Oh The Places You’ll Go

Celebrating the Everyday, Travel  //  31st December 2013

Five years ago when we started our business while hanging out at Spoons on New Years Day, one of our dreams was to travel more. We figured if we started a business, we might earn a few extra dollars that we could use to travel the world.

Here we are, five years later, and we can confidently look back and see that starting our business has definitely given us the opportunity to travel more! ;) Not necessarily because we have been able to earn a few extra dollars (when we went full time, those dollars became the necessary funds to live off of! ;) ), but because our business has taken us on crazy adventures! If someone were to tell us five years ago that we would soon be photographing couples in Paris, Barcelona, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Jamaica, North Carolina, Vermont, Maine, California, Arizona, and all over the mid-Atlantic region, we probably would have said in disbelief, “ha, that would be AMAZING!” And if someone were to tell us when we started our business that in five years we would find ourselves on a tour bus traveling the country with incredible friends on a life changing journey, we probably would have fallen off our chairs! (In fact, last year when we received Justin and Mary’s email asking us to come along, that is pretty much what happened! ;) ) haha.

Over the past 5 years, we have learned so so so much. Seriously, it is incredible to think about. But one of the biggest lessons that we have learned is if you say your dreams out loud and work really hard to make them happen, they will likely happen in ways beyond those wildest dreams!

This year has been so incredibly adventurous! It started with the What’s Next Tour… three weeks and 10 stops on a bus across the country with friends. That in itself would be reason to call 2013 one of adventure! ;) It definitely set the tone for the crazy year ahead with travels to Puerto Rico, California, Maine, Oregon, Michigan, New York City & the Finger Lakes of NY, New Jersey, Nantucket, the MD Eastern Shore x 20 (haha!, probably more and we loved every single one of those trips!) Virginia, South Carolina, and so many places in between!

I wanted to create a map so that we would never forget these crazy adventures, but I quickly became overwhelmed because I couldn’t find a program that would allow me to color code it and add in flights like I was hoping! ;) So I did my best to include the road trips and then I added in some of the other locations we explored this year! What an adventure!

We are excited to be looking ahead to 2014 knowing that the adventures are continuing! We currently have plans to travel to Utah, California, Arizona, North Carolina, Maine, AND Africa! And who knows what other adventures will come up (if you have any fun adventures in the works and are looking for friends to document it along the way- let us know! We are always up for a fun adventure!)! We are certainly excited to think about the possibilities and we never stop believing in Oh The Places You’ll Go!

Wishing you all an AMAZING last day of 2013! Here’s to new beginnings and a happy and healthy New Year!

(Side Note: We are working on some super AMAZING things over at http://www.amazinglifetogether.com for a great year end review and dream planning for 2014! Definitely check it out and be sure to sign up for the newsletter! Our first one is coming out January 1 (that is tomorrow!!!!) and we don’t want you to miss it!)

Merry Christmas!

Celebrating the Everyday  //  24th December 2013

It is the most wonderful time of the year! Ahhh! So much excitement, I feel like I have everlasting butterflies just thinking about it! It is such an incredible time to reflect on the AMAZING blessings that surround us and share our gratitude with the world!

We hope you are joining us to take some time over the next few days to truly reflect and take the time to appreciate the love that surrounds you! We will certainly be doing just that!

In the meantime, here is a little love from our hearts to yours! We wish you an absolutely AMAZING holiday season! Merry Christmas, friends!

*Time got ahead of us and we never got the chance to send out holiday cards this year! However, if we did, they would probably look a little something like this! ;) Let’s just say we are being environmentally conscious and have decided to send it electronically this year! ;) Merry Christmas!!

If you are interested in seeing more photos from our super fun Christmas Tree searching adventures, definitely check them out over at the AMAZING Life Together site: http://www.amazinglifetogether.com/date-nights/making-the-holidays-special/

Sending you so much peace, love and AMAZINGNESS! Happy Holidays!!!

Today is a BIG day! It is Ryan’s Birthday!

Celebrating the Everyday  //  16th December 2013

It is Ryan’s Birthday! Wahoooo! This is such a magical day!

Today is a big day! This is not just any other birthday. Today, Ryan turns the big 3-0! Wowzers! ;) haha! It is so funny, I feel like when we were younger, 30 seemed like this crazy age when you had to grow up and actually become an adult. When Ryan and I were younger and dreamed of what 30 would look like, I am pretty confident both he and I would say that it looks WAY different than we had ever imagined! Life has taken us through a crazy ride and I am pretty sure we could have never imagined where it would lead us.

I am super blessed to have Ryan by my side every single day to enjoy this crazy ride right along with me! Ryan holds me together when I seem to be falling apart. He makes me laugh when I am taking life a little too seriously. He lights up my heart like nothing I have ever experienced before. Ryan warms me up when I am cold. He challenges me and makes me a better person every single day!

I am incredibly grateful for Ryan and all of the love he has shared with me over the past 12 years!! (Whoa… soon Ryan and I will be able to say we have been together more of our lives than we have been apart! ;) That is so fun to think about!)

Today, I am so super excited to celebrate Ryan! The BIG 3-0… reflecting on the 30 years of crazy life adventures he has been on and dreaming of what could come in the next 30+! ;) But most importantly, celebrating the here and now and this AMAZING man I am lucky enough to call my husband, friend, lover, dream partner, business partner and love of my life!

I would absolutely love your help in making this the best birthday ever for Ryan! Leave him some birthday love! I know it will make him smile BIG!

Happy Birthday Ryan! I love you!

A Special Feature in Southern Weddings V6

Celebrating the Everyday  //  6th December 2013

Seeing Liz and Ryan in the photo credits of a magazine or publication is such an incredible honor! It is one of those things that when it happens, it just never seems real. It is so much fun to go up to a magazine rack, flip through a magazine and find one of our photos within! Most of the time we are aware that the photo will be in the magazine, however there have definitely been times that we have been flipping through a magazine while standing in line at Whole Foods and found one of our photos without knowing it was going to be in! Haha. That is not always our favorite way of finding out about our photos being published, but it is always a fun surprise and certainly an honor! ;)

Having our photos in a magazine is definitely exciting! However, we learned just recently that it doesn’t necessarily have to be a photo we had taken in the magazine to make us excited! We were asked by our friends over at Southern Weddings to share some marriage advice for a feature they were doing within V6! Wow! What an honor! We were so excited to share any advice that we could give and we couldn’t wait to see what they were working on!! ;)

Fast-forward a few weeks and V6 hit the newsstands! As soon as we heard it was released, we called the local Barnes & Noble to make sure they had it and ran over to pick it up! I literally ran to the magazine rack and flipped through the magazine to find the marriage advice section! However, before even making it that far, I was stopped multiple times by the beauty within!!! I ran back out to the car to share the AMAZINGNESS with Ryan and we just sat there in awe of what they had placed on the pages of that gorgeous publication! They were touching the lives of couples in a special way and we were blessed to be a part of it!

Here is a nationally recognized wedding magazine that values so much more than the wedding! They are setting an example for what is most important and we could not have been more honored, humbled, and excited to be a part of this issue! The excitement we have when we see our photos in a magazine is definitely a one-of-a-kind excitement! However, even without one of our photos within, being a part of Southern Weddings V6 and joining in the celebration of marriage touches our heart in a very special way! We have experienced a new sense of excitement and honor that has our hearts filled with butterflies! ;) Thank you Lara, Lisa, Emily, Nicole, Kristin, and Marissa for creating an incredibly beautiful publication that celebrates marriage in such a special way and for giving us the opportunity to share some advice and hopefully touch the lives of couples everywhere! ;) So grateful for your AMAZING hearts!!

There is our advice… and it is all about kissing! ;) Right next to the advice from Lara and Ari and John and Sherry from Young House Love! How much fun is that?!?! What an honor, right?!?!

THIS! This below is my favorite part of the magazine! How beautiful is that?!?

If you have not already done so… definitely pick up a copy of V6! If they do not sell it in your northern state, you can buy it online! It is more than worth it and such a fun holiday gift for your friends and family too!

Also- today just happens to be the day Southern Weddings launched a beautiful new website! You should definitely check that out too! I just went to check the new site out for the first time and hours later I am back to finish the post! ;) haha! Good stuff over there, friends! ;)

Have an AMAZING weekend! Hopefully you find yourself cozy under a blanket reading the beautiful pages of Southern Weddings V6… ohh and taking our marriage advice and kissing your significant other too!

A Thanksgiving we will never forget!

Celebrating the Everyday  //  3rd December 2013

Hope you all are coming off of a magical Thanksgiving weekend! I think I am still in denial that the weekend has come and gone! Yesterday I spent the day in Jury Duty (thank goodness my number was never even called past the first round! ;) )! The whole time I found myself dreaming of the leftovers and thinking about the magic that took place over the weekend! ;)

This Thanksgiving was definitely one that we will never forget! We hosted 7 of our family and friends for an AMAZINGly tasty dinner (compliments to Chef Ryan and really everyone for pitching in!!)! After we shared our thankfulness around the table (a tradition we started last year and definitely has become a highlight of Thanksgiving for us!), filled our bellies, took an afternoon nap, and watched some football on TV, we made some leftover sandwiches to take with us tailgating!!! We dressed in about 20 layers to keep ourselves warm and made our way over to M&T Bank Stadium for some tailgating with friends and LIVE football fun!

Earlier in the week we surprised our parents with an early Christmas present, tickets to the game! Ryan’s mom had never been to an NFL game and it has been years since my dad and Ryan’s dad had been to a game! We were all so incredibly excited to say the least! It was so much fun to share that AMAZING game (Go Ravens!) and experience with them! We certainly will never forget that special Thanksgiving day! ;)