Easter Celebrations

Easter. "...celebrates Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead, is Christianity's most important holiday" (via). This is the way  I was brought up...Easter was a religious holiday. Of course, we did Easter egg hunts, took pictures with the Easter bunny, and got Easter baskets and candy, but first and foremost, it was a religious holiday. My family would get up way to early to go to our church's sunrise service (this was at about 7am). Afterwards, we would have breakfast at the church, go home and get our Easter baskets, and do an Easter egg hunt.Of course we would have a delicious Easter lunch or dinner. Mmm, sounds so good right now!

Tyler's family would go to church in the morning, then get together with extended family. While with his family, they would get their Easter baskets and candy, do an Easter agg hunt, and have a delicious lunch. Must be nice to have your family so close together. My extended family is spread out; we're in like 5 different states!

Well, Tyler and I don't really have any  of our own Easter traditions yet, seeing as we don't have any kids. Not that is really an excuse, but I digress. Last Easter (our first Easter by ourselves), we made crepes and had a nice day at home. This year, Tyler's birthday happens to be on Easter, so it's a double celebration! His mom is so excited to have him home on his birthday, that she wanted to host an Easter celebration at their house. So, we're going to have brunch and dinner with his family and some family friends.  It's going to be a full, fun day!

If I were hosting the Easter celebration, I would be sure to have some great decoration and food! Here are some things that are inspiring me for Easter: 

The Decor:

Source: suziebeezie.tumblr.com 

Source: sugarpiefarmhouse.com
Source: blog.baerhomedesign.com

Source: wunderweib.de

The Food:

 

Source: homeiswheretheboatis.wordpress.com

Source: tinyurl.ms 

Source: squidoo.comSource: chef-in-training.com 

We'd also have to have brunch or dinner food, depending on the party. I'm thinking for dinner, something like ham or lamb. This is making me hungry, I need to stop.
 I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Easter! :)

Weekend Review

    So, this weekend, the whole family (Tyler, myself, Tyler's brother and his girlfriend, Tyler's sister and her boyfriend, mom, dad, aunt, and uncle) all went to Vegas. It was a pretty good time. It was Tyler's first time in Vegas, so he enjoyed walking through some of the hotels, seeing the sights, and of course being able to walk around everywhere and drink.

Our hotel

    Friday, after we got to our hotel and got settled, we went to the Cosmopolitan buffet. Oh my goodness it was delicious. I highly recommend it. After that, we walked around the strip, then, eventually went to a few bars like Margaritaville.

 

  Saturday, we had delicious crepes for breakfast, went shopping, walked around the strip, went to the Sugar Factory, and went to a piano bar where Tyler and has his dad had some cigars (yuck). After that, we went to dinner at Samba, and had so much amazing food. It's Brazilian food, with a whole lot of meat. I was SO FULL, but it was SO GOOD. After dinner, we saw the Love show. I really wasn't sure what to expect, but I had a great time! It's such a cool show, and totally worth the price. There's not a bad seat in the house! I wish I was a better dancer, more flexible, and not afraid of heights, because it looked like a lot of fun. I miss performing. Random, sorry. 

All the "kids"

About to have dinner!

    After the show, we walked the strip, went to a few bars, then Tyler's brother, Tyler, myself played the slots. I won over $127!!!! WHAT?! Crazy right?! I have no idea what happened, but I'm not going to fight it haha. The Princess Frog penny slot is my game!

    Sunday, after packing up, checking out of the hotel, and loading up the car, we had a delicious crepe breakfast. I may love crepes too much, if there is such a thing. Then, we hit the road. Of course, we had to stop and get some Alien Jerky on the way. So good. 

    All in all, it was a good Vegas trip. I hope we can go again soon, maybe with friends, so we can see more of the hotels, and go to more bars/clubs.
    Anyway, thanks for listening to me ramble on about my travels. I hope you all had a good weekend and a happy Monday!

My Travels with the in-laws

    Tyler's parents were just here. It was a nice almost two week visit. They arrived Thursday evening, and we left for Munich Friday early afternoon. You can read more about our Oktoberfest adventures here. In short...Oktoberfest is intense, epic and drunken. We went on opening day, so we saw the parade, and were in the tent where the keg gets tapped. I saw the mayor of Munich and apparently I saw major German celebs...who knew? We had the luxury of has a reserved table and tickets for a tent. Most people who go just walk around and try to get in a tent...but we were VIPS! It was all thanks to Tyler's parents friends who live in Munich. Thank goodness for them.

So many people!

Beer is served!

Our first beer! Excuse my crazy eye haha.

Inside the tent

The whole group!

Doing the YMCA...not kidding, they played it

     During the week, Tyler had work, so Tyler's parents had I traveled around the area. The next weekend, we went to Berlin. I LOVED Berlin. It's like a combo of SO many major European cities...it's amazing. I stood where Hitler was burned after he shot himself...I saw the wall...I saw Frederick the Great's Sanssouci...I saw the hotel Michael Jackson dangled Blanket out of (lol). The only downside, it smells like sewage when it's warm because it's built on a swamp.

Brandenburg Gate

At the wall...well, what's left of the outer wall anyway.

Memorial to the murdered Jews.

    While there, we took a walking tour of the city and had the BEST tour guide, Barnaby.  All the history, the cool buildings...oh man...love Berlin! On Sunday, when we wanted to go to Sanssouci. One problem, there was a HUGE marathon going around Berlin. Ok, so, the hotel we were in was in what used to be East Berlin, so it was like we couldn't get out of East Berlin. haha...kinda cool. At 10:45, there was a gap in the race and we could get out! woohoo! Sansouci was EPIC and AMAZING. It's a must see. Below, are pictures from different parts of the Sansouci grounds.

     His parents left on Tuesday and I hope had a great time. I know Tyler and I had fun.
   Other than that, I've been cleaning, job/apartment hunting for our move back to California and working on my cooking. Thrilling huh? Hope everyone is having a very happy Friday!

Oktoberfest and Fall!

    Last I left you, I was preparing for Tyler's parents arrival. Well, they're here! In fact, they got here on Thursday night. Friday, we went to Munich to visit their friends who live there and go to Oktoberfest. After terrible traffic and getting re-routing by the gps...meaning, we went a crazy and long way...we finally arrived in Munich. We had a lovely evening with one of their friends, drinking beer (ugh already), catching up, etc. Saturday, we got up bright and early to go to Oktoberfest. We were all dressed in our dirndls and lederhosen and had tickets to a tent. That's right friends...we had a reserved table in a tent. In fact, we were in the one where the beer was tapped! It was really cool to see. Beer was served right after the tapping at 12 (not allowed to serve before that on the first day) and thus the festivities begun! It was INSANE, fun, but INSANE...side note, Tyler drank a bit too much, haha, happens to the best of us. So, we left earlier then planned. I was a little upset because I wanted to walk around more to see all the different tents and festivities. Ah well. Guess that just means I need to go back yeah? haha.
    Sunday, we had a relaxing day walking around Munich, watching tv, eating...ya know. Today, we had a relaxing morning, then drove back to our apartment. We've just been watching TV, made a wonderful steak dinner, then had some wine and ice cream. Now, we're just relaxing and watching a movie. Sounds like a good night to me!

    In other news, who's excited about fall!? This girl. I LOVE fall. Especially all the pumpkins and boots! LOVE THEM! I've already started to decorate the apartment with pumpkins, falls candles, other fall things and even some Halloween things. I can't wait to get more boots and fall clothes. :) hehe. Is anyone else as excited about fall as me?? :p

    As always, the pictures are coming...happy Monday friends!

Happy Days :)

   Ok, it's been awhile, and I apologize for this, but there has been A LOT going on. Thursday was Tyler's and my 2 year anniversary, so we spent it where we got married, at Angel's stadium in Anaheim, CA, watching the Angels kick some Mariner ass, haha.

   Friday I picked a friend up from the airport, picked up my wedding dress and got ready for the "wedding" on Sunday. Saturday we had a rehearsal in the morning (because there was a wedding at the location that night), and then had a lovely brunch at a local country club.

Some of the people at the Rehearsal Brunch. Look at all the rainbow colors! hehe

   This past Sunday, I got to re-marry the man of my dreams, my hubby, Tyler, in Our Celebration of Marriage. It was so much fun! Everyone looked great, it went basically without a hitch, the food was amazing, the pie was delicious and everyone looked like they had a good time. We also lucked out and got some furniture for free! The company who rented the furniture to the couple who had a wedding there the night before,  forgot to come and pick it up, so I could use it. Win. At this beautiful outdoor location, not only did we have lots of food a drink (lots of wine of course), we had a great DJ and lawn games. Yup, you heard me right, we had lawn games...croquet, horse shoes and corn hole (aka bean bag toss). I didn't tell many people about this (just family), because I wanted to be a surprise, even for the wedding party. People loved them! If you have an outdoor location with some space, some games might just be the thing you're looking for.I finally got the day I had dreamed about for so long. I got to walk down the aisle, have dances, wear a gown etc. It was one of the happiest days of my life. :)
   Anyway, here are some pictures via friends and family from that day. Professional pics should be available in like 2 weeks! Enjoy. :)

Wedding Party

Here I come! hehe

Kiss

Apparently something was funny in the ceremony haha.

Father/Daughter Dance

Parents :)

First Dance. :)

   I felt good in my dress until I saw a few pics of how unforgiving my it was. I couldn't wear spanx, etc. because you could see the lines, yes, even the ones that were seamless. Maybe I just should've worn them anyway. I thought that I looked pretty good, but some pics I feel I look like a fat cow or pregnant. I'm not either, though it would be interesting to find out what people think of me, like, do people consider me to be a "bigger" person? I know everyone said I looked gorgeous, beautiful, etc., but I just wonder, ya know? No, I am not fishing for compliments here...ha; I'm just a HORRIBLE critic of myself. Who isn't though? Well, I'm one of the worst I know. Le sigh. Ah well. I did get angry that all my working out and eating better apparently didn't pay off. Ok, ok. I guess it did, because I learned to enjoy working out. Sorry to vent, I know I did look beautiful, and I did love that dress. :)
   Saturday night, my throat started to hurt, but on Sunday, I was able to ignore it for the most part until we got to the hotel Sunday night. Oh man. My nose started acting CRAZY. Ugh. Of course. Worst part is, I still have it! I think it started as an allergy thing, but now is more of a cold. Ugh. So, it's Wednesday night, and I think I'm still jet-lagged. Also this cold thing doesn't help with the energy level.

Days 28-20: Time to Finish Up

Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of

- The dark. Yes it's silly, but I'm terribly afraid of the dark. 
- Heights or the fear of falling. I also hate the sensation of being dropped. Roller coasters are ok, because they go back up after a drop, but like the tower of terror, can't do that anymore. High ropes courses, attempted once and I fell off (fear realized). Repelling was fun, but I've done it like once. Heck, even driving on canyons/mountains scares me.

Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile

My dog Hushpuppy and I a few years ago. Love this dog! Miss her lots.

Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss
My friends and family (and dogs) back home. Love and miss you guys.  

                                                                                                               

My dog Hushpuppy

Tyler's dog Buddy