One Year Anniversary Trip

Hey y'all! This may be one of my most favorite posts yet: celebrating our one year anniversary. Our actual one year anniversary was on June 27, 2016, but with both of us taking boards this summer, we had to compromise on when we took our weekend getaway. We knew we didn't have time to take a long trip, so while I was still studying and before Tyler started studying, we took a quick weekend trip to Savannah, GA. If you know me, you probably know about my love affair with Charleston, SC. I have never been to Savannah, but I knew it was another famous southern city that I MUST visit. I wanted to love Savannah, but I was afraid it just wouldn't compare to Charleston. I was excited to finally get to explore this gem of the south even if it was only for a couple of days. 

The view from our room.

Of course, Tyler planned a wonderful evening to celebrate our first year of marriage. He made reservations for the night we arrived at The Old Pink House. Y'all, I have NEVER in my life had fried chicken as good as the fried chicken there. They said their secret is putting a little bit of tabasco sauce on the chicken before they coat it in the breading and spices. It isn't hot, but there is just a bit of heat to give it so much flavor. We had chicken, collards, mac and cheese, sweet potatoes.. you name it, we ate it LOL That was seriously one of the most delicious meals I've ever had! Plus, they had a specialty drink of raspberry pink lemonade called The Pink Lady. I just had to try one! It was delicious!! The restaurant is exactly how it sounds: an old pink house. The rooms are cramped and not big open spaces like normal restaurants. They utilized the layout of the house as best as they could, and although it wasn't as functional as some of the more modern buildings, the close corridors gave it so much charm. Not to mention they had the ceilings painted haint blue. I could've died when I saw that. I WILL paint a ceiling in my house (someday) haint blue.  

That blue ceiling makes my heart skip a beat!

After dinner, we ventured down to River Street to see the views and other shops/restaurants. We caught a bike taxi back to our hotel because my poor feet couldn't walk on the cobblestone in my Jack Rogers wedges any longer LOL 

The next day we wanted to explore all that Savannah has to offer. We found a list on Pinterest of must see sights in the city, and by the end of the day, we had walked the entire historic district. We had a blast seeing all of the historic buildings, parks, and the large oaks dripping in Spanish moss. We also drove about 40 minutes and visited Tybee Island. It was spectacular. It sort of reminded me of Garden City Beach at Myrtle Beach. It was very low key and not crowded at all. There were no big hotels or high rises, so you could truly appreciate the natural beauty of the beach itself. On the inlet side, we had lunch with a view at a local restaurant. Tyler tried their gumbo, and I had loaded nachos. YUM! 

Heading to Tybee Island.

Back to Savannah for the evening...

Forsyth Park

We had dinner at Paula Deen's restaurant Lady and Sons. It was pretty good, but it seemed subpar after eating at The Old Pink House the night before. However, I did have her banana pudding for dessert, and Lord have mercy, it was phenomenal! 

Clearly, Ty liked his meal LOL

Back down to River Street for the evening.

Several years ago, my mom started a tradition with Kelly and me. Wherever we travel, we buy a Christmas ornament. It is a way to buy a keepsake to remember all of our trips that we can put out each year at Christmas. We put the ornaments from all of our travels on a "travel tree," and it is so fun looking at each ornament and remembering our experiences in that city. Tyler and I have collected several ornaments since we were first married. He thought to get this ornament at a Christmas store on River Street. How sweet! 

I can't lie to y'all. When I first arrived in Savannah I was let down a little. Charleston, in my mind, is the epitome of a southern city. Savannah is much smaller in size with less hustle and bustle; however, the longer I was there, the more I fell in love. It is so much more relaxed and low key. There is nowhere near as much traffic or tourists. I felt as if we were actually able to enjoy the quintessential  southern slow paced lifestyle while in Savannah. I was able to truly appreciate all that Savannah has to offer after I stopped comparing it to Charleston because they are not the same. You have to appreciate each for what it is. Savannah is definitely added to my list of favorite places now! 

On our way back home, we drove up to Charleston. I couldn't bear the thought of being that close to my favorite place in the world and not visiting it. We also drove to some places we hadn't visited before like Hilton Head, Daniel Island, and Palmetto Bluff. Those towns are breathtaking. Everything is clean and neat looking. All of the establishments are in very nice buildings, and they still incorporate old southern charm staples like the oil burning lamps and the mossy oak trees. I was loving life visiting these places! 

Quick stop at Hilton Head for lunch. I needed my cherry coke fix!

We made one final pit stop on our way home: The Lilly Signature Store on King Street. I couldn't resist LOL I got three of the cutest dresses (on the sale rack), and I have been wearing them almost every week. One of them is the new Sophie dress that has the built in SPF. It is my new favorite! 

It has been over a month since our actual anniversary, and as I type this post I can't help but think back to what all we've been through in a year. We have been together through births, deaths, marriages, a move, and job transitions just to name a few. I couldn't imagine going through this life with anyone but Tyler by my side. He is what I prayed for when I asked God to help me find my soulmate. I never dreamed I would end up with someone as caring, loving, and hard working as my Tyler. I don't know how I made it this far in life without him, but I'm sure glad I don't have to go another day without him by my side. It was so fun celebrating a milestone in our lives in such a beautiful place even if it was only for a couple of days. It is a trip I will never forget and will always cherish! Until next time.. Take care y'all!  

This and That

Since the wedding and honeymoon, I have been enjoying married life. I am currently doing my rotations for my fourth and final year of pharmacy school. I am loving it so far! I have met so many wonderful people at my rotation sites, and I am learning a lot. Since I didn't blog for awhile because I wanted to wait on my wedding pictures to come in, I figured my next post should be a short round up of a few exciting things that have happened since the wedding. I am finally getting my life back to normal - well, my new normal. 

1. I cooked. Now that I am married, I have a newfound interest in being a homemaker. I have been cooking ever since I started living on my own a few years ago, but now that I'm married, I actually enjoy it! I love trying to make new things. Sometimes the stuff I make turns out great, and sometimes it doesn't. Hey, it's a work in progress! 

This dinner was delicious! I made pork chops, baked beans, glazed carrots, cornbread, and brown sugar and cinnamon baked peaches with vanilla ice cream for dessert. So good! The recipe for the pork chops can be found on my pinterest "Recipes" board. 

I love flavored teas. As long as it is sweet, I will drink it. I found a recipe for peach flavored tea, so I decided to try it. Y'all.. YUM! It was phenomenal. Tyler isn't a huge fan of peaches, so he didn't care too much for it. More for me! Isn't this pitcher the cutest? My sweet aunt Michelle bought this for me. I love it, and it matches my dishes perfectly! 

I let these peaches simmer in sugar water for about 30 minutes, filtered out the peaches, and poured the mixture into the tea pitcher. Refrigerate and enjoy! 

I made this meal one evening when I was homesick. It is one of my family's favorite meals to enjoy together. My Nanny cans hot kraut, and it is phenomenal. It is maybe my favorite food ever. I didn't have any of her kraut, so I improvised and made my own. She puts banana peppers in hers to give it a kick. Nobody will ever can kraut as good as Nanny, but my makeshift kraut was pretty good in a pinch! We also had pinto beans, mustard greens, and fried potatoes. It was a good southern home cooked meal!  

This dish was SO easy to make. I found the recipe on pinterest which also can be found on my "Recipes" board. I used Prego Alfredo sauce for this one. Usually I make my own Alfredo sauce homemade, but I was exhausted after work and wanted something quick. I thawed out frozen spinach and mixed that with artichokes. I sprinkled that with some garlic and mixed in the sauce and noodles. Then, I added some Italian blend cheese on the top and baked it for about 20 minutes until the cheese was melted and gooey. It was so good! 

2. I spent time with friends at my sorority sister's wedding. Bree had a destination wedding, but she had a reception in the Huntington area for friends and family. It was like a mini sorority reunion. I loved getting to catch up with the girls, and Bree looked so beautiful! I wish I would have taken pictures of this event. The only picture I have is one that Ashton took on her phone and sent to me. That just means I was having too much fun to be taking pictures!!

3. I attended an Eagles concert with my mom. Guys, she was so excited for this. We had to listen to Eagles songs, watch documentaries, and hear stories about them for a solid two weeks leading up to the concert. It was all she could talk about. I recall one time she was singing an Eagles song to us, and she grabbed her arm and exclaimed, "I just gave my own self chills!" LOL She was loving life seeing them live! Unfortunately, they requested no photos or videos during the concert, so I have two pictures that we quickly took right before the show began. I loved getting to do something with my mom that meant so much to her!

I also talked her into staying Sunday for church. We had lunch at a local Italian restaurant before she headed home. I loved having her in Lex with me!

4. I got a new car! If you read my last blog post, you know I started having car trouble on the way home from the wedding. We just knew it was going to be expensive to fix because the engine light was on, and it was saying something about traction control. Surprisingly, when I took it to the Cadillac dealership, they were able to fix it for a very reasonable price. Just when we thought our problem was solved, the air conditioning started going out. We decided my car was on its last leg. We were worried we would start pouring money into repairs and end up putting more in than it was worth. I had put over 150,000 miles on that thing. It was a beautiful car, and I was sad to see it go. However, crawling into this new beautiful car helped ease the pain of parting with my old car. I told Ty that if I was a car, I would be this one! Tyler facilitated this entire thing. He went to the dealership several times to make sure I got exactly what I wanted. He takes good care of me!

5. I celebrated my birthday. I recently turned 26, and my family and I celebrated in Northern Kentucky together. My dad and Tyler played in a golf tournament up there, so my mom and I tagged along so we could all be together on my birthday weekend. My poor sister was sick with strep throat, so she didn't come. Mom and I had a blast shopping while the guys played golf. My dad and his partner, Chippy, ended up in the play off. Mom, Ty, and I followed him on the golf course and cheered him on. They ended up coming in second. In my opinion, they deserved first! LOL On one hole, Dad made a really good shot, and before I realized what I was doing or where I was, I let out a big cheer. My mom and I started cracking up! I forgot you have to be quiet on a golf course.. oops! Looks like I may need to tone down my inner cheerleader and practice my golf clap!

I love him! Look how cute!

I put my birthday money to good use! My JuJu called me while I was in the Lilly store shopping. She asked what I was doing, and when I told her where I was, she said, "Courtney, you are addicted to that stuff."  LOL Guilty as charged! My friend Tamus said it best when she said being a Lilly lover is a lifestyle. It is more than clothes y'all!! 

I had to work Friday, so I met my parents and Ty in NKY Friday evening. Ty sent me these beautiful flowers to work as a surprise! Everyone loved them!

6. I ate smores in the city. Ty and I love smores, and we found a restaurant in Lex that had smores on their dessert menu. You can imagine our surprise when they brought this out to our table. We got to roast our own marshmallows and everything! It tasted (almost) as good as a real back-yard campfire smore! This is the city version of making smores y'all! 

7. I met friends for dinner. I know no one in Lexington. Okay, okay.. I know Tyler and a couple of people that I have met recently through Tyler, SO you can imagine how excited I was to meet up with some girls in my pharmacy school class one evening for dinner. We talked, laughed, and shared so many good stories. We talked about everything from fall decorations and hair cuts to pharmacy rotations and the latest nail colors. I forgot how much I missed "girl talk." So glad we got the chance to hang out!

8. My sister cut her hair. Okay, I know this isn't something that I did, but I couldn't make this list and leave this out. How cute is she?! Kelly has always had long hair, and she had BEAUTIFUL long hair. The longer my hair gets, the thinner it gets (thank you Jesus for hair extensions). Kelly's hair was always so thick and shiny. When she mentioned cutting it, we were all hesitant, our dad especially. He dared her to cut it. In true Kelly fashion, she did it anyway, and it looks awesome. She went all out on the first attempt and cut her hair from midway down her back to above her shoulders. I think it makes her look so mature and classy. I also think it makes her look like our mother! I found two pictures of Kel in the same dress - one with long hair and one with short. She is beautiful in both, but she is rockin' the short hair y'all! 

9. My best friend got married. Again, another thing I didn't do, but there is no way I could do this post without including Lauren's big day. Everything was perfect from start to finish and was completely "Lauren." The color scheme was ivory and gold, and it was stunning. She treated the bridal party like queens all day! She had us matching shirts made to get ready in and cute totes with our names embroidered on it. She had Panera catered for breakfast and Subway catered for lunch. Two girls came to do everyone's make up too which was a special treat. We took bridal party pictures at my house, so that was fun having all the girls running around taking pictures while the boys hung out in our basement. The decorations at the church and reception took my breath away. The cake table was the most fabulous thing I've ever seen, and the dinner that was served was phenomenal. She really thought of everything. I can't say enough good things about her big day. I know how much time and effort goes into celebrating a new marriage, so I can appreciate everything she did to pull this off.  Lauren had an awesome celebration and treated all of her guests like royalty! Everyone had a great time, but the entire day remained about Lauren and Josh, which I loved! You could see nothing but happiness when you looked at them! I am so thankful my friend found someone that I know will treat her right and love her unconditionally! That makes ME happy!

Here is a picture of some of us at the rehearsal dinner!

Right before this picture, I had just ran from the church to Lauren's house to get the rings, marriage license, and her garter. I made a quick pit stop to zip Terri's dress up before I ran back to the church! Talk about finishing up last minute to-dos before the big event! 

She looks stunning. I remember one year in high school Lauren wore a beautiful white dress to prom. I don't think I ever told her this, but I always thought she looked so gorgeous in that dress. It made me think how beautiful she would be one day in a wedding gown. When she did her reveal to the bridesmaids and I saw her for the first time fully ready, she surpassed any expectations I had. I couldn't believe my eyes. She was literally glowing. She looked perfect. 

These little turkeys kept us entertained the whole day. My mom has an especially funny video of them arguing over who got to keep Lauren's bridal bouquet. There was almost an incident with the cake table, but luckily Nancy and Tamus saved the day. They are too cute for their own good!

10. I spent time with friends and family in WV. If you know me, you know there are few things I enjoy more than spending time with the people I love. Since I moved away, any time I get to spend back home is something I treasure. On Labor Day weekend, my mom hosted a cookout at our house, and it was a blast. So many of our friends and family came to visit, and they all got to officially meet Tyler if they hadn't already. I loved getting to spend time with everyone just laughing and talking (and enjoying some good southern BBQ thanks to my uncle!) 

That same weekend I also attended the Marshall season opener. We went to my friend Lauren's family's tailgate, and it was a blast! It was so good to take Tyler to my old stompin' grounds. It was an extremely hot and long day, but The Herd pulled off a win! 

The following weekend I traveled back to WV for yet another visit (hey, you don't have to twist my arm to go home! LOL) I had a quick lunch date with my sweet momma, and we almost cried when we said goodbye (I may or may not have shed a tear on my way back to Lex that evening). Then I headed to my friend Jill's mom's house to celebrate baby Chase's first birthday! He is such a beautiful baby! I remember going to the hospital the day after he was born to see him, and here we are a year later now. Time flies! 

Jill informed everyone it was time to watch Chase eat his cake, but y'all I was not expecting that sweet thing to walk into the room wearing this! It was a huge hit! Everyone loved it! His party was Mickey themed, and Jill found this little pants and tie set for him to wear during the cake smash. I have never seen anything cuter in all my life! 

This post was a little random, but I just wanted to share what I have been up to lately since I haven't blogged in awhile. I have been busy with rotations and just life in general. I am loving married life. It is fun to spend every day with your best friend! I do miss my friends and family back home, but as you can see, I am still able to see them often. Before, I took my visits with them for granted, but now that I am four hours away, I cherish any time at all that I get to spend with them. I am lucky to live in a beautiful city like Lexington, but there is no place like home! I hope y'all enjoyed this post. I will try to be a more faithful blogger and start doing weekly posts again!