Weekend Roundup

Happy Monday, y'all. I don't know how last week managed to feel so long (considering I only worked three days), but here is to hoping this short week flies by.  In the meantime, here is a little roundup of my weekend. 

The College was closed Friday due to the funeral of Reverend Clementa Pinckney taking place in our basketball arena. It was sort of a big deal that the Pres was making an appearance.  That coupled with the amount of people who would be fighting for a seat at this historic event, led the College to cancel all non-essential operations for the day. Smart thing, people waited in line for hours and were turned away by closing gates. The place sits 4,500 if that gives you any idea as to how huge of a turnout there was. 

President Obama delivered Reverend Pinckney's eulogy, and although I would have appreciated a little less of a political agenda in light of the tragedy, his rendition of Amazing Grace brought tears to my eyes.  You can view the entire eulogy here. 

I'll wrap this part of the weekend up by saying how unbelievably proud I am of this city. I have always taken great pride in being a Charlestonian, but now it is different, and I am not sure it will ever be the same. 

I'm on the hunt for a car decal of this Palmetto tree. 

I hear they are selling shirts for $10.00 at Palmetto Moon,  Go ahead and get yourself one. You know  you want to, and they say the proceeds are going to the Emanuel Hope Fund.

I have already managed to order myself one of these beauties.  Worship Artist April Knight blew me away with this little scripture doodle. I can't wait to have it in a frame in my living room. 

After hours and hours of funeral watching Friday, we celebrated C's sister's birthday.  The girls went to have a quick pedicure before heading out to the beach house for a little family-style birthday party. C did have to work Friday so he joined us afterwards. While waiting on his arrival, little Mads kept asking "Where is Colemy? I miss him.  Is Uncle Cooldude coming? I miss him." Needless to say, she was thrilled when he made his appearance. 

Be still my heart... these two. 

Little miss was worn flat out by the time the festivities were over... I call this face "Its my (mama's) party and I can cry if I want to."

Saturday brought an early morning breakfast date, a trip to the shop for C's truck which had been operating without AC for the last couple of weeks, and lastly a very windy and wet afternoon boat ride. We failed to notice that there was a storm with 26mph winds on the horizon when we left the marina, but we survived! We enjoyed dinner and drinks with friends and headed home.  Sunday was a fishing day for C and a laundry day for me #housewifeproblems. And, now here we are at Monday again. 

Only 4 days until the big holiday weekend! Hurry up, little Friday! 

xo, 

SVH 

Thursday Thoughts

What a week it has been.  And, it isn't even over yet.

Please excuse me while I proceed to use as few words as possible today. 

All while still letting you know my true Thursday Thoughts. 

Enjoy!

It seems my office is allergic to heat.  

The thermostat is currently set at 70 degrees,

and I have my space heater on full blast in June in Charleston. Normal?

On a similar note...

Can you tell I'm cold yet? Shifting topics....

My dear friend social media has almost been too much for me to handle this week. 

Everyone and their opinions on everything is just way too much.  Of course, in an effort to not have to use my brain for this post, I scoured the world wide web's library of ecards,  but I just couldn't find anything that adequately expressed my feelings. So back to words it is. 

People, just cut it out.  

Write a letter to your state representative. 

Tell your real not facebook friends (who might actually care about your opinions)

 to write to their state representatives, 

but please for the love of all things holy stop clogging up my newsfeed with 52 millions posts a day about the same thing. I guess it  may actually be my fault (albeit, unfortunate) that I am one of the few who are not looking at Facebook to provide me with world news and political information, silly me, I use the actual news for that.  What was I even thinking? 

End rant.  

Thanks for sticking around for that. 

xo, 

SVH

Weekend Roundup: Part Two

Welcome back for Part Two of my weekend in DC! 

Sunday morning, Paige and I woke up and anxiously got ready for the big day ahead of us. 

Y'all should know that at this point I was freaking out. I was so afraid that Marla was going to call us to give us the exciting news. So I turned off my phone. I wouldn't be able to keep the secret had I answered, and I wouldn't have been able to resist answering if my phone had been on. 

So with my phone off, we headed over to Marla and Josh's apartment building where the surprise would be taking place. 

Car selfie. Obvi. 

We were reunited with Alex once we arrived and at this point the nerves were really setting in. We knew that by this time, the question had been popped and our girl was engaged and then it was just a waiting game. We nervously took photos to pass the time...

As the couple's arrival inched closer, Marla's mom instructed the three of us that she wanted us front and center when they came through the door. You see, not to toot our own horns or anything, but second only to getting engaged, we all knew the surprise of seeing us there was going to send Marla over the top. And Marla's sweet mama wanted to witness the full effect.

We arranged ourselves near the door and  prepared to scream Mazel Tov at the top of our lungs as soon as Marla was in our sight. (Side note: Marla and Josh are a match made in Jewish heaven and we have all been anticipating the moment when we could yell Mazel Tov for her basically since the day we met her...or maybe the day she was born?) 

I think we did a pretty good job?

I'm not sure you can tell from the video just how much she is crying, but it's a lot. She's also saying over and over again, "you're here?". It was the sweetest. 

We then proceeded to take more photos. And cry some more. And smile a lot. 

The gang all together. With rings on our fingers. 

Get a good look at the rock why don't ya. 

Sadly we couldn't hang out forever because we had a dumb flight to catch (and Shake Shack to eat for the third time before said flight). 

Sad to be leaving Shake Shack behind... 

From Shake Shack here, we headed to the airport to experience our second three-hour delay of the weekend.  Curse you, U.S. Air. And there you have, the most magical weekend! Hope you enjoyed.

xo, 

SVH

Weekend Roundup

PART ONE of June 19 - 21, 2015. 

Disclaimer: Although I won't get to the very best part of the weekend until part two, I have to make the announcement now. A friend who is so near and dear to my heart that I could pass out just thinking about how much I love her, got engaged this weekend to the sweetest man ever.

 Congratulations and best wishes to Marla and Josh! 

Now onto the roundup:

Y'all, I had the BEST weekend. I mean truly the best. You know one of those weekends when you're with your girlfriends  (those ones you love the most but barely get to see), and it just seems like all is right in the world? Yeah, this weekend was one of those. 

Let's start from the top. 

About 3 weeks ago, I received an early morning email from my friend Marla's boyfriend, Josh. The email was entitled, "Can you keep a secret?". (Are you getting goosebumps yet?!) Josh, being the sweet and thoughtful man that he is, was notifying Marla's best friends of his intentions to ask her to marry him while at the same time asking us to be there to surprise her in the hours following the popping of the question. Let's just say Paige and I had our flights booked within the next 3 hours. There was never any question in our minds as to if this trip was going to happen.  

So, Friday afternoon Paige drove down to Charleston for a flight to our nation's Capitol. Much to our dismay, we were forced to suffer through a three-hour delay in the very under-construction Charleston Airport. Needless to say, drinks were consumed in the meantime and our announcement for boarding included a chant that went something along the lines of "chug, chug, chug". 

Our crew from the airport bar in Charleston. 

Everyone pictured was waiting on the same delayed flight as we were, 

so why not make friends!

We finally arrived at approximately 12:15am, and we were greeted by our sweet friends... and Shake Shack. (On a side note, I might need to write an entire post about Shake Shack, including-but not limited to-how difficult it is to pronounce Shake Shack.) 

Patiently(?) waiting on Claire and Courtney to come retrieve us.

Hours of girl talk led to bed, which led to hours of drinking and tourist-ing on Saturday. A bottomless brunch at Agora (bottomless in every sense of the word - food and beverages) was followed closely by romping around the monuments. 

Courtney, Paige and I before the food arrived.

Brunch appetizers...

After our boozey tour of the monuments, we freshened up and headed out to dinner at Farmers, Fishers, Bakers - during a torrential down pour.  There were tornado warnings. 

But we still looked cute!

We took a better picture once we dried off a bit.

Tune in tomorrow for Part Two of this epic weekend adventure! 

xo, 

SVH

Not Today

A Five on Friday about the trivial on goings of my life just doesn't seem right. Not today.

The city I love is in turmoil, and because of that turmoil, its citizens are somber.

Of course my friend Paige has put together a beautiful compilation of words and thoughts that reflects the feelings of all Charlestonians - everywhere. 

Please visit My Blue Haven for some healing words. I wish you all a happy and safe weekend, and please continue to #PrayforCharleston. 

Xo, 

SVH 

#PrayforCharleston

Yesterday evening, at approximately 9:00pm, a young man opened fire on members of the Mother Emmanuel AME Church in downtown Charleston. The suspect, a young white male, entered the church somewhere around 8:15pm during a regular Wednesday-night Bible study. 

This morning authorities are reporting 9 deceased victims. Three men and six women, including the church's Pastor and State Senator Clementa Pinckney. At this time no further information regarding the victims has been released. 

Today I ask that you all pray for Charleston. Pray for the victims, the survivors, the first responders, the media personnel, and our community as a whole. Having lived here my entire life, I could never have imagined something so tragic and depraved happening in this loving and tender-hearted community. 

Below you will find photos released by the Charleston Police Department. Please take a look and pass them along. 

With a heavy heart, 

SVH 

Wedding Wednesday - #AlmostAustin

Last week I mentioned that Wedding Wednesday may be back to stay. Today, I'm here to explain.

No, I'm not getting married again. I like the husband I got. :)

Over the last two years I have been struggling significantly with my wedding addiction. Y'all, I have an entire Pinterest board entitled "every other bride's wedding dress". BECAUSE I CAN'T STOP PINNING. 

So, I've been on a hunt for something anything that will help sustain this desire for wedding planning. I mentioned earlier that I took a stab at wedding blogging, but it turns out I don't do well with assignments? So I quit. And then I was back to the drawing board. Praying to the Almighty to help me find something. 

It was then that the heavens opened up. And out popped Lauren, a sweet bride who has agreed to let ME plan her wedding. Lauren and her sweet red-headed groom are tying the knot in Charleston next spring, and I am already up to my elbows in planning. 

I plan to use Wedding Wednesday as an outlet for documenting their wedding planning process. I hope you will join me ( I mean us? I mean them?) on this sweet little journey. 

As a teaser, I've included below a few anchor items from the #AlmostAustin mood board. Enjoy! 

FYI. everything you see in the photo above is happening. (Plus a little extra glam.) 

 Ladies, I introduce you to Old Wide Awake Plantation

xo,

SVH

Tele Tuesday

Back again for another edition of TV talk. This week brought to you by the color orange. As in Orange Is The New Black.

I can only hope that you people have been watching this shit. It is really too good to explain. And by good I really mean bad? Paige mentioned yesterday that she wasn't quite sure if this season was any good or not. Well, I'm here to tell you it's not good. But it is bad in all the right ways. 

I'm only 8 episodes in at this point, and I've heard from some spoilers that nothing really good happens until the last episode. The normal Shannon would have packed up shop and closed Netflix down, but this far in I feel like I owe it to Piper to stick it out. I mean, it is the least I can do for the poor schmuck, don't ya think? 

Y'all tell me your thoughts on this season, and I'll be back next week once I've figured out how this panty pushing project ends up. For some reason, I don't see Alex and Piper being all that successful?

The sheer thought of the panty business forces me to leave you with this. 

You tell em, Pennsatucky. 

And that's all I've got for you today, folks.  Happy Tuesday! 

xo,

SVH

Weekend Roundup

As I mentioned last week, I spent Friday with coworkers at a work retreat. Without bragging on my alma mater too much, check out the view from said retreat. 

Dixie Plantation 

We wrapped Friday up with a little date night. My very favorite, Basil, followed by C's very favorite, Cupcake. Actually, I'm lying. Cupcake isn't C's very favorite, but anything sweet will do for him. Major sweet tooth happening with that boy. He bought SIX cupcakes. All for himself. Obviously I'm on a very strict diet and didn't have any, but something tells me that you should give the salted caramel chocolate a try next time you're in town. 

Saturday ended with a delicious meal at Swig & Swine.  This town is definitely swarming in good bbq, but this stuff is top notch. Plus they  have pickled vegetables. I LOVE picked anything. 

The rest of the weekend was spent with family. C's aunt and uncle are here from Boston and they rented the most adorable tin roof house on Sullivan's Island. I caught this shot of some crazy ass kite boarders on the way out to the beach Saturday. 

                           

Sullivan's Kite Boarders

Sunday was a doozy. We woke up to a sweet puppy dog who looked like this: 

Botany in route to the vet Sunday morning. 

If you can't tell, her right ear was so swollen that it was seriously droopy. See how perky and cute her left ear is? Well, turns out she was suffering from an ear hematoma. Which meant surgery. Not quite my idea of a Sunday Funday. 

She went into surgery around noon and got picked up around 5:00pm. Sweet girl was so sad.  

Lucky for her, she had a very sweet lady come to check on her. 

Mads was so concerned about Botany as C was changing her bandages. 

The rest of the evening was spent staring at this dog.  Listening to her breathe snore. Y'all, let me tell you, every time something scary happens to one of our dogs (read: fur children) I can't help but imagine how I will be with real children. I was crying when they brought her out to us at the vet.  I  just can't stand to see my sweet girl in pain. Needless to say, for my emotional well being, it will be a while before I can bring another human into this world.  

That's a wrap on our weekend.  Back to the grind today. Looking forward to an uneventful and peaceful week spent with family at the beach.

xo, 

SVH

Five on Friday

I'm on a work "retreat" today, so I wrote this bad boy in advance. I know, impressive. But, I thought I would keep it short and sweet. In honor of the weather man's announcement that "the 90s are here to stay", here are my top 5 things to do to beat the heat in Charleston. 

1.  The Beach

Charlestonians are a lucky bunch.  We are surrounded by water, with at least three beaches to choose from on a hot sunny day. If I had to pick a favorite, my vote would go to Sullivan's Island.  I may be biased though, as my best friend grew up there (read: I always have a good parking spot).  Although the beach isn't high on my list of favorite summer activities, I do enjoy a post-beach happy hour at some of Sullivan's local hot spots. If you haven't had a burger (or fish tacos) at Poes, you're basically missing out on life.

Sweet Miss Mads and I. Sullivan's Island Summer 2014.

2. Pools. Any pool. Give a pool.

If I don't have a pool in my backyard during this lifetime, it will be a crying shame.  Growing up, my grandmother had a pool. During the summer months, I would pitch a fit until someone would take me there, and once I was there I would just play - all day.  Granny used to have to bribe me to get out by offering ice creams just so my poor fingers would have a chance to un-prune.

Unfortunately, pools are a bit of a hot commodity in Charleston. If you don't live in at apartment community that has one, you are definitely keeping a short life of your friends who do.  Luckily, I still have access to one or two from time to time, and you best believe I am sucking up to those friends every chance I get.

3.  Boating. This girl will choose the boat over the pool or beach any day. Hell, the boat can be tied up to the dock for all I care. As long as I have a drink in my hand and a salty breeze in my hair, I am golden. I've been known to spend hours laying on the bow of the boat...sitting right at the marina.

I am #blessed to have a Captain husband who accommodates all of my boating needs. 

I mean the view from the bow ain't half bad.

4. The River.

There is a little piece of heaven just south of Charleston known as the Edisto River. My in-laws just happen to own a little slice of heaven in a quaint little town (read: area of the side of 17 south) called Jacksonboro.  We fondly refer to our little slice as Pon Pon (not be confused with Pon Pon Plantation - our slice ain't that big). My favorite thing to do in the summer (well, really any time of year) is to escape the hustle and bustle of town and head down to the river.  With a long dock that plops you straight into the fresh water of the Edisto, it truly is an amazing little place. Whether it be just C and I, the whole family, or a group of friends, this place never disappoints.

View from Pon Pon's dock at sunset.

Just last year, we started a new tradition: The Annual River Run.  We gather up as many friends as we can accommodate (and as many as the boats can accommodate) and run from Sullivan's Island to the house on the Edisto.  It is about a 4 hour trip one way.  These trips are the definition of the most epic weekends to exist.

C and I. River Run 2k14.

My bestie, Lucy, and I. River Run  2k15

5. Morris Island.

There is a gem of place just across the Charleston Harbor. Tucked neatly behind Fort Sumter. Where all dignity goes to die.  It's a little place called Morris Island.  If you're from Charleston or ever visited Charleston during a major summer holiday, I'm sure you've heard of it.  Things get weird.

via

People (and their boats) from all over come out and tie one on.  Lots of debauchery and drinking to be done. It can be a hot mess, but I tell you what. I wouldn't have it any other way on the Fourth of July.  

Obviously, C's true colors run on holiday's like these. 

There you have it. My five favorite ways to keep cool (and have a damn good time) during hot Charleston summers!

xo, 

SVH

Thursday Thoughts

I figure it is high time I tell y'all what the heck I've been up to over the last (almost) two years. So here are my thoughts on that.

Well, there's marriage. I (we've) been figuring that one out for the last two years. Living a sweet little life in the burbs of Charleston (still in the same rental house - more on that later) with our fur children. Remember them? 

Buoy on the left. Botany on the right. 

We've celebrated two whole years of marital bliss. Which means two anniversaries. Nasty ass year old cake. Paper and cotton gifts. 

We did this adorable photo shoot for our first anniversary. 

C has kept the same job. I've been a social butterfly when it comes to establishing my career. I spent a brief stint writing for Borrowed & Blue. You can check out some of my posts here. They are all over the place (both figuratively and literally - I mean Top Questions for Boulder Wedding Photographers? This is obviously 95% of why I ditched this hobby). Good news is that I'm working for my beloved Alma Mater now, College of Charleston, with my foot in the door of  an industry that I think I can actually see myself growing in.

We've had zero babies. We've been asked 72 times when we're having babies. We have no concrete plan for when we will have babies. I've told my mother, and I'll tell you the same, you can pretty much guarantee the first Hodges child will be a "surprise". 

Speaking of babies, our sweet niece was born just a few days before our wedding. And she's coming to visit this weekend, for a month! 

Miss Madison from Montana

Two of my besties have gotten engaged. We celebrated Paige and Tyler in April, and we're gearing up to celebrate Alex and Jim on August 1st. With these two nuptials came bachelorette parties in Nashville and Litchfield. These two nuptials have also riled up my wedding addiction again. That's where this new wedding Wednesday series comes into play. More on that next week. 

Paige and I.  Y'all, if you haven't already, go visit her blog My Blue Haven. She is the midst of full wedding recap, and to say it is a beautiful thing is an understatement. 

Adorable Alex & Jim. They are going to make the most stunning bride & groom. 

I'm thinking that's a pretty inclusive recap of life right now.  Hope I was able to bring you up to speed.

xo,

SVH