The Omaha Zoo

We LOVE to road trip! Our favorite one (that we would like to take every summer) is to Denver with a weekend pit-stop in Omaha.  My aunt Lisa, my mom's sister, lives in Omaha and we always have so much fun there! I have been going to the Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo since I was a little girl.  It seriously is in my top ten places to visit.  

Last summer, Chris and I switched up the road trip to go to Kansas City to see Chris' family and to celebrate his Grandma's 90th Birthday.  We brought my mom along for the trip to visit her sister in Omaha.  We all had 2 days of fun in Omaha and then Chris and I continued on the Kansas City leaving my mom with Lisa. 

During our 2 day stop in Omaha, We had the BEST zoo day ever! It was such beautiful weather and all the animals were out to play! 

We spend the morning walking around seeing the cute monkey families, the skyfari, the aquarium and then left the Zoo gates for a picnic. It was so yummy and a perfect break from the people at the Zoo.  After lunch we headed back into the Zoo-- saw the gorillas put on a show, some animal nap time, fed the fish from the bridge, look at some BIG cats and with the grand final--the bears! This polar bear was the perfect ending to the perfect Zoo day! 

Recommendations for a visit to The Omaha Zoo

-If possible go on a week day, weekends are more crowded but do-able

-Try for a day that isn't too hot, the animals won't come out to play if its scorching hot

-Bring a lunch, snacks, drinks with you! Zoo food is expensive!

-Leave the Zoo for a break during the day

-Take the skyfari ride to the other side of the park, explore that area and then head back using the second part of your skyfari round trip ticket.. its a lot of walking at the end of the day

-If you are short time, skip the Desert Dome, its really not a highlight of the visit but a quick walk though would do the trick if interested

-Take your time! If you can don't rush, its easy to get caught up with all the other people running around but just watch and enjoy the animals.. that's why we go after all! 

Much Love, 

Liz

Amanda Mae's Bridal Shower

It was time for a PARTYYY! As I mentioned before, one of my best friend got married 3 months before we did.  I was her Maid of Honor and she was my Matron of Honor, pretty awesome huh? 

I was holding Amanda's Bridal Shower at our place, so first things first, here are the invites I made to invite everyone to 'shower Amanda with Love'. 

A few other projects I made for the party were pink hanging tissue paper pom-poms, chalkboard wine glasses, and of course her gift. For her gift, I got her a basket full of wine to help her get through the first year of marriage.  

Everyone had a great time and the weather was just beautiful! One of Amanda's cousins was in charge of the games and she did a great job.  

Later that night we went out to have her bachelorette party. The group of girls went downtown and enjoyed an evening out to celebrate Amanda! Such a fun weekend : ) 

Much Love, 

Liz

Wedding Planning

Okay so here I go! My goal is to get this blog caught up on our life by the end of July… aka if you are not interested in pre-wedding life skip to August.  Here are my thoughts on planning a Destination Wedding. 

First decision, location! So if you don’t know already, I’m a little indecisive on things that don’t truly matter. I knew any place we would choose, it would be absolutely wonderful (I mean come on—your closest friends & family all on vacation in one tropical location plus you get to marry the love of your life—seriously brings a smile to my face just thinking about it) BUT a small part of me worried the hotel would be dirty/falling apart and not ‘good enough’ to be up to everyone’s standards. 

After lots, lots, lots of debating & research…. We decided on Moon Palace Resort!

Moon Palace Resort has something for everyone and the prices/reviews fit just what we were looking for.  Plus it had some wonderful offers going on that gave us great deals! On top of that one of our groomsmen is a ‘member’ of Palace Resorts, which means we could all us their membership number to get those rates. 

I did lots of research on how to make this wedding what I wanted.  Here are a few things that helped me along the way…

Best Destination Wedding Website-- http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/

Okay this is a seriously great find for anyone planning a destination wedding.  Tons of brides and businesses post information... I read ALL of the 2012 Moon Palace Brides posts.  Never had the guts to post my information but I so enjoyed hearing people going through the same struggles and triumphs that I was. 

Wedding Magazines/Books—

I read so many magazines, I couldn’t even come close to guessing how many.  I was obsessed! I don’t know why but when you are planning a wedding that is the only thing you think about!  Here are a few of my favorite books on wedding planning…

Left: Everything Destination Wedding Book

Middle: Knot Guide To Destination Wedding

*Seriously read this book cover-to-cover when I started planned.. I even read some of it out loud to Chris on a road trip (I'm sure he enjoyed it as much as I did, right?)

Right: The Everything Wedding Book

Wedding Look-Book—

I ripped and printed out things that I LOVED about other weddings.  I put them in sheet protectors and a HUGE binder... it became my wedding look-book! It was great to help me organize my thoughts and what I liked.  After it got so large, I put in tabs with sections on location, dress, bridesmaids/groomsmen, inspiration, gifts, etc.

Friends & Drinks—

Okay so I was really lucky to have one of my best friends, Amanda, planning her wedding at the same time as me.  So thankful because it just so happened that many of my friends moved out of town (graduation from college and starting new careers will do that to you).  Amanda and I would have girly-drinks, looking at wedding magazines and chat about our excitement and fears.  What would a girl do without her friends?!?

For anyone out there planning a destination wedding, I know it might not be the most enjoyable all the time but it is SO worth it! 

Much Love, 

Liz