2011: A Year In Pictures

January brought us birthdays and snow.

February and March brought us no pictures. I blame wedding planning, working, and going to school. Good enough excuses, right?

April brought us RC's last dine-out, cookouts at Lake Hartwell, and Easter celebrations.

May brought us so much joy with our graduations, wedding, and honeymoon!

June brought another lonely summer as the Army took my boy away. My remedy? Hugging sweet babies and hanging out with close friends. :)

July brought the discovery of sweet notes my love had left behind for me.

August brought the creation of our iPhone infatuation and my last weekend in Greenville

September brought us to Army Town #1 where we experienced our first "icebreaker" and met some dear friends that have helped GA feel a little more like "home".

October brought... what else... Octoberfest!

November brought RC's birthday, a trip to the Infantry Museum, and Thanksgiving.

December brought us a ski-trip, Christmas, and cherished time with family!

Goodbye 2011 you were too good to us!

Please bring us more of the same 2012!

Merry Christmas, all!

Happy Holidays, everyone! 

We are thoroughly enjoying the holidays and are really looking forward to an oyster roast on New Years! Oh, and did I mention we are in SC? It's so good to be home. Luckily RC had almost 3 weeks off from work so we were able to travel home for a nice long visit. Almost as long as the Christmas Break we've been used to having in college. We began our Christmas Exodus with a trip to Snowshoe, West Virginia with RC's family for some snowboarding (him) and skiing (me)!

We had a wonderful time hitting the slopes together every morning and walking around the village for some Starbucks in the evening. We also threw in a few night-ski sessions here and there. The weather was oddly warm (like high 40s) and we only had one day of semi-bad weather (rain). The plus side of "bad weather" is no one is on the mountain! RC and I took advantage of that and got in a ton of runs that day! If you haven't been to Snowshoe it's a great ski resort! It's definitely in the middle of nowhere (and there's no cell service AT ALL), but they've created a great atmosphere in a place they call "the village" where everything is located- restaurants, hotels, shopping, and rentals! Here's a cheesy picture I stole from Google to give you an idea.  We made it back to Charleston on Christmas Eve Eve and settled in with my family. We took our annual family Christmas picture and RC and I took our first Christmas picture together as a married couple! Unfortunately we didn't take many pictures together Christmas morning neither at my house, my grandparents, or the in-laws. But believe we had a wonderful time and Santa was very good to us!

Christmas Decorations

Our Christmas decorations come to you courtesy of Walmart and Hobby Lobby! Lately I've been into the rustic feel and both stores had some great stuff! The cute pinecones on the tree were from Walmart and are actually clip-ons that fit right onto the tree branches. They were under a $1 a piece and I'm actually thinking about going back to get some more! Mr. Countdown Snowman is probably my favorite! I found him at Hobby Lobby and I think he's just adorable. (Obviously I took this picture a couple days ago because now we're even closer to Christmas! Yay!) Our Christmas decorations are definitely a little sparse, but I think that's something that will change the longer we're together! After all, this is only our first Christmas together! :) Next on my shopping list is to actually go out and purchase an 'Our First Christmas' ornament!

Also, on the Christmas note... I don't think I really need to go out and say it, but...

Michael Buble + Christmas.... can it get any better?

Thanksgiving Weekend Cont'd

I'd like to introduce you to one of my Charleston favorites... TACO BOY!

Saturday night my parents treated us to Taco Boy.

It was a perfect night for numerous reasons.

1) I was with my entire family and hubby in the same city.

2) I got a nice cold Corona Light.

3) The Charleston weather was perfect.

4) The outdoor seating allowed us to smell the salty air.

5) I was bold and tried their "Mexican Street Corn". Maybe, the second best decision of my life after marrying RC! ;) It's a deliciously fried corn cob spiced with cayenne pepper and rolled in feta cheese. To. Die. For!

Seriously, kids. If you're in Charleston please take the time to go to Taco Boy. You won't regret it! They have two locations. One downtown... the perfect end to a day of shopping. And one on Folly Beach... the perfect end to a day on the beach.

Now that I've made you all hungry, I hope you have a wonderful Monday!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving Day

This year, for the first time, our families had a joint Thanksgiving dinner.

Since this is the last time for a while that RC and I will be in South Carolina for the holidays, our families wanted to have one big Thanksgiving celebration instead of making us split up the day. And we were so thankful! It was so nice to have everyone together. We're blessed that our families get along so well!

Ross and his dad playing Bocce.

My stud of a husband.

Hanging out with my "little" brothers.

My sweet momma

Giving RC's cat Toby some lovin'.

The Day After Thanksgiving

My family has always had a special tradition. It's almost bigger than Thanksgiving! The day after Thanksgiving we always go to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then head out to pick/cut down our Christmas tree! And from the picture below you can tell there are a lot of us! This was the first year RC was able to participated with us! :)

The whole loud and crazy group.

My love.

Happy 6 Months

Today marks 6 months since we said I do! We chose to do things a little different and ate our 1 year anniversary cake 6 months early! Once we found out about our big move we realized transporting a cake overseas probably won't be the most feasible option. I'm all about traditions and I like the nostalgia of wedding memories. BUT our cake tasted delicious.  It kept very well and we didn't have to worry about freezer burn and all the horror stories of a nasty year old cake. I'm thinking in another 6 months maybe we'll have a delicious German pastry.

Showin' Your Roots

There's something RC and I both learned really quickly. When you move away from your home state 1) you miss it dearly 2) you gain even more pride in your state and 3) you want to showcase that pride.

Side note: Of course, this only applies if your from a state as a freakin' awesome as South Carolina.

In South Carolina there is a ton of state pride! We market the jank out of our state flag. You see the cute palmetto tree and crescent moon on EVERYTHING! I'm talking car decals, belts, tumblers, t-shirts, flip flops, and Columbia jackets. Basically, think of anything a college logo would be put on and that's we do for our STATE. (I think Georgia tried to the same thing with like a cute peach emblem... I don't know if it ever took off.) People are proud to be from South Carolina, and if you've ever visited you know why!

So when RC's family came to visit for his birthday they brought a lot of South Carolina with them! We now have honey from John's Island, stone ground grits from Charleston, pralines from the market, and plenty of paraphernalia. As you can tell, we were grateful and RC was very happy! :)

When you drive into any parking lot at a military installation you will see license plates from all over. You drive around post and you'll see many homes hanging the US flag as well as representing the flag of their home state. It's one of my favorite things about the Army.

I am so proud to represent the state of South Carolina.

It's where I'm from and will always be a part of me.

It's the rolling hills in the upstate and the sandy beaches on the coast.

It's the use of y'all, family values, good food, and Southern manners.

It's the love of the beach, football, and church on Sundays.

It's the rivalry between a tiger and a pesky little bird.

It's home and always will be.