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.

Cheers to Charleston!

          Last week Brent and I boarded a plane (a few planes actually) headed to Columbia, South Carolina where his sister relocated to last summer.  While we were only there for a day, we were able to drive into Charleston for a quick trip which led to my absolute adoration of the quaint town.  Driving into Charleston I began to see the history of the city that lies in the architecture of the old houses and buildings.  Charleston is a particularly low-rise city where most of the noticeably taller points of the city are steeples of the many churches that lie there.  The architecture is stunning and Rainbow Road was by far the most memorable road in the city that I came across.  Rainbow Road consists of many different houses all painted different pastel colors. These houses face where the Atlantic meets the coast, where I coincidentally saw my first dolphin! It was a treat to wander around the streets in February without bracing myself against to cold.  The park that resides on the edge of the city has the most magnificent entry walk way leading up to a beautiful gazebo which looked to me like the perfect spot for photos.  Over and over again I have to thank Brent's family for always including me in their family adventures! I'm very lucky to have them as well as Brent and the fact that they let me practically live at the house on Skaneateles Lake with them all summer is enough for a girl to ever want without them taking me on vacations with them as well.  Here's Brent and me on Rainbow Road!

February Showers Bring May Weddings

          Last weekend was the much anticipated arrival of Alex's bridal shower and bachelorette party.  Having a best friend living life with celiac disease, it proved to be interesting trying to plan a party where everything on the menu was prepared and served gluton-free.  Despite our worries that our dear friend might get sick, everything went off without a hitch! The shower was at my house where the Bridal Party provided the makings of a fantastic day!  We had many games to play, courtesy of the Bride-to-be's future sister-in-law.  We played Bridal Scattegories using the letters B-R-I-D-E to help us come up with answers for certain questions like where Alex and Steve have traveled together, items they may need on their wedding day ect.  These were an excellent form of entertainment as well as a way to look back on the Bride and Grooms lives thus far together as they've been in item over 6 years.  With the decorations, party favors, gifts, and wonderful array of guests everything went beautifully.  I have to give a shout out to "Pinterest" for giving me the decorating idea that I used for some of the cookies which were also a hit at the shower.

           The bachelorette party was an evening filled with fantastic fun, fantastic people, and a fantastic limo.  We took our limo to down town Syracuse for the evening where the guests each gave Alex a task to complete before the evening was finished and we all had fun helping her complete them as well as celebrating the beginning of the next chapter of her life with her.  If the bridal shower and bachelorette parties were this entertaining, I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of the wedding in May even more now.