HELLO and a very happy Monday to ya!!! Hope this morning finds you refreshed & ready for the week ahead — it’s going to be a beautiful one!

The Monday love today is going to be devoted to this past weekend — because it was a GREAT weekend! Really just the past two weekends have been my favorite kind: full of friends, adventures, and yummy food! Haha! So, on that note…things I’m loving on this beautiful June morning:

• Road trips with my hubs! I had an engagement session down in Athens, OH set for Saturday morning, so C and I decided to make a road-trip out of it and visit/stay with his college roommate Friday night while we were at it! Unfortunately we were up & at ’em by 7am the next morning, so we didn’t get to visit as long as I’d like…or enjoy that leftover Meister’s pizza for breakfast! (another thing I’m loving. YUM!!)
• Iced Chai Tea. I’ve never been a big coffee fan, but man, the day I discovered Chai Tea Lattes was a pretty great day :) Summer time signals the switch to the iced version — which personally, I love even more :) As we were in Athens, I grabbed an Iced Chai courtesy of Donkey Coffee , and I wasn’t disappointed a bit :) SO. GOOD. For those OU fans out there, I also had a delicious Pub Club sandwich post-engagement shoot from The Pub. Be jealous.
• College Towns. They are just so great — laid back, unique, and full of history and tradition! Obviously my favorite college town is Bloomington, IN, but Athens reminded me a lot of Btown as well…where else would you find a bunch of people drinking out of beer goblets at 11am on a Saturday?!?! :)
• OUR PUPPY!!! Post-engagement session C and I drove out to Amish Country to visit Erma & her puppies, and OH.MY.GOSH. I’m in love!!! I have been a little nervous about getting a new puppy, but after seeing them in action and experiencing all the cuddles & puppy love, I just can’t wait!! We get to pick up Puppy O for good the last week of June, and it can’t get here soon enough!!
• Cookouts!! The beginning of summer means all sorts of grilling fun: hot dogs, hamburgers, yummy pasta sides, delicious desserts, fruit salads…you name it! There is nothing better than sitting around a table/bonfire/backyard with the best of friends and just enjoying life together :) Living in a tiny apartment means Chris and I don’t get to host many of our own (except for that time when Chris roasted marshmallows in our oven with a fork…), so it’s been so great to enjoy our friends’ backyards and company throughout the past week :)

And finally, I’m really loving engagement sessions! I don’t know if  it’s all the excitement for the future the couple holds, or that getting photos together makes the proposal all the more real, or if it’s because an engagement session was the first “real” session I did starting out — but a good E-session just holds a special place in my heart :) This past Saturday’s was no different. I had never met Rebecca or Greg before that morning, but by the end of our session I felt like I was with old friends! They were full of love, life, and great ideas, they laughed at my craziness, and they just made our time together a BLAST! :) Looking through their photos makes me so happy as I think about all the adventures they have ahead of them — can’t wait to show you the rest later this week!

For now, this sneak peek will have to do :)

What do you love most about summer weekends? I would love to hear your thoughts below — leave a comment and let me know!!

Happy Monday!!

Sami