Beach Romance

Last weekend, one of my dear friends got married in a gorgeous sunset ceremony. The evening actually got off to a crazy start. My car wouldn't start when we went to leave, and we were running a little behind schedule when we finally made it to the town were the wedding was being held. As we were crossing a bridge over to the beach, traffic came to an abrupt stop. Everyone started getting out of their cars, acting like nothing was wrong. One of the locals informed us that the bridge was closed because some movie was being filmed. We sat there waiting and waiting and waiting. My friend Kristen and I were devastated because we had been sitting on the bridge for 45 minutes and the ceremony had already started. Then we got a text from one of our friends who was already at the wedding site, informing us that our friend, the bride, was stuck on the bridge as well! So we all made it to the ceremony, which was gorgeous. The bride was absolutely stunning, the food was exquisite, and the band was fabulous. So even though the night started off rocky, everything worked out in the end.

{The bride and groom taking pictures on the beach}

{Salad of Florida tomatoes, mozzarella, and arugula}

{After sitting on the bridge in the sweltering sun, Kristen was excited to find this spray at the beach club}

{Doctor school besties}

{The gorgeous bride and I}

{Candy bar}

{Sunset}

Women of Faith

I have always loved a good girls' weekend. I'm definitely what you would call a "girl's girl", and my relationships with other women have become even more important to me as I grow older. Well, this weekend, I got to experience the ultimate girls' weekend: Women of Faith. Two full days of worship, fellowship, and inspiration with thousands of women. We got to hear phenomenal speakers, including Patsy Clairmont, Lisa Whelchel, Andy Andrews, Mary Beth Chapman, and Marilyn Meberg. We laughed until we cried with Anita Renfroe. And we sang our hearts out with Sandi Patty, Mandisa, and Steven Curtis Chapman. AND I got to spend some much needed quality time with my dear friend Karla. She and I went to Guatemala together and became life long friends on that mission trip. The conference left me feeling inspired and restored. If you ever get a chance to attend Women of Faith, GO!

{once upon a time}

"Once upon a time, there lived a girl in Louisiana who studied very hard but loved to play hard as well. She loved music, going out dancing with her friends, and dreamed of meeting her Mr. Right. One day, a very famous musician happened to catch a glimpse of the girl and thought she was very beautiful. They shared mutual friends, so he decided to send her a message, which quickly turned into many long chats on the phone. The boy and girl lived very far apart, and the boy was often flying all over the world to play. However, they both knew right away that they had found "The One", and were determined to make their fairy tale come true. The girl occasionally toured with the boy but the distance between them was hard, and they missed each other very much. But the school year finally ended, the boy proposed, and the girl started doctor school with the boy at her side. On a warm October evening, with the sun setting on the beach, the boy and girl said "I do" and have been living their happily ever after ever since."

Crazy that tomorrow will mark our 3 year anniversary!! I was looking back on old pictures and reminiscing, so I thought I'd share some with you.

{Our relationship was still in the baby stages here but we already knew we were going to get married! We were in Mississippi for one of his shows}

{He flew me to New York for his show on New Year's Eve...it was the first year we rang in together and my first (and only) snow}

{My first visit to see him in Florida}

{At Ampersand in New Orleans for one of his shows}

{I think this may have been the last show I attended before he popped the question and I moved to Florida}

{Traveling was fun, but I much prefer our lifestyle now!}

Hope you enjoyed this little peek into how hubby and I became Mr. & Mrs. We've had an amazing time together, and I'm looking forward to many, many more years of fun to come!

A Recessionista's Guide to Date Night: Vol 2

As many of you know, football season in the South is epic. Growing up in Louisiana, everything revolved around Friday night high school football and Saturday college game day. And it's a well-known fact that you do NOT schedule your wedding during game time. Hubby and I have been seriously missing our teams, which are a thousand or more miles away. Since flying to Louisiana to support our home teams isn't really an option right now, we decided to "adopt" a local high school team and check out one of their games. Cheap tickets and concession stand goodies made for a really fun night that didn't break the bank. And there is just something about the atmosphere at a high school football game that brought back so many wonderful memories. Hubby played high school and college football, so this gave him a great opportunity to do some coaching from the stands (ever notice that all guys seem to love doing this?). And being that I danced, twirled flags, played in the band, and was drum major in high school (and marched in the largest band in the South during college), I ate up the half-time shows and longed to be out on the field strutting my stuff.

{Awful attempt at a self-portrait during the game}

{Gaither High School band...loved their Amelia Earhart themed show}

{Plant High School band}

We ended our fun little date with a late-night supper of burgers and chili cheese fries at Steak 'n Shake with all of the other football fans. The night definitely made me homesick, but also blissfully happy. Gotta love those Friday night lights.

Bachelorettes and Wedding Bells

For me, October is the start to the best three months of the whole year. Not only has fall always been my favorite season, but these months hold my favorite holidays, my birthday, and my wedding anniversary. Alas, living in a state that only has one season (i.e. summer) causes me to get a bit depressed this time of year when I begin longing for chilly days, turning leaves, and the smell of chimney smoke in the air. But knowing that this is the last "fall" that I will have to endure in smoldering weather considerably brightens my mood.

October also tends to be the start of wedding season in the Deep South...hurricane season is almost over, you can finally sit outside without being drenched in sweat, and the humidity graciously drops below 80%. My fabulous friend Carolyn will be getting married in a couple of weeks, so we celebrated her final days as a bachelorette with a fancy night out.

{Dinner with the girls at Bern's Steakhouse, a Tampa landmark}

{Me and Jennifer waiting on our desserts of strawberry shortcake and bread pudding...she is a fellow Louisiana girl and we share in our homesickness together!}

My own anniversary is in a couple of weeks as well, so this time of year always brings back memories of my own bachelorette party and wedding. I will share some of those with you as the date gets closer =)