LA's bday last year at Bua. Sunday, January 31, 2010
Happy Birthday LeeAnne!
Happy Birthday to you, LA! I miss you and wish I could celebrate with you today!
LA's bday last year at Bua.
LA's bday last year at Bua. 
Thursday, January 28, 2010
NYC to CLT
My friend Cameron used to live in NYC when I did and among many other fun NYC adventures, she and I would always go see shows and off-Broadway plays together.
One of my favorite show memories is taking our friend Stephanie and blindfolding her through Times Square... I cannot imagine a worse place to be blindfolded, and for Steph's birthday, Cam surprised her (and us) to box seats to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, the show she was working for.
One of my favorite show memories is taking our friend Stephanie and blindfolding her through Times Square... I cannot imagine a worse place to be blindfolded, and for Steph's birthday, Cam surprised her (and us) to box seats to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, the show she was working for.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Joy in Haiti
If this isn't the most amazing picture, I don't know what is:
“Kiki” was buried under the rubble for 8 days but came out grinning from ear to ear…
The little Haitian boy who greeted rescuers with a beaming grin as they freed him from a huge pile of rubble said yesterday, “I smiled because I was free — I smiled because I was alive.”
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Weekend Update
I had one of the best weekends! Friday night the roomies and I went up to Concord where our friend D made chili for us and some of his guy friends. We then had fun playing Balderdash. Whoever knew what a glip was?!
Then yesterday after work I drove to South Carolina to visit with the Amersons, some of my dear college friends! And I got to meet their sweet baby Bailey for the first time. Tracey made a delicious meal and it was wonderful to catch up with them!
I left their house around 8pm and planned to head back to Charlotte until I had a brilliant idea. I knew I wasn't too far from Clemson, SC. What was in Clemson, you ask? Oh that would be the Duke v. Clemson game. So, on a whim, I decided to mapquest it on my phone and drive the extra hour and twenty minutes just to scalp a ticket for the game! WHY NOT?! I drove down, stopped at a gas station to get cheap SC gas and to make sure I was going in the right direction. I also asked some college kid in an orange shirt if he knew of anyone selling tickets. He looked at me like I was an idiot telling me tix were going for $100 each. This did not deter me; I kept driving.
I finally found the stadium and asked a cop where to park. (At this point everyone was inside for the game.) He said I could park anywhere. So I went to the seemingly full lot right next to the stadium and wouldn't you know it that right there was an empty and free parking spot. Holla. So I ran up to the doors and knocked asking one of the game workers if there were any extra tickets and/or scalpers selling them. She said it was a sold out game. Bummer! I could see the scoreboard from where I was standing and noticed it was almost halftime. So I waited outside until the smokers came out and I asked a few people if they had extra tickets. No one did. :(
Halftime was over and people started going back inside. I was still out there by myself (with a sad puppy dog face) when a man I had asked 10 minutes earlier said, "You still haven't found a ticket?" I said no and he went back inside. But wait! He stopped to talk to one of the game attendants and then they both motioned me to come in. She told me that he had an extra ticket! I walked with him towards the game (almost in tears!) thanking him and asking how much it was. He then whispered to me, "I don't really have an extra ticket, but there's plenty of standing room over there." NO FREAKING WAY. I couldn't believe it! I get to see Duke in a conference game for free?!
I had somewhat of a guilty conscience and told the story to a police officer just to double check that it was ok for me to be at this coveted game without paying a dime and having been snuck in. He looked like he could care less and then pointed me towards the best place to stand. Ok, I was on cloud nine. I had a great view, got to watch DUKE cream Clemson and I was ecstatic, plus I eventually got to sit about 5 rows behind the Duke bench.
I am still reeling from this. It's one of my new favorite "on a whim" stories. I'm probably crazy for trying, but it was so much fun!
And that was my weekend. :)
Then yesterday after work I drove to South Carolina to visit with the Amersons, some of my dear college friends! And I got to meet their sweet baby Bailey for the first time. Tracey made a delicious meal and it was wonderful to catch up with them!
Bailey loved my bb and wanted to learn to tweet. ;)
I left their house around 8pm and planned to head back to Charlotte until I had a brilliant idea. I knew I wasn't too far from Clemson, SC. What was in Clemson, you ask? Oh that would be the Duke v. Clemson game. So, on a whim, I decided to mapquest it on my phone and drive the extra hour and twenty minutes just to scalp a ticket for the game! WHY NOT?! I drove down, stopped at a gas station to get cheap SC gas and to make sure I was going in the right direction. I also asked some college kid in an orange shirt if he knew of anyone selling tickets. He looked at me like I was an idiot telling me tix were going for $100 each. This did not deter me; I kept driving.
I finally found the stadium and asked a cop where to park. (At this point everyone was inside for the game.) He said I could park anywhere. So I went to the seemingly full lot right next to the stadium and wouldn't you know it that right there was an empty and free parking spot. Holla. So I ran up to the doors and knocked asking one of the game workers if there were any extra tickets and/or scalpers selling them. She said it was a sold out game. Bummer! I could see the scoreboard from where I was standing and noticed it was almost halftime. So I waited outside until the smokers came out and I asked a few people if they had extra tickets. No one did. :(
Halftime was over and people started going back inside. I was still out there by myself (with a sad puppy dog face) when a man I had asked 10 minutes earlier said, "You still haven't found a ticket?" I said no and he went back inside. But wait! He stopped to talk to one of the game attendants and then they both motioned me to come in. She told me that he had an extra ticket! I walked with him towards the game (almost in tears!) thanking him and asking how much it was. He then whispered to me, "I don't really have an extra ticket, but there's plenty of standing room over there." NO FREAKING WAY. I couldn't believe it! I get to see Duke in a conference game for free?!
I had somewhat of a guilty conscience and told the story to a police officer just to double check that it was ok for me to be at this coveted game without paying a dime and having been snuck in. He looked like he could care less and then pointed me towards the best place to stand. Ok, I was on cloud nine. I had a great view, got to watch DUKE cream Clemson and I was ecstatic, plus I eventually got to sit about 5 rows behind the Duke bench.
I am still reeling from this. It's one of my new favorite "on a whim" stories. I'm probably crazy for trying, but it was so much fun!
And that was my weekend. :)
Friday, January 22, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Lately
What I'm loving:
- wearing a t-shirt and flats (it's 60 degrees!)
- candles and Christmas lights
- a mouse-free house, omg yes!
- brunch with new friends
- hour long conversations with Al
- TJ's Pita Bites with feta
- Amelie's French Bakery
- a new Moleskine mini journal
- the time of day right before the sun sets
- Duke basketball
- Meryl Streep's speech last night
- driving on the highway, music up and windows down
What I'm missing:
- New York City. I missed it a lot today.
- wearing a t-shirt and flats (it's 60 degrees!)
- candles and Christmas lights
- a mouse-free house, omg yes!
- brunch with new friends
- hour long conversations with Al
- TJ's Pita Bites with feta
- Amelie's French Bakery
- a new Moleskine mini journal
- the time of day right before the sun sets
- Duke basketball
- Meryl Streep's speech last night
- driving on the highway, music up and windows down
What I'm missing:
- New York City. I missed it a lot today.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Circus
It's a circus here on Manor Rd. The three of us have been overwhelmed by these stupid mice, which is why I'm posting, yet again, on the subject. Do I want to be writing about mice? No! But that's all I've been thinking about these past few days.
We've set multiple traps, talked to the pest man, had a couple of friends come over to check everything out and learned everything there is to know about a mouse. And did I mention that we're losing our minds? A trap went off last night and all three of us went downstairs together because we're at the point where you just can't clean up a dead mouse and scrub the floor by yourself (which is what I had to do yesterday morning). Sorry to those who are against traps... I'd rather not hurt the mouse either, but safety and now sanity of the mind are what we're going for.
Here's hoping my next blog post is about sunshine and rainbows.
We've set multiple traps, talked to the pest man, had a couple of friends come over to check everything out and learned everything there is to know about a mouse. And did I mention that we're losing our minds? A trap went off last night and all three of us went downstairs together because we're at the point where you just can't clean up a dead mouse and scrub the floor by yourself (which is what I had to do yesterday morning). Sorry to those who are against traps... I'd rather not hurt the mouse either, but safety and now sanity of the mind are what we're going for.
Here's hoping my next blog post is about sunshine and rainbows.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Squeak
I think here are some things a girl should never have to do and seeing & dealing with mice is one of them. While most people in NYC apartments see mice and the usual cockroaches, the most I ever saw on Park Ave were 2 tiny spiders. (Although, I did see a mouse in my Brooklyn sublet.) But in general, I'm pretty used to living life without critters.
Until recently.
Until recently.
Blog friends, we have mice in our house and I am not happy about it. The evidence is as follows: MK's chips were eaten through and crumbs were scattered along the pantry. We found a hole in one of the floorboards. And the number one tell-tale sign: mouse poop. Caitlin caught one last night and we were still on edge.
Tonight I was upstairs when I heard a shriek from downstairs and Cait came hysterically running to my room. She had been sitting on the couch watching tv when she felt something on her back. Oh yeah. It was a mouse. I then flipped out and here we both were screaming and jumping... you know how girls can be.
I then looked at the clock, it was late and we knew our guy friends were probably asleep. If it wasn't almost midnight, they would've been coming over to do the hunting while we peaced out. So I did the next best thing: I called my Dad. C: "Dad, are you up?" Dad: "I am now." C: "Can you [drive 2 hours] come and catch a mouse for us??" I was only (slightly) kidding. I just needed reassurance that we could do it. He said we could and that we should get a cat.
So long story short, I put on my rainboots and we ended up standing on chairs using a broom as a poking device to try and find the mice. Our living room and kitchen look like a total disaster. After not finding anything, I decided to sit for a while, catch up on emails and keep an eye on the newly chewed hole in the floorboard. Sure enough, after our squeals and stomping were quelled, and after it was seemingly safe for our mousey friend, he made his grand re-entrance. He was smaller than I expected and we got him. All I can say is our landlord will be getting a call in the morning. Lastly, if there are any qualified guys who live in Myers Park and are up for the task, let me know. I'm serious. We'll bake you cookies or something.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Fight Like The Gladiator
Back in the spring, right before I went home to NC, I went to a Meat Sauce Monday (a monthly ritual dinner w friends). I had my dear friend Rob sit down and tell me all about his bout with cancer & chemo a couple years ago and how he fought it like a gladiator. He will never know how much this helped and encouraged me as I took his experience and advice home to help my mom fight her battle.
A week ago I found out that Rob's cancer is back and I was quite upset to hear the news. He's going to start chemo soon and will do the treatment in NYC. I'm so glad our group of friends will be there to rally around him, bake him cookies and pray with him. There's also another way to support Rob and that's to go to his sister's website and order one of these awesome shirts. I'll be cheering you on in NC, Rob!
New Year's 2008 in NYC. Neil, me, Alexandria & Rob
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Home Sweet Home
Decorating for me usually happens twice a year. This is not a definite CCC statistic, but more of an average. I'm not, nor ever will be a professional decorator like Katharoo, because while I do know what I like and don't like for myself or home, it usually stops there. 
I got an itch towards the last few days of 2009 to finish a few decorating projects and get my room (and life) ready for a brand new year before the onset of work, busyness and everything else. I hung favorite NYC prints, put up a wreath with adorable vintage lights from Anthropologie above my bed, and dug out and framed an artsy print one of my floor girls made me when I was an RA. But one of my favorite projects was what I did with a window pane I have.
It was a couple years ago and I was talking to Al on a cold NYC morning. I was on 2nd Ave when I saw a teal window pane sitting on the curb. I then proceeded to carry it back to my apartment (anyone on the UES knows 2nd to Park is a hike!). I put pics on it but since moving to the South, it's been blank. I decided to use something I already had to decorate, so I glued on buttons. I like it for now, but who knows what I'll do when another decorating wave hits.
If you have any fun projects you're working on, let me know! I just love how cozy my room feels. I also love how cozy Charlotte feels. It was probably around the first part of December when I realized that I didn't miss the City as much. I swear it felt like the worst break-up ever when I left NYC as I had such withdrawals and sadness every time I thought of it. But sure enough God changed my heart and through new and old friends, events, activities, work and other things, I've made a new city home and we all know that home is where the heart is. My heart is now in Charlotte and I feel quite content.
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