We adopted a dog!

James and I recently made the decision to expand our family and adopt a dog.  We thought this would be an easy process, especially considering how many dogs there are out there that need a home. Little did we know, the dog adoption process is pretty intense.  We actually attempted to adopt two different dogs before we had success.  With the first dog we got flat out denied (apparently we were not fit parents because we planned to crate the dog while at work) and with the second dog, when we showed up to the shelter and the dog we were interested had been adopted 45 minutes before we got there. We did get a little discouraged, but now that we have our sweet pup, we know that this he was definitely the dog for us.

After we made up our mind to get a dog, I stalked pet adoption websites like it was my job. Early last week, I found a two year old cavalier king charles/cocker spaniel mix named Royce on the Atlanta Pet Rescue website.  He wasn't available for adoption until Saturday (yesterday), so James and I decided we would show up right when the shelter opened so that we could meet him.  On the way to the shelter we made sure we were on the same page that we wouldn't try to force it with the dog. We really just wanted to check him out, see what his demeanor was and then make a decision on whether he would be a good fit for us or not.  Afterall, this dog wil be a part of our family for the next ten years or so.

When we walked in, he was in a pen with about five other dogs.  We walked over to the pen and all of the other dogs started going crazy, jumping up and barking at us.  He just calmly looked up at us with his sweet eyes and let us pet him.  We decided right away that he was the dog for us.  We started filling out our application and then learned that there was someone else there who was interested in the same dog.  We sat down in a separate room and were interviewed to get a feel for why we wanted a dog and te type of environment the dog would be living in .  The staff at Atlanta Pet Rescue told us that whoever was going to be the best fit for the dog would end up going home with him. It was kind of nerve racking, but apparently they thought we would be the best fit and told us that if we wanted to take him home, he was all ours.  After filling out all of the paperwork and asking a million questions (we've never had a dog before), we got to walk out with our little guy. We ended up changing his name from the name the shelter had given him.

Introducing Buford Beauregard Ostenson: 

Trying to get a good picture at the shelter before we took him home

Finally! Our little family of three

Before we got Buford home we had to make a few pitstops at Petsmart and City Dog Market.  And after spending our life savings waaay too much money we finally got him home.  

At Petsmart

Riding in the car

First walk around the neighborhood

He's not supposed to be on the furniture, but how can you resist that sweet face?

Y'all, he is such a sweet dog.  He doesn't bark, he doesn't jump up on you when you come in the door, he is house trained, he walks pretty well on a leash, he slept through the night in his crate and he doesn't require much attention. He just kind of follows you around the house and will nuzzle up against your leg when he wants you to pet him. James and I keep looking at each other and being like, "we have a dog". We love our little Buford and he is the perfect addition to our family!

Couples Retreat | Kiawah Island, SC

Most of my recent posts have started out with "a few weekends ago". Time is precious nowadays, but I still want to make a point to blog about these fun trips, experiences, and projects, even if they do come a few weeks after the fact. So here I go again...

A few weekends ago, James and I headed east to Kiawah Island, SC with my best friend Sara and her boyfriend Nick.  Sara's parents have a house on Kiawah and they were so sweet to allow us to visit for a long weekend couples retreat, if you will.   We each had a bike while we were there, so we took advantage of the many bike paths on the island.  We even packed up our baskets with our sunscreen, towels, and reading materials, strapped our backpack chairs on and biked to the beach one day.

James all packed up and ready to go

We had two full days on the beach and had great weather both days.  While we were there, we wanted to spend as much time on the beach as possible. We got out there around 11am each day and stayed until about 5pm in the evening. In the evenings we went out to eat and enjoyed fresh seafood.  Sara's parents treated us to dinner at The Beach Club on Friday night.

The boys waiting on Sara and I to get ready

Sara and I before heading to dinner

At The Beach Club

Beautiful sunset before dinner

 On the second night, we headed to Bohicket Marina for dinner and drinks at Reds.  There was a Billfish competition that evening, so there were a ton of yachts docked and a live band.

Sara and Nick at dinner

James and I at dinner

All in all, it was a fabulous weekend. We enjoyed relaxing and spending time with good friends.  I am already looking forward to the next Kiawah trip.  We will be heading back for a girls trip over Labor Day weekend. 

1 Year (and 1.5 months)

On April 30th James and I celebrated our one year anniversary.  I can't believe it has already been a whole year (and one and a half months) since we said "I do"! This last year has just flown by, we have been keeping busy and enjoying married life.  We are reading a book in our small group that keeps talking about what a disaster many peoples first year of marriage is.  But luckily, year one has been smooth sailing for us. Yes marriage is an adjustment and huge commitment, but it's also an awesome adventure and we have enjoyed every moment thus far.  To kick off our anniversary, we celebrated with dinner at Horseradish Grill with our parents.  It was great for the six of us to catch up and the food was delicious.  I had been dying to eat at the Horseradish Grill and this was certainly a great occasion to do so.

My parents on the left and James' on the right

We also planned a little weekend getaway for our anniversary  We both took a Friday off work and headed east of Atlanta to Madison, GA.  We have always heard good things about the city of Madison, but neither James nor I had ever been there.  It is an adorable little town with lots of antebellum homes. Madison, GA was one of the few towns Sherman spared during his March to the Sea. We stayed at The James Madison Inn which was within walking distance of downtown.  I literally did not want to leave our room at the inn it was so nice and beautiful decorated. I kept asking James if we could just transplant the room into our house.  

After James was able to convince me to leave our room we enjoyed a couples massage, some delicious meals, antiquing, and strolls around the city.  Here's to year two!