My Favorite Places

down a country mile in Eastern NC

Montreat, NC

Seattle skyline at sunset

Ocean Isle Beach, NC

my house at Christmastime

Charleston, SC

It's taken me a few days, but I wanted to link up with Gypsy Mama's "favorite place" party. These are some close to my heart and definite favorites of mine.

What We Love Best

There is no way to say how much I needed our anniversary trip. I mean, I think it's been a full year since the two of us have been away together. And let me just say, that's too long. Last year I needed red roosters and antique shopping. This year I needed salty sea air and sand between my toes. It was perfect.

We actually had adult conversations without being interrupted. We got to hang out on the beach with no one needing anything. We swam really far out to a sand bar and rode lots of waves. We had a romantic ocean front dinner and had a delicious dessert (on the house since it was our 10th). We tried to remember things from our honeymoon (day by day), and I was very impressed with how much my hubs remembered...even what we ordered at the different restaurants! We took a late night walk on the beach. We laughed a lot. We watched a great movie. We slept in. We talked about our future. We drank coffee.

But more than anything, we just enjoyed being together. What we love best.

"In Every Person, There is A Family."

We just returned from a great trip to see many wonderful people...some family, some friends, but all loved ones. This morning, while chatting over coffee, with one of these beautiful people, she was talking about how every morning she goes to get her coffee from a little farm store. She greets the employees by name, and even sometimes gets to listen in on their lives. We shared how much we love being a part of others lives, and then she simply said, "you know, in every person, there is a family." And in such a small statement, I felt like she had summed up what I love about knowing people.

Returning from seeing so many in our own family, old and young, and then seeing or meeting other people in other families, I couldn't be more inspired to continue being amazed at how God has made each one of us completely unique. Made to know Him, and made to know one another. We are all such gifts to each other. It makes me sad when silly things get in the way of seeing that. Things like, being too busy, or having too much drama, or being too hung up on all things that aren't right about the person or situation. I like being able to just be. And enjoy the "family" in each one of us.

So hopefully, coming back, I'll be able to enter into this summer a little more restful. Having seen much, and loved many, and hoping to continue on in that journey.

Red Roosters and Antique Stores...Just the Thing I Needed

As I come to know myself more, I learn that there are somethings that I just can't get away from. Take for instance my love affair with the color red. The other day, I was in my room (which for many months has been the catch all room for some reason) and I noticed that I had not one, not two, not three, BUT FOUR lamps with red lampshades. They weren't supposed to all be in there, and weren't even all plugged in. But just to give you the picture, of how much I love the color red. Which is pretty funny because for the longest time I didn't. But then, the week before I graduated college, my friend, Blair and I went dress shopping, and I couldn't take my eyes off the red dresses. But, I tried to ignore it, because, you know, I didn't like red...especially not ON me. After holding it up and being told how great it would look, I eventually got talked into trying the red dresses on, and one thing lead to another, and well, here we are. With four red lamps in my room. I took two out, mind you, and tidied up a bit. Much better with only two, and with my window mistreatments finished after two years of only having half of it done.

After Randy and I had a wonderful night at The Baird House, which is a beautifully restored 1790 Farm House, we ate a delicious country breakfast (she must have known French Toast was my favorite), roamed around by the Watauga River for a bit, and then had a blast going shopping together without our two kids. We always like going to the Mast General Store because it's just such a fun place with lots of different things from shoes, to candy by the barrel, to vintage toys, home decor, to regular food on the shelves. So, I immediately fell in love with this huge red rooster, and it's now making quite a scene in my kitchen. Thus, the other thing that I'm coming to realize more and more. I definitely have some of my country roots left in me. I've never described my style as country. I think my Mom's farm animal trinkets left a bad taste in my mouth. But as I grow more into what my style is, I definitely see how much I love the cottage feel. And I don't mind saying "French Cottage" one bit. But, come on, who are we kidding. French Cottage IS country. So even though I won't ever hang ceramic white and blue cows in my windows, I do have a big red rooster waking me up every morning. I'm just glad it's not this one.

We also went to a few antique stores and boutiques in the Boone / Blowing Rock area. I love going to antique stores - not the ones that are totally overpriced and leave you feeling deflated. But the ones that you can find things for a deal and enjoy giving this old item a new life in your home. I feel like they have a story of their own, and could tell me many secrets of old, if only they could speak. There's something so fun and nostalgic about finding history in pieces of furniture or accessories. Probably why I can't walk away from vintage hats and shoes when I find them at Salvation Army. So, anyway, I found some great deals on some vintage trays and fabric, which later inspired me to make these cute aprons...

I haven't taken the time to make things for a while, so being inspired by all the beauty of Valley Crucis and the creativity of Blowing Rock was a nice boost. I definitely couldn't afford all the fancies of the boutiques, but I did come home and make a few things to add to our shop. Any little girls in need of a tutu?

I think these are the cutest ever, and I've been wanting to make some for a while. All it takes is just a little time and inspiration...and staying up WAYYY past my bedtime. ;)

We ended our time eating a fabulous dinner at The Bistro in Boone and headed back home to our babies. We loved having time for just the two of us. It is so needed in the rush of life and two children, to just take time to dream a little and to truly celebrate this life that the Lord has given us to share. I can't imagine a more perfect get away....well...maybe for our 10th next year, I could. France or Italy, maybe? Yeah, baby!!!

Traveling Man...and Woman

Ok, all in all, it was a pretty good trip! I forgot to mention that our AC isn't working right now - yet another fun thing for the long drive. And if I EVER, EVER say that I'm going to Philly again, make sure that I do not EVER take I 95 again. Seriously.

I 95 - my arch enemy. I 81 - my best friend. LOVE 81. HATE 95.

Going up we were stupid and thought 95 being the most direct route would be best, and since we weren't driving in normal "rush hour" times, that it would be ok. So stupid. Anyway, that's enough of my venting. Oh, the only thing I liked about 95 was I swear Paris Hilton was at the toll beside us with her little Chihuahua in a midnight blue Lexus SUV. any of you star buffs know if she has one of those? or if she was headed back to NYC on Saturday afternoon? b/c I sooooo soooo know it was her. with her beautiful face, hair, and perfect eyeliner - even from a toll over i could tell. And other star search news, on the way home today on 81 we kept passing Rascal Flatt's 18 wheeler of equipment stuff. But I never saw them. Just their big ol semi.

But really, it ended up being very fun. We had a great time with the fam, and the shower was a blast. As River said on the way home, "My favorite part was all of it, except the long drive home." I concur. We let them stay up late and play with cousins and friends each night, just like we always did, and they thought it was great. We ate good food and talked with lots of family. And laughed at fun baby games, and teared up as we said goodbye. As always.

We had about a million pitstops, but these were my favs:

Eileen's Bakery (my personal favorite from the trip up) - Historic Fredericksburg

Picnic on the way back at a rest area in Southern PA

Starbucks across from James Madison University

And out of like 22 hours of being in the car, my kids, I'm proud to say, only watched about 3 hours of movies. Which proves to me that we definitely can do this roadtrip thing better than I expected. It was definitely NOT like our horrible last trip with screaming and crying and... ....well, there were still traffic jams, but the crying just makes it a lot worse. So thanks for all your prayers and support. And, yes, my husband is still glad he married me. ;)

Ready to Go?

As I have mentioned here before, I love spending time with Randy's family.   They're so great, and we love getting together with them.   The only downside is...most of the extended family lives in Philadelphia.   The last time that we drove up to see them in Philly was Memorial Day Weekend, when Asher was 6 months old and River was 3.   Yeah, talk about wanting to jump out of a moving car.    On the freeway.     So, needless to say, in my rash and impatient mindset, I said, "We are NEVER doing this again."

What are we doing this weekend?  Driving to Philly.

I'm really looking forward to celebrating with Randy's sister as she's about to become a new mommy to a sweet little baby girl.   But I'm not looking forward to the drive.    I even went online to look at airplane tickets the other day.    Yeah, not happening.

So my attitude about the shower - great...I've been baking and making, and am very excited to be helping to host this fun event.    

Attitude about seeing family - so great.    Can't wait to be with them.   The last time we saw everyone was Christmas at the beach, so it will be really fun!

My attitude about the drive.   Not so great.   Here was my phone conversation with Randy yesterday.

Randy - "Hey sweetie!   How you doing?"

Me - "Fine.  How are you?"  (remember there are 3 children in the background)

Randy - "Good.  I'm excited about our trip tomorrow."

Me - "Well, that's good.  At least somebody is."

Randy - "I think stopping at a hotel will be fun."

Me - "I don't know why you think it will be fun.   We won't be able to do anything.   We'll get there late and the kids will have to go straight to be.  Then we'll get up and have to eat breakfast and leave immediately.   I don't know why you think it's gonna be fun.   We're not going to be able to go swimming or anything, or we won't even get to Philly until late afternoon."

Randy - "Ok, well, it's good talking to you sweetie."

Me - "Yeah, because I'm so uplifting to talk to right now?"

Randy - "Look forward to seeing you, baby."

Me - "I'm so sure."

Aren't you glad you're not married to me?    That was the extent of my temper tantrum.  I've got to have the sweetest husband known to mankind.   I'm sure you could argue with me, but I wouldn't believe you.    ;)     The thing that astounds me, is that he really meant what he said.   He was still looking forward to seeing me.   Which of course, as you can tell, I wouldn't believe.   'Wouldn't' is the word I choose, because I wasn't willing to choose to believe that he would still want to be with me after being such a....well, you know.     Because in my mind, who would want to see that person that was just acting like that?    I do that with the Lord, too.    When I've been stand-offish and angry about things, I do the same thing.   I say things like, "Oh, yeah, Lord, I'm so sure that You want to spend time with me right now.   Because I'm just living worship, aren't I?!    Yeah, I am so holy and blameless, huh?!"      I'm a bit of a piece of work.   Just ask Emily and Nester their favorite story about my earlier days of being married.    

We're leaving tonight sometime around dinner (which in our family means we'll probably be leaving about 8 o clock).   I'd appreciate prayers for our drive there and back.   That there would be lots of this going on.

But moreso for my attitude.   Who knows, maybe it will even be fun!    But before we can go anywhere, I need to get us packed up.    See where my priorities are - I'm blogging instead of packing.  Good start, Melissa.   Good start.    

The Last Few Days

so, i didn't really make the whole "blogging every day" commitment.    big surprise, i'm sure! not having wireless at the condo didn't help either.    ;)   but i did have a wonderful time with our family on vacation.   we're completely blessed to have family that owns a place at the beach, so we don't have to go into debt anymore when we take our beach vacation!    we always go down to Ocean Isle, and then travel over to Sunset to see the rest of the family that stays over there.    here were our favorite parts of the latter days of the trip:

- beachin it every day - at Sunset or Ocean Isle, the weather was just about perfect.    we all had a blast building sand castles, splashing in the waves, body surfing, rafting, seeing family that we hadn't seen in a while, getting covered in sand, and even catching a couple naps.   (i don't think i had done that since high school!)    

- Calabash Creamery - the other ice cream places down there just don't even compete - if you EVER are in the area, please please go get this homemade ice cream!   It's sooo good - especially in July when they make their famous homemade peach ice cream.    We love getting whatever flavor we're in the mooooood for (haha) and then rocking on the rocking chairs until it either drips all over us (if you're too small to lick fast enough) or it's all gone, and you're happily stuffed with the best homemade ice cream ever!

- going out on the raft - my dad always gets his big raft blown up (like a heavy duty boat kind of raft) and then he takes all the grandkids out on the waves for rides.    it's so fun to see them loving every minute of their time out in the water with grandaddy!    oh, and river let us know that she wants a "pink raft for her 5 birthday".   so if anyone sees one, let me know!    ;)

- Seafood Hut - now here's the best kept secret (maybe not anymore) in Calabash.   I would hyperlink, but they're too old school to have a website.   It's been there forever, and it's this little hole in the wall place that only has about 20 tables, and the same waitresses that have been there for probably 20 years or more.    But every night you'll see the line of people (starting at about 4:45 pm) wrapped around the building waiting to get their turn to eat the best seafood in the area.    It's fun to eat there, but this year we did it as take out and enjoyed it back at our place.    Still just as yummy as ever!

- Ocean Isle Pier - ok, so blast from the past - I used to walk up to the pier and check out the surfers, and hang out with friends/family, act like i was cool, etc.     randy decided he wanted to have a date with the kids one morning before anyone else was up, so he and river and asher went down to the pier and walked out to the end.   they even got to see a sand shark that someone had caught!    so then before we left today, we stopped by and went out all together.   it was really fun, and there were lots of kids out surfing.    it was fun.    they have a little diner now, so we grabbed some lunch there before heading back home.    "this is a fun new tradition", said randy as we were walking out on the pier.    he knows how i love some traditions!

- Once - we're quite a bit behind with our movie watching, and have wanted to see Once for a while.   We had netflixed it, and finally got a chance to watch it!   We thoroughly enjoyed it, and loved the soundtrack.

- Playing games - this is a must do for me at the beach.     we really like games, and this year it was particularly fun because my nephews are old enough to learn adult games, and actually be good at them.    We taught them how to play Pictionary and Yahtzee, and they taught us how to play Rubis.   So we had a good time winning and losing!

- DiDi's Kitchen - my mom in law makes the best big breakfast, and she pulled out her pots and pans a couple mornings while we were down there.   we decided her "restaurant" should be called DiDi's Kitchen.    she loves making it for all of us, and we love eating all of it!

- Sunsets on the Deck - it's so nice to be able to go out at sunset with a drink in hand, and just enjoy rocking on the back deck.   we would head out around 8 most nights, and stay sometimes until 10:30 just talking and hanging out.   the frogs start up their chorus right about the time the sun goes to bed, and we just enjoy the music that they bring.    

We had a great time and are glad to have such a fun family!    

Summer Halftime Report

I feel like I haven't done a very good job at narrating about our summer thus far.   And it's like halfway over already!    So even if it's only for my peace of mind to have it recorded somewhere, I figured now was a good time to catch up.

Well, we started out thinking this summer would be full of packing, raising support, and moving across the country.   However, the Lord definitely surprised us with a change of plans, and we have spent the last couple months adjusting mentally and emotionally to staying right where we are.     It still doesn't all make sense, but we're choosing to trust that where God leads we will follow.   And right now, His leading is to stay put.   So we've been working hard on the business, and having lots of fun not stressing about packing up our lives right now.

One thing in the beginning of the summer that we were doing was reading stories out on the front porch in the evenings.   It was really fun to be able to sit out there as a family and read together on our steps.   Sometimes we would rock, or have ice cream, or talk with passer-bys, but mainly it was just our storytime on the steps.   We only did it for a couple weeks, but I think we need to start up again.   We stopped when we got all the rain for like days on end. Which I'm not complaining about!

We had the chance to head down to the beach with my sweet mom-in-law and two of my closest friends.  One with her baby, and one with her baby on the way!    So it was full of good hang out time, yummy meal times, watching plenty of So You Think You Can Dance, and just being together on the beach.     The first day we were there, we decided to go visit the aquarium.    We even took the ferry over, which made for a fun but long day.   ;)

It was also the first time that Asher really took to the ocean.   He's always loved the beach, by walking all around, or playing in the sand, but the ocean was just more of the background.    This past time, he would go and lay down in the water, where it was coming up, and get it all over him.   Lay down in the tidal pools, splash in the surf, and even wade out to try to keep standing when the waves would start to crash on him.    He.....loved......it.

Then we ventured back to the Boro, for Vacation Bible School.   It was the first year that River really got to do the whole VBS program.    She loved it.   And of course we finished the week up with the traditional shirt signing, 

and pictures with the favorite leader (you know how you always have a favorite camp counselor that you would get lots of pics with?  Well, this was River's crew leader, and she was definitely the chosen one!)   River had a great time learning new songs and stories.

I think one of my favorite things from this summer thus far has been seeing my 2 kids really begin to bond.    I had an older sister growing up, and then when I was 13 I was blessed to be a big sister myself to my twin brother and sister.   But I didn't really "grow up" with a brother.   I was practically out of the house by the time we could really play together.    So, in my mind, I've always wondered how close could a brother and sister really be?    I am so close to my older sister, that it almost seems impossible to be able to be that close with a brother.   But I'm wrong, right?    We probably won't have any more kids, and so I just really want them to have the closeness that I've been blessed with.    All that to say, I've begun to see this start to come out and I love it.   They've also been bickering a bit more, which always makes things nice and exciting around here.    He's always the chaser, and she's always being chased.   He hits....she screams.   You know, your typical boy girl relationship.     And she definitely wants to grow up and marry him. 

Or her favorite cousin, that you can see her sipping hot chocolate with.

This is from the Black Water Loft in Floyd, VA over the weekend of the fourth.   We had a great time camping up at my aunt's farm with my sister and her kids, and then a couple other families.    Floyd is such a fun town to visit, not to mention the exceptional family we get the priveledge of stopping in for blueberry muffins and coffee.   Not exactly roughing it.   But being out under the stars (or thunderstorms) was definitely a needed get away for our family.    Our camera wasn't out very much, so this is basically the only shot from the entire weekend.    Sad, I know.

And last week, I got to go and meet this cute little bundle of a boy named Logan.   Isn't he precious!?    When your baby is almost 2, it's always good to go and get your baby fix for a while.   He's just 8 weeks old, and simply adorable.   And he's practically sleeping through the night, those lucky dogs.   He belongs to my sweet friend, Heather, who I've known since 1st grade, so he will definitely know me as "Aunt Melissa"!     I've already bribed him with presents and lots of bottles.   ;)    It was really fun to see Heather and her husband doing such a great job with their first baby.   Not to mention how much fun I had just snuggling with this little angel!

Well, going from visit to visit, somewhere over the last couple weeks, I've managed to break the LCD on our camera, so hopefully, this next week at the beach, we'll get a few pictures.   Even if they're off center and blurry.    Maybe I'll even take on the commitment to blog every day next week, like my friend Kari has been doing this summer.      But mind you, IF I do, it will only be for the week.   ;)

Oh, and the other thing I've been doing this summer that I LOVE, is the Beth Moore Believing God study.   And if I don't stop typing right now, I'm going to be late to Bible study!!!

Top 10 of NYC Trip

10. Hailing a cab.


9. Times Square at night!

8. Carriage ride through central park on a beautiful day.

7. Walking up on a Toby Keith performance for the Early Show!

6. Playing I Spy from the top of the Empire State Building with my family.


5. Having creme brulee, a chocolate croissant, and fabulous coffee in a cafe at bloomingdales - yes, all at the same sitting.


4. Getting lost in central park with my family, and loving every minute of it.

3. Clapping so hard my hands hurt and shouting, "Bravo!" at the top of my lungs through tear filled eyes after a truly amazing performance of Romeo and Juliet by American Ballet Theatre.

2. Seeing my sister given a standing o after her orchestra played in Carnegie Hall - she's only 15 mind you.

1. Unforgettable moments with my family, on the streets, in museums, at restaurants, or at tourist attractions in a remarkable city that I've wanted to see for years now!