June 28, 2016

Our Two Year Wedding Anniversary.

Apparently I have this tradition where I write blog posts for all of our many, many wedding anniversaries; all TWO of them! Haha!
In case you're new to this little corner of the internet, {my blog}, last year we celebrated our one year wedding anniversary in Washington D.C! Also known as, one of my favourite cities!!


It's actually so amazing looking back at that blog post and seeing all of the photos from exactly a year ago. It makes you realize how fast the time actually goes... So much can happen in just one year. I mean, a year ago we were living in a different apartment, we only had one vehicle, we both had different jobs which were both only part-time, no benefits, no savings, and ect. According to society's standard of living we have come so far; but also according to our marriage relationship within our relationship with God, we've KNOW that we've come so far. We have loved each other and have forgiven each other more than ever before. It really is true what Brad Paisley said...you think you loved someone then.... but your love for them NOW is just beyond anything you ever dreamed! :)

Anyway! I want to say that Jarryd surprised me with this year's anniversary trip. I would reeeeeally love to say that...except I would be lying.

Originally, I didn't think we were doing anything for our anniversary. We didn't have a single thing planned, and with my job it's super hard to get days off with such short notice. So the Thursday before our anniversary weekend, Jarryd tears his hamstring at his softball game. We ended up spending the evening at the walk-in clinic. Oh what fun...

While I was in the waiting room and Jarryd was in another room with the doctor, he left his phone behind and when he got a text from someone, it showed all of his past messages. {Jarryd thinks that I snooped, but I really didn't, I swear, the messages were all on display!}

"CONGRATS on your booking with Airbnb!!"

Jarryd surprised me with an Airbnb?!?

After reading that text I felt high with a rush of excitement, which then quickly descended into a low as reality sunk in.

We can't do anything or go anywhere with his leg in this condition. :( Of course, the one time we have a romantic weekend getaway planned, we can't even go. Sigh...so there goes that. Hope he can get a refund...

Plus, I already had plans with a friend the next day and I didn't want to have to cancel on her. But this whole hamstring business was sure wearing me out and the temptation to cancel was definitely there. I then received a text from my friend, who has just cancelled on our friend-date night. Hmm.

I decided to "play dumb" to Jarryd about the whole thing and keep my lips sealed. When Jarryd and I drove home from the walk-in clinic, he said how frustrated he was with the timing of his torn hamstring. {Funny enough, he's saying all of this with a half-grin on his face}.

Caving, I say "I think I know what you're talking about..."

And in true LOUD-American-Jarryd-fashion he yells: "YOU SNOOP! You snooped my phone! I knew I shouldn't have left my phone with you back there!!" Hahah! {It was hilarious}.

He said that he did the Airbnb booking the other day right in front of my face too; granted, I was in the middle of photographing a cupcake order so I was WAY in the zone of my own little cupcake world. He also said that he was going to pack a suitcase of my clothes and hide it in the trunk of the car. Aww!!

Later, I told him how my friend cancelled on me, and Jarryd said "Yeah, I told her to do that...so that we could leave for our anniversary trip right after work on Friday!"

"WHAT?!?" I was actually quite impressed with his deviousness. ;)
But my excitement levels remained slim, as I really didn't think we were going to go. If he could hardly walk, what was the point of going on this trip?!

THANKFULLY, the next day he could walk just slightly more normal...so we packed our bags and went on our way.
YAY! Finally a weekend away from our home and out of the norm! Just the two of us. :)

OH yeah, we spent our weekend in Honey Brook, Pennsylvania. The land of Amish, rolling hills, gorgeous farmland, and Smorgasbords. Mmmm!
Following an Amish buggy or two here in PA is a normal occurrence. I just love the "clip clop" sound that the horses feet make.
Here was the outside of our Airbnb {we stayed right up there in the attic. See it??} For those of you who don't know what an Airbnb is, it's a private space in people's homes that they can open up to travellers. It's a unique and personal alternative to staying in a hotel. {And also most of the time it's cheaper!}
Ugh, love the exterior.
Here's the door to our little weekend abode. How cute, right?!
The view as soon as you enter. HEART EYES to everything!!!
They had this pillow there and I just fell in love. In case you live under a rock, it's "Good Night" in German. I'm German, so you can imagine my excitement; anything familiar is something to celebrate when you're living in a foreign country.
:D



My face!! It's as if I just discovered the most beautiful thing.
I LOVE the gold XOXO on the brick. I think everyone's house should have at least one brick wall. I wish!
Complete with a little wood stove!
The rustic door to the bedroom. Some may say it's a door that needs a fresh coat of paint, others would say it's rustic and charming. 
This bed was actually SO comfortable. And the best part is that we slept 11-12 hours in it our first night there. I haven't gotten that much sleep in MONTHS. It was absolutely glorious!
Another view, with a ladder to the loft. Who knew that attics had room for lofts? Not I.
My husband, pretending to be a guitar player. "This sounds good, therefore it must be a chord!"
The dining room! How quaint!! Also, you'll notice that to your left is a decorative sign that says "Taste and See That The Lord is Good"; there are little hints all over this place that show our Airbnb hosts are Christians. We felt right at home. :)
This place had so many skylights--it definitely made it so nice and bright!
I just loved this plant! I could see myself adopting it...
The lovely little kitchen--that we didn't even use. But that's OK, kitchens are my life 100% of the time, so it's nice to have a few days away from it.
And that door right there past the kitchen is the bathroom. I did not take any photos of the bathroom, as it was pretty standard. My apologies to those of you who were on the edge of their seats to see the big bathroom unveiling!
Our Airbnb hosts left us a little "Happy Anniversary" note on the kitchen counter along with roses, which I thought was really sweet. :)
I would buy this rug. I REALLY WOULD!
Cute little shelves. Overall, I probably wouldn't decorate my own home with most of the little pieces in this place, as it's not exactly my style; but it totally worked for a little attic suite. We truly loved this abode and our hearts definitely sank when it was time to leave.
After we got settled into our Airbnb, we decided to go on a hot date to Victory Brewing Company! Jarryd and I love going to brewery's! It's fun ordering flights of beer and testing out the unique concoctions.
Kettle chips for appetizer!


You can't tell in this picture, but I ordered the shrimp tacos and that was the best shrimp I've EVER had. It didn't have a rubbery texture in the slightest; it was cooked absolutely perfect. Gordon Ramsay would be pleased. ;)
So after getting our 11+ hours of sleep that Friday night, we woke up on Saturday morning SO excited to check out the local thrift store we passed on our way into town. {Well, I don't know how excited Jarryd was, but I sure was!!} After enjoying a cup of coffee together in our cute little dining room, we took off for the thrift store, only to see a big "CLOSED" sign. They close at 12 on Saturdays. Pfft! Worst hours ever, right?
Mini golf in Lancaster, PA was calling our name!!
Fun fact: American water is substantially bluer than Canadian water. Haha jokes! This water was reeeeally blue, like it was almost scary...
I'll have you know that I was winning for the first 9 holes. And then I lost...ugh. Ah well, it was still a good time! Note to self: always eat before playing mini golf in the hot hot sun, so you don't feel like fainting half way in.
WYEBROOK FARMS! So, the only reason we heard about this place is because our friends signed us up for a Martha Stewart Living magazine subscription {as I joke I think?! If so, jokes on them because I love it!!!}, and in one of the issues was a piece on this farm started in the 19th century just off the Brandywine River. They have their own market and restaurant where all of their meats, cheeses, and vegetables, ect come from their farm. So cool! We just had to go!
I get a little too excited every time I see Canadian Geese because, well, you know why. :)
We went for a little walk on this farm and it was oh-so peaceful and incredibly beautiful! Even the smells didn't bother me one bit; it all only reminded me of the farm I grew up on.
Pigs really are dirty animals...
Jarryd's unintentional cowboy stance.
Pigs have the cutest little pink snouts though!!
And the ugliest bums...
This farm was so gorgeous!!
A few of the farm house. How cute is that couple to the bottom left? 
My Jare Bear and I. <3 Apparently he's the biggest Nationals fan ever? (?!)


A photo of the restaurant before it filled up. There is sheepskin at every table!! I was SO in love!!
The view from where our dinner table was. I'm so happy I got that bird in the shot!!


We visited the goats after our meal. Unfortunately there weren't any baby goats, or "kids" as they say.
Feeding the goats the "greener grass from on the other side". I was sooo in my happy place.
:D
The beautiful farm house once again. 
That evening we decided to go see Finding Dory in IMAX 3D! It was AWESOME!! Honestly, if you liked the first one you'll definitely like the second one! It had some pretty funny scenes.


After sleeping our second {glorious} night in our little Airbnb, we packed up our bags and headed back to our real life in Maryland. It definitely weren't ready for our mini-vacation to end. Real life gets tough sometimes. Tough and tiring. Truthfully, I don't like waking up at 5 AM and I don't think I ever will. ANYWAY, one of the ladies from my Bible study group had 4 tickets to the Baltimore Orioles game that Sunday and she gave them to me!!! Because it was Father's day we decided to take Jarryd's parents. Baseball games are so much fun!!!
That evening we celebrated with a nice big ole' bushel of steamed, extra-Old Bay seasoned crabs at the in-laws. An amazing little fun fact is that I have lived here in Maryland long enough to recognize amazing seafood and not-so-amazing seafood. This bushel of crabs were good, but not nearly as good as the bushel we had last summer. I just think it's amazing how far I've come since I first moved here!! :)
So that was our second anniversary weekend! It was a perfect contrast from our first anniversary weekend, because as I said earlier, we went to Washington D.C and that was nothing but city city city! And this was pure Amish, and countryside, and farm. It was just fantastic!

Although the weekend wasn't a TOTAL surprise, the things that we did and the adorable little place where we stayed was a complete surprise. So in conclusion, Jarryd is the best! :) <3

I can't even imagine what our third anniversary weekend will have in store for us!!

2 comments:

  1. I love when you post on your blog! Seeing your pics on the farm just made me miss my husband's family farm so so much! I live so close to the beach, and I love it, but my heart is 100% country. I just can't deny that! May God keep on blessing your marriage, Jenny! It was a pretty good surprise from your husband.

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