We're Getting Married!!

As most of you already know, Ryan popped the question this weekend on our trip to New York City!!!  To say I was completely surprised would be an understatement - I was in such shock that my initial response was "Are you serious??"  Don't get me wrong, I knew we would get married sooner rather than later but I really did not expect him to propose on this trip.  Needless to say, the surprise made it all the better!

So here's how it went down.  We were in New York for the weekend (a trip I got Ryan for his birthday) and staying with some of our great friends, Joe, Christy and their daughter Marlo, in Brooklyn.  They live right on the river in this apartment complex that has a rooftop with the most gorgeous view of Manhattan and the Manhattan bridge.  Ryan and I had gone into Manhattan all day Saturday to walk around and do "touristy" things and he had been complaining of not feeling well.  We were back in Brooklyn later that night waiting on some friends to come over and he asked if I would go up to the rooftop with him to get some fresh air.  So I threw on a t-shirt, some rain boots and absolutely no makeup and up to the rooftop we went.  Ryan was behind me and we were standing at the edge, looking at the beautiful view when I suddenly noticed he wasn't behind me anymore (I say suddenly, he will tell you it took a long 10 seconds).  Once I noticed, I turned around to find him down on one knee with the most beautiful ring I had ever seen.  I don't have to tell you what happened next...now we are engaged!!!!

We could not be more excited to start our lives together.  As you can imagine, it's hard to pick a date with his work schedule but we hope to have one nailed down within the next month.  Thank you to all of our family and friends for their love and support during this exciting time
and throughout our entire relationship - we wouldn't be where we are without each and every one of you.

I'll definitely keep you updated on our plans on the blog so check back for wedding details as we figure them out!

With much love,

Carly

Where we got engaged (we had to take pictures the next day b/c it was too dark that night)

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Happy Birthday Ryan!

We've been through a lot this year - joy, pain, sorrow, excitement, love...you  name it, we've experienced it.  We have traveled (mostly for golf), bought our first home together, welcomed your new nephews into the world, lost someone we loved so dearly, celebrated a dream coming true by making it to the PGA tour, hosted our first Thanksgiving, just to name a few things.  Through all of it, you have been a constant joy and strength in my life and I am so thankful for you each and every day.

I can't wait to celebrate your last year in your 20's tonight and in New York this weekend with great friends!  Cheers to you and here's to hoping 29 is the best year yet!

I love you most!

XOXO,

Carly

Celebrating Ryan's birthday last year!

Give Thanks

What am I thankful for? I'm not even sure where to start - I have so much to be thankful for this year!

Ryan and I were lucky enough to host our first Thanksgiving yesterday and I must say - it was a huge success (one thing I'm very thankful for). It took a lot of hard work and preparation to have 15 of our family members over for dinner and I can't thank Ryan and my parents enough for all of their help - we couldn't have done it without them!  We finally finished the Farmhouse Dining Room Table that I've been wanting (I will post details of that process later this week).  We cleaned and cooked and cleaned some more but it was worth every second of hard work to be able to share this holiday with our loved ones.  I'm especially thankful that my grandparents were able to make it.  We have unfortunately lost both of Ryan's grandparents in the past 2 years so having grandparents still here with us means more than it ever has.  Here are a few highlights of our day.

Farmhouse Dining Room table - finished product!

 Table(s) set and ready for our family of 15

Yummy Food (I kept forgetting to get food pictures and don't have any pie pictures but everything was so delicious) 

My Grandfather and Ryan's Mom - so lucky to be able to have both families there to celebrate 

Ryan and I after all of our hard work 

Dad and I

So - what am I thankful for this year?  Well the list could go on for miles but I will say that I'm most thankful for my family and all of my loved ones.  It is easy to take for granted those you love, especially if you see them a lot, but I wouldn't be where I am without each and every one of them. So this holiday season I will take a little extra time to appreciate them and tell them how much I love them!

xoxo,

Carly

November!

I can't believe November is actually here.  Each year seems to fly by faster and faster.  I just wanted to hop on here quickly to say happy November and give a quick update (I'm really going to try and post more often, I promise!).

In my opinion, Halloween officially kicks of the holiday season and that makes me very happy!  I love decorating and hosting parties for the holidays, but most importantly, I love getting together with family so often - it's what truly makes the holidays so special!  And, since this is mine and Ryan's first holiday season in our new house, I know this year will be even more special. So, since Halloween officially kicked things off, here is a picture of Ryan and I with this year's Halloween pumpkins!

We are off to Sea Island on Sunday (my first PGA event). So, here's to hoping November starts off with a bang!

Carly

Pumpkin Muffins/Bread

Fall is officially here and with it comes pumpkin flavored anything you can think of.  I'm not a coffee drinker so I don't get excited for the Pumpkin Spice Latte's but I do LOVE pumpkin bread - it is one of my favorite fall treats!!  I wanted to share my favorite recipe in case anyone gets the baking bug this weekend.  The recipe comes primarily from one I found in Southern Living but I changed a few things here and there to make it my own!  Hope you enjoy!

Serving Size: This recipe makes A LOT.  Approx. 36 muffins or 2 loaves of bread.  I typically make the whole thing and give out what I know I can't eat to family or friends but you could easily half or third the recipe and make smaller batches.

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1 cup cooking oil
3 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (the original recipe calls for only 1 teaspoon but I like cinnamon flavor so I add a little extra)
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cloves
Cooking spray
Chocolate chips (as much as desired; these are not part of the original recipe but my own addition to the recipe)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Beat first 11 ingredients (all except cooking spray and chocolate chips) at low/medium speed with a mixer for approx. 1-2 minutes (or until blended). 

Optional step: Add chocolate chips as desired (I typically make half of the recipe without chocolate chips and half with chocolate chips by pouring the first loaf or 18 muffins and then adding chocolate chips to the remaining batter)

Coat cook pans with cooking spray

Pour batter into loaf pan or muffin pan

Cook:

Bake for approx. 20 min. (or until you can stick a knife in and little to nothing comes out). I have found that every oven is very different and everyone likes things cooked a little differently so I just keep an eye on mine and take them out when they are to my liking. 

Enjoy!!

Finished Product: One plain pumpkin muffin and one pumpkin muffin with chocolate chips!

These have become a pretty big hit with family and friends and one of my favorite fall treats!

Hope you enjoy!

Carly

PGA Tour Bound!!

Hudson and Ryan after they finished the final round (hopefully ever) on the web.com tour.

After two years of hard work and A LOT of traveling, Hudson and Ryan are headed to the PGA Tour!!!  Congratulations! We could not be more excited for both of them - they have worked so hard and deserve this opportunity.  I was lucky enough to be down in Ponte Vedra last weekend when Hudson officially received his tour card and I don't think I was quite prepared for the wave of emotions.  Watching someone's childhood dream come true and seeing them share it with their loved ones was really special.  I hope to be lucky enough to be present when Hudson and Ryan win their first PGA Tour event, because I'm confident that will happen sooner rather than later!  Ryan will head out to California on Sunday to start the new journey on the big tour so please help me in wishing him luck on his new adventure (oh and I'll be traveling again soon enough)!  Here are a few pictures from the fabulous weekend.

Ryan, Hudson, his fiancé Katherine and I celebrating after the PGA Card presentation

Ryan and I celebrating before the PGA Card presentation

Good Luck Ryan and Hudson!!

Carly

My First Post

So here we go.  I've spent a couple of weeks designing my blog (which I much say is much harder than expected) and now I'm finally writing my first blog post!  Expect layout and design changes in the near future as I work on making the look and feel the way I imagined but for now, here it is!

I have to be honest, I don't have too many expectations for this blog other than updates (hopefully fairly frequently) on life, what projects are going on at the house, yummy recipes I stumble across, fashion I love, etc.  I hope to have a post every Monday with an update on where Ryan is that week but other than that, I will post as I have time/things happen.  I admit I'm a little nervous about this but I'm excited about the blog and hope, at the very least, it will keep our family and friends updated on what's going on in my life.

So, here we go.  Thanks for taking this jump with me.  I hope you enjoy!

xoxo,

Carly