Five on Friday!

This poor blog! I have seriously neglected it but have missed it so much. Life was feeling a little bit stale and boring during this ridiculously cold NY winter -- and there's nothing like good news and Spring weather to give you a little kick in the behind to start blogging again!

So excited to be linking up with April, Christina, Darci,  and Natasha!

[ONE]

We moved to New York a couple of months after we got married in 2010 for Joe to attend law school, then he got a fabulous job in Albany, NY that we couldn't pass up. I wouldn't trade anything for these past 5 years -- we learned a lot about each other and our marriage, we made some amazing lifelong friendships, and we had some fun adventures! We always knew that we would someday end up back in South Carolina and I am so stinking proud of Joe for working so incredibly hard to make that a reality! We are moving in August and he starts his new job in September! Woo Hoo!

[TWO]

Spring is FINALLY here! Hallelujah! This winter was one for the record books, and I am so glad that it is over. We had so much snow and many days below zero -- and this girl was not happy about it.  I'm in desperate need for some sunshine and fresh air! 

[THREE]

This Saturday I am starting this awesome 5-week online Adobe Illustrator class by Lauren Hooker of Elle & Co. and seriously can't tell you how excited I am! I have really been struggling with learning Illustrator and Photoshop and can't wait to learn from the master! I've been dying to take my calligraphy business to the next level and I'm hoping this will give me the skills to do so. I would absolutely love to design all kinds of pretty paper goods featuring my calligraphy! Also, if you aren't a reader of her blog, you need to be! She has some amazing insight for anyone who blogs or has a small business! [ The first two graphics above were done using my finite amount of Illustrator skills and many, many hours of trying to figure that craziness out! ]

[FOUR]

This silly little guy has been sick the past couple of months, but is finally on the mend! Tibetan Terriers apparently are more susceptible to ear infections, and he has had a time with them. He also has bad allergies and is feeling a lot better with medicine! Charlie is the spunkiest thing with the cutest personality and I'm glad he's back to his old self! I could probably make a whole book out of his funny sleeping position pictures!

[FIVE]

Today is my sweet Mama's birthday! She is my best friend in the whole wide world and I am so incredibly lucky to have her! She is so beautiful inside and out and deserves all the happiness in the world! She has been so strong having both of her babies living so far away and I can't wait to finally be close to her again so we can celebrate life together! Happy Birthday, Ria!

New Calligraphy Styles

My little calligraphy business has brought me so much joy and happiness since I started early this year. I have learned a lot and have really enjoyed getting to do what I love and honing my craft. Being creative is like therapy to me. A few weeks ago, I looked at the pictures of the different styles that I posted when I first started and was so embarrassed by how awful they were. I then decided that I was so glad that I had those pictures to look back on so I could see how much I've grown as a calligrapher since then. What a journey!

Anyway, I came up with eight new styles that I absolutely adore. They are all beautiful and unique and have their own personality, just like my amazing friends that they are all named for. 

If you are interested in my calligraphy or design services, please go to the CALLIGRAPHY tab at the top of the page and there you will find lots of info and my contact information! xoxo

Last Week's Meals

We have had some really yummy meals the past couple of weeks, so I thought I'd share! I was in a cooking funk this summer. It was just way too hot to cook and it was honestly the last thing I wanted to do; so we had lots of easy and boring stuff! It's nice to be back in the swing of things (and Joe certainly appreciates it!)

|| Copycat Chipotle Burrito Bowls ||

This dinner was SO delicious! Joe refuses to go to Chipotle because it's so expensive and he says he never gets full, so I decided to try and recreate one of their burrito bowls at home. I used cilantro lime quinoa instead of rice, ground turkey taco meat, shredded mexican cheese, corn salsa, and guacamole. So easy and so good!

Corn Salsa

(I just kind of made this up but it was really good!)

1 bag of frozen sweet corn

1 small red onion, chopped

handful of cilantro, chopped

2 limes, juiced

salt and pepper to taste

Stir all ingredients together and let sit for at least an hour in the fridge before serving!

|| Midtown Deli Palmetto Sandwich ||

My mom and I are absolutely obsessed with this sandwich from Midtown Deli on Woodruff Road in Greenville, SC. We almost always find ourselves there when I'm in town after a day of shopping. This isn't much of a recipe, but it's so dang delicious I had to share!

I love to use a hearty, grainy bread for this and for the mayo, I just mix equal parts pesto and mayonnaise (Duke's, of course.) I also used Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar instead of swiss and it was yummy!

|| Ina Garten's Perfect Roast Chicken ||

This is a fall/winter staple in our house! I seriously want to be BFFs with Ina, and love all of her recipes. I was terrified to handle and cook a whole chicken, but this is so easy and is the best chicken I've ever made. Since it's just the two of us, we can usually make it last for 3 dinners and that's another reason I love this recipe! I usually just use whatever vegetables we have on hand - so this time I used carrots, vidalia onions, and celery. 

Accurate portrayal of me this weekend. Ha!

Our Weekend in NYC

We had the most amazing weekend! We drove down to New York City to meet up with our college friends, Pat and Marissa, who were in town for a Billy Joel concert. I have really missed living so close to the city, so I get very excited any time we have the chance to go back. My most favorite place ever!

A selfie while waiting for our train in White Plains. Joe is behind the camera rolling his eyes. Ha!

We met up with Pat and Marissa in Washington Square Park. I can't believe that out of all the million times I've been in the city, I've never been here. It's right in the middle of NYU and is the cutest park with this huge gorgeous arch. In my next life, I'm going to NYU. ;)

We strolled down to Little Italy and enjoyed some amazing pizza and a few Peronis. Gotta love friends who agree that the only way to see New York City is to plan your whole trip around food. My kinda people! Afterwards, we downed some delicious gelato and cannolis as if we weren't full enough already.

After eating our weight in Italian food, we hoofed it over to Chinatown to, you guessed it, eat more food. Marissa was dying to have some dumplings, so we found some hole in the wall place we found on Yelp and got 5 dumplings for a dollar. If this sounds sketchy, you are totally right. We immediately regretted our decision after eating them, but hey, it's the experience that counts! 

After the disgusting dumplings, we decided we need something to wash those puppies down with! I always love taking people to South Street Seaport when they're visiting, because it's such a neat part of town. There are beautiful views of the Brooklyn Bridge, and the cutest cobblestone streets with a fun biergarten. We enjoyed some Oktoberfests, and made our way over to the TKTS booth and got tickets to see Avenue Q that night. Marissa and I were dying to see Once, but decided to get tickets to something the boys would enjoy as well.

Avenue Q was seriously hilarious. If you enjoy some good raunchy humor…please go see this! Who knew puppets could be so funny? 

You see some crazy ass stuff in NYC, and this made me laugh so hard. That poor little poodle was standing there shaking and was so pitiful. Charlie would flip out if I tried to wear him in a backpack.

We woke up on Saturday to pouring rain, so of course we decided that Eataly was a great idea! (Well duh, it's always a great idea) That place is seriously my idea of Heaven. It's a HUGE Italian market that has little restaurants scattered throughout. We put our names on the list at the pasta restaurant in the back, and had this amazingness while we waiting at the wine and cheese place in the middle. Give me some wine and stinky cheese and I'm a happy girl! 

I had the Tagliatelle with Short Rib Ragu and it was AMAZING! I usually order vegetarian dishes when dining out, but this just sounded too good and it was so ridiculously flavorful. 

Annnnnd, of course we had to have gelato! I had the salted caramel and I'm still dreaming about it now. 

This was a quick trip, but we had the best time with our friends that we missed so much! We high tailed it back to Grand Central on Saturday afternoon to catch a train to White Plains, then drove back to Albany and were there in time for dinner and a Netflix marathon. It was nice to have the whole day on Sunday to relax and get stuff done for the week!

I wore my new FLY ART shirt for the first time on Saturday and I am so in love with it.  The creators mix classic art with hip hop lyrics - so genius. My most favorite work of art mixed with Beyonce lyrics…what's not to love? There are a ton of hilarious ones and I'm dying to get more! 

Hope y'all had a great weekend! 

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I got an e-mail from my friend, Tori, today with the link to a blog that her gorgeous wedding was featured on! I made the bridesmaids' bouquets, the burlap banner, and the little mason jar signs on the bar - so it was fun to see some of my work featured! Check it out!

Engage-iversay!

September 20, 2008

Six years ago today, Joe asked me to marry him. What a day that was!

Wofford played the University of South Carolina that day - and almost won! I was surrounded by family and my closest friends at the tailgate and game (which I didn't realize until later that Joe had asked them all to come without me knowing!)

I waited outside of the locker room to take a picture with him in his jersey, just as I had done for the million games before, and I couldn't figure out why he was acting so weird. I chalked it up to him being mad about losing, and went back to the tailgate with everyone.

When he got there, he asked me to walk over with him away from everyone, and he dropped down to one knee and asked me to marry him with a ring that held the diamond that once belonged to my great grandmother Molly. I was so surprised and in shock that Joe was able to plan the perfect proposal without my nosy self finding out about it.

The most perfect day with the most perfect boy and I will cherish those memories forever!