road trip.

i know you're wondering, how could i have any more to say after that tmi post about my keyhole?

don't you worry, i do.

one of the benefits to driving 14 or so hours around the midwest? you see a lot of scenery. here's an artsy fartsy vantage point on our way out of michigan.

hoho's are my favorite thing in the world. seriously, we're talking last-meal-on-death-row type love for these things. and i can't find them in the south. it's a little debbie conspiracy down here and i think she sucks. a "swiss roll" is a clear rip off of a hoho AND NOT THE SAME.

awe b's hometown. the only photo i took while we were there. except for of the hoho's. you're welcome. this picture sums up the cute, all-american feel of it though.

poodles = funny. poodles who act like people = adorable. poodles who act like people and love to get their photo taken = my new best friend.

and the real reason i went on this trip: the outlet malls. just kidding. but really, cincinnati outlets are the bomb. AND it was labor day. AND i opened a j.crew credit card. just kidding. {not really.}

this is the last of four of the epic recap of our michigan trip. this was your favorite, wasn't it? poodle wins it every time.

pentwater 3: yachts and keyholes.

okay, let me be real for a min: i thought michigan was kind of a lame duck state. i feel for them with the economy, cold weather, etc.

i saw the pure michigan ads and thought, "who would want to vacation there?"

the answer: ME. pentwater was SO nice.

more scenery shots so you can feel like you enjoyed it too.

can't help myself with the self photography.

can't help myself with the zoomed-in-so-far-my-lens-touched-that-tomato photography either. look at that bruschetta!

and then: storms. the sky was black! it literally swooped in as we got called in for dinner and before the cake was served the sun was shining again.

do you die of the cuteness in this shot? me too.

so: keyhole story. i tried the dress on a few times before the wedding day, but had never moved around in it. as soon as we sit for dinner i realize my entire center-side boob is ON DISPLAY. it was made more noticeable because i had super spray tanned right before... but hadn't done any non-visible areas. AKA the part HANGING out of the keyhole. and at the end of the night, one of b's relatives may or may not gone to hug me goodbye and accidentally caught his hand in the hole. i can only hope he had visited the open bar enough to black it out. lord, hear our prayer.

the end to a great night: they took off on a sparkle-lighted boat!



p.s. i had totally planned to fight to the death for catch the bouquet, but apparently that is not "in" anymore. it's not like i had my single ladies dance planned or anything.

pentwater 2: the wedding.

the whole reason we drove 12+ hours to the shores of michigan was to watch b's cousin get married.

i may be a little wedding blog obsessed {my favs: green wedding shoes, style me pretty, hey gorgeous, etc.} so i was uber excited to see all the details of the event, too. and to cry at the vows. because really, who doesn't cry during weddings?

warning: most of these pics are of us. but really, that's the usual around here.

do you love this as much as i do??

programs.

a note about the weather: it was crazy!! it was WAY warmer than i thought it would be, which is a good thing, but it rained the whole time. we had a light shower when we arrived and then saturday it stormed all morning. then sunday am it was gorgeous. the sky cleared out and the sun shone through. just perfect for their outdoor wedding.

there they are! so beautiful! her veil was omgamazing. i believe i had stopped sobbing by this point.

here's the dress i finally choose. it's from j.crew's bridesmaid line.

next up: the reception. also known as: "that time i found out my dress had a keyhole in the chest."

pentwater 1.

here's a glimpse at our trip north.

when i found this picture on a realty website, i was SURE it could not be as pretty as they'd made it out to be.

i was wrong.

this is the beach off b's uncle and aunt's beach house. it was so nice. the softest sand i've ever experienced! the waves were amazing and the sunset was truly beautiful.

we stayed in downtown pentwater. b's parents hosted us at a rental house (that ended up being a block from the wedding and reception!). we all may or may not now own "horniest bar around" t-shirts from the antler bar, seen below. get it? horns? antlers? horn-y?

i think the best word to describe pentwater is "quaint". here's scenes from inside the local candy shop. how awesome is that zoltar? my fortune was pretty good, too.

this was right before the welcome dinner, on a different beach. it was much rockier, but there were shells for the kids to gather and they loved it.

and a pic with the sister!

tomorrow: wedding pictures!