Thursday, July 30, 2009
John's new ride!
Yesterday, John picked up his new truck. White thunder (old car) was still running ok, but most of the "upgrades" had stopped working. Like the automatic door locks, windows, and the a/c. So, it was time for a new one. Plus, a truck is nice to have for all the trips to Home Depot that we make for various indoor and outdoor projects. We are going to finish painting this weekend (hopefully) and then start on the backyard next weekend. Ironically enough, at this exact weekend last year, we were painting the inside of the house also (living room and dining room). We closed on the house around July 28 last year and wanted to get the first two rooms painted before we moved in. Happy 1 year anniversary house! I have a love/hate relationship with our house, but it's not our forever home so that's ok. We probably looked at between 40-60 homes last year and this was the first one that John and I both liked. I got sidetracked, back to the truck, here is a picture! I haven't even gotten to ride in it yet, maybe this weekend.
Monday, July 27, 2009
The Igloo and a tubing trip
On Saturday, we headed up to Crumpler, NC to go tubing. This is our second time going there, last year, Noelle and I surprised John and Nate for their 30th b’day with a group of people up there to go tubing and picnicking. There were about 13 of us going Saturday, but most of them were staying up there to camp. John and I and Megan and Chris decided against camping so we carpooled up together. We left around 10, packed up coolers, towels, change of clothes, lots of sunscreen and bugspray and were off. We were looking for somewhere to stop for lunch and passed the typical fast food places, but for some reason, we kept on going thinking there had to be a cute, local place in one of these mountain towns if we just kept going. Well, this is where we ended up.
Ok, so we go back inside the igloo because we all had to use the restroom (of course they did not have one) but Chris & John really wanted to stop back by there for dinner, so we found out they were open until 8. Perfect, we would make it for round 2…
UPDATE: Just found out that John has to be on a jury this week, so in the evenings, he will be catching up on his work stuff. How convenient, I will be the one doing all the painting.
We actually passed it first when someone in the car pointed out that there was an igloo restaurant back there. Right then, Chris did a u-turn in the intersection and we pulled into the parking lot. Upon walking into the place, this is one of the many signs adorning the front door. Wow, we must be in rural NC.
Must be a problem
Seriously, do people even write checks anymore? Especially for a $5 meal? Really? Wow. The menu consisted of burgers, hot dogs and ice cream. I saw something called a “French Burger” and I asked what it is (I don’t know, I guess I didn’t expect a place like this to have brie on burgers, but still, I was curious.) Turns out, it is a French burger because it comes with mayonnaise and is served on Texas toast. I still don’t get the name, maybe if it was served on French bread… but I really don’t get the correlation between France and Texas. Anyway. I ended up with just a cheeseburger and John got a hot dog “all the way”. The four of us sat down to eat and enjoyed the scenery of a dilapidated shed sitting atop cinder blocks. I must say, I think we all agreed that the food was fantastic! John decided that he needed some ice cream to top it all off, and I wanted a vanilla shake and both of those were really good too.
John with ice cream and a shake
Ok, so we go back inside the igloo because we all had to use the restroom (of course they did not have one) but Chris & John really wanted to stop back by there for dinner, so we found out they were open until 8. Perfect, we would make it for round 2…
The tubing was fun, but long. By the time we got to the river, it was probably 2:00 and we did not get off until 7. I wish I would have gotten a waterproof camera for the tubing trip because we would have had some funny pictures. We tied up all of our tubes around a giant raft holding 3 coolers full of beer. I made up a little mix of pomegranate martini for Megan and me so we drank that. We got stuck several times along the way and someone would always end up falling out, thankfully we never flipped the coolers. All in all, Brad lost a shoe, Chris lost sunglasses, and John got sunburned (even with SPF 70), but it was a great time. We left right away in hopes of making it to the igloo by 8. Our conversation in the car was all about what we were going to order, Chris was campaigning for ordering 1 of everything (it was all so cheap) just to try stuff.
We pulled into the parking lot at 7:55. On the way in, we were greeted by 2 workers carrying a huge vat of grease out the door. We were informed that the kitchen was already closed; they were only open for ice cream now. The guys especially were so bummed, I was too but mostly because I was starving by that point and would have eaten almost anything. So, we got back in the car and drove another half hour or so and stopped at a Wendy’s.
We pulled into the parking lot at 7:55. On the way in, we were greeted by 2 workers carrying a huge vat of grease out the door. We were informed that the kitchen was already closed; they were only open for ice cream now. The guys especially were so bummed, I was too but mostly because I was starving by that point and would have eaten almost anything. So, we got back in the car and drove another half hour or so and stopped at a Wendy’s.
Sunday was not so relaxing; we started on the paint project spawned by the big paint mistake which I made a few weeks ago. We got the kitchen and hall done, but realized this morning that it is going to take a second coat. I selected a really neutral color (Behr’s Crème Brulee) so hopefully we don’t have to repaint when we go to sell our house, but it was much lighter than the color on the walls originally which was more of a dark wheat.
So, we are going to try and tackle some of the painting after work this week, but will (hopefully) finish the rest next weekend.
So, we are going to try and tackle some of the painting after work this week, but will (hopefully) finish the rest next weekend.
UPDATE: Just found out that John has to be on a jury this week, so in the evenings, he will be catching up on his work stuff. How convenient, I will be the one doing all the painting.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
PB is ready for fall and so am I!
Pottery Barn just published thier fall preview which got me in the mood for Fall. Fall is by far my favorite season.... I love the crisp evenings, warm drinks, changing leaves, pumpkin everything, chunky sweaters, wool socks. Love it all. Here are some of my favorite images from the website for a little cozy Fall eye candy!
*All images from Pottery Barn website, wouldn't want to get sued or anything
*All images from Pottery Barn website, wouldn't want to get sued or anything
Friday, July 17, 2009
Celebrity look alikes
http://www.myheritage.com/collage |
MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities
So, it's 9:15, Friday night and what am I doing? Taking a quiz to figure out which celebrity I look like, of course. I have to admit though, I have no idea who Kylie Bax or Maria Menounos are.
This weekend, we are picking up my car (it has been getting repaired since the back end was smashed) and I will be glad to have my car back. State Farm was nice enough to put me in a rental car so I should not complain, but the car was so small and still had crank windows. I did not realize that they still made cars with crank windows and non keyless entry, but I have proof that they still do. Since I refused the first car they offered (a Dodge Caliber) I could not really say no to this thing. I have had to drive a Caliber before and hated it so I was not going to make that mistake again. We are also car shopping for John a new truck, planning our landscape project for the backyard, and since the Nordie's sale starts this weekend, I have to make time to get a little shopping in too!
Happy Friday!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
We're back
We made it back from our crazy wedding weekend! We managed to make it on time to both weddings and only had a few issues along the way. Below is the play by play, but here is a little history. My friend Robyn announced about two years ago she was engaged and was planning on getting married in the San Juan Islands, at Friday Harbor on Friday, July 10. Knowing that accommodations are limited since the island is pretty small, we rented a house with a few friends way in advance and planned a weekend out of it. A few months later, my friend Allison asked me to be in her wedding on….. Saturday, July 11 in Santa Barbara. The good news is that they were both going to be on the same coast, so it should be doable, but Friday Harbor isn’t exactly easy to get to and Santa Barbara isn’t a major airport either. So, in order to try and make it to Santa Barbara in time for Allison’s 5 pm wedding, we had to get off the island really early. Ferries didn’t start until 6 and take an hour to arrive at Anacortes, which is still 2 hours north of Seattle. That would mean that the earliest flight we could get out of Seattle would be around 10:00. Since there were no direct flights from Seattle to Santa Barbara available, we would not arrive until 4, which would be cutting it too close for the wedding. It does not take me long to get ready at all, but landing at 4, and being a bridesmaid for a 5:00 wedding was a little too close for me. So, after talking to some of our friends, we found out that there was another couple that was attending Robyn’s wedding that was in the same situation as us, needing to get off the island in order to make it to another wedding. So, we decided to charter a flight (splitting the cost with them so it wasn’t so expensive). The flight would pick us up where we were staying at 5 am and drop us off at Boeing Field. From there, we would get a cab to SEATAC and be able to make a 9:00 flight. We had to go through San Francisco and would land in Santa Barbara at 3:00. Still, not much time, but good enough so we booked it and below is how it all played out.
Wednesday, July 8
7:35 am EST
Got rear ended on the way to the airport. Everyone was fine, but not how I was hoping to start this trip off. Thanks Mr. Connolly!
8:55 am EST
I am getting really anxious to start this trip. John picks up an Esquire magazine and found it to be one of the best magazines around.
9:30 am EST
Boarded flight to Denver. I asked for a pillow or blanket and was abruptly informed by a surly flight attendant that they now sell them as part of the “power pack.” She said it like “Duh, don’t you know what a power pack is” Whatever. Of course they now sell blankets on planes.
9:34 am EST
We got yelled at by another flight attendant. This time, it was because we had our bottled water (that we purchased after going through security) in the seat pocket during takeoff. Seriously? I don’t understand what the risk could be but whatever, we threw it back in our bag. This was followed by an announcement saying that it was a new FAA regulation not to have beverages in seat pockets during takeoff and landing. This must have been enacted sometime since Sunday when John last flew and had free reign to place beverage bottles there.
Indiscernible time (midflight)
Some guy is standing up talking to the guy in the row behind us about nothing, it is really annoying
3:52 pm EST
Arrived in Denver, waited to go standby on 2 earlier flights to Seattle with no luck. Thanks to Orbitz for pushing our flight back, we now have a 4 hour layover in Denver. With the exception of the surly flight attendant on the previous flight though, all the service workers from the airlines have been really helpful.
4:30 EST
Found out there is a New Belgium hub in the Denver airport, terminal B. Note to self for future layovers.
Midflight to Seattle
I can’t think of anything more annoying than having small children kick the back of your chair while you are trying to sleep on the plane.
5:30 PST
Arrive in Seattle; John’s Aunt Brenda picks us up at the airport. We go to dinner and call it a night, I am exhausted. John tried fried salmon and I had some delicious halibut with strawberry salsa.
Thursday, July 9
10:00 PST
Brenda and Fred drive us to Anacortes where we will catch the ferry to Friday Harbor. John had some amazing honey wheat pancakes for breakfast. This restaurant also had mile high lemon meringue pie with the largest mass of meringue I have ever seen.
11:45 PST
On the ferry, just spoke to my friend Courtney and her husband has a tee time for when we get off the ferry, John could not be more excited. Meanwhile I am trying to figure out where to go.
2:35 PST
Arrive at our rental house and find out it has an elevator in it. Awesome, we are on the third floor so I won’t have to carry my suitcase up all those stairs!
6:30 PST
John finished golfing, Courtney and I went grocery shopping and we started prepping dinner for our friends.
7:30 PST
We have drinks, eat dinner and head to the welcome party for s’mores, yum.
8:00 PST
We decide to host an after party at our house, which would of course call for flip cup. We start scouting the bbq for a table we can “borrow” for the night.
8:05 PST
We find the table, now we have to figure out how to get this table to our house. Enter caterer with golf cart.
8:10 PST
Harlan and Eric decide to take the golf cart and haul the table up to our house, caterer is pissed. Everyone at the party thinks it’s hysterical
9:00 PST
I am freezing and we all decide to head back to the house for an a few drinks at our fire pit on the balcony overlooking the harbor.
10:30 PST
Flip cup game is in full effect, the table never made it in, instead we use the dining room table in the bar, oops.
The rest of the night we played drinking games and had fun
Friday, July 10
9:00 PST
Our house is a mess and I have to vomit, except the toilet on the third floor where we are sleeping is clogged up. The toilets on the second floor are attached to the bedrooms so that won’t work, so I have to go to the first floor. Make it barely in time. Woke up Eric (sorry).
9:30 PST
I get sick again. At first I thought it was the drinking, but I did not drink much, hmmm.
10:30 PST
Everyone wants to go to brunch, and although I am not hungry at all, I decide a little fresh air might do me good.
10:40 PST
Find a cute place on the harbor for brunch, order some food.
10:45 PST
I have to vomit, fast where is the bathroom, don’t know, I turn around and vomit off the pier in front of everyone trying to enjoy their breakfasts and the view. Realize I also hit my legs and flip flops, time to go back home. Don’t worry, I am wearing my Chanel sunglasses so at least I was a classy puker.
11:00- 4:00 PST
I got sick pretty much every half hour and cannot keep anything down. Pedialyte, saltines, Gatorade, water… nothing works. Decide that I must have food poisoning. Fortunately, my friend Vesna is there and she is a PA, able to write me a script for some anti-nauseous meds that will hopefully get me through the wedding.
5:00 PST
Robyn’s wedding starts and is a gorgeous ceremony and reception. I manage to make it without any incidents although I am feeling really weak after not eating all day.
9:00 PST
John and I head back to the house, I am exhausted and still not feeling too great, plus we have a 5:00 am flight tomorrow
Saturday, July 11
4:30 AM PST
Wake up and make our way to the plane
5:00 PST
Our pilot looks like he is about 16, really nice guy though
5:10 PST
Gorgeous flight, amazing sunrise, I am feeling much better. PS found out the pilot was 22.
10:30 PST
Our standby luck has finally come around, we were able to catch an earlier flight to San Francisco and are now on standby for an earlier flight to Santa Barbara… that would mean a 1:00 arrival… keeping fingers crossed
11:30 PST
We got on the earlier flight to Santa Barbara, woo hoo! This means I will hopefully be able to take a shower before the ceremony
1:10 PST
Arrived in Santa Barbara, now the rental car is taking forever since we arrived early
1:50 PST
Made it to the hotel, found out check-in is not until 3:00, but after I told our story, the manager quickly made a room available.
2:00 PST
John grabs In-N-Out since it is right across the street from the hotel. He forgets to mention that we needed it “to-go” so we now have a nice red tray in the hotel room
3:00 PST
Made it to the church, even before the bride! I can’t believe it all worked out, I am here, ecstatic, and can’t wait to get the fun started
11:00 PST
Had a wonderful time at the wedding, saw some old friends, and really believe all the travel troubles were absolutely worth it.
Sunday, July 12
4:30 PST
Another early morning, this time to catch flight to Denver
10:30 MST
Land in Denver, must run to make connection to Kansas City- starving since we have not been able to eat yet
12:40 CST
Land in Kansas City. Decide to name the airport Kansas Shitty because it sucks. You have to go through security at every gate entrance, such a pain. We really wanted Mexican food because of some recipe for Chipotle taco’s in John’s Esquire magazine, but in order to get to the terminal where “La Taquirea” is located, you have to catch a bus. Not a train like a most airports which run every 5 min or so, an actual bus, “the red bus” to be exact. It runs every FIFTEEN minutes. I mean, this is an airport people, time is precious. So, we decided against that adventure and settled for something called “The Homerun Café”
3:40 CST
Take off and bound for Charlotte, can’t wait to be home!
6:40 EST
Back in Charlotte, now on the way home. We would be going to pick up Morgan, except since the back end of my car is smashed in, we can’t fit her crate. Awesome. Good thing we have such great friends that can fit it in their car and offer to bring her home for us.
We made it, next wedding is August 29!
Wednesday, July 8
7:35 am EST
Got rear ended on the way to the airport. Everyone was fine, but not how I was hoping to start this trip off. Thanks Mr. Connolly!
8:55 am EST
I am getting really anxious to start this trip. John picks up an Esquire magazine and found it to be one of the best magazines around.
9:30 am EST
Boarded flight to Denver. I asked for a pillow or blanket and was abruptly informed by a surly flight attendant that they now sell them as part of the “power pack.” She said it like “Duh, don’t you know what a power pack is” Whatever. Of course they now sell blankets on planes.
9:34 am EST
We got yelled at by another flight attendant. This time, it was because we had our bottled water (that we purchased after going through security) in the seat pocket during takeoff. Seriously? I don’t understand what the risk could be but whatever, we threw it back in our bag. This was followed by an announcement saying that it was a new FAA regulation not to have beverages in seat pockets during takeoff and landing. This must have been enacted sometime since Sunday when John last flew and had free reign to place beverage bottles there.
Indiscernible time (midflight)
Some guy is standing up talking to the guy in the row behind us about nothing, it is really annoying
3:52 pm EST
Arrived in Denver, waited to go standby on 2 earlier flights to Seattle with no luck. Thanks to Orbitz for pushing our flight back, we now have a 4 hour layover in Denver. With the exception of the surly flight attendant on the previous flight though, all the service workers from the airlines have been really helpful.
4:30 EST
Found out there is a New Belgium hub in the Denver airport, terminal B. Note to self for future layovers.
Midflight to Seattle
I can’t think of anything more annoying than having small children kick the back of your chair while you are trying to sleep on the plane.
5:30 PST
Arrive in Seattle; John’s Aunt Brenda picks us up at the airport. We go to dinner and call it a night, I am exhausted. John tried fried salmon and I had some delicious halibut with strawberry salsa.
Thursday, July 9
10:00 PST
Brenda and Fred drive us to Anacortes where we will catch the ferry to Friday Harbor. John had some amazing honey wheat pancakes for breakfast. This restaurant also had mile high lemon meringue pie with the largest mass of meringue I have ever seen.
11:45 PST
On the ferry, just spoke to my friend Courtney and her husband has a tee time for when we get off the ferry, John could not be more excited. Meanwhile I am trying to figure out where to go.
On the ferry
2:35 PST
Arrive at our rental house and find out it has an elevator in it. Awesome, we are on the third floor so I won’t have to carry my suitcase up all those stairs!
The party house!
6:30 PST
John finished golfing, Courtney and I went grocery shopping and we started prepping dinner for our friends.
7:30 PST
We have drinks, eat dinner and head to the welcome party for s’mores, yum.
The girls
8:00 PST
We decide to host an after party at our house, which would of course call for flip cup. We start scouting the bbq for a table we can “borrow” for the night.
8:05 PST
We find the table, now we have to figure out how to get this table to our house. Enter caterer with golf cart.
8:10 PST
Harlan and Eric decide to take the golf cart and haul the table up to our house, caterer is pissed. Everyone at the party thinks it’s hysterical
Caterer chasing after golf cart
9:00 PST
I am freezing and we all decide to head back to the house for an a few drinks at our fire pit on the balcony overlooking the harbor.
10:30 PST
Flip cup game is in full effect, the table never made it in, instead we use the dining room table in the bar, oops.
The rest of the night we played drinking games and had fun
Friday, July 10
9:00 PST
Our house is a mess and I have to vomit, except the toilet on the third floor where we are sleeping is clogged up. The toilets on the second floor are attached to the bedrooms so that won’t work, so I have to go to the first floor. Make it barely in time. Woke up Eric (sorry).
9:30 PST
I get sick again. At first I thought it was the drinking, but I did not drink much, hmmm.
10:30 PST
Everyone wants to go to brunch, and although I am not hungry at all, I decide a little fresh air might do me good.
10:40 PST
Find a cute place on the harbor for brunch, order some food.
10:45 PST
I have to vomit, fast where is the bathroom, don’t know, I turn around and vomit off the pier in front of everyone trying to enjoy their breakfasts and the view. Realize I also hit my legs and flip flops, time to go back home. Don’t worry, I am wearing my Chanel sunglasses so at least I was a classy puker.
11:00- 4:00 PST
I got sick pretty much every half hour and cannot keep anything down. Pedialyte, saltines, Gatorade, water… nothing works. Decide that I must have food poisoning. Fortunately, my friend Vesna is there and she is a PA, able to write me a script for some anti-nauseous meds that will hopefully get me through the wedding.
5:00 PST
Robyn’s wedding starts and is a gorgeous ceremony and reception. I manage to make it without any incidents although I am feeling really weak after not eating all day.
9:00 PST
John and I head back to the house, I am exhausted and still not feeling too great, plus we have a 5:00 am flight tomorrow
Saturday, July 11
4:30 AM PST
Wake up and make our way to the plane
Our 5 passenger plane
5:00 PST
Our pilot looks like he is about 16, really nice guy though
5:10 PST
Gorgeous flight, amazing sunrise, I am feeling much better. PS found out the pilot was 22.
10:30 PST
Our standby luck has finally come around, we were able to catch an earlier flight to San Francisco and are now on standby for an earlier flight to Santa Barbara… that would mean a 1:00 arrival… keeping fingers crossed
11:30 PST
We got on the earlier flight to Santa Barbara, woo hoo! This means I will hopefully be able to take a shower before the ceremony
1:10 PST
Arrived in Santa Barbara, now the rental car is taking forever since we arrived early
1:50 PST
Made it to the hotel, found out check-in is not until 3:00, but after I told our story, the manager quickly made a room available.
2:00 PST
John grabs In-N-Out since it is right across the street from the hotel. He forgets to mention that we needed it “to-go” so we now have a nice red tray in the hotel room
3:00 PST
Made it to the church, even before the bride! I can’t believe it all worked out, I am here, ecstatic, and can’t wait to get the fun started
11:00 PST
Had a wonderful time at the wedding, saw some old friends, and really believe all the travel troubles were absolutely worth it.
Sunday, July 12
4:30 PST
Another early morning, this time to catch flight to Denver
10:30 MST
Land in Denver, must run to make connection to Kansas City- starving since we have not been able to eat yet
12:40 CST
Land in Kansas City. Decide to name the airport Kansas Shitty because it sucks. You have to go through security at every gate entrance, such a pain. We really wanted Mexican food because of some recipe for Chipotle taco’s in John’s Esquire magazine, but in order to get to the terminal where “La Taquirea” is located, you have to catch a bus. Not a train like a most airports which run every 5 min or so, an actual bus, “the red bus” to be exact. It runs every FIFTEEN minutes. I mean, this is an airport people, time is precious. So, we decided against that adventure and settled for something called “The Homerun Café”
3:40 CST
Take off and bound for Charlotte, can’t wait to be home!
6:40 EST
Back in Charlotte, now on the way home. We would be going to pick up Morgan, except since the back end of my car is smashed in, we can’t fit her crate. Awesome. Good thing we have such great friends that can fit it in their car and offer to bring her home for us.
We made it, next wedding is August 29!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Independance Day!
It was so nice to have a 3 day weekend! My parents came to town, and we headed to Atlanta, GA to visit my dad’s side of the family. On the way there, we stopped at Marietta Square for lunch and a quick shopping trip. Unfortunately, these were the only pictures I took all weekend.
On the day of the fourth, we had a pool party/bbq/ mini family reunion at my aunt and uncle’s pool. They live in a wooded area, and apparently, a few days before the party, a brown bear made its way down to their property. The bear climbed over the fence (bent the top of the railing as proof), sat down on a hosta plant (now smashed) and went through their trash! They have not seen the bear since, but I was still a little concerned because apparently they were feeding the bear which I’m pretty sure only trains them to come back. It was a fun party though, I got to see family which I haven’t seen in years, met some family members I did not even know I had, and only ended up with 2 bug bites in the process! John came back from Sweden on Sunday and we headed back home then too. Tomorrow, we are off for a crazy wedding weekend, definitely will be posting about that one when we are back. Two weddings, 2 different places, 8 flights....yeah, we are pretty much going to have a story or two.
On the day of the fourth, we had a pool party/bbq/ mini family reunion at my aunt and uncle’s pool. They live in a wooded area, and apparently, a few days before the party, a brown bear made its way down to their property. The bear climbed over the fence (bent the top of the railing as proof), sat down on a hosta plant (now smashed) and went through their trash! They have not seen the bear since, but I was still a little concerned because apparently they were feeding the bear which I’m pretty sure only trains them to come back. It was a fun party though, I got to see family which I haven’t seen in years, met some family members I did not even know I had, and only ended up with 2 bug bites in the process! John came back from Sweden on Sunday and we headed back home then too. Tomorrow, we are off for a crazy wedding weekend, definitely will be posting about that one when we are back. Two weddings, 2 different places, 8 flights....yeah, we are pretty much going to have a story or two.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
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