Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Wedding Recap: Rehearsal Dinner

The day before our wedding is when we had the bridesmaid brunch (read here) and the rehearsal dinner. The realization that wedding time was actually here had already hit me a few days before when I was heading to Wilmington but the brunch/rehearsal dinner day is when all of the stress was gone and it was just time to have FUN celebrating!! Justin's parents hosted the rehearsal dinner at Blue Water Grill in Wilmington. The entire night was  absolutely perfect. There was a great view, amazing food, lots of laughs, toast and some {happy} tears. There is something SO special about having your closest family and friends all in one room. There is truly nothing quite like it!! 

Justin and some of the bridesmaids

Last night as an engaged couple!

The weekend wouldn't have been possible without me sister, aunt and mom!! 


Justin is a HUGE Carolina basketball fan and his cake was a perfect reflection of that. 

Justin's parents who hosted this AMAZING night!! 

Lots of tears followed by laughs thanks to my best friends toast!





Just thinking back to the whole weekend brings me so much joy. I'm so thankful for my family and friends who helped make everything possible! 

In case you want to catch the other wedding recaps you can here:


Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Bridesmaid Brunch

I knew I wanted to kick off the wedding weekend in a festive way to thank all of my bridesmaids for everything they have done. That's where the bridesmaid brunch came in! My Aunt graciously agreed to host the brunch in the house my family rented for the wedding weekend. It was such a special day.. I wish I could relive it all over again!! 

My mom and I started the day out extra early making a quick trip to Castle Hayne to scope out flowers for the wedding centerpieces. We found a wholesale flower market and had the absolute BEST time!! It was so fun to see everything start to come together the Friday morning before the wedding. It was definitely a feeling I will forever cherish! When we made it back to the house my aunt had everything set up for the brunch. The house looked beautiful (lots of pink, white and bows!) and smelled divine. She had set up lots of brunch food, a drink called The Charleston and a homemade cake ready. All of my bridesmaids attended as well as some other special ladies such as my mom, future mother in law, and some of our mothers best friends who Justin and I call our "second moms". 


All smiles here! My mom kept playing Going to the Chapel and dancing. Ha! It surely set the mood. (: I knew two things I wanted to include in the brunch were gifts for my bridesmaids and the cake tradition. Having a cake at a bridesmaid luncheon is a very southern tradition. Charms are tied to strings and placed around the cake. Each bridesmaid then pulls a charm out from the bottom of the cake and reads the meaning of the good luck charm. 







my mom, and my now mother in law! 

all the "second" moms and real moms! 

the best friends and bridesmaids I could ever ask for!

I gifted my girls a monogrammed bathrobe, a special ordered necklace and a Jane Austen quote I had hand lettered and water colored. I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of the gifts!! It's been fun recapping the wedding so far!! The whole weekend was so perfect. I never want to forget that feeling or those memories. After all, that is how you should feel about your wedding weekend, right?! (; 


In case you missed the first wedding recap you can catch it here:

Monday, September 21, 2015

Football, Chili-Cheese Corn Muffins and Corn Chowder

This weekend was just what the doctor ordered.. restful and productive mixed with friends, family, football and Netflix. Friday night Justin and I celebrated a friends birthday with dinner at Flying Fish. Oh my word, they have the BEST shrimp and grits on the planet. Seriously- amazing! On Saturday we ran some errands to get our house a little more ready for Fall. We picked up flowers for the front porch and even found a new rug for our living room! I have to brag on my husband for the rug. He picked it out completely by himself and convinced me that it was a good purchase. I can be so indecisive, especially with such a big purchase. He did so good!! There were tons of football games on this weekend so I decided to get busy in the kitchen and some of Justin's family came over to enjoy food and football with us! Aren't nights like that seriously the best? We had wings, corn chowder and chili cheese corn muffins. The corn muffins and chowder were a hit. I'll definitely be making them again this fall. 

Chili-Cheese Corn Muffins
via Paula Deen


Ingredients 
1 3/4 cups self rising yellow cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour 
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup seeded and chopped poblano pepper
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted 
2 large eggs, lightly beaten 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin tins with vegetable spray. 

2. Combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, cheese and poblano pepper. Make a well in the center of the mixture. 

3. In another bowl combine the milk, butter and eggs. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring with a spoon until moistened. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin filling 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes, until the muffins are lightly browned. 

This was the first time I used my new Kitchen aid Mixer so of course I had to document it!! 



Corn Chowder


Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter 
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup chopped celery 
2 white potatoes, peeled and diced 
4 cups chicken broth
4 ears of corn
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/4 teaspoon pepper 
1 can condensed cream of celery soup
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

1. In a medium stockpot , melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and potatoes and saute for 2 minutes. Add the broth and boil the vegetables over medium high heat for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are very soft. 

2. While waiting, cut the corn from the cobs with a sharp knife. 

3. Add the corn to the soup and cook for 5 minutes. Add the half and half , salt, pepper and cream of celery soup. Stir well to combine. Simmer until hot, serve immediately.Garnish with the bell pepper.  



There really is nothing like Fall, football and good food! 

Friday, September 18, 2015

Five on Friday

Happy Friday friends!  I'm linking up today for Five on Friday with DARCICHRISTINALIZ, and NATASHA

I don't know about you but I am SO glad it's Friday!! This has seemed like the longest week! It has been full of lots of happiness though. I changed my blog header to Simple Cheer to reflect more of where my little blog is heading. I started my blog in college when I worked a desk job with lots of down time on ECU's campus. I started reading blogs and finally decided to create my own. It's been an amazing experience allowing me to meet lots of people my own age in similar places in their life. I've learned things from fellow blogger's and even met a few friends! A Sweet Simple Southern Life was fitting for those years. Now that I am married, working my career and life seems so much busier I have found myself slowing down to enjoy all of life's little burst of happiness all around. I feel as Simple Cheer is very fitting, as many of my day to day life ramblings are about the simple little things bringing happiness to my life! side note- I have no idea how to change my URL without loosing all of my followers. If you know how I would love your help!! Now, moving on to 5 on Friday... 


One. 
I am matron of honor in a friend's wedding in October. One of her gifts to her bridesmaids has been a three month subscription to Birchbox. It has been so fun to wait for the arrival of this pretty box filled with all sorts of goodies!! This box had a body mist called Harvey Prince, Hello that smells absolutely divine. I think I will be purchasing the full size when my current perfume runs out. 



Two.
Sorry for the poor picture quality.. this is a photo from the photo booth at the wedding we attended last week. How fun were these outfits?!


Three. 
Speaking of life's little day to day joys I've definitely found my daily treat. I am slightly addicted to grapefruit La Croix and my new candle from Target. The La Croix has the bubbles and slight flavoring with no calories or artificial sweetener. It's also fun to sport the pretty can.... (; 


Four.
Okay teacher friends, how PERFECT is this coffee mug? I one hundred percent LOVE my job and all of my students. With that being said, there are still times 18-21 six year olds all wanting your attention at the same time will make you sing said song and pray for a cup of coffee! Ha, I'm thinking this would make the perfect Christmas gift for my work friends! 


Five.
Do you remember the I Love Lucy episode of her stomping around in the barrel of grapes?! This weekend the local Duplin winery is hosting their annual grape stomp. There will be beach music, grape stomping and wine. Hello- say no more. I'm in! Happy Friday friends!! 

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Fall is in the air

We had such a good time this past weekend!! Justin and I had a wedding to attend for one of his friends that happend to take place in my hometown. It was the perfect reason to get out of town and visit my parents. I told Justin that there is something so refreshing about coming back home. It just feels like life is a little bit simpler those few days. We had a blast at the wedding but didn't get any pictures other than some fun photo booth print outs. Sunday was the perfect day- when we woke up it was only in the upper 50's. It felt like Fall had arrived overnight. It warmed up by the time church let out- just in time for Sunday dinner with my family outside. My mom has surely set the standards high for being able to set a dinner table. Everything was just so perfect! Don't you wish you could hang on to those little moments?!



Even Henson joined in on the fun (: 

I've been itching for Fall to get here for a few weeks now. I know I should enjoy the last few days of summer but seeing all of the new fall apparel out in stores, PSL's already being advertised and school being back in session it makes me ready for some crisp Fall air. The nice weather we had this weekend visiting my parents really set the tone. It's still highs in the 80's around here so I can't quite participate in all things Fall yet, but as soon as I can here are some things on the agenda. 


Lots of fun fall beverages. Bring on the pumpkin spice lattes, apple sangria and fall inspired beers. I am READY for you!! 


I have some new pretties to sport this Fall as well as some old favorites that I can't wait to pull out. It's so hard to walk into a store and see nothing but sweaters, corduroys and boots but know that it's not cold enough to wear them yet. 



I am wanting to make a weekend getaway to the mountains BAD. I would love to make a trip to Chateau Morrisette winery in Virginia just in time to see the leaves turning. With two October weddings and several football games already on the calendar I don't know if this will happen but fingers crossed!! It's at the top of my priority list! Bonus points- they welcome dogs here, especially Labs so Henson can join in on the fun! 


Fall decor. I'm ready to plant some new flowers, dress up the table and pick out a pumpkin or two. There is no shortage of ideas on Pinterest. Now I just need a free weekend where I can get busy! What are some things you are looking forward to this fall?!




Monday, September 7, 2015

Our Wedding Part 1: Bridal Portraits

Hi there! Long time no see.. where did the time go?! During my break from blog land I: GOT MARRIED, finished planning said wedding, traveled to the Dominican on my honeymoon, went to countless wedding showers for friends and started my fourth year of teaching first grade. It's been busy but oh so happy over here my friends. Lot's of people have asked if Justin and I feel different since we are married and the answer is most definitely, yes! We seem happier overall now that it's official, and the stress of wedding planning is over. Today I'm sharing part one of the wedding, bridal portraits! 

I took my bridal portraits in June at the City Club which is located downtown Wilmington, NC. It was SO hot that day but what else would you expect in the south in June?! Lucky for us it started to cool off a little bit into the session. I'm so thrilled with all of our photographs, I can't thank my amazing photographer, Amber Rhodes enough! Her website is under construction right now but I will link to it as soon as it's up! 












Sorry for the picture overload. I'm just so happy with how they turned out! I'll be back soon with rehearsal dinner, ceremony and reception post. Happy Labor day friends! I hope it's filled with lots of rest and fun!