a few sunsets & other random things

The past few weeks in Charleston have been pretty fun, Andy and I haven't had any real obligations so we've been trying to take it easy and enjoy our free time.

Andy has been playing more jeopardy. 

And brewing more beer

I've been trying to do more yoga with friends. It's not hard when you get to enjoy these sunsets.

We discovered the Pitt Street Bridge and I'm not sure why it's taken us over a year to get here.

We played bags...I refuse to call it corn hole

And another sunset, they never get old.

We put up a paper towel holder and this shelf from ikea to open up some counter space....something our kitchen lacks big time, I don't know why we didn't do this sooner!

We got our king size duvet cover that we love, thanks Mama Grupa and Mama Ellis!

Who doesn't love fall flowers??

And this post wouldn't be right without one picture of food, so, I leave you with this, BLT+A (avocado), nom nom!

Happy Tuesday!

The past three months....

Well, despite having a somewhat sad weekend, due to that fact that our flight back to Milwaukee was cancelled and we missed a wedding and my own wedding shower, I would say the past three months have been pretty great!

Here is a quick update of what we've been up to...

I spent a lot of time counting down the days until my best friend +Corissa Paulson got married on August 29th, 2014.

I've known this girl for 17 years, we have had some pretty good times together...

She looked beautiful on her wedding day, I couldn't be happier for her!

After all of the wedding fun I got to spend some quality time with my family at The Great Minnesota Get Together. I haven't been to the state fair since I left for college in 2008, so I was pretty pumped to be able to attend and show Andy what he has been missing out on all these years.

Over the past few weeks we've had a few exciting things happen.

This one is huge, literally....we got a king size bed!! I'm not sure how two grown adults survived this long in a full size bed. We're still working on bedding and adding pillows, as you can seen, everything we currently have is now too small. We got a frame, but with the box spring and mattress on top, I have to jump to get into it. We're thinking of getting rid of the box spring all together, regardless, this is a great improvement from the full.

Andy started brewing beer and there is already talk of us having a more permanent spot for brewing gear in the future, not sure if this is a good or bad thing?

I got to spend some time with Andy at work, he is so smart :)

I jumped on the pumpkin train and I've been enjoying pumpkin spice coffee. P.S. If you add cream to your coffee, take an immersion blender to it, it makes it 100 times better.

I've also recently become OBSESSED with eggplant. A vegetable I used to hate is now on the menu a few times a week. This dish might be my favorite and it's easy to modify. We sub some kind of meat for the tempeh. Not a great pic, but it's amazing.

Andy play's his Saturday morning video games

And he made carnitas tacos with mango salsa, another favorite. Pretty sure we eat tacos once a week.

In lieu of not being in Milwaukee this weekend, Andy and I went out with friends downtown Friday night. There was a lot of dancing, it was just what we needed.

Hope everyone back home is doing well!!

XOXOXOXO

Weddings, Friends & the Fourth of July

I can't believe today wraps up the holiday weekend, where has the time gone?? My last post was over a month ago and I feel like things are moving so fast. We've spent our time traveling back to Milwaukee for weddings and enjoying the Charleston summer, there is not much to complain about down here!

Wedding #1, Brittany & Matt, Milwaukee, Memorial Day Weekend. I had the honor of standing up as a bridesmaids and it was a blast.

Bridesmaids and the Bride pre-reception

We were also able to spend some time hanging out at Andy's parent's house. Andy found a cool hat.

We had brunch with friends.

Wedding #2, Erik & Lilli, Milwaukee, June 7th, Andy was the best man. We had a great time and again, saw a lot of friends.

I was also lucky enough to be in town for the baby shower of my good friend +Kate Wasileski 

So fun to see everyone +Kelly Daugherty, +Betsy Dott and this cuteness!

After traveling back to Milwaukee Andy and I have been doing what we can to enjoy Charleston. We ventured south to Botany Bay on Edisto Island.

We've been enjoying a lot of Charleston sunsets with friends. They never get old.

The beach has become our second home.

I enjoyed a tough workout on my birthday...I've also been lucky enough to make some great friends through crossfit. +Staci Mays, +Amanda Campbell, +Lisa Connors, +Krysta Martinez

The rest of my birthday was spent hanging out by the pool....

Eating cupcakes, inspired by Martha Stewart...and ended with drinks and fireworks downtown!

It's crazy to think that almost exactly a year ago was the first time I had visited Charleston. I didn't have a job and I didn't know anyone other than Andy. I guess time does fly when you're having fun :)

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!

New friends, Naturebox & Happy Hour

I can't believe it's almost June and next weekend is Memorial Day, time is flying by! These past few weeks have been a lot of fun. The weather is getting nicer and we've been meeting some new people, hence, more things to do!

Last weekend my crossfit gym hosted a BBQ for members as well as family. I dragged Andy along with me. It was a good time which led to a bit of bar hopping after. Cheers to new friends!

And new dog friends...meet Lola, the most chill dog ever.

Last Sunday night dinner, Chicken+asparagus+peas+red onion = Spring on a plate

I traveled to Milwaukee last week for work and crashed the Merton/Hartland Ladies night at Palmer's Steakhouse.

I also had to take a picture of this amazing picture of Andy as a baby that is hanging in his parents house. How cute is he??

When I got back from Milwaukee, this wonderful box of snacks was waiting for me. If you've never tried Naturebox, I highly recommend giving it a try, it's like opening presents on Christmas morning. You can pick your snacks or be surprised. So far, the Big Island Pineapple is our favorite.

On Friday Andy and I happy houred with some of his co-workers.

Last night we met some of my crossfit friends out for dinner followed by a mini bar crawl. Today I did some shopping and ate....

Andy got our herb "garden" started, cilantro, basil, & rosemary. Hoping they last longer than our last one...

He has also started pickling vegetables. I'm not stopping him, they are good.

And he made dinner tonight and I ate that as well. Tacos, corn salad and pickled veggies. Yum.

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Really hoping that this week goes by quickly, my friend +Brittany Aluce is getting married and I can't wait to celebrate!!

Trader Joe's Splurge

Happy Sunday and Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas out there!

This post is dedicated to Trader Joe's. I've recently been reading about great finds and favorite items that people have and realized there are so many things that I haven't tried. 

So, yesterday, I went to my local Trader Joe's with every intent of grabbing a few things and one or two "treats" and left with a cart full of new items, mostly treats. I'm not sure what came over me, maybe it was FOMO (fear of missing out) or the fact that I was half way into my second large iced coffee that day (it was only 10:30am) and I couldn't stop myself from grabbing everything!

Here is my loot...

Speculoos Cookie Butter - Cookie + Butter = I'm assuming you can put this on anything and it will make it 1,000 times better.

Chia Seeds - Now, these may not be considered new for many people out there, but I finally jumped on the band wagon after seeing recipes for Chia seed pudding on almost every blog I follow, so, I will be making some version of chia seed pudding in the near future.

Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramel - I don't think these need any kind of explanation, they just need to be eaten.

Marcona Almonds with Rosemary - Who doesn't love rosemary?

Gluten Free Granola - No reason for buying this other than it looked good. And you can top just about anything with granola, right?

Raisin Rosemary Crisps - These are not a new item for us, but for anyone who hasn't tried them, they need to become a staple in your snack cupboard. Eat them plain, with peanut butter, hummus, cookie butter, I don't know, just eat them.

And who can leave Trader Joe's with out cheap wine and flowers? These two things make everyone's life better.

And that's a wrap! Can't wait to try all of these things...who knows, maybe some will become repeat offenders in my shopping cart :)

P.S. please share your Trader Joe's favs with me. Clearly, I can't say no...