The Perfect Lake Vacation

I can't remember the last time I took a summer vacation. Usually my husband and I take a week-long early spring vacation (right when I've hit the peak of Seasonal Affective Disorder) and then we use the summer to do some long-weekend trips and whatnot. 

This year, however, we've really thrown all caution to the wind and planned not one, but TWO, week-long summer vacations. The first was during the Fourth of July holiday (last week) and it was absolutely glorious. While we weathered some tumultuous uhhh...weather on our way up to the Adirondacks, once we got there it was nothing but blue skies and sunshine. Seriously, we lucked out with the most amazing weather ever--seven continuous days of sunshine and boating! I realize that this likely means our August beach vacation will be laden with precipitation, but whatever, I'm still riding on the high of my last trip.

Baby, you're a firework!

This post is long overdue, but I can't let all of these great firework photos go to waste! We spent the Fourth of July holiday weekend with my family on Sacandaga Lake and took the Lulu Bug out for some boating adventures. She loved it, and by loved it, I mean that she fell asleep every time she went onto the boat. I just adore being up in the Adirondacks -- the air is fresh, the water is crisp and the campfires are magnificent. Oh, and did I mention that my friend Lindsey (the one that lives in EGYPT) came to visit me and meet my offspring?! Check out more photos from our weekend below: 

Engagement Session with Megan and Jeremy

This past weekend I headed out with my friends Megan and Jeremy to shoot some engagement photos. We had a blast, especially taking a little walk with Miss Stella (she was such a good model.) Then after our time among the nature, we headed to Main Street in Manayunk for some photos of beer -- and maybe a little whisky too. Check out more photos of this awesome couple below. Congrats Jeremy and Meg! 

The 2nd Day of Spring

We can all agree that the first day of spring was a total bust. There was a lot of that stupid white stuff on the ground -- which is just ridiculous. So, here's to the second day, which I'm just going to pretend was actually the first day of spring. 

Our friends Josh and Shayna were in town for the weekend so we headed outside for some fresh air with Lu. We walked along the Schuylkill River Path which is always beautiful. The sun was shining and glistening off the river, it was still a bit brisk, but the smell of spring was in the air. Clearly, BryGuy was having a great time. Check out more photos from our river stroll below. 

Playing Catch-Up

This holiday season has been a whirlwind. I would sit here an apologize to you about how I've been MIA but the truth is, it was kind of nice to put the blog on the back burner and focus on myself and my family during the holiday season. So to catch you up since Thanksgiving... we've spent the majority of our time mentally and physically preparing for this baby to come, expected in about four weeks time (maybe a little sooner, maybe a little later, who knows?) 

BryGuy and I had a fabulous Christmas in Upstate New York and were incredibly blessed with lots of gifts from Santa, ridiculous amounts of family time, all the delicious treats and unhealthy food one can consume. We headed back to Philadelphia before the New Year to get all settled in and spent a nice night with friends on New Years Eve. We had a delicious dinner at a restaurant that I've always wanted to try and then got cozy in our PJ's and watched the ball drop and had a lot of laughs. Quite possibly the best part of my New Year's celebration was watching my dear friend Josh get engaged to the love of his life, Shayna. We are so happy for them and so excited to dance the night away at their wedding in September! 2015 is going to be an amazing year :) 

Peep more photos from Christmas and New Year's Eve below. 

Family fun day at Highland Orchards

Do you ever dream/fantasize about certain life situations? For instance, I always had this future vision of myself renting out a big beach house with a group of friends and partying all week in the sun and surf. Well, I sort of got to live out that dream this summer when we headed to Ocean City for the Fourth of July weekend. Unfortunately, I didn't get to do much partying seeing as though I was 10 weeks pregnant... but whatevs, not all fantasies can be played out perfectly. 

I've also always had this dream idea of heading to an apple orchard with a group of friends and their kids on a crisp fall day and picking apples, climbing trees, eating cider donuts and selecting the best pumpkin from the pumpkin patch for carving. Ding, ding, ding! Daydreams are coming alive here people! Last weekend, we drove out to Highland Orchards in West Chester with a big group of friends and kiddos and had a great time! Check out photos from the day below. 

Camping and Oktoberfest 2015

This post is coming a little late, but I thought I'd share some photos of our fun camping trip and Oktoberfest party from last weekend. We headed up to New York for the Columbus Day Weekend and spent one night in the Adirondacks freezing our butts off and the second night we spent at my parent's annual Oktoberfest party. 

Camping was gorgeous despite the chilly weather, but we knew what to expect so we packed our winter clothes accordingly. We sat around the fire for the day and shared a lot of laughs and a few sing-a-longs as well. As the sun dipped down we warmed our bellies with s'mores (or adult beverages for some) and looked into the clear sky for a spectacular view of the stars. 

The following day was spent eating German fare, playing hammerschlagen and then watching the Giant's play a pitiful game of football.

A Birthday World Tour

It was a birthday to be remembered, it started in France, made a quick stop in Italy, spent the afternoon in England, and headed to Morocco for dinner. Okay, okay, so all of those "visits" occurred within the confines of the City of Philadelphia, but it was wonderful nonetheless! I'm not big on birthdays, I always feel a little embarrassed when there's a fuss made about me on that day. Typically, birthdays just involved a quiet dinner with Bry and some drinks or a rented movie after. 

Well since 28 was a hell of a year, and 29 is going to be life changing, I figured that I would take one day to do some things that have been sitting on my bucket list waiting to be checked off. We started off with a visit to the Rodin Museum (which we have been meaning to visit forever) then as our bellies started to grumble, we headed to Pizzeria Vetri for a little snack. After that, we took advantage of the gorgeous fall weather and strolled along the Ben Franklin Parkway until we landed at The Four Seasons where we were scheduled for afternoon tea. After our bellies were full of sugary treats we went home and relaxed a bit and then got ready for an evening with friends at our favorite Moroccan restaurant. Check out lots of photos from our fun day.  

New York state of mind

What do you do when the temperatures start to drop? Unpack your flannel shirts and sweaters, take a drive up to New York and binge on apples, pies, and cider donuts. Well... at least that's what I do. There's no autumn quite like an upstate New York autumn. The air smells of earthy leaves, the colors take your breath away, the crisp air makes you want to lace up your riding boots and drape a super soft scarf around your neck. Check out photos from last weekend.

Made in America 2014 Style Guide

This is the third year the Made in America Festival is being held in Philadelphia and of course, I got my tickets nice and early. However, if you're anything like me, you wait until the very last moment to get your outfits together, so this weekend I'm headed out in search of some festival appropriate attire. Last year, I put together this 2013 MIA style guide, which I think is still appropriate, so check it out for some additional inspiration.

Wardrobe lessons learned over the past two years:

1. Wear comfortable shoes. This is not the time to try out knee-high gladiator sandals or your daintiest flip flops, for two reasons; one, your legs and feet are going to swell from standing and being in the heat (ouch) and two, the concert is dirty, really, really dirty. Protect your piggies and your pedicure and stick with close-toe, flat options with good support.
2. Leave your romper at home. I made the romper mistake last year. Think about it a romper is a one piece outfit with shorts...how do you think you go to the bathroom in that? I'll tell you. You either strip naked in the port-a-potty (so nasty) or you pull the shorts and your underwear to the side (also nasty, but faster.) Save the romper for another time!
3. Hands-free is key. Bring a back pack, cross body bag, fanny pack, whatever. You're just going to want to not have to worry about a shoulder purse/bag all day long.

Homemade corn tortillas

I swear, I actually do eat food other than tacos, although by the looks of things on this blog, that's not how it appears. Well, a couple weeks back, when I posted my sneaky trick for easy carnitas tacos, my pal Dave reached out to me and said, "Did I ever tell you that I used to make my own tortillas? I haven't made them in forever but they are so good. We should set up a taco night so I can make them for you guys." And to that I said, HELL FREAKING YES. Plus, this way I could put together a blog post about it without having to do any actual cooking, win-win! So first things first, we prepared some watermelon margaritas. I don't think you can properly make tortillas without a little tequila in you first. 

Friendcation in OCNJ

Happy 8th of July! I hope you had a fantastic Fourth of July weekend. Mine consisted of sun, sand, games, friends and a lot of laughter. We headed to Ocean City, New Jersey for a long weekend with friends. We played countless games of Salad Bowl, ate and drank wayyy too much, enjoyed some fireworks, and soaked up some sun rays. Special thanks to our friend Jimmy for letting us crash his parents' vacation home. It was so perfect for hanging out and cooking and spending a rainy day on the porch and late nights watching Drunk History. See more photos from the weekend below. 

Softball, crabs and darts

Because I've been totally slacking on the blog this week, I'm going to make it up to you. How does two posts in one day sound to you? How's that for setting things right? I thought you would like the sound of that.

First up, a little weekend recap, featuring a softball game, a lot of crab eatin' and beer drinkin', followed by a healthy game of darts. Photos galore below.

Bike Race Sunday

Fair warning, I got a little gif happy on this post, the still photos just didn't do this day justice, I thought you needed to see it all in action! If you've ever happened to be in Manayunk for the Philly Cycling Classic, more commonly know as "Bike Race," you'd understand that the day is more about hanging with friends outside than actually watching the race. The part of the race that you shouldn't miss seeing is the infamous Manayunk Wall. It's a 17 percent grade hill and it's a beast to walk, so I can't even imagine how hard it is to bike. Fans gather around the wall every 20 minutes or so, with cowbells and beers and cheer on the competitors as they huff and puff up that bitch of a road. The men perform 12 laps of a 120 mile circuit and the women do five laps at 60 miles a piece. Better them than me. I just sit back with a cold beverage and admire their athleticism! See lots of photos from the day below.

Girls on Girls CrossFit Competition

Check out all of these smokin' hot ladies (plus David and baby Leo.) On Saturday, we all headed to CrossFit Harmony in Newtown Square for the Girls on Girls II Partner Throwdown. We represented seven of the 54 teams and one of our teams even took first place! Woot woot! It was such a fun day, filled with some solid workouts, a lot of laying in the sun and hanging out with friends, and some quality baby snuggling. Check out more photos below.

Cape May for Memorial Day Weekend

I hope everyone had a fabulous Memorial Day Weekend! It took me a few days to recover from mine, so I apologize that this post is going up a little late. BryGuy and I drove up to New York to spend a little time with family and attend a baby shower for my lovely friend who is expecting her first child in July. We had friends that were at the shore (in New Jersey) and they kept sending us enticing text messages telling us to drive and join them. Once you tempt Bry with a little beach time, he can't think about anything else, so we woke up bright and early on Sunday and made the five hour drive to Cape May. 

What happened over the next two days was pure summer fun. The weather was gorgeous so we sat outside and soaked up the rays, had a backyard barbecue, checked out some of our favorite bars and restaurants in Cape May, had a speed-walking and cartwheel contest, stole a pineapple, and came up with a few good inventions (patents pending.) We were supposed to head back to Philly late Monday night, but after a filling dinner at the Lobster House, we just couldn't do it. So we got some shut eye, woke up at 4:30 a.m. and hit the road on Tuesday morning. It was the worst thing ever. But I did get a few good photos of the spectacular sunrise; I haven't seen one of those in... ever. 

Check out more photos from our MDW below.

What my summer will look like

I'm warning you. Many of my posts over the next three months are going to look a lot like this... friends, barbecues, fire pits, lawn games, drinking games, furry babies and lots and lots of laughing and dancing. Doesn't that sound like the most perfect summer? Throw in a handful of trips to the beach here and there, and I might just be the happiest gal in the world! Well last weekend BryGuy was busy with reunion activities with his buddies from UPenn and I had no plans. So my wonderful friends, the K sisters invited me over for a little Saturday get together. Like most shindigs, it started off very innocent and as the sun set, got progressively less innocent.

A feast at Sbraga and cocktails at Bar Volvér

Warning: If you are hungry in any way, shape or form, close your browser tab now. You can come back to this post after you have a fuller tummy. Really. You've been warned. 

After a long work week, we had the pleasure of meeting up with some wonderful friends for a delicious dinner at Sbraga. It only took us about two months to get this dinner scheduled (we're all very important people, duh) but it finally worked out and we had the feast of all feasts. Bry and I had come to Sbraga shortly after it opened in October of 2011. We absolutely loved our meal, but unfortunately when you're in a food mecca like Philadelphia, there are so many new places to try out, sometimes it takes a while to get back to the ones you loved. Finally, we made it back, and somehow, this time it managed to blow us away all over again. Get ready for some serious food porn below. Gentlemen suitors above, fine foxes below. 

Newborn photos of Leo Jones Ronca

Meet Leo Jones Ronca, he's only 11 days old, but he has super human baby strength! Mr. LJ is holding his own head up and making attempts to crawl around already. His mom and dad are doing very well and managing to get some sleep (you might remember his mom from this CrossFit maternity photo shoot). LJ was having a little trouble going into a deep sleep so we didn't get to do as many posed photos as we had intended, but I'm actually really happy with the way they turned. I think these images really capture Leo's curious personality and the adorable Jones/Ronca family dynamic. View more photos from the shoot below. 

Birthdays and baby showers

Last weekend was chock full of fun! It started off with a girly day at the nail salon to celebrate the birthday of my beautiful friend, Ana. Then manis and pedis turned into a full-fledged day of drinking, punching (its a game... in a bar...), eating, stopping by a sketchy strip club, and then dancing for three hours straight (at another bar, not the strip club.) I'd say it was a successful birthday celebration!

On Sunday, I shook off my mild hangover and headed to my friend Kristin's baby shower. We had a blast, there was quality time with new babies, great food and the cutest presents and decor. I can't wait for little LJ to join the world next month! He's going to be so loved!!! See photos from the weekend below.