Trip to Fort Lauderdale

This past week I was on Spring Break (working at a school definitely has its perks!) so Johnathan and I decided at the last minute to plan an impromptu trip to Fort Lauderdale! We had heard friends say they really liked that area, so we thought it would be fun to check it out! 

We left Thursday afternoon and arrived around dinner time. Thankfully we found a great pizza place and enjoyed a low key meal!

 Saturday morning when we got up, it was pouring down rain outside! I was seriously depressed thinking we weren't going to be outside much, so we went into town. At a traffic light we see this Ferrari  next to us with a young guy driving - we both thought "who is this kid driving a Ferrari?" Well, we looked a little bit closer and it was Matt Stafford! I really wanted to roll down the window and yell "Go Dawgs!" but Johnathan was embarrassed, so I snapped this picture instead! 

Thankfully the rain and the clouds cleared out quickly, so we headed straight for the beach! Right now I am reading the Hunger Games series, and I am obsessed! I have literally read the first two books within about 4 days, and now I am on the last book. I can't wait to see how it ends!

 View from our hotel room Friday evening overlooking the inner coastal waterway. 

 All day Saturday was spent at the beach again, then we decided to get ready for dinner early and go to a local bar to grab a drink. We were sitting next to the water when this random guy  flew up to us! He's wearing some jet pack that propels him with water. It was entertaining!

Quick picture before heading to dinner!

Dinner on Saturday was at a local dive called Rocco's Tacos. It was a fun Mexican restaurant that had great food and margaritas! 

On Sunday morning we decided to drive up A1A along the coast line to see a few towns north of Fort Lauderdale (Boca Raton, West Palm Beach). It was an absolute gorgeous day and I did not want to leave, but we had a lot of fun!

A Surprise Weekend

This past weekend I surprised Johnathan with an early birthday present by taking him to Athens! I had told him not to make any plans for the weekend but to be sure to pack a bag because we were going out of town. When we got in the car Friday afternoon, I couldn't keep the surprise any longer and ended up telling him where we were going because I was so excited! 

Friday night we went to the Georgia Theater to hear the band Yacht Rock,  a 70s and 80s cover band. We had heard them another time in Atlanta, so I knew it was going to be a blast!

 On Saturday morning, we went to Last Resort, one of the best restaurants in Athens! They have such a good menu, and our meals were amazing! After lunch we walked around downtown, headed to the Arch, and walked around North Campus. It was such a pretty day, and so nice to be back in our college town!

 Saturday afternoon we headed to Atlanta to surprise one of our dear friends, Ryals, for his 30th birthday! He knew we were coming to go to dinner with him, but little did he know that all of his other friends and family would be waiting on him at the restaurant! Lauren did such a good job surprising him. I think my favorite part of the evening was his DQ ice cream cake, which spelled his name "Ryalas" - hmm, oh well - it tasted good regardless!

We had such a good weekend getting away together and spending time with friends. Check back in a few weeks for more 30th birthday celebrations to come! 

A December to Remember

It is hard to believe that is already 2012! December flew by way too fast, but we had a lot of fun events to keep us busy! Here are some pictures from the last month!

Our Christmas Tree! This picture was taken early in December before any presents were wrapped.

A few close ups of some of our special ornaments. I really liked using gold, silver and blue accents - it worked perfectly with our living room decor!

On December 5th, Johnathan and I celebrated my 28th birthday! He surprised me by taking me to a very nice dinner, then we came home and had birthday cake! So sweet to have for me to blow out candles! Oh, and the beautiful flowers on our table are from my sweet parents and in-laws!

 On December 10th, we traveled to Charleston, S.C. with my family to surprise Lauren for her 30th Birthday! We arrived early at Peninsula Grill before she and Mark came.

Lauren was very surprised! I didn't get a good picture of her arrival, but as soon as she saw us at the table, she ran over to see everyone!

 Saturday morning we all went to a cute little restaurant for brunch. It was nice to spend the day with my family, along with Mark's mother and sister-in-law, Angie. 

 We walked around Charleston all day shopping and site seeing. I had to snap some pictures of the gorgeous homes decorated for Christmas!

 Saturday evening we went to Cypress for dinner. We had a few more surprises for Lauren - my parents gave her this beautiful diamond necklace - it looks great on her! 

 One more surprise Mark had up his sleeve was that Vicki, Lauren's roommate from college, joined us for dinner! We had a great time. 

 After dinner we attempted to go to a local sweet shop for dessert, but it was too crowded, so we opted for the warm cookies from the DoubleTree hotel instead! I was not too sad about that!

Sunday morning we went to say goodbye to Lauren and Mark before heading home. They stayed at the beautiful Charleston Place Hotel!

On December 23rd, we got together with the Jollay Family to celebrate Christmas. Each year we do a white elephant swap, and it is so fun to see what everyone gets! I ended up with a pretty scarf and keychain, but Johnathan ended up with a donut hole maker! He's not too thrilled, but let's just say I hit the jackpot considering I can now make munchkins at home! 

Lauren made a beautiful chocolate torte for dessert that was amazing! Her three days of work to put this together was well worth it!

On Christmas Eve morning, we woke up to celebrate Christmas with my immediate family. It was so nice to be with them before heading back south! I got some new Tory Burch sunglasses, a Kate Spade wallet, and a new iPhone! Johnathan got a Garmin, new workout clothes, and an iPhone, too! Lauren and I each gave our parents a photo album from each of our weddings which I hope they will enjoy.

On Christmas Day we celebrated with Johnathan's side of the family. We had such a great time watching our nephews open their toys! T.G. loved his Captain America helmet and Star Wars light saber.

The boys both got a lot of toys, but Jack's big present is a Red Rider BB Gun! He is so excited because now he can go hunting with his Dad.

Speaking of hunting, the week after Christmas Johnathan and I went to Blackshear to visit with his family. One afternoon he took me hunting with him to sit in the deer stand. Even though we didn't see anything, it was relaxing to sit outside in peace and quiet!

Also while in Blackshear, we took our nephews to pick up pecans near the cabin. They were such good helpers - we filled up the entire bucket and were able to get about 7 pounds of fresh pecans! Now I just need to find some good recipes ... mmm, pecan pie, candied pecans ...

Well that wraps up the final month of 2011! I can't wait to see what 2012 brings!

Fall Girl's Weekend

This past weekend all of my girlfriends and I got together for our annual girl's weekend! We traveled to Gainesville, GA to Maggie and Dave's house for the weekend. We had so much fun ziplining, decorating pumpkins, eating way too much food, and catching up with one another! Here are a few pics from our time together ~

 All of us in our ziplining gear

On top of the course (oh hello cool helmets!)

 Our annual impromptu posed picture!

 Dinner at Sidebar 120 - very good Mexican restaurant!

 Renee - is that a parrot holding an ashtray? 

Oh, and I had to share this picture. Over the weekend my family's dog, Cody, was really sick, but I am glad to report that he is back in good health and doing well! How cute is he?!

Highlands, NC

Last weekend we traveled to Highlands, NC for a vacation with my family! I was so excited to get away for a few days, and now looking back, I wish we had stayed longer! We could not have asked for better weather to welcome Fall - the temperature was between 55-70 each day and the sun was out the whole time! 

The house where we stayed is an old mill house converted to a residence and rental property. It was absolutely amazing, set right next to a river and waterfall. 

On Friday morning, I went with all of the boys on a hike to Glen Falls. Here is the first opening we came to - hello beautiful mountains!

 On the "hike" (these leisure pictures do not depict the 3 mile round trip we did to get to the falls!)

 From the top ...

and then from the bottom! 

On Friday evening, we went to dinner at "On the Veranda." We sat on the porch overlooking a beautiful lake. After dinner, we went to Kilwin's to get ice cream. I love that place. I had dreams of their ice cream from out last trip and I could not wait to get back! (Don't judge, I have a sweet tooth!) 

On Saturday morning, I headed downtown with my Mom and Grandmother to hit the shops! Here are some pictures from Dutchmann's and The Nest - I loved their decorations for Fall, and of course I had to snap some pictures to get ideas for painting furniture!

 Here are some pics of a super cute garden shop called Oakleaf. I love the rustic outdoor look to this shop. We all picked up some bittersweet to decorate our homes for fall!

 On Saturday evening, we went to dinner at Wild Thyme. Its a quaint little restaurant downtown, but they had an amazing selection of wine (see all of the bottles in the background?) The food that night was amazing. Everyone cleaned their plates! 

Even though we were full, we made room for Kilwin's ice cream again. I got Macinac Island Fudge mixed with Fresh Strawberry ... mmm ... heaven in a cup! 

On Sunday morning, we got up early and went for a canoe ride on the lake by our house. 

 I think this picture gives a good explanation of why the lake is called Mirror Lake! I loved seeing some of the leaves already changing colors. 

 A few family pics before we leave! There's Johnathan ...

Oh wait, it's Mom ...

 Oh, and I couldn't forget the local wildlife! All of these little guys were around our house. Good thing I didn't get a picture of the snakes we saw on our hike to the waterfall! 

We had the best trip and I cannot wait to go back next year!