Day 5 on the train & 6 in London

Yesterday was pretty uneventful. We decided to take a break and sleep in a bit as we are pretty exhausted. We ate a late breakfast at our Edinburgh B&B, packed up, said goodbye to Shaun (our host), and then took a bus to the train station. We were ready to go with plenty of time to make it to our train but then the credit card machine wasn't working properly which took some time to figure out which caused us to barely miss our bus so had to wait for a later one (which was also running late), then traffic was horrible, and we had to practically run off our bus into the station. We then went to a ticket kiosk to collect our pre-paid tickets but the card reader wasn't reading our card correctly EITHER...so we ran around trying to get our tickets. We finally got our tickets and made it to the train with about 5 minutes to spare. What we thought was going to be a relaxing morning turned out to be a bit stressful.

The train ride was about 4.5 hours so we watched "The Help" on the iPad...great movie!...and tried to snooze a little before arriving in London. We arrived around 6, ate at a nearby pizza place, and then took the tube to our bed and breakfast. Our hosts here seem very nice! The house is a bit older and we are sleeping in twin beds but can't complain!

This morning, we ate a full English breakfast which was different from the Scottish breakfast. For those of you who know Matt, you'll smile at the thought of him having to eat a stewed tomato as part of his meal. Ha...I enjoyed watching that. Along with the tomato, it consists of eggs, bacon, sausage, and apples.

After breakfast, we rode the tube into town, walked around trying to orient ourselves, and ended up finding Westminster Abbey first! We jumped in line to tour the Abbey right away. I told Matt this was like my Disneyland...seriously, I think I have a small obsession with royalty. I know that my Grandma White will smile while reading this because she understands my thoughts exactly! So Granny, I of course walked everywhere that Kate walked at her wedding and thought of you :) I could only take photos of the outside of the Abbey but being inside where so many kings and queens have been sworn in, had their funerals, and had been married was surreal. It's hard to grasp that you are standing amongst that much history. We then walked past Big Ben & the Parliament buildings, and the London eye. After lunch, we walked to Buckingham Palace which was also surreal. Again, Granny, I thought of you and how I was wishing you were here with me. I know you'd appreciate it as much as I did! I stalked Prince Harry at Clarence House and then we toured the Queen's Gallery in Buckingham Palace. The exhibit is an extraordinary display of two men's expeditions to the South Pole back in the early 1900's. The photos were presented to King Henry (I think) so they are part of the Royal Collection now. I was a little bummed that the Royal Mews (all of the Royal carriages and cars) is closed until the end of January as well as the State Rooms in the Palace...but oh well!

We ended the evening reading in Starbucks and warming ourselves up for about 2 hours and just got done eating some phad thai at a Thai restaurant near our home. That's about it for the past few days! Happy almost New Year's!

Day 3 in Edinburgh & Day 4 in St. Andrews

Here MOM...I only skipped blogging for one day and she gets so demanding...

Well here we are on our last night in Edinburgh. We have fallen in love with this place! Yesterday, we woke up, had our usual Scottish breakfast courtesy of our host Shaun, which includes eggs, bacon, baked beans, toast, porridge, tea, orange juice, and sausage. And yes, I do eat it all. Don't judge. After breakfast, we hiked up to the Edinburgh Castle and spent the morning touring it. It was BEAUTIFUL! Seriously, such an amazing experience. After the castle, we ate at a little restaurant called Amber where we just had soup and sandwiches. Then we trotted down to Arthur's Seat and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The Palace is Queen Elizabeth's official residence whenever she visits Scotland. She usually comes in July for a month and this is where she stays. Other members of the Royal family also use it frequently. Just outside the palace is Arthur's Seat which is an extinct volcano that you can hike up. Matt hiked to the top of Arthur's Seat while I sat in the palace's cafe, drank hot chocolate, and read. He snapped some incredible shots from the top!

After the hike, we walked to Cadenhead's Whiskey Shop, a recommendation of Rick Steves (don't even get me started on how much I love Rick Steves...I walk around with his book in my hands reading all the time...don't travel without his books, seriously!) This was the coolest little hole in the wall place. There are many gimmicky, touristy whiskey (scotch) stores around Edinburgh but this one was just the opposite. Matt bought some single malt scotch straight from the barrel. He is enjoying a glass as we speak. After scotch buying, we trotted down to Princes Street and ate dinner at 1780...a Scottish Pub. We enjoyed a DELICIOUS meat and ale pie with some toffee pudding...as well as a few brewskis. End of day 3.

Today, we woke up early and took the bus to St. Andrews. It is the coldest and windiest...most windy?...day yet. We bundled up and braved it to walk the Old Course although. This was an amazing experience. It was so green and beautiful with the waters of the North Sea just to our east. We toured the museum of the British Open beforehand and then enjoyed a rainbow over the course as we walked the 18th hole. Matt enjoyed pretending he was a famous golfer... we kept thinking about both of our dads wishing they were there to enjoy it with us.

For lunch, we ended up in some hotel restaurant that was owned by a Scottish woman and her Texan husband. They had photos all over the walls of their famous and not-so-famous guests that have visited their eatery over the years. It was fun to spend some time in there imagining the golfers coming in for a cold beer after a long day on the Links.

And now for my favorite part of this entire vacation...stalking Wills' and Kate's old stomping grounds at the University of St. Andrews. Yes, I'm that person...went to see their dorm rooms, etc. Quite enjoyable for me, not sure what Matt's thoughts were but I had no shame in doing this!

On the way home, the wind was so horrible that the bridge to get back into Edinburgh was closed to the buses so we got dropped at a random bus station and had to wait there for the next bus that was willing to brave the wind. We ended up getting home only about 1.5 hours later than expected so it wasn't too bad other than the fact that I thought we were going to tip over a few times.

We decided to spend the night in Edinburgh again instead of taking the overnight train to London. So, we are just about to hit the hay and we will travel south to London tomorrow! Exciting but slightly bittersweet to leave this new little place we have grown to love in just 4 days...goodnight!

Day 1 & 2 in Edinburgh

It's now Tuesday evening and we've spent two whole days in Edinburgh. We love this place! The history, the architecture, the people, and the cleanliness of the city are all reasons to fall in love. Yesterday morning after our nap, we forced ourselves to get out of bed despite the lack of sleep to try to get on a normal sleep schedule. Our B&B is a quick 20 minute stroll away from the center of the city so we bundled up and walked in. The temperature is fairly moderate...somewhere around 40-45 degrees but the wind is horrendous! It is nice to feel the cool weather although, leaving Charleston when it's 75 degrees definitely makes it feel like any time of the year except Christmas. Beings it was Christmas day, everything in the town was shut down and most people were at home with their families. This made it very quiet but we kind of liked it. As a promise to Miss Julie Waller, we found a Scottish pub, Deacon Brodie's Tavern,  to enjoy fish and chips and a cold beer as our Christmas dinner. She said that is what SHE wanted for Christmas but didn't exactly have to twist our arm. It was delicious Jules...thanks for dinner!

After we ate, we walked up and down the "Royal Mile" and came home...The Royal Mile actually consists of 4 different streets which once divided two settlements, Edinburgh & Canongate. At the beginning of the mile is the Edinburgh Castle (which we are touring tomorrow) that dates back to the 11th century. Hard to believe. We basically came back home after our self-guided walking tour but not before Matt stopped to grab a few brews from a local convenience store. He thought he was buying really manly, stout Scottish beer, but in fact it was hard apple cider. Fail. He drank about half of one.

We came back home around 6:00 as everything was shut down in the city, and by 7, we were both ready for bed. We went to sleep and woke up about 3 hours later wide awake, watched a movie on the iPad, and then attempted to go back to sleep for a few hours. Let's just say this morning was a little rough! Our host, Shaun, made us the most delicious, full Scottish breakfast complete with poached eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, toast, and unlimited OJ. We started the day off right.

We then headed into town for the day...touring the National Museum of Scotland, the Scotch Whiskey Experience (a.k.a. "Malt Disney"), tried for the 2nd time to attend mass at St. Giles Cathedral (closed...but open tomorrow), and went to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Today is "Boxing Day" in Scotland, a holiday that follows Christmas Day where people go out and SHOP! So...I ended my day at Zara (I thought of you Alicia...and Kari, I finally bought my blazer!) Everything was on sale...good thing we only have carry-ons! Tonight, we ate dinner at Zizzi which was an amazing pasta and pizza joint. Now, we are home and we actually made it to 9:00 so far so we are doing better than last night.

That's about all for today...hope you had a lovely day after Christmas:) 

Merry Christmas from Edinburgh!

Merry Christmas from Scotland! Matt and I have finally arrived and are ready to celebrate our Christmas day in Scottish fashion. We are thinking of our families and missing them dearly but are treasuring our time together, just the two of us. Next Christmas may look very different :)

We left Charleston at about noon yesterday with a quick flight to Newark, NJ. It was slightly eerie to get on this flight as it was mostly empty with only 10 passengers. Strange beings it was Christmas Eve. After a quick 1.5 hours, we touched down at Newark and I was fascinated by the view of lower Manhatten just out the window. I have never been to NYC but hope to cross that off our bucket list while we're over here on the east coast. For now although, my view from the airport will suffice. We spent the next 5 hours hanging out in the airport, trying to stay awake so that we could sleep on the plane. We were both really tired and wanted to take a nap but we read, watched football, and ate dinner in an Irish Pub instead.

At 7:00pm, we boarded our flight. We ended up sitting on the runway until about 8:30 as they fixed something but with the endless choice of movies and TV shows, we were easily entertained. As soon as the flight took off, they fed us dinner...some sort of chicken dish that was really good actually. I started watching a movie and Matt was reading but we quickly fell asleep. I kept waking up to turbulence but the entire flight was quiet and dark so it was easy to sleep. The flight went by VERY quickly. It was soon time to get up, eat some breakfast, and land.

We gathered our things, went through customs, and walked out to find a taxi. This cute old man drove us to our Bed & Breakfast telling us all kinds of neat information about what we have to do while we are here. Just about an hour ago, we arrived at our B&B. Shaun (our host) seems very lovely and made us feel right at home. I know he is married but we haven't met his wife yet...they both have great reviews though so I'm sure she is just as sweet. For now, we are going to take a nap (we are TIRED! It's only 4:00am SC time) and then head into town to enjoy our Christmas day by viewing the Norwegian Christmas tree & attending mass at St. Giles Cathedral. Who knows what else the day holds...

Merry Christmas everyone! We miss all our family and friends back in Montana today but are thinking of you. Eat some prime rib for me!

MIA

Oh how I'm missing my blog. I long to wake up, drink some peppermint mocha infused coffee, turn on Christmas music, and sit down to blog. I'm looking forward to doing just that in about 5 mornings. This week is the last week of school before Christmas break. Let me preface this by saying that I LOVE my job. I really do...my heart melts every day because of these children and I could not imagine doing anything else in the world for a career. I have been so blessed to be hired where I am. Before I left Seattle, I was offered a job at what I thought was going to be my dream school. I know it would have been an amazing experience but God had other plans for me. In the following months, I became quite discouraged after 5 months of searching for a teaching job but tried to be faithful in knowing that just the right opportunity would pop up. It did. Never in a million years would I imagine that I would be in South Carolina with these oh-so-southern students but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I will be catching up with you next week...can't wait!

Joyful

Loving all things Christmas...missing friends and family in Montana & Seattle during this holiday season. Grateful for a loving husband & the cutest puppy. Merry December!

Living in Kingdom Time

By starting on Sunday, I obviously meant Wednesday :) Day 22 is about living in kingdom time. Last week, I received an answer to many prayers about finding a job in Charleston. I was offered a third grade teaching position at a school here...finally! It has been what feels like forever since I have been in the classroom and am so incredibly excited about this opportunity. After being a stay-at-home wife for the past 6 months, it is difficult to get back into the groove of spending 40 hours a week outside my house. I am used to getting up, drinking coffee, walking Raleigh on the beach, and then spending my day performing my wifely duties :) and having plenty of "me" time. I still felt busy keeping up with our tiny family that I wonder and fear how our lives will be different now. Welcome to the real world I guess.

Karen says it best "time...if only there were more of it. Or more energy to accomplish our goals in the time we do have. But wait! Do we want to keep falling prey to the tyranny of time management? Our culture is inundated with time management tools: date books, pocket calendars, wrist watches with built-in alarms, beepers for belt... and seminars on how to save, spend, invest, maximize, and catch time before it flies away!


What if time was not the fleeting, tyrannizing resource we are taught to believe it is? What if we chose instead to view time as an expression of God? God's speed. God's gift to us. A part of His very nature. Would we so anxiously live by deadlines, join the morning rat race, or grab a minute and run with it? Wouldn't we instead, be moved to rethink and perhaps reshape the way we use time? Perhaps our goal would be stewardship rather than management. Rather than accomplishing and accumulating according to some self-imposed deadline, we might share our time by serving others in Jesus' name."

Basically what I'm saying is that I feel I will now be challenged to invest my time not at work to eternal purposes. There will always be laundry to get done, a dishwasher to empty, closets to organize, a yard to tend to, but these things do not matter in the grand scheme of things. I fill a lot of my time with mindless chores like I just mentioned and what am I essentially gaining from that? Nothing other than a peace of mind and an impressed husband...if I'm lucky!:)

Let's respond to the call. Let's take the time and receive the grace to set our clocks and our calendars according to God's agenda and to reorder our lives around His values, His commandments, and His priorities. Let's learn his "timeless" management.

Today, I'm thankful for this sweet reminder to spend my time investing in eternal purposes. Makes me feel like I can breathe.

thankful

I think we need to rewind this blog and finish the 31 Day of Thankfulness before Thanksgiving in just two weeks...beings that there are 31 days, we'll start with Day 20 on Sunday and finish by Thanksgiving...here's a little something to be thankful for in the meantime. I stole it from another blog that I read this morning...

to trust

We have almost completed our 3rd month of living in Charleston and boy has it been an experience. We continue to be grateful for such an amazing city...the history, the beauty, & the friendly community. We do love this place. We both have always wanted to live in the south, experiencing the culture and taking in all of the differences that the north does not have to offer but I have to admit that this move has been harder on me(us) than we expected. Don't get me wrong, it has been an experience of a lifetime and I am glad that we took this chance. It has been exciting, fun, and sometimes a bit scary and lonely. I believe we are being challenged to trust in the Lord's plan for our lives because there is obviously a reason for our hearts to have been aligned to have the desire to move here. Our friend Lindsey from Seattle kept telling us "it's going to be so good for your marriage" and she is right. Matt and I are being forced to simply rely on prayer and one another...we have learned a lot about each other just in the last three months. Our first year of marriage was always so busy with Matt's job, my student teaching and wrapping up grad school, and our constant adventure. We had an amazing first year of marriage but when we landed in Charleston on Day 1 of Year 2, I felt like we were able to finally breathe and just enjoy one another.

Our times of loneliness are hard but a challenge that we will continue to grow through. It causes us to be even more grateful for the people that we love in Seattle and back home in Montana. I don't know what the next season in our lives will look like or how long we will live in South Carolina but I am content in knowing that His plan for us is perfect in every way.

Last night, we had the privilege of skyping with a couple that is being obedient to God's plan for their lives and they wanted to share with us what they are doing...if you are interested, read here. They are  turning their lives upside down for what they are being called to and it was such a reassurance of God's grace and peace for us. Thank you Megan & Chris (and sweet baby Siena) for being an incredible witness and a great reminder that this life is not about us.

I know it has been forever since I have written about my days of thankfulness (I really need to finish) but today, I am thankful for loneliness. I know that sounds strange but it is in these times that I grow the most and am reminded of what's important in life...not material items, money, a house, the perfect life, etc. but the people that we love the most and following a calling that is not of ourselves.

we survived week 1!

Week 1 with Miss Raleigh went surprisingly well. Goldendoodles are smart puppies but the thing that I failed to think about in this case is that they are so smart, you cannot let them get away with anything even once! They learn to trick you into things and then never forget the way you respond to their sneaky ways. Showing dominance has been key this week (and in the weeks to come). Once she learns we're boss, the better. The first few days at home, she was extra cuddly because she was probably nervous and just getting used to the new pad. Well, that didn't last too long and now she is a little TOO comfortable and thinking she owns the joint. We quickly figured this out and started limiting her space that she is allowed to roam on her own. If she comes in the back bedrooms, she has to stay by our side and sometimes even on her leash. At the beginning of the week, she had no idea how to walk on a leash and as of yesterday, she's a pro. This doesn't mean she always likes it but she's learning. Amy introduced us to the miracle of vinegar water. If she chews on anything or anyone (US!), a little vinegar water takes care of that right away. At first, she liked the vinegar so I had to spice it up with a little more vinegar and now she hates it. It seems to be a one or two time-thing because she hasn't had a repeat chew or bite on anything we've sprayed with the vinegar. Okay, enough about Raleigh!

This week, we attended two lowcountry boils. For those of your northerners :), this is basically just shrimp, sausage, potatoes, and corn all boiled together in a stockpot and dumped onto a table for everyone to go at it. It's amazing how many people it feeds, let alone how inexpensive & delicious it is. I can see why they're so popular. Along with the first lowcountry boil at the neighbors, we also steamed a huge pile of oysters and just cracked them open and ate them right off the table. I've never been a huge oyster fan but these were so naturally salty so the flavor was amazing. We are really liking the neighbors. They are so fun...Bucky (I believe his real name is something Bradley (or some B name) Goodson Dudley III)...true southerners, and his girlfriend Ashley. Ashley is from Illinois. Anyways, we had dinner with them at a restaurant down the road from us called Basil. Asian food is not a popular sight down here but this place was pretty delicious. Such a fun night with them. We also had the privilege of spending some time with one of Jeff's good friends from back home, Tanner Sutton. We first went to an Italian place with him downtown and then he cooked us dinner at his amazing townhouse right on the water. He has a beautiful home and some fun roommates. Melissa joined us with some delicious cream cheese brownies which topped the night off perfectly! 

This weekend, we carved pumpkins with Blake & Erin which was really fun (photos below!). It was the first night we've had guests over with Raleigh and oh how the dynamics have changed. I know it'll get easier but I continually had to leave our conversations to take her potty and she is a bit distracting when just trying to chit chat. It's cute and fun but it was one of her crazy nights because she had been home for the previous hours before that while Matt and I were at the other lowcountry boil so you could tell she was a little anxious to get out and play with us. I figured it's okay & that they will soon be in the same situation with their BABY! Erin finally blogged about it so I feel like it's okay to also announce :) I think most of you Seattlites know B & E...and yep, Baby Rasmussen is due to show his/her face in April...so exciting to be able to have a little munchkin around to ooh & aww over!

Well, I think that's about as far as the excitement goes around here. We're just trying to enjoy this fall weather, it has been such a welcomed change...today's forecast, 74 & sunny. Can't complain about that.

Next on the agenda, visits from Paul & Amy, Mitch & Brenna, and Dad & Jenny! Going to be a FUN & much needed November!!
Some photos of what's been going on...

The Schindlers were in town for the week and we got to play with Caroline!

little diva!

RB's first day at the beach!

Dream Home

Remember the house in Marley & Me? Well, it's for sale and I would like to offer any of you the opportunity to gift husband and I $1,250,000 to buy it. You could always come stay for free if you'd like to take advantage of such an opportunity! But really, I've always dreamed of living in a New England house. I know this house is in Pennsylvania and hence, not part of New England but I wouldn't complain about that. Can you imagine waking up to the changing colors of fall or winter snowfall & drinking coffee in this house? I sure can...it would be a dream.

http://hollygross.com/listingdetails.php?mls=5866627
Here are some photos & the actual listing if you're interested in dreaming with me:

 

 

Welcome home Raleigh Belle!

Yes, I think I might be that person that doesn't stop talking about their dog. I'm sorry...I'll just apologize now for that. But seriously, if you could meet her, you would understand why! Yesterday, Matt & I, along with our friend Kyle visiting from Seattle, drove to just outside of Clemson, South Carolina to pick up our baby girl. She is the sweetest thing. She snuggled up to me right away and stayed by my side until we went to bed last night. She is soft, sweet, fluffy, and weighs just under 7 pounds. I think she'll grow to be somewhere between 50-75 lbs...her dad is large but her mom is medium sized.

After visiting our neighbors for a crawfish boil & some frogmore stew, we put her in her crate at around 10:30, she whined for just a tiny bit and then fell asleep. With just one middle of the night potty break, she woke up around 5:30 ready for the day. This schedule works great because it follows Matt and I's normal weekday routine. The weekends will be a little rough having to get up that early but hey, we're parents now, we better get used to it! I told Raleigh that she is going to have to learn what day it is so she knows to sleep in on Saturdays at least.

Here are a few photos that Kyle took (thank you, thank you!) from yesterday...

just meeting for the first time :)

meeting daddy

car ride home...felt like I was bringing a baby home from the hospital!

passed out in car...big day for Raleigh!

Well, stay tuned! I already emailed Amy asking like a thousand questions this morning :) Thank goodness for her...now I just need her to live here so she can take care of both Raleigh & I!!

fall in Charleston

September 23rd officially marked the first day of fall and I promised myself that I wouldn't wish for fall weather until then. And I'm happy to report that we are definitely getting some fall weather! Right now, it's actually 3 degrees cooler in Charleston than in Billings and only 2 degrees warmer than Seattle. The best part is that it is chilly in the mornings and evenings and heats up just enough during the day to head to the beach. Yesterday, it was in the upper 70's so Melissa and I spent the afternoon at the Isle of Palms chatting about life and talking once again about how random it was that we are here together. Matt's season in Alabama seem like such a mystery to me because we weren't dating at that time in his life so it's fun to hear Melissa reminisce about their year there.

Last Thursday, we finally moved into our new house! We are renting a small, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house in Mount Pleasant that is approximately 5 minutes from the beach. It's perfect. It has a fenced yard for the puppy and a one car garage which will primarily be used for storage (such a blessing beings Matt has so many outdoor items that don't need to be inside). People have been asking to see photos of the house but for now, I'm just going to post one of the house from the outside. I will post photos of the inside this weekend but I need just a few more days to get it all put together!

This is the photo that was on the MLS listing...that's not our car in the driveway :) 

I promise to give you the full tour this weekend! In other news, we picked our puppy from the litter we had put a deposit on! The breeder performed the temperament testing of the 11 puppies this past weekend and paired us up with 3 dogs that matched what we thought we wanted in a puppy...so here she is, meet Raleigh Belle :)

Raleigh Belle @ 6 weeks

Here is the lowdown on Raleigh according to the breeder:

Pink (the nickname the breeder gave her) is our “sweet puppy”.  Abigail has adopted her as the mascot puppy from this litter. Whenever anyone new pops in for a visit that hasn’t met the litter, she brings Pink out immediately to meet them and says, “She’s sweet, cuddly and playful like a puppy should be.” She loves to be petted and especially loves sweet talking. When you scratch under her chin she will lift her head up and look in your eyes. Eye contact is a very important tool in training and this should help her learn quickly. She is also a people pleaser which goes a long way with basic obedience training. She really loves people and plays nicely with the kids and other dogs/puppies. She has soulful eyes.

This puppy’s temperament testing indicated that it will accept human leaders easily with regular training and exercise. She is a good prospect for the average owner and is a bit more submissive then some of its litter mates. She adapts well to new situations but will look to you for leadership at times. This puppy is generally good with children and the elderly. She usually has a common sense approach to life and trains well.  This puppy scored well in the social attraction categories and may be more easily taught to come and is cuddly and friendly. Its interest in people can be a useful tool in training.

Pink has a curly coat.  She is apricot in color. She has a boxy head and short muzzle and her build is small to medium. Currently the pull test for shedding was positive for possible mild shedding (1-2 hairs were removed when a small area above the base of the tail was pulled firmly.) Remember the pull test is a guide only and may not always be accurate we have seen dogs in the past go either way but we like to use it as a general guide.

I am SO excited to go pick her up next Saturday. In the meantime, we'll be finishing house projects and enjoying sleeping in on this last weekend without having to get up to let the dog out for potty time! 

Lastly, I wanted to share this little project that Matt designed this weekend. We are trying to be creative with storage space in our kitchen. We have a lot more space than we did in Seattle but we still have SO much kitchen stuff that it's pretty ridiculous...we do use it all though so I don't want to get rid of anything. So...Matt came up with this! We went to this antique store just to look around and found this ladder. I wish I would've taken a picture of it before Matt broke it in half but I didn't...

still trying to be creative with the hooks...using wire hangers for now :)

This date is written on the underside of the top of the ladder...it's also the date that Raleigh was born, just in 2011

And using the other half as his night stand

 Pretty creative, eh? So glad to have a handy husband. 

Amy & Paul Are Hitched!

We had the absolute BEST weekend with a group of the most amazing people I've ever met! Matt and I were chatting about how each person that attended the wedding is someone that Amy & Paul have drawn into their lives and therefore, is a reflection of the type of people that they are. There were about 70 guests at the wedding. We met a majority of them and each person was so genuinely nice and unique. Each person came from a different walk of life and a different part of the country but we all had one thing in common, we loved these two special people and were there to celebrate the beginning of their forever. Just a geographical idea of where we were...

We decided to drive because it only took approximately 8 hours to get there. We left late Wednesday afternoon after Matt worked in the morning and arrived around 11 on Wednesday night. While driving there, we ran into the WORST rainstorm I've ever been in. I've never experienced such torrential downpour and lightening. Matt was white-knuckling it as we could not even see where to pull over...he was just being guided by the whites of the lines. And yes, this also happened on the way home. Definitely a scary experience but we survived. Once we arrived on Weds, the house that we had rented exceeded our expectations by far! It was beautiful, right on the beach, and right next door to the wedding house. We were greeted by our friends, Chris & Kristi, whom we haven't seen in over a year so that was exciting! They used to live in Seattle but moved to Maryland for Boeing. Also staying in the house were more friends from Seattle & Maryland & Amy's childhood friend & bridesmaid, Emily, who I believe lives in the DC area. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect group of people. Here we are below with the bride & groom...but missing Chris & Kristi! I believe Kristi was sleeping and Chris was our photographer :)

Thursday night, we hosted a Mexican Fiesta in lieu of a traditional bachelor & bachelorette party. Friday, we woke up to dolphins swimming right outside our front window, and Saturday, we attended the most perfect wedding. Seriously, these two did an amazing job and have the most amazing friends and family. I have SO many photos to post and will do so in the next few days on Shutterfly & Facebook but here is a sneak peek of just how beautiful they were on their wedding day... Thank you for everything, Paul & Amy BRIEDE!

Photo Courtesy of Chris Music

Photo Courtesy of Chris Music

Attitude Adjustment

I'm sick of seeing the latest post's title about bugs and puppies so I thought I'd update. This week (Week 6) marks the first week that I finally am feeling "at home" in Charleston. It probably has to do with the cooler weather beings we are used to it but hopefully by the time it starts getting really hot next year, we'll really feel like this is home and it'll be different! I decided I needed an a quick attitude adjustment. If I was going to spend all my time dwelling on what I missed in Seattle, I was never going to be truly happy about being here!

Highlights of last post until now...

Post House

Last week was Restaurant Week so we joined Blake & Erin in Old Village Mount Pleasant for a wonderful dinner at the Post House. They treated us to a lovely dinner (so nice!) and a cheers to being in Charleston...who knew that we'd be living here together after Matt & Blake were roommates in Seattle? It was so fun...thanks guys for a fantastic evening! The dinner was delicious and the restaurant is adorable. It is located in the area of Mount Pleasant that was the fictional town of Seabrook from the Notebook which is just a fun little fact for you :)

The Notebook was filmed all over Charleston but what I'm dying to see the most is Boone Hall Plantation that acted as Allie's summer home...it's literally half of a mile down the street from us, we just haven't made it there yet. You can still tour the beautiful plantation...

Boone Hall Plantation

Anyways, enough about The Notebook. Out of excitement for the PGA Championship next August, we drove out to Kiawah Island in hopes of getting a view of the course. We were unaware that this island is entirely private and hence, were not allowed to enter. Fail. We did, however, park it in this tiny little village called Freshfields just long enough to look at fishing gear and eat some ice cream. We then made our way into downtown Charleston to have coffee and start planning our Christmas vacation...more about that later...
This coffee shop we stumbled upon was so cute! It specializes in not only coffee but craft beer. Who knew such a place existed?

handsome hubby...where's his wedding ring? Guess we'll be having a chat about that later!

delicious chai

Check it out if you're ever in Charleston! Well, tomorrow we are off to St. George Island, Florida to celebrate our friends Amy & Paul as they say "I do"! We're really looking forward to our weekend with some amazing people...

Bugs & Puppies

I'm kind of a whimp when it comes to bugs...ok a big whimp. People always say that there are "big bugs" in the south but I failed to keep that in mind when making our decision to move here. Well, they weren't lying. Luckily for me, I've been able to ease into the bugs. Our corporate housing is a newer, one bedroom apartment on the 2nd floor which means that bugs can't really wander inside too easily. Although, I did meet a "Palmetto bug" in our kitchen a few weeks ago...aka a cockroach! Everyone refers to them as Palmetto bugs which doesn't sound too bad until you actually see one...

Well, this morning I'm heading out to a cute little house to hopefully sign a lease (don't want to jinx it yet) and honestly, one of my hesitations about moving into it is knowing that it is slightly older & that it's on ground level...which means more potential for insect visitors. Ridiculous right? It is pretty much necessary to perform quarterly pest control in any house you live in around here so I'm just going to rely on that! Don't worry Brenna Violett...hopefully the first frost will occur by the time you get here and they'll all be dead.

The other thing that bothers me is all the stupid toads sitting on the sidewalks. Matt and I have been waiting until it starts to get dark at night to go running. It's the coolest time of the day so it's most enjoyable then. But what I hate about that is that there are all these tiny toads laying around that blend into the sidewalk/street so I'm constantly thinking I'm going to step on one...they look like this...

Kind of cute but mostly disgusting. I better get a grip on this attitude...at least I know that I'll appreciate non-buggy areas whenever we do move again...

And now I better redeem myself with a reason to come visit us after the above comments...we're getting a puppy! We finally bit the bullet and put a deposit down on an English Goldendoodle. I think Matt is worried that his manhood might be compromised by owning a dog that has anything to do with the name "doodle" but I know he is just as excited as I am :) He/she (we haven't picked which one we want yet) was born 3 weeks ago and we can't take it home until it is 8 weeks old...that means you won't be hearing about it again for 5 more weeks but here is a photo of a puppy from their last litter so ours will look similar...

Pretty Cute eh?

Another Fave

Our sweet friend, Melissa, came over for dinner on Tuesday night. She started using the computer and noticed our blog was up...then she asked "did you blog about me?!". I replied that I didn't think that I did and it made me realize that I was taking such a blessing for granted.

So...this post is about Melissa :) As you might know, Matt spent a year at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa as part of the National Student Exchange program back in his junior year of college. While he was there, he made many amazing friends and Melissa was one of those precious people. Well, after Matt & Melissa said goodbye in May 2007, little did they know they would be moving to the same place in the same week in August of 2011! 

I had the privilege of meeting Melissa while Jeff was living in Tuscaloosa during the spring of 2009 right before I moved to Seattle. Over the past two years, Melissa and I would text back and forth randomly, I think we might've even shared a phone conversation at one point but that was about it. For some reason though, I always felt like she was someone that I have known for a long time. I feel like we click easily and it's always fun and carefree to be around her. She has a sarcastic, yet sweet sense of humor which I love and therefore, I enjoy her :)

Well, a few months ago, she announced on facebook that she was moving to Charleston to work at the Children's Hospital here. I remember being extremely envious of her in that moment and wishing that I could also experience Charleston! It was just a few weeks later that Matt was offered an interview so I secretly texted Melissa the news (even though Matt told me not to say anything...oops, sorry Matt!) because I had to tell someone! And well, the rest is history.

Melissa's friendship has been such a blessing to me (and Matt). It is so nice to have someone experiencing the same transition in life. I felt especially grateful for her on my birthday as she treated me to lunch...who knew I would have a friend to share a birthday lunch with just two weeks after moving here!

So anyways...yes, Melissa, I now blogged about you...are you happy?! Just kidding...so grateful that you're here with me!

Southern Living

It's finally cooling off a bit here in Charleston...today's high is 84 with 66% humidity. Yes, that's still hot but much more enjoyable than the weather we've been having since we got here. People tell me it cools off towards the end of September and that we might be able to experience fall mid-October (we'll see about that!) Yesterday, I really felt like fall was approaching as I walked into Starbucks and saw that pumpkin spiced lattes were back in action!...one of my favorite parts of the season. I notice that people aren't big on coffee here...but I have to realize that I'm comparing it to Seattle where a Starbucks can be seen on every corner. I can see why though, who wants a hot latte when it's a sauna outside?!

Well, let's see...we had a really fun time with my dad last weekend. He flew into town on Friday morning so we headed downtown for some lunch at Groucho's and a walk down King Street. We enjoyed some shopping before picking Matt up after he got off work and heading to a Riverdogs game with Blake & Erin! The Charleston Riverdogs is a Minor League baseball team...they won 1-0 over the Asheville Tourists. It was a good time minus the fact that I bought a pizza only to have someone from above the bench where I was eating it spit into it...really...who does that?

Saturday, we went to Sullivan's Island beach... followed by some Home Team BBQ which was our first bbq experience since we've arrived in Charleston. It was amazing! Pulled pork, mac n' cheese, baked beans, cornbread muffin, beef brisket....mmm...

Sunday...we took a carriage ride through the historic district of Charleston...I loved this!

beautiful cobblestone road

I'm not exactly sure what was happening here but it's so southern!

This inn was an old house that was given to a daughter from a generous father as a wedding gift in 1890. It was voted by Southern Living as one of the most romantic getaway spots...complete with meals served from the Junior League Charleston Receipts cookbook :)

an old street that was used for "dueling" back in the day...many people died on this street and therefore, it's supposedly haunted.

Chief...our chauffeur...what a beauty!