meet my new friends

Last weekend David and I headed to Ocala for a wonderful long weekend with my parents. It also meant that I could finally meet two of my newest and perhaps sweetest friends - Judd and Olivia. Some of my dearest friends recently had their babies and I was so thrilled that it worked out that I could visit them both last weekend.

 

precious judd...son of ross and abby. 

love your sweet family!

{I'm sorry I didn't get more pictures of judd...please forgive}

on saturday, mom and I drove to tampa to visit pamela and her new bundle of joy olivia grace

she's such a sweet mama and olivia is quite expressive

{also, you may notice her dainty pianist hands}

here I am telling olivia how important it is to touch up your roots in a timely manner :)

 

mimi, pamela, mary caroline, olivia grace and mom

we had such a fun girls day! love your sweet family too!

two weeks notice

We gave our two weeks notice and are happily back in Tallahassee! David found out only two weeks ago that he was transferring to FSU College of Law and in two weeks we had to pack up our house and lives in Birmingham and be in Tallahassee stat. No big deal.

But we are here - where we belong. Where I don't feel anxious or lonely because I miss my friends and family...or the tornado prone weather. Transferring to FSU has answered a lot of prayers. And I am SO unbelievably proud of David and this accomplishment.

In a quick 14 days we said our goodbyes to our Birmingham friends we had made but know that we will see them again. Afterall, Birmingham is the Ruffles' location of choice!

Now that we're back in Tallahassee I'm on temporary "vacation" while I look for a job. And in case anyone wants to help here are the qualifications: stable, full-time, benefits. Is that too hard to ask?!

Overwhelmed has been the ever-present emotion I've been feeling for the last few weeks. But as I woke up in Tallahassee on Saturday morning I was at peace. Happy to be home - grateful for God's comfort and divine plan. 

on the monday before we moved we went to el barrio with some of our friends we had made through cumberland...it was a bittersweet goodbye

 

some of david's closest friends - jonathan, david, carter, and kaitlyn

and of course, one last meal at saw's bbq!

on wednesday we packed up a moving truck {larger than what we moved to birmingham in!} and david drove it to tallahassee. I had to work until that friday, but to pass the time I tried to cram as many of my favorite birmingham hot spots into 48 hours...

 since our house was now empty, I was lucky enough to get to stay with my sweet friend lynne and she and her husband made my last two days in birmingham most enjoyable. on thursday night we celebrated my last night in birmingham at bottega!

 lynne, leigh, and moi

I was so happy that lynne's daughter leigh joined us - last thursday was even her due date but they welcomed sweet allie into the world last saturday night - congratulations!

 my favorite pizza

and to top the night off...frank stitt was in the restaurant! a perfect ending.

one last cookie{s} from icing on the cookie...but don't worry, they ship!

I left for tallahassee immediately after work on friday and got in pretty late. but this is what greeted me when I arrived :)

pomp it up

Well, we have another successful grad in the world! Last Friday my brother Michael graduated with honors from the University of North Florida! We were all there to celebrate on a job well done. After graduation we headed down to St. Augustine beach to eat some delicious fried shrimp at Osteens and hit up the outlets.

David and I stayed the rest of the weekend in Jacksonville with friends Mike and Courtney. They just bought their first house in the historic Avondale area and we were excited to be their first official houseguests. It just so happened that some of our other friends were in town too that weekend so we had a big dinner party on Saturday night! Mike and David, the culinary husbands, cooked a delicious meal. We had a wonderful time with the Williams family and enjoyed all their hospitality - thank you!

where's michael?!

in the running for christmas card 2012

sk with her uncle michael

the original three

proud parents

the brothers

michael took us on a tour of osprey radio where he's been hitting the airwaves for the past 2 years

michael radcliffe, station manager

also known as dj tanner

we're so proud of you michael!!

gift giving time...but nothing tops the gift my parents surprised michael with on the way back to jacksonville...a new blonde casino guitar! pretty spiffy if I do say so myself.

totally worth it

our sweet zinnias in the williams's guest room

it's official

I am now a licensed Interior Designer. NCIDQ Certificate holder no. 28932 to be exact.

And finally, here is the proof to show it!! I know most of you already know of this accomplishment {I'm very proud of myself, can you tell?!} but I was waiting for this physical certificate before I announced it on the blog. So here it is, hot off the press. However, I'm planning to fancy it up a good bit with a nice frame job.

I'm just glad I don't ever have to take that test again! To sum up my feelings on it all: I'm just...relieved. Also, thank you to all my dear friends and family for all their love, encouragement, and well wishes. And for all the sweet treats and cards you sent my way!

p.s. You're lucky I spared you the press release they sent with this certificate! But if you ask nicely, I might just send you one.

caddy jones

This past weekend in Ocala was another big event - Abby's baby shower. Abby and Ross are expecting baby Judd in September and all the Radcliffe ladies were happy to help her celebrate! It was an adorable golf themed shower as Judd's daddy is a big golfer. The invitation even said "daddy's little caddy is on the way" and we are all looking forward to his arrival.

Abby was beaming and looked so beautiful. It was great to get to see some Ocala friends that I don't get to see that often. I wish we could've spent more time together but the weekend hours are just not long enough.

I can't wait to meet you baby Judd!

hostesses with the mommy-to-be

golf green cupcakes

audrey and christine

excited grandmothers and aunt megan

sk loved the white chocolate covered pretzel sticks

judd got a lot of cute gator accessories

gift from moi...thanks mint julep monograms for the cute seersucker snack square!

best shirt...pick me up, I dig older chicks

tasty favors!