Take Me Back

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Charleston was beautiful and being there for just a weekend makes me want to go back for more! I was going to post about the wedding and all the beautiful happenings; however, I did an awful job taking pictures. I'll tell you I was busy being a good bridesmaid and I wanted to be present in the moments. In reality I was just lazy. Either way, the wedding was beautiful and I was so happy to be apart of it!

I did manage to get a few pictures of Charleston. Have I told you how much I love this city?

The fountain is pink for the month of October. I was a ZTA; I love this a lot!

Once upon a time mom, dad, and I were suppose to do the Cooper River Bridge Run (a 10K run over the bridge behind us.) Mom ended up dropping out a week before due to being sick, but came to Charleston to cheer us on shop. It was just going to be me and dad until I dropped out the night before the race due to... Let's be honest, I didn't have a good excuse I was just lame. Dad has yet to let me live this down and that was like 5 years ago! It was only fitting we get a picture with the bridge.

This place always feels like coming home. 

A little gem for y'all to enjoy. Sums us up so well!

Here's to a good week!

5 for Friday, Vol. 4

I hope everyone had a great week! I love spending Fridays with Darci, April, Natasha, and Christina!

  

{O N E}

This place. I may not live in Charleston anymore, but going back always feels like going home. I feel so blessed that I have had the opportunity to live here for two and a half years while I was going to CofC. I'm in a wedding this weekend for one of my best friends who is getting married in this beautiful place. It's gonna be a whirlwind of a weekend, but you better believe I'm gonna set some time aside to just walk around. One of my goals in life is to live in this city again.

{T W O}

This. I'm not always great at creating space for daily quiet time. However, this daily devotional/website has greatly helped with that. The devotionals always hit close to home and are so relevant to my life and what I need to hear. Currently loving the study of "James."

She Reads Truth

{T H R E E}

This boots {or something along these lines}. I need want dark brown boots. Once upon a time I had an incredible shoe collection. Then I moved. I was quickly reminded that the shoes I loved so much didn't actually belong to be, but rather they belonged to my mom and sister. Now it's time to start my own collection. The husband is very excited.

{F O U R}

This thing. This stupid thing has been the bane of my existence since I purchased it and banished it away to the bottom drawer. It sits in said drawer taunting me knowing that I'm not coordinated enough to use it and will forever end up with the awkward not attractive crimp. I however have finally outsmarted it! If the stupid clamp doesn't work right {or it's user error} just don't use it! 

I refuse to admit how long it took me to figure this out, and yes I plan on asking for a curling wand for Christmas.

{F I V E}

This is huge...I have an office! 

I have the kind of job where I need an office, and for the past 3 months I've been bouncing between available offices. Which essentially means I have to carry everything I need where ever I go. It's been annoying and frustrating, but I was thankful to have a job! That all changes because this past week I found out I've been given my very own office! I have a home! Mom and I spent yesterday sketching and brainstorming!

Have a wonderful weekend! I'll be enjoying it in the greatest city!

Wedding Wednesday: Getting Ready

 I was hoping to have just one post about our wedding; however, that's just not gonna happen. 

There is just too much I love and would feel bad about leaving out.

With that said, let's begin with the venue.

 I really wanted to get married on a farm, but being from Atlanta I didn't think it would be an option. Trees and concrete don't really scream "rustic farm wedding." After lots of looking and a few lots of tears we randomly came across Neverland Farms. By this point I was so fed up with wedding venues that I told my mom and sister to go see it and if it looked good "just book it!"

Famous last words. James and I ended up with a wedding venue without even seeing a picture! As you can see though, mom and sis did real good. It was everything we wanted but didn't think we could have.

The dress.
I dreaded wedding dress shopping. In fact I put it off as long as possible. However, the whole experience ended up being a piece of cake and I'd even go as far as to call it fun! The first dress I tried on just happened to be the one! It was everything I never wanted but ended up loving.
Plus, it had pockets and, let's be honest, life is better with pockets!

MOB: I love her. She's beautiful!

Amy and Brandon had to remind me over and over again to smile! 

Apparently I'm very serious :)

Meet my lovely bridesmaids. They kept me calm and sane!
See the little one in front? That's my sweet cousin Hannah Grace!
The one behind her? That's Cara. She's my first friend.
You should know Sis by now.
The one laughing in the back? That's Jessie. Best sister-in-law ever!
And the one in the very back? That's Jess. I didn't have to worry about my dress because she worried for me and kept it from getting dirty!
The two  on the right are Kierstyn and Becca. They both make my life a lot more fun!

Love this picture! So sweet. 

My sister/maid of honor made all the bridesmaids earrings and necklaces. I thought it was a good way to tie the coral and turquoise together.

The lace around my flowers is from my mom's wedding dress and the broach is my grandmother's.

James and I exchanged gifts and letters. He got me a beautiful bracelet and I got him a watch.

I know I'm biased, but I think they are a good looking group guys!

James and I didn't have a first look, but I did do one with my dad.
It was such a sweet moment. He told me I was beautiful. My heart soared.

That's all for now!

*All the photographs were taken by Amy Arrington Photography*

Food, Football, & Festivals

Hi Friends!
 I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Even though we had a lot planned it was nice to not have to travel. Made it feel like more of a relaxed weekend for the first time in a while.

   Friday night we met up with my parents for a double date at Antico Pizza. The mozzarella and crust are out of this world good. I haven't traveled to Italy {yet} but I would imagine this is what pizza tastes like there. Have I mentioned it's BYOB?

I'm still not ready to talk about Saturday yet. Let's just leave it at James and I are going to forget football ever happened. Apparently neither of our teams got the memo that this was suppose to be a relaxing weekend.

Yesterday was devoted to all things apple. For the past two years James and I have made a trip up to Ellijay, GA for the apple festival {we love it so much we had our engagement pictures taken there}. We made our yearly trip yesterday for the first weekend of the festival. Truth be told this will probably be the last year we brave the apple crazy crowds. Maybe I'm getting old but the amount of people and traffic just aren't worth it. Apple picking on the other hand will remain a tradition. Maybe it's just me, but food tastes better when you have to work for it and when you get to see where it grows. 

I can't ever pick between the red and the green! And can we please discuss the gorgeousness of this sunflower?

Based on everything we brought home I'd say it was a successful trip. We may have gone a little apple crazy bringing home 10 pounds. We have apple sauce and collard greens cooking on the stove now... I'm thinking we're gonna need a few more apple recipes. 

See the pumpkin over there? His name is Mosley. We name our pumpkin. Totally normal, right?

Five for Friday, Vol. 3

It's that time again!
Loving linking up with Christina, Darci, April, and Natasha.
So excited for this relaxing weekend without any weddings!
As much as a I love them it's nice to have a weekend off!

{O N E}

This picture. We've been teased with just one photo from Sis's wedding. I'm dying to see more.
The lighting, the spanish moss, the sweet couple... doesn't get much better than that!

Amy Arrington Photography

{T W O}

This sauce. Game changing.
Be adventurous. Blend the onion with the sauce. Trust me, you'll thank me!
I may or may not have licked the pot. It's that good!

{T H R E E}

This place. Pizza is out of the world!
Plus it's BYOB. Just saying.

{F O U R}

This weekend. Apple picking!
Haven't decided where we're going yet, but I can't wait!

{F I V E}

This thing. Feels good to get back to meal planning after taking a month off.
Always love feeling organized!

Have a great and relaxing weekend!

Super Easy Granola

Just stopping in to share a quick and easy granola.

This recipe is so easy and one of my favorites!

The salt and pepper may seem odd, but they are completely necessary! Trust me!

*Please excuse the phone pictures. I left my camera in {and all wedding pictures} in  Hilton Head :(*

Put all the ingredients in a big bowl. Mix them all together {hands make great mixers!}

Spread out on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes. 

Seriously, easy thing ever!

I eat this stuff plan throughout the day, but it's also great on greek yogurt and ice cream.

Salty, sweet, and a bit tangy: perfect combination!

Super Easy Granola

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Old-Fashioned Oats
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 4 Tbsp Agave (honey works too!)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper

Instructions:

• Preheat the over to 350 degrees
• Mix all ingredients together in a bowl
• Bake in the over for 12 minutes

Rehearsal Dinner

It's been a whirlwind of a weekend. Sis' wedding was insanely beautiful. I hope to share pictures soon!

I've debated a bit about whether or not I would post about the wedding. In the end I {obviously} decided to go for it. It was such a special day and so much hard work went into it that I ultimately decided I wanted to share it. 

Before we get to the wedding though, I have to share the rehearsal dinner. James' parents put so much work into it and everything was awesome!

The welcome bags were a labor of love. Stamping trees onto 60+ bags took much longer than one would think! However, they turned out great so it was totally worth it. 

Due to timing we didn't have a rehearsal. This actually ended up being one of my favorite things about the wedding because the ceremony was so genuine since we didn't know what was going to happen {more on that later}.

The rehearsal dinner was held at Wolf Mountain Vineyard, a gorgeous little winery in the North Georgia Mountains. 

Good wine and a mountain view. Not sure it gets much better than this!

 Personally, I'm a fan of groom's cakes at rehearsal dinners in order to space out the cake eating. 

I was hoping to go with a house divided cake.
James said no red and black, I cried, we laughed and still got married.

I suppose that's his prerogative for his cake.

James and I choose James 1:17 as our marriage verse. 

This is the wedding gift my sister-in-law gave us. It's one of my favorite gifts we got! 

The sweet host and hostess. I'm so lucky to have them as in-laws!

Last time I would call him my fiance! 

Side note: the dress I wore was actually my mom's wedding dress! 

We completely redesigned it so Sis and I could each wear it as our rehearsal dinner dress. 

I loved how it turned out and the meaning behind it!

My beautiful bridesmaids! Love them so hard.

 More on the wedding later!

*All these photos were taken by our sweet family & friends*