bachelorette and bourbon

My friend and former college roommate Julie is getting married in August, and I was excited to be invited to her bachelorette party in Louisville a couple weeks ago. I drove in Friday, and picked up my friend Bethany from the airport on the way to our lodging for the weekend. The girls who helped plan the party found an amazing house for rent on Airbnb, which is a website for people to rent out their homes, apartments, or extra rooms. There were plenty of bedrooms and bathrooms to accommodate almost a dozen girls who all needed to primp for a night on the town, and the location was conveniently close to the popular Highlands area which is packed with bars, restaurants, etc. Also, I highly recommend having a graphic designer as one of your party planners... the invitations were beautiful! We stayed in Friday evening with pizza, drinks, and lots of catching up and college reminiscing. Hopefully we didn't bore Julie's high school friends too much!

Saturday morning, we walked to brunch at El Camino, a nearby Mexican restaurant. I can honestly say it was the first time I've had chips and salsa as an appetizer before pancakes! We showed off our matching sunglasses, which were perfect for such a bright sunny day.

Later in the afternoon, we went to downtown Louisville for the Evan Williams Experience speakeasy tour. A gentlemanly bartender served us samples of various Evan Williams bourbons in a basement bar, while educating us about the history of prohibition and its impact on the city of Louisville. The bartender admitted that he much preferred having a bachelorette party on the tour than his usual group of rowdy bachelor parties! I enjoyed the history part much more than the bourbon (as I'm not a huge fan of liquor in general), but I did buy a bottle from the gift shop as a souvenir for Dan.

After a stop back at the house to freshen up and change clothes, we caught an Uber (see how trendy with are with our Airbnbs and Ubers?) to a restaurant called Feast for a hearty BBQ dinner. We followed dinner with bar hopping to various spots around the city. I particularly liked one bar called "garage", which was an old converted gas station/garage. Very trendy, fun, and smelled amazing due to the big basil plants growing outside!

Saturday morning, we said our goodbyes, and I drove home. I'm excited to see everyone again in a month for the wedding!

a post about running

Running has been taking up so much of my time lately, I decided it deserves its own post. I signed up for a half-marathon in August, and I've been steadily increasing my mileage with the help of a training app on my phone. I hope to get back to my knitting and crafting when I've tackled those 13.1 miles! In the meantime, here is my list of the pros and cons of running:

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CON: It's boring. So boring.

PRO: It gives me a lot of time to think, daydream, and listen to music. I finally downloaded the Overdrive app so I can check out and download audio books from my local library straight to my phone. Now I can exercise my body and my brain at the same time! The app is available for tons of libraries... highly recommend it! I just finished "Death Comes to Pemberley" by P.D. James and have started "Yes, Please" by Amy Poehler.

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CON: You can spend a TON of money on it if you're not careful. Even though old gym shorts and free t-shirts work just fine, it's hard not to covet those adorable coordinated outfits in the windows at lululemon. This is why birthdays are awesome! For my birthday last month, my family sent a package with some cute workout clothes, and Dan gave me a water bottle with a carrying strap and an arm band for my phone. (He also gave me a set of off-sized measuring cups, like 2/3 cup and 3/4 cup, that I've been eyeing for over a year. The 1/8th cup is my favorite... the perfect size for little pancakes!)

PRO: The up-front investment is pretty low... no expensive equipment, gear, or lessons. Only a decent pair of running shoes is needed! I bought a pretty pair of black and teal Mizunos. I like them because their logo is a roadrunner, and I appreciate any excuse to have a bird printed on my clothes.

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CON: I can't shut up about it. I apologize to everyone I've talked to since April. If our conversation lasted longer than 3 minutes, I'm sure I brought up running at some point. In my defense, it's taking up a huge portion of time, so I haven't had much else to discuss.

PRO: I have something to talk about with my friends and coworkers who are also into running!

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CON: It's hard. Sometimes it hurts. I don't like doing it.

PRO: I feel good afterwards. Plus, my stuffed animals are so proud of me! Baby Hulk made this sign for me after my 9 mile run, and the knit bunnies were so excited when I finished 10 miles.

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CON: I've probably gained weight. I get hungry and eat a lot.

PRO: I feel healthier. I eat my favorite buffalo chicken sandwich from Which Wich with no regrets. I felt no guilt indulging in a few drinks last weekend at Howl At The Moon, a dueling piano bar. Dad organized it as a belated Mother's Day gift to mom!

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Just a few more long runs until I reach my goal. I am counting down the hours/miles!

the florida vacation, act 3

Don't forget to read Act 1: The Wedding and Act 2: The Trip to Universal Studios!

Act 3: The Beach
Setting: Grand Plaza Hotel, St. Pete Beach
Cast of Characters:
CAITLIN, relaxed, lazy beach bum in her late 20s
DAN, her husband

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Scene 1: The Drive, Wednesday (Caitlin and Dan drive to St. Pete Beach for a short vacation, just the two of them.)
CAITLIN: Did that road sign just say there is a Wawa ahead? We don't have those at home, and I know you love them! Do you want to stop??
DAN: Yes!
(Scene ends with Caitlin and Dan enjoying delicious sandwiches... and the unexpected surprise of finding a Wawa in Florida.)

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Scene 2: The Beach, Thursday (Caitlin and Dan are laying on the beach)
CAITLIN: Let's take a beach walk. What are these weird birds that keep skimming their beaks through the top of the water and snagging fish?
DAN: Look! A whole roped-off nesting area for them. They are Black Skimmers.
CAITLIN: Oh my gosh. Look at the tiny baby birds!!!!! They are sooooooo cute.
(Caitlin rushes back to hotel for camera, and scene closes with her taking an absurd number of photos of the baby birds)

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Scene 3: The Beach, Friday (Caitlin and Dan are swimming in the waves)
CAITLIN: Find me a cool shell
(Dan digs around with foot in sand)
DAN: Bam! Got one! Check out this cool clam.
CAITLIN: Yayyyyyyyyyyy!
(Scene closes with Caitlin taking a clam selfie)

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Scene 4: The Florida Aquarium, Sunday (Caitlin and Dan stop at the Florida Aquarium on the way back to Orlando to catch their flight. They tour the aquarium enjoying all the cool birds, reptiles, fish, sharks, and other sea creatures.)

CAITLIN: You know what was my favorite part of the aquarium?
DAN: What?
CAITLIN: The birds.
DAN: (rolls eyes and smiles) Of course.
(Scene closes with Caitlin and Dan arriving home both energized from a busy vacation and refreshed from such a relaxing time at the beach! Curtain.)

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