ONE YEAR

Pre dinner shots... Austin was too hungry to let me snap some of him!

As of sunday Austin and I have officially lived in North Carolina for ONE YEAR (hence the name of the post )! Unfortunately we had to work on Sunday ( boooo ) and were too exhausted to do some proper celebrating when we got off. So last night we decided to hit up our favorite spot in town... a lil place called CPWs ( the bar tenders know us by name now and i'm ok with that... ). We started off with some southern drinks, I had a georgia peach and Austin an Abita purple haze. Then we munched on cajun crab dip (YUM). And to top off our southern feast we ordered shrimp n' grits.... which was a first for the both of us, oyster stew... which was an experience let me tell you, and crab and crawfish cakes. Needless to say we waddled out of there with our bellies quite content. North Carolina has been good to us... its even starting to feel a little like home. ( que appropriate country song )

AND THEN WE WENT TO THE BEACH

Sometimes you just need to get away (even if its just an hour away). Atlantic Beach is the perfect place for that. Especially when its February and no one is on the beach. We packed our coziest blankets a few good books and hunkered down for a relaxing afternoon. Our usual lunch spot was closed... just our luck (but really I've never heard of a restaurant being closed ONLY on wednesday). Never the less we managed to find a new place with a waterfront view and get our seafood fix... crab mac n' cheese anyone? YEAH. fried oysters? OK! she crab soup? WHY NOT?! I think the day was a success :)

HOME IMPROVEMENT

Over the weekend we got crafty and decided to make a bench for our tiny entryway. I saw the idea on pinterest and thought it would be simple and cheap. Luckily Austin happens to have a knack for building things. 

                           

What do you think?!

TWENTY THIRTEEN

Two thousand thirteen has been a good/busy year so far. We made it back to Vermont before the big snow storm... we got our Christmas wish for a white Christmas! It was great spending time in Richmond and Stowe with our families. We miss being able to see them so often! We celebrated the new year with friends in Burlington before jetting back to the South. As much as we loved being in the snow/cold we were surprised how happy we were to get back to reasonable temperatures... since we've been back we've been working a lot and doing a few home improvement projects... more to come soon!

Happy Holidays

We've been getting into the holiday spirit! It's been hard with the weather being so warm (last week it was in the 70's) but we figured even if it didn't feel like winter outside it wouldn't stop us from making it feel like winter inside! Our small apartment now feels very cozy and festive (even though sometimes we still have to turn on the AC). 

Some other things we've been up to: 
- enjoying the hot tub in the evenings
- going to a holiday dinner party hosted by a friend
- drinking eggnog and watching holiday classics
- preparing for our trip to VT!!!!

An October Beach Vacation

A few weeks ago we spent some time in the Outer Banks with Austin's family. Here are a few snap shots from our trip!

 We had a house in Nag's Head that was right on the beach... it was so wonderful to be able to walk down the steps into the sand! The first morning I woke up early and got some great shots of the sunrise over the ocean. We spent the week exploring the coast from Corolla to Ocracoke, drinking mimosas on the beach, indulging in all you can eat crab (the BEST crab we have ever eaten!), visiting different light houses and playing in the waves... we even spotted some dolphins from our porch!!

Guess who's birthday it is...

Happy birthday to the most wonderful man I know (besides my father of course!). I can't begin to describe how happy I am to be celebrating another birthday with you and I'm looking forward to many more to come. Although you're only 24 you have so much insight and wisdom. You don't wait for things to come to you, you make things happen and I admire you for that. You're always the constant in the chaos, the calm after the storm, the rock that anchors me. I have learned so much from you in the past 3 years and I have no doubt that you have made me a better person. Just the other night we were talking about how life is short and we should never take anything for granted, so lets make 24 one of the best years yet! Love you to the moon and back.
 -Kristen