jersey shore

I have a ton of pictures and stories to post from the wonderful week before Easter that I spent in South Carolina, but tonight I wanted to share thoughts on our trip yesterday to New Jersey. We went to Jackson, New Jersey for a baby shower for my dear friend Jeanine, who was a close friend from Clemson- and an even closer friend since we left there! She is a practicing pediatrician in New York City now, where she lives with her husband Alex. I attended their beautiful wedding in Bermuda almost three years ago now. She's expecting a little boy in June, and it was fun to get to celebrate his upcoming arrival with her and her friends and family!

friends from high school, Clemson, med school and NYC

me and the glowing mama-to-be

lots of great gifts!

Jeanine and her adorable niece and nephew

Richard was extremely kind and drove me the 3.5 hours to New Jersey so that we could spend some time together and see Atlantic City after the shower, since neither of us had ever been. I had heard that Atlantic City wasn't the classiest place in the world, so my expectations were low. But it was definitely worth seeing!

We had dinner at the Continental Diner in Caesar's on the Pier, and it was really good. It's a Stephen Starr restaurant, and the menu was fun- we had buffalo chicken meatballs, kobe beef sliders and a yummy feta and red pepper dip.

the scenery was more interesting than it appears here

The Pier had these sitting areas by the windows, which were cute. A way to put your feet in the sand and enjoy the view without being outside...

We walked on the Boardwalk and the beach, but it was really chilly. It's sad that we were wearing coats and long pants in late April!

self-portrait

As a lifelong Southern Baptist, I have serious reservations about gambling. I have never in my life bought a lottery ticket (though my brothers once won $500 on one!), and I have only once played blackjack while on vacation in Punta Cana. But Atlantic City is obviously known for its casinos, so we strolled around a few of them while there. I ended up losing a total of $3.00 on the slots...no beginner's luck here!

pulling my first handle at the Tropicana

We went in the Tropicana, the Trump Plaza, Caesar's and finally the Borgota, which is much nicer than the others, but we weren't too impressed with any of them. It's actually kind of depressing. There were lines of people waiting at the ATMs, bays of slots machines full of players, and lots of tight, short dresses. We counted no less than 10 bachelorette parties, and seeing them made me thankful for my "quiet" bachelorette gathering on Edisto. It just all felt kind of dirty, and we were ready to get back to DC. I'm glad we can check Atlantic City off of our places-to-see list though!

late night gelata

the royal wedding

Richard and I are sitting on the couch at 8:45 pm this Friday evening in PJs, eating pizza, and watching the royal wedding coverage- and I, at least, am thrilled!

My mom texted me at 6 am to ask if I was watching the festivities, and I loved chatting with her via text about the festivities. I wanted to stay and watch the coverage all day (with mimosas and scones), but alas, work called.

A few observations after watching this evening:

• Beatrice, what in the world were you wearing?! I loved the majority of the hats, but this was just terrible. Terrible.

• Kate's dress, however, was spot on. I loved it. Totally Grace Kelly- inspired, and much fuller than I anticipated.

However the words of Dr. Richard Chartes, the Bishop on London, were what stuck with me all day today. I heard them this morning before I left, and I was so thankful for the spiritual components incorporated into the wedding. I thought his whole message was excellent, but I really liked this part:

"As the reality of God has faded from so many lives in the West, there has been a corresponding inflation of expectations that personal relations alone will supply meaning and happiness in life. This is to load our partner with too great a burden. We are all incomplete: we all need the love which is secure, rather than oppressive, we need mutual forgiveness, to thrive.

As we move towards our partner in love, following the example of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is quickened within us and can increasingly fill our lives with light. This leads to a family life which offers the best conditions in which the next generation can practise and exchange those gifts which can overcome fear and division and incubate the coming world of the Spirit, whose fruits are love and joy and peace.

And this clip below was just too funny...I am sure they all breathed a sigh of relief once it was all said and done!

Congrats, William and Catherine!

wonderful news

Do you ever hear news that makes you so happy you are uplifted by it the whole day? One of my favorite law professors and professional mentors was just name Dean of the University of South Carolina School of Law. Dean Wilcox is one of those people who I have found to offer wise advice is any situation I presented him with- whether it be a student emergency while I was working in Student Affairs or while talking to him about my long-distance engagement. He has always gone out of his way to support students while insisting on the highest degree of integrity and professionalism. The Law School has been fortunate to have him as a member of the teaching faculty and more recently as Academic Dean, and I have no doubt he will be an incredible Dean. Hearing that his first-year Property class honored him by playing "2001" and popping champagne when he came into class this afternoon was just icing on the cake. Congrats, Dean Wilcox!

Friday

Because it's Friday. And because in just a few hours we are facing a government shutdown, barring some major legislative action. And because this video helped get me through a really stressful day on the Hill. I give you Stephen Colbert's version of the hit song, "Friday."

Mom and Meghanne come visit DC!

Richard and I just got back from a fun wedding weekend in Philly, which I will blog about soon, but the weekend before last we enjoyed having my mom and dear friend Meghanne visit us from Spartanburg. Meghanne is like a sister to me, and she and mom are very close too! So they took advantage of Meghanne being on Spring Break (she was just named Cannons Elementary's Teacher of the Year- woohoo, Meghanne!) and headed up to DC for a long weekend. We started off the weekend with a riverboat cruise to see the cherry blossoms. It was chilly, but still a beautiful day and a great way to see the pretty blooms!

on the boat

by the Jefferson Memorial

After we left the Tidal Basin area, we ventured over to Eastern Market to shop and try out a few of the food vendors. We had incredible mini-doughnuts, warm pretzels, and homemade pickles. Yum!

pickles on a stick

We left Eastern Market to eat a little more at the Founding Farmers, one of our favorite DC's restaurants. Richard thinks their red velvet cake is some of the best he's ever had. And it's no wonder I gained a few lbs during their visit!

Richard and Max with the heavenly red velvet cake

decorative produce

We spent Sunday seeing sweet toddler Julia be dedicated at church and shopping at the outlets, then went to Annapolis on Monday (after introducing mom and Meghanne to Georgetown Cupcakes!) for some Maryland crab.

Richard showing Mom how to crack a crab

I sadly had to go back to work on Tuesday, but my fabulous visitors came to see me on the Hill, and we lunched at Good Stuff Eatery, which is owned by Spike from Top Chef. Meghanne is a huge Spike fan, so she enjoyed seeing his restaurant!

Good Stuff burger, fries and toasted marshmallow milkshake

Meghanne and Mom took in the American History museum and the Sculpture Garden and took a tour of the Capitol building before having to leave. We had such a great visit, and I hope they'll come back real soon!

outside the SC-04 Congressional office

Happy Wedding Shower, Molly!

I am so behind on the blogging! Just as soon as I talked about putting down roots here, we took a weekend trip to South Carolina the first weekend in March for Richard and Suzanne's cousin Molly's lingerie shower. Molly and Suzanne and Richard and Al were close growing up, so it's been fun to celebrate in Molly and Josh's engagement. The shower was at Al and Jennifer's beautiful home, and it was great to catch up with Spartanburg family and friends. Can't wait for the April wedding!

posing with two pretty girls, Suzanne and Molly

all the girl "cousins," minus Elizabeth- such a fun group of McAbee, Clark and Webb women!

with Richard and Jeff out in Spartanburg, possible now that Jeff is 21

On Sunday, we got our fill of Southern cooking at Wade's, our favorite Sunday lunch spot. I do miss Wade's! And everyone we see there on Sundays.

sweet tea and yeast rolls

Richard's mom and dad enjoying the birthday song that was sung to all three of us- our birthdays are within 3 weeks of one another

just happy to be home, at least for a little while

putting down roots

Being busy at work and working long days has made me really appreciate weekends, especially when we don't have too much to do! We were going back and forth to South Carolina almost every three weeks this past fall, so staying around DC is a bit of a change. We have not been back to South Carolina since Christmas, so we've really had a chance to enjoy our house and friends here and the art of relaxation. We've strolled to our local Farmers Market, remarked on the number of Christmas decorations still up in our neighborhood (lights, wreaths, mini-trees etc.- seriously folks, it's been two months!), hosted a small Oscars gathering, played some mini-golf and skee-ball at the H Street Country Club, enjoyed dinner and a movie with friends we wish we saw more of, gave our house a thorough spring cleaning and cooked a few dinners.

I was always on the go when I lived in Columbia and rarely spent two weekends in a row there, so it's been great to spend some consecutive time in the same location and to establish a little routine, and it's even served to make me a little less homesick. I feel more connected to the community we are in and am looking forward to welcoming spring to our little neck of the woods!

our Farmers Market, a little less crowded in colder months

intently playing skee-ball

posing with Jon and Amy on the mini-golf course

cute, funny movie- would recommend it for non-thinking entertainment!