Weekend Catch up

This past weekend, Joe and I headed to Topsail Beach with friends. We were lucky to be able to unpack from Europe and head down to Topsail on Friday. It was a great way to unwind and relax after our trip. We are both still trying to recover from jet lag and are taking advantage of waking up early each morning by getting lots of laundry done!

We were able to catch a few rays of sun Friday afternoon and Saturday morning between passing storms. Unfortunately, we got caught in the rain several times over the weekends. Nothing too bad though! The passing clouds made for beautiful views over the ocean.

The clouds cleared up a bit for us to head to dinner at one of my favorite local restaurants  Daddy Mac's . 

After dinner, we walked on the boardwalk and enjoyed the beautiful views as the storm clouds rolled by.

After dinner, we headed back to the cottage for an intense game of Spoons. I forget how much I love that game! We also were able to catch a few pre Fourth of July fireworks. 

This weekend is just what Joe and I both needed to re-charge after our Europe adventure. Excitingly, I am actually extending my stay at the beach. My parents have a beach house at Topsail this week for the 4th and I am going to be soaking up every minute of summer break I can! 

Stay tuned this week as I start to slowly re-cap our Europe adventures! Hope you all have an amazing Monday! 

Mediterranean Adventures!

We are sitting in the airport waiting to board the flight back to Charlotte. I thought this would be a great time to catch y'all up quickly on our adventures through a few pictures. I'll post full recaps  with good pictures once we are back home and rested.

Our trip started out with quite an unexpected adventure. Our plan was to board our cruise in Rome. Due to weather, we had a detour to Frankfurt then Rome and took a domestic flight to Catania. We spent the night in Catania and took a bus to Messina. We met our cruise ship the second day in Messina. 

On the cruise, we visited Athens, Ephesus, Santorini, Mkynos and Naples. In Naples, we drove to see Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. 

Port in Piraeus. 

View of Mt. Vesuvius at sail away.

After our cruise, we spent three days in Rome touring the Coliseum, Vatican and several other sights we could squeeze into our short time there. 

We also are many decadent dishes without feeling a twinge of guilt due to all the walking! 

Crepes with spinach ricotta and honey.

Pistachio and ricotta gelato  

Nightly tradition of Italian wine and homemade biscuits.

Our flight is finally boarding! Ciao for now! 

Wedding: The Reception

I'll let the pictures tell the story. Our wedding reception was a beautiful celebration with our friends and family. Dancing, games, drinks and cake makes for a great night. 

Wedding: The Ceremony

 Joe and I were married at the Southport Community Center. It is a beautiful venue with gorgeous views overlooking the inter-coastal waterway. For the wedding, the main color we used was turquoise with pink accents. Peonies, hydrangeas and roses were our flowers. 

  

After we were pronounced husband and wife, they shot a civil war cannon. So when we kissed we had to hold each other's ears. That's the reason for the funny hand placement in our picture above. We also were able to watch them fire the cannon named "Thor" after the ceremony as well. This was one of my favorite things about our wedding!

Wedding: Bridal Portraits

Bridal portraits are very popular in my area. I loved that I had additional chance to get dolled up and enjoy by beautiful dress. It was also a perfect trial run to figure out what I liked or did not like for my wedding day. I took my portraits in my hometown of Wilmington, NC. I choose two locations the New Hanover County Arboretum and  Greenfield Park. Both are free to the public and have beautiful gardens in the spring.

The best pictures were the unexpected ones that I did not expect to turn out. I love the picture with the gate and the one with the sunglasses. Stay tuned, up next is the wedding ceremony! All photos are by Keith Ketchum.