There's a New Dr. in Town

This past weekend, we made a trip back to sweet home Alabama. After a full day of work, we ate dinner and made our way to the airport. The next morning, John and I woke up and met up with his parents to greet his brother and nephew at the airport. From there, we went to his sister Kelly's and had some family time before heading to one of our old Birmingham favorites, Saw's Juke Joint. As usual, John and I pigged out and went 50/50 on wings and a burger with a side of their crispy homemade sweet potato fries. It was a wonderful welcome back gift from the South.

That same afternoon, John and I took his brother to Yellowhammer Creative to browse their screen print shirts, posters, and bags. Thankfully, the store has an online store front in addition to their physical one in Avondale. However, there's something about going to their tiny unassuming store and browsing their limited edition merchandise. We picked up some Alabama (Roll Tide!) merchandise during our last visit. So, this time we chose some Birmingham pride shirts.

After our shirts were bagged, we hopped back in the car and drove a little ways down the road to Seasick Records. I'm sad to say, that it was our first visit to the store. They have been opened up for a few months, but John and I always seemed to be here, there, and everywhere during our final months in town and didn't get a chance to make it out. Even though the store is small, it has a good selection and the people seemed super friendly.

That night, it was time to do what the Lyles do best- eat together. After a little thinking, we opted for Dave's Pizza in downtown Homewood. It's always been one of our go tos. Plus, it gave me an excuse to browse some of the cute Homewood boutiques before they closed for the day.

That evening, we made our way back to Homewood to have coffee with John's brother and our friend Lee. We had our favorite coffee- O'Henry's and split a slice of their heavenly caramel fudge cheesecake. It was divine! Plus, during our time together- we received lots of cute updates from our dear friend Hannah Beth who was taking care of our home and Henry.

The next day was the big day- graduation day! After 4 long years of medical school, a chapter came to a close and my husband became a doctor. Words can't even begin to express just how proud I am of him and all of his accomplishments. Not only did he manage to graduate with flying colors, but he managed to plan an awesome proposal, get married and nurture our growing relationship at the same time. He's an amazing man, to say the least and I couldn't be more thankful. The kids and families that he will work with are going to be pretty dang lucky to have such a sweet man for a doctor.

After graduation, our friends and family gathered for a celebration of John. It was so nice to have everyone together and all to honor John. After the party died down a little, my dad took me to the airport so that I could catch that big bird in the sky and head back to D.C. Although short, it was a fun weekend and the quality time that we got to spend with friends and family was so special to us. Plus, we got to enjoy good old comfort food (including a Chik-fil-a run- oh, how I miss those spicy chicken biscuits). Goodbye for now sweet home, you're too good to us.