Summer Vacation

So, some of you may have read my last few posts and have been confused because they mention Adam a lot. I've received a lot of messages and texts in the past week so I know most of you are now aware that Adam and I broke up. I considered writing a post about it but out of respect for Adam's privacy, I think I won't. I don't mind talking about it in person though, so if you are concerned or want to chat, feel free to call me.

 Lake Michigan at Maranatha

Also, since I have been settling in at Maranatha all week, this will be my last post on The City Chroma for the summer. I have a new blog you can read called Song Chaser in which I plan to share my summer experiences with you. I started a new blog because I have to turn in a project to prove I was on a service trip at the end of summer. I'm still working on documenting my first week but I'm excited to share everything God has been putting on my heart with you!

Have a refreshing summer,
Kendra

Me & You

Emily and I have been best friends since my freshman year of college four years ago. We shared an apartment, have the same major, are in the studio, lead Navs together, and dated guys from the same small town (we didn't know about that one when we started dating them). For a while people would get us confused from behind because we both had long wavy hair. For most of college Emily has been the sister I have never had.

 pre-wedding wine tasting

The past few months has been interesting for our relationship. Emily got engaged to a wonderful guy in April of 2011 and then we moved to New York for a few months in the midst of wedding planning. We struggled to maintain personal space in NYC while sharing a bed and a tiny apartment with two other girls. We both missed our guys and felt the demands of a New York office job. When we returned for school I was supposed to work on the bridal shower and bachelorette party but between school and Navs, I couldn't find the time to even breathe. Emily had so much to do for the wedding and her summer co-op, while I was focused on making the right decision for my summer and keeping in touch with my long-distance man. It was hard to just be like ships passing in the night. The joking question from most of our friends was "How are you going to deal with the great divorce?" Meaning when we would no longer live together. I never really knew how to answer that question...

from Emily's Perrysburg bridal shower

In the weeks and days leading up to Emily's big day there was more chaos and non-stop running. However, all the time and energy that Emily, her family, and close friends poured into her wedding extravaganza really paid off—everything went smoothly and was beautiful. I was honored to be a bridesmaid and get to know Emily and Aaron's families.

 reception at St. Elizabeth's

After things at the reception died down and Emily and Aaron drove off to the happy glow of sparklers, I realized I missed something important. Yes, my best friend was forever going to be married and have a different life. But the thing I missed was telling her how much she has changed my life in the past few years. I came to college knowing two people at UC. I was quiet and insecure, and I didn't know how to relate to girls since I grew up in a house full of boys. But one girl picked me to be her friend and showed me how wonderful it was to be silly and girly and completely unashamed. Emily, you are one of the most confident, inspiring people I know. And I have such a hard time putting into words what our friendship means to me. But thank you for choosing me as a friend four years ago. I pray that we will always be in each other's lives. Joy and blessings for you and your new husband, Aaron.

Love Kendra

Fancy Food, Car Rides & More Brides

More about the past few crazy weeks!

Monday: Adam wanted to spend some time with his family in Cleveland so we grabbed dinner at his aunt's house and hungout at Bradly's little league game. The weather wasn't that great but it was nice to see his family, they are some of the kindest people I have ever met. Since it was Mack's actual 19th birthday we ate a second dinner at his favorite Mexican place. Adam and I got to enjoy another night catching up and enjoying the random couch on my front porch. I like to call my dad's house in "The Bachelor Pad" because of the funny way it's devolved since I've been gone at college.

 Adam, me and Caitlin (his cousin)

Tuesday: For the millionth time this year we packed all of our (Adam + my) stuff in my car and headed somewhere. I kind of like that most of our relationship has consisted of trips but it also makes me feel a little like we don't have a home...Anyway, we stopped in Granville to take Adam's mom out for her birthday. We got to try a fancy new Italian place called Bella. Of course I got their mac n' cheese and of course I didn't regret it. Lee Anne showed us her new cows—she almost has an entire farm collection!

 mmm mac n' cheese / cashmere goats

After barely staying two hours in Columbus we drove to Cincinnati. I moved in with Aaron and Emily to "chaperone" them before their wedding. This was great because my apartment was no longer available for my use and Emily really wanted to completely move into their new house. Emily set me to work on a million wedding things and the week moved faster than ever.

 I wasn't lying about the streetfood / that's a hotdog

Wednesday: We spent the afternoon at the hotel pool that Emily's family was staying at. I enjoyed the few hours of relaxation since I had spent the morning cutting out paper elements for the wedding and trying to remember which suitcase contained which item of clothing. I had been pretty much living out of my car for a week and I was sick of it.

Adam took me on a date to Abigail Street on Main Street. We also got lunch at Mayberry so I felt extra spoiled that day. Abigail Street has small plates so we ordered three interesting dishes and a wine flight. Adam actually loved the Bordeaux which was impressive! He also agreed to see Snow White and the Huntsmen even though he was dying to watch Prometheus. I liked the movie because it was visually stunning and unexpectedly twisted. However, the plot wasn't that great and kind of secondary.

 making serious decisions / wine flight

Thursday: It felt like I spent the entire day preparing for the bachelorette party: driving between O'Bryansville and Clifton, tracking down tables and chairs, making food, cleaning, and calling everybody. By some coincidence, nineteen girls came so we had to move it outside. Melissa had connections at Senate so we scored most of the restaurant for dinner. Senate specializes in gourmet streetfood and is my favorite Main Street restaurant so far. We took our bride-to-be back to our apartment's outdoor patio for dessert and drink pairings and presents. Everyone wrote Emily encouraging notes and I think she was really blessed.

Friday: Aaron took Ashley and I to the reception hall (St. Elizabeth's) to open the doors for the rentals. We ended up setting up all the tables and chairs based on the detailed diagram Emily had designed. A lot more helpers showed up and we spent most of the afternoon setting up for the wedding. Somehow I made it to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner clean and on-time. The dinner was on the upper balcony of the Rookwood in Mt. Adams so it was private and gorgeous. It took a total of three hours to get all the food out to us for whatever reason though. The wedding party and guests entertained themselves with gifts and photos of the city at sunset. Aaron's mom made all of us custom wristlets with burlap and lace details. They were my favorite part of the night.

 table layout / at the Rookwood

I'll post a little about Emily's wedding next!
Kendranamo

Beaches, Boyfriends, and Brides

It feels like it has been years since I wrote a post. After I turned in my animation project last Tuesday, life sped up.

Tuesday: I met Olivia for breakfast at Busken. We stuck to donuts for this complete nutritious breakfast. It was exciting to finally catch up and talk about her upcoming wedding in July. After breakfast I turned in all my studio projects at DAAP, which felt like a giant weight off my shoulders. Andrew, Fay, Reggie, Shelbye and I met up at Skyline to discuss event planning for Navs next fall. It was so nice to relax with friends and build a vision for my senior year. Emily and Aaron took me back to DAAP to visit DAAPworks, the senior capstone exhibition. I was pretty impressed with the GD projects—Landor really whipped their displays into shape. I only hope my tiny studio can rise to the high standards set for the show next year. The night concluded with a studio party at my studiomate Karen's house. Her parents just built an awesome farmhouse in Winton Hills. Everyone brought desserts and sides and we grilled out. Most of the night consisted of cornhole and relaxing by the bonfire.

 favorite DAAPworks project / s'mores with the studio

Wednesday: I met Fay and Shelbye for coffee at Rohs St. Cafe to chat about Maranatha. Shelbye went last year so she had lots of advice and encouragement. When I went to meet Julie for lunch at Pho Lang Thang I started to realize that this might be the week of non-stop eating out...I wrapped up the day with my last night of babysitting for the Schultz family. I can help them out again in the fall when I'm back from Michigan, but I will miss the boys a lot over the summer.

 from Andrew's 4th birthday party

Thursday: After staying up til two to pack up my room so my subletter could move in, I rose early to drive to Cleveland. Bethany and I met up right after I arrived to discuss her wedding day plans. She asked me to be her event coordinator on Sunday to ensure that things ran smoothly. I think it's funny how my friends rely on my organization skills, maybe I'm more anal than I realize. Christie came over to drag me away from my Lit paper for dinner. It was so good to sit with her and give her some encouragement. I know she doesn't believe me but God really shows me how crazy he is about her and how he is going to bring her to a much better place when she shares what she is going through. We went to a Thai place for pad thai, panang curry, and mango with sticky rice. Yummm. Then I banged out a five page paper like I just didn't care and called it quits on my Junior year. Hooray!

 drive to Cleveland / bestfriend time in the car

Friday: My brothers invited Christie and me to the beach (on Lake Erie). Comparing myself to C, my skin needed some sun so we agreed. After laying out we found my brothers out on one of the piers. Mack was playing his guitar while Logan break danced for us. Sometimes I wonder how the three of us kids got so interested in artistic things when out parents loved science.

getting our tan on / relaxing on the pier

My grandma took Christie and Mack's friend Chuck with us to the Natural History Museum to see the special Mythic Creatures exhibit. We also walked around the nature reserve to see all the rehabilitated woodland creatures. C was pretty excited about the racoons but I loved the tiny screech owl.

 known this guy since I was little

Since Mack's 19th birthday was coming up my dad came over to my grandparent's house for a celebratory outdoor dinner. It was fun to have non-family members there too and I think it was a good birthday for Mack.

Saturday: Staying at home for even a few days with my brothers is always interesting. After getting parked in by my absent brother I made it to Josh and Beth's morning wedding rehearsal. I memorized the ceremony details and then watched Selah (Beth's friend's baby) for most of the morning. What a cute little girl!

I drove to the airport in the afternoon to pick up Adam from his flight in from San Diego. It was so nice to get to see him in Ohio for a change. We ran a bunch of errands for all of our upcoming weddings and then picked up Honey Hut. My dad had a bunch of friends over so we socialized and mooched some of their amazing cheesecake as well.

Sunday: When we're in Cleveland Adam stays in Kirtland with his grandparents since my house doesn't have a spare bed to fit his tall frame. He picked me up and then we headed to North Olmsted to set up J&B's reception. Bethany's mom explained the plan to me and then set me to work stringing up photos and laying out table settings. After three hours of hard work I went across the street to the church to see if any of the ten bridesmaids needed help. Things were pretty under control so I greeted guests and invited them to sign the guest board. Before the wedding began I ran around making sure people were calm and knew where to be. I must say, I'm really awesome at being in charge. Anyone hiring?

The wedding was really wonderful because J&B infused a lot of their personality in it. There was great worship music and a casual vibe from the wedding party. Bethany even played/sang a song she wrote about waiting for the right man which made me a crying mess. It reminded me of who we were when we met fourteen years ago and how we dreamed of having boyfriends and getting married...God has surpassed Bethany's wildest wishes.

no clue why I thought it would be appropriate to make that face /
lovely lights that came with the reception venue

I know I'm a few weeks behind with my updates so keep checking back, I have a lot more to tell!
Kendralala