girls weekend

Please forgive me for posting on a two-week delay, but my time in South Carolina was so sweet that I couldn't help but share. A couple of Fridays ago, I had dinner with some of my favorite girls in Columbia, at one of my all-time favorite restaurants, Pasta Fresca. When I was in law school, Pasta Fresca was a little hole-in-the-wall across from Richland Mall with the most amazing food. Since I moved to the DC area, Pasta Fresca has gotten a MAJOR facelift and moved to a new location. The decor and atmosphere now match the incredible food, and I honestly could have sat and chatted all night! We even spotted the ShopTart there, which only confirmed what we already knew about the worth of the restaurant. We capped our night off with frozen yogurt right down the street at 32 degrees. A pretty perfect evening if you ask me! 

beautiful Jenna and Ashley

Angela, me and Rebecca

my favorite dish on the menu, chicken and spinach lasagna- so, so good

these are some of the most genuine, rooted girls I know, and I so miss spending time with them

On Saturday, Rebecca and I indulged in manicures and pedicures at Occo, which I highly recommend. Their prices are very reasonable, and they do an excellent job while giving you the full spa experience. And the manicure has lasted these two weeks!

After our pampering, we headed out to Lake Murrary for a little boat cruising. The weather was gorgeous, and the water felt great. And then Callie joined us! A great afternoon made even better by her company.

happy girls

Rebecca, Callie and me

We went back to Rebecca and Robert's for steaks and tomato pie, and late night conversation. Such a fabulous time with old friends!

Robert and Rebecca, who was 31 weeks pregnant when this was taken

our weekend in pictures (a.k.a. why DC is bad for my waistline)

This past weekend was one of those rare weekends where we didn't have too much on our agenda. We loved taking full advantage of our free time.

drinks with friends at the top of the W hotel at Point of View- the Washington Monument was behind us, and the White House was to our left

the view from the top of the W

mussels and frittes for dinner at Granville Moore's- not much to look at it, but some of the best food in town

pies for dessert

Best Little Whorehouse in Texas at Signature Theatre- an interesting production of the Broadway show that ran in the late 1970's

more dessert at Baked and Wired in Georgetown

delicious

Georgetown canal

kenny chesney and a new car

The weekend before I left for South Carolina, Richard and I went on an adventure to Cockeysville, Maryland (I kid you not) to see a man about a car. My 2000 Honda Accord, which I have had since my first year of law school, has been without air conditioning for the past year. Richard has been kind to drive it this summer and let me take his car for my commute, but we finally decided to replace it. It has 210,000+ miles on it and has served me well over the past several years. We looked at mid-sized SUVs, but at the end of the day, came back to the old faithful Accord. I was looking for one just a few years old, with low mileage, navigation and leather, and most importantly...heated seats. I finally found what I was looking for in Cockeysville, and it turned out to be a great deal and a very pleasant car-buying experience. And I love my new Accord!

the new(ish) car parked in our driveway

side angle

We asked the salesmen at the dealership for a good restaurant recommendation in Cockeysville and stumbled upon this gem per their direction. 

Jake's Grill

Jake's Grill is definitely a hole-in-the-wall kind of place, but they made some of the best smoked meat I've ever tasted. They gave me flowers when I walked in and gave us extra meat on our sandwiches and a free soda. Can't beat that!

menu on the dry erase board

smoked chicken, ham and swiss and mac and cheese- so delicious

As we were driving home, we stumbled upon a Pennsylvania Dutch market. There are a few in this area, and they always have an impressive variety of baked goods, random gifts, and...illuminated flowers. 

who knew?

One of the best parts of the Amish market is the homemade pretzels. This one was a caramel almond pretzel. Yum.

just what we needed to celebrate our big purchase- a dessert pretzel

To continue our fun, albeit slightly random, weekend, we headed out to the Redskins stadium on Sunday to see Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw on their "Brothers of the Sun" tour. I almost felt like I was back in South Carolina with the number of cowboy boots and cutoffs I saw in the FedEx Field parking lot. The people watching was almost as good as the concert itself!

tailgating and taking it all in

a little warm but excited

We actually got into the stadium fairly early and sat through two opening acts before Tim McGraw took the stage. He was really good, but we kind of got the impression that most of the crowd was there to see Kenny Chesney.

Timmy in all white

Tim played for about an hour, then the stage was transformed for Kenny Chesney.

Kenny made a grand entrance to a stage round not too far from our seats, then took a swing to the main stage. He's quite a performer. 

He played with Grace Potter of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and finished up with Tim McGraw. It ended up being a long concert, but I loved seeing Kenny and Tim live. I have seen them both before, and they always put on a great show. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Kenny Chesney and Grace Potter

Kenny Chesney, Grace Potter, Jake Owen and Tim McGraw

Amy and Jon's wedding

Considering Amy and Jon have been officially married for almost a month now, I thought it was high time to finish my post on their wedding! I've been in South Carolina having a lovely time for the past week, so I have a lot to catch up on. It was a whirlwind of a week, and as usual, I didn't have enough time to see everyone I wanted to.

But back to Jon and Amy...Jon has been a dear friend to Richard since they started their respective residencies in 2007, and we were thrilled to get to know Amy when they started dating. We were there for their engagement, so it was great to be a part of their wedding weekend. Richard was a groomsman, and I read a passage of Scripture during the ceremony. 

The rehearsal and rehearsal dinner were actually on a Thursday night, as the wedding was set for Friday. I have only been involved in one other Friday night wedding, a wedding I thought about as I drove to the church for Amy and Jon's wedding. The first Friday wedding was during the week of an ice storm in Spartanburg, and the power went out all over town. We ended up having Meghanne and Caleb's rehearsal and rehearsal dinner in the dark, lit by candlelight, and it was one of the sweetest, most memorable I've been to. Lo and behold, the power was out at Amy's church when I arrived, and we again rehearsed in the dark. It was a little warm, but all got accomplished that needed to!

The rehearsal dinner was held at the beautiful Chevy Chase Club, and though the power went out there for a few minutes, it thankfully came back on so that we could enjoy the July evening in the cool air conditioning. 

posing with Amy, the bride, during the cocktail hour prior to the dinner

the ortho residents have all been great friends to Richard, the lone general surgery representative

When the ortho guys came to our wedding, they made sure to dress in their seersucker and linen, so as to fit in with the southern crowd. So it was only fitting that Richard pulled out his seersucker and bow tie, and white Bucks, for Jon.

I figure if Kate Middleton can recycle her dresses, so can I!

pretty place setting

Richard and the groom

Richard was one of the first to give a toast, after Jon's dad, and I think I was way more nervous than he was! But he did a great job mixing humor with sentimentality, making his wife extremely proud.

We were seated at a table with Amy's uncle, who also happens to serve as the US Ambassador to Austria. His stories were quite interesting, and we thoroughly enjoyed chatting with both he and his wife. Now we just need to plan a trip to Vienna!

The power came back on in the church for the wedding on Friday, and the ceremony was one of the most worshipful I've been a part of it. It was extremely personal to Jon and Amy and just a sweet service. I missed my cue to read at first because I was so caught up in what the pastor was saying that I forgot I was up! Luckily it was the briefest of delays, and I climbed the steps to the podium successfully. 

gorgeous wedding party- the girls wore dresses from J. Crew, and the guys had blue and white striped bow ties and cummerbunds

The reception was held at the Congressional Country Club, where the U.S. Open golf tournament was held last year. Richard had been out for the tournament, but it was my first time being there. It was the perfect setting for a fun night of celebration.

on the balcony overlooking the greens

Walter Reed residents and wives

centerpieces

first dance

loved their wedding cake

all the girls- Amy wore the wedding dress her sister wore in 2001, which was so special

great friends

father-daughter dance

guys on the dance floor

just a little "Don't Stop Believin"

Congratulations Dr. and Mrs. Dickens!