I Miss PA
Reply
Monthly Archives: June 2012
Our Wedding: Save The Date
It is officially official! We are tying the knot.
Not that there was ever much doubt, but now we have a wedding date. That makes it way more real.
We went to PA intent on keeping an open mind about a possible wedding date. We didn’t want to be so in love with a date that we would walk away from the perfect venue just because they didn’t have our date.
I won’t lie. I wanted April 13…but there were pretty strong objections to the date.
Mostly because of the high risk of snow.
So, we went for the only possible option in May.
Are you ready for this. Drum roll, please?
Mark and I will be saying our vows in front of family and friends on…
May 18, 2013!
It is all very exciting.
We still have a lot to do, but it seems that we still have lots of time. I am really happy with our date.
It also will be the 20th anniversary of Mark’s name sake, his Uncle Mark. It was a total coincidence, but we are thrilled to share that special day with him.
I am so excited. Is it next may yet?
****Official Save the Dates Mailings to Follow. 
Happy Anniversary, Los Angeles
Six years ago today, I hopped on an airplane with my mother and father in the wee hours of the east coast morning, and boarded a plane to Los Angeles, CA.
It was two years before I went back to Florida (for a visit).
Yes, that’s right. I have lived in LA for six years today.
I am not sure how I feel about that anymore, especially now that I plan to leave LA next year. But I am proud of what I did here.
If nothing else, I took a massive leap of faith when I moved across the country to start a life in a state where I did not know a soul.
And this adventure set the bar for all the new adventures I hope to have traveling the world with Mark.
So happy anniversary to me. How cute was my 22 year old self?
The Local Flavor: Hurdles Bar and Grill
The eve before leaving our wonderful and peaceful Pennsylvania vacation, we headed over to Hurdles Bar and Grill for some beer and hot wings.
This awesome haunt is located in the small mining town of Windbur, PA a mere ten minutes from Mark’s hometown of Central City.
We had Yuengling on tap (because it is the best beer in the world and we cannot get it in LA) and a few dozen really incredible wings.
I ordered six of the Copper and six of the Mild Parmesan garlic wings.
Yum.
The homemade sauces are unique and tasty, each with a very distinctive flavor profile.
The copper wings are tossed in a sweet and tangy sauce, with a slight kick. These were my favorite of the two (and everyone else agreed).
The Parmesan Garlic wings are just what they sound like. A wonderful garlic sauce with a hint of traditional mild wing sauce, and topped with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
Both types of wings were incredible, but what set this apart from the other wing companies was the way they are cooked. The skin is perfectly crisp, but the inside is juicy and the tender pieces of chicken fall of the bone.
Washed down with a tall glass of Pennsylvania’s finest lager and you have the perfect small town treat.
Good food, good beer, good friends…what more can you ask for?
Curious about this small town gem:
Hurdles is located at: 640 Main Street Windber, PA 15963.
Our Wedding: Making the Arrangements
So, as I am sure you have discovered by now, our trip to PA this past week was booked for the purpose of planning our wedding.
Much as I love the relaxing nature of the woods and the mountains and getting to spend time with my wonderful family to be…this trip was really for the wedding.
I am amazed and pleased with how much we got accomplished in a very short time frame. Now, I plan to post on each of these subjects individually in the coming weeks and months, but for now I want to give you a quick run-down of all that transpired.
- We booked our reception venue
- We set our wedding date
- We settled on a ceremony site
- We have hired a florist
- We have a cake designer/baker
- We have a THEME and our wedding colors
- We purchased my dress
- We hired a DJ
- We set our menu AND squeezed in a food tasting
- We have a flower girl
- I have the best hairstylist in the WORLD
- We designed the centerpieces
- We selected favors
- We decided what we want for room decor and already purchased some
- Mom and I came up with the (secret) design for the groom’s cake
- I was surprised by a beautiful bridal shower
I think there is more, but that is all I can think of now. I cannot wait to share (some of) the details.
After all, we have to have a few surprises.
US Travel: Southwest Airlines
Yay for extra room on an air plane. It has been a few years since I have found myself on a less than full flight. It was kind of nice.
I love flying Southwest. Everyone gets two free checked bags, seating is first come first served, and rather than fighting a mosh pit crowd to board the plane, passengers are given a boarding position (either A, B, or C and a number 1 through 60). I’m pretty happy with this system and since I always check in 24 hours in advance (exactly 24 hours in advance) I generally get a good boarding position.
On top of all this awesome-ness, Southwest earns massive points for free snacks, drinks and more legroom than the other airlines. And did you know they are going green? A long-time Eco-friendly company, Southwest is now taking things a step further with their new ”Evolve” interior. This design is Eco friendly, cost effective, and emphisizes personal comfort. The seats will feature a fixed wing headrest and a lumbar cushion.
Um…I’m excited.
Oh, and Southwest’s Rapid Rewards Program has NO blackout dates. I love this airline.
Just got home and I am exhausted. Can’t wait to catch you up on the trip tomorrow. The wedding page is about to explode.
Night!
US Travel: A Cabin in the Woods
So, I may have failed to mention this before we left for PA…but I don’t have cell reception in most areas of this town.
So, that means that I have to wait to get into town to upload my blog posts for the most part.
But, I will keep writing, even if it means I have a back log waiting to get published.
For now, I want to write about the beauty of the place we are staying in.
Mark’s Dad found a Cabin in town for us to stay with my Mother.
It is incredible.
It feels remote and set away from everything (though the whole town does in all honesty). It is up in the woods, and at night next to a crackling fire we watch the dance of the lightning bugs while staring up at the massive expanse of stars.
It is breathtaking and really adding a level of calm to what could be a very stressful vacation.
This is truly a perfect, relaxing mountain retreat.
Delayed…
We had a pretty smooth flight from Burbank Airport to Pheonix Sky Harbor International. Or, I think it was a smooth flight.
I was blissfully unconcious.
Yay, Sleep.
Bad news? Our flight from Pheonix To Pittsburgh is delayed by a half of an hour….
Bored.
Mark and I split a Cinnabun while we waited (which is NOT on our diet), but we are on vacation, so what the hell.
I would be less bored if Mark hadn’t stolen my Kindle. So, I blog.
I am so excited to get into town. We are having dinner in the city at a truly Pittsburgh establishmen and I am so excited.
But for now, I wanna get back on the plane and back to sleep.
Packing Perils: Procrastination
So, it is 12:30 in the morning on Tuesday, June 19th. My flight for Pennsylvania leaves in 7 hours. I have to be to the airport in 6 hours.
So, guess what I am doing right now.
Packing.
And doing laundry.
So I can finish packing.
No, I don’t put things off until the last minute.But Elphie is helping…
Elphie even tried to help me this morning. And by help, I think she meant, “don’t forget to pack me.”
So cute.
I do realize that even just the mere act of writing this blog is further putting off my packing process. I do know that, I am just not certain that it concerns me.
Mark just came in a scolded me for blogging instead of packing…
whoops!
See you in Pennsylvania!
(I just noted the massive amount of alliteration in this post….oh well, I like P’s today)!
Happy Birthday, Mom!
So, though I failed to mention it earlier, today is not JUST father’s day…but it is also my wonderful Mommy’s birthday!
She is an amazing Mom, but she is also one of my best friends. And I am so excited that I will get to see her in just a few days to plan my wedding.
Happy Birthday, Mom! I hope it was perfect!
I didn’t want to post about Father’s Day and my Mom’s birthday in the same post, though. I wanted to make it special.
Of course, I got so swamped at work today that I never got a chance to upload the blog on my break.
Though I didn’t get to spend this awesome day with either of my parents, I did hear that they had a great time together. They had dinner and went out to the beach. I missed you both today and I love you.