NC WASN'T ALL CAR TROUBLE

Nope, it sure was not (thankfully). But it was a lot of:

Laughing

Chatting

LIFE (yes, the game from when you were 10)

Mad Men

Checking out new rides (didn't even know they made air conditioned seats! but I like 'em)

Pajamas 'til noon

Beer

Good food

Tornadoes

Window shopping at cute boutiques

Relaxation

So relaxed, in fact, that we only took one picture the whole time...oops.

Pretty successful visit with Kev & Shan if I do say so myself. 

WHO NEEDS STARBUCKS

Trying to make my way home today. Left at 7:30a.m. for the three-hour drive to where my poor baby is stuck. Only one problem. Car's not fixed yet. Another couple hours they tell me. 


Not a problem, I'll go to Starbucks or some coffee shop and start season two of Mad Men. Only one problem. I forget I'm in Henderson, North Carolina. No Starbucks, no coffee shops at all actually. There's a Walmart, a Belk, a Dollar Store, a Cracker Barrel, a Waffle House, and a handful of fast-food restaurants.


Walmart, Belk and Dollar Store didn't seem so conducive to sitting for a couple hours and I'd feel guilty wasting a poor server's space at Waffle House or Cracker Barrel so out of McDonalds, Wendys, Burger King, Taco Bell and Chick-fil-a, I decide my safest bet to find decent coffee is Chick-fil-a (how ironic.)


JACKPOT.

$1.28 for a small coffee (with free refills), all-I-can-drink free water, free wi-fi, a private booth with my feet up, sweet little old ladies working so hard that keep asking me if I need a refill yet and dropping off free mints, and christian radio on the loud speaker.


Hanging out in Chick-fil-a. Best decision ever.

23-HOUR DRIVE TO CHARLOTTE

Last week I decided to take a couple days off work and make a long-weekend trip down to North Carolina to the brother and sister-in-law's new house.


The plan: leave work around 3p.m. on thursday, drive 9ish hours to NC, stay through Sunday and drive back Monday morning. 


I should've known something was bound to happen when I had ruined my plan right off the bat by not leaving work until 4:30; but with a newly fixed car after my blown-up EGR valve 10 days ago, snacks, caffeine, Pam, and a fully-loaded ipod I was ready to go and could foresee only a smooth trip in my future.


I was wrong.


My trusty car made it a good 7 hours when it decided to die again. The same dang EGR valve busted for the second time in 2 weeks at 12a.m. midnight, on the side of highway I-85, in the middle of Henderson, NC, 3 hours away from where I needed to be.


Freak out on the side of the road? Yes please, I think I will.


But God is good and my dad is the perfectly opposite and calming personality to my overreactive personality. He talked me through snailing(?) my way to the next exit to find a gas station which could then direct me to a hotel for the night. On my way to the hotel I passed a Ford dealership (score) and the sweet southern lady at the hotel gave me 50% off my room (double score)!


On friday I was able to get my car over to the dealership, get a rental for the weekend, and after 23 hours, finally arrived in Charlotte!


Now fingers crossed that the car is fixed once and for all by monday in time for me to pick it up on my way back home...

(OLD) ROOMMATE LOVE

Conversations with these two made my night tonight:

(college roomies)

Thank you for being so wonderful. 

FILLIN' THOSE BLANKS

Fill in the Blank

Friday

1.  Today I am wearing     jeans and my $6, light-blue SPREAD THE WORD t-shirt from Gap. Yes, I do work in an office :) the joys of a small company on casual fridays   .

2.  My favorite childhood food was     tacos   and my favorite food  now is   tacos; some things never change  .

3.  A day that I am too busy to      remember to pee before I get stomach pains (tmi?)    is a day that I am too busy.

4.  The last movie I saw was      Up in the Air     and the next movie I want to see is      Eclipse from the Twilight Series. Will they even be making that into a movie? I don't even know...   .

5.  My favorite smell is      burning wood   because,      it smells like Winter; not my favorite season, but my favorite smell...weird   .

6.  A weird little quirk I have is      that I can't stand feeling socks around my ankles or showing above my running shoes, I always have to fold them down to my heel  .

7.  When I take personality quizzes they always say I'm      ISFJ: Slightly Introverted, Moderately Sensing, Moderately Feeling, Slightly Judging   .

EG- WHAT??

This week has been crazy. My car died on Sunday.

By died I mean my EGR Valve (thank goodness for wikipedia) blew up...ON I-95.

A couple tow trucks, some good friends, a generous dad to lend me his car and a few mechanics later, she's OK now and running like new.

I'm hearing the busted valve may have been caused by a clog in the engine or faulty spark plugs or the catalytic converter...

But my professional opinion?

I think she's just mad at me for bringing her to such cold weather. She's a texas car, who can blame her really? She's not built for these freezing temperatures!

It's only Wednesday and I feel like it should be Saturday already! 

FITBF

Time for....

Fill in the Blank 

FRIDAY!

 

1.  The best day ever was     among many, probably the day I graduated college. Not only was the thought of successfully completing 15 years of school amazing, the whole day-long celebration with all my family and best friends, Rudy's barbecue, and Sixth Street was unforgettable; so much love and celebration .

2.  My favorite meal of the day is     breakfast   because   well, it used to be breakfast when I ate eggs and cheese; I'm a sucker for egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches. I could've probably lived off of them no lie .

3.  This weekend      is going to be rainy. Which is perfect because I have taxes that need to be done and a pile of laundry on my dresser that's been growing all week and needs to be put away  .

4.  Never in my life have I      been skiing  .

5.  The only thing better than      ice cream   is      a day off  .

6.  I could really do with some      coffee and a good book right now, curled up on the couch in a toasty blanket  .

7.  The most recent thing I bought myself was     this cute yellow bag; for $10 at Plato's...not sure why someone wanted to get rid of it, but their trash is now my treasure :) thank you very much   .

Now fill in your own blanks and go check out everyone else who played along on Lauren's blog.

MORNING TEA CONCOCTION

"Helps Maintain a Positive Emotional Outlook"

Here's to a Happy Friday

(and even Happier Weekend!)

REASON #17429083 I LOVE BABYSITTING

This cute little one likes to lay dress-up in my shoes just about every time I babysit. Tonight it was my cowboy boots that engulfed her tiny little legs and made her look like she was more boot than body. I especially like the sassiness she instantly acquired upon putting the boots on:


And I had to snap a picture when she started jumping around dancing all over the room.

And of course I couldn't resist videoing the rock out to Miley Cyrus' Party in the USA. Unfortunately I caght the tail end of it and didn't capture the true essence of the performance, but it's enough to make me smile.

Go hang out with some kids today; they're good for the soul.

FLAVOR OF THE WEEK

My most-recent finds that I'm having probably a little too much fun with. Last week it was Fresh Teal, this week Mellow Yellow. What a fun way to bring more color into life.

Next week, Green With Envy or Sun-Kissed Orange?

BVWT (PART 1)

It really hits me how long I've been in Pennsylvania now when I do annual things for a second time.

You might vaguely remember last year, I went wine tasting through the Brandywine Valley Wine Trail with my parents. And now, just like that, before I even know it, it's been a year and it's time for the Wine Trail again. 

Since last year was such a hit, we all got Trail 'Passports' (their snazzy name for a coupon pass that allows you a free tasting at each of the eight wineries on the trail) this year! Yesterday Kyle, Stephanie and I tackled the first few wineries (I don't think I'd be able to taste anything else if we did much more than that!) and in a couple weeks I'll finish up the last ones with the Mom and the Dad.

The last time Kyle, Steph and I went tasting together we were in the beautiful vineyards of California where part of our drive was along the Pacific Ocean, you can pack a picnic lunch to enjoy outside among the vines in the warmth of the 70-degree sunshine, and it's hard to find a wine that you don't like. So we just had to laugh as the sweet smell of Amish farm country (that's my nice way of saying horse doo-doo) greeted us at our first stop, our drive to our second stop was along a good couple miles of an industrial factory and it's yard of scrap metal, and our third stop was tucked in the back of a neighborhood cul-de-sac (seriously). 

A little different and a bit chillier than our last experience, but nonetheless so much fun.

And my favorite wine of the day? A 2009 Merlot from the barrel at Twin Brook Winery.

YESTERDAY LOVE

I loved yesterday. Everything about yesterday. I think I'm still glowing as I sit here to write about it. Why you ask? Well, I will share...

Fifty degrees and bright sunshine. The first time in almost 4 months that I haven't needed my winter coat. Woohoo!

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For Christmas, my sister and brother-in-law gave me a cooking class in the city with this well-known vegan cook, Christina Pirello. It was yesterday and it was amazing. So much fun and not to mention delicious. 
On the menu:

Red Lentil and Millet Soup

Curried Corn and Quinoa

Sweet Roasted Vegetables

rune, Orange, Fennel and Red Onion Salad

Peanut Butter Cookies

Her story is inspiring; she focuses on using whole and natural foods to refocus our bodies and help them to heal themselves. Very interesting, I highly recommend reading her, it will change the way you look at food. 
In an effort to not be the awkward girl in the front row, I wasn't able to snap a picture in the classroom, but not to worry, I DID get a picture of the awesome bathroom:

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A walk through the city in the sun (although it reveals my ghostly winter-white skin color!)  and a trip to Whole Foods, one of my favorite places, always makes for a great day. 

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Potluck dinner at Mrs. Chipman's house with a group of women from church and a special surprise from my sweet friend, Jaime:

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Then the night ended with babysitting for some of my favorites and sinking into my wonderfully soft mattress with this one:

And now it's Sunday morning, and I have a feeling today will give yesterday a run for it's money! It's 52 degrees, sunny and wonderful outside and I should be leaving for church right about now, BUT not today. Today I'm going wine tasting instead, with a couple of my favorite people, Kyle and Steph.


I know, tough life I have, huh? 

EXPERIMENTS WITH CAMERABAG

Lauren over at the little things we do gave a great tip about this program, CameraBag. If you're like me and don't have the funds (or skills) for a super nice camera like this one, CameraBag to the rescue! It can help anyone pass as a professional photographer. Pretty nifty. I can't stop playing with it. Check out my most-recent masterpieces:

Do you know of any more fun programs like this one? Please share!

BLANKETY BLANK BLANK

 Let's fill in some blanks!

1.  One thing I MUST do before I die is     go camping. Like, legit camping; no cabins, no port-a-potties, no cellphones, no computers... And preferably with my future husband :)   .

2.  I would rather     drink coffee   than   tea   any day.

3.  If I could give my younger self one piece of advice it would be     worry less about what's on the outside and more about what's on the inside (cheesy, I know, but so true)  .

4.  If I won the lottery tomorrow I'd      buy three tickets to Europe - one for me, one for the mom, and one for the sister. Our European vacation would include England, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, France and maybe Ireland if we could swing it. Sorry dad and bros, no boys allowed  .

5.  The best surprise ever was     getting a little white puppy with a big red bow in a big red bag for my 12th birthday; our B-Man :) .

6.  My biggest fault is      I'm a complete perfectionist. Almost to an annoying fault. I'm working on it, though, because I never will be nor do I ever need to be perfect  .

7.  My biggest strength is     that I'm compassionate (or so the mom tells me); I love giving to and serving people. But really, who wouldn't? It feeds the soul and helps someone else out; best of both worlds if you ask me   .

Thanks Lauren for another fabulous friday.

Don't forget, you can join me and everyone else in Fill-in-the-blank Friday and link-up on Lauren's Blog. Trust me, you won't be disappointed, it's a great time.

THRIFT-HAPPY

I almost forgot about my other cute thrifting find from this past weekend with my mom!

This vintage-ish skinny gold vase; for $3! So excited. Not sure what I'll do with it yet, but I'm thinking of filling it of tall twigs with little white berries on them (if there is such a thing).

Any suggestions?

GRAPEFRUIT A DAY KEEPS THE DOC AWAY

Don't you just want one?!

A couple weeks ago our local grocery store, Giant, had HUGE grapefruits on sale for $1 each. I bought a few...and by a few I mean five. Yes, five. I ate them all in 5 days and realized the sale was still on, so I went back and got some more (I will not be divulging a number this time...)

It is now two weeks later and I have eaten a grapefruit for breakfast every day for the past 14 days. 

You'd assume if I haven't already turned into a grapefruit, I'm probably sick of them. But false. They're still delicious and juicy and refreshing. 

EXCEPT sad story, now they're not on sale anymore!

I guess I'll be going back to apples...boooorrring!

BABYBAGS

Is it bad that I wish I had a baby just so I could carry around this super cute diaper bag from retrofied?

Six pockets, completely reversible, and washing-machine safe?! - a new Mom's dream. Maybe now that I'm a Godmother I could justify it; that counts, right?. Or perhaps, I should just stick with the cute matching laptop sleeve for now...:)

Morgan - this bag makes me think of you, it would match your new little one's room perfectly!

OH, MOM

I woke up this morning to this: 

(mind you it's 7:30am and I just woke up, but The Mom's been up with coffee for a while)

Mom: Spring's coming!!

Me: Spring's what? 

Mom: Spring's coming! Just around the corner!

Me: How do you know? You read it in the newspaper? (thinking some highly qualified weatherman predicted it or something)

Mom: Nope, I heard the birds chirping this morning!

Teehee. Oh, Mom. Who needs weathermen anyways? You know Mom's know best! And at this point I will cling on to just about any hint of Spring that I can. Especially after reading this 40-inch snow prediction for next weekend! Eek!