4.30.2013

piedmont farm tour

this was my first year attending the piedmont farm tour.  many farms participate in this yearly event, and we had the opportunity to tour three of them (including a vineyard)!  we saw all different kinds of animals (alice was kind enough to wave to every single one of them), we met a few farmers, and we sampled a few different wines.  overall, not a bad saturday!
"please don't eat me!"
 i didn't want to get off that tree swing, but there was a line of kids waiting to swing on it.

4.28.2013

weekly roundup

so glad this week is finally over.  not only because work was more grueling than normal. . . but also because this time next week i will be laying on the beach with my love in jamaica!!  although this week was a bit stressful, i tried to appreciate little joyous moments throughout the day.  so, here you go.
our roommate brian (a former bartender) makes the best margaritas.  and the best thing about it is. . . he only uses three (rather lo-cal) secret ingredients (patron, cointreau, and fresh squeezed lime juice.  ooops, i guess the secret is out).
started packing for jamaica. i had a hard time deciding which swimsuits to bring. . . so i decided to bring all of them.
 i also scored some super cute summer sandals from target this week.
 cory and i had a lovely dinner wednesday night (a.k.a. date night) at the wild turkey lounge/angus barn.  i love how every time we go there, "our" table is always open.
i figured if there is anything that can make bathroom selfie classy, it's a perrier jouet mirror.  what do you think of my 1920's flapper-inspired hair and lipstick?
 saturday, cory and i went on a local farm tour with bff and her family.  it was a lot of fun, not to mention a refreshing way to switch up our normal saturday afternoon routine (a.k.a. waking up at noon, and not leaving the house until around 4 pm).
 completely unnecessary purchases of the week: a cute tee from pac sun and a pretty opalesque statement necklace from h&m.
and on sunday, cory ate an entire burrito the size of his upper torso.

4.26.2013

hickory hops

for the past two years, cory and i have made it a tradition to attend a day-long beer festival in the not so nearby town of hickory.  this year, we decided to bring a few friends along.  we had a lot of fun, and can't wait to return in 2014 for year number four!
i love this guy.
it's near impossible to take a serious photo with cory.
and finally. . . the people of hickory.  and yes, that's a pork rind necklace.

4.25.2013

random acts from my iphoto library

me & bff circa 2008 on southbeach.  what says summatime better than a white bikini, oversized sunglasses, and firecracker popsicles?

4.21.2013

weekly roundup

wow, what a week.  i have to say, it's been really difficult to try to stay positive with all this craziness going on all around us.  luckily i have cory's infectious laugh, my mom's cute stories about our dog bentley, and plenty of fun upcoming vacations to help keep positive thoughts in my head and a smile on my face.  I hope you had a great week amidst all of the extremely sad and stressful things going on in this world as of late.
ominous clouds & rain, leading to some electricity loss.
healthy soup of the week: spicy vegan chili
wednesday date night: a little outdoor dinner with ol' blue eyes at the nearby ale house.
mellow mushroom pizza kicks butt!
hickory hops beer festival with friends!
 in our attempt to be healthy on the weekdays, we've converted friday taco night into sunday taco night.  and yes, this is my recreation of the taco bell double decker taco (can't a girl just live and let live?)

4.17.2013

random acts from my iphoto library

talk about throwback!  during the summer of 1999 i attended a church youth group trip to latvia.  beside me in this pic were my three best friends (notice bff in the far stall).  we went to the bathroom and realized the stalls had no doors!  when we would attempt to go, the latvian girls would all stare at us for some reason (not as modest as us americans), so we took turns standing guard in front of the stall for each other.  we thought it was so akward and weird, so of course we had a friend take a pic of us posing in the stall with wads of toilet paper.  and yes, i had bangs. . . before having bangs was cool.

4.15.2013

oh cory, my cory

(upon discussion of cory's doctor in the er last week):
me: well, he was a really nice guy.
cory: of course, he had a soul patch.  you can't be a douchebag and have a soul patch.

4.14.2013

weekly roundup

my new favorite after school snack.

in an attempt to curb my online shopping addiction, i made one last purchase for myself (you can't expect me to quit cold turkey!)  i had been pining after this ombre fringe tote from anthropologie for a while, and i finally scored it (on sale too)!

there were so many beautiful flowering trees blooming this past week.  which of course leads to . . . 
pollen.  lots.  of.  pollen.

since cory was working all weekend, i spent friday night in by myself, which meant i got to do one of my favorite things . . . sit on my bed and watch netflix movies on my laptop.  i finally got around to watching hunger games, as well as a very interesting documentary about detroit (cory's homeland).
i also indulged in another favorite thing friday night (because, why not).  jimmy john's #6, no mayo or cucumbers, add onions and hot peppers.

i ended up canceling the rest of my fabulous weekend plans, so i could take this fellow to the er.  don't worry, he's okay. . . just a little leg swelling but nothing serious, thankfully.  more importantly, how does he always look so cute. . .  even when he's in the emergency room?

when we found out everything was okay, we headed back to cory's hotel for a low-key saturday night.  on the bright side, we got to spend to unexpected quality time together, which was nice. 

sunday, i went for lunch and fro-yo with the bff and her babe.  love these two!

i hope you had a great week as well!

4.13.2013

dear dad

dear dad,
happy 64th birthday.  i wish so much i could be home to celebrate with you, nevertheless i've been thinking about you all day. . . hoping that all of your birthday wishes have come true.  you are the best father a girl could ever ask for.  you have been and always will be the most important man in my life.  you have taught me so much about unconditional love, and what it means to be there for someone when they need you most.  i could always count on you for things like pushing me in the tire swings when i was a kid, keeping my oil changed regularly when i was a teenager, and giving me the most meaningful hugs when i really needed them in my overly emotional early 20's.  happy birthday dad, i love you and i hope this year is your best yet!

4.12.2013

mudcats

last weekend, cory and i decided to enjoy the (very welcome) warmer weather by going to a minor league baseball game in zebulon, north carolina.  while north carolina does lack slightly in the area of professional sports in my opinion, we are fortunate to have a lot of great smaller sporting events. 

the carolina mudcats y'all!  cory was sweet enough to buy me some boiled peanuts (my fav!)  also, i made a new friend, who obviously has impeccable taste since we were sporting the same sandals.
there was a hula hoop contest and hot dogs. . . 
after the game was over, we decided to drive back into raleigh to have lunch on the rooftop at one of my favorite summatime hangouts. . . rudinos!
good beer.  great weather.  even better company.  perfect sunday.

4.10.2013

random acts from my iphoto library

this is my friend margaret.  she does splits.
if you haven't noticed already. . . she's pretty much the life of the party wherever she goes.

4.07.2013

weekly roundup

i'm beyond happy to finally be completely well and not sound like i'm hacking up a lung every five minutes.  i got back into at the gym this week and it felt awesome.  i had so much energy!  *this photo also makes me feel better, since most of the following photos involve food.

i've been super into soups lately.  they are easy, and a large batch makes for easy leftovers the rest of the week.  i made this delicious and healthy black bean soup (the cinnamon was an amazing addition) and topped it off with some queso and pico de gallo. 

we had an impromptu date night on wednesday, and ended the evening with some fro yo.  cory went with a cookies and cream with oreos and chocolate sauce, while i sampled a few. . . including (but not limited to) cake batter with reeses pieces, cheesecake with blackberries, and pistachio with a rice krispie treat.  can i just say, pistachio fro yo. . . . completely underrated.

 my one year search for the perfect mustard pencil skirt has now ended.  and i got it for 40% off!!!

i rang in friday night with some super-sexy steam vacuuming.  i cleaned the couch and a few rugs. . . it's so satisfying.

 cherry blossoms & green grass people!!!!  it's spring!
we spent saturday night with the bff, her hubs and the babe at dos taquitos.  it was a great time. unfortunately, i was so wrapped up in hanging with alice, that i forgot to take anymore pics of us adults.  so here are a few more of alice (bottom right photo, courtesy alice).  i love this little bug.
weekend breakfast!  hashbrowns. . . just . . . hashbrowns.

 we spent a lovely sunday afternoon at a carolina mudcats baseball game.

. . . .and finally, a new season of mad men premieres!!! (perfect timing now that the walking dead is on a hiatus until next season.)