Wedding weekend in St. Louis

Only seven short years ago, I had just started my freshman year at KU. (This makes me feel soo old!) I lived in a four person suite in Ellsworth Hall, with one of my best friends, Kerry, and two other girls. This past weekend, Kerry and I went to St. Louis to watch one of them tie the knot. Mary Grace and Jose have been together for nine years. Nine! (I don't think we are counting month they briefly broke up freshman year...it was dramatic.) We love Mary Grace and have always loved Jose as well. I always knew they would get married. 

I forgot my camera...so pardon my phone photos and instagrams. The filters look so cute on instagram...and so bad everywhere else.

Check out this beautiful church! And that amazing dress.

Kerry and I.

With the newlyweds!

The wedding was beautiful and so much fun. There was even a super sweet flash mob. We practiced in the hotel while we were getting ready. (Waiting for the  YouTube video on that one!)

On the way back to Kansas City, we had to stop at Cracker Barrel. Because that is just down home goodness.

Congratulations Mary Grace and Jose! We are so excited for you guys and know that you will have an amazing life together!

Family vacation in Orlando: Magical

Happy August friends! I feel like its always so crazy how fast the summer goes. And then you see school supplies in Target and it's like BAM over. Except it will still be hot for like three more months. You'll see.

July was ca-razy for us. It went like this.

1. Start orientation for my new JOB.
2. Fourth of July
3. Trip to Orlando with Caleb's fam
4. Trip to Indiana with my mom
5. Buy a house
6. Start my new JOB for reals.
7. Sleep for like two days straight after all that.

So I have a lot to catch up on. Let's start with Orlando. We went on this magical trip with Caleb's family to celebrate his parents' 30th anniversary. Amazing.


Because Disney World really is the happiest place on earth.

We arrived to the Disney resort late on a Wednesday night. And that place is huge. So huge that we had a small tiff about navigating through it. No worries, we got to our hotel with unharmed.

The next day we set out for the Magic Kingdom. As soon as we got inside, I saw Cinderella ride by in the parade. I cried a few tears of joy. Magical.

George, ready to get his Disney on.

Cinderella's castle!!! And a few ominous clouds...

We hit up the teacups and It's A Small World. Junie B and I bonded. As you can see, our excitement was equal.

We rode the Pirates of the Caribbean. Which I'm pretty sure was the last straw for George and June. They bounced. Good thing, because storms broke loose. We hunkered down at the Peter Pan ride. It was indoors, obviously.

The storms passed. We rode Space Mountain. The best ride ever. Then we tried to tour Cinderella's castle on our own. We were denied.

We finished off the night with the electric light parade (amazing!) and the best fireworks I've ever seen. I also may have shed a few tears at this point.

Thanks tall dude, for getting in my pic.

My first trip to Disney World was magical. That's all there is to it.

The next day we headed to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure.

In case you were unaware, this is where Harry Potter World lives. I don't know if its really called that, but we call it that. Actually, its called The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. But I like Harry Potter World.

Audrey and I, getting ready to respect the spell limits.

We rode a lot of rides that day. A lot. By the end of the day, I couldn't ride any more rides. Harry Potter, the Hulk, Spiderman, and more. We rode the main HP ride like 4 times. I lost count. We went to the sweet shop in HP world and ate things like chocolate frogs and fizzing whizbees. Again, magical.

Caleb and Jordan, with Hogwarts in the background.

We finished up the day with dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. Which I love so much I didn't take a picture of. But I do love some Hard Rock.

After a couple theme park-packed days, we took it easy the next day. Got our shop on at the Mall at Millenia. Which is a wonderful, magical place all on its own. I've been there before, for our first anniversary. It makes me feel like a rich person. Just to walk around there. Also, we visited IKEA. Is there a campaign to bring them to KC? Because I will be part of it.

For our final day in Orlando, we hit up the beach. I almost drowned and got super sun burnt. Again, magical. We had a delish dinner at PF Changs.

Hello, sun burnt shoulder. Good thing it matches my neon dress. (R to L: Zach, George, Jordan, Audrey, Jim, Bev, June, Caleb, Audrey, and me!)

Spending time in Orlando with my sweet in laws was just...magical. I know.

The French Market: A Creperie

So over the weekend we took a little tiny trip to Knoxville which is about 2 hours away. Sometimes you just have to not be at home, ya know? My friend Paige and I went down Saturday morning and then our men met us after they got off work. We ate some tasty Mexican food, saw a movie (Underworld=boring and dumb), and stayed overnight. But the best part was this amazing crepe place we ate brunch at on Sunday morning.

Totally adorable with a zillion different crepes and the sweetest people.

We got three crepes. The hub got a crepe with potatoes, bacon, peppers, and onions. I got one with eggs, cheese, tomatoes, and spinach. And then we got a nutella and strawberry crepe to share. Ah-mazing.

Super excited for his crepe. And looking super French right? Ha. I think he called this his rock star outfit. Since he uses the word "outfit" and stuff. Oh wait...

The best crepe ever.

Friends, if you are ever in Knoxville, get yourself to the French Market. Thank me later.

Oh, here is my outfit for Saturday. It was raining and I thought I was being super cute and clever. Then it stopped raining and I looking a little silly. Oh well.

Yay for weekends and crepes and rain boots!

Christmas in Kansas City

I made it through work this week! That means two days off before and after Christmas. Except I get to work Christmas Day. Aren't you jealous? Now I'm just waiting for the sweet hubs to get home and thought I would share some highlights from our Christmas trip to the 913. We celebrated a little early since Kiewit was flying us back to KC for par-tays. I mean...meetings.

I had a really great seat on the first plane and a really crappy seat on the second one.

We did a little Crown Center ice skating and general Christmas merriment with Caleb's family. We also enjoyed some Jack Stack. I love you, bbq. And here's something honest: I love to ice skate. Everyone was ready to go and I was like "but I just warmed up!"

We had "Christmas" with both sides of the family, since we will be hanging out here in Tennessee for the actual holiday. The most fun was watching George. We seriously love that guy. Caleb's dad got some KU tickets and gear for Christmas. We force our love of the Jayhawks on everyone around us! Baby June, guess where you are going to college?

My dad got a grill for Christmas. He was super pumped. I also made him grill our Christmas dinner but he didn't seem to mind!

I love my parent's Christmas tree, it always looks exactly the same as I remember it from when I was a kid.

We also babysat for George and June one night. Caleb was a jungle gym and his keys were the best toy ever.

June cried most of the time. So we just snuggled her and kept her out of bed. Oops. Sorry to mess up the sleep training...

We had SUCH a good time with our families! It's always hard to leave. Hopefully someday soon we'll be back for good!

Last sip of Boulevard Wheat in the airport before catching our flight back...

I got an early Christmas present from the hubs...a macro lens. So expect so close up pics soon...

There's no place like home. And no shoes like ruby slippers.

We went home last weekend for a few days, short and sweet. We wanted to meet the new June bug. And she is so sweet! All these pics are from my iphone. Since I'm slightly obsessed with it and its picture taking capabilities.

And we are kind of obsessed with her big brother, who is growing like a weed! Seriously, this kid is adorable and hilarious. He changes so much every time we see him!

 We got lots of family time and included a trip to the Bass Pro Shop. My mom and bro just love the fish.

I also visited my Grandma Voth, who is 90. Wow.

 I had an afternoon with the besties and we hit up Pryde's in Westport. Ok, I did not even know this existed and I lived like a mile away from there for two years! Amazing kitchen store. Check out this chandelier made out of whisks. Love it.

 There is a pie shop inside the store so the whole place smells amazing.

 Cara modeling a sexy gardening hat.

Does anyone else love the owl trend that is happening right now?

Also, I'm in love with the instagram app on the iphone. I can't help it. All those wonderful filters...

 Love.

Caleb and I went to the Kansas sampler store to stock up on Kansas gear. I found this super sexy Dorothy wig to complete my Halloween costume. They said no one had ever bought one before. Ha.

Back to work on Halloween. I channeled my Kansas girl spirit. Red shoes: check. Mini Toto dog: check. Awesome Dorothy wig: triple check.

Are those red shoes dress code appropriate? I think not!

And there is our quick trip in a nutshell! I'm spending today cleaning, doing laundry, and doing errands. And going to the gym to get my butt kicked again. I could barely walk this weekend!

Last chance for the giveaway! I'll announce the winner later this week. You know you want some free Mary Kay! I also have been cooking up a storm, so I'll post some recipes as well.

Happy Monday!

Celebrating Two Years in Charleston, SC (Part 2)

Back to our Charleston trip...which I had to split up into 2 parts since I'm kind of excessive like that...

On Monday (the last day of our little trip), we took a tour of Fort Sumter, which is where the Civil War started. I think this one is the best pic of us on the trip, which is funny since I always want nice pics of us dressed up and it never really works out.

The fort is an island so we took a lovely little ferry ride out. There was a museum and just tons of cool history to be soaked up. Nerdy, I know.

We also toured the Military Museum back in Charleston.

We spent our last evening at High Cotton, which was our favorite restaurant. The food was amazing, the atmosphere was great (live band and gorgeous dining room), and our waiter was hilarious.

Caleb had steak with bourbon bacon sauce and I had the most delicious shrimp and grits. Ever.

Seriously, go to Charleston just for the food. It is insanely good.

Pics of our adorable room at Wild Dunes in Isle of Palms. Very comfy and cute, it had a patio, kitchenette, large bathroom, and washer and dryer!

We got up bright and early to watch the sun rise over the ocean and were not disappointed. Beautiful.

Obviously, I have to share a pic of my sweet husband cooking me breakfast. Future self: remember, he does know how to cook eggs and bacon!

We stopped at a scenic overlook on the way back. Who doesn't love some good scenery? This reminds me how insanely beautiful it is to live in Tennessee. Also, I left my iphone here and a man that was blowing leaves picked it up and ran it over to the car before we drove off. I'm not sure how long this iphone will last...

Caleb has a mustache from my hair blowing in the wind. I think it suits him.

I love that we saw the ocean and the mountains in the same day. We are so blessed! This trip was a blast, go to Charleston for
1. the food
2. the good hair days
3. the shopping
4. the history
5. the ocean
6. the good times with your lover




PS. Don't forget to enter my giveaway! The odds are pretty sa-weet for you right now! Check it out:
Giveaway

Celebrating Two Years in Charleston, SC (Part 1)

*Warning: serious picture overload! I can't help it...*

This morning I woke up, turned on the Today Show, made a pot of coffee, threw a load of laundry in the wash, and then sat down to put music on my iPhone and make a blog post. My house looks like a tornado went through it. But obviously blogging is more important.

We spent a fabulous four nights in Charleston, SC for our anniversary. Then we got back and I spent two days to renew my certification for ACLS (Advance Cardiac Life Support-I can save your life!) and then working for three days. But back to Charleston...

Can I just say that I loved Charleston? First of all, the weather was perfect. In the 80's, sunny, no humidity. I had amazing hair days every single day. We woke up on Saturday morning at like 6am, because we are old now and that is when we naturally wake up because that is actually sleeping in for us. We drank some coffee and got ready and drove into Charleston. (We stayed in Isle of Palms, which is about 20 minutes outside Charleston.) We were obviously the first people up because nothing was open yet. Around 9am, all the runners finally came out. And Charleston has many, many runners. Way more than Kingsport, ha.

Good morning, Charleston Harbor! I pose like this every morning when greeting the day. Oh wait....I don't.

We hit up the market, which is this amazing open air market in the middle of Charleston. Its four blocks long and has tons of handmade items and cool unique stuff. The coolest thing was these handmade sweet grass baskets. They were everywhere. And cost a lot of $$$. I didn't buy one because I was like "$50 for a tiny basket? $150 for a normal basket? No way!" But now I kinda wish I had...

Good looking backsides, ladies. Must be all that running...

We got some breakfast at the Sweetwater Cafe...the low country omelet was yummy...

I wasn't running anywhere after this breakfast.

For some reason, we had decided that we both needed new pairs of sunglasses very badly. So we found a Sunglasses Hut, stat, on King Street. King Street is like the mecca of good shopping. It was a beautiful, magical place. So we got some sunglasses. I almost got pink ones. Almost.

We also enjoyed some delicious moon pies from the Moon Pie General Store. 

We took a carriage ride of the city and learned all about the history as a a horse pulled us around. I was super impressed with the cleanliness of the city since there are horses everywhere. They actually put little bags on the horses to catch their poo. And whenever the horse urinates (sorry, just being blunt) they pull over and call someone to come clean it up.

For dinner Saturday night, we ate at Poogan's Porch, which was an old house made into a gorgeous restaurant. Caleb had pan seared jumbo scallops with applewood smoked bacon grits, wilted spinach and crawfish beurre blanc. I had pan seared snapper with sauteed arugula , and  summer tomato and bacon risotto with a lemon avocado compound butter. (And yes, maybe I did just go to the website to get the exact description of what we ate.) We had some pimento cheese fritters for an app and pecan pie for dessert.

I know the pics are yellowy but we are inside at night, helllo.

I was kind of obsessed with these boots for the whole trip.

Also on Saturday we got some iPhones. It was our anniversary gift to each other. I don't have any pics of them, but they are magical.

On Sunday (anniversary day!) we were tired from spending the whole day Saturday walking around, so we laid on the beach and read and drank mimosas. It was lovely. I am in love with beaches. I feel like I appreciate them more being from Kansas, where there are no beaches.

We went into Charleston for dinner and ate at A.W. Shucks, where the seafood is ah-mazing. Blue crab dip, oysters, seafood casserole, crab cakes, and stuffed jumbo shrimp wrapped in bacon. We had a delicious peach bourbon bread pudding for dessert but we could barely eat any of it after the massive meal we just had.

Two years, baby!

Charleston, I love you. The second part will be coming later because I need to go get ready for the day. Can I end by mentioning that I hope my personal trainer doesn't see this blog? Because I'm pretty sure he would be making me do walking lunges for the rest of my life as a punishment.