savannah-bound

k:

this weekend ant and i took a road trip to check out savannah. he hadn't ever been there and i've only been there for a bachelorette party and st. patty's day, so neither were more than a day/night. Thursday night we headed to OP to stay with mom and dad... lucie and reagan were there, too, so that was a bonus!





we left on friday morning... ant had scheduled a tour of SCAD for that afternoon. we got there JUST in time for the tour to depart and it turned out to be fantastic. we had a great guide named Julie and she took us to the building where ant will be spending most of his time in the next 3-4 years... the Illustration bldg!



The tour was very informative and we got to see lots of cool stuff like the library, the graphic design building, the fashion building and the awesome student center that is oozing technology and coolness! The campus is really spread out around downtown, but it's awesome because you can ride your bike or walk anywhere. there are bikes EVERYWHERE! of course, this really excited us because that's one thing we love about where we live now. it's actually pretty awkward driving in the city because there is so much traffic (cars and people), so it's better to just walk or ride your bike.




after the tour we were able to meet with an advisor to ask questions and such. so, we soaked in all we could and then left to find our hotel. i found a new place near river street that was pretty much brand new and we were extremely pleased... AND i got a sweet last minute deal... thank you, expedia!

after the hotel check-in, we were starving and ready to eat. we tried our luck at a BBQ place called Barnes. ant said they were the BEST ribs he's ever had! ... EVER!! i was impressed! (he doesn't look too happy, but he was putting on a show - surprise!)




Saturday morning we SLEPT IN... it's always so nice to do that! we enjoyed a little complimentary (semi-decent) hotel breakfast and then headed out for our trolly tour. our guide's name was Mickey and he was great! we got to see all the sights and learn a lot of the history of savannah. we got to go inside the huge cathedral in town, which was so beautiful!







And then Ant saw this in the stained glass:

(for those of you who don't know, that's the name of my fiesty aunt mary!)

After the tour we stopped to have lunch at the city market and it was fantastic! (all the food was a hit) That was when it started raining and got really cold. So we headed back to the hotel for a nap and some coats. After the nap we got our second wind and headed back in to town to check out the shops and find some grub. We came across a lot of sweet vintage shops that I can't wait to tackle later and this really awesome bee store. We got to meet the founder and developer of all this amazing honey and body products made out of honey and bee's wax. They even had a honey bar where you could sample the different kinds of honey. I've never been too much of a honey lover, but after that experience, I LOVE honey! I also realized that my favorite chapstick comes from there so I got a new one that I love and we also walked out of there with a great smelling bar of orange blossom soap and some hand butter :) (it's the little things!)

After walking in the rain for a while, we stumbled across a sushi joint that was recommended by a possible new savannah friend. They served this complimentary fried flatbread sort of thing that was really yummy and they had white sauce on the table!!! (for those of you who don't know, i LOVE white sauce in japanese restaurants!)




After really great sushi and a nice walk in the rain down to river street, we came across what will be my new favorite place... the candy kitchen.

just like a kid in a candy shop:




this is how they cool the taffy before it gets stretched and wrapped:


So, after some candy and a few drinks at a bar down the way, we called it a night.

Sunday we drove around to check out some places for rent and then started to make our way back home. So, it's official... we're moving to Savannah!! We were so in awe of the city and the history. It's just beautiful everywhere you look and everything has a story. We both feel like God keeps opening all the doors for us to be there and we have a great peace about it. We know it will be a challenge, but as long as we know we're there for the right reasons, we'll be great! Now, it's just a matter of finding a place to live! Mom and I will be heading back up in a couple weeks to scope out some apartments (and hopefully lock one down). Right now the plan is to be up there by the second week in March. (Everyone is invited to come up for St Patty's day... don't know if we'll have room for you, but we'd love to see you!)

stay tuned...

babies, raises & pomegranate margaritas

Today my best friend Heather and her husband Shawn (officiant of our wedding) welcomed a baby boy into their growing family! His name is Baylor Dunnigan Sendler. All are healthy and it's really hard to not be there with them! Here's a pic for you:



And today must have been the day for blessings because I randomly got a $2 raise at the church... thank you, Jesus! God just keeps giving us little signs here and there to justify our decision to go to Savannah and that was a huge sign! Now, we just gotta get school paid for!!

Also, Ant and I decided to have a burrito night tonight so I got all the fixin's on my way home from work. He suggested making homemade margaritas and guacamole. Let's just say, the pitcher of pomegranate margaritas were a perfect compliment to the amazing (and quazi-healthy) burritos and yummy guac that we threw together... mmm.... we're stuffed now! (and STILL workin' on the margaritas!)

peacocks & scholarships

k:

So, today was an eventful day.

This morning I woke up and proceeded to take MoMo outside, as I do every day. However, today I look down the sidewalk and notice peacocks chillin' in the neighbor's yard and walking down the sidewalk to our front yard. I was so intrigued... I took Mo back inside before she saw them and went into attack-mode and yelled for Ant to come down and check them out. By this time they were in our front yard just walkin' around like they belonged there. I have NO idea where they came from, but I couldn't stop wondering how they got there and where they were going. Was I supposed to call animal control in a situation like that? Well, I got some pictures, but unfortunately, didn't get a picture of the pretty ones. Turns out there were 3 beautiful males with gorgeous coloring and then 2 females that weren't so pretty. (of course those were the ones i have pictures of)...






For those of you who don't know, Anthony has been accepted to Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)! Well, this is a private school, so you can imagine how expensive it is to go there, not to mention the cost of art supplies and books and such. So, Ant has been DILIGENTLY researching and applying for scholarships since November when he got accepted. It's actually really hard to get a scholarship as a white male (especially when you have a full time job!). Well, tonight we met with a lady who is one of the organizing members of DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution). It turns out that my mom's side of the family (aunt Mary, aunt Lucie & Bom) are all members of this highly regarded national organization. This lady, Clare, is helping Anthony with referral letters and applications and it's very possible that he will get a decent (not great) scholarship from them (thanks to his AMAZING portfolio!!!). We still have a long way to go to fund his education, but this is a good step and I'm really proud of him for all that he's accomplished so far! So, if all goes well, we will most-likely be moving to Savannah at the beginning or middle of March. It is definitely bittersweet because we have made Orlando our home and have so many amazing friends down here. This is a total leap in faith for us and we KNOW God will provide!

amazing story!

this story is so awesome and sweet!! thought i'd share:


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good company

k:

Lucie and Reagan came to stay with us this weekend. Reagan is just the funniest thing in the world and all we do is laugh when she is here. Unfortunately we didn't get a video of the funniest part of the weekend, but I got these pictures to share... she's such a cheeseball! (but an incredibly smart cheeseball)

Uncle Ant made chocolate chip waffles!

she loves ant's bean bag

Dressed up and ready to leave :(

perfection

k:
so, i used to keep a blog on my myspace page. I went back a read a few and thought I would share some older posts that I made. I wrote this one on Sept 12... a couple weeks after the wedding and honeymoon.

what is perfection, exactly?

i always thought to myself that something perfect is when i (selfishly) see it flawless. that there would be nothing 'I' would change about something. God has been teaching me a lesson the last couple weeks, though. He has changed my view of what actual 'perfection' is and i see it so clearly now. let me explain:

Nine months of planning a wedding can really do a number on a human being. especially when you're not the best planner in the world. but you get sucked in and just take off with it. not to mention the fact that, being a girl, i've had visions of my wedding day since i was a wee one. so, you plan to make things 'perfect'. (sidenote: if you want a 'perfect' wedding day, don't plan it in hurricane season in fl) even the smallest details get ingrained in your head and you just figure everything will go accordingly. well, i knew that we were planning our outside wedding in rainy season, but i was just positive that God wouldn't let it rain on our wedding day. i watched the weather like a hawk and i took a sigh of relief when Faye left, thinking the bad weather was over.

it started to rain at 11am. i was so calm... 'let it rain' i said... 'it will be over by 5 at the latest and we'll be fine.' HA! it definitely rained all day. the ground was mushy, there was big hair everywhere (except mine somehow), people were running late and they come to me and say, 'katie, you have to make the call... in or out?' so, me, being the only positive one, says 'it'll stop. it's outside.' no questions. people just looked at me like i was crazy. i started to get bummed cause then i was realizing that it might not stop, but i just kept talking to God saying, 'Lord, i know you have a plan for this day... do what you will' And even though i knew that He would make it best for us, it's still natural to be upset about something that is not going 'perfectly', the way you had planned it since you were 6. five minutes till and my dad comes up to me and says, 'it stopped for a little bit... we're going to do it outside!' so, all through the ceremony, God put an invisible tarp over our heads so we could get married in the midst of his creation. we were outside. by a lake. standing in puddles of water. barefoot (like i had dreamed). it continued to drizzle over the lake behind us, but kept it's distance for the rest of the night. amazing. and even though everything was chaotic and rushed and the reception was inside, not out, it was awesome. family and friends are all i could have asked for, and they thought it was 'perfect'. (ok, maybe with a few flaws)

so, we leave for our honeymoon on sunday. a cruise to the eastern carribean... yay! but we see Hannah in our path. as soon as we get on the boat, our captain announces that we will be missing our first port stop because we have to steer around Hannah. ok, we'll just make the best of it! so, we did. we were optimistic that Hannah would pass over and then the rest of our trip would be fantastic. well, if you call rocking on the ship for 7 days fantastic, then you're weird, but we did it. the other 2 ports were great, even though Ant was so generous to accidentally give his wedding band to the waves of st. maarten. (that was a struggle in itself) and there were flaws that have turned into stories. ones of laughter, ones of tears, ones of grief.

but, was it 'perfect'?

YES! it was perfect because that's how God intended it. He made it rain for reasons unknown. he put us through a hurricane for reasons that He might not ever reveal to us. and He put the chaos there because He wanted to. it's all to remind us of our humility and faith. and everything He does ISN'T for OUR 'perfection'. it's for HIS and only His. He will do what He sees fit for us, even though we may never know his ultimate goal. that's why He's PERFECT. He always is. And so now, i smile when i think of the rain and the chaos. i smile when i tell the story of Ant losing his ring. i smile when i tell people that it drizzled over the lake while we said our vows. it's all things that are out of our control. so why fret? HE will make it 'perfect' for us, no matter what... we just have to know that His perfection is different than ours, but SO much better in the end!

for those who have been asking…

here are some pictures from our wedding since most of our friends and family have been asking to see them. enjoy :)

A New Beginning

k:
How appropriate that we're starting a new blog at the beginning of the new year. (No, it's not my 'New Years' Resolution' to start a blog and keep it up... I don't believe in New Years' Resolutions. Mainly because, I try these 'resolution' things all throughout the year and never really get anywhere with them, so why start on New Years' Day??) Well, Ant and I have been married for a little over 4 months now and we thought this would be a good way to keep everyone updated on our lives. (Cause you're so interested, right?!) Hopefully this blog will challenge us to write and share our crazy thoughts.

This year we started a new tradition that we hope to continue for years to come... we hosted a 'Christmas Eve-Eve' at our house. It was quaint and fantastic! Ant's mom, Marian (Mama P) and his brother Nick came over to celebrate with us. Our good friend Hazel stopped in to hang out for a little while also, which was amazing. We made TONS of food and watched Home Alone and it was a perfect start to the holidays! On the real Christmas Eve, we all drove up to Orange Park to stay with my parents for a few days. We did our traditional Christmas Eve/Grandpa Riggs b-day celebration and on Christmas day we got to share in the joy of watching our niece, Reagan open all of her presents (and put her phone in the microwave of her new kitchen all day)! The day after Christmas, we drove down to Spring Hill to spend a few days with Anthony's mom and family. We had another huge meal on Sunday and then headed home that night. It was such a nice trip and spending time with our families is always a treat.

So, here's to a new year, a new marriage, and a new blog! We hope everyone had a very blessed Christmas and a happy and safe new year!

more to come soon enough…