The Bostonians Visit Charlotte!

Last weekend my best friend Janani and her husband Deepak came to visit us in Charlotte!!! We were so excited to have them and show them around since they are considering a move down south!

The first night they were here we HAD to take them to our favorite Mexican restaurant Cantina 1511!  It was the most appropriate choice given the countless Taco Bell/Casa Grande runs Janani & I made all through high school.  We enjoyed dinner out on the patio and it was a beautiful night!  We also made sure to show them around uptown before the night ended.

The next day, we took them to Birkdale Village.  This area of shopping and dining reminds me of the west end in Richmond where Janani & I grew up so I had to make sure she saw it.  Seeing as shopping was and is one of our favorite things to do together in our free time, I had to make sure she approved of the shopping scene ;) Bella joined us for this trip and had such a great time exploring!

 

The lovely couple enjoying Birkdale Village:

 Next stop: LAKE NORMAN!  A must see in Charlotte and a source of much fun & relaxation!  If we're lucky, we'll get to live on it some day....a girl can only dream!

 Bella loved playing outside with us despite the heat!

 We definitely took advantage of the beautiful weather and scenery!

After leaving the lake we decided to give them a tour of all the mansions and castles belonging to Charlotte's race car drivers and other rich individuals on Jepson Rd in Cornelius.    If only we could live in one of those...sigh, once again a girl can dream. 

Since much of our plans are always centered around food, we decided the day they were leaving to just grill out poolside and relax before they had to catch their flight home. 

And by grill out, I mean the men cooked while the ladies relaxed and hung out :) 

I was so sad the weekend ended and these two had to head home, but I am so grateful that Janani and I became such close friends back in high school and have maintained our friendship despite being so far apart.  We are looking forward to visiting them in Boston next spring :) 

First Panthers Game!

Whenever you move to a new place, there are so many "firsts" you get to experience.  Its what makes the whole change exciting!  This weekend we went to our first Carolina Panthers game together at the Bank of America stadium!

Not only our first Panthers game, but our first NFL game!  They played (and beat) the Miami Dolphins in the preseason game! 

Even better - our tickets were paid for by Rup's work so it was a lot of fun hanging out with and meeting his co-workers!  Not to mention we had awesome seats!!!

We are so excited to go to many more Panthers games together since this is our new city and new life together!  Not to mention, I love their shade of blue!  However, Rup will always be loyal Detroit Lions fan as he makes it a point to remind everyone!

We will have to get this little girl ready for NFL season too and get here one of these!  And of course one of these for college football season!

Ships Ahoy! It's a Boy! Cooper Quay is on his way....

This past weekend we celebrated my friend Christy's upcoming bundle of joy!  Cooper Quay is set to make his appearance and join Christy & Mike on September 5th and we couldn't be more happy for them!  Her friends did such a great job hosting & decorating for her baby shower!

Christy had a great time opening ALL of her gifts! Loved her facial expressions, this is one of my favorites:

Our friends Heather & Matt recently added to their little family as well and I finally got to meet little Eli who attended the shower with Heather, he is a sweetheart!

So excited to meet baby Cooper soon!

As a result of Christy's baby shower we got to see some of our other dear friends - the Easleys!!!!  We had so much fun together the day before the shower just hanging out poolside and going out.  It was so good seeing them because we miss them so much!

We matched!

Aren't they adorable!!!

Speaking of babies and bundles of joy, while Rup & I are not ready for all of that excitement, we do have a new baby of our own who we are so excited about, Bella makes everyday a new adventure for us and we are so content with our little family for now :) 

This picture makes me so happy because it reminds me of so many good times I had in pharmacy school with these KE sisters.  So glad we were all reunited for a short time due to some of life's precious moments <3

Queen's Feast

The Queen's Feast is also known as Charlotte Restaurant Week!  Between our hectic work schedules with new jobs and getting Bella, it has been hard for us to have a social life recently.  Lucky for us, Charlotte restaurant week was all last week! As newcomers to the city we definitely are excited to explore Charlotte's dining options and what better way to do so?!  Our schedules cooperated a few days and we were able to take advantage :)  We kicked off the week with our friends Kandi & Chris and headed out to Aria, an upscale Italian restaurant in uptown.  It is byfar one of the best Italian restaurants we have ever been to and I highly recommend it to Italian lovers!

We always have such a wonderful time with Kandi & Chris whether its just lounging around in our apartments watching tv together, having play dates with our dogs, grilling & hanging out poolside, eating out, or shopping!  We are so happy that we met such a wonderful couple at our apartment complex upon moving to Charlotte and formed a lasting friendship so quickly :)

The next day, Rup & I headed out to dinner with our friends Melissa & Jim but this time we headed down to the Southpark area for some casual American dining at BrickTops.  Sadly, we didn't take any pictures at this restaurant but enjoyed a night of dining, wining, & great conversation with great friends.  Melissa & I work the same backbone Rite Aid pharmacist schedule which is great because it means we have the exact same days off together :)

We ended our week on the last day of restaurant week immediately after returning from Richmond this past weekend with Kandi & Chris (AGAIN!) at Cantina 1511 in Dilworth.  Every time Rup & I had visited Charlotte prior to moving here, we ate at this restaurant because Mexican food is our FAVORITE to eat together and this is hands down the BEST mexican restaurant in Charlotte.  Their live guac is the best guac I've ever had and I keep trying to steal the recipe.  I'll admit Rup has come pretty darn close and makes a pretty tasty guac dip! While all the portion sizes and meals for restaurant week were huge, Cantina 1511's FOUR course meal leftovers are still being consumed in the Misra household to this day! And we love it :) 

While I've enjoyed eating out a lot recently, I have missed cooking and plan to cook a lot more during the next couple of weeks on my days off, so be sure to check back for some delicious recipes!

Mr. & Mrs. Jason Whitlow

Wedding season continued this past weekend when our friends Jason & Holly got married in Richmond!  We were excited to head back to Richmond for a weekend not only to celebrate with Jason & Holly but to see my family again.  Most importantly, Bella got to meet her grandparents and her uncle, they all LOVED her so much and she had such a great time playing with new people and exploring a new place as any curious and energetic puppy would.  

I just love her to death!

Back to the main event...

 Saturday afternoon Jason & Holly tied the knot at the church they started attending together when they started dating.

 Holly was such a beautiful & HAPPY bride as she walked down the aisle with her dad.

 "You may now kiss the bride!" and Jason didn't waste any time!

 Introducing Mr. & Dr. Whitlow as the pastor said!

 Their first dance as husband & wife :) 

 Rup was so sick all weekend with a summer cold & bronchitis but he was such a trooper and though he skipped the church ceremony so that he wouldn't cough thru the entire thing, he attended the reception with me because he didn't want to miss it and wanted to congratulate the happy couple.  

 Pharmacy school kids :) I miss these friends so much now that we've all gone our separate ways into the real world but it is so nice to be reunited again at such happy occasions! 

Congratulations Jason & Holly, we wish you all the best and so much love and happiness in your new life together! Love you both!