Since... MAY!?

We've been on Go Mode since.... well apparently since May and the first hints of summer.

Since then, we had a Ben&B trip to Vegas.... where it actually ended up raining for a good portion of the trip. In the desert. We had a pretty wicked awesome corner suite room at the Hard Rock, with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the center pool on 2 of the 4 walls. Ben flew in from Wherever, USA that he had a work trip the week prior, and I managed to get myself from MKE to LAS in one piece. Because Ben is amazing sometimes, he went out and bought an array of snacks, champagne and orange juice, wine, vodka, red bulls, and waters to stock up our room before I even got there. We had way too much fun at the pool (on the nice day.5), playing goofy slots, hitting up the blackjack tables, and walking the Strip.

So obviously, we went back in about a month's time. Hello Hard Rock Hotel, you sexy beast. The second go-round was for Ben's birthday, so we ended up going right over Labor Day weekend. There was a little snafu with not getting the corner suite again, so we stayed one night in a standard room and were told we would move in the morning. Morning came, we fueled ourselves with mimosas, and headed to the pool to wait for the call that at our new room was ready. Long story short, when we grabbed all our stuff and dumped it in the new room, our wedding bands were nowhere to be found. Ben went back to the old room to look around, and the nervous Nelly maid assured him that she hadn't seen anything................................................this brings me to a dark place. No additional comments.

Anywho, we spent the majority of this trip outside by the pool. We played swim up blackjack, lounged in the sun and sun, and went to the Jason Derulo pool party concert. It was while we were poolside that I found out my friends Kor&J were already on their flight headed to Vegas. And then Ben's cousin Jennifer from Phoenix texted and said she also was in Vegas for the weekend. What are the beautiful odds?! We ended up meeting up and spent a night out together causing a general ruckus.



The week before the second Vegas trip, I surprised Ben with family and friends at our apartment for his 29th birthday. His high school friend/best man Dan stopped by as the official distractor, and took Ben out on a brewery tour and to Potowatomi for lunch while everyone gathered. If you know anything about me, I'm :HORRIBLE at keeping secrets from Ben. I get too excited to share things with him, and when I do keep my mouth shut, he can pick up on my even more awkward attempts at being smooth and nonchalant. The surprise went off without a hitch, and the second surprise-- a pontoon boat for the evening-- went over great as well.

But more catch up later... time for work!

weekend warrior [part b]

I'm not 100% sure where I left off.... oh well. 

Bachelorette Par-tay in Nashville  

• 5am + coffee + sick Jessica + minimal sleep = 8.5 hour power thru drive to the glorious country capital of the entire freakin' world
• Little black dresses, little tank tops, little hotel room, little party favor pins and "Mrs. Mathews" shot glasses
• Fireball shots + fire-y red lipstick on the "kiss the man" poster = bachelorette pre-gaming
• Bar dancing, booty shaking (I legitimately won a booty shaking contestone night... what?!)
• Big hair, big attitudes, big country accents
• Theme song = Eye of the Tiger. Why? Sometimes magical things like that happen on their own.

And now for the harsh reality: Girls are a gross group when they get together, scream, hug, jump around screaming "I-have-not-seen-you-in-forEVERRR!," and then spend a night or two together in confined spaces. Pillow fights and giggling? More like smeared lipstick, fake eyelashes clinging to life, and no topic frowned upon. But girls already know that. And boys? They should go on pretending. 

Minnesota Bday Bash

mega beer

• This last weekend was a very short trip up to Minneapolis for Bean's birthday. 
• Fancy bacon and chocolate donuts and coffee Saturday morning at Glam Doll Donuts
• Mall of America 6+ hours Saturday afternoon, where I fell in lust with Typo.



B at the Mall of America

• Mall of America also including a fantastic trip through the aquarium where I got to poke and prod water dwelling things. PLUS we took a trip down the underwater aquarium tunnel of awesome which included none other but the apex predator of the seas.... dun nun dun nun... sharks! My tireless educational Shark Week watching on Netflix proves useful yet again.
• German beer hall and one gigantic stein of beer each
• Brianna falling into a 12 foot+ snowbank on our way there... but conquering it on the way home
• Entire backseat of the car to myself on the way home meant that I got to sip my Starbucks coffee drink and knock-off Gatorade and send fat chin Snapchats to all my friends. My lucky, lucky friends. 

Ben in Tampa/Parents on Mexican Cruise/Ben in Boston

• and I was not/am not. Instead, I'm drudging through a Polar Vortex and having dinner with my cats. Because I'm cool like that. 

xoxo, b

merry christmas kiddos

I'm going to be honest, I thought about doing a Pinteresty-lovey-dovey-oh-how-adorbs type Christmas card this year. We clean up nice.

Picture it: Snow gently falling as we tenderly embrace along the lake shore. A sweet kiss on the forehead with the city lights twinkling behind us. Holding hands and looking backwards over our shoulders while cheesing for the camera.  Or maybe a smile-worthy, heart warming mishap with a string of lights, tangling us together into a PG-13 kiss.

Then I realized that's silly. We don't skip around town gazing into each other's eyeballs. Well, not all the time.... and besides, that's what everyone else is doing. Which is lame. Because I've walked around and I hardly ever see people striking a traditional Christmas card pose during my day to day activities.

So I present to you, Ben & Brit's real life Christmas card(s):

cats wearing clothes, cell phone, wine, mess.

Merry Christmas :)

fa la la la la

la la la la

xoxo, b

packers vs browns

I love Packer games. I love being in Green Bay on game day.

cousins

We went to the Packers vs. Browns game this last weekend, and had a wonderful little tailgate group. Ben, Jessica, Kor, J, Danny, Sam, Bart, Heather, Arik... it was fun to grill out, drink from German beer steins, and play bag toss in our Packer gear. And of course, there were game tutu's. I feel like that should go without saying.

the ladies

Kor and J had nosebleed seats (if there is such a thing at Lambeau, but it's fine because J is foolishly a Browns fan), and Ben scored us seats in section 138, row 16...... that's 16 rows up smack-dab in the middle of the Packer end zone kiddos. Makes me tear up a little even now.

tutus!

xoxo, b

the maine attraction

A little while ago... as in over Labor Day weekend.... I took a little ladies' trip to Portland, Maine. Trying lobstah just so happens to be on this girl's ole Life To Do. And what better way to try lobster for the first time than to go directly to the source!? And check out Maine in the process.

So here's the Maine attraction: 

• Our flight was way early in the morning. I allegedly supported that idea, claiming that we would then have the most amount of time in Portland. During one of the flights, I was separated from the girls and sat next to what I thought would be a quirky gentleman. After telling me darling stories of his handicapped daughter, he transitioned into detailed descriptions of seeing someone splatter while bungee jumping, and watching a military friend slit both arms and neck before dying in front of him. My already over-worked imagination was on overdrive, and I told the quirky gentleman his stories were grossing me out. To which he replied that he grew up on a farm so things like that don't bother him. Exactly dude, but your listener has jumped outta a plane before.... and will do it again.
  
• Our hotel was connected to a brew pub. The first day we got to Maine was rainy and overcast and dreary and sad. So we grabbed some grub at the pub, tried to do a little shopping/exploring, then returned to the pub for a 5:30pm nightcap.
  
• The rest of the time there was gorgeous fall weather. We rode around in an old firetruck and got a tour of the city (aka a tour of the tour guide's childhood), did some exploring in the shopping areas, tried local craft beers, did a ton of walking around, took a lighthouse boat tour through the harbor, rode the ferry to Peak's Island, somehow ended up at a club during rap night, and dun nuh nuh nuhhh tried lobster.
  
• Portland Lobster Company is where we had our first "lobster feast." I had limited ideas on how or what to eat concerning the red crustacean watching me with beady, judging eyes. In times like that, it's best to just have at it. Did I feel like a Midwest hick? Damn straight. But it was delicious, and turns out there was a "how to eat a lobster" printout at the bottom of the tray that was found after we were done making a delicious mess of ourselves.
  
• I adore the way people talk in Portland: Goin' down to da ha'bah to get some fwesh lobstah and buttah to make a nice dinnah fo ya.
  
• The trip was a lot of fun, and a lot of seafood. Halfway through the excursion I had the worst craving for some beef and cheese. You can take a girl out of Wisconsin, but apparently you can't take the Wisconsin out of the girl.

xoxo, b

I went skydiving

Brianna & I in our harnesses

Yesterday, I took a perfectly good plane to 14,000 feet and jumped out.

I went skydiving. 

Our group was the first group of the day, so after our 20 minute "this is what to expect" class it was immediately time to suit up. I was so, so excited. Jumping around like a damn fool excited.

ready to board the plane

There were a few more photos and then we loaded into the plane, and I got very close to a strange man. Once it was time to jump......it was time to jump. No dilly dallying, no time to rethink anything. Let's do this thing.

Brianna was the first to go. It was definitely odd to watch your sister disappear from a plane at 14,000 feet. 

When it was my turn to waddle to the door and stand on the edge of the plane and absolutely nothing else, I honestly can't say that I was scared. It was surreal. It was just what was going to happen. Besides, the 007 theme song was playing full blast in my head. And it's hard to be afraid when your brain is playing James Bond music and you are about to do something totally awesome.

standing on the edge

Just like that, the plane was a thing of the past and we were doing a nose dive back to earth at roughly 120mph. The one thing I wasn't expecting was how hard it was to breath regularly when air is rushing by at those speeds. So I was smiling and laughing and gulping for air and yeah, being awkward. I didn't know what to do with my hands. I put them out, but that's not terribly comfortable at high speed. I waved to the camera. I let them dangle like the noodle-y arms that they are. At one point I was doggy paddling through the air. What the heck?

In the majority of the photos and video, my face and arms and any inch of my body with exposed skin resembles a wrinkly puppy.

parachute time

 Soon it was all over and we were landing...

that's wassup.

Same time next week?


Mom doesn't know that Brianna and I did a little bit of skydiving yesterday. We emailed her video clips of our jumps, because apparently we are mean children and don't just call. Can't wait to hear from her!       * update: I'm supposed to work on "nicer" bucket list things....like making her a grand baby or finishing a patchwork quilt. Thanks mom. 

xoxo, b

Ring-a-ding

My friend Kor recently went and got herself engaged, and then so kindly came home to WI over July 4th. We got a little group together Friday night, caught up, went out, came home. A more detailed description of the night is as follows:

- I got to use my fancy pants serving bowls and glasses to make sure my guests were aptly fed and watered (or champagne-d and Chex-mixed)
 

- Kor has a pretty ring. I felt honored to be the one to show her how to use it to ward off creepers at the bar.
 

- I'm fairly certain I know how people end up face down in the MKE river. Spoiler alert: It's the power trippin' MKE police department on their ponies at the end of the night snatching boys and throwing them into the timeout trailer. Fools.
 

-And there was dancing. So much bad dancing. 

Saturday was a surpris
e lunch for Kor at The Smoke Shack. And since it was a surprise, Kor had no problem being nearly two hours late. Since the lunch was right before we had to book it to a wedding, we wore our wedding dress attire. I went ahead and spilled some BBQ on my lap like a hillbilly. 

 

After lunch, BBQ spills, and a wedding ceremony, Ben and I were standing outside under the shade of a beautiful, big tree with a small group of his relatives waiting for dinner to be served. There was a perfect breeze, sweet sunshine, and the wine was finally flowing. Then Ben's cousin spilled red wine all over her husband's lap. We all had a good chuckle. Then I subconsciously decided that I would one up the red-wine-pants-spill that could be covered by a shirt. Not realizing what my subconscious was plotting, I began to move my red wine from one hand to the other. Mid-move, the light breeze got frisky and tried to Marilyn Monroe my skirt. So obviously I spazzed while trying to maintain my "I'm a lady" act, and proceeded to throw the entire glass of red wine down the front of my dress. Fantastic. 

And so concludes my July 4th weekend.

xoxo, b 

Summer? That you?

Welcome to May....

- It may be summer



MKE Riverwalk

warm enough for a grill out

- Ben may have cancelled our gym membership for a  9 day stint before realizing that is exactly what I wanted and re-instating forced gym-going back into my life



- Paris & Nicole may have emptied a full container of catnip all over the living room floor and rolled around in it until we found them twitching like little drug addicts

paris

nicole

- We may be living in this here apartment just until the end of August, and then headed lordy knows where. Stay in Milwaukee? Head south towards Deerfield, IL? Seriously, let's just go West already and live in Vegas for a year?



- I may be finishing a glass of wine and a cup of coffee right now. The wine was going to skunk any minute now. And I make a conscience effort to refrain from wasteful habits, and to have variety in my life.





undercover kitty

- Paris has really started to ramp up her under covers exploration missions. She may or may not get squished one of these times.









- Since it's warm out, Ben and I have been taking a lot of walks around downtown, and we may have searched out patio dining the last two nights. Sunday afternoon = Rock Bottom Brewery and Monday night = Belair Cantina




 - Thursday nights are ladies' night at Oak. I may have attended.



Brooke being a rockstar

delivering spirits

 














- Since we live right on the river and I have a self-diagnosed addiction to just how cute ducks happen to be, I may be stockpiling old bread and rolls to feed to those adorable little quacks. Old bread now outnumbers new bread in our household, which seems like an amazing notion, but lame geese outnumber adorable ducks on the river. And I am not about to go and feed those winged devils.



- And finally, FAKE PROM 2013 was a splendid and magical night under the stars. But more on that later. Maybe.



xoxo, b

 

30 day challenge

Finished my 30 day challenge.

Here are the sweet nuggets of truth I've discovered while on this 30 day business:

1. I can come up with multiple hairstyles

2. I don't appreciate being told what to do. What If I just want to wear another ponytail because I'm not feeling inspired or maybe I don't want to spend time dinking around because it's my day off and I'm rockin sweat pants and doing laundry?! WHAT THEN 30 DAY CHALLENGE? What then?!

3. Why the H E double hockey sticks would I want this many photos of myself?!

4. That pretty much sums it up.

xoxo, b

Double-o 7

I've finished Mythbusters on Netflix. Yes, my world is crumbling around me.

In what I thought would be a desperate and futile attempt at finding a new tidbit to tune into, I ran across the old 007 Bond films on the Netflix. JACKPOT!!!!!!!!!!
 
*In order to even partially understand what follows, one must be aware of a little game Ben and I play with each other. The I can't even phase you anymore game.     Rules are simple: Catch the other person off guard with ridiculous words or actions to see if you can make them consider the possibility that they married a lunatic.


So anywho, we've started the James Bond movies from numero uno. Ben was thrilled by my fantastic sleuth skillz (with a "z") of finding such Netflix fun. He was so thrilled and immediately into spy character that he screeched out the James Bond theme song and bit me. On the ass. I honestly wish I could claim it was some type of sexy experience. But some weirdo biting thru your flannel pajammie pants while yelling "dun nun nun nuuuuh!!!" in James Bond style while you try and figure out what the heck is happening? Nah, not so much.


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baby blanket!



I made a baby blanket!

Whoohoo marvelous creation with such character.... aka a few patches of consistently inconsistent stitching.

Psssh whatever. Baby needs to know that life ain't perfect. Aunt B may as be the one to teach that valuable life lesson in the form of a comforting and freakin' awesome blanket






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new beast mode glass

I received a pretty cool glass to add to our collection. Beast Mode, welcome to the fam!

Perfect for summer baseball season (go brewers) and cold beer

Thanks Schmev!



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Here's a little known fact.... I have road rage and relatively poor parallel parking tendencies.



Here is an example of my most recent parallel parking job. It's close enough to 8 inches, or 1 foot, or maybe 4 inches? from the curb... knowing those details is apparently half the battle....We were just running inside for some caffeine... otherwise I would have used my road rage to get the job done right. Or at least better. Ugh screw that.


Parallel parking is for fools.



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Guess what I found under the fishie tank. More Mardis Gras beads.


Whaaaaaaaaat?! why.


If you want them, you may have them.




 xoxo, b

30 Day Challenge

April is 30 day challenge month at work. We have to do something different or add something to our daily life that we've been putting off or want to try or I dunno.

Take a daily photo. Eat a piece of fruit each day. And I decided to try 30 different hairstyles. I'm halfway thru, and lack of ideas is not a problem. My problem is committing to a style, taking a picture, and knowing that I can't use it again until the month is done. Talk about commitment-phobia.


xoxo, b

Paris & Nicole

Here's some pictures of our cats-- Paris & Nicole. Because they are so zany, and this is my blog, and those are both really great reasons.

xoxo, b