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!