Livin' the Dream in Lima

The last 8 days have been busy .  2 out-of-town weddings + 2 rehearsals  + 2 rehearsal dinners + mid-week 4th of July party = exhausted Sara. Yesterday I took a day to completely recoop and I feel much  better. Nothing an afternoon by the pool can't cure! So... rewind to our first wedding weekend. My Business Man's college roommate got married up on a beautiful lake in Michigan. It was so much fun to reunite and spend some time with his friends from college, who have become my friends as well. Love our friends' weekends!  Love these 'ribbon dancers' we used for the send-off! The wedding was gorgeous - the bride's attention to detail was insane! The place settings, the favors, the cake.  Beautiful tables Loved the linens They had homemade strawberry jam for favors. Isn't this display the cutest? (I may have snagged 4 jars...) My Business Man & I even got to take a little boat ride during the cocktail hour. Firs...

Last weekend, one of my BFF's tied the knot with her main squeeze. Jen & Rod have been smitten with each other since the beginning of freshman year of college (5 years!) and they professed their love to each other in a beautiful ceremony followed by a rockin' reception. Myself & the beautiful bride! I was privileged to be a part of the big day as a bridesmaid, along with some more of Jen's girlfriends, both from GC and other friendships. It was great to see everyone, and have us all in one place at the same time. (Which is very rare.) We started off the wedding morning the obvious way - by going for a run. Such a great way to get the jitters out (for the bride) and for us all just to have some girly time. Talks while running > talks while not running. Like her veil? And don't we all look so awake? Ha. That's more like it. Talen's face is my favorite. (yellow shirt) Then we had to scramble to get our hairs did. The only other time ...

My goodness. What a week/weekend. Combine the first week of school + an (out-of-town) BFF's wedding + making 1000 chocolate-covered pretzel favors for said wedding = one happy, but exhausted Sara! I almost need a weekend from my weekend. Heh. Just kidding. I had grand plans of doing a huge recap of the fabulous wedding... but am waiting on a few more pics to come my way. So here's a recipe instead. I made these to celebrate the first day of school. I am very excited to have people to bake for again! (Not that I can't bake for just my Business Man & myself... but we don't plow through it too quickly. Unless it's cinnamon rolls.) I've had these Peanut Butter Fudge Pretzel Brownies bookmarked from How Sweet It Is ever since Jessica posted the recipe. Salty pretzels + sweet chocolate + peanut butter? Only like the best combination ever. (Ever heard of a Take 5 bar? My absolute favorite candy bar.) I doubled the recipe to fit a 9x13-inch pan si...

Today is a very special day. Exactly one year ago, I married my best friend. (Known around here as my Business Man.) This past year has brought a lot of fun, growth, and adventures as we've started our lives together. Moving 6 hours away from our families, starting new jobs , buying a house ... just to name a few of the exciting events we've experienced in this past year. I can't wait for the many, many years to come! I haven't really blogged about our wedding before... considering I started this blog to explore my journeys as a housewife in the Bean Town . It's hard to be a housewife before you're married. Anyways, I loved wedding planning. I almost wish I had a blog back then to document all the details. I didn't work from the time I graduated in May until our wedding on July 2, so all my free time was spent wedding planning! So much fun. Our wedding was held at Kickapoo Creek Winery outside of Peoria, IL. It was beautiful. We had our ceremony...