Vacation!

I am currently sitting on a beach in the Keys [Sunset Key to be exact] enjoying sand, sunshine, and fruity drinks. Forgive me for my lack of blog posting for the next few days! I will be back next week with your regularly scheduled programming ;) Cheers!

Engagement pictures flashback!

I made this blog after I was engaged so I never shared engagement pictures! Here is a look back into one of the best days with my handsome man. All pictures by Lindsey Lee Photography. She is located in the Charlotte area and I cannot recommend her enough. Not only is she an amazing photographer, but she is the sweetest person!

This was the first time G and I had taken "formal" pictures together. Even though we are so goofy and not serious at all, it was a tad awkward in the beginning. Someone telling you when to kiss, hug, etc. was not exactly "natural", but we warmed up and ended up having such a great time. Lindsey made us feel so comfortable!

G and I knew we wanted to take our engagement pictures on his family farm. This is a place with so much history. And we knew all the farmland would make the perfect backdrop!

Bella's dog tag with "Will You Marry Me?" engraved. How he proposed! 

Wedding season has begun!

This weekend started off wedding season for us! One of my husband's best friends from high school got married in Raleigh, NC. My sister-in-law and some of our cousins live in Raleigh so we headed there Friday after work to enjoy drinks and dinner. We started at World of Beer, which is such a cool little spot. Dinner at Cowfish was amazing, as always. I got the bento box because who wouldn't want a burger AND sushi for dinner?! My husband got the most massive burger I have ever seen. It was literally like a foot tall... And it was gone within 5 minutes.

My sister-in-law and our cousins. Love these girls that I get to call family!

Husband and more cousins!

Saturday we woke up early to take advantage of our day. We went straight to the gym then to North Hills for shopping and lunch. Then it was time to get ready for the wedding. The wedding was at a beautiful church in Raleigh and the reception was at North Hills Club. Spare Change, one of the greatest cover bands, was the reception entertainment which provided for the BEST time. I mean, my legs were sore yesterday from dancing all night.

It's always fun to get together with my husbands high school best friends and all their better halves. Even though we don't see them as much as we'd like to, we have a blast when we all get together. Already looking forward to the next wedding in his group of friends!

Oh and p.s. my dad made it safely to Key West!! 1,200 miles in 4 days. He raised over $70,000 for underprivileged children and I couldn't be more proud of him!

Linking up with Meghan and Biana

Can't Live Without It: Shark steamer

Confession: I can count on one hand how many times I have used an iron. #housewifefail

To be honest, wrinkles just really don't bother me. But my husband, he'd rather die than have a single wrinkle in his shirt. When we were dating I didn't feel the need to iron his clothes for him. But when we got married, I felt like it was something I should do every now and then at least. Panic mode! Solution: Shark steamer.

We registered for this steamer for a wedding gift and I am SO glad we did. We have used the heck out of it! It heats up in just a few minutes and is so quick and easy to use. Plug it in, fill the top with water, hold the black button down, and steam away.

It came with a "press pad" that you put over a door to hang the clothes on for easy steaming. You can hang a clothes hanger on the press pad or use the velcro clips to clip the clothing item directly to the pad.

Attach a clothes hanger to the press pad

Use the velcro clips to clip the dress directly to the pad

This steamer has made life SO much easier! I actually enjoy getting wrinkles out of clothes now. Aaaand I never see husband dragging the ironing board out anymore ;)

Four

Did you see my post about what my dad is doing for charity? He left at midnight last night! Follow along at http://riding4areason.org

I'm a little late jumping on the "four" bandwagon, but here it goes.

Four nicknames

1. Owey- my family/sisters called me this when we were young and it just stuck. Now all my friends call me this too!

2. Wee Wee- my niece couldn't say "owey" so she started calling me "wee wee" and it has stuck; funny but I secretly think it is the most adorable thing ever

3. "O"- my dad calls me this

4. Ross- my maiden name; this is what all my volleyball coaches called me; I love this name and hope to use it for a future kid's name

Four movies I've watched more than once

1. Dumb and Dumber- best movie ever

2. The Notebook- I can basically quote this whole movie; such a classic

3. Elf- slightly obsessed with this movie and all other Christmas movies

4. Pearl Harbor- such a classic!

Four things in my purse

1. Chapstick- I am such a chapstick hoarder. I have so many tubes because I always seem to lose them

2. Planner- my OCD side doesn't let me go anywhere without my planner… just in case I need to write something down ;)

3. Advil- never know when you could get a headache. Gotta be prepared!

4. Protein bars- because I'm always hungry

Four books I would recommend

1. "Same Kind of Different As Me" by Ron Hall

2. "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young
3. Any book by James Patterson will be amazing, I promise
4. "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn

Four places I've visited

1. Turks and Caicos- took a family trip here a couple years ago and loved it! I want to go back!

2. Cayman Islands- this is my family's favorite vacation spot. I've been a handful of times and it gets more beautiful every time I go. The most pristine beaches and crystal blue water of all the places I've been.

3. Cape Cod/Nantucket, MA- my husband played in a summer baseball league in Cape Cod when we were dating and I went to visit him for a week. We made a day trip to Nantucket and fell in love with this quaint, beautiful island. We rented mopeds to explore and had the best.day.ever.

4. Riviera Maya, Mexico- our honeymoon location. We loved it and can't wait to explore more places in Mexico in the future.

Four of my favorite foods

1. Sushi- could eat it all day, every day

2. Mexican- chips and queso, yes please

3. Spaghetti- my mom's specifically

4. Mashed potatoes and gravy

Four things I'm looking forward to in 2015

1. Being an aunt x2- my sis is due in just 4 weeks!

2. Graduation from PA school- December 12, 2015 [not that I'm counting…]

3. Key west in 7 days!

4. Summer weekends at the beach

Packing for Key West!

I leave for Key West in 9 days! I am so pumped for a long weekend of sun, sand, crystal blue oceans, and fruity drinks! This is what will be in my beach bag:

1. I recently got the cutest fedora at Monkees in my hometown. I can't wait to wear it all weekend and keep the hot sunshine off my face. Stay away wrinkles!
2. Tory Burch sunglasses. I am currently swooning over these aviators. I don't have these exact pair but I do have a different pair of TB sunglasses that will be in my bag! I love her sunglasses. My next splurge will definitely be these shades.
3. Neutrogena sunscreen. My face is super sensitive and I have always dreaded putting sunscreen on it until I found Neutrogena sunscreen. It is oil-free, rubs in easily, and doesn't leave me with breakouts the next day.
4. Cover-up from Victoria Secret. I bought it before my honeymoon and love how light-weight and flowy it is. The last thing I want when I am sweaty and sandy is a hot cover-up that sticks to me. This is just the opposite!
5. Tory Burch rubber sandals. These shoes are the BEST. They are perfect for the beach and sand. Am I the only one that used to wear Rainbow sandals and after rinsing off my feet I was left with brown, nasty stained feet? Solution: TB rubber sandals!

What are your favorite beach essentials?!

Weekending: beach weekend with friends!

This weekend we went to the beach with some friends. My friend Katie Dare was in the class above me in PA school and we became really good friends. I would not have made it this far without her guidance, support, and words of encouragement! Her and her husband moved back home to Charlotte in December and I have been so sad without her in town.

I was SO excited they made the trip to the beach for the weekend and I was even more excited to see her growing baby bump! The day she found out she was pregnant we went to lunch and squealed with excitement the whole time. The last time I saw her she barely had any baby bump so I was so happy to see how adorable she looked and feel baby Liam kick!

OPI "Pink-ing of You"

Friday night hubs and I sat on the porch with music and drinks while we waited for our friends. It was great to have a little alone time to relax and enjoy the view. Once they arrived we had a low-key night and cooked steaks on the grill.

Saturday we spent the day on the beach relaxing and playing bocce aka the girls relaxed while the boys played bocce.

Love my husband so much

Painkillers with this view= perfection

After cocktails/mocktails at our favorite bar on the water, we took them to our favorite restaurant at the beach. As always, it did not disappoint. Both the girls got crab cake with jasmine rice and green beans and both the guys got pork chops with barbecue sweet potatoes and collards. For dessert we got their famous sticky toffee bread pudding. Our plates were basically licked clean.

Didn't want this weekend to end! Today starts my last week at this family medicine rotation and I am so glad to be moving on. Hope everyone has a happy Monday!

Linking up with Meghan and Biana