I'm Baaaack!

It's been nearly a year since my last entry and I've been oh-so-busy that I've had zero time to blog.

Not really. I'm just lazy.

Quick recap: Lots has happened since the last entry in June of last year, but don't worry, I won't bore you with the details of it. Besides, the 6 of you who actually read this, already know what the hell I've been doing. In January, for Mike's 30th, I threw him a surprise party:

I'm a totally awesome wife and worked super hard to pull the big ol' reveal off. He totally had no idea, and also had no idea I was slowly siphoning money out of our bank account to pay for said surprise party. The poor kid had some big shoes to fill and didn't want to let me down when it came to my birthday (who would?) So, I made it easy and announced that I wanted to go on vacation for my 30th birthday. The way I looked at it, why spend all that money on another party when we could just spend it all on ourselves? Exactly. Besides, all our friends were turning 30 and everyone's spouse was throwing them a "surprise" 30th birthday party. Uh, newsflash...when everyone you know throws their spouse a "surprise" party, it's hardly a surprise. I mean, you can't possibly expect us to believe that your spouse didn't expect this party (and in some cases, likely helped plan it). I also would like to add that Mike's birthday was in January, so I totes threw the first party. I'm such a trend setter. Booya.

But, I digress. So we decided to do the ultimate roadtrip since there were a couple stops we wanted to make, with the ultimate destination being New Orleans. A super good friend moved down there in September of last year and we've been anxious to visit him. So, the plan was to stop in Memphis on the way, move on to NOLA and then stay a few nights in Nashville on the way back. We were gone for 10 glorious days and we had the time of our lives. First stop: Silky O'Sullivan's while in Memphis. The drink you see before you is fondly referred to by Memphians as The Diver...and yes, I drank it all:

And then Mike finished his on Beale Street. We're classy like that:

Upon arriving in NOLA, Mikey Meredith (Birchwood bestie #2) promptly took us to Bourbon to Lafitte's for a beer, or two, or three and I heard my first ever live Zydeco band (who stole my chicken?)

We ended the night on Frenchman Street to listen to live Reggae. It was hot, humid, and I was hammered:
Nothing says Easter Sunday like an afternoon spent at Pat O'Brien's, consuming several hurricanes near the infamous fountain:

Clearly, a trip to New Orleans would not be complete without Benignets:

And a 30th birthday dinner cooked in true NOLA fashion (it's fire chicken!) by one of my bestest buds at his place:

Nashville was the last stop and the BBQ was to.die.for:

Last stop was the Grand Ole Opry, and was a great way to cap off an amazing vacation:

I couldn't have asked for a better vacation, a better family, better friends, or a better husband. In true Sue fashion, my 30th birthday lasted about 3 weeks total. If you count the dinners from my parents prior to our trip, the trip itself and the week following when we celebrated back home with friends, one might reflect and say I had a pretty ridic fab birthday. And I did. I wouldn't have it any other way <3