Anniversary Trip: Nashville

While Nashville one of the husband's favorite cities, I had never been before. He's raved about how great the city is and I'll be honest I was a little skeptical at first. I mean, just in case you haven't looked at a map recently, Nashville is nowhere near the ocean. In order to be classified as a great city in my book there needs to be an ocean . 

Well, the husband wins this one. Nashville is awesome. 

The music is great. You can hear live music anytime every day of the week. Once you're downtown, it's a walking city. Park your car and walk to where you wanna go. And the food... oh the food, but we'll get there.

I don't always like playing tourist in new cities. I don't like people knowing I'm visiting. It's okay to judge me it's a super odd quirk. I think it has something to do with living in a vacation city where we made fun of tourists. However, for this trip I put my weird fears aside and fully embraced the tourist role. We checked out the Ryman Auditorium and the Country Music Hall of Fame. Both pretty obvious stops for us since we love Nashville (James has a serious crush on Hayden :) and country music.

Let's get real honest here. I judge cities by the food. It's gotta be good and not just the fancy resaturates, but the little hole in the wall places too. Nashville did not disappoint at all.

Puckett's Grocery and Restaurant:
Puckett's is a restaurant downtown that I'm assuming was at one point a grocery (hence the name), but has since been converted into a restaurant. It's southern BBQ and it's good. We went for breakfast and lunch and were impressed with both. For breakfast James got the "Southern Stack." Stick with me for a second, it's a sweet potato pancakes, fried apples, bbq pork, a fried egg, and home fries. It sounded awful. It was wonderful. I hate sweet potatoes, but I loved these sweet potatoes pancakes.

Cantina Laredo:
Probably my newest favorite restaurant. The tuna tacos are to die for and fish tacos that rocked my world. I need them to open one of these in Atlanta ASAP. There really aren't adequate words for this restaurant other than we're still raving about this meal.

Yeast:
Great bakery! They serve Kolaches, a Cezch pastry most often served sweet with some fruit filling, but sometimes made savory. Think doughy yeasty goodness. James stuck with the fruit variety and I got a savory one with sausage, jalapenos, and cheese. My mouth is watering just thinking about these.

Husk:

I had to give a nod to one of my favorite cities and check out Husk for our anniversary dinner. There other location is in Charleston and I've always wanted to try it out, so I'm glad we got to here. It was everything we hoped for. The drinks were incredible, the charcuterie appetizer was our favorite part, and our entrees were really good. Farm to table restaurants always get bonus point in my book.

My entree: Southern Veggie Plate: embered okra, heirloom tomato salad, sea island pea succotash, fried squash blossom stuffed with cheese, and mushroom grits with a poached egg. So much food and so good!

We went against tradition and didn't eat our wedding cake. It accidently got thrown out when dad was cleaning out the elk freezer (don't even ask) a week before our anniversary. Whoops! Oh well, makes for a good story :) and who needs tradition anyway.

It was such a wonderful trip and the prefect to celebrate being married for a year!

Hey July!

So, it's July. As of today we are officially half way through 2014. Dear Summer, please slow down!

We have some fun things planned for this month, so I'm excited and hoping that this month goes by just a little less quickly than the last. But, before we get to July let's look back on those June goals. 

Overall, I would say June was a pretty good month. I loved loved loved celebrating our 1st anniversary and have really enjoyed get settled in our home. Somewhere along the way it stopped being the "new house" and started being "home." It makes my heart so happy knowing how many memories we will make in this place and how we will continue to make it ours.   

1. Spend more time with God: Abide Journal 

This one gets a big check! It's an 8 week long journal so there are still 4 weeks to go, but so far I'm right on track. There is so much that I'm loving about this study. I love that each chapter is a week long,  so there is lots of time to really dig deep into the theme of the week. The videos that go along with the weeks are also so great. I can't wait to continue this into July.

2. Take care of myself: Exercise & walk after dinner

Eh, I guess this one gets a super small check. We haven't been walking after dinner, but I've done an okay job getting up and going walking. Going to expand on this one and get a little more specific for July.

3. Be intentional with my husband: TV free dinners

Big check! We've had many TV free dinners in spite of the World Cup. Apparently my husband is a big soccer fan now. Never saw that one coming, but I digress. I really love the chance to sit down at the table and talk about our days. I love that it's becoming routine to sit down at the table and dinners in front of the TV only happen on rare occasions.  

4. Go on an adventure: Anniversary trip

Completed and it was awesome! Can't wait to share all about it tomorrow!

5. Be intentional with others: Spend time with friends

I love that I made this a goal last month, and I love even more that I was able to accomplish it. One of the best things about have a home is being able to host friends and family. I so very much want our home to be a place where people we love come, hang out, and feel comfortable. Not only did we get to have one of my best friends over this past month, but I also got to catch up with a few friends who live out of town who I haven't talk to in way too long! This month our families are hosting a house warming party for us, so I can't wait to open our doors to even more of our friends. 

1. Spend more time with God: Abide Journal and Studying the Names of God

4 more weeks! There is also another bible study that Nicole and Rachel are hosting that I'm seriously thinking about joining in on. 

2. Take care of myself: Exercise Routine

Routine. I work best with routines and schedules. This month my goals is routine with moderation. I am trying to learn that it's okay not to work out everyday. So, the goal this month is to work out 3-5 times a week for at least 30 minutes. The inner crazy athlete is screaming at me that that's not enough, but the much healthier rational side of me is insisting that it's just fine. Routine with moderation.

3. Be intentional w/ others: Stop Saying Sorry
Well, kinda. Have y'all seen this video? It really hit home and even more so when the husband mentioned the other night that I say "I'm sorry" too much. I'm starting to realized I say "I'm sorry" for all the wrong reasons and when I need to say it it's so much harder to say. So, July is my month of not saying sorry when I don't need to and saying sorry when it needs to be said. 

4. Go on an adventure: Beach Trip(s)
Adventures for this month include lots of sun, sand, and ocean water. We'll be on Hilton Head Island and at Holden Beach. I. Can't. Wait. 

Here's to a happy July everyone!!

Friday Favorites: Anniversary Edition

Happy Friday Loves!

Um, can someone please fill me in on where June went?! This summer is flying by and I kind of wish it would last forever. 

I'm linking up with Amanda to share our anniversary gifts. I hesitate to tell people one of my love languages is gifts. I'm afraid it sounds too materialistic and greedy, but actually it's not about money at all. What's important is the thought behind the gift or the words written in the note. Gifts make me feel thought of and special.

Be forewarned, this whole post is pretty sappy and corny.

{O N E}

One of our favorite things to do as a couple is to go on adventures. Small day trips or week long vacation doesn't matter; we love to travel. For our anniversary we took a weekend trip to Nashville. I had never been there before, but it's one of James' favorite cities so he had fun showing me all around. It was so much fun and I can't wait to share the details about our trip with y'all next week!

{T W O}

We didn't discuss it, but we each ending up sticking with the "paper" theme. I gave him a Datevitation coupon book. Seriously, if y'all haven't checked this website out do so now! It's too easy and fun to put together your own custom coupon book.
Along with the sweetest card the husband gave me a gift certificate to a spa. That boy knows the way to my heart! And of course we celebrated with some pink champagne. 

{T H R E E}

One of James favorite hymns is "Come Thou Fount." It was also one of the songs we had sung at our wedding so it has extra special meaning to us. My gift to James was this beautiful print I found on Etsy here. I had it framed and now it has a special place on our mantle. 

{F O U R}

Let's be honest though. James blew my gift out of the water. I was super impressed that he knew anniversaries even had themes. I was even more impressed that he made me a gift. I know a lot of things about my husband, but what I didn't know is that he's a closet crafter :) The words inside the tree are the lyrics of our first dance song "Sea Breeze." So sweet! Love that man.

{F I VE}

Best gift of all?

Getting to spend everyday with this guy. 

Okay, I gave you fair warning that it would be sappy!  

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

Here's to a year

As of Sunday I've been a wife for a whole year, and what a year it's been. It's been a year of way more ups than downs. A year where I've learned a lot about myself and even more about marriage. It's been the most fun and challenging year and I can't wait for so many more!

 Here's a few highlights of what I've learned over this past year:

1. For us, God comes first always. Putting Him at the center of our marriage makes it all worth it.

2. Everyday I have to make a choice whether or not I'll let small stuff bother me. Some days I make the right choice and other days I don't. 

3. Advice from other married couple is great and super helpful. However, it's also important to remember that what works for one couple may not work for us. There isn't one perfect path for everyone you just gotta make your own way.

4. The first year of marriage isn't the best or worst. It's just the 1st. There's lots of learning and growing going on, but you get to do it together so it's okay.

5. It's okay to go to bed mad as long as you make up in the morning. I've learned I can be more rational in the morning than I was the night before.

6. Living with a boy is fun :) 

7. Being a wife is hard, easy, and fun all at the same time. Thus far it's best role I've ever played.

8. I married a patient, loving, selfless, hard working man, and I love him more everyday.

Thank you James for this past year. Thanks for sticking by me when I'm being "challenging" and supporting me always. I love being on this journey with you and can't wait to see where we go.

Stay turned next week for a post all about anniversary trip!

Honeymoon

A year ago we were laying on the beach in Mexico soaking up the sun and loving life. This year we're still loving life, but we're wishing we were still on that beach in Mexico!

Instead of just sharing pictures, I'm sharing the video of our honeymoon. I'm obviously not a professional, but I figured this would be a little fun and different.

We ended up not leaving for Mexico until the Monday after our wedding. I loved having Sunday to relax and get everything together. Rather than just staying at our apartment, James surprised me and booked a reservation at the Intercontinental Hotel in Buckhead. That night we went to dinner at my favorite restaurant, Bistro Niko. Our sweet waiter brought us dessert to celebrate one day of being married :)

We woke up early Monday morning and headed to Excellence Riviera Cancun. We went the all inclusive route and could not have been happier. Couldn't recommend going for the all inclusive resorts more!

We spent a week relaxing. A lot of people suggested going on excursions, but the only things we ended up doing was getting a couples message and going kayaking. It was just what we needed.

Okay, enough talking... just watch :)

A Day in the Life

I loved reading everyone's "Day in the Life" posts yesterday, and figured it would be fun to join Rachel and Brittany.

I don't really ever have a "typical" day. I pretty much get to make my own schedule each week. I can be in the office anywhere from 1 to 4 days a week depending on how many clients I'm seeing at any given time. Summers tend to be a bit on the slow side for counselors, so I've had a bit more down time lately than I did a few months ago. 

So, instead I'll share what my ideal day would look like. Every once in a while I get a day like this and it makes my heart so very happy.

My favorite way to start off my day would be to wake up about 6:30-7am and go here for a walk/run. Sometimes I'll call mom or sis to keep me occupied and other times it's just me spending some quality time with pandora. Phil Wickham pandora station rocks my world. 

After walking, I'm ready to sit down for some quiet time. Right now I'm loving the Abide journal from Naptime Dairies. It's been so perfect these past two weeks. It's speaking right to my heart and has been just what I needed.

And of course early mornings require coffee. I've been doing really well with limiting my Starbucks runs. However, this week has been a bit out of the ordinary and I went to Starbucks three days in a row (head hung in shame). Best part of that is out of the three trips I made this week, I only paid for my drink once! The other 2 times the people in front of me paid for my drinks! Of course I paid it forward backward, and it made me smile. So, thanks to the sweet cars who paid for my ridiculously expresive addiction.

Normally, this is my view on a week day. My "usual" schedule looks something like see 2-7 clients a day and write notes during my down time. 

However, this week was super abnormal. My dad's administrative assistant was on vacation, so I filled in for a few days. My days consisted of answering the phone, logging items in, opening and sorting mail, and trying not to mess anything up too much.  My for real job is definitely not a normal 9-5 gig, so it was kinda of fun to play pretend for a bit. 

Thursday nights in our house are my favorite because Thursday night means fajita night! Most nights I make dinner, but on fajita night James takes over and grills everything. My only job is assembly. I found this recipe about a month ago here and she found it here. Ever since there its been our go to Thursday night meal.

If you ever come over for dinner there is a 99% chance this is what we'll serve you. It's that good.

Most nights end with us working on some project. The project of the month is refinishing this bench. It's required some serious work, and I can't wait for the finished look. In case you were wondering, stripping paint isn't fun.

The night ends with a little bit of TV and bed time! 

That's about as typical as my day gets. 

Five on Friday; Vol. 22

Hi Friends! Hope you had a great week. This has been a long week and I'm very happy to see Friday. I'm very much looking forward to this relaxing, nothing planned, projecting starting weekend. 

So far, summer (yes, it not technically summer but whatever) and I have been getting along wonderfully. I don't know if it was moving, allergies, or crazy GA weather, but Spring and I didn't mesh well. I didn't want to do anything and nothing sounded good food-wise. #definitelynotpregnant 

So, in honor of feeling like myself again I'm linking up with Darci, April, Christina, and Natasha to share my summer loves. 

 

{O N E}

The one thing I knew I would miss when moved was the great trail we had within walking distance of the apartment. I was very happy to discover we have a great park right down the street from us with a walking trail. I can even walk to the park if I'm feeling really adventurous. On Saturday in the summer it has Farmer's Market! Nothing beats Saturday morning Farmer's Market trips!

{T W O}

Speaking of the Farmer's Market, we picked up some tomatoes last Saturday. Y'all, they are glorious! So red and so yummy! I am seriously loving some veggies right now. I'm loving that I'm enjoying being in the kitchen again and I'm obsessed with fresh Farmer's Market foods. 

{T H R E E}

What would a summer post be without a beach picture? Beach sunsets really are the best sunsets. We've already been to the beach a few times and I'm so looking forward to spending some more weekends there. Also, looking forward to a week at the beach in July with the husband's family. Beaches are great for the soul!

{F O U R}

Fresh herbs! Sis made us an herb garden for our housewarming gift. Having fresh basil, chives, peppermint, and rosemary is one of my favorite things ever. Is it weird that I search for recipes that use these fresh herbs? Who cares what the main ingredients are as long as the herbs can be used :) Now, let's see if I can keep them alive. 

{F I V E}

I haven't tried this recipe yet, but if it includes lavender you better believe I'm gonna try it and love it. Drinking this outside after a day laying by the pool sounds like the perfect summer night to me!

Happy Friday and Happy Weekend!