Christmas Wish List

Here are a few of my wants for Christmas this year.

 

A nice carry on bag. I am ready to update my old Vera Bradley carry on.

 

Lilly Pulitzer Boarding Bag

 



My gym bag is also starting to look like it's seen better days.

 

 

I like this one.

 

I wear mostly dresses (with shapewear underneath) to work and as soon as I get home, I immediately change into lounge clothes before I study or cook dinner. I am always in the need for more pj pants.

 

 

I like these from LL Bean. These are sold out right now, hopefully they will restock. I am really not too picky about pj pants, as long as they are long enough.

 

I can also never had too much clothing to wear to the gym. I feel like I wash it constantly. I'm also sort of over Lululemon. I want to see how I like Under Armour.

 

I like wearing crops to workout in.

 

My only other wish would be a new Pandora charm.

 

Due to Nick's work schedule we will not be traveling this year, which is a last minute change and are doing Christmas at home.

 

Happy Hump Day!! 



Girl's Weekend in Charleston!

Saturday morning my partner in crime Ashley and I hit the road for our girls weekend. First stop was a quick look at the beach, then on to see one of our good friends and her new baby girl.

 

As I was zipping along the Isle of Palms connector I noticed the unwelcome sight of blue lights in my rearview. I got pulled over for speeding, by luckily when I told the officer that we were bringing a casserole to our friend who just had a baby and he saw the cooler in the backseat he let me go with a waning.  

 

I am obsessed with holding this sweet, beautiful baby.

 

We had lunch at Poe's on Sullivan's Island and it was delicious! After lunch we checked into our hotel and lounged for a few hours. It was raining and super windy, so not the best weather to go exploring. We headed back out that evening and met Blair, who I know from reading her blog Reasonably Swanky, and her friend Jennifer at Vickery's. Dinner was so much fun and they are both just the sweetest!

 

 

 Sunday morning we woke up to much better weather, thankfully. We had an amazing brunch at Magnolias. I had never been to Magnolias before, but wanted to go since it's in the Tradd St. Series by Karen White. We explored the market, and I found a gift to give to Nick for our engageaversary. Santa came through the market and we had to take a picture with him. We took a bike cab to the Battery next. We passed lots of beautiful homes on the way to Battery Park. I snapped pictures of the Sword Gate on Legare St., and lots of other scenery.

 

 

Overall it was a great, and much needed, trip!! Ashley and I have had some fun trips, and this one was definitely one of the best. I would LOVE to own a second home in Charleston or Beaufort one day. I hope after I finish school that will become a reality and not just a dream!

 

Have a great day!

 

p.s. I will be back soon to share the Get Out of  Speeding Ticket Casserole recipe. I made one to leave for Nick to eat while I was gone and we both thought it was good.





One Year Ago...

One year ago this weekend, I made the best decision of my entire life and said YES to the question every girl dreams of hearing.

 

You can read the recap here.

 

Sometimes I still can't believe I get to marry this nut guy, and I think after a year I have finally stopped accidently calling him my boyfriend.

 

Originally we planned to go back to Charleston for our engageaversary, but Nick had a work conflict. Although the conflict worked itself out, I had already lined up a girls weekend by that time.

 

While I am on the girls weekend I will be meeting one of my best friend's ten day old baby and I cannot wait!! My daytrip to Charleston for her baby shower is here.

 

My friend Ashley, who was my running buddy all through undergrad and our early 20s, is coming with me.

 

 

 Beaufort in 2009, one of the best trips we've ever taken.

 

 

The Bowery in Myrtle Beach on Ashley's 25th birthday.

 

I am trying a new casserole recipe tonight to bring to my friend who just had a baby, so I will share if it turns out well. It sounds so good I literally cannot wait to get home and make it. Obvs, I am making one for myself and Nick, as well as one to take to my friend.

 

Have a wonderful weekend!





Life Lately

Now that the semester is DUNZO, I am loving life. Even though I still have to work until next Friday, I already feel like I am on vacation! Just having my evenings free from school work is enough of a vacation.

 

I haven't wasted any time getting caught up on my favorite shows. My new favorite Real Housewife is former Miss Puerto Rico, Joyce (or should I say Jacqueline?).

 

Brandi is a hot mess. She really needs to get lowlights. Her hair looked yellow and fried when I watched Monday's episode.

 

Today was our Christmas lunch at work. Now I feel like I am in a food coma. A group of us uses the college's commercial kitchen to prepare the lunch ourselves and it's always so fun.

 

 

I was down to 140 lbs this morning, which is the best news I've heard in a while. Needless to say, after lunch I will not be skipping the gym today.

 

Happy Thursday!



My first semester of grad school is OVER!!

After many late nights recently getting things wrapped up, I am free! I survived my first semester of grad school. I am still waiting for final grades to post, but as far as I know, I am expecting an A and a B (I only go to school part time).

 

Speaking of late nights, not only am I running on less sleep, but I think our mattress has very limited days left. I have been waking up with aches and pains every morning.

 

I LOVE a lot of fabric and leather headboards I'm seeing.

 

 

Images are from a design blog called Sweet Savannah.

 

After the wedding I want to redecorate. I day dream about it on the daily.

 

I hope everyone is having a great week!



Midweek Randoms

I liked reading this today on the Huffington Post. As if the holidays aren't already stressful enough by themselves, I have finals as well. And don't even have my Christmas tree or decorations up as of yet. Horrors.

 

I thought this was a cute article on style for college students *and* it's written by a minor in the college I work for.

 

I got a little bit of Christmas shopping done, and I have to say J. Crew Factory is the best! I got these as a gift to self, and there are several other things I like today. Depending on what we end up doing, I wouldn't hate something sparkly for New Year's.

 

I still need to get Nick's big gift. Last year his big gift was a year long subscription to this beer of the month club and he loved it. I am at a loss as to how to top that. As a side note, I would not mind a wine of the month membership.

 

And finally, this is my motto this week.

 

 

Happy Tuesday!

Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend Extravaganza

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Wednesday evening we got Nick's brother Tedd from the airport. We went to my favorite Mexican restaurant and wasted no time getting into a celebratory mood.

 

 

Thursday Nick cooked the turkey in a fryer outside while Tedd and I went to town in the kitchen. We made all the sides using some of Nick's Mom's recipes and some from Pinterest. As a side note, how did the pilgrims ever plan their Thanksgiving meal without Pinterest? My grandparents joined us for our meal and I was so glad that they came. Sadly, my Mom was still not feeling well and couldn't come along with them.

 

Friday we stayed at home and it was SO nice. I've done Black Friday and shopped all night before, and of course that was fun, but I think I am over Black Friday. I don't need anything that badly, and I feel bad for people that have to leave their families and work. After relaxing all day, Tedd and I went to a few stores that evening and to Miyo's for sushi. We stayed up late watching movies when we got home.

 

Saturday we went to the Clemson Carolina game. I always look forward to this game. I grew up near Clemson, but went to Carolina and am a huge Carolina fan. I was thrilled over the win!

 

 

Tedd left the stands to go to the restroom in the third quarter and got separated from us and lost. After the game, traffic was crazy and there were people everywhere. By this time, his phone died so we had no way to get in touch with him. We looked for him for several hours, driving around the stadium, going back to our tailgate spot several times to see if he returned, and finally talking to the USC PD. The police put out a BOLO for him. When the officer I was speaking with told me he may be in the hospital, I started crying. Apparently EMS took 35 people out of the game Saturday night. I had to call hospitals looking for him. After several hours, he finally called us and was at a gas station. When he got him, we found out that he walked around asking people for directions to our tailgate spot and no one knew how to get there. He thought he was walking into town, but instead walked down Bluff Road all the way to interstate 77. If you are familiar with Columbia, you know that is a long way. He bought a charger at the gas station and was finally able to call us. We were very happy when we found him. He was lost for so long that it was 4 am before I went to bed that night. I'm sure we will talk about the time we lost Tedd for a long time to come.

 

After staying up late watching movies over the break, going to bed early and waking up early was a shock to my system. I hope everyone has a good Monday!