-Kate Spade

DC and it feels so good.

I've only been excited for my trip to DC for, IDK, 8-10 months.  Yes, seriously, sooo excited.  So excited in fact that I have been considering what to pack for the past... 8-10 months.  Those who saw me in DC can tell you this is not true.  In reality I got a bit tipsy drunk Wednesday night and ended up packing anything that included lace, jewels, and sequences.  I may have also taken 8 cardigans (I'm obsessed), a pile of work out clothes because yeah right that was going to happen on vacation, and shoes that matched none of the outfits.  I packed less on the 10 day road trip I took with Andrew and Pheobe last summer than I did for our four day DC adventure.  Chalk it up to the Sauvignon Blanc.

Regardless of the fact that I had nothing appropriate to wear, only half a day of work and a five hour drive stood between our reunion on Thursday.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to go on the day long trip to Gettysburg this day but I hear Pheobe and Andrew had a great time.  haha.

Chinatown, a few brewskies, and a quick catch up with my friend Cara and suddenly it's 2am and against a certain Irishman's will, the bars were closing.  A few photos from the evening as a recap...

 

 

 

 

Friday was spent... get ready... can you handle this... I'm not sure you can... BOWLING!  You just can't make these things up.  Best yet, somehow I managed to WIN a game.  I'd like to think that my pure skill alone is what allowed me the big "W" but in reality it was  probably the fact that 100% of the time the machine gave me a free pin. Yes, even inanimate objects want to help me win this game called life.  Bowling alleys also love hipster cardigan wearing, pink running shorts sporting, tennis shoes loving outfits.  Proof!

hipster glasses are probably not the best look for either of us

 

SCORE!!!  91 points.  Winning

 

If you've never been to Old Town Alexandria, go.  It is the sweetest little place and has my name written all over it.  It is one of the most adorable towns and I could legit live there.  I can see it now, walking Tucker down main street, lunch outside by the water, live music on the promenade.  Oh, and they have boats... lots of them!  After dinner at Virtue Feed & Grain where I would no doubt dine again (recommendations include the monkfish, duck, and chicken or in reality anything on the menu) we took a Potomac River Cruise.  You can book your cruise here.  Initially you think you have to sit at the back of the boat but you don't!  Stick to the front and soon you'll be soaring high like Jack and Rose from Titanic.  We took the 45 minute tour to Georgetown but you can take a round trip tour if you'd prefer. 

 

 

 

 

From here on we pounded them out for the night.  Oh, and danced... let's never forget the dancing.  Bless Andrew's heart, by the time he was really starting to bring his "fresh moves to the streets" the DJ shut him down.  Apparently 3am is starting time for the Irish but closing time for us Americans.

please in the future warn me of the shiny t-spots 

Just when we thought the day was wasted on Saturday Andrew forced me out of the hotel and down past the largest book club in the country toward our good ol' friend Abe.  Abe's my favorite president so I didn't mind paying him a visit.  A bit of trivia: if they built Abraham Lincoln's monument standing he would be 28 feet tall!  Betcha' didn't know that.  We listened to a spirited fellow on the steps of the memorial, took ridiculously amazing photos with the Washington Monument, and had a personal bible reading (I do not lie about bible readings).  God said it was good.

 

 

 

 

I'm really funny!

Another struggle with the evening outfit and a delicious dinner at Pheobe's and the remaining four or six or nine hours were spent on the town.  Curious about what happened?  ME too!  The only ideas I have are from the two following photos and it appears as though I had a great time!  I learned this night that door men and old men love me. 

 

We took a nice hike late Sunday afternoon after much needed four hour power naps (again the day was not wasted) and had a delicious cookout at Victoria's house.  I, of course, was in an ultimate trough at this point and was not much help. 

 

 

I tried to go home sometime early afternoon on Monday.  Before I hit the road, Andrew offered to go with me to get some gas so we headed to the car.  We got in, buckled up, and off we went nothing happened! The car wouldn't start.  Seriously wouldn't start.  Just a few noises and nothing else.  Our immediate response... laughter.  We sat in the car for at least 10 minutes laughing.  No words and almost no breathing.  Finally after composing ourselves we walked back into Pheobe's to give her the news... again no words, almost no breathing, but this time tears flowing off of our faces all to say that the car wouldn't start.  Big thanks to Trish and David for getting AAA for Pheobe's last birthday, to Pheobe for letting me use a free jump, and to Hushong for hooking me up. 

 

 

Now I'm back in North Carolina dancing to bubblegum oldies by myself, opening my own doors, walking down stairs without assistance, and pumping my own gas.  Good news is that I rule over all the creatures that creepeth the earth because God said it was so.



Fall, it's so good to see you!

I love lists.  I love writing lists and marking things off of lists.  I also love fall, autumn, the harvest month, that time between summer and winter.  However you want to look at it, fall is my favorite time of year.  So here is a list of all things I love about fall. 

1- The clothes.  Leggings and a light jacket, a dress and a pair of boots, a cardigan with shorts and tights, and scarves with everything!  It doesn't matter.  This is the time anything goes.



2- Football.  My brothers and dad love football and I've taken a liking to it as well.  It doesn't matter if we're watching on the television or in the stands.  Football is a great American definition of fall.  My personal favorites are the Carolina Panthers and the Appalachian State University Mountaineers!  The New York Giants are growing on me as well or it could just be that my obsession with Eli Manning is growing.



3- Tailgating.  Which happens only because of the aforementioned football games.  Food, drink, games galore.  Oh, and you better be wearing your team colors.  It looks a little something like this...

 

4- Leaves.  It's uncanny how many colors the leaves can turn during fall.  Boone is the best example of this phenomenon.  Ugh. Fall makes me miss Boone.

5- Fairs. I. LOVE. THE. FAIR.  Not only is it the best setting for people watching but it's just good ol' home town fun.  Stanly Co. Fair is September 25-29th and my favorite the Dixie Classic Fair runs from September 28-October 7th.  Click here to find the closest fair to you.  You don't want to miss it!

 

6- Pumpkin Spice Lattes.  Pumpkin spice anything really.  It's heaven.  Actually, if you ever desire to purchase one for me I prefer the grande soy pumpkin spice latte with two pumps, no whip. 

 

                                

7- Day long trips to the pumpkin patch to help Meg find the perfect miniature white pumpkins for her mantle, front porch, back step, or kitchen window.  I think we've ravaged these patches for 3 years now.
 

                                

 

8- Hay rides and carving pumpkins.  You cannot convince me that riding anything attached to a tractor is a bad idea.  I'm southern and from the country, what do you expect?

                                   

 

Oh, let the fall fun begin!!!

 

 

On A String Bead Shop

On a String Bead Shop, located in the heart of the Queen City, is a place you could no doubt get lost in for hours.  It's full of stones, trinkets, diamonds, beads, baubles, ornaments, tassels, and other objets d'art.  The On a String team is extremely helpful, and amazingly creative.  I'm fortunate enough to know the incredible duo behind the success of this shop, Christine and Anne, and am excited to see their continued success over the next 1,000,000 years.

 If you're in the market for a simple stone necklace or an extravagant piece for your wedding day, this shop is THE place to go. Interested in creating your own piece? They'll work with you to create it. Each bead in the store is at your fingertips. If you're not the creative type that's okay too because there are plenty of pieces already assembled you can choose from. Need a special piece for an outfit? Bring the outfit in and watch them create it right from under your eyes. Have old jewels, broaches, necklaces that you want to turn into contemporary pieces? It's their specialty.

 

Anne and Christine are even okay with selling jewels straight off of their bodies or out of their closets. I've been known to make a few purchases this way.

Christine working on my one of a kind piece

Bethenny Frankel, Real Housewife and creator of Skinny Girl products, is a fan herself and has worn On a String pieces on-air.  My personal collection is growing and I couldn't be more excited.   Don't believe me or Bethenny Frankel?  Click here to take a look for yourself.  In fact, I guarantee you'll love it. Regardless of how much you want to spend  you'll come out with a piece you'll love and can wear for years and years to come. 

On A String'team with Bethenny Frankel

Visit Christine, Anne, and the rest of the team Monday-Saturday from 10am-6pm at:

416 Providence Road
Charlotte, NC 28207


704.334.1110

West Coast Wedding

What a whirlwind of a weekend we just had in Southern California celebrating Sheila and Casey.  The weekend began on Thursday when I landed in Santa Ana at 4pm west coast time.  Of course I was too antsy to sit at the hotel and wait for the arrival of more friends so I decided to take a 1.5 mile walk to the beach to watch the sunset.  There is nothing like a sunset over the ocean, well, except when you realize that your 1.5 mile trip back home is going to have to happen in the dark.  Legs were already stiff from the flight and sore because of my bad decision to take this 3 mile excursion in a pair of flat sandals that had no support... at all.  Cuteness over comfort, right?  Not anymore, just ask the large blister that formed on the sole of my foot that night.  Thanks Laur for the straight pin.

A few photos of the sunset.  Gorgeous. 

The evening ended with drinks at a local dive that will remain nameless and me laughing in hysterics at the couple sitting next to us clearly on a first date.  Chalk it up to jet lag and exhaustion.

Friday morning I woke bright and early (5:30am) and for two hours wished Lauren and Drew awake.  FINALLY!  Quick change into bathing suits and an extremely important stop at Pavillions for champagne, orange juice, and beer and we're off to the beach.  Thanks goes to Drew for the idea for doses and mimosas on the beach.  Thanks to Pavillions for having jumbo sized champagne bottles chilled for our drinking pleasure.  Plastic cups from the hotel and we were good to go spending hours on the beach sipping champagne and catching up with friends. 

On a random side note, this small, silver, four door, hatchback Kia Rio was the ideal driving machine.  It purrred like a kitten and I'm considering a trade.  We loved it so much we had to snap photos with the silver bullet.

                                     

                                     



Sheils and Casey thought of it all and had a big street BBQ Friday night for friends and family.  Three houses lined with grills, kegs, and amazingly fun people.  A little dancing, a lot of talking, and without a doubt a little picture taking.  I was also fortunate enough to be "deputized" Friday night by the Sheriff himself and am now the proud Deputy of a two block radius around Sheila and Casey's house.  I will be paroling the streets when people least expect it to protect what I have earned been given.  Drinks turned into more drinks which turned into making a LOT of new friends. 

After a long night and a completely unnecessary trip to Taco Bell we woke the next morning in dire need of a great brunch location.  Side Street Cafe was one of those locations that made you feel right at home.  I'm sure it had nothing to do with the quaint location, the fresh squeezed apple and orange juice, or the life sized poster of George Straight.  Okay, it had everything to do with the life sized poster of George Straight.  If you ever make it to Southern California stop by and order the stuffed french toast.  It's heaven in your mouth. 

The wedding on Saturday afternoon was beautiful.  The priest was great.  Is that weird to say?  Seriously though, he did a wonderful job of keeping us all engaged and making the ceremony extremely personal.  To be honest with you he looked oddly familiar.  Actually, just like Dr. Chung from the previous hospital I worked at.  I don't have photos of either of them but trust me when I say they are brothers. 

Cocktail hour and the reception was at Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach, CA.  Fabulous time was had by all.  The staff was very attentive especially when the bride had a bit of glass stuck in her foot.  The details were impecable, down to the specialty cocktails named for the bride and groom.  Mr. C (Whisky and Ginger) and the Mrs. C (Bellini).

OH... OH... let me tell you about the music.  I am obsessed with the DJ.  Seriously, he was spot on the entire night even though he rejected one of my requests... for good reason.  The bride no doubt put together a great playlist which I'm going to need a copy of.  You might hear very identical music at my wedding.  He played all the classics and tons of great, old, southern songs.  Rocky Top was the perfect way to get all of the North Carolina girls on our feet and the father/daughter dance was amazing with Carolina Girl playing in the background.  DJ you were ON POINT.

I also didn't realize how much I under utilized the photo booth until I saw the following photo.  I'm now completely jealous of Anne.

P.S. did I mention that I made tons of new friends at the reception too.  I cannot wait to go back to CA and hit up a Crowder family reunion.  I was invited by a lot of people.  Trust me, they want me to come! 

A quick thanks in particular to the couple who complemented my sweet sweet dance moves as we waited for valet at the end of the night.  If I didn't have confidence on the dance floor before, I certainly do now.  (I have witnesses this really happened). 

A big CHEERS to Mr. and Mrs. C! I wish you a lifetime of happiness and I'm so glad I was able to share in your wedding weekend.  Look for me soon, I have a two block radius to patrol now :)