Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Megan's Bachelorette: Montauk Restaurants, Bars and Breweries

While staying in Amagansett for Megan's Bachelorette weekend we spent quite a bit of time in neighboring Montauk visiting various restaurants, bars and breweries. 

I wanted to share my thoughts on them with you so if you are visiting the area you will know what to expect!

First of all this is most of the ladies from this trip and we traveled in a pack of 15 throughout our meals and pub crawl:


I'm sure we were slightly overwhelming to each place we entered since it was such a large group however if we were going somewhere to eat we did call ahead and/or make reservations so we could be guaranteed service.


Kelsey (pictured above next to me) was not only the maid of honor and sister of the bride but also the architect of the weekend itinerary. She did a fabulous job at planning everything out and my thoughts on the places we went are no way a reflection on the job she did! I'm also not a professional when it comes to food and drink so take my opinions with a grain of salt- I just share to hopefully be helpful to someone somewhere! (And because I like to remember places I've been and things I've done!)

Our Saturday night dinner was the first meal we ate in Montauk.


La Fine is a restaurant located in Montauk Manor. The atmosphere was definitely fancy and the hotel looked amazing with its old decor and rustic feel.

When we arrived one of the friendly waitresses let us know that there was a beautiful view around the back of the hotel and offered to take a picture of our entire group which was so sweet.


The view was gorgeous and it made for a great photoshoot! We headed back towards the restaurant where couches and tables were set up outside. We ordered a round of drinks and settled in to hang out before dinner. This is when the first issue popped up... I ordered a Malibu and pineapple juice and received a glass of rum- not even Malibu rum just regular clear rum. Ellen ordered a gin and tonic and received a glass of gin. Kelly ordered a vodka soda and received a glass of vodka. Very strange...we each got our drinks slightly straightened out and then headed inside for dinner.



La Fine is an Italian American restaurant so I was ready for it to be right up my ally. I love pasta so I knew I wanted to order the penne alla vodka from my first glance at the menu.


I thought it was fine but not anything amazing. I also heard similar comments about other food that was eaten at this meal. Two people had the baked ziti and one was still frozen in the center. We had two waitresses and they were both very sweet but kept forgetting to bring things we asked for. It was definitely an interesting dinner and I don't think any of us would ever return to this restaurant in the future.


Here we all are in the hotel lobby right outside of La Fine before dinner. 

On Sunday we started with lunch at Gosman's Clam Bar. I am not a seafood lover so I was nervous about what I would eat but ended up ordering macaroni and cheese and a plate of French fries. 




My mac and cheese was amazing! I ended up dipping my French fries in the sauce and it was amazing. I heard great reviews from everyone else about their food as well. The atmosphere was awesome as we were right on the water and the service was amazing. We had low expectations after the previous night but we truly did have an awesome time.

After filling our stomachs we headed off on our bar crawl.


The first bar we went into was Salivars. This bar/restaurant had a beach bar feel with all the fish hanging from the ceiling. The bartenders were all efficient and helpful and our drinks were great. The only downside was the small bar and lack of area to stand. They were moving around tables in the bar area which were only available if you were eating and I constantly felt in the way.


Our next stop was O'Murphy's which is the local Irish pub. It was what you would typically expect an Irish bar to be. There was plenty of room for us to hang out in, my drink was great (Montauk Sunrise) however the bartenders were a little rude. I'm sure they were a little overwhelmed with us as well!

Our third stop was a totally different vibe. The Liar's Saloon is definitely the local fisherman hangout and I think they were less than impressed when we rolled in! It was a small one room bar with very little seating or areas to hang out in. We only stayed for one drink and I didn't even have one.



Our fourth stop was the Montauk Brewing Company. As you may know if you read the blog regularly I don't like the taste of beer but I think visiting different breweries is a fun activity! This building was super cute and everyone had great things to say about their beers. I know this would be a place Tim would enjoy and would definitely bring him back to in the future.


Also, any place that allows dogs in is okay with me! Becca was in love with this puppy :)

 Next up was Shagwong which was an old school bar with live music. This bar had plenty of room for us to hang out together and the drinks were made very well. This was one of my favorite stops along the way because it was a laid back atmosphere and you didn't have to yell to be heard.

Finally we went to The Point Bar and Grill which was also one of my favorite stops. This was a sports bar that we had our final drinks of the night. This bar was huge with plenty of seating, tvs to watch any sports you wanted (tough for a New England fan in NY though...) and our drinks and service was great!

We had a great time during all of our meals and our bar crawl and we definitely were able to see a great deal of Montauk!




Monday, May 28, 2018

Megan's Bachelorette: Amagansett's Windward Shores Ocean Resort

Happy Memorial Day everyone! Sorry for the delayed post today but I've been away all weekend for a bachelorette party. My roommate from college Megan is getting married in July and I was invited to celebrate with her for the long weekend.

Megan's sister Kelsey planned the entire trip and she did a fantastic job at planning an itinerary that was low-key enough with down time but with enough activities to keep us interested. She also kept the price down super low which was very much appreciated by all of us.

Today I'm going to share a little bit about the first part of our trip with some details on the resort we stayed at. 


Megan's Bachelorette was located in Amagansett, NY which is a place close to her heart. Megan's grandparents have owned a beachside unit there for most of her life and she has been vacationing there every summer for that entire time. After hearing all her Amagansett stories over the years it was nice to finally see it in real life.

Amagansett is located near Montauk on the edge of the Hamptons. In order to get there from Rhode Island I drove to New London CT and caught a ferry to Orient Point, NY. From there we took two smaller auto ferries to get to our destination. There was definitely quite a bit of travel involved!


Does anyone else instantly have Taylor Swift's "Welcome To New York" in your head the second you see this sign?
No? Just me..?

Moving on...

The Windward Shores Ocean Resort is individually owned apartments that are equipped with a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and living room. There is also an additional bedroom and bathroom in a loft that you take a spiral staircase to get to. The rooms are all different since they are owned by different people but I found room 43 where I was placed to be clean and spacious. Although our bed could definitely have used a new mattress (nothing like a hard mattress to make you appreciate the one you have at home) it seemed like every other aspect of the room was phenomenal down to the rain shower in the bathroom. 



There were six of us in our apartment and we fit quite comfortably. The other half of the girls stayed in another unit owned by Megan's grandparents. We kept the decorations are bachelorette party activities contained to that apartment since we didn't have to worry about making a huge mess.

Laura and I were in charge of distracting Megan while the other girls decorated her unit with balloons, streamers, banners, etc. It was definitely a weekend to celebrate!

We spent that Friday night have a pizza party in the room. Kelsey had purchased some Bachelorette games (just use your imagination) and we spent the night just hanging out. When it finally got too late for us to keep our eyes open we headed off to bed.


A huge perk of staying at Windward Shores is that it is located right on a private beach. They always have employees ready to set up chairs and umbrellas for you which is certainly a bonus. When we woke up on Saturday we headed down to the beach to get some sun.





The clouds were in and out all day and the wind was strong so most of us were feeling pretty chilly. I spent my time on the beach in my North Face with a towel over my legs.


I imagine that in the summer this resort would be a perfect place to enjoy the beach since it's only steps away. I understand why Megan's family enjoys coming here so much!


We all are pretty much covered up with the exception of Megan who is in her bikini. Despite the wind chill we had a great time laying outside chatting and I was glad I applied sunscreen when I saw the color some of the other girls got. I certainly don't need to be red and peeling!



We headed back to the rooms for lunch and to get ready for our big dinner out that night. When 15 women all need to shower and do their hair you definitely need a good chunk of time to get that done!


You can see the beach we were sitting at from this balcony so it's definitely convenient for anyone looking to travel somewhere right on the beach!

Two other great features are the heated pool which we didn't end up using and the fact that they do provide a house-keeping service if you are renting the room for the night. If you own the unit they don't provide house-keeping but it worked out well for the girls in room 43 since our room was cleaned every day!

I hope you enjoyed this peek into where I stayed in Amagansett NY. On Wednesday I'll be sharing with you all of the restaurants we ate in and all the places we visited during our pub crawl :)




Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Quick Organization Game Changers

Happy Wednesday friends! 

We are halfway through the week- we can do this! I actually have Friday off and am heading on a mini vacation for my college roommate Megan's bachelorette party! I will be sure to share all the details when I get back from my weekend away :)

Today I'm sharing a few organization game changers that are super quick and I have implemented in our home. They help keep things looking clean and organized for the most part which helps me keep my sanity.

First up: baskets


I love baskets. They are the best for hiding items away you want to keep in a room but keep out of sight. See these six baskets in my tv stand? One of them holds all of our medicine but you would never know that unless you were super nosey and peeked inside. Tim also has an absurd amount of video games and the last thing I want is them on display- those neon green cases aren't exactly pretty. Two of the baskets house those and electronics that I like to keep tucked away. (And when I say electronics I mean away...)


The floor of my closet is a great place for stockpiling toilet paper and paper towels. I like to grab these when there is a sale and I have a coupon so I've started putting them on the floor of my closet so they aren't out on display but are easy to grab if we need them.


I love bins almost as much as I love baskets and my linen closet is full of them! I keep bins for lotion, shower gel, laundry products, soaps, and even Tim gets his own bin for his products. I think they are great way to corral items so they don't look loose and disorganized.

Some other ways I've organized in my apartment?

  • Buying an entryway stand- this has helped immensely with Tim putting away his hats and coats. The seat lifts up so I can store winter stuff inside too!
  • Decluttering! Always my biggest tip: GET RID OF WHAT YOU DON'T NEED! I love to take a big bag of items to donate and find myself constantly decluttering.
  • Organize by type- don't just group all your beauty products into one cupboard- get them organized by type so you know exactly what you have! It will help prevent from buying duplicates.

What are some of your organization game changers?

Monday, May 21, 2018

Our Apartment: Two Years Later

I cannot we have been living in our apartment for TWO YEARS! In all honesty I hoped that we would be in a house of our own by this point but with the wedding happening in about five months we will definitely be waiting until it's over to seriously look into house buying. That doesn't stop me from stalking Zillow and Realtor.Com on a daily basis to see what houses have been listed however. :)

So let's take a look at our apartment in it's current state. These pictures were taken yesterday when I was in the middle of cleaning our apartment. The laundry hadn't been completed, the recycling hadn't been taken this week, and it certainly doesn't look perfect. This is our real life and our apartment is not always perfect!

Let's get started...


Our bedroom hasn't changed a lot in the two years we've been here. We still use our Ikea furniture and have our Pier One headboard.


Not the nicest looking set up for our air conditioner- but we have our curtain held up by two office clips and some cardboard blocking off our window from the elements. We do have a new hamper in our room which has been very helpful with keeping Tim's clothes off the floor.


Our newest addition is a black and white print from our engagement shoot. I love this picture and picked a simple silver frame to hang it on the wall.

Ya'll know by now that I like things clean and organized....our second bedroom is a little bit of a hot mess right now. This room has a clean end in sight- after the wedding! It has become our wedding storage room and is absolutely insane right now.


Crazy right?! We have just been collecting so many items for our reception, gifts for people involved in the wedding and random items and they are all living in here for now.


Our kitchen has been pretty much the same for the last year...nothing too exciting in here!


Our living room now holds our entryway furniture as well which is new but besides that everything else is pretty much the same!




I have decorated the top of our entryway furniture with pictures from our engagement session. I also have our football from the session displayed with our save the date message on it. I love having these special pictures on display so I see them every day.


Our ladder shelf and our bookshelf are still pretty much the same!


We are still loving our couch- it is the place we come home and relax every day. I have plans to replace our coffee table when we move because it's definitely not the best quality but it's working for now! I also love our gallery wall- it's still one of my favorite walls in the apartment.


Our tv stand hasn't changed at all and I have my eye on a new one when we move into a house! I will keep this as a storage system but probably not in our living room.
 

Real life: My desk is a mess. I've had this desk since middle school so my future home dreams include a desk that doesn't have so much on display, where items can be tucked away to create a more organized look. At least I keep my jewelry armoire and my beauty product storage organized on either side of it!


Across from my desk is my teal table that Tim gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago. I also have some mirrors from Kohls above it. This area is pretty incomplete and is also where all our recycling sits until we are able to take it to the recycling center. 


Our bathroom is nothing too exciting and honestly hasn't changed at all in the last year.




I did add a little fake succulent on top of the toilet tank- just a little decor in a boring place!

So that's what our apartment is looking like now- hopefully next year at this time we will be in a house!

If you want to see our apartment when we first moved in click here and last years update click here.

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Our Wedding: List Number Two

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Today I'm sharing the second installment of my wedding to do list. We have conquered everything on list number one and I'm feeling very accomplished! We have finished all the big items so now the list is longer but with less daunting tasks.

Let's get started...


  • Order invitations
  • Send invitations on August 1st
  • Pick bridesmaid dresses done! and almost all the girls have ordered and their dresses have come in!
  • Schedule dress fittings done! I go back to Alexandra's Bridal Boutique in September for my fittings.
  • Pick hairpiece and jewelry done! During my try-on appointment my stylist helped me pick some beautiful earrings and an absolutely gorgeous hairpiece. So exciting!
  • Work on flowers  Even better then done! I have ordered all the silk flower bouquets from afloral.com and they are sitting in my "wedding room" ready to go.
  • Buy all things centerpieces (this is almost done- just need to purchase my weight in sand!
  • Figure out cake Cake is ordered and paid for!
  • Figure out ceremony decorations (if any)
  • Plan honeymoon Thanks to my handsome fiancé this is already booked- next March we will be on a cruise to somewhere tropical. 
  • Check in with Tim's dad about rehearsal dinner
  • Order rehearsal dinner invites
  • Plan day after brunch
  • Tim's suit-- picked out but he is going at the end of the month to get fitted!
  • Groomsmen suits-- all picked out they just need to get in the store to get sized!
  • Bathroom kits for wedding
  • Hair trial
  • Makeup trial Done!
  • Buy wedding rings
  • Buy undergarments for dress
  • Buy wedding shoes
  • Buy bridesmaid/groomsmen gifts-- working on this!
  • Make table numbers
  • Make sand dollar place cards
  • Buy stamps
  • Buy gifts for parents
  • Buy gifts for flower girls/ ring bearers
  • Enjoy bridal shower and bachelorette party!

This list is going to take me right up to October! At that point I will be doing last minute items that are on list number three but pretty much everything should be done!

I'm sure I will think of many other things to add as the months go on but right now I'm feeling fairly prepared. We are just under five months out and I'm still chipping away at little things day after day.

What were the things you had on your wedding list at five months out? What was something that came up that you wish you had thought of? Please share in the comments section!

Monday, May 14, 2018

Life Lately: Busy Busy May!

There hasn't been much down time around here lately! We have been busy and filling our down time with lots of fun now that the weather isn't gross. We also are still checking items off our wedding to do list. I will be sharing list number two soon! People have been telling me lately not to get too stressed with the wedding and honestly other then worrying about money and how we will afford everything I don't feel stressed at all! We have just about five months until the wedding and I think we have a handle on everything. Just little things to do now :)

A couple of weeks ago I got the call that my wedding dress was in! I couldn't believe how fast it was- they told me it might not be in until August! My mom and I headed up there on a Saturday morning so I could try it on and then bring it home. 


It's now hanging in our second bedroom which I am referring to as "the wedding room" I will share pictures of what the room looks like after the wedding- there are just too many things in there that I don't want to share with the world until after the wedding. Also we have some gifts in there and you never know who is reading :)

Also during my dress appointment I picked out my hair piece and jewelry for the wedding. These will be shown at a later date as well :)


We've been getting Hello Fresh meals for the past few weeks and I have to tell you- they are delicious! I think it's totally worth the $60 we spend to get 6 meals. Every meal we've tried so far has been great and Tim is learning a ton of new recipes too.


I've been going to a lot of Tim's softball games and at a recent one I was able to hang out with my soon to be nephews as they played on the playground. They are such great kids!


On Saturday I got to hang out with all three of my flowers girls. This one won't even be a year old but she will be pulled in a wagon...fingers crossed!


I might be biased- but I think I have the cutest flower girls ever...


And the most amazing best friends!


Yesterday I spent mothers day with my mom, brother and other members of my moms side of the family. It was a really nice day and I always love hanging out with my mom!


I found two of these trays at HomeGoods yesterday afternoon which will hold our place cards. I am going to have sand dollars as our place card and they will be in here like a sand box. I think it will be really cute so I'm glad I found them!

What have you guys been up to lately?