Miss, now Mrs...

I'll start off my portion of the blogging with a few photos. :)  As many of you know, it's been a busy couple of weeks.  James finished finals on May 16th, family and friends came in town May 15-18, we got married on May 18th, honeymoon from May 18-22, some of my family came back in town from May 22-24, my med school graduation was May 23, we moved into our new apt on May 24 (well, this process is still ongoing...but the majority was on that day), and James is studying crazily for his 1st yr PhD qualifying exams from June 3-6.  Whew!  Then, we have a quick stop in WV for some camping and white water rafting on the New River on the 6th/7th before continuing on our road trip to Iowa, then Michigan for receptions in time to get back by June 16.  I start my residency orientation on June 17, and James also starts his summer research internship on that date.  Did I mention we're exhausted already?  Haha.

As I mentioned, family started arriving in Baltimore on May 15, starting with my lovely new in-laws!  I was able to show them around town a bit until we snatched up James for a study break at the famed Iggie's pizza in the Mount Vernon neighborhood.

Yummy!  We chased the pizza down with some Nutella gelato.

Our wedding day was wonderful!  It was a bit rainy, but we are excited for awesome pictures due to the cloud cover.  We had patches of rain-free weather too, which was nice.  We haven't gotten our photos from our photographers yet (they took tons, so I think that's fair!), but I snagged some off of facebook (thanks friends!).  Note: for those who haven't heard the story - I wore my mom's wedding dress.  It was so fun to share that and meant so much to both of us.  The train was huge though...kept me and Abby busy.  My mom married her James 30 years ago in the same dress! :)

Here's a photo of us at the wedding party table at our reception (courtesy of April...thanks!).  Not sure what face I'm making, but I kind of like the photo.

James definitely took his time finding the garter.  He blames the all the dress fabric, I think.  (thanks Anna, for the photo!)

Our first dance together! He's such a stud!  Love him. :) (photo courtesy of Hali!)

Again, such a handsome hubby! (thanks, Monica, for snapping this one!)

  

Driving past the temple a few hours after our wedding down to our honeymoon in Williamsburg, VA.  We had a blast at a quaint B&B, exploring colonial Williamsburg and the Jamestown (James loved that!) settlement, and a few hours at a chilly/sandy/yet sunny Virginia Beach before heading back to Baltimore.

Dr. Lauren Clough Pringle.  Nobody needs to call me "Dr." though...I guess the patients can.  So weird to have that title.

Our teeny, tiny new apt!  Something like 450 sq feet studio.  It's not toooo shabby though: unlike my previous "hovel", my dad approved (he was disgusted by my last apt, haha), there have been no centipede or other unmentionable insect sightings, there is an a/c unit, bathroom inside the apt, dishwasher(!), and washer/dryer(!).  Plus, wifi in the lounge, pool on the roof...it's definitely a step up.  This photo was taken just after our new bed was delivered but before the deluge of boxes poured in.  No photos of the post-boxes state - it is too overwhelming.

At our kitchen table with our first homemade meal in the apartment together: "restorative medicine" (haha fellow Hopkins med-ites...I do love this dish though) quinoa with stir-fry veggies, turmeric, chickpeas, and feta. Hubby-tested, doctor-approved!

One of my jobs on memorial day (that caused us to miss two BBQs with friends...that, and James' studying): to meet up with my dad and brother in Harrisburg with some high maintenance cargo: The Orchids.  Given, this was my own doing - I chose huge live orchids for my centerpieces and so needed to get them to Michigan for that reception.  My dad and Ben were kind enough to humor me, but the orchids are sensitive to temperature changes and sunlight so the boys took the Neon to philly to watch their championship lacrosse games, and I met up with them in the minivan with all seats down and the back filled with orchids and windows covered with tissue paper.  They survived the journey and look lovely, but it was definitely not my dad's/brother's favorite project.

Something exciting this week: our new house is scheduled to start being built!  Once we found out we'd be in Baltimore for 5 or 6 more years, and with interest rates the way they are, we did LOTS of math and prayed, and decided to buy a home!  After searching for a while, we decided to go with a new townhome in Greektown, only 3 minutes from Bayview and 10 minutes from Hopkins.  It is scheduled to be finished around late Sept/early Oct so we'll be in our tiny studio only until then.  This means another move really soon, but awesomeness for several years straight with no other moves for a while!  We've had so much fun choosing layout, flooring, etc., but homebuying/homeownership is not without its stressors so we will be relieved when we're finally in the beautiful new home.