Introducing BELLA Misra!

Well here she is!!!

On Wednesday last week we drove to Raleigh to pick up our little precious Bella-boo who had flown all the way from Oklahoma to be her new family :)  Rup and I spent many years of long distance flying to see each other so how appropriate that Bella would arrive on an airplane to see us!

Our friends Kandi & Chris went with us, they are super experienced with dogs and it was nice to have them with us! Chris was working in Greensboro for the week so Kandi, Rup, and I picked him up in Greensboro and stopped at a couple wineries along the way to Raleigh, it was so much fun!

Here we are at Grove Winery & Vineyard

This one is at Iron Gate Winery

After stopping for dinner at a delicious Mongolian BBQ place and Coldstone for dessert we finally picked our baby up at the airport! And of course I have a million pictures of her...

This is our first family picture together :)

Bella snuggling up to her dad

Kisses for mommy

A little overwhelmed by all the love in the car ride home

She loves this throw pillow!  And even though daddy doesn't let her get on it, I do when he's not paying attention...

How can you get mad at this face for sleeping on the throw pillow

She has some fine dining china as her grandpa called it

She loves playtime with daddy

You know she is my girl when she loves laying in purses (and she's into shoes too!)  She especially liked aunt Melissa's purse this time. 

"Ya I know I'm cute, so watcha lookin at?"

All the playing wears her out really fast.  Eat. Play. Pee. Poop. Sleep. Repeat. 

Lounge time while mommy & daddy watch tv

Spoiled with all her toys!

While she is definitely a handful, I wouldn't give her back or trade her for a single thing.  Rup & I are enjoying and getting used to puppyhood.  It's been quite an adjustment but we love Bella to death :) 

Rup's First Day of Work

As I said last week how I couldn't wait to support my husband on his first day of work the way he supported me on mine last Saturday, today was his day!  After 4 years of medical school followed by 4 years of an Emergency Medicine residency, my husband finally went to work as an ER attending today for the first time!  He is currently still at work so I don't have any news on how his day is going but I am certain he is doing just fine.  He has worked so hard for this career and I know that he is prepared for his new job.  I am a very proud wife today :) 

Here is my handsome husband before leaving for his first attending shift today :) 

These are the new scrubs I got him for his new job and surprised him with, he absolutely loves them! 

Life is so exciting for both of us right now with new jobs, a new puppy on the way (in 3 days!!!), a new place (more pictures to come soon), new friends, and a new city.  Our life seems so perfect right now, we are so blessed, lucky, and HAPPY!

Speaking of a new city, here are some of my favorite photos of Charlotte:

I cannot take any credit for any of these photos but I do plan on scoping out some places to photograph the Charlotte skyline at some point in the near future!

Wine a bit why don't you?

I got the inspiration for this blog post surprisingly from my new job.  I have now officially worked as a licensed pharmacist for a full week (and survived it!). Every time friends or family ask me how my job is going, I find myself saying repeatedly that I love everything about it...except the whiny customers....


 Not like the whiny customers were really a huge surprise to me.  After 7 years of experience in retail pharmacy, you kind of get used to the fact that more than 50% of your patients are either 1) sick and grumpy or 2) high maintenance and whiny.  The other approximately 50% or less of your patients (the kind, patient, and understanding ones) are actually the ones that make your job as a pharmacist very rewarding and worthwhile.  Such is true of any job in the healthcare OR retail field really .  Mine just happens to be both.  Nonetheless, I LOVE my job.  And there is nothing I experience at work that involves negative customers that I can't treat with a glass of wine when I get home.  So I'm all set.

So I found myself saying in my head a lot this past week when dealing with annoying customers "Why don't you whine a little more?"  And then I thought to myself "well actually keep whining", because then I can justify a glass of wine after work when I get home.


Not that there is really any shortage of wine at our place...

The above built in wine rack probably looks familiar from a previous blog post, but now it is actually 100% full (a fringe benefit of my hubby finally moving down to Charlotte and bringing the rest of our wine collection down with him).  And it has a very appropriate sign under it - we do however LOVE entertaining and sharing our wine with friends :)




In fact, he brought so much that the overflow had to be stored in the bottom section of our bar shelf....





While we were unpacking all of our things that arrived from Michigan,  we were reminiscing about trips we have been on and memories we've made together, especially all the wineries we have been to.  Wine tasting is our absolute favorite hobby to do together and is at the top of our list of common interests we have.  We now even belong to TWO wine clubs - Cooper Vineyards and Prince Michel Vineyard & Winery, both of which are located in Virginia and have phenomenal wine!


The rest of this post is just a compilation of photos in no particular order from some of the wineries we have been to together and an explanation for the amount of wine bottles we have!

 Afton Mountain Vineyard, Charlottesville, VA

Cardinal Point Winery, Charlottesville, VA

 A friend's private wine tasting of wine he made, Michigan

 Rup relaxing at Raylen Winery, Mocksville, NC

Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery, Sonoma, CA

 Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery, Sonoma, CA 

 Adobe Road Winery, Sonoma, CA

Island Winery, Hilton Head, SC

 Horton Vineyard, Charlottesville, VA

Veritas Winery, Charlottesville, VA

 Sutter Home Winery, Napa Valley, CA

Virginia Wine Expo 2011, Richmond, VA

 Virginia Wine Expo 2010, Richmond, VA

 Chateau Chantal, Traverse City, MI

Two Lads Winery, Traverse City, MI

Bowers Harbor, Traverse City, MI

 Left Foot Charley Winery, Traverse City, MI

 L. Mawby Vineyards, Traverse City, MI

  L. Mawby Vineyards, Traverse City, MI

Good Harbor Vineyards, Traverse City, MI

 Bel Lago Vineyards, Traverse City, MI

 Williamsburg Winery, Williamsburg, VA (Our FIRST winery together!)

 Jefferson Vineyards, Charlottesville, VA

 Virginia Food & Wine Festival, 2009, Richmond, VA

 Robert Mondavi Winery, Napa Valley, CA

 Castillo de Amoroso, Napa Valley, CA

Trinchero Winery, Napa Valley, CA

 Kendall Jackson Winery, Sonoma, CA

Sterling Vineyards, Napa Valley, CA

 Sterling Vineyards, Napa Valley, CA

Sterling Vineyards, Napa Valley, CA

Whitehall Lanes Winery, Napa Valley, CA

Grgich Hills Organic Winery, Napa Valley, CA




We are so excited to continue to explore our love for wine in the beautiful state of North Carolina at all the wineries it has to offer :)