What a beautiful mess...: Be Present. Do Date Weekend!

It's so easy to get caught up in everyday life. It's easy to become consumed with all that you have to do, how many hours you have to put in at work, all of the chores you have to take care of, bills and mail that need to be sorted, dogs that need to go to the vet, laundry that needs to be done, and the list goes on and on... AND ON.

I challenge you to take a moment and just STOP. Make an effort to "be present" in your life.

Life will go on if the laundry isn't done right this minute (or even within the next few days) and the world will keep spinning if the house isn't perfectly clean. Are the little odd jobs of life really what's important to you? HECK NO!! God has blessed you with one special life and I challenge you to get out there and live it.

There are a few things in life that you cannot create more of. One of those very precious things is time. Unfortunately, the clock keeps ticking and every minute that passes is another minute that you cannot get back. Take every opportunity to live life, enjoy the simple things, and be present in the things you are doing. Leave the laundry and go have date weekend. Spend your time actually spending time together. When you're talking to your spouse, boyfriend, girlfriends, or family make an effort to put down the iPhone, put away the iPad, turn down the TV and focus 100% on what they're saying.

One of the most amazing things in life, in my opinion, is having DATE WEEKENDS! Take the time to get away together and enjoy each others company. Catching up on life and actually having more than five minutes to plan for your future is priceless. It is amazing how refreshing it is to spend the entire weekend with the one you love. Pure bliss if you ask me. Now... Do date weekends have to be fancy and lavish? Absolutely not! In fact, I've found that simpler is often times better.

My love.

This past weekend Brian and I had an amazing date weekend! I've actually named it as one of my top five memories with Brian... EVER! We headed north to Seneca Lake. Since we've lived in Pennsylvania we've talked numerous times about going to the Finger Lakes for wine tastings. We opted for camping instead of getting a hotel and found an amazing camp site right on the lake. We woke up each morning and watched the sunrise while having fresh coffee made over hot coals. We made delicious meals with the dutch oven and spent Saturday night huddled under a tarp in the pouring rain drinking wine and throwing together a homemade cobbler. I learned that my husband is the worlds greatest rock skipper. It was perfection.

We spent the days traveling the countryside and stopping at several wineries. The weather was perfect, the leaves were turning, and it was a perfect representation of fall in the northeast. It was hoodie and scarf weather with no jacket required during the day! I was with my sweet hubs and had my Canon over my shoulder. We picked some grapes off of one of the vines and then headed back to our campsite to get bundled up and make dinner. It was my definition of paradise.

Making friends.

What if this was your "work" everyday?

For an entire weekend we were both "present" and spent all of our time together just enjoying and loving every minute of this precious life. We slept outside, didn't have a bathroom, and wore the same clothes two nights in a row and I'm here to tell you it beat the socks off of any Marriott we could have found.

My one and only complaint is that it had to end. I try to avoid the Monday blues but this Monday was a bit tough! Yesterday I had to make the choice to go to work and "be present".

Please, please, please do yourself a favor and DO DATE WEEKEND! If you feel like you don't have time... make time! We had the most amazing weekend and truly probably spent less on food, gas, and lodging than we would have just by going out for one nice dinner. Date weekend doesn't have to be fancy and it doesn't have to cost you a ton of money. The only thing required is that you're there, "being present", together! One thing I can promise you is that we will never regret spending a weekend away.

It's a brand new day.

Heaven let your light shine down.

Stay tuned for Foodie Friday: Camping Edition! We made several amazing dishes that were ridiculously easy and equally delicious!!

Here are some of my favorite photos from this weekend. You know I had my Canon strapped to my body the entire time :-)

If you're from this area and interested in a Seneca Lake date weekend with camping and wine tasting send me an email (tbandricks@gmail.com) and I'll send you a list of all of our favorite places with information on the campsite.

My advice for the day... if you have the chance ALWAYS get up in time to watch the sunrise.

xoxo