Wedding Festivities and Crossfit Community

I've been blaming my lack of blogging on the fact that I have very little time.. well, I'm graduating in 13 short days, and then I'm not sure what my excuse will be! It's hard to believe that graduation is just around the corner. No more classes, no more tests, no more being a Clemson student. I'll be an alumni, I hardly feel old enough to be in college period. I'm constantly blown away at how fast time really does fly. It's so cliche, but when you sit down and think about it, where on earth have the past few years gone?!

I won't get sentimental about Clemson (yet), I'll save that mushiness for another week or two :)

Let's back track, shall we? Wedding planning takes a lot of time and energy. Some aspects are stressful and some are so fun that you want to do them again and again. Finding a venue for the ceremony and reception have been our most stressful aspects so far, mainly because the fall months are so booked with other weddings and events in the upstate. Once that got crossed off the list (woohoo!), we have been able to enjoy the smaller details of the wedding.

Cake tasting.

I must admit, cake tasting has been my favorite wedding "chore." Our wonderful wedding planner recommended Kathy and Company, located in Easley, SC. On the day of our appointment we couldn't find the place because it is tucked away behind Kathy's home. The building is nothing extravagant, just a little house built behind a normal house, sounds silly right? We were welcomed with the happiest of hellos and they took care of us our entire time tasting. They offered water and coffee, and we were served with a plate full of flavors!

We tried everything. The wonderful women at Kathy and Co also provide homemade frostings, so we had our fair share of those with each of the cake flavors, too. Our favorite was the strawberry & white chocolate swirl with strawberry icing. For those of you coming to our wedding, you're in for a real treat - our cake has over 5 flavors, but I'll keep those a secret!

I loved every moment, and I loved every bite!

And so did he :)

I'm jumping around here, but I have a few weeks to catch up on!

July is our official "Crossfitiversary," which I will be posting all of my own personal improvements. I'm pretty excited about that post! However, I thought it was appropriate to brag on the wonderful people at our Crossfit gym. Since day one, we were welcomed by some of the sweetest and most encouraging people. We have made great friends during our 9 months at Crossfit Proverb. We've been spending more and more time there, and our friendships have grown!

I've made my way to two competitions to watch Braden compete. When it comes to building relationships, Crossfit competitions are a perfect way to get to know those at your gym. You spend a day watching your friends do work on some tough workouts, and you get to fellowship with all of those who are there to spectate.

I would say it's not all fun and games.. but it is!

I look forward to going to workout every day. The days I don't make it I feel like I've missed out on all of the fun. Crossfit builds such great relationships because you're surviving through tough workouts with everyone around you, you've accomplished something, and you've done it alongside others who were right there with you the whole way. You can usually hear someone say "this sucks" during a workout, and as soon as it's over "holy cow that was an awesome workout!" Isn't it funny how that works?

When we do silly things such as supermans, which I like to call penguins, it turns into a laughing matter. I mean come on, how ridiculous do we all look?!

We also spend time together outside of the gym. Braden, Alex and I have made some wonderful friendships that have extended past our daily workouts together. Our wonderful gym owners and trainers have become some of our great friends, and we've found ourselves spending more and more time with them. I don't think that this comes as a surprise in any circumstance that puts Jesus in the center. Crossfit Proverb is built on a foundation of Christ, and it shines through the way our trainers treat their members. 

There are occasionally some perks involved.. like free smoothies for CFP members :)

I'm looking forward to the upcoming summer months. I will be spending a good amount of my time at CFP, and I am sure that I will be spending even more time with the wonderful people who train there. We have an upcoming lake day on May 4th and I'm already pumped!

I mention Crossfit a lot, but that's because it has become something I enjoy and love. I wouldn't advocate something if I truly didn't believe in it. My fitness capacity has changed exponentially, you'll see that when I write about my successes in my Crossfitiversary. I think everyone should give it a try, especially if you find a gym that is built on a foundation of the Lord. If you're growing spiritually, you're also growing physically. 

That's all for now!

"For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come."

- 1 Timothy 4:8

You Said Blueberry What?!

It's been a while people. And by a while I mean like two weeks. How was everyone's weekend?! I spent mine relaxing mostly (watching The Hills on Netflex), I felt pretty lazy if I'm just being honest. We need days like that sometimes to re-cooperate,  no shame in that! Due to the last few weeks being devoted to getting into the swing of school, wedding planning, and catching up with friends, I haven't had much time to write about our most recent endeavors.

Where should I start?

This one needs a little background info.

Braden and I spent a few days in my hometown the week after Christmas. While we were there, my wonderful friend Paige and her family had the two of us and my mom (+ our friend Megan) over for dinner. Her mom is infamous for her awesome mashed potatoes, so naturally she made that the star of the meal. Dinner was delicious, but dessert had us especially intrigued. Paige's parent served everyone vanilla ice cream, but brought out a mysterious bottle and said "I'm not going to tell you what it is, just try it." Braden and I are usually adventurous, so we decided to go for it.

Blueberry balsamic.

Yes, I said it, blueberry balsamic paired with vanilla ice cream. Sounds awful right? Trust me, it is SO good. Of course, this turned into a great conversation about where the balsamic originated. They told us that there are two stores, one in Columbia and one in Greenville. Bray and I put it on our "to-do" list as soon as we got back to the Upstate.

Fast forward a few weeks.

We went to Greenville to check out a reception venue, and as soon as we let Braden mentioned the olive oil company. It was still pretty early (around 10:30am) so the last thing I wanted was to taste test olive oils and balsamic dressings. But, we went for it anyways, you only live once right?

As soon as we walked in we were greeted by the co-owner of the company. He explained to us the process of taste testing the olive oils. They give you a bowl with little pieces of bread so that you can test each olive oil. He explained many combinations, normal and strange, and told us about each olive oils health benefits, origin, and their best sellers. Once he got done explaining everything we were set lose to try everything!



So many great choices, they were all so good. He told us that the Tuscan Herb was one of their best sellers, which we ended up leaving with. It was too good to pass up.



After tasting all of the olive oils, you're in for a real treat. We were given a bowl of ice cream and got the run down about each of the balsamic. There were flavors from dark espresso, peach, to lavender, all of which are awesome. One of my personal favorites was Dark Espresso and Dark Chocolate. We already knew blueberry was a great choice, so we tried it in variations with the chocolate and other flavors.

Taste tester in action.

After trying multiple flavors and combinations, we ended up purchasing the blueberry and the dark chocolate. Both excellent choices.

Give Palmetto Olive Oil Co. a try! It's a fun little date spot, they make it a great experience. Not to mention that olive oil is great for adding depth to the flavor of foods and offers many health benefits. It wouldn't hurt to give some fun flavors a try when you're cooking, we've loved having the Tuscan Herb.

Here's the company's info if you're interested:
2247 Augusta Street, Greenville, SC 29605
http://www.palmettooliveoilco.com/index.php

Hope you all have a wonderful week, happy tasting!

The Day I Said Yes to My Best Friend

It was December 7, 2012. My Friday morning started out like any other. The only difference was that I had a text from Braden, which wasn't completely out of the ordinary, but it was a witty little poem asking me to FCA's tacky sweater shag that evening.

"I love you Jess, what more can I say

I guess I'll show you in a romantic way

I'll pick you up around 5:45

So that we can celebrate all the good in our lives

Dress nice because we will start our evening

at one of your favorite restaurants in Greenville

But this is just the start of our night,

Will you go to the tacky sweater shag tonight?"

I got excited and spent the day trying to figure out where we could possibly be going in Greenville. I have quite a few favorites and I couldn't settle on one! After class I started getting ready for our date that night. I had trouble picking out an outfit because I had no idea where we were going. I settled on a black and white dress with a red scarf that my wonderful friend Brinley let me borrow.

As promised, Braden showed up on time with 20 beautiful red roses in hand. He has only brought me flowers on one other occasion, our one year anniversary. He handed the flowers to me and said happy 20 months. At that point I didn't see any red flashing signs, because he is quite the romantic anyway. 

We got in the car and headed to downtown Greenville. We chatted like normal on the drive, but he mentioned that he had some exciting news for me once we sat down to dinner. Naturally, all I could think of was what this "exciting news" could be, and why did it have to wait until dinner? We pulled up at Nantucket Seafood Grill, one of my absolute favorite restaurants that I've only been to one other time on a date with Bray. I knew it was a fancy date night when we had the valet park the car. We were seated by the window where we could see people ice skating, it was such a beautiful backdrop for the evening.

We went all out, ordering an appetizer of crab cakes, huge seafood entrees, wine, and dessert. As soon as we ordered our drinks he finally found an appropriate time to tell me the exciting news. Braden has been co-oping at BMW Manufacturing for the past year, and that night actually marked his final day as a co-op. That was huge news and extremely exciting. The only time we had been to Nantucket prior to this night was right after he got his first pay check at BMW, how fitting right?

After dinner we were stuffed and felt the need to walk it off a little. We walked past the ice skaters and ran into Santa Claus, yes, I did say Santa Claus. I've got to admit that running into SC himself and seeing his sleigh made my night. 

We headed back to the car because it was so cold outside. I had no idea where our next stop was, but as soon as he pulled up at McPherson park downtown I knew something special was about to happen. This park is special to us, because this is where we first said I love you on July 15, 2011. At this point, I was thinking "okay, maybe it's about to happen here" thinking I had figured out what was going on. We got on the swings and he asked me if I remembered what happened there. I said of course, it's the exact place where he told me he loved me. Right after that moment, he jumped up and got on the rocking horse and pretended to be a jockey.. we can only be serious for so long!

We started walking around and after a few more minutes we went back to the car. I felt a little disappointed because I thought I had solved the mystery. I was sure that he was about to propose in the park. Well, I was wrong. When we got back in the car he asked if I wanted to head to the tacky sweater shag. With a disappointing sigh I said "sure." The drive back to Clemson was a little quieter, my mind was wandering trying to figure out when on earth he was going to ask me to marry him.. and the fact that I did not want to go to the tacky sweater shag!

We pulled up at the Madren Center, which has held many FCA dances during our relationship. I didn't think much about the Christmas lights on the dance floor, because I figured the Madren Center had held an event there. I'm one of caution, so when we started walking towards the dance floor framed by lights I thought we were somewhere we shouldn't be. He plugged his iPod into the speakers that had been set up earlier in the day. I figured out then that he had already planned this, and it was no coincidence that the dance floor was set up for two.

We shagged and danced to "our songs," three of them. As soon as Rascal Flatts "When the Sand Runs Out" started playing, he started dancing much slower. At this point, I could tell he was getting a little emotional. The song says "I want to be running when the sand runs out," so he asked me, "Do you want to keep running with me?" At that moment he dropped down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was overtaken by surprise, excitement, and emotions so those few moments are a blur to me. All I can remember saying is "IS THIS REAL, is this really happening?!"

As soon as he proposed, my two wonderful friends Annabeth and Jen came out of the bushes, they had been taking pictures the entire time! Braden grabbed my hand and we ran towards the lake. Before I knew it, fireworks started going off over the lake. Talk about a perfect moment, I was still in such utter shock that it was hard to pay attention to the beautiful display going on in front of us! All I could do was look up and smile at him so big, I still had to keep asking "is this real?!"

We danced for a song or two and enjoyed the giddiness that had overtaken us for the past few moments. Once we got our bearings he said that we could leave. I wanted to call my mom, but he convinced me that my sweet friend Brin would want to see me call her and hear my moms reaction over the phone. Obviously not thinking clearly, I agreed, under normal circumstances I would've thought that was kind of random. We pulled into where Brinley lives and Braden started distracting me, he kept telling me to look at my ring and telling me about it. When I looked up we had pulled up to the clubhouse. I don't remember what he was saying, it's still all a blur, but the next thing I knew he had opened the door and all of our family and friends yelled SURPRISE!!!

We spent the remainder of the night celebrating with friends, taking pictures, and basking in the fact that we were finally engaged. I floated on cloud nine all night long, I hardly slept.

The moment I woke up I looked at my hand, it still didn't feel real.

It STILL doesn't feel real. I am marrying my best friend, the biggest blessing I could ever ask for!

My Kind of Day

Braden is notorious for fun, elaborate dates that usually take up an entire day (which I don't mind one bit). Typically they're a surprise and I have no idea what we're doing or where we're going. That has always been one of my favorite things about our relationship, I love surprises no matter how big or how small! We spent the day on the lake again on Friday, but this time it was just the two of us. We love cruising around, looking at houses, and napping on the boat when it's just the two of us. It's definitely the most relaxing date you could possibly ask for and I love every second. 

We went back to the dock around 5 in the afternoon, I thought our day of leisure was coming to a close. To my surprise, Braden walks back down to the dock with a portable grill in hand. He said I had an even bigger surprise inside the grill - it was stocked with marinating chicken, pineapple, and asparagus. The boy knows the way to my heart.. good food! We had been talking about making BBQ Hawaiian chicken for a few weeks now, he just took the initiative to make it!

We anchored by a small little island that had a beach area. We got the grill going, then set up the marinated chicken topped with pineapple. Needless to say it smelled delicious! I had the idea to grill the remaining pineapple slices for dessert, probably the best idea I had of the night haha.

While waiting for the food to cook we spent some time skipping rocks. Bray makes it look so easy, I on the other hand struggle to make it skip more than two times. I guess we all have different gifts and talents right ;)

Our dinner was grilled to perfection, and although I didn't get a picture of the finished product, I did get a picture of our dinner "table" set up! The fish must have keen senses because as soon as we started eating a little school of fish hung out around Braden's toes hopefully waiting for us to drop some leftovers. This turned into an entertaining game on what we could get the fish to eat. I've learned they're fans of chicken but not pineapple haha.

We finished out the night with a sunset ride back to the dock. Sunsets are hands down the best showcase for the Lord's masterpieces, they are always so beautiful and breathtaking. This one was particularly beautiful. I may have been biased because we had such a great afternoon, but I'm thinking that it's definitely on my top 10 list.

Surprise dates are always fun. However, a surprise date in great company always takes the cake. I love spending time with Braden, especially when it feels like we're away from the craziness of reality. We both love to escape for a few hours and just enjoy each others company. 

This week marks the beginning of a crazy semester. Braden started back at his co-op today, which means less time to spend together. Although I won't see Braden nearly as much as I'd like to, I know that the time we do have together will be time well spent.  I'm confident that the Lord is going to use this season for His glory, and I'm excited to see what this semester holds for us!

Favorite Moments of the Week

It's only Wednesday, I may be getting a little ahead of myself but this week has already been too good to me! What better way to celebrate the not-necessarily-over week than to share a few fun moments that have already made my week! I'll run in reverse and start this list of fav's on Friday night.

1.) Date night with Bray

Braden and I love heading to Greenville for date nights - think about it, you can have dinner, dessert, and entertainment all in one place! Plus we've had so many run-ins with incredibly nice people downtown, so it just makes for a great date place. On Friday we headed to Tako Sushi, one of our favs, and we sat at the end of the bar where we could see the sushi chefs working their magic! We started off with the Pork Pot stickers which were incredibly good! I ordered the Cucumber Salad Roll, Bray ordered the Seared Tilapia Takos, so naturally we shared to get a little taste of southwestern and sushi.

Crab, fresh shrimp, tomato, asparagus, and avocado rolled in cucumber and topped with wasabi vinaigrette!

After dinner we strolled around downtown for a little while and then headed to a new froyo place called Yogurtini. Oh my deliciousness, I'm pretty sure we tried every single flavor and then had the hardest time deciding which ones we wanted! We went with a cappuccino, cake batter, peanut butter, and red velvet cake concoction topped with a random assortment of yummy fruits and candy.

2.) Lake Day with the Nichols Fam.

Saturday we headed to the lake with the Nichols clan. We spent the day cruising and swimming, and eventually went and met up with a few of his parents friends. The afternoon quickly turned into wake surfing lessons for everyone, including the little ones!

If that's not the cutest thing you've ever seen then I don't know what is!

3.) Afternoon Rain Artsy-ness

We've been getting a lot of rain the past two weeks, which I'm not a huge fan of because it makes me want to stay in bed all day watching movies. However, the rain has made for some beautiful rainbows on a daily basis. Aside from the mountains and sunsets, I think rainbows are one of the most magnificent showings of God's beauty!

Even Bray got in on the action and sent me this super artsy photo - which makes me extremely proud :)

4.) CrossFit at Home

This week CrossFit was closed on Tuesday so Braden, Elliot, Alex and I decided that we wouldn't let that keep us from getting in a good work out. We (as in Elliot) came up with the idea to have a hill sprinting workout on the dikes, which initially sounded like a great idea. We came up with a workout of 4 rounds: 10 push ups, sprint up the hill, 10 burpees, back down the hill. Yes, it was as intense as it sounds! Alex and I modified a little and did 10 below-parallel squats in place of burpees, we felt it was necessary to still be able to breathe :)

I felt these socks were necessary, haha

Pre-workout agility

Everything about that picture cracks me up. Bray's just straight chilling, while Alex does a cartwheel warm-up. I guess everyone has their own methods of stretching and warming up prior to a workout, haha!

5.) She-Crab Sweetness

I had a surprise visitor at work today. Yep you guessed it, Braden showed up with she-crab soup from JPeters in hand. He knows me so well, and knows exactly how to make my day with one of my all time favorite soups! I mean really, how'd I get so lucky?!

 Tonight little Alex is coming to CrossFit with me for a trial run, but I already know she's going to love it! After our workout, Bray and Elliot are going to make all of us dinner, while Alex and I make a summer peach pie for Braden's family reunion this weekend. A post will be coming soon on the pie making method and on all of the fun family reunion festivities!

Until then, I hope everyone has a fabulous week - smile because we're halfway to the weekend!

Weekend Recap

This weekend was a great refresher. Friday consisted of planning for the next day, a full day on Lake Jocassee. We had to run around town to get things ready (food, gas, etc), which took a little longer than I had expected. I have never realized how much work goes into preparing for a lake day, major props to my boy who makes it happen! After all of the running around I made enchiladas for the first time, which were surprisingly good! After dinner Braden and I set off on a post-dinner walk to enjoy the weather, which turned into a 3 mile trek.

The sky was absolutely beautiful during our walk, and Bray made a point to pick every pretty flower we passed by! By the end I had a pretty little bouquet, he's quite the keeper :)

We've been on a big movie kick, so we thought we'd give "Like Crazy" a try.. I was so excited about this movie, only to find it highly disappointing. We turned it off after about 20 minutes of confusion and having no idea what's going on. I'd give this one a big bad movie rating.. sad day!

Saturday morning Braden, Elliot, Drew, and myself packed up the car and headed to the lake. I've come to the conclusion that I'll probably be spending lots of time with these 3, but what can I say, they're all great to have around! We spent the day cruising, wake surfing, and the boys climbed up rock walls. It was a pretty perfect day despite our few minor setbacks with boat mishaps.

Yesterday we went to Grace and then to Braden's parents for lunch. Overall a very laid back day with a little grocery shopping thrown in. Now it's the start of the work week, and I'm counting down the minutes until it's the weekend! We'll be attending our fourth wedding of the summer, with 3 more still to go, geez louise wedding season is definitely in full swing! I'm loving it though, I mean really, what girl doesn't?!

Oh side note: I'll be starting my first day at CrossFit today! I'm super pumped, nervous, excited, anxious, you name it I'm feelin' it! I've gotten so run down and bored with my normal weekly workouts (MWF strength and sprints, TTH cardio and stretching) I need something to push me harder and keep me entertained. I'm signing up for a month, so we'll see how this goes!

Tonight I'm making dinner with the lovely Emily, and then watching the Bachelorette with some wonderful ladies. I always look forward to Monday's because I know this time with these girls is always right around the corner. Plus I'm mildly obsessed with watching the guys on the show make fools of them self, but I must say I'm team Sean and I'm not ashamed to say it, haha!

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Twenty One

It has been quite a while since I've posted anything, so let's just say I have a lot of catching up to do! I finished up my Junior year in college, I still can't believe I'm a SENIOR.. wow where has the time gone?! I am working for the non-profit United Way this summer, which has been a huge blessing. Other than that my summer has been full of relaxing and days in the sun.

I just got back from Hilton Head Island where I spent my birthday weekend! I could not have asked for a better birthday where my time was spent laying out on the beach, riding bikes, and eating delicious seafood and yummy desserts!

Our first night on the island - heading to the Crazy Crab!

I'm so thankful to be able to witness their love of almost 50 years!

Corbin, Mary Miles, Braden and I one night before dinner

Key Lime Pie for our date night dessert at Ela's!

The best, I repeat, the BEST strawberry shortcake ever! Yummm! We celebrated my  birthday with cake before we headed to dinner, aren't you supposed to enjoy dessert before dinner?!

On the pier to watch the sunset while having dinner at the Topside Waterfront Restaurant!

My mama made it all the way to HHI to celebrate my 21st! 

The past few days have been wonderful, and now it's back to reality where waking up early is always on my schedule. But hey, I can't complain! I hope everyone has a wonderful week!