San Francisco in Pictures

We went to San Francisco. 

We ran across this bridge.

We visited Pier 39....

.... and Fisherman's Wharf... where there was sourdough bread. 

We went to see the redwoods in Muir Woods. They were beautiful.

and very tall.

We went to Alcatraz

and a Giants game

saw a few other things

We ate lots and lots of really good vegetarian food. 

But it's kind of ok, because did I mention we ran a half marathon? Oh yeah, and we walked everywhere. Up humongous hills like this.

San Francisco is probably our favorite city we've visited. It's a beautiful city with gorgeous weather, active people and fabulous food!

What I'll Be Up To in 2012

No better time to set a few goals for myself... these are things that I want to will do in 2012. 

1. Stick to Budget. We've been a little lax on the budget these last few months. Ok, really lax. It's been fun spending money after being broke for a long time and I've worked hard to be able to do that! However, we've got to get our eyes on the prize. The bigger prize, that is.... saving for a house. Hopefully it'll happen by at least summer 2013.

2. Travel. I do realize that this goal will set me back a bit with goal #1. However, our goals we must accomplish before we have kids are as follows:

      1a. Graduate from pharmacy school. -DONE

      2a. Own a home.- Working on it.

      3a. Travel. -In progress.

So you see, we must work on goals 2a and 3a at the same time, we just have to be smart about it.  This year, we are going to San Diego and Little Rock for races, and maybe one more small trip. We will see!

3. Get Super Organized. This is always one of my goals- get my house clean, drawers organized, basement cleaned out and labeled, computer and pictures backed up, pictures completely organized, etc. It's an ongoing process, something that is never "finished", you know?

3. Eat Healthier. More fruits, more veggies, more water. Less junk. I really need to try to prepare healthy food at home to take to work, instead of just grabbing crackers and snacks stuff!

4. Run Farther, More Often. I'd like to average at least 20 miles per week, giving a little room for a week or two off and those busy weeks, I'll make my goal 1000 miles this year. Whew! My progress for this will be available on my Daily Mile widget over here -------->>>>

Source: makeupalley.com via Katie on Pinterest

5. Run Faster. St. Jude, 2012 sub 2:30. Must do.

6. Complete project 365. That's right- a picture a day for 365 days. I'll update my progress here on the blog, but you can also follow from my Flickr account, or my Tumblr account.

The above goals are my "Must Do" goals. The following are "would like to do" goals. After I've worked on my "Must Do's", if I still have time left in the day I'll move on to my "Would Like to Do's"

8. Read More. (Or, uh, listen to audio books more.) And not just re-reading Harry Potter, Twilight, Pride and Prejudice, and the Millenium Trilogy. I need to branch out.

Source: Uploaded by user via Allie on Pinterest

(I'll just be honest with myself and go ahead and say this one probably won't happen. Lol!)

9. Plan more fun things with Brandon- trips, date nights, etc. We are people that enjoy just spending time at home, but getting out more often certainly would be fun!

10. Tone up with some pilates or yoga, maybe some light weight lifting.

So there they are... time to get started!

The Best of 2011

We started 2011 off with a bang- by moving into a bigger house. We are love it here- a spare bedroom, bigger kitchen, large living and dining room, just bigger in general. And so much nicer!


The spring months were spent finishing up school, for me and Brandon. It also happened to be my last semester of school, EVER! I found out I had a job in March, which was a huge relief, since the job market was scary at the time (and still is).

I graduated in May, which was a pretty big deal. Finally, I was finished with school! Kelly threw me a graduation party at her house, and my whole family came!

Over the summer, we were both training for the Chicago Half Marathon. I was also studying for... and stressing about getting licensed as a pharmacist. Thankfully, I passed both exams, and started working as an official pharmacist.

In August, Brandon and I took our first major vacay since our honeymoon. We went to Chicago, which was amazing! We ran a half-marathon there, which happened to be my first ever. I was so proud of myself.  :) Brandon started back to school soon after we returned.

The last days of Summer and first days of Fall were spent helping Kelly make preparations for precious baby Anniston. You can read about some of the crafts we did, and all about decorating her nursery. Brandon and I also threw them a baby shower. At the last minute, I decided to bite the bullet and buy the camera I had been wanting. I decided that was as good a time as ever, right before my neice was born, right?

Well, that was the best decision of the year! After Anniston was born, I spent almost every waking minute that I wasn't working with her and Kelly. I won't even divulge how many pictures are labeled "Anniston" in my library. Even after I cleaned the bad ones out. It's ridiculous.

Eventually, I had to spend some time with my neglected husband, and some time training for the St. Jude marathon. Of course, I still had to see Anniston as much as possible!

Brandon and I ran St. Jude in early December. We spent the rest of the month buying presents and planning our Christmas brunch. The holidays were the best this year- so much more fun with Anniston around!

Chicago 2011

Watching the Chicago Marathon today reminded me I never posted pics from the "vacation" part of our trip to Chicago.

We loved the city.... lots of interesting culture and history, beautiful sights, wonderful shopping and entertainment, tons of vegetarian and vegan food options, and much cleaner than NYC. What's not to love?

We stayed at the Palmer House Hilton, just a block from Grant Park. It is a beautiful hotel, but way overpriced. They don't even have free wi-fi! Luckily, we got a group discount for the race and the Corner Bakery Cafe (canopy in the left of the pic) was the perfect place to stop in the mornings for breakfast and internet. 

Saturday, we walked down to the race expo and saw some beautiful neighborhoods and architecture on 

the way. 

After lots of wandering around, we made our way over to the theater to see West Side Story. (Nancy bought us tickets for our birthday!) The theater was gorgeous, the performance was fantastic, and it felt so amazing to get off our feet and rest our legs. 

That night, we had reservations at Karen's on Green, a local vegan restaurant. That was probably the best meal we've ever had in our life.

We made our way home and went to bed early. Our race was the next morning- it took a little nap and some IcyHot before we were ready to get back out that afternoon. We headed up north to Magnificent Mile, and strolled through the most gorgeous neighborhoods. I could just die over how beautiful these buildings are...

John Hancock Tower was one of our favorite parts of the trip. David Schwimmer narrated an audio tour of the view from each window, which was absolutely breathtaking. 

This is the moment I decided to get a better camera, because these pictures don't do justice to what we actually saw.

The shopping on Magnificent Mile was fabulous, just as good as Fifth Ave. IMO. We did a 'lil browsing through Kate Spade, Tiffany's, Nike, and the Lego Store.

Harry Pottah Legoooosss!

I'll leave this post with a pic of this gorgeous chapel on Michigan Ave.

Can you tell I love the architecture in Chicago?

To Be Continued...

The Biltmore

Brandon and I just returned from our weekend get-away, and it was one of the best weekends we've had in a while!  After I decided to come to Kingsport for a rotation, we decided it was the perfect opportunity to head over to Asheville, NC to see the Biltmore Estate.

We started out with an audio tour of the inside of the house, and learned all about the Vanderbilt family, their traditions, and their extravagant, fabulous lifestyle.

One of our favorite parts of the house was the Winter Garden, which is a huge, open area filled with lush plants and greenery, covered with natural sunlight beaming in through the glass ceiling.  We also lusted over the gigantic well-stocked library, the kitchen with the gorgeous view of the mountains, and the dining room with a 7-story ceiling that houses a 40 foot Christmas tree during the holidays!

That night, we attended the Flower Carpet Event, where we enjoyed an amazing picnic basket filled with gourmet cheese and breads, plus a colorful array of fruits, a bottle of Biltmore wine, and two-souvenir Biltmore wine glasses. We were able to explore the gardens as the sun set over the mountains, with torches and candles lighting the walkways. It was so romantic!

We enjoyed ourselves so much the first day, we went back the next day for some more tours and history. Brandon's favorite was the Rooftop Tour, where we learned more about the architecture of the house. The views were breathtaking, to say the least!  One of my favorite parts was the Friends and Family Tour, where I swooned over 11 extra rooms and guest bedrooms that make Pottery Barn catalogs look like JCPenny. We learned more about the guests at the Biltmore during it's prime, all of which made me fall even more in love with the old days.

The house looks very similar to Pemberly, doesn't it? It's all so "Pride and Prejudice", where Brandon is Mr. Darcy, and I am, of course, Elizabeth Bennet. And we'll live happily ever after, although vacations can't last forever, unfortunately.

Don't look so worried, Mom!

Recently, my parents came to visit me in East, TN! Since I'm staying in Kingsport for an entire month, I need to be entertained on the weekends. We had a great time doing tourist-y things in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. We had so much fun! The Aquarium was beautiful, the Tennessee Shindig was suprisingly good, and Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede made me so proud to be southern. (*Insert Sarcasm*) No really, it was very.... interesting.

Mom had this great idea to ride the tram up to the top of the mountain, and assured me that she would be able to make it without getting motion sickness. Well, that wasn't exactly true.

Dad and I had a great time at the very front, enjoying the breeze and the view.

 Mom, on the other hand, didn't seem to enjoy the ride quite as much.....

 Luckily, she made all the way up the mountain, and back down just fine.  We ventured out to the Titanic Museum the next day, which I highly recommend if you are ever in the area!

Kingsport Adventures

It's been a while since I updated, obviously. Kelly wrote the funniest post about our trip to Sevierville and our QVC pajama party, and it reminded me that I've been wanting to post a few things. Plus, it's raining outside so I can't work out, and I'm trying to procrastinate on my project.

For reasons I can't remember right now, Melaina and I picked an Ambulatory Care rotation for the month of August in Kingsport, TN. I learned a lot the first week, and we are having a lot of fun, but I'm very homesick. I can't wait to get home to Brandon and Phoebe!

Melaina and I really wanted to take advantage of our surroundings while we are here, so we ventured out to Bays Mountain Park and hiked over 4 miles to the top of the highest mountain in Kingsport to climb the fire tower for a beautiful view. And boy, was the view beautiful!

There were also several interesting sights on the way up...

This was our first time doing any real "hiking". I sang the chant from "Troop Beverly Hills" for a large portion of the time. So of course, we had to watch that movie as soon as we got back!