Happy Halloween

I'm back!! I almost forgot about my blog for a while...a long while! I haven't posted in about 8 months. I decided though that I should start posting again. I keep thinking how neat it will be to get to look back on this blog and have everything documented.

Even though this is a busy time of year for us, I am going to try and and least blog a couple times a month. I'll keep this first one short and sweet.

Happy Halloween, from the Marandos!

Chicago & Cleveland

The past two weekends we went on road trips. First we went up to Chicago to visit friends, and the following weekend we traveled to Cleveland for St. Patrick's Day. We had amazing weather in both cities, and had an absolute blast. Here are some pictures from the past couple weekends.

Starbucks stop..Loved Spending the Weekend with JR!

View from where we stayed in Chicago.

Kuma's Corner for Lunch -- This was AMAZING!

Chicago xoxo

Birthday Boy Pouring Drinks at our Table!

We Met up with Amie & Tom.

Loved Seeing the Girls in Chicago!

Happy St. Patty's Day : )

Marando's on 3/17

St. Patty's Day Bling!

Be My Valentine

Yesterday was Valentine's day, and it was a great one! I got a really nice surprise delivery at work from my wonderful husband...

After work Ryan met me downtown for dinner at Mo's Steakhouse. I love Mo's and Ryan had never been, so I couldn't wait to take him. We had such a good dinner before heading to the Pacers vs Heat game. We had a blast even though the game was quite a blowout! Ryan, of course, loved getting to see Lebron play, and Lebron did not disappoint.

Hope everyone else had a wonderful Valentine's Day as well! xoxo

Picture Dump: Christmas to New Years

I can't imagine ending 2011 in a better way.....

Thursday, before Christmas, Ryan and I went to the last Colt's home game of the season.

 Friday we traveled to Lafayette for the annual Beer Tasting Contest.

Dad won the Reinbeer I made.

Fear NO Beer Club

Husband, Brother-In-Law, Dad, Uncles & Grandpa

 Everyone came over to our house on Christmas Eve after Mass.

Love this family photo : )

xoxo

Me & Tori

Made the change to PJs

Rockin our new PJs

We came back to Indy after Christmas on Monday afternoon. Ryan's parents came from Cleveland to stay with us for a few days. My family came up to Indy Monday night and we all went to Harry & Izzy's for dinner and exchanged gifts. We had a great time visiting and celebrating Christmas with the Marandos. I had the week after Christmas off, and got to see nephdog a lot : )

We went bowling with friends at Pinheads one night.

Saturday night we cheered on the Hoosiers, as they beat number 2 Ohio State!! Then we made our way to Amber's for a New Year's Eve celebration.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone, and Happy New Year!

Love, The Marandos

Here are a few pictures from our Ugly Sweater Christmas Party....

Thanks everyone for coming we had a blast!! Hope you all have a great Christmas break. xoxo

Busy, Busy, Busy!

I just realized that I had not posted on my blog in exactly one month! November was a really busy month for me at work, and also for Ryan and I at home. So naturally this past month flew by. I can't believe it is already December, and with Christmas and holiday parties right around the corner, I have a feeling December is going to go by just as fast. A few posts ago, I did mention we were going to have a busy, but fun November. So I should probably back track and let you know how it went...

The first weekend in November I headed up to Chicago to hang out with Taryn, Katie, and Jackie. We had such a great time in the windy city. We got to see Jackie's new apartment and hang out with two of her sisters, Tiffany & Vicki. Football & drinks, then some getting ready and we went out for the night. It was so nice getting to catch up with everyone, and I can't wait to do it again.

The second weekend in November, Ryan's Birthday, we had both parents in Indy with us. Friday night we all went to Ruth's Chris to celebrate Ryan turning 26. Saturday we did a lot of shopping, the girls, and had dinner then went to the Stacked Pickle to hear Dave & Rae. We finished off the weekend with breakfast at the Roost before everyone headed home. It was such a nice weekend with family : )

The following Thursday we were off to Miami. This was such a nice break from everything. Neither one of us had ever been to Miami before, but I can assure you we will be back; we loved it! We stayed at the Fontainebleau and it was first class, just amazing. There was a lot of relaxing by the pool, fun dinners, shopping and partying. We were lucky that LIV, an amazing night club, was right in the lobby of our hotel. Friday night we got to meet LMFAO and then see them perform there. We also met up with Molly and her sister for sushi, and it was really nice getting to see them again. I love everything about South Beach from the actual beach itself, to the shopping, restaurants, and night life...I can't wait to go back!

So we returned from Miami on Sunday, then re-packed our bags for Wednesday, and drove up to Cleveland for Thanksgiving. The weather in Cleveland was no Miami, but it was surprisingly nice for this time of year, with temperatures in the high 50's. I even ran outside almost every day we were there. Thursday we had the most amazing Thanksgiving dinner. Ryan's mom makes the best meal for Thanksgiving, it was so good! I think we probably spent Thanksgiving how most people do: eat, drink, nap, football...repeat. Friday we got up and worked off some of our Thanksgiving dinner and then headed to the Public House to see all of our friends from Cleveland, some of them we had not seen since our wedding! We really are lucky to have such great friends, even if they live all over the country now. Okay, so Saturday of course we watched the Bucket Game, but my most favorite part of Saturday was going to Lola. It is in downtown Cleveland and a Michael Symon restaurant. This is a pretty bold statement, but I think I am going to make it...Best Restaurant I have ever been too! From the amazing wine we had to everyone of our dinners I tried, perfect. Oh and I can't forget about the "6:00am" dessert. French toast with a maple, pecan, bacon ice cream and fried apples. Amazing!

Well I think that brings us to this week, and the end of our November...wheww. December is going to be another busy month, but it's the holiday season, and I wouldn't want it any other way. This weekend Ryan and I are going to decorate for Christmas and go to the first ever BigTen Championship Football game at Lucas Oil. Sunday we will probably finish decorating and that evening Taylor & I are going to the Nordstrom card holder party. We have a lot of Christmas parties to go to, including ours. On Friday, December 16th we are having an Ugly Sweater Christmas Party. Let Ryan or I know if you want to come!!

I have a lot of good blog entry ideas to come, I just hope I get around to posting...Pinterest has really inspired me lately to be more domestic & crafty haha. Happy Friday, hope everyone has a great weekend!! xo