Nashville!

There are few things in life I love more than weekend trips! Its sad to think that we'll only live in Atlanta for one more year... but in the meantime we're trying to take advantage of being such a short drive away from so many fun places! Cities, beaches, mountains... so many places, so little time left in the South!

Nashville has been on my short list of cities to visit for years, and I'm soo so glad we finally made it there :) I'm even more glad - ok, more like thrilled! ecstatic! overjoyed! - that we spent the weekend in Nashville with my bff and her fiance!

Stolen from SK's pictures... sorry for the red eye, hubs!

We learned a lot about her soon-to-be-hubbs... and we like what we saw! {Disclaimer: Andrew doesn't love everyone he meets, but he really loved Kyle so that says a LOT!}

We also learned:
what honkey tonk is (sort of),
country stars don't always write the songs they sing (boys' minds = blown),
we sort of kind of probably want to invest in a pair of authentic cowboy boots........
and we are much too old to stay out drinkin' and dancin' in the bars until they close!

Although we left Nashville with a bit of a wine flu, substantially broke-r, and easily 5 lbs fatter... we had the best time! With any luck, I plan to sneak in another quick Nashvegas trip before we leave Georgia ~ if for no other reason, I simply must eat at Pancake Pantry before I die. I already added it to my mental bucket list.

Cutie fiancees

My love :)

Booooots! Get in my closet. Camel colored, pointed toe. Thanks.

The boys

The gals

Puckett's for our last dinner

BFF... LYLAS!

And so continues my love affair with weekend getaways and cities with quaint, walkable downtowns. I'm already itchin' to plan our next trip!

SK and Kyle....... you guys down? Same weekend next year maybe?! ;)

Priorities

With a lot on my plate these days, I've had to re-prioritize.

One thing that needs to take a back seat: my blog.

I  love using this little corner of the internet as a way to document what happens in our life, and I plan to still do that... when I have the time. But truthfully, blogging (among other things) has become more of a chore than a hobby... so, expect my posts to be less frequent until things slow down.

The recipes, the crafty stuff... I just don't have time for right now. I wish I did! {But I do still promise a cookie favor post... I just need to get the pictures off my dang camera one of these days!}Maybe after I graduate in May. Until then, I'll stick to the big stuff. And pictures from my iPhone :)

Our Nashville trip was SO MUCH FUN! We loved the food, the music, the BOOTS! I still don't quite know what "honky tonk" is. But I'm pretty sure I like it! I have real camera pics that I plan to upload as soon as I have a free weekend, but here are a few randoms until then.

We bopped from bar to bar to bar... we wanted to check them all out! SO FUN!

I think I gained 9812349 lbs. Add that to my holiday pounds and I'm not sure how I'm fitting thru doorways.

My love affair with cute downtowns was reignited!

We left Nashville completely exhausted... we're getting too old to pretend we can stay out until the bars shut down! The list of to-do's I came home to was really overwhelming but it was so worth it for such a fun weekend. This was technically Andrew's "birthday trip"... we prefer those to birthday presents... but we celebrated his real birthday on Valentine's Day anyway! It was his 25th, so I decided it was worthy of a big fuss even if the bday boy wasn't going to indulge me in throwing a party!

A steak dinner, chocolate covered strawberries for my cake-hating-husb, and Maui Jim sunnies!

Fighting the Valentine's Day crowds at restaurants is his least favorite thing to do on his bday (duh)... so we opted for a quiet dinner at home - some fancy steaks and baked potatoes. He must have said 15 times how glad he was that we decided to cook at home haha :) My healthy husb loathes sweets... bless his heart. So I reluctantly agreed not to bake him a cake. He did eat 1 chocolate covered strawberry, after my nagging urging...... I ate the remaining 5. We agreed that we'd take weekend trips instead of getting birthday gifts for each other this year, but I was sneaky sneaky and surprised him with a pair of sunglasses he has been wanting for months! He was so. surprised! He deserves them.

**HAPPY 25th BIRTHDAY, ANDREW!**

In other news around these parts........ Bella loves the faux fur throw Danielle picked up for me because it was a "great deal" and I just "needed to have it" (gotta love friends like that!), I represented my very first client in my very first hearing (woohoo!!), and you have to make these red velvet cookies!

Sleepy kitty snuggling with her new furry friend...

Looking all lawyer-like...

Make these!!!

This weekend is Sheila's bachelorette party!!! I'll be cozied up in a mountain cabin sipping champagne and doing my best to embarrass the bride with gag gifts. It'll be a rainy one down South....... perfect weather for baking some yummy cookies!

Still Traveling

Hi friends! I hope you had the most wonderful Christmas with your families :) We are still traveling... living out of suitcases was fun for a couple weeks but I'm really starting to wish we could just transport our ATL apartment to Ohio and make a little underground tunnel that connects it to my parents' house or something. I miss my bed. I miss my stuff. I am also really beginning to miss my nail place, my Starbucks (w/ a drive-through), and my Whole Foods. I've become such a creature of habit! Will be tough to break when we move I'm realizing...

Our days have looked a lot like this since we got to Ohio:

• Sleep late
• Play on computers/drink coffee
• Work out (*husband only... unfortunately for my thighs)
• Have lunch w/ family or friends or each other
• Shop. Shop. Shop.
• Visit
• Have dinner w/ family or friends
• Dessert
• Dessert
• Dessert
• Hang w/ the fams
• More dessert
• Sleep late

I'm about ready to borrow one of my SIL's maternity bands because - sad but true, I swear this on my life - I split my favorite skinny jeans the other day.....!!! 

Yikes. 

To be fair, they were 2 years old and wearing verrrrry very thin in the crotch-ish area. I was doing my usual high kicks and squats around the bathroom to stretch them out (you do this too, right??) because they had just come out of the dryer... and the next thing ya know, I heard a little rrrip and looked down to see my bright teal undies poking through the front! I felt like a big old fatty until I told my sister what happened and she said thats the most common place for jeans to rip......... true? false? Don't tell me. I'm going with true.

I'll be back to my normal routine in a week - workouts included, thank goodness! - soo hang with me til then if ya don't mind! We're scrounging up some New Years Eve plans (disclaimer: I. hate. New. Years. Eve.) and are looking forward to ringing in 2012 and all of the excitement it will bring!!!

Have a safe, HAPPY NEW YEAR and I'll see y'all next year!

Traveling!

Last week when I said I needed a vacation and was headed to the beach... I wasn't kidding! We spent the past week on Captiva Island with almost all of Andrew's family (we were missing 1 out of the 5 kids... not a bad turnout for a family that big!). It was fun and it was relaxing  and it was soo beautiful! We had the best time soaking up the sun, playing on the beach, and exploring the island. I was amazed at how gorgeous the weather was this time of year! We are already talking about making it a Christmas tradition :)

Before we zip off to Ohio - in about 10 minutes - to spend a few weeks with all the rest of our families, I'll leave you with a few quick (read: unedited) pictures from our beach trip! More to come after our 20-hours-in-the-car-in-2-days travel marathon.

Beautiful beaches

Matching tourist shirts ;) 

Gorgeous sunsets

The fam watching the sun set

Coolest dolphin boat tour!

I'll have more details and pictures in the next few days ~ might be after Christmas though, depending on how busy this evening/tomorrow get! If I'm not back on the blog before then --- wishing you a very Merry Christmas! I hope your holiday is filled with family, love and laughter....... and a whooole lotta Christmas cookies!

Spring Break: Part II

Ya, ya I know I already had my spring break fun... but that didn't stop me from taking full advantage of Andrew's week off too :) We headed down to Panama City Beach (thanks to my awesome bosses who let us use their beautiful beachfront condo for a ridiculous deal - thank you, thank you!) for a mini getaway with some friends. Thankfully the weather cooperated and we had 4 days of warm temperatures and sunshine!!!

Condo building

View looking down from our balcony on the tippy top!

My guy :)

 Our goal was not to spend too much $$$ this trip, so we were sure to put the full kitchen in the condo to use - we cooked breakfasts, lunches and even a couple dinners! Being a short 5 hour drive from the ocean also kept our costs way down, which was nice! The chiropractic school boys definitely earned their break... they had a miserable week of finals prior to their week off and were sooo ready to kick back and relax!

Future Dr.'s working on their tans

Hangin' in the pool w/ their girls (sans me)

I, on the other hand, was missing school and work so I was stressin' just a little about staying caught up! Thankfully, I had a fantastic balcony to sit on and get a little (by little... I mean, hardly any) reading done. But there was much too much fun to be had to worry about the classes I was missing and the reading I'd have to do once we got back home. So I pretty much gave up and then paid for it later in the week!

A little self-timer action...

Sunset from the roof deck

Games on the roof!

Where I read ~2 pages...

We got back late Tuesday... I played catch-up/went to class Wednesday... had class all day Thursday...

...and what do you know? Tomorrow is already Friday! I could get used to short weeks like this ;)

There won't be too many more opportunities where we can just zip down to the beach for a few days and spend time lazing in the sun, goofing around with our friends. Soon there will be moving back to Ohio, and real jobs and responsibilities like a house and a yard... and eventually there will be kids. So we are thankful for these chances to get away for some carefree fun! I'm sure that memories like these will be ones that we look back on and smile about for years to come.

Back to reality. With a tan :)

Visitors and Vacas

Mother nature decided to be less than cooperative for my sister's spring break visit. It was 70ish and sunny the weekend before her arrival, and there is nothing but warmth and sunshine in the forecast for the week after she left. Mean trick, huh? But we made the most of our cold, rainy week together! Our sched went something like this: sleep. shop. eat. shop. eat. drink wine(/margs/martinis). sleep. shop. repeat.

yum.

fattys.

sushiii.

how cute is he?

Mexican.

Hubbs was a trooper. Despite a busy busy week of lab finals he still managed to squeeze in nightly dinner dates w/ us and a few social drinks here and there. So my sis didn't leave with the spring break glow we had anticipated... but she did lug home an extra-full suitcase of new clothes and shoes! Not a total loss.

The morning she left to head back to Ohio, I hopped on a plane to Orange County to meet my mama for a long weekend of (we hoped) sun and my very first friend's wedding! I was so looking forward to some quality time with my mom and a much needed tan....... I got them both!

Laguna Beach sunset

Rehearsal dinner w/ my madre

Beautiful wedding venue

The gorg newlyweds!

Married :)

Reception

Friends since 1987

I'm so glad I was able to go out to this wedding! Heather was the first friend I ever had. In my whole life! We "met" when I moved to Cali at 6 months old. Her mama watched me when my mom went back to work part-time. I grew up calling her my "Big Sister" because I never had one. We were pen pals when I moved back to Ohio, and signed every picture or letter with "Love, Your Little Sis." We got to call each other every year on our birthdays (aka: pre-cell phones, free night/weekend "minutes" and email...). We kept in touch, and so did our moms, even when my family moved to Indonesia. Obviously Facebook and the internet have made staying connected in recent years a much easier feat - but how cool that we have managed to remain a part of each others' lives for 24 years?! From diapers and big wheels... to white dresses and wedding rings.

Monday night = back to reality. It was rough getting back into the swing of school/work after a week away with a couple of my fave ladies! The 3 hour West Coast time diff and daylight savings didn't help matters. But I (sort of) managed. I was missing my hubbs and kitty anyway... 4 days away from them feels like forever! We have a FL trip planned for next month and some serious sunshine in our weekend forecast ~ much to still look forward to even after the excitement of a fabulous spring break week!

Looking forward

My computer issues are still not resolved.
But I did get some color while we sat by the pool basking in the 74 degree sun on Saturday!
So I'm not mad that the entire side of my computer is fried and useless.

Needless to say, no new photos to share quite yet! But hopefully soon.
Until then, here are the things I am excited about in the upcoming weeks! In no particular order:

1. That child is coming to visit me in about a week.Woop! I love sissy visits!!!

She will be wearing a big ol' black boot on her foot, but I have no concerns that it will impede her ability to keep up w/ me for our week of food, fun, shopping and girly-ness.
2. We've been doing a lot of grilling. 

The weather has been too beautiful to cook indoors - so we've been grilling salmon, kabobs, bison burgers, chicken, veggies, you name it - literally every night.

3. We will be {hopefully} heading to this resort in FL in a few weeks w/ some friends!

Ironing out the deets as we speak....... coordinating 8 peoples' schedules is no easy task.

4. I have a new baby cousin as of about 48 hours ago :) 

It is killinggg me that I can't zip home for the weekend to meet him, but he will still be an itty bitty when I see him in May. Welcome to the world, Jackson!

5. I get to visit w/ my mama in 2 weeks!!! Just the two of us for 4 whole days!

I haven't seen her since the beginning of January and I'm starting to have withdrawals. This time last year, they had already visited for a weekend post-holiday season. I need some quality mother-daughter time!!

6. Better than just visiting w/ my mama at home... we're heading to Cali for the weekend! 

Praying for nice weather, of course, but I'll survive even if its ugly out thanks to the shopping and dining in/around Newport Beach.

7. I am planning to reserve a "plot" in the urban vegetable garden at our apartment complex for the spring/summer. 

I'm excited to test out how green my thumbs are! My guess is: not very. But the dirt and seeds are free, so its worth a shot. Maybe I'll get a tomato or two out of my efforts?!

8. No, this isn't a joke. I'm pumped to go to H&R Block this weekend and get our taxes filed! 

Painful for most folks... but exciting for two full-time students who get $$$ back for basically nothing. Woohoo! Normally my dad's accountant takes care of our taxes, but last year they didn't get sent off until April. And I'm impatient. And want our refund. Like, yesterday.

9. Oh ya, I'm not just going to Cali for any old reason. We're going for a wedding! 

My very first friend in the whole world is getting married. I haven't seen here in about a decade, so I'm just bursting at the seams w/ excitement about this one!

10. Itttts "patio season" in the ATL! 

My favorite time of year. We have already started scheming where we need to wine and dine while the weather is the perfect, comfortable temp. Gotta squeeze in all our faves before the summer heat and humidity arrive.

Welp. That just got me way too excited for a mid-week afternoon! So much to look forward to in the next couple of weeks!!! Notice how "Go to the Apple store" is no where to be found on that list. Don't hold your breath for pictures or updates......

By my bday in April, maybe you'll get filled in on the events of Andrew's February bday. Maybe :)

Beach Bums

We are taking full advantage of living a short drive from the ocean! But we need to stop discriminating... we've been to Hilton Head THREE times this summer. It sounds excessive - and it is - but we've had great excuses each time :) First we went when my cousin and his wife were there, so we spent a weekend hanging out w/ them.

HHI w/ Ryan and Erika

Then 2 weeks later, we went back to celebrate our anniversary. Which was planned before we knew we'd be going to visit our cousins... or else we might have picked another destination! But probably not :)

Harbour Town after our anniversary dinner

And THEN we went back again last weekend because my parents were there for a few days with some friends - and had an extra bedroom in their condo - so we couldn't pass up the chance to see my mom and dad when we were just 4 short hours away!

Beach w/ my mama and daddy

So the next time we want to get away for a weekend, we will have to choose another nearby beach! Destin, Charleston, Jacksonville, who knows. All are just a quick trip from Atlanta, and we know we won't be able to just pick up and go to the beach for a weekend forever - so might as well take advantage! And even though it seems like we spent half of our summer on the same beach, I love knowing that when we look back on our first year of marriage, Hilton Head will have a special place in our memories :)

We love Harbour Town

Summer Update!

Is it REALLY already June 25th...?! This summer has gone by much too fast! Here is the update on our lives:

Andrew finished his first quarter of Chiropractic school last week! He did fabulous :) His grades were great and he survived the 27 hour course load just fine. His "summer" is a 3 week break from class, so he spent the first week in Atlanta keeping me company and is now up in Ohio visiting with family and friends for a week! I'll join him up there next Wednesday, and then we'll spend the following week in Canada on our annual family vacation. We can't wait! Oh, and Bella girl gets to come this year, too ;)

I'm busy working... but I'm having a ton of fun doing it! I'm babysitting three precious little kiddos 3 days a week, and working at their parents' bankruptcy law firm the other 2 days! It has been SUCH a good experience so far! I've learned a lot at the office, and at home with the kids haha. It has been excellent birth control - despite their cuteness. I'm excited for a break though and can't wait to see my fam and friends up in Ohio!

In other exciting news, I received a WONDERFUL email the other week! I was awarded a $32,000 scholarship for law school!!! We were thrilled with the news and now there is hope that we may actually be able to reproduce before the age of 35... just kidding. Sort of. But really, we're so excited! My hard work is - literally - paying off.

Looking forward to what is left of our summer and will keep y'all posted! Uh oh... I've been in the south almost a whole year now, y'all is starting to sound like English. I better get back to school......

Savannah Weekend

Andrew and I spent Easter weekend exploring Savannah, GA! It was our birthday gift from my parents (and each other!) so we made the most of the fine dining and historic tours the city has to offer. We LOVED the beautiful scenery - especially the old trees and gorgeous gardens. It was a much needed getaway, and we're so glad to have had the chance to spend a few days in such a quaint little place!