tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316014802451210062024-03-28T08:50:06.851-04:00BEAUTY & THE BEARDLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.comBlogger762125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-43281935068369754802017-01-24T21:03:00.000-05:002017-01-29T23:22:38.146-05:00VENICE DAY 2 - MURANO & BURANO: B&B WEDDING SERIES<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I shared the details of how we got to Venice in my<a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/2017/01/how-to-travel-to-venice-italy.html"> last post</a>, and this one is partially "how to get to Murano & Burano"- and partially "other fun things to do in Venice". </div>
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Exciting, I know. Who doesn't like a 2 for 1 deal?</div>
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This post is huge because we did a LOT this day...we walked about 28,000 steps! We <i>definitely</i> earned every single bit of gelato we ate while we were there. </div>
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OK so.</div>
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<u>Part #1a: How to get to Murano</u></div>
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Much like all other transit in Italy- the waterbus system couldn't be easier. You can use the English <a href="http://actv.avmspa.it/en/content/water-bus-service-timetable-0">ACTV site</a>, where you can plan your trips. Don't buy tickets ahead of time, you can easily do it when you get to the F.te Nove stop. If you're planning on going to Murano and Burano, I'd recommend getting a 1 day ticket- that way you just have to buy it once, and it saves you money going back and forth around the islands! There are maps at the stops as well showing where/when each line runs (like the subways in the USA) in case you get confused.</div>
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We stayed in Cannaregio, so we just took a short walk to F.te Nove B, which we heard was the easiest location to leave from Venice to get to Murano. Murano has 6 easy stops that would get you to the touristy parts of the island- and if you accidentally get off on the "wrong" stop- everything is within walking distance, with bridges across canals to get you where you need to go. We got off on Murano Navagero- and made our way around the entire island.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4wM5kcLK3Rfk4Y0PJlw41sTD_iXjcuA7KRWwBGPuLPr2NBGMnxiL0BTN5DAe8BtjZzuaYHHP2tgt1xTMnFEDl2fp3a3OVLyDE3QuOtStaIc7sGyjxSQpPXlKM2a5b8WdvB-kzlbtjEjM/s1600/murano.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="how to get to murano from venice" border="0" height="403" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4wM5kcLK3Rfk4Y0PJlw41sTD_iXjcuA7KRWwBGPuLPr2NBGMnxiL0BTN5DAe8BtjZzuaYHHP2tgt1xTMnFEDl2fp3a3OVLyDE3QuOtStaIc7sGyjxSQpPXlKM2a5b8WdvB-kzlbtjEjM/s640/murano.JPG" title="how to get to murano from venice" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>A few tips:</b></div>
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1. Go. Early. In. The. Day. If you're "not a morning person"- get over it...or get used to being packed like a sardine into a waterbus! We were still jetlagged, so we naturally woke up around 5-6 am, and headed towards the F. te Nove to grab an espresso and a cornetto- and take an early waterbus over to the island. There were only a handful of people around, so we had our pick of where to sit!</div>
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2. Validate. Your. Ticket. Make sure to validate your ticket before you get on the bus- on some rides people come around to check to make sure you've done this, and you can be fined if you don't have the proper ticket/validation.</div>
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3. If your stomach doesn't love being on the water, pack a ginger ale or some ginger chews (Chimes are the best)- you can thank me later. </div>
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We got to Murano pretty early...before 8 am I think- and at that time in the morning NOTHING exciting is open...which was actually fine for us. It was overcast, so we just walked around the island until we found a small cafe that was open, and ordered more espresso (duh). There was so much color to be seen; I think I took about 80 pictures of old doors and bright homes and businesses.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPmMyi8ytO0DfOcCm5k2_OQoVsGaSCLIGS_F9ilwIeMs9XzD5kfjt9cC2Lbq54NYCRgH76WgXSKTCi179Hu-qQj3HMobyg2EZMiO4WbkE6RwUguW9M6eqFiFeF0YxRtjfkcfY_d5OqMms/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="murano venice italy" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPmMyi8ytO0DfOcCm5k2_OQoVsGaSCLIGS_F9ilwIeMs9XzD5kfjt9cC2Lbq54NYCRgH76WgXSKTCi179Hu-qQj3HMobyg2EZMiO4WbkE6RwUguW9M6eqFiFeF0YxRtjfkcfY_d5OqMms/s640/003.JPG" title="murano venice italy" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttqJL5W4QjVZcAf5quHn7QjFjl-0JsKqYvB7NVjMENOqiMY4ieQGIc1ZgkcIFvAbSowIQ48Tqrhna0Asp-2XPZAE28Ub7ZiMMp95iyKprtKV_SBtj6pfnVdW9-K8owTSNzBch-xYK-XA/s1600/011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="how to travel to murano, italy" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttqJL5W4QjVZcAf5quHn7QjFjl-0JsKqYvB7NVjMENOqiMY4ieQGIc1ZgkcIFvAbSowIQ48Tqrhna0Asp-2XPZAE28Ub7ZiMMp95iyKprtKV_SBtj6pfnVdW9-K8owTSNzBch-xYK-XA/s640/011.JPG" title="how to travel to murano, italy" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOXsGaSV4t4wM65BOM0lL1ZiE2REmbBewgWKgk_46rDn3LwIrPZLopIt6XRP25MllngfkBERAC7v9_LbPAzIR5InJikfK6HubIUdIMj_BxEN6JigHL4f1whAaBFEs2_jqmRR4A7D5IpbE/s1600/019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="love the contrast in color" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOXsGaSV4t4wM65BOM0lL1ZiE2REmbBewgWKgk_46rDn3LwIrPZLopIt6XRP25MllngfkBERAC7v9_LbPAzIR5InJikfK6HubIUdIMj_BxEN6JigHL4f1whAaBFEs2_jqmRR4A7D5IpbE/s640/019.JPG" title="love the contrast in color" width="480" /></a></div>
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Murano is famous for its glass goods and glass blowing, and proof of that was all over the island- like the insane glass sculpture below:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBzrof8WZ-A-MMajfmAUox9-9DhOnwCNt3GPHH3AECwnx2uB0Vb6KDwXUURUob5REZfyuv9P_ZyImarmpLgTrc6xDx5Z_v3plVQWfOn0QKzlPGjLCRFF6YwQpN0XsRnpWbHvY5cBTGYhQ/s1600/021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="glass blowing in murano, italy" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBzrof8WZ-A-MMajfmAUox9-9DhOnwCNt3GPHH3AECwnx2uB0Vb6KDwXUURUob5REZfyuv9P_ZyImarmpLgTrc6xDx5Z_v3plVQWfOn0QKzlPGjLCRFF6YwQpN0XsRnpWbHvY5cBTGYhQ/s640/021.JPG" title="glass blowing in murano, italy" width="480" /></a></div>
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Slowly the shops where you can watch the glassblowers work started to open, so we wandered until we found a free one. Some studios will allow you to watch the glassblowing for free- and only ask for tips at the end or usher you into their shop to buy goods. Others do charge you an entrance fee. In our opinion it was cool to see, but we were glad we didn't have to pay an admission fee for it!</div>
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My favorite bit of the island was a studio we found that was COVERED in these hand blown glass roses in about 30 colors. Amazing, right?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM5dGEKTbt-PLoyd-Pmsm2fG3N3ujgbXhMML7liycyZTTgA6IegKWZ897ySFxpM5-tggIXWY64UZWoghNfbt_nrnfuRsF9hOaY8XCCdOGpDzKrjSge8hJ-vEcwCVPCzgpRS3igaTspULk/s1600/031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="glass blowing in murano, italy" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM5dGEKTbt-PLoyd-Pmsm2fG3N3ujgbXhMML7liycyZTTgA6IegKWZ897ySFxpM5-tggIXWY64UZWoghNfbt_nrnfuRsF9hOaY8XCCdOGpDzKrjSge8hJ-vEcwCVPCzgpRS3igaTspULk/s640/031.JPG" title="glass blowing in murano, italy" width="566" /></a></div>
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Seriously- amazing art on every wall in the city!</div>
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<u>Part #1b: How to get to Burano</u></div>
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It's about a 30 minute waterbus ride from Murano to Burano- which is completely beautiful! We left from Murano Faro and ended up at Burano SX- which I think is one of the main spots most waterbuses go to the island. Burano is super tiny, and not at all hard to get around!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisQoa1DY72i-9W2AztJj_0sbqJlvaMka9RHw2ekmDmE-mc08wUCTJUekC6J-nKTSEKg-XXAe9Z9G7fTkV3aJg1rIFWliA5NJppga9pcBcUIDUlNcY8U3S-mZ0rH-kURBSTt6rpF5qWgs0/s1600/burano.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="how to get to burano, italy" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisQoa1DY72i-9W2AztJj_0sbqJlvaMka9RHw2ekmDmE-mc08wUCTJUekC6J-nKTSEKg-XXAe9Z9G7fTkV3aJg1rIFWliA5NJppga9pcBcUIDUlNcY8U3S-mZ0rH-kURBSTt6rpF5qWgs0/s640/burano.JPG" title="how to get to burano, italy" width="640" /></a></div>
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Burano is known for it's insanely colored buildings- and it did not disappoint at all. It's basically impossible to take a bad picture on this island! About halfway into our time there the clouds finally burned off, which meant we could get even more vibrant shots of the houses (and by we I mean me). Michael was so patient with me and I screeched every time I saw a house in a new color. I mean you GUYS. NEON GREEN HOUSES. MAGENTA RESTAURANTS. WHAT!?!?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqqqpYm3-9Bp5Uaanea6yaeupZhyW_nY2jbJaqh5m260OQwn2N4y0vTC6gY2IbF5liKVg4d4kg1mV8ZrdyBReXKWlYOE3ShZfQSG-p4krmZ7LeB2AjpC2oJTVeE2o1TDIPGgL6g0zY-F4/s1600/056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="burano, italy" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqqqpYm3-9Bp5Uaanea6yaeupZhyW_nY2jbJaqh5m260OQwn2N4y0vTC6gY2IbF5liKVg4d4kg1mV8ZrdyBReXKWlYOE3ShZfQSG-p4krmZ7LeB2AjpC2oJTVeE2o1TDIPGgL6g0zY-F4/s640/056.JPG" title="burano, italy" width="640" /></a></div>
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Packers colors, of course!</div>
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Obviously I had to hold my Fruti di Bosco gelato up to the colorful walls, because<a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/"> #instagram.</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6L-K08WF8mebBP37yMPVnA2y5CKvhj2T3TI4HfgV15o7FkVUVhUMpofeaMnvAhHBsYBVKt6POdtQIhEyTdO4ejOuC9BPWKov07IUXI2eKBhQfBlzDQbcpD6VTGofQiPdItcpCzMo-jWo/s1600/067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="bright gelato in burano, italy" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6L-K08WF8mebBP37yMPVnA2y5CKvhj2T3TI4HfgV15o7FkVUVhUMpofeaMnvAhHBsYBVKt6POdtQIhEyTdO4ejOuC9BPWKov07IUXI2eKBhQfBlzDQbcpD6VTGofQiPdItcpCzMo-jWo/s640/067.JPG" title="bright gelato in burano, italy" width="640" /></a></div>
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Other than taking colorful pictures and a little shopping there isn't a TON to do on Burano, so we hopped on a waterbus back to Murano and got some pizza, naturally. I think the pizza was like... 6 euros? The water was almost the same price!</div>
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After eating we waited for a waterbus so we could head back to Venice- as you can see the beautiful blue sky came out!</div>
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We got back to Venice and recharged at our Airbnb for a bit before heading out to explore some more..which leads me to:</div>
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<u>Part #2: Things to do in Venice!</u></div>
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So obviously you can spend your entire time in Venice just getting lost in the canals. Some are gorgeous, some are super smelly, but all have character and so much history! At first I was a littttle creeped out by all the narrow alleys and canals (#strangerdanger), but once you get used to the vibe you realize how safe the island is. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg2wx_2EU4YClyQXT0VI07gO-7roBq6t34xP7-Pm5ZKdXmwyZaue1Yhk9gKeVYk-P18mlOeF-C9DHLotkH5-MEKZB5LvgylAp76eUn-OmFPxh2KR9FedKtn_uHuiOqdEfgtj70X6FTrK0/s1600/107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="canals in venice, italy" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg2wx_2EU4YClyQXT0VI07gO-7roBq6t34xP7-Pm5ZKdXmwyZaue1Yhk9gKeVYk-P18mlOeF-C9DHLotkH5-MEKZB5LvgylAp76eUn-OmFPxh2KR9FedKtn_uHuiOqdEfgtj70X6FTrK0/s640/107.JPG" title="canals in venice, italy" width="480" /></a></div>
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We headed down to Piazza San Marco, where we were blown away by Basilica di San Marco, and Palazzo Ducale.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kkdEazeKh94NxzmjzxaeHpp8NHYQQBqTg0N-c5CcpZNJNLrKGGQuhdCgMgAp5n1Fm7B2uYQ6kTy98mMHRDYx4T9AXyRFGvcpounGv3P7C0xs1AmJti1VBguxLn6Yaks_K0-gfNcxySM/s1600/110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Basilica di San Marco, Venice Italy" border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kkdEazeKh94NxzmjzxaeHpp8NHYQQBqTg0N-c5CcpZNJNLrKGGQuhdCgMgAp5n1Fm7B2uYQ6kTy98mMHRDYx4T9AXyRFGvcpounGv3P7C0xs1AmJti1VBguxLn6Yaks_K0-gfNcxySM/s640/110.JPG" title="Basilica di San Marco, Venice Italy" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_I6VRlfrF35eUy2dUSFrEZSNv9I8xf4IY9R833fzfwMVFDdOwxelWHBc1IeyN7xXNCFwEE3beiGZIr1XcpoXoPH2ZTpbyQZvj68dPrsaV2JAsAjoSoa_cJ12h47XHl94rNdiDIkf3e6Q/s1600/116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Basilica di San Marco, Venice Italy" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_I6VRlfrF35eUy2dUSFrEZSNv9I8xf4IY9R833fzfwMVFDdOwxelWHBc1IeyN7xXNCFwEE3beiGZIr1XcpoXoPH2ZTpbyQZvj68dPrsaV2JAsAjoSoa_cJ12h47XHl94rNdiDIkf3e6Q/s640/116.JPG" title="Basilica di San Marco, Venice Italy" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI2PPzFy3VTmIRaKvJ1jT5izPmW9KjScRIvk0aTuy9FPOR2PdEr9g-Il2OLv1zpgjeTgYvmT4ANL6fOCRmlcxN5IV8Pvf2BPoTLJiwJX1sLmIRKbnKqqlII5yWo2RH331gKLHgXxBBjbA/s1600/119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Palazzo Ducale, Venice Italy" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI2PPzFy3VTmIRaKvJ1jT5izPmW9KjScRIvk0aTuy9FPOR2PdEr9g-Il2OLv1zpgjeTgYvmT4ANL6fOCRmlcxN5IV8Pvf2BPoTLJiwJX1sLmIRKbnKqqlII5yWo2RH331gKLHgXxBBjbA/s640/119.JPG" title="Palazzo Ducale, Venice Italy" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8D69hvoJL1AGz45-aEh5jAf8H_xQ9h8Txf05-zw9zQjwl0OFlmLpu6d4v_n0_fvd3zZaULV1ty4oRnfsDEdvM30zfI38cQPxuQ33-APkTV37CWTwDPr_fSyHMb57LiR8kN7NQaptozE/s1600/126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8D69hvoJL1AGz45-aEh5jAf8H_xQ9h8Txf05-zw9zQjwl0OFlmLpu6d4v_n0_fvd3zZaULV1ty4oRnfsDEdvM30zfI38cQPxuQ33-APkTV37CWTwDPr_fSyHMb57LiR8kN7NQaptozE/s640/126.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnL02eZZEwmmEF1wo-Jo0eFcBU7UM2p2eryWFgaHOXmyoQhyphenhyphenkdAnEZJ8R4XVZrudl27XZLUHKBf4CehL3wcidNpWROSWFBHdaH6rltYyS5RTsktkHRTHRh0O_-HTRo3Kf6XNQ9w9DHhUI/s1600/129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Palazzo Ducale, Venice Italy" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnL02eZZEwmmEF1wo-Jo0eFcBU7UM2p2eryWFgaHOXmyoQhyphenhyphenkdAnEZJ8R4XVZrudl27XZLUHKBf4CehL3wcidNpWROSWFBHdaH6rltYyS5RTsktkHRTHRh0O_-HTRo3Kf6XNQ9w9DHhUI/s640/129.JPG" title="Palazzo Ducale, Venice Italy" width="480" /></a></div>
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Can we talk about the architecture here? GAHHHHH.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-qNTt0RNTyDBvm39wIDa7DxOZ3GU8USMfcdocJLsCq0bg7d6CXAOyfphIz1aL_CZcqXKyvCpGtntBigSW7PQkZU6rETQ-1cyog3s8aq4jmMZp8bRf5FBOPP-3L6WyyzohLZbltbcmxg/s1600/139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="venice, italy" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-qNTt0RNTyDBvm39wIDa7DxOZ3GU8USMfcdocJLsCq0bg7d6CXAOyfphIz1aL_CZcqXKyvCpGtntBigSW7PQkZU6rETQ-1cyog3s8aq4jmMZp8bRf5FBOPP-3L6WyyzohLZbltbcmxg/s640/139.JPG" title="venice, italy" width="640" /></a></div>
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SO many gondolas! We didn't end up taking one partially because they were pretty expensive and partially because we wanted to walk around more during the daylight- but they sure were gorgeous to look at!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY_VyBNOvbRxLzNToISt7mnyYIZ5tT0Hqkv8EJZ8HGFfERgG3E4GQ44WXnjeHj-rI0go28SdN8nLIHft7QgZVs3lXSCXsXkDEqX4TZnTZ1A4yritEu7ZfIW9VZVYSwajbGL51NIJ1HceU/s1600/145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="gondolas in venice, italy" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY_VyBNOvbRxLzNToISt7mnyYIZ5tT0Hqkv8EJZ8HGFfERgG3E4GQ44WXnjeHj-rI0go28SdN8nLIHft7QgZVs3lXSCXsXkDEqX4TZnTZ1A4yritEu7ZfIW9VZVYSwajbGL51NIJ1HceU/s640/145.JPG" title="gondolas in venice, italy" width="480" /></a></div>
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Next we headed over to the Grand Canal and the Ponte di Rialto- which was amazing from the front...but under construction inside!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNDu2yr-g80Rlo6VL6RpWPW77x0UEAgZEe1KvPTr1vHdr1wqJCeLztT0qAiYPbuAWGDADPd8Q-DFa_VEsgTVUj9_Au2BybfKmXRZhdDuCW_2aQ1piIo7xzPc6-YAoQy8fKslqXbJ7_jbk/s1600/152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="ponte di rialto- venice, italy" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNDu2yr-g80Rlo6VL6RpWPW77x0UEAgZEe1KvPTr1vHdr1wqJCeLztT0qAiYPbuAWGDADPd8Q-DFa_VEsgTVUj9_Au2BybfKmXRZhdDuCW_2aQ1piIo7xzPc6-YAoQy8fKslqXbJ7_jbk/s640/152.JPG" title="ponte di rialto- venice, italy" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWnYXefVc53NMzZK9Rg6PAmgxy9mLeHIxyKzF_H3F5Yk9lIik7Q5-GRYU7yUlt0gcg6Epcbh2_iKWp3G8EIVjdrY6Kdkbh52MirtA-aLjpuSjUjqoapGI8uVS0lsy7_lyb3q4y9mcRfFQ/s1600/158.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="gondolas in venice, italy" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWnYXefVc53NMzZK9Rg6PAmgxy9mLeHIxyKzF_H3F5Yk9lIik7Q5-GRYU7yUlt0gcg6Epcbh2_iKWp3G8EIVjdrY6Kdkbh52MirtA-aLjpuSjUjqoapGI8uVS0lsy7_lyb3q4y9mcRfFQ/s640/158.JPG" title="gondolas in venice, italy" width="480" /></a></div>
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This is what we SHOULD have gotten for dinner...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlPkfyPIo_4oOMNaC901ullPi8HHo5BDB_8VbN3d5QtsK9S0EOkdQ4XPyrvRgFMS_RhS9otZRizfkM2qGLlDGw2TzzIydoFJShbYSOWABynRP2IvJRBo_L9obcLb-ZSGOb0xTm5AIum0/s1600/161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="pizza in venice, italy" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlPkfyPIo_4oOMNaC901ullPi8HHo5BDB_8VbN3d5QtsK9S0EOkdQ4XPyrvRgFMS_RhS9otZRizfkM2qGLlDGw2TzzIydoFJShbYSOWABynRP2IvJRBo_L9obcLb-ZSGOb0xTm5AIum0/s640/161.JPG" title="pizza in venice, italy" width="640" /></a></div>
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...but instead we enjoyed some lemon gelato since it was getting HOT in the sun!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1bndosSH2lcL95ElBBxAbG-Br5xgtaET3FoKYuV0J2CNCHipX1zUdE_PekcOR-pyHgp-QePle-I-2lvfhSzyYUaJU9nFut2p8zKKrnNuNtU_wGs7yKYG7-wBK6YZ-25dO5vGplN6j69Y/s1600/147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1bndosSH2lcL95ElBBxAbG-Br5xgtaET3FoKYuV0J2CNCHipX1zUdE_PekcOR-pyHgp-QePle-I-2lvfhSzyYUaJU9nFut2p8zKKrnNuNtU_wGs7yKYG7-wBK6YZ-25dO5vGplN6j69Y/s640/147.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Like I said earlier, you could spend the entire day just walking around the canals!</div>
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After being around San Marco we were SO glad we got our Airbnb where we did. San Marco area is really busy, touristy, and full of a lot more shops. Cannaregio was so quiet- and still had plenty of restaurants and bars!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb7SJ-xkWePwT6jNS1_16nne99I5Ehb3uU4rJcGBdIAVF_fMIe5wVdDzRBEN-pg8OVskbPY29r2VfcwwG6K3F_qJIQMX8SkYmjrsLJSKxjg6alGH6cz3oQMcmQRMOCdjXl2Nv1nJmYuh4/s1600/156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="canals in venice, italy" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb7SJ-xkWePwT6jNS1_16nne99I5Ehb3uU4rJcGBdIAVF_fMIe5wVdDzRBEN-pg8OVskbPY29r2VfcwwG6K3F_qJIQMX8SkYmjrsLJSKxjg6alGH6cz3oQMcmQRMOCdjXl2Nv1nJmYuh4/s640/156.JPG" title="canals in venice, italy" width="480" /></a></div>
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We ended up getting a later dinner and some wine at a place our Airbnb host recommended. We didn't really love it- but that was kind of the theme of the food in Venice- it wasn't that epic. The food everywhere else in Italy was SO much better...I've actually had better Italian meals here in Madison (love you, Osteria Papavero) than the meals we had in Venice. Thus, I can give you ZERO Venice restaurant recommendations- sorry!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgagcMB9CrJPMbZ_6hGofrEenksU0UnBZt6QGnbVlp1GgQA1l0kSq-VlBEGD2Jj_AQ_0RaxLmkI7TQaeqknXNFyKCch4ELcRV8J0mjjEESQ_uFHeKZSHJ_6qB6vDxygTwEwB24_qUXQ9Fc/s1600/168.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgagcMB9CrJPMbZ_6hGofrEenksU0UnBZt6QGnbVlp1GgQA1l0kSq-VlBEGD2Jj_AQ_0RaxLmkI7TQaeqknXNFyKCch4ELcRV8J0mjjEESQ_uFHeKZSHJ_6qB6vDxygTwEwB24_qUXQ9Fc/s640/168.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Whew! So there you have it- Venice in a nutshell!</div>
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<u>Summary:</u></div>
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- Don't be afraid to book an Airbnb away from the Grand Canal or San Marco area. Everything is super safe and walkable- and will be much cheaper away from those touristy areas.</div>
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- Buy the day pass for the ACTV waterbuses for Murano/Burano- and go early in the day! </div>
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- Don't spend too much for food in Venice-cheap pasta/pizza is about as good as expensive pasta/pizza.</div>
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- Eat lots of gelato, and take lots of pictures :)</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Have you been to Venice/Murano/Burano?</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">What were your thoughts on them?</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">xo, laura</span></b></div>
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To see my first post about Venice, go <a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/2017/01/how-to-travel-to-venice-italy.html">HERE</a>.</div>
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Find me on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">HERE</a></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com127tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-41194921682497208012017-01-24T19:54:00.000-05:002017-01-24T19:54:13.846-05:00MILAN/ VENICE DAY 1: B&B WEDDING SERIES<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b> I'm FINALLY sharing photos from our trip, one post at a time!</b></div>
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In total our trip was 2 weeks, and was like...85% planned. We had flights and places to stay booked- but everything else was kind of a one-day-at-a-time mentality. I know some people feel strongly about having strict itineraries, but after travelling abroad in the past I realized that things happen; people get sick, you miss trains, and missing out on things you've paid for can be a HUGE bummer. These posts will be a series explaining how we went about booking things, and what we did!<br />
If you're travelling to any of these locations and have questions, please comment or email me - I would LOVE to chime in with ideas or tips!<br />
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We flew from New York to Milan on Delta- and we have 0 bad things to say about our flight. Comfy seats. Movies. Food. Free wine. Friendly people. It went by super fast, and we were to Malpensa super quickly.<br />
We chose to fly into Milan because the tickets were insanely cheap. We didn't spend anytime in Milan other than transferring at the train stations, but the cost was too good to pass up. I found these flights on <a href="https://www.skyscanner.com/">SkyScanner</a> and then booked directly through Delta...it was just a one way ticket, since we flew out of Athens on our way home.</div>
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We chose to each carry on a small bag and a backpack, which made it easy to travel since we didn't have to wait at the luggage carousels. 1 carry-on was a rolling bag and 1 was a duffle- so we stacked the duffle on the rolling bag when we walked (or ran) through train stations and airport terminals. This was efficient for the majority of the trip, but for future trips we might search for a second soft sided rolling bag like the one we already have.<br />
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We arrived in Malpensa a little after 8:30 am, got our bearings, and bought tickets for the train that leaves directly from the airport to Milano Centrale. So easy- you can't miss it! Milano Centrale is the big train station in Milan where we caught a connecting train to Venezia Santa Lucia (Venice). There are automated train tickets in all stations, which we chose to use instead of going to ticket windows (with unfriendly ticket attendants). There are always sketchy dudes trying to tell you they'll help you buy tickets from the automated machines- just ignore them. They'll either try and charge you or steal your credit card :)</div>
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Here's the train station at Malpensa:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXAeuE4jtspsoje5E-I8vuL8MGL0mrXqGrNuVG2h5NG3ortoOt1wFSEmQwO-0GjIWErDiVbLtJ3Okotqv5zX1yKk06Yu_KBjtp1RrNTC8ZDD0i2dNMKNl9Wg-jyPa38fwm4oH8WkCeWmc/s1600/010+Cathcing+a+train+to+Milan+Centrale.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Malpensa Train Station" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXAeuE4jtspsoje5E-I8vuL8MGL0mrXqGrNuVG2h5NG3ortoOt1wFSEmQwO-0GjIWErDiVbLtJ3Okotqv5zX1yKk06Yu_KBjtp1RrNTC8ZDD0i2dNMKNl9Wg-jyPa38fwm4oH8WkCeWmc/s640/010+Cathcing+a+train+to+Milan+Centrale.JPG" title="Malpensa Train Station" width="480" /></a></div>
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We ended up getting cheap tickets on one of the nice trains with comfy seats and snacks. Just one of the benefits of buying your tickets day of instead of booking in advance!</div>
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I was a little apprehensive about the train system only because I had heard mixed reviews about buying tickets beforehand or not- but when we got there it was So. Dang. Easy. The automated machines I mentioned are super user friendly, give clear options, and print tickets out instantly. Once you validate your ticket at the machines by the trains, you're good to go.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmz6f3ljV9mcnSi0bx3OEuUQQekvunBRZn00UFuC2ID89rMbxTCuED89ZCA4b9_dQxnFvkc6WMphIBwJpbAU0YB7nzCpuiYjZiYpI8-NHrBNElCwMkhsWEj8HYMayWZYLpPjUOrC4mO0k/s1600/014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmz6f3ljV9mcnSi0bx3OEuUQQekvunBRZn00UFuC2ID89rMbxTCuED89ZCA4b9_dQxnFvkc6WMphIBwJpbAU0YB7nzCpuiYjZiYpI8-NHrBNElCwMkhsWEj8HYMayWZYLpPjUOrC4mO0k/s640/014.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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If you're travelling to Venice and you're planning on being by the water and the canals - make SURE you book your ticket to Venezia Santa Lucia. The other station, Venezia Mestre is the mainland station, which you don't want!<br />
Here was our view stepping out of the train station in Venice:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1jAthvE099Q101bI8HLPQIaRuyikT9ejPkm4VR04TM2s5sfnfeduES7iFcLkmJS7SYrTHPn4RjKnARdlbxgMA2p_xu6b4uh6HVOSVVLsEmSM6m99JN9tS0u0jkp-jtojODn9Z9bRAl_8/s1600/017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Venice in October" border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1jAthvE099Q101bI8HLPQIaRuyikT9ejPkm4VR04TM2s5sfnfeduES7iFcLkmJS7SYrTHPn4RjKnARdlbxgMA2p_xu6b4uh6HVOSVVLsEmSM6m99JN9tS0u0jkp-jtojODn9Z9bRAl_8/s640/017.JPG" title="Venice in October" width="640" /></a></div>
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We booked an Airbnb in Venice that was amazing. It was a private room & bathroom in a family's apartment- and our host Eugenio was fabulous and completely gave us privacy after giving us the initial tour/rundown of the place. We stayed in Cannaregio which is on the north side of Venice. It was safe, clean, and an easy 20 minute walk to all the major sites in Venice. There were tons of shops and restaurants right near by- so we had everything we needed!</div>
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Here's the view from our Airbnb:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi80vYJazCKVBLEeJS0F7wAg3qTmRcqmGRBLdjWjWiPa9BjxcG6IL6TSCVkKOZAkZ-lLwOljZyvsLeD74qsCGzZn4nUU5pYYhwfwIUJBSL6GoU7mf8kPBCglSAPaeZrbBBVzIeOr6_Qlzo/s1600/019+view+from+eugenios+air+bnb.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Venice Airbnb" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi80vYJazCKVBLEeJS0F7wAg3qTmRcqmGRBLdjWjWiPa9BjxcG6IL6TSCVkKOZAkZ-lLwOljZyvsLeD74qsCGzZn4nUU5pYYhwfwIUJBSL6GoU7mf8kPBCglSAPaeZrbBBVzIeOr6_Qlzo/s640/019+view+from+eugenios+air+bnb.JPG" title="Venice Airbnb" width="480" /></a></div>
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Everyone is different, but other than location (duh) we made sure to find an Airbnb that was smoke-free..since EVERYONE in Italy smokes! We also made sure free WiFi was included and that there were no pets.</div>
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Building across from the entrance to our Airbnb:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOGKzQayLYFJS2-LKdqOPHDriMlC1IrQHQLgdq3DZdk3wKtw-t37tAorL1rYxqUMGuGSm9EypcTUAJysO32-YWCx-fNL9wU53hdSQXr_0oAGyqEMF96rELu4Q1SHMWwXRtnSesLeooSwE/s1600/020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Venice Airbnb" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOGKzQayLYFJS2-LKdqOPHDriMlC1IrQHQLgdq3DZdk3wKtw-t37tAorL1rYxqUMGuGSm9EypcTUAJysO32-YWCx-fNL9wU53hdSQXr_0oAGyqEMF96rELu4Q1SHMWwXRtnSesLeooSwE/s640/020.JPG" title="Venice Airbnb" width="480" /></a></div>
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It was overcast, but we didn't mind walking around in our light jackets exploring the canals and old buildings near our place:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9cGu8HBqr0_8jJ6PCRZ1KwoHgXiwOHG5HxGfdaujVxAt4RwlUTpJgF4ER4w3yq-Vv2l7emzN9hqCWJJRLFI7M7He5BeKnXcvPDCma0Vo1yM-W1GPLGYIE876VgGQ9jNEwClYcInbtBj4/s1600/030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Venice Canals" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9cGu8HBqr0_8jJ6PCRZ1KwoHgXiwOHG5HxGfdaujVxAt4RwlUTpJgF4ER4w3yq-Vv2l7emzN9hqCWJJRLFI7M7He5BeKnXcvPDCma0Vo1yM-W1GPLGYIE876VgGQ9jNEwClYcInbtBj4/s640/030.JPG" title="Venice Canals" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWr5q6ruEkZdFkvXrwz5rUaH6MAVLS8zIZid1N6KloNf8kgPnhP3u6YjqNi0-w5dnpbl6igbhf_NI9A_WFg2qO81X2ogtSfZIltRbP58l6V2Vq10MqoL-fVV9HEeAb_SZc_og2RCRSfOU/s1600/034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWr5q6ruEkZdFkvXrwz5rUaH6MAVLS8zIZid1N6KloNf8kgPnhP3u6YjqNi0-w5dnpbl6igbhf_NI9A_WFg2qO81X2ogtSfZIltRbP58l6V2Vq10MqoL-fVV9HEeAb_SZc_og2RCRSfOU/s640/034.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Jetlagged, we realized we needed some food, water, and espresso asap so we stopped and got some fresh pasta (served to us by the crankiest man ever - shown below behind Michael:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK3O_nL1acR-i3nf9jbjkjLtkIyetj_ZBZnM0HWduWLJ-CmJ632PELLEy4svi8a1SigJqP0fcFp5CgRNvTMP_Wj4kJl0jdXixPD6ZDILW72ki0nzzmVYlxH9W5Tq0_mIjyZl_npWaFkkA/s1600/038+the+waiter+that+hated+us.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Espresso in Venice" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK3O_nL1acR-i3nf9jbjkjLtkIyetj_ZBZnM0HWduWLJ-CmJ632PELLEy4svi8a1SigJqP0fcFp5CgRNvTMP_Wj4kJl0jdXixPD6ZDILW72ki0nzzmVYlxH9W5Tq0_mIjyZl_npWaFkkA/s640/038+the+waiter+that+hated+us.JPG" title="Espresso in Venice" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-bpMjoW1U7NmmR68Pg5bWEokb5q_9ho2MJ5C9ZTw-J59Wt1PnYd0BDOu2k9FrbB27p2-pQOlZ3JNnsBUY-gc1FTH8auN2C3Sgw5F84_hTMnim8-u_Wyy05e7rxb93t8nWOA1ss2k2yns/s1600/041+first+meal+in+venice-+quattro+formaggi+gnocchi+and+pesto%2521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Fresh Gnocchi with cheese and pasta with Pesto" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-bpMjoW1U7NmmR68Pg5bWEokb5q_9ho2MJ5C9ZTw-J59Wt1PnYd0BDOu2k9FrbB27p2-pQOlZ3JNnsBUY-gc1FTH8auN2C3Sgw5F84_hTMnim8-u_Wyy05e7rxb93t8nWOA1ss2k2yns/s640/041+first+meal+in+venice-+quattro+formaggi+gnocchi+and+pesto%2521.JPG" title="Fresh Gnocchi with cheese and pasta with Pesto" width="480" /></a></div>
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After dinner we explored the streets some more, eventually ended in the Jewish ghetto- soaking in some history from the buildings and synagogue.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxsmZCiQq8BRGMIQDEXbr4IPd9cxo4HOmS54oG0vHnYZ8RUUi341ytwIyqpFhW1n-6KJava3qGN51YvAAEwBJS0XyoAiK7xw7FnM-rdEqvpA_uWQfMZXw48JMAvXrnnKWgYRGLgLylrFI/s1600/043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Exploring Venice" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxsmZCiQq8BRGMIQDEXbr4IPd9cxo4HOmS54oG0vHnYZ8RUUi341ytwIyqpFhW1n-6KJava3qGN51YvAAEwBJS0XyoAiK7xw7FnM-rdEqvpA_uWQfMZXw48JMAvXrnnKWgYRGLgLylrFI/s640/043.JPG" title="Exploring Venice" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiYAysk88w3hP-ICalBiLev0Lr2LOxDhXIBqdTdwJLyOWZfOkq60PZu2fFil7T_2WIXl6maneEthu7qXTSxr9G9jSlkh2GqbZ7W4Q0fLja6dsDsDjQQlGvAQhU4-ps-hSGnz1wWifBBMU/s1600/047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Exploring Venice" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiYAysk88w3hP-ICalBiLev0Lr2LOxDhXIBqdTdwJLyOWZfOkq60PZu2fFil7T_2WIXl6maneEthu7qXTSxr9G9jSlkh2GqbZ7W4Q0fLja6dsDsDjQQlGvAQhU4-ps-hSGnz1wWifBBMU/s640/047.JPG" title="Exploring Venice" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqTbRS7IyaMKP1NQ6ZRYyUH3x7EwQtjprByx2ChufM07qUAVhe7sHW3U3Ki1mh_J6vayZdStbiE10MbTJZhWv18Vc-RdO3V6Rip04CFz3X0IiQFWw29F9SPYKVUSAdy2EdnjWnZnx-plY/s1600/049+touring+jewish+ghetto.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Exploring Venice" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqTbRS7IyaMKP1NQ6ZRYyUH3x7EwQtjprByx2ChufM07qUAVhe7sHW3U3Ki1mh_J6vayZdStbiE10MbTJZhWv18Vc-RdO3V6Rip04CFz3X0IiQFWw29F9SPYKVUSAdy2EdnjWnZnx-plY/s640/049+touring+jewish+ghetto.JPG" title="Exploring Venice" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUC0f0DjCWWO7VI_4SuaupKkyLzYwfvMBAqFD3h54xHWwsgn-ZlevSojTMjyiy7YPm8ySKy9ki_nNrooBtJeCnh4XoRvzC-pWi2eJvsMtbPh33R8tr_k8L3ZNAouzwrXvcaaloDPBejPU/s1600/052+jewish+ghetto.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Exploring Venice" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUC0f0DjCWWO7VI_4SuaupKkyLzYwfvMBAqFD3h54xHWwsgn-ZlevSojTMjyiy7YPm8ySKy9ki_nNrooBtJeCnh4XoRvzC-pWi2eJvsMtbPh33R8tr_k8L3ZNAouzwrXvcaaloDPBejPU/s640/052+jewish+ghetto.JPG" title="Exploring Venice" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn8JfHQcmaM6M-GUbPzAjSrWHC6mnXFh9OjDEBjF0SvuUgYf82NKFksPRaP_nU7TIaN8KcGRD8_5g0xCyGoV6jzzbYd8PaYDpNO5BWIibY97qAkhc8fV4h8WUJt0lRO09cMAZHCrvktrs/s1600/053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Exploring Venice" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn8JfHQcmaM6M-GUbPzAjSrWHC6mnXFh9OjDEBjF0SvuUgYf82NKFksPRaP_nU7TIaN8KcGRD8_5g0xCyGoV6jzzbYd8PaYDpNO5BWIibY97qAkhc8fV4h8WUJt0lRO09cMAZHCrvktrs/s640/053.JPG" title="Exploring Venice" width="480" /></a></div>
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To end the night, we stopped at a bar and enjoyed (more) espresso and an Aperol Spritz. We just watched people bustle about with their pets and kids as the sun went down- it was completely perfect way to ease into the trip!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXJB48HuBM5CcJ1-43cT9BUu64Hsjl76am4su3EK44Jjh40S0ZC5nFXH0MuISoqZFX-KzqjQkq1zTLeCgvOFBQpY1BsgT-wJJiUowVaBWkdk8eY3Ku1M_O9SGDNl-PwXm7WeSqcJxwmWw/s1600/058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXJB48HuBM5CcJ1-43cT9BUu64Hsjl76am4su3EK44Jjh40S0ZC5nFXH0MuISoqZFX-KzqjQkq1zTLeCgvOFBQpY1BsgT-wJJiUowVaBWkdk8eY3Ku1M_O9SGDNl-PwXm7WeSqcJxwmWw/s640/058.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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NEXT TRIP POST: Venice Day 2: Murano & Burano.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Have you been to Venice? What did you love (or not love) about it?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>xo, laura</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>for more B&B Wedding Series posts, go <a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/p/b-wedding-series.html">HERE</a></i></span></div>
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<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com87tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-35381845217023027532017-01-17T23:17:00.000-05:002017-01-17T23:17:42.578-05:00THE BEST WEDDING PHOTOBOOTH // B&B WEDDING SERIES<div style="text-align: center;">
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Everyone says that between Thanksgiving and New Years is "engagement season". So that means a buuuunch of people are planning their weddings right now. If you're thinking about a photobooth, I wanted to share my experience in case it helps at all!<br />
Like I mentioned in my<a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/2017/01/brewery-wedding-reception-how-to-plan.html"> last post,</a> we didn't have a professional photographer at our wedding reception. Instead we decided to put money towards a <a href="http://madisonphotobooth.meirphotography.com/?load=html">photobooth</a>- which seriously paid off.</div>
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I found <a href="http://madisonphotobooth.meirphotography.com/?load=html">Meir Photography</a> on Thumbtack, and after meeting Greg in person, I knew they were they company we had to go with. He had all the options and pricing so clearly laid out- no sneaky hidden fees or costs..plus we could personalize the strips with our wedding hashtag for free. We chose to have an <a href="http://madisonphotobooth.meirphotography.com/?load=html">"open air" photobooth </a>(rather than enclosed) so that more people could fit in it, and others could enjoy watching people pose and be ridiculous!</div>
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The night of our party one of Greg's team members set up the booth insanely quickly- and had a TON of props for everyone to use- from hats to signs to glasses. One thing a heard from a bunch of people was that this was the best <a href="http://madisonphotobooth.meirphotography.com/?load=html">photobooth </a>they'd ever been to at a wedding because EVERYONE in the photo got a copy of the photostrip! Even if there were 10 people, every single person got a copy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHXj2Wiy_SL8hwMf_Iir1nPCM5B4PeIPU6ANOFId54CE36elFtniaBgHbtbkUPTBmJB9zAqohOJx5XOsF8OlZklkqzlc-Y5jZVclp7XrYP6b1_KAjdK0oLQHZVKtbBb50l1f_kv2wASY/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHXj2Wiy_SL8hwMf_Iir1nPCM5B4PeIPU6ANOFId54CE36elFtniaBgHbtbkUPTBmJB9zAqohOJx5XOsF8OlZklkqzlc-Y5jZVclp7XrYP6b1_KAjdK0oLQHZVKtbBb50l1f_kv2wASY/s640/006.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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The booth attendant also printed out an extra copy to be glued into a photobook where people could write down well wishes and notes to us. We were so busy the night of we didn't really realize how many people used it-so when we looked through it the next day we were <i>completely </i>floored.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYYKoFMwIXMeoKOb82aMv8xs4XER_sBUrDS_dfNVfbNQbQT-bdLjuT-zPVtPbeP0ehdZu4vKRNXkUUEqK3aae55BXEYBGWEWuLRfJHiOXvq_u8j7tlr6jg7-OQMzW75QrL46WQsqzOtI4/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYYKoFMwIXMeoKOb82aMv8xs4XER_sBUrDS_dfNVfbNQbQT-bdLjuT-zPVtPbeP0ehdZu4vKRNXkUUEqK3aae55BXEYBGWEWuLRfJHiOXvq_u8j7tlr6jg7-OQMzW75QrL46WQsqzOtI4/s640/004.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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We had endless pages of hilarious pictures and notes from our friends and family. As the night went on (and the beer went n) the comments got funnier and funnier. We've shared it with a bunch of people and have gone through it ourselves aboutttt 20 times.<br />
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Whether you're looking to capture photos from the night in a way that's more affordable that a full photographer- or are able to have a photobooth on top of a photographer, make sure you find someone you can trust and understands what you're looking for in the night. If you're in the Madison/Sun Prairie area and are thinking about a <a href="http://madisonphotobooth.meirphotography.com/?load=html">photobooth</a>- we seriously can't recommend <a href="http://madisonphotobooth.meirphotography.com/?load=html">Meir Photography</a> enough.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Did you have a photobooth at your wedding- or are you planning to have one?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">What was your favorite part about it?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">xo, laura</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">*find more wedding posts<a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/p/b-wedding-series.html"> here</a>*</span><br />
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com137tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-38873757468700346612017-01-10T23:08:00.000-05:002017-01-10T23:08:38.188-05:00A BREWERY WEDDING RECEPTION // B&B WEDDING SERIES<div style="text-align: center;">
If you've been <a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/p/b-wedding-series.html">following along</a>, you know that we got married in Greece while on a 2 week trip (Q&A<a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/2016/12/elope-wedding-santorini-greece.html"> here</a>), and then had our reception a few weeks later in Wisconsin.</div>
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We chose to have a late-night reception at a local brewery that we love to go to, Wisconsin Brewing Company. Our goal was to throw a PAR-TAY. We wanted people to feel relaxed and have a total blast!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZuU937Mdk4JgJ4EN-PRucVwAQS0lb819H8BzIPsaq6pFTVFMYB-DHX8k7HoqgCDYFtITv-9fgMv8ZdLPdqQOkmR-wqxs_h4xKl5nJdkdAagBzOePVVpKgJh6jm5e6K3B6yKAyiXs4ytQ/s1600/15055658_10101090333955662_8658613423610663478_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZuU937Mdk4JgJ4EN-PRucVwAQS0lb819H8BzIPsaq6pFTVFMYB-DHX8k7HoqgCDYFtITv-9fgMv8ZdLPdqQOkmR-wqxs_h4xKl5nJdkdAagBzOePVVpKgJh6jm5e6K3B6yKAyiXs4ytQ/s640/15055658_10101090333955662_8658613423610663478_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here's how it all went down:</div>
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<u><b>Venue:</b></u> </div>
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We looooove beer, and we thought a party at a brewery would rock. Cool industrial vibes, good beer, and plenty of space for everyone. The brewery we chose has a taproom that had the photobooth & DJ in it- with lights down low and music up loud---as well as the actual brewery itself that had sitdown tables, lights on, and snacks out for those who wanted a quieter setting to chat. They allowed us to bring in our own food and decorations- and they took care of tables/chairs/setup. The staff was amazing- we couldn't have been happier!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrqALm7Rc6IfwCx0w3yp0w3hi3jWI4Sq3Qjxgpbq4J_eZ19SOWCuI-mobSOW64RvuFC1P6J6NtscH-syrlf5mp8JGn9ZkSVc13MKyPaAwiE4OERHbQrBz0QJLdyfkOx2E55Cw8vDoqEQ/s1600/wedd.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrqALm7Rc6IfwCx0w3yp0w3hi3jWI4Sq3Qjxgpbq4J_eZ19SOWCuI-mobSOW64RvuFC1P6J6NtscH-syrlf5mp8JGn9ZkSVc13MKyPaAwiE4OERHbQrBz0QJLdyfkOx2E55Cw8vDoqEQ/s640/wedd.JPG" width="574" /></a></div>
(Image credit: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BLMdKjqjCUG/?taken-by=wisbrewingco">WI Brewing Co Instagram</a>)<br />
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<u><b>Time</b></u>:</div>
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We had our party be 7pm- Midnight on a Saturday. We wanted people to have plenty of time to get in town, and if they wanted, explore Madison for the day before having to get ready for the reception. Since it was in November, it was pitch black out at 7pm- so the huge windows in the venue to the dancefloor weren't an issue of letting light in!</div>
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<b><u>Food:</u></b></div>
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We let our guests know the party would just be "sips & snacks", and suggested places to go for dinner beforehand. We offered up cheeses, meats, crackers, veggies, dips, chips, desserts, candy, and more - so those who didn't eat before actually had plenty to snack on! Now, I know some people feel it's TACKY to not serve dinner. That's totally their opinion! We chose to do this because often dinner takes up a good amount of time at a reception- and we wanted people to get RIGHT to dancing! Plus- a lot of wedding food sucks. There. I said it. We've been to some weddings with delicious food- but we've also had our fair share of not great meals that probably cost a fortune. </div>
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<b><u>Drinks:</u></b></div>
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Because we were at a brewery- the beer was obviously the highlight! We had kegs of 2 of our favorite beers that were free for guests, and then gave everyone 2 drink tickets to enjoy one of the other 12 beers on tap that were higher alcohol/fancier, or a hard lemonade/rootbeer. We were worried for a while because the brewery didn't have the license to offer wine- and we hoped our guests wouldn't be annoyed..but then we reminded ourselves that everyone is an adult. If they want wine they can drink a bunch beforehand or sneak it in ;-)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkcaoGyGtVuPRmmsoEukqYb83RBm34spEH3o9jVjs4aCOCY9_m0IMClUZPjmks_UQOOmK0SqmdGPjq-XaKa2ES1IjFjZG8U_SKI97aRKTOTpBcSZHj3f9gzDpJqbc8dmeLVi6Td0eR7zk/s1600/beer.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkcaoGyGtVuPRmmsoEukqYb83RBm34spEH3o9jVjs4aCOCY9_m0IMClUZPjmks_UQOOmK0SqmdGPjq-XaKa2ES1IjFjZG8U_SKI97aRKTOTpBcSZHj3f9gzDpJqbc8dmeLVi6Td0eR7zk/s640/beer.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
(Image Credit: <a href="http://www.wisconsinbrewingcompany.com/brewery/general-info">Wisconsin Brewing Co</a>)<br />
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<b><u>Photos</u></b>:</div>
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Because the entire event was dark due to it being November, we didn't hire a photographer. Instead, we found an AWESOME photobooth (<a href="http://madisonphotobooth.meirphotography.com/?load=html">Meir Photography</a>) on Thumbtack (separate post coming soon) which people completely loved. Plus, nowadays everyone has smart phones and took pictures of the party on their own. Since we got professional pictures taken in Greece, we didn't feel we missed out not having reception pictures.</div>
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<b><u>Music:</u></b></div>
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We also found a DJ on Thumbtack- and they completely rocked. If you're in the Madison area and are looking for a DJ- we can't recommend <a href="https://www.facebook.com/infinityentertainmentWI/">Infinity Entertainment</a> (ask for Amy!) enough! They were awesome and kept the party going all night long.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizscJtVnM66ppnkxEL5_4qqUiCLUbooBu5qyd-lWiVgvXAqEqSfuspBmX-tscX8M_u24HdNdT_R5pqmzTBhNCeh273tjDfqJSg6ns0Ks8hrQcdUFm-E9MnwK-kK67qgdc1uzk5VNKuMUs/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizscJtVnM66ppnkxEL5_4qqUiCLUbooBu5qyd-lWiVgvXAqEqSfuspBmX-tscX8M_u24HdNdT_R5pqmzTBhNCeh273tjDfqJSg6ns0Ks8hrQcdUFm-E9MnwK-kK67qgdc1uzk5VNKuMUs/s640/002.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><u>Decoration:</u></b></div>
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The space was so huge, doing much decorating would have been a lost cause! We really liked the industrial look, so all we did was add some photos from our trip, dried leaves, and floral bouquets to our tables, a few large photo posters, and signs with our wedding hashtag (#BestulBrewBash) around the space.<br />
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<u><b>Lodging:</b></u></div>
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We booked a block of rooms at a hotel about 7 minutes from the venue and paid for a shuttle to take guests to and from the hotel. The shuttle was fairly expensive, but we knew if we were throwing a late night party full of beer we better provide transportation for our guests! We negotiated a slightly lower price on the shuttle assuming we filled the whole block of rooms (which we did!).<br />
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<b><u>Favors:</u></b></div>
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Like I mentioned earlier, Michael figured since we were at a brewery we should totally do tacky koozies- and that's exactly what we did! I made a design and ordered them in 17 colors from <a href="https://24hourwristbands.com/custom-wristbands?gclid=Cj0KEQiAhZPDBRCz642XqYOCpb8BEiQANUcwTxUOEf5CPgk-1gu9-BohoXCPJDl1D5QoDv2u5OzIfZwaAp5W8P8HAQ">24HourWristbands </a>for SUPER cheap. Word to the wise: you get what you pay for- some of the colors we got were WAY off from what the website showed. Obviously our guests didn't know/care- but I was a little bummed when the "neon" green/orange/pink came in dull/dark and not at all neon. </div>
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I figured people might think they were lame and not take one- but knew some people would think they were awesome. We were shocked by how excited people got when they saw them! People were fighting over colors and asking to take more than one! To this day I still get snaps from people on Snapchat of them using them at home or at work - which makes me SO HAPPY.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJOrV_BDJFWAen_l8wW_sbzHOUu99u2MuIZ304RV61kgpDUkx8N0fbSoZgrJx9ATeUc2ViwxDwdtRyj32_GeE593LkuSI8nev6r14T7As1TqGuKy-pqbYYin-JlyPusKjrtmXJ0DPxoY/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wedding Koozies" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJOrV_BDJFWAen_l8wW_sbzHOUu99u2MuIZ304RV61kgpDUkx8N0fbSoZgrJx9ATeUc2ViwxDwdtRyj32_GeE593LkuSI8nev6r14T7As1TqGuKy-pqbYYin-JlyPusKjrtmXJ0DPxoY/s640/005.JPG" title="Wedding Koozies" width="640" /></a></div>
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So there it is!<br />
Our (perfect for us) brewery wedding reception! I know everyone has an opinion about what makes a reception great-and that this style of event might not be your jam- but I hoped you at least liked hearing about what we did :)<br />
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Our favorite part of the night, of course, was getting to celebrate with our families and friends. It's so rare and amazing to have all your favorite people all in one place.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">What was your favorite part about your wedding reception- or a reception you've been to?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Someone please tell me tacky koozies ;-)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">xo, lp</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Find more B&B Wedding Series Posts <a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/p/b-wedding-series.html">HERE!</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Find me on Instagram<a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/"> HERE!</a></i></span></div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com64tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-59992753040176815392016-12-13T21:33:00.003-05:002016-12-13T21:33:33.073-05:00WEDDING PHOTOS ARE HERE! // B&B WEDDING SERIES<div style="text-align: center;">
Oh man. So many feels looking back at this day! It was so hard to just choose a few to share, but these are my favorites. I'll be sharing some on Instagram as well, so be sure to follow me : <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">@lpodlich</a></div>
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Big thanks to George of <a href="http://www.gventouris.com/">Ventouris Photography</a> for capturing us so well- we loved spending our special day with you!! If you pin/share- please give credit to Ventouris Photography!</div>
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I could post about 20 pictures of just Michael because he looked SO. DANG. GOOD. GAH.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgToyI70V5jPaRK9X3VxOeGobSBrbT-hHCMNLI05oNmRYUJ5XQoYg0ZRweQkV-W4RuaE3Ctz-mxK_vFAtmhb2NZvfrRVqzW8XyQMmwL_wJu7_npLtHQgTHWiACtHxKKoJwgg1q3WVdtwTQ/s1600/ONE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wedding Inspiration- Oia, Santorini Greece wedding. Photo by Ventouris Photography" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgToyI70V5jPaRK9X3VxOeGobSBrbT-hHCMNLI05oNmRYUJ5XQoYg0ZRweQkV-W4RuaE3Ctz-mxK_vFAtmhb2NZvfrRVqzW8XyQMmwL_wJu7_npLtHQgTHWiACtHxKKoJwgg1q3WVdtwTQ/s640/ONE.jpg" title="Wedding Inspiration- Oia, Santorini Greece wedding. Photo by Ventouris Photography" width="640" /></a></div>
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Walking down the steps at our resort after our first look:</div>
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Saying some vows...I kept inching closer and closer to him- the picture series of it is pretty hilarious:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ET_2erGFJ8H_1TEisGBIfQrhRUM5LGGtsap8cCCckLngtTcfQjiSsnAcA0nZyIx8cm48WUulLQb-LrzcVBKnWAwC3b5Ed4hYeWUyc_AXlrOmAkReboPWRvAsbb7F2NW4SMFvb-kzg50/s1600/LauraMike2016_+%252891%2529_fb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wedding Inspiration- Oia, Santorini Greece wedding. Photo by Ventouris Photography" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ET_2erGFJ8H_1TEisGBIfQrhRUM5LGGtsap8cCCckLngtTcfQjiSsnAcA0nZyIx8cm48WUulLQb-LrzcVBKnWAwC3b5Ed4hYeWUyc_AXlrOmAkReboPWRvAsbb7F2NW4SMFvb-kzg50/s640/LauraMike2016_+%252891%2529_fb.jpg" title="Wedding Inspiration- Oia, Santorini Greece wedding. Photo by Ventouris Photography" width="640" /></a></div>
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Trying not to cry!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9o6uNNApZ1997TSOKH4Ue2rcjmGIt_KODjH-wqfsPac5awiVnrqgaimfglcZFBVEs4xclRh0YRLaB2jbxPpY-Qik7DY2eWP8XurgbqGFz6QfUizOjG5OhCP9PtW_7ii_h8S9c7i5NsIY/s1600/BBB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wedding Inspiration- Oia, Santorini Greece wedding. Photo by Ventouris Photography" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9o6uNNApZ1997TSOKH4Ue2rcjmGIt_KODjH-wqfsPac5awiVnrqgaimfglcZFBVEs4xclRh0YRLaB2jbxPpY-Qik7DY2eWP8XurgbqGFz6QfUizOjG5OhCP9PtW_7ii_h8S9c7i5NsIY/s640/BBB.jpg" title="Wedding Inspiration- Oia, Santorini Greece wedding. Photo by Ventouris Photography" width="640" /></a></div>
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Better view of our ceremony site- gorgeous terrace that jutted out into the sea!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5VaAxCGcMZJC9eEG2o7GsIQvS87_6mGaKXw75ieJZKQw8TVThj7gdO0IsiQPmDKUleEhIabiSGLl8T6YFETvrCyyOhyXKp6j_Ksa1EvxHeWE2H8mGaKvRjV0QdG5K2SEZoxA1iFYoBhk/s1600/BBEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wedding Inspiration- Oia, Santorini Greece wedding. Photo by Ventouris Photography" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5VaAxCGcMZJC9eEG2o7GsIQvS87_6mGaKXw75ieJZKQw8TVThj7gdO0IsiQPmDKUleEhIabiSGLl8T6YFETvrCyyOhyXKp6j_Ksa1EvxHeWE2H8mGaKvRjV0QdG5K2SEZoxA1iFYoBhk/s640/BBEW.jpg" title="Wedding Inspiration- Oia, Santorini Greece wedding. Photo by Ventouris Photography" width="640" /></a></div>
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GAH.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvQhJCbCglIN-E51qp2vH4ELDWrR7l3UOskDxZz_QtdPrC3HHajOWHnsXoRwP5aiPfZcQ5y5L4JxzAHRE9dkzmbA2ID8bx836sDeIOmfRIk3XDLCVwjc9DrwtLHmKdR_7WcUsYknwGM6c/s1600/C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wedding Inspiration- Oia, Santorini Greece wedding. Photo by Ventouris Photography" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvQhJCbCglIN-E51qp2vH4ELDWrR7l3UOskDxZz_QtdPrC3HHajOWHnsXoRwP5aiPfZcQ5y5L4JxzAHRE9dkzmbA2ID8bx836sDeIOmfRIk3XDLCVwjc9DrwtLHmKdR_7WcUsYknwGM6c/s640/C.jpg" title="Wedding Inspiration- Oia, Santorini Greece wedding. Photo by Ventouris Photography" width="640" /></a></div>
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Alright from here on out we have a lot of pictures of us looking at each other. 90% of the photos we have are of that. OOPS.</div>
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Walking around streets of Oia</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgORF8vhAVrOnrb4f2NcIq3WS9NRqZvcaHyGT2vRiNuy9ss5ua6lBKBPrJWyqeJteasjNOlroShEOik6PdohvXmH8BG1_5-12jSsoDUCQJXBtKycy8Xw149uJorKkDk-se-8bRHUhFTcck/s1600/D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wedding Inspiration- Oia, Santorini Greece wedding. Photo by Ventouris Photography" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgORF8vhAVrOnrb4f2NcIq3WS9NRqZvcaHyGT2vRiNuy9ss5ua6lBKBPrJWyqeJteasjNOlroShEOik6PdohvXmH8BG1_5-12jSsoDUCQJXBtKycy8Xw149uJorKkDk-se-8bRHUhFTcck/s640/D.jpg" title="Wedding Inspiration- Oia, Santorini Greece wedding. Photo by Ventouris Photography" width="426" /></a></div>
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EVERYTHING HERE IS GORGEOUS!</div>
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Seriously perfect sunset:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2VP39VcadyIV3SZoirLSc7RoFn1ig0QWlN2BN2F-JiseN9aXryq6r-Wp10Yjgg7NpLW8OIVLevGkXGXl-SfLAeqlmFWl4yzrOZr5M9MhvIbVjeE7nhQ61IQE81h1ZWc1PYvHwOQ_j-U8/s1600/F.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wedding Inspiration- Oia, Santorini Greece wedding. Photo by Ventouris Photography" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2VP39VcadyIV3SZoirLSc7RoFn1ig0QWlN2BN2F-JiseN9aXryq6r-Wp10Yjgg7NpLW8OIVLevGkXGXl-SfLAeqlmFWl4yzrOZr5M9MhvIbVjeE7nhQ61IQE81h1ZWc1PYvHwOQ_j-U8/s640/F.jpg" title="Wedding Inspiration- Oia, Santorini Greece wedding. Photo by Ventouris Photography" width="640" /></a></div>
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...that just kept getting better!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe6vcZuk5P1VA071cg1z6EKDx3rfBpNEAmImKHXkLjJYhbHpAjzqf0kU796kSgkv5tmqVjIR3bIvviOlR79zLqeZ6Hkrvnykz7OPEQCuAYAhKS44oZr6ogtSTXpoj5KYNCIJ4CmukxKTE/s1600/G.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wedding Inspiration- Oia, Santorini Greece wedding. Photo by Ventouris Photography" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe6vcZuk5P1VA071cg1z6EKDx3rfBpNEAmImKHXkLjJYhbHpAjzqf0kU796kSgkv5tmqVjIR3bIvviOlR79zLqeZ6Hkrvnykz7OPEQCuAYAhKS44oZr6ogtSTXpoj5KYNCIJ4CmukxKTE/s640/G.jpg" title="Wedding Inspiration- Oia, Santorini Greece wedding. Photo by Ventouris Photography" width="426" /></a></div>
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Inside the caves at Canaves Oia </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSy8sUkfQ-Sovd69UwDtftj8u2RoxyPESIjD8CgWFWd2SRJ7HxE8UGkkZalD_h0BWRJcC6nQG60HGbonOgsAze03XF6azVxS-fkHbe91f-tYJtZo_F6hTRP2OsCeLIpfU7hjuTvZAfHaE/s1600/H.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wedding Inspiration- Oia, Santorini Greece wedding. Photo by Ventouris Photography" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSy8sUkfQ-Sovd69UwDtftj8u2RoxyPESIjD8CgWFWd2SRJ7HxE8UGkkZalD_h0BWRJcC6nQG60HGbonOgsAze03XF6azVxS-fkHbe91f-tYJtZo_F6hTRP2OsCeLIpfU7hjuTvZAfHaE/s640/H.jpg" title="Wedding Inspiration- Oia, Santorini Greece wedding. Photo by Ventouris Photography" width="640" /></a></div>
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Crazy amazing sunset. GAH. TAKE ME BACK.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKmd9zVG9A9V1Q-V9wz3ToGvRUhMzSH_gafGhFhXkWna2p0WCFPTEf3vE5aAzhrMlcmTd57fkRQtlwEh9xjsRdQBivO7vVjTyYfxmoU-Lt05Kv0c0aQhkZKFKv3uthu4dGoV1sHBSvP2s/s1600/KD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wedding Inspiration- Oia, Santorini Greece wedding. Photo by Ventouris Photography" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKmd9zVG9A9V1Q-V9wz3ToGvRUhMzSH_gafGhFhXkWna2p0WCFPTEf3vE5aAzhrMlcmTd57fkRQtlwEh9xjsRdQBivO7vVjTyYfxmoU-Lt05Kv0c0aQhkZKFKv3uthu4dGoV1sHBSvP2s/s640/KD.jpg" title="Wedding Inspiration- Oia, Santorini Greece wedding. Photo by Ventouris Photography" width="426" /></a></div>
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Now excuse me while I go look at all the other amazing photos and pretend we are back in Greece! GAH.</div>
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For more B&B Wedding Posts, go <a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/p/b-wedding-series.html">HERE</a>.</div>
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For more more #BestulBrewBash photos, go <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">HERE</a>!</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Which one is your favorite?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">OBVIOUSLY mine is the one of just Michael ;-)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">xo, laura</span></div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-7735338363621051612016-12-11T19:04:00.001-05:002016-12-12T09:49:33.759-05:00Q&A OF OUR "RUNAWAY" WEDDING // B&B WEDDING SERIES<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Whoa. Between our trip abroad, our reception back home, Thanksgiving, going back to work, and now getting ready for the holidays- I have had zero time or bandwith to blog.</i><br />
<i>Getting back into it- because there is SO much to post about!</i><br />
<i>xo, laura</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAcEHxaB60aZT_n3ZupgB3WSZbwdMyQ2GMy7EDRk2oAA7bTaepLsaEXmIKEo-fjgnxmqLG-x2vUXlhKBmsMhD81g-mkueiaCbt00j1uSNIfuGkb-EHzfhAmAHbPdkxlptrKq6OulmI5Bg/s1600/15133826_10153850184382172_2049532435_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="santorini greece wedding" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAcEHxaB60aZT_n3ZupgB3WSZbwdMyQ2GMy7EDRk2oAA7bTaepLsaEXmIKEo-fjgnxmqLG-x2vUXlhKBmsMhD81g-mkueiaCbt00j1uSNIfuGkb-EHzfhAmAHbPdkxlptrKq6OulmI5Bg/s640/15133826_10153850184382172_2049532435_o.jpg" title="santorini greece wedding" width="426" /></a></div>
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(photo credit: <a href="http://www.gventouris.com/">george ventouris photography</a>)<br />
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<b>For those who haven't been following along with the <a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/p/b-wedding-series.html">B&B Wedding Series</a>- let me do quick fill in on what you've missed:</b><br />
Michael and I <a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/2016/05/engagement-story-how-he-asked.html">got engaged in May</a>, and since we've been together for 7 years and have talked about marriage for most of those years, we knew we wanted a<a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/2016/05/engagement-story-how-he-asked.html"> short engagement</a> and a private wedding.<br />
We'd been talking about taking a trip abroad to a couple places on our bucket list for a while, so the stars just kind of aligned to get married while on our trip. We planned a 2 week vacation to Italy and Greece in October- with the actual wedding being at the end of the trip, with just the two of us present (+ a photographer). We also planned a casual late night party/reception for a few weeks after we returned from our vacation so we could come back and celebrate with our family and friends.<br />
So there you have it. Engaged May 12th. Married October 26th. Reception November 19th.<br />
EFFICIENCY FOLKS, IT'S WHAT WE LIKE AROUND HERE. ;-)<br />
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This post is HUGE because we've gotten so many questions about why we chose to do things the way we did- so grab a <strike>glass</strike> bottle of wine and dive in, folks. I'm going to break it down into parts answering them and hopefully it will all make sense! Also- because it wasn't a secret I got corrected by multiple people for using the term "elopement"...and "destination wedding" just didn't seem to fit- so for now I'm calling it "runaway". Deal with it and keep your comments to yourself if you don't like it PLZ. Thanks. xoxo.<br />
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<b>1. Why such a short engagement?</b><br />
Short answer; We couldn't wait to be married to each other!<br />
Long answer: Like I said, we've been together for a long time, and we've been talking about getting married for so long that <a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/2016/05/engagement-story-how-he-asked.html">once we got engaged</a>, we were really excited to be married. Also, neither of us had an interest in a drawn out engagement since it wasn't necessary with the wedding plans we had. Unlike a lot of the weddings my friends planned, we didn't have to book a venue a year or more in advance. Kudos to them for their patience, because it is something I do NOT have!<br />
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<b>2. Why get married abroad?</b><br />
Short Answer: It seemed exciting, romantic, and practical to mix the wedding and the honeymoon all into 1 trip.<br />
Long Answer: We have traveled a fair amount together in the USA, but never abroad together. We had been talking about a trip to Europe for a while, and it was just really exciting to us to have that first trip together there be our wedding/honeymoon!<br />
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<b>3. Why Italy & Greece?</b><br />
Short & Long Answer: They've been on our bucket lists forever, and they seemed like beautiful, romantic places to go!<br />
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<b>4. Why get married alone, just the two of you? Why didn't others come with?</b><br />
Short Answer: Because it's what we wanted.<br />
Long Answer: Anyone who knows us well enough can tell you Michael and I are a pretty openly lovey-dovey couple. My sister can fully attest how eye-roll worthy we can be with our overly cutesy name calling and PDA. Shockingly, when it came to marriage, we both wanted to be really private. As much as we love sharing how much we love each other with everyone on a regular basis, there was something so serious about saying vows to each other that we wanted it to just be the two of us there. The idea of being 100% focused on each other and nothing else in a place that was new to us just .... fit. In addition to that, we wanted our day to be 100% us, 100% free of stress, 100% OURS. We felt like the more we opened up the marriage ceremony to more people and more factors, the more it would slip away from what we hoped it would be. We've been to so many weddings where the guests are complaining about SOMETHING. The food, the weather, the attire, the seating, the cost of travel, whatever. I take things personally, and I know if I had heard that on our special day, it would have really hurt my feelings and taken some joy out of that moment.<br />
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<b>5. ...but what about your families? Weren't they mad they couldn't be there? Don't you feel selfish?</b><br />
Short Answer: Sigh. You can ask them how they feel. And yes, we did feel a little selfish.<br />
Long Answer: GAHHHHHH. This is the question we were asked so so much. Depending on the day/time/mood I got asked it, it affected me in a different way. Sometimes I was unfazed by it, sometimes I was annoyed, sometimes I felt sad, and sometimes I was downright pissed. It's hard to put into words without sounding rude, but at the end of the day, we are the ones that have to be married to each other. This experience is 100% what we wanted, and at the end of the day, that ruled out the opinions of any friends or family we talked to.We went back and forth about it, but knew in our guts that if we compromised we might regret it. We love our parents a disgusting amount, and are lucky that they are understanding people that let us do our thing our way. Planning a big reception/party when we got back was our way of still showing everyone we loved them and wanted to have them be part of our marriage.<br />
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<b>6. Do you guys not like traditional weddings? </b><br />
Short Answer: Not for us, but yes for other people!<br />
Long Answer: We have been to some AMAZING weddings. Weddings that were small and huge and everywhere in between. Weddings in churches and barns and gardens and golf courses and beaches. We've gotten to witness our friends and family members get married and be so happy and dance the night away. We absolutely LOVE sharing in the joy of our friends, in whatever shape it may take. Just because a long-planned out wedding with a cake and first dances and table numbers wasn't what we chose to do for ourselves doesn't mean we don't love them for our friends. Sometimes when I've gotten this question it feels like a trap- that by saying we didn't want a "traditional" wedding we are crapping on our friends who did. Hopefully people get that weddings aren't one-size-fits-all by now!<br />
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<b>7. So, how was it? Did it turn out like you planned?</b><br />
Short Answer: AMAZING & YES.<br />
Long Answer: Other than our wedding clothes that we shipped over getting stuck in Greek Customs (argggghhhhh), everything was awesome. The location was perfect, the staff were unbelievable, the photographer was hilarious, and the moment was exactly us. We said our vows, exchanged rings, kissed, and then couldn't stop grinning. :)<br />
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<b>8. What was the best part? The worst?</b><br />
The worst: Our stuff being stuck in Customs. THAT was a bill we didn't anticipate. Oy.<br />
The best: Other than getting married (duh), the best part was once we finally finished taking photos and the sun was fully down- we went into a cave at our resort to have dinner. We sat there and rehashed the day while eating an insanely good meal and drinking overpriced drinks. We had this awesome buzz around us, overlooking the sea in the moonlight. It was one of those moments I know I'll never forget.<br />
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<b>9. Did you re-do your vows at your reception? Did you wear your dress again?</b><br />
Short&Long Answer: Nope to vows. Yup to dress.<br />
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<b>10. WAIT..wait wait wait. But are you even LEGALLY married?</b><br />
Short Answer: Yes.<br />
Long Answer: Our goal initially was to legally be married in Greece. I worked on getting some paperwork done and had a month and change of VERY frustrating emails back and forth with the Greek Consulate. Boring story short, paperwork didn't go through for our wedding to be legal abroad, so we got our papers legally signed in Wisconsin when we returned.<br />
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<b>11. Ohhhhhhhh Nice try then. So I mean you weren't REALLY married in Greece?</b><br />
Short Answer: OMFG don't be rude you jerk.<br />
Long Answer: Very few people asked me that question in that tone of voice, but the people that did...well..let's just say I think less of them now. To me, and to Michael, October 26th is our anniversary. It's when we said our vows to each other and promised to be together forever as husband & wife. The fact that the State Of Wisconsin doesn't recognize that date is fine with me, I understand the legal stuff- but the State of Wisconsin doesn't get to tell us when our true marriage was real. I have a friend who at their big, traditional wedding had something go wrong with their marriage certificate- and so they weren't legally married until 3 weeks later when it all got sorted out. Would you go up to her and say OH SORRIEZ your wedding wasn't real! That's not your REAL anniversary! So it's the same with us. Bai. (can you tell I get fired up about this? BAH.)<br />
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<b>12. Ok fine- but where are the wedding pictures? Aren't you sad you don't have photos from the day from other people?</b><br />
Short Answer: They are on their way. And only like 10% sad.<br />
Long Answer: The wedding pictures are being edited, just like any other wedding pictures. We have a sneak peek but haven't posted them yet. Obviously we're antsy to get them too. 90% of me is just fine not having any pictures from anyone else, because again, that was the plan. 10% is bummed that there weren't many candid non-professional shots captured, but my fingers are crossed the professional ones will all make it worth it!<br />
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<b>13. Did you guys do any traditions that day? Did you stay in separate places the night before?</b><br />
Short Answer: Yes to traditions, No to separate places.<br />
Long Answer: Despite not having a traditional wedding, I looove traditions! I still did the old "something borrowed/blue/old/new" thing, which was fun. We also did a "first look" before the vows part, which we got captured on camera. Also- Michael never saw my dress or me IN my dress before our first look. It was seriously tricky to travel together and hide it, but I made it happen!<br />
We stayed in the same place the night before, and ate breakfast together that morning..and hung out most of the day too! Being on vacation together didn't really allow for separation ;-)<br />
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<b>14. Did you write your own vows? Were they a surprise to each other?</b><br />
Short Answer: Partially...to both questions.<br />
Long Answer: We wrote most of our vows together the night before our wedding and finished them the day of. We used a combination of parts of vows we found online, as well as some of our own words. The beginning and the end of the vows to each other were the same, and then in the middle we each wrote a few sentences that were a surprise during the actual exchanging of vows! We have the papers our vows were written on that we read to each other and I'm framing them to hang in our loft :)<br />
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<b>15. Would you do it the same all over again?</b><br />
YES!<br />
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Long story short, we really REALLY enjoyed our trip and our wedding. We have a million stories and memories that we get to share together for the rest of our lives, and we feel insanely lucky for that. Everyone has their own vision of how they want their wedding to be like, and we got really fortunate to be able to actualize ours. We had so many completely kickass friends and family members support us, share in our joy, and get us even more excited for the choice we made. If I could pass on one piece of advice to anyone for their wedding it would be this: Focus on what brings you and your partner joy and go after that. Stick to your gut and remember this is about a marriage, not just a wedding ;-)<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Have more questions about how we did our wedding?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Feel free to leave a comment or email me! (beautyandbeard AT gmail.com)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">xo, laura</span><br />
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com47tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-1737332489433626772016-10-08T16:12:00.001-04:002016-10-08T16:12:31.980-04:003 THINGS TO MAKE YOUR WEDDING RECEPTION A SUCCESS // B&B WEDDING SERIES<div style="text-align: center;">
Ok.</div>
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I'll come right out and say it; this post is ridiculous for this reason:</div>
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Everyone has their own version of success. </div>
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Maybe your version of success is pleasing just your parents at your reception! Maybe it's every single person Instagramming your wedding cake!<br />
Clearly this post is based on what I think would be a success, so take it with a grain of salt. </div>
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My version of success is everyone having a freaking awesome time. </div>
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Michael, me, our family, our friends.</div>
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Everyone leaving feeling sliiiightly bummed to leave because they were having such a good time.</div>
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I want it to be like this:</div>
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<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/party-the-office-hard-l0MYt5jPR6QX5pnqM">via GIPHY</a></div>
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Anyway.</div>
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Here we go, the 3 things that will make your wedding reception a success:</div>
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<b>1. HUMOR:</b></div>
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Maybe it's a funny toast. Maybe it's pictures of your and your partner being nerdy little kids. For, us, it's going to be koozies. We weren't going to do wedding favors...but then Michael thought it would be hilarious if we did tacky wedding koozies since our party is at a brewery. </div>
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They are tacky. They are cheap. They will make people giggle. </div>
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<i>Oh, and I mean hopefully we'll give a funny toast. I'm going to rely on Michael for that, everyone thinks he's funnier than I am anyway (it's true).</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZkL6suh-oVGhMWrKOX0mnuFDfqZgMtDU8vzOZNFE1c5l4wC53zmQkXZYgt_30lurCl15wJxVuVvjnk7dwj_UtTRRm5dhOYw8idNk-tA6B467C8sb_p0V2OXfKgvR_O5pTwORQ6z0b4dA/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZkL6suh-oVGhMWrKOX0mnuFDfqZgMtDU8vzOZNFE1c5l4wC53zmQkXZYgt_30lurCl15wJxVuVvjnk7dwj_UtTRRm5dhOYw8idNk-tA6B467C8sb_p0V2OXfKgvR_O5pTwORQ6z0b4dA/s640/005.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>2. SOMETHING FOR PEOPLE TO DO:</b></div>
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If you're the guest at a wedding, you're looking for something to do when you need a break from the dance floor when crappy songs come on (<i>I'm lookin' at <u>you</u>, couples that play Norah Jones at your wedding</i>). </div>
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So have some yard games! Or a build your own cocktail bar! I don't know, you can probably google like 100 better ideas, but seriously. </div>
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We're having a photobooth at our party because we freaking love photobooths. People can take as many pictures as they want and get a little souvenir to put on their fridge :) We booked<a href="http://madisonphotobooth.meirphotography.com/?load=html"> Greg Meir Photography </a> knowing we'd get great pictures at a great price with a great booth attendant. If you're in the Madison/Sun Prairie area - look him up!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwCF-Bh7uYA5Nc2PPgekO11Dar18n7k4Y8CLoER4PRb85UMrb5SXEyw-FB9RHItudjm4RiqfYbgdqt7IN-TvxrL59q0d99NLDGwPlUymdSfe8W55AldvzpHK9dsi68KCIBewEV6EHSQ0/s1600/pics.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwCF-Bh7uYA5Nc2PPgekO11Dar18n7k4Y8CLoER4PRb85UMrb5SXEyw-FB9RHItudjm4RiqfYbgdqt7IN-TvxrL59q0d99NLDGwPlUymdSfe8W55AldvzpHK9dsi68KCIBewEV6EHSQ0/s1600/pics.png" /></a></div>
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(Photo via <a href="http://madisonphotobooth.meirphotography.com/?load=html#!/page/274812/home">Meir Photography)</a> </div>
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<b>3. FOOD.</b></div>
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I don't care if your reception is at 10 am or 10 pm, have food at reasonable times.</div>
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You know how you get hungry around the same times each day? SO DO YOUR GUESTS. It's like sometimes when people plan their wedding they forget what it's like to have been guests at other peoples' weddings! </div>
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Have snacks out if you think your meal will start late. Have late night food if your ceremony is booze-filled and going into all hours of the night.</div>
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Our party is late-night so we're not having an official dinner, but we'll have plenty of snacks, along with late night pizza delivered towards the end of the night.</div>
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<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/pizza-chris-evans-literally-me-bxQKzvlXsCXpm">via GIPHY</a></div>
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So there.</div>
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That's it you guys.</div>
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You don't need to have the most Pinterest-y decorations or the most expensive booze.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What did you have at your wedding reception that you really loved?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">PLZ TELL ME SOMEONE ELSE HAD KOOZIES!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">xo, lp</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(ps, see the rest of the #BBweddingseries posts<a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/p/b-wedding-series.html"> HERE</a>)</span></div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-70676344542296085332016-08-21T22:56:00.001-04:002016-08-21T22:56:16.088-04:00LIFE LATELY: AUGUST<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
You guys.</div>
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Remember when I used to do "Life Lately" posts every week?</div>
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HOW DID I HAVE THE TIME FOR THAT?!</div>
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Oy.</div>
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Since I've been useless at blogging lately on stuff other than the <a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/p/b-wedding-series.html">wedding</a>, I figured I'd share a little bit of what's going on around here!</div>
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<u><b>#1: Wedding related stuff:</b></u></div>
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1. You can read previous <a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/p/b-wedding-series.html">wedding posts here. </a>They won't disappoint!</div>
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2. I got a dress! WOOT. More on that later. </div>
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3. We've started booking stuff for our actual wedding in Greece and it's so exciting I might explode. </div>
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4. Michael's aunts are throwing me a bridal shower this weekend and I am SO excited to spend time with all of them. PLUS I get to see my sister Louisa, so that's just the cherry on top! </div>
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5.I stupidly gave people a REALLY long time to RSVP to our reception when we come back from Europe and it drives me crazy that I can't fill in my OCD Excel spreadsheet with all the info of people attending. That being said, getting texts/snaps of people getting RSVPs makes me just as excited as actually getting them somehow. So there's that. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9X4NUm-O3uccD8hwgxuIT9cDU5mSBAVBpOdJV0XvoFZwDPKAWO1Qv93GzDElI-NQnaXzYpuCCroIUXyj8yyZE-5dHEBaf15-Tm8aBoCehSqwTYRHgaaLoLsG6G55sE2Idt0UVPKDqlZU/s1600/vista.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9X4NUm-O3uccD8hwgxuIT9cDU5mSBAVBpOdJV0XvoFZwDPKAWO1Qv93GzDElI-NQnaXzYpuCCroIUXyj8yyZE-5dHEBaf15-Tm8aBoCehSqwTYRHgaaLoLsG6G55sE2Idt0UVPKDqlZU/s400/vista.png" width="355" /></a></div>
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<b>#2: Outdoor stuff</b></div>
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<i>I really couldn't think of a better name for this section, so whatevs. It's 9:42 on a Sunday, give me a break. Point is, summer rules.</i></div>
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1. Terrace Time. The Memorial Union Terrace at UW-Madison is one of my favorite places on earth, and we've been going to enjoy plenty of sunsets (and beer).</div>
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2. Wine! Wollershiem Winery is a little over 30 minutes from us, and we recently ventured there for the first time. It was so fricking scenic I even surprised myself by only Instagramming one picture. #maturity.</div>
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3. Trips back to my parents' house for family time and time at the lake. Not only do I get to see my parents, but I also get to take basic photos like the one you'll see if you scroll down!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zsFghn0qmRVd3CSle8dHDvQ42YR846SM2ehgN0XjYAoS_muM7nHXfZsl7cfGKlMeL26ELHV-H5JXFbJd7d-4CrmJLFFnyC7NXdMH1xLICvK9NuATtB5uZqMfmE9hyphenhyphenqU8zCvzYQg9DI4/s1600/032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8zsFghn0qmRVd3CSle8dHDvQ42YR846SM2ehgN0XjYAoS_muM7nHXfZsl7cfGKlMeL26ELHV-H5JXFbJd7d-4CrmJLFFnyC7NXdMH1xLICvK9NuATtB5uZqMfmE9hyphenhyphenqU8zCvzYQg9DI4/s640/032.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91prpKtRfT1cst_lM16PYIiqmBA9KbjlDZHFIc9Sy4P_ACZKLZ1mRa17iESo9qwGbKr8b-pGnGCWPOIEyJw8kyxSvRnkj6P8G7WefepraXao3FOJfeftSar08rsOEbwPQIVNcLUl_aUc/s1600/020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91prpKtRfT1cst_lM16PYIiqmBA9KbjlDZHFIc9Sy4P_ACZKLZ1mRa17iESo9qwGbKr8b-pGnGCWPOIEyJw8kyxSvRnkj6P8G7WefepraXao3FOJfeftSar08rsOEbwPQIVNcLUl_aUc/s640/020.JPG" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv038mUiv4CsN8SXZXIEGAjW3F0ndQHzVR5cIa5kHJbeo8Z1HM4fL5nGq84mMelwjz7SIBfhEz1k9J5Jbnh6Gj15y95hVC-G4_-iYgbuoUfwuhBKthsH60tmiBbALfw-CPrQmIhCslAuc/s1600/007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="lake life" border="0" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv038mUiv4CsN8SXZXIEGAjW3F0ndQHzVR5cIa5kHJbeo8Z1HM4fL5nGq84mMelwjz7SIBfhEz1k9J5Jbnh6Gj15y95hVC-G4_-iYgbuoUfwuhBKthsH60tmiBbALfw-CPrQmIhCslAuc/s640/007.JPG" title="lake life" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJeeNtcVL-n-rctJmO5z96k7edF5naMEGAQQAMm35yOqmqV1a57mRKu1Uzf-fBJoYRsbk4Pbol8YQml2aLj4o9Lzo14cZ3BnxKig8evhBu3W4fvFbk2KsG4zxLQsT4O-t5JkrQDAIwmk/s1600/023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="lake life" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJeeNtcVL-n-rctJmO5z96k7edF5naMEGAQQAMm35yOqmqV1a57mRKu1Uzf-fBJoYRsbk4Pbol8YQml2aLj4o9Lzo14cZ3BnxKig8evhBu3W4fvFbk2KsG4zxLQsT4O-t5JkrQDAIwmk/s640/023.JPG" title="lake life" width="480" /></a></div>
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<b> #3 FRANDS.</b></div>
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Most of the pictures I've taken from recent friend hangouts will not be posted on the blog, because then my friends would probably stop being my friends. So I'll just post a couple of pictures from my friend Lauren's luau themed bachelorette party. She's quite possibly the sweetest bride-to-be on the planet!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbkxk9jGtuzFP41V0VWEgaVQWKOqkhHLeBrQ9tCmAQXoKbpjYhBhyphenhyphenzw0ANKKxy7iew28C6NVz1cQw7CwUum4ZVKeDLmO-JnOc2DUsOCIF6DMv5DZ2LnJt7k_XJnFS-KFAhOuGLLKhl6a4/s1600/012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbkxk9jGtuzFP41V0VWEgaVQWKOqkhHLeBrQ9tCmAQXoKbpjYhBhyphenhyphenzw0ANKKxy7iew28C6NVz1cQw7CwUum4ZVKeDLmO-JnOc2DUsOCIF6DMv5DZ2LnJt7k_XJnFS-KFAhOuGLLKhl6a4/s640/012.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw3pHxC1sIdh50vl6U3hglIaU5jCiPXokxt-NHqUq5sWGbuSaO93MNS4aQil1PhptnLd76NFM_dD0_IJB7nbIy_WvNMSCyQkMuNEgEfOQc_y7Gg5OidDvOsuWdXR4dOsBAjoUvRWm4Yzc/s1600/022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Girls night idea! Hollowed out pineapples with rice, and grilled chicken & veggies!" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw3pHxC1sIdh50vl6U3hglIaU5jCiPXokxt-NHqUq5sWGbuSaO93MNS4aQil1PhptnLd76NFM_dD0_IJB7nbIy_WvNMSCyQkMuNEgEfOQc_y7Gg5OidDvOsuWdXR4dOsBAjoUvRWm4Yzc/s640/022.JPG" title="Girls night idea! Hollowed out pineapples with rice, and grilled chicken & veggies!" width="478" /></a></div>
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<b> #4: Writing half a blog post and then quitting</b></div>
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I mean, if I'm going to fully encompass what's going on in life, that's a big part of it. I have 3 more #BBWeddingSeries posts half done, plus 1 photo editing post and 1 Rocksbox post with pictures...but no words yet. Le Sigh. </div>
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I'll post the wedding ones soon, and in the meantime, if you want free jewelry delivered to you for a month with free shipping/returns, then go to Rocksbox.com and use code "Laurabff462" </div>
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#yas.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62z9apKLPQROh2g4tCW0PUYfLGtiqtGYSGC7Ne23cs-Qy-Fwq7faAGyk0JKnsSxlvznSj1hrfqoxnYExEHPNg8hB85AbBoZUjsIWZYpHTSWFM3ek7sQVX7WX8L3x6JPYd1oSkr6NC3Ho/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="FREE MONTH of jewelry delivered to your door! Use code LAURABFF462 at Rocksbox.com!" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62z9apKLPQROh2g4tCW0PUYfLGtiqtGYSGC7Ne23cs-Qy-Fwq7faAGyk0JKnsSxlvznSj1hrfqoxnYExEHPNg8hB85AbBoZUjsIWZYpHTSWFM3ek7sQVX7WX8L3x6JPYd1oSkr6NC3Ho/s640/004.JPG" title="FREE MONTH of jewelry delivered to your door! Use code LAURABFF462 at Rocksbox.com!" width="640" /></a></div>
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Other than those things, we're just getting ready for a bunch of busy weekends in a row, including a handful of weddings we are SO SO excited for!</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">What's new with you friends?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you're sick of waiting 3 months at a time for one of these post, just find me on Instagram (@lpodlich) or Snapchat (lpod216) for a look at daily life :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">xo, lp</span></div>
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<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-89112582221752193762016-07-28T21:46:00.000-04:002016-07-28T21:50:28.162-04:00I SAID "MAYBE!" TO THE DRESS // B&B WEDDING SERIES<div style="text-align: center;">
Yes, you read that correctly. I said "MAYBE!"to the dress. Not "YES!" to the dress.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-u4vfYQTqEi9a5eGZpGoXFaCpgBLRHi4UFxJcUrLtaIoer_CIuryG1mYnxlcRrBl9AeiF8W2Hx1V6jBzATyIPF2XyipCoROMAQ3MEt_JXXoB7OxOIoDPSfrRy1zRErMGss3T32CUKsmQ/s1600/IMG_4250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-u4vfYQTqEi9a5eGZpGoXFaCpgBLRHi4UFxJcUrLtaIoer_CIuryG1mYnxlcRrBl9AeiF8W2Hx1V6jBzATyIPF2XyipCoROMAQ3MEt_JXXoB7OxOIoDPSfrRy1zRErMGss3T32CUKsmQ/s640/IMG_4250.jpg" width="351" /></a></div>
I can guarantee that everyone has a different experience wedding dress shopping...but shows like "Say Yes to The Dress" make it seem like everyone has the<i> same </i>experience, right?</div>
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Here's the scene:</div>
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Bride-to-be walks in with a posse of 16 gorgeous bridesmaids, mom, future mother-in-law. They all are gushing about how wonderful she is. She tells a story of the romantic way her fiancee proposed, everyone is already in tears. She explains what she's looking for in a dress for her Aruba destination wedding of 400 people and sends the Bridal Consultant on her way. She tries on a few dresses, mom starts crying. She tries on a few more, bridesmaids start crying. Bridal Consultant throws on a veil and a sparkly belt and <i>Bride</i> starts crying. "YES! I say YES to the dress!!!" she declares through her teary fake eyelashes. Everyone hugs her, even bridesmaid #4 who is in love with the groom-to-be and secretly hates the bride. </div>
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The thing is, that's really not how it goes down. Or I mean, not how it goes down for <i>everyone</i>. I know some people find their dream dress at their dream price on the first swing- it's just not exactly how it went down for me.<br />
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I know it's a lot cleaner to say "I went dress shopping and said YES to the dress!" instead of saying "I went dress shopping and am not 100% sure because there are a few things I still need to consider so I said MAYBE to the dress!"...but for me, it's just not reality.<br />
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My dress experience was a little more laid back than SYTTD. I went to two local dress shops with two amazing, supportive friends (and the mother of one of those friends who was in town!) and showed up with a vague idea of what I wanted, a general idea of a budget, and a crazy short timeline (we leave for our wedding in Greece in less than 3 months)!<br />
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I tried on a few dresses- shockingly loving each of them. Dude you GUYS wedding dresses are flattering. They suck you in in all the right places and convince you you have the waistline of Kate Moss. It's neat. The...4th dress I tried on was MAGICAL. It was a non-traditional color, it was flattering, it was simple and elegant and romantic. I couldn't stop staring at myself. #VAIN.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="280" src="//giphy.com/embed/sAjc0Gm7rlyo0?html5=true" width="480"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://giphy.com/gifs/beauty-mirror-glamour-sAjc0Gm7rlyo0">via GIPHY</a><br />
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The ladies I was with were in love with it too- but when I looked at the price tag and realized it was over budget. In that moment I felt a lot of jealousy for the women on SYTTD and their $10,000 budgets from their rich great-great-aunt. Where was the magical moment that happens on the TV show where the Bridal Consultant says "Oh! You know what, we like you so much here's 50% off the retail price!"?! I tried on 2 more that I did NOT like (clearly a tactic by the Bridal Consultant) and decided to put a hold on the dress I loved, since it was an as-is sample.<br />
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I have 2 weeks to decide on what the hell to do, but there it is, how I said "MAYBE!" to the dress.<br />
Stay tuned for what I end<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Ladies out there- how did your first dress shopping experience go?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Anyone else say "MAYBE!" to their dress?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">xo, lp</span><br />
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Want to follow along more on the B&B Wedding series?<br />
Either:<br />
Follow me on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">HERE</a> or Snapchat: LPOD216<br />
or check out the rest of the posts <a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/p/b-wedding-series.html">HERE!</a><br />
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-66986385341428755322016-07-24T22:38:00.000-04:002016-07-24T22:38:41.016-04:00HOW TO CUSTOM DESIGN YOUR ENGAGEMENT RING // B&B WEDDING SERIES<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I knew exactly what my engagement ring would look like when Michael proposed.</div>
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How? </div>
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I helped design it! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTSWygCYFmKlho4_6GYJwK7Kpq27cWHG9vXiaJ_i4Zh6eSaQcPeosB7eSeT15oEPaDSR7aRTtN2nsS8wpFgpca4lmkUC-yX7FEvneZ7ppd9Uv_LWrUiLHDaFnBW8BLAP2oo1QRt3h_QY/s1600/ringring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="how to custom design your own engagement ring!" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTSWygCYFmKlho4_6GYJwK7Kpq27cWHG9vXiaJ_i4Zh6eSaQcPeosB7eSeT15oEPaDSR7aRTtN2nsS8wpFgpca4lmkUC-yX7FEvneZ7ppd9Uv_LWrUiLHDaFnBW8BLAP2oo1QRt3h_QY/s640/ringring.jpg" title="how to custom design your own engagement ring!" width="506" /></a></div>
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The reactions I get when I tell people I took part in making my ring are variations of the following:</div>
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<b>1. "That is so cool! How awesome you had a say in what the ring looks like!"</b></div>
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<b>2. "Ohhhhh...you didn't want it to be a <i>surprise</i>? I can't <i>imagine</i> if it hadn't been a surprise for <i>me</i>"</b></div>
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The second version just really gets me. I don't go up to people who had their ring given to them in surprise and say "Ohhhh...you <i>didn't</i> design your ring? Oh..so..you just..<i>settled</i> with what he gave you?" That would be ridiculous and rude. And wrong. Because there's just no right answer when it comes to engagement rings. Heck, you don't even <i>need</i> an engagement ring if you don't want one.</div>
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Michael and I first talked about getting married after about 2 months of dating, so we were more than comfortable talking about rings. I'm INSANELY picky, and was so happy and appreciative that he knew me well enough to know that I would like to have some (read: alot of) control in what the ring looked like. Ironically enough, my ring ended up looking <i>just</i> like a ring that Michael jokingly told me he would buy me one day when we were still in college.</div>
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Also- let it be noted that looking at my ring, no one would ever guess it was "designed". It's a simple, platinum three-stone ring- but nothing out there I saw had the exact band width or profile size that I wanted- so we designed one that was <i>exactly </i>what I was looking for! "Designing" doesn't need to mean over the top crazy wild details- even the most simple white t-shirt was "designed!"</div>
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This post is for anyone else who is hoping to design their ring too- these are steps I took, and I hope they'll be helpful to you!</div>
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<b>Step 1: Get inspiration online.</b></div>
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Go on Pinterest. Scroll through #engagementring and #theknotrings on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">Instagram</a>. Search Etsy. There are so many easy, pressure-free ways to search for rings nowadays! I created a hidden <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/laurarachel/">Pinterest</a> board with my sister who has a lot of jewelry knowledge and we bounced ideas back and forth of what looked good. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIUT3TPquFSxb28fiYp9OQ0Ru04_FxSRUA2vZTCNuVg7LjszGa5VOgzeBsvXDyPuaBPvYEAe-etL2cE_tse0dZmhGTp2TlqAiG0RMX6i7loI8ISwZDfQZbVXeufdFsBPRiZi3AqzvfTho/s1600/rings.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="how to design your own engagement ring" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIUT3TPquFSxb28fiYp9OQ0Ru04_FxSRUA2vZTCNuVg7LjszGa5VOgzeBsvXDyPuaBPvYEAe-etL2cE_tse0dZmhGTp2TlqAiG0RMX6i7loI8ISwZDfQZbVXeufdFsBPRiZi3AqzvfTho/s640/rings.PNG" title="how to design your own engagement ring" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Step 2: Try some rings on!</b></div>
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Going into a jewelry store is just like going into a clothing store. You are allowed to try the merchandise without having to BUY anything. I know, it can be a little intimidating or awkward to walk into a store alone- so bring a friend! My sister and I went through a store about a year before Michael proposed and we both tried on a bajillion rings. See what you think looks good on your finger. See if you like a white or yellow or rose gold (or other metals). I kept gravitating towards 3 stone rings, so it's clear that's what I wanted to end up with.</div>
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<b>Step 3: Find a jeweler you're comfortable with & ask about their policies.</b></div>
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A few friends recommended a local jeweler, which is both where I checked out rings with my sister, AND ended up designing the ring. The people were welcoming, not overly pushy, and incredibly knowledgeable. Michael and I found a guy in the store with an outgoing, honest view on picking out a ring that we loved. I asked about 20 questions about their policy on designing rings- and found out it costs ZERO money to design a ring, and if you don't love it when it's done, it's a full money-back guarantee. That took a ton of weight off of both of our shoulders!</div>
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<b>Step 4: Share your ideas, and BE. SPECIFIC.</b></div>
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Oh lord. This isn't the time to be wishy-washy my friends. This is something you'll wear forever. I was very clear I wanted a platinum band, and valued quality/clarity of the diamonds over size. My biggest requests were to have the stones be low-profile and to have a narrower band. I personally don't like it when stones sit up really high on the ring, because I feel they catch on everything, and I have really short, sort of wide fingers (#truth). He found us a ring that was similar to what I wanted, and we went from there.</div>
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<b>Step 5: Choose your diamonds & get a mock-up done.</b></div>
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Oy. This made my head spin. Our jeweler brought out loose diamonds of different sizes and it took a while to pick what what was right. Once we had an idea, our jeweler sent instructions to the designer and they sent back versions of what the ring would look like with different sized side stones (image below). I ended up not going with either of the exact below options- but here's what the sheets look like! FYI- it takes about 2 weeks to get the drawings back.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgca37kcuK9ZAOWwvDkVGIxFc17pcHR75Jotdygymvjs_1EOu7UpUYnjzBENrL9uksBK-wlKCLYW5v3MKm1iNhNlCZnFqCXqqZbvcY821jgeukU1uPmJ_8gHNDdAMIAg4LDfcvDkXHBG1w/s1600/rings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="how to design your own engagement ring" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgca37kcuK9ZAOWwvDkVGIxFc17pcHR75Jotdygymvjs_1EOu7UpUYnjzBENrL9uksBK-wlKCLYW5v3MKm1iNhNlCZnFqCXqqZbvcY821jgeukU1uPmJ_8gHNDdAMIAg4LDfcvDkXHBG1w/s640/rings.jpg" title="how to design your own engagement ring" width="632" /></a></div>
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<b>Step 6: Get a wax mold made. </b></div>
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Once you've approved the drawings and picked your stone(s), the designer makes a wax mold of your setting, so you can rest the stones in it and get an idea of what the tangible ring looks like. Keep in mind, if your ring has prongs, they'll look a little oversized in the wax mold form. From CAD to getting your mold, it takes about 2-3 weeks.</div>
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<b>Step 7: Get the ring! (and get it insured!)</b></div>
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I chose to NOT pick up the ring with Michael when it was done, because I wanted to at least be surprised with what the final-FINAL product looked like. From wax mold to final ring, it takes about 3-4 weeks. Before you (or your partner) walk out the door, be sure you have your ring insured. Whether it's on an existing insurance plan, or through Jeweler's Mutual, DON'T be lazy about this! If you lose your ring or it get's stolen and you don't have it insured, you are seriously out of luck. <i><a href="https://www.theknot.com/content/engagement-ring-insurance-101">HERE</a> is a great, easy article about ring insurance!</i></div>
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I truly, 100% believe that the jeweler you work with can make or break your experience. If you're not getting a good vibe from the first person you work with, email the jewelry store and request someone else. Don't. Feel. Bad. You are paying a premium for their service, don't at all feel like they get the final say in who you work with. I can assure you that they'd rather you request someone new than go to a whole other store to purchase your ring!</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>If you designed your ring, what advice do you have?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">xo, lp</span></div>
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<i>Want more of the #BBWeddingSeries? You can find all the posts <a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/p/b-wedding-series.html">here</a>! </i></div>
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<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-72630510257778357222016-07-19T21:28:00.001-04:002016-07-20T09:28:53.701-04:00THE 51 STAGES OF WEDDING INVITES // B&B WEDDING SERIES<div style="text-align: center;">
When it comes to wedding planning, I feel like people don't talk about invites much. Maybe it's just because I'm a huge paper goods nerd, but this is something about the process I was SO excited about! It turns out if you're indecisive (like I am), it takes a liiiitttle more time than you'd think. In the end, we found wedding invites we absolutely loooooove, but I definitely thought I would get this task done in like 30 minutes. Sigh. So naive.</div>
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Here are the 51 thoughts while creating wedding invites:</div>
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1. Oooh! We get to send out invites! Yes!</div>
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2. I can't fricking wait. Everyone is going to want to hang our invite on their fridge.</div>
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3. We <i>have </i>to do <a href="http://ruffledmedia.ruffled.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/upLoads/wedding-invitations-colorpalettes-04.jpg">letterpress</a>. Anyone who's anyone does letterpress!</div>
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4. Whoa. Letterpress is really expensive.</div>
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5. Wait this is like down-payment-on-a-house expensive.</div>
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6. Ok so maybe<i> not </i>letterpress. I'll Pinterest this up in another way somehow.</div>
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7. Hm...is gold foil still in? </div>
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8. Never mind that's too expensive too. </div>
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9. Okay let's just Google "cheap wedding invites".</div>
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10. Oh! We can afford this site!</div>
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11. Mmmkay let's see- 186 design available. </div>
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12. Sort "low $ to high $$$". </div>
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13. Welp these look more like 40 year high school graduation-y than wedding-y.</div>
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14. WHY ARE THESE ALL SO UGLY.</div>
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15. Screw this I'm designing my own. That's not hard right?</div>
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16. Should we have a picture of us or not?</div>
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17. Are pictures of us only allowed on Save the Dates?</div>
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18. Okay no picture of us. Artsy picture of leaves instead.</div>
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19. Wait...maybe sparklers?</div>
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20. Nope sparklers are too "4th of Julyish"</div>
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21. Ok these leaves rock, let me ask for opinions from people.</div>
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22. Soooo no one likes the leaves. Shit.</div>
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23. Time to Google "free stock photos of leaves"</div>
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24. "fall leaves"</div>
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25. "red leaves"</div>
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26. Whoa "leaves" looks weird after typing it 30 times.</div>
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27. Okay. Got the photo. Time to add text.</div>
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28. WHY IS NONE OF THIS TEXT LINING UP LIKE I WANT IT TO.</div>
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29. F*&( IT I DON'T CARE I'M JUST SCRIBBLING "COME TO THE WEDDING" ON A POST IT.</div>
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30. Ok. Calmed down. Maybe I should keep trying..to..make this...work...just..line..up..</div>
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31. (5 hours later) SCREW THIS I'M USING A PRE-MADE DESIGN</div>
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32. Ok...nothing pink..or orange..yellow is hard to read...purple looks bleh...hm...</div>
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33. Oooh! This one is nice! Okay design chosen I AM A GENIUS THIS IS AMAZING.</div>
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34. Names CHECK. Location CHECK. Time...</div>
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35. Wait.. 7pm? or 7 PM? or 7'oclock? 7 in the evening? Hm...</div>
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36. Blurb about marriage abroad, CHECK. Accommodations CHECK!</div>
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37. Do we put the registry on the back of the invite? *checks 50 wedding sites* </div>
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38. Now the great part where we tell people they can't bring their kids...this should be fun.</div>
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39. Googles "how to tell people to not bring kids to a wedding" 20 times.</div>
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40. Whew. Add the wedding website and we are GOLDEN!! YAAAS.</div>
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41. Wait. Shit. Do we do RSVPs online? Or a card?</div>
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42. Is online RSVP cool and forward thinking or cheap and annoying to old people?</div>
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43. Will people forget to RSVP online? I like online RSVPs but do other people!?!?</div>
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44. Screw it we're getting RSVP cards, real mail is the absolute best.</div>
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45. *runs finished product past a bunch of people*</div>
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46. Okay. Time to order. Feeling great about this. *hits PURCHASE*</div>
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47. &%*$& DID I SPELL "accommodation" wrong?!!?!?</div>
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48. Nope we're good. Whew. </div>
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49. WAIT I BET I SPELLED OUR NAMES WRONG.</div>
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50.Okay nope those are good too. Time to stop staring at this goddamn screen.</div>
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51. Shuts computer. Gets glass of wine. </div>
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THE END.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Where did you get your invitations from? Minted? Shutterfly? Etsy? Vistaprint? Kinkos?</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Let me know how it worked out for you!</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">xo, lp </span></b></div>
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For more fun, find me on instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">@lpodlich</a> or snapchat: lpod216</div>
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See more on the wedding series <a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/p/b-wedding-series.html">HERE</a><br />
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(and if you're wondering, the front of the invite ended up looking like this.. with location/address removed of course!)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr2zruCFuYc__xqjoAuU7ZvSSnwReG8LDwWLsJniT5jNLbe3c5Hdw_zGKje4hZg1yjFCVfR-vRxgdzhcG9UFwnwO1nDt1aPuwp5tPcNkGapNp-0wQBoYi2gZqPgehBczmdFqwnYFNbWlQ/s1600/invite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr2zruCFuYc__xqjoAuU7ZvSSnwReG8LDwWLsJniT5jNLbe3c5Hdw_zGKje4hZg1yjFCVfR-vRxgdzhcG9UFwnwO1nDt1aPuwp5tPcNkGapNp-0wQBoYi2gZqPgehBczmdFqwnYFNbWlQ/s1600/invite.jpg" /></a></div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-13305098002790326782016-07-04T22:49:00.001-04:002016-07-05T13:22:50.981-04:00VOTE ON A DRESS! (B&B WEDDING SERIES)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
For someone who loves tradition A LOT, I'm having a pretty non-traditional wedding. </div>
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No walking down an aisle, no bridesmaids, no bouquet toss. Just about the only traditional things that will happen will be that we will say vows to each other, and that I plan on wearing a long white dress. The first one is the only really important thing, right?!</div>
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Anyway- weirdly I love the newer tradition of the bride wearing a white-ish shorter dress to pre-wedding events, like bridal showers/bachelorette parties/etc. I don't know who started it (cough social media cough)- but because there is NEVER another occasion to really wear a short white dress, this seems like the perfect excuse to buy one.</div>
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Because I am the most indecisive human ever, I'm employing you to help me pick the type of dress to wear. This will end up being used for a small family/friend party, a dinner before our return-home from getting married reception, and any other events that may pop up! Throw in your input below (bonus points if you have an "other" option you love!)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_tynAwJPSCrWZ59YKmZ7pX0Ct8EvgmW1CRPVthlaGqF0MpU24yON8_y2CBFBE_nzkA7pOj0lZ9W8LlC3U_g0zqjeuU87wto-ohdB4OBghbWFiqOTJEsIMSLJ76J1htCSjxOILgElfIo/s1600/dress.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="bridal shower dresses- which is your favorite?" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_tynAwJPSCrWZ59YKmZ7pX0Ct8EvgmW1CRPVthlaGqF0MpU24yON8_y2CBFBE_nzkA7pOj0lZ9W8LlC3U_g0zqjeuU87wto-ohdB4OBghbWFiqOTJEsIMSLJ76J1htCSjxOILgElfIo/s1600/dress.png" title="bridal shower dresses- which is your favorite?" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Okay team, tell me what to wear- vote in the poll below! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">xo, lp</span></div>
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<script type="text/javascript" src="https://host1.easypolls.net/ext/scripts/emPoll.js?p=577b215ee4b002cfaf825697"></script><a class="OPP-powered-by" href="https://www.murvey.com" style="text-decoration:none;"><div style="font: 9px arial; color: gray;">web surveys</div></a>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-20781703892848078582016-06-29T07:30:00.000-04:002016-06-29T07:30:20.561-04:004TH OF JULY CANDY BARK <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I had to get in one post before the weekend of 4th of July celebrating! </div>
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Be sure to follow the ridiculousness on Instagram --> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">@lpodlich</a> or on Snapchat: lpod216</div>
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Get ready to make this and have everyone think you are SUPER cool (pin it so ya don't forget it):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIFGrYFLBqhuCyglQeJ03F64mznwfnZf3vkwlMx1nii-Xo7-TzQanTVR5VBfqAZv_j9MzYWVjZl0OZe7HnekmDj5s2EQSZghv6izAl4cmkbFVRktAUcWN_TYLPhatHBTjdtmjoeV7hXOs/s1600/4th+of+july+barks+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="4th of July Bark! Looks so cool- have to make this!" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIFGrYFLBqhuCyglQeJ03F64mznwfnZf3vkwlMx1nii-Xo7-TzQanTVR5VBfqAZv_j9MzYWVjZl0OZe7HnekmDj5s2EQSZghv6izAl4cmkbFVRktAUcWN_TYLPhatHBTjdtmjoeV7hXOs/s1600/4th+of+july+barks+2.jpg" title="4th of July Bark! Looks so cool- have to make this!" /></a></div>
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Candy Bark of all forms is every where. I mean, I make peppermint bark every year and thought THAT was fancy, but now people are making a million iterations (how cool is this <a href="http://studiodiy.com/2016/06/22/summer-fun-white-chocolate-pocky-bark/">Pocky bark</a>?!). I see Halloween Bark and Christmas Bark and ALL THE BARK in my future. Slash YOUR future.</div>
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But today, we're just going to start with 4th of July bark. It's fun. It's festive. It's easy as heck.</div>
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-----<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUYH3_PFyOtspOgPnvuvg1zlyfGdCrIU09rgfQiRfo4eGwOZq-qF4q7cetsDn1xynTt9auCTgzGlGh4cfNp3Aya8fuWuBMbmqMjQQJDl6j3Nj57aFm6pN04FvTWvqHSsKdnO5yydSydc/s1600/candy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="4th of July Dessert" border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUYH3_PFyOtspOgPnvuvg1zlyfGdCrIU09rgfQiRfo4eGwOZq-qF4q7cetsDn1xynTt9auCTgzGlGh4cfNp3Aya8fuWuBMbmqMjQQJDl6j3Nj57aFm6pN04FvTWvqHSsKdnO5yydSydc/s640/candy.jpg" title="4th of July Dessert" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><u>What you need to make it happen:</u></b></div>
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1 cup White chips</div>
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1 cup Wilton Blue Candy Melts (get them at Michael's, Joanns, Amazon)</div>
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1 cup Wilton Red Candy Melts </div>
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Pan lined with Parchment Paper</div>
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Something to swirl with (I used a wooden kabob skewer)</div>
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Red/White/Blue M&Ms, sprinkles, or other candy</div>
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Crisco (optional)</div>
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Parchment lined baking sheet</div>
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<u><b>How to make it happen:</b></u></div>
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Step 1: Separate your candy melts into 3 bowls and melt on medium-high heat in the microwave for 25 seconds at a time, until melted. If you choose to use Crisco to make melts thinner, use 1/2 Tbsp per color.</div>
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Step 2: Plop down (official term) your melted candy color by color, so they are all over the pan, touching but not overlapping. (Pro Tip: If you are using white chips instead of white candy melts, do the white last. It kind of got overpowered by the other colors!)</div>
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Step 3: Using a skewer (or another pointed object) start to slowly swirl your colors together, with long sweeping swirls. If you over-swirl (another official term) you'll end up with a pan of purple.</div>
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Step 4: While the candy is still melted, scatter M&Ms and sprinkles over it, and put in the refrigerator to cool/harden.</div>
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Step 5: Once fully hard, break into pieces and enjoy!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4MOTBacklaPQdOeiEh_Fw3Xpu1mvxO5wGLqwfT73fy2RPDvqaQIoTYL3VWgMK8OxEWqFl4PXsW8AfzehB6d3IdFmtuQ0PoeF_PWjj54_vWOHKckuqGMCmudhUkZ7X7JRovF8xOHIQyDY/s1600/candy+melts.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="4th of July Dessert" border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4MOTBacklaPQdOeiEh_Fw3Xpu1mvxO5wGLqwfT73fy2RPDvqaQIoTYL3VWgMK8OxEWqFl4PXsW8AfzehB6d3IdFmtuQ0PoeF_PWjj54_vWOHKckuqGMCmudhUkZ7X7JRovF8xOHIQyDY/s640/candy+melts.png" title="4th of July Dessert" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJsuugaLg67nC-H91k4vO-tZhyphenhyphenCc436ss_LnEXVxZDDizwj5LcCj2XetANj75n2mVqBCPkXoae4T8ahNXGqj5o6oJJGsFb0D-s9ea475_AlG7mdeSIidP9MwdHFs7gN_lzyzSiVFHWUA0/s1600/melts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="4th of July Dessert" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJsuugaLg67nC-H91k4vO-tZhyphenhyphenCc436ss_LnEXVxZDDizwj5LcCj2XetANj75n2mVqBCPkXoae4T8ahNXGqj5o6oJJGsFb0D-s9ea475_AlG7mdeSIidP9MwdHFs7gN_lzyzSiVFHWUA0/s640/melts.jpg" title="4th of July Dessert" width="640" /></a></div>
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Pro Swirlz:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxjr0HoCOJcFimRVorDM0DZPBU809krLDvK8HW-MqbESvOqGBjfFwMo_q9o-n9rEcfmqdkmPgMg32JTbL7IdpE0zpaLvr-7iUT_jgAcjDTo_W2sRNR0mJKg9tu3Qq2WlFXbSPkQwQVYNc/s1600/swirls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="4th of July Dessert" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxjr0HoCOJcFimRVorDM0DZPBU809krLDvK8HW-MqbESvOqGBjfFwMo_q9o-n9rEcfmqdkmPgMg32JTbL7IdpE0zpaLvr-7iUT_jgAcjDTo_W2sRNR0mJKg9tu3Qq2WlFXbSPkQwQVYNc/s640/swirls.jpg" title="4th of July Dessert" width="426" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzTykt738VC8jaEQ9VsZArTTg2fDpYhnUXSdXih9IXHP2DcKAx-aAaqvLJgyasRr4hWqGN94uXNae1SGGC3ptlH_GlklsugzSBZYsuvQ67CQzuVPd21jBG0FzLbyLKFkF9T8gHZkfPYc/s1600/fourth+bark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="4th of July Dessert" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzTykt738VC8jaEQ9VsZArTTg2fDpYhnUXSdXih9IXHP2DcKAx-aAaqvLJgyasRr4hWqGN94uXNae1SGGC3ptlH_GlklsugzSBZYsuvQ67CQzuVPd21jBG0FzLbyLKFkF9T8gHZkfPYc/s1600/fourth+bark.jpg" title="4th of July Dessert" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBAxywW22QDKHv3pM8Ih7hKPKSbWkFTEg2f4IlDTWgji3MAK8YIG4YefziOeD23q79aWucmtjmgltLdpCWUj4KCXIk7OMnyaPkccKEJDoZqu1DqBgl5SUXi90h_GwHFLqnBraNc2PsGp8/s1600/fourth+of+july+bark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="4th of July Dessert" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBAxywW22QDKHv3pM8Ih7hKPKSbWkFTEg2f4IlDTWgji3MAK8YIG4YefziOeD23q79aWucmtjmgltLdpCWUj4KCXIk7OMnyaPkccKEJDoZqu1DqBgl5SUXi90h_GwHFLqnBraNc2PsGp8/s640/fourth+of+july+bark.jpg" title="4th of July Dessert" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>So easy!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>What (besides this) will you be making this 4th?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>xo, lp</b></span></div>
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Still need more 4th Of July ideas? Try the <a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/2015/06/4th-of-july-dessert.html">coolest Tie Dye Cake</a> or these<a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/2013/07/mixed-berry-mojitos.html"> Mixed Berry Mojitos</a>!</div>
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Also, be sure to follow me on Instagram --> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">@lpodlich</a> or on Snapchat: lpod216</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYSSziU6QzQEwFe2IAa0Ro-eHigAxP4y1kC1FtshpqTS-OMgLF_lAQ7oKAQ_FUz7gqvv0EBgxvIbaZ_3BCWhg8QT3DXrkL5xYf4WaVWz5eS4RDwPjnmFnEqCq8pVyL7A-cPx6EIvhPww/s1600/candy+bark+text.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="4th of July Bark! Looks so cool- have to make this!" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYSSziU6QzQEwFe2IAa0Ro-eHigAxP4y1kC1FtshpqTS-OMgLF_lAQ7oKAQ_FUz7gqvv0EBgxvIbaZ_3BCWhg8QT3DXrkL5xYf4WaVWz5eS4RDwPjnmFnEqCq8pVyL7A-cPx6EIvhPww/s640/candy+bark+text.jpg" title="4th of July Bark! Looks so cool- have to make this!" width="506" /></a></div>
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<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-48334141216379144282016-06-20T22:31:00.000-04:002016-06-20T22:31:49.286-04:00HOW & WHERE TO REGISTER FOR A WEDDING <div style="text-align: center;">
Registering for a wedding is overwhelming and weird.</div>
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There.</div>
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I said it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS3b47cFCyqjif6d-HVmxJ4jegIroBtg9ruGuTEa1VbppkSq0IOnAeQadnvGDRRWPKo_6taNoyh3FhnnnzUfazKmM0ZCvHF_6peu1NThLaJRx_R1fbwuxVX6ADbP6HWlcPvmRB0E1JAjA/s1600/IMG_3263.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="the best places & ways to register for a wedding" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS3b47cFCyqjif6d-HVmxJ4jegIroBtg9ruGuTEa1VbppkSq0IOnAeQadnvGDRRWPKo_6taNoyh3FhnnnzUfazKmM0ZCvHF_6peu1NThLaJRx_R1fbwuxVX6ADbP6HWlcPvmRB0E1JAjA/s640/IMG_3263.jpg" title="the best places & ways to register for a wedding" width="480" /></a></div>
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You stand in a store and say "HM WHAT CAN I MAKE PPL BUY ME 2DAY?!".<br />
I didn't grow up making holiday or birthday wish lists- you would get what you were given and you'd be appreciative...so making a list of things (some expensive) was kind of awkward!<br />
Then there's the rules of it all. Thanks to wedding websites I now know that I am evidently supposed to own enough teaspoons to serve a small army and 50 sets of matching towels. The problem is Michael and I currently live in an apartment, so we don't have a ton of space to store 50 sets of matching towels... unless we get rid of our bed and just sleep on towels.<br />
Wait. Actually that sounds cozy. Hmm...<br />
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I digress.<br />
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Here's a little window into what it's like to register- the good, the bad, and the super awesome.<br />
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Let's start on a good note, shall we?<br />
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<b><u>REGISTRY PLACE #1: TARGET </u></b><br />
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We registered for Target both in store AND online, because it was so dang easy.<br />
If you go into the store, you can either use one of the scanners from Guest Services, or the Target App on your phone. We did both- the first time we used the scanner, and the second time we used our phone- and both were disgustingly easy and user friendly.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWi7DWDS9naucUYNxNeeCVqMytEC3VeHYnMeQbZAG9Nr-xIBu6EOmc3BwKvI2NCq3kzG6WubVEA1wEHd6ZPlnvEGmlAx19QsYxCGULbnN2kE4WzHUqg8wfXvcLK49GfZGNt1b0MhS6Rpo/s1600/target.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="target wedding registry" border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWi7DWDS9naucUYNxNeeCVqMytEC3VeHYnMeQbZAG9Nr-xIBu6EOmc3BwKvI2NCq3kzG6WubVEA1wEHd6ZPlnvEGmlAx19QsYxCGULbnN2kE4WzHUqg8wfXvcLK49GfZGNt1b0MhS6Rpo/s640/target.png" title="target wedding registry" width="640" /></a></div>
The scanner tells you when you've successfully scanned something so you don't have to worry about whether or not you'd added the item. Then it gives you the option to increase the quantity, so you don't have to scan the same item (like 50 towel sets) over and over again. You can also easily delete the item if you decide you like something better! At any time you can scroll through the full registry to edit or delete things in one click.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZaTFccWyFMuIH4jrkXvpbbjOvarTxRLdp67eFQGoQ-DIrand8JkWONTBKYBlB28iLn8RSFJS0Doc_2sDQVI-Ue_DXAB2kYhJnBLV2Tjvjp5R-2_KmTD7sk8qtfEUjjIM5c9_M_inEz_E/s1600/IMG_3269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="target wedding registry" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZaTFccWyFMuIH4jrkXvpbbjOvarTxRLdp67eFQGoQ-DIrand8JkWONTBKYBlB28iLn8RSFJS0Doc_2sDQVI-Ue_DXAB2kYhJnBLV2Tjvjp5R-2_KmTD7sk8qtfEUjjIM5c9_M_inEz_E/s640/IMG_3269.JPG" title="target wedding registry" width="480" /></a></div>
Don't mind the glare on the phone...but the Target App is just like using Target Cartwheel! Just use the photo scanner to scan the bar code on the shelf or the product and then add/delete/change just like you would on a typical scanner!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRdo46MgEkJC6CeB2zwbGJjOlvrbnmZ5qgEv9Wyhq53KqKos9GdVKxVCk0de6ZLHo85hMrpYRFuMfylO5kVF8NvE7AGVwXvqi9BeLZ56Dag61y5TdR8UM9ZcR4oj_Um1SdVwEIdO2ArkY/s1600/targetregistry.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="target wedding registry" border="0" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRdo46MgEkJC6CeB2zwbGJjOlvrbnmZ5qgEv9Wyhq53KqKos9GdVKxVCk0de6ZLHo85hMrpYRFuMfylO5kVF8NvE7AGVwXvqi9BeLZ56Dag61y5TdR8UM9ZcR4oj_Um1SdVwEIdO2ArkY/s640/targetregistry.PNG" title="target wedding registry" width="640" /></a></div>
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As for registering online at Target- my favorite part is the checklist part. It groups different kinds of products together, and checks them off once you've added something to your registry that fills that bucket. Of course, you probably don't need everything on the list, but it's a good gut check!<br />
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<b><u>REGISTRY PLACE #2: KOHL'S (spoiler; we deleted this one)</u></b><br />
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Whoa Kohl's was the woooooorst. Oh man. We were told to register there or Macy's and man, nope nope nope. </div>
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When we arrived, we stood in line for about 10 minutes waiting to check out a scanner and the one person working was taking forever - so we decided not to wait for the other few people in front of us- we'd just download the app and go on our own. It started out fine b/c we had Starbucks, but kind of went downhill from there: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZXabK_Xv0zDkdmX9Tqr9v9ZHL8WA8-AQF85g6GyrlVAJiDAMJ7igb4TKCg0sMkhgXSzXmkqMLoAceWzcjQ5ha0Mc6WhOh8s6d2grApp4Glq4c_RhDcPYjX1GnEetdJ1tg0AtvgekdqMs/s1600/IMG_3260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="kohls wedding registry" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZXabK_Xv0zDkdmX9Tqr9v9ZHL8WA8-AQF85g6GyrlVAJiDAMJ7igb4TKCg0sMkhgXSzXmkqMLoAceWzcjQ5ha0Mc6WhOh8s6d2grApp4Glq4c_RhDcPYjX1GnEetdJ1tg0AtvgekdqMs/s640/IMG_3260.JPG" title="kohls wedding registry" width="480" /></a></div>
Like the Target app, you use a photo scanner over a barcode- but unlike the Target app, if you want more than one item you have to scan it over and over again to get multiple quantities. In addition to that anytime we would try to delete an item, the app would freeze- and wouldn't delete the item!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjpCq4MMoDcpevst0lNBOhP0mbxK6FE3T-K3raNQxMB0WYMw4UpLUXqs7ctYSQR3HBhW1_QjE_nZpQUjYkYrZAJrF0ZLCY5ea-vmGJhomo7OCTzSBQja5Se2tmPz_6b2xpeXu-uQmpSA0/s1600/IMG_3262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="kohls wedding registry" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjpCq4MMoDcpevst0lNBOhP0mbxK6FE3T-K3raNQxMB0WYMw4UpLUXqs7ctYSQR3HBhW1_QjE_nZpQUjYkYrZAJrF0ZLCY5ea-vmGJhomo7OCTzSBQja5Se2tmPz_6b2xpeXu-uQmpSA0/s640/IMG_3262.JPG" title="kohls wedding registry" width="480" /></a></div>
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The biggest downfall was that about half the items we tried to scan wouldn't register! We would get an error message saying "We're sorry, this product couldn't be found". </div>
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Um. What?! </div>
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If it happened once I wouldn't have thought twice- but it happened about 8 times until we just gave up and left. When we got home we tried to delete the registry - but every time we would try to delete it, the site would freeze, kick us out, and make us sign back in...to find that the registry wasn't deleted! It took tweeting, facebook messaging, and emailing to get it deleted...total nightmare. Needless to say we are NOT registering there, and will not be recommending it to anyone!</div>
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<b><u>REGISTRY PLACE #3: BED, BATH, & BEYOND</u></b><br />
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I feel like Bed, Bath, & Beyond is one of the quintessential wedding registry places. We walked in and there was a whole registry section, with someone to greet us and walk us step by step through the process. We chose to use a scanner in store, and while the thing looked like it was from 1990, it was easy to use!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO85OHSqwZK8WqhyuPfsYT4j17FZEFQFZv0evvpGXFt3Weq7Yg6PzfrZ2TrvXMnrOkA4tAm1fOUsBJWAl6XVGtXU1h45chQzsFgj3ASAGEcFiArmETJrOg7WlBelU2uyZGpq4hEQ7QRIQ/s1600/IMG_3264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="bed bath beyond wedding registry" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO85OHSqwZK8WqhyuPfsYT4j17FZEFQFZv0evvpGXFt3Weq7Yg6PzfrZ2TrvXMnrOkA4tAm1fOUsBJWAl6XVGtXU1h45chQzsFgj3ASAGEcFiArmETJrOg7WlBelU2uyZGpq4hEQ7QRIQ/s640/IMG_3264.JPG" title="bed bath beyond wedding registry" width="480" /></a></div>
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Just like the Target App, it was easy to add/change/delete items!</div>
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The best part about BB&B is the fact you can take stuff out and hold it. Picking out silverware is kiiiind of hard to do if you can't tell how heavy/awkward it is :)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSAYGjdunjKYtENt5vk1xNt7nAOIXOTsTnD7Tm90KybyuaqLULS5nDCnVRr6trPzMNX1U7yGbtRgwJSQlKq3co-IwOXRzcMap0ED7HyrbXbF4KZ47JOzWaXC0wfFoay1kDBrDdBTbVNFs/s1600/IMG_3265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="bed bath beyond wedding registry" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSAYGjdunjKYtENt5vk1xNt7nAOIXOTsTnD7Tm90KybyuaqLULS5nDCnVRr6trPzMNX1U7yGbtRgwJSQlKq3co-IwOXRzcMap0ED7HyrbXbF4KZ47JOzWaXC0wfFoay1kDBrDdBTbVNFs/s640/IMG_3265.JPG" title="bed bath beyond wedding registry" width="480" /></a></div>
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We also added a few items online- which was also crazy easy! Every item has the option of "Add to Registry" just like "Add to Cart" - so you don't have to constantly be going through the actual Registry site! </div>
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Oh, and let the record show we didn't register for this Grill Pan - but someday I will own ALL the Le Creuset items on earth. #fact.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglqwiQGEszJvs_e6qVTa9XW2f6Gj0KZLQahcYpf6954HFvQsS526vdKkamHor9X9SukOwvv9izL_PFPsJOAEqWQm9DI9sOhN3BXTeWC1LTkETIg7WMKC5B-kI6mF0l_U-twWyuH83TI-M/s1600/target.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="bed bath beyond wedding registry" border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglqwiQGEszJvs_e6qVTa9XW2f6Gj0KZLQahcYpf6954HFvQsS526vdKkamHor9X9SukOwvv9izL_PFPsJOAEqWQm9DI9sOhN3BXTeWC1LTkETIg7WMKC5B-kI6mF0l_U-twWyuH83TI-M/s640/target.png" title="bed bath beyond wedding registry" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><u>REGISTRY PLACE #4: ZOLA.COM</u></b><br />
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So here's the thing about registering when you live in an apartment, and have been together for 6.5 years: You have lots of stuff and not lots of space.<br />
However, asking people to just write you a check is about as tacky as it comes, so that's where Zola helped us out. We ended up choosing it because our friends who got married last year used it and liked it, so we totally copied them. #noshame<br />
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Zola is a way to show people what you intend to do with your wedding money. Plain as that. Since we are planning on getting married during our 2 week trip to Italy & Greece, we decided to "register" for experiences while we were there!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh53F3KM_d_DeMWDftA7FV2-JS8j17wyvoe736BYtstTw9IZM67oQFhQgXOgbZDejxeMI8WN2I4jBy-AIQ9X4Y7TBNBcWclbPFnPbPbfZt-vNfgR7WTGnxslvwusNy9pRv64Ym68XHyQo/s1600/zola.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh53F3KM_d_DeMWDftA7FV2-JS8j17wyvoe736BYtstTw9IZM67oQFhQgXOgbZDejxeMI8WN2I4jBy-AIQ9X4Y7TBNBcWclbPFnPbPbfZt-vNfgR7WTGnxslvwusNy9pRv64Ym68XHyQo/s640/zola.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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We chose to register in ranges from $25-$150, so that people with all budgets would feel comfortable finding something in their price range. We made a list of things we want to do while we're abroad, and put them into amounts- like wine tasting ($25) up to 1 night hotel stay in Santorini ($150).</div>
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You can register for items at Zola just like at Target if you want, but we chose to use it as a venue for experiences over items!</div>
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WHEW!<br />
Another marathon wedding post in the books...if you missed the last ones, you can find them <a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/p/b-wedding-series.html">HERE</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Where did you register for your wedding?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Any good horror stories or great experiences?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>xo, lp</b></span><br />
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<b>*pssst: are we instagram friends yet? we should be. for sure. find me: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">@lpodlich</a>*</b><br />
<b>*pssssssst: do you like snapchat more? find me: lpod216</b><br />
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com115tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-59673520138853141362016-05-30T21:28:00.000-04:002016-05-30T21:28:34.369-04:006 THINGS THAT WILL SURPRISE YOU ABOUT GETTING ENGAGED (B&B WEDDING SERIES)<div style="text-align: center;">
Today's post for the B&B Wedding Series is a list of 6 things that will surprise you when you get engaged!<br />
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I mean...maybe these things happened to you and you weren't surprised- but I sure was :)<br />
If you missed the first post in the series (our engagement story) you can find it <a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/2016/05/engagement-story-how-he-asked.html">HERE!</a><br />
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<i>To follow along with the crazy wedding planning, find me on..</i><br />
<i>Snapchat: lpod216</i><br />
<i>Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">@lpodlich</a></i><br />
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<b>1. You'll feel about 50 different emotions in the course of the first 48 hours. </b></div>
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I feel like anytime I've read about engagement stories all people talk about is how elated they are...which I mean, totally makes sense! Of course you're going to highlight the happy emotions- but chances are you'll feel some other more confusing ones too- and DUDE that's normal. Once I shared those feelings with some friends who are already engaged/married they all came back with a resounding "ME. TOO!"<br />
Just a few examples:</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Excitement to start a new chapter in your lives.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sadness that the most recent chapter of your lives is over.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Joy to share the news with your loved ones.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Nervousness of how people will react.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Giddiness to find a dress/venue/etc</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Stress of the thought of wedding planning</span></i></div>
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<a href="http://giphy.com/gifs/feels-glass-case-of-emotion-will-farrel-Woc5F2s89MnLO">via GIPHY</a></div>
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<b>2. You'll somehow be totally exhausted but not able to sleep all at the same time.</b></div>
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All those emotions that I mentioned above, mixed with celebrating, calling your families, and jumping up and down (no? anyone else? just me?) will WEAR. YOU. OUT. (In a <i>good</i> way, just to be clear! I wouldn't trade that worn-outness for anything!) But...then..you'll go to fall asleep that first night and you won't sleep because you are so freaking jacked. The excitement and adrenaline kept me up all night...aaaand the night after that :)</div>
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<b>3. Some people will react better than you thought they would.</b></div>
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There are some people you KNOW will react exactly how you want. They're the Leslie Knopes in your life and you know they will make your heart swell. Then there are the people that will kind of come out of left field and pleasantly surprise you! I had a few people that when I told them the news we got engaged I expected a smile and a casual "congrats!"...but they shocked me with a ton of excitement and questions and joy. Thank those people profusely because you'll remember their reactions the most.</div>
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<a href="http://giphy.com/gifs/parks-and-recreation-parksfinale-one-last-ride-3EAKxhY5DDJIw5VuXS">via GIPHY</a></div>
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<b>4. Some people will react more poorly than you thought they would.</b></div>
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I wrote a<a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/2016/04/how-to-be-happier.html"> post</a> recently about people who try to <a href="http://beautyandbeard.blogspot.com/2016/04/how-to-be-happier.html">steal your joy </a>and man did it come at a good time. It's important to remember that everyone takes news differently, and everyone has things going on that you don't know about. Maybe on another day in their life they'd be really happy for you, but on the day you tell them, they don't have the emotional capacity. And it stings, I won't lie. It hurts to share news you're really happy about and have them react in the same was if you told them it was cloudy outside. In those times it's important to remember the people who have been insanely supportive and most importantly, remember all that matters is your & your partner's joy. </div>
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<a href="http://giphy.com/gifs/nick-jonas-celebrity-rp-fc-qNFGrq3k8n6AE">via GIPHY</a><br />
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<b>5. People might ask you what your dress will look like</b></div>
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Ok. I expected "when's the big day!?" or "how did he propose?!" because I've totally asked those questions to other people...but this one caught me off guard. I took zero offense to the question, I just realized I had absolutely no idea what my dress might look like! To one person I literally answered "uh...short? or maybe long?" which for suuuure made me sound like a total tool. Fail.</div>
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<a href="http://giphy.com/gifs/couture-ralph-russo-hanaa-ben-abdesslem-ndxh0PgCFFN0Q">via GIPHY</a></div>
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<b>6. Someone WILL ask you carat weight or cost of your ring. </b></div>
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Ohhh the tackiness. If you're going to be tacky, just come out and be honest and say "Hey! I'm nosy and I want to judge the amount your fiancee/you spent on your ring!" I still won't give you the answer, but at least I'll respect your honesty. *eyeroll*</div>
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<a href="http://giphy.com/gifs/artefr-no-nope-eyeroll-26AHFomysg4oszdle">via GIPHY</a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">If you're engaged/married, what are things that happened or were said to you that surprised you?</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Come on, I want the good, the bad, and the ugly!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">xo, lp</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">(psst, let's be friends! find me <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/"><i><b>here</b></i></a>)</span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-53516519065598350532016-05-26T23:20:00.000-04:002016-05-30T21:28:56.613-04:00OUR ENGAGEMENT STORY (B&B WEDDING SERIES)<div style="text-align: center;">
I figured before I got too crazy into this wedding series I should share how we got engaged!</div>
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I am the BIGGEST sucker for engagement stories. They can be simple or elaborate; no matter what they <i>completely</i> turn me into mush. Anyone else feel me?!</div>
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<b>DISCLAIMER(S): This is a crazy long post. There is rambling involved. Grammar is not 10/10. Bonus points if you take a shot every time you see an exclamation mark*</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*don't actually do that. it's for sure not safe</span></div>
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Are you sitting back, relaxing at work or on your couch with a glass of wine?</div>
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Here we go:</div>
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First things first, this post requires 3 back stories. Yes, I TOLD YOU IT WAS GOING TO BE A LONG POST DON'T YOU DARE EVEN COMPLAIN ABOUT BACKSTORIES!</div>
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<u>Backstory #1: The Setting</u></div>
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If you're new around here and haven't followed along on the blog or on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">Instagram</a> - Michael and I spend as much time as possible at our local state parks. Like to the point it's probably annoying for people who follow us on social media. In the winter we ski, in the spring/fall/summer we camp/hike/canoe. There's one particular park that has a multi-story watchtower where you can see 360 views of Wisconsin for miles and miles and miles. We stop up all the time, take a picture every season, and hashtag them <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/mbbluemounds/">#mbbluemounds</a> on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">Instagram</a>! Here's a few so you can set the scene:</div>
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<u>Backstory #2: The Ring</u></div>
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This will for sure shock some of you, so hold onto your britches, folks! </div>
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<i>I designed my engagement ring!</i></div>
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I <i>know</i>. For some people that isn't cool. It's surprising or upsetting or tacky or whatever but ohmygod please get a hold of yourself, I'll tell that story in another post, I promise. In the meantime, the point of this was that I knew Michael had an engagement ring in his possession. We created it together and it was finished sometime at the end of February, so I knew that somewhere in the depths of our 1100 sq foot apartment, them diamonds were a'lurkin. Thus, I knew at <i>some</i> point in the nearish future we'd get engaged. </div>
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<u>Backstory #3: The Amazing Willpower of Michael</u></div>
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Here's the thing about Michael. When he has a big present that he's excited about, he sometimes bursts and can't wait until he's supposed to give it. Case in point: he got me diamond earrings yeeeears ago for the Christmas after our 1 year anniversary...and gave them to me the <i><u>day</u></i> he bought them...which was like..December 12th. So, naturally, when I knew the ring would be done end of February I was like OH MAN IT'S GONNA HAPPEN SOON Y'ALL. I mean, to myself, duh. We had a few weekends in a row that in my mind I thought were SO opportune...but sneaky Michael had willpower and chose to wait. Once we got engaged he confessed to me that he in fact had the ring with him on MULTIPLE occasions but held off until the time was exactly right. Which of course simultaneously made me melt and drove me crazy. Because I'm a neurotic bag of emotions.</div>
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<b>OK.</b></div>
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<b>YOU'VE MADE IT TO THE GOOD STUFF NOW, FOLKS. GET ANOTHER GLASS OF WINE (or whatever you goody-goodies drink at work) AND LET'S DO THIS!</b></div>
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So Michael had this plan.</div>
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We'd go to our lovely state park.</div>
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We'd go to take our #mbbluemounds picture.</div>
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He'd propose while I was taking the picture.</div>
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Naturally, that got ruined. Once by mothers, and once by me.</div>
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The first time it got ruined was on Mother's Day. We were out for a hike and planned to take our late spring #mbbluemounds picture, but the park was PACKED. It was gorgeous out and there were picnics galore. Needless to say, he didn't feel like being surrounded by a bunch of kids with watermelon on their faces would be the story we'd want to tell, so he waited. Besides that, it was Mother's Day...and he was like "oh crap. I can't do this today! it'll overshadow Mother's Day!" Smart man, that Michael. In case you didn't get it, I was joking above about the first time being ruined by mothers. We love allll those mothers at the park that day with their watermelon kids.</div>
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The "ruined by me" part was legit though. </div>
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It was Thursday. We had planned to hike after work and take the picture. It was pretty cold and windy, so I was emailing him all day saying "wahhhh do we have to hike it's cold outttt" but then after some Culver's for lunch I figured a hike was due, so we went. We changed into our hiking gear after work and went to snap the infamous picture before going on our way. We got to the top of the watchtower- and FUN FACT when it's cold and windy on the ground, it's COLDER and WINDIER on a 3 story tower. </div>
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So Michael gets into the position for the picture and after snapping 2 shots I declared that I was freezing and we should climb down. </div>
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Michael instantly says </div>
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"Wait...um...we should take..MORE pictures!"</div>
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I should have caught on at that moment because he never asks to take more pictures. He's a patient saint when I snap away for 20 minutes for Instagram, but never asks for MORE. Clearly I obliged since that was probably the first time in 6.5 years he had asked for more pictures, so we took some lovely selfies and I, yet again, complained about being cold and wanting to leave (god I am such a peach, aren't I?!?!?). He kept fidgeting with his backpack so I told him to close up the zippers so we could go and then he just started GRINNING at me. </div>
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Like...kid in T-ball who just got his first home run grinning. </div>
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Glee on steroids grinning.</div>
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Then it hit me. </div>
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"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!?" I asked</div>
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He kept grinning.</div>
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I did a weird spin move away from him and kept saying "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!"..because apparently in romantic situations I get awkward AF.</div>
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Then he got down on one knee (still grinning) and ...well..he said something.</div>
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I blacked out.</div>
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All I remember was looking at him holding a red box with a ring and saying "don't drop it!!"</div>
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Then we hugged and kissed and all that mushy stuff and I just was in this weird world-stopped shock place. Looking back on it, it seems so silly. I KNEW he had a ring. I KNEW this would be coming. But somehow in the moment my mind just started short-circuiting and I couldn't really talk or cry. I was just stunned and overcome with feeling like I was exactly where I was supposed to be in that moment.</div>
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Because I get nauseous like an old lady on a cruise ship I sat down on the floor of the watchtower while I got my bearings and started asking Michael one miiiiillion questions (which I will spare you all of) and simultaneously tearing up and staring at him. </div>
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He told me how he Facetimed my parents together to tell them he was going to propose.</div>
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He told me he had the ring with him a few times before.</div>
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He told me how he thought of hiring a photographer to capture it all but wanted us to be alone more than anything.</div>
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He told me he ate about 10 Tums that day in anticipation of asking me.</div>
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He told me he loved me and he couldn't wait to marry me.</div>
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We suddenly realized this was <i>real </i>and that we could tell people- but decided we wanted a few more hours to ourselves to just cherish it. It sounds sappy but we knew once we shared it it wouldn't be just ours anymore- so we took a ton of pictures and then went for a hike. It all felt so US. We weren't dressed up fancy, in fact my hair was pretty gross (thanks dry shampoo, luv u) and as you can see in the picture below- I wasn't ready with some purty manicure like the Internet tells me I should have been. Please note how my eyes are puffy (thanks crying) and how awesome Michael's face is:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFpX4mMg7ZQszrSECOKzJkjcbrqLvAZC7pCGwS0OE3f9fo8QvgBvcynQmlXpW0PxEJvihE7S6iew2QiWHemM1D9VotvED-xRhOnXKDjXk9EjuaxGehh0D1w5KHI4VqSFwI7Nry6hX3c08/s1600/050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="engaged!" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFpX4mMg7ZQszrSECOKzJkjcbrqLvAZC7pCGwS0OE3f9fo8QvgBvcynQmlXpW0PxEJvihE7S6iew2QiWHemM1D9VotvED-xRhOnXKDjXk9EjuaxGehh0D1w5KHI4VqSFwI7Nry6hX3c08/s640/050.JPG" title="engaged!" width="640" /></a></div>
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Also- someone please teach me to pose with my hand/ring. I look like a dweeb.</div>
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After our hike we still just weren't ready to tell anyone and we were FAMISHED, so we went to our favorite little dive bar in town and got some beer & greasy food. It was Bingo night, so naturally we joined in and ended up winning 30 bucks...because not only are we 90, but also evidently very lucky!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjinAz20aZjWFZIUkqfWwBJqTTDLOAX3anc8mcWs9ZXzdf7utRYh_bWhvVzXXkKCYhwUXoya0A0dQLlKytr5cAZ3525h-LeqcMxwIeHJ5zsel_5FnwOmRuk4z8YiKghv07NRMJ1C1_ahZg/s1600/104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="engaged!" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjinAz20aZjWFZIUkqfWwBJqTTDLOAX3anc8mcWs9ZXzdf7utRYh_bWhvVzXXkKCYhwUXoya0A0dQLlKytr5cAZ3525h-LeqcMxwIeHJ5zsel_5FnwOmRuk4z8YiKghv07NRMJ1C1_ahZg/s640/104.JPG" title="engaged!" width="640" /></a></div>
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We finally got home and started Facetiming/calling/texting our closest family & friends to share the good news. Their responses were all completely unique and 100% priceless. I managed to get a video of a few family members' reactions that I intend to keep FOREVER because they're amazing. </div>
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We went to bed elated and overwhelmed and exhaused.</div>
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But mostly elated :)</div>
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It was a fabulous Thursday, and now May 12th is one of our most favorite days ever!</div>
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Coming up soon in the series are posts like:</div>
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How to design your engagement ring (#withoutpeoplejudgingyou)(#jktheywill).</div>
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How we planned our entire wedding in a 6 hour car ride (#efficiency)</div>
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How to plan a destination elopement (#internationallawssuck)</div>
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How to tell people kids aren't allowed at your wedding (#sorrynotsorry)</div>
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Hope you'll tune in again for the rest of the series!!</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Thank you to all of our supportive family and friends for making us feel incredibly loved!</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">xo, LP (&MB)</span></b></div>
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(psssssssst: follow along for more fun <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">HERE</a>!)</div>
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Oh, and because Michael gets me 100% he offered to take our #mbbluemounds picture as planned, with how he was going to propose before I ruined it ;-)</div>
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See below for the series:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD0drSDtX-5IdsCgBddW4JkEe3az70n4iFOnzKEpFKGNrvW8mGoOuj48Amil6TXLFfAl-ALZDTnuTSIoXy77MSTGjwa6HStLBXPlwEottl-1TbUc8EMzQ_66QVVQY7XK5djBQ4cxRV85o/s1600/mbbluemounds.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="engagement story: proposal at Blue Mound State Park" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD0drSDtX-5IdsCgBddW4JkEe3az70n4iFOnzKEpFKGNrvW8mGoOuj48Amil6TXLFfAl-ALZDTnuTSIoXy77MSTGjwa6HStLBXPlwEottl-1TbUc8EMzQ_66QVVQY7XK5djBQ4cxRV85o/s1600/mbbluemounds.png" title="engagement story: proposal at Blue Mound State Park" /></a></div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-16429473752238318202016-05-25T21:58:00.000-04:002016-05-25T21:58:33.913-04:00LIFE LATELY: ENGAGED!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
You guys.</div>
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B&B is BACK. IN. ACTION.</div>
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I repeat: BACKINACTION!</div>
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Life has been so busy. We've been traveling a lot lately and life kind of took over, ya know? </div>
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If you're annoyed with me, I have a good excuse other than being "busy".... about 2 weeks ago we got engaged!!! I had some blog posts ready to go but the last 2 weeks have been a complete whirlwind of celebrating with family and honestly enjoying our own excitement about wedding planning and what the future holds. </div>
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I'll actually be documenting some wedding stuff because we are going outside the "norm" and I know that while we've been planning I wish I had more resources- so I'm hoping someone else who has a similar idea will be helped out. We're eloping to Italy & Greece in October, and then having a late night bash at a brewery in November when we return and we could NOT be more thrilled!</div>
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More details to come :)</div>
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Here's life lately:</div>
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1. ENGAGED. Story and details to come, but <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">here we are</a> grinning our faces off:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn4xmivOBGgaluj4tAaRh1JFOqkw8FXEGBSm3yeo3idf7V17zbmvGfcic5ymEukkzSpoBljjw8DzmK5ZqR2lwyloLPBfdt4sYvqOR9yhDe-0LGYtCwp9iy4pMftUww_dBrkfgY6krNgpE/s1600/engaged.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="610" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn4xmivOBGgaluj4tAaRh1JFOqkw8FXEGBSm3yeo3idf7V17zbmvGfcic5ymEukkzSpoBljjw8DzmK5ZqR2lwyloLPBfdt4sYvqOR9yhDe-0LGYtCwp9iy4pMftUww_dBrkfgY6krNgpE/s640/engaged.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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2. BACHELORETTE is back. You bet your sweet butt I watch this show. It's a guilty pleasure and I have an awesome group of ladies I watch it with. </div>
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Initial thoughts:</div>
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Jojo is the prettiest bachelorette EVER. Hands. Down.</div>
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Guys seem really unattractive this season, amiright? Poor casting, ABC. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtxp7-WRj1jyHf7cbl2rCP5LDck78yRtp-fbNOqA2CvfHEqbqto4aAp8vVgv2lolLZaIY0ViXzsGjXOCuMruv72IoRAatDjN9xGwaple0xODdYkLnC1Gg1bkR6S4HifSuykS8dO7MuETE/s1600/bachelorette+2016.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="624" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtxp7-WRj1jyHf7cbl2rCP5LDck78yRtp-fbNOqA2CvfHEqbqto4aAp8vVgv2lolLZaIY0ViXzsGjXOCuMruv72IoRAatDjN9xGwaple0xODdYkLnC1Gg1bkR6S4HifSuykS8dO7MuETE/s640/bachelorette+2016.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/"> 3. NEW IG LOGO:</a> I dunno, it's kind of growing on me? I still can't decide. I painted <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">this image</a> of the new logo and asked your opinion and most of you said you haaaaaaaaaaated the new logo. I definitely don't like it as much as the old one...but it's not..the worst ever?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGagAlhLXiQvDMTkUVBEh3BkYIXDNMw25iqnUJAh6Q-y-eviQZCxJ8TlZbiIkop2kIu4kLxkggaEPYmLjr-aEW7lI4cAb5rTGV3di0MOUgDoUztVE2If_BdxWqQOKxtTkRlspsBzXcMns/s1600/ig+logo.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="624" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGagAlhLXiQvDMTkUVBEh3BkYIXDNMw25iqnUJAh6Q-y-eviQZCxJ8TlZbiIkop2kIu4kLxkggaEPYmLjr-aEW7lI4cAb5rTGV3di0MOUgDoUztVE2If_BdxWqQOKxtTkRlspsBzXcMns/s640/ig+logo.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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4. NEW <a href="https://www.rocksbox.com/">ROCKSBOX</a>: I can't get enough of the Loren Hope that's been in my last few <a href="https://www.rocksbox.com/">Rockbox</a> sets. SO GOOD. If you want to try out<a href="https://www.rocksbox.com/"> Rocksbox </a>for summer events/weddings, get your first month free to see if you like it or not by using code <a href="https://www.rocksbox.com/">"beautyandbeardxoxo"</a> when you check out. (yes, actually a month free. yes, i know it's hard to believe since nothing is free these days).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib8h9rRlO8k5a2VTAk3pjhERy-5GGvLaf47P0irVMNdx3sbgx9f8_4808PhtceSJVxQjNt1QiFVcS0jcJENoUOC0Igfp8jI0tpF6S9A4_VCISkYQtEMGbgixtAcdTGnTnZnIWG1CPa4m8/s1600/rocksbox.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib8h9rRlO8k5a2VTAk3pjhERy-5GGvLaf47P0irVMNdx3sbgx9f8_4808PhtceSJVxQjNt1QiFVcS0jcJENoUOC0Igfp8jI0tpF6S9A4_VCISkYQtEMGbgixtAcdTGnTnZnIWG1CPa4m8/s640/rocksbox.PNG" width="636" /></a></div>
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5. SUMMER. Holy crap it's hot in Wisconsin. Like high 80s OY. HOT. OY. Hoping wherever you are it's not so toasty! I'm sad to say goodbye to spring tulips but am ready for pool season and summer kayaking/camping!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGNDhYI9XG4-qJisWhwiY0KTl-ytbqWlocIHlFbP_WTBcwBeUq3xFVJO-sKtmPU6WuEFBAZ3AnejExLhZgQi2wdd3y-Q5KdObP8vSsOwE9hSP2RnU89CGAOc71z1F1zf4dUzE07O6Jifs/s1600/tulips.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="636" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGNDhYI9XG4-qJisWhwiY0KTl-ytbqWlocIHlFbP_WTBcwBeUq3xFVJO-sKtmPU6WuEFBAZ3AnejExLhZgQi2wdd3y-Q5KdObP8vSsOwE9hSP2RnU89CGAOc71z1F1zf4dUzE07O6Jifs/s640/tulips.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>What's new with you lately?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Any exciting summer plans coming up?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>xo, lp</b></span></div>
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See (a lot) more of what we've been up to lately <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">HERE</a>!</div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-53024473781119265122016-04-03T18:31:00.001-04:002016-05-09T20:10:09.918-04:00A POST ON PEOPLE WHO TRY TO STEAL YOUR JOY<div style="text-align: center;">
Today I'm chatting about people stealing your joy, and how to react to it.</div>
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<i>I know, diving RIGHT in with a super uplifting topic for a Sunday, right?</i></div>
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It sounds silly to say out loud..."she stole my joy". It sounds emo and whiny but when it happens, it sucks. It can take the wind out of your sails- and if you don't find a way to deal with it, you can waste a lot of time fixating on it.<br />
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If you're reading this blog post and are feeling like I'm a complete whack-job, let me give and example, mmmkay?<br />
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So you are working on planning BIG event, and you're feeling all:</div>
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<a href="http://giphy.com/gifs/tvland-younger-youngertv-tv-land-sutton-foster-excited-giddy-happy-thrilled-d2Z83UJm7tIaSypW">via GIPHY</a></div>
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So you tell someone important to you, expecting they're going to be like:<br />
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<a href="http://giphy.com/gifs/michael-j-fox-excitement-family-ties-113nKa7nw40DEQ">via GIPHY</a><br />
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....but instead they're like:<br />
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They tell you they aren't going, and they won't even make an effort to be there..which leaves you all like:<br />
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<a href="http://giphy.com/gifs/the-bachelor-professional-twin-emily-jgSrnM1Vfaxfq">via GIPHY</a><br />
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<b>You feel me now?</b><br />
<b>Joy. Stolen. </b></div>
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It can be so hard when you are genuinely happy about something and someone walks right on up to you and smacks it out of your hands.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The thing about stealing joy is that in order for it to happen, you have to <i>allow</i> it to happen.</span></b><br />
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If you are thrilled about your pursuit to go to law school, and you let someone steal your joy by telling you that they think lawyers are arrogant con artists- that's your choice. You can cry in the corner- or you can give them the middle finger as they walk away (clearly the latter sounds more fun).<br />
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<b>I'm not at expert at blocking joy-stealers out, but here is what I CAN suggest doing:</b><br />
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<u>1. Manage expectations when you tell news to someone who has let you down in the past.</u> It's not rocket science, but if they've rained on your parade in the past, it's likely they'll do it again. This is a fine line between assuming the worst in people and just being realistic- so walk it carefully, my friends. There's someone in my life who consistently ignores my good news if it doesn't involve them- so I try to avoid telling them until I've shared it with other, more supportive people.<br />
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<u>2. Lean on those who you know will be supportive and uplifting.</u> Also, not rocket science.We all have that one friend or family member that is just a basket of love and joy. You can tell them you got a new haircut and they tell you that you look fabulous. You can tell them you got a promotion and they'll have a card to you in the mail overnight. THOSE are the people you should tell your news to first. (Shoutout to my girl<a href="https://www.instagram.com/trolltowngirl/"> Adrienne-</a> she's one of those people in my life that without fail brings a positive attitude wherever she goes!)<br />
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<u>3. Keep news to yourself for longer</u>. Sometimes when you get good news you just want to shout it from the rooftops instantly. I cannot even count how many times I wish I'd just kept my mouth shut a little longer and get the happy news to myself to just purely enjoy before I let it out. I've found that the (few) times I've managed to hold of on telling people exciting things, and allowed <i>myself</i> more time to relish in it- when I finally do share it, their responses don't affect me as much. The joy has gotten deep enough into my skin they can't take it! (Cheesy, but so true!)<br />
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<b><u>Now, there's one more tip I have to give out, and this is something that I need to work on:</u></b><br />
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<b>When you have great news- don't downplay it just to appease other people.</b><br />
A few months ago I was with a group of friends and shared some news that on the inside I was SO giddy about. I played it off like it was no big deal and that I was <i>soooo </i>chill about it, which was purely a defense mechanism. I figured if I didn't act like I was overjoyed then I wouldn't be disappointed if THEY didn't act overjoyed. You know what happened? They called me out on it and couldn't believe why I wasn't more excited- and I felt like a complete idiot admitting I had downplayed it because I thought they wouldn't react how I had hoped.<br />
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<b>Moral of the story:</b><br />
Share your joy- but don't allow others to steal it.<br />
You can't control their reactions, but you can control how you let their reactions affect you!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIK3ejd45WHT93h1CvpIp4rd_0xbNuMFYbsi7SZczqcJfN7M5jYE3kjiLyQKqlTQBCQR-0ywtU4Y0qUlRMsfi06Qp6VxKMElcCE99GHooUbxW7sfG8Xa3D0SoCyv2gvCk3sy1kt1dpV6U/s1600/026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="don't let anyone steal your joy" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIK3ejd45WHT93h1CvpIp4rd_0xbNuMFYbsi7SZczqcJfN7M5jYE3kjiLyQKqlTQBCQR-0ywtU4Y0qUlRMsfi06Qp6VxKMElcCE99GHooUbxW7sfG8Xa3D0SoCyv2gvCk3sy1kt1dpV6U/s400/026.JPG" title="don't let anyone steal your joy" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">How do you handle it when people try to </span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">steal your joy?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I'm trying to work on something more mature than the middle-finger-when-they-walk-away trick :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">xo, LP</span><br />
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<i>*update: please note, i've totally been guilty of stealing joy before. you probably are too. good people can sometimes be so caught up in their own worlds that they accidentally hurt someone. there's a fine line between being a devil's advocate about stuff and being a party pooper- i'll promise to be more sensitive to it if you all will, mmkay?"</i><br />
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(let's be instagram friends and share joy together, shall we? find me <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">HERE!</a>)</div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-10147186503814448582016-03-24T19:06:00.000-04:002016-03-24T19:06:33.193-04:00THE 6 (best) BAGS EVERY WOMAN SHOULD OWN<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Let me start out with this:</div>
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<i>I understand not all women care about purses/bags. </i></div>
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<i>Some just have a tote they bought on sale at Gap for $6 and use it everywhere (cough cough me in college).</i></div>
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<i>Some just keep a wallet in their back pocket and call it a day.</i></div>
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<i>I, however, have become a purse hoarder in my wise-old age of 28, and these are the 6 bags I always use for every event I go to.</i></div>
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<i>Is this a shallow / materialistic post?</i></div>
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<i>YES! Congrats! </i><i>You've figured it out! But believe it or not, I get asked where I buy my purses when I'm out- so this post is for those laaaaadies.</i></div>
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<i>If you're not interested, please move along. I don't care for the "why are you posting about bags there are more important issues in the world" comments today.</i></div>
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<i>I'm aware there are more important issues in the world, however, some people like to take their minds off of those issues for a few minutes a day and read post about bags. So. Back. Off.</i></div>
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Rant over.</div>
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For those of you that are interested, these are the 6 bags that I own (or versions of, if the ones I own are sold out) that I use for every even possible. Work, Working out, Weddings; you name it, these cover it.</div>
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Read below for the details!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUlpwgVAJWYC1tWOP8CgLbFBdY9yrygCfQvd_gZmcSs1vZ2JlPK2dstrN5AVzKLUYgm7y0-9uEWVTaUNQKgAG9qQ9n_ZlgkzVBZ5RnJYXJdEMYSLJglGUsGyqEkTdc3bL_4Cf9lh-_u4Q/s1600/bestbags.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The 6 best bags every woman should own!" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUlpwgVAJWYC1tWOP8CgLbFBdY9yrygCfQvd_gZmcSs1vZ2JlPK2dstrN5AVzKLUYgm7y0-9uEWVTaUNQKgAG9qQ9n_ZlgkzVBZ5RnJYXJdEMYSLJglGUsGyqEkTdc3bL_4Cf9lh-_u4Q/s1600/bestbags.png" title="The 6 best bags every woman should own!" /></a></div>
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<b><u>The Crossbody Bags.</u></b></div>
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I own 3 cross body bags- each a different color and size, in a specific order. Am I neurotic? Yes! But here's why:</div>
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1. <i><u><a href="http://bit.ly/1UogAYC">The small, neutral greyish-blushish crossbody:</a></u></i> I own a slightly older model of this<a href="http://bit.ly/1UogAYC"> Kate Spade Cedar Hill Cross Body.</a> I use this bag exclusively for weddings/fancy events where I want my dress to be the attention-grabber- and the purse solely to function as a place to store my phone, my money, my lipstick, and a ton of bandages for when my high heels rip apart my feet after dancing for 5 hours straight.<a href="http://bit.ly/1UogAYC"> This bag</a> runs about $148 at full price, but you can totally find cheaper versions like <b><a href="http://bit.ly/1RC6Yc3">THIS</a> </b>one.</div>
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2. <a href="http://bit.ly/1S7cYE0"><i>The small-but-slightly-larger black crossbody</i>: </a>This is usually my night-on-the-town purse. Black because it goes with everything and if I spill on it ya can't see it. #truth. It's a little larger that the neutral one above so I can store a few more items in it. Yes, I've gone rogue and used this one at a wedding before. Because I'm a rebel like that. (<i>please tell me sarcasm is coming across on this one</i>). I own a now discontinued Tory Burch number, but<a href="http://bit.ly/1S7cYE0"> the one I show above </a>is neat too. If $300+ isn't in your budget, try <a href="http://bit.ly/1T8l3x9"><b>THIS</b></a> one.</div>
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3. <a href="http://bit.ly/1LHX9Hk"><i>The halfway handbag- halfway crossbody cognac crossbody</i>:</a> How's that for a clear description? I use this guy when I want to have a relatively low profile bag, but still want to pack my instax camera & a ginger ale. Yes, literally. Because fun fact: I usually have a ginger ale with me wherever I go...but that's a story for another day.<a href="http://bit.ly/1LHX9Hk"> This Michael Kors one </a>is exactly the one I own and have used for get-togethers or blog events. It'll run you about $228, but <a href="http://bit.ly/1RpdFeg"><b>HERE </b></a>is a cheaper one.</div>
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<b><u>The Tote Bags.</u></b></div>
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I could write an ode to totes. Because they have all the space in the world and I love them:</div>
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4. <i><a href="http://www.landsend.com/products/medium-natural-zip-top-canvas-tote-bag/id_232442">The canvas zip-top tote</a></i>: I have a couple of these- one is my gym bag and the other is my work computer bag & and most importantly- my travel bag. The zip top is AMAZING because you can close it and tuck it under a seat on an airplane and your cell phone and tampons won't fly under your seat and cause you to ask your neighbor to help you pick them up #beenthere. <a href="http://www.landsend.com/products/medium-natural-zip-top-canvas-tote-bag/id_232442">These bags </a>will run you about $30-$40 at LLBean/Lands' End, so I'm not even going to offer a cheaper version, cuz that's hella cheap.</div>
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5.<a href="http://bit.ly/1Pu6EED"> <i>The nylon packable tote</i>:</a> I love this bag because if you spill on it- or you get caught in a rainstorm- it doesn't get ruined. That's because it's<a href="http://bit.ly/1Pu6EED"> super durable nylon</a>! Plus, when empty it packs up into a tiny rectangle- which is great when you're travelling and want more than one purse option when you get to your destination- this takes up almost no space in a suitcase. I swear by <a href="http://bit.ly/1Pu6EED">THIS Longchamp </a>(shown above) which will run you $145, however you can find cheaper nylon bags like<b> <a href="http://bit.ly/1RoCFjK">THIS</a></b> one.</div>
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6. <a href="http://bit.ly/1pIWNX8"><i>The oversized leather tote</i>:</a> I alternate between this bag and #5 as my everyday-bring-to-work bags. I own the exact color shown above<a href="http://bit.ly/1pIWNX8"> from Madewell ($170)</a> and now that it's broken in the leather is like buttttahhhh. It holds a ton of stuff and goes with any casual outfit. Plus it's purty on the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">instagramz.</a> Pretty much everyone and their mother has knocked this bag off, so you can find a cheaper one <a href="http://bit.ly/22yMDtr">HERE.</a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">What bag do you swear by?</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Are you a hoarder like I am??</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">xo, lp</span></b></div>
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<b>proof of the bagz and that i'm not just lying to you:</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSojEuW36X7TuXYDskLN6qFAIrKS3BB2jici4misKiOH_48HF2I4w6ShyzHMw4iIKgDebKIVirzWgYEty77wL0YBPxE9Lbw4eJdKLjLrG9FWkYF1NBapZmoxWGfoMtSOeIe_befvKiY4I/s1600/bags.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSojEuW36X7TuXYDskLN6qFAIrKS3BB2jici4misKiOH_48HF2I4w6ShyzHMw4iIKgDebKIVirzWgYEty77wL0YBPxE9Lbw4eJdKLjLrG9FWkYF1NBapZmoxWGfoMtSOeIe_befvKiY4I/s640/bags.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>*also- more proof of bag love on my<a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/"> instagram HERE </a>* </i></div>
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<i>*also also- no one sponsored this post. i just really like to go on long diatribes about bags. because i'm crazy like that. also, because i'll get fired if i don't mention it- i work for lands' end, but i get NO benefit from posting about that tote at work-swear on my love for bags that i don't. *</i></div>
<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-61022161449753910222016-03-10T19:28:00.000-05:002016-03-10T19:28:13.116-05:00A REMINDER TO STAY POSITIVE (THANKS VIOLA)<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>(if you're not in the mood for a lengthy post, just skip it and read the reason I'm writing this post;<b> <a href="http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/local/remembering-viola-benicke-and-vi-s-shop-stockton-woman-s/article_195a5601-1ae0-5c0f-b7d7-9f6751b5f19d.html">this</a></b> article)</i></div>
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I love going into antique stores & flea markets. Especially ones in small towns.</div>
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Michael is used to this fact- and whenever we go on roadtrips and I see the rusty old "Vintage Shop" sign- I beg and plead until we pull over to search for hidden treasures for half an hour.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLNcZUrf0AatOX4BTkLxn_IN9Jy_A2paPnoInF9Kchji2BErhNfAgwMBvHKzGmWOsQeOLjGo8sh8WGytSS6Asf1SH1LYeHXNIVwR0PQAYM23ud03Ef5-hWwY44_kfCQ9o-CfIQlULO-A/s1600/flea.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLNcZUrf0AatOX4BTkLxn_IN9Jy_A2paPnoInF9Kchji2BErhNfAgwMBvHKzGmWOsQeOLjGo8sh8WGytSS6Asf1SH1LYeHXNIVwR0PQAYM23ud03Ef5-hWwY44_kfCQ9o-CfIQlULO-A/s400/flea.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>(Baby Laura circa 2006 posing with a flea market sign. Why did I think this was cool? Oy.)</i></div>
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A couple years ago we were driving through Stockton, Minnesota- and I saw an "Old Tyme Shoppe" sign. I didn't even have to open my mouth, Michael just rolled his eyes (with a smile on his face) and parked out front. An old woman welcomed me when I entered- and her eyes lit up when she saw Michael walk in behind me- in all his 6'1" glory. </div>
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"Would you mind coming back here and helping me?", she asked, turning towards the back.</div>
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Michael and I followed her as she opened the door which led into her attached home. She explained something was wrong with the AC vent, and she couldn't reach it- so she asked Michael to help make it right. While he tinkered, she showed me antique baubles and we chatted.</div>
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At the time I was totally baffled (as I always am in such small towns) of the complete and total trust and faith she had in humanity. She took one look at us and trusted us to come right on into her home without a second thought that we might rob her blind. </div>
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We bought a couple items and headed out- with her thanking Michael for his help and waving as we went. We've passed that store a few times since that trip, and each time we would recall how hilarious we thought it was that she had no shame in asking us for help, and let us into her home so freely.</div>
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I hadn't thought of her in a while, until Michael sent me<b> <a href="http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/local/remembering-viola-benicke-and-vi-s-shop-stockton-woman-s/article_195a5601-1ae0-5c0f-b7d7-9f6751b5f19d.html">this</a> </b>article today, which was republished out of remembrance (as she passed away a few days ago). As I read it I couldn't help but tear up. I didn't even know this woman well, but hearing about all she had been through in her life was overwhelming.</div>
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When I finished reading it I wanted to run over to Michael's work and hug him. And then drive to Minnesota and hug my parents. And then drive back here and hug Michael again. </div>
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So stop reading this ridiculous post, and go read <a href="http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/local/remembering-viola-benicke-and-vi-s-shop-stockton-woman-s/article_195a5601-1ae0-5c0f-b7d7-9f6751b5f19d.html">this wonderful article</a> about her life. I dare you not to be inspired to be a more appreciative, positive person. It's such a necessary reminder that you have no idea what other people have gone through, and to treat everyone you meet with kindness- like she did with Michael and me that day.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>When you finish reading it- send it to someone else!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>xo, lp</b></span></div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-58370748029474176442016-03-07T19:24:00.000-05:002016-03-09T18:55:58.463-05:00DON'T EVER LISTEN TO NETFLIX.<div style="text-align: center;">
For the last few months, Netflix has been telling me to watch <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_School_Musical">"High School Musical".</a></i></div>
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Every time I sign on, there it is, waiting for me in the "You might also like..." section. Zac Efron's pre-pubescent face is just grinning at me through all the self tanner.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="221" src="//giphy.com/embed/l60FtoQZcCJ9K" width="480"></iframe></div>
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<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/high-school-musical-hsm-l60FtoQZcCJ9K">via GIPHY</a></div>
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I mean, it's my own fault that it's there. Netflix knows I've been watching every single episode of <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glee_(TV_series)">Glee </a></i>for the last few months, so they clearly assume I love all things smarmy and full of teenage singing. It's all part of a not-super-complicated algorithm to make me watch endless hours of people singing Journey while wearing overly-sequined costumes. I'm convinced of it.</div>
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I finally caved.<br />
Michael was out for the day so I figured I'd watch it. I mean, how bad could it be?</div>
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As soon as the first song started, I was like:</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="giphy-embed" frameborder="0" height="269" src="//giphy.com/embed/YU0j0j92jLdU4" width="480"></iframe></div>
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<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/YU0j0j92jLdU4">via GIPHY</a></div>
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Somehow I couldn't turn it off. The acting was bad. The songs were terrible.<br />
And yet somehow, I watched it.<br />
And then I watched <i>High School Musical 2</i> immediately after.<br />
Because Netflix told me to so I did.<br />
#nowillpower<br />
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The real problem wasn't that I soon realized I had wasted 3 hours of my life on two movies that I assume were written by 14 year olds... but rather that those movies kept haunting me through the night.<br />
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My dreams that evening?<br />
ALL. LIKE. HIGH. SCHOOL. MUSICAL.<br />
Everything that happened in them had a part where someone would break into song. And naturally everyone would start singing along. Duh.<br />
This included a work <strike>dream</strike> nightmare where one of my coworkers started singing about Excel spreadsheets. I kid you not.<br />
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It wasn't awesome or full of magic. It was terrible.<br />
I kind of just wanted to scream at everyone.</div>
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<a href="http://giphy.com/gifs/yen9Js6ffXosw">via GIPHY</a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">What did we learn from this, kids?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We learned that you should never listen to Netflix when they tell you that you might like High School Musical.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Because they're wrong.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">You won't.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Just go back to watching House of Cards or Fixer Upper like you had planned, and you'll be so. much. happier.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>xo, lp</b></span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-668730178884594132016-02-16T15:00:00.000-05:002016-02-16T15:00:13.628-05:00THAT ONE TIME I TURNED 28: 4 RANDOM FACTS<div style="text-align: center;">
It's my birthday today, so I decided to do a post that is completely random and completely about me. Because when it's your birthday you can be self-centered like that, <i>duh.</i><br />
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<i>(If you don't feel like learning more about me, then fine, I guess it's fine if you just go follow me on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">Instagram HERE</a>)</i><br />
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If you're still hanging around, here are 4 completely weird facts about ME:<br />
(yes 4, not 5. please see point #1 to find out why)<br />
(and yes, I've added completely random colorful pictures to keep your attention)<br />
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<b>1. I'm a total weirdo about numbers.</b><br />
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I just had to get that right out there. I hope I'm not the only person who is this neurotic, but if I am I'd totally believe it.<br />
I am strangely obsessed with even numbers.<br />
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Radio in the car? Volume at an even number.<br />
Alarm in the morning? Set and an even time.<br />
Volume on the TV? You guessed it! EVEN. NUMBER.<br />
Favorite number? 16 (hurray for 2016!)<br />
Favorite months? 2 (february) 10 (october) 12 (december)<br />
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Beyond that I love even years and ages more than odd years. I was born on 2.16.88, so every year I turn an even age, it's an even year. This year I turn 28 on 2.16.16, so it's basically the best year ever. I've already declared it to plenty of people, because hey...why not share your version of crazy with everyone else, right?!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8TrCSFCptNog91yML9JjM4xwR-ufa6fn1YHiGhSmIdoby5cPWZS5KcOgsyOUQDC3YOzPNyVot1ELzwge3rnWIr7zj-3YjqezHK2z0W5BxaRhz4ed300rA-lfeVMeT6hutXjFFCxqX7Jc/s1600/tom.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8TrCSFCptNog91yML9JjM4xwR-ufa6fn1YHiGhSmIdoby5cPWZS5KcOgsyOUQDC3YOzPNyVot1ELzwge3rnWIr7zj-3YjqezHK2z0W5BxaRhz4ed300rA-lfeVMeT6hutXjFFCxqX7Jc/s400/tom.PNG" width="397" /></a></div>
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<b>2. I'm super picky about foods based on texture.</b><br />
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Bread pudding? NOPE. SQUISHY.<br />
Cottage cheese? OH HELL NO.<br />
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I'm so obsessed with cereal being crunchy that I don't eat it in a bowl with milk. I drink a glass of milk on the side and eat my cereal dry. Yup.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivS6NXEe7jTg89CDUu61dOxU8grMJ8JdIs4G1Zg8L_xG0rrOjdn42NBbLJaI4SIkgoVUSFeTTGzLJH32mtoHqKQ6Lp6KFH3PwTWx52hY_5YeXS2coUFL1Uf9aEVgfCeGvWul0JIw_dEwc/s1600/11176379_407635592730353_1202078889_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivS6NXEe7jTg89CDUu61dOxU8grMJ8JdIs4G1Zg8L_xG0rrOjdn42NBbLJaI4SIkgoVUSFeTTGzLJH32mtoHqKQ6Lp6KFH3PwTWx52hY_5YeXS2coUFL1Uf9aEVgfCeGvWul0JIw_dEwc/s400/11176379_407635592730353_1202078889_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>3. I get nauseous really easily.</b><br />
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Seeing needles. Being the back seat of a car. Too much motion/spinning on tv/in movies. Sometimes heights?<br />
Of course the worst is hearing anyone else vomiting. I basically run from the room.<br />
Can you tell I'm going to be a<i> suuuuper </i> great mom someday? Have fun dealing with our puking children, Michael!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd-EiTT9l0rh01utQ5kH45VG9C1kZA91mVFQ-IYDpeomL3in9XcYfiK4HUOY1rIJz2FflOn_Xmhxc8TB_Au6SFvRAWP8ngbN_e1Ib33SDs_G2EzGQ1p4-pATYrmm6vKcL042F5E89uePQ/s1600/10932134_571475496320772_1797573297_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd-EiTT9l0rh01utQ5kH45VG9C1kZA91mVFQ-IYDpeomL3in9XcYfiK4HUOY1rIJz2FflOn_Xmhxc8TB_Au6SFvRAWP8ngbN_e1Ib33SDs_G2EzGQ1p4-pATYrmm6vKcL042F5E89uePQ/s400/10932134_571475496320772_1797573297_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>4. I get pretty panicky when I'm home alone at night.</b><br />
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I mean, I definitely blame this on all the Law & Order SVU marathons I've watched. Whenever Michael is out of town I legit barricade the door with the dining room table. If there's ever a fire I am SO in trouble. I should have prefaced this with the fact I live in a super safe neighborhood, but that fact is completely lost on me when it's 11 pm and I hear a door slam from down the hall in my apartment complex.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go spend my birthday in the way everyone dreams </b>(spending the day at work, duh)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>xo, lp</b></span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-20834370877842870022016-02-08T18:46:00.002-05:002016-02-08T18:46:35.658-05:00A POST ON VALIDATION: SOMETIMES IT FEELS GOOD TO WIN.<div style="text-align: center;">
We all grew up with the phrase "winning isn't everything". As kids, it's supposed to make us feel better when our T-ball team comes in last place. As adults, it's supposed to calm us down when we start to freak out that <i>our</i> kid's T-ball team came in last place. #circleoflife.</div>
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And it's true.</div>
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Winning <i>isn't </i>everything...but that doesn't mean that winning isn't awesome when it <i>does</i> happen.</div>
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I've been running this blog for 4 years, and over those 4 years I've been trying to get better at photography to make posts more appealing- as well as to up my <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">instagram</a> game. I've been lucky enough to have been re-grammed by big name bloggers and companies like <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/-K8BVQOA6W/">A Beautiful Mess</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/6sI_uaGXsF/">Martha Stewart</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/9OS3OoFloI/">One Kings Lane</a>, and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/xhEEFlpX6u/">Target</a>. Those re-grams ROCK; every single one of them feels like a small win. Knowing my picture, out of thousands, was noticed by those people (or at least their social media managers ;-) ) and liked enough to be shared with their followers leads to some feelings of serious pride.</div>
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Recently I entered a photo contest through the Cranberry Marketing Committee for the <a href="http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/02/prweb13198617.htm">Cranberry Friendsgiving Contest</a>...and I won! (<i>See the Press Release <a href="http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/02/prweb13198617.htm">HERE!</a></i> ) After doing some serious happy dances I realized that while winning the monetary prize was<i> amazing, </i>just the sheer validation that the work put into learning to take better photos and the time to continue to create was all totally worth it is a prize in itself.<br />
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If you need me, I'll be celebrating my win by baking another one of these cranberry galettes :)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiriG8kabP97xsQcyNz2sNFH6TGZVj8XkNNMYjVutI5AwHmy_7cnSLAIMlb-F7huFvpF8Mypd71VUBegO9ZaYdEeRtgGGKA-uW2vmCrB0sO0L-WjS4sGlS4sS7MeO_pEg6BK6B0SzaPO6I/s1600/Cadpture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiriG8kabP97xsQcyNz2sNFH6TGZVj8XkNNMYjVutI5AwHmy_7cnSLAIMlb-F7huFvpF8Mypd71VUBegO9ZaYdEeRtgGGKA-uW2vmCrB0sO0L-WjS4sGlS4sS7MeO_pEg6BK6B0SzaPO6I/s640/Cadpture.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thanks so much to the <a href="http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/02/prweb13198617.htm">Cranberry Marketing Committee</a> & their PR teams for this opportunity- so happy to take home a win for Wisconsin!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>xo, lp</b></span></div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-29006000695370569682016-02-02T21:08:00.004-05:002016-02-02T21:08:58.509-05:0012 CARDS FOR A VALENTINE WITH A SENSE OF HUMOR!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I love Valentine's Day. Honestly it's probably because it's so close to my birthday. I know all the other kids out there who grew up with their birthday near a holiday can understand...you don't really have a choice but to embrace it.</div>
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Here are 12 awesome cards for Valentine's Day that offer up a bit of wit or humor!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiod0cNBFu3W_k7on4KUewyoY6b4SVykjn8lVeNeL4TUoEZosESQ4_9JJZgoTy8QrjUWlQEaCecZcZkxivCwlQnkUytyGmLTDPDw5Dba-AEDCSzOynxH7LSJKoNaZWh7zKpr2rJqv9JGX8/s1600/valentines.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiod0cNBFu3W_k7on4KUewyoY6b4SVykjn8lVeNeL4TUoEZosESQ4_9JJZgoTy8QrjUWlQEaCecZcZkxivCwlQnkUytyGmLTDPDw5Dba-AEDCSzOynxH7LSJKoNaZWh7zKpr2rJqv9JGX8/s1600/valentines.png" /></a></div>
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All images are via the shops below- click the name of the card to purchase!</div>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/194679206/funny-romantic-card-valentines-card?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=valentine%20card&ref=sr_gallery_15">I would climb a moderately size mountain for you</a> // by: postlovedesigns</div>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/250610215/funny-valentine-card-anniversary-card?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=valentine%20card&ref=sr_gallery_20">You keep my feet warm</a> // by: sadshop</div>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/197129618/brie-mine-card-funny-valentines-day-card?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=valentine%27s%20day%20card&ref=sr_gallery_24">Brie mine</a> // by: beckagriffin</div>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/262769717/valentines-day-card-funny-valentine-card?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=valentine%20card&ref=sr_gallery_34">You're one in a melon </a>// by: nicerpaper</div>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/262773783/funny-valentine-card-cute-valentine-card?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=valentine%20card&ref=sr_gallery_18">To my significant otter</a> // by: nicerpaper</div>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/221734696/funny-valentines-day-card-their-theyre?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=valentine%27s%20day%20card&ref=sr_gallery_3">Their They're There</a> // by: bettieconfetti </div>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/222599371/hungry-anniversary-valentines-card?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=valentine%20card&ref=sr_gallery_32">I love you, even when I'm really, really hungry</a> // by: doodlelove</div>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/216899934/funny-valentines-day-card-youve-caged-my?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=funny%20valentines&ref=sr_gallery_8">You've Caged my heart</a> // by: turtlessoup</div>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/219438193/super-hot-sriracha-valentines-day-card?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=valentine%27s%20day%20card&ref=sr_gallery_24">I think you're super hot</a> // by: smoochiepaper</div>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/239870567/funny-valentines-day-card-funny-card-for?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=funny%20valentines&ref=sr_gallery_16">Couples that fart together stay together</a> // by: hellafreshdesigns</div>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/205469123/funny-anniversary-card-funny-valentine?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=funny%20valentines&ref=sr_gallery_31">I've fallen for you & I can't get up</a> // by: diamonddonatello </div>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/264747135/lets-make-out-card-funny-valentines-day?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=valentine%27s%20day%20card&ref=sr_gallery_5">Let's makeout</a> // by: aviatepress</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Which of these cards would your Valentine love?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I think "brie mine" miiight be my favorite.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>xo, lp</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>*for more valentine's goodness, go<a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/"> HERE</a>*</i></span></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-831601480245121006.post-51558670796753153882016-01-31T08:00:00.000-05:002016-01-31T08:00:14.474-05:00LIFE LATELY: A WHOLE MONTH OFF<div style="text-align: center;">
I didn't really mean to take a whole month off blogging...it just kind of happened.</div>
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I figured to start the new year I would try and take the time I usually spend blogging and read more, get outside more, and connect with family and friends more...and then a month later...I was still doing just that.</div>
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I still read other blogs daily, and recently I realized how much I missed sharing life updates, recipes, and other fun things on the blog- so I'm back, friends. Whether you like it or not (hopefully you like it?) I'm back. </div>
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February is my favorite month, so it'll be a good month to start B&B back up! </div>
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Here's what's been good lately:</div>
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<b>1. Skiing!</b></div>
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To start the year out, Michael and I took a few days to cross country ski at Wisconsin State Parks. If you're a Wisco skiier you MUST go to <a href="http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/name/highcliff/">High Cliff State Park</a> in Appleton- they have great trails! We recently got some fresh powder, and plan to make it out and about skiing more this month</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFiGBDGMuQKMCa9hSRU_EMPu9sfntjC-6uueNJCEPuPQZTL5K26v8z94Zj4LBmtHhFx049hERkwj5YVI43lgKzxMyvg5Q0_THZeaDEUBJwe5T3lZzfzizLoErzrCfva2JG39lb2nEiKoU/s1600/jan.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFiGBDGMuQKMCa9hSRU_EMPu9sfntjC-6uueNJCEPuPQZTL5K26v8z94Zj4LBmtHhFx049hERkwj5YVI43lgKzxMyvg5Q0_THZeaDEUBJwe5T3lZzfzizLoErzrCfva2JG39lb2nEiKoU/s640/jan.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>2. </b><b>Books on books on books!</b><b>All the candy!</b></div>
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I was lucky enough to get a ton of books from family and friends for gifts over the holidays - which means I've been reading a lot more lately. I'm going to start doing book reviews on the blog (YAY NEW THINGZ), so look for them coming soon on <u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/People-Want-Punch-Throat-Competitive/dp/034554983X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453851483&sr=8-1&keywords=people+i+want+to+punch+in+the+throat">People I Want to Punch in the Throat</a></u> and <u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Rich-Asians-Kevin-Kwan/dp/0345803787/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453851495&sr=8-1&keywords=crazy+rich+asians">Crazy Rich Asians</a>!</u>I </div>
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<b>3. </b><b>All the candy!</b></div>
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have zero intention to stop doing <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">rainbow order posts</a> or posts with candy in 2016. They're my absolutely favorite to do, and I already have a few under my belt for the year. Best find? Sweethearts released a bag of their original flavors since it's their 150th anniversary and they are SO much better than the new flavors. I definitely went through the bag and picked out all the white Wintergreen flavored ones. #favorite</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6rJ6y1VJOH90S7DMHSGE9lWyUE7XY8uFExCvYh7svFcgdFAqfV6pdpGcD-DJSKsjkwaI5xwEM1sh8eOLQigo4KQPciVBi5siofmyK4eQlRP-gcGzeutLteKywMa5U2K-6pLPi2ig3uQw/s1600/candy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6rJ6y1VJOH90S7DMHSGE9lWyUE7XY8uFExCvYh7svFcgdFAqfV6pdpGcD-DJSKsjkwaI5xwEM1sh8eOLQigo4KQPciVBi5siofmyK4eQlRP-gcGzeutLteKywMa5U2K-6pLPi2ig3uQw/s640/candy.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>4. The Bachelor, and other TV things</b></div>
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Hey, I never said I was ditching TV to only read books! I have a group of women I watch the Bachelor with...although it usually ends up being half watching and half just talking to each other. For the record: Olivia is the worst, Jojo is adorable, and Lauren B is totally winning. Other than watching high-IQ shows like the Bachelor, I of course watched <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Making_a_Murderer">Making a Murder</a> (do you guys think he's guilty?!), finally finished New Girl, and have been re-watching Parks & Recreation.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">What's new with you?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">To catch up on 2016 so far, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">go here!</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">xo, lp </span></div>
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(instagram is the bomb.com. you can find me here ---> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lpodlich/">@lpodlich)</a></div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18232672247334137723noreply@blogger.com12