Weekend Recap | Moving & Final Visitors

I am in denial that July is already half way over.... Where does the time go?! We had another amazing, albeit crazy jam packed weekend.

On Friday we picked up a U-Haul and then packed in 90% of our boxes. That evening my brother and his girlfriend, Sarah, arrived in town for a weekend of breweries and "hip Grand Rapids" aka the stuff my grandparents aren't interested in ;). We headed to Perrin Brewing, where we started our brewery tour and ate dinner. From there we headed to The BOB for the comedian show at Dr. Grin's. It was by far the best comedy show we've seen there! We all had such a great time. Once the show was over we headed to GRBC and then closed down Founders.

Saturday morning came early, but we grabbed some breakfast before hitting up Grand Rapids Coffee Roaster's Saturday Experience where you get to enjoy free coffee, espressos, and americanos. After everyone was hyped up on coffee we headed to Millennium Park with hopes of paddle boarding. Unfortunately, all of the paddle boards were checked out so we decided to kayak instead. After we got our workout in for the day we needed lunch, so we stopped at Blue Dog. We headed back to the house for a quick nap before hitting up Brewery Vivant and Le Bon Macaroons. Next up was dinner at The Mitten Brewing Co, where we enjoyed a pizza flight :) Our final stop for the night (and trip) was Founders for the Saved by the 90's concert. They are a 90's cover band and were awesome!

We were up at 6:30am Sunday morning and spent the entire day packing, loading up the truck, driving to our storage unit, and unloading. It was a longggg day and we couldn't have done it without our friends or my in-laws! I also feel like Duke deserves a shoutout for being the best copilot :)

Fourth Wedding Anniversary

On July 6th Thomas and I celebrated our four year wedding anniversary! I can't believe that it's already been four years!! Due to the 6th falling in the middle of the week we had an extended celebration this year, a staycation if you will :)

On Wednesday Thomas had to work in the morning and when he got home he had an Edible Arrangement for me. I prefer these over flowers any day ;) The chocolate covered strawberries were delicious! Next up on our agenda was to head to the hospital for T to get an MRI on his shoulder. #reallife It ended up taking way longer than we anticipated, but once that was over we headed to Rockwell-Republic for happy hour drinks and sushi! The main event of the evening was the Tour + Tasting we did at Founders. It was awesome! We were both blown away. I'll post a full recap soon. Bottom line: if you're ever in Grand Rapids do this tour!

The rest of the celebration took place on Friday when we stayed the night at the JW Marriott. My friend Michelle gave us her F&F discount so we took advantage of it. We were even upgraded to a river view room! The hotel is impeccable and so fancy. We headed over to The BOB for dinner before going to the movie in the park. This week it was A League of Their Own.

We had the room until noon on Saturday so we took our time, grabbed breakfast, and checked out the pool before I headed next door to The Amway Grand hotel for my massage and facial. It was my first time getting a facial done and now I want to get them all the time! So relaxing and definitely needed.

It was the perfect celebration and I wouldn't want to do life with anyone else <3

Weekend Recap | Baby Shower & Beach Day

Another weekend has come and gone in the blink of an eye! I can't keep up with how fast time is flying by. This past weekend started with the continuation of our anniversary celebration, which I'll recap in separate post, and ended with a visit from my closest friend from WMU, Maggie!

Maggie arrived Saturday evening and after getting settled we headed to Founders. We ordered drinks, some beer cheese, and hung out on the patio for a few hours. From there we headed to Stella's where we closed down the dance floor to the tunes of the 90's!

Sunday morning came way too soon and it was time to head out to Muskegon for our friend, Emily's, baby shower! The shower was a perfect Harry Potter theme and Emily's parent's house on Muskegon Lake was beautiful. We had a great time showering baby Lillian :)

Once the shower ended, Maggie and I headed down to Grand Haven. While we were waiting for the rest of the group to meet us we wandered around the shops and grabbed some ice cream. We met up with everyone else and spent a few hours relaxing on the beach. Before heading back to Grand Rapids we took a walk down the pier. It was such a perfect day to spend at the beach!

Grand Rapids | Fredrick Meijer Gardens & Sculptures

One of Grand Rapid's many gems is the Fredrick Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. It is ranked in the top 100 most-visited art museums in the world, so you can imagine that people come to Grand Rapids from all over the world to see it.

Since we moved to Grand Rapids in August of 2014 we have visited the gardens 7 times, taking different people and going at different times throughout the year. T and I have been in the fall, my grandma and I went to Holiday Exhibition last winter, and we've been a handful of other times. We still haven't seen everything! I'd highly recommend stopping by if you're ever in Grand Rapids. I've broken my pictures into four sections: sculpture park, Japanese garden, children's garden, and indoor gardens.

Sculpture Park
Meijer Gardens has over 200 sculptures throughout the grounds. I highly recommend taking the tram ride for this section, $4 ticket, as there is a tour guide who provides you with some background information. It's probably no surprise that The American Horse is our favorite!

Weekend Recap | 4th of July

It's been quite a week.. with the holiday on Monday, an interview over 2 hours away on Tuesday, our anniversary yesterday, and hours spent packing today. Hence, this post being a few days "overdue." So let's get right to it..

Our holiday weekend started a little early on Thursday evening with dinner at another brewery on the Ale Trail, Perrin Brewing Company, and a Whitecaps baseball game! The Whitecaps are a farm team for the Detroit Tigers and while they aren't very good the games are always fun :)

Recipe | Mississippi Roast

My grandma introduced me to this recipe a couple of months ago, after seeing it online somewhere, and now it's a weekly staple in our house! It's super easy and absolutely delicious. All you have to do is throw five ingredients in the crockpot and call it a day.

Mississippi Roast

1 boneless chuck roast (whatever size you'd prefer)

1 packet of Au Jus gravy

1 packet of Ranch seasoning

1/2 stick of butter

As many pepperoncinis as you'd like

At least 1 cup of pepperoncini juice

Optional: buns

Cook on low for 8 hours. Shred. Enjoy :)

Grand Rapids | Downtown Market

One of Grand Rapid's many gems is the Downtown Market. It's located half a mile away from the heart of downtown (down Ionia St) and features a ton of "stands" and restaurants. Apparel, beverages, baked goods, food to order, etc.; this market has it all. Within the past year two well known east Michigan restaurants have opened up: Slows BarBQ and Social Kitchen and Bar, both excellent places! The closest thing I can compare it to is Pike's Place Market in Seattle, but it's still a little different. They offer cooking classes, host parties/wedding receptions, and different weekly events, such as beer specials and outdoor lawn games in the parking lot. If you're ever in the area with a large group that has different taste buds it's a great place to go due to the variety of options (BBQ, Mexican, seafood, sushi, desserts, etc.).