A Visit From Katie!

Katie & Me

Matt & Me

Two weekends ago (the weekend before my last surgeries) my amazing and adorable sister Katie came up to visit! She arrived Thursday night and stayed until lunch time on Sunday and we had such a great time! Katie is one of my very best friends in the whole wide world and we are very close...we talk at least every other day on the phone and we see each other as much as possible! I absolutely love when Katie comes up to visit Matt and I, but time always flies and it feels like she just got here when before you know it it's time for her to leave...boo.

So, on to our trek around Atlanta...on Friday we went to The Grape in Vinings for lunch and a glass of red wine sangria, which was delicious. After lunch we did some shopping in the area. For dinner we made some great Mexican food and margaritas at home and talked and talked a lot!

On Saturday, while Matt stayed home and watched the World Cup, Katie and I went out. We started the day off with Souper Jenny (my absolute favorite little lunch spot in Atlanta, known for their soups, hence the name!) for lunch, which is a given because every time Katie is in town we go to Jenny! Everything is made fresh daily at Souper Jenny with local ingredients and the menu changes every day (which I love because I am all about variety!) Katie had a turkey pita (the pitas are even made there on the days they're on the menu!) and Greek style coleslaw and I had a cold black bean salad with avocado, corn, tomato and diced jalapenos (mmmmm!) with some yummy fresh fruit. We were then off to one of my new favorite garden & gift stores, Boxwoods, in Buckhead. Katie and I were obsessed! The store is deceivingly small looking from the outside; it is an old house converted into the store and and it feels like it goes on for days, which is wonderful because I loved everything in there! They have beautiful furniture and lamps and home decor (which I am obsessed with all of the items I just listed and could look at them forever!) Boxwoods also is a lovely florist and they feature some beautiful flowers and plants in their greenhouse and garden. I managed to have self control and I walked away with just two adorable planters, but I am already planning a trip back! Now we're off to Jake's Ice Cream store and market, which I had read about, but this was my first visit. Ummm, what was I waiting for? I mean this is the best ice cream I have ever put into my mouth! Katie had the Key Lime Piescream (How much do you love that name?) and I had the decadent Holy Cannoli (of course, it is made with homemade cannolis!) Every bite was delicious! We loved Jake's and will for sure be returning! :)

Welcome to Jake's!

Jake's fun road sign

Inside the shop

Mmmmmm!

Our next stop was the Inman Park/Virginia Highlands area and as if we were not already on a big enough sugar high, we stopped at the lovely Cacao Chocolate Shop. Well, let me tell you that Cacao is The. Cutest. Chocolate. Shop. Ever! Everything is made in house and is so pretty. We got some homemade vanilla marshmallows (if you have never tried homemade marshmallows, you must, because the consistency is soooo much better than store bought, they taste so light and so good!) and a box of assorted salted caramels which were absolutely delectable...we took these items home to save for a treat later!

The sign on the outside of Cacao

The adorable sign next to the entrance

How cute is this place?

Such pretty displays

So much fun!

We then window shopped some of the adorable stores in Virginia Highlands. Next, I took Katie to Decatur because that is the one part of Atlanta that I really enjoy to go to that I had not taken her to see (why? I don't know) and we drove around the cute downtown area. And now it is back to Buckhead and exploring Lenox mall once again. Finally, we decided it was time to go home to eat some good Italian food and drink lots of good red wine. We ordered Alfredo's in for dinner (Matt went to pick it up for us). Alfredo's is this little Italian hole in the wall restaurant, but the food is really good! Sunday morning we got up and I made homemade cinnamon rolls so Katie could try them (I made my first batch months ago and have been making them pretty frequently ever since (and I have to say, they are pretty good))! Katie loved the cinnamon rolls and then it was already time for her to go...

She says that she will be back up to visit soon though and I can't wait!

oxox,
lauren

Time to go under

Well, my surgeries went well and I am happy to be home! All of my surgeries have been outpatient, so I have have been able to come home after each one, which I am grateful for. I am feeling very sore and tender, but I have been able to somehow muster up the strength to type (not that typing takes a lot of strength)! It was a very long day, the OR was running behind, so we had to wait two and a half hours before I was called back for pre-op. I was fine, but I felt bad that Matt and my mom had to wait so long. My mother-in-law came by as well, which was so sweet (she has come to the hospital for all of my surgeries), but normally she arrives after I have been taken back and just waits with Matt and my mom until I have come out of surgery and my oncologist lets them know how the surgeries went. Yesterday when she arrived I was still in the room waiting to go into pre-op and she was surprised to see me sitting there, but it was good to see her before I was taken back. The nurses are wonderful, but I had to be stuck three times before the IV actually worked, because according to every nurse who has ever given me an IV or taken my blood, my veins are very tiny. This is normal for me and painful and I hate it because the nurses always get so upset because they don't want to hurt me, but I understand my veins are just complicated and they are doing their very best. After waiting a while and talking to nurses, anesthesiologists, and my doctor, it was time for surgery. My surgeries were originally scheduled for 1:00pm, but did not start until 5:00pm because the OR was running so behind that morning.

I hate how out of it I feel after being put under. I have been put to sleep for all of my surgeries and the first time I wake up I'm in a room along with other patients and recovery nurses and my body just hurts and I feel very very loopy. After a little bit I am wheeled into another recovery room and my family can come visit me. Yesterday Matt and my mom came in and it felt like I was looking at three of each person! My recovery nurse came in and gave me some Sprite because I have always gotten very sick from the anesthesia. She then told me that I needed to eat a few saltines before I could take any pain medication because it is not good to take them on an empty stomach, especially for me because I react very strongly to medicine. After the anesthesiologist approved that it was okay for me to go home, I got dressed (which is always a daunting task when coming off of anesthesia)! And I was wheeled out to the car.

When we got home I just wanted to wash my face and lay down, which was nice to do in my own bed. My sweet husband went to the store to pick up some ginger ale, my favorite magazines, bandages, paper tape (because I am highly allergic to band-aids and certain adhesives) Vitamin Water Zero (the lemonade and orange flavors (my favorite!)) and some candy for when I was feeling better of course (I am like a child with candy, I love it)! I slept okay last night, but it is difficult to get comfortable because I have so many stitched up areas (I have 48 stitches total) that are delicate and sensitive, but my husband and mom have been taking great care of me!

oxox,
lauren