a whirlwind weekend of spontaneity & surprises

This past weekend, husmate and I basically became one with the car. Last Wednesday rolled around and the idea popped into our minds that "hey! let's road trip down to Oxford (must it be there?) to see our good friends, Emily & Josh, get married." So we did. We Berry's decided to be all spontaneous and make a weekend of it.

Seven states. Four days. Lotsa miles. Lotsa hours in a car. Lotsa Avett Brothers. We experienced many different forms of weather from sun to clouds, rain to snow. We drove the flat plains of Mississippi and the mountains of North Carolina. We saw it all, folks.

Highlights of the trip:

+ Surprising everyone by showing up to Emily & Josh's wedding unannounced. And when I say everyone, I mean it. We didn't tell anyone that we were coming, so there were a lot of double takes and second glances in the foyer of the Ole Miss Paris-Yates Chapel. Yes, guys, it is us! And oh, it was such fun! It truly lightened our hearts to see all of husmate's high school friends, even if for a short time (and a 14 hour road trip). I don't think we've laughed so freely as we did around all of those wonderful people, and we can't wait to see those faces again! Lucky for us, Emily & Josh are actually living 3 metro stops away from us, so we'll be seeing them again quite soon ;)

+ Having the opportunity to spend some time with my brother, his wife, their sweet little Tyler, & Tyler's loving and furry older sister, Stella. Tyler's at the ripe age of 15 months and already learning the wonder of T-ball and bubbles and how funny the sound is that elephants make. Watching him walk around in his footy pajamas like an old man sticking out his cute little belly really warmed my heart. 

+ Realizing that we thought driving to the South would mean warmer temperatures but instead we brought the snow with us... in Virginia and Tennessee and Alabama and Mississippi. Man, we really know how to bring the cheer.

+ Grabbing a quick lunch at Jackson's in Homewood with Mom & Dad who made the drive just for us. I mean who can say no to Jackson's anyway?

+ Husmate surprising me for both a late Valentine's day and 2 year anniversary of sorts (our engagement) by getting us a room at fancy schmancy bed & breakfast in Asheville for a night. It was so nice we didn't even know what to do. Ha! But we now know what it feels like to stay in a home filled with nothing but antiques and what B&B people really are like (super chatty at breakfast by the way... which for this night owl isn't quite what I'm used to). But by golly did we ever learn about the workings of the CDC in Atlanta! There were two couples who made the connection that all four of them worked there and after that, the conversation was nothing but things CDC-related. Fun fact: did you know they have their own sort of rush week/hell week? I knew that fraternity stuff would carry over into real life somehow... (chi omega chi chi omega... c h i o m e g a... chi chi omega- it's stuck on repeat in my head. make. it. stop.) Needless to say, I think we'll revisit the B&B life when we're a lot older. Neat experience, but need to be older.

+ The many conversations we had in the car to fill the ever ticking travel time. When you travel a total of 32 hours over the course of four days, there's gonna be a lot of talking. Serious topics, joking topics, random topics, memory lane topics, & daydream topics. All of those range between full senses, delirium, & annoyances at still being in the car. You catch my drift. I think some of my favorites were recounting the days of learning sports with our families (Blake, remember that time I lost the baseball in the sun and caught the pop fly with my ear? I think we learned that day that baseball/softball wasn't my thing), the awkward/serious conversations we've had in the past that could only happen while being trapped in a car (birds and the bees people, and avoiding eye contact with said parent for several hours), chats about our future and what we think will happen (where we'll live, when we'll have kids, our careers/future schooling, how we'll parent, running a B&B in Alexandria one day (ha! kidding... sorta)), and plans for the spring/summer (hiking! sunlight! travels around our neck of the woods! fingers crossed, the beach!).

+ Getting desperate to spend even a minute outside of the car, spurring on the impulsive rest stops for Chick-fil-a cookies and milkshakes. Sanity is key, people. 

But in the end, we made it back to our little condo and had a wonderful weekend seeing/talking (face-to-face!) with some familiar faces. Here's to the next 30+ hour road trip in our (hopefully not too near) future! 

we interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to wish you a merry christmas

Let me start off by apologizing for being MIA for the past oh almost month on the blog... Thanksgiving came and went and with it my effort at being somewhat consistent on posting. However in my (limited) defense, we are moving this weekend into our new apartment, and things have been a little chaotic around here with packing and puppy shopping and Christmas shopping...

Did you catch that one? The phrase caught between the overwhelming packing process stress and the happy festive brainstorming of giving to others? Yes, we've been puppy shopping- and I'm quite excited to share that we (as in my sweet parents acting on our behalf) found one (like an hour and a half ago while I was typing this post). 

Meet our new pup and member of the Berry fam: he who shall not be named (you know I had to work in some HP somehow...). The fact is we aren't completely sure of his name, so when we figure it out we'll let you know! We do know however that he's a Catahoula Leopard mix and totally adorable. Now to get him home via a 13 hour drive... Plenty of stories to come I'm sure!

Back to what I was typing before I found out our family just became three: I must also credit some of my disappearance to the drawing and printing of our first Christmas cards and fitting them within some criteria: a) I really wanted to do something creative and not do the typical use your wedding picture as a card thing (but for those that did, we love seeing your pretty faces!) b) we were definitely on a budget, so not many cards ventured out this year and c) I had to make sure that people might take the extra time to notice our new address on the back, so I used that as an excuse to make the addressing festive. {Side story: we ran out of ink twice printing them, so some of the finished products aren't even blue! HA! To you people (cough parents and close relatives) who get ones in black ink, it's not that we love you less but rather we didn't have the time nor money to spend on buying ink again, and we felt that you would fully understand the situation and credit it to being a newlywed story/fiasco/accident to regale later in life.}

And as if we needed any more surprises around here, husband surprised me by purchasing our first (mini) Christmas tree, despite forgetting all the ornaments my mom and I have collected over the years in Alabama and the fact that we're moving in the middle of December! He's the greatest :) I know that a tree is normally a given around the holidays, but it wasn't necessarily for us and I'm pleased as punch* that he bought one for me to celebrate the coming advent season!

*Just looked up the origin of that phrase (I tend to after I realize I have no idea what it means) and it's kinda sketch, you guys. Apparently, Punch was a puppet character who was quite the comedic murderer...

All that to say, we wish you a Merry Christmas! Love, the Berrys

by the numbers, vol. I

Meet Madison, aka Dobby, the studious Bryan pup

208. The number of days I have had the privilege of being married to my sweet husband.

122. The approximate number of days it took for me to somewhat naturally introduce myself/sign the dotted line with Berry as my last name, rather than sounding like I chose to hyphenate my name and therefore star as a feminist/wealthy socialite in my new life. 

60. The number of pairs of shoes in this tiny apartment that are mine, including 18 pairs of heels/wedges, 32 pairs of sandals/flats, and 4 pairs of boots. Sorry I'm not sorry, husmate. But have courage: I don't have any intentions of adding to the collection anytime soon.

39. The number of days until Christmas (seems crazy, doesn't it?). Thankfully, other than for each other, this husband-wife team has finished our shopping. To my family who knows that I usually procrastinate to do my shopping until 3 days before Christmas day- be amazed...

24. The number of posts I have miraculously penned so far without quitting this blogging project. Also, my lucky number from high school for no reason whatsoever. 

23. My age despite the fact that half the time I want to tell people that I'm still 22. Also, the age that I began forgetting what my current age is and I quietly do the math in my head while keeping a pleasant smile on my face.

9. The number of pairs of shoes in this tiny apartment that are husmate's. Single digits. Why is it that men need so few shoes? I suppose to make up for their wives needing so many...

6. The number of days until we road trip 13 hours home for my favorite holiday (aka Thanksgiving, aka best meal of the year hands down) and I get to be reunited with the pup above (I'm her favorite, she's not husband's favorite).

3. The number in the Harry Potter series of my least favorite plot line, and most likely least often read. I may love the character of Sirius Black, but Prisoner of Azkaban just wasn't thrilling enough (perhaps because dear ole Voldemort didn't have a hand in it?). 

0. The number of times I've seen Elf, Home Alone, or A Christmas Story. Cue the gasps of disappointment and comments of deprived childhood. 

the perfect weekend

1. The Christmas candies already on display at Wegman's (and attempted to be ignored until post-Thanksgiving, despite spotting some Reese's Trees)

2. Our bed made with its new addition of a heavenly down comforter from The Company Store (like sleeping under a cloud, you guys)

3. Our first introduction to Old Rag Mountain from the road in the middle-of-nowhere, VA

4. Skyfall Sunday matinee tickets

5. Perfectly justified (and delicious) chocolate cheesecake after hiking #3. please note that half of it is already missing...

6. Our potential new love seat

Since we now live in the Land of Government Holidays, this weekend got to include a Monday off with husband, and it was simply wonderful. It was the perfect blend of low key and activity, errands and fun. We're trying to prep as much as possible for our move in December, which includes losing some furniture and gaining new replacement pieces. We're having to make some adjustments due to floor lay-outs and size, and it's been quite the process of locating a love seat/settee and an armchair that are both attractive AND comfortable. But fingers crossed, we think our search may be over! Hallelujah!

We also finally made a decision on a winter comforter (much needed for an area of the country that actually experiences 4 seasons and a couple who tries to use their heat sparingly during the winter). It may have taken awhile to come to that conclusion (so many choices and stores, it's unreal), but totally worth the wait. And that comforter was very much appreciated after our hike on Saturday and the soreness that ensued...

For all you Bond enthusiasts out there, and perhaps even a few skeptics, the newest installment is incredible. It reminded husband and me of The Dark Knight in a few ways, so you know it must be good. Definitely reinstated the Bond dynasty for several years to come. 

To our parents who might be concerned that we won't take care of ourselves as well as we would if our sweet mothers were closer to remind us of things, be proud: yesterday, husband made his own eye doctor appointment (on his own initiative) and has finally ordered new eyeglasses. He looks dashing in them by the way (no, I'm not biased). And husband forced me to stop delaying on getting a flu shot by driving me to the nearest Walgreens. I even had to drop the act of being a wimp about it when a brave 6 year old showed up to get hers as well. FYI this year's vaccine doesn't burn like last year's did, so if you readers haven't gotten yours yet, go do so! No pain at all, thankfully. 

Tyler after his first birthday party this weekend (picture sent from his smitten grandparents)

And finally, today is this precious little boy's first birthday. So adorable, can't wait to play with him during the holidays! 

P.S. The post of our hike up Old Rag will be up tomorrow, so be sure to check back!