Julia's Bachelorette Bash!

well I am certainly getting good at this once a week every Wednesday thing...

whoops. 

anyways, this post is brought to you by my semi-still-hungover-25-year-old-self

seriously. 

I can't drink like I used to. 

and this weekend was pure madness but oh so much fun

a group of a 11 of us traveled from all over to Asheville, NC to celebrate Julia's bachelorette weekend!

we rented the most gorgeous house outside of town

I mean, really, look at that kitchen.

Friday night we decided stayed in

there was lots of eating, drinking, gossiping, and catching up 

my mistake was staying up way past my bedtime 

[and enjoying probably four one too many margaritas]

Saturday we were suppose to go to the Biltmore for a wine tasting and tour 

but trying to coordinate 11 partially still drunk hungover girls proved to be a difficult task 

[mainly, we all just wanted fried food and beer]

instead we decided to go Wicked Weed Brewery 

this place was so fun and eclectic

[also full of stinky, dirty, sweaty, hippies] 

Jared would of hated it 

I only wish I hadn't felt so stinking bad to enjoy the beautiful afternoon there

[damn you tequila and wine] 

after much needed naps back at the house

we headed out again for dinner

we ate at The Southern

which has fun twists on classic southern dishes with rotating seasonal items

so good.

then it was time for more drinks and dancing all around downtown

Julia, the soon to be Mrs Landen in May! 

fake mustaches were a must. 

it was so much fun to have a girls weekend away 

and obviously I took full advantage because I am still recovering from it 

Sunday Jared and I met some of my friends from work to see the movie Divergent

we have all read the books and agreed it was a good movie but definitely strays from the book itself

now it is back to real life and work. 

but I am off again for Gwyn's bridal shower in Raleigh this weekend

I am a bridesmaid in her wedding and she is also getting married in May!

the trip is also a good excuse to catch up with some of my favorite Raleigh ladies as well

Twenty Five!

I had the best birthday ever! 

[literally]

and I have the best husband, family and friends a girl could as for :) 

warning: this is an extremely long-winded-wordy-mushy-gushy post

last thursday was my actual birthday

first Elizabeth took me to lunch at the Pegg House Tea Room

it is this darling victorian style house transformed into a restaurant in downtown Kernersville

after lunch she took me for a wine tasting and cupcakes 

my idea of a perfect way to spend a day

yes, Jared got me a giant jar of olives as a gift

after my day with Elizabeth it was time for an evening with the husband 

I have had a birthday tradition of eating at Japanese steakhouses for as long as I can remember

this year was no exception

 after dinner we ate ice cream in bed and watched a movie 

the day was just my style and I loved every minute of it 

little did I know the birthday celebrations were far from over... 

I thought the plan was to have my mom come up for the day on Saturday to spend the day together

earlier in the week everyone I had talked to about coming to visit had a reason not to come up for the weekend

I was a little bummed but was excited to spend some time with my mom

however, Jared had concocted the best surprise ever for me

he tricked me into thinking he had to go into work for a little while on Saturday morning 

so he was gone all morning

my mom called me on her way and said "Lauren, please don't wear leggings, I know it is Saturday, but will you please put on real clothes in case we go somewhere nice for lunch." 

I got ready 

[begrudgingly, because I was fighting a cold] 

shortly after my mom showed up, my brother and Matthew surprised me and said they were there to take me to a late birthday lunch

[confused but still excited]

my mom kept saying, "lets just wait for Jared and see if he wants to go to lunch too"

so we waited...

after Jared pulled in the drive way I saw this limo drive by the house

I said "umm, what is that?!?" 

Jared just grabbed my hand and said, "come on" 

as we walked down the driveway 

[hands shaking the whole time] 

I kept asking "who is in there?" "is it empty?" "is that what were taking to lunch and to get our nails done?"

Jared said "ugh, you will see!" 

he opened the door and to my surprise all my best girlfriends were packed inside!! 

[they came from all over: Charlotte, Raleigh and...Kernersville]

I was so shocked I started to cry

Jared said "get in, this is how you are spending your day!" 

my response, "but, I am not dressed in my limo clothes!"

after many hugs we got settled in the limo and started popping champagne

the sweet little mimosa bar the girls set up!

I found out Jared had planned out the whole day for us to be taken to local wineries 

he even mapped it all out based on which ones were top rated in the area

[he is just so darling, I can't stand it!]

then I realized this was the first time my mom had ever ridden in a limo!! 

which made the day even that much more special that I got to share it with her!

Jared didn't want to go to on the tours because he said wanted me to have the time with my friends and family

[but, really NC State was playing Duke and he's more of a Prosecco man ;)]

here are all the group shots at the different wineries we visited

Elkin Creek Vineyard

Grassy Creek Vineyard

Jones vonDrehle Vineyard

 such a fun day with all of my favorite people in the world & all planned by my favorite person in the world! 

it was really special because he came up with the whole plan all on his own and this was the first real time he has ever surprised me

[besides the engagement]

I will cherish that day forever and think it is one of the best gifts he could of given me 

I am beyond lucky

[sorry to sound so "braggy, but he is just so great to me!]

now just one more day of work stands between me and a long girl's mountain weekend in Asheville for Julia's bachelorette party! 

Saying Goodbye to 24

today is my last day being a 24 year old

and this is how we I feel...

probably being a little dramatic about turning 25 

it is not the getting "older" part because I really am excited about what the future holds 

but last year was so amazing for me it scares me that I will keep trying to top it or keep trying to hold on to that feeling and miss what is happening in the moment

I want to embrace and remember every minute I have now with my husband, family, and friends

anyways...here is how I have spent my last week in my early 20's 

this past weekend Jared went on a bachelor party weekend getaway 

so it was me and the dogs alone all weekend 

thank goodness I worked all weekend so I didn't go stir crazy in the house

the weather this week so far has been gorgeous 

we have been grilling out and starting to crack open our favorite spring/summer cocktail

which is basically anything with gin 

and attempting to make salsa at home...

it was a semi-fail..will never be K38

we got this adorable glasses from Alyson as a wedding shower gift
perfect for our favorite drinks!

we are all ready for Saint Patrick's day with this festive chalkboard quote 

I stole from my favorite blogger Little Baby Garvin 

I have always loved my birthday being right before Saint Patrick's Day 

any excuse to day drink and eat fun food! 

and it made for lots of fun birthday celebrations in college

oh the days...

well I will be spending my last day as 24 working in the ED.

here is to a great shift today! 

[and not too many crazies...]

can't wait for birthday celebrations tomorrow!!! 

[and all weekend]

Gym Curls

ok, so this post is actually about two totally different things

I thought the title was witty... 

Jared and I joined a gym! 

we I have been wanting to get in better shape for awhile now 

I definitely did not watch my weight before the wedding 

because I wanted to look like "me" and not some cracked out, starving, crazy, will never look like that in a million years again, version of myself

but since we recently booked our honeymoon,

the "I don't care what I stuff my face with, without working out" mentality, doesn't really work

especially considering I will be mass documenting and will live in a bathing suit the five days we are there...

if that sucker doesn't give you motivation to join a gym, I don't know what does... 

we decided on the YMCA

mainly because I get a discount, it is close to work and home for both of us, they have pools and a crazy amount of classes for us to do! 

we already did our first class the night we signed up, Spin Class! 

which is a favorite of mine 

I think Jared thought he was in hell for 45 minutes with a middle aged blonde screaming "time for the uphill, pedal faster!!!" at him.

then Jared found the machine that makes him feel like Frank Underwood from House of Cards 

hopefully we can keep up the gym-ing!

[if not there is always wine to drown out the image of thunder thighs]

on another note

I hopped on the bandwagon and bought a curling wand today

I have hesitated buying one for a long time because I thought, why waste the money when my hair won't even hold a curl 

hello, my prayers have been answered with this wand

it was so easy to use and you seriously can't beat the price

and my hair has stayed curly for over 7 hours + a workout

this is worth the money

[again, sorry for the selfies...they are necessary with hair posts]

the right is before the gym [and teasing and tossing and turning and cleaning house] and the left is after

it is freaking amazing! 

I am going to have to practice with it a few more times to achieve the look I want

but overall I am really excited with how it turned out

many thanks to youtube videos or else I would of looked more of a hot-mess and probably burnt my fingers off 

Happy Birthday Layne

this past weekend Jared and took a trip down to Raleigh to spend the weekend celebrating two special people 

Friday night we went to dinner with Caitlin and Alyson 

then had a few friends over to Caitlin and Layne's house for wine and gossip 

so much fun to catch up with old friends 

and getting to finally meet my fur-niece, Penny, who is just too cute for her own good 

she's a 17 week old golden/corgi mix 

Penny loves a good selfie as much as the rest of us

Saturday was super busy 

first we headed to brunch at a new restaurant that opened in North Hills, Another Broken Egg 

they were  doing a "soft opening" to train their staff and chefs 

luckily our friends, Katie and Austin, had the invitation and reservation so the food was on the house

just had an optional donation to the charity if choice for that day 

and the food was incredible!

[sorry no foodie shots of the meal, we all inhaled our dishes]

after brunch we went to the NC State vs Miami basketball game 

the Smiths have season tickets to the games and invited us to tag along

it was so fun...even though we lost 

the really neat part is that they celebrated the 1974 NC State championship team 

they were just too darling watching their highlight reel on the jumbotron 

after the game we grabbed a late lunch at a local NC State hotspot, Player's Retreat

just good ol bar food and lots of university history :)

then it was time to set up for the surprise party we were hosting for Layne 

her boyfriend, Mat took her out for dinner so we could get everything together 

#partypenny before the big surprise

so much love in one picture!
met these fabulous people 7 years ago in our dorm Freshman year of college

Sunday was just too gorgeous for words

we had lunch on the porch of our old stomping ground, East Village before loading up and heading back to Kernersville 

then we had a very lazy day watching House of Cards 

yes, we are addicted to the show and yes, we wasted a perfectly gorgeous day in bed

judge us. 

sadly, its back to snowy/wintery weather mix and chili in the crockpot 

so.over.it. 

Happy Monday!