How to Have a Great Anniversary Weekend!

Kyle and I just returned from a little second honey-moon. It may have been just a few hours down the road to Charlotte, but any place can be exciting when you're... a) with your hubby b) staying in a super nice hotel for free  c) eating 2 super delicious breakfasts & 1 really expensive dinner for free and d) celebrating your 1st anniversary! 


So, I thought I'd share some insider tips on how to have a great 1st anniversary weekend.


1. If you're driving, make sure you DO have a super amazing GPS. With that being said, make sure that your hubby actually listens to the GPS so that you can avoid the multiple recalculations of routes. And, I swear, our GPS persons voice sounds more than slightly agitated when she recalculates!


2. DO stop in and see one of your high school besties for a quick bite on your way into town and to get lots of suggestions for good eats around the city! (Thanks, Becca!) *Note to self...remember to take picture to document said encounter*


3. DO indulge your hubby in a cheesy Diet Pepsi toast while checking out the view from the hotel!

4. DO treat yourselves to a nice couples massage


5. DON'T schedule the couples massage before 11 or shower beforehand. Who know they rub your face and head with lotion. I left looking a hot a mess!


6. DO check out the location of things before hopping in the car to drive there. You might just find that the restaurant is right around the corner, aka, in walking distance from your hotel. This could help you avoid paying a $6 parking fee on top of the $12 one you were already paying to park all day at your hotel!


7. If you're in Charlotte, DO eat at Vida for the best Mexican food ever. Hello best salsa ever made!

8. DON'T freak out if it storms horribly with threats of tornados all day long. So what if your hotel is in the perfect location for walking everywhere in uptown Charlotte. Driving is fun too, right!?


9. DO visit Ikea. It will be life-changing. Enough said! (Sidenote...it was a small miracle that we managed to make it out of there for under $100!)

10.  Again, if you're in Charlotte, DO eat at the Harvest Moon restaurant for dinner. Especially if you have a $75 gift certificate to eat there, in which case you should order 2 glasses of wine, an appetizer, 2 meals, and 2 desserts (and a diet coke!). This will put you only $2 over, which will be the best $2 you spend for food in your life!

11. DO read or re-read all of your post-cards (or sweet messages from your wedding guests) that you saved for your anniversary.  You might stumble upon some gems of advice!

12. DO treat yourself to a nice dinner the night of. It's okay if this time you have to pay because you already got one, free, nice meal!

13. DO get someone to take your picture. Trust me, you will want to remember this day even if your hubby is rethinking that marriage because he's embarrassed to trouble someone with taking our picture! 

14. DON'T forget about eating the top layer of your cake! You may have heard that it won't taste good, but you should try it anyways. You might get lucky like us and the cake will taste just as good! 

15. DO take a moment to remember your special day and all of the great things from your first year of marriage!

First of Many...Wedding Anniversary Numero Uno!

I cannot believe Kyle and I have our first 365 days of marriage behind us! I've been anticipating this day coming for a couple of weeks now, and I just can't help but feel completely overwhelmed with happiness, joy, and loads of love.  More so than ever before, we have become a true team this year, a partnership, and it has been so special to see how easily we fell into the roles of husband and wife. This is not to say that this year or our relationship has been perfect...that would be a far cry from the truth. But that makes this year even more special to me. The fact that we sit here, 365 days after we said our vows, through all that life has thrown at us (the good and the bad) this past year, just as in love, if not more!

So, in honor of this day, I am excited to share our story.


Travel back with me to October 23, 1999. 7th grade. Ms. Chodrow's class.  Kyle is the new student in our class. He had just moved to Wilmy from Fayetteville.  I don't exactly remember that day. In fact, one of my only real memories of that year is one that I'd like to forget. Because my friend, Caroline, and I may or may not have accidentally started a little rumor about Kyle that may or may not have gotten his start at good ol' Roland Grise off to a rocky start. Luckily, he doesn't hold that against me! And, luckily, Kyle was super tall and athletic and quickly found friends through sports.  My other memory of that year is our class trip to Camp Kanuga which consists of one of my best guy friends at the time, Matt, running out of the boys' cabin yelling "Kyle is shaving in the bathroom!" Yep, Kyle was pretty much a man in 7th grade! Did I mention he was really tall?


Fast forward to 10th grade. Kyle sat behind me in Geometry class. This was the year that Kyle and I became really good friends. I even have the card that Kyle made for me on my 16th birthday, which said "Happy Birthday!" and something about my present being some free math tutoring lessons...which is hilarious because I'm pretty sure I did better than Kyle in that class! This was also the year that I was asked to be the scorekeeper for the basketball team since my brother was on the team, and I went to all the games anyways. Kyle played on the JV team at that time, but I was around him all the time between school and games.  


During our junior year, I had the tough job of riding the bus with the team to all of their away games. Imagine, me, the lone girl, with 15 boys on a bus. Let's just say I was in HEAVEN!  Some friends were working on setting Kyle and me up, but I was also flirting with another guy on the team named, Nolan. I distinctly remember going up to the coach, who is my preacher's son and also was one of my youth group leaders, and saying, "Who should I go for. Kyle or Nolan?" He bluntly stated, "Kyle." A couple days later, we had our first date scheduled!


Now, if you know me, you know that I eat dinner super early. Our date was originally scheduled for Saturday, but Kyle called me on Friday (at 5:00pm), and asked if we could go that night. I can't even remember why! All  I know is that I had already eaten dinner but agreed to go anyways. We went to Carraba's with our couple friends, David and Liz, and I ordered a water. And that's it! If only I were as healthy now as I was then. We went back to David's house, where I fell asleep in Kyle's arms while watching Old School. At 10:00, Kyle promptly walked me to my car so that I could be home for my 10:30 curfew since I had to take the SAT's the next day! It was a great first date (minus the fact  that I passed up a free meal!).


A couple of weeks later, on December 12, 2003, Kyle asked me to be his girlfriend while we were watching Red Dragon at his house. It doesn't get more high school than that!

We took one step forward and never looked back! Prom, high school graduation, college, college graduation, first jobs....we've been through it all together! Kyle asked me to marry him the August before my senior year of college, and we said "I do" on April 17, 2010.  We are the best of friends, polar opposites, and the loves of each other's lives.  

Kyle, you are my one great love.  Here's to us celebrating this love for many years to come!

It's Friday, Fridayyyy...Gotta Get Down on Friday!

Please tell me ya'll know what i'm talking about with my bloggy title! In case you've been living under a rock or don't have 9-year olds to keep you up-to-speed with pop culture and all things You-Tube, then you've most likely treated yourself to the ridonkulous lovely song about Friday. This song is especially helpful for teaching the days of the week OR encouraging bad grammar ("We we we so excited?")! You have to drop everything and watch now! Then, enjoy the even better version by Colbert & Fallon!



Rebecca Black - Friday (OFFICIAL VIDEO) by timesbg


Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon - Friday by RofV

Soooo...have you made your mind up!? Are you kickin' in the front seat or sittin' in the back seat?


Hope you have a GREAT Friday tomorrow!!!! I know I will because Kyle and I are headed on a weekend get-a-way to celebrate our 1 year anniversary on Sunday! 

April Showers...the Baby Kind!

One of my fellow 3rd grade teachers and unofficial mentors, affectionately known as Feixy, is having a baby boy in just a few short weeks! Therefore, the week of showers for her has begun as we're scrambling to get them done in case we have an early arrival on our hands! 


Before I go any further, I must relay the conversation that took place in my classroom regarding said baby shower.
Me (shouting across the classroom):  Mrs. White, before I forget,  we need to talk about the baby shower cake for Mrs. Feix later today
Mrs. W:  OMG yes! The shower's next week, right?
Student: Wait, you're going to bake a cake while Mrs. Feix takes a shower? 
Gotta love those 9 year olds! 


Baby Shower Numero Uno was this morning and had some adorable decorations that I definitely snapped pics of! I was so proud of my "Bathtime Literacy" themed present of water-proof books, rubber duckies, and a froggy puppet-like wash cloth because I am such a teacher nerd! I got some great ideas for decorations if I ever have to throw a baby shower (don't get any ideas, Ash!).

Can I just say that I work with some of the most fabulous ladies ever! And, can I also say that Feixy doesn't even look preggers in this photo! Some people are just blessed w/ fabulous skinny genes!

After shower #1, I raced over to my TA, Whitey's, house to bake the cake for shower #2, which was happening the next day! We found a cute idea for a rubber ducky cake and did the best we could! Whitey taught me how to neatly ice a cake, and since I'm feeling nice, I'll share her secret, that may actually have only been a secret to me since I'm not quite so domestic, but here goes...if you do an initial layer and then put it in the freezer for 10 minutes and then ice the next layer, it works super well without tearing the cake! Woop woop!

And, just in case you were wondering if I got baby fever from all of this baby celebrating...the answer is HECK NO! I took one look at that "After Birth Survival Kit," which included hemorrhoid cream, stool softeners, and numbing spray for your crouch...YIKES! I'd like to buy into the stork dropping off the baby option, please!

Annoying Wasp & Awkward Turtle

Dear Mr. Wasp Who Has Taken Over Our Mailbox,


You are not a cat, so why do you have 9 flipping lives!? You have overstayed your welcome, given me numerous near-heart-attacks, and procreated. This is not okay. We kindly left the door open for you to peacefully leave. We not so kindly swatted you out. We even went so far as to spray you. Get the heck out! 


LYLAS,
Lu

In other news,  I think that I just won neighbor-of-the-year with the stunt I just pulled.  So, I've been doing Zumba and been learning lots of new dance moves, some of which are super sexy...which is just hilarious because I am not a sexy dancer at all! When Kyle and I come home from the gym, I always get out before he pulls in the garage because it's a really tight squeeze. And, because I am a dork, I've been trying out some of my moves as Kyle continues to pull into the garage. He laughs, I laugh...good times all around! Welllllll, smarty pants over here decides to do this in broad daylight after dinner. I strike my pose, do my sexy hip movements, and I turn around and am horrified to see my neighbor across the street and his 2-year old son, staring at me, also in horror! What do I do...I wave and hightail it inside! Holy crow, awkward turtles! I am putting myself on house arrest until this embarrassing incident blows over!

Anddddd....I am super excited to announce that I am officially going to be a tar-heel again! I found out today that I was accepted into the School of Ed's Master's for Experienced Teachers (Literacy Concentration) Program! And the best news is that I get to do it with one of my bff's, Ash, and some other teaching friends! Wahooo! Ash and I have been talking about this for so long because we had to get our "plans" down (aka weddings, masters, babies, etc) and we are right on schedule! Now if I could just remember how to write a paper....and read long assignments!

My Not So Springy Break: Part I

With all of the snow days we've had this year, it had been forever since we'd had a break because ALL teacher workdays were turned into make-up days. With that said, I was in mad need of a break, so when 2:50pm on Friday rolled around, I was one happy camper! What made it even better was that Friday was a teacher workday, so I was able to actually get things done before the break. Report cards. Check! Speaking of snow...did I mention that the weather was in the 40's and calling for snow in Bmore and the triangle. WTH Mr. Weatherman. Let's just say my spring break felt more like winter break. And I'm glad Beebs had an extra pair of Ugg boots that I could borrow for one day of the trip! 

 I was so excited to leave Saturday morning for Baltimore to visit my college bestie and bride-to-be, Beebs! She's been engaged since February, but I haven't gotten to see her yet! I'd been getting lots of updates on wedding plans, but one piece was missing. No official askage to be a bridesmaid! I wasn't concerned because we've probably been talking about her wedding party since we were sophomores in college, but I was hoping it would happen this trip! That's why I was so excited when she had a pretty little bag waiting on the coffee table when we got to their house! No beating around the bush! She asked me to read the card first, which was so sweet, and of course, made me cry, and then let me look at the goodies! It's a little hard to see in the pics, but she had tervis tumbler made that said "Laura, will you be my bridesmaid" and filled it with chocolate (my favorite!). She also had these amazing brownies called FairyTale brownies that her mom had sent us in college. Needless to say, I'm pretty sure I ate most of them, and it was so thoughtful of her to remember how much I loved them! She also put in an adorable picture-frame of us (that matched the bag!) from my bridal luncheon...most likely to be replaced with a picture from all of the upcoming wedding festivities! I felt so special and honored to be asked to stand up with her on her big day and was excited to enjoy a weekend with her and Brian!

I can sum up our trip to Baltimore in 2 of my favorite words: eating and shopping! Beebs and I can shop with the best of them, and I always love a good meal...or dessert...or both! They live in a cute part of Bmore called Locus Point where you can literally walk to all kinds of cute restaurants, shops, and bars AND you're just a short drive or water taxi away from the harbor and other cute areas! On Saturday we ate lunch at a yummy place called Shuckers on the harbor and dinner at an adorable italian place called Pazzaluna right near their house! We shopped at Arundel Mills outlet mall after I may or may not have misread Beeb's iphone map and gotten us super far out of the way...woops! I got to meet Beeb's friend, Paige, and we went out for dessert to the original Vicarros in Little Italy where I indulged in a brownie sundae to die for! 

Sunday morning we brunched at Spoons before another afternoon of shopping, and I met her friends, Andrea and Nick, and got to see their new house! We rooted on our Tarheels in the game against Kentucky while eating a fajita feast at Beeb's mom's, Ms. Becky's, house and felt guilty about eating Kentucky Derby pie after we lost...but only for a hot second because that is probably my favorite dessert EVER! Sidenote-- I didn't get to try the pie until after college because Beebs accidentally dropped it in the parking lot the one time she brought some back to school for me after Thanksgiving! It was worth the wait!

Monday morning we sadly parted with Beebs and Bdo (well technically it was Sunday night) and headed into D.C. for a quick day visit! Can I just say that we somehow never once got in any of the dreaded traffic I always think of when I think of that area and that our GPS is my new bff! We have even named her the Dame because she sounds so fancy...and Brittish! There were 2 things I wanted to do in DC, and Kyle was kind enough to oblige. I have always been interested in reading and learning about the Holocaust but had never made it to the museum. And, as I mentioned in my last bloggy, I was dying to go to Georgetown Cupcakes where DC Cupcakes is filmed! Both were amazing, but in 2 completely different ways.  I won't speak much on the Holocaust museum,  other than to say that you just need to go and experience it for yourself. And give yourself more than 2 hours. And I apologize for the lack of pictures...but it was just too darn cold! At least we got one (sort of) with the Washington Monument in the background! Our one piece of evidence that we actually did go to DC!

Now, for a topic that I hold dear to my heart...cupcakes! Specifically, Georgetown Cupcakes. I was so afraid that we  wouldn't be able to find it or that the line would be too long or the traffic would keep us from getting there. But, like everything on this trip, it went SO smoothly! We found it thanks to the Dame. Kyle dropped me off and went to find parking so I could get in the line. It wasn't too long of a line out the door. I maybe waited for about 15 minutes, which was put to good use picking out my cupcakes with the menu that they so kindly handed out to everyone in line. Kyle joined me and we made it in and out with the snap of a finger! I was just so impressed with how efficient the whole process went. You can tell that they definitely know how to handle the masses! The shop was super cute and the cupcakes were amazing! We got 6 cupcakes (2 chocolate on chocolates, 1 chocolate on vanilla, 1 toffee, 1 white birthday cake, and 1 cinnamon). I tried all but the cinnamon because I'm not much of a fan and was sugared out at that point! And surprisingly, the toffee was my favorite! Something about the cream-cheese icing and toffee combo really stole my heart! Not that the others weren't absolutely amazing!  Georgetown cupcakes, you have my stamp of approval...for what it's worth!

After our cupcake rendezvous, we hopped back in the car and drove to Sterling, VA to meet up with Kyle's best friend from high school, David, and his wife, Lia, for dinner at Sweet Water Tavern. We had a great time catching up with them over a delicious meal! We could've stayed longer but we also wanted to get in a good visit with my cousin's family, who we were staying with that night! I had promised my cousin, Anna, a cupcakes, and luckily, we were able to deliver! Aunt Clair, Uncle Philip, Anna, their other Grandparents, the Peytons, Kyle and I all gathered around their kitchen to share the last remnants of the cupcakes! The cupcakes got their seal of approval as well! We also got to meet their new doggy, Captain, who is a frisky little fellow! He was so excited to see us and sad to see us go that he piddled on the floor both times! I wish that we could have stayed longer because our quick little visit just didn't do, but we are looking forward to being up that way again soon!

We drove home on Tuesday to end Part I of my Spring Break! I was so excited to get home so that I could lay out all of the new UnderArmor that I scored while I was up there! Did I mention that Beebs works for them and that she so kindly emptied out a little of her closet of some things that she was done with and let me have them! We also shopped for some at the outlet, too! It felt like Christmas...UA style! Nothing motivates me more to work out than cute workout clothes!  I promised her that now, I had no excuse to not go to the gym! Feast your eyes on this friends....thank you Beebs!

Stay tuned for Part II!