Recent Buys and Gifts!

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Since I have basically been on a shopping embargo I have not been able to buy buy buy like I normally do. Weddings, trips and showers have meant cutting back on my shopping expenses so that we are able to do things for our friends & family getting married! I am a big time gift giver, almost to a fault. If someone has some sort of birthday or celebration, I want to buy them the best gift!  My competitive nature comes out and I just have to get the coolest gift or the most fun or most usable one. Well, most fun and usable in my mind might not be the same as the person I am giving the gift to but really, I try to find something neat that they might enjoy!

My friend Katherine (hi love!) had a pretty bad month of May so I sent her a little pick me up. She is a big hedgehog fan so I found some cute note cards on Etsy to send to her.  She loved them!

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I got my cousin, Lu, a really cute burlap bag (my gift of choice for all brides!) as a thank you for hosting me at her mountain condo one weekend while James was cruising the Caribbean away.

My cousin's married initials!

I had bought James a 'not father's day gift' - a leather weekend bag from Wilson's Leather Outlet. I had seen a few online and I knew James needed something besides an ADIDAS bag for our weekend trips (we will travel every weekend in June and July save one!!). While James was gone, I had it embossed for him and he loves it! We used it this past weekend in Blowing Rock and will use it again once we are both off work for the 4th of July!

My grandfather had given me some birthday money and I decided to use part of it for some monogrammed earrings. I walked (its so close to our house!) to Handpicked on Devine and spent about 30 mins trying to figure out what I wanted (have you seen their monogram earring selection? so big!) I finally settled on the Round Scalloped Monogram earrings and placed my order. Two days later, they were in the store! Such a steal for $20! If you join their rewards program, there are days almost once a week where your order is half off! This would be a great gift for a  bride-to-be (hint, hint Lu!) or for your friends, $10 for monogram earrings is great!

Another day, another time to wear my new earrings!

Monogram earrings!

Wearing my new earrings in Denver, NC

$1.50 for thank you notes from Michaels craft store in Blowing Rock!

Cute thank you note!

My friend Cam popped in my office this morning and it was a big surprise! For me and for her, I left my make up and CHI in the mountains - all natural look for me! She left me with a muffin she had made - so sweet and such a great pick me up on a Tuesday!

Muffin at work - Thanks Cam!

I had seen a Southern Savers coupon code for the Paper Coterie for a free spiral bound journal! I knew I needed something to keep in my new purse (thanks to my sister and James!) and this fit the bill perfectly! I paid for shipping only, $7, and was able to custom make it using my monogram and some of our wedding pictures, including my favorite - me saying my wedding vows to James!

 

Saying my wedding vows to James

Outside cover- plastic to keep it clean!

Inside cover- cutting the cake and our getaway in our London cab!

The one on the cover is my favorite! Our wedding vows were the traditional Episcopalian vows that I cried while reciting.

I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow. And with all that I am and all that I have, I honor you, in the Name of God.

Hope everyone had a wonderful July 4th weekend! What a better way to celebrate the great country of America than to spend it in God's country- The Mountains!

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things...

Are there things that no matter what, can always cheer you up?
1. Laughter
When I was at UNC and I would have a bad day, I would call either my mom or my dad. If it was my dad, we would talk about the problem and try to find a solution.
If it was my mom, she would tell me she loved me and then would go tell me to watch Bon Qui Qui and my day would be better.

Sometimes you need someone to help you solve your problems and sometimes you just need a good laugh! My college loves would climb into my twin bed with me (at the Phi Mu house!) and we would just die laughing at Bon Qui Qui. I say the words "I will cut you" so much one of my current work colleagues asked me if I had knife skills. I had to watch myself after that - I work for a public university and don't need to be fired over my taste in hilariously funny you tube videos.

2. Flowers
My very sweet father in law, Tom, sent me a bouquet of beautiful lillies to my office. I absolutley love flowers and was so surprised to see the UPS man deliver them on Tuesday that I told him he must have the wrong office! They have bloomed beautifully and make me smile instantly when I walk into my office!
I also collect flowers around USC from our great grounds crews. My office is usually filled with either hydrangeas or a beautiful magnolia flower. The smell of the magnolia is almost lemon like and fills my small office quite quickly. How can you not smile when there is a beautiful blooming flower sitting on your desk?

Magnolia from campus

Magnolias from campus. Amazing scent!

3. Mani/Pedi/Hair cut
Beyond keeping James and I with a roof over our head and food in our bellies, I really don't have a lot of responsibilities. I am not stressed from work (I was in my previous job and I am so thankful to not have that now!) and I have a wonderful husband who is pretty low maintenance (at times!). So why do I feel this great pressure to perform as a wife, friend, sister, daughter, employee, cook, housekeeper? A lot is self imposed stress that is completely unnecessary but I feel like I will always have it. One of the ways I unwind and really relax is to be pampered. I love a massage. Every time one comes on Groupon James will email me to see if I am going to buy it. I actually have one scheduled next week! A mani and pedi also calms any nerves I may have and of course, I love a haircut! Sometimes if I need a pick me up in a big way I will stop in and get a pedi. The mani's I really try to save for special occasions.

Love my cajun shrimp shellac!

At the hair salon after having my nails done!

Weekending

This past weekend I headed to Blowing Rock, NC for a little R and R with my family.

We rested, enjoyed the cool weather (68 degrees during the day!), ate delicious food and my cousin Lu and I were able to be rather crafty when it came to decorating her new house. Most importantly we celebrated my dad and grandfather on Father's day! What wonderful men I have in my life to celebrate!

Dad and his favorite child, our Bouvier- Coltrane.

Morning view with the fog

Crafting on the porch

Best friend visiting!

Kilwins and my cousin, the same as when we were young!

Birthday Happy Hour and a Surprise!

Sweet surprise planning husband!

When I was younger my parents used to joke that I was the queen of birthdays. I had one at school, one at home and one with family as well. I was all about the cake and the fun, what can I say?! I guess this still holds true since this past week was my 25th birthday. On the 25th of May. We just had to do something for that! My sweet husband James decided he would be getting together a group to go to a surprise happy hour. If you know me, you know I can figure out surprises in a hot second with just a small hint. And usually, James gets so excited about his great surprises that he hints away until I have guessed it. So with this happy hour, I knew he had something up his sleeve - I just didn't know what- and I was determined not to find out!

Photo Credit: Gervais & Wine website

SURPRISE!

Tuesday rolls around (the 22nd) and home I go from work to get ready for this happy hour. Not knowing where we are going I go into slight panic mode since you can't imagine different happy hour places can be in Columbia; either norts and a sorority tee or, on the other spectrum, nice dress and heels with the after work crowd- the joys of living in a college town that is also the state capital. So dressed in a white dress I get (hey, I have to do something with all those white dresses from my bridal showers last year!) and I close my eyes as we hop in the car to head to this surprise happy hour. 10 minutes later and a lot of guessing on my part (curiosity has not killed this cat yet!) and we pull up to Gervais & Wine!


I had wanted to try this Mediterranean wine and tapas bar for quite some time and I know I had mentioned it to James just once in passing- its not really his kind of place - so a job well done by him. We walk into the restaurant and James says "There is someone sitting there that you might want to chat with", I look and its my BFF Jessica from Charleston! She and I were best friends at UNC and Phi Mu's there and we both moved 'home' to our families in Charleston after we graduated! Jess had driven all the way from her work in Charleston to be there, such a great shock and surprise!

Twins!

Empty dishes and glassware means a fun time was had by all! 

Jess and I chatted while the rest of the group got there- James' law school friends who have become such great friends to me as well. What is great about Gervais & Wine is their tapas menu.  The group got a lot of different tapas and everyone just shared - such a great concept and one I loved from my time abroad in Spain.
Do you love surprises as much as I do or do they send you into full panic mode?