Over this Memorial Day weekend I was fortunate to have a day off to spend watching the Dayton Dragons play ball.
My aunt was able to get us tickets so we decided on a night and went.
It was a great night to watch baseball, the weather was perfect, and it is a much more family friendlier place than the Reds stadium. We even ran into some of our church family and sat with them for half of the game.
Heater and Gem
In between every inning there was some type of kid game or contest!
There was this relay race between 2 teams of 5 kids each where they run down and grab a flag and then run back. One little girl sat down on her second time because she was tired...kids!! haha
Ben and I even had the chance to participate in a relay game for row 11 in the stadium. Basically we passed a "surprise" item, which turned out to be a Santa Claus balloon, as fast as we could to home plate. They really tried to get their fans involved and keep the kids entertained.
Relay Fun!
Ben even caught a t-shirt that the emcee's where throwing out!
He is so handsome!
The only bad part about the night was two pigeons that were sitting on a wire right above our seats. Ben reached over his shoulder and found a poopy mess on his jacket. We cleaned it up and a half hour later he got hit again, we then decided it was time to move down a couple seats.
I really had a great time and it was nice to do something fun with the family. Toward the end of the game the moon started rising and it happened to be a full moon that night! It was so big in the sky, I don't know which was more exciting, watching the game or having a perfect view of the full moon.
Weddings are happening every weekend at Bel-Wood, which is great because they are my favorite!
Let's just say that this wedding was a little stressful!
I am happy that I got through it and was relieved when everything turned out okay.
How cute is this?
The decorations were so cute and very pink!!
This wedding was very detailed and had a Disney theme through out the entire room. The bride and groom were going to Disney World for their honeymoon and she was a Disney Princess fan, especially Belle.
The centerpieces were inspired from Beauty and the Beast, as well as their personalized monogram on the dance floor.
The candy bar was one of my favorite aspects of the event. There were little, personalized bags on the side to put the candy in, which was a cute touch.
Love is sweet, take a treat!
The napkins were tied in little bows, which is by far my favorite fold! The bride also hand glued pink glitter onto 130 charger plates for her reception. Personally I loved this little feature, mainly because I love glitter!! They looked really classy and fun!
Love the Minnie name tag and glittered charger
I am beginning to see how much back-lighting really can transform a room into something completely different and beautiful.
There were a couple of things that I would have changed. For example, the wedding cake seemed like a birthday cake for a little girl! It was over the top and too childish, in my opinion.
There was also a lack of flowers, which really would have transformed the room even more!
Overall I think this wedding was one of the best I have seen and I am happy to have been apart of the bride and groom's special day.
I have enjoyed this past weekend filled with family, friends, and work! It is a great time to reflect and to remember those you have moved on. I am so thankful to live in this nation where people are willing to give their lives so that others can have freedom. It is a very unselfish act that people give and I am very grateful for them. Today I spent some time grilling out with my family. It was relaxing and I learned a little bit more about them, which is always a good thing. We enjoyed this beautiful Ohio weather and celebrated the unofficial beginning of Summer! I also put out some flowers on my dad's grave to honor him as well. The flowers are pansies..showing him some TriDelta Love!!
With summer quickly approaching and the holidays arriving, I thought it would be fun to share some flag apparel that has just arrived at none other than...Old Navy I love American themed clothing and with the great prices and sales for Memorial Day, it is time to stock up!
$6.94
$16.94
On sale for $25.00
$19.94
$14.94
On sale for $18.00
On sale for $19
These are just a few of my favorite things that are in stock right now, but there is so much more variety if you browse online! Plus, there are always sales and coupons available if you just look them up!
Today I just wanted to share ten eleven things that make me happy/ things that I am looking forward to this summer.
1. Reading- I love being able to escape to another place and live through other people and their journeys (love stories are my favorite), plus reading relaxes me.
2.Listening to music really loud in my car with the windows down!!
3. Anything that is covered in glitter
4. Wedding/Bridal- I love those shows on TLC about weddings, any bridal magazine or any bridal shows
5. Storms on a summer night, I really like listening to the sound of the rain
6. My family- I try to spend as much time as possible with my family and enjoy their company before I have to return back to school
7. The love of my life, Ben!
8. Shopping- I unfortunately don't have the bank account for my current shopping addiction, but I am working on it!
9. Running- I have started training for a half marathon and it has started to become something that I really enjoy
10. Cleaning/ Organizing
11. Extreme Couponing on TLC- I would love to have a stock pile and become a couponer..it's a work in progress
The Powerball Jackpot has reached $600 Million, becoming the second largest jackpot in U.S. history, and continues to grow. I was listening to the radio this afternoon and they had a couple of questions for their viewers. If you won the Jackpot, would you go into work on Monday? and What would your first purchase be?
I gave it some thought and concluded that I would not go into work on Monday and would inevitably quit Old Navy, but I would still hold onto my internship at Bel-Wood. I am the type of person who gets bored..very quickly. I am always searching for things to do that will keep me busy. If I won the Jackpot I would probably still finish school in order to pursue a career in event planning. It seems as thought most jobs today require some type of degree and if I won, I would still want to have a job even if it was part time. My first purchase would either be a new car (Ashton Martin) or plane tickets out of the country! I am a traveler at heart and I would love to just take off for the summer and see the world. It would be amazing to have the chance to explore other countries without financial constrains and I hope to one day make that into a reality.
Enough day dreaming and back to reality...tomorrow we have a class reunion event and Katie, my boss, is out of town for her cousin's wedding!! So that means I will be the leader and guide for the servers and any guests concerns. Tim, the owner, will be at the event as well but I am still a little nervous...and excited!!
Mariah Carey released a new song last Monday called "Beautiful".
At first I was not that impressed, but I have to say it has grown on me.
Tonight she sang a collaboration of her greatest hits and her new song on the finale of American Idol.
However, the video for this song was a turn off, but her song will still make it onto my summer playlist.
Mariah's performance on tonight's finale was ah-mazing! The girl can definitely hit those high notes and I especially loved her dress!
Spoiler Alert!
The winner of season 12 of American Idol is...
Candice Glover
I will admit that I have not followed this season, or any season really, but I have watched the past couple of weeks and Candice, in my opinion, had the better vocal performance of the two.
She also performed a duet with Jennifer Hudson tonight on the finale and the girl proved she can sing with the pros.
It has always been my dream to travel. I want to explore and experience different cultures and the people living there. I was even an International Studies major for a semester.
I feel like right now is the best time to travel and I should be taking advantage of that. But it also is not my reality.
It is important for me to get a bachelor's degree and to find a job so that in my future I can be someone who travels. It is not feasible or realistic for me to just be able to go to Europe for 2 weeks, although I wish I was that privileged.
This has been something on my mind recently, I especially envy those young adults who can afford to travel and see the world without any financial concerns, let alone family concerns (my mom would not allow that).
My hope is that one day I will have a job that allows me some vacation time to travel.
My goal is to have the best of both worlds (job/travel) and by golly I will make it happen!
I would love to take a week or two each year and travel to a different country. With the first trip starting in Paris and then Rome! I am keeping my options open and I hope to one day make my traveling dreams a reality.
It is officially wedding season and Bel-Wood held their first ceremony and reception this past weekend.
Friday night the bridal party arrived for their rehearsal. Everything went great, except for the rain which caused us to have the run-through inside instead of outside, where the ceremony actually takes place.
Friday night I was so excited to see the bride and groom and to finalize table settings and decor.
When the big day arrived, it was smooth sailing.
I arrived early and helped set up and make sure everything was prepared for the actual event.
We made sure everything was perfect as we anxiously awaited for the bridal party to make their way onto the property.
When I saw the bride in her gown, I almost lost it (I absolutely love weddings). She was beautiful and you could tell she was nervous. Honestly I can say she was one of the most calm and easy going brides I have ever seen.
Guests started arriving about 40 minutes before the ceremony, and unfortunately had to wait in the lobby a while due to the cold weather!
We were counting our blessing that the rain held off and even saw the sun come through the clouds a little.
When all of the guests were seated, we started lining everyone up to walk down the isle.
While the ceremony was taking place, we were inside lighting the candles on the tables and the servers were putting water glasses out.
The ceremony soon ended and the guests made their way into the ballroom, where appetizers were served. The bridal party was announced and the party began!
The DJ was from the radio station 103.5 and knew how to get the guests on their feet.
One of my favorite parts of the night was the anniversary dance with all the married people in attendance. One couple had been married for 55 years!! I hope to one day have a marriage that lasts that long.
Overall, Bel-Wood had a successful kickoff to their wedding season!
Here are some pictures to enjoy from the bride and groom's special day!
For the past couple of weekends my mom has been spending her time looking for cars and visiting dealerships. She has done a lot of research on a couple of cars that she has been torn between.
Last night she went to talk to the dealership, not expecting to walk away with a car, but she did!
She came home, jumping up and down with a big smile on her face. She was so excited and happy to have a new car, we even drove over to Ben's to show him.
She says it is her birthday present, even though she will not turn the big 5-0 until October!
Regardless I am happy that she upgraded and traded in the Envoy for a Toyota Rav4.
Today at Bel-Wood we received the flowers for our Mother's Day brunch!!
They will be the centerpieces for the tables and eventually be planted around the club.
This past Saturday was the 139th Kentucky Derby and Ben and I traveled about 2.5 hours South to watch the race!
We got all dressed up and took some pictures at the house before we left and then hit the road about 10am.
Every girl needs a little Lily Pulitzer in her life!
It seemed like such a nice day, a little overcast but nothing major.
About 2 hours into the drive, it started to rain! We were hoping and praying that it would clear up before we had to venture out...but it never did. It rained the entire time except for 1 hour, which made for a very muddy experience.
We anxiously arrived and found parking right off of the highway. We tried to walk across the street to eat at a Cracker Barrel, but realized how crazy the traffic was and settled with Burger King.
We ended up buying some ponchos, which quickly sold out.
Churchill Downs was about a mile walk from where we parked and by the time we reached our destination, we were soaked, especially our shoes.
We entered in Gate 3 and it was complete chaos!! There were evangelists on the side and about 1,000 or more people trying to get through four gates to security!
Standing in the mob of drunken people for 30 minutes was the worst part of the entire experience, except for the rain.
I was getting so frustrated and overwhelmed by people acting ridiculous and pushing. I almost wanted to turn around and just go back to the car, but I am happy we stuck it out and we were able to finally make it through.
We had tickets to the infield and so we had to walk underground in a tunnel to get inside.
The infield was almost like a fair, with lots of food and booths. We walked around a bit and searched out the area. Being that I am a nonprofit major, I quickly noticed that some of the booths were operating for a Not-for-Profit organization, although they did not specific which organization.
For weeks I have been talking about trying a Mint Julep, so Ben bought one for us to try..and it was disgusting! A Mint Julep is made with water, sugar, mint, and bourbon...lots and lots of bourbon. It was so bitter, I could barely take a sip but I am happy we tried it.
We then took some shelter under a tent for a while and did some people watching. Honestly I was a little sad to see the young adults who could not even stand on their feet because they had overdone themselves. I am just happy that I do not participate in those types of activities.
Drunkenness is not pretty folks.
We watched a couple of races and decided we wanted to bet on a horse for the Derby. Ben choose "Palace Malice" to win, but unfortunately he lost to Orb, who was the winner!
When it was time for the race, we made our way over to the fence. Hearing the horn sound off to mark the nearing of the race was amazing! It is such a neat experience.
The horses did a little pre-parade to show off before lining up. When those gates opened and the horses started down the track, Churchill Downs went wild! People were screaming and cheering for their horse to take the lead and win.
We watched the screen until they made their way to our side of the track. It was amazing to see those horses run by so fast and to feel their energy that they gave off as they raced down the course.
I can not believe that the race was over in 2 minutes!
After the race was over the winner, Orb, was presented with a garland of roses, which were beautiful.
We all slowly starting making our way out of Churchill Downs, back to our cars.
There were taxis lined up all through the streets..107 to be exact.
I actually was a little relieved to get back to the car because that meant warm air and an escape from the rain.
While we were there, Ben and I received many compliments such as that we were a lovely couple and that we looked very dapper (even if we were wearing ponchos)!
Overall, I had a great time and I would love to go back next year for the 140th Kentucky Derby!
