Shake It Like a Polaroid Picture

I realized that I haven't shared any pictures of me recently. Like months. See previous post for list of excuses! So this is the perfect post for a blogger feeling a little lazy today. I'm not saying I can compete with baby Bella's preciousness. But here are some highlights from the last 2 months or so.

Before I moved, I went to my last South Carolina State Society Oyster Roast. It was a muddy, rainy day, but all of the food, music, and friends added up to a good time!

Shucking away....



The color coordination wasn't planned, but made a good pic!



My friends gave me a fabulous backyard cookout going away party! Miss you guys!



With my dad and sis at my stepbrother's wedding a few weeks ago......




(I'm trying this new thing called wearing color. I'm still getting used to it. If I wore this pink dress in DC, I would stick out like a sore thumb in the sea of black and gray.)

With my cousins.....

( Yes, I'm aware that I don't look anything like my family. No, I wasn't adopted or switched at birth. My sister and I have the same laugh and that has to count for something.)

Front Porch Friday

(If you're new to these parts, you can read the inspiration behind the title Front Porch Friday in this post from last year.)

Whew. I swear I'm still recovering from the 1,108 miles of driving last week! (Which took a total of about 21 hours) Thankfully, the car waited to have a dead battery while I was home so I didn't have to freak out on the side of I-85.

Anyway...I was back up and running in plenty of time to drive from SC to Asheville, NC to be in my college roomie's wedding. Here are a few snapshots from a fun weekend and beautiful wedding.

The bride's adorable nephew had some serious dance moves....

The happy newlyweds...

Happy December!

A Charleston Wedding

What better way to decompress after a particularly difficult week than heading to Charleston for a beautiful wedding! There's something so charming and calming about Charleston. I headed down with my roomie for one of our friend's wedding. We even worked in a blissful hour on the beach just laying in the sun.

The wedding was beautiful- outside and beside the water. There was a huge wrap around porch. And of course, the bride was stunning.

The scene from the porch:

Roommate pose:

First Dance:

Fun with friends:


With the Bride:

Congrats to the newlyweds!

Grandparent's Day

I know what you may be thinking...this has to be one of those holiday's created by the greeting card industry. It's not one that I've typically "celebrated" in the past. Not because I don't love and appreciate my grandparents, but I never needed to set aside a day to recognize them.

I'm so blessed to know all 4 of my grandparents. They were a HUGE part of my life growing up. It somehow became our tradition to spend the night with them on Friday nights. Perhaps this was a clever babysitting tactic of my parents. But we LOVED it.

I'm not going to lie, like most grandparents, ours spoiled us just a little. For instance, my grandad used to take us to a convenience store, gave us a brown paper bag, and let us fill. it. up. with candy. I think my grandmother wanted in on this action, because she eventually stocked up on our favorite candy and created our very own candy drawer at their house. She'd get the big boxes from Sam's and since my sister and I had totally different tastes, we never even fought over it.

Before you think we were shallow, spoiled brats it wasn't all about the candy. We had family meals and laughed and played. I always loved hearing their stories about the good 'ole days.

So here's to my grandparents today, and everyday. For the lifelong lessons and memories they created. I love them! And I love their wedding snapshots...so simple and happy.

Sweet Tea Withdrawal

What a week! It's hard to believe that everything started a week ago when I drove down to SC and started to help with last minute wedding details. I won't go on and on about it (all we've been doing is talking and reflecting about the wedding since the moment it ended!) But basically everything was BEAUTIFUL and was so much fun. My mom truly outdid herself doing the flowers herself, making the flower girl dresses, etc. My sister was a gorgeous bride and seemed to have the time of her life. I cannot wait to see the pictures!

I'm already missing home though! I enjoyed seeing lots of family and old friends and enjoying everything else that I miss about home... cheaper gas, good food, and southern hospitality! I got to stop at the peach orchard I worked at during college and am enjoying some delicious SC peaches! My grandfather sent me home with an abundance of his home grown tomatoes. My mom packed up some other fresh veggies and all the fixins for some vegetable soup. I piled everything in a big 'ole pot and made more soup than I can possibly eat! But it hit the spot and was perfect comfort food.

I'm not really sure what to do with myself now that the wedding projects are finished and the boyfriend has left town! It definitely feels like the summer is winding down. I have lots of reading I want to catch up on and hope to enjoy the rest of the Olympics. I'm amazed at watching Michael Phelps!

Dum, Dum, De Dum

I'm finally getting a chance to blog this week! My weekend was fun, but flew by. It was the boyfriends last weekend in DC so we had a mini "farewell tour." We got some amazing tickets to National's game on Friday night and had a great time. The Nat's even pulled out a win (which is more than I can say for my wounded Braves lately!)

My sister's wedding is only 3 days away, so this week is all about weddings. My apologies to those of you that are all weddinged-out! Here are some fun facts...

By the numbers:
• An average of 44,230 weddings take place in the U.S. each weekend.
• A total of $72 billion is spent on weddings in the U.S.
• Weddings are a $50 billion per year industry
• People spend $19 billion buying presents off of gift registries.

What to Wear:
Maids: The tradition of bridesmaids dressing the same as each other and in similar style to the bride comes from ancient days when it was believed that evil spirits have a more difficult time distinguishing which one is the bride and putting a hex on her.

The Bride: Queen Victoria made white the bridal color of choice when she wore it to wed Prince Albert in 1840.

Garters: As early as the 13th century, most notably in Europe, it was considered good luck to have a piece of the bride's clothing. So wedding guests would chase after the bride and literally rip pieces of fabric from her dress and/or try to steal her garter. We've come a long way since then! It is now the groom's privilege, of course, to remove the bride's garter and toss it to the male wedding guests. The man who catches the garter is believed to receive good luck and be the next in line to get married.

Now you have something to talk about during those awkward conversations with random people that you haven't seen in years at the next wedding you attend!