Vacay recap

Back in August, I had a glorious week of vacation. Matt and I decided to take a trip and celebrate our anniversary a week early. We stayed in Baytowne in Sandestin, and it was wonderful and relaxing. There weren't many people there since it was the end of summer, and all the kiddies were back in school. We never waited for a table for dinner, and the beach was pleasantly uncrowded.

It only rained one day, and we hit the outlets. Imagine Matt's enthusiasm. We got some ice cream.

I bought some new kicks. Of note, this is the first pair of tennis shoes I have purchased since the 8th grade. That's right. I've been rocking gray and pink New Balances since I was 14 years old. It was time for a change. 

This was our routine: I slept til at least 10AM everyday. Matt woke up at a more age-appropriate hour, watched Fox News, and made coffee until I dragged myself out of bed. Then we put on our swimsuits, grabbed one of these delicious drinks downstairs, and headed to the beach for the day.

So I was not trying to take a picture of my hand. Do you see the rainbow? It made a complete circle around the sun. It was so weird. And neat. But I couldn't take a picture of it without blocking the sun out.

One night, Matt said he had a surprise for me for dinner. We got in the car, and he drove us to Carillon, where we got married. We walked around for a little while and talked about our wedding day. We walked by the chapel where we said our vows, and we walked through the green where our reception was held. It was so sweet. Then he told me that that was just a pit stop on the way to dinner. So we drove a little further to a place called Caliza. It is a restaurant in Alys Beach where we had considered having our rehearsal dinner. It's so cool. It's a super nice restaurant that surrounds a beautiful pool outside. I had said [a year ago] that I'd wanted to eat there. This guy doesn't forget anything! 

One of our favorite restaurants ever is Harbor Docks in Destin. We ate there twice. Our last day was so beautiful, and we ate lunch outside. Then we got the heck out of dodge before Isaac hit.

One Year Down

Matt and I celebrated our one year anniversary last month. It really has been the best year of my life. I am so grateful to have a husband that loves me despite my moodiness, messiness, and the fact that I progressively work more and cook less. And I straight up refuse to iron his clothes. Yet he loves me, and he chose to marry me even though he already knew all of these things. He makes me laugh everyday. He's so funny. I think that's what I love most about him.

I came home from work to this.

We got our our wedding cake, which has been taking up a significant amount of room in my freezer for the last 12 months.

Unfortunately, it wasn't very pretty. The whole eating year-old cake really grossed Matt out, but I forced him against his will to eat a bite of it. Our top layer was strawberry. It had real strawberries in it. It was delicious in 2011. It was okay in 2012. A little dry, but the tradition was fun. 

We didn't get fancy. It's not our style. As evidenced by my ponytail and tshirt. Matt grilled steaks, and we hung out on the couch. It was perfect. He even sat there patiently during my multiple attempts at getting the self-timer on the camera right.

I love him so much, and it just keeps getting better.

Summertime via Instagram

Summertime has come and gone. Well, sort of. It's still 115 degrees outside, but school traffic is back in full swing, and the kiddies are about to start getting sick from wiping their snot all over each other in kindergarten. Which means I'm probably about to get sick [again]. Joy. Anyway, among the highlights of Summer Y2K12 were...

I planted some flowers to go in the planters on our back deck. We're going on 3 months now, and they aren't dead yet. [Knock on wood.] I'm pretty proud of myself. 

I drink a lot of this...

Because I wear a lot of these...

Katie came to visit.

Matt officially cooks dinner more than I do. And I love it.

Oscar Bob killed a mouse. This is his third victim. He's also a bird hunter.

Matt and I went to Table 100's wine and cooking class. We've been a couple of times before. Once was paella and Spanish wines, another time was duck. I still dream about that duck... This time the theme was wines of the Southeast. 

Mississippi meets España. Delicious.

Matt made reservations this time because the dish of the night was pork chops. I don't like pork chops, but Matt thinks that's stupid because I eat pork tenderloin. They are different! So he basically forced me into a situation in which I had two choices: starve or eat a pork chop. I must admit, it wasn't that bad. 

Again, Matt cooked dinner--my dad's burrito recipe. This time I was especially impressed because I came home to a surprise meal that had been cooked in the kitchen. Matt's culinary abilities are largely limited to the grill, so this was exciting.

One fine evening, I was watering my aforementioned plants, and I decided Matt needed a little watering. He got me back. It was funny.

We've enjoyed a lot of sunsets from our back porch.

I got on the Fifty Shades bandwagon.

We spent some quality family time in New Orleans for my cousin Lisa's graduation from OT school. 

I have the best cousins.

And the best pap!

And last but not least, I got my first big girl paycheck! I was super pumped. Finally. Finally. 

Adding Inches

If you know anyone in medical school, you know what it means to have a short coat. Students have short coats. "Real" doctors have long coats. We have this fun ceremony when we start medical school, and they give us a white coat. We've all busted our tails to get that long-awaited white coat. The doctor garb. It's a pretty exciting time. You almost feel like a doctor. For a second anyway. Then you realize that your short white coat is like having "I don't know anything, and I'm going to get in your way" stamped on your forehead.

Four years later, we got new white coats--with a few inches added to them. These are the real, I'm-legit, long, white, doctor coats. The night before graduation, our class gathered along with our closest friends and family for a cocktail party, dinner, and of course, the coat-gettin'. They called our names one at a time, and we walked to the stage to receive our coats. It was a really fun night. This time I actually didn't feel like a doctor at all. I felt like a huge poser. Like I stole someone else's coat. Am I really a doctor???!!! I'm getting used to it, but sometimes it's still weird.

Katie, you're welcome :)

Reading sweet cards from my mama and mamaw & pap.

Begin the Sandidge-Ashley-Katie photo shoot:

One of my favorite pictures from the evening. So typical.

Let me know if you need a good doctor. I know some folks :)