spring to life

I'm so impatient for spring/summer/fall/anything but winter. It warmed up and almost hit 40 today.......... whomp whomp whooooomp....... Is it too late for seasonal depression? I'm still stuck on the "anger" and "bargaining" stages of winter grief, but as soon as "acceptance" rolls around I want to know that there's a group in a church basement that I can talk to every Thursday. 

-----

Ben and I had a dinner date at Bar Lou tonight. Totally splurged on dollar burgers. And now my dashing husband is in the bedroom watching some animated movie with Paris and Nicole, because "there is nothing on Netflix." I think he just felt like watching cartoons. Happens to me all the time. Embrace it Benjamin. 

-----

Wedding in Nashville in just over a week! 

I have to finish altering the top of my dress, because they don't make a Wonderbra able to fix a dress size too big meets a chest size too small. I've looked into it. And as my mom told the sales people at three different store... "Before we fix the dress, let's try and fix her dimensions! [maniacal laugh]" 

 I'm going to go ahead an thank my mom AGAIN for getting all stingy and not passing down those certain genes that would result in a chest area of anything more than a 14 year old boy. 

Thanks mom.

-----

My grandparents are selling DeCabin in Winter, WI. They accepted an offer and close the end of May. We've been going up there since 1999. It's where Ben and I had our mini honeymoon right after getting hitched. There are literally 2.951 million stories about that place. 

Hmm, I might need that church basement support group sooner than I thought...

-----

Liars and wine tomorrow night. It's Wednesday tradition with the girls. 

And you don't mess with a tradition that involves wine.

xoxo, b

Weekend Warrior [part 1]

HOLY CRIPES, BATMAN! Weekends off?! I forgot what those were............but I love them. Here's the dealio, since New Year's Eve (which I spent bad dancing at Karma), I've been a weekend warrior. The titan of the truck stop. The pop star princess of car concerts. I've been able to give into every whimsical fancy that floats across my mind involving a car and the open road (within reason).

And now I present to you, my weekends in Reader's Digest form:

1) Britani turns 25+2 birthday celebration extravaganza. This particular weekend started by going out with friends Friday night. Then Saturday morning rolled around, and Ben and I tentatively decided to go to Louisville because, hell, it's within the 6 hour radius perimeter that we had just set and neither of us have spent any time there. After a little Google search I found underground zip-lining outside the city limits. Sold. BAM-A-LAM and we're headed south early Saturday afternoon.

Then the snow started. The freakin' snow. North of Indianapolis, we were creeping along. Our trip was taking longer than planned (granted, not a lot of planning went into the trip other than "head south"). That's when traffic stopped. Just stopped. Before long, tow trucks and police cars and hazardous waste clean up crews were driving past us. And we stayed exactly where we were for the next 3+ hours. The worst 3+ hours of hoping that my bladder would not explode, because that's right folks, this chicka had to whiz from minute uno. (btw, no one was killed in the gigantic accident) After that special bonding experience with my man of choice came to an end, we figured it was best to stay in Indy and leave early for the Lou. Ben found a room, and we ended up staying downtown at a hotel hosting a middle school cheer competition. There were fake eyelashes, glitter, and high ponytails everywhere.

By early Sunday afternoon we were in Louisville, hanging out at the Louisville Slugger Museum because sidenote, I wanted to be a baseball player when I was younger.








We also did a whiskey tour at the Evan Williams Experience, where we tried two shot sized glasses of whiskey.

Then Ben booked a hotel online and we drove over to check in and drop off our luggage. As we were standing in line, we looked at each other and commented about how it smelled like old perfume. We had a chuckle, and waited like perfect angels until our turn came. During this time, I figured I should check in on Foursquare because sometimes I'm social media conscious like that. As the Internet delivered my request, the front desk beckoned us to come forward and check in. At this exact moment, the Foursquare stars aligned and the top comment for Seelbach Hotel popped up onto my phone "careful, the 8th and 10th floors are haunted." I don't do haunted. I don't do scary. I do do Google researching though, and Google researching revealed that yeah, that place has had a few things go bump in the night. One of the things was people smelling perfume...
So long story a little less long, we stayed on the 7th floor which means my ceiling was definitely haunted. I think we were the only living humans on that floor. I may or may not have screamed because I saw my own reflection in the window and maybe I tried to pee with the bathroom door open while maintaining eye contact with Ben. All alleged activities keep in mind.  Creepy stuff...especially when I woke up at 3am to use the restroom and our tv was on (did we leave it on?!) and Insidious was playing.........Ben woke up as I was getting out of bed, saw the tv, and knowing that I'm 100% chicken started yelling "DON'T LOOK AT THE TV!!!" which of course made me freak out. Very little sleep that night... and not even for fun reasons.


Monday was my birthday and for my birthday we went going cave zip lining at Mega Caverns!!!!!!!!! Never been zip lining, and definitely never zip lining in a cave so check that one off the ole bucket list. I adored dangling by a rope and going fast, which my mom tells me is "not right." She's such a nice lady.


Monday afternoon consisted of driving back to WI, and getting Kentucky Fried Chicken while in Kentucky. Obviously.

2) The following weekend was a trip to Winter, WI. This trip was also a last minute "hey-ya-wanna" trip, and also included snowy weather that made us take an early pit stop. This time it was a pit stop in LM at my parents' house for the night. It's cool though, because I got to have a glass of wine with my mom and pop and shoot the breeze. And Ben got to say sassy things to make my dad laugh and my mom's "ears bleed." The next morning we proceeded up nort', stopping at the Leinenkugel Brewery for a tour, then in Hayward for lunch, and finally a stop at the casino before getting to the cabin after dark.

super long walk in the dark...

....seriously.....

Since we had rented a crumby little Nissan Versa (which, incidentally, is the exact same little piece that we totaled in IL one year....) we were not able to make it up the tiny snowy hill to the cabin... so we were going to have to walk. In the dark. In the northern woods where bear have been known to wander and a giant had been spotted the month before near the cabin's front porch. I pouted. I got out and tried to push the car myself. Then (mostly because Ben made me), I grabbed my bags and started sprinting through the knee high snow while wimpering and screaming and carrying on like a gawd-damn fool. Once inside the cabin, I hyperventilated for the first time in my life. I don't understand it, and I probably never will. I can jump out of airplanes, speed makes me happy, heights get me excited............ but you ask me to go down a water body slide without a tube, ride a ferris wheel, or deal with the possibility of a bear and I'm down for the count. The rest of our time there was spent watching old movies, playing games, drinking wine, and watching snow fall on the lake. Relaxing once you stop thinking about being mauled by a bear.



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

the ugly cry

first business trip

 Ben departed for New York this morning sometime around 4am. I'm not 100% sure on the exact time because, hell, it was 4am and frankly, I was ugly crying. No single glistening tear on this cheek. No, no. More like a pitiful pajama-clad, bedhead me standing lost in the living room trying to keep it together. I don't know about the rest of the population, but when I'm tired and sad my ugly cry is straight out of an 80's horror film. To hold back tears I hold my breath, my stomach clenches up, and my face crinkles and conforms into ways previously unknown to mankind. The breath-holding causes red-eye bulging and a series of odd choking gasps, boogers, and tears.  To top it off, muttering things between gasps like "You look so handsome! I'm going to miss you so much! The cats are mean and punch me while I sleep!" and I've successfully brought a whole new level of sexy. 

Paris & Nicole helping Ben pack

So my husband's gone for Monday through Thursday night. Seriously, not that long at all. Especially since he rounded up some "brit-sitters" to keep me company this week. I have a busy week. And we are leaving for our two year anniversary road trip on Friday night. That's exciting.... I could totally Google things for us to do.... we have plane tickets and no plans. Just the way it should be!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

WI State Fair

Ben and I went to the Wisconsin State Fair on Saturday. It was glorious and sunny and warm and wonderful. We tried loaded potatoes, funnel cake, ice cream, craft beer, did a wine tasting, and rode the sky glider from one end of the park to the other. We also found the barn with the ducks, but the place was way too crowded for me to steal one. 

riding the sky glider

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

And here is a photo of Paris wearing a bikini. 

She's trying to break into the cruel world of swimsuit modeling.

I think she looks fantastic.

Paris in a bikini

xoxo, b

trophy wife

I'm under the impression that I should be a trophy wife.

I'll rock my hot pink heels and a dress and sashay around department stores and go out for lunch and wear too much perfume and develop a fake laugh so I can say things like "daaaaaarrrrling, this afternoon mojito is absolutely faaaaaabulous!" Then I'll twirl around and waltz home where I will pat my fluffy kitties on their fluffy heads and make a three course dinner. Soon, Ben will burst through the door, set down his briefcase and in a very deep voice exclaim, "Honey! I'm home!" He would then immediately pick me up, twirl me around, and give me a passionate kiss on the lips. Obviously, I would be drinking wine by this point in the evening. He would then compliment me until I beg him to stop because dinner is getting cold.

 

 

In immediate hindsight of the directly above mentioned story, there's no way in Hades that I could be a trophy wife:

 

 

- I can only wear my heels for short periods of time. If I sashay, my feet pay. Maybe I could be a barefoot/flip flop wearing trophy wife?

 

- I have not met a department store that I have not felt overwhelmed and/or lost in. Literally lost. It's like a black hole maze of different designers and there is no way to safely escape in a timely manner. It's like ADHD materialized.

 

- I could do lunch. I like lunch that other people make for me.

 

- Fake laughing makes me feel like I have internal bleeding. Super annoying, internal bleeding.

 

- Not a fan of mojitos. Do trophy wives drink beer and like to BBQ? Is that a thing?

 

- I do enjoy a good twirling about... especially in a sundress. That part can stay. I'd have to bring my A-game for leg shaving on a regular basis.

 

- Our fluffy kitties are experiencing their teenage angst years. They've really made a name for themselves as the apex predators of this apartment. They are spazzy, destructive monsters. Sitting pretty for a pat on the head is not something I imagine happening in the foreseeable future.

 

- When Ben comes home, he does give me a hug and kiss. There is no picking up and twirl around hug and kiss though. This must change immediately.

 

- I need more not-cheap wine. Or craft beer. Again, can a trophy wife drink beer right from the bottle? Or is it strictly a swirl your wine type deal?

 

-And the final reason, I require a variety of multiple activities to fill my day. Otherwise, I come up with "great ideas" that I try and execute myself. Past examples have included dying my hair dark brown, rearranging the entire apartment, ripping apart our closet and putting it back together, chopping some bangs, impromptu painting, highlighting my hair and the middle of the cat's forehead, cooking disasters, trying to give the cats a bath, organizing our storage locker, Pinterest DIY projects, and donating things before Ben finds out they're missing.

 

 

It's a work in progress. Time for some imitation crab and fruit juice.

 

Trophy wife out.

 

 

xoxo, b

dells date

Routine happens to be the worst thing that could happen to me. It makes me stir crazy. (& Ben too, kiddos). We tend to feed off of each other and then bam-a-lam the crazy just intensified. And since stir crazy is only healthy for super limited amounts of time...... a spontaneous mini trip was needed. Highly needed. Extremely needed. Required.

So we went back to LM. Met up with Jessica on the Tyranena Brewery patio. Roped my parental units into joining us. Ate Pizza Pit pizza and washed it down with craft beer. All was fine and dandy and wonderful.

Then Saturday rolled around and we were in the car headed to the Dells for an all inclusive night at the Chula Vista resort and waterpark. We stayed in a condo unit, had a hot tub right outside our room, and a short walk across the street brought us to the entrance of the indoor/outdoor waterpark area. Obviously, Ben kept a mental log of what we "spent" on food and drinks while we were free to roam all-inclusive between 4pm and 11:30am. During those hours, we both became accustomed to a........ a certain lifestyle...... one where you flash your snazzy blue wristband, point and wink at the tiki hut boy, and receive a frozen drink before you can comment on the weather. Try that same move without the snazzy blue wristband, and all you get is a request for 8 dollars. And maybe a phone number. If you're Ben.

Sunday we squeezed in breakfast, lunch, and drinks to go before 11:30am. Talk about Cinderella's fancy horse and carriage turning back into a pumpkin and a couple of questionable mice.

The rest of the afternoon, we played in the indoor waterpark and watched all the little kids run around like maniacs. Then we ran around like maniacs, too. It was also concluded that kids are like tiny drunk people: they can't walk straight, get overly excited about the weirdest stuff, scream and cry then laugh insanely within a five minute span, and make and lose friends every hour.


We went down a couple of double tube slides and dun nuh nuhhh my arch nemesis, body slides (in the kiddie section). The last time I went down a body slide, it was at the Golden Nugget pool in Vegas. I freaked out, scrapped up my elbows, and that slide made me bleed my own blood. So I'm not on the best of terms with body slides as a whole.

Then we went on a quick little wine tasting at Fawn Creek Winery, bought a bottle of Cabernet and a "bitch bag" mix, and went on our merry little way back to Milwaukee.

xoxo, b

16 candles + 10

I accomplished another full year of living, which brings my grand total to 26. Lucky for me, I have not had any spontaneous arthritis, need for a hip replacement, or found any grey hair. However, I'm 26 now, and I fully realize I will need to monitor for those types of things from here on out.

==============

To celebrate such a joyous and monumental occasion-- aka the 5th Anniversary Party of My 21st Birthday-- Ben and I decided to head  north to DeCabin in Winter, WI. We left Thursday, and after a pit stop in LM, showed up at the Leinenkugel's Brewery by 3:30 on the dot. We got our tour on (with a crowd of 4 other people), wrote postcards, and sipped 5 different beer samples. Life was good.

Then the TomTom got us lost. Then we got ourselves found. Then we continued to DeCabin.

------------

part of the goofy zoo puzzle

The next day, my parentals showed up with their pup, Eko. We didn't do much of anything on Friday... other than go for a Friday Fish Fry at the Wannigan, watch movies (What About Bob!), play games (which I managed to win every single one...), put together a crazy puzzle (that ended up missing a piece in the center), walk around the edges of the lake (because I figured I would fall through or a muskie would fly thru and eat me), and drink wine.

------------

Saturday, we went for breakfast "downtown" at The Hotel. It was the first time since we got up there that either Ben or I had an Internet connection (but still no cell service). No cell/Internet is fantastic!! After breakfast, we took a little trip up to Hayward, WI. On the way, we stopped at the LCO Casino and played 5 cent Wizard of Oz slot machines. I won five bucks on a spin, which apparently flipped a competative switch in my mom, because she immediately went ahead and won 8 bucks on her 5 cent spin. Typical.

mom with Hook Stone wine to open in the summer!

After winning big at the casino, we did some wine sampling at Hook Stone Winery. We bought a bottle to bring back to LM and open sometime in the summer so that my birthday will continue to last throughout the year. Then we stopped by The Angry Minnow Brew Pub and shared a paddle of their craft beer.



beer samples at The Angry Minnow



After the Hayward trip, it seemed like a good idea to make a gigantic bonfire.... even though it was negative something degrees outside. So Ben and my dad created a 5-alarm fire with gasoline and pallets, and then Ben and Eko shot off some fireworks. I think the macho fire was to prove that they COULD make a fire... since they weren't able to do a dam[n] thing about the fireplace inside....

2 men, 1 fireplace, 1 goal

the birthday tiara and matching earrings

Since my 'rents were leaving in the morning, my mom made a steak birthday dinner Saturday night. It was dee-lish. I was even allowed to wear the AMAZING plastic earrings that went with my birthday tiara to dinner... even though it wasn't my bday yet. Because a birthday tiara is exactly what every [twenty-]six year old needs.

----------

Anywho, Sunday was my official birthday. I woke up with the sun shinning and birds/butterflies fluttering around and Ben singing a gorgeous melody in a deep and soulful voice while on one knee..........then I woke up from that dream to Eko's wet nose and sloppy tongue on my face. A few cinnamon rolls and a shower later, and it was time for me to wait impatiently by the duck phone for my grandma to call and sing me happy birthday. Because it's what she does every year, solely because she is awesome. 

mom signing the bottle

I wore my tiara and earrings that day, we popped a little pink bubbly, and I turned 26 like a champ.





one of the bottles Ben & I
got in NY on our anv roadtrip!

 

In other birthday related news, Ben bought a strange pie and some candles when we first got to Winter. We ate half the pie right away. The second half we saved for my actually bday. Since there weren't enough candles, a couple of scented pillar candles completed the distraught-looking mess of a bday cake display. It took awhile for Ben to light all the candles, and then I forced him to sing to me. After I blew out all the candles my first attempt, we lit them all again so Ben could prove that he was able to blow them all out in one breath, too.

definition of a beautiful disaster

-----------

By the time Ben and I left, neither of us had any idea what was going on in the world or exactly how many days we had spent at DeCabin. It was lovely.

We stopped in LM on our way back to MKE for some birthday margaritas in Mexico (aka the Mexican restaraunt in town) with Jessica. Brianna and Weiner happened to be in the area at the same time, and stopped by to join us. It was a mini fiesta! Brianna told the waiter that it was my birthday. He asked me if I wanted a tequila shot or a shooter. Well HELL! Tequila shots and I end up making bad life decisions together, but I've always gotten along with a shooter. So I asked for a shooter. He brought me a fried cinnamon stick in a glass of whip cream... a "churro."

birthday "shooter"

Life Lesson from a Quarter Life Crisis: You know you're geting old when you turn down a shot and ask for dessert. And the whip cream on that fried cinnamon stick? The fact that you didn't hear the waiter correctly in the first place.

Here's to 26.


xoxo, b

winter [wi] in september

Road Trip:

After Ben got home from work on Friday night (around 7:30ish), we packed up the tiny Speck of a rental car (which he had managed to get for 40 bucks or something outlandish like that) and went about driving north to Winter, WI.

Of course, I was feeling spaz-tastic about going on a trip, playing my new burned CD filled with country music and Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend," and being able to spend some adventure time with the mister.

It was while I was in the middle of a good headbanging, belting out the lyrics-- or just my own words-- to "Boyfriend" that I saw Ben scratching his nose with my peripheral vision. I then saw him start to reach towards my face. NATURALLY, I figured he was coming at me with a booger, so I whipped my head into the "holy shit" handle in the tiny Speck of a car and gave myself and insta-bruise, insta-bump in the middle of my forehead. All this approximately 28 minutes into our trip.

I started up some bipolar combination of laughing/crying because my self-inflicted injury hurt so bad.... and then I was emotionally puzzled because I really was not sure if I was laughing or crying.We stopped and Ben bought me a Starbucks, because Starbucks is like a mental band aid when you are suffering from a surefire concussion.

Moving on........

We made it to the cabin by roughly 2am... after seeing racoons, deer, a cat, a red fox, a family of skunks gathered in the middle of the road, and a creature crossing the road which Ben insists was a baby llama.

++++++++++++++++++++

On Saturday, we went "downtown" for breakfast. Then we all got into the Speck and drove to Hayward. First things first, we went to a candy store. Every time I walk into that place I smile.... so gorgeous, so filled with sugar!

We bought some chocolate fudge, cashew turtles, and caramel filled chocolate balls. Then my mom & I did some shopping in the little stores in the area while my dad & Ben wandered around behind us complaining that their boxes of fudge were melting.

After complaining cut our shopping excursion short, we hit up a little wine tasting at Hook Stone Winery.

wine tasting with the goofy 'rents

On the way back to Winter, we stopped at a casino and bought a bunch of cheap fireworks to light off that evening while sitting around a bonfire and sipping.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++

bear!!

 
Sunday morning was pretty laid back. While "downtown," Ben and I saw some guys pull up with a black bear they had just shot. That thing was scary huge, which is exactly why I insist that we start campfires in the middle of the day and go inside by dusk. Those creepy bears are lurking in the bushes waiting to eat me.

We left the cabin around noon. Driving back was so pretty with all the leaves changing, the windows down, and the country music up. I really had to tone down my in-car dancing since the Speck was so tiny and filled with hazardous possibilities.

About 2 hours into the trip, we stopped at a little place along the way with some really cool metal artwork. This guy gets random stuff from salvage yards, old farms, etc and makes bird baths, flowers, caterpillars, turtles, and abstract oddities. 

Ned and some flowers

My mom and dad bought a sweet little bird bath. Ben and I got a grouping of flowers and a turtle who I immediately named Ned. According to inside sources, that was the shortest amount of time for me to name an inanimate object.





+++++++++++++++++++++++++

And now it's Tuesday. Paris is laying on the table next to the computer smacking random keys as I try to type. She's Grade A Brat this morning.

xoxo, b (&Paris)

chasing waterfalls

 New York 1 Year Anniversary Trip = Success!!

We left Thursday night after work and started driving east towards New York wine country. On the way, we saw a deer, and there was cursing and a slight heart attack. And then life continued.......

climbing a building

Anywho, on Friday it was overcast and rainy-ish. Our general plan was to get to Watkins Glen State Park and get our camp on, but that didn't seem like fun in the rain. So we switched gears and ended up in Rochester, NY Friday afternoon. We headed over to the National Museum of Play and naturally, we played.

Xbox

There was literally every toy that you could have ever played with...
Barbies...
Xbox....
Pong....

chatting with Big Bird

dolls.....
Michael Jackson disc player.....
Seasame Street....
Dance Dance revolution....
a comic book heroes section......

and everything else you could possibly think of...






Friday night, we left our riverside hotel room and walked over to Roc Brewing Company for a cold craft beer. I was positive we were walking through the ghetto, and that I was going to be brit-napped.... then the clouds parted and a stream of sunshine shone down upon the brewery and all my worries vanished....

so dramatic.

At the brewery, we each tried a beer. Then we saw some other folks near us who got a sample platter of beers... and within two minutes we also had a sample platter of beer.

taste testing

It was pretty tasty stuff. Then my smarty pants husband had too many sips and figured it would be a great idea to not only taste test each beer individually... but to mix a little of each beer in his glass and taste them all at once.

He thought it was fantastic.

I thought it was not  fantastic.



Saturday, we drove down the Seneca Wine Trail-- right along the lake-- to Watkins Glen, NY. I got all sorts of excited seeing all the vineyards and wineries on our way south.... and I began plotting my wine trail travels.

vineyards and Seneca Lake

Upon our glorious arrival to Watkins Glen, we found Nascar fans in every nook and cranny. Turns out that there was a Nascar race Sunday afternoon.... so the place was jumping. Neither Ben nor I are race fans... don't get me wrong, I love cars that go fast. The important fact, however, is simply that I like to be IN  the car that is going fast, not watching it.

We got lost for a hot second trying to find the state park... which is right in the middle of town. But moving on...

We got to Watkins Glen State Park and set up our camp. Then we got busy hiking in the GORGEOUS gorge......

It was like something right out of a movie...

A heart at the bottom of some falls

 

 Pictures don't do it justice!!





After we got done hiking, we went back to our campsite and started a campfire. We went into the woods to pick up some kindling... or so I thought. I returned to camp with little twigs and sticks.... Ben returned with a fallen tree. Hmm...

 

That night, we sat around the campfire and chilled out. It was great to hang out together and just shoot the breeze. It was a warm night, but the fire felt wonderful.  
Side note: we could hear the Nascar qualifying races early in the night, which was kinda cool.




Sunday was wine trail day. And it was everything I had hoped for and more. An area dedicated to wine and wine tastings-- such a place does exist!

We decided to drive north for a little bit and then turn around and hit up the majority of the wineries on our way back to Watkins Glen.

Fruit Yard Winery: first stop, super friendly. Specialized in fruit wines.We bought 2 bottles.

Ashley Lynn Winery: great lady with a silly laugh that I loved. We only got a tiny shot glass tasting of each wine, but she waved the $2 tasting fee because we bought a bottle and she liked us :)


Shaw Vineyard: specialized in dry wines. We paid $5 each for a glassful of  10+ red and white wines, and got to talk to someone who was near our age. Bought a bottle of white wine

Stopped at R.E.D.S. Hots for a philly cheese steak sandwhich..... tasty and quick and right along the wine trail so we didn't lose any precious wine time

Miles Wine Cellars: weeping willows and a big white mansion on the lake... sleeping dog on the great front porch.... so beautiful!

National Geographic Travel said it was the "most serenely gorgeous setting of any winery in the region." They were right. $3 tasting and wine glasses to keep. We bought a bottle called "Call Me a Cab"

a few items from our new wine collection

Glenora Wine Cellars: overlooking Seneca Lake, gave us cheese (woohoo Wisconsin)  with our wine tasting. Live jazz musicians playing outside on the patio. Bought a bottle of sparkling wine... SO GOOD!!

Magnus Ridge Winery: super pretty building with friendly dogs that greeted us as we drove in. We didn't do a wine tasting here, but we found a funky little hot pad that made me laugh

Pompous Ass Winery: loved it because of its name... and the wine was good, too. We got a bottle of wine, and a coffee mug for my coffee mug addiction

After our wine tastings, I was in the mood for some more hiking. So off we went to the gorge again.....

During our hike, it started to rain... and we went running around like a couple of goonies trying to find shelter. Then it cleared up and we saw a rainbow.

kissing on a bridge... using the 10 second self timer on the camera

walking behind waterfalls

When we were done with our hike, we headed back to camp and started up a bonfire. Ben finished burning the giant tree he had dragged out of the woods on our first afternoon there, and we made s'mores

Monday morning, we broke camp, packed up, and drove over to Ithaca, NY to go hiking and swimming at the base of a waterfall. Because swimming at the base of a waterfall sounds pretty sweet. Monday also happened to be August 13. 2012, aka our first anniversary!

Lucifer Falls

happy hikers

Robert Treman State Park was very pretty, and we spent a good deal of time doing hiking trails that were a bit more difficult than Watkins Glen. By the time we were done hiking and ready for swimming, the 66 degree water felt.......refreshing.  And then straight up shocking.

off-roading...

We took videos of each of us jumping off the diving board into the lake: Ben did a stunning cannonball that made the kids gasp and cheer. I did a rendition of a flailing noodle arm bird about to drown.

Monday afternoon, we finished up our trip to the Finger Lakes area and were trying to figure out what to do: #1) start driving back to Milwaukee and stop somewhere along the way or #2) head up to Niagara Falls

Option #2 won, and by Monday afternoon we found ourselves standing at the biggest waterfall we had seen on our trip.

1 Year: Niagara Falls, NY

We (eerr... Britani) thought it would be pretty cute if we took a picture each year on our anniversary of the two of us-- wherever we happen to be-- holding a sign with what year we are at. And all those pictures are going into a little scrapbook.

Year 1's sign was a bit bootleg.... a random piece of copy paper that was in the car and a ballpoint pen to write with.....but that actually ended up being perfect

We got a hotel on the river a couple miles from the Falls, showered up, and then headed back to the Falls to eat dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe and check out Niagara Falls light up at night.

 

Tuesday morning, we slept in and then went back to Niagara Falls for some more exploring. We checked out Three Sisters Island, which is just upstream from the American Falls.


Then we got in the car and drove back to Milwaukee.... with multiple stops at Starbucks, fast food restaurants, and gas stations.

We got home around 10:30pm and dropped into bed..... where 2 very fluffly kitties tried to get our attention all night.



Home again, home again :)

xoxo, b