Ladies' Cooking Night - October

The ladies gathered at Katie's house last night for our monthly cooking group, and this month's theme was spooky! Katie and Nicole did a fabulous job decorating the house for Halloween, with cobwebs and spiders and all sorts of cute decorations.
The appetizers were a bewitching cauldron of spinach dip and some veggie dip with carrot fingers coming out of it. So clever! The main course was yummy pork tenderloin with some kind of blackberry glaze (I need that recipe!), mashed potatoes, and a very seasonal apple salad. Very tasty.

Dessert was tempting us all night...an assortment of pumpkin/cream cheese and yellow/chocolate cupcakes. Nicole did a great job making white chocolate cobwebs to top them!

Of course, the party wouldn't have been complete without costumes. Lindsay, thankfully, shared her idea and we both dressed up as desperate housewives/Stepford wives.

Another fun night with the ladies! Can't wait for next month at Nicole's house...November sets the perfect tone for a fall harvest. Yum!

While shopping at Publix today

I happened across this curious "as seen on tv" display. Hmm... Very tempting! (No, seriously. I think I might want one. Is that crazy?!)

The Perfect 1st Anniversary!

I love my husband so much and spending the whole day with him yesterday was the perfect way to celebrate our first year of marriage together. We started with a late brunch with custom-made omellettes, warm biscuits and mimosas (in our wedding flutes). The centerpiece was a lovely bouquet of roses and lilies that Ryan surprised me with at the office on Friday. So fun to get flowers at work!

Most of the day was spent lazing around. We took Jax on a nice, long walk to enjoy the chilly temps (low 60s!) and give her some much needed exercise. After a catnap on the couch with football playing in the background, I woke to find a surprise waiting for me in the bedroom...

What girl doesn't love a David Yurman bag sitting on her pillow?! Ryan spoiled me and got me a gorgeous ring that I had wanted for a while.

After much debate and research, we finally settled on a dinner location. We got dressed up and headed to The Oceanaire Seafood Room, a new restaurant to each of us.

After a delicious meal (one of Ryan's top 5 ever, he claims) of fabulous crab cake, shrimp and grits, Wahoo, stuffed Flounder, fried green tomatoes and hash browns (not exactly the healthiest, but delicious anyway!), our waiter surprised us with a Baked Alaska for dessert! Neither of us knew what it was but definitely liked the fiery combination of brownie, ice cream and marshmallow-tasting meringue. I had to hold back, though, because I knew waiting for us at home was another dessert...

A beautiful anniversary cake that my mom ordered for us from Sprinkles, one of the best bakeries in town. It was modeled after our original cake, with our wedding logo on top and paisleys on the sides. I have to admit - it was even prettier than the one we had for the wedding!

After a very filling day (I am still stuffed!), I am happy to say that we made it through the first year and I cannot wait for what our futures hold in the years to come!

One Year Ago Today...

...I married the love of my life, had an amazing wedding celebration with family and friends, and started a journey as The Newly Mrs. Morgan. My, how time flies! And I've enjoyed every minute of the past year. Here's to 50+ more with my wonderful husband!

Countdown to the Anniversary

Wow, I cannot believe that one year ago, we were in Hilton Head wrapping up beach olympics and getting ready for the big wedding weekend! That's right...almost one year ago, Ryan and I said our vows and started our wonderful life together!

What fun memories and what a great way to celebrate our marriage. Now, only days away, I am getting all nostalgic and remembering back on the days leading up to the big day. Here's what we were doing a year ago today...

New Onesies

A new mom in my office placed a onesie order for her little boy last week so I got to work yesterday. She really wanted a "Chicks dig me" for the cutie and mentioned in passing that she loved giraffes, too. When I sent a picture of this adorable chew toy (for babies, not dogs) and told her I could copy it, she was sold!

I had heard of Sophie the Giraffe from some mommy friends of mine, and I definitely see why they love her for their little ones! So the photo above turned into this... And the little man won't be able to keep the ladies away with this one...

Megan and Adam's Wedding

We packed up and headed north to Atlanta last weekend to celebrate a dear friend's wedding. She couldn't have picked a more gorgeous day, weather-wise, with just a hint of fall in the air and clear blue skies.
The ceremony and reception were at Stone Mountain, a Georgia landmark that I realized we have never taken Ryan to...something we will need to fix on a future trip!
The ceremony was held outside, in a pavillion right on a lake in the middle of the woods. So serene and beautiful! The altar was a stacked stone fireplace with tons of pillar candles on the mantle and made such a pretty backdrop for Megan and Adam's vows.

The reception was held in a nearby ballroom. Megan chose orange as the main accent color and it looked so pretty in pops around the room. One of the best parts of the event was getting to see so many good friends for a whole night. We are all sorority sisters and instantly reconnect each time we get together. I love them all so much!

The wedding cake seemed to provide a never-ending supply of different flavors...I saw at least three different ones make their way around the room. I tried the red velvet, my favorite, and it did not disappoint!

A tradition for us at Sigma Kappa weddings is for the group that attends to encircle the bride and groom and serenade them with a song. I was so impressed with how good we sounded (and that I remembered all the words!).

The send-off was right outside the ballroom, using sparklers. I love the look of them - it makes for such great photos!

Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Quinn! It was a beautiful day and hopefully only just the beginning to a wonderful life together.