First week of July

Coming back from the amazing weather in Monterey to the overwhelming heat in Tucson has been unpleasant to say the least. Fortunately, my friends have been around this week to hang out with me! 

First up this week was date night to celebrate the end of the June challenge I was doing through barre3! It was a great experience and made me realize I was eating a lot of refined sugars and processed foods I didn't really miss. The challenge was to do four 60 minute workouts a week, one, 10 minute workout at home and make a barre3 recipe of the week. It was tough! And I added no coffee/soda and limited processed foods and refined sugars. So worth it! Cody and I went to Zinburger to celebrate and I made my own yummy burger!

Later, I got to meet little miss Hailey, who is my dear friend Ashley's new babe! She is the sweetest! Ashley, Janel and I used to work together and we try to get together regularly to keep up to date. It's the best! 

I was also able to get dinner with my Maggie before she goes on an epic Canadian adventure! We went to Commoner & Co, a new restaurant in town. It was really yummy and has great cocktails! 

️Fitz has been pretty cute this week too. Very snuggly. See photo below.

Last night, Hayley, Cara and I went to Proper for happy hour and then over to Hifi for an alcoholic milkshake. AMAZING. So lucky for these friendships.

LB

Family Reunion Fun

After getting back from Kentucky, Cody and I got back to our normal routines for a few days, and then left for Monterey (albeit a day late, thanks again American) for his mom's biannual family reunion! I've never been to Monterey, but with 110 degree days in Tucson, I was more than ready for some cooler weather! 

Unfortunately, we missed some of the family fun due to work schedules, but we started off our trip with a group hike on Jack's Peak, which overlooked the city. When we returned from the hike, we headed to the beach to enjoy the beautiful weather!

I love a good beach day, and I was able to get to know his extended family much better over beers on the beach! Cody and I created the photo scavenger hunt, so we got to judge that event, fun for him, stressful for me. That night, we all had dinner together and took some family photos, and some of the younger cousins played "pickle ball" which was totally new to me. 

Friday, everyone started to head out, so after a few goodbyes, Cody and I went for an amazing run along the coast. We walked down along the shops of the wharf and he told me about golfing south of Monterey in years past. He and I have really been enjoying our vacation runs together!

After we got cleaned up for the day, Cody, Leah, Calley and I headed down to the Cannery area to go to the Aquarium, which used to be a sardine factory! We spent hours looking at sharks, sting rays, penguins, and my favorite, SEA OTTERS! They got me a prime spot to watch the trainers feed them. The aquarium is gorgeous and so well run! We had a blast! 

We walked along the bike/running path we had taken earlier, and found a restaurant called Schooners, that was inside a hotel and overlooked the water. We ate some yummy seafood and all got to chat and tell stories! 

Saturday morning we had a little extra time, so Cody rented a bike and went riding with the locals, and I got a massage! It was a nice little break before flying in and heading back to work! 

Until next time,

LB

Land of Horses

Hello Friends!

We are deep in wedding planning/working/living life with Fitz and as usual, haven't stopped to update. This past weekend, we adventured to Lexington, KY for a job interview for Cody and used he opportunity to explore the blue grass state! We really had a BLAST together and got a good feel for the downtown Lexington area.

We explore UK's campus, as well as the countryside with its horses and cows.

Cody and I were craving some green scenery and this really satisfied our needs! We stopped along the road from the airport to see some cows and they were so startled, they all started pooping at the same time! It was so funny and a huge guilt trip. 

We had dinner downtown and found a really neat bar with hipster cocktails and cool bartenders who filled us in on the Lexington nightlife. We walked around a bit, but came back to that bar as it was our favorite. 

The next day, after a super humid (but gorgeous) run and breakfast at Doodles, we made a point to look downtown at neighborhoods and houses. We drove around for hours looking at where we would want to live if we were to move. There are some neat older houses and some really rundown areas too. 

That night, we went to a different part of town to a restaurant called the County Club, known for smoking their own meats. Cody and I split a pulled pork sandwich and caesar salad and it was AMAZING!  The atmosphere was awesome too, very updated industrial. Afterward, we walked over to a local brewery, West Sixth Brewing Company and had a drink and talked with more locals about what Lexington was like. 

All in all it was an amazing trip. Our last day was spent with Cody interviewing, and then we flew home, with a giant delay thanks to American. We really liked Lexington, and enjoyed the local scene, but it made us appreciate our lives in Tucson more than anything else. And of course we were so excited to come home to our fur baby. 

Until next time,

LB

  

Fitzgerald Lafayette

So, we got a puppy! He's a french bulldog and we've named him Fitzgerald Lafayette. We are so enamored and in love! Fitz is 9.5 weeks right now and doing really well! He is seriously the sweetest and Cody and I have been saying everyday that we don't know why we waited so long to get a dog! He has consumed a lot of our attention lately, but we also found some time to get our engagement photos done as well.

Love, 

LB (and Fitz, too)

2015!!

Surprise, surprise. I am terrible at updating! My resolution this year was to new better at documenting this year together, because... WE'RE getting married!!! Ah! So exciting! Cody and I got engaged in August while we were on our trip to Italy! If Rome wasn't already my favorite, it is now. We have done quite a bit of the planning already and I have to say, I haven't been too stressed yet. Maybe in part to my awesome parents/brother, bridal party, and fiancé. My goal is to track this year through this blog to remember the fun of our engagement! So, while I sit in my bed with strep throat (Happy 2015!), I'm starting this endeavor! In the meantime, here are some pics from wedding planning and the holidays. 

Our last wedding as boyfriend and girlfriend! 

Engagement swag

Flower girl and ring bearers are in!

Wedding dress shopping!

Our Christmas tree!

Tucson Crew

Blackley clan minus one ;)

Til next edition, 

LB

Birthday week!

Happy Birthday week to me! Ok, this is kind of a joke because my brother's birthday is a week before my dad's so it always lasts a whole week! Seriously though, my birthday is on Friday so we went out this past Saturday to celebrate both my birthday and my Diabetes Debutante! We did a small bar crawl in downtown Tucson with some friends. It was a good time and I am very lucky to have such good people in my life!

I've also spent quite a bit of time with Cara working out catching up and spending time by the pool. Tomorrow, she and I are going to attempt to fix a skirt that an escalator tried to eat on a drunken adventure in Vegas. More to post on that attempt later.

A couple weeks ago, Cody and I got to go to lunch and the farmer's market with our friends Jeff and Sarah and their cute toddler, Jackson! We had a good time and made a yummy steak and salad dinner with our findings. During the week we had a group dinner with Cara and Jeremy, Christina and Brad, and Hayley and her Brad! Christina is seriously a fantastic cook and made the best lasagna! This past weekend I also went to see Cody participate in a road bike race where he raced twice and got 2/3rd places! So proud!!  This weekend is a small birthday celebration and work. Boo!

LB