Bermuda Bound!

          In September Brent and I took a week long cruise to Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama!!  Oh wait, we actually just went to Bermuda.  Which, I might add, was the best decision we made.  We had researched cruises, prices, vacations for quite a while and while Brent was still in school and I was just starting a new job we did the best to find the most bang for our buck. 
          I initially was conviced that if we were paying for a cruise we needed to go on one that would bring us to as many islands as humanly possible before the week ended.  Since we were both strapped for cash we decided that taking a cruise with one single destination during hurricane season would be our best bet. I was so pleasantly surprised at how happy I was that we only went one place.  I've travelled before, but this was the first time I felt the need for a "relaxing" vacation.  Most of my trips have been within the confines of Europe and they all involved a lot to jam pack tours, sight seeing, and carrying your luggage all over a country from trains to planes to boats.  When we went to Bermuda I got to board the boat, unpack, and LEAVE IT all in one place for the whole week and return to my own room every night!  It was bliss, let me tell you.
          Okay people I have to be honest, I really wondered how fun it was going to be going on a vacation just Brent and I by ourselves.  I wondered if we would get bored with each other, feel like we didn't have people to hang out with, or would wish that we had more things to do on the boat.  I was mistaken because we had an absolute blast!  Who knows if anyone else thinks either of us are entertaining but we sure think we are. 
          Our cruise was all set to embark on a Sunday but Brent and I headed down to NYC on Friday to spend the weekend with our good friends Alex and Steve.  They had recently moved into a new apartment in Washington Heights and we got to get a taste of their neighborhood over the weekend and meet up with a few old friends from high school and a friend of Brent's from Buffalo. We went to the Museum of Natural History, which I hadn't been to before and am uneasy about going again since I was severely disturbed by all the "stuffed" animals that it had on display. Yuck.  The weekend went by all too quickly and before we could unpack our bags, we had them packed again and were headed to the dock yard!
          I was nervous to cruise, the month prior HBO decided it was a great time to have Titanic playing everyday for my benefit I'm pretty sure.  Which is also why I think it was no coincidence that after I finally got comfortable with the idea that I was going to travel on a big hunk of floating metal it was time for the emergency safety drill.  During said drill, we met up in the dining room where we waiting for instruction and where I used the rest room.  What song did they have playing in that bathroom? Oh yeah, My Heart Will Go On, by Celine Dion.  So not funny.  Brent thought it was hysterical, however.  Apart from that the first two days on the boat were amazing! We went to shows in the theater, there were jugglers, plays, discos at night, a sports bar with the best buttered popcorn I've ever had, and a pretty fun barbeque/pool/hot tub, pool deck to boot.  I was actually having a relaxing vacation and felt extremely well rested with all my Vitamin D I was soaking up.
          On the first day before we even took off we ran into Angela, a friend of our from high school and her fiance.  She had gotten engaged the night before and we hadn't seen her in years so it was crazy that we ran into them.   We met up with her and Nick one night for dinner before we docked and went to some of the games on the ship and then had a late drink and heard their engagement story, so fun! This world really is the smallest, I tell you.
           The first day that we got to Bermuda just so happened to be our "anniversary".  Okay, okay we're not married so it's not a "real" anniversary but it did mark us exclusively dating each other and making each other laugh for the past five years, so it felt pretty special to us.  We got off the boat early and took a ferry to the town on St. Johns were we found a cute book shop. We also found, (okay I dragged us to), the little archway that gives you good luck if you walk under it and kiss!  I totally found this through extensive research about Bermuda that I did before the trip...Not from seeing on on Emily's season of the bachelorette I swear!  Okay, I just lied, I totally saw it on her season and yes I did channel her by wearing my best Maxi dress that day.  Hey, a girls gotta live and ABC totally nails it on romantic destinations every time. We then had a quick snack in a quaint little restaurant where the ketchup was expired and exploded all over my dress and in my face.  My eyes burned so bad I spent the next twenty minutes streaming tears at the table but they gave my club soda to clean up and a free basket of fries so I call that a win. 
          We headed back to Hamilton for the rest of the day where we walked around, found a cute Irish bar Alex and Steve had told us they found on their honey moon, and window shopped. We headed back to the ship pretty early because it was rainy and windy and we wanted to eat in the formal dining hall again. Eduardo, our awesome waiter for the trip was extremely accommodating, as they all are.  Two of the ship directors stopped at many tables to check in and see how everyone's trips were going.  they asked if we were celebrating anything special, and when we said that it was our anniversary they gave us some complimentary champagne.
           The second day we spent the whole day at Horseshoe bay where we climbs these cliffs that overlooked the beach.  I was admittedly against the whole idea of climbing directly into immediate danger but then I caught a glimpse of a 70 year old woman climbing back down the rocks that Brent was about to mount so I changed my mind and sucked it up.  It was unreal, and probably my favorite part of the trip.  We took a glass bottom boat tour that night which allowed us to see a coral reef lit up and a shipwreck! So cool. 
          The last day on the island we went early to the Crystals Caves, which I highly recommend.  They were awesome and the tour was actually about an hour so you really felt like you got your moneys worth.  We didn't have a ton of time to we headed back to the dockyard after that where we got a few souvenirs and our boat broke loose from the dock.  WHAT?! Oh yeah, our boat's ropes were snapped from the wind and our ship broke loose and hit the Royal Caribbean behind us.  Yeah, imagine being Brent and having to deal with me in that situation.  He's a good man I tell you.  After a long delay and a lot of free drinks thanks to Norwegian we were off back to New York.  That night we ate in one of the restaurants you had to pay for to celebrate our anniversary, with steak! It was delicious, but being new to this whole lactose intolerant thing, I forgot and ate the most delicious lobster bisque of my life.  We went to one show on the ship before I got hit by sea sickness and dairy sickness and retired to our room for the night where I feel asleep early.  I woke up in the middle of the night feeling awful I ruined Brent's night but then quickly felt better when he came back into our room extremely happy having just partied the night away with Cruise Director Kyle.  He makes great friends everywhere he goes, that one.  So that was a relief that his night was not ruined on account of me.
          The last day we layed out all day and then had one final delicious dinner compliments of Eduardo's service before the closing show, me buying an expensive watch I didn't need, and going to our room for the night one last time.  Wah, I'm so glad I went on the cruise because I will most definitely go again.

Whoa where did the time go?

          Opps, I pulled a Brittany and did it again by not writing anything on here since August.  If it wasn't entirely exhausting to make sure my grammer is correct I would write numerous separate posts about all the fantastic and non-fantastic events that have transpired in my life, BUT I have an overwhelming desire to explore the use of bullets.  Soooooo,

*Work is going fantastic, I'm still loving the clients, the job, and my closet gets more adorable every day.  Downside to this is that I am living at home with the comfort of no bills so my desire to fill my closet with my latest fashion fixations doesn't seem all to terrible.  One day when I'm a big girl and have the pleasures of  paying for rent, food, internet, insurance, phone bills, and all the other things that come with living on your own, it's going to be an insane adjustment not buy things when I want them! Until then, happy shopping for outfits with pinterest inspiration to me!

*Vacationed to Bermuda with Brenton (actual vacation post to follow)

*Rang in a new year for the first time sans besties. womp womp.  However I did start 2013 with my immediate family, Brent's family, and my parents friends and a glorious evening it was. 

*Brent got a big boy job at a SEO company in Syracuse that I'm rapidly learning is Syracuse's best kept secret.

*Saw a lot of movies.  A lot. 

*Read a few books.  My ability to invest serious emotions into my chick-lit books is uncanny.  Since I last posted I've read:
          Seriously I'm Kidding, by Ellen Degenerous
          Something Blue, Something Borrowed, and Baby Proof, all by Emily Giffin
          Good in Bed and And Then Came You, by Jennifer Weiner
          Confetti Confidential (forgot the author I'll come back to this)
          The Hunger Games Series
          Devil wears Prada
          Last Night at Chateaux Marmont
          Everyone Worth Knowing
          Chasing Harry Whinston
          Ten Girls to Watch
         
Lot's of fun, easy, girly stories that are good entertainment for avid readers that are avoiding heavy, tear inducing novels, like myself.

*Alex and Laura were home for the holidays and we finally got to spend time together the three of us for the first time since the wedding!


Obviously this is not all that happened to me since August, but alas, my life is spinning by me at such a rapid pace I'm already forgetting the fun times before I even get to post photos. Good thing for instagram and capturing moments as they are happening...Okay, okay my co-workers and I use instagram for fashion purposes but thats why people hold the power to unfollow me if they want, right?  Right??

Four months gone by and countless happy moments.

          Having just realized I haven't posted in over four months, I've decided that Blogging is definitely a hobby better left to those not working.  Okay, maybe working people blog, but working in retail, dating someone with a house on a lake, and spending the majority of my free time filling my closet with a wardrobe large enough to clothe a small village, makes for a busy 23 year old.  MANY things of note have happened in the last few months including, but not limited to:

-I was hired at Ann Taylor Loft as a new sales manager and member of the four person management team.  I have met some absolutely amazing people, have had the most fun I've had at a job, and have expanded my closet by about half.  Between the loft girls and the loft clothes, I'm having so much fun and learning more about running a successful business than I ever have before.

-Brent graduated from the University at Buffalo, completing both of his bachelors degrees and making me so proud!  He immediately started some part-time work in Buffalo with a private media production company allowing him to get a lot of experience while still spending time at home with his family a few days a week.

 -Alex and Steve were married on a gorgeous sunny day and provided me with memories that will be sure to last a life time.  Their wedding was without a doubt nothing short of perfection with a side of delicious food, excellent looking people, and some serious dance moves that were luckily, all documented to never be forgotten.  One of the happiest days of my life and I honestly could not be happier for them.

-Turning 23 and spending a fantastic day and evening with my family, the best friends a young girl could ask for, and a boyfriend to match.


-Attending a Zach Brown Band concert with Brent's family and the Fox's.  This concert blew my socks off with the intense musical and instrumental talent each of them had.  It was the first concert I could barely sing along with due to my jaw being on the floor from my amazement.  The very same weekend we all participated in Paige's Butterfly Run, like we do every year, an annual event that raises money for Galisano Children's Hospital.  Alex's family has put together a truly remarkable 5K run which reached its 1 million dollar fundraising mark in 2011 and has not lost momentum.

-Brent's family got a new puppy who has been the biggest form of entertainment apart from the Olympics this summer.  The is cuter than cute, and has a personality that will make you laugh and also believe she is far more independent than a 4 month old dog should be.

-Brent and I ventured out to Watkins Glenn for a day taking great photos and seeing the beauty that New York has to offer apart from people watching at the fair. It was a very fun day and I was so surprised to see this gorgeous little treasure in our own back yard which I had never been to.

-Attending my first Ellis family wedding with Brent's family and getting a big clue as to what many future weddings we will attend together will entail.  Brent's Uncle was married at the Frog Pond in Skaneateles and quaint and romantic setting which surprisingly can house one heck of a party.

-Brent's sister, Brittany, got engaged in July! We are all so excited for her, sometimes so excited I can't speak normal sentences.  She asked me to be in the wedding party and I was shocked and beyond honored that she wants me to be a big part of her special day and couldn't be happier or more excited.  This was just what I needed to put an end to my post-Alex-and-Steve-wedding-depression.  It's only been a month and she already has the venue picked out, the photographer, found a dress she adores, and we are all so excited to help her continue planning the rest of it!

-Just this past weekend Brent turning the big 2-3 as well.  He's not one for birthday excitement so we spent the day on the lake, like most other days in the summer, and took the boat into town for dinner with his parents and grandparents.  My gift to him will come a little late as it's an excursion for our cruise to Bermuda next month, which I'm rapidly getting more anxious and excited for.

So far 2012 has been nothing but great to me and it's only August! Needless to say I'm interested to see with the tail end of the year has in store for me.

Here's a few photos from the spring and summer so far:

A trip to the Zoo.

          March marked the month which held Brent's last ever Spring Break from Buffalo.  In order to make it count we made sure to keep a full schedule of events to keep us happily occupied.  That list consisted of; the Corning Museum of Glass, St Patrick's Day with his family, watching an abundance of March madness, a going away party for a dear friend of our who has moved to DC, and the Syracuse Zoo!  Brent and I headed to the Zoo for the day with Dylan and Leda, friends of ours who are a quite adorable couple, and Leda's friend, Kelly, from North Carolina who was visiting for the week.  I hadn't been to the Syracuse Zoo, or a zoo at all for that matter, since I was about 11.  Though I haven't been to a plethora of zoos in my lifetime, I imagine that the zoo in Syracuse is not the most awe inspiring of them all.  Regardless, it was still super fun and interesting to read about the animals and, obviously for me, to take their photos!  Confession: Okay, I took more photos of Brent and my friends than the animals, but they are just as cute as Red Pandas, and far less camera shy.  I will definitely go back again this summer as it's a pretty cheap form of entertainment for a nice day.  If you ever go and are short on time, the penguins are a must-see.

Weiner's a Winner.

          Having gotten to bed early most nights as of late, I've had the opportunity to do a lot of "bedtime reading".  Two of the books I read recently were the contents of my care package from Alex mentioned in a previous post and they both were quick and easy reads.  Jennifer Weiner's In Her Shoes, and Best Friends Forever were the books in question.  Her books each gave the points of view from each of her significant characters which I think made it interesting to see the events play out from inside their minds rather than a narrative of events.  In Her Shoes was definitely my favorite of the two.  I hadn't seen the movie before so it was nice to be surprised at how everything played out.  Best Friends Forever didn't necessarily captivate my attention to the point where I couldn't put it down, but I still finished it in a matter of a few days.  All in all, both good reads and I will definitely keep Jennifer Weiner as an option when picking out books in the future.  I recommend them both! 

Glass is underrated.

          In March, Brent finally took me to the Corning Museum of Glass after 4 long years of me begging to go.  Though a museum of glass is not primarily what Brent loves to do on his spring break, he was nice enough to oblige and watch the hot glass shows and demonstrations with me, front row!  We saw glass breaking demonstrations, where we learned which glasses are used where in life, and for what reasons. We looked through the museum of all the old pieces of glass dating back ages, and we watched a lazer demonstration using glass fibers in comparison to copper ones where we learned why High Definition televisions are so high quality!  I loved the whole day, but the hot glass show was like nothing I'd seen before. Watching them manipulate the glass into beautiful pieces is all in a day's work for the gaffers and it seriously made me re-think my profession.  Corning is a quaint little town where we enjoyed a meat free lunch at a pizza place on account of lent, and we enjoyed the long ride back with a gorgeous view of Seneca Lake, it's wineries, and all the little towns had to offer.

Florida lovin'

          Though this post is coming a little late, Brent's family and I did go directly to Florida after our trip to South Carolina.  We had an incredibly relaxing afternoon by the pool at the hotel which we followed up with watching the SU game at a local Irish pub.  The following day we made our way to Islands of Adventure, Universal where I had a life changing day! Okay, maybe it wasn't life saving/life changing but it was a very intense day for me and my deep seeded Harry Potter love.  Having been to Florida only once when I was four, and remembering absolutely nothing from the trip apart from what the photos looked like, this was like the first time for me.  Nothing could have made my Hogwarts experience better.  I was so impressed by the attention to detail that was taken inside the castle and Hogsmead that I found myself feeling real magic all day long!  My incredible cousin Jeff was nice enough to come meet us for the day since it's only a half hour trip from his school.  He served as our own personal tour guide of the park and was equipped with many interesting facts one wouldn't know without being informed.  We had a blast all day at the park and after relaxing a bit we took on the night scene in Downtown Disney.  Jeff had mentioned an Irish restaurant earlier in the day and when we found it, we all agree it was absolutely incredible.  It was a large restaurant with a beautiful bar and a stage for live music.  After all of us sat at the bar enjoying a few drinks and taking in the authentic Irish music we were seated and served meals that I'm sure they serve in heaven.  The restaurant, Raglan Road, has a band perform there 6 nights a week who are accompanied by very talented Irish step dancers who danced close enough to us that we could have tripped them. The whole ambiance of the restaurant and the band kept us there until after midnight and wanting more when the band wrapped up, but we had to settle with buying the CD to listen to on the long 24 hour car ride home. 

          After Orlando we drove to Gainsville for a day to see Brent's cousin Nora play in her freshman year for the Florida Gators woman's lacrosse team.  After countless awards and accomplishments in high school, Nora isn't slowing down in college.  She's already tied the schools record for draw controls in a single game and has been named Rookie of the week twice for her division.  It was so nice to spend the day and night with Brent's extended family and cheer on Nora and she continues on her path of greatness as another female athlete of the Ellis family that is making a name for herself.