Catch Up

Oh Boy.

So last week I worked five days in a row. I will never ever ever do that again. It wasn't that bad until the fifth day when shit hit the fan. Literally.

This week however, I have managed to squeeze in a little fun with all the housework I have to do. 

Tuesday we "did the Dan." 

There is a river about 40 minutes away and you pay to rent a tube to float down the Dan River for about 2.5 hours. Drinking is involved of course. With pit-stops along the way to explore caves and climb rocks and sit on the beaches it ended up taking about 4 hours total. 

It was ridiculously pretty up that way and of course it oh so much fun with my amazing co-workers. I know I mention often how much I love them but I really do love them :) 

The rest of this week will be filled with cleaning and organizing this dang on house! 

Jared's parents are coming in from Texas next week for an extended weekend stay with us. I could not be more excited to have them since they haven't been out to NC since the wedding. And the last time they were here to stay with us we were living in a dump. So it will be nice for them to see the much larger rental we have up-graded to.

Just need to make this house look somewhat presentable by then.

When I am not cleaning, this is what I am doing. 

Jared may be gone two nights a week, which is incredibly lonely. But, I still get my kisses in from Beau and Maverick guards the house from ducks on TV.

 Also, the single gal lifestyle a few nights a week leads to meals like this. Lots of wine and sushi to keep me company. [frozen meals not pictured]

I miss my husband and can't wait until all this back and forth is over for good! 

Oh well, soon enough. 

For now, back to sorting laundry and cleaning out the ever-so-cluttered garage.

Ocracoke 2014

I am trying to catch up from last weekend still

we had a fabulous extended weekend vacay in the beautiful Outer Banks, NC

thanks to our wonderful friends, Bunn, Paula, and of course the entire Boddie clan for hosting a very large group of us at their gorgeous beach house on Ocracoke

this was our third year on this trip and it never disappoints 

and with a group of friends like ours it is nothing short of a good time

this is the whole gang

yep. that is a full sized volleyball court, two massive-ass flag poles, four tents, and a ridiculous number of coolers

Bunn is never one to come without toys
he handmade this portable bar. yes, that is rope trim. yes, it had a gold crab detail on the bar top. yes, it had multiple shelves behind there.
does it get better?
well yes, we added our Margaritaville machine and had frozen margaritas on the beach

Bunn had everyone bring a flag that describes them as couple...

here is the whole beach gang

every couple had matching Tommy Bahama chairs from Costco.
Jared and mine are the only ones that don't match...fail. 

beep.beep. this was our ride for the weekend

were adding a little bundle of joy to our fantastic group in January!
#paulaispreggers
can't wait to be an adoptive aunt

as if this weekend could really get any better

we were given some of the most exciting news on Friday morning

#notpreggers

I can't wait to share

this week I work 12-8-8-12-12 in a row

if you're a nurse you will understand

I will be very surprised if I can hold my head up come Saturday...

finally, Jared had his very first day at his new job on Monday!!!!!!! 

I am so freaking proud of my man

so looking forward to all the fun we will share on this new journey

Happy Birthday America!

Fourth of July is definitely one of my favorite holidays

it is no secret that I love a day spent on the beach or boat with family and friends 

and that is what America's birthday in Wilmington is all about

this year marked my seventh year spent on Figure Eight Island with the same group of wonderful friends

the hubs and I nailed it with our Walmart America gear

Jared and I spent the evening at a wine and craft beer spot just up the road from my mom's house where we sipped drinks, listened to live music, watched some fireworks and discussed our move back to Raleigh

perfect ending to a perfect day with a perfect guy :) 

Fermental, the cutest little bar near Middle Sound

with the Fourth being on a Friday this year, it meant we had even more time at the beach

so yep, you guessed it, Saturday was another day on the island

Jared and Will had the brilliant idea of bringing a dolly for the coolers and trekking it all around

major fail: they ended up getting in too deep [literally] and almost drowned with that damn dolly getting out to the boat

happy happy happy 

what better way to end a day like that?

with dinner and drinks at Dockside of course 

the next day we traveled back to Raleigh with my mom to look at some open houses

I did the unthinkable in the house buying process

I fell in love before we knew where we stood on pricing

not good Lauren, not good. 

on another note, I bought a new curling wand with recommendation from Megan at Style Me Swanky

using the Remington Teardrop Curling Wand from the ever so lovable Target hit the spot

loved the way it made looser curls and gave it a little carefree feel

finally, have I mentioned that I love my coworkers

our patient advocate found me yesterday and said, "I have a surprise for you!" and gave me this Coke with my name on it! 

so sweet :) 

yep, that's my name!

sadly, today is my one day off this week

which means it will be filled with errands and cleaning