Alright! You want it, you got it! A post from the elusive Mr. Marantz!
From Justin:
Maybe it's because he's the only country singer that actually sings in my octave so I can sing along and not sound stupid (the only other two singers that fall in that category would be Jersey's hometown boy Bruce Springsteen and that guy from the Red Hot Chili Peppers). Or it could be because I think he has a cool name (although I can't for the life of me spell it). Or maybe it's just because he gives me hope for making the five o'clock shadow look stylish. But either way, I've been a long time fan of Dierks Bentley. And the word on the street is that his new album is supposed to be his best yet. Here's the latest (first?) single from that album, which is A-Ok in my book because I like the way my wife moves to it. Come to think of it, that may just be the reason I like all his music so much.
Stuff We Love: Thoughtfulness & "You Wash, I'll Dry"
Her email came in with the subject line "Mary, you totally need this for your house." And just like that my heart went to mush. She had seen it on Etsy and she immediately thought of us. And anytime somebody thinks of you like that....heart mushage (what, it's a word!) is bound to follow. So a HUGE thanks goes out to my friend Jennelle for her thoughtfulness....and for a good reminder on how to always live life.
We had had only been dating for a month and I did the unthinkable. In a spur of the moment, red faced, wish I could take it back second I blurted out- "I'm going home to NJ for my birthday next weekend, wanna come?" Oh. My. Goodness. I had just asked him to come home and spend my birthday with me ... and MY FAMILY. It was way too soon to be asking my boyfriend to meet the parents. Let alone, drive three hours to meet the parents. But, in half a heartbeat he quietly responded yes. And relief washed over me.
Within hours of arriving in my home town, he was in my grandparent's house. As we sat down to lunch, my Grandmom leaned over to him and asked for no reason whatsoever, "Do you play tennis?" His eyes danced and he responded, "Not professionally." And she laughed, she laughed so hard she almost fell out of her wheelchair. And as she laughed, I fell in love. Right there in my grandparent's dining room.
A place that was once mine, quickly became ours. And now, every year, we go down to The Shore for my birthday. We spend a long weekend playing in the sun and visiting all of our favorite places. In honor of our upcoming trip, I thought I would share a list of all the things we love about The Jersey Shore. A little hint? The list does NOT include Snookie! :)
1. The Circus Drive In My recomendation? The softshell crab sandwich and a creamsicle freeze. YUM!!
2. The carousel in Seaside Heights. We decided a carousel would be the perfect wedding venue while riding this one!
3. Point Pleasant Boardwalk. Kinda touristy, but we always have to stop in for some skee ball, Kohr's Frozen Custard, and a quick spin on the Himalaya!
4. The dog beach in Manasquan. Hey, this vacation includes Andy too!!
5. I have to give a shout out to Susan Murphy's. A home made ice cream shop in Spring Lake that recently closed, but used to sell Green Apple Sherbet. LOVED!
6. Steamers from Spike's! 7. Watching the sun rise and set on Sea Girt Beach 8. Miniature Golf!!
9. Visiting Brave New World to buy Mike some new boardshorts!
10. Going to eat at Mr. Shrimp with our NJ parents
11. Listening to live music at The Tiki Bar 12. Flying kites on Sea Girt Beach.
13. Riding bikes out to Allaire and stopping at the Allenwood General Store for a pork roll egg and cheese!
And this one comes directly from Mike...
14. Drinking an ice cold Grolsch with our NJ Dad! Hey, boys will be boys! :)
So, what are your favorite things to do on vacation?
...&J2
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We sat on the rocks holding Vermont Maple ice cream cones as a rainbow of sprinkles dripped down our arms....and we fought.
Not a word was spoken and yet we fought. Because see, this was the silent kind of fighting. The kind you do with your eyes. And with deep, heavy, weight of the world (if ever so slightly over-exaggerated) sighs. I looked out at the cotton candy clouds, as a plop of rainbow sprinkles fell from the cliffs of the cone above and landed between my toes. I looked down...and I sighed once more.
We were hot. We were tired. We were hungry. We were stranded over night while they worked on our car. And he had left his wallet where?.... in the CAR.
Not the one they were working on, mind you. The other one. The perfectly fine one. The one that was parked just two blocks away. But still, he had left it in the car.
And we were too hot, tired and hungry to walk back to get it. So we did the only thing we could do. We bought two ice cream cones with the cash in our pockets, sat out on the rocks of Lake Champlain... and fought with our eyes. And our deep, heavy, weight of the world, if yes, ever so slightly over-exaggerated sighs.
All the while fighting back the serious urge to just go ahead and shove those ice cream cones in each others faces. :)
*Taken with our iPhone....in between deep sighs and sideways glances. :)
**Justin picked the title in a tribute to George Carlin.
***Lest you be worried, the sugar rush did eventually give us enough energy to walk back to the car for the wallet and we ended up having a fantastic dinner in Burlington. And no ice cream shoving actually occurred.
Typically our sneak peeks are of the bride & groom, but this time we thought we'd do the sneak peek of the bride & groom's amazing idea: to have the bridal party stop & play bocce ball in an awesome field on the way to the reception. Love it!!
Stuff we Love
