Married Weekends

People always said your social life would completely change after you get married. They said your priorities will change because there are two people, two schedules and two groups of friends to consider now. Translation, you will stop going out and partying on the weekends as much because you'd rather be an old married couple. This is totally true but, I think people should change this warning to: your social life will completely change when you become a homeowner. 

Seriously, we bought our house at the end of August and it is all I think and talk about. Our weekends are consumed with home projects, trips to the home improvement stores, pinning about home updates and projects, cleaning the house and conversations about the house. We don't like to stay out late partying on Fridays and Saturdays because we would rather not be hungover so we can be productive the next day (though, maybe that's a little bit of adulthood coming out). Clothes shopping has fallen to the wayside because I'd rather spend that money on end tables. We are obsessed and we love it.

This weekend was no different. It was the prefect mix of old married couple and homeowners. 

First, on Friday night we went to a uber romantic dinner at one of our favorite spots near our house, Sawmill Taproom. It's really just a sports bar, but they have Hell Yes Ma'am on draft year round, so always a winner. They do have spectacular burgers and sweet potato tots as well. To be honest though, we mainly go for the beer. 

yep, we sat fireside at Sawmill. telling you, uber classy.

Second, we are trying to decide on an all over paint color for the living rooms, hallways, and kitchen. I painted the kitchen and dining room about two weeks after we moved in and made a clutch decision on the colors. BIG MISTAKE. I love the dining room color but loathe the kitchen color. I wanted a light grey and it looks lavender in our kitchen. Yes, I got the samples and tested them on the walls and even questioned it before I chose. That will not happen again. We currently have five different color samples on the walls literally all over our house (15 places to be exact). I am going to get this right this time. I digress, so we spent a bit of time picking a favorite. We both have the same favorite but want to give it just a little more time before running out and purchasing five gallons. 

swatches.all.over.the.house.

Third, we are working on updating the downstairs guest bedroom. I have so many big ideas for this room and can't wait to see them come to life (hopefully). We are in a bit of a time crunch on this room though because my older brother just got a new job in Raleigh and will be staying with us part of the week so he won't be commuting from Wilmington everyday. I really want most of it finished before he starts staying here next week. Yeah...we will see how that pans out. 

current state of our downstairs guest bedroom. disaster. 

Fourth, Jared spent a lot of money time working on his bike Saturday. I love that he has found this as a little hobby of his. He is just too adorable working out in the garage with the bike all in pieces trying to make it just right. He officially got it working so now we can start riding all the fabulous greenways and trails we have around our house. 

Fifth, we went to see a six o'clock movie on  Saturday night. I know, so wild of us. We saw American Sniper. It was truly AMAZING. Bradley Cooper deserves all kinds of awards for that performance.

Sixth, ended our Saturday evening with Friends in bed. We have all the DVDs but having all the episodes and seasons on Netflix makes it so much easier. So, we decided to watch it from the beginning, again.

Toss in a run, lunch with mom and her boyfriend, a trip to the grocery store, me working urgent care Sunday and Jared cleaning the house Sunday (yes he does that and I absolutely love it!) and you have our weekend wrapped in a bow.

I'm sorry, but does it get much better? I love the time we get to spend just the two of us having quality time and making the house we bought into our home. I also throughly enjoy every single minute of being the old lame married couple sometimes. Though, won't lie, I love a good night out dancing and gossiping with my girlfriends.  

Side note: I am running again, YAY! 

My sister in law got me a fitbit for Christmas and I am fully addicted to tracking my sleep and obsessed with getting 10,000 steps per day. 

Jared's 29th Birthday Bash!

We celebrated Jared's last birthday of his twenties [pour one out for all the homies] last weekend and it was a very Jared party. 

His actual birthday was on January 7th, a Wednesday, so we couldn't really do anything to crazy. All he requested for the day was homemade chili as his meal and to relax after dinner for the night. He really is such a simple and easy to please guy. I love it! 

chili for the birthday boy. his mom's recipe, of course! 

 We topped off the night with the best dessert around, cupcakes and cheap champagne. I'm telling y'all, easy to please. 

Gigi's triple chocolate chip and banana pudding for the win.  

The real celebration came the Saturday after Jared's actual birthday. I asked Jared a few weeks prior to what he wanted to do for it and he responded with, "no bar and in bed at a reasonable hour" (or something similar to that, so practical, that man). He was dead set on the no bar thing, so we decided to have people over to our house during the day and early evening for burgers, games, football, and beer (of course). I truly think we stuffed the majority of Jared's favorite things in one day! Only missed smokin' a pig and the beach. 

Austin, the man who brings his own giant mug to a party.

love these ladies and love that they came to celebrate my guy. not loving my five-head an chunky sweater arm though. 

can't celebrate this amazing man enough. lucky to have spent the past seven birthdays with him. 

ah yes, our downstairs living room was turned into a college frat room in a matter of minutes. Complete with live guitar playing, songs about sorority girls, and beer pong. I think our hand-me-down futon brought the spirit. 

Jared's birthday would not be complete without video games. where they all got their butts kicked by a girl! 

Happy 29th Birth Year to my fabulous husband! I can't wait to see what this year will bring for him! Also, can't wait to get plans going for his big 3-0 next year! If his 29th is any indication, it will be one hell of a rager. Just kidding, I am in charge of the next birthday, sorry in advanced Jared.

Playing Catch Up.

So...I lied. I was gone again for a couple months. Oops. 

But, new year, new start? 

My timehop app informed that two years ago I started this little blog which is so crazy. I am determined to stick with it. 

One big life change since last time, I had my last day at the Moses Cone ED the day before Thanksgiving.  A bitter sweet moment for me. I am so thankful to no longer be commuting nearly 1.5 hours to work and to be working normal hours. However, I miss the people I worked with so very much and I have to admit, I miss the crazy patients and stories! But, I also know I needed the change. I was losing sight of why I became a nurse in the first place. I was becoming one of those stereotypical ER nurses and I didn't like it. Elizabeth of course surprised me (even after I asked her repeatedly not to) with a going away pizza party, which also included popcorn and cucumbers (my favorite meals in nursing school) and a gigantic poster/card signed by most of co-workers. I am so surprised I didn't completely break down in tears leaving. 

In catching up, we missed the holiday posts. They were pretty similar to last year. 

Thanksgiving

We hosted again this year at our house in Raleigh. James, Matthew and my mom came from Wilmington and Jakie, Jared's cousin, came from Maryland. It was fun and stressful having it at our house again and I love the tradition we are creating. I look forward to many more Thanksgivings where people come to us for a change :) 

Jared and Jakie got handy and fixed up the kegerator we were given! oh yes, beer on tap in our garage.

Christmas

We did our usual quick trip to Texas. We flew out at 5am Sunday before Christmas and were back 10am in Wilmington Christmas morning to be with my mom and brother. The trip to Texas is never long enough, but we certainly pack in as much as we can while we are there. We spent more time with the cousins this year. We got to see Jared's best friends since middle school! I swear when those guys get together is it like not a day has passed. We also caught up with Gwyn and Neil who moved to Houston a couple months ago. It was a whirlwind as usual but I wouldn't change it for anything. 

seriously, the prairie is so gorgeous! 

I am so lucky to have a sister in law and best friend in one :) 

Then is was off to Wilmington, starting with our before the butt crack of dawn flight to make it home in time for breakfast casserole. So worth it! 

Can I throw in here that in the mix of traveling I got a text from Virginia around 8 am (in the Charlotte airport) declaring that Thomas had FINALLY proposed at 6 am Christmas morning. Totally made our traveling home that much better! 

self timer on the iPhone is so genius. 

mom made legit fondue for Christmas dinner! 

celebrating VA and Thomas engagement & an NC State bowl game win at Banks! 

I love getting to celebrate with both sides of our families for Christmas. It really is such a special time. I just can't imagine what we are going to do when we have little ones of our own. I was having anxiety watching all the parents in the airport with their rugrats during such a hectic time. I don't know if I will ever be poised enough to handle that. 

Speaking of babies, BIG NEWS, our friends, Bunn and Paula, had their precious baby girl on January 9th! She really is royalty, she shares the same birthday at the Kate Middleton. She is so beautiful already and I am thrilled I will get to watch her grow. I am also excited to see our first close friends become parents. 

I am still in shock that we are now in this phase of our lives. It seems like yesterday we were playing beer pong in a someones college apartment. Now we are engaged, married and some are having babies (while some just have baby fever). It is pure craziness I tell you, but I love every minute of it 

I'm Back!!

Ok, so I think my near 2 month long blogging hiatus is over. 

I can't make any promises. But, I will try really hard. There are big things happening in this crazy life and I want to remember and share them!

[warning, this is a long one]

Things that have happened since September 8th? 

Lets see...

We took down 3 walls in our home!!!!!

Yes, we had DEMO-day less than 24 hours after signing the closing papers. 

It was a fun challenging experience and I am still cleaning out dust and debris from nooks and crannies everywhere. But the difference in the living room and dining room are huge. Totally different rooms. However, those projects deserve there very own post. Just because they are down doesn't mean the work is over. We are so close to completion of those rooms I can taste it. 

Here are before and after/during pictures of the living room and hallway

Painted the front door red.

Because, duh, we are two NC State alum who are ridiculously excited to be back in Raleigh!! And because of all the adorable meanings that red door holds. 

Traveled to Mexico and Arizona for 11 days!

Yes, I finally took an extended (and much needed) vacation to visit my side of the family in Arizona for my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. My family has a beach house in Mexico and we went down there for a few relaxing days at the beach before making a wild trip to the Grand Canyon with all 20 of us. It was so much fun visiting with them, but I missed Jared terribly. This trip also deserves its own post.

We had our ONE YEAR wedding anniversary!!!

Even though I was in Mexico without Jared we still managed to make is special. We skyped that day of and then celebrated at Angus Barn, where we had our first dating anniversary. The couple next to us heard it was our one year anniversary and paid for our meal. We had no idea they had done it until they were long gone and we couldn't even thank them.

This past year of marriage has been amazing and I can't wait for what the years to come hold for us :) 

We won and TV and bought a Tahoe!

While I was in Arizona Jared managed to find a Tahoe he wanted to buy and trade in the Highlander. I have always wanted a Tahoe so it didn't take much arm twisting and they gave us a great deal. Long story short, we won a TV in a raffle at the dealership then bought the Tahoe and my mom traded in her car for the Highlander. 

Mountain Jam 2014!

We traveled to Smith Mountain Lake for 4 glorious days on the lake. It was gorgeous and there was so much to celebrate. Jessie and Trey are expecting a baby in April 2015. Bunn and Paula are expecting Lillie Blue in January 2015. Hillman and Nicole got in engaged! we rented a pontoon boat and had the most fun just cruising and enjoying being around each other!

We went to the NC State Fair as official Raleigh residents again!!! 

So.Much.Food.

We had corndogs, onion rings, fried mac and cheese and a fried brownie sundae.

Everything was so delicious. I love everything about the fair. The foods, the smells, the people, the lights. It seriously is one of my favorite places to be. I am so glad Jared shares my obsession for the fair! No ferris wheel this year because it was 1+ hour wait. BOO! 

Cut and Died my hair!!!

I went to a new hairdresser and I am IN LOVE!!!! A bunch of my friends go to her and I was looking for a new stylist since moving back. I wanted to go all out and do something totally different. She did what is called a balayage color on my hair. It turned out so freaking fabulous. I am obsessed with it and her. It is Olivia at Primp Salon Bar in Raleigh. 

 

We celebrated Halloween and paid tribute to Jared's favorite movie!

we have been together for 7 Halloweens and this was our first couple's costumes. Let me tell you, we goes together like peas and carrots. Yes, we are Jenny and Forrest Gump. Swoon, love my sweet hubs for dressing up and keeping in character. Plus look at my adorable friends: a my little pony, night of the Roxbury and Lorde!! Caitlin, Layne and Emily threw such a fun Halloween party! 

Our dogs!! 

We just can't leave them out of post. That would be wrong.

Look at those boys. Probably plotting on what to destroy and kill next...

Well that is it. I mean there was some work, tailgates, room painting, arguments, mental breakdowns, and sappy stories sprinkled in, but those can wait. 

Homeowners!!!

I have finally found the time to sit down and blog about this very exciting journey we have started as HOMEOWNERS!!!!!!! 

and OFFICIALLY Raleigh, NC residents again!!

Last Friday, August 29th (to be exact) we signed over our lives the papers to our very first home that WE purchased! 

Super exciting stuff here y'all!

I really can't find the words to describe the pride we feel in owning this house. We accomplished this all on our own without any help, well except the bank loan of course. Jared and I have seriously come a long way since we first starting dating. No more mustard sandwiches and air mattresses for these kids :) well, for now at least. 

We feel so blessed and thankful to be able to do something like this and can't say enough about how truly supportive and kind our family and friends have been through this process. We love you all dearly. 

Ok, enough with the cheesy stuff, on to the pictures.

oh you, know just opening our door for the first time ever

After closing we went to a celebratory lunch, because naturally you need something to de stress after signing roughly 5,000 pieces of paper and seeing all those numbers, at Cowfish Sushi and Burger Bar in North Hills. 

We have been wanting to it try forever and lunch was the prefect time because it wasn't jam-packed. This place lived up to every single fabulous review I have heard. The food was out of this world delicious. To top it all off we had been talking to our waitress about how we had just finished closing on our house and she went above and beyond for us. She had all the servers come out, sing a special song, hit the gong, gave us the most scrumptious and ridiculously large piece of chocolate cake AND had the manager comp our entire meal. 

We were already planning on coming back because the food spoke for itself but after service like that, we will for sure be returning soon. 

The owners before us had these adorable wooden gliders on the front porch that we fell in love with. Of course Jared wanted them written into the closing deal. He just loves negotiating. Perfect for him to sit and harass the neighborhood kids about his lawn. Dreams really do come true ;) 

The movers came on Thursday and I couldn't of been more excited to see that gigantic truck carrying all f our belongings! They picked our stuff up in Kernersville on August 18th. So we have been living on an air mattress (oh the irony) and out of suitcases for nearly 3 weeks! I shed a tear when I saw our bed come off that thing. 

We caved and bought this fancy French champagne that I have been wanting to try forever. It lived up to all my champagne dreams. I don't know if I can ever go back after tasting something so yummy. Guess I will have to find more things to celebrate...like, finally deciding an area rug. I definitely think that deserves a bottle, or two. 

Jared said it was absolutely necessary that we used our wedding toasting flutes 

A little bit about the house? 

Well, it is a traditional North Raleigh split level home. It has 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths with the most insane back yard and deck you could imagine. It is located in the North Hills area in an old established neighborhood with the most gorgeous trees. I am obsessed to say the least. I get so giddy and happy-teary-eyed  thinking about all the exciting and expensive things that are going to happen in this home. 

Did I mention I love our backyard...?

yep, this is right behind our house. Never would guess a massive shopping center is a mile away. 

the slide will be removed soon, we all know it is a liability with some of our friends. 

this is not our stuff or our picture, but the best way to show off our back deck. 

can we technically say we have waterfront property? 

Apologies for the long post. I am clearly freaking obsessed with our house. 

We love it so much that we knocked down three walls, ripped up carpet, and busted tile the day after moving in, but more on that later in other home update posts.