Married: Miriam & Chris

What a beautiful wedding it was for Mirabelle and Chris! I hadn't seen them since the fall and it was so special to be there for the tying of the knot and breaking of the glass (mazel tov)! Chris was the jolliest groom I've ever seen and Mir was beautiful, graceful and oh so classy. The whole wedding was so them, including an impressive first dance!

Dancing and merriment had by all.

The happy couple!

Park Ave roomies (we missed you, Katiebug!)

The chair dance

The lovely Erin who is due in 1 month!

And a special guest appearance by Henry!!

Lately

You know it's summertime when the watermelon cookies come around. We made them every summer growing up and I will continue the tradition. They're just so gosh darn cute.

I also got the chance to catch up with an old friend, Todd and his brother Doc Hendley this past week. Doc is a CNN Hero and the founder of Wine to Water. They had an event at Dolce Vita in NoDa on Thursday night and it was great to see them.

Oh the fun we have on Manor Road! Missing MK, though!

Orange you glad it's Monday?

Well I'm not sure what the weather is like in your neck of the woods, but here in Charlotte, it's a little overcast. In between crazy amounts of work and sneaking in a mid-day (oh so heavenly) massage, I got on FB for the first time in a while. This picture was front and center on my newsfeed and what a lovely burst of color it is for a dreary Monday!

It's taken by one of my favorite photographers. She's pretty popular in North Carolina and she's also my sister! Check out Lucy's website!!

crewcuts' friendly reminder:

"Don't be so shellfish"

(too cute!)

Dr. Michelle Roy

There are those times in life when you are unbelievably proud of your friends. Today was one of those days. Michelle Roy is now a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine!!! Yay Dr. Roy*! It was a gorgeous day in Blacksburg, VA and we had a wonderful time of celebration. I'm going to post more pictures on Facebook, so check 'em out.

I'm so proud of you, Malar!

*Soon-to-be Dr. Michelle Tompkins!

Fig in a pig

Both of my roommates work for Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC!) which means they are usually gone during the summers. The good thing is that they will be on project in two awesome cities: Charleston and New York City. I plan to visit both this summer and say hello while I'm there. The bad thing is, I will be all alone here in Charlotte. :( Well actually, there's only a month that both will be gone at the same time, and we have a girl coming in to sublet, but still!... I am going to miss them terribly!

So last night we planned a last roomie hurrah with appies, wine and fun conversation. I made these, which MK calls 'Figs in a Pig'. My cousin Betsey gave me the recipe (thanks Betts!) and they were a hit. Of course nothing about them is healthy.

A slice of bacon
Wrapped with blue cheese
Along with toasted almonds
and a fig. Secure with a toothpick.

Bake at 350 til they look done. :)

Big news

It's taken 26 years, but I finally like coffee.

Happy Mother's Day

Today is the happiest of all Mother's Days. God gives and takes away, and we have been given such an amazing gift of life. We are thankful.

Here's a picture of me & my Mom right after she finished her last chemo treatment in August. All time favorite memory of the chemo experience: running out of the cancer center with her and being DONE.

I love you, Mom.

Sprinkle Earrings

Are you ever surprised by how you react to things? Oh my gosh. I really surprised myself a couple months ago. Here's the story:

A couple weeks before my birthday I was on Etsy and saw these sprinkle earrings displayed on their home page:

I fell in love with them, and the price. Earrings: $1. Shipping: $1. Birthday Happiness: Priceless. Sold. I don't buy much on Etsy, and was in a rush, so I quickly purchased them (or so I thought).

Now, I love celebrating other people's birthdays but when it comes to my own, I've never been super excited about it. Kinda like Valentine's Day (even if you are dating someone): too much anticipation and you're almost glad when it's over. Except this year, the one thing I was REALLY, REALLY looking forward to was wearing these sprinkle earrings. I talked about it in daily conversation:

"Mom, my sprinkle earrings should be coming soon."

"Have my sprinkle earrings come yet? Have they? Have they?"

"Ginna/Allison, did I tell you that I'm going to have sprinkle earrings for my birthday?! Oh I already told you five times already?"

"What should I wear with my sprinkle earrings?"

Um, yeah. I was really excited about the sprinkle earrings. I mean, how often can you wear cupcake sprinkles on your ears?!

Ok, so it was getting closer to the day of my birth and I hadn't received the earrings. I emailed the girl and asked when they were coming (insert impatience here). She emailed me back and said, "are you cccnyc" or whatever my username is. Long story short, she told me she'd emailed me 3 times because something got messed up with the order and hadn't heard back so she sold them already (insert panic). I told her I never got an email from her... but she apparently sent an Etsy email through my account, which I never check. Arg! I begged her to check and see if she had any earrings left to send me. She said she would look and get back with me the next day.

The next day: I had just finished a service project with my life group when I got in the car, checked my blackberry and there was an email from the girl saying she had no more sprinkle earrings left. I cried. No, I wept while driving down I-77 on the phone with Ginna. That poor Ginna girl had to listen to me cry a river over stupid earrings, and without laughing. Where did this come from?! I couldn't remember the last time I was this upset... and over silly sprinkle earrings, at that! I could barely even tell my roommates what had happened without tears. Oh my word.

So, I realized that this was completely insignificant in the grand scheme of things going on in the world, and I tried to get over it. My birthday weekend rolled around and it was also the cancer-free celebration party for my Mom. Allison & Brian had just arrived for the occasion when she handed me a box with a bow.

Inside was something I was not expecting: beautiful sprinkle earrings. For me. That Alpacs is so thoughtful. What a wonderful surprise and birthday it was!

And every time I see them on my bulletin board, they make me smile :)

Thanks again, Al.

Cinco de Crazy

I'm not sure what I was thinking today...

But first, let me just say that I LOVE holidays, even the small ones. Maybe it's being with kids for so long and using holidays as an excuse to be creative, decorate or for educational purposes. Or maybe because I used to live in the greatest City in the world and everything is magnified and celebrated to the max. Oh, I do love traditions, too, and hate that I'm missing Cinco de Mayo margaritas with my friend Tammy.

Ok, so yesterday the boys and I made a homemade pinata out of a balloon and newspaper. We also made a banner that said: "Happy Cinco de Mayo 2010", and it was written in little kid handwriting, which is so cute to me. But I wanted all this Mexican mayhem to be educational, too. Cinco de Mayo is when Mexico won the Battle of Puebla in 1862. I decided that we should have teams. Boys vs. girls. So, I made the executive decision yesterday that Mar and I were the French (classy, sophisticated French ladies... you know) and the boys could be Mexican. Well! Wil-man would have none of that and insisted that they were French. We went back and forth for a while, but finally I gave in like the gracious nanny that I am. Mar & I would be the Mexicans. {But then, I realized that we win! Yay!}

So we reenacted the war today. Medium used: water balloons. Girls vs. boys. I was the Mexican Commander General, Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin. Mar was the President Benito Juarez. Wil-man was the French General Charles de Lorencez and P was Napoleon III. I had the kids tell me all the facts before the war began and then I brought out the basket full of water balloons (filled up by yours truly). We were all ready when it dawned on me:

It's essentially me against 2 pre-teen boys in a water balloon fight.

What was I thinking?! Needless to say, I got pelted and so did Mar and we spent most of the time running around screaming like little girls. I guess all is fair in (love and) war but next time I'll think through that. We had fun, though! Kids really do make life so exciting.

Meet Toby!

Al & B got a new puppy! Toby is his name and he is just adorable!!

Hello, Saturday

Lots to say....

First, I'd like to wish a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Liz Spangler! This is us celebrating her birthday two years ago at some Italian restaurant in Hells Kitchen (I think).

And since it's also the Kentucky Derby today, I'll go ahead and throw this one up as well from our Derby party in the City.















Hope you had a fun birthday, Liz!

I also have completely WONDERFUL news to share with you! That Ginna girl has been entertaining the idea, for quite some time now, of moving back to the South. Her boyfriend Jeffiepoohfefferson (translation: Jefferson) lives in Raleigh and after two years of long distance, I think they're more than ready to live in the same town. Ginnawin had 4 interviews last week in Raleigh and although she's waiting to hear back from a couple of the companies, she's decided to pack her bags and move! Wahoo!!

We've already decided that there should be a highway directly from Charlotte to Raleigh (why isn't there?!?) and we are to name it the GINARRIE. :)

Ok, so today is also the three year anniversary of when my dearest Grandmother Memo passed away. One of her favorite flowers were peonies, so I try to buy them on the 1st of May. I looked everywhere in Charlotte, but there are none to be found. I was out and about this morning when I noticed I had a Twitter update. Guess what my sweetest friend LeeAnne sent me:

With this note:

"Also some amazing peonies in bloom at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens - this is for you, @cccnyc"

How kind and thoughtful! Thanks, LA!

Also, exactly one year ago I was rolling into Oak Ridge. I had just left NYC and drove home to fight cancer for the summer. I had a strange feeling the other day after I told someone I'd never met that my Mom had cancer. Sometimes it seems like a distant memory. But we're so glad it is just that: a memory, and it's not as consuming.

Today has just been the best day. I slept in, had bagels with my roommates, wrote some letters, went for a run, visited the farmers market, made a strawberry tart for no special occasion, and hung out with the girls at home. It feels like this is the first lazy Saturday I've had in a long while and I'm loving it.

Hope you have a wonderful Saturday!

**Update: it is now Sunday... I didn't get a chance to post this yesterday, oops. But it continued to be a very relaxing weekend after a visit with my Aunt Diane and Uncle Michael. And then tonight I played Settlers of Catan with friends and won! Beginners luck, maybe... but probably not. ;) I'm just so thankful for a relaxing weekend in Charlotte and a chance to catch up on rest.