Campfire Magic

Since it's Friday and I've been slacking on posts lately (and I have a thing for posting gifs on Fridays) here's a couple gifs of the campfire from our recent camping trip in Mohican...

There's just something so magical about a campfire!  It's so warm and mesmerizing.  Though I only got to enjoy one campfire this summer, I'm hopeful that next summer will be filled with lots of camping adventures and campfires.

Happy Friday everyone!  Any awesome plans in the works this weekend?  A and I were hoping to go see Gone Girl, but I'm still working my way through the book so that'll have to wait.  Instead we might check out the Cincinnati Nature Center which I've never been to but have been hearing awesome things about for years.  Have a great weekend!

Our Elopement

Last night we finally received the photos of our elopement from our photographer, Karen Loudon!  We had eagerly been awaiting their arrival for the past month or so and we were nervous about how they would turn out...mainly because we were both major goofballs when we were having our photos taken, so we were pretty sure we ruined everything!  We're super positive people, can't you tell?  But, fortunately, the photos turned out amazing and we are beyond happy with them!  And we are so grateful to Karen, who was able to capture these images despite the fact that Antoine and I have no clue on how to pose for pictures...

 A detail from the Waipio Rim B&B.

 Me, pretending to get ready.

 At the start of the ceremony, before we got really sweaty!

 I like this one because I'm stealing a glance at Antoine while his eyes are closed!

 One of my personal favorites!

 This is what happens when we try to "pose"...goofballs!  But it's still pretty cute, right!?

 Another personal favorite.

 

 This was such an uncomfortable position for me, but it was totally worth it because I love this photo!

Now for the outtakes, which are definitely on my list of favorites because they are totally "us"!

 Wiping the sweat off Antoine after "the big kiss"!  It was so flipping hot since we were standing right in the sun!!  We would actually take little pauses throughout the ceremony just to wipe the sweat off our faces.

 I think this was the "what?! we're married?!" realization!

After the ceremony one of the first series of photos we took were the ones where I was on the swing by the tree.  When Karen said, "how about you get on the swing and we'll take some photos there?" I'm pretty sure I gave here my umm-WTF?-face!  I was so terrified to get on the swing and then, near the end of that series of photos, Antoine decided to push the swing and I FREAKED OUT!  But the resulting images are kind of hilarious, even though at the time I wanted to punch him...

This is such a bad/funny picture of me, but I love the look on A's face!

Details: 

location : Waipio Rim B&B
photographer: Karen Loudon
officiant: Chery Pascual
dress:  Modcloth
earrings (which you can't really see): Shlomit Ofir

*Please do not copy/use these photos they are for my personal use only and are copyright Karen Loudon Photography.

Tree Envy

So there's this house across the street from us that foreclosed a little while back.  It's actually really sad, they were great people and the husband, James, was probably Cheese's favorite person in the universe.  And the really awesome thing was it was a totally reciprocal infatuation.  They were great people and it is sad that they are no longer on our little street.  After their house foreclosed it was put on the market and purchased by a company that flips houses.  The buyers (or rather their crew) have completely overhauled the house; gutted the inside, re-shingled the roof, re-sided the entire exterior and re-framed the front porch.  I'd say their probably about 70 to 75% done with the re-hab.  It's pretty impressive and I've been taking every chance I can get to tell my hlp how awesome it would be if she and her boyfriend left that crummy Cleveland and moved to Cincinnati and lived right across from us!  Like, I could walk over to their house in my pajamas!  No big deal.  Amanda, if you are reading this stop rolling your eyes!!

Part of the reason it'd be so cool if they bought the house across the street, besides having my best friend within walking distance, free pet-sitting for both parties, endless opportunities to grill out together, watch Dr. Quinn (imagine, Amanda, we could finally finish it!) and hang all the time, etc., is that this house happens to have three gorgeous, flowering trees that I am totally smitten over...

 It's no surprise that the tree I'm probably most in love with is this ENORMOUS and beautiful magnolia tree in the back yard.  It is seriously the biggest one I've seen of this kind in Cincinnati!  So naturally I've been sneaking over into the yard when the construction guys pack up for the night to snap some photos.  My neighbors probably think I'm nuts, but oh well.

In the front yard there are two other amazing trees, this cherry blossom (that promptly budded a couple blossoms and then receded after the frost/freeze we had)...

And then more recently this pink dogwood (also in the front) has come to life.  I am so obsessed with how the sunlight hits dogwoods and their petals just seem to glow...

Now I totally want to get a pink dogwood for our backyard! 

But in other news, our kwanzan cherry tree that we got for free through the ReLeaf program last year and planted in our front yard is starting to bloom!

It's still just a little guy right now, but I can't wait to watch it grow and get bigger and more beautiful every year.

Alright, so that's the last of my obsessive tree lust for now.  Happy Friday everyone!  I hope you have a great weekend!  I think we're going to hit up Crafty Supermarket this weekend, which I highly recommend you check out.  It's always a good time and the vendors are always so wonderful. 

Cleveland Botanical Garden's Orchid Show

This past weekend I drove up to Cleveland to spend time with my best friend and celebrate her 30th(!) birthday.  I left the plans totally up to her, wherever she wanted to eat and whatever she wanted to do.  We started off with lunch at a pizza place, just down the street from her new house in Tremont, called Crust.  We decided to share a medium Spanakopita and it was delicious!  Good flavor and the crust was awesome (hence the name, I guess)!

Then when I asked Amanda what she wanted to do next she said, "I thought maybe we could go to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens [which I had never been to and she had only been once before], they are having their orchid show right now".   Umm, what?!  This sounded like an activity for my birthday, not hers!  But I wasn't going to say no to orchids, I mean, we know how much I like love orchids!  But I warned her just how much I was going to geek out...little did I know the vast quantity and variety of orchids the CBG packs into their orchid show!  I think my brain might have exploded from all the orchid-awesomeness.  Just see for yourself, but be prepared for an orchid extravaganza (and this is me editing myself significantly)...

Alright, so while my brain was literally on sensory overload and I couldn't stop saying "Ooh, look at this one!" and "Oh, I really like this one!" Amanda and I nearly poked our eyes/faces out...

In two different areas of their large glass house there were spiky/thorny branches growing out of the rocks right at eye-poking level, it was a bit terrifying!  Luckily we're nerds and wear protective eye-wear daily (and Amanda was looking out for me while I was geeking out over the pretty flowers!  Still, imagine a person holding their child right at their level and the adult looking left to the orchids...WHAM!! Thorn-stabbed!!  That does not seem at all safe.  

Seriously I have never seen so many different kinds of orchids in my life!!  It was magical!  But what made it more magical?!  Tortoises.

 Look at him snacking on that lettuce.  Isn't he so cute!?

Oh yeah, and there were cute, tiny little birds flying around and butterflies!

These were some of Amanda's favorites!  I couldn't really pick a favorite, there were too many!!

Most of the orchids above were scattered throughout the large glass house.  Inside the main building was a separate display of orchids in a variety of room set-ups, some of which were curated by fashion and interior designers.  They were all pretty cool, but I liked this simple display of orchids in ornate picture frames the best...

Whew!!  I warned you.  I went a little overboard, but I left in a euphoric state; blissed out on all the different varieties, colors, sizes, shapes of orchids.  The botanical gardens actually has several outdoor garden areas but since it was snowing we did not get to explore those.  I can't wait to go back sometime when the weather is nice to see the gardens and explore more!

A big thank you to my wonderful hlp, Amanda!  For suggesting the botanical gardens, for putting up with me while I have an irrational freak-out over flowers, and then for not leaving me there because I was acting like a giant dork and taking a photo of every orchid I saw!  Thanks A!  I do have a little more Cleveland goodness in store for you this week, so stay tuned.  And then this weekend I'll be going to the Krohn orchid show and unloading another huge batch of orchid photos on you all...you have been warned!