Essentially Jackie

27
Jun
2015

Photo of the Week – Week 23

Nick and I actually had a day off together where there was not a wedding, car event, or family gathering taking place. We decided it would be a good idea to take the beast on a little adventure. There is a State Park not too far from us that has a waterfall towards the middle of the trail. It makes for a great hike, especially since you do not have to drive an hour to get there.

We made it to the waterfall fairly quickly and then ended up taking a different trail than our normal route. This created about an hour and a half hike for us, which was great! Especially after our weekend full of walking around Montreal. The picture below is pretty fun. Quattro was quite curious about the waterfall.

27
Jun
2015

Photo of the Week – Week 22

categories: Life & Adventures

Over the winter, Nick and his friends planned a trip to Montreal for the Formula 1 race. Being that I have never actually stepped foot in Montreal, let alone Canada, I decided to tag along. For those, such as myself, who are not sure what Formula 1 actually is, it is the highest class of single seat auto racing. Basically, these cars are incredibly fast, reaching up to over 200mph. It’s actually pretty incredible.

A group of 10 headed into Canada for the weekend to take in all of the sights and events Formula 1 had to offer. Aside from the main event, there were loads of vendors, performers, and thousands of people. Though we did not experience a lot of Montreal the city, it was a good sneak peak which will prompt me to return again to explore.

Oh, did I mention that the race is held on the Ile Notre-Dame, which is a small island one subway ride away from the main city? The picture below isn’t the greatest, but it will give you a good idea of just how many people were on this little island. The picture illustrates just one of the thirteen turns or grand stands located on the track. Add that to the hundreds of people that had general admission with no grand stand seating. It was pretty incredible just how many people were in attendance.

21
Jun
2015

Photo of the Week – Week 21

categories: Festivities

Since the day Keith proposed, I could not wait to celebrate the union between two of my best friends. I knew it was going to be a beautiful and special day. I, however, did not expect to be so emotional! Every moment shared between Dianna and Keith you would find me crying, tears of joy of course. The ceremony was elegant and intimate, the reception was stunning but also a blast! It was an amazing weekend that I will remember for years and years to come.

Again, I could not pick just one photo from this wedding weekend. So I have included a few of my personal favorites. From the rehearsal dinner, getting dolled up at Dianna’s parents house, to the reception. I am so happy to have been a part of their wedding day. Thank you for letting me share it with you both!

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09
Jun
2015

Photo(s) of the Week – Week 20

categories: Uncategorized

I can not believe that May 23rd has come and gone already. Almost a year and a half ago Theresa was telling me that Matt had made them a delicious meal for two. He had even set out candles. But guess what? He proposed! Then a few months later, Sarah and I had made our way out to visit Theresa for our regular get together. We were going to meet a few of her closest friends for a Girl’s Night. She surprised us this time and had written each of us the cutest little note asking us to be in her wedding.

The craft weekends, the bridal shower, the bachelorette party…all leading up to this one day. There was so much planning and preparation and it was all worth it! The wedding day was fabulous. From the morning of, getting ready with hair and make up and pre wedding pictures…to the beautiful ceremony at her gorgeous church. Then after at the bazaar and later the golf course, taking photos with the photographer and the bridal party. And finally the reception, where we all enjoyed good food and lots of dancing. (more…)

04
Jun
2015

Photo of the Week – Week 19

categories: Treats

The weekend after Theresa’s bachelorette party was sort of my, “Let’s regroup and get some things done that have been put off for weeks.” As you can probably already tell, the past few months have been a bit hectic, but in a good way!

I did however have a very special friend’s gender reveal party to attend. Ashley had also asked me about a month ago to do the cake for her party. Of course, I immediately said yes. I let her decide what sort of surprise she wanted inside and she came up with a really fun idea! I made a four layer white cake with white buttercream frosting. The trick though was that the center of the cake was hallow. Inside it was filled with the gender appropriate color of M&M’s. This way when the Mom and Dad (and Big Sister) cut into the cake, all of the M&M’s would fall out revealing the gender of their new baby! I added a little banner as a cake topper. I must say, I thought it was pretty cute.

Oh, and if you can’t tell. They’re having another girl!

02
Jun
2015

Atlantic City: Bachelorette Edition

categories: Life & Adventures

Just like when Dianna became engaged, when Matt proposed to Theresa one of the first things she decided on was what the bachelorette weekend would consist of. I knew she wanted to do a weekend away and was pretty excited to hear we would be going to Atlantic City. You see, I have never actually been to AC or any part of the Jersey Shore for that matter. So not only would this be a great weekend away with the girls, it would also be a place to cross off the old Bucket List. (more…)

27
May
2015

Photo of the Week – Week 18

categories: Life & Adventures

To celebrate Theresa’s upcoming wedding, the Bridal Party and Co. organized a killer weekend in Atlantic City. We were quickly approaching the Big Day and knew this was the best way to send Theresa off into married life. Now, there will be a much more detailed post to follow with many more photos and stories. However, I felt I should kick it off with one of my favorite pictures of the weekend; our group at Harrah’s Pool After Dark.

26
May
2015

Photo of the Week – Week 17

categories: Project: House

I know I’ve said this a lot lately, but I REALLY need to play catch up here. I am almost four weeks behind on the Photo of the Week series. Not to mention the numerous events that have happened in between. So here we go…

The week after I came back from Florida was a chance for me to regroup and get some things done around the house before the madness rolled through again. This was my only free weekend for the next month so it was now or never! Or until mid-June. There were a few little, inexpensive projects I wanted to complete outside. I pressure washed the house and cleaned the gazebo. Nick and I were able to find an amazing deal on a patio table and chairs that fits perfectly in the gazebo for outdoor entertaining (i.e. Girl’s Night). We also strung some really cute lights throughout.

To give the yard a little color, since we have yet to plant any flowers since we’ve moved in, I decided I wanted some potters for the gazebo area. We picked out three different plants to be split up between the two pots. A few weeks have gone by and they are really starting to fill in. It looks great! Now if only I had the time to actually use my newly made-over entertaining space.

14
May
2015

USA Food Tour: Florida

categories: Life & Adventures

When I decided to make a long weekend trip to visit Amanda and Ryan, I knew this was the perfect opportunity to cross Florida off of my USA Food Tour list. Key Lime Pie is the food of choice and I was more than happy to oblige by it. I started doing my research in and around the South Florida area to figure out where we should make a stop.

Once I had mentioned my plan to Amanda, she immediately came up with an even better idea. She suggested that we make a trip down to the Florida Keys and really sample the best of the best Key Lime Pie. I was beyond excited about this as the Keys have always been on my bucket list. We also decided that we could not just make one stop, because really how would we be able to choose? Instead we settled on several different locations. (more…)

11
May
2015

Photo of the Week – Week 16

categories: Life & Adventures

Since Amanda and Ryan moved to Florida four years ago, I’ve tried to make it down for a visit once a year. I’ve made it three out of those four years! Originally I was going to try and make it down for their organization’s golf tournament, however it was undetermined when that would be. Instead, we just picked a date that looked best in the spring in the midst of all of my wedding activities for a full fledge bonding weekend.

After filling Amanda in on my USA Food Tour plans, she came up with the most brilliant idea. Since we were in search of the best Key Lime Pie, what better than taking a little overnight trip to the Florida Keys? I was so excited to cross Florida off of my Food Tour list in the most appropriate fashion.

Being that Key West connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Gulf of Mexico, you really are in for a treat with the beautiful scenery; not to mention the killer sunsets. We made sure to make the sunset Saturday evening so we could watch from start to finish. And boy was it worth it. You have not seen a sunset until you’ve seen a west coast sunset. Needless to say, I chose one of my favorites for my photo of the week during my quick trip to South Florida.