FF91C70D-29C5-45C6-92C5-5B6BD5E1DBB4 Relatively Offbeat: June 2013

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Laura's Month of June via Instagram

I know I say this every month, but seriously, where did the time go? June was an incredible month for me, and I'm actually really sad to see it go.  I got to spend so much time with Steve and I was glad to have him in town for the first couple of weeks living in my new apartment.
Tomorrow is July already, and Katelyn marries Alex in just 5 days!
There are so many awesome events and celebrations to come. 


1. Katelyn's Breakfast at Tiffany's bridal shower on our side of the family. 
2. When plans for going to a music festival fell through, Steve and I decided on camping out and having a bonfire in the backyard. 
3. Steve received his new banner for his gigs this summer. 
4. At the zoo w/ my mom while eating a frozen banana. 
5. Taking a "shotski" at a local tavern in Leelanau. 
6. Frolicking through a vineyard with Katelyn during her bachelorette party up north. 
7. Cherry picking in Coopersville with my parents and grandparents. Yum!
8. I attended a "Wine & Canvas Night" w/ family. Drinking while painting is always a great idea..
9. Ice cream top while eating ice cream? Completely necessary.

xoxo, 
Laura

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Katelyn's Bachelorette Party!


This past weekend we had the pleasure of celebrating Katelyn's bachelorette party up in the Leelanau Peninsula. Leelanau/Traverse City area is known as the "wine country" of Michigan. It's a beautiful place in the Summer/Fall seasons, and the perfect place to celebrate Katelyn's big night and her love for fine wines.

We hit up four wineries while we were there. 
In this order, we visited: 
L. Mawby Winery

On the first stop at Chateau de Leelanau we all tried a variety of wines and took some time to take photos too. All of the girls were asked to wear a dress in the shade of a wine which made for adorable photos while Katelyn wore a summer dress in white.


Here's a picture of all the lovely ladies that went to Katelyn's Bachelorette party!




This was the breathtaking view from Willow Vineyards. It was such a beautiful day for wine tasting!




Laura thought she needed a bigger bottle for all the wine.


Even though we were in bed by 11:30pm, everyone had such a great time! Katelyn's "Final Fling before the Ring" was so perfect. Huge thanks to her Maid of Honors Brittaney and Molly for organizing everything and keeping it a secret!

All the beautiful ladies one more time together--



Only 8 More Days until the Wedding! You can count on a million photos of Laura and Katelyn together on the big day!

xoxo, L & K


Giveaway: Coast West Music Festival Tickets for July 6th

Greetings lovely readers! Today we are happy to bring you a giveaway for TWO tickets to the July 6th Concert for Coast West Music Festival in Muskegon, MI!


Performing on July 6th are the following bands: 

Of course, I'll be in attendance, as my ever so talented boyfriend will be playing on the Mlive Stage.

The rules:
To enter, use the Rafflecopter widget below, followed by leaving a comment on this blog post with your email address. Not commenting will disqualify you from the giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is open until Tuesday, July 2nd.  We will be announcing the winner then, so don't forget to leave us your email address in the comments section!

 
xoxo,
Laura

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

The Back Forty Saloon

This past Friday, Steve played another gig at The Back Forty Saloon in downtown GR. 
It's funny, I never really involved myself in the country music scene of West Michigan until Steve and I started dating, but it sort of engulfed me within just a matter of months.


 
 

xoxo, 
Laura

Travel Tuesday - Wilmington, NC


Wilmington, North Carolina is truly the hidden gem of the south. This picturesque port city boasts an active, bustling city scene with the feel of a quaint, historic town and the ideal location is close to several unique beaches, making it easy to take a break from the action and relax. The city also hosts a variety of events throughout the year and the fair North Carolina coastal weather makes it easy to enjoy a trip any time of the year. 
History is at the heart of Wilmington and is ever present throughout the cobblestone streets and antiqued homes. The downtown area is home to several historic homes, many of which have been beautifully preserved. The Burgwin-Wright House, for example, was originally built in 1770 and is the oldest restored house in coastal Carolina area. Other historic are homes include Bellamy Mansion, Latimer House, and Poplar Grove Plantation. History aficionados and neophytes alike will enjoy a visit to the Battleship North Carolina. This 1942 battleship saw a great deal of action during WWII and was once considered the world’s greatest sea weapon. The battleship was saved from near destruction and now rests safely in Wilmington for visitors to tour and enjoy. Other popular historic attractions include Fort Fisher State Historic Site, Moores Creek National Battlefield, and the North Carolina Maritime Museum.
Children and families will have plenty to do in Wilmington as this area is very family friendly. Watch your child interact with new nautical friends at the North Carolina Aquarium. This wildly popular attraction offers a wide variety of exhibits where visitors can see everything from loggerhead turtles and bottlenose dolphins to bamboo sharks and even an albino alligator. The Children’s Museum of Wilmington is another visitor favorite and offers 15 fun, interactive exhibits. Additional family oriented attractions include Tregembo Animal Park, Jungle Rapids Family Fun Park, and the Carolina Beach Lake Park which hosts free family movies every Sunday evening throughout the summer. 

For those interested in taking a break from all of the action, head about 20 minutes east to one of the area beaches. Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, and Kure beach are all located along the Wilmington coast and all have something different to offer. Wrightsville beach, the closest to Wilmington offers a bustling beach atmosphere. Guests here often enjoy a busy surfing and fishing scene. Farther south, Carolina Beach offers a very family friendly atmosphere and a colorful boardwalk that has been nationally recognized. Kure Beach, the southern-most beach, offers secluded beaches and quaint local shops and restaurants. 

Another reason why thousands flock to this area each year is the variety of exciting events that Wilmington offers. Summer is the best time for music lovers to come as Wilmington boasts a thriving music scene. Airlie Gardens, Riverfront Park, Kure Beach Oceanfront Park, Wrightsville Beach Park, and Carolina Beach Boardwalk all host weekly concert series, in addition to the variety of national artists that the area attracts. Foodies will appreciate the variety of food and wine festivals that the area hosts. Events like the Pleasure Island Seafood, Blues, & Jazz Festival, Taste of Wrightsville Beach, and the Wilmington Wine & Beer Walk are just a few of the mouthwatering events that guests can look forward to. Art connoisseurs are not left out either. The Orange Street Art Festival is the area’s largest arts festival and more than 50 artists return each year to display their work, ranging from sculpture and jewelry to paintings and wood work. In addition, Wilmington boasts a busy theater scene with several area vendors that provide a variety of entertainment options. 
With all of these exciting things to do in Wilmington, it is not hard to see why this sea side city is a favorite east coast destination. The variety of entertainment, scenic beaches, and fair weather make Wilmington an absolute must see. Accommodations are easy to find and there is always something going on, so start planning your trip to Wilmington today!

 



Meisha Bochicchio lives in the Myrtle Beach, SC area and works in marketing. In her free time, she enjoys photography, blogging, and absorbing the beach lifestyle 

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Travel Tuesday: Beirut, Lebanon

This week's Travel Tuesday feature is brought to you by a guest blogger from Beirut, Lebanon.

Sub the well-trampled Eiffel Tower for the Ottoman Clock Tower at the Grand Sérail. Instead of walking through the Arc de Triomphe, swim through the arched Pigeons' Rocks at Raouché. Rather than the glass pyramid at the Louvre, see the Egyptian Revival building at the National Museum of Beirut, the Paris of the East. After all, that's what it means to be "relatively offbeat."
Beirut, Lebanon's capital and largest city, has something for everyone. If you want to rub elbows with a real-life Middle Eastern prince, there's a night club or two for you, and other popular soirees are located right on the warm, sandy beaches. For the history buffs, Beirut is packed with archaeological treasures reaching back the dawn of history. After dancing all night, swimming all morning, and museum-hopping all afternoon, refuel on top cuisine at one of Beirut's world-renowned restaurants, with menus ranging from traditional Lebanese to Asian fusion.

Nightlife

Beirut's ultimate night club must be SkyBar. This rooftop venue was voted "coolest night club in the world" by The New York Times, and it consistently appears on DJmag's Top 100 Clubs list. It is positioned between the white-capped mountains on one side and the white-capped waves on the other, and it literally hovers above the earth while humbly meeting the sky. This point of intersection is what inspired Lebanese architect Sari el-Khazen to design SkyBar with the four elements - fire, water, earth, wind - in mind. The result has been famously called something that "must be lived and felt," and the most chic national and international VIPs unanimously agree. Other notable rooftop night clubs include Cherry on the Rooftop and Bar ThreeSixty (both in the Le Gray Hotel) and White, located on Sea Side Road.
There are dozens of unique clubs in Beirut, each with its own tempo and flair, but two of the most noteworthy are Buddha Bar and B018. Buddha Bar, like its Parisian sister, is themed with plush elements of the Far East, like a 30-foot tall statue of the Buddha at the end of a grand staircase laced with golden chandeliers. It is housed in an old theater on Riad Solh Square, but instead of seeing films, you might meet film stars, or even royalty. A truly Lebanese club, B018 is as famous with celebrities as it is locally for its liberal atmosphere and "wartime architecture," which has placed it multiple times among Wallpaper's ranks of "best bars in the world." The former Palestinian refugee camp turned Civil War underground music venue, B018 has a hypogeal feel with casket-shaped benches, but any morbid association is quickly lost when the roof of the underground chamber opens up to reveal the glittering stars of night shining down on the dance floor.
Beaches
Located on the sapphire shores of the Mediterranean, Beirut boasts inviting beaches aplenty, dotted with hopping night clubs in the guise of cabanas. While much of the coastline is privately owned by various resorts (Riviera, Praia, e.g.), some host quieter beaches (Iris, Lazy B, e.g.), where you can relax without feeling the bass thumping in your sternum. Resort beaches are available for non-residents with a day-pass at a modest fee. If you prefer to avoid doling out dough, don't miss a stroll along the Corniche, Beirut's boardwalk, where local men pole fish and smoke shisha, while further along, families gather for a swim, a picnic, or a dive from the rocks into the warm, crystalline water. When you need some refreshment after a day of sun, sand, and sea, there are plenty of restaurants to choose from, or take advantage of the mobile coffee and food vendors - while holding on to your coveted spot on the beach.

Archaeology

Those inspired by Indiana Jones - or real archaeologists like Kathleen Kenyon and Howard Carter - will not want for ancient treasures in Beirut. The city itself is a 5,000-year old harbor, and prehistoric finds highlight the profound complexities of Paleolithic humankind. Roman baths are being restored right in the city's Downtown Central District, and the American University of Beirut campus is also home to the National Museum of Beirut, which houses a vast array of invaluable artifacts: prehistoric, Canaanite, Phoenician, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, and Ottoman.
Although the museum is already brimming with fascinating finds, more is surely to come. As Beirut experiences a building boom, a team of very devoted local archaeologists is doing everything it can to record structures and resurface artifacts before new condos and office buildings are planted on top of them. Their efforts are bound to bring even more of Beirut's most distant and more recent past into the limelight it deserves.

 

Restaurants

The culture of food is gaining attention from anthropologists and tourists alike. Beirut is one of those destinations that offers visitors insight into traditional recipes for houmous, baba ghanoush, and kebab, as well as tastes of the foreign and modern, like sculpted seafood, or for dessert, a feuillantine aux framboises that you might swear was created in a Parisian patisserie.
Lebanese cuisine outside of Lebanon is rarely as delicious and economical as it is in its homeland, even in the bustling and chic Downtown Beirut. Do not miss the opportunity to gorge yourself on mezze, and reviewers agree that Karam is a great place to start. This world-famous restaurant is located near Nejmeh Square (Place de l'Etoile), and it offers authentic Lebanese cuisine, friendly service, and a lovely setting, all for a very reasonable price.
If you're so lucky to stay in Lebanon long enough to start missing your native cuisine, try Le Relais de l’Entrecôte for steak with a world-famous secret sauce and exquisite desserts, or Bob's Easy Diner for a 50s jukebox feel and a philly, cheese burger, or barbeque. Would you like French fries with that? Yes, with houmous, please.

Image Credits:
nytimes.com
downtownbeirut.com


Monday, June 17, 2013

Dog Days of Summer

With all of the chaos of moving this past week, Steve and I took some time out of my weekend to play with my pals in the backyard.



Gemini's grumpy face just kills me. Her attitude is just adorable. I love her. :) 

 

 


xoxo,
Laura