#2015bestnine

2015 has been such a whirlwind of a year. Today, I'm exactly four months away from getting married and with New Year's Eve tomorrow, it seems like the perfect time for reflection.

2015 Best Nine Memories

My best memories of this past year don't exactly align with my most popular Instagram photos of the year, but they're pretty close.

1. Engagement pictures--this was something I had looked forward to for such a long time. We had a great day with the perfect weather, as well as an excellent photographer who helped me relax and perfectly captured our relationship. Christopher and I both talk about how much fun we had on that day, and how excited we were to look through the pictures only a million times. 
2. Dolls Do HHI--The first of hopefully many annual college girlfriends weekends during the last weekend of July on Hilton Head Island. Too many memories from this weekend to count, and too many we may not remember...oops. 
3. Georgia Southern football games--something I look forward to every year, but this year was by far the best. We got into a really good groove, and I loved having my regular weekend visitors stay with me!
4. My best friend's wedding--Niki's wedding was a definite reoccurring theme throughout 2015. Weddings seem to provide extra opportunities for fun times together, which I love. We had a great time going on her bachelorette in Chattanooga, and her wedding was perfection. 
5. Wedding planning--Once we settled on a date in early spring, planning my wedding truly began! Finally! It's been something I've really enjoyed and has been relatively stress free. I've had a while to cultivate a vision and feel for the day, which has helped the other events like showers and things come together seamlessly as well. Of course, I couldn't do this without my mom and Maid of Honor, as we hash and rehash everything a million times each night on the phone! 
6. Moving into my new house--I moved into a new house at the end of February which I am incredibly thankful for. It has been a place of serenity for me, as well as a home full of laughter and love, filled frequently with friends and family. I'm thankful to have the space to share and time together. 
7. Starting Therapy--maybe this isn't the cool thing to talk about, but starting to see a therapist regularly has been life changing for me. It's something I look forward to, and something I've grown from. Most people know that my life over the past two/three years has been tumultuous at best. After keeping a strong front, I finally wore down and could not handle the stress any longer. After working through some bigger, overarching issues, my sessions focus a lot of self development and being an emotionally healthy person. My goal from the beginning has been that I want to be my best self for my marriage. I feel like therapy has helped all of my relationships so much, but also my own personal sanity and physical health as well. If you're questioning it, don't--just find someone you're comfortable with and trust. It's life changing! 
8. Phi Mu--I've become an advisor for my Phi Mu chapter this year, and have also taken on an important role in the chapter's housing corporation. It's been challenging, but so very rewarding. I love spending time with the girls that were mine when I was the new member director, as well as learning from the alums that are still involved 60+ years after graduating.  
9. Friendships--My friendships have evolved a lot this year. I've also needed my friends more this year. It takes a while to transition from seeing your friends everyday in college, to incorporating them into your daily life postgrad in an intentional, real way. I've also developed more 'adult' or 'professional' friendships that I enjoy.  I'm thankful for the reconnections, the closeness, and joy that I've experienced in these relationships and can't wait to celebrate together in the coming months. 

Thankful for an amazing 2015, but I know 2016 is going to be even better...I can't wait!

Gift Local

Sometimes it's really hard to figure out what to gift those who have everything. Or in my case, those that don't live nearby. It's harder for me to identify items they might love when I don't see them everyday. My solution to this is to gift local.

Working with local businesses through my job has showed me personally how important it is to shop locally. While I'll admit, I'm a sucker for the ease and convenience of online shopping when living in a small town, I love the interaction and familiarity of shopping small.

This year, I'm creating baskets of my local favorites for some friends and family who live far. This can be an easy hostess gift idea too! Here are a few Statesboro {and the surrounding areas} ideas that I enjoy:

Braswell's
Braswell's was something I had never heard about until I moved to Statesboro. Open since 1946, they're famous for their Red Pepper Jelly {served over cream cheese..yum!}and now their "I want some jelly, I want some jelly, baby!" game day theme song that you can hear each Saturday at Paulson Stadium. After a partnership with Paula Deen, and a recent Minions promotional item, Braswell's name recognition has really grown. My favorite flavor is Peach Butter, which is a tart change from Apple Butter, and is something that I really feel highlights Georgia, not just Statesboro. They have jams, jellies, ice cream toppings, steak sauces, marinades, and so much more to explore.

Braswell's 

Dia's Clubhouse Greek Dressing & Marinade
If I remember correctly from 'town news', Dia's was the magical dressing served at an authentic Greek restaurant in town that closed a few years ago. They began producing the dressing/marinade, and you can now find it at The Clubhouse in Statesboro, or order it online. It is so good. I love Greek food, and a Greek salad is always my go-to. This marinade is really yummy on chicken, pork, and fish, too!

Dia's Clubhouse Greek 

Freeman's Mill Mixes
I actually took the current Leadership Bulloch class to tour this mill in October, which has one of the last remaining, working stone mills in the country. They make more than just grits; their lineup includes hush puppie mix, cornbread mix, and more! Many restaurants in Savannah actually use their mixes in their recipes, which is fun for the foodies.

Freeman's Mill

Local Ornaments  
I like giving ornaments to pretty much anyone. You can always find one that represents something they like, a recent event in their life, or one that is just beautiful. The Georgia Southern University bookstore keeps a large stock of GSU ornaments which can be fun to include. I actually ordered this one below from the artist's Etsy shop before realizing they also stock at the local store! But isn't it pretty?

The University Store

Savannah Sweets--Southern Pralines
Although not a Statesboro treat, pralines are a big hit, and the Savannah Sweets pralines can be found in Statesboro in many gift shops and are great to include in gift baskets.

Savannah Sweets Pralines

Seven Willows Soaps
Yum. Locally handmade soaps using all natural products. They're beautiful, smell amazing, and are a truly unique item. You can find that at the Farmer's Market in the spring and summer, select local retailers, and can order online, too. They have other products too, like candles, lotions, and lip balms.

Seven Willows Soaps

The Best of the Best

2014 has really flown by. I can't believe we're now staring 2015 in the face. Last year when I did my 2013 recap, I made a goal of more pictures of the people and things that mean the most to me in my life, and that 2014 was going to be a great year. While not without it's trials, 2014 really turned it around and I can't wait to see what 2015 has in store. Here's a few of my favorite moments from the past year:

Jan. 2014--Starting the year off right/our annual NYE picture

Feb. 2014--Apothocary Ball/Valentine's Weekend in Savannah

March 2014--Back to Florence the fam goes

April 2014--Happy Easter! 

May 2014--New job at the Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce

Summer 2014--Lots of time loving on my little house and
spending time with friends

September 2014--Best football season ever at the
prettiest little stadium in America 

October 2014--Birthday month adventures 

November 2014--Sun Belt Champions

Football Season 2014--I loved spending time with all my friends!

December 2014--Merry Christmas from me and my love! 

Savannah Eats: Moon River Brewing Company

The Swamp Fox 

The latter half of my spring break last week was spent with the fiance in Savannah. It was an absolutely beautiful weekend: sunny, 80's, and breezy. While I never quite made it to the beach, I did spend some quality time out by the pool, and adventuring with the dogs out in the marsh behind his house.

Saturday night was date night, and Christopher decided to take me to Moon River Brewing Company downtown. They have this "Quality Assurance Team" where for $35, you can become a lifetime member and get things like a free mug, discounted drink prices, 2-for-1 appetizers on the weekends during happy hour, etc., so we were going to take advantage of the appetizer special. Unknown to us, it was prom night. There were prom-ers everywhere! There is no way my mother would have let me drive in downtown Savannah on a Saturday night, in a prom dress, with some boy in a giant truck that doesn't know where he's going, much less where to park. But I digress...

I was super excited about Moon River because that is one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite movies, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and because we could sit outside {kind of a big deal in my book}. And the food was yummy too! We shared some giant nachos, and then I had some amazing beef brisket tacos with chipotle ranch and salsa. After dinner, Christopher took me to all his favorite late night spots, and we had so much fun. So thankful for a wonderful long weekend with my love!

Live music makes any dinner great
Jimmy Wolling Band 

We had fun dancing at City Market--This couple really
got into it!

My new boyfriend, Johnny Mercer 

Savannah Eats: 3 Peat

February is just yucky isn't it? It's been snowy, freezy, hot, rainy, foggy, thundery, earthquakey--everything you can image, and I am ready for spring!

Thankfully I was able to experience a little bit of spring this past weekend in Savannah! We had snow days all last week after Monday, so as soon as I could get out, I headed south for Valentine's Weekend. Since I was there for a lot longer than normal {Thursday-Monday}, I was able to try three yummy new places.

Uncle Bubba's Oyster House--picture info here

Uncle Bubba's Oyster House is located off Highway 80, past the Walmart on Whitemarsh Island, which is actually where Christopher lives so it was just a quick little drive over there. We had a Groupon for $40 worth of food for $23, so we went for the All You Can Eat Crab Legs {romantic for Valentine's, I know!}. While we did have to wait forever, since they weren't taking reservations, we did get to look around the gift shop, enjoy a drink, and spend some time outside by the water. Since Uncle Bubba is Paula Deen's brother, there were plenty of Paula's goodies at the gift shop--I have to get the "Butter, y'all" butter dish soon!

The food was really good: unlimited crab legs, yummy fried shrimp, amazing mac-and-cheese, and a couple of great desserts. I actually tried raw oysters for the very first time, and really liked them--with a dash of hot sauce, of course! Uncle Bubba's is definitely a "tourist trap," and while it may not be somewhere we visit again, it was fun to go and I'm glad we could check it off our list!

Kayak Kafe--Picture found from their Twitter here

I cannot say enough good things about Kayak Kafe. Located at Broughton and Bull right past Starbucks, this is the perfect place to stop at before an afternoon of amazing shopping. Everything on their healthy, fresh, and well priced menu looked amazing. I tried the pulled pork, avacado, and grilled pineapple salsa burrito and it was truly heavenly. The pork was so tender, and the grilled pineapple salsa gave it a great tang. The best part? The house-made habanero sauce. Whoa, what a kick! But it was perfect--Kayak Kafe is excellent, and I will definitely be visiting again. 

The Distillery--Picture found here

The Distillery was a place that I really thought Christopher would like. There is always 21 craft beers on tap, and over 100 different bottled bears to try. The building was originally a distillery in the early 1900's, but became a pharmacy during Prohibition. Now it's back to it's roots, serving up great food and drinks. If you go, definitely try the pretzel bites--so yummy! Three of the five people at our table ordered the Bootlegger Burger, so it must be good! 

Where to next?

Flashback Friday: NGC Homecoming 2010

Tonight is homecoming at the school I work at {and also graduated high school from!}, so in honor of that, I thought I would feature some pictures of one of my favorite high school memories: Homecoming 2010!

Door Decoration Contest

Pep Rally Homecoming Court Presentation with
the two cutest escorts around! 

My beautiful mother!

Senior girls on Homecoming Court 

Homecoming Court Presentation

JFK: The 50 Year Obsession

I've been reading, and watching, and obsessing about the Kennedys for as long as I can remember. I've read almost every single biography my local library has on the subject, watched every special that comes on TV, and have listened to the hours of Jackie Kennedy's interviews after the assassination on my way back and forth between Statesboro and home during college. Today, to remember the Kennedy family, and all that was, and is, and will remain of Camelot, I'm sharing a few of my favorite pictures in honor of the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination on this day in 1963.

Disclaimer: I do not claim these pictures as my own; original sources unknown. 

"Now, I think that I should have known that he was magic all along. I did know it — but I should have guessed that it would be too much to ask to grow old with and see our children grow up together. So now, he is a legend when he would have preferred to be a man." --Jackie Kennedy, 1964