six for saturday.

Wow.  I have been completely MIA on this little blog the last few months.  I'm in the process of making a photo book for our second year of marriage (I did the same thing for our first) and was re-reading my blog posts about our cruise last summer to remind me of everything we did.  It reminded me how much I love having a little documentation of my life- because there's no way I would have remembered every detail about that trip if I hadn't blogged about it right after I got back!- and decided to get back into it.

I'm not going to try to catch up on every detail of our lives since I blogged last, but I'll hit some (random) highlights, in no particular order.

1. We got iphones!



Finally, finally, finally, Cori and I joined the rest of our generation and got rid of our flip phones.  We have loved the convenience of having internet access at all times and have spent more than one night, sitting on the couch next to each other, playing Words with Friends... with each other.

2. Our city group (Bible study) is awesome.


Months ago, at the start of our city group, we had mentioned that we would have different themes for dinner.  We meant themes like Italian, Mexican, etc... but my sweet hubby thought we meant party themes and said, "Like dinosaurs?!"  So for our last city group of the semester, we had a dinosaur theme.  Dino buddies chicken nuggets, bbq labeled land before time limbs, salsa labeled dinosaur guts, and more.  And yes, I did get dinosaur wall decals from the Dollar Tree.  And yes, they are still on our walls, a week and a half later.

Ridiculous dinner themes aside, this study has been SUCH a blessing to Cori and I.  We absolutely love the area of town we live in, but until this semester, most of our church and its ministry has been in another area.  We have love love loved watching God use aletheia to reach Seminole Heights, and it has been one of the biggest joys of our time here to open our home for this weekly gathering.

3. I. love. the. beach.

  

We spent Memorial Day weekend at Fort de Soto beach and then Siesta Keys, and this Thursday I went with a couple girlfriends to Clearwater.  So beautiful.  SO happy.

4. Year 2 is in the books!


On Tuesday, June 25, Cori and I celebrated two years of marriage.  Cori pursued me all day long, leaving me sweet messages on sticky notes, and after work we went to dinner.  We ate at Bern's, a famous steakhouse in Tampa, and let me just say- it was AMAZING, every bite! Year two with Cori has been even sweeter than the first, and I'm so blessed to have this amazing man as my husband!

5. We love our neighbors.
Sadly, I have no good pictures to post, but considering we've spent the last 2 Saturdays with them, it's fair to say that they are a HUGE blessing in our life here in Tampa.  Last weekend we went to a park with them- disc golf for Cori and Nick, playground and exploring the woods for me, Bird, and the boys- and today, after a failed attempt to go tubing (booo, rain!) we went to Mellow Mushroom and saw WWZ with them.  But one of the best things about having neighbors you like is that you don't even have to go anywhere- some of our best times with them have been standing in our yards or randomly popping over to their house.

6. We're coming home.

source: qadesigns.blogspot.com

And not just for the weekend.  I'm sure anyone who cares enough to read this blog already knows this, but it's definitely the biggest thing happening in our life now. After years of living away from Virginia, (4 for Cori, 7 for me) we're moving back.  Cori will be attending the Physician Assistant's program at JMU (goooo Dukes!), so as of this August, we'll be living in Harrisonburg.  We are so sad to leave (see 2, 3, and 5 above), but are so very ready to start living life closer to our families again.  Some of us (cough, cough, CORI) are crazy and are excited for the cold weather, but even I have to admit that it'll be beautiful to experience fall again- and fall in the Shenandoah Valley is absolutely stunning.  We welcome any prayers for this time of transition in our life, particularly as I continue to search for a job.





Phew.  I do believe I'm done for the night.  Time to head towards bed... here's to hoping I don't dream about zombies! ;)

a few thoughts on 2012.

So, one of my sweet NOLA friends, Katie, reminded me that it's been a while since I've blogged.  It's been a chill weekend, so I decided it was time to do a little catch up.  My friend Jenny answered these questions on her blog, so even though I know it's been 2013 for several weeks now, I figured better late than never.

1. What are you most thankful for?
The typical answers are the most true- Jesus, my husband, family, and friends.

2. What were the highlights of 2012 for you?

Finally feeling like Tampa was home, celebrating a year of marriage (and going on a cruise!), a few trips to NOLA

3. What are you hoping for in 2013?

More time with family and friends, a closer relationship with the Lord, running at least one half marathon, and maybe figuring out what I want to be when I grow up :)

4. What were some of your favorites of 2012? (clothes, movies, songs, TV shows )

My recent obsessions have been my colored skinny jeans (blue, purple, and red!), and living in Florida, all of my sundresses get a ton of wear.  As far as movies go, we saw the Amazing Spiderman and the newest Batman movie this summer, both of which we really enjoyed.  Netflix has provided us with most of our television enjoyment and we devoured Parks and Rec last spring, and are currently IN LOVE with Friday Night Lights.

5. Who was God to you in 2012? 

I think the biggest thing I've learned this year is to be more thankful for all that God has given me- the big and the little.

thankful.

By the time we arrive in Virginia for Christmas, it'll have been a year since I was last home.  It's kind of crazy, considering when I was single and lived in New Orleans, I found my way back to Virginia for any number of reasons... Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring break, weddings, bridal showers, etc.  But marriage and moving changes things- now there's 2 plane tickets to buy, 2 states full of people we love, 2 futures to save money for... and you know, the occasional cruise to go on.

All this to say, we didn't make it back home for Thanksgiving.  Of course, we were sad to miss out on time with our families and friends,  but we made the most of it.

We- along with the rest of Tampa, apparently- went to Cracker Barrel for lunch.  Seriously, it was crazy packed!

Can't go to Cracker Barrel without playing this game!

My meal- some of my faves- ham, green beans, and mac and cheese!

Cori's meal- the Thanksgiving special. Ham, turkey, green beans, stuffing, sweet potato, and biscuits- all for $8, I might add!

Dessert- SO yummy!  Pumpkin pecan streusel pie.

pretty much amazing.

 After our feast, we went camping.  We'd been talking for years about going camping, and we decided to take advantage of the long weekend to do it.  We drove out to Fort Desoto Park for the night and had a wonderful time.  We decided that next time, we'll have to stay a bit longer and bring some friends.

Our tent :)

Sooooooo... we didn't realize that in order to have a fire pit, you have to rent one from the camp store.  We didn't get there in time to do that, so we made do with this.  

Hot dogs = classic

dinner!

....and dessert! Somehow s'mores are the best thing EVER when you're camping. Delicious!

me and my tentmate for the night :)

Definitely not your traditional Thanksgiving, but definitely wonderful all the same.  We have soaked up the long weekend with lots of quality time together, doing some shopping, movie-watching, sleeping in, reading.... and it's only Saturday!  We're heading off soon to play frisbee golf and then cash in on a gift card for dinner at Carrabba's.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

pretty much the perfect weekend.

After the non-stop fun in New Orleans and then jumping right back into a week of work, I was more than ready for some quality down-time with the hubs this weekend.  And I'll be honest... it was pretty perfect.

Friday included Chick-fil-a, asparagus, and smoothies, not to mention the newest episodes of the Office, Parks and Rec, and 30 Rock, a good book (Insurgent, because yes, I do highly enjoy young adult literature), and an early bed time.

Saturday started off slow- sleeping in, going for a run, prayer time with Cori, and more reading.  But then we decided to take advantage of Tampa's streetcar, which was celebrating its 10 year anniversary with free streetcar rides.  We spent the afternoon/early evening riding the streetcar, walking by the bay, and eating dinner at a cute little restaurant called the Fly- which had some AMAZING shrimp and grits.

streetcar = love.  also, we met some new orleanians who were in town for the game!

streetcar celebration special = buy one get one free ice cream at coldstone! YUM!

beautiful.

I love living by the water!

We ended our Saturday night with a couple episodes of Friday Night Lights.  Perfect!  

Sunday morning started normally- we got up and went to church.  Buuuuuut we left a little early so we could go to the SAINTS GAME!  My sweet, sweet husband bought us tickets so we could watch the Saints play the Bucs and the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.  He also brilliantly decided we should avoid the costs and craziness of the parking lot, so we parked our cars in a nearby parking lot and rode our bikes to the stadium.  I'm honestly not sure what my frugal hubby was more excited about- the game, or our free front-row parking!

The game was AWESOME!  It was a little crazy in the 4th quarter and it took my heart beat a while to beat at a normal pace, but we WON and it was so wonderful.  I will say, it was weird to be at a Saints game with so many people cheering against the Saints- not to mention a little confusing for me, since with things like penalties I tend to just cheer when other people cheer since I don't completely understand- but it was SO fun.  The Raymond James Stadium is beautiful- Cori especially loved it- but we will definitely be sporting some sunburn this week.  I miss the air-conditioned Superdome!

Who Dat fans!

What's that?  Up by 7 at half-time?  Don't mind if we do!

tattoo!

WE WON!!! WHO DAT!

Oh yeah... one advantage to cheering for the visiting team?  As we were walking back to our bikes, we noticed a crowd of people standing by the buses the Saints had arrived in.  We waited for about 45 minutes and our patience was rewarded because LOOK WHO WE SAW!

Yep!  That's my boy, Drew!

He signed our cup!  I'm just a little excited here...

Ahhhhhh it was just all so wonderful!  And of course, I had to cap off the day with a picture of our black and gold sporting kitten...

cuteness!

As always, the weekend went by way to fast, but I've got to say... it was pretty terrific. :)

home sweet nola.

Last week, I went home.  

'Home' is a confusing word for me to use, because it could mean any number of cities and states- Tampa, FL; Richmond, VA; or New Orleans, LA.  And while all 3 are definite homes for me, this time, I mean New Orleans.  And the thing is, it will always be home to me.  I will always feel a familiar sense of belonging when I see the New Orleans skyline, I will always crave Snoballs when it's hot outside, I will always cheer on the Saints, and I will always love the precious city I spent five years living in.

But I digress.  One of my best friends in the world, Kim, got married last Saturday, so I took off two days of work and flew to NOLA on Wednesday night.  It was so precious to be there a few days early; because of the distance, I missed out on so many of the little parts of Kim's engagement and wedding planning, so it was such a joy to do random, insignificant things like go with her and her parents to drop off welcome bags for the out of town guests or help put together the bags of cookies they gave as favors.

We got manicures, ate poboys with her and Matt's arriving family, went to a food truck festival, and spent time at the Willow house.  Oh the Willow House... I lived there with Kim for three years before getting married, and having time with her and my precious former roommates, Amy (who got married after living there one year with us), and Laura (who moved in after Amy moved out), and of course, Katie (who was never actually my roommate but I've known forever and moved into my room when I moved), was just wonderful.  

I also managed to squeeze in time with two other precious New Orleans friends- a walk with my friend Shannon and her son Noah, brunch (and a ride to the airport to pick up Cori!) with my friend and favorite former co-worker, Sara.  I just love those friends!

Friday night we went to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.  This is the only picture of me from that night, and shocker, I'm hanging out with a small child... also known as Ava, Kim's ridiculously adorable niece and flower girl.

I'm pretty sure she's giving me advice on something really serious.

After a sweet rehearsal and delicious dinner, we headed to the Columns to meet up with more friends.  The Columns is this beautiful, historic building and one of the classiest places to get a drink in New Orleans.  We actually returned there on Saturday morning for Kim's bridal brunch...

All the Willow House Girls! Laura, Amy, Kim, Katie, Me

The rest of the day was spent doing a little shopping and then getting ready for that night's festivities.  Kim and Matt got married at the beautiful Opera Guild.  Again, sadly, I have very few pictures, but hopefully I can post a few once Kim's photographer posts them.

me, Tori, Lindsay

As the wedding party was made up only of family members, Kim sweetly asked me to pass out programs, and let me say- this was pretty much the perfect job to give the girl who's moved away and hasn't seen anyone in a while because I got to be the first one to see some of my favorite friends.  After a high-pitched greeting and huge hug, my friend Arthur commented that I was a great greeter... but don't worry Kim, I was civilized with your family. ;)

After a wonderful ceremony, we enjoyed a fabulous reception, full of yummy food and dancing.  Lots of dancing!  And I have to share this... Kim and Matt invited Red, the 83 year old neighbor who lives across the street from the Willow House.  Red has been the kindest, sweetest neighbor... he always sits on his front porch and I think has adopted himself as the unofficial grandpa of all the Willow House girls.  At the reception, he told Cori to sit next to him and instructed him to take care of me.  He was just too precious for words and I'm pretty sure that this wedding was one of the highlights of his year.  Love it.

Katie and Red

Sunday morning, Cori and I went to Redeemer Presbyterian Church and then out to lunch with some of our favorite friends- Katie, Laura, Corey, Carl, and the Kostrzewa clan- Melanie, Ken, Avery (2 years old) and Eliza (4 months old).  I'm pretty much in love with these friends AND I'm just a little obsessed with Babylon, the restaurant where we ate.  I'm telling you, few things make me happier than a chicken schwarma with home-baked bread from Babylon.  Yum!

We spent some quality time with the Kostrzewas and other friends from my relief team- Danielle, her hubby Andrew, and Adelle.  And of course, we took a little walk so we could get a snack...

SNOBALLS!!!!!!!!!

It was a non-stop trip, and I was exhausted this week... but it was worth every bit.  New Orleans... I will never get over you.  I just won't. :)

Speaking of which- we're going to the Saint's game tomorrow!  They play the Buccaneers here in Tampa, so we're donning our black and gold and cheering on our boys.  Who Dat!

Labor Day weekend

Phew.  I finally got to sleep in this morning, and it was glorious!  The last few weeks have been hectic, and every morning this week I would wake up and think, "I can't wait until Saturday morning when I don't have to get out of bed until I want to..."  I took this ambition seriously, and even though I woke up a little after 8am, I went back to sleep until 10:30.  It was glorious.

This relaxing weekend is a stark contrast from my weekend in New Orleans two weeks ago, and the whirlwind road trip Cori and I took last weekend.  Every Labor Day weekend, some of Cori's closest friends from Virginia Tech gather at a lake house in Tennessee, owned by one of his friend's parents.  We went two years ago and had the BEST time.  This was pre-marriage, pre-engagement, and this weekend was my first real introduction to his Tech friends.  It was so fun getting to know them and to see the ways they delighted in Cori.  Thankfully, I passed their inspection and was allowed to continue to date Cori. ;)  It was also a particularly fun getaway for me and Cori; we'd recently moved from talking about if we got married and started talking more confidently about it being a matter of when.

Unfortunately, due to the craziness of last summer- getting married, moving, starting new jobs- we missed out on this fun time.  This year, we were determined to make it happen. I wasn't able to get off work early on Friday, so we didn't leave Tampa until 7pm that night.  After a looong drive (and by long, I mean 7 hours, and Cori drove the whole way and I napped for a good chunk of it- oops!) we arrived in Atlanta.  Two of Cori's best friends, Seth and Tram, recently moved there.  It was great to spend the night with them and get some quality time the next morning.  Seth was one of Cori's groomsmen, and I'd forgotten how ridiculous Cori gets when he's with his college buddies.  This picture shows a glimpse...

Seth was the first one to put on this shirt, but when Cori realized he'd packed it, he excitedly put in on- and similar shorts- so he could match with Seth.  Let me tell you, it was REAL fun to go out to lunch with the Bobbsey twins. ;)

Dorchas (another VT friend who was visiting Seth and Tram that weekend), Tram, Seth, Cori, and me

We left Atlanta around 1pm, and made it to Tennessee by 6 that evening.  Unfortunately, we somehow managed to take absolutely NO pictures during this time, so you'll just have to imagine with me.  The rest of our group was already there- Paul & Cynthia, Cynthia's sister Julia, Gonzo & Sarah, Pete, and Jesse.  We drove into Nashville that night for dinner.  I really enjoyed walking around after dinner; Nashville reminds me of New Orleans in some ways- just a lot of culture and uniqueness there.

Sunday morning the boys headed out to play frisbee golf (which is pretty much Cori's favorite activity in the world) while the ladies lounged around the lake house.  It was so wonderful to spend the day relaxing amongst friends- I chatted with the girls, went for a run, read a good book (Divergent- it's a sci-fi young adult book, akin to the Hunger Games books- an engaging read, but not as good as the Hunger Games, in my opinion), and after the rain cleared up, played in the lake.  The boys played 'King of the Raft,' which basically entailed trying to be on top of the raft and throwing off anyone who got in their way.  This is an intense game for these boys, to the extent that Paul shared that he'd added to his workout routine over the past month in preparation.  SO hilarious to watch!

One of the funniest parts of the evening was our game of Balderdash.  I don't know what it is about this game, but every time we play it with Cori's friends, we just about die of laughter. 

Monday morning we said our goodbyes and took the 12 hour trek back to Tampa.  It was a long drive, but it was definitely worth it!

oh my nola...

August 24-26 I had the enormous joy of going to one of my favorite places in the world: New Orleans!  It was a quick trip; I got in on Friday night around 11and left Sunday evening at 8:30.  The nice thing is, I'm heading back in October for one of my best friends' (Kim!) weddings, so I didn't feel a huge amount of pressure to do everything and see everyone.  

I met up with Kim, Laura, and Katie at the airport.  Kim and Laura were my roommates in the Willow House, and Katie is a dear friend from growing up who has since moved to New Orleans.  She actually took my place in the Willow House when I got married... because as sad as I was to leave my roommies, most people recommend you live with your husband- even if he doesn't have cute shoes in your size and sassy accessories. ;)  I spent the first half of the weekend just soaking up the Willow House girls... laughing, chatting, walking around Uptown, doing a few wedding errands with Kim... and of course, getting  chicken schwarmas from Babylon!

SO much happiness right here!  I miss this sandwich so much!

Then, we headed out for our main event of the evening: a girls' night out in honor of Kim, who's wedding is less than 2 months away!  After a year of living with a boy, I forgot how much fun it is to get ready with other girls... we seriously spent 2 hours getting ready.  SO much fun!  Then we enjoyed a yummy dinner at Domenico's and headed to the Goldmine to dance it up.  We topped the evening off by spending the night at a swanky hotel in the French Quarter.  Wonderful!

Katie, Corey, Kim, Laura, me, and Maria

Sunday morning, Kim and I walked around the Quarter, looking at some of the fun shops and checking out the revamped French Market.  My super healthy breakfast that morning?  Diet coke, a praline, and 3 beignets.  Was it delicious?  You bet!  Did I experience a sugar crash later in the afternoon!  Absolutely! ;)

I enjoyed a late lunch with Katie and our friend Arthur at Parkway Bakery and Tavern, which has some of the best po'boys in the city.  LOVE their shrimp po-boy!  Afterwards, we had a mini-relief team reunion and I got to see Danielle and her hubby Andrew, Mel and Ken, and these two cuties....

Avery, you are ADORABLE!

Meeting sweet Miss Eliza Page was a definite highlight of the trip!

Soon afterwards, it was time to head back to Tampa.  Thankfully, there were no problems with my flight; I had initially been worried about Hurricane Isaac keeping me from getting back to Cori, but all was well.  Of course, Isaac caused many to evacuate NOLA, which was crazy.  My friends were fine, but had to deal with power being out for a while.

My weekend in NOLA was wonderful- so lovely to have some quality girl time with my friends there.  I will say, it was weird at times to be somewhere that used to be so my home- but it wasn't anymore.  Anyone else experience that after moving away?  I'm sure I felt that way after first leaving Virginia, but it's been so long.

It's hard to believe that it was just a week and a half ago that I was in New Orleans for the weekend!  Things have been busy, busy around here!  Seriously, I got back into to Tampa around 11 pm on a Sunday night and we've hardly stopped since then.  Cori did some public health surveillance for the Republican National Convention that was in town, so last week he worked from 3pm to 11pm, which meant that we were basically ships passing in the night.  And then last Friday, the moment I got off of work we headed out for a Labor Day weekend road trip- which I'll have to detail more in another post!  We're thankful for a chill week and weekend ahead.

I'll end with some lyrics from Harry Connick Jr's song, 'Oh my NOLA...'

Oh my Nola

Old and true and strong

Just like a tall magnolia tree

Sit me in the shade

And I'm right where I belong

Oh my New Orleans

Wait for me