Saturday

This was my favorite day from this past weekend...seriously. I woke up early and moved from the bed to the couch to watch some tv, amazing. After some time being lazy, I went for a run. It wasn't anything remarkable, but it felt good to be productive.

Jake got home from cycling soon after me and we decided we wanted to go out and do something. Jake usually approaches every day with this intense motivation for activity, but this was newer for me. We ran some errands and randomly decided to go to Conte's to check out their used bike sale. I was thinking we might find a mountain bike for Jake or a beach cruiser for myself but we had no such luck. Jake sneakily told the sales associate we wanted information on a entry level cycle for me...umm, no thank you. I have definitely mentioned that I'd like to get into the sport, but not yet!!! We looked at a few bikes and I politely refrained from mounting/test riding any of them. Honestly, I can barely get on a regular bike without almost falling over (graceful, I know) so the thought of climbing onto the something supported by 1/2" wide tires is terrifying. To avoid this fear, I quickly turned the focus on to Jake, he is the one who is counting down til graduation so he could make this type of purchase anyway. A lot of questions were asked and answered and after everything was said and done he walked out a new bike owner! There is a lot more that went into than this, but since this only takes us to about 2:00pm I'm giving the abridged version. Main details, he goes to get "fitted" this week and should have the bike by Friday. As I'm sure you've already guessed, he has made plans to cycle Saturday, and I'm sure will add on a ride for Sunday too.

After this big purchase we celebrated by painting the kitchen! I won't go into detail but here are some before and after pictures.

before

after

Lastly, this past Saturday marked being married for 6 months! We're not typically celebrators of non-annual anniversaries but Jake is a fan of unexpected celebrations...as was proven this weekend. He told me in the morning he was going to take me to Croc's for dinner and I was genuinely excited. As we were getting in the car, he got a call from his clinical instructor, Alex, asking if we could jump his car. The story was that his wife was at work and he had tried a few other people before Jake but no one was answering. Supposedly, they had just made the connection on Friday that we lived close to each other- how convenient! Anyway, I was happy to help him out and proceeded to drive out to 89th St.

The following should have been dead giveaways that Jake was up to something:

1. He suggested we bring our camera...to dinner.
2. When we left our complex (before Alex's call) he asked if taking Shore Dr. would be quicker than the interstate- it isn't if you're going to Croc's, it is if you're going to the North End...let's say 89th St. Plus, I'm awful at directions and taking the shortest route; he of all people knows this about me!
3. As we walked out, he went back to grab his jacket and asked if I wanted mine. I didn't think this was necessary...since we would be dining in.
4. He was way too excited when Alex called and even put him on speakerphone...once he hung up, he instructed me to take Shore Dr. after all.
5. When I got to 89th St. he told me to park on the street, even though I suggested it make more sense to call Alex and see where his car was.
6. Upon parking, he said Alex was killing time on the beach and we could meet up with him down there and then follow him back to his car.

As we were walking down the path to the beach I knew something was up...the picnic blanket with flowers, a handmade poster (with our names and french bulldog cut outs created by Alex and sons), and wine confirmed. Jake had coordinated this whole thing with Alex on Friday, he even recruited him to set it all up while we were painting! His plan was to have a little appetizer and wine on the beach before our 7:30 reservation at Croc's- he timed everything perfectly, I was blown away. Hallmark holidays come and go and we don't do very much, but when I least expected it he pulled something off that required actual planning. It was awesome and thoughtful.

the view