favorite combination has to be Strawberry Banana Chobani + 1 cup fresh strawberries + 1 frozen banana + freshly squeezed juice from 2 oranges + a handful of spinach + chia seeds. When I gave the hubby some of it he exclaimed, "people would pay for this!

BBQ Chicken Salad with Lightened-Up Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

Another great summer salad, especially if you are able to grill your chicken. This salad has so much flavor and is a really filling and easy meal. The dressing complimented the veggies and chicken perfectly. John and I love this for dinner on a beautiful summer night. {Recipe here}

2nd Anniversary Trip to Disney

Happy Monday! 

Today is a big day. Today marks three weeks until work/school resumes. It really hit me today, and I ended up spending several hours today running errands, working out and enjoying my last bit of unstructured free time. I have a feeling these next weeks will fly by, and I want to be sure to enjoy this time.

Tomorrow is an even bigger day. Tomorrow is our 2nd wedding anniversary. It still feels like yesterday that I was reading John's letters to me on our wedding day. They made my heart swell with love as I prepared to do the best thing I've ever done - marry John. I'm grateful for my handsome, considerate, intelligent, funny husband, and I can't wait to make more memories with him.

Some of my favorite memories from this year included our trip to Disney World. We ran around like crazy all day, every day - including the park's extended hours (the app I told you about was the best tool, thank goodness we had it!)! I don't remember the last time my legs hurt that bad, but it was worth it for all we did and saw. The weather was more bipolar than Indiana, which I never knew to be possible. Thanks to a certain tropical storm, we were in hot sun and complete downpours within seconds of one another.

We laughed, relaxed, and enjoyed being big kids. The next time we go will be kiddos, so now we have a special time, too. This trip was our anniversary gift to each other, so I thought this was a fitting time to share some of my favorites. (Last year we went to Universal Studios!)

Inside our beautiful hotel...We loved The Grand Floridian!

Being a bit silly

Waiting in line for Winne the Pooh ride

Pirates

Beautiful breakfast

Some of the weather we experienced

Don't get splashed!

Had to show the castle!

Self-portraits, most often in line :)

Last picture of the whole trip...wiped.

WIAW: Disney Edition

Hi, friends! So I am so beyond exhausted right now. We've been go, go, go ever since we got here. John has bruises on the bottom of his feet - crazy, right?! - and I have legs more sore than any workout has ever produced.

I didn't really focus on this month's theme of "Healthy Snacking", as I didn't do much snacking at all. Instead I focused on eating (fairly) healthy while on vacation. Head over to Peas and Crayons, hosted by Jenn, for more good eats. I plan to sneak in a few during long lines! ;)

We've been having the best time here, and I'm not complaining a bit (okay, besides the crazy humidity). So, my What I Ate Wednesday, is going to be short and simple.

Breakfast at The Grand Floridian Cafe: Lobster. Eggs. Benedict. 

Need I say more? Two poached eggs + hollandaise + tomatoes + lobster hash (lobster, onions, asparagus, potato shreds). Absolutely delicious. Although, what lobster dish isn't amazing?

Snack: John and I split an Edy's Strawberry Fruit Bar...

...while waiting in a 1 hour and 45-minute long line for the Jungle Cruise. I also wrote a blog post, while waiting in the longest line we've experienced this whole trip.

Lunch at Frontierland Cafe: Salad + chicken + drizzle of ceasar dressing; strawberry yogurt.

As part of our meal plan, we have one "quick service" meal a day, which includes an entree, dessert and drink. This means a limited menu and cafeteria-style food. With all the walking (and running!) we were doing, I knew I needed something healthy yet filling. And I found an option to suit my needs! Who says you can't eat healthy while on vacation?

Dinner at Portobello, an Italian restaurant in Downtown Disney 

Our table (John's parents, sister and the two of us) split some awesome appetizers: calamari and mozzarella-stuffed rice balls with marinara, plus bread with roasted garlic and olive oil spread.

Honestly I was skeptical of the rice balls, but they were so creamy, thanks to the rice being risotto and the addition of fresh basil. I loved these! I had half a rice ball plus a few pieces of calamari, both dredged in marinara. I finished it off with half a roll + roasted garlic spread.

My entree certainly did not disappoint: mahi mahi with polenta served over tomato sauce.

The polenta was creamy, and the mahi mahi was cooked perfectly. The sauce was an excellent pair to bring out both flavors. Add some zucchini on top, and this is a recipe I must recreate!

Dessert (two-parts!): I had a few bites of John's creme brulee (my favorite dessert) at the restaurant (unpictured), plus a piece of chocolate left on my pillow at the hotel.

I may not be commenting on your comments or emails right now, but I promise you I am reading them. I so appreciate them! I'm doing my best to conserve battery life on my phone during the day, and comments fail on my blogger app. I will respond soon, I promise!

Now, I crash. Must be rested for my last day at Disney. Wish my legs luck!

A Day in Disney...in Instagram

I'm going to keep this quick.  

We're having a blast, and are making the most of every second.

Thanks to Tropical Storm Debbie, Orlando weather is even more bipolar than Indiana. 

And humid. So very humid.

We were up for 22 hours yesterday.

My legs are mighty sore. Yowza.

I'm blogging from a very long line for the Jungle Cruise. Thanks, Blogger app!

More updates soon!

For now, a quick peak at our first day.

Unfortunately, pictures don't appear in chronological order - major pet peeve - but you get the gist. I'll try to add descriptions later. *Updated to add: descriptions!

Happy Tuesday, friends!

Waiting in line for Mission Space in Epcot

First shot at Disney; outside the monorail! Hair is still down at this point...

My "Goofy" hubby :)

Just minutes after our first picture my hair was up in a bun. Humidity and I don't mix well.

Soaking wet after running through Animal Kingdom, trying to make our bus... in the pouring rain.
PS: The bun didn't help the humidity hair mess. Cue side french braid,

And We're Off

Now to the good stuff...vacation!!

We're headed to Orlando for a few days, where we're staying at The Grand Floridian Resort & Spa on Walt Disney World! The plan is to have a day or two to ourselves, and then we have a special surprise in the works. It's John's dad's birthday Tuesday, and he is in Orlando with John's mom and sister. We're going to meet up with the family at Disney World and surprise John's dad, because he has no idea we'll be there. Fingers crossed we pull it off and go 2 for 2 in the surprise party department this summer.

Our hotel for two nights!

While we're at Disney we plan to use a new app that John found for my phone. It's called Disney World Wait Times, Dining and Maps by UnderCoverTourist.com (quite the mouthful!). It's a free app (with ads) that updates to show you the wait time for every ride in all four parks. We're hoping to use it to maximize our time. I'll be sure to let you know how it works out.

After spending two nights and three days at Disney World, the hubby and I will rent a car and drive to Sanibel Island Wednesday night. We made the drive last year, when we took a day excursion to Orlando. 

Not my fittest point. Good thing it's never too late to make a change!

Thursday we'll pick up our good friends Ally and Wes from the airport, and the four of us will enjoy a relaxing 4-night stay at John's grandparents' condo. We are so fortunate that they have a condo that they allow us to use, as well as a car they keep at the condo. We definitely would not be able to take this vacation if it weren't for their generosity. Thanks, Mimi and Papa!

The last time Ally and I were on a vacation together was when we went to Japan for spring break our senior year of college. We were part of a pioneer service-learning course, where we studied International Public relations, specifically those in Asian countries (China, India, Japan). We traveled to Tokyo and surrounding cities to meet with public relations executives, journalists and even the U.S. Ambassador. While this is not even close to being the same kind of trip, I'm so looking forward to making new memories of new travels.

While we're in Sanibel we hope to hit up lots of fun things on the island and possibly Ft. Myers. Ally and I are already planning an outlet mall trip - thanks to babysitting money! - and John and I will attend a dinner theater one evening, courtesy of Mimi and Papa. We even hope to see Swade, who will be in Captiva around the same time visiting a sorority sister of ours.

I'm not sure how much I'll be posting this week, but I'll be sure to have a few posts recapping our trip. If you read this long, and have any suggestions for places to go or things to do during our stay, please let me know. I'd love some fresh ideas! :)

Summer Updates

Greetings from 30,000 feet in the air! (And thank you, Air Tran for in-flight wireless!)

John and I are currently en route for our vacation - woo hoo! I've got a quick weekend recap and some updates before we arrive at our destination. 

I hope that you all enjoyed your weekends, and managed to find some time to relax. John and I were quite the busy duo, and didn't do much relaxing. Friday night I babysat two sweet little girls from about 8 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. That's usually way past my bedtime, but thanks to an old America's Next Top Model marathon on Style, I was entertained through the evening. 

Oh, Tyra. Your theatrics, constant tangents of your glory days and self-love are unending.

Saturday was spent doing laundry, cleaning and packing for our trip, before heading to my good friend Jourdan's BabyQ! Jourdan and her husband are expecting their first bundle of joy in August, and we all got together for a combination baby shower + BBQ. I've never been to one of these before but we had a blast.

On Sunday we finished up all the details in preparation for our trip, including printing off all the necessary documents and checking into our flight online the night before. My brother and sister arrived late Sunday evening, on their way from Alabama to Chicago. Meg is staying with our Hoosh puppy for the week, and George is driving her belongings back to Chicago, since she's moving back to the midwest. Honestly I am practically giddy to have my sister so close to me again. Cue lots of weekend visits to Chicago! :)

With my younger siblings, Gdubs (George) and Meg, on my wedding day. Look at those blondies!

I am so beyond grateful that Meg is able to stay with the pup. Originally, we thought we'd board her, and even went through an elaborate interview and acceptance process at Camp Bow Wow. Though it was lengthy - and pricey at $38 a night - I was grateful for the quality care that they offer. So, thank you Meg for saving us some moolah! :)

As I'm sure you've noticed, I haven't had many posts this month. With vacation impending and busy weekends, I did my best to use up everything in our fridge, resulting in lots of salads and frittatas. Plus, we had our favorite deep-dish Chicago pizza, Lou Malnati's, shipped to us, thanks to a gift card leftover from Christmas. Hopefully I'll have more when we return. Cheers!

NYC: Part II

Continuing my NYC recap, it's time to chat about Saturday! After a late night everyone slept in a bit. We asked the wonderful hotel for brunch recommendations, and they sent us down the street to Bubby's, a local place that was super crowded. While we we waited, some of the girls ordered beverages from the bar. When Jessie ordered a spicy bloody mary, we learned they used jalapeno vodka to make it. Bleh! The bartender convinced these two to try it, and they were not happy after...So glad I only took the pictures.

Once we were seated, most of us order the Bubby's Special, which came with eggs, meat, toast and about a tablespoon of fruit. I had high expectations, but honestly my scrambled eggs tasted like they were sitting on a lamp for awhile. Not cool.

The mother's day menu...Jessi making fun of me for pics for the blog...and food!

After brunch we hung out at the hotel for a bit before deciding to take the subway to the Staten Island ferry. Did you know it's free?? We took it to Staten Island and back, snapping some pictures along the way.

Subway!

The bride-to-be! | When push comes to shove...

Some of the ladies headed to a restaurant for a few drinks after the ferry, but I went back to the hotel to get ready for our awesome, fancy dinner at The Hurricane Club (thanks, Annie!).

Saturday outfit!Navy BCBG strapless dress via Nordstrom (about 2 years ago)
Kate Spade Purse
Color block earrings via Arden B

Before heading to dinner we played the standard bachelorette "panty game." If you're not familiar, each guest buys the bride a pair of panties. The bride has three guesses to determine who gave them to her, and it usually involved lots of laughing (as did this one!). Deborah fared pretty well, and some of the panties were more amusing than anything.

Impromptu photo shoot waiting for a cab

Dinner was absolutely phenomenal! The Hurricane Club is a fantastic restaurant, and the food was to-die-for! Check out this menu and some of the amazing food we enjoyed...

After dinner, we stopped at Rif Rafs, a tiki bar next door. It was so crowded that the waiters were literally pushing you out of their way, so we soon left. Our group of 16 split up, and I went with three of the girls to a dance club close to our hotel. Rachael's boyfriend had a table next to the DJ booth, so we were able to dance and relax and really enjoy our time.

And this, my friends, is a little segment I like to call, "Close your mouth, Lauren." Seriously?? What is up with me in all these pictures?! Apparently I thought that was a good idea...who knows. I was having fun though, so that's all that matters, right? :)