My Best Friend's Wedding

Jared, Peyton and I traveled to Tallahassee this weekend to see my best friend, Casey, get married! This was Peyton's very first road trip out of town and we didn't want to go through all the hoopla of spending the night away from home with her, so we decided to just go over for the day and come back that same night. I was super nervous about traveling that far in the car with her, but it actually went pretty well. We didn't need to stop nearly as much as I thought we were going to have to and we made pretty good time. She was very well behaved during the wedding too and basically slept the entire time, so mommy had time to catch up and visit with her friends.

We had a great time celebrating Casey and Tom and the wedding was a perfect representation of them. Plus, I got to meet baby James for the first time which was super exciting. I wish them the very best as they embark on this new life journey together.

 It was great to be reunited with these amazing ladies that I'm so blessed to call my sisters. 

Peyton's first road trip to Tallahassee!

 All dolled up in our monogrammed dress for Auntie Casey's wedding!

The ceremony and reception took place at the Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy which is basically out in the woods almost to the Florida-Georgia state line. I loved it, especially with all the little rustic details that Casey used to highlight the Southern charm of the venue. I had no idea this place even existed, but it was beautiful. The perfect location for a good 'ole country wedding!

 Peyton's very first wedding and she basically slept through the entire thing. Mommy win. 

 Phi Mu love :) 

 Phi Mu sisters and now mommies together!

Peyton (1 month old), James (12 weeks old), Preston (6 months old)

Congratulations to my Phi Mu sister and very best friend. I love you. LIOB

Five Year Anniversary

Last Friday, Jared and I celebrated our five year wedding anniversary. I can hardly believe that it has already been 5 whole years since we got married. However, I will say that I does feel like it has been quite a while since our wedding, but not in a bad way though. I think this is mostly due to the fact that so much has happened in our lives in these past 5 years that our wedding feels like something so distant in my mind. Plus, we look so much younger in our wedding photos that I feel like I can even just see a huge difference in how much we have grown up.

When I walked down that aisle back in 2009, I never could have imagined that this is where I would be a mere 5 years later. I wouldn't have believed you then, if you told me that my dad wouldn't still be here with us now. I cherish that walk down the aisle with him more than anything else and I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to experience that moment with him before he was gone. I have way too many friends who will never be able to have their fathers walk them down the aisle, so even though I am sad not to have my dad here with me now, I am so grateful that he was there for me then. I never would have expected us to have to do IVF or to not already have at least one child born before our five year anniversary. Thankfully, that ended up working out better than I ever could have planned and I am so glad that Jared and I got to experience 5 years of traveling and being "just us" before starting a family. It was truly a blessing in disguise. I never would have dreamed that I'd be resilient enough to be a middle school teacher at an urban Title I school (now turned stay-at-home-mommy) or be awarded Teacher of the Year at my school at such a young age. So much has happened in such a short time. We can plan our lives out all we want, but only God knows the true plans that He has for us.

I am very proud of Jared and I for building such a strong marriage together in the midst of a lot of happy times as well as many terrifying obstacles. In a time where marriage seems to just be kind of a joke to many people (check out that divorce rate), I am proud to say that Jared and I both take our marriage very seriously and work hard at it. Just like everything else in life, you get out of something what you put into it. I want nothing more than to set a good example for Peyton of growing up in a home with a loving marriage. I am beyond blessed to have such a wonderful husband and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him, watching him become the awesome daddy that I know he will be.

Jared and I are not big "gift" people. We don't really ever exchange gifts for any holidays. Instead, we prefer to have some sort of "experience" together. We go do an activity or go on a trip...basically, make a memory together instead of buying some more stuff that we don't need. While enjoying this activity or vacation, I'm all about the free souvenirs...aka: pictures. Yes, I own my fair share of crap that I've brought back from various European countries, but over the years I've noticed that my all time favorite souvenirs from any experience are the pictures. Which brings me to my anniversary gift for this year. Being the crazy photo-loving girl that I am, I came up with this idea (actually I sort of stole it from Pinterest). This was the only thing I wanted for our anniversary (and it cost absolutely nothing, so that's win win for all of us) so Jared was a good sport and cooperated with my wishes. In my eyes, no material gift could have compared to this. It was the perfect way to celebrate our 5 year anniversary for me.

   
We returned to the exact spot where we took our first photos as Mr. & Mrs. on our wedding day. I wanted to recapture the photos, now 5 years later, to show how much our lives have changed. I absolutely love how the photos turned out! Big shout out to my sister-in-law, Erika, for being our photographer. Location: The Casa Monica Hotel in Historic Downtown Saint Augustine, Florida.

5 Year Wedding Anniversary at 37 weeks pregnant

Cheers to many more wonderful years of wedded bliss!

Throwback Thursday

Today's Throwback Thursday is dedicated to my dear childhood friend, Lindsay. Her and I have been friends for the past 27 years (aka: since the days we were born). Technically, we have really been friends for almost 50 years since our dads became friends back in middle school. Our families have always been close and I am so lucky to have her in my life. She's getting married this weekend, so of course that gives me the perfect opportunity to post embarrassing photos of her on my blog. This is what happens when you have been friends with someone for your entire life, they have a lot of incriminating photos of you. Don't worry, Linds, I left the horrifying photos of us from the awkward middle school years in the vault. Cheers to the beautiful bride and many more years of friendship together!

Throwback Thursday: Lindsay and Me

Perhaps we missed our calling as artists :) 

Many dance recitals shared together

Annual Christmas Eve Party

Ponte Vedra Beach Club...love this photo because of our daddies in the background :) 

Rome, Italy - High School graduation trip to Europe with the mamas

One of our many, many trips to Disney

Dancing around Lincoln Center in New York City...yeah we're pretty cool :)

Lindsay was one of my bridesmaids in my wedding 5 years ago and I could not be more honored to be returning the favor and standing by her side on Saturday! 

Congratulations sweet friend on your special day! Love you!

Book Club

I haven't posted a book review here on the blog in quite a while now. Oh well, there's no time like the present, right? Over the past few months, I have not been doing a good job of giving myself time to read which makes me sad because I absolutely love to read. Well, I take that back. I have been reading, just not fun books. I've been reading articles about pregnancy, babies, reviews of products for babies, etc. It's literally taken over my life. Oye vey. I promised myself that I was going to get back into reading for pleasure, and lately I have finally had the time to do so. Thanks to my insanely swollen pregnancy feet, I have to take time out of each day to sit down, elevate my feet and relax. This is not something I am good at. I especially hate propping my feet up, it makes me feel so antsy and trapped. However, I have found that the only way for me to successfully relax is to read while I do so. It keeps me distracted enough that I forget that I'm antsy and that I want to get up an move around. So now for an hour or two each day, my swollen feet get some relief and I get to enjoy some quality reading time. Win win.

I have finally finished a book that I have been trying to read for a little while now, which is the one I am reviewing today. This book has saved my swollen feet and forced me to sit down and relax.

Today I am sharing...

Here is a synopsis/review of the book from Amazon: 

Marriage can be a real killer. 

  One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. The Chicago Tribune proclaimed that her work “draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction.” Gone Girl’s toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn. 

   On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer? 

   As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

   With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.

My thoughts...

To say that this book is a psychological thriller is quite an understatement. It is dark and suspenseful in ways I could never have dreamed in my wildest imagination. It keeps you guessing and analyzing every single minute detail with the turn of each page. However, just when you think you have it figured out, each new twist in the story is more shocking than the last. There are so many clues and finite details to figure out the meaning and significance of and just when you think you have accomplished that, you find that those details simply cover up an even deeper meaning. I can't even begin to fathom how an author could write with so many complicated layers as Flynn did in this book. The main characters, husband and wife, are so complex and manipulative that you don't know whether to trust them, like them or hate them. My opinion of them changed constantly throughout the book. Just when I thought I had pinned down that character's personality or motive, another detail came along and changed my entire perspective. The story just became more intense and complicated as you peeled back each layer. I never in a million years could have predicted the ending of this book. In fact, when I first read it, I actually hated the ending. Then, the more I thought about the ending, the more I realized how brilliant it was. It's actually very difficult to articulate my reaction and comprehension of this book without spoiling it. Let's just say that when I came to the end and closed the book, I just sat there. Mind blown. This book turned out to be nothing like I expected, which is what I loved about it.

Babymoon

Jared and I went on a little babymoon this weekend. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this "babymoon" phenomenon, it's basically a second honeymoon before your first baby comes (aka: just an excuse to go on a trip and relax). While a babymoon is really an unnecessary part of preparing for the birth of your first child, I totally get it. That's not to say that once the kid is born that the two of you will never relax, or be alone or go on a trip ever again; however, let's face it things are about to change drastically. This is the perfect opportunity to get away and relax, to stop thinking about all the preparation that still needs to be done, and to enjoy these final moments of it being just the two of you.

Originally, I wanted to seize this vacation opportunity to go somewhere cool that we had never been before. However, I then realized that I wasn't going to enjoy a trip like that if I couldn't go full itinerary, local breweries and wineries, tourist-mode. My normal travel style is definitely not conducive to being pregnant. Therefore, I knew that a trip like that would not be relaxing and that I would just go-go-go the entire time and end up coming home exhausted and worse off then when I left for the vacation. If I truly wanted to relax, I had to go somewhere that I had been before and didn't have a bunch of historical, tourist stuff that I would be tempted to divulge in. Alas, we opted for a weekend at my mom's beach condo in New Smyrna Beach. There's not much to do there except relax by the pool or on the beach. Perfect. Plus, it's only like an hour and 20 minutes from our house and my mom owns it so this vacation would be super cheap. Just food, gas and boarding our dogs. This truly was the best option for us because we really have no business spending a bunch of money on a vacation when we have so much necessary baby stuff that we still need to buy.

Here is a recap of our babymoon...

Friday
We drove down to New Smyrna and ate lunch at one of my favorite restaurants there on the ocean called Chases on the Beach. It has a fun, outdoor, MTV Spring Break kind of environment which makes me feel like I'm in college again. During our lunch there, we discovered that it is that time of the year again when Sam Adams Summer Ale is back on tap. This is probably my favorite beer ever. Jared ordered one and I smelled it...which sounds really weird, but since I can't drink one right now, just smelling it still satisfying. Only pregnant ladies of the world will understand that. I think that a Summer Ale might be my #1 request upon returning home from the hospital after delivering this baby. Go ahead and judge me.

By the time we made it to the condo, it was overcast and really windy out. Terrible beach weather. However, we trekked down to the beach anyways. We sat on the beach in our chairs, reading, for probably an hour until we couldn't stand being cold anymore and then went back to the condo. We hung out on the couch in the condo (thank you ABC Family for that Harry Potter marathon) until dinner. We ate at my absolute favorite restaurant in New Smyrna Beach, The Garlic.

Saturday
I forced Jared out of bed early because I could actually see a little sunshine out there! Plus, the weather forecast said that it was going to start raining around lunchtime so I wanted to attempt to get in as much beach time as possible before the storm. By the time we got ready and made it down to the beach, the sun was already gone. Fail. It was overcast and windy once again. Still we tried to make the best of it. We relaxed in our chairs for a little bit and then went on a 2 mile walk down the beach. It was windy and kinda chilly so I had to wear my cover-up. No tanning to be had here. We went back up to the condo around noon to eat lunch and that's when the storm began. For the rest of the day, it was a torrential downpour outside so we just hung out in the condo. I guess God decided that we should spend some quality spouse time together instead of frolicking on the beach. It was so very relaxing, doing a whole lot of nothing.

By dinner time, the weather cleared up so we went to dinner at The Breakers and enjoyed watching the post-storm pink sky fade away from their oceanfront deck.

Sunday
Sunshine! I was so excited when I woke up to sunshine! We only had half a day left to spend, so I wanted to get down to the beach as soon as possible. The weather was beautiful, except that it was still windy and the rain from the day before had caused the temperature to drop. However, I wasn't going to let that stop me from salvaging what was left of my beach vacation. Here Jared and I are on the beach in our chairs, in bathing suits, while everyone else walking on the beach is in sweatshirts because the temperature is in the 50s. Luckily, the sun was shining bright and there wasn't a cloud in the sky so it didn't feel as cold as it actually was. Ok, I was freezing. The temperature warmed up a little as the morning went on, but I was so excited to be out in the sun that I didn't care. We went for another 2 mile walk on the beach and then it was time to head back to the condo and pack up. By the time we had to leave the beach (around noon), it was finally the perfect temperature. Of course. I was very sad that we couldn't stay longer, but we had to get back in time to pick up the dogs from boarding.

I only managed to take two pictures (both on Sunday) from our entire trip because the weather was pretty much crappy the entire time and we didn't really do anything that exciting. Despite the terrible weather, which really pissed me off, we still managed to have a fun trip together. I guess the most important thing about this babymoon was the two of us relaxing and spending time together, which is exactly what we did.

5 years ago, we went on our honeymoon to the Dominican Republic and it rained majority of the time we were there. That forced us to basically hang out, with nothing to do and invent ways to entertain ourselves together. So I guess it's only fitting that now, 5 years later, we had the same thing happen on our babymoon. It's nice to know that no matter the circumstances, we can always manage to have fun together even if we aren't doing anything at all.  

I did finally work up the courage for a bare belly bump photo! 

Happy Valentine's Day

In case the obnoxious amount of mushy posts on your social media did not already alert you as to what today is, it's Valentine's Day. If you have been reading my blog over the years, then you already know that I am not the biggest fan of this holiday. However, as a married woman I suppose that I am obligated to celebrate it anyways. Don't worry, nothing has changed this year. Jared and I spent exactly zero dollars on each other for Valentine's Day, but that doesn't mean that the sentiment was lost.

I decided that instead of getting Jared a card and letting Hallmark do all the work capturing my feelings, that I would just do it myself. So I wrote him a letter. I am absolutely terrible about verbalizing my feelings, which is something that Jared is actually good at. I'd rather just be quiet than say how I am really feeling. Hence the reason we opted for the generic vows at our wedding. You think I'm actually going to say my feelings out loud in front of a room of 120 people...uh no. On a cold day in you know where. However, I have always been really good at illustrating my feelings in writing. Hence, the blog. If you ever want to really know how I am feelings about something, don't ask me because I won't tell you. Read my blog. There you will find my true feelings. In the past 8 years, I have opened up a lot more about my feelings verbally (Jared has forced me to, darn him), but still if you really want me to pour my heart out, let me write it down.

So back to this Valentine's letter that I composed last night. It is 3 pages long. Typed. And it is a tearjerker, let me tell you. It took me probably an hour to write and I cried most of the time. Pregnancy hormones make something like that perfectly acceptable these days. It's pretty lovey-dovey-mushy, but don't worry there's a little sarcastic wit thrown in every now and then. I know you didn't think I could honestly make it through three whole pages of writing without making a few smart ass comments. Not possible.

I left Jared's letter on the counter for him to read before he went to work this morning. He also left me a letter, which was not nearly as long as mine, but equally as sweet and thoughtful. What can I say, I'm a long-winded writer...but if you read this blog regularly, then you already know that. I blame it on the fact that I spent my entire college career writing 30 page papers. If you can write a 30 page analysis of Steinbeck, then you can write 30 pages about anything. English major problems.

This made me realize something funny about Jared and I and how completely opposite we are in our communication styles. Ask Jared to talk about a topic and he goes on forever. Foooor. Evvvv. Errrr. (Kudos to those of you that picked up on that Sandlot reference) Just ask his Kappa Sigma brothers who had to sit through chapter every Sunday when he was President. Sorry guys, but oh you gotta love him for it. However, ask him to write down something and you get one very concise paragraph, straight to the point. Hello, where did that come from? I, on the other hand, am completely the opposite. Ask me to speak about a topic and you will get 3-5 concise sentences, straight to the point. Heck, it used to take longer to get 150 girls in the room and seated at Phi Mu, then it took for me to conduct an entire chapter meeting when I was President. However, ask me to write about something and you'd think I was publishing a novella on the topic. Case and point right here, I started writing this blog post to tell you about the sweet gesture Jared did for me this morning and here I am on paragraph 5 still not having made my point yet. I promise, I'm getting ready to land the plane y'all.

When I woke up this morning, I found my letter from Jared and three roses from our rose bush in my bud vase on the kitchen counter. How on Earth we managed to have blooming roses on our rose bush in this freezing weather, I have no idea. While my tiny rose blooms hand-picked from my yard may pale in comparison to everyone else's $50 florist arrangements today, I am overwhelmed with emotion when I look at them. I am not even sure if Jared actually realizes the sentimental value behind this gesture for me, so what drove him to do this, I have no idea. Must have been someone up above. I cried when I saw these roses because I immediately thought of my dad. My mom and I share similar views on Valentine's Day and floral arrangements in general. Every Valentine's Day, my mom would always tell my dad not to waste money on store bought flowers for her, so instead he would pick roses from the yard and put them in a bud vase on the counter for her. When I was a kid, we didn't have our own rose bush in our yard so he would go into our neighbor's yard and pick them. (Don't worry we were really good friends with our neighbors, my dad built their house, they didn't mind our trespassing.) Once my parents moved into the house that my mom still lives in now, my dad planted a rose bush in the yard so that he could pick blooms to put in the kitchen for her anytime. I am still in awe that despite the freezing cold outside, three little roses managed to bloom just in time for me on this holiday, carrying on a very special tradition. I couldn't imagine a more perfect Valentine's Day gift.  

I don't typically take photos on Valentine's Day because I don't normally do anything spectacular or worth documenting. However, I did manage to find this photo from Valentine's Day 4 years ago and don't worry, the cuteness factor does not disappoint. Here I am with my little Valentine, Lola, when she was only 2 months old. I want her to be this tiny again. Adorable.

Although I could really care less about this holiday, I can't wait to celebrate next year with our baby girl! Even though I will no longer be Jared's only Valentine, I am so excited to do all the fun kids stuff. Holidays are so much more fun when there are kids around. I can't wait to dress her up in a cute little outfit and take pictures of her and make little Valentines to send out to everyone from her, maybe I will actually become a real fan of this holiday after all. Until then, I better enjoy my last husband and wife only romantic Valentine's Day while I still can. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend! Happy Valentine's Day!

Our Secret

Admit it. The only reason you are reading this blog post is because you think I'm pregnant. Good guess. I am 26 and have been married for over 4 years which makes me a prime suspect for a baby bump. Trust me, people ask me non-stop, "When are you going to have a baby?" If they only knew. I am sorry to disappoint you, but I am not pregnant. However, you are totally going in the right direction.

A little over a year ago, I wrote a blog post that I never imagined I would have to write at this time in my life. A post about my father's death. Writing that was very hard, but it helped me cope in a lot of ways. I like to believe that it helped some other people too. See, blogging is like therapy for me. It helps me deal with my emotions and vent about the things I don't want to talk about. So here I am again. Writing about something I never imagined I would have to post about at this time in my life...or ever for that matter.

Infertility. There, I said it. Go ahead and feel sorry for me. Yep, it sucks. Yep, it makes me depressed. But I'm sick of pretending like everything is great and wonderful (like we all pretend it is in our fake little Facebook world). So I'm talking about it. I am hoping that finally blogging about this will help me personally and possibly help someone else out there who is struggling like I am.

For our entire young adult lives, we try so hard to not get pregnant. Then we get married, save money, wait until the time is just right and then decide we are ready. Then you just get magically get pregnant, right? If you are one of the lucky ones, maybe. But for some of us, not so much. Unfortunately, our generation seems to have a rising infertility problem and I am one of it's victims.

For the past 18 months, we have been trying to get pregnant. That means 18 negative pregnancy tests. 18 months of disappointment. 18 months of wondering what the hell is wrong with me. 18 months of wondering why me? Is God punishing me? 18 months of watching other people who are younger than me, who have been married less time than I have, who started trying after I did actually get pregnant, go through their entire pregnancy and have their baby. It's pretty painful.

After almost a year of no success on our own, we decided to consult a fertility doctor. Want to talk about the most awkward waiting room experience ever? Go to a fertility clinic. Especially when you are the youngest person in there by about a decade. For the past 8 months, we have been trying different fertility treatments. Let me tell you guys, being jacked up on hormones 24/7 will drive a girl crazy. And having your husband give you injections in the stomach every night month and month is super romantic. Not. After 4 rounds of fertility treatments and thousands of dollars later (thank goodness for good insurance), we still have not been successful. This month we are moving on to IVF and hoping for a better outcome.

I have good days and bad days. Some days I feel like my normal self and on other days I just want to scream and cry every time I see a pregnant woman. I am trying very hard to not let this consume my life, but it's hard. Unless you have been on this journey yourself, you have no idea what this is like.    

I have been documenting our fertility journey over these past months because I knew that I wanted to share it one day. My original plan was to wait until after we found out we were pregnant to reveal our journey, but I never imagined that it would take this long. I will eventually write about each month of our fertility treatments thus far, but for now I just wanted to briefly share our secret. I don't want to hide behind this anymore. It's out there, it's happening to us and now you all know. See, I feel a little better already.

Thank you to all of our friends and family who have been so supportive thus far throughout our journey. If you or someone you know if struggling with infertility, please feel free to email me. I would love to share my experiences with someone who needs help. Please keep us in your prayers. We need it.

On Living Alone

To everyone out there in this world who lives alone, I commend you. Literally, I want to stand up in my living room and applaud you. I have always considered myself a pretty independent person. I have no problem going places by myself, eating in a restaurant alone, etc. However, living alone is not for me. I went straight from living in my parents' house, to the Phi Mu house, to my husband's house. Never alone. Up until recently, I had been at home alone overnight for only 2-3 days at a time.

Jared has been gone for a week now, hunting in South America with my brother. I am so ready for him to come home. I am ready for him to be here to kill the bugs in the house, fix the lawn mower when it breaks mid-way through mowing the lawn, to look out the window when I hear a noise outside at night, and just to sit on the couch and talk to me. Luckily, I have very protective dogs (and an alarm system) which makes this a little easier...but as much as I talk to Sadie and Lola, they don't talk back.

I can't imagine living alone all the time. This week has been tough. And I really can't imagine my husband leaving me for months at a time for something like deployment. I have to give it to all the military wives out there, y'all are amazing. I could never do what you do. I am in awe of your strength and resilience. I will be so happy when my husband is home to take care of me again :)

Since I am currently missing my hubby, I have to post this picture that Heather's photographer sent me of Jared and I from her wedding. I love it.

Four Years

Today, Jared and I are celebrating our 4 year wedding anniversary. I can't believe how fast the time goes by. We have faced a lot of difficult challenges over these few short years of marriage and I have to thank God everyday for blessing me with the perfect companion to stand by my side. Many of these experiences have not been easy, but they bring us closer together and make our marriage stronger.

On this day four years ago, my dad walked me down the aisle and gave me away to the only man he knew would be able to take care of me the way that he did. For those in attendance, this was probably the most memorable moment from my wedding. My dad crying like a baby and the rest of us laughing hysterically because it was the most unexpected and adorable thing we had ever seen. Initially, Jared and I were both nervous that we were going to start crying as I was coming down the aisle, but once we saw my dad we couldn't stop laughing. I guess I have my dad to thank for breaking the ice and calming my nerves in that moment.

I love looking back at our wedding photos because I feel like we look so young. We have come a long way over the past 4 years and it's fun to look back and remember where we started. I can't wait to see what the future has in store for us! Here's to many more years of happiness together :)

I've decided that rather than rewrite the same things on my blog every year, here are links to the posts I have made in the past about my wedding day...

Three Year Anniversary
Bridal Guest Blogger
Wedding Cake
Today Was A Fairytale

Our Other Anniversary

I like to say that Jared and I have two anniversaries. We have our wedding anniversary on May 16th and our meet-cute anniversary on March 17th (aka: the day we met). Yesterday, we celebrated our 7th anniversary and St. Patrick's Day together. I hope that everyone had a fabulous St. Patrick's celebration!

St. Patrick's Day 2013 

St. Patrick's Day 2012 in Dublin, Ireland

St. Patrick's Day 2011

St. Patrick's Day 2010

I don't have any photos of Jared and I from St. Patrick's Day in 2009, 2008 or 2007 because he had to actually go to work on that day instead of skipping class and going to the bar like Casey and I did :)

St. Patrick's Day 2006

The day we first met at Ken's Tavern in Tallahassee, FL

Mike & Emily's Wedding

Our sweet friends, Mike and Emily, got married this past weekend. You may remember them from my blog posts about Emily's Bachelorette Party or their engagement in Key West. I have been looking forward to this wedding for months because I knew that Mike and Emily would put on a good party and a beautiful wedding. It surely did not disappoint.

 Mike and Emily are married...yay!

The wedding took place at 4:30 in the afternoon on Saturday, February 9th at Club Continental here in Jacksonville. The ceremony was outside under a canopy of oak trees with a backdrop of the St. Johns River. It was absolutely beautiful. There were so many fun, creative touches that made the entire wedding extra unique. I loved these little burlap "yay" flags that we all got to wave as the newly married couple made their way back up the aisle at the end of the ceremony. 

My hubby with his BFF Mark...both rockin' the beards

 The ladies that belong to those two handsome gentlemen above. Lucky us :)

This is probably my favorite picture that I took at the wedding. I love the little girl in this picture just staring in awe of Emily looking like a princess.

 My hubby helping the groom with his bow-tie. We all know Jared is quite the connoisseur of bow-ties.  

 The bride with Mike and all of his Kappa Sigma fraternity brothers.

The Kappa Sigma wives club. Welcome to the club Emily!

I had to snag a photo with the beautiful bride!

My sister-in-law, Erika, was a bridesmaid in the wedding.  

 Don't get too excited ladies, all of these sexy gentlemen are taken. Sorry to disappoint :)

 We had such an amazing time at the wedding celebrating Mike and Emily!

Kudos to Mike and Emily's photographer Scarlett & Stephen. Here is one of their beautiful photos from the wedding...

Best Wishes to Mr. & Mrs. Hall!