Thank goodness the house we are buying is brick.

I had the day off today. It was actually pretty productive. I got up around 8:30ish. Had breakfast, did a little cleaning, vacuuming, etc. and then went to get a massage around 11:30. (I've been having some bad knee and hip/lower back issues. But that's a whole nother story.) After that I had my hair blown out and managed to escape the rain on the way home. (Whew.)

I continue Spring Cleaning Part Deux after I return home, when I hear all this loud noise outside. I think to myself, "Self, don't be alarmed. That is probably just thunder since we are supposed to have scattered showers today." (I have to tell myself to not be alarmed since it is just me and Niko right now and our neighborhood is a little sketchy at times.)

I hear this loud thunder three or more times as I'm cleaning. As I gradually move to that side of the house to clean, I realize it's not thunder. Hmm.... maybe the neighbor is working on something next door? I finally go outside to see what the heck is going on.

This is what I see when I look outside.


Guess who's getting a call tomorrow? Hopefully it won't be too windy tonight and it'll stay up there long enough for them to come out and fix it. At least we'll be done renting next month!

Road Trip Highlights

Okay y'all. Some of you know this and some of you don't. The big news is that Tim got a promotion to GM (i.e. his own restaurant) and we'll be moving to Ohio soon. (Gasp!) Shocking, I know. Actually, not too shocking. We were thinking he was going to get a promotion soon but we were just thinking it would be closer to the Charlotte area. Boy, were we wrong.

So Tim actually started his new job about two or three weeks ago and I've been living down here until we have a permanent residence up there. In other words, first-time homebuyers! Heyyyyyyyy. Well, not me, him. But I'll still get to fix it up like I bought it. ;)

Anywho, all this house searching and missing Tim led to a road trip this weekend! An 8-hour road trip to be exact. Thankfully I had Niko along with me to keep me company. He doesn't say much and he likes my music so that's always a plus.

Things I learned from my road trip to Ohio (in no particular order):

• I love my new GPS. A TomTom XL340 somethingorother. I highly recommend it. (It even tells you when to change lanes and when you're speeding like my old one did.) Great success.

• Driving up I-77 is beautiful once you get out of North Carolina and into Virginia. Seriously, I wish I had an extra pair of hands (and eyes) to take pictures of the scenery as I was driving. Niko was especially fond of the cows as we went through West Virginia.

• Up North, the lanes to merge onto the highway/freeway are MUCH shorter. You gotta move it or lose it, sister.

• There is one part in Kentucky where I lost cell phone service for an entire hour. I didn't think that was possible this day and age but obviously Kentucky proved me wrong.

• When in Cincinnati, (ironically also called the Queen City -- weeeeeeird) if you like German food or beer in general, you must eat at the Hofbrauhaus Restaurant. It is authentic German recipes for the food and beer. I can't imagine what that place must be like during Oktoberfest. Craaaaaazy. Actually, this place is in Kentucky. But close enough. (We took lots of pictures there on Tim's camera. They should be in an album online soon if you're curious.)

• Cincinnati is a lot like Charlotte in that it has tons of places to eat and shop. For real. Bonus: Cincinnati has the Ohio River nearby so that gives it a higher notch on the coolness scale. Just because I said so. :)

• These people are big on baseball and bowling. I really hate baseball but I might join a bowling league if it's that serious. I mean, what else are you gonna do for the 3/4 of the year when it's too cold for me?

• My GPS gave me a different route to go home. Therefore, when I was leaving Cincinnati and entering Kentucky, I was amused to see this:

• Also in Kentucky (that state is just full of surprises!) I passed an information sign that said "Colonel Sanders Cafe and KFC Museum next left". Really KFC? You have a museum? Why???? If the recipe is a secret then what are you gonna talk about on a museum tour?

• I just realized that I didn't pass one single cop on my trip. Hmmm....

• Having lots of snacks nearby in the car is good. Forgetting most of your cds and having to listen to the radio for the majority of the trip is not. However, having your cell phone charger handy is also good because then you can catch up with people you never talk to.

That list ended up being much longer and more random than what I originally thought it was going to be, but I think it's a good list and maybe someone will learn from it.

*And this has nothing to do with my trip but I feel like I have to say it: It's very annoying when you have cooked a frozen pizza and you take so long looking for a pizza cutter after you get your pizza out of the oven, that your pizza gets to be room temperature and you result to using a chef's knife to cut your pizza. What gives, people? Really.

I feel so much better now. :)

Happy Mother's Day!

I actually have a story about Bi-Lo that goes along with my Mother's Day dinner for this evening but I'll save it for later because I don't want to get all riled up again.

So to all the moms (and doggie moms and kitty moms) I say have a wonderful day! You deserve it.

I'm posting new pictures instead.

This is what you look at when you sit outside of Cabo Fish Taco for 45 min waiting for a table.

Center of the Earth art gallery. My photography was here for a silent art auction!

Bella being cute. As always.

Lots of new things to discuss but not quite yet. Don't be mad. Just be patient. :)

Another Year Older, ... Another Year Wiser?

but it doesn't really feel that way. Maybe because your 28th birthday isn't really associated with anything too spectacular. Although, they say 30 is the new 20. Or maybe it's just Jay-Z that says that. Either way, it can't be too bad right? Another year down and the start of this one has been pretty good I must say.

As you can see the garden is growing right before our very eyes. We have to guess at certain ones though because he didn't label the rows. Did I say that last time? I can't remember. Hmm... maybe this getting older thing is affecting me....

Anyway. I drove to Winston after work to see my family on Friday and had a great time just sitting around catching up with them. Just being there was nice ya know? Nothing extraordinary just simple and special.

So Tim has an interview tomorrow and I may have big news in the next few weeks to share. Don't go too far. It could get really interesting soon.

Spring has sprung at our house!

We've got two more containers like this!

(I think it's pretty obvious that our soil needs some TLC.)

A few more weeks and we can plant these guys outside!

So this is the beginning of our garden! It's been a few weeks in the making already and we have high hopes about it (even though Tim put some brussel sprouts in there -- not sure about that part but the others are okay). Mainly vegetables with a few herbs. We've also got a few seed packets of wildflowers to sow once it is a little bit warmer. Very excited about that one obviously. :) Wild flowers = pretty photography ops!

These past couple of weeks have been SO busy at work (hence the lack of blogging). If I'm not working on my photography or the Etsy store (new items just added!), then I'm doing something for Earth Month at work. We have got so much going on for Earth Month! Let me tell you about all of our Earth Month projects/fundraisers (all to benefit clean water causes like the Catawba River):

Walk for Water, Freedom Park - April 22 (Earth Day): a 6k walk to benefit Gulf Restoration Network

Earth Fare gift bag "raffle": over $100 worth of organic groceries, etc to benefit the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation (CRF) -- I bet you didn't know that the Catawba River is the #1 Most Endangered River in the United States.

Miscellaneous gift basket "raffle": full of ALL SORTS of awesomeness (mainly gift cards to cool places) -- also to benefit the CRF

Aveda tote bags (already on backorder, hello!): $5 each -- made of recycled plastic Aveda bottles! Very chic.

Organic Lavender candles: $10 each -- 100% of proceeds go to benefit global clean water projects

Annnnnnnnd, I think I'm done. For now.

So that's Earth Month! And we're not even into April yet.

I'm so excited.

My really sore muscles are telling me to go back soon.

The yoga gods finally answered my call this weekend.

Saturday when I was at YogaJam, I met a girl that was in the Charlotte Yoga Club. I thought, "Hmm... Charlotte Yoga Club.... wonder what that's all about?" So I asked and she said that it's 5, 5 dollar, 5 dollar footlongs... I mean! no! darn Subway commercial -- she said it's $5 a class. You can drop in anytime and when it's warmer weather -- like it has been lately, -- they usually have the classes outside. Freakin' sweet! I thought, "This is too good to be true! Maybe they have really crappy instructors or something. There's gotta be a catch somewhere..."

After I got home, I checked out the website and it seemed pretty cool and legit. Sunday morning I got up and drove to Freedom Park and did yoga outside. And only paid $5.00!

And. It. Was. Awesome.

Pure Bliss.

The picture says it all folks.

The picture says it all.

Two stories of pure home decorating bliss.

I made Tim go with me on Monday so I wouldn't be tempted to buy anything. I was a very good girl.

But one day, it's gonna be on like Donkey Kong.

The End. :)

Be Brave Not Beige.

I think this will be my motto for 2009.

Seriously.

I just saw that quote in the IKEA catalogue (I'm obsessed) and I was like, "That's mine! I have to have it!" (The quote that is.) And, yes please, I would like one of everything from the new IKEA store that just opened up in Charlotte. (I haven't even been yet, but I'm just sayin'. I know that's what's gonna happen what I get there. That's why I'm going while I'm broke and without the American Express.)

Be brave not beige, my friends. :)


PS - I sold my first print on Etsy!! Yay for me!

I just found this quote and I love it...

so I thought I'd share it with you.

"Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning." --Mahatma Gandhi