Kate Elizabeth Bladergroen

7.22.11

It's official - and the most perfect sweet name!

Congrats again, Kacy & Brett!

She's Here!!

Baby Kate (for now... still working on the official name)

The precious baby Bladergroen arrived this morning - an even 7lbs. Below is the beaming, beautiful Kacy fresh from labor (amazing, right?) with her new baby girl.

So happy and excited for you both! We're sending our love and prayers your way - can't wait to meet her!!

~ Laura, Jay and Uncle Murphy

May River Supper Club

Last night was the first May River Supper Club gathering, hosted by Scott & Jen Leiti. They have such a beautiful house - perfect for entertaining.

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The theme was Wine & Dine and was kicked off with a competitive wine tasting. Scott ran the tasting and it was so much fun! Each guest had to bring two bottles of the same Chardonnay, wrapped so that the label could not be read. Scott then placed a sleeve over each bottle with "A", "B", "C", "D", and "E". We had to rate each wine on

different characteristics, and then the wine with the highest score won. Guess who won... Jay & Laura! Thanks, Publix!

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The 5 contestants are pictured below center: winners from the left to right.

For the main course we had a delicious pork tenderloin with mango salsa, rice pilaf & grilled asparagus.

On a related note, Mom sent me a clipping from the FM newspaper this week - an article about supper clubs and how they are becoming very popular; a revival in social supper clubs brought on in part by the economic situation, but just as much about friendship as food. Here's to good friendships and good food in the Low Country. The article featured a book by Debi Shawcross, "Friends at the Table: The Ultimate Supper Club Cookbook". You can also read Debi's blog: Table Talk. So, check it out, start a supper club...Enjoy

Pictured below are some pictures from the night. It was so much fun. I think we'll have one dinner/month going forward - oh the possibilities!

We're not in Kansas (read: Atlanta) anymore...

Well, it's official: the Prodigal son has returned to the Low Country and we are officially residents of Bluffton, SC. Although there are some things that we miss about Atlanta, our first month of life here at 51 Myrtle Island has been wonderful - truly fantastic.

We moved over Memorial Day weekend and haven't looked back. With two national holidays and 3-day weekends flanking our move, it has been a "welcome home" month.

Some of our favorite things are:

- Bluffton Farmer's Market every Thursday evening (happy hour :) )

- The dock & boat (sadly, the boat is in the shop... but will return to us soon)

- Joe & Alice's new puppy (Murphy's play toy) - Nutmeg

- Our old & new friends

- The gym we joined

- The May River Supper Club

- NO TRAFFIC!!!

Year One

It's been One Year! We can't believe it - like Dad said "It'll be a flash in the pan". To celebrate, Jay and I decided to make an homage home to Fort Myers for a weekend of fun in the sun. We had a celebratory lunch on the water with all four of my Grandparents, Mom, Dad, and Marcus at The Three Fisherman - the new location in N Ft Myers where Pincher's Crab Shack used to be. Really - what a location! The restaurant is a Fort Myers staple, and while the old location off of 41 is still there - you really can't beat the new location right over the N bridge.

Later in the evening, we enjoyed the sights and sounds in downtown Fort Myers for Music Walk, and then had a great dinner at the new Morgan House.

The weekend was too short - so we'll be planning another trip to FM soon...

To commemorate - here is the engagement photo where it all began.

Ok - Confession: this is not the engagement photo - just a re-make because the REAL photo features me about 3 minutes after waking up on Thanksgiving morning 2008...Jay, on the other hand, was showered, shaved, and wearing a suit. So, I made him do a re-take at our "Toast the Newlyweds" party last May on Hilton Head.

The Mountain of Stone

Last Spring, Jay and I had a couples outing with Tiffany and Stew (the soon-to-be newlyweds!) to Stone Mountain. We hiked up the mountain and had a picnic and it was SUCH a pretty day, so in honor of the coming spring... here's my favorite pic from the day - at the top!

A little honey with my moon...

Jay and I spent a wonderful week following our wedding in Costa Rica - the first 4 days in Guanacaste, soaking up the sun, sand and surf. We went off-shore fishing in search of some Marlin (better luck next time), and following the coast, we had a ride through the Costa-Rican countryside, ending up in the rain forest in the Arenal Volcano region. We stayed at the amazing Tabacon resort - truly like the Garden of Eden. We had another few days of adventures - hikes to the volcano, dips in the hot springs, horse-back riding (it was kind of like that scene in Swiss Family Robinson where the family is having a field day race on different animals, only we were just on horses), and the BEST part of the whole trip - the zip line! It was like being in an episode of Life on the Discovery Channel. Awesome. On the flight back, we sat near a National Geographic photographer - giving us something else to set our sights on as we embark on life together... in my next career, I will be a National Geographic photographer.

Enjoy some pics from the honeymoon!

Going to the Chapel

It's official: We are now Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Bacon Fraser IV, and married life is blissful. The wedding couldn't have been better - everything was magical. The week leading up to the wedding, Fort Myers' weather was anything but calm. It was windy (blustery at times), it rained a bit, was chilly at night, and then Saturday came. The wind stopped. The bugs laid down. The water was like glass. Not a cloud in the sky. And it was a cool 72 degrees...Wow. We were married at 5PM, on the vernal equinox (we are Spring people - it's our season), then partied-down with Full Circle (thanks Paige & Anna) at the Burroughs Home and Gardens. What a beautiful, beautiful setting it was (and I can say that as I really had nothing to do with planning the wedding. My mother is a Saint, and Erleene & Rhonda have the touch.). Thanks to everyone who helped with the wedding. Jay and I felt so surrounded and loved during this time and we will never forget it. I have attached some of the favorite-so-far pictures, and will add more once we receive the official wedding photographer photos.

Love always, Laura Fraser

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