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Hey Loves!

I am guest blogging over at Newlyweds:North today, so why not pop on over and read some great travel tips? You will just love my friend Stephanie's blog and all of her manic adventures up North! She is currently on her baby-moon in Greece and man o man her Instagram pictures are simply stunning. 

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Well friends, today I am on the road again. This time I am hitting the friendly skies towards Chicago for advanced recessed lighting training for work. Who's jealous? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller.... Lord knows I would love to change my flight and join Stephanie in Greece but I think my company might be just a little bit mad at me. Be on the lookout tomorrow and Thursday for some great guest bloggers here on Virginia Sweet and don't forget to check in with me on Instagram! 

xoxo,

CAD 

Weekend Recap: A Double Header

Happy Monday loves! 

Well we made it back in one piece after our double header wedding weekend in the Carolina's. If you followed along on Instagram you could probably tell Reid and I had the best time celebrating with our friends. We are so thrilled for the two couples that tied the knot and wish Will & Terri and Liz & Lee all the happiness in the world. 

Because we had SO much fun this weekend, I am going to keep this post short on words and let the pictures do most of the talking. So sorry for the picture quality, I could not fit my DSLR in my clutch!!!

{Thursday, May 8th}

We traveled from Richmond to Charleston to celebrate with Will and Terri as they say "I do!"  We are just so thrilled for this amazing family and honored to have witnessed their wedding. The weather could have not been more perfect and on my lawd the venue....it was breathtaking. Magnolia Plantation was just the perfect setting for Terri's vintage style wedding. The food, the music, the company and the dancing was outstanding and the newlyweds seemed complete. Congrats you two, we are just over the moon for you and can't wait to see what the future holds! 

{Friday, May 9th}

We left Charleston bright and early and hit the road towards Charlotte making one pitstop in Columbia, SC to have a much too quick lunch with Reid's parents. We ended the night with a lovely rehearsal dinner for Liz and Lee! 

{Saturday, May 10th}

After a much needed brunch at Zeda Janes in Charlotte, we headed to our old favorite spots, Sleepy Poet and PaperSkyScrapper. We hightailed it home for a quick nap and final prep for the big event. Liz and Lee had their beautiful wedding at the Victorian Crows Nest in Monroe, NC. Thankfully the rain held off and the event, venue and couple were "absolutely" stunning. Their love and affectation for each other and their guests was contagious and you could just feel the love in the room. Congrats you two love birds. I had such a blast with all my friends from Charlotte, it was with a very heavy heart and a couple shots of bourbon that we finally said goodnight. 

{Sunday, May 11th}

After a quick brunch with the newlyweds, we hit the road again to head home. We had a wonderful time celebrating with our dear friends but I was so happy to see our home. Our good friend Anna came over for a delish Sunday supper and we toasted with wine and strawberry shortcake to a fantastic weekend. 

If this weekend has taught me anything it would be that Reid and I are so blessed. We have the most amazing friends, who surround us everyday with so much love and happiness. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for bringing such joy to our lives and happiness to our own marriage. 

Sending loads of love and caffeine to you this Monday! 

xoxo, 

CAD

Five on Friday

Hey y’all and Happy Friday! This is Ashley today, as Caroline is a busy bee traveling throughout my home state this weekend! I am so excited to share some of my favorite things from this past week! Of course, we’ll be linking up with the fabulous ladies of Five on Friday!  April, Christina, Darci and Natasha. 

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Trying to figure out the perfect last minute Mother’s Day gift? Here are a few ideas below. 

 

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Kitchen Designs.

My husband and I are (fingers crossed) about to put an offer on a lot and start building our first home! This is so exciting/anxious/nervous and every other emotion you can imagine having all at the same time! Ever since we met with our architect this week, I have been living on Houzz and Pinterest! Here is a kitchen inspiration that I have been loving. What do y’all think?

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 Life has been crazy busy lately, and Andrew and I haven’t gotten to spend a lot of quality time together, so an impromptu date night was exactly what we needed! We went to one of our favorite, local Greenville restaurants and enjoyed the jazzy/blues music that was being played while we dined on the patio. The weather was absolutely perfect to eat outside and drink a cold beer!

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These ladies. I have been so blessed to meet all of these lovely ladies since Andrew and I joined Thornblade Club last year. Last night, I attended a Back to 30 Skinkare event at the club and loved spending time with these sweet friends!

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I got this body wash on my last Target run and haven’t been able to stop using it! I’m not usually a big sweets person (I don’t eat chocolate, I know…I’m weird). But, this smells like cake batter to me, and I've really been enjoying it!

I hope y’all have a fabulous weekend! I will be traveling back home to Columbia, SC to spend precious time with the lovely mothers in my life. Happy Mother’s Day to all of you out there! 

xoxo,

Ashley

And we're off...

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As of 7:45 this morning, Reid and I have officially hit the open road and are making our way down the coast. With a quick stop at Chick-fil-a and Starbucks, we are feeling energized and ready to tackle the rest of the 6 and a half hour drive. 

Make sure to follow along with me on Instagram .... I think this is going to be one heck of a weekend! 

Till Monday Loves....Charleston, see ya soon! 

Honeymoon Recap: Rome Day 1

Happy Wednesday Loves! 

Today, I am taking to you Rome. This was the first stop on our honeymoon itinerary and boy did we make the most out of this day.

We arrived in Rome around 10:30am only to confirm that our bags had not made the long trip across the ocean. You see, our flight from Richmond was delayed and we almost did not make our connecting flight in Philly. Reid and I literately had to run through the Philadelphia airport because the shuttle bus, that connects terminals, lets you off at gate 14 and our plane was at 34. When we heard our last name being paged and the final boarding warnings, Reid dropped what he was carrying and started to sprint towards the gate hoping to stall. Evidently, international flights do not mess around. When Reid got to the gate, the attendant said that they were closing the doors in 2 minutes no matter what. Needless to say, we made the flight but just by the skin of our teeth. The worst part was that when we finally got to our seats we had a clear shot of our checked bags still sitting on the tarmac. We had an even better view of them as we were taxiing out. So the whole flight was just lovely....11 hours of knowing our bags would not arrive with us. 

Luckily, we had packed a couple changes of clothes, our toiletries and must have items in our carry ons BUT we neglected to pack comfortable shoes. Reid and I had both worked the day we left, so the only shoes we had between us were a pair of J.Crew ballet slippers and Cole Haan loafers. Ouch. 

After we gave the airport all of our contact information and begged them to please please please have our bags to us as soon as possible, we met our driver and headed to our hotel. I attempted to wallow in my sorrows about not having all my cute clothes for our first official day in Rome but Reid would not have it. A quick change of clothes and attitude and we were off to explore this amazing city!  

Our hotel was centrally located between the Vatican and the Coliseum so we walked everywhere. It was glorious. The first order of business was to make our way to the Coliseum for our afternoon tour. Our guide gave us an in depth look into this majestic structure and a wonderful history lesson.  Afterwards, our guide had some extra time on her hands and took us through a few nearby Forums. 

Needless to say, we were exhausted from our long day of travel and exploration so we grabbed a cheese plate and some wine on the way back to the hotel and called it a night. 

Despite our luggage debacle and achy feet, we had a wonderful first day on our grand adventure and I cannot wait to tell you more.

I hope you enjoy pictures from our first day in Rome! 

Favorite part of the day: the excitement in Reid's eyes as we explored the city. Reid had been to Rome before and fell in love with it. The look in his eyes when showing me his favorite parts is something I will always remember. It was true wanderlust. This was my first time in Europe and I was beyond excited to explore, people watch, shop, drink wine, and eat a ton of delish pizza with my amazing husband on our honeymoon! 

Next edition, Rome Day 2! Make sure to check out our itinerary here! 

xoxo,

CAD