Tidbits

I just got back from a conference in Orlando and always return tired. It was a good time, more so fun, not very successful for my company... although I did come back obsessed with the Casey Anthony trial (thanks Jenn), so HLN will be on for good now.

I was SO excited to see little Molly when I got back and just dropped her off for her first grooming appointment and am off to meet Michael for dinner soon. Even when I only leave for a few days I miss my sweet, tiny family.

Before I left we celebrated my birthday. A weekend of fun with friends! Life has changed so much since getting married and I am loving it. After lots of time with friends on Thursday and Friday, Michael and I just chilled out Saturday by the pool then went to our favorite, hole in the wall sushi restaurant. Him and Molly gave me sweet presents and we watched the season that we're on of How I Met Your Mother (we started at the beginning and it is so fun! Anyone who doesn't watch should). It was a perfectly fun and simple day that we both needed.

This weekend we are off to Hilton Head to celebrate the Fourth. My friend, Colleen, has a house down there so a few of us are going to get away for the weekend. I can't wait to see sand and beach.

Birth week fun!

This week has been a little hectic. Michael and I have both been super stressed at work and I have not been feeling well. BUT, tomorrow is my birthday, so I am excited for fun with my friends! Tonight Marissa planned for my best girlfriends to get together to go to one of those painting classes! I haven't seen Marissa in forever and I'm excited to have a night of doing just girly things and having good girl talk.

Tomorrow I have the day off work to unfortunately have a doctor's appointment (I have been having these strange muscle/nerve pains in my side for a few weeks, ugh, but hoping it will be nothing) which is not ideal for my big day, BUT I will make the best of it! Hopefully, still get some pool time in and shopping. Then my sweet husband has gotten friends together for dinner and a night out in Virginia Highlands.

I love birthdays and always have! I am a little sad about turning 25, but nonetheless excited for a birthday. This time last year Michael proposed, so I have been sentimental all week, just thinking about how fast time has gone. Life has been good and busy as usual. Little Molly keeps things crazy... she is good, just very hyper and not as potty trained as we originally thought. She keeps us laughing constantly and loves to snuggle and play :) Here is a picture from last year's birthday when we got engaged. So much has changed since then (including my hair color, thank goodness). 24 was definitely a life changing year for me, and I am excited to see what God has planned next!  

(clearly I wasn't planning on getting engaged. hot pink, chipped nail polish didn't make for great ring photos that night)

big love

For those that know me I am very close to my family, especially my parents. My mom is my best friend in the whole world and I am still daddy's little girl. I adore everything about my parents' relationship and am so blessed to come from a family with parents what have been happily married for 29 years (their anniversary is tomorrow). 

We grew up with a very happy and fun childhood. Our house was always full of laughter, pets (dogs, fish, hamsters, lizards, cats, you name it, we had it), sports, dancing, faith and encouragement. My parents always made it a point to support each other in everything we did. My sister was into the arts and singing, myself played soccer and my brother played travel baseball. Even though our interests were different we always went together to support the other and their hobby. As a child I know I complained going from baseball field to field and sitting through endless choral performances, but as an adult I cherish these memories that the five of us spent together. 

As I begin my life as a wife, I appreciate my rearing even more and am continuously inspired by successful couples and families around me. Michael also comes from a home of parents married 30+ years, who I absolutely adore. I hope as we find our stride as husband and wife, someone looks at our relationship in 30 years with the respect and adoration we have for theirs.

Foodie!

I've been wanting to do somewhat of a food review for awhile. While staying on a budget is very important for us, we've said splurging on one new restaurant a month is a wallet-friendly and yummy goal. Last Friday we headed to Mosaic in Buckhead for dinner. I had a Scoutmob for $25 off, so I thought it would be a great night to save, while getting an awesome meal.... eh, the saving, not so much, but the food was tasty!

We ate outside, which after 20 minutes in Atlanta, in June was probably a bad idea. Mosaic is a quaint little house turned into a restaurant on a side street off Peachtree. 

We started with drinks- beer for Michael and I had white sangria, yum!, and fried green tomatoes.The tomatoes were battered with the right amount of sweet and spice with goat cheese (my all time favorite ingredient in anything) and red pepper sauce. Very good!

For dinner, Michael had the filet mignon which came with veggies and potatoes and I had their weekly special which was shrimp and grits (my all time favorite meal). The shrimp and grits were interesting... I've had better and had worse. They were made with prawns, so the shrimp was gigantic, I am not sure I prefer that. The grits were neat though, they had a black bean sauce, which gave a neat kick and consistency... a mix of ingridents I have yet to try with my grits, but overall blended quite well. 

The filet was average. I mean I just don't have a lot to say about steak.I found it to be cooked well and the mashed potatoes were fantastic. The atmosphere of Mosaic is exactly what I prefer. The wait staff is laid back and wears whatever eclectic piece from their wardrobe they feel like (think Figo), there were outside speakers with acoustic music playing and it was everything you expect from a local, non-chain, summer night restaurant. What I didn't expect? The price! Maybe because I was sitting outside and not under some stuffy candle lit dinner, or maybe because we didn't over-indulge (hello, no salad, soup, dessert, multi-drinks or apps). but even with our $25 discount we spent about four times that. Yikes! Good thing we're only trying out new, extravagant restaurants once a month. 

(furry) bundle of joy!

We finally bailed on the rescue society we were going through for the pure bread spaniel (ok, they sort of bailed on us... whatever) and went down to Atlanta Pet Rescue and Adoption in Midtown Saturday morning. Given my obsession with any sort of spaniel, I saw a cocker and that is why we ended up there. Well, as fate would have it the cocker spaniel wasn't available right away and we fell in love with this little girl.

A lot of money in adoption fees and multiple PetsMart runs later, Molly is now our sweet little addition to the DePeters clan and we couldn't be happier! She is a 1.5 year old Pekingese mix and weighs about 19 pounds. She is pretty well trained already too! She knows commands, walks on a leash, stays well in her crate, is mostly house broken.... and we are working with the chewing issue. I am already such a softie and she melts my heart. I almost cried when leaving her this morning, then went home for lunch to check on her and I think that made it worse. Thank goodness for Michael, he makes me work on training her and not always giving in to her, just because her face is the cutest thing I have ever seen :)

Official!

About two months into our marriage and I'm officially a DePeters. I've been a little under the weather this week with sinus problems so I took the day yesterday to get some things done and take care of myself. Beyond finally getting some antibiotics, I went to the DMV to get my license changed.

For those un-married or who elected not to change their name, it is not an easy process. You have to get the paperwork from the state, go through social security, your bank, insurance providers, state DMV and basically anything and everything with your name on it (OK, I skipped some steps, passport, amex, but those will come). I also decided to change my middle name to Murray, to keep my maiden name, so that was an extra hassle. BUT after all the phone calls and waiting in line, I present to you, Mrs. Laura Murray DePeters!

Fun facts about being a DePeters- Michael's family name is Italian and was originally (DePetrio or DePetro I think) and when his ancestors came over from Italy they changed it to DePeters to Americanize it. There also aren't many DePeters running around either; most of them can likely be traced back to being a relative. Which is new to me! Murray is a pretty common last name. Easy to say, spell and recognize.

What else did I love about Murray? Everyone knew I was Irish (OK, I am also freckly and my brown hair does have a very red tint). Now, the popular guesses are French and Dutch (I guess when your Italian last name doesn't end in a vowel, that's what happens). People also really struggle at saying and spelling D-e-P-e-t-e-r-s. For the love of...., it is "peters" with a D in front. The best spelling I have gotten so far is, during a phone conversation with a client, I was giving them my email address and they said "whoa, whoa spell that and slow down," after spelling and speaking slowly this is what they got: depeferf. Can you even say that?? I know my voice is a little nasaly, but come on people.

So, those are my adventures so far! Guys are so lucky. After the proposal, they're done. But, it is fun, because everywhere I go to change the name, someone else says "you're a newlywed? congrats!" and we all know, I love to be recognized.

My love affair. With Auburn, Alabama

This weekend we went to Auburn, AL for one of Michael's friend's weddings. I was so excited to go because it is probably my favorite city in the world. People who go to Auburn know what I am talking about. It is a huge SEC school, packed with pride, in a teeny, cute town. And it epitomizes a Southern college town, which is probably what I love the most. The downtown area has so much character and even if one restaurant changes into a new shop, the area itself always looks the exact same. I'm obsessed. 

 I also love the flood of memories that come back the second I hit exit 51. For those of you who don't know, Michael and I were not college sweethearts. We actually didn't start dating until the last semester of college. My memories are filled with Leischuck hall, Skybar nights, my best girlfriends (DAG), RBD Library 4th floor, sorority formals and four years of football games and amphitheater tailgating. And of course my later memories of meeting who would turn into my husband, and his absolutely crazy, but wonderful friends who keep me laughing non-stop.

Ok, now that I've taken my trip down memory lane and shared one of the places most dear to my heart, what's new? We are trying to adopt a dog! We are picky (duh) so it is a slow process. I have horrible allergies and we want a dog who is already domesticated, since we aren't home during the day. So we're working with a society that tries to match a dog perfectly for us, and though it is a timely process, hopefully we end up with the perfect pup for us!

Michael really loves his new job. About a month ago he was offered a position with a new law firm in Atlantic Station and it has been such a great opportunity for him (and our future!) 

I've begun the name change process, which is daunting. I have gotten through social security and my main bank, but am dreading the DMV.... so who knows when I will have the same last name on everything. Plus I think I am secretly trying to hold on to my easy to say and spell maiden name!