My break!

What does a PA student do on a 2.5 week break from school??

... have NO alarm set in the mornings [holy amazing]

... gets a much needed mani/pedi

... comes to the beach in the middle of the week, just because I can!

... wake up at 8:45 and realize that's the latest I've slept in probs a year

... spend a ridiculous amount of time cuddling with my furry babe

... read every non-school related book possible

... catch up on all my DVR'ed shows

... grocery shop [usually hubs is stuck with this job while I study]

... get bossed around by my 21-month-old niece and love every second of it

... take 2 naps a day [still catching up on the sleep I never get]

... have a drink drinks whenever the heck I want!

... eat yummy fruits and veggies from every farmer's market I see

... miss my hubs and feel slightly guilty that I'm at the beach while he's home working [sorry, babe!]

... get super excited for our trip to Charleston tomorrow!

 

 

Weekending!

This weekend was SO good for my soul. A few weeks ago my group of best friends decided to go visit our BFF Kate in her new city [Charlotte] and I wasn't sure of my finals schedule yet. Buuuut my last exam was Friday morning so I decided to surprise Kate and it was priceless! I jumped out of the car and she burst into tears!

Of course we opened the champagne immediately. Friday night we had dinner and drinks at a local bar/restaurant. The sangria was amazeee. Saturday we explored the city, the park, and did some a lot of shopping. Of course I had to stop by my favorite store ever [Vestique] and was so happy to see my friend Caroline, one of the two owners. Once again I tried to convince her to bring Vestique to Greenville, NC. And as always, I did not leave empty-handed. Here's what I got:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Saturday night we went downtown for drinks. We were on a rooftop bar overlooking Charlotte. It was gorgeous and so much fun. Our high school friend Lauren came out with us and it was so great to see her! She won a GOLD medal in swimming in the 2012 London Olympics. Oh and Lebron James tried to take her out to dinner and she casually declined... nice [read here]. She is now training in Charlotte for team USA. Love this girl and was so happy to see her and catch up.

My new jumpsuit and necklace from Vestique!

I am officially on "summer break" and have a MUCH NEEDED 2.5 weeks off from school! Today I am headed to the beach for a few days then hubs and I are headed to Charleston for a long weekend next weekend! So excited to get some R&R in these next few weeks! 

Xoxo!

Nicaragua

Happy Monday pretty ladies! My weekend was spent study for finals... I know, exciting right? So instead of boring you with those details, I thought it would be much more rewarding to tell you about what my dad was doing this weekend [and last week].

My dad goes on at least 1 mission trip every year. This summer he took 2 weeks off from his orthodontic practice to go to Nicaragua for a mission trip that was both medical and to share the Gospel. He emailed us pictures every day and they don't need a caption. They melted my heart. These kids are so thankful for the medical treatment they receive... something we take for granted here in the US. People traveled hundred of miles and stood in long lines to come receive medical care by my dad and his team. They also did "vacation bible school" every morning and would have hundreds of kids walking from all over to come hear about Jesus. At the end of each day kids were asking for Bibles in spanish. Talk about amazing. At the end of the week they gave out 250 brand new soccer balls and dad said you would have thought they had just given out brand new cars... the kids were over the moon!

They spent the first night in an orphanage and got to play games with all the children. There was a newborn baby that had been left on the front steps a week ago. The picture of dad holding him and loving on him is the sweetest. It is so easy for us to not acknowledge the world outside of our little bubble in the United States. However, these are God's children and he loves them just as much as he loves us. It it so humbling to see these pictures and hear stories of how happy these children are yet they don't even have two pennies to rub together. It sure makes me thankful for all that I have.

"Go and make disciples of all nations" -Matthew 28:19

Wedding Weekend Part IV: my favorite details!

It's been a while since I've done a wedding post! I've decided to write about a few of my favorite "details" from our wedding day. I'm not a detail-oriented person at all, but these few things from our wedding were things I knew I wanted to do from the day we got engaged!

[1]

We decided to nix the idea of a traditional wedding cake because to be quite honest, I don't think I've ever had a wedding cake that knocked me off my socks. Instead, we had our favorite desserts made by people we love. Garrett's Nana is his favorite person in the world, and her homemade lemon pie is to. die. for. So, she made mini lemon pies for our reception! And lemon pie may or may not have been the only thing I ate the entire night... woops! My aunt is an amazing cook and she made Hershey chocolate cakes, carrot cakes, and red velvet cakes. I can't tell you how big of a hit our dessert bar was! I had SO MANY people say they were the best desserts they have ever had. And the fact that it incorporated our family into the wedding made it even better!

[2]

I knew I didn't want to do the traditional guest book either. I've never seen one that was "cute" and what's the point in having a book with people's names in it stashed away in the attic!? So, we decided to incorporate a little bit of baseball since it played such a huge part in our relationship and our lives. And I am SO glad we did this! It turned out so cute and we have the baseballs displayed in a fancy bowl in our dining room now. Such a fun and unique way to remember who came to our wedding.

[3]

Koozies are a must-have for weddings these days! We wanted to add some sort of UNC touch to our wedding and this is how we did it. I love how they turned out and we have gotten so much use out of them since the wedding!

[4]

My bouquet was wrapped in my grandmother's old linen handkerchief. She died when I was 10 and I miss her every single day. What made it even more special is that the handkerchief had her monogram on it! 

[5]

Garrett and I are HUGE s'mores lovers. Being that we had a winter wedding, we thought it would be awesome to have a s'mores bar at our reception. We served it as a "late night snack" and it was a huge hit! 

Linking up with Amanda today! What are your Friday favorites?!

Sad goodbye

This weekend my husband lost his family dog, Ace. My in-laws found him seizing Friday afternoon and rushed him to the vet. After about 24 hours of trying everything with no success, he passed away peacefully. We are all so sad, especially my husband. He grew up playing in the backyard with this dog... his furry best friend. Pets really are like family, and we will forever miss our big cuddly lab.

Business casual

I have recently noticed that my style is slowly changing. I have to dress "nice" for class [if we aren't wearing scrubs] and I will also have to dress business casual for most of my clinicals that start in 5 months [holy cow I might have a heart attack]. When I am shopping I find myself migrating towards clothes that are business casual yet still fun and age appropriate. I am loving pieces that can be made conservative during the day but dressed up at night if I go straight from school to dinner with my friends. It is important that I still embrace my style and love of clothes even though they have to be conservative for my profession. Also, sad but true, being a young-ish female in a mostly male profession, we have to be very careful about what we wear. People already look at me and tell me I am "too young to be a PA" or assume that because I am blonde that I'm not competent [yes, I've had this remark]. So, I want my wardrobe to reflect my style while also portraying a professional, competent clinician.

The first look I am LOVING right now is high-waisted pants. These are so flattering and I always feel more comfortable when my legs are covered in clinic. The look can be put together with a simple top tucked in.

 Dresses with sleeves, both long and short-sleeved, are elegant and classic. Throw on flats in the spring/fall and boots with tights in the winter and you are set! Dresses never go out of style and make you feel feminine in any setting. I am loving the blazer over dress look [I will have to try that this fall!].

 Skirts are the classic "business casual" look for females. I love stepping out of the plain black skirt box and adding some color, whether solid or a fun pattern. Skirts look super cute with flats, which I will be wearing 100% of the time. Here are a few of my favorite looks:

Where are your favorite places to shop for business casual clothes? J Crew is my go-to [I could buy the whole store if I could!].