Our Wedding {Party}

I knew this before the wedding, but my friends are seriously amazing. My bridesmaids are the most warmhearted, fun group of women. 

One Big Circle

With Mom and Dad at the Peace Center for the 2003 Senior Showcase. 

Moving back to the South wasn't something I planned to do. When arrows started pointing in this direction, I was dubious at best. I thought I had too much to do and too much to see to come back so soon.

Luckily, I followed the signs and ended up with a job at a life-changing school that I love. SCGSAH is the place that really started shaping the person I would become, and there's something comforting about the cyclical nature of my return to Greenville. Now I have the opportunity to give others what I was given, and it's really an honor.

And no one believes me when I tell them about the good old days:

there were guys who spent the entire summer of 2002 rafting the Reedy in duct-taped blow-up chairs,

the Raid really happened,

and a trip to Cherrydale on an old yellow school bus was something to be excited about.

xo.

P.S. We were all thrilled to see Newsweek's list of the top high schools in the U.S. - SCGSAH was number 42!

Our Wedding {Rehearsal Dinner}

On Friday night, everyone headed to our Rehearsal Dinner at Rose Hill Estate. People tend to have tunnel vision looking towards a wedding reception as the big event, and it's true that the wedding requires tons more work. It was so special, though, to have everyone at the more intimate Rehearsal Dinner. To have best friends and family all together over cocktails and a nice meal is unforgettable.

Unexpected Beauty

People have been telling me to visit Chagrin Falls since I moved to Cleveland. I was making an effort to explore Cleve after we moved, but when cold and snow came I backed off, choosing instead to re-visit the places I already liked (i.e. Tremont). So when I had an afternoon with Ellen last week, it seemed like the perfect time to try a new place. What we found was amazing: a charming little town with waterfalls, one-of-a-kind shops, and yummy food. I'm in love!

Sun and Sand!!!!

First of all, it was 50 degrees today. Fifty! My mood was automatically improved by 200%. 

And now I'm gearing up for a big weekend - a day with Ellen and then a weekend in Myrtle Beach with John's family! Somehow I've been at work for ten days straight, and eleven before that? -notthatI'mcounting -so I'm pumped at the thought of leaving town. 

via Fun Beaches

I grew up going to Myrtle Beach regularly, and going back is always an exercise in fun and nostalgia. John's mom is one of the sweetest people I know. Plus, he promised that there will be lots of fresh seafood...and taffy.

Cheers! Have a lovely weekend, everyone.

                                                    xoxo - Lauren

Letdown in Film

I'm not too pleased with Cleveland right now. I've been planning on seeing Made in Dagenham this weekend, which was just given wide release in the US. Although it was playing at The Cedar Lee this past Monday, suddenly it's gone. A quick Googling showed that it's playing at multiple theaters in Ann Arbor...

Of course it is!

Looks like I'll need to visit Ellen sooner than I thought.

Ann Arbor

John had a gig in Michigan this past weekend, and we jumped at the chance to visit bff Ellen and husband Ryan in Ann Arbor. I've been dying to visit AA for a while now, and it did not disappoint. It's artsy and intelligent, cute and welcoming - with a great food culture to boot.

Ellen and Ry took me to the microbrewery Jolly Pumpkin, where we had yummy food and a Pumpkin Ale (not listed here) that was delightfully sour and hoppy with a smooth cocoa finish.

Truly, it was excellent. They've gotten national recognition for their brews, and some kind of Top 25 Beers Award from Men's Journal and Wine Spectators. I think I'll go back sooner rather than later.

Urban Outfitters, $10

We also started watching the FX's Damages, starring Glenn Close (who, by the way, is terrifying)This show, friends, is fantastic. We were on the edge of our seats. Part lawyer drama, part psychological thriller murder mystery, it's got me craving more.

With today's "near-blizzard"conditions, and after last night's slow trek home in the storm, all I really want to do is curl up with John and Herbs on the couch, wear my bear slippers, and be horrified by Glenn over and over again.

Ellen my Melon

I met my best friend Ellen eight years ago. We both attended the summer program at the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, and although the extent of our summer friendship was one tearful, two-sentence bus exchange, I think that was for the best; camp flings rarely stand the test of time. Instead we waited until the residential program's Welcome Reception in the fall, where we recognized each other and became best friends withinabout...three hours? Six graduations, one wedding, and several cities later, here we are - still bff and finally back within one day's drive.

Last Saturday, John and I met Ellen and her husband, Ryan, in Port Clinton, OH, which with the help of Google Maps, we selected as a dubious half-way point between Cleveland and Ann Arbor. Luckily, Port Clinton offered a fun Mexican restaurant, an ice cream shop, and a grocery store with a lighthouse in the parking lot.

Our night was important on many levels: Everyone got to hang with John, and John got to meet everyone; Ellen and I practiced the trip that we'll probably be making multiple times per month; and I had Pomegranate Dark Chocolate frozen yogurt.

When Ellen and I lived on the same hall, we went out for dinner on Thursday nights, ran through Reedy River Park in torrential downpours, sneaked to each other's rooms after curfew, discussed life's ups and downs face-to-face, and enthusiastically joined The Raid (flooding of the boys' side of the dorm) on the night before graduation. We've been chanting "SAME CITY" ever since, and I think this might be the closest we're going to get.

Our RA lovingly(?) nicknamed us The Bobbsey Twins, a term we love to hate. So now we're going to Bobbsey Ohio, Michigan, and everything in between: shopping, sleepovers, movies, dinners! Here's to us, Ellen - it's about damn time.