Medicine & Manicures

Our Engagement Session: Part 2

Hi, friends!! Today I’m back to share part two of our engagement session (yay!). For the first part of our shoot, we went for a modern city vibe in uptown Charlotte. For our second location, we envisioned a more romantic and whimsical feel. These photos were taken by the lovely CaptureMeCandid Photography at The VanLandingham Estate, a historic bed & breakfast and wedding venue located in the Plaza Midwood neighborhood of Charlotte. The grounds are just stunning and they made the perfect backdrop for our shoot.

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Our Engagement Session: Part 1


Getting engaged to Ryan was one of the happiest days of my life. Every girl dreams of this moment but when it actually happens, time stands still. We chose to have a longer engagement and it’s hard to believe that a year has already gone by! I knew I didn’t want to rush this time, I wanted to savor it. It’s a time of happiness and joy, a time for us to plan our future together, a time of exciting anticipation. And let’s be honest, more time to plan the wedding doesn’t hurt either! You can read more about our wedding details here.




I’m so excited to finally share some of my favorite engagement photos from CaptureMeCandid Photography. After we secured a venue, Lori was the first vendor we booked. Not only does she take amazing photos, but she’s also a blast to work with. Thanks to blogging, Ryan & I have had some experience with the camera, but taking these kind of photos can still seem awkward and unnatural at times. Lori just made us feel so comfortable and kept us laughing and I’m SO in love with all the photos that she captured for our e-sesh.





Ryan & I wanted to split up our session into two locations so today I’m sharing some of the city shots. We started out our shoot at Dandelion Market, the place where we met and had our first date. The rest of the photos were shot in a long corridor by the convention center- I just love the clean lines and neutral background. Enjoy!



Photography: CaptureMeCandid Photography | Hair: Mirror Bomb | Makeup: Erin Ashley Makeup






In case you couldn’t tell, narrowing down my favorite photos was a next to impossible task. Oops! Be sure to check back tomorrow for part two our our engagement session that has some seriously romantic vibes. Have a great day! 







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Weekending: Tacky Christmas Edition


Today might be Monday, but I’m welcoming this week with open arms! I’ll be getting my long white coat on Friday and a Master’s degree on Saturday so you could say I’m a little excited. Make that… totally beyond excited!! This weekend was the beginning of many Christmas festivities so let’s jump right into the recap!














Our last week of PA school has been quite busy with tests, presentations, and advisor meetings, but luckily my classmates have made a point to hang out as much as we can before we all go off our separate ways. We started our test week off right by sporting our tacky Christmas sweaters to class on Thursday. We even had a contest and voted amongst ourselves for the best tacky outfit… and Santa took the cake! 














On Friday, my class took our second PACKRAT which is a practice board exam. I don’t know about you, but I think taking a 225-question test deserves some celebrating. So naturally, we had a fun little night at Raleigh Times which has been our downtown go-to spot for the past 2.5 years. We had our fist major group outing here at the end of our first week of school and I honestly feel like it was just yesterday!














We continued the holiday festivities on Saturday night and made our way to 2 more tacky sweater parties. It was that time again to bust out my handmade vest. It’s a beauty, isn’t it?! I created this masterpiece about 4 years ago and love to bust it out for the holidays whenever I can. I completed my look with a hideous turtleneck, a green skirt, jingle bell earrings, and a light-up necklace. Tacky sweater parties are THE absolute best!





Last but not least, this is how our roommate Jeff feels about living with two women haha 🙂
In other news, I also discovered the magic of Craigslist this weekend. I had never used it before but I was needing to get rid of my furniture. Everything must go! Anyways, I had great responses and sold 3 pieces of furniture in less than 24 hours of posting. That also means that my room is a complete hot mess right now. So I’ll be packing, packing, packing… all week long. Hope you guys had a great weekend as well and thanks for stopping by!

Linking with Biana & Meghan.


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Gift Guide for Him: Under $100


Woohoo, it’s FRIDAY!! Another week gone and I still can’t believe we’re in December… and that I graduate in 8 days. O.M.G. Anyways, I’ve finally made a dent in my Christmas shopping and wrapped a few presents to put under the tree. Is it just me, or are guys WAY harder to shop for than girls?? I know my fiancé is! Today I’m bringing you my second gift guide and sharing all of my picks for him that are under $100. Enjoy!

tech gloves // baseball hat // sweater // plaid tie // Beats headphones
mug // outlet adapter // tile square // rain golf gloves
Fossil wallet // garment bag // pajamas // Timex watch // watch winder

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A Look Inside GW Charlotte


Oh, hey December! The tree is up, the holiday Pandora station is on repeat, and I’m officially ready for Christmas… who’s with me?? Today I’m talking all about finding high-end items at a great price and there’s a new place to do that here in the Queen City. You may have seen my snaps yesterday (khendley) and wondered what this GW store is all about. GW is a Goodwill concept store and the newest thing to hit uptown Charlotte… but it won’t be here for long. More on that in a minute!






I had the opportunity to get a sneak peek of the store and style some outfits last week for the Scoop Charlotte photo shoot. I was so impressed after walking into the store! Megan from Freckled Italian and Dania from Always Dania were also in attendance and we all put together some pretty cute outfits.





Home goods (and the delicious candy bar!)

















Last night I headed back to the store to pick up some goodies. I scored a J.Crew clutch, a grey tunic, and a black Drew tank with leather trim. I had never heard of this brand, but my friend Lindsay who works in fashion said these tops retail for almost $200. I got it for $8.99. Oh, and let’s not forget my most festive item… the tacky Christmas sweater!



All of this for $23!







The great thing about GW that appeals to me is that they have lots of high-end brands of clothing and accessories at ridiculously good prices. The store is now open on the 2nd level of the Epicenter (across from Whiskey River) and will only be open for one week through Sunday, December 6th. Here are the store hours:




Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: 11am – 7pm
Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 10am – 10pm
Sunday: 11am – 5pm
Charlotte may be continuously growing, but the importance of shopping local and helping a good cause continues to have a big emphasis in our community. I hope y’all get a chance to check it out and thanks for reading 🙂

All photos by: Anastasia Merriken





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Fall Neutrals + Frye Boots Under $250

Hello, friends and happy Monday! Today I’m sharing the outfit I wore for half of Thanksgiving… that is, until I realized it was 75 degrees outside! These North Carolina temps can sure be crazy, but I hear we have some cool weather coming our way which is fine by me. I’m not a huge fan of cold weather, but it’s perfectly acceptable during the holidays. When January hits, you’ll find me counting down the days ’til spring. 

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