Wedding in Rosemary Beach, Florida

I love weddings! And I especially love weddings on the beach!

David Dix and Sloan Looney got married in Rosemary Beach, Florida this weekend. It was beautiful, lovely, heart-warming. Not to mention perfect weather. You couldn't have asked for a more wonderful weekend.

Nick and I flew to Atlanta on Thursday night and spent the night with my aunt and cousin. It was so great to see them. Lisa will make anyone laugh! We didn't get to bed until midnight and then had to wake up about 5:45am to catch our flight out of Atlanta. So much flying... didn't like it one bit. The flight from Atlanta to Panama City, FL was diverted to Fort Walton because of visibility. We landed in Fort Walton and refueled and waited for the fog to clear. For someone who is terrified of flying.. this sucked. Another take off and landing... awesome.

But, we made it! And it was gorgeous. We quickly unpacked and made our way to the beach. We met up with all the wedding guests and saw David and Sloan - who looked incredibly happy and relaxed. This day was dedicated to relaxing under the umbrella and swimming in the ocean. We loved every minute!


Heaven.



Town Square of Rosemary Beach - the entire area is beautiful. They really did a wonderful job with this community - modeled after the West Indies.

Nick and I also met up with an old friend from high school who happened to be friends with David as well. I hadn't seen Daryn since graduation (which was 10 years ago). It was so great to see her and meet her fiance Matt. It really is a small world.

That night Nick and I had dinner at George's... lovely outside setting with the sunset in the background. The food was amazing. It was a really nice evening just being with Nick... peaceful. We don't get a whole lot of that in the city. After dinner we made our way over to the restaurant where the rehearsal dinner was finishing up. They were serving drinks and dessert - yummy margaritas! We didn't stay too long because we were exhausted. Traveling takes a whole lot out of you.






Saturday = wedding day! And we had another lovely day at the beach! Nick and I rented some chairs on the beach and relaxed for most of the day. The only irritating thing about this trip was the flies... they wouldn't leave you alone. It was bad enough that we had to go get bug spray. And these flies were mean - they bit you and it hurt



The wedding was held on the beach and it was a beautiful set-up. There was clear, blue skies in the background with waves crashing on the sound. The groom and groomsman were in white shirts and khaki and the bridesmaids were in a lovely orange color. The ceremony was beautiful and it really made me thankful for Nick. I cherish the time we spend together and couldn't imagine my life without him.





David and Sloan with Georgie - their daughter. She is precious!

The reception was a full on party! It was on this large green space with an open tent. Lights were all around us and the decor was just right. The food.. oh the food! Shrimp and grits, mac-n-cheese, wings, burgers, sweet potato fries... perfect Southern food! I fell in love with the shrimp and grits. And then there was the cakes... delicious!




David is a huge fan of the Mavericks... and his cake looked like an exact replica of a basketball.

And then there was dancing! Surprisingly, Nick and I were out on the dance floor most of the evening. Who would have thought?! And it wasn't even slow songs... we were getting our groove on! We sent Dave and Sloan off into the night with bubbles. A perfect end to a perfect wedding.



Nick and the groom!


Daryn! So glad we were able to catch up!



There was an after-party that all the "young" people went to. Nick and I didn't stay too long but we did stay long enough for Nick to get a little "tipsy." I won't go into details but lets just say the walk home was pretty entertaining!


Matt making Daryn and Nick shots! 

Sunday morning we woke up and spent a few hours on the beach before we had to head to the airport. It couldn't have been a better weekend. We are so grateful we were able to celebrate David and Sloan. Nick and I wish them all the happiness in the world!

Labor Day Weekend Food Extravaganza

This was a GREAT holiday weekend! I love three day weekends... I really think we should have them all the time. But sadly that is just not the case.

As the title suggest Nick and I had quite the foodie weekend. Lots of new places and new foods! We loved every minute of it.

First off was a new Mexican restaurant on Friday night. Nick had booked a special on Groupon and we thought we would give it a try. Turns out it was pretty decent. The pitcher of margaritas was tasty (plus strong!) and chips with guac and queso was delicious. We ate a whole bunch of chips! Sadly, the fajitas were not up to the standard we are use to. They used this odd sauce that just didn't work. We would gladly go back - just order a different entree.

Saturday I took Nick to Bar Pitti. I had been there once before with some girlfriends but it's such a great, traditional Italian place (and cheap!). The city was quiet... a lot of people got out of town for the long weekend. We sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather. We ordered Fettunta E Proscuitto to start - grilled country bread with prosciutto di parma, garlic & olive oil. I love proscuitto! Nick and I both went with a traditional pasta dish. Mine was excellent... Nick's needed a little more flavor in the sauce but overall he enjoyed the restaurant.





After lunch we made our way to our favorite gelato place... we really can't get enough. Every time we are in West Village we have to stop. Once we had our gelato we made our way up to Barney's Whole Sale event. Nick informed me we were NOT buying anything... just looking.

Yeah - that never happens! He ended up with a new tie and shirt and I found a really cute pair of grey skinny jeans. The discounts were amazing and the store was packed! The men section had a lot more to choose from... the women's was a little picked over. We still made out of there dirt cheap - if we had bought those three items at normal price it would have set us way back!


There were some elbows being thrown in the women's section!

Saturday night I made reservations at Jane. I really didn't know much about it but the reviews were excellent. The restaurant was in West Village and it was incredibly cute. Perfect date night restaurant - we really enjoyed the ambiance. And the food! The food was the best. Every dish we had we absolutely loved! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.... I highly recommend this restaurant. We will be back!





Pork chop with cheese grits... yes, please!


Steak and fries.. you really can't go wrong!


One of the best desserts ever! It completely upstaged my apple crisp. Nick ordered cookies and milk... warm chocolate cookies with cold milk with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in it. Heaven! 

Sunday afternoon we decided to see Total Recall at the Union Square theater and then head to dinner afterwards. The movie was okay but what had us excited was the stadium seating. It was so nice to be in comfortable chairs, be elevated, and see the screen. Stadium seating is one of the things we miss most from back home!

We made our way to dinner after the movie. It was a place called Freeman's in the Lower East Side and it's location is quite unusual. The lower east side is a bit of a transitional neighborhood. Some parts aren't too nice... this restaurant was located in a back alley. You wouldn't know it's there unless you were looking for it.



The restaurant had a real old world feel to it. It was extremely warm and inviting. We started off with some cocktails and for our appetizer we ordered the grilled cheddar toasts and the devils on horseback. Now, we didn't have a clue what devils on horseback was. We asked and turns out it was prunes wrapped in cheese and bacon. Definitely interesting... we were feeling adventurous so we decided to try it. Turns out it was really good. Nick says bacon makes anything good! Nick ordered the herb-roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and I had the seared scallops with heirloom tomatoes. Everything was perfect - I especially loved the tomatoes! Dessert = brownie with vanilla ice cream (you really can't go wrong!)


The picture is a little dark... the figs are on the left. I didn't want to be THAT person who takes a picture with a flash on in a dim-lit room.

On the way back to the subway we passed Rice to Riches. We had seen this on TV and Nick wanted to give it a try. I was pretty confident I wouldn't like it. And I was right - the texture was just something I couldn't get past. Nick thought it tasted just like chocolate pudding.







This was on the main door. I love it!




Monday was a fairly realxing day. We had planned to go downtown for brunch but after being down there the whole weekend we decided to go to our staple brunch place - EJ's. Love this place - best french toast!


Yes there is the option to get toppings but I like my french toast with just butter and maple syrup!

I made shrimp tacos for dinner and I have to say it was pretty darn tasty. Definitley one of my better recipes!



It was a wonderful weekend. I feel so fortunate to be in a city that lets us explore the way NYC does. And I really have to be one of the luckiest women because I never tire of spending time with Nick. He's not only my husband but my best friend and I enjoy every single second with him.

Our plans for next weekend... in the words of Nick, "We are doing nothing - think CHEAP!"