Happy hour chat

Hiiiii!! Thanks for joining me for another round of faux drink-clinking, where I fill you in on life’s adventures because it’s been a little too long since I last checked in. (Here’s my last happy hour chat, for reference! Yikes!) As usual, I’ve got a lot of ground to cover in this happy hour chat.

Grab your tea, your Koolaid Jammer, a sour beer, mini Corona, bottle of bubbly, your bevvy of choice! We’ve got some work to do.

Here’s what life has looked like lately in my corner of the world.

Softball league

This summer, we played in a softball league! You might remember it as Chad’s work league, but this year I was also allowed to play. It was so much fun getting to play together—usually Chad played third, while I played first base. All is right in the world when I get to spend time on a diamond.

Our first Wisconsin Dells trip

Chad and I took our first trip to the Wisconsin Dells! For those who don’t know, the Dells is “the waterpark capital of the world”—it has the largest concentration of indoor and outdoor water parks on the globe. To us, it felt very much like a Las Vegas vibe for families.

We went to the Dells to celebrate our friend Sam’s birthday. A group of us got a fun, Hollywood-themed Airbnb (we stayed in a Star Wars room, lol) and went to the Noah’s Ark waterpark. We definitely embraced our inner children for this one.

Beachy July 4th

Nothing says Fourth of July like the beach! I went with a group of friends to a coveted spot in Kenosha, and had a great afternoon under the sun. So fun to relax with Kelli, Haley, Angie, Laura, and Ryne!

Pool’s open

Nothing, in my opinion, says summer quite like a pool. This year, I opted for an inflatable one. It fit in our open back yard perfectly, and was just a little awkward as neighbors walked by on the shared sidewalk. It helped to beat the heat though, so a win’s a win.

Maybe our next happy hour chat will be poolside?

Margarita crawl

What do you get when you mix a group of friends and several stops for margaritas around Milwaukee? A disaster. Chad and I met up with friends Haley, Kelli, and Aaron for a fun day bopping around Bay View, seeking out our favorite rendition of the tequila drink. It was a success! Though very much our first and last margarita crawl.

RNC in Milwaukee

I hate to even mention it, but the RNC came to Milwaukee and it did impact our lives. It was a weird week—much more so for Chad, who had to face security checkpoints to get to his work building (right smack in the middle of the convention security zone). All in all, it was an economic bust and there was also a fatal shooting caused by a visiting police officer wandering outside the RNC perimeter.

Kayak tour

I had an opportunity to collaborate with a local business for a full day of fun, and boy did it deliver! Brew City Kayak hosted me on a half-day adventure, kayaking on the Milwaukee River! I joined a small group—it was just me, a visiting couple from New Jersey, and our guide. We paddled, then parked and walked around to some Milwaukee foodie spots.

It so incredibly fun, and I’m really proud to have worked with them. 🙂

Fun Beer Tours MKE

Did you know: Milwaukee made beer famous? I learned all about it with Fun Beer Tours MKE! This was another fun collab that brought us out of the house and deeper into Milwaukee’s local culture and lore. I highly recommend!

Nights out and about

We’ve had a lot of fun lately! I’m really happy with how much time I’ve spent with friends, out and about. For example:

• A rooftop adventure to Vault MKE – though it was windy, the views were incredible! Afterward, we (Chad, Kelli, Brittany, and I) went to The Sofie—a swanky New Orleans-themed cocktail lounge.
• A night in downtown Pewaukee with friends Brittany, Laura, Lydia, and Ashley, including dinner and drinks at Artisan 179 on the waterfront.
• Chappell Roan-themed night out! I joined a big group for a Chappell Roan pop up at Lost Whale, which meant dressing up as our current redheaded obsession. A shoutout is due for Chad, who picked us up, fed us grilled cheese, and recapped the entire night with us in the kitchen. 🙂
• We love brunch! Thankfully, so does Haley. We grabbed some food at Uncle Wolfie’s (a neighborhood favorite), and later the Beerline Cafe, which has great vegan and vegetarian options.
• Pirate day at Bristol Ren Faire. There was no end to our delight to experience our first Ren Faire at the Bristol Renaissance Faire! We had a great group of people, and dressing up was so fun.
• Visit to Basse’s Farms. We got the full fall experience at Basse’s Country Farms, enjoying a host of festive activities and treats with Ryne, Kelli, and Sam.
• Coven party. My neighbor hosted a witchy “coven night” party, which centered on connecting brilliant local women.
• The “sickest” night out at the 90sY2K dance club in the Deer District with Chad, Kelli, and Sam! We had so much fun and were requesting songs all night, to go with our giant fishbowls.
• Grant and Haley got married. Cheers to the Riesterers!
• Craft night! My friend Leslie hosted a Halloween-themed craft night, where we painted pumpkins and made bookmarks. I regretfully painted my face green, lol—the only one in costume. Oops!
• Fall called for a cozy night in: I made a little spread and picked out an easy DIY ghost pillow craft to celebrate the season.
• To ring in the holiday season, we had a swanky night around Walker’s Point. We went to the Christmas pop-up at Tin Widow, then enjoyed Station 1846 before heading to Shakers Cigar Bar.
• Murder mystery party. As a housewarming party, Kelli threw an incredible 1920s-themed murder mystery party! My character, Vixen, was a foxy con artist with an agenda. So, so fun!

Sunshine Creatives turned 4

My content creation business, Sunshine Creatives, turned 4 in July! It’s been such a wonderful journey, and I’m thankful for the clients I’ve worked with and the projects I’ve been apart of. Taking that leap into the unknown has been incredible.

Chad sent me some lovely flowers to mark the anniversary, which was extra sweet. 🙂

Happy Bert-day

In honor of my Grandpa Bert turning 90 years old in October (fun fact: the same birthday as my mom!), my family held a celebration and reunion in August. The family traveled to Sioux City, where we spent a weekend catching up, exploring the area, and enjoying the tastes of home. It was so nice to see everyone who loves my Grandpa Bert and his community all in one place.

Get shit done day

Chad and I have a new seasonal tradition, I think! We took a Saturday and dubbed it, “Get Shit Done Day,” where we made a list and tried to tackle as much on it as possible. We did this at the beginning of fall, so prioritizing the outdoor items that needed to get done prior to the seasons changing (like cleaning out the gutters). It was successful!

Lion’s Den Gorge

For our Labor Day adventure, Chad and I went on a hike! We checked out Lion’s Den Gorge Nature Preserve, near Grafton, WI. It was so beautiful! The trail leads to a bluff overlook of Lake Michigan, and you can go down to the sand beach. We skipped some rocks, enjoyed the greenery, and admired the marsh. It was a beautiful and sunny time spent outdoors.

Family travel

Immediately following our trip to Sioux City, I tagged along with my family for some Wisconsin-based travel! My parents, brother, nephews, and I headed to the Wisconsin Dells (my second time that summer!). There, we enjoyed a beautiful camping spot and went to the Noah’s Ark Waterpark (yup, the very same!), where we enjoyed a fun day in the sun.

From there, we traveled to Door County. We stayed in Sister Bay, and enjoyed the local scenery and activities, like sunsets over the peninsula, goats eating grass on the Al Johnson’s rooftop, a Swedish-style breakfast from said Al Johnson’s, Peninsula State Park, flights from Island Orchard Cider, and ice cream from Door County Creamery.

Hosting in Milwaukee

After our family travels across Wisconsin, my family met up in Milwaukee, where we hosted for a weekend. It was so fun to have Everest and Atlas at our house, and to give everyone a taste of an MKE summer. We went to a beer garden, enjoyed the beach, checked out the Mitchell Park Domes, and played lots of Uno. We had some fun!

Wiffle ball champs!

For the fourth time, our wiffle ball team came out on top as league champions. Our fall 2024 league was a ton of fun: full of dominating scores, many home runs, and a couple well-fought nail-biters.

Our winter wiffle ball season has also commenced! We kicked it off with a bang: a 22-1 win. Go LeftySwagBats!

Avril Lavigne in concert

My last concert of the year was a great one: Avril Lavigne performed at American Family Amphitheater in September, along with Simple Plan. It was fantastic! I loved the endless nostalgia and eyeliner. Also, super fun to see the show with my friends Brittany, Leena, and Katie!

Square dancing at Third Space

This September, we had a very fun night out at Third Space Brewing! We partnered to promote their collaboration with Do Si Do to Go—my favorite square dancing event. It was so fun to promenade with some friends while sipping our fav Lavender Lemonade beer.

Big New Client

Exciting development: I submitted a proposal for a big new client, and won the contract! I am doing the communication plan for the Upper Gunnison Basin’s drought contingency plan. It’s a big one, and I’m proud of the work I’m doing!

Book writing

This fall, I started one of my long term goals: writing a book! I started the first pages of a novel, and I’m excited to see where it goes.

Fall Colorado trip

If you read our recent holiday newsletter, you might’ve seen that we recently traveled to Colorado! While visiting home, we:

• Saw Alexis, Jessica, and Kai for a wonderful weekend! Shoutout to our besties for coming to Grand Junction to spend time with us
• Made a trip to Gunnison to visit the fam
• Spent lots of time in the pool
• Celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary 🙂
• Went to Colorado Mountain Winefest in Palisade with my parents! So, so much fun

Procedures

Recently, Chad and I both had some procedures! Chad finally got his wisdom teeth taken out, and he handled it like a champ. A couple days later, I went to Sweet Tox for an injection. It was a long week of recovery!

Lake Geneva staycation

It was time for a staycation! Chad and I went to Lake Geneva, where we enjoyed a stay at the lovely Geneva Inn. It was a quick and relaxing fall getaway, where we recharged our batteries lakeside.

Medieval Times

“So, I have a fun idea for this weekend.” Credit goes to Kelli for our incredibly fun and cheesy outing to Medieval Times in nearby Schaumburg, Illinois. There was jousting! Cheering! A princess in her tower! A chicken feast without utensils! And many, many rounds of “huzzah!” We had such a blast.

Glassnote Candle Bar

We finally used one of our holiday presents from last year: a gift card to the wonderful Glassnote Candle Bar! This is one of our favorite activity spots in Milwaukee—it has a cozy, speakeasy vibe and it’s such a fun craft to do together.

For the holidays

Chad and I stuck around Milwaukee again for the holidays this year.

• For Thanksgiving, Chad made us a delicious meal of our favorite holiday staples: mashed potatoes, stuffing, steak, and pie. It was fantastic!
• We hosted our second-annual Holiday Bar Crawl again, hopping around Brady Street with friends!
• On Christmas Eve, Chad and I went to the Mason Street Grill for dinner, followed by a nightcap at Camp Bar.
• For Christmas day, we had a brunch at home with Haley. It was a delicious meal packed with hours of great conversation and thoughtful gifts, as always.
• We hosted a small New Year’s Eve party! We celebrated the new year with Haley, Leslie, Jackson, Kelli, and Sam, playing games, eating delicious cake (thank you Leslie!!!), and clinking our glasses to the new year.

Food (and drink) adventures

Here’s a list of all the places we’ve eaten and drank lately, according to my memory. Have I mentioned: going out to eat is indeed my favorite activity in the world? 🙂

What we’ve been watching

Cheers!

Thanks for tuning into this happy hour chat! Let’s catch up again soon, okay? The next round’s on me.

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