Happy 1st Anniversary

It's hard to believe that our first wedding anniversary has come and gone but here I sit, ready to share with you highlights of our anniversary getaway. Where did the year go?! :) Initially, we had hoped to plan our re-do honeymoon vacation to Ireland and Scotland since the volcano in Ireland ruined our initial plans. But alas, bedroom furniture took precedence, so after lots of Googling and Internet searches, we had a thought. Why not visit the place where it all started ~ Bethany Beach.

As you all know, Ed proposed to me while we were on vacation in Bethany. So it seemed appropriate that we spend our first anniversary in a place that holds so many wonderful memories. My Mom's good friend Shelia and her family graciously offered for us to use their GORGEOUS beach house for our trip and we gladly accepted. Since it is impossible to explain how adorable this house is, here is a quick tour:

As I said in the video, my family has been lucky enough to stay in this house for close to 5 years and hopefully will continue the tradition in years to come. Thank you Doyle family!!

After our scenic drive over the Bay Bridge and through rural MD and DE, we made it to the house and settled in. I forgot how much I love this drive - lots of open land and farms.


After a quick trip to the grocery and liquor stores (a must!), we cleaned up and headed to Rehobeth Beach for some dinner. If you are not familiar with the MD/DE beaches, here is a look at how they are laid out. Rehobeth is about a 20 minute drive north along the beautiful Coastal Highway. It was a beautiful night so we walked around town and on the boardwalk a bit before settling in at Dos Locos for some margaritas and burritos.


Day 2 brought us sunshine but a ridiculous amount of wind. But that didn't matter, because we were headed to Milton, DE to visit the Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. We are big fans of their beer so thought it was appropriate that we see where it was made. Throw in a free tasting and we were on board! The historic town of Milton was adorable - completely quintessential with small streets and big houses with wrap around porches.



When we arrived, we were greeted by a HUGE tree house and a friendly face who offered us some fancy schmancy protective goggles and our beer tasting coupons.


Our lively tour guide John took us through the brewery and taught us all about how they make their micro brews and how a guy named Sam started the business with a 10 gallon brew tank and $30,000. Fifteen years later, they are the 13th largest micro-brewery in the country. Not too shabby!



Next it was onto the tasting. We enjoyed 4 different beers: Midas Touch, Palo Santo Marron, Black and Blue (our fav!) and Raison D'Etre. Cheers!


The tasting at Dogfish Brewery was a great time, but it was time to get down to business and go to the Outlets!!! It's amazing what you will buy when you have a small beer buzz! Since my wardrobe is much to be desired these days, I went a little nuts, but got some really good stuff. After hitting 1 of 3 outlet areas, we decided to grab some food at none other than the Dogfish Head Brew Pub in town and ended the evening with a good old movie - the Lincoln Lawyer (good flick btw).

Day 3 was our actual Anniversary and like our wedding day, it was gray and gloomy. No worries - we had no problem having a good time. After a delicious Cracker Barrel breakfast, we continued our shopping extravaganza at the remaining 2 outlets and in the small town of Bethany. We relaxed in the HUGE jacuzzi tub before heading out to our Anniversary dinner at Bluecoast Grill. Mom and Dad Q. surprised us with a gift card to this place so we indulged ~ the night ended with cupcakes and champagne back at the house and a very drunk Laura. :)



Day 4 (also known as Laura's hangover day) was VERY low key. We took a drive south to Fenwick Island and realized that Fenwick does not have a small town like I thought. It did have a Lighthouse, a Country Store and some really cute housing. The remainder of the day was spent in Rehobeth again now that the stores were open and then dinner close to home. The drive back was un-eventful, but we did have a sighting of Ed's favorite local college ~ University of Maryland University College. He loves that the college not only has the word "college", but "university" twice! :)



All in all, it was a wonderful anniversary. We had a great time at the beach and I was able to cross "go to the beach during the off-season" off my bucket list. :) Now that we are home, re-united with Lucy, we are looking forward to the summer and the many, many home projects we have ahead of us. Happy Anniversary!!!

Wedding Week: The Proposal

Since Ed and I will be celebrating our First Anniversary this coming Saturday, I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane. Over the next few days, we would like to share some of the highlights of our amazing wedding day and the ridiculous amount of planning that went into making it happen.

Ed proposed to me in July of 2008 and we got married in April of 2010 so there was LOTS of time to plan the big day. The proposal was amazing - it still gives me chills and smiles when I think about it. We were at Bethany Beach for our annual summer family vacation with Mom, Dad, Sue, Aunt Ruth, Uncle Mike and Uncle James.


During the course of our relationship, we became big fans of picnics and BBQ's in the park. So it didn't seem odd that Ed wanted to go on a picnic while at the beach. We took a ride over to Holts Landing State Park and scouted out our picnic spot. I had no idea what was going on because Ed was cool as a cucumber. We had lunch, checked out the view from the dock and even attempted to take a walk on a trail that we later learned was riddled with ticks (thank you to the friendly family that warned us!).
On our way back to our blanket Ed started acting a little different. He was all huggy and kissy and schmoopy which is a little out of the ordinary for him. That's when I had my first clue that something was going on. Before I knew it, he was in front of me, down on one knee, presenting me with a gorgeous ring and asking me to be his wife. It was amazing....Of course I said yes!


Once I pulled myself together (lots of kissing and shaking and crying all at the same time), we packed it up and started making phone calls as we headed back to the house. Ed's family was first and they were all waiting by the phone to congratulate us. We each then went down our contacts list in our cell phones to share the big news. I ended up leaving lots of messages since it was July 4th, but that's okay. I got lots of call backs! :)

When we got back to the house, we found my family anxiously lounging (oxymoron?) by the pool anticipating our arrival. Of course they all knew and were thrilled for us. I think the first thing I said when I saw them was "Sue will you be my Maid of Honor?" At the house they had champagne and gifts for us which was amazing.


The planning literally started the next day. No joke. And it continued for the next 20 months. :)

We are 3 days away from our Anniversary and will head out to the beach house in Bethany tomorrow for a much-needed vacation. Many thanks to the Doyle family for graciously allowing us to stay in their beautiful house while we celebrate our 1st Anniversary!

Day 6 - Beach Time!

Today was one of those lazy days that you dream about when you are sitting at your desk staring at a computer screen. :) We woke up to more beautiful sunshine and decided to hit the beach after a hearty breakfast. And let me just add - all inclusive meals and drinks is VERY dangerous. Especially when the food is as good as it is here. I think I have eaten at least 2 gallons of guacamole since my arrival here!

The beach was hot so we parked ourselves under some shade and proceeded to read and sweat! A quick dip in the ocean cooled us down and I have to say, it was a more successful swim than when we were in the Dominican Republic 2 years ago. I'm sure you all remember the coral/Ed cut foot incident! :)
After a few hours we decided to head back to the pool to finish out the day. Dinner was at a lovely Italian restaurant and afterwards we were entertained with some really awesome International dance styles including one rendition of Irish Line Dancing. We are back in the room now hiding from the enormous thunderstorm that has engulfed the resort. Only 4 more days until reality - boo!!! But we are going to live up every last minute of it!!!