Wonderful Sunday!

Let me start this post by saying what wonderful weather we are having in Raleigh!!! It has been sunny and warm for the past two days, and we are loving it!!

Today we went to church at Providence Baptist. We loved it! It is not as traditional as what we grew up with, but we really liked the feeling of it. We were so privileged to finally meet Laura, Caleb, Grace Elizabeth and Eleanor! I have been reading Laura's blog for about a year and a half and have always thought to myself how adorable her children are, and how I wish we could be friends in "real life". Well, we have been emailing each other for the past few months and kept saying we would meet up but neither of us really could find the time. I promised when Robbie had a Sunday off we would come to church!! So this weekend he finally did. We sat with them during the service and then met their two sweet girls!!! They invited us to lunch, McAllister's at North Hills (yum!!!) and we had a great time getting to know each other.

Robbie and I are so thankful we've met the fun Robinson's and hope to see them again soon!!!!

BFF Date Night

Last night, Robbie and I headed over to Ashley and Willie's for a low-key date night and to get our hair done by our fave stylist!! ;) I can always tell when it is time to get my hair done because people at work start making fun of my roots hahaha!! We started with fixing dinner. We ordered pizza and Willie fixed a great salad bar so we could make our own salads to go along with it. Yum!!!

Then it was time to start my hair. I get my hair colored (gasp!) and have to sit and wait for the color to set in. Of course I prefer this over the other method -- Ashley used to stick me under a dryer and I always complained because I couldn't hear everyone talking, haha!!

While that processed, Robbie and Willie watched TV and basically ignored us. (Just kidding!!)

After my haircut, it was Robbie's turn!! Man, did he need it!

Hairdresser gone crazy!!!! ;)

Ashley was trying to give my hair volume and I have a sensitive
scalp, so I was being dramatic and saying it hurt!

Still complaining

Finished product!!! MUCH better!

We love hanging out with Ashley and Willie, and love that we can both get our hair done by our trusted bff!!!

Whirlwind Weekend

This past weekend Robbie and I went home to Elizabeth City for another fast-paced weekend there. Everytime we go home, we never get to relax, because there is always sooo much going on. This particular weekend was a whirlwind of emotions for me. I was so excited that Robbie actually had Saturday and Sunday off so he was able to go with me!

Saturday morning, we rose at 5:30 (I can't even remember the last time I've gotten up that early) and picked my mom up and left for Elizabeth City. We had to go to Moyock to Robbie's parents house to drop Riley off before going back to town. So we made it there by 9:45 and headed back to EC.

The first part of the trip was a very sad occasion. We were attending the memorial service of a very special man; my good friend Rich's dad. He was so young. But the service was very nice and uplifting. My mom, Robbie and I had the privelege of sitting with the family during the service and then attending the luncheon held afterwards. It was all a very nice tribute to Rick's life.

The second part was a happy occasion!!! One of my best friends of our whole life, Kristin, is getting married in March. We lived 20 minutes apart for our whole college career (well our whole lives really) and often met for dinner and shopping. Now, she lives in Texas with her fiance. :( So I was very excited to be able to go home for her bridal shower!! Robbie went to his brothers house to have guy time while Mama and I headed to the shower. It was very nice and she got lots of great things!!! I always love seeing her, her mama and her Gran. :) I am so excited for her bachelorette party in 2 weeks!!

The final part of the day was seeing the sweetest baby, Conner!!!! And his mom and dad, of course! We met Shelley and Brandon at Cypress Creek for dinner. It was delicious! They have the best crab dip in the world. I just *have* to have it everytime we go there. Robbie had a yummy pork tenderloin and I had the steak and shrimp special. It was so delicious. I loved hanging out with Shelley (who is hilarious) and Brandon, and especially Conner!! He is so cute!!

Cutie pie!

Shelley, Conner and I



He is now loving "drinking" water out of a straw!



People watching

G-Dad Robbie loves him too! ;)

So sweet!!

After dinner, we headed back to my in-laws house to spend the night. We slept in on Sunday morning and it felt great. After a leisurely morning, we took my mother-in-law and mama out to lunch for Mexican, and then headed back to Raleigh to enjoy dinner with my sister, Ashley and Willie at Tribeca Tavern - yum!!!

Girl Talk

Last week, my good friend Courtney came over to our house and we decided that instead of going out, we would cook! Everyone who knows me knows that cooking is not my strong point, nor do I want it to be, but I was up for the challenge. We picked a recipe off of Gina's Skinny Recipes, a blog dedicated to Weight Watcher recipes. The recipe for the yummy Chicken Pot Pie Soup can be found here. It wasn't a very hard recipe to follow and the end result was verrrry good!!! Definitely make sure you add some salt though ;) Another favorite of ours from her website is the Santa Fe Chicken.

So Courtney and I had a great time catching up on everything in our lives. She ended up staying until after her bedtime ;) but I really enjoyed it!!! We need to do it again soon!

Birthday Girl!!

I am sure that by now everyone knows about my furbaby, Riley Banks Brown. She is the sweetest dog. I don't even LIKE dogs!!! But this baby girl has my HEART!

Robbie and I discussed time and time again getting a puppy and trying to figure out if we were ready for the responsibility. So we did lots of research and we decided we wanted a lab puppy. It is actually funny because since the beginning of our relationship, Robbie always said that we would have a big dog and I always said heck no, that is disgusting to have a big dog inside. But here we are. We found a breeder near our hometown who had just had a litter of puppies, and he had ONE female left! So on a cold April day, we drove to Rocky Mount to meet our little baby.

The first few days were ROUGH. My sister slept on the floor in front of her crate one night, Robbie the other. I would joke that I had postpartum depression because when she woke us up in the middle of the night crying and I would just sit on the couch and cry myself!

But she is the sweetest girl now. Through the years we have had to replace many things...carpet, linoleum, countless toys...but nothing compared to what the books told us we would replace (couches, tables, cords, etc).

The reason for the post is our baby turned four years old on January 18th!!! We cannot believe that we have had her for four years! We celebrated by giving her a new toy and a couple of treats!! She is still a handful and still reminds me of a puppy each and every time she furrows her brow when she is concentrating, or pounces on her toy or recognizes herself in the mirror and growls. She loves going home to Grandma and Grandpa Brown's house and spending time with Grandma Jennette, Aunt Hannah and her favorite canine, Ella.

I *know* that she understands many words...Grandma, "wanna go for a walk/ride/bye bye", treat, cookie, Ella, Hannah, Grandma, potty, etc. She is soooo smart!!!

And she is a true princess!!! Only a precursor for what our children will be like!! She has monogrammed beds, monogrammed bags, food mats, and a Coach collar. She definitely is preparing us for a human baby one day!!!

So to end this rambling, I am so happy I gave in to my hubby and we followed our heart in finding this adorable baby who makes us happy each and every day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET RILEY!!!!!

"The Dilemma"

Friday night Robbie had a rare weekend night off, so we went to the movies with Ashley and Willie. It was opening night for "The Dilemma", starring Vince Vaughn (my celebrity crush) and Kevin James (another favorite). From the first time I saw the commercial, I knew I would have to go see this movie!!!

It is about two couples who are best friends and Vince Vaughn's character sees Kevin James' wife cheating on him. Then the dilemma ensues - should Vince tell Kevin or not?! And how to tell him?! It was hilarious, and at times corny, but of course ended well.

It was so great getting with Ashley and Willie, as usual. We love our date nights with our BFF's!!!!

Outside of the theater - it was freezing!!!!

Ashley and Willie!

Movin' on up...

We moved into our new house in May...and it pretty much looked like our apartment. Haha!! We just carried over the same furniture, arranged it the same way, etc. The picture below was taken the weekend we moved in. We had a 32" flat screen in an entertainment center my dad gave us about 5 years ago when I was in college.

Well, the new house has a pretty large living room and it was hard to see the TV from the couch!! Sooo we decided to ask for a larger TV for Christmas. My mom had told me a long time ago a TV would look so good above our fireplace. It really does look like it was made for a TV to be there. I just didn't want to spend the money on a daggone TV. So, my in-laws asked us if we would like a new TV...and we jumped on it!! My father-in-law, Amazon.com's number 1 fan, found us the perfect fit. They came up last weekend to help us hang it on the wall. It looks AMAZING!!!!!!! WE LOVE IT!!!!

Robbie and his dad trying to feed all of the wires through the wall.

Hanging the bracket.

My mother-in-law, myself and Riley supervised while playing with our iPad's and checking out the new Pottery Barn catalog.

                       

The finished product!!! Wonderful, right?!

A huge thanks to my in-laws for such a great TV and for coming to help get it on the wall!!!!

A New Year

After the big snow...I was happy to have off Thursday and Friday to celebrate New Years!! Thursday Robbie and I decided to head to the new Tanger outlets in Mebane. We had some Christmas money and Robbie declared that he really needed some new clothes, haha. So I was all for it!! We were thinking it wouldn't be that great, because some outlet malls really do disappoint. But this was great!! He found tons of stuff at Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, and Banana Republic. I lucked out with sunglasses and a bag from Michael Kors. ;) They had great deals and a TON of good brands and selection. We will definitely be going back!!


The next day, New Years Eve, we decided to meet Shelley and Conner in Greenville for a few hours. We shopped at Babies R Us and headed over to Randi's house to visit. Then we grabbed dinner at Cracker Barrel and headed back to Raleigh!!

We made it back to Raleigh around 8:30, and invited Willie and Ashley over for the excitement of watching the ball drop!! Sorry, no pictures. We're lame. :)

Here's to a wonderful 2011!!!!!!