To Adam, Happy Anniversary Love

One year ago today I walked down the isle and promised to love and cherish, be faithful to, honor and respect Adam. For richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. Over this last year we have had the opportunity to practice all of these things and much, much more. We haven't been perfect. Far from it. We've fought, cried, laughed, smiled, questioned, reassured, enjoyed, hated, savored, loved... you name it. It has been so hard, but so good. Adam, I wouldn't trade anything for this last year together. I have grown to love you more than I ever thought I could love. Thank you for making me a better person and for loving me through the process. Thank you for reminding me to pray and grow closer to God even when it's been hard and I haven't wanted to. I am so proud of you for studying so hard and working toward our dreams. I love you :)

Our First Christmas Tree!

 Adam and I have always said that our first Christmas tree together would be a live tree. We also said that we wanted to go out and cut it down ourselves. Our dreams came true! We found the cutest little Christmas tree farm where you can cut down your own tree! Here are some pictures of our little outing which took place the day after Thanksgiving. Adam's parents were in town so they went along with us. We so enjoyed them and my parents coming up to visit :)

Here is Jane and Steve waiting for the tractor to take us to the back lot of trees.

I just love him!

Fun times!

Which one, which one?

\

I think we like it!!

Yep! this is definitely the one.

My favorite picture :)

\We made it to the top of the hill! The tree was surprisingly light.

We tagged our tree with a number, and it got loaded onto a truck so we could pick it up at the front.

Isn't this place just too cute?! We went inside, paid for the tree, bought an ornament or two and...

then I went outside and milked a fake cow.

Yep. You are seeing this right. haha

We took our tree home and Adam and his mom started stringing on the lights.

Cutie :) 

We ran out of lights, so we went to Home Depot and bought some more. But before returning home we went out to dinner. It was sort of a farewell dinner with Steve and Jane before they went home the next day... so sad to see our families leave-- but we had such a fun time!!

Here we are at dinner. The River Company-- oh so good.

We we got back home and we finished trimming the tree. The first ornament to be put on the tree was the "Our First Christmas" ornament we got this past week.

Isn't it adorable?!

Here I am hanging our engagement ornament that I bought last year.

We had so much fun :) every time I look at our tree I get a big ole smile on my face!

Thanks for reading friends! Till next time.

Apple Picking

     Here is another fun activity Adam and I did over his break: apple picking! I had been every kinda fruit pickin' you can think of-- except apple pickin'! The place we went was called Johnson's Orchard. When we drove up we quickly got out of the car and paid to start picking because it looked like the sky would start pouring rain any minute. It held off just long enough for us to pick half a bushel-- that equals about 3 X's more apples than I know what to do with! I will be sharing a few apple recipes soon that these pretty little apples were used in. Enjoy the pictures!

This was a HUGE crate of apples that the workers had been picking.

I love this picture :) Look at all the apples on the trees behind us!

See the John Deere tractor in the background?

Here is our half-bushel...

and my man :) in the rain.

This is where you paid for the apples.

Inside they sold LOTS of jellies, jams, and butters.

The lady sitting down was peeling and chopping apples. From the pile she had it looked like she had been there a while!

Thanks for reading today friends! Love ya!

Chateau Morrisette Winery

So I guess when I said I was taking a week vacation I really meant a THREE week vacation. Wow how time flies when you are busy! And let me tell you, I have been one busy little bee. I started my job... And I love it! There is never a dull moment. Although, amidst all the craziness and busy-ness of life I have not forgotten about you nor my blog. I could never do that! After all, you and my blog were what kept me entertained those months I didn't have a job.  I have been taking lots of pictures and still cooking all the time so that when I did get the chance to write I would have plenty to write about. I wanted to pick up where I left off and show you some pictures of mine and Adam's mini staycation. Our first big activity was a trip to Chateau Morrisette Winery. We woke up one morning and hopped on the Blue Ridge Parkway to explore this gem of a vineyard. We first went to their restaurant-- which was absolutely delicious-- and then we took a tour of the winery. The pictures are below:

Adam was a happy man when they brought out his lunch...

a blue cheese wedge...

and buffalo chili. It was soo amazing!

And I was a happy girl when they brought out my favorite dish in the world: beef tips and rice!

And then of course we had to order the dessert trio. Of course.

Pumpkin crumble. OMG.

Vanilla bean creme brulee. OMG.

And flourless chocolate cake. Could it be any more perfect? I think not.

This is the outside of the restaurant.

And this was the winery.

The architecture and the bare wood inside the winery was magnificent. 

Here is a truck loaded down with grapes.

Here is the machine that smashed the grapes to release the juice. They called their grape smashing machines Lucy and Ethel. Get it!

All of their barrels had cute little paw prints on them. The Chateau Morrisette logo is the family's black lab. 

This picture is of the copper counter top where they had their wine tastings. I WANT THIS!

One of the best parts of our trip that day was the drive. The Blue Ridge Parkway is absolutely breathtaking. Here are some pictures:

We stopped off at a little look-out spot to snap a few pictures :)

We had a wonderful time that day! If you every get the chance to go there or drive the Blue Ridge Parkway in the fall I highly suggest you do it. It is amazing!

Till next time friends. Thanks for reading!