My Life is a Map of the World

This past weekend I found myself with a lot of solo time on my hands. Times like these are vital to my mental health and balance in life. And more times then none, they lead me to deep thoughts and discovered inner joy.

During a moment of reflection where I was bundled up in a cozy sweater, perfect for fall, and watching the leaves fall from the tree in our backyard, it dawned on me. It dawned on me that I am a small reflection of the world and that so much of what I do is inspired by the world. Let me dig a little deeper.

My birth certificate and current zip code prove my U. S. Citizenship but my ancestors give me the history of England, Scotland, Poland, Lithuania and Native America.

The man I love most is someone who descends from Africa and Europe.

My religion originated in the Middle East.

I own a dog whose breed was made popular by Germany

I like to carry out my skincare routine like the Koreans.

I like to drink coffee like the Italians.

I’m inspired by the natural aesthetic and use of make-up and hair care like the French.

I like to eat like the Japanese.

I dress myself and fill my home with furnishings that you’d find easily in Scandinavia.

These are all just a few of the things I value, love, am drawn to and want to know more about. And it’s in all of those curiosities that I find, that we find, how truly connected we are to the past, the present and the future. It’s in those things where we find connection to others no matter how near or far.

Who or what are you connected to?

-Kriss

I just turned 28, Let’s Celebrate!

It’s official I’m 28 years old and there is no going back! But good news is that I don’t want to! I love the process of getting older, wiser, more sure of the life that I am so grateful to live. So this year I decided to stay put and enjoy my life exactly where it’s at and its in our new home in Indianapolis, IN.

Let Her Eat Cake

This year my birthday fell on Saturday aka the day birthdays should always fall on! So here I was in bed waking up to sunshine and the cuddles of my… dog! Haha! He was curled up on my guys side of the bed and ready to love me and give me all of his attention. But where was my guy?

No sooner had I wondered that exact question did I hear a creak of a step on our stairs and the glow of candles. Jacob had prepared a breakfast in bed moment for me complete with egg and avocado toast, fruit, coffee AND my slice of birthday cheesecake from my girls night the night before. The glow of candlelight came from a gifted apple scented candle and two letter candles that spelled out “28.” Good start of the day? Naw, more like a great start of a great day.

This the the Celebration Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory.

Fountain Square

Earlier in the week when I had first started to think about my new age, I thought about past birthdays. In past years I had put effort forward to have big birthdays, birthdays filled with high expectations (always a recipe for disaster), birthdays while traveling or just not wanting to acknowledge that years birthday at all. But this year felt wonderfully different, a sense of peace that I’ve never had before about turning a new age made me up for whatever the day had to offer. But I definitely still knew some suggestions.

So we got ready for the day, gave Tyson some more kisses and belly rubs and then got in the Jeep to go to downtown Indy. I knew the minute we stepped out of the house that it was going to be wonderful. This was because of the clear, blue skies and 50 degree weather allowing us to wear a light jacket for the first time in weeks. So once in the area and parked, I knew I wanted to keep outdoors and walk along the city.

Within five minutes onsite, my world got a lot more comical because of this rad biker.

Our walked paused whenever we came to the Upland Brewing Co. We popped in for J to grab a beer and to split some appetizers to keep the hangry away. I always look forward to these moments with him because it never really matters where we are but whenever we have intentional time together, it is always the best and warms my heart. It is also something I wish I could have had in past birthdays without him. So really he is the gift that keeps on giving.

Next on our exploring is stopping into a local Vinyl shop. The one we chose was called Square Cat Vinyl and boy did they have some tempting records for us. Jacob was looking at some Red Hot Chili Pepper albums while I was busy in the jazz section looking at Billie Holiday or in the Soundtracks looking for a Breakfast at Tiffany’s album.

Because no day of exploring with me if ever complete without coffee, we went to a much awaited location. This coffee shop is directly across from the building that states that “You are Beautiful” and is called Bovaconti Coffee. It’s the kind of coffee shop that when you go inside you kinda squeal internally because of its obvious beauty and aesthetic. Jacob ordered his usual mocha and I went with a Spanish latte (it’s made with condensed milk, espresso and cinnamon- a must try if you like those ingredients).

My only complaint was the lack of seating because of the time of day and my unfulfilled desire to sit in a coffee shop for awhile and chat. But there is always another day for that! So we switched up our order and got them to go.

Newfields or No Fields

Phase two of the day was to find ourselves surrounded by plants and flowers. However as the day would have it, it turned out to be another edit to the plans. We were informed that the greenhouse wasn’t going to be opened for another two weeks or so. We accepted the news and as we walked back to the car we stopped in the lobby to explore and to wonder at this kinetic art installation by Studio Drift. Funny thing is that we still ended up around flowers.

Birthday Surprise

At 5 pm all of my plans for the day were completed and mostly accomplished! But the fun part is this is exactly where Jacob’s plans pick up pace. He had been telling me all week that he had plans for us the evening of my birthday sometime after 6 pm. In my mind I was super stoked because I figured that it would be an occasion to dress up and eat some awesome food but… I was wrong.

Right before leaving the house for the surprise I ask Jacob what I should wear and he said something usual and also comfy. Still confused as what to wear I throw out the question “is there a chance that I will get dirty or messing there?” He seemed unsure but responded that he thinks its possible but that they will have stuff there to help keep me clean.

So…. yeah this girls mind was racing at what the heck we were about to do. So with some faith and keeping my eyes shut, he drove us to our mystery location. Surprise! We were going to a wine and canvas night! I was deeply touched by this gesture because that previous week I had said that I really wanted to get back into that love and here we were, about to start it up again but this time- together.

As you can see, 28 is off to such a wonderful start. I was able to see so many of my friends, family, artistic and inspirational places that have left my heart and mind refreshed and reminded of the amazing life that I get to live. Wishing you all only the best and I cannot wait until next time!

-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!

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