Hi, y’all! I know I’ve been a little absent from the blog over the past two weeks. I’ve been having too much fun relaxing and enjoying married life!
After a couple of glorious weeks off, James and I both went back to work this week. We are happy to get back to our routines, but we’re already counting down the days until our Italian honeymoon in September!
Instead of jet-setting right after the wedding, we decided to schedule our honeymoon for a few months later and instead take the week after the wedding to just relax with no schedule. We had more fun than we thought possible!
For the first few days, we hung around the town we live in, beautiful Bloomington, Indiana. The Monday after the wedding, we slept in, had breakfast at one of our favorite breakfast spots, popped into shops on the courthouse square, went on a bike ride and then went out to a fancy (and super delicious) meal at Restaurant Tallent. We ended the night by popping a bottle of special Oliver wine we forgot to drink on our wedding night. It was the perfect way to unwind after the whirlwind wedding weekend.
The next few days we slept in before heading out to explore areas of South-Central Indiana that we’d always wanted to check out. One day, we headed over to Story to check out the famed Story Inn. It felt like we were in a movie.
The adorable, historic Inn features a restaurant, tavern and beautiful grounds. We were greeted by a loving German Shepard who stuck close to us while we sipped craft beers on the porch. While the tavern was small, it had a great selection of Midwest microbrews to choose from, which won us over right away. Story is one of the coolest places we’ve discovered since moving to this part of the state. We can’t wait to go back on a weekend when there’s live music! It’s the perfect place for a romantic getaway or fun girls’ weekend.
That same day, we decided to stop in nearby Nashville, Indiana on our way home. We popped in a couple of the shops, including the Nashville General Store and Bakery. It’s worth going inside for the smells alone — they offer up freshly-baked pies, apple dumplings and donuts. We resisted those temptations so we would have room for beer and pizza at the always amazing Big Woods Brewing. We are huge fans of the brewery and have become regulars at their Bloomington brew pub, Quaff On. The food and drinks are top-notch.
We spent many of our other days off enjoying some of our favorite things about Bloomington — sipping island-themed drinks at Cardinal Spirits‘ Tiki Tuesday while munching on King Dough pizza.
We also spent a lot of time outside riding bikes, hiking through the Hoosier National Forest and smiling just about as much as we did on our wedding day.
Everyday since the wedding, I’ve woken up in disbelief of how happy I am. I have the best husband in the world and the most loving family and friends. When you’ve got that, you don’t have to go off on a luxurious trip to find bliss.