Prescription for a Friday

I am so happy to see this week come to a close & welcome the weekend! The week was not bad by any means just very very long. I have a few fun weekend plans but also plenty of room for spontaneity and relaxation! 

Today's prescription for success included: 

- pretty pink bangles: dress for success right?!

- A free Starbucks: free + coffee. Need I saw more? 

- Capri Seaside Citrus lotion: Brings the island to the office! 

Happy Weekending! 

Niagara Falls

The Falls in all of their glory with Canada in the distance. 

Our first adventure in New York was visiting Niagara Falls. I have always wanted to visit the falls and I am so happy to say I have. I am an outdoor girl, give me mountains, rivers, waterfalls, forests and fresh air any day. But for the record I still enjoy the city, I just choose nature 95% of the time. I was beyond excited to view Niagara Falls and one of the wonders of the world 

{Maid of the Mist}

One of our first stops was the boat ride on Maid of the Mist. Maid of the Mist takes you out into the Niagara Basin and past the American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and the Horseshoe Falls. When you go on Maid of the Mist they give you these great {read: ugly + usless} ponchos to wear. It was so windy that day that the ponchos seemed to just want to fly off or 'collect' air that made for humorous pictures! One of the funny things about the one-size fits all ponchos is they seemed to cover Amanda, Justin & I pretty well but Tyler (our tall friend) - it barely went to the bottom of his shorts. 

The gang sporting our trendy blue ponchos. 

A beautiful view of Niagara Falls from the Maid of the Mist - it's simply breathtaking. Just look at the color of the water, a beautiful aquamarine - more beautiful that I can even describe.

{Cave of the Winds}

A view from Maid of the Mist of Cave of the Winds. 

Cave of the winds was my absolute favorite activity at Niagara. Each spring a team of builders build the stairs and deck right next to the falls and in front of the Bridal Veil Falls. As we were walking to Cave of the Winds to get our ponchos we kept seeing everyone in these attractive sandals - little did we know we would get our very own commemorative sandals and yellow ponchos to remember our time at Niagara. 

The area around cave of the winds & the 'hurricane deck' is absolutely gorgeous with water gushing all over, mossy rocks and the thundering sound of the falls just feet away to experience a tiny taste of the hurricane deck checkout the little video I made via the vine app.

 

Standing in a waterfall is a once in a lifetime opportunity. 

{Goat Island}

After our wet adventures near the falls we walked around Goat Island and enjoyed the scenes. We ate a late lunch over looking the upper falls and then headed toward the aquarium (because we had time + a free pass). I loved all of the colorful flowers I found all over New York, especially since I had just left a dreary rainy Minnesota where spring was still three weeks out. 

The upper falls. 

Summer Bucket List

Summer is still trying to make it's way to Minnesota but that does not stop me from dreaming of summer, sunshine and warm toasty days in need of air conditioning. 

What is on your summer bucket list?

Scenes from a Weekend

As usually is the case, I need another weekend to recover from my weekend. 

With that being said I had a wonderful weekend. Saturday I attended an all day outdoor Christian music festival called Joyful Noise. There were great headliners of Big Daddy Weave, Jeremy Camp, Tenth Avenue North and Third Day - it was amazing. 

The weather was pretty overcast but I still managed to get sunburned in the process - but it was worth it. Some day I will learn + remember to bring sunscreen. 

Sunday was a busy day again with church + teaching and a wedding meeting at Dunn Bros {for a wedding I am coordinating at church}.

The garden is finally blooming and I am loving the pops of color especially with dreary rainy days that we have had so often. I am looking forward to my vegetable garden growing and producing harvest. 

What are you looking forward to these days?

Minnesota to New York

For a several months a few friends and I had discussed off and on a roadtrip to Niagara Falls, NY. For a while it was mainly a dream, something we would like to do but no definite plans. Fast forward to the beginning of May, one of my friends was looking to use up some vacation days and before I knew it we were all asking for time off and planning our trip. 

At some point in our planning process we decided to drive the ENTIRE trip - that's right no flying for us. The first leg of our journey was a straight drive from Minnesota to Cleveland (where we changed vehicles) and then on to Niagara Falls, NY - all in a day. There is nothing like a nice 15 + hour drive to get you in the vacation mood.  

Wisconsin was pretty, hilly & green. 

Illinois seemed like a fast blip in our drive. 

Indiana was green but full of construction on the toll roads. 

Ohio was farmland. 

Pennsylvania was very rainy but gorgeous on the drive back. 

Let's talk about toll roads for a second. 

I don't understand them. 

At all. 

They are annoying. 

They cost a lot of money.

And I don't understand why we need them. 

When we finally got to the hotel at 1 AM I think we were all relieved to finally be out of the car and I was happy to not be out numbered by boys anymore. The cookie? It was amazing, that's why you stay in Doubletree... the free warm cookie you receive. 

The next morning we started our day with breakfast at Break'n Eggs Creperie in Buffalo, NY. My breakfast was a savory chicken crepe. Funny story - I did not realize when I ordered my savory crepe that it would come with a salad. It was funny eating a salad at 8am in the morning but the crepe (and salad) were delicious.

Next up Niagara Falls.

Summer Survival Swap Reveal

I am so excited to link up with Joey, Courtney & Myra today and share the goodies I received in the Summer Survival Swap!  

I was partnered with the sweet Tiffani fromExtraOrdinary Love. I am not sure how Joey, Courtney & Myra choose who to partner with who for the swap but I felt like Tiffani and I were a great match! Tiffani is so sweet and I loved getting to know her through the swap and learn how similar we are! Tiffani has a heart for God, loves the outdoors, and knits & crochets. 

I'm not sure about where you live but here in Minnesota summer has not hit and we are still having cool & rainy days. This little package of sweet items definitely makes me excited for the next few months and helps remind me that at somepoint summer has to come (right?!).

- Mint Nail Polish: Mint is such an in color and I swear works for all seasons! I cannot wait to paint my fingers and toes with this cool color - and it will dry fast which is perfect for those days you're running out the door!

- Aloe Infused Socks: These aloe infused socks will be great to keep my feet hydrated and soft all year around especially in flip-flop season! I'm not sure about you but I also love to sleep in socks so I love the idea of waking up to soft feet in the morning!

- Burt Bee's Lip Shimmer: I had shared with Tiffani that I love lip gloss and chapstick and she sent me the best of both worlds. A girl always needs a bit of color on her lips right?

- Pretty Bracelet: I have fallen in love with bracelets this summer and cannot wait to wear these!

Thank you again Tiffani, you were so sweet and thoughtful I cannot wait to enjoy these items all summer long! 

This + That {vol. II}

Finally home from my fun fun trip out East. Most trips I seem to run myself ragged, come home and throw myself back into work + life. This trip I still managed to run myself crazy & ragged but hitting life a bit more slowly this time. I do it to myself, I'm a work in progress. 

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Today I was told I look like I am 24, nicest thing someone has said to me recently.... I'll be 29 in July. 

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This month brings a new work project, which brings an hour commute one way in rush hour. I will get over this but getting home an hour later sure does shorten my evenings. 

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Sometimes a girl just needs a spot of chocolate so I whipped up a Instant Brownie in a cup.

Add a few sprinkles, a small scoop of ice cream and you have a sweet treat.