Striped Swing Top c/o / Sperry Sneakers (Comfiest sneakers I own. Fit TTS. They also come in leather, and they’re on sale! Mine haven’t gotten too dirty over my two years of ownership, but I feel like leather would be even better considering my active lifestyle these days! Oh, and the chambray version is also on sale.) / Hudson Jeans (White version here.) / BP. Hat (Unavailable online, but I love this bow-backed one! And you can’t go wrong with a classic Vineyard Vines hat for the beach. And #omg the gingham hat.) / Mitch’s Sperrys / Mitch’s Shirt is from Ralph Lauren Factory, but I adore this shirt, this shirt and this shirt for him!

Are you guys sick of seeing this top yet? ;) Fair warning: I was just laying out photos from our Michigan City Dunes weekend for an upcoming post, and I realized that Kira and I are both wearing it in the pics, haha. But, I mean, at least you know that I really, really love the thing, right? I’ll try to stop wearing it so much, though.

But back to today’s post!

While we were in Ocean City last week, my parents volunteered to watch Emma for a couple of hours so Mitch and I could have some alone time. If you read my recent post on how we work to maintain our marriage post baby, you can probably gather that date nights are hard to come by these days. So we graciously accepted Mom and Dad’s generous offer, grabbed a beach towel, threw a couple of bottles of our new obsession–white wine from Rueda, Spain–into a tote bag, and headed down to the water. Thanks, guys!

What’s even cuter is the fact that my dad walked down with Molly, our family’s new puppy, to snap a few pics of us with her. It was kind of like a scene from Marley & Me, but we had so much fun shooting these photos. Everyone was falling over, and at one point, Molly knocked over both a glass and a bottle of wine. (She’s so much stronger than she looks, and that tail? It’s powerful!) Side note: can we talk about what a great photographer Dad is? From lighting to composition, I’m utterly impressed with how quickly he’s taken to it. If you’re interested in shooting outfit photos with him, he’s conveniently located right off the Battery Park Esplanade in New York. Just kidding. Bah! That would be hilarious, wouldn’t it? (Also, have you seen Fashion Dads? Read the captions. They kill me.)

Anyway, a few things:

I’m officially a Verdejo convert

I’ve been drinking wine made from Verdejo almost exclusively over the last month, and I love it. Here’s the picnic post I did with another Verdejo wine that went live over Memorial Day Weekend! I love that smell and taste are closely linked to memory, because every time I have a glass, I think of this incredibly happy night. And now, I think of our beach date, too!

If you haven’t heard of Verdejo, it’s a light and crisp wine sourced from the Spanish wine region of Rueda. You’ll like it if you enjoy Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio or lightly oaked wines. :) I wrote about this in my last post, but the reason it’s so unbelievably good is because the Verdejo grape is grown in a higher altitude and more difficult growing environment, and therefore it gets a lot of attention. In this post, you’ll see that we’re drinking Garciarevalo Tres Olmos–and we love it just as much as we love the Finca Montepedroso Verdejo!

I really enjoy having a favorite wine. It makes me feel way more cultured than I actually am, and it’s special. Before discovering Verdejo, I just liked “white wine.” Now, though, I have this little story, and a preference. No longer do I get stuck with bad glasses of wine… because I actually know what my tastes are. :) If you’d like to try Verdejo, you can use code “RUEDA” to take 10 percent off your next order on wine.com. And be sure to look for the Rueda logo when you visit local wine store.

I bought a new lens

I was tired of traveling with a 50mm and a wide-angle lens and switching back and forth, so I finally pulled the trigger on Canon’s new 35mm f/1.4 II lens since it’s a happy medium. These photos were taken at night, and I was super impressed with how the lens performed! It’s the fastest and sharpest lens I’ve ever shot with, and I’m astounded by how well it handles in low-light conditions as well as the fact that there’s no fringing. (When you get those purple/magenta lines around your subject in certain lighting situations.) You can see more photos taken with the lens here, here, here and here, and all my upcoming Ocean City photos were shot with it, too.

Also, I’m ALMOST DONE with my DSLR/mirrorless camera comparison post. I was all ready to publish and then my hard drive crashed and I lost all the photos, but I’m slowly fixing everything. Stay tuned!

Mitch and I are starting to make summer plans

So far, we know this:

  • We’re going to Denver in July for our friends’ wedding, and we’re extending our trip a full week! Thanks for all your recommendations so far; keep ’em coming. :) You’re the best! We’re going to try to do everything you suggest, as you made our California trip ah-mah-zing.
  • We’re headed to Lake Bloomington for the Fourth of July. It’s Mitch’s grandfather’s 90th birthday, so it’s going to be quite the celebration! My brother, Danny, is going to fly out for it, too.
  • We’re having a birthday party. Because someone in this house is turning one! Haven’t figured out specifics yet, but we know it’s going to be Elmo-themed.
  • I’m celebrating Jess’ bachelorette in Wisconsin. I love her childhood and college friends, and I pretty pumped about having a wild night. ;) It’s been a while!
  • And THEN we’re going to Oregon for her wedding. Eeeeee!
  • We’re going to Ocean City. DUH! Not sure when yet, but we’d like to spend at least two weeks there this summer.

Mitch is working on a longer blog post about these plans, so that’s in the works, too!

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Crack open a bottle of Verdejo and relax. :)

Shop the post:

Striped Swing Top c/o / Sperry Sneakers (Comfiest sneakers I own. Fit TTS. They also come in leather, and they’re on sale! Mine haven’t gotten too dirty over my two years of ownership, but I feel like leather would be even better considering my active lifestyle these days! Oh, and the chambray version is also on sale.) / Hudson Jeans (White version here.) / BP. Hat (Unavailable online, but I love this bow-backed one! And you can’t go wrong with a classic Vineyard Vines hat for the beach. And #omg the gingham hat.) / Mitch’s Sperrys / Mitch’s Shirt is from Ralph Lauren Factory, but I adore this shirt, this shirt and this shirt for him!

In collaboration with Rueda Verdejo. (Use code “RUEDA” to take 10 percent off your next order on wine.com.) As always, thank you so much for supporting the partnerships that keep Kelly in the City up and running!