1.5 Years and Counting...

We are so random. Like I mentioned in a previous blog, we like to celebrate our love anytime we can. We decided to take a trip to celebrate our 1.5 Year Wedding Anniversary. We stayed at a Dreams Resort in Punta Cana. The weather was BEAUTIFUL almost every single day. We were there for 4 nights, 5 days. If someone asked us to rate the food overall we would give it a 7 out of 10... not the best, but not the worst. Although we went to some restaurants that were a definite 10. It's sad, but we really do rate all of our food, whether we cook it here at home or are out at a restaurant. It just helps us keep up with our likes and dislikes. This resort was really fun and I think it would have been great for a big group of girls, like a fun Bachelorette party or something. It was a little too "wild" for us. Ask us that about 4-5 years ago and we would say differently. But I dunno, something about once you get married, you just settle down a little more. It's nice to be on this side of things though. We had tons of fun just us. We ate a different restaurant for every meal every day. We hung out on the beach, reading magazines or just talking. We spent time at the swim-up bar in the pool ordering different tropical drinks. We even got to play with a monkey. It was SO fun and the monkey was adorable (see pics below). It's hard to go on a trip like this after our A+ honeymoon in St. Lucia, because I think we will forever be comparing EVERY trip from here on out to that. St. Lucia was a 10 out of 10. Punta Cana was an 8 out of 10. We had a wonderful time, don't get me wrong! It is always nice to get away, not have to work, and not have to worry about anything. And of course, just be together...

our fantastic resort - Dreams Punta Cana

hanging out on the beautiful beaches of Punta Cana

dinner at Bordeaux, a French restaurant

Paradise... we spent a lot of time here. Either sitting pool side or at the wonderful swim-up bar.

taking some photos before dinner at Himitsu (hibachi grill)

My dream officially came true... I got to play with a monkey. I mean I've only asked for one EVERY Christmas since about age 5.His name was JJ and he was SO darn cute! We tried to sneak him back in our pocket but apparently that is frowned upon.

Our last night in Punta Cana... eating dinner at Portofino

Anniversaries 0.6 and 1

We love to celebrate. Anything. Anytime. Our first anniversary we celebrated was our 6 month wedding anniversary. September 2008, Brian "kidnapped" me over the weekend and took me on a little trip. We ended up at the Ritz Carlton - same place we spent our first night after our wedding. He got us a suite with the most comfortable bed you can imagine. To top off the already wonderful surprise, he took me out to Ruth's Chris for dinner. We officially became the people we hate while dining... same side sitters. You can't help it when you're in love.

We returned to our room after dinner and there were pink rose petals sprinkled all over our bed, champagne, and chocolate dipped strawberries. It was like our honeymoon all over again. The next morning, Brian had 2 massage therapists come up to our room to give us a rub down. We just had to roll out of bed... it was glorious! I give Brian major props for putting this romantic weekend together for me :)

Then came our 1 year anniversary... It's SO hard to believe that a year has already flown by. It has been so wonderful. We feel like everyone was always telling us that the first year is the hardest and most difficult, but we must be very lucky and blessed because it was pretty good for us. We had our "tough moments" here and there, but overall it was really great. We had a lot to be celebrating just one year later.

We actually renewed our wedding vows. We went back to Peachtree Christian Church, where we were married just one year ago. The second Sunday of every January, PCC invites back every couple who has EVER been married inside their church to renew their vows. Four couples got to actually walk down the aisle, which of course I was jealous of. But the rest of us, got to sit in pews, turn to our husband/wife, hold their hands, and repeat our vows to each other out loud. And then seal it with a kiss :)

It was the sweetest thing in the world. Brian and I are going to make it a tradition to back every year to renew our vows.

On March 8, 2009, we set the table with our fine china and crystal. We ate a delicious dinner of filet, baked potatoes, and asparagus. YUM! And of course, we ate our wedding cake. It was the exact same. Delicious and perfect.

Then we watched our wedding video from start to finish. It was 3 hours long. Beautiful video, but let's just say we'll only be watching it on special occasions. And to top the night all off, we had a bottle of champagne and drank it out of our toasting flutes from the wedding. I can't believe it has already been one year. We are so lucky to have each other!!!

We went to Asheville, NC for our actual one year anniversary trip. We ate lunch at Moose Cafe (ranked #10 in the South) and then we went to the Biltmore!

We stayed at The Inn at Biltmore. Our room was gorgeous. They upgraded us to a King Suite because we were celebrating our anniversary. Gotta love those upgrades!

We ate dinner at The Bistro on the first night. The next morning we walked around the beautiful gardens. We picked a great month to go, it was The Festival of the Flowers. Then we went to The Biltmore and did an audio tour of the house. But let's be honest, we both fast forwarded through our tapes and tried to pass the slow walkers. Then we ate lunch at Stable Cafe. That afternoon we toured the winery and enjoyed a wine tasting!

Our last night at The Biltmore, we ate our "official" anniversary dinner at The Dining Room.

XOXO