Where We Are Now: Las Vegas, Nevada

Truth be told, we left two weeks ago. I’m a little behind. Here’s everything we’ve been up to since Houston.

After Houston, we spent a little more time in Texas and visited San Antonio. It was a quick four days but we ate steak at the River Walk and visited the Alamo, you know, San Antonio Texas things.

From Texas we drove through New Mexico and at sunset no less, it was gorgeous. After IMG_20181220_170230about 15 hours in the car, we made it to Sun Lakes AZ, right outside of Phoenix.

We have never been before and my parents live there now, so everything was new to us. We arrived shortly before Christmas and both had time off, what a great way to end the year!

To sum up Sun Lakes, my parents cooked like crazy for us, and we ate all the food. We also

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My parents house, decorated for Christmas

slept in, worked out, and worked after our time off was over. It was a slow, relaxing jaunt but before we knew it, we were off again.

We spent a week in Sedona and a week in Page before leaving AZ. Sedona was amazing. The mountains, the fresh air, the wine, it gives you all the feels! And Page AZ is in the middle of the canyon lands. If you have never been, these pictures are all I need to convince you. It was truly stunning and nothing you’ve ever seen before.

The last week of January and the first week of February were spent in Vegas. We hiked, I biked, and we ate a lot. We also gambled a little, drank some drinks, and explored.

The first night we were there, someone broke into our car. They really only got clothes and shoes, both of which were worth next to nothing, though I’m sure they thought they had scored. If that’s the worst thing that happens to us during these travels, I’ll call us lucky! (But it was a little sad and of course, we wish we still had the things they took. Boo.)

Now, it’s San Diego for a month. Nick has never been and we’re staying in the thick of it all. Thanks for reading=)

Where we are now: Houston, TX

Hello from Houston! It’s my first time in Houston and Nick’s first in Texas,. The weather is Fall-like and the people are nice. We are here through the end of the week but I’m sure you want to know what we’ve done for the past 6 or so weeks, so here it is

After Cocoa Beach, it was on to our old stomping grounds in Delray Beach ,Florida. We spent a lot of time with friends, a little time in the sun, and Nick kept busy with work in the office. It was all around a great time and we were so happy to visit.

The first weekend we were back, we went to a friend’s wedding. We enjoyed visiting with our close friends, Lance and Dana, and it was such a fun way to spend our first weekend back.    

The second weekend was filled with more friends, Lisa and Corey, and drinks. The boys had beer, the girls had wine, and we all had a great time. We also had a lasagna dinner with the same friends and spent that Friday night with them at a happy hour as well. We love our Corey and Lisa time!

The next weekend we spent a lot of time in. Haha, so very Emily and Nick of us. We read a lot, I worked and cooked, we got a little sun, took naps, and watched shows. It was a good time.

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We ate our faces off at Thanksgiving and went home with legit three bags of leftovers. It was so good, I could eat Thanksgiving dinner every month. And we spent the holiday with Ami, a girl from my church and prayer group, and her family. It was a great time and we were blessed to have been invited. We went out with Dana and Lance that weekend to Cooper’s Hawk, a winery that Nick and I love and turned our friends into fans, too. The wine was delicious and the food was, too.

We couldn’t believe it but it was already the last weekend of our stay, and Nick’s work Christmas party! He works with Corey, so we spent the bulk of our night with them, again. And loved it. Check out the picture, family Christmas card or what? LOL, so fun!

These weekends were super fun and the time with our friends was priceless. I even cooked up a bunch of Chinese food and had everyone over for a feast. We love our Florida friends! However, as fast as we got there, it was time to go, and we were out!

Next stop was Destin Beach, Florida. I have never been before but we enjoyed it. We went to a couple of wineries, walked on the beach, and enjoyed a night in with shows, and cooking as it rained. As fun as it was, it was also very real, and really sad. We visited Panama City Beach and Mexico Beach, both of which were demolished during Hurricane Michael. What a great reminder to be thankful for what you have!

And now, Houston. We have been here for a couple days and will be here a couple more. San Antonio is next and on the way to Sun Lakes, AZ by Christmas to visit my Mom and step-dad, Randy, and see the new house.

I probably won’t update you again until after the holidays so have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I wish you a blessed 2019 and remember to keep working hard, and never stop praying! XOXO

Where Are We Now: Cocoa Beach FL

Yup, we’re back in Florida! This time, it’s only for the short term. And we’re only in Cocoa Beach for the week, very short term. Then Delray Beach FL for a month. But where have we been? East Coast baby!

Last time I wrote, we were in the mountains of North Carolina. I love the mountains and we have never actually stayed in the mountains, so it was truly amazing. We hiked a lot and drove the almost two hours to Asheville for one day. We visited Otter Falls and Lineville Falls, worked a lot, I cooked a lot, and it was really a great time. I want to go back!

Since then, we have been in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, and Bermuda. Here’s what we’ve been up to.

Myrtle Beach was a preplanned family vaca with my in-laws in lieu of Christmas presents last year. We stayed in a condo, on the beach, and had a bright and expansive ocean view. It was beautiful. The temps were hot, so we all pulled out our shorts, sunglasses, and light-er clothes. We took a helicopter ride over the city, went to dinner and a pirate show, and got ice cream in the bustling and touristy downtown. It was a really fun time and I hope we do it again somewhere fun next year.IMG_20181014_103637

After that, we went to Charleston SC instead of Murrels Inlet SC for the next week. Originally, we were going to be in Murrels Inlet for a conference Nick had. The conference got cancelled when they thought the hurricane may or may not make it there. We went south to Charleston, where we were flying out of a week anyhow. In the end, Myrtle Beach, Murrels Inlet, Charleston and anything south of North Carolina were unscathed. And besides, Charleston was meant to be.

We stayed at an AirBnb with hosts that were so similar to us, it was as if we were life-long friends coming for a visit. Nick and I took a walking tour downtown and after, Nick took himself golfing. We also worked a lot (like always LOL) and went to a wing bar to watch the Brewers game. RIP Brewers season, you will be missed! From there (Charleston) we flew to Bermuda and back, another conference for IMG_20181016_170700_136Nick. But our hosts from the AirBnb were so great and gracious that we left our car there for the time we were in Bermuda. Thanks again Kara and Ben, we cannott wait for our paths to cross again!

And Bermuda, oh Bermuda! The weather was great, the views were better, and the people there were the nicest. Nick only had two “work days” out of the four-ish that we were there so we even got to explore a little bit. We walked to the local grocery store which was only about a mile away. The prices there are really high but most of what we did at the hotel was covered and we were able to enjoy our time without really spending a lot of extra dollars. Win-win. Among the fun stuff was the beach, a pink sand beach, the exploration to the store, and oh, did I mention the view? Ocean front view again! And those colors and that water, there’s nothing like it. Truth be told, I’m not really a beach girl, but the once or twice a year I do make it to the beach, I really enjoy it. And Bermuda was definitely no exception. Plus, with a cool right off the ocean breeze and 70s temps, the beach may have been “cold” to others but to me it was perfection!

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Bermuda 

 

And now we’re back in the states and in Florida and Cocoa Beach is on the menu for the week. We have work planned, I’m going to get into the kitchen again, and workouts, too. Once we leave here, we will be back in Delray Beach, the city we lived in for three years in Florida. We look forward to seeing our friends and, well, our friends! Haha. Nick will go into the office for a bit but the weather is going to be death, still in the 90s and high humidity, the costs of everything will still be high, and the traffic (at the start of snow bird season) will be horrendous. All in all we’re excited for our Florida friends, and because it will be short-term stay. Thanks for reading!

Where Are We Now: Beech Mountain NC

We just got here and I’m so excited. The weather is perfect, the sites are beautiful, and we will be here for a whole week. Eeeeeek!

But let me back up. Where have we been? Everywhere! In Wisconsin, that is. We spent the last two months visiting friends and family, and it was the best.

After leaving Nick’s BFF and fam in De Pere, WI, we went to

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My dinner helper Ava, and a fellow lover of eating frozen,  frozen corn=)

Sheboygan and enjoyed a night of dinner and dancing. A wedding, we went to a wedding. It was so fun and pretty with shimmery rose gold and navy blue. Congrats to the Riste’s!Screenshot_20180916-201514

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Go Brewers!

Next it was off to the Brewer’s game with some of my favorite fans. These girls and I have been causing mischief for almost 20 years together and we always will. Cheers to the next 20 and Go Brewers!

Next was a whirlwind week in the Milwaukee area. There was trivia, lots of trips to the library for work, more work for my mystery shops, Nick had lunch with an old work buddy, and then golfing and lunch with another, and I even helped someone move! Well not move, but I did organize a closet.

After that we spent a weekend with my nanny family, the Bowes, in Hartland. We went to see Jameson, the oldest child and the one I used to nanny for, play flag football.

They even won! Then it was off to apple picking and spending the rest of the night together. The next day the Bowes hosted a Packer party so we got some good eats, drinks, and fun with the other Packer lovers.

Then it was a day in Lake Geneva for another (work) library and some more shops. I went hiking and loved it. Lake Geneva has a public path around the whole lake. If you’ve never been and you love hiking, you must go. We spent a couple last days in Beloit, a dinner out with friends and then a dinner in with friends and we were out! (of Wisconsin that is.)

For the last two nights we were in Cinncinati, living it up! )In reality, we went to the gym IMG_20180928_213157and worked a lot.) But we also did our monthly wine tasting and I cooked in the hotel. One hand-sized skillet and a hot plate is all you need to make a meal from scratch. Ha. It’s true and it totally worked, but I had to do everything in about 5-6 different batches when I normally would have done it all in one. It was fun thought and tbh, I impressed myself.

Well that’s about it for now. We’re officially back on the east coast time and still sleeping until 8 AM. Sometimes you just need more sleep! I for one cannot wait to hike, cook, nap, explore, and have some full work days this week.

I think the only other time I spent in the mountains was in Panama and I loved it. I cannot wait to see what this week brings, yay! Thanks for reading, you’ll hear from me again soon. Have a great week!

(Written on Sunday 9/30)