Duluth day trip

A week ago, Zach and I spent the weekend up north at my parents cabin.  Somehow I managed to not take a single picture, which I'm pretty bummed about.  But, it was so fun to spend time with family, breathe fresh air, spend time on the lake, and even sleep in a tent. Actually there was a huge storm, so the tent part could better be described as "terrifying" than "fun".  

But we made it.  

Zach had never been to Duluth before (my birthplace!), so we decided to spend the day there before heading back to our city life.  Here are a few photos that probably don't require much description. :)

winery date

A few weeks ago, Zach and I went on a fun fall/winter date to a winery.  The air was crisp, the drive was pretty, and we sampled wine and chocolate.  It was nice.  They even sent us home with a bottle of wine of our choice! No complaints here. 

I've really noticed how going on dates is so refreshing for our marriage.  Both Zach and I are pretty high "quality time" people, and feel most loved by each other when some undistracted, intentional time is spent together.  Going on dates gives us a chance to really reconnect, check in with how we're doing in our marriage, and usually laugh a ton. Although this was more of a planned date for us, many of our dates involve Netflix and Trader Joe's ice cream, or going to Starbucks for a holiday drink and talking about Christmas traditions we want to start with our family. Even simple things and time together is seriously refueling and needed.  

I'm anticipating many of our upcoming dates to be spent at IKEA, or possibly painting and decorating our new house (yay!). We are in the process of moving right now, and I'm thrilled.  I've been dreaming of how to decorate for awhile now, and I can't wait to start on some projects.  I think we have a "date" to Home Depot this Saturday to pick out paint colors. :)