A Journey for Two

Today is the day before Jacob and I celebrate our second wedding anniversary and my thoughts currently are… how has it been two years already and, also, how has it only been two years?? Have you ever felt this about those things most precious to you?

These past two years have been the very definition of an adventure. We’ve traveled to two countries, ten states, woken up before the sun and crawled into bed long after the rise of the moon. We’ve danced barefooted on beaches, on top of mountains and in dirty kitchens. We’ve eaten both the finest cuisine and tasted our tears. We’ve shared in stresses, anxieties and fears.

I knew I loved you when I said “I do” but I never expected it to grow into something 10x more gorgeous, freeing, intimate, wild and true. My heart is bursting for the man who gave me his last name. It’s the greatest honor to carry this flame.

I cannot wait to see what the next year looks like for us in this journey and everyone it involves. We are incredibly thankful to our families, our friends and to you for supporting us, praying for us and being adventurous with us along this journey of lives well loved.

You are loved!

-Kriss

Gent, Ghent, Gint

The city of Ghent, Belgium confuses me. Why? Because I’m not too sure the spelling of the city as a whole. From Google maps to local signs, it seems like everyone spells it differently. But what this city doesn’t confuse me on is my new found and deep love for it! Going into our time here I had zero expectations for it. I figured that it would be cute and a little bit slower paced compared to Brussels but as of today, it is my most favorite city in Europe!

Our commute to Ghent started off with gray skies that threatened to pour on us at any moment but by the time we got off of our train the sky was blue, no matter what direction you looked. My heart loved how everything looked, felt and smelled- but my stomach kept reminded me of its existence. So we walked to an address that I had previously found on the interwebs. We ordered breakfast sandwiches and french toast….but quickly found out that because of the language barrier (English to French) we had actually ordered some type of scone with berries and whip on top. It was a nice comedic moment for us that truly set the tone for the rest of the day.

But speaking of my Googling, I did have one main location that I wanted to visit while in Ghent and that was it’s well preserved Medieval Castle built in 1180 called The Gravensteen which offers its visitors panoramic views of the city. After brunch we set off in the direction of the Castle which took us over canals, through graffiti alleys, around modern architecture and cathedrals.

We walked over canals, smelled more chocolate in the air, sampled Gent’s famous candy called the Nose of Gent, heard church bells tolling and then we came upon our destination! With 10 euro each, we were able to climb up and explore every part of the castle. There were suits of armor, weapons of old, tales of torture, enough stained glass that my mom would melt over, winding spiral staircases and then the best view in the city. Aka cue the view!

Once we were back on the ground I knew what I wanted to do next and ironically it couldn’t take place on the ground but on the water. We found a canal touring company, tucked into our spot on the boat and saw another view of this lovely city. I highly recommend seeing any European city from this viewpoint but don’t get offended if you’re the only one of the three people proudly showing off your single language skills to your tour guide.

From weeping willows along the riverside to locals drinking wine and feeding pieces of baguettes off of their dinner plates to ducks, the lifestyle here in Ghent will truly leave you inspired, have you reevaluate how you spend your leisure time and make you want to find more joy in the simple things in life. To celebrate the ending of our day in Ghent and to start living out their way of life, we bought two decked out waffles and sat along another beautiful canal to enjoy the nightlife springing up around us.

Thank you all for sharing in my Ghent tales and support my love of travel! It truly is as they say “the only purchase we can make that makes us richer.” So to further enrich you here on the blog, next week I will be sharing Brugge, Belgium! Please stay tuned and if you would like email updates of new posts, please subscribe below!

-Kriss

Traveling Berlin, Honeymoon Style

Here’s to the start of our Honeymoon story! A moment in our relationship that we have been planning for and have been swimming in excitement for during our 11 month engagement. And I can give you a spoiler right now, it was everything and more.

We left for Germany on a Tuesday afternoon. This leaving looked an awful lot like: millions of kisses on our dogs head, a 2.5 hour drive north to a friend’s house whom was taking us to O’Hare Airport, riding in her car for over an hour, sitting in the airport for 3 hours, 6.5 hour flight to Iceland and then a 3.5 hour flight to Berlin- all with a time zone change of 6 hours. *** and breathe***

But we got in Berlin around 6 p.m. on Wednesday. After finding our Airbnb we stretched, changed, hugged and set out to our new neighborhood streets of…

Wanting to keep our first night simple so we got dinner, grabbed a bottle of wine to celebrate and some mini German chocolates because why not!

The next morning we were ready to go! We laced up our shoes, threw on some jackets and grabbed our umbrellas before heading out on our only rainy day of the trip. This day was spent adjusting to the life lived in the city. And since you can’t live in the now without knowing the past, we joined a walking tour of Berlin. I have been on this tour twice before our trip but every time I go, I never regret it.

The tour itself begins at the Brandenburg Gate then heads out towards a Holocaust Memorial as you wander down the busy streets and end up in a massive courtyard of majestic cathedrals.

In the evening we walked around the gray streets of Berlin and through the lush woods of the Tiergarten, holding hands and talking about life. We tried food here and there as our stomachs saw fit but really just used the day to take in our surroundings and taking in our first trip as a married couple.

On Friday we made a huge decision. At the start of our honeymoon planning process we were going to do day trips to three other locations. Those locations being: Munich, Cologne and Amsterdam. We decided to scrap all of our previous plans and stay put in the beautiful city of Berlin. But with still wanting the castle and royalty feels that we had hoped to find in Munich we headed in the direction of Charlottenburg Palace.

There rest of the evening we viewed the East Side Gallery and kept our fingers crossed for other street art in the city. With not finding much on Friday night, my hunt continued into Saturday. We visited the Mall of Berlin where we stumbled across a huge fashion show with a live concert, Humboldt University where Einstein taught and finally victory finding a huge, beautiful wall mural.

Sunday was a day of highs and lows! None of it being negative but literal high points in the city and the low, watery moments offered in the city. We took a river cruise on the River Spree and then climbed to the highest point in the Berliner Dom.

One of the days that I was looking forward to the most was Monday. Before our honeymoon we decided that there would be one night that would be a dressy night for us. We’d wear something that made us feel good, find a good place to eat and celebrate our last night there. I chose a red velvet dress with strappy tan heels while Jacob chose straight tan pants, a polka dot dress shirt and the same suit jacket that we wore on our wedding day.

Thank you for joining with me today and hearing a snapshot of our trip. I cannot wait for next week and sharing more with you! Look forward to two of our favorite parts of the trip: Food and Drinks!

XOKriss

Our Honeymoon Location Spoiler!

Hello beautiful people! We are officially 23 days until the wedding which means, to my delight, that we are a 25 days away from our Honeymoon!!!

It’s incredible how the time has gone, the memories we’ve made and all of the decisions that have happened for both our wedding day and our honeymoon trip! But we’ve kept the location on the DL! But not for long….

Jacob and I will be boarding a plane and traveling to Germany for our honeymoon! We will be based in in Berlin and we will be traveling during our time there to different locations in Germany.

The first location will be to Munich! There we plan on getting our fill of castles and classic Germany. This includes culture, music, food, beer halls and history that has taken place there!

The next location will be Cologne! We have lots of plans for a more artistic day spent there. We want to go to art museums, check out modern architecture and street art and try out some fusion cuisine.

Our last travel location will be the furthest from Berlin and that’s Amsterdam! We want to go on canal rides, sit in outdoor cafes, visit gorgeous greenhouses and other romantic places.

Besides these three day trips most of our time will be spent in Berlin, getting to know the life there better. This will be my third time to Berlin and honestly its a dream come true. In past trips I have gone with others and their partners and I’ve always said to myself that one day I want to experience Berlin with my special one- and here we are!

Picking our location was both overwhelming and also swift! We kept going back and forth with different states here in the US. I was feeling Nashville while he was feeling the west coast. This debate went on for a couple of weeks until one morning he came over to my house with an epiphany!

He woke up that morning and thought to himself “we’ve got the money, the time and the desire to go to Europe! And we should go!” After deciding, we booked our tickets and airbnb that following weekend.

So we are going and I cannot wait!!

-XOKriss

**travel images were taken by me on my last trip to Germany in 2015

Eastown Grand Rapids, MI

A couple of months ago and a couple of blog posts way ago, I visited my best friend in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In that post I mentioned how she is pregnant! Guess what? Her sweet Clementine June was finally born four weeks ago. And with that amazing news, Jacob and I found a sitter for Tyson, packed the Jeep up and drove the 5 hours north to nuzzle a bundle.

The rad bit about traveling with your love is that even the in-between moments are fun. We talk so much about life, travel, what God is up to and about where we see Him taking our future. There are a whole lot of different topics we have yet to understand or even face, but because of the heart of gold that lives within my guy and the hope that he has in the Lord- I know that we will find our way.

But for this journey! The stopping point was Marie Catrib’s in Grand Rapids, Michigan for lunch! They specialize in Mediterranean cuisine but have a long list of other loves, baked goods and treats! For me this was my second time back to this restaurant, and that was on purpose! The last time I went with Ashley and it was a huge moment for our relationship but it was also a stopping point along the journey to see another guy.

Ugh! What Kriss? You’re going to talk about an ex? Yeahhh, it happens. But really for where I stand now, that trip and what unfolded during it set the stage for my life to calm down, to focus on Jesus and to be ready for what love really is. So of course now that we are 50 days away from “I Do, forever and ever” it felt right to end that chapter in that way.

So, we order a pot of Turkish coffee to split, one falafel for me and one Shoarma for Jacob. It was his first time trying Turkish coffee and we can both agree that it went so well! And as we settled in for the grub, we had fun people watching and talking about our other approaching trips like… um our honeymoon!

(don’t worry, a full honeymoon reveal post is in the making!)

After lunch we walked about a mile down the road and found ourselves at Rebel Reclaimed, the coolest gift shop you could ever find! From stationary from Rifle Paper Co, gorgeous houseplants for the buying and quirky/crude jokes written on colorful mugs-they had it all! But one thing they did not have was a beer for Jacob.

We popped out of that shop and crossed the street to Harmony Brewing. He tried a couple of sour-ey beers while I sipped on a glass of ice water. Sometimes I wish that I liked beer and could enjoy bar hopping with Jacob but I’m not down with the flavors. My go to drink will always be coffee, hot coffee.

But don’t you worry, I got a treat! I got one scoop of delicious blueberry ice cream from Furniture City Creamery! I usually go for chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, never anything close to a fruit flavor but that ice cream was the cutest pair of bees knees! It was so delightful and perfect for the warmth of the day!

I think I can hear some of your thoughts, where is this amazingly, perfect baby that you traveled to see? Well since baby is so fresh, Ashley and Jake had a doctors appointment that started around the time that Jacob and I would be pulling into the GR. So this is why our day quickly turned into a day date! But not for long!

As I was finishing my last crunches of waffle cone, my phone beeped from Ashley texting me that they were home. So with walking hand in hand, Jacob and I got back in the Jeep and drove the massive 11 minute drive to the ripest clem I ever would meet!

Clementine was perfection. She really was even in her fragile state, she was incredibly strong. As I watched my best friend be a mom, and an amazing one at that, I was thinking about what this little girls life could be like. I’m so happy that Jesus chose to give her the parents that she has because if I know anything about them, they will love her, cherish her and fight for her!

For the rest of the evening in Grand Rapids we would continue to experience this beautiful balance of life, of slow moments, of treats and the feeling of summer time, of new friends and relationship milestones and one happy girl who I’m lucky enough to call me.

-XOKriss

Also one last thing! Before you roadtrip, you must brunch and wow did we need some brunch aka coffee for me! Look at that legit ” I woke up like this” face!

Our Engagement Moment

How does one pick and plan moments to be captured forever? How can a piece of technology capture the love that connects me to you?

On a Thursday morning waking up in the home of our photographers in Michigan City, Indiana and at 3:30 in the morning, Jacob and I held hands and bowed our heads together. Taking this moment to connect and to reflect on the heartbeat that is behind “us.” We prayed for the day, for our future, for our photographers and for our love to be captured in the moments that were soon to come. Using this engagement session as a time capsule for the years to come. So here is the evidence my friends: here is our love for the one we get to love, cherish, honor, support for today and the days to come.

/ / / The sun rises when you are near / / /

 

/ / / And all of my fears disappear / / /

/ / / You are the one I want, You are the one I want to love / / /

 

57 Day till: #itsharrisontime

 

-XOKriss

 

You can find our Photographers at: https://rainstormphoto.com/

Bloomington, Indiana

If there is one thing I know how to do, it’s finding ideas and planning trips! At least I’m banking on that fact!

This time around I took a day trip with my best friend Heidy! I love the short window of time you get in a day trip. It helps you focus on exactly where you want to be.

For my trip with Heidy, I honestly just wanted to get in some solid girl time with her. There is something irreplaceable about Heidy and the friendship she offers up with her full heart.

It’s this heart that made me instantly want to be friends with her this time last year! And its a turning point that lead me to ask her to be a bridesmaid in Jacob and I’s wedding this coming fall- and might I add it’s in 135 days!

But back to our day! Last Saturday we left town around 11 a.m. and made the hour ish long drive to Bloomington, Indiana. I have always loved the drive because of the winding roads and just my general interest in living in Bloomington. We left town around this time too because it would set us up to getting in around noon and getting our fill of Thai food!

One of my favorite places to eat in Bloomington is the Siam house. I almost always go here for lunch if I’m visiting and I can guarantee that I have always gotten the pineapple curry. Its just the best combination of savory, sweet and spicy with that medium heat!

With full, happy bellies we started on a walk that would end up stretching about 3 miles (and I wasn’t even mad). We avoided the college party goers scene for some courthouse views and mini shops.

But the funny bit about us two ladies is that the thoughts of dessert doesn’t usually stay too far away! And that is even more true whenever we kept passing by shops with pastries and chocolates. So we wanted to find sugar stat!

We chose- drum roll- Rainbow Donuts! With a name like that and options such as donuts, cupcakes, cookies and coffee- how could you go wrong? The thing that makes this shop different is that their products are all vegan. And even though we’re not vegan, we still like to try new things!

However, my last experience with this shop wasn’t the best. I had a mixed berry glazed donut that just came off sour and dry. This time around I got two donuts to double my liking chances! One was a wild strawberry donut and the other was a cookies and cream donut. I liked the second best but I don’t think I can officially say I’m sold on their donuts.

After we got our donuts in their cute brown paper sack we headed to where we were going to eat them- Hopscotch Coffee.

Hopscotch is another place I’ve been to in Bloomington but this time it was kinda a first too. We went to their roasting building a couple of miles away from their sit down coffee shop.

I knew I would just love it for its A-frame nature, its minimism and the pop of my favorite color orange! And it didn’t disappoint.

The funny part though is that after walking that far to get there, it dawned on us that we actully wanted to sit down and talk with our coffee and donuts! So we made out like a baby and went to their other location!

To get there we took the B-line trail, photobombed a wedding, smelled all of the gross scented white flower trees and I got in some cute pictures of H.

The day ended with hunting for new journals at Hobby Lobby and TJ Maxx, a sunset drive home and talks of planning a overseas trip in our future together! Fingers crossed!

Thanks for always being good to me Btown!

XOKriss

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Where to even begin! This past weekend I went with my darling best friend Emily to Fort Wayne, Indiana for a girls weekend trip. She was the driver/navigator and I was the “things to do” planner, even more proof that we just fit well in each others lives!

The trip started Friday afternoon when I drove to Em’s house then we finished the trip together to Fort Wayne. On our first night of the trip we went to a Rend Collective concert at a local church in the area. I love the opportunity that I get whenever a band tours and I get to experience them, their music and the deep passion they have for what they do. And it becomes amplified whenever that band is a Jesus loving band.

I’ve been a fan of Rend Collective for a few years ever since I heard their song “Lighthouse” on a local radio station. Whenever I heard it at the time I was going through a somewhat dark season of my life. It was dark and felt uncertain at times but the song reminded me of God’s goodness, His provision and just the fact that He does see me, He see’s us all of us in our highs, lows and even when we thought we didn’t exist to Him.

After the concert we went back to our Best Western hotel room to get all geared up to enjoy a soak in the downstairs hot tub. The funny bit was that when we got there we met three, and then eventually four, drunk on wine lady bowlers. We all talked about where we are all from and hearing that they knew about both Em’s and my hometowns made me smile with how everyone truly is connected in one way or another.

After that chill yet social time in the hot tub, and also whenever our “max hot tub time” ran out, we went back upstairs to pass out and fuel up for our busy busy Saturday!

First on our list was, of course, brunch because that’s just what girls do. We had so many options in Fort Wayne for coffee shops that also had a menu fit for a foodie. Our pick ended up being Fortezza Coffee, and I’m so glad.

Whenever I was in Grand Rapids I met and fell hard for caffe miels! Partly because of my love for nutmeg and partly because miel’s just sound like you’re meowing. So when we first got to Fortezza I was kinda bummed because they didn’t have that as an option on their menu. However, the barista looked rad, and how could he not be with his “filter coffee, not people” tee. So I just asked if I could still order one. Of course he said yes and my morning just got even better.

Emily and I ended up picking the same coffee and breakfast sandwich. She had never tried a miel before but loved the idea of the nutmeg. Long story short- she loved it! Our coffee was served and then our food followed.

After brunch we wanted to wander but not at the expense of freezing. Naturally we went to the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory that was about a five minute walk away. Ticket prices were great and we both ended up agreeing that it was one of the best Conservatories we had even been to. My most favorite moment was when we reached the very back of the greenhouse. There was a desert room that was filled with cacti and succulents. And the temperature was the cherry on top. It was dry, cool and the glass ceiling let in the most beautiful sun-rays. We ended up lounging on two benches and just talking about life, dreams and our general thought processes as of late.

A little friendship fun fact about Emily and I is that we are both going to school for the same thing, which is Art Therapy. I mean we both are in that season of “is this really what I want because grad school,” but truthfully that shared experience makes my heart so happy even if things seem a little unsure. I think the lovely bonus of that mutual career goal is that we just end up having a lot in common. So whats a potential Art Therapist to do on vaca? But go see some art.

However, like some planning goes the gallery ended up being closed. But the kicker is that the building itself is a work of art. Meaning that the front, sides, back, courtyard and even the roof was covered in street art and murals. I even peaked through some windows and the back fence to prove it!

After an impromptu photoshoot with the outside faux flower installation, we got to serious business and ordered some “snoop” burgers from Bravas. That burger is now in my top 3 favorite burgers. It was just so rich and somehow creamy. And with my decision to pair it was a house coleslaw, I tell you what! The shop also just was overall chill and in a quiet part of town. It just felt cozy as Emily and I enjoyed the pure silence that comes from loving what you’re eating.

With the hustle and bustle of a busy, adventurous day, Emily and I decide to head back to our hotel to wind down. Between comfy clothes and our own separate queen sized beds, we kicked back for a couple of hours before finishing our saturday with another coffee/tea run at Conjure Cofdee, thrifting, getting sushi for dinner and relaxing with the lush products that Em picked up for us.

On our Sunday Funday we decided to keep the spa like feelings from the night before, going. Because of my inability to sleep much past 9 a.m., I woke up around then and just laid in bed thinking about the weekend and wondering if Emily was alive. Ha! Just kidding! I had just forgot that she burrows under her blankets in her sleep. When she got up we went downstairs to load up on the continental breakfast. I got a collection of scrambled eggs, steel-cut oats with some honey glazed granola and raisins plus one of the pears I brought with me for the weekend. We brought it all upstairs and had breakfast in bed while watching a couple of episodes of The Office.

With how all good things come to an end, we packed up our bags, got in the car and headed out. But the kicker is that we weren’t heading home just yet! About fifty minutes southwest of Fort Wayne is Upland, Indiana. And honestly I have been meaning to visit for a really long time. My best friend from high school choose to go to Taylor University and from there she met her man, had two gorgeous babies and settled in.

One of the places that she devotes a lot of her time to is a coffee shop called The Bridge Cafe. She is the head barista, baker of all things yummy, photographer of the coffee shop and has a place on the shelf to show her personal photography (plus probably so much more)! So to say that I was kinda stoked to finally be there, visiting her, trying my first lavender caffe miel- was wonderful!

You can see her work at https://www.birchandolive.com/

& Back home we go!

Thank you for sitting in on my storytelling time! The weekend brought a lot of good conversations, rest, exploring, food and drink and it all makes me wish I had named my blog something like- this freakin blessed life. Because I count myself incredibly lucky.

I hope you all are well!

XOKriss

Grand Rapids, MI

This past weekend I traveled up to the mitt and spent some much-needed time with my best friend Ashley.

On our first full day together I got some much-needed extra sleep, had brunch with Ashley and her husband Jake and then us ladies headed out to the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. They were having a month-long butterfly exhibit in which hundreds of butterflies are free to fly around from flower to flower. Sadly none of them decided to land on us.

Ashley and I have been friends for a couple of years and our friendship has seen us through so many different seasons in each other’s lives. One thing I value about our connection is that I never have to fear to be me. I am far from perfect and I have my fair share of good days and bad days. But with Ashley, I can always count on open arms and the warmest of hearts. I definitely encourage you to find her on Insta @mrs.ashley.lewis and hint hint it’s a good time too because she is preggers!

After getting a dose of butterflies, plants for days and a little too warm for my bodies liking, we headed out to Madcap for coffee and conversation. Meeting up with someone over coffee will always be a favorite pastime for me. It warms my soul in ways that few things can and allows time with that one person, for a true connection to be had.  And goodness did we have fun talking!

^In this picture, I just really enjoyed seeing this man enjoying where he was and how peaceful that looked for him.

Our day ended up in some delicious Thai food at Bangkok Taste Cuisine in downtown. I ordered red curry with coconut milk, various vegetables and chicken (spoiler alert: I’m not vegan but I’ll blog about this topic later)! Best part was that the order was so large that I could take half home to eat for breakfast the next day.

And I sure did! Sunday morning dawned and we were all up to get ready for church. Ashley had taken Jake to church earlier that morning because he is in the praise band, then came back for some downtime at the house with me. I always miss my church and the family I have found there whenever I am away. It makes me think about ways in which I could go deeper and be more of the body of Christ. But with that said I still enjoyed my time at The Well that Sunday morning and the life that it spoke into my life.

After church, we indulged in donuts for lunch. A whole meal spent just eating donuts = the life! I think the best part about it was where we were at. We got our donuts from the shop Cindy’s Donuts and Ice Cream but when we got there the Sunday crowd was definitely gone and we got to enjoy the whole place to ourselves. This feeling of calm and peace would be exactly how I would sum up the whole trip. I feel like it gave me a break from my norm, gave me perspective and -my favorite- gave me some wonderful moments with great people!

Till Next Week!

XOKRISS!