tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43467179702692954492024-03-18T22:40:03.573-07:00Once Upon a Wife LifeAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.comBlogger186125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-35799667167251990792014-05-01T10:16:00.002-07:002014-05-01T10:16:28.492-07:00december backlogs: our merry little christmas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The week before Christmas, we were fully in festive spirit.</div>
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Dusty's family was coming into town soon, and we had decked the halls for <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2014/04/november-backlogs-tis-season.html" target="_blank">Winter Wonderland</a>!</div>
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We were bursting at the seams with holly jolly, so we just <i>had </i>to do something to celebrate all the joy that is <i>christmastime. </i></div>
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What better than gingerbread houses?</div>
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Oh, the art of gingerbread house building. It's fickle, it's delicate, it's tasty!</div>
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Dusty and I were shopping at Target one night, and suddenly we found ourselves being led to the Christmas aisles like a dog on a leash. Only there was no leash, there was just pretty colors and ribbons and candies. </div>
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We saw this big gingerbread-house-making kit, and our eyes lit up. </div>
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Instead of buying the kit, though, we decided to just grab our own fixings! Graham crackers, frosting, candies, etc. </div>
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(Of course, it wasn't that easy -- at first I suggested making gingerbread, which confused Dusty, because he had only made gingerbread houses with graham crackers. <i>Why do you think they're called <b>gingerbread </b>houses, Schanaker? </i>I asked, incredulously. But, I mean, what can I say. He's <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/06/cant-stop.html" target="_blank">a jimmy jon</a>.)</div>
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In the end we stuck with the graham crackers for convenience and easier wall-building, and with our arms full of faux-gingerbread construction materials, we texted Colinoria and basically said, <i>we have the goods to be architectural geniuses with frosting. you're coming over.</i></div>
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It's no mystery that this was a ridiculously fun time. The one surprise, though, was that gingerbread house-making is <i>hard. </i>It's not for the impatient or the faint of heart. You have to be precise, and earnest, and really focused. And you must have ample frosting. Otherwise (like Colin found out many times) your gingerbread masterpiece will cave in on itself, causing utter heartbreak and devastation.<br />
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I spent a lot of time dipping broken graham cracker pieces into the frosting for a mid-build snack.<br />
We also had hot coffee with plenty of cream, which always goes well with sweets!<br />
I put on a DVD of cartoon Christmas classics to play in the background (<i>Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer</i>, <i>Frosty the Snowman</i>...and some super weird and creepy cartoon called <i>Cricket on the Hearth </i>that none of us ever want to think about again.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYCmiP-wmf3BxLOJ-PQDQlHGv22djNkuugtox2mQ9ZvSKN8xrj3n2xBvVaktk-coomP1wHHEPTK9-fQOc10o0bKRY0SpqvmnUubrU8GJJO0AxgqUC13CAiAObq9IofMCZkdkPYbbk9_22-/s1600/156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYCmiP-wmf3BxLOJ-PQDQlHGv22djNkuugtox2mQ9ZvSKN8xrj3n2xBvVaktk-coomP1wHHEPTK9-fQOc10o0bKRY0SpqvmnUubrU8GJJO0AxgqUC13CAiAObq9IofMCZkdkPYbbk9_22-/s1600/156.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>My house</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Victoria's house</i></span></td></tr>
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Actually there were two surprises about this process: the boys were <i>way more into it </i>than us girls were.<br />
I mean, Victoria and I were done probably a full hour before the boys were. Haha. Not that we were impatient or bored, because there was still plenty of candy and frosting on that table.<br />
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Dusty's house practically had a history to it, a storyline, with plot twists and character developments and all kinds of nonsense. His was the Father Christmas of gingerbread houses.<br />
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I mean, seriously, he made a <i>sled </i>for the front yard. And an ice rink. And walking stones. And Christmas lights. And a licorice log pile. And a candy cane doorway.<br />
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Colin ended up creating a rather convincing safe house for the elves, complete with "SOS" on the top.</div>
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It was the best.</div>
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Call me crazy, but I absolutely love a super messy fun table after a night of crafting or eating or whatnot. It makes me feel really happy and accomplished.<br />
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A few days later, Dusty and I decided to have our own Christmas morning tradition.<br />
Dusty's family was coming in that Saturday, so we had to improvise and have our Christmas on a Friday! December 20th. I went into work late that day, so we could open presents together and, as always, go to IHOP.<br />
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We had a basement growing up as kids, which is where my brothers lived -- but our Christmas tree and the Christmas morning experience was always on the main floor, so we never had that <i>tiptoeing downstairs to see Santa </i>type of experience. The boys would occasionally sneak <i>upstairs, </i>but for me all I had to do was crack my door open, because my room had a full view of the living room!<br />
I do remember one year though, when we decided to have Christmas in the basement. I don't remember why, but I remember it being so strange and fun.<br />
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Every year when we do our own little Christmas, I have gone downstairs, turned on all the lights, cleaned everything up and lit some Christmas candles, and then gone to wake up Dusty and have this kind of glowing moment at the top of the stairs.<br />
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Ah, what a lovely sight.</div>
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One of my favorites in the world. Christmas in apartment 813. </div>
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(Speaking of 813 -- Victoria gave us a little Christmas ornament of a key, with a cardstock tag on it with our address on it, to always remember this home. <i>Tears</i>). </div>
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We plop down in our pajamas, and always take turns opening presents.</div>
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We always get each other all kinds of little things, so we have lots to open and it's fun!</div>
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This year, Dusty wrote different "to"s and "from"s on every single package. Things like "To: Mac", "From: Cheese" and other pairings that are cute or romantic in some way.</div>
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Like Mary and Francis from <i><a href="http://voguishatbest.blogspot.com/2013/11/reign.html" target="_blank">Reign</a>.</i></div>
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But then he threw in the worst one <i>ever, </i>because he knows how much I <i>hate it. </i></div>
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Evangeline Lily and Fili the Dwarf....or in other words, the bogus elf and dwarf love story from the new Hobbit movie. I'm sorry, but <i>no no no no no no no. </i></div>
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I think I ranted about this for a good hour after we saw that movie in theaters with Colinoria.</div>
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I still don't like to talk or think about it.</div>
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It infuriates me. </div>
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Luckily the wrapping contained the Jurassic Park trilogy, so all was forgiven!</div>
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He also got me my favorite book, <i>The Way of Kings </i>by Brandon Sanderson, in hardcover -- and some really fun glitter OPI polishes (which <a href="http://voguishatbest.blogspot.com/2014/01/im-ready.html" target="_blank">inspired me</a> to stop biting my nails).</div>
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We then got dressed up in some comfy sweaters to take goofy photos and head over to IHOP for breakfast!</div>
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Normally we'd go in our pajamas, but I had to work that day, so no pajamas for me!</div>
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I kept calling this his reindeer sweater, because I bought it for him for Christmas, and even though I know it's <i>not </i>a reindeer, it's still a reindeer sweater to me.<br />
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<i>A very merry little Christmas indeed. </i><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-39861505289857407132014-04-30T10:36:00.002-07:002014-04-30T11:08:25.649-07:00december backlogs: long live friends<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Everybody do the Chandler smile!</div>
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Welcome to the third annual <i>Friends </i>party. Oh, how we all love Friends.</div>
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Friends has efficiently permeated our relationships, resulting in constant quotes, references, and reenactments of this classic show. </div>
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To celebrate this, Allison hosted the first <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/11/our-friends.html" target="_blank">Friends party</a> 1L year. It was so much fun we decided to do a sequel, which culminated into a well-rounded trilogy when Greg and Allison moved back to town!</div>
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This time around, the only ones left in Lynchburg from the original group were me and Stephanie. We decided to open it up as a couples party, so Dusty and I carpooled out to Salem with Stephanie and her husband Josh. Our other friends Heather and Chris decided to come all the way down from DC to join the party, too! It was such a fun reunion!!</div>
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The menu was <i>pizza, </i>of course, and Allison made her amazing deep dish for the occasion.</div>
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We also had chocolate pie and cheesecake, because, the one with the cheesecake!</div>
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We always like to try and dress up as our favorite characters, and we each pick our favorite episode for the evening's marathon. It's always a fun and eclectic selection!</div>
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I decided to dress up as Phoebe, as I did 1L year. Dusty <i>was </i>going to dress as Mike, but he was a little bummed because Mike pretty much dresses exactly like he always does. He wanted a real <i>character.</i></div>
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So, naturally, he chose Joey -- <i>as Freud!</i></div>
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Greg and Allison went <i>all out </i>for their Chandler and Monica outfits.<br />
If you've seen this Halloween episode, then you'll know how great this is!<br />
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Best costume award.</div>
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It was just great to be together again. Especially since so much had changed! Both Allison and Heather had had little girls that past April, Stephanie and Josh had graduated and were moving at the end of the year, and Dusty and I were getting read for our <i>last </i>semester of law school! It had all gone by so quickly.</div>
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So cute!</div>
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My favorite episode will probably always be The One with the Videotape. It's pretty incredible.</div>
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But, for those who care to know, this is my list of the top 10 Friends episodes (from a Facebook post I made our very first month living in Virginia, when I was still unemployed!):</div>
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Get ready for this. These last few days of unemployment have been spent making this list...now, I wouldn't say I am ready to laminate this...but it's pretty darn close. </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b>My top 10 favorite Friends episodes. </b></span><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b>1. “The One with the Videotape”</b> (season 8)</span><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><span style="line-height: 18px;">--Because it’s brilliant, and hilarious. Nuff said.</span><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b>2.</b> <b>“The One Where Everybody Finds Out”</b> (season 5)</span><br style="line-height: 18px;" /><span style="line-height: 18px;">--Because I don’t think there is anything funnier in the history of friends, than when Phoebe screams out “My eyes, my eyes!” and they get Ross to jump into their excitement. I also enjoy "naked Ross". And on top of everything else, Phoebe’s dance to seduce Chandler. Chandler </span><span class="_4-k1 img sp_8dfw2k sx_d24d98" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yG/r/yPn8WKWBhkW.png); background-position: -34px -92px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: auto; display: inline-block; height: 16px; line-height: 18px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"></span><span style="line-height: 18px;"> Monica.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629603:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0" style="line-height: 14.079999923706055px;"><b>3. “The One with the Stoned Guy”</b> (season 1)</span><br data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629603:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$1:0" style="line-height: 14.079999923706055px;" /><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629603:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$2:0" style="line-height: 14.079999923706055px;">--Because of tartlets, sugar-o’s, and dirty talk!</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: #eeeeee;">Side note: I've recently been rewatching this season, and it's so great. I also love "the one with george stephanopoulos"...you're still getting to know the characters, phoebe wears footy pajamas, the girls have a sleepover, and rachel realizes she's gonna be okay -- "i have magic beans!"<br data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629603:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$3:0" style="line-height: 14.079999923706055px;" /><br data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629603:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$5:0" style="line-height: 14.079999923706055px;" /><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629603:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$6:0" style="line-height: 14.079999923706055px;"><b>4. “The One where Ross is Fine” </b>(season 10)</span><br data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629603:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$7:0" style="line-height: 14.079999923706055px;" /><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629603:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$8:0" style="line-height: 14.079999923706055px;">--Because of…everything. This entire episode. Oh my goodness. From Ross’s fajitas, to his L-O-V-and-E…hahaha. </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><br data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629603:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$9:0" style="line-height: 14.079999923706055px;" /><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629603:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$10:0" style="line-height: 14.079999923706055px;">Side note: the one right before this, “the one after joey and rachel kiss”, has some of my favorite phoebe moments. Her and Mike on the plane, and when she’s talking to Precious, Mike’s girlfriend…”Dang it woman, pull yourself together! Have some pride, for the love of God!”</span></i></span></div>
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<span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629603:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$10:0" style="background-color: #eeeeee; line-height: 14.079999923706055px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629617:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><b>5. “The One with the Embryos" </b>(season 4)</span><br data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629617:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$1:0" /><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629617:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$2:0">--Because of THE GAME. The rooster and the duck, and because of Mrs. Chanandler Bong…(and I love the intimate Phoebe/Embryos conversation. It reminds me why Lisa Kudrow is so great).</span><br data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629617:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$3:0" /><br data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629617:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$5:0" /><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629617:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$6:0"><b>6. “The One with all the Cheesecakes” </b>(season 7)</span><br data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629617:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$7:0" /><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629617:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$8:0">--Because of Chandler and Rachel. I love them together, and this is the only real episode where they’re paired up for a significant amount of time. I also love the portrayal of Phoebe and Joey’s relationship…I love that they spend so much time together. And David returns!</span></i></span></span></div>
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<span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629603:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$10:0" style="line-height: 14.079999923706055px;"><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629617:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$8:0" style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629632:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><b>7. “The One where Eddie Won’t Go”</b> (season 2)</span><br data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629632:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$1:0" /><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629632:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$2:0">--Because I LOVE the Eddie episodes. His laugh, his creepiness. And the Goddess meeting. </span></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629603:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$10:0" style="line-height: 14.079999923706055px;"><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629617:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$8:0" style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629632:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$3:0" /><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629632:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$4:0">Side note: “the one with phoebe’s husband”, also from season 2…phoebe never ceases to surprise, and i love the back-and-forth that reveals that chandler has a third nipple! "whip it out, whip it out!"</span><br data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629632:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$5:0" /><br data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629632:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$7:0" /><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629632:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$8:0"><b>8. “The One with Ross’s Inappropriate Song”</b> (season 9)</span><br data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629632:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$9:0" /><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629632:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$10:0">--Because of the rap. And, I love fancy Phoebe at Mike’s parent’s house. I love everything about this episode.</span></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629603:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$10:0" style="line-height: 14.079999923706055px;"><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629617:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$8:0" style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629632:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$11:0" /><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629632:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$12:0">Side note: season 9 is a great. I love mike. I also love “the one with phoebe’s birthday dinner”, because of the baby/eagle fiasco.</span></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629603:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$10:0" style="line-height: 14.079999923706055px;"><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629617:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$8:0"><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629632:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$12:0" style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629638:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><b>9. “The One with the Apothecary Table”</b> (season 6)</span><br data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629638:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$1:0" /><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629638:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$2:0">-Because I love Phoebe and Rachel as roommates, and love that they make an entire episode around pottery barn. Ah, the days of yore.</span></i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629603:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$10:0" style="line-height: 14.079999923706055px;"><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629617:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$8:0"><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629632:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$12:0" style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629638:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$3:0" /><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629638:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$4:0">Side note: a close runner up to this is “the one where paul’s the man”…because I really like Ross and Elizabeth’s relationship, and Bruce Willis is hilarious. When Ross is behind the door in Paul’s room, and he slinks down to crawl under the bed…kills me every time.</span><br data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629638:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$5:0" /><br data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629638:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$7:0" /><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629638:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$8:0"><b>10. “The One with the Giant Poking Device”</b> (season 3)</span><br data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629638:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$9:0" /><span data-reactid=".2d.1:3:1:$comment10150360622420396_19629638:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$10:0">--Because “if you’re alive, you ANSWER your phone!” and “Monica bang”…”It’s just a blood bath in here today!”</span></i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-51232397573789158942014-04-30T09:43:00.002-07:002014-05-01T11:00:34.954-07:00december backlogs: every little bit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJypymn_GIcKcMTo-kGFPqgk4kShX2hc6lh5HFzJvCeXsk-czGyPLSE1PcaMFk-0dEp_IcIyAOrtPv3RptdnHfqaZCj8yaUnaIsmhJyZkCBrD8_eXAK5ThITgy7XdVfsocuMe8md2zEtX/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJypymn_GIcKcMTo-kGFPqgk4kShX2hc6lh5HFzJvCeXsk-czGyPLSE1PcaMFk-0dEp_IcIyAOrtPv3RptdnHfqaZCj8yaUnaIsmhJyZkCBrD8_eXAK5ThITgy7XdVfsocuMe8md2zEtX/s1600/1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>luna enjoying winter wonderland // getting my hair done // the finished product<br />dusty before finals // apple cider while watching the sound of music<br />vintage christmas market // the christmas tea // law wives at the christmas tea</i></span></td></tr>
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I think December was one of my favorite months of the entire year.<br />
There were so many wonderful moments, and as I was looking through all of our events and photos and get-togethers and festivities to put together some backlog posts, I just couldn't narrow them down.<br />
I figured showing a reel of my Instagram account would accurately portray what this month was like for us.<br />
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Our house was fully decorated for Christmas, which is always so much fun. It makes the month merrier, for certain. The beginning of the month always means finals time for Dusty, so he was pretty busy studying and staying up super late with his study group to prepare.<br />
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On the day of the finals meal (the law wives put together a finals meal every semester, for law school students and families to come and eat for free to ease some of the stress of that week) I went a little crazy and got my hair done! Red tips/ombre. I absolutely loved it, once it mellowed out a little bit. It has been really really fun having a slightly daring hairstyle. At this point it's more of a strawberry blonde, and I kind of miss the brighter red! Maybe I'll do it again.<br />
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Emilie and Victoria and I all gathered at Emilie's house (which is one of the most beautiful apartments I've ever seen -- they rent the upstairs of the house to another law couple, and they've completely renovated the basement. It's like looking at a catalogue) to watch Carrie Underwood's <i>The Sound of Music</i>. I know the show got a lot of flack, but it was such a fun girl's night! I really liked it. Emilie had cookies and this amazing apple cider that she mulled herself because she's just legit like that, with whole cinnamon sticks as garnish and everything. I think I drank like 15 teacupfulls.<br />
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On the first Saturday of December, we had book club (we had read Brandon Sanderson's <i>Legion</i>), and afterward I headed down the street to the vintage Christmas market with one of my book club friends, Allison. The market is always really fun, I've actually managed to go every year! They usually have a spring and a Christmas one. It's a pretty huge event, full of local vendors and vintage shops.<br />
But this time they held it in this really cool building downtown that's mostly glass. It was a really cold day, and they had complimentary coffee from White Hart right outside the door. We browsed a bit and shopped. It was so fun!<br />
That same day we had <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-last-christmas-tea.html" target="_blank">the Christmas Tea</a> for the law wives, which was always my favorite event!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIRvB-no2TTp8mEZrGm4sxW7cZ1DX7WJuGw21yxmAM1GnHh3vHll7VaF24kBl4LBt9lkDSTQ5LtRBAT6LUXsWWkF1mGP7Bc4JWZ_4pZsVXPZArny54c0aCa_k08QZZOrpMoylwZsTsjLPy/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIRvB-no2TTp8mEZrGm4sxW7cZ1DX7WJuGw21yxmAM1GnHh3vHll7VaF24kBl4LBt9lkDSTQ5LtRBAT6LUXsWWkF1mGP7Bc4JWZ_4pZsVXPZArny54c0aCa_k08QZZOrpMoylwZsTsjLPy/s1600/2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>lazy mornings with tea and muffins // reading and cuddling // our home<br />done with finals, time for sushi // seeing the hobbit // at the farmer's market<br />victoria and i // friends // friends party // making gingerbread houses<br />my masterpiece // dusty and colinoria // dusty's masterpiece // handmade cat necklace</i></span></td></tr>
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On December 8th, it started to snow. I woke up early and made some chocolate chip muffins (I had to wing the recipe because we didn't have any eggs, but they turned out <i>so </i>delicious), brewed some strong tea, and woke Dusty up. We bundled up on the couch with the cats, and he worked on studying while I read <i>The Book Thief. </i><br />
Just looking at those photos brings back such a lovely warm feeling. I absolutely loved that day. It was a beautiful and cozy winter day that made me start thinking about how much I was going to miss this home.<br />
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On December 11th, the boys were officially done with finals! So we went out with Colinoria to celebrate with half-off sushi at Wasabi. We spent that week and weekend having <i>so </i>much fun with our friends. We went and saw the midnight showing of The Hobbit, hung out at the farmer's market, and had our third annual friends party. It was the absolute best, because Allison and Greg had temporarily moved back (so she was able to host it, like the past 2 years), and our other friends from DC came down for the weekend, too! It was a mini reunion of our original group from 1L year. It was really cool.<br />
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The next day we had a crazy awesome gingerbread house decorating extravaganza. Dusty's gingerbread house even had a pool. We ate <i>so much </i>frosting.<br />
I think the four of us were there for hours, building our houses and laughing as they all fell down at least once (or in Colin's case, like, five times). Dusty and I had gone to Target and bought everything to make them, and had basically sent them a text saying, <i>we have the goods! You're coming over! </i><br />
One of the many reasons why we love Colinoria.<br />
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To top it all off, my friend Stephanie sent me this absolutely amazing handmade necklace of our two cats, Luna and Eva. (<a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/inspiredforest" target="_blank">Check out her Etsy shop</a>). I totally burst into tears when I opened up the package. It was the best early Christmas present ever!<br />
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Mid-December meant it was time for Christmas celebrations to commence!<br />
Dusty and I always have our own little Christmas celebration (<a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/01/our-first-christmas.html" target="_blank">1st year</a>, <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/12/christmas-sequel.html" target="_blank">2nd year</a>), so we went ahead and had one right before Dusty's family came into town! We opened presents and went to ihop, because for some glorious reason, that's our little tradition. There's something delightful about crappy ihop coffee for the holidays. Mmmm.<br />
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We also had the <i>best </i>time going to see Frozen with Colinoria. They had Christmas crackers, which we had never heard of, but Colin has some British heritage and they've always been a fun tradition for them. Basically you each pull on the end (kind of like a thanksgiving wishbone -- the one with the bigger end gets the prize!), they shoot out confetti like a typical New Year's confetti popper, and inside there's some sort of gift! I got cuff links, and Dusty got a bookmark. They're pretty spectacular.<br />
But the <i>best </i>part is that inside each one there's a shiny gold crown. So we put on our crowns and waltzed in to watch Frozen.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>our "christmas" // favorite gifts // traditional christmas ihop<br />christmas crackers and frozen // the view of DC // the capitol<br />good stuff eatery // funny girls // sister bloopers // dusty and wyatt<br />the tidal basin // me and FDR // desserts from steak and shake // breakfast downtown</i></span></td></tr>
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The rest of the month was family-tastic. Dusty's family flew into DC, so we went down there to spend the first few days of their visit in the nation's capital! We had a blast. We toured around and just enjoyed each other's company. There's so much to see in DC! Dusty and I had been there several times before, so mostly we just sat back and let his family take the lead.<br />
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Once we all got to Lynchburg, they settled into the house they were renting for the week, and we started showing them our city little bit by little bit! One of the first items on the docket was to show them downtown. We ate at Market at Main for breakfast, one of our favorites!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>lavender lattes // at white hart // i object! at the law school // kissing over lynchburg<br />christmas eve service // christmas cat cards // sibling love // sibling bloopers<br />merry christmas morning to you // walking around rivermont</i></span></td></tr>
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It was so fun having them in town. His parents had visited us before, but never around Christmas, and his siblings had never been here. They got to see our crazy Winter Wonderland apartment, too!<br />
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We showed them downtown Lynchburg, had them all experience White Hart and the famous lavender latte, gave them a tour of the law school (where we all got to sit and goof around in the courtroom -- shhh! don't tell!) and the rest of campus, including Snowflex, which overlooks the city of Lynchburg.<br />
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Because they rented a house for the week, we were all able to fit in one place! It was a blast. There were enough beds for all of us. We all went to church together for the Christmas Eve service, and then were able to celebrate a pajama-clad Christmas morning.<br />
We continued sightseeing the next few days, as well, going around the Rivermont area and showing them some of the super cute shops and historic houses of the area.<br />
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We took them over to Hollins Mill Waterfall, which ended up being a really fun spot for our day of sightseeing! The waterfall is gorgeous, and it was such a cool crisp day that there were icicles all along the wall by the water. We all took photos and shivered in the cold!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>hollins mill // waterfall // monticello // snow cones</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>jimmy's on the james // </i><i>fried oreos & donuts // </i><i>christmas photoshoot</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>downtown taco truck // </i><i>tacos from taco shark</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>farmer's market puppy // </i><i>d-day memorial // </i><i>market at main</i></span></td></tr>
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The next stop was Monticello, which is one of those must-sees of Virginia. Thomas Jefferson's home is so full of history and interest.<br />
We've been there I think four times now, having been with all our family on each of their trips!<br />
We also took everyone to Caribbean Snow for snow cones, because it's another must.<br />
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Dusty's brother and sister-in-law had to leave a little bit earlier that week, so our last big dinner out was just the six of us couples and little Wyatt! We took them to Jimmy's on the James for some yummy food and dessert.<br />
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While the whole family was still together we did a family photoshoot, and the pictures turned out <i>so </i>great. We all wore green and navy and grey, and some of the pictures of Dusty and I are some of my absolute favorites.<br />
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On their last full day in town we went downtown to show the fam the farmer's market, and we had lunch at the Taco Shark truck. Seriously some of the most delicious tacos I've ever had! One of mine was a winter butternut squash taco that pretty much changed my life. Taco Shark has been closed ever since then, trying to upgrade and redo their kitchen and whatnot, so this is the one and only time we've ever had them!<br />
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We finished our day at the D-Day Memorial in Bedford, which is absolutely stunning. The surrounding mountain vistas are beautiful. They have a really great tour there, and I'm so glad we got to go!<br />
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We ate at Market at Main one last time before they left, and it was really hard to say goodbye, especially to Wyatt. They left from downtown to go back to DC, to spend a little more time in the city before hopping on their flight back to Arizona.<br />
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The tail end of the month was really exciting at work (as exciting as interlibrary loan can be!)<br />
We were <i>finally </i>moving into the new building. We were going to have <i>windows! </i>This was a big event. It was oddly sad saying goodbye to the old closet room of an office, seeing my empty desk and bidding it forever adieu. It had been a good little corner of my world for a while. I remember first walking in there, and hoping they would pick me to work there!<br />
The first few days at the new building there was no electricity in our office, but I still had to work. Don't ask me how, because nothing worked and I couldn't <i>do </i>any work, but I still had to be there. So, I sat on my desk, daydreamed, stared at the window, read books. It wasn't all that bad. No one else was there, since they all still had vacation time saved up.<br />
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On New Year's Eve, we headed back out to Salem to see Greg and Allison and celebrate the New Year <i>and </i>both of our anniversaries! They were married on New Year's Eve, and we were married on New Year's Day! So we hung the banner, clinked our glasses and hung out all night together.<br />
We had <i>fondue </i>for dinner and dessert. Yum yum yum. Bread and cheese is always a great idea. For dessert Allison had prepared an amazing platter of things that go well dipped in chocolate, sweet and salty alike. I'm definitely thinking that fondue should be a NYE tradition. We need to get a fondue pot!<br />
We set off confetti poppers (Dusty and Greg had a confetti popper war, really), we toasted, we laughed.<br />
I had to work the next day, so we weren't able to spend the night, like we did over Thanksgiving. And since we didn't want to be driving past midnight, we decided to put on a NYE episode of Friends and do the big countdown with them! It was really fun.<br />
This was our last big event with Greg and Allison before they told us they'd be headed back to Illinois. It really bookended the year and our extra bonus time with them!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>empty old office // brand new office // sitting on my new desk<br />driving to salem // happy anniversary // new year's eve // allison and i<br />goofing off // nye fondue // cheers to the new year!</i></span></td></tr>
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All this to say...December was a month for the books. It was such a great month, and going through my packed Instagram and trying to "summarize" it all was nearly impossible. I loved it. It was the perfect way to end a great year.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-26216953234867308522014-04-29T10:44:00.002-07:002014-04-30T09:30:18.175-07:00november backlogs: thanksgiving<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2014/02/october-backlogs-state-fair.html" target="_blank">A while back I mentioned</a> that our dear friends Greg and Allison had hugely surprised us by moving <i>back </i>to Virginia, after we had said our tearful goodbyes to them upon their graduation from law school the previous May. They were a year older than us, so we had been preparing for them to leave us eventually. </div>
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They moved back to Illinois to be with their families...but now they were <i>back! </i></div>
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We helped them move in and get settled in their new town of Salem. It was a cute little town with a fun main street, and...they kind of hated it. </div>
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Which brings me to the other thing I mentioned: that they are actually currently <i>back </i>in Illinois. They were actually only back in Virginia for 3 months before deciding to move home again. </div>
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I won't get into too many details, but the point is, they missed us and decided to spend our last fall semester closer to us. I can't really blame them!<br />
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As Thanksgiving was drawing closer, we decided to spend the holiday together! They didn't have family coming in and neither did we, so we headed out to Salem on Wednesday night. They got a babysitter and we went and saw Catching Fire!<br />
It had come out the week before, and we had all patiently waited to see it together. It was actually really cold and snowy that night (I remember because on the way into the theater, Dusty grabbed a snowball from a car's bumper and pelted it into my hair), and it was so fun to all bundle up into the theater and see the movie! We had seen Hunger Games together when it came out (we even <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/04/birthday-visit.html" target="_blank">had a party</a>), so it was perfect.<br />
The movie was awesome, by the way, one of my favorite book-to-movie adaptations ever!<br />
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We spent the night at their place and in the morning, it was time to celebrate!<br />
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Allison was a beast and actually made a full turkey, and it was gorgeous.</div>
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We watched Thanksgiving episodes of Friends, naturally, but mostly we ended up kind of centered in the kitchen (because it all smelled so darn good), helping and/or playing with their kids!</div>
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Once it was time to eat, we could all hardly control our glee.</div>
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Greg did the honors of carving the grand Turkey, and we all settled in for a long afternoon of eating, eating, eating. </div>
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Also, side note: they make super adorable children. </div>
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<b>The menu:</b><br />
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<i>Herb and Butter Turkey (hand gutted by Lady Allison)</i><br />
<i>Jalapeno Cheddar Stuffing</i><br />
<i>Grilled Parmesan Red Potatoes</i><br />
<i>Pecan-crusted Sweet Potatoes</i><br />
<i>Cranberries</i><br />
<i>Crescent rolls</i><br />
<i>Chocolate Pecan Pie</i><br />
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I mean, slap my arse and call me Judy. What a feast!<br />
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It was the best.<br />
The holidays are such an intimate time, really, and usually reserved for family.<br />
For me, all jokes aside, if they came back for only 3 months and the only benefit was us being able to spend Thanksgiving together, then...I truly am incredibly thankful for that.<br />
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(They had also recently celebrated Aidan's birthday, so his banner was still up!)</div>
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Greg and Dusty battled over the wishbone, and after trying 2 or 3 times (it was still too greasy), they finally were able to break it!</div>
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Another Schanaker victory!!! </div>
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So so happy for that extra time and those memories! </div>
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Thanks again for your wonderful friendship, you cutie pies. </div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-21467026095744650372014-04-29T10:20:00.002-07:002014-04-29T10:20:05.951-07:00november backlogs: tis the season<br />
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As soon as you break out the eggnog, the time has come. It's the holiday season. </div>
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We had our first eggnog over at Colin and Victoria's house, sprinkled with nutmeg and all, and it was like a big <i>whoosh! </i>Here come the spices, the cinnamons, the pumpkin spice lattes, the winter time, the desserts, the festive feelings, the <i>Christmas. </i></div>
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Obviously Thanksgiving comes first, but in our household, there's a thing called <i><a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/11/winter-wonderland.html" target="_blank">Winter Wonderland</a>. </i></div>
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You see, Winter Wonderland can't be rushed, thrown up and torn down between December 1st and January 1st. It's a thing to be savored, it's a <i>feature. </i>It's grand and mighty and yes, it supersedes Thanksgiving. </div>
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Therefore, November 23rd, 2013, <i>this happened:</i></div>
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Winter Wonderland is a commitment.<br />
I spend weeks beforehand, shopping online and adding things to my wishlist, carefully eliminating the unnecessary (let's be honest, <i>all of this </i>is unnecessary -- but sometimes the unnecessary things are the most <i>fun!</i>). This cat bed was by far my favorite purchase. Luna spent a <i>lot </i>of time in it this winter, and it was seriously the cutest.<br />
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By the time I had WW'd our apartment, it was pretty legendary.<br />
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Let us take a tour, shall we?<br />
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I think I really outdid myself this year. Granted, it was easier, because I had the basics from last year still in our collection. I can only imagine what Winter Wonderland will be like in ten years!<br />
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So that was the downstairs. Glowing, cheery, detailed, crazy. </div>
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I did a little bit of decoration in our bedroom last year, but decided to kick it up with a notch with some upstairs bathroom decorations, and some more in our bedroom!</div>
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I loved this giant red Santa shower curtain, and Dusty has always <i>loved </i>penguins. </div>
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Our bedroom was the best. Man, I love Christmas.<br />
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Like last year, I did all of this in one day, while Dusty was out of the house studying.<br />
It's a really fun surprise (and a <i>lot </i>of work, I think I went through 8 Christmas movies), and something that I'd love to continue in the years to come.<br />
I think in the future it'll have to be something he helps me with, though, but hopefully I can still whip up a few surprises here and there.<br />
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Like this one:<br />
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Haha! Dusty has always joked (or maybe he's secretly serious -- I can never tell) about dressing our cats up in costumes, which I think is an absolutely horrible idea. I'm already enough of a <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-cat-lady-musing.html" target="_blank">cat lady</a>, I don't ever want to cross that line into calling our cats my children and dressing them in dresses and hats.<br />
So while he was studying intensely that afternoon, I went to Target to run some errands, and saw this santa hat for $5. I couldn't help it. <i>I'm sorry. </i>I grabbed this photo of Eva and sent it in a text message to Dustin, and pretty much made his entire life.<br />
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When he got home that night we were able to set up and decorate the tree, which was the cherry on top of a great Winter Wonderland weekend.<br />
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I made <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/11/fall-treats-caramel-filled-apple-cider.html" target="_blank">caramel-filled apple cider cookies</a>, served with cold eggnog, and we watched Love, Actually (which he had never seen).<br />
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One of the best things about setting up our tree is pulling out all of the new Christmas ornaments we've collection over the year.</div>
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We love to try and get a Christmas ornament whenever we travel somewhere, so this year we were able to add Paris, London, Charleston SC, Blowing Rock NC, and a few others!</div>
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Some of the new additions included a handful of Harry Potter ornaments my dad got for us. </div>
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They're <i>awesome. </i></div>
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Since this was our very last Christmas in Virginia, it was pretty bittersweet.<br />
<a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/01/our-first-christmas.html" target="_blank">Our first Christmas</a> here was really simple and fun, and <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/12/christmas-sequel.html" target="_blank">our second</a> was the introduction of Winter Wonderland, and found us much more at home in Lynchburg. Both of those years we set up our tree, and had little mini-Christmases with just the two of us before heading home to Arizona for the actual holiday.<br />
This year was different, because we were spending the actual holiday in Virginia. The first and only time we've ever been away from Arizona for Christmas. Luckily Dusty's family was going to be visiting, which would be wonderful! But it was still a big deal for us.<br />
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We still did one thing the same, though -- we always start our tree with the first Christmas ornament we ever received, an engagement Mickey and Minnie ornament from my brother and sister-in-law.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1jEJ4OEOszzrJRLt0mcEaq4P_HBOoosz1vBuM1MszfO5vzXjjal71FqyToL7rBcYA4RFpyClAZLkAmVeZ0EQ7WyxAQnhyphenhyphenSnFk1ZqJR8RLNdFXAwJlx7KBKQ86t5Odz81p8VD9eL2xWCPz/s1600/235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1jEJ4OEOszzrJRLt0mcEaq4P_HBOoosz1vBuM1MszfO5vzXjjal71FqyToL7rBcYA4RFpyClAZLkAmVeZ0EQ7WyxAQnhyphenhyphenSnFk1ZqJR8RLNdFXAwJlx7KBKQ86t5Odz81p8VD9eL2xWCPz/s1600/235.jpg" height="544" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">2011</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-IhzuhoCyDkj6sDhplM9Rzb9y4D94SG6IwkBj0zqrnjJIMPYC0mKqEIe5jEXm0M6Pc8SL1q0uyFd2-eFgMfpzkP0nYMQUf29LfVjF_Edgci-GYaKbDJF1zgFJeeHWLHOGrFI-LW7V3oj/s1600/IMG_1426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-IhzuhoCyDkj6sDhplM9Rzb9y4D94SG6IwkBj0zqrnjJIMPYC0mKqEIe5jEXm0M6Pc8SL1q0uyFd2-eFgMfpzkP0nYMQUf29LfVjF_Edgci-GYaKbDJF1zgFJeeHWLHOGrFI-LW7V3oj/s1600/IMG_1426.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">2012</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirc_r1sZ6S6qPQc-qEMWYHG0q6MUM5astnaEvZEq7vyoFPeFFOlIKTNO9knjUzwaCS1DUHNXu0R5OFiQWmYEX2NuCQNv0gMzX-g4VPH7EHtHbkbCLubLe-S6JBhMJW-UapCHO6-vHOdUCO/s1600/IMG_7720.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirc_r1sZ6S6qPQc-qEMWYHG0q6MUM5astnaEvZEq7vyoFPeFFOlIKTNO9knjUzwaCS1DUHNXu0R5OFiQWmYEX2NuCQNv0gMzX-g4VPH7EHtHbkbCLubLe-S6JBhMJW-UapCHO6-vHOdUCO/s1600/IMG_7720.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">2013</span></td></tr>
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Our tree is now a sad little crumpled thing, which we will be throwing out after this year.<br />
It has served us well.<br />
It has been a climbing post for our cats, mostly, but it has served us well, in allowing our home to be the Winter Wonderland that it is.<br />
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In love,</div>
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Cait</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-33708130008706956152014-04-22T14:05:00.002-07:002014-04-22T14:05:08.236-07:00november backlogs: house full of nieces<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We have been blown away by how many people have come to visit us over our years here in Virginia!</div>
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Everyone has been so wonderful to us, family and friends alike. </div>
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We had been especially eager that my brother and sister-in-law, Chris and Amy, would be able to come out with their two little girls, Abby and Bell. We knew it'd be a tricky trip for them, and it would be the first time flying for the girls! It was a big endeavor. But after a lot of talking and planning, they came our way!</div>
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They came in on a Thursday night, and we waited for them at one of our favorite pizza places, Arosto.</div>
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We could hardly contain our excitement. We kept texting and calling back and forth, anxiously awaiting their faces to peek around the corner.</div>
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Before we knew it, I spotted an Abby in a Minnie sweatshirt barreling towards the door! Squeeaaal!</div>
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We could hardly believe it was true. But, sure enough, their little voices were speaking to us and their arms were wrapped around us, and we all plopped down in the restaurant and just took a big sigh of relief. They made it! They were here! Hurrah!</div>
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There's something so indescribably wonderful about having a little person love you. I'm sure I'll get an even bigger dose of those beautiful vibes when I have a child of my own, but being an aunt is a special kind of perfect. </div>
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I had to work on Friday, so I got up early and went to work and Dusty got to spend the day with them since he only had one class. </div>
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They sure do love their Uncle D!</div>
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It was pretty much <i>torture </i>being at work and missing all the fun, so I ditched out early in order for Dusty and I to join them all at the children's museum downtown. It was so fun! Definitely better than Interlibrary Loan work, I can tell you.<br />
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The children's museum is actually quite wondrous. It's expensive, but there are several floors of fun, and I think the girls had a blast!<br />
Abby especially loved the big colorful slides.<br />
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When we first got there we joined them in the block party room, and Dusty got right to work, building them a block house.<br />
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Needless to say, they're the cuties of the century.</div>
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Baby time moves so much faster than adult time. <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/06/arizona-last-dayish.html" target="_blank">The last time we saw them</a> was at the end of May, and already they had changed and grown so much. Abby could now say <i>Uncle D </i>instead of just <i>Unc'D. </i>She was bigger and better and more articulate, and Bell was running around like a monster and her little head was fuzzier and <i>almost </i>hairy. </div>
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It seemed like too much to take in!</div>
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We were perfectly fine just letting the girls lead the way, talking to them and asking them about life. Where do <i>you </i>want to go? What do <i>you </i>want to do? </div>
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We built things, went down slides, inspected the faux-river contraption, played with rain, smiled and giggled and played.</div>
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They are seriously the most attractive family in the world. So much <i>cuteness. </i><br />
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That night we were going to the Turkey Bowl, which is the annual law school vs. seminary flag football game. It's usually really fun, but this year they were playing on the intramural fields (instead of the university's actual football field, which is way more fun), and it was <i>really </i>cold and it started to rain!<br />
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Lookit Bell's little red nose!<br />
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Abby sat on my lap calling out Uncle D's name over and over and over!<br />
She kept cheering him on and wanted <i>so badly </i>to join him on the field. It was absolutely adorable.<br />
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The law school won by <i>one point!! </i><br />
It was so exciting, especially since we had won the game the past two years in a row too -- it was only right that we get a <i>turkey </i>at the turkey bowl! 3 wins in a row!<br />
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The girls were actually really great for most of the night, but they ended up ditching out a bit early to wait out the rest of the game in the warm car -- it was <i>so </i>cold and so rainy! There was a chili cook off after the game, so once the game was actually over we all went over to the law school to eat.<br />
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Unfortunately, this started <i>the series of unfortunate virginian events</i> that would thus plague the rest of Chris and Amy's trip here...<br />
When we walked into the law school, Bell was having an enormous allergic reaction -- her face was puffy and red, her nose was running, and one of her eyes was completely swollen shut!<br />
It was such a shock, we had no idea what was going on!!<br />
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We checked around for local urgent cares and found one that was open, and I jumped in with Chris and Amy and the girls to head down there. On the way there we figured out the culprit -- we had brought some blankets from home to the game to cozy up to, and when they got in the car to head to the chili cook off Bell had been rubbing one of them on her face. It was an extra soft blanket we had been keeping on the couch, so the cats often sleep on it. Apparently Bell is allergic, but she hadn't had any reaction to them until the blanket was right up against her skin!!<br />
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It was crazy and scary and <i>so sad</i>, the poor thing. I can only hope she doesn't remember her time in Virginia, because I think she'd hate us! She had it rough for the rest of the trip!<br />
I waited in the lobby and played games with little Abby and her soft bunny that she carries around with her everywhere, while Chris and Amy went in with Bell to see the doctor. They got her some medicine and we all just hoped she would sleep alright!<br />
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The good news was that the next day was Saturday, and a new day brings new adventures and a fresh start. </div>
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Bell was looking much better, although she struggled with congestion and sniffles the rest of the trip. </div>
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We had a beautiful morning downtown, wandering around the farmer's market and grabbing coffee from White Hart.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">So darn cute, I can't even.</span></td></tr>
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We went to our favorite breakfast place, Market at Main, which was delightful. It's always fun to share our favorite places in Lynchburg.<br />
We met our server, Stuart, who remains an inside joke between us. He would occasionally pop up and join in on the conversation before we even realized he was there. I think he made some Battlestar Galactica references, too. He was a great server, but let's just say it wouldn't be the last time we'd see him!<br />
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We ended up back on campus to check out a little place called Kid's Cove at the big campus church. It's free, and I know a lot of local families who would take their kids there for a few hours to play and hang out on lazy and/or rainy days.<br />
The girls had a blast, but it was quite the experience -- I can only explain the air as being <i>thick with children. </i>It was almost musty...it was humid. It smelled. Like feet and diapers. But, I mean, let kids be kids.<br />
Overall it's a pretty cool place. A jungle gym, slides, a giant whale. And it's free, so smells schmells, right?<br />
We let them play around for an hour or so and just focused on letting our bodies adjust to the stench.<br />
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That night we arranged for our friend Victoria to watch the girls so Chris, Amy, Dusty and I could all go out to dinner!! </div>
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We always go to Jimmy's on the James with guests, especially with my parents because they love it so much, so by this time I'm sure they felt like they already knew the place by heart. </div>
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It was so fun to hang out just the four of us. We talked about life, love, marriage, kids, God, the works. It was really invigorating and made us both excited for the chance to spend more time with them once we move back to Arizona! </div>
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And of course eating yummy food and <i>delicious </i>desserts always helps.</div>
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Unfortunately, the night wasn't <i>perfect, </i>because halfway through dinner I received a text from Victoria saying that she was changing Bell's diaper in the bedroom and Abby yanked my hairdryer from our dresser <i>right onto Bell's head. </i></div>
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Like I said, Bell had it rough for this entire trip. She just couldn't catch a break!</div>
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Poor Bell had a big ol' swollen cut on her forehead when we came home. </div>
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Victoria of course felt <i>awful, </i>but it obviously wasn't her fault. Older siblings can be unabashedly violent at times. Who knows what was going through Abby's head! Haha. I'd love to know.</div>
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I couldn't help but laugh-cry about the whole thing, because poor Bell is the sweetest thing and was just struggling with the <i>worst </i>experiences. I was hoping and praying that this wouldn't make them all hate traveling forever and ever. </div>
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Once the girls went to bed we pulled out one of our many board games, because Chris and Amy are the best game friends. </div>
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Clad in our pajamas, we made some hot chocolate, and played Smallworld: Underground late into the night.</div>
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The next morning was a lazy Sunday, sleeping in and having donuts and letting the girls sleep a little extra.</div>
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We didn't have much planned for the day, so we just let our hearts guide us.</div>
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(Which is how we ended up with the donuts). </div>
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Heart-led, spontaneous days are sometimes the best because you end up just loving the people you're with and not caring so much about plans or must-do's or anything else. This day was probably my favorite of all. </div>
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It became a day of parks.<br />
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After breakfast, we all got dressed and walked up the hill to our little park. It isn't much, but it's never crowded and feels very special and secluded, surrounded by trees.<br />
It was a cool overcast day since it had been raining so much that week.<br />
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Dusty and I grabbed Abby to take her up to the park, and I stole some much-needed Auntie/Abby bonding time while Amy finished getting ready with Chris and Bell.<br />
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I also let Dusty borrow her, though, because they're already the best of friends.</div>
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Warning: this post is quickly developing into a long list of adorable park photos. So if you're opposed, go somewhere else. </div>
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For lunch we headed over to possibly our favorite pizza place of all time, Rivermont Pizza.<br />
It's this great little place that's semi-underground. It feels like a little basement restaurant, and is always full of couples and families. There's a second section to the restaurant that's the bar area, too, so there are fun happy hours and a lot of local people just hanging out. They have the most delicious pizza as well as one of my favorite appetizers ever, called <i>The Schmidt </i>(which makes me giggle, because of New Girl).<br />
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Bell slept in her car seat all through lunch, so the five of us just sat and enjoyed the place.</div>
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We also saw -- guess who? -- <i>Stuart, </i>who apparently works two restaurant jobs!</div>
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When we walked in, Chris did a double take, like, <i>wait -- was that Stuart??</i></div>
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When we asked our waitress she confirmed that a Stuart worked there, and he eventually came over, which was <i>super </i>awkward. </div>
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"Hey, so...are you following me, or...?"</div>
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<i>The Schmidt </i>is a delightful invention. It's a giant homemade pretzel, with a strange but delicious cream cheese concoction and marinara sauce. It's absolutely delicious. </div>
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Once we were full to the brim with pizza and conversation, we decided to try out another much bigger park which was close by!</div>
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I had been texting my friend Allison to find out her favorites in the area, which is how we settled on Riverside Park. </div>
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We drove up and knew right away that it was the right choice. It was a cool overcast day, and the park was huge and beautiful and totally empty. </div>
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Abby was on cloud 9!</div>
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We just let the girls lead us for the rest of the afternoon.<br />
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I know I'm totally biased, but they are seriously the cutest little girls in the history of the world.</div>
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I love Chris and Amy as a couple, as my siblings and as my friends, but I also just love that they got married because they produce extremely adorable offspring. </div>
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After playing around in the train-themed play area for a good long while, we decided to take one of the walking trails and explore the rest of the park. </div>
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Abby was completely enamored with the crunchy, colorful leaves. She loved to bend down and pick out her favorites, and give them away as gifts. </div>
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We still have little dried and crumpled fall leaf pieces in various trays in our apartment as a result of her little generous spirit. </div>
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This particular part of the trail overlooks a giant bridge of train tracks. It was a really gorgeous lookout point. It looks like we're a lot closer to the edge than we actually were, but we still kept a close eye on the girls and it was admittedly a little dizzying if you got too close!</div>
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It was <i>extremely </i>sad for Abby to leave the park, but we eventually got her into the car and said goodbye to the fun day. She fell asleep right away, which is a sign of a well-played afternoon!</div>
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We stopped by Caribbean Snow on the way home for some snow cones. The perfect ending to a wonderful playful day!</div>
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Abby was still sleeping in the car, so we sat at the picnic tables and slowly ate our snow cones in the cold, giving Bell a few bites here and there.</div>
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Once we got home, we all got in our PJ's.</div>
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It was really funny because the entire time they were visiting, our two cats were hiding. They hardly ever came out. I think this is maybe the only time I was able to get a picture with Abby and one of the cats, while they were still frozen in fear and not dashing away to safety. </div>
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Abby was actually great with them, so I'm not sure what they were scared of! Maybe they witnessed the hairdryer incident. </div>
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We had bought the girls a bunch of fun toys and stickers and things from the dollar store before they came, so they living room was stocked with coloring books and fun little trinkets for them to play with.</div>
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Abby loved the stickers.</div>
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I was also able to introduce Abby to starfruit, which was one of my absolute favorites as a kid! I would always ask to get them whenever I'd spot them while we were grocery shopping. </div>
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It was fun cutting up the fruit and showing her the star shape, then letting her munch on them. </div>
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That night marked another tragedy of the visit -- Abby spent the night throwing up.<br />
I'm still <i>really </i>unsure why and how this occurred, but she was sick, and Amy and Bell were both not feeling well, so that Monday was just a mess of pajamas and sickies. They also got hardly any sleep, being up with Abby so much the night before.<br />
Abby felt okay Monday morning and even ate breakfast, but she spent their last night throwing up, too! It was pretty bizarre. I think by that time they were pretty ready to have the flying-home part over with, and get back to their own home and their own beds!<br />
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I still had to work that Monday, but once I got home we still had a fun last night.<br />
Amy is an amazing photographer, so we decided to trade off taking pictures for each other so we could have a nice picture for our Christmas cards. It worked out great!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Behind the scenes of family photos.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Blissfully unaware of life with children.</span></td></tr>
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November 19th dawned bright and sunny, and I postponed going into work so I could say goodbye.<br />
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I was remembering the horrible goodbye we had to endure the last time, over the summer, when we pulled away from their house, us sobbing and them sadly waving as the tears fell to the ground. It was one of the most potent goodbyes I've ever had!</div>
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But this time around, the goodbye was surprisingly happy and hopeful. Six months is a long time, but at the end of that time, the long-distance relationship will be over for good! We could officially begin the <i>final </i>countdown. It was the last goodbye!</div>
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So with that, we waved and smiled and let them drive away, knowing the days would shed easier than tears and would lead us back to their door. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-59894470274300180302014-04-10T13:54:00.003-07:002014-04-11T06:46:36.398-07:00november backlogs: the mountain weekendHave you ever had an experience that was a dream come true?<br />
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This was one of those. And it was especially magical because I didn't even know it was a dream of mine, until it happened and I realized it was a dream come true. Sometimes life is made of those things.<br />
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But let me back up.<br />
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We knew through various conversation that our friend Victoria's family has a cabin in North Carolina. Her and her husband Colin are our best friends here in the Burg, and as we started hanging out more and more it became a more common topic, like: <i>maybe we could all go up to the cabin some weekend! </i><br />
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Her parents were in the process of moving from her childhood home in Fayetteville to full-time cabin living in Blowing Rock, so they were often going back and forth between the two cities. Once we picked a weekend, it turned out that her parents would be in Fayetteville -- but they still welcomed us to all go up and enjoy. We'd have the place to ourselves for fun, adventurous, woodsy weekend fun!<br />
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It was around this time that Colin informed us that this was no cabin. You think cabin, you think little folksy shack in the woods. He went on to tell us that this place was a gorgeous log mansion overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains, and we thought, what the hey! We won't hold that against them. Let's go!<br />
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We headed out on a Friday afternoon, November 1st. A Halloween weekend in the mountains (which should foreshadow some appropriate serial killer jokes and scary movie ideas).<br />
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It was the perfect time. Fall was in full swing, finally, and the leaves all around were gold and red and orange.<br />
We all jumped into the car for the 4+ hour drive, and settled in for a great road trip.<br />
We grabbed Chipotle on the way and chatted (I may have dozed here and there). We played that wondrous game where you look around at billboards and signs and storefronts and shout out the capitalized words, and whisper the lower-case ones. <i>h. h. gregg. TACO BELL. </i><br />
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We managed to make it to Boone, NC just in time to get a red-cupped holiday drink from the only nearby Starbucks <i>right </i>before it closed! Which was obviously very important, because a road trip sans Starbucks is sans sanity.<br />
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It was pretty late by the time we actually got to the cabin, which was, indeed, magnificent. </div>
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It was quiet and cold and stunning, even before we could see the vistas of morning Fall outside our window. </div>
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We ended up watching some TV, struggling to figure out the surround sound. Since it was Halloween weekend, we watched most of <i>Nightmare on Elm Street </i>which sufficiently satiated our desire for a little bit of scary movie in the woods...</div>
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We were able to stay in the guest bedroom upstairs in the loft, and after sleeping happily and soundly (after listening to Enya for a while because Freddy Krueger is the worst), we awoke to this.</div>
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Couldja pinch me, please?</div>
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I can't imagine a more amazing way to cherish our last fall in Virginia. Our last chance to drink up the beauty of the changing leaves. I was so happy, I practically floated downstairs, where coffee was being made and we started making plans for our day.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5BkI4dQNzaVMxq9VdV9eMLBwZusDpu4hUX0daJZobh3eP8gd_c3PIIOG4h0Ea-vj5OaMCdrlXTFjiMkD-Vrp4crWrTXjYmDXHdFvbB-3lRSf38VDqk_Az6g1WUCNWRBoJjI5YMWe96xY/s1600/IMG_6860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5BkI4dQNzaVMxq9VdV9eMLBwZusDpu4hUX0daJZobh3eP8gd_c3PIIOG4h0Ea-vj5OaMCdrlXTFjiMkD-Vrp4crWrTXjYmDXHdFvbB-3lRSf38VDqk_Az6g1WUCNWRBoJjI5YMWe96xY/s1600/IMG_6860.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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Too bad you brought us here, because now <i>I'm</i> <i>never leaving. </i></div>
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Colin was a boxer in high school, and so he had been teaching Dusty how to box. They were meeting together in the mornings before classes a few times a week to workout. They brought the gear and were messing around for a while before we decided exactly what to do (and while I sat, amused, sipping on my second cup of coffee). </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtdjWCujyx0x43bdA6D8Siu0tl56EtrWFXwVloLGbP7i_0SAki0vRd9nQvPtbiXwS7vhDeiUe2UqN9YYx-k_qm9STgt2uu9v6V-AbQV_o16h6s5cmidgqxZknbclciofOR_G0-tjGBJCBE/s1600/IMG_6857.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtdjWCujyx0x43bdA6D8Siu0tl56EtrWFXwVloLGbP7i_0SAki0vRd9nQvPtbiXwS7vhDeiUe2UqN9YYx-k_qm9STgt2uu9v6V-AbQV_o16h6s5cmidgqxZknbclciofOR_G0-tjGBJCBE/s1600/IMG_6857.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Good form, sir. </span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhQPIjeUO7O61ERuBL9RvAppRibUwyvAhcYPFl6FFYZ9CVmDHiIjnSNBJupokVoTbgGDzSF7KW9toOOhM2TjAOH8uXDRz7UT7oJjWaz-NEdRpuZkYB3bOz_9UGU4Dq4fHsKQjuHI1Xqphz/s1600/IMG_6862.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhQPIjeUO7O61ERuBL9RvAppRibUwyvAhcYPFl6FFYZ9CVmDHiIjnSNBJupokVoTbgGDzSF7KW9toOOhM2TjAOH8uXDRz7UT7oJjWaz-NEdRpuZkYB3bOz_9UGU4Dq4fHsKQjuHI1Xqphz/s1600/IMG_6862.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis42scB8HN1UyhkkO-h-L0fKMfRDpcYzyO2mYII8DtU4DRqtTCAhqcbQ2lcyyI_lMo-QBoFcn29TptsoaeW68VfVIIwJiaoWNP7djV9ZGGcORyiz1CbqY6uf5W9Ak2tcPqXoDFs5vGfK69/s1600/IMG_6854.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis42scB8HN1UyhkkO-h-L0fKMfRDpcYzyO2mYII8DtU4DRqtTCAhqcbQ2lcyyI_lMo-QBoFcn29TptsoaeW68VfVIIwJiaoWNP7djV9ZGGcORyiz1CbqY6uf5W9Ak2tcPqXoDFs5vGfK69/s1600/IMG_6854.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a><br />
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It was <i>really </i>fun when Victoria jumped in, because she has some boxing experience as well. It was extremely fun to watch Colin's hesitation (and maybe a lil fear) as she started punching. </div>
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We didn't know this quite yet, but Victoria is kind of a beast. She gets crazy eyes. And I mean that in the best way possible. </div>
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One of the reasons we were taking our time that morning was because there was a "cabinet man" who was coming to do some work on the house. We weren't exactly sure when he was gonna be there, but it slowly became a rather nefarious phrase -- <i>the cabinet man is coming. </i>The cabinet man. The true villain of this story.<br />
Anytime we'd hear a noise, it was the cabinet man. The cat was missing? <i>Cabinet man. </i><br />
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Sorry, one more break for mountain pictures, because they're <i>so beautiful. </i><br />
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(I lied. There's more to come later.)<br />
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Once we got out the door, we went back up the hill to the lovely little town of Blowing Rock, NC. We pretty quickly decided the four of us would retire here when we're old and grey.<br />
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It was cold, but not cold enough to deter us from skipping toward the smell of freshly made waffle cones at Kilwin's.<br />
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<i>Yum. </i><br />
We bought a plethora of homemade fudge and ate delectably flavored ice creams from waffle cones because that's how you do at Kilwin's.<br />
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Blowing Rock is beautiful. I'd describe it using words like <i>crisp </i>and <i>whirl </i>and <i>sweetness</i>, if any of that makes sense to you.<br />
We walked around with ice cream in our bellies, ducking into the various shops. Dusty and I were keeping our eyes out for a Christmas ornament for our traveling collection. Luckily there was a Christmas <i>shop, </i>which is kind of hard to resist. Why do the best little towns always have Christmas shops? It's like a thing. A really great thing.<br />
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The shop had all these little side rooms, and they all smelled like Christmastime right in your face. It was glorious. </div>
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One little room was all white and cream and crystal, and right in the center there was this magnificent fairy light tree that made me want my house to be <i>full </i>of fairy light trees. I think it's a reasonable goal. For my future kids, more than me, really...maybe. For me. Really. </div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">And ultimately I think this upside down green and golden crystal tree contraption should have been the centerpiece for my wedding table. It would've fit right in. </span></div>
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The rest of our day was all flitting and flirting and making new discoveries.<br />
We found a plaque indicating the location of a <i>time capsule, </i>which is basically the coolest thing ever. It makes me wish really badly that I had made my own childhood time capsule in my backyard, to open and rediscover the best of the worst of fashion and the best of the best of toys and memories.<br />
I can only imagine what this capsule from '89 will be like in 2089.<br />
100 years is a long time, because the poor old men and women who put all their stuff in here will no longer be around by then. I think I would have done 50 or 60 years, so I could at least have a chance at laughing and wheezing at all the clueless youngins who try to figure out what on earth a Slinky is.<br />
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The time capsule inspired us to pretend like we're old people, so we went wide-eyed and eager into a candle-making store where they make those <i>super neat-o </i>candle towers all ribbony and majestic.<br />
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(Alright, we weren't pretending to be old -- we just honestly wanted to go in there and <i>ooh </i>and <i>aah </i>and <i>gee willikers</i> because we're susceptible to tourism like nobody's business.)<br />
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I've been honest thus far, so I'll just tell you.<br />
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We bought 2.<br />
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Isn't this place the best?<br />
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We had lunch at the pub, where we ate warming food and talked about life and cozied up and started getting sleepy. We grabbed coffee at a little cafe.<br />
It was the greatest of Saturdays.<br />
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That afternoon we made our way back to the house (taking a quick break to trespass a little to capture this tree-on-fire):<br />
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We lazed and dozed and watched TV, unable to muster up the strength to be active. It was all too happy to move.<br />
Their cat, Comet, joined us. Actually, he kind of led the way in cozy behavior.<br />
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Once the sun began to set, we made our way out to the main patio (I say <i>main </i>because there are three floors of decks) to take in the stunning last rays.<br />
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Told you those mountain pictures would be back.<br />
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Then something truly amazing happened.<br />
Our friendship went from friendship to <i>friendship. </i><br />
It's hard to explain, but I think it has something to do with taking a perfect photo (that's now framed in both of our homes), being on that first trip/weekend away together, experiencing a beautiful sunset, breaking down the boundaries of typically proper behavior...it all boils down to that pure, raw, natural state of being that is long term friendship.<br />
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It all boils down to the weirdness.<br />
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It was all so very beautiful.<br />
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The rest of the night was phenomenal cabin time, full of fire-building and board games and pizza.<br />
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We realized something that has definitely defined our relationships from this point on -- we <i>sort </i>of started realizing this when we went to <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2014/02/october-backlogs-state-fair.html" target="_blank">the state fair</a> together, but at this point it was cemented -- Dusty and Victoria are the same person. Colin and I are the same person.<br />
It's oddly disconcerting and also absolutely perfect, because I always have someone who has my back when Dusty doesn't understand me, and visa versa.<br />
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Dusty and Victoria rolled their sleeves up and got those super-determined looks on their faces, and started building a fire.<br />
Meanwhile, Colin and I plopped down on the couch while they worked and made the important pizza choices from Mellow Mushroom (we settled on <i>House Special </i>and <i>Holy Shitake Pie</i>).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOaQN8-yLVMy55Iwdar7kA2S8mbcjXOqiAMN-W0SLHhXi0w62Ghpzl-2pma1P7vVxNV3ThohFPEa7Sa6tuDu7boQyzw87F2qNIZP_S6vyGD09iKkb-kzLympjbAyPBoZAi-jeDIa0HvfQs/s1600/575734_10153350282700018_699055039_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOaQN8-yLVMy55Iwdar7kA2S8mbcjXOqiAMN-W0SLHhXi0w62Ghpzl-2pma1P7vVxNV3ThohFPEa7Sa6tuDu7boQyzw87F2qNIZP_S6vyGD09iKkb-kzLympjbAyPBoZAi-jeDIa0HvfQs/s1600/575734_10153350282700018_699055039_n.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">They're the best.</span></td></tr>
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This picture captures one of the best nights ever, one of my favorite moments and views. Roaring fire, Settlers of Catan, Kilwin's fudge. It was the absolute <i>best </i>and sometimes I just wish I could be back there, plop myself in one of those chairs to relive it.<br />
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We went and picked up the pizza, and ate, and played, and took bites of fudge for dessert.<br />
Once all the food settled, we decided to take a late night dip in the hot tub (yes, there's also a hot tub on the basement-level deck).<br />
We braved the cold, bare feet on the wooden floorboards, squealing and tip-toeing to the hot tub and pulling back the cover before plopping down into the steaming water.<br />
I love sitting in a hot tub in cold weather. It seems so strange and so luxurious. It was pitch black, as if someone just dropped a big black blanket over the mountains. It was weird, knowing they were there but being unable to see past the porch railings. It felt so quiet and secluded (except for the various twigs that snapped, thanks to the cabinet man).<br />
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We wanted the night to last because we knew we had to return to Lynchburg the next day. We stayed out there, talking and hanging out, for as long as we possibly could.<br />
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Sunday dawned bright and stupidly gorgeous, of course.<br />
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We went to the Dan'l Boone Inn for Sunday brunch, which was absolutely wonderful. It's a local treasure, and we were so excited to try it!<br />
The restaurant is family style, so it's all-you-can-eat of everything, they just keep bringing platters of fresh breakfast foods. It was extra cold outside so it was so cozy to be sitting there, coffee cups and bacon continuously refilled.<br />
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We then spent a few hours shopping at their amazing outlet stores, which include Banana Republic and LOFT. Shopping is the best.<br />
The boys got a bit bored (us girls can easily get lost in LOFT), so we headed back to the cabin to enjoy our last few hours before we had to go back to Lynchburg!<br />
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Victoria took us out into the woods to their rope swing, which was <i>way </i>more hardcore than I had previously imagined. The rope swings are attached to an incredibly high branch at the top of this steep heel, and they're made of thick rope and a little disc that you sit on.<br />
You climb onto the huge boulder, grab one of the ropes, sit on the swing disc, and let yourself plunge into the great abyss.<br />
Since it's such a steep incline, as you swing outward you're getting further and further from the ground. It is absolutely terrifying and exhilarating! One of the best and worst things I've ever done. I screamed every single time.<br />
We were out there for hours!<br />
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We went back to the house and packed up our stuff, and stayed just long enough to see the sun set.<br />
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It was the hardest thing, saying goodbye to this mountain weekend!<br />
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We stopped at the Comeback Shack for dinner, a fun little burger joint in Boone.<br />
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Once we hit the road, the spell was broken and we knew we had to return as soon as humanly possible.<br />
We didn't know it at the time, but we'd be back for a blizzardy winter trip, and then again in this spring...next weekend, to be exact!<br />
Easter in the mountains, here we come!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujSo_xVfRg8VXhTtDCS28Qj80gQe8e5S692jfTiithXTQu4ueIFrkRTcj1HuP2qKNWqBDKqNPWKENzQqwzjh8XROs4gW0MJoYqQkzB4KBGnLmLtrmc6VawURWGW58jAXwUQ2S5Wm7DgZB/s1600/545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujSo_xVfRg8VXhTtDCS28Qj80gQe8e5S692jfTiithXTQu4ueIFrkRTcj1HuP2qKNWqBDKqNPWKENzQqwzjh8XROs4gW0MJoYqQkzB4KBGnLmLtrmc6VawURWGW58jAXwUQ2S5Wm7DgZB/s1600/545.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>currently listening to: "Fuel to Fire" by Agnes Obel</i></span></td></tr>
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I love how different people are.<br />
It may seem like a no brainer that people are different, but believe me, it's a lesson I'm learning anew every day.<br />
It's the kind of lesson that creeps up in relationships, finds its way into businesses, and shows itself blatantly in varying cultures and religions.<br />
It's a lesson that, if never learned, can truly cripple you.<br />
It's a lesson that I've continued to learn through the brilliance of travel.<br />
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<i>I love travel. </i><br />
There are so many reasons I love it, and some of them are hard to put into words that make sense unless you've been there to smell, taste, and know them.<br />
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Macaron crumbs scattered on the bed, unnoticed as you drift off to sleep in a warm apartment above the glittery streets of Paris. Fish and chips fresh and drizzly on your lips, a salty warmth on a London day sparkling with snow flurries. Ears are biting, fingertips are clutching the toasty foil.<br />
Climbing the dark stone ruins above Slane, Ireland, breathing deeply and smelling grass, trees, dirt, legends.<br />
Holding in the gasp of terror as the giant stingray approaches, feeling the absolute elation of a desperate fear being conquered. Squinting against the sunshine, feeling it purge your skin of moisture, then diving back into the water for a fresh wave of coolness.<br />
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<a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/08/carnival-cayman-islands.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqkgH6XKuxr85tbksTzLTLSG9HTEwi_e3ySVY-XXZLDEoeSVr2C7MUDK865pW-x9YZttqq5zc6mtkwgaaezmapV9uAuThWifsO_CKZ9-foZa9Tbj8B46fHnW7B9-D_XTzKa7_L10LmRMOl/s1600/Cayman3.jpg" height="476" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
Why travel.<br />
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I think wanderlust is a real thing. Once you start, a craving begins, a true longing for new places.<br />
Exploring is addictive, adventures tend to multiply.<br />
I have been blessed to see a tiny glimpse of the world, and I think if I could I would hand it out to everyone I know like candy.<br />
I would give it away because I think everyone needs it, and it would be a thrill to give it.<br />
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In America we generally have a very small view of things. Usually it begins with "me" and ends with "me."<br />
What's happening inside my head, my heart, my bubble, that's the end all and be all of life.<br />
Traveling tends to demand a balance of your view of the world. Or it at least demands that you <i>consider </i>it. Your expectations and assumptions of other countries and of humankind in general.<br />
Traveling is a shock to the senses, a learning experience and a joy.<br />
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And boy, it shows you how <i>small </i>are you. The intricacies of God's design, the diversity of His people all over the globe. How infinitely miniscule you are in the grand scheme of things, in the vast universe.<br />
Traveling will give you insight to that diversity<br />
As a Christian, traveling takes my breath away. It makes me cry, it stores a piece of eternity in my heart and mind. It shows me how large and varied the Christian church really is.<br />
It will show you faith, in all its forms, sizes, faces and languages.<br />
The world is like a tray of colorful herbs and spices, awaiting to tantalize and educate you.<br />
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That's why. It's why I travel, and it's why I want to travel with my future children in tow.<br />
I want to show them the beautiful world, to share with them the many discoveries of traveling, both profound and simple.<br />
To show them in a real way that life goes beyond our living room, our technology, our toys, our <i>me. </i><br />
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*inspired in part by <a href="http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/why-your-spiritual-life-needs-travel" target="_blank">this post</a><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-11979549436524002362014-03-01T11:56:00.004-08:002014-03-01T11:56:54.818-08:00october backlogs: halloweeny things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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The week before Halloween, I <i>finally </i>did it.</div>
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I hosted a Ladies Night Out!</div>
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For those of you who don't know, LNO is a monthly law wives event that we take turns hosting. The theme is decided by the host, and we just plan a fun night for us law wives to get together for fun and fellowship. It sounds pretty cheesy and sometimes it is, but it's also <i>so </i>needed. </div>
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I had always wanted to host, but as you probably know, either by photos or by personal experience, our apartment is <i>tiny. </i></div>
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But I mean, c'est la vie and stuff. I did it anyway. </div>
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It was a crisp fall day, and the theme was <i>fall! </i>Naturally.</div>
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I set up our dining room table as the main hub of craftiness, and bought little frames for everyone to paint and decorate to their heart's content. I also printed out cute little Fallish sayings, like "fall into fall!" and "keep calm and pumpkin spice everything", etc. for them to put in the frames.</div>
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I set up the back porch as the pumpkin carving station. I was hoping to spread out the areas of activity, so that it wouldn't feel so crowded!</div>
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Isn't our back porch view delightful?</div>
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I was <i>so </i>excited and couldn't wait for everyone to get there. Messy, chatty, crafty, cidery, happy evenings are the <i>best. </i></div>
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It started getting pretty crazy right off the bat.<br />
Paint brushes flying, ladies chatting and frantically passing jewels, buttons, ribbons, fabric and more.<br />
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My friend Emilie even brought some spray paint for her pumpkins, so she could have crisp white pumpkins with a pretty monogram design on the front!<br />
It turned out <i>so </i>great, too. She has such incredible style. She has designed their home impeccably, I always love seeing her creative touches!<br />
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We ended up just kind of cramming everyone around the table, and they didn't seem to mind.<br />
I put on <i>Runaway Bride </i>in the other room and we all just settled in for a girlish evening.<br />
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We had cider and hot chocolate throughout the night, as well as a few other snacks that the ladies brought.<br />
After the initial crafting was done and the frames were drying, a few of us went out back in the cool night air for some pumpkin carving. A few girls brought their own pumpkins, so they got to work!<br />
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It was such a pleasure to host, and the whole night was aglow with girl time.<br />
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I was really glad I took the plunge and allowed our small space the potential to be a place of warmth and memories. Sharing your space can be one of the most exhilarating things, and a lot of time little excuses or doubts or insecurities creep up and stop you from doing so, but so what if it's messy? So what if it's imperfect?<br />
I'm starting to sound like Shauna Niequist. But it's true. It's sacred and it's joyous and it's worth it.<br />
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Another October/Halloween highlight was <a href="http://voguishatbest.blogspot.com/2013/10/happy-halloween-gnomeo-and-juliet.html" target="_blank">our Gnomeo and Juliet costumes</a>!<br />
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Our church has this incredible harvest festival that we've participated in every year. I feel like a broken record, but this year was <i>our last one. </i>Everything is coming around for the last time, which is really sad. I try not to dwell on it!<br />
We actually didn't participate in the Trunk or Treat our first year here. We did the hayride station, freezing our tushes off and drinking lots of cider and hot cocoa and bidding on the baked goods for the auction inside!<br />
But for the last two years, we got to dress up and decorate our trunks. Last year we were <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/11/frocktober-end.html" target="_blank">Carl and Ellie from UP</a>, which was so much fun. This year we wanted to do something similar, a fun (and easy) costume that the kids might recognize and that was another great cartoon love story.<br />
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Another super-random but fabulous October highlight is that we started <a href="http://emeals.com/" target="_blank">eMeals</a>!<br />
I don't know if you've heard of it, but I've been spreading around my love for it like an official spokesperson.<br />
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They basically email you a meal plan every week, based on your diet preferences, how many people are in your home, where you grocery shop, etc. It's completely hassle-free.<br />
If you're like me, and you absolutely hate trying to maximize your shopping lists every week, and you end up wasting a lot of produce, or eating out to avoid having to cook something made of canned beans and frozen chicken because that's all you have in the house, or you end up stressing out trying to plan healthy meals for every single meal on a budget, <i>my sweet darling this is for you. </i><br />
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Dustin and I currently use <a href="https://www.goherbalife.com/caitlinschanaker/en-US" target="_blank">Herbalife</a>, which is a program of meal replacement shakes and vitamins and such. We drink a shake for breakfast and lunch, so dinner was always tripping us up. We wanted something healthy, filling, efficient, easy, and delicious. eMeals has been our best friend from day 1.<br />
We use the "low-carb" option, so every Wednesday morning I get the new meal plan in my inbox, and Dusty and I go shopping together that night. The list includes 7 recipes, (entree and side dish), and a detailed shopping list for the grocery store of your choice, prices included. All you have to do is run to the store, check off each item (while chatting hand-in-hand and half-joking about buying that party size of puff cheetos), and go home and throw Friends on while you whip up some Mexican pork chops with a caesar salad.<br />
The recipes are incredible, but are still easy enough to make quickly (and even experiment with, which I occasionally do).<br />
Anyway. Enough about that! Moral of the story is, it's the best thing we've ever done.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">dijon/white wine blueberry chicken<br />with roasted asparagus</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">spicy salsa pork filets<br />with steamed zucchini and squash</span></td></tr>
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Our actual Halloween was one of the most subdued, and one of the best, Halloween evenings.<br />
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It was a Thursday night, so we obviously had work/school that day as well as the next.<br />
It was a gorgeous Fall day, a little rainy. The leaves were stunning.<br />
We had the chance to take some pictures on campus on a hillside of fallen leaves. Dusty took some of me for <a href="http://voguishatbest.blogspot.com/2013/11/frocktober-end.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a>, and then we had a random student walk by and ask us if we'd like one of the both of us! So we let him take a few, and thanked him before trotting through the worsening wind and rain to our car!<br />
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Our creepy Halloween evening was pretty simple.</div>
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We went over to spend time with Colinoria (Colin and Victoria), who had a big bowl of candy for trick or treaters. Lucky for us, no one came! So we just got to eat a <i>lot </i>of candy while we carved pumpkins and watched <i>Children of the Corn. </i></div>
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One of the best and worst movies of all time, I think.</div>
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<i>He wants you too, Malachi!</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphen-FsOunhqbeRhjKlCXzmMerA4M_9_WO_aZdlb8FR1UKCL0yaPt1AP3uoSTU6o-nD2mMwli-l_VFNRWZTfF0SDNrfjNWebZxM7MaW957SUFE1GteW3xdnuCq7f9Ih7Rf3hf9-zckfRjrm/s1600/1424568_10153341633200018_1404053424_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphen-FsOunhqbeRhjKlCXzmMerA4M_9_WO_aZdlb8FR1UKCL0yaPt1AP3uoSTU6o-nD2mMwli-l_VFNRWZTfF0SDNrfjNWebZxM7MaW957SUFE1GteW3xdnuCq7f9Ih7Rf3hf9-zckfRjrm/s1600/1424568_10153341633200018_1404053424_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a><br />
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Victoria carved a super cute owl, and I carved Eva. I'd say I created a pretty fair resemblance!<br />
I guess cat pumpkins are becoming a tradition for me.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>2012</i></span></td></tr>
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I'll soon get started on our November adventures -- maybe, eventually, I'll start blogging present-day again.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-24641546628551908962014-02-17T10:50:00.006-08:002014-04-10T12:49:01.019-07:00october backlogs: the state fair<a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-scary-story.html" target="_blank">Remember that time we almost died trying to go to the state fair?</a><br />
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Well, luckily, this trip was nothing like that! :)<br />
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We were thrilled to be going back to North Carolina for the state fair -- and not only we were going back, but we were going back with friends who went <i>every </i>year! NC natives!<br />
This was exciting on many levels, but mostly because they knew where all the best fair food was. And fair food is the reason for fairs.<br />
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But let's back up a little bit -- our day actually started downtown.<br />
We were leaving around lunchtime for the fair, so we had some time to kill -- and some other friends of ours, Jon and Emilie, had asked if we wanted to meet at White Hart that morning for some coffee and a trip across the street to the farmer's market. We happily agreed.<br />
<i>Little did we know </i>it was all one big clever ruse to get us to White Hart.<br />
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<a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/05/first-friends.html" target="_blank">As you know</a>, our friends Allison and Greg had moved back to Illinois after graduating law school...<br />
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We walked into the coffee shop, and around the corner I saw Emilie and Jon at a table.<br />
As we rounded the corner I spotted another friend from church, so I went over and gave her hug and started chatting - out of the corner of my eye I saw Dusty go over to Jon and Emilie's table, and I felt eyes on me.<br />
<i>That's when I saw Greg and Allison next to them!</i><br />
It took me a really, really long time to compute what exactly was happening. I don't even think I said goodbye or "excuse me" before walking away from the girl I was talking to, mid-sentence. It was a very strange experience. But...but..you're in Illinois! But you're gone! <i>What is happening!</i><br />
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They had <i>moved back. </i>Without telling us, without telling anyone really!<br />
Greg had taken a job about an hour outside of Lynchburg, and they were officially back in our lives!<br />
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(As I'm writing this, they're currently <i>back </i>in Illinois -- they were here for almost exactly 3 months before deciding they needed to be back home, for good. But more on that later!)<br />
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After such a crazy and exciting shock, we were off to North Carolina! We promised to help them unpack and move in during the week, and left downtown in very high spirits.<br />
We carpooled to NC with Colin and Victoria, and headed over to the fair!<br />
We got there right as the sun was setting, and prepared ourselves for a perfect evening of lights, sights, and all-you-can-eat goodies.<br />
Just a little bit of a life lesson, though -- don't drink too much liquid, and go to the bathroom <i>before </i>you get into the fair. State Fair port-a-potties are the devil.<br />
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It was such a fun night!<br />
Hot french fries with vinegar, bloomin' onions, mini donuts covered in cinnamon and sugar, corn on the cob, chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick, fried cookie dough, more hot french fries with vinegar (they were my favorite), games, fireworks.<br />
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Just so you know, I didn't eat all that food. It was a group activity.<br />
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We also got to meet Victoria's sister Shelby, who joined us, and it was so much fun!<br />
We walked around, toured the various exhibits, and Colin and Victoria held up their tradition of getting a button made with their photo on it. Victoria and her family have been doing it for years! To get the buttons made you go into this weird little button-clad gypsy shack, and we were a little worried they'd be taken by the gypsy inside. We told them to yell if they were stolen, or turned into chickens.<br />
Dusty and I went a little ways away and were able to get <a href="http://voguishatbest.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-fairgrounds.html" target="_blank">a photoshoot</a> in, and we went on our merry way! (The gypsy made them a button, but nothing more).<br />
Eventually the boys got sucked into the tricky games that bleed you dry of all your cash. Specifically the fishing pole/bottle game, if you know what I'm talking about. Most fair-goers do.<br />
You hold a fishing-type pole with a ring on the end, and your goal is to drop the ring around the neck of the glass bottle and pull it precariously upwards. If you're able to get it standing up, you win!<br />
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We didn't win.<br />
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But, who cares? <br />
(hint: the boys did).<br />
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Still, it was a perfect night. We enjoyed being childish with our skipping and singing and smiling from ear to ear. </div>
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The night ended with a fireworks show, and we wearily said farewell to the fair and all its glorious haunts. We waved goodbye to the gypsy, shuffled our feet into the night. It had been such a cool evening, a little drizzly at times, but sweet and autumnish.</div>
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Once out in the parking lot, we realized that the fair's many pleasures end pretty abruptly once you're out of there. Suddenly you become afraid of being mugged or killed in the dark alleyways, where you're forced to park because of the immense crowds.<br />
Luckily we had been able to park fairly close, so we gave Shelby a ride to her car - which was a wise choice, because it was the sketchiest little backyard parking spot ever, and I'm pretty sure I saw evil eyes in the bushes. Or it was the bloomin' onion talking.<br />
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We headed out and went to our shared hotel room at the Red Roof Inn.<br />
Once we got ready for bed, Dusty looked at me, holding the souvenir cup we had bought with that look in his eyes. Dusty has a weakness for souvenir cups. I'm not really sure why, but he <i>has </i>to keep them. It's a compulsion, a weird kind of collection. I finally said <i>no, no, no, we do NOT need that because we have 500 Dickie's cups that you also </i>have<i> to keep</i> (even though I keep secretly throwing the old ones out.)<br />
Dusty acquiesced, then turned to Colin and Victoria and asked if they'd want to keep it.<br />
Colin said "Noooo," right as Victoria meekly said, "Yes!"<br />
It was then, after a lot of laughter, that we started to realize that Dusty and Victoria are the same person, and Colin and I are the same person.<br />
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We chatted a little longer and drifted off to sleep, looking forward to the next morning when we'd be touring Colin and Victoria's college campus!<br />
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Chapel Hill is kind of magical.</div>
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We started out the morning by grabbing breakfast at a cute little waffle shop on their main street. It's a really big, lush, active campus with a great line of shops and restaurants. It was actually a really chilly day, so it felt great to slide into a booth and order some waffles and hot coffee.</div>
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All the leaves were mid-change, and the sun was shining. It was a beautiful fall day.</div>
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We ended up getting more coffee down the street at Caribou Coffee before continuing our luxurious tour of Colin and Victoria's yesteryear. </div>
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I'm not sure you could get any more different than our college campus experience. The brick, the hundreds of giant trees, the green.<br />
We walked along and they told us tales of their years there, roommate stories and the perilous experiences of waking up late to class and managing to somehow sprint there in <i>one minute flat. </i><br />
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College is such a magical time. What's weird about making friends here/as an adult is that often you miss some of the most bonding experiences that you're used to having together. Things like high school, college, or weddings -- most of our friends from home we've either known our whole lives, or met in college. We've been in/at their weddings. </div>
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Because most our friends here are already married and (obviously) out of college, this was an extra-special experience to be able to have a glimpse of what their lives were like when they were just dating, going to college and making all these memories.</div>
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And, for what has become a very typical thing for the four of us, we decided to set up the camera on a nearby bench in order to take ridiculous pictures.<br />
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(It turns out we're really, <i>really </i>awful at trying to time <i>jumping</i>).<br />
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Hehe.<br />
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Once we had finished our tour, we hit the road to head back home.<br />
We stopped by Southern Season and shopped around a bit, because it's a pretty fun specialty department store. We sampled some cheeses and I filled a candy bag with gummy frogs, because they're my <i>favorite </i>and I can never find them anywhere. I think I finished the entire bag by the time we made it back.<br />
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Needless to say, it was the beginning of many more fun trips with Colin and Victoria. Or, <i>Colinoria. </i><br />
It was a great North Carolinian weekend.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-84950583450359856362014-02-07T13:45:00.003-08:002014-02-07T14:13:44.853-08:00october backlogs: needtomeet needtobreathe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In early October I decided to participate in a crazy contest that would allow both Dusty and I to go to Richmond with 2 free tickets AND a meet and greet for my favorite band, <i>Needtobreathe. </i></div>
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I wasn't sure if I could win -- but shortly after I began, I became crazed with the possibilities. </div>
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It wasn't a hard contest -- all I had to do was scroll through their pictures, listen to their music, etc. from this contest site in order to accrue points, and share the content so that others could do the same. Whenever someone clicked on my link, I would get triple the points!</div>
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The best part was it actually showed my placement in the contest. I started out in like 300th place, then slowly began climbing the ladder...thus, my crazed obsession.</div>
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I became <i>that person, </i>the one that mass-messaged people I haven't talked to in years, that posted multiple times a day, that even texted and begged.</div>
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The last day of the contest, I'm pretty sure I was milliseconds away from cardiac arrest.<br />
I had been going back and forth from 1st to 2nd place, and as the time whittled down to the last 60 seconds, it took everything in me not to scream for that full minute in the middle of my tiny office in interlibrary loan.<br />
But then:<br />
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I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT.</div>
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I could hardly wait, but eventually October 12 <i>did </i>come and we were on our way to Richmond for the concert!</div>
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We had been to Richmond before, and had a really great time. It's a really cool city!</div>
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(I went for <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/09/color-me-loverly.html" target="_blank">the Color Run</a> there, and then Dusty and I went there over the <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/10/summer-highlights-part-1.html" target="_blank">4th of July</a>). </div>
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We decided to head down that afternoon, to get settled into our hotel before we went to the downtown venue, <a href="http://www.thecanalclub.com/" target="_blank">The Canal Club</a>.<br />
The concert didn't start until around 8, but we wanted to be there at 6 so we could be in line for the Meet & Greet beforehand.</div>
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It started to rain a little bit while we were outside, so they slowly started letting in the VIP people (and yeah, I was <i>totally </i>on the VIP list, yo!). Once we were inside, I felt so incredibly cool.</div>
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The venue was low-ceilinged, dark, wooden, cozy. It was the kind of venue that made it feel like you were part of an elite secret club. The stage was tiny, and there was a little bar area in the back and a few booths and tables up against the wall.</div>
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They already had the band merchandise tables set up, so once they finally started the line and the band came out (<i>OMG, Dusty, there they are, I think I'm gonna pee my pants</i>) Dusty ran over and grabbed a poster so we could have something for them to sign. </div>
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I honestly I had no idea what to say to them. I didn't wanna be creepy, I didn't wanna be a <i>superfan, </i>so I just settled for shaking each of their hands, saying their names out loud, smiling like an idiot, telling them we loved their music and that this would be our 5th concert, and that we were so excited for it. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>We totally fit in, amiright?</i></span></td></tr>
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I felt really hesitant walking away from them and letting the line continue. I tried to think of anything else to say, but made myself shuffle my feet away. <i>Keep cool. </i></div>
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The meet and greet continued, and Dusty and I went and plopped down at one of the tables. We hadn't eaten yet, so Dusty and I went and ordered some chicken fingers, fries and sodas while we waited. It was so quiet, because there weren't that many people inside yet. It was amazing.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">creepin'.</span></i></td></tr>
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As soon as the band went backstage, people started crowding around the front of the stage in anticipation of the non-VIP peeps pouring in. We brought the rest of our food and joined them at the front, and let me tell you, it was a good decision. Because people were <i>intense </i>about their places in the crowd. Once we were settled there, there was no going back. People filled in on all sides, and we were trapped. No bathroom, no refills, <i>no cutting. </i></div>
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At one point a guy tried to creep through from the side, claiming he had a friend on the other side, and halfway through he just turned around and left.</div>
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He was full-on harrassed by the girls behind us (who I decided I would easily become best friends with), and after their pestering and incriminating questions, it was clear there <i>was no friend, </i>he was just trying to get in the front without waiting like the rest of us did.</div>
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The first band was <a href="http://www.ivanandalyosha.com/" target="_blank">Ivan & Alyosha</a>, and they were absolutely incredible live. We had never heard of them before, but their harmonies were stunning. They did their entire set acoustically, because their drummer couldn't make it to this concert. I forget why. </div>
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But we were so excited to have a new band to love!</div>
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(Take a look at their acoustic versions of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7y0YG69h5E" target="_blank">Fathers Be Kind</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J68mXaNvpSo" target="_blank">Don't Want to Die Anymore</a>, and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHGGvOxqqvE" target="_blank">Running For Cover</a> -- it'll give you a tiny taste of what they sounded like live!)</div>
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We were able to meet them after the show, and they were <i>so </i>nice! We chatted for a while, asking them about tour life, and they signed their CD for us.<br />
That's one of the bonuses of such an intimate venue, for sure. Being able to hang with the bands, stay until midnight, eat and drink and be merry.<br />
The place was <i>packed, </i>though, to be sure. Needtobreathe wanted to do these small venues for an intimate tour, paying homage to their humble beginnings and hitting the spots that meant a lot to them when they first started. While a lot of people were bummed because it limited their tour range and the number of tickets that could be sold at each event, it was such an incredible experience and I'm so glad they did it. The music was literally living inside of us, strumming our heartstrings and pulsing inside our veins.<br />
It was absolutely the most incredible concert experience of my life.<br />
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The one downside, I will say, is that they wouldn't let us bring our camera in. Which is such a huge bummer, especially when we were <i>so close </i>and could have gotten some incredible shots<i>. </i><br />
Having our iPhones as our only tools for capturing the night was disappointing, but I think it also allowed us to focus a bit more on the music.<br />
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They did a song called <i>Oh Carolina </i>from their new album, which is supposed to come out in April! I was pretty excited about it, because I had just bought a shirt with <i>Oh Carolina </i>on it at the merchandise table right before the concert.</div>
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One of our favorite parts was when they told us that they had met some fans on the street earlier that day that were coming to this concert, and they asked them to play something from their first album. </div>
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Bear apologized ahead of time, in case he forgot the words, because they hadn't played it in years!</div>
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They played <i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqbUsTHS_lY" target="_blank">Haley</a>, </i>which prompted the girls behind us to <i>freak out </i>(apparently the leader of their pack was named Haley and this was her <i>favorite song ever in the world</i>). </div>
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I love when they play their more acoustic songs, because they're so dang good at it. The last few concerts we've seen, they finish the night with an a cappella bit, and it's my absolute favorite part of the evening. </div>
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At another concert last year (<a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/04/life-lately-part-2.html" target="_blank">in Charlotte, NC</a>) they did <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOhF_ijCiFs" target="_blank">Difference Maker</a>, which is another song from their new album.</div>
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It's one of my all-time favorites - I personally think it supersedes their typical style in a way that's really unexpected. It's beautiful - it gave me goosebumps the first time I heard it live, and it still does!</div>
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This time they did a fun acoustic/a cappella version of their song <i>Something Beautiful, </i>which was really cool.</div>
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Overall it was <i>the best, </i>and we had such an incredible time. It's really hard to explain something like that, but Dusty and I just kept squeezing each other's hands and mouthing <i>this is so amazing </i>throughout the evening.<br />
Once they finished their last song and left the stage, it was such a sad feeling! Even after 3+ hours of music, I wanted more. More more more. We were high on life.<br />
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We left the venue really late, I think around 12, but we were wide awake.<br />
Once we got close to our hotel and remembered the Denny's right next door, Dusty pulled right into 24-hour restaurant without even asking me - we both knew it had to be done. We had to debrief. We had to eat breakfast food. We had to just drink it all in, and by "it" I mean the music and a crappy cup of coffee.<br />
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I won't gush too much about Dusty, even though he's totally gush-worthy, but it's trips and experiences like this that make me <i>so happy </i>I married him. Being able to share my favorite band with him, being able to know each other so well it's kind of creepy. When I'm old and grey I'll be able to point to that night and say, <i>oh man, remember that feeling? Remember that place? Remember?</i><br />
And unless we're both senile, he'll say <i>yes, it was one of the best. </i><br />
Couples who have fun together stay together.<br />
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The next morning, we decided to yelp out a place to go to Sunday brunch. We chose <a href="http://thecontinentalrva.com/" target="_blank">the Continental</a>, and it was <i>amazing</i>! Their bananas foster waffles were out of this world, and their special of the day was a breakfast mash of potatoes, brisket, jalapenos, bell peppers, sunny-side up eggs...we ate ourselves into tastebud heaven before heading back out into the rain to drive back to Lynchburg.<br />
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We listened to Ivan & Alyosha all the way home, and thanked the Lord for such a beautiful weekend.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-44870681383329396762014-02-04T11:57:00.002-08:002014-02-04T11:59:31.575-08:00october backlogs: my 25th<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>I'm 25. </i><br />
That took me way too long to type. I think I have arthritis.<br />
(#OldLadyCaity was my official birthday hashtag).<br />
<br />
I actually turned 25 on October 5th, 2013, and I was lucky enough to have a pair of people who love me like crazy and wanted to decorate and celebrate all week long!<br />
I <i>love </i>birthdays, and this was an extra special one -- not only was it the last birthday of our Virginia years, but it was <i>25. Twenty-five. </i>Whaaaaat.<br />
So coming home to the apartment all glammed up by Dusty and my best friend from home, Becky, made it all the merrier!<br />
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Becky had visited once before, but it was October of our first year here and there wasn't much to show her yet! We had only lived here for a few months, so we hadn't chosen any favorite restaurants, hadn't discovered any of our favorite little gems - so it was really exciting to have a week full of birthday festivities and Virginia explorations with my BFF in tow.<br />
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We went to Arosto for lunch on one of her first days here, but regrettably, she was attacked by stink beetles outside and I think she vowed never to return.<br />
Luckily we had other plans to restore her faith in Virginia food!<br />
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First on the docket was to take her to Jimmy's on the James.<br />
If you've read this blog ever in your life, you know this is pretty much our go-to for any guests that come to town!<br />
It's jazzy, snazzy, and completely unique to our little town.<br />
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<br />
Becky and Dusty are a great duo. Bests.<br />
<br />
She and I are also a great duo. He and I are also a great duo.<br />
We're a great trio because we're made of great duos.<br />
Yeah?<br />
<br />
(Funnily enough, Jimmy's ended up being extraordinarily busy and we had to wait a really long time for our food -- plus our waiter was a bit distracted and overbooked.<br />
We were really striking out here!<br />
The bright side is that they comped some of our meal, so we were able to forgive the wait and the slow service. It's still on my list of favorites.)<br />
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<br />
I love a great story, and Bex and I are definitely that.<br />
All the fun things feel better when she's around. She's the friend that has lasted from birth until now, through and despite of the rocky middles and long distances.<br />
She's the best and the weirdest.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>side note: this grass was irrigation grass...and it proved fatal to us all.<br />the stench once we got back into the car was overwhelming. we rolled down all the windows, only to realize it was our shoes that were creating the fetid odor -- oh, and also my hands, due to my ridiculous foot-grabbing poses.</i></span></td></tr>
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We had <i>such great plans </i>for this weekend.</div>
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But, in keeping pace with the weird mishaps with our Lynchburg meal experiences, most of them were pretty much blown apart by the fact that we had a super random heat wave right dab in the middle of our plans, as well as a government shutdown.</div>
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Did I mention the great plans involved going to Washington D.C.?</div>
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I think even the daftest American knows that a government shutdown means everything you'd wanna see in DC is a no go. We went anyway, because food and stuff.</div>
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Oyamel, sweet Oyamel, and their tasty brussels sprouts.</div>
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In my opinion, you haven't truly lived until you've shocked yourself by learning you actually love brussel sprouts. It's a secret only the best of people know.</div>
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We met up with (and stayed with) our friends Jeremiah and Christina, who were expecting their first baby in the next few months! (He is now born and healthy and so darn cute!)</div>
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They are to blame/thank for all of the restaurants we adore in DC. Oyamel is one of the places they took us when we came our first year of law school <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/03/get-in-my-belly-washington-dc.html" target="_blank">with our friends Chris and Heather</a>.</div>
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We were so excited to be able to meet with them again and eat there, completing the full circle of freshly made guacamole and great conversation. </div>
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They were willing to meet us for a late reservation since we had to drive the four hours into the city after work, and we were so happy they did! They're the best.</div>
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After dinner, we walked back to the subway station to head back to the apartment.<br />
It was late, and we couldn't wait to hit the hay in preparation for a long day of fun and sightseeing!<br />
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Becky and I don't hug.</div>
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It just doesn't happen. We don't even put our arms around each other when we take pictures.</div>
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Usually, if we try, something awkward happens, like we drop something, or an accidental butt graze occurs. We figured out at some point during our best friendship that everyone is happier if we keep the physical affection to a minimum. Meaning, zero. Well, okay, not zero. We're very good high-fivers.</div>
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We're both very comfortable in our own spaces. We can be affectionate with other people (I've found I'm really only affectionate with the people that ask for it/need it), but not with each other. </div>
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Our last full hug was in May of 2012. True story.</div>
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We both were so squeamish afterwards that we vowed, never again.</div>
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So while we waited for the subway in DC, I hug-attacked her.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTDyHgdcF7YIzaJTEFHqyLwpat_Q0U9b3dZcNC9eGEso3k4aTzXHmeko8-aKQcd5gTtgmSyNw3So1IYfEm90YZFL8KpZBcLf9tW9FFxxe50tW-qjPtx2fzKe6WJD7l0qkO4Bz4TOnEaJ2/s1600/IMG_4796.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTDyHgdcF7YIzaJTEFHqyLwpat_Q0U9b3dZcNC9eGEso3k4aTzXHmeko8-aKQcd5gTtgmSyNw3So1IYfEm90YZFL8KpZBcLf9tW9FFxxe50tW-qjPtx2fzKe6WJD7l0qkO4Bz4TOnEaJ2/s640/IMG_4796.JPG" height="640" width="425" /></a></div>
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It's a very effective weapon, and I <i>will </i>use it in the future as need be.<br />
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The next day, we were in full sightseeing mode! It was my actual birthday.<br />
Even though we were really wishing for a miraculous cool fall day, what we got was an imitation of summer. We were hot <i>all day long </i>but we braved it for the sake of patriotism.<br />
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We've rented bikes pretty much every time we've come to DC because it's the perfect way to see the city. I was determined to wear a dress on my birthday, one that my mom had sent me for the occasion, but in retrospect dressy bike-riding is quite a difficult sport.</div>
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I did a lot of standing and coasting and readjusting. But mission accomplished.</div>
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Of course the biggest deterrent to our sightseeing was the government shutdown.</div>
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We were about to see a lot of crazy things, but didn't really know that at the beginning.</div>
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The first things to stand out to us were a few monuments that were still open because of rangers that were showing up for work unpaid. They were volunteering their entire day to allow visitors and patriots to visit those monuments, which was a wonderful thing. </div>
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Never have I ever seen such an empty, peaceful Lincoln monument.</div>
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It felt very zombie apocalypse-ish. </div>
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There were still people wandering around, though, enjoying the sunshine and looking at Lincoln from afar.</div>
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Plus, both the Vietnam and the Korean memorials were open by the rangers, and they are located on either side of the Lincoln monument, so there was traffic around and between those two spots.</div>
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This is when the crazy stuff started to happen.<br />
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I was watching the bikes while Dusty and Becky checked out the Korean War Memorial -- she had never been, so all of this was new to her. I volunteered to stay with the bikes so I could just stand still for a minute in the shade.<br />
As I was there, I heard some commotion and turned around to see crowds of people around Lincoln. There seemed to be some buzz of activity, and then suddenly, people were rushing up the steps!<br />
It was a tourist stampede!<br />
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I didn't know it at the time, but <i>apparently </i>Michelle Bachmann had gone to the barricades and <i>moved them. </i>It was a big deal. The ranger standing at the entrance to the Korean War Memorial radioed her superior, I'm assuming, telling them that there were people passing through the barricades.<br />
I knew this moment wouldn't last long so I signaled over to Dusty and Becky to hurry up.<br />
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People were <i>so excited</i> that this was happening. It was a big <i>down with the system </i>moment for all these strangers. There were people shouting Michelle's name, excitedly talking about how they saw her, how she had (supposedly) opened the barricades because there was a little boy whose birthday wish was to see Lincoln.<br />
I stayed with the bikes again so that Becky and Dusty could run up there (I know it seems like I was just totally lazy and didn't want to run up those burning steps in the middle of the day, but really, yes, I was just totally lazy.)<br />
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It was kind of a crazy thing to witness.<br />
Before long some policemen on horses rode up, and everything kind of simmered down, and people dispersed. The whole thing happened in maybe 20-30 minutes, and then it was over and it was as if it had never happened.<br />
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But then we rode away on our bikes and in true birthday-miracle fashion, WE SAW A FOX right in front of our faces.<br />
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Which, admittedly, was way more exciting to me than the barricade ambush.<br />
Does that make me a terrible American?<br />
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Our next stop was the WWII memorial. </div>
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Our path was blocked by a crowd surrounding an older man on a bike, holding two huge American flags in each hand.</div>
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He made a long and impassioned speech about America, what it should look like, and how horrendous and unspeakable it was that the government shutdown was forbidding patriots and veterans from their memorials. It was quite the spectacle, and everyone was silent as he was yelling out.</div>
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It was just one thing after another, and we just propped our bikes up with our mouths hanging open. <i>This is officially a crazy day. </i></div>
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We managed to make our way through the crowds and into the memorial, which had a ranger standing at the entrance where the barricades were opened just enough for people to pass through.</div>
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As we walked up toward him, he looked straight at us and said, "The park is closed today. Yes, the park is closed today." As people were walking right by him and into the monument.<br />
It was quite comical, and it made me like him a lot.</div>
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As we finished looking around, we went back the way we came and observed the crowds still lingering. It was then that we saw buses of WWII veterans unloading their precious passengers, and the crowd of people erupted into cheers, waving American flags and shaking their hands.<br />
Some of the men were in wheelchairs, some were using walkers -- but <i>all </i>of them were touched and invigorated by the show of love and support from these people.<br />
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It's very hard to explain the buzz in the air, the feeling of unity and respect and history and the many lives around us.</div>
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Being a young person that has no context for what war is really like, I found myself trying to imagine these men as young people as well -- what it must have been like, what <i>they </i>must have been like, all those years ago.</div>
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It made me cry a little to see so many kids there, shaking the hands of these men.</div>
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The best part was definitely when one of the veterans spotted Becky, and immediately came over and gave her a hug, exclaiming that she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.</div>
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Did I mention Becky isn't the craziest about hugging?</div>
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He had his arm around her the entire time we were talking with him, and it was <i>hilarious. </i></div>
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We were able to snap a picture with him, and it definitely went into our book of weirdest and best memories of the week.</div>
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The rest of the day was bike riding and silliness.<br />
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We went all the way to <a href="http://www.goodstuffeatery.com/" target="_blank">Good Stuff Eatery</a> for lunch, because it's the best of things.<br />
I've written about it before so I won't go crazy in detail, but if you ever find yourself floating into the doors of supreme burger heaven, grab yourself some thyme and rosemary fries, a toasted marshmallow shake, and the Prez Obama burger (unless you don't like horseradish sauce, which is crazy talk -- then I suggest Spike's Sunnyside).<br />
I'm not gonna lie, by the time we got there we were sweaty and hangry. It felt good to sit and eat and just chillax, and let our hangry selves calm down a bit with burger in our bellies.<br />
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After lunch we leisurely made our way over to the nearby Starbucks for a drink and some more air conditioning. Becky was meeting a friend there who worked in DC at the time (we both knew her from Casa Grande days), so we just enjoyed the cool stools and coffee smells while we waited for her.<br />
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Then it was off to more sightseeing! (and happier attitudes, now that we were cool and full).<br />
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There's definitely a reason why we've been to DC more than anywhere else in Virginia since moving out here.</div>
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There's something really amazing about being in this city -- obviously the historical aspect of it provides a kind of surreal viewing experience, as well as the tremendous amount of art. </div>
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But there's something else, too - maybe it's the layout, maybe it's the bike-riding, maybe it's the rhythm of the city itself. But sometimes you just look around you and feel you're looking at something really beautiful.</div>
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Our next stop was Georgetown, because we had reservations for dinner!</div>
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In retrospect, we probably should have eaten lunch <i>really </i>early because we had an early dinner reservation. </div>
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But even though we were still full from our burger binge, we rode our trusty bikes along the water and hoped the burned calories would be enough to allow us to eat our hearts out at <i><a href="http://filomena.com/" target="_blank">Filomena</a>. </i></div>
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Because if nothing else, birthdays are for an outlandish amount of calories. </div>
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Filomena is one of my very favorite places in the DC area.</div>
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We first went when Dusty's parents were in town, the <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/08/july-stories-dc.html" target="_blank">summer of 2012</a>.</div>
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It's the gaudiest, most fabulous Italian restaurant in all the land.</div>
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Lucky for us, they were completely decked out for Halloween (when we were here that July of 2012, they were all decked out for the 4th). </div>
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In the front window, there's a windowed room where a few lovely ladies are hand-rolling ravioli.</div>
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As you walk in the front door, you wave at them on the right, then continue down the steps into the dark and delightful restaurant.</div>
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Or shall I say, the dark and <i>creepy </i>(in the best way possible) restaurant.</div>
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We snatched a table at the back of the restaurant, and prepared ourselves for carb-loading.</div>
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Isn't this place fantastic?</div>
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Naturally, we ordered some ravioli because you can't <i>not </i>when those lovely ladies above us were hand-rolling them so lovingly and expertly. It would be a slap in the face to their art craft. To not order ravioli would be like <i>not </i>having ice cream in an ice cream shop. How crazy can you be? Grab a cone!<br />
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For my entree I had the Tortelloni Di Michele, which I would highly recommend to cure any disease of the tastebuds. It's not medically certified or anything, but you can tell them I sent you.<br />
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They won't know who I am, but at least I'll feel special.<br />
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They also brought out some flasks of some kind of ungodly substance (<i>note: sambuca and amoretto</i>) that you were supposed to drink as a sort of dessert swig -- I can tell you, it cleared my sinuses and I couldn't order a cappuccino fast enough.<br />
Let's just say I wasn't made for liqueur.<br />
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After dinner, we meandered around Georgetown for a while longer, finally deciding that we <i>had </i>to visit Georgetown Cupcakes to complete our food tour of the day.<br />
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As always, the line was out the door and up the street, so we grabbed a menu and faithfully stood in line. Since the sun was down, it wasn't a big deal to wait outdoors!<br />
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We once did a <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/03/get-in-my-belly-washington-dc.html" target="_blank">cupcake wars</a> outing in Georgetown with our friends, pitting Georgetown Cupcake against Sprinkles -- Sprinkles actually won, but when in Georgetown, eat like the Georgetownians do (plus there's a Sprinkles in Arizona, so you've gotta try new things). </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>this pumpkin cupcake and i became instantly entangled in a great love affair.</i></span></td></tr>
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Happy birthday to me!<br />
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BUT -- the day wasn't over yet.<br />
We decided to head to a local theater to see the movie <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1985019/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Austenland</a>, </i>which was only playing in select theaters (a total cinematic crime).<br />
Becky had seen it a few times in Phoenix, and was dying to see it with me. I was equally eager to see it, so despite Dusty's protests (which quickly died down in the throes of our girlish fervor, and the fact that it was still my birthday) we headed off to the shopping center to see the movie!<br />
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<i>Best decision ever. </i><br />
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There were hardly any other patrons in the cushy theater seats, but everyone that was there was laughing their little tushies off. It was hilarious. Dusty was laughing, too, I might add -- a lot. And we had a blast.<br />
Definitely one of my favorite movies of the year! And <i>so </i>underrated for its cleverness.<br />
It comes out on DVD February 11th, and it's gonna be really hard for me to resist buying 100 copies to give out to everyone I know, as a gesture of true human decency.<br />
If you haven't seen it, please do.<br />
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Sunday was a day for traveling back to Lynchburg, and relaxing.<br />
Once we got back home, we were able to unwind. Becky left really early Monday morning, so we decided Sunday would be a chill day. We drove around a little bit downtown to take <a href="http://voguishatbest.blogspot.com/2013/10/polka-dots-downtown.html" target="_blank">some pictures</a> that afternoon.<br />
One of the things on our Lynchburg bucket list was to take some pictures in front of a giant red LOVE sign there, so we took turns taking some BFF pictures of Becky and I, and some of Dusty and I as well.<br />
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We also just took some time to goof off.<br />
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We met our friends Colin and Victoria for dinner at Delicia's, which is one of our favorite local spots.<br />
We sat out on the balcony and enjoyed the warm evening. I just loved being around some of my favorite friends. It was a very happy table to me.<br />
We also had some great conversation -- at one point Colin told us the entire plot story of Breaking Bad.<br />
Story time with Colin!<br />
It was actually great, because none of us had really wanted to take the time to watch/invest ourselves in such a dramatic show like that -- so now we feel included, without all the stress and heartache. Win win.<br />
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Becky headed out the next morning, which always makes me immeasurably sad. Having that empty guest room glaring at me, all quiet and lonely.<br />
But we had such a great time, and it was a gem of a trip, even with all the heat and the hiccups. Maybe that made it even better.<br />
(Although I could have gone without the bike-riding, dress-wearing thigh sores).<br />
TMI?<br />
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I like to stretch out birthday celebrations as long as humanly possible, so we continued to celebrate that week, which included going to The Crown for wine parfaits. Tradition is tradition, after all.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">2011 / 2013: first and last birthday parfaits in VA!</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7XeURDuArxBbgXcnMffySk9yK320zTtB39OyrdvDvGWL0DsgvHl0Y2g_XIXUYlHcsrRFLM-bR1SuG_0ZrKItrr794oodFLBKn-tRtlkf618zfOtrCk9oXMtk0qiLel0aULfjw4Zfz39I_/s1600/photo+5+(8).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7XeURDuArxBbgXcnMffySk9yK320zTtB39OyrdvDvGWL0DsgvHl0Y2g_XIXUYlHcsrRFLM-bR1SuG_0ZrKItrr794oodFLBKn-tRtlkf618zfOtrCk9oXMtk0qiLel0aULfjw4Zfz39I_/s1600/photo+5+(8).JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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Colin and Victoria met us there for coffee and dessert, and I suppose I officially accepted it: <i>I'm 25. </i><br />
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It was an amazing birthday month, with so many more fun things to come.<br />
It's currently February, so obviously I've been so busy living my 25th year that I haven't been able to keep up with my weekly blogs -- well, lookout, because here they come!<br />
All the backlogs of 2013, and then some. I've gotta catch up so I can fully document our last few months in Virginia. Sigh.<br />
25.<br />
What a glorious year to be alive!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-1611571808846851272014-01-14T09:52:00.002-08:002014-01-15T06:50:58.980-08:00a cat lady musing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhShzLIjnCJqPope3hGJDPAjuRYVpT-Pjf8lhJfDj3aXEG_iW0p2RbRhK2rspPBOjqpxtOm-jzjKVfZpOA9JHx8xDtmuHR_LkY2khp2LaHgYnBtSY0-m_5RlCpchTtwRtWK9RIGUy_IhKeb/s1600/IMG_9214.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhShzLIjnCJqPope3hGJDPAjuRYVpT-Pjf8lhJfDj3aXEG_iW0p2RbRhK2rspPBOjqpxtOm-jzjKVfZpOA9JHx8xDtmuHR_LkY2khp2LaHgYnBtSY0-m_5RlCpchTtwRtWK9RIGUy_IhKeb/s400/IMG_9214.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>I simply can't resist a cat, particularly a purring one.</i></div>
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<i>They are the cleanest, cunningest, and most intelligent things I know, </i></div>
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<i>outside of the girl you love, of course.</i></div>
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- Mark Twain</div>
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I have a feeling that Mark Twain and I would have gotten along quite fine. Bosom friend status.</div>
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There's something about the cat-less population that I find quite sad. The cat-hater is typically a person that is missing something lovely, something like a cuddly spirit, a purity of heart, an affectionate nature. A soul.</div>
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The world needs its harshness, of course, but I find it hard to imagine dealing with it without a furry friend to guide the comfort levels of your home. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfgnJPpZz7kan1I0hvP8bfzy8qh_GKyvGfuIEdL9YDiHuHmsZ5HZRBecIl6P5T1jV_0N8x7yEH4W_h9lwdCAhdtblzgBOOR_Y_3-lXm7AAbGdpSABHtPLGxrhGaXaM6hXYYANHUjcWVbO1/s1600/IMG_8136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfgnJPpZz7kan1I0hvP8bfzy8qh_GKyvGfuIEdL9YDiHuHmsZ5HZRBecIl6P5T1jV_0N8x7yEH4W_h9lwdCAhdtblzgBOOR_Y_3-lXm7AAbGdpSABHtPLGxrhGaXaM6hXYYANHUjcWVbO1/s400/IMG_8136.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<i>A home without a cat -- and a well-fed, well-petted and properly revered cat --</i></div>
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<i>may be a perfect home, perhaps, but how can it prove title?</i></div>
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- Mark Twain</div>
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I am sensitive, affectionate, romantic, loyal, devoted, warmhearted, friendly. And I am a cat lover.</div>
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Or am I those things as a result of loving cats?</div>
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<i>World-changing questions.</i></div>
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I find myself changed by their sweetness, calmed by their presence, soothed by their tired, sleepy grins.</div>
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Happy to care for them, happy to be with them. </div>
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I had a friend recently say that if and when we are able to care for them the way we do, vet bills and messes and all, we are good stewards. It made me smile and I think in most cases that's true.</div>
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What an odd little gift they are, such strange little creatures, like having my very own pokemon.</div>
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I choose you, fluffychoo!</div>
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I can never fully put my trust in someone who hates cats. (I am also inconsolably sad for those who are deathly allergic). The cat-loving world is like the best of secret societies, really -- you hide your adoration, knowing in your heart that 1.) others will never truly understand 2.) you have something precious that they cannot have 3.) you're not alone in the world.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjezpvaxXynUIbPJ-kSjLsVk6i3gmMMePGmR1zVNuk7sF5Of6ZIOg10zihvZtNjMI5YqmhTYWdwn_KpoN-FM14j_hbrj_rxG3tvP58m-j-PMxXb3zYMCwTA9S1UCjWX1VxzX9VAf4jjp-N6/s1600/IMG_7359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjezpvaxXynUIbPJ-kSjLsVk6i3gmMMePGmR1zVNuk7sF5Of6ZIOg10zihvZtNjMI5YqmhTYWdwn_KpoN-FM14j_hbrj_rxG3tvP58m-j-PMxXb3zYMCwTA9S1UCjWX1VxzX9VAf4jjp-N6/s400/IMG_7359.JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
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<i>When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade,</i></div>
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<i>without further introduction.</i></div>
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- Mark Twain</div>
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You pass by cat-related merchandise and point and laugh, or show your friends, secretly knowing if they weren't there you'd probably make it all the way to the cash register with it before realizing you could never wear it in public anyway, because people would shun you.</div>
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You are unnaturally thrilled that cat sweaters and graphic Ts have become a somewhat quirky exception in the fashion world, allowing you to partake in the celebration of cattiness in style.</div>
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How much is too much? The cat lady will never know.</div>
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I do know that my life has been measured by the constant embellishment of animal interaction, by the sweet little souls within beings that make me laugh and cry. </div>
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Every home I've ever lived in has had these treasures, these accessories of life and activity and playfulness. </div>
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It's how I was raised, how I love to live, and how I live to love.</div>
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The wide-eyed way in which I take in the world, and come home to the purrs of a day well spent.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguvb5FEaw0EO5M8D_hW-nXuJxZiNxalL5Gfr3_fxlZuQQXcMvGsU55xXMHa3ZrK35gOnPLOniag8mpIMduDbRdizSTnTx6SdVnHvDeE_vp1SswjKRrFVTnRLlNWakg8pq_0Z5qIs5iLSuH/s1600/IMG_8874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguvb5FEaw0EO5M8D_hW-nXuJxZiNxalL5Gfr3_fxlZuQQXcMvGsU55xXMHa3ZrK35gOnPLOniag8mpIMduDbRdizSTnTx6SdVnHvDeE_vp1SswjKRrFVTnRLlNWakg8pq_0Z5qIs5iLSuH/s640/IMG_8874.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>Mark loved cats...and pool, or pocket billiards. </i></div>
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<i>Whenever he played pool, he'd tuck a pet kitten into a corner pocket. </i><i>The antics of the cat as it pawed at passing balls amused and relaxed Mark Twain...sent him back in high spirits to write the stories that endeared him to all.</i></div>
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<i>Americans today have the same shrewd understanding that one relaxed moment </i></div>
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<i>helps you work and fight harder.</i></div>
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- Royal Crown Cola ad, 1940s </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5lofGrg6I7c1SuytycBKvBkLPXyU37Y98lMAAbJdMx-o8ZnDK8RoM9lBLEIG4FJ6XcGfajHX-CS5jz0EPAxqSS_KI0hFVHwsmQ0froDCOrlQ0TkvS6JQ4z2cJj3JT-NO5mBgeT3aNdVBf/s1600/IMG_9900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5lofGrg6I7c1SuytycBKvBkLPXyU37Y98lMAAbJdMx-o8ZnDK8RoM9lBLEIG4FJ6XcGfajHX-CS5jz0EPAxqSS_KI0hFVHwsmQ0froDCOrlQ0TkvS6JQ4z2cJj3JT-NO5mBgeT3aNdVBf/s320/IMG_9900.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCYBkghMPTFA57Tr1rV_-TP2Z8wDF7Zc4o4LYP8G6QrgUTSVn4pWxQ_6Fwoq8gaZI4KgwLlDDDwQnOe6-04szzIQYlGTaHU6vb5J7VYHASCJPt6Lqcx5gmbM0Kh2v3ot1XjX4UNUjNiDsR/s1600/photo+(41).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCYBkghMPTFA57Tr1rV_-TP2Z8wDF7Zc4o4LYP8G6QrgUTSVn4pWxQ_6Fwoq8gaZI4KgwLlDDDwQnOe6-04szzIQYlGTaHU6vb5J7VYHASCJPt6Lqcx5gmbM0Kh2v3ot1XjX4UNUjNiDsR/s320/photo+(41).JPG" width="267" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNohyphenhyphenceeuMmUChcpswh32DbIXyB9Jua2Va5bwdgEXqNuL4l6OLg-dy2xYkgjh-KfKUvTlrqmKCAQFmf80iSXtdCF_s_tn2TA5iLBkbQFykymL3pPyznDoPK9LFvo49HJSiMJ0zRTG1INEq/s1600/IMG_7577.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-14696073701124822092013-12-11T13:25:00.002-08:002013-12-11T13:25:27.601-08:00September Backlogs: little bits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here you will find a short list of things from the end of September that I never got around to blogging about.</div>
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<i>Dusty was cute</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHI1KiM7YO_ebHh2R58HJiczKz6Xj1l6H4y4bT0n11fWmTW5TKzAyZR99uBE56ajtdqVGDZj0qdcUGtf7hyo2k5o4WVphpDafk4AipZmMkloiQ9rid-vcxGYdUD284dJ4af78VxAWDNoym/s1600/photo+4+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHI1KiM7YO_ebHh2R58HJiczKz6Xj1l6H4y4bT0n11fWmTW5TKzAyZR99uBE56ajtdqVGDZj0qdcUGtf7hyo2k5o4WVphpDafk4AipZmMkloiQ9rid-vcxGYdUD284dJ4af78VxAWDNoym/s400/photo+4+(2).JPG" width="300" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh827nVExKJi8MydenYHPJPnHi9OUv1cUSSTaFASj_b5rqR4iYSxeQ6en7Um72s8cEkP7cb8y5oeC3YeCpL-K5Yxg4zuNOcD0SeE7LIYRVLf7nDzpYJdtmzKeF0-w6gSyQ-gNPNjlW79HGe/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh827nVExKJi8MydenYHPJPnHi9OUv1cUSSTaFASj_b5rqR4iYSxeQ6en7Um72s8cEkP7cb8y5oeC3YeCpL-K5Yxg4zuNOcD0SeE7LIYRVLf7nDzpYJdtmzKeF0-w6gSyQ-gNPNjlW79HGe/s400/photo+1.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<i>The girlies were cute</i></div>
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<i><br /></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHUY0lszD0SsDYgy1S0j0GcEdAKvQKNoSgMAoJmO2MAQf7IHGJusZ4xX501wxBcZW86yYfv7bnuOq2vnRPqIo5ALqyuUw5euyzoy4nbfAgWIjQWVVzdC80ctOmCrBZKG_t2a86T_vg7Ns/s1600/photo+3+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHUY0lszD0SsDYgy1S0j0GcEdAKvQKNoSgMAoJmO2MAQf7IHGJusZ4xX501wxBcZW86yYfv7bnuOq2vnRPqIo5ALqyuUw5euyzoy4nbfAgWIjQWVVzdC80ctOmCrBZKG_t2a86T_vg7Ns/s640/photo+3+(1).JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<i>We had silly dates</i></div>
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<i>We had double dates</i></div>
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<i><br /></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkXqfiziMpNmSi5PIrLBLpwd-Z0sDqzQxaBtb7-ch-dRg2FfWxWwzxsq34VgEhOkVhVHxvTnp4woe9nO6KREmiCYtaP6QYhyphenhyphenfit3R9NS7jzoVoRg-2PQPMvry78SMo9hfKaAgeh_HHXHT-/s1600/photo+2+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkXqfiziMpNmSi5PIrLBLpwd-Z0sDqzQxaBtb7-ch-dRg2FfWxWwzxsq34VgEhOkVhVHxvTnp4woe9nO6KREmiCYtaP6QYhyphenhyphenfit3R9NS7jzoVoRg-2PQPMvry78SMo9hfKaAgeh_HHXHT-/s640/photo+2+(3).JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNQPS8HcUbghOS4pujEheZyVP4hLVARZqzeXmmAyK7lHjBmzoya027jh8-Of1G4arI8_xc3G6OUPlvLzrwcT7a1aVlzKvBrJnMb5F-5T1zcMipQuyv1HT4MpqlWhDLrsZt5ZeS_dOww1ME/s1600/photo+4+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNQPS8HcUbghOS4pujEheZyVP4hLVARZqzeXmmAyK7lHjBmzoya027jh8-Of1G4arI8_xc3G6OUPlvLzrwcT7a1aVlzKvBrJnMb5F-5T1zcMipQuyv1HT4MpqlWhDLrsZt5ZeS_dOww1ME/s400/photo+4+(3).JPG" width="300" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin6t7hNjOgsMrbFbNs9Ni3CgrnTIQ3sHd-kk07y_0egT3zJXzNyTZoMol-fRq7ZG0pvi8oXmY8c794xaYSnVTqhfeUcjMcNgGdP0FyjMYLP-mOtgUIz_rhwejoPZ8LNz0G6fZ2t7rhzhbz/s1600/photo+1+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin6t7hNjOgsMrbFbNs9Ni3CgrnTIQ3sHd-kk07y_0egT3zJXzNyTZoMol-fRq7ZG0pvi8oXmY8c794xaYSnVTqhfeUcjMcNgGdP0FyjMYLP-mOtgUIz_rhwejoPZ8LNz0G6fZ2t7rhzhbz/s400/photo+1+(3).JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifAsWDcMhxHZvtPY-BShs-o6pW522eMCIHpzcQFBUtvlonjEyowYnlESo63_U_TakY52LiC08_zNBGoSZfGNWs_uC7WdwVnKyOXPFL014lF3Y1avlRKhANr1Bd1AxgeZMk5-_6gqTwAgdl/s1600/photo+3+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifAsWDcMhxHZvtPY-BShs-o6pW522eMCIHpzcQFBUtvlonjEyowYnlESo63_U_TakY52LiC08_zNBGoSZfGNWs_uC7WdwVnKyOXPFL014lF3Y1avlRKhANr1Bd1AxgeZMk5-_6gqTwAgdl/s640/photo+3+(3).JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDpiVFstsJ0Ff6GI9ykfhbye5Z2NM5WbStdUJEl-n5fQma44wP5K26TzT73jKHo5y6A1LL7IR5mDTt_xWo38l5WnOTDWKnktK1dHpht0Ad1hLP2e5UiAwk7iWUnJe3XKH6svh9oPjjG_V/s1600/photo+2+(4).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDpiVFstsJ0Ff6GI9ykfhbye5Z2NM5WbStdUJEl-n5fQma44wP5K26TzT73jKHo5y6A1LL7IR5mDTt_xWo38l5WnOTDWKnktK1dHpht0Ad1hLP2e5UiAwk7iWUnJe3XKH6svh9oPjjG_V/s400/photo+2+(4).JPG" width="300" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk2rs_WxLqGqufYtZpX6AZyBBRCS1WRZHkaz7W4RmObOAAOwyg1ZhLir_JqXChuPOQ_dx5H4Slv7Up1Kc8TCT2QIT3Fz_3VyROHA75oGy0Wf0kD9R0i8caZ8DalS1RvtULhKIWCxV5sOpH/s1600/photo+1+(4).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk2rs_WxLqGqufYtZpX6AZyBBRCS1WRZHkaz7W4RmObOAAOwyg1ZhLir_JqXChuPOQ_dx5H4Slv7Up1Kc8TCT2QIT3Fz_3VyROHA75oGy0Wf0kD9R0i8caZ8DalS1RvtULhKIWCxV5sOpH/s400/photo+1+(4).JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<i>That chick kept wearing <a href="http://voguishatbest.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-leopard-cardigan.html" target="_blank">my cardigan</a></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBYXZ_keMxfS0omni271mJQM_xaouToL8klKb18-XAbMAkh7MW-MJctKOIgXT4dLNVIYvE_VKVTklKmcl3xOYDUn389VMs0hTt4ryUg6-YN_o0QlsJb_e1q5WfvDKgD-WRW4U1u93Tf-xI/s1600/photo+5+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBYXZ_keMxfS0omni271mJQM_xaouToL8klKb18-XAbMAkh7MW-MJctKOIgXT4dLNVIYvE_VKVTklKmcl3xOYDUn389VMs0hTt4ryUg6-YN_o0QlsJb_e1q5WfvDKgD-WRW4U1u93Tf-xI/s400/photo+5+(1).JPG" width="300" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYMnjF-6CjyuB1xoE96Jhk7lly0OIRAZAUasHL4vCLqJqEzIHdxt0bg6fpNbOmCLf3nqNWlvLknVvvdU9OG3rT90WSKigw97FzuTi6Zjq5HJxEcbDXEDURRecoBYU4VDWVRGYjH-dJTrm/s1600/photo+4+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYMnjF-6CjyuB1xoE96Jhk7lly0OIRAZAUasHL4vCLqJqEzIHdxt0bg6fpNbOmCLf3nqNWlvLknVvvdU9OG3rT90WSKigw97FzuTi6Zjq5HJxEcbDXEDURRecoBYU4VDWVRGYjH-dJTrm/s400/photo+4+(1).JPG" width="300" /></a><i><br /></i></div>
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<i>Dusty touched a special rock</i></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVgMLsUN-ZEiUCcQWx-tnUFWV1WFNzbryrKl9pWBFTj6fcTB-GcwFxgR4iSW3cBhH0iqlVK-nJf_xKUdnRCh43u2vpmdf3VAkvsrkH3wFB1442J-o0Uxvpr3nA2RKaqw0Gn8DZ3TyzHEVf/s1600/photo+1+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVgMLsUN-ZEiUCcQWx-tnUFWV1WFNzbryrKl9pWBFTj6fcTB-GcwFxgR4iSW3cBhH0iqlVK-nJf_xKUdnRCh43u2vpmdf3VAkvsrkH3wFB1442J-o0Uxvpr3nA2RKaqw0Gn8DZ3TyzHEVf/s400/photo+1+(2).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">To be more specific, which I feel is probably necessary, the law school has a ceremony called Ad Fontes where the students touch the "ebenezer stone" upon arrival, and upon entering their last year. It's a symbol.<br />And apparently this rock was actually found on Mount Sinai, so that's pretty cool.</span></td></tr>
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<i>We had an awesome Revenge premiere party </i></div>
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We kind of stuck with the "fire and ice" theme!<br />
Everything looked great, and all of the snacks and drinks were amazing.<br />
The <i>only teeny tiny problem </i>was that our cable stopped working, <i>seconds </i>before the premiere began.<br />
It was a major crisis.<br />
Luckily, Russanna voted for us to drive a few minutes down the road to <i>her </i>house to watch it there. We missed the first fifteen minutes, but overall, I'm gonna call this premiere party a success.<br />
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We've gotten way behind on this show, so part of Christmas break will definitely be spent catching up on the dastardly deeds and harrowing troubles of our favorite revenger Emily Thorne.<br />
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<i>I began the prep for a happy Frocktober!</i></div>
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The time for a month of dresses had come again!<br />
Head to <a href="http://voguishatbest.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Voguish at Best</a> for my log of <a href="http://voguishatbest.blogspot.com/search/label/frocktober" target="_blank">Frocktober</a> posts.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-14023937854405174942013-12-11T11:57:00.003-08:002013-12-11T12:00:36.419-08:00the last christmas tea<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9WHn6QN8DSV7XL7etKTvDvi_RJXYo05uznu9Jw40ODRmJTTp6TE1JzB8pyvnnsddL-3Z7l0MUHhpPXidf68jyhrDI5SYuYzDVjuWl-Ubm7YG5hGKwigpYRnkAJ00IMnBxnRfxVoT4o4gP/s1600/IMG_7957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9WHn6QN8DSV7XL7etKTvDvi_RJXYo05uznu9Jw40ODRmJTTp6TE1JzB8pyvnnsddL-3Z7l0MUHhpPXidf68jyhrDI5SYuYzDVjuWl-Ubm7YG5hGKwigpYRnkAJ00IMnBxnRfxVoT4o4gP/s640/IMG_7957.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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Saturday was the Law Wives Christmas Tea!</div>
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It has always been my favorite event, since December of 2011. I won a teapot for being the first to finish a crossword, and I immediately knew it would be the event I looked most forward to every year.</div>
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Look out, future law women -- I may just appear without invite in the years to come.</div>
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Since it was my last one, I had a lot of excitement and expectation built up for it. </div>
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Some flashbacks:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">2011</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">2012</span></td></tr>
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This year was a bit different, because a lot of friends had graduated and left the law wives. I was still looking forward to it because I love tea, and I drink an exorbitant amount of it at these things...my friend Stephanie and I always joke (although it's more like a tease, because it's real) that we're shaking by the time the tea is over.</div>
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The <i>great </i>news is that Stephanie was able to make a valuable guest appearance as an experienced alumnus!</div>
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She spoke on the history of tea, and was able to enjoy the afternoon with us.</div>
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The mediocre news is that the tea was sub-par this year.</div>
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Don't get me wrong, there were still treats and a lot of ladies came and it was a very sweet afternoon.</div>
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The problems, for me, were in the tea itself -- the school's catering company did the honors of providing everything for us, and we had plain white dishes and a simple carafe of hot water with a basket of tea bags.</div>
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That doesn't sound half bad, but when you compare it to the last two years when we had tables decorated with mixed vintage teapots and teacups and saucers and little silver stirring spoons and fresh flowers, and were served each traditional course and were provided with fresh pots of hot ready-made tea when we began to get low, it seems like a real step down. </div>
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I feel really snooty just <i>saying </i>all of this, but it really was a letdown when you have to make each separate cup of tea with a tiny carafe of hot water that ran out quickly and still had the aftertaste of old coffee.</div>
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(You can see last year's tea <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/12/christmas-tea.html" target="_blank">here</a>.)</div>
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We played a few word games and had Stephanie speak on the history of afternoon tea, and we also spoke a bit about the Godparent Home which is kind of our focused project for each Christmas tea.</div>
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The Godparent Home is a ministry here on campus for young pregnant women/teenagers who have chosen life, and are planning to have and raise their children or give them up for adoption. </div>
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Each year we collect spa items for these girls, filling stockings and bringing them over and having a spa night with them.</div>
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I always love the game portion.<br />
There's nothing more stressful and exciting than a room full of people who are completely silent, trying to find that dang "lemonslice" entry in the timed word finder.<br />
We also had a "best dressed" category for a prize this year, since people had fun dressing up last year and we wanted to encourage people to go all out!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1o73BCFNcaegJugTY6-H6k68rRdkYp9kKbZVXCH7bbH2lXx_up4scC6UR4VMzgtnN8NyYaSgb-VsqRP5YXoXDDjJ381TCRSzpVZIkOiyrk2z-13Hf1KhepyGAOXtEsCVNWqXfsA1yOcm3/s1600/IMG_7930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1o73BCFNcaegJugTY6-H6k68rRdkYp9kKbZVXCH7bbH2lXx_up4scC6UR4VMzgtnN8NyYaSgb-VsqRP5YXoXDDjJ381TCRSzpVZIkOiyrk2z-13Hf1KhepyGAOXtEsCVNWqXfsA1yOcm3/s640/IMG_7930.JPG" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Best Dressed</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Word Game</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Word Finder</i></span></td></tr>
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Overall, it was a great group of girls and I still felt like crying a little once it was all over.<br />
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I also have been making pots of tea in that teapot I won the first year, both to be nostalgic and because I'm <i>way </i>behind on my normal tea intake for this time of year.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-29461059102736043932013-10-30T08:51:00.002-07:002013-11-15T06:42:59.500-08:00summer highlights, part 2<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Welcome to part 2!</span></div>
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I fell behind in my blogging over the summer, and as I was reminiscing about all of the fun times we had, I decided to basically cover all my bases and write about things I never got around to writing about.</div>
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It has turned into a multi-day (week) blogging project, going through pictures and memories and Instagram posts, but I'm finally getting there!</div>
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To sum up: I wanna go back to summertime.</div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Trips & Visits</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
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We had so many fun trips and visits after school ended, like <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/06/arizona-summer.html" target="_blank">Arizona</a>, <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-day-for-disney.html" target="_blank">Disneyland</a>, <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/06/arizona-last-dayish.html" target="_blank">more Arizona</a>, <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/06/summer-visits.html" target="_blank">my family in Lynchburg</a>, and <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/07/cleveland-or-bust.html" target="_blank">Cleveland</a>. </div>
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After that, in the actual summer months, the fun kept rolling on. </div>
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First, <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-peachy-queen.html" target="_blank">my mom came for a visit</a>! She got to meet some of our friends and we had a great time going to a peach orchard. After that, she hung out and helped one of her dear friends in anticipation of her daughter's wedding (the sister of the bride from earlier this year!) She worked on some sewing projects and errands, and I sat at work and joined in spirit.</div>
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The actual wedding was beautiful. It threatened to rain all day long, but a small window of clear skies opened up <i>right on time </i>for us to towel off our seats and enjoy the beautiful views of the ceremony. There were a few rumbling rolls of thunder throughout, which was kind of amazing. It was perfect!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">So sweet -- her dad's dress shirt lent a heart patch for her "something blue"<br />(which my mom had the honor of sewing on!)</span></td></tr>
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It had been such a great week of having my mom in town. I got sick while she was here, but we still managed to eat with our friends at Delicia's, have them over for chicken enchiladas (mom's specialty), go shopping in Boonsboro, and celebrate the miraculous early arrival of the Pumpkin Spice Latte.<br />
It was especially difficult to say goodbye. The days are ticking by and we'll be moving back to Arizona before we know it -- but in the meantime, with no holidays in Arizona to look forward to, the waiting and the missing are extremely difficult. </div>
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Our other big summer trips/visits were my friend <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/09/belated-summer-friend.html" target="_blank">Amber coming into town</a>, and our more recent trips to <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/10/georgia-on-my-mind.html" target="_blank">Georgia</a> and <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/10/a-day-in-charleston.html" target="_blank">Charleston</a>!</div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><i>Victolin/Colinoria</i></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">At our church tailgating party!</span></td></tr>
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This summer we decided to try and figure out if it's possible to spend <i>too much time </i>with another couple. Our test subjects were Colin and Victoria -- or in otherwords, Victolin. Or Colinoria. </div>
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We could never quite pinpoint a nickname for the two of them, but it seemed appropriate to give them one. Victolin kind of sounds like an evil dictator, and Colinoria definitely sounds like a disease. But we promise, we like them a lot. </div>
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I decided to give them their own highlight because while I was compiling this, I realized pretty much everything I was writing involved them. So I might as well just get it out in the open that we occasionally spent every single day of the week with them. </div>
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It really kicked into gear in August, though, with the Bachelorette finale. Yep. </div>
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We had started watching the Bachelorette because Des, our favorite contestant from The Bachelor, was the star. We <i>had </i>to see how it turned out. And bonus: Dusty's cousin Chris was going to be one of the contestants! Which gave Dusty even more of a reason to watch, and something to say when other guys said, "Wait -- you watch <i>the Bachelorette?</i>"<br />
So obviously we had to start up a "Team Chris" group, and Colin and Victoria became the second half of that fan club. We watched every week with pizza (or occasionally other food/snacks so we didn't gain 50 pounds) and pure joy. We also watched SYTYCD almost every week with them (still think Paul should have won, although darn it, if it ain't adorable that Fik-shun and Amy got to win together), but somehow The Bachelorette took the front seat of our summer entertainment.</div>
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When the finale came around, we were so invested that it became the most enjoyable/stressful/amazing TV viewing experience of our lives.</div>
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Chris had made it to the finale, and we watched with bated breath (and sometimes pillow throwing/squeals) as he proposed to Des and she said YES. Even thinking about it makes my heart start beating fast again -- it was positively thrilling, and I'm not even ashamed.<br />
I believe this event alone solidified the Dustlin/Victolin bond forevermore. </div>
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The other thing that we got to share with them was our love for Paris -- Victoria went to France in August with her family, and we had Colin over almost every night for dinner/games/to make sure he didn't spend his nights alone eating McDonald's. </div>
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One of those nights we ended up talking about our silly and spontaneous travel and all of our favorite things about Paris, so he could tell Victoria where she should go while they were in the city that coming week. </div>
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The next day, Dusty got a text from Colin -- "you're not the only ones who can be spontaneous! On my way to the DC airport!!"</div>
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We were shocked, amazed, and totally jealous - but he had up and bought a ticket to Paris to join them, totally spontaneous and last minute, and totally awesome. </div>
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When they got back, they brought us <i><a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/04/paris-day-1-2-lazy-train.html" target="_blank">Laduree macarons</a></i>. Which if you know us <i>at all </i>means we felt the joy of a thousand baby unicorns.<br />
Then later, Victoria and I had a girl's night where we attempted to make crepes and watched Ever After, because she had never seen it (travesty). We proceeded to make crepes several other times (including during one of our Bachelorette nights, I believe).</div>
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We started meeting nearly every Saturday morning for brunch downtown at Market at Main, which I loved. Downtown has always been one of my favorite places, and with them we got to explore and find new favorites, like the new little shop called Pastiche that had its grand opening a few months ago.</div>
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We went to the grand opening and snacked and drank coffee and bought a few small things.</div>
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It's such a cute store! It's made up entirely of vintage and handmade items from local artisans. Definitely the perfect kind of store for downtown!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb9Lay6XFzY1jt20vxK7T2n-PY_M2y8rtEuAHVKnvmA1jaUXtZz0HIRLHPQzgCmTQQlGcUKJWa-DH8ECPoZq3tFV5kCNoh-0OXBvsMYYtwKy36jjDOATaskV1YYf3bwGAFEJbUVyG1Nx6o/s1600/photo+3+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb9Lay6XFzY1jt20vxK7T2n-PY_M2y8rtEuAHVKnvmA1jaUXtZz0HIRLHPQzgCmTQQlGcUKJWa-DH8ECPoZq3tFV5kCNoh-0OXBvsMYYtwKy36jjDOATaskV1YYf3bwGAFEJbUVyG1Nx6o/s640/photo+3+(3).JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Coolest light fixture ever made.</span></td></tr>
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We'd also meet them for other meals during the week, like 1/2 off sushi on Wednesday nights or at Delicia's for yummy plantains (see <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/10/summer-highlights-part-1.html" target="_blank">part 1</a> of the summer highlights). </div>
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When the J. Crew outlet in Wyndhurst had their huge closing down sale, Victoria and I went and had the best lunch break <i>ever </i>buying amazing clothes for ridiculously cheap.</div>
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We discovered their love for games, and spent endless late nights drinking coffee or sparkling cider floats and playing games like Catan, Dominion and Small World.</div>
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We started up an intense series of Mario Party on the N64, reliving the days of our youth.</div>
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I'm not sure if anyone else could totally appreciate all of these things, and it was the perfect way to spend the last month of our summer. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">DK, Wario, Luigi, & Yoshie 4ever </span></td></tr>
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We had been spending so much time playing Mario Party, that at one point we had some other friends over to play with us -- and there was a secret level we had never seen before, and we all got so excited that I think we frightened our other two friends, while at the same time realizing how joyous it was that we had found each other.</div>
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When we started the new level, someone was skipping through the intro, and Victoria panicked. "NO! What are you doing! Who's doing that! STOP! We haven't seen this before!"</div>
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Our other friend (the culprit) was stricken. "Oh, uh...sorry..."</div>
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Victoria is usually quite soft-spoken and sweet, but boy, when Mario Party is on the line...</div>
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It still makes me giggle.</div>
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We've had so many fun moments with our friends here. </div>
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In August we all split a Groupon for a night of bowling! There's a big bowling alley tucked back from the road right by school, and I had never even noticed it before.</div>
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We went and played several games, and it brought back so many great memories. I love bowling!</div>
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There's something about the funky kind of nostalgia of bowling (rental shoes, 90's carpet, juke box, nachos, arcade, splitting a pitcher of soda) that makes me very happy.</div>
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Another one of my favorite summer events was that time we basically begged my friend Stephanie to teach Victoria and I how to <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/08/macaron-making.html" target="_blank">make macarons</a>.</div>
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We invited ourselves over, and she spoiled the crap out of us with homemade muffins, peach lavender jam, french press coffee, and amazing mint chocolate macarons. </div>
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Like I said earlier, we were in love with all things French!</div>
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I also participated in <a href="http://voguishatbest.blogspot.com/2013/08/cara-box-seasons-of-life.html" target="_blank">Cara Box</a>, and was able to meet some amazing bloggers, some of whom I still keep up with! The concept of having a pen pal seems so old-school (aka amazing), but it was so fun for me to be able to connect with other women out there... kindred spirits, if you will. I may never meet them in person, but they're kindred spirits just the same.</div>
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Our life group at church changed dramatically this summer when my friend (and our fellow life group leader) <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/05/springtime-with-jane-friends.html" target="_blank">Angelica</a> moved back to Canada to begin an Art Therapy program. We had her going away party at church, and were able to hang out with her a few more times in between her grand world traveling! (See her blog <a href="http://fearsometobehold.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">here</a>). I miss her dearly, as she is one of the most uniquely wonderful people I have ever met.</div>
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Lastly, on the last day of summer, we were able to have a mini reunion with some friends from our first year of law school!</div>
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Two of the couples have moved away but the third couple, Stephanie and Josh, finished school this past May but have stayed in Lynchburg so we've seen them more often (hence, the macaron-making). </div>
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When I think back to our first year, these are the faces that I see!</div>
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They were the ones who came to <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/03/luck-of-irish.html" target="_blank">our parties</a>, invited us to <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/02/bowls-of-super.html" target="_blank"><i>their </i>parties</a>, and loved on us and made us sad when they left us. </div>
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The only couple missing here was Allison and Greg, who sadly were living too far away in Illinois (although that, also, has changed -- eventually I'll catch up on all of this crazy nonsense!).</div>
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We met up at Neighbor's Place for Sunday lunch. Dusty and I had never been there, but their skirt steak is delicious. I have officially said so. </div>
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We were able to meet Audriana, Chris and Heather's little girl (who was loving those menus), as well as Erica and Phil's baby bump!</div>
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They're going to wait and see whether it's a boy or girl, so obviously the suspense is <i>killing </i>us. ;)</div>
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It was a beautiful day. Other than the many buzzing bees attempting to steal our lunches, we enjoyed the peaceful patio and catching up on each other's lives!</div>
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We kind of decided an annual reunion was in order, and I'm definitely on board with that idea.</div>
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Later that week we have Phil and Erica over for a game night, and we spent many hours playing and catching up with them. My heart was aching a little bit when they left our house that night.</div>
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I had forgotten how much fun we had with them, and it seems so unfair somehow that our time with them was so short! They graduated after our first year here, so we really only had second semester and most of that summer to hang out with them. One of the best memories I have is during the <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/07/lights-out.html" target="_blank">derecho storm</a>, having Erica stay with us at a friend's house, finding ways to stay cool and survive the power outage!</div>
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The silver lining is that they live in Albuquerque now, and we will be able to visit them often! I'm looking forward to that.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Becoming 3Ls</i></b></span><br />
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Sometimes I think back to our first year here in Virginia, and all of the scary firsts -- and now here we are, dealing with all of the scary lasts! </div>
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We had <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/08/beginning-of-end.html" target="_blank">our very last Dean's Reception</a> in August, and it officially hit us that we're 3Ls. </div>
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Everything from here on out is <i>the last one. </i></div>
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We had our last meet and greet, our last luau, our last first day of class.</div>
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It's all a wonderful kind of <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/08/today.html" target="_blank">panicky feeling</a>, filled with joy and apprehension and elation and accomplishment and sweat and tears and memories. </div>
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Despite the confusing mess of emotion, entering into our 3rd and last year of law school was definitely a summer highlight.</div>
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<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><i>The Silly Details</i></b><br />
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Sometimes the little things all band together to form the big things that dominate your memory of a certain time and place.</div>
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The tiniest thing can ignite an intense reliving of a memory -- like the body spray I found in my closet that was from junior high, and as soon as I sprayed the stuff it brought on all the floral angst of church camp. </div>
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Anyway!</div>
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In September, the Pumpkin Spite Latte came out -- and since it was still quite warm and occasionally humid out, I discovered the most delicious drink on planet earth. Iced coffee with 2 pumps of pumpkin spice, 2 pumps of caramel, and cream. </div>
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Summer, you Fall-impersonating fool, you. I'll love you forever.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-mCLp5cdhtPlZYAqF7hl4JpNYpTjFu9gPeVXqqa9DwBdn7HjWk8NqU7hPVHUSefyzArF1cHJZdJ4TJA2NlpvrnkNnUHJ4SKBKnVOY6tyP3kJOzbvGCoquYbOvQMdaJSFn1OsFQJRxYUQ5/s1600/1174644_10153090757855018_1686200713_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-mCLp5cdhtPlZYAqF7hl4JpNYpTjFu9gPeVXqqa9DwBdn7HjWk8NqU7hPVHUSefyzArF1cHJZdJ4TJA2NlpvrnkNnUHJ4SKBKnVOY6tyP3kJOzbvGCoquYbOvQMdaJSFn1OsFQJRxYUQ5/s400/1174644_10153090757855018_1686200713_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Foxes </i>were a big part of summer, mostly because they are the divine creatures of Fall, and <i>their fur is red, so beautiful. </i></div>
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I started wearing <a href="http://instagram.com/p/dmovYXiR6q/" target="_blank">#myfoxpurse</a> the day the pumpkin spice came out, and also started wearing lots of fox things (<a href="http://voguishatbest.blogspot.com/2013/09/then-fox-you-shall-be.html" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="http://voguishatbest.blogspot.com/2013/10/foxy-lady.html" target="_blank">2</a>, <a href="http://voguishatbest.blogspot.com/2013/10/in-woods.html" target="_blank">3</a>).</div>
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Then this happened:</div>
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/jofNR_WkoCE/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/jofNR_WkoCE&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/jofNR_WkoCE&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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And life was just pure, unadulterated bliss. </div>
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Also, it was super weird. </div>
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I somehow managed to watch that video when it was around 200,000 views, and as I'm writing currently, at 11:19am on October 30th, it's at 174,147,265 views.</div>
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I'll never understand the internet, but I'm glad it's around.</div>
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There was my discovery of <a href="http://instagram.com/p/dkh0J2iR83/" target="_blank">green apple chapstick</a>, and <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/search/label/student%20workers" target="_blank">student workers</a> infested our office space for a few months. </div>
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I finally tracked down and bought <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/06/summer-visits.html" target="_blank">patio furniture</a>, and was able to enjoy glorious summer mornings on the back porch (when it wasn't raining). </div>
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Then there was that one really weird <i><a href="http://voguishatbest.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-leopard-cardigan.html" target="_blank">cardigan incident</a>. </i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc8SS6DMb7DYebbQKzDbTeXKXty9OUdAenO1mOhCeJNp8H6tH97e6qdUqbyNuze-1wbi2_h4M0CnCQwH_1B3Ajz5DwqHqA0lCwiw9CNFx04vcv3y8TLuY7MAIBhCy-URGeEB9Bob65KhtO/s1600/1175144_10153065715325018_1934996736_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc8SS6DMb7DYebbQKzDbTeXKXty9OUdAenO1mOhCeJNp8H6tH97e6qdUqbyNuze-1wbi2_h4M0CnCQwH_1B3Ajz5DwqHqA0lCwiw9CNFx04vcv3y8TLuY7MAIBhCy-URGeEB9Bob65KhtO/s400/1175144_10153065715325018_1934996736_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Another random but extremely delightful part of summer here that I will miss greatly are the butterfly-infested flower bushes right outside of our door.</div>
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They are <i>swarming </i>with butterflies during the day, and it's the most beautiful thing. Dusty and I would sometimes come home from school/work and just stare at them, enchanted.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWFCE_RMFkFR3LR1q2fG-sKB_KfBMvGsC_YumsWCEKPAC5KIKS_j4noR6iDjGI32hPfhgdwgTnJh6gli0UOz6h6KnJyiOcIEKmHLSUngEPc7zVhxBZzG4tFiytFmyGBZfFk0o2WFewYo-/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWFCE_RMFkFR3LR1q2fG-sKB_KfBMvGsC_YumsWCEKPAC5KIKS_j4noR6iDjGI32hPfhgdwgTnJh6gli0UOz6h6KnJyiOcIEKmHLSUngEPc7zVhxBZzG4tFiytFmyGBZfFk0o2WFewYo-/s640/photo.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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I was also able to do some minor redecorating in the guest room and our bathroom, and our guest room is probably my favorite room in the house. It's covered in random travel memorabilia, and odds and ends that hold special meaning and memories. And the cats like it, so. They know what's up.<br />
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Before:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQTjnVmgUyP0PpdVaHXeTcFxMkRW2WJlvXm4MJwbOBIZTmWiwybHMbkSGfuXb3Md-mO53n7Xo1i2Cre9LfcP9MlT81Ue-HCsRtLPByuNy9-4rpa27fUjsCyduTZLk54wEJK36QCZbb0ccD/s1600/photo+1+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQTjnVmgUyP0PpdVaHXeTcFxMkRW2WJlvXm4MJwbOBIZTmWiwybHMbkSGfuXb3Md-mO53n7Xo1i2Cre9LfcP9MlT81Ue-HCsRtLPByuNy9-4rpa27fUjsCyduTZLk54wEJK36QCZbb0ccD/s400/photo+1+(2).JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCvDGEoYRuNzB0aRN50FDrPIQgapg0q0QIF5nooBGmp1Wf_mqQSZFjkdQNw5iyi7LTUhjV2E76S5y71s_smDmF_MxJGGqiiUqUPnhqrYAVcvihPViEi80VwjKhSYL-SROInXzA-8xv-7HL/s1600/photo+2+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCvDGEoYRuNzB0aRN50FDrPIQgapg0q0QIF5nooBGmp1Wf_mqQSZFjkdQNw5iyi7LTUhjV2E76S5y71s_smDmF_MxJGGqiiUqUPnhqrYAVcvihPViEi80VwjKhSYL-SROInXzA-8xv-7HL/s400/photo+2+(3).JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1bCywO2WYasyZPml88p_ntZq0hG3JxcCjgQXLdYfLmLbDj8IH-M8-Nyq-MGuGKUzTzbh2MDKTl-yyPgl-VK44TpxtFtnOUvlzG0s-b3I0eksVFTzd9AIgvPAEvhXcwjDCKZY3IIDWlL6/s1600/photo+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1bCywO2WYasyZPml88p_ntZq0hG3JxcCjgQXLdYfLmLbDj8IH-M8-Nyq-MGuGKUzTzbh2MDKTl-yyPgl-VK44TpxtFtnOUvlzG0s-b3I0eksVFTzd9AIgvPAEvhXcwjDCKZY3IIDWlL6/s640/photo+(2).JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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In progress:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnT2mt_OHccp5C8mXmQooUhaS5VFJzh3lSqV50azI7sjjbEUn0F_qhYXAiulvvZVE68CwGWKmcSBeobF7fOUlqa_HTpjH5c7Lw_LkQFgM7SzWFcJA5wYB560IH3SRjJrwZw6IgZCXkwvm8/s1600/1170684_10153046434895018_1145532169_n.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnT2mt_OHccp5C8mXmQooUhaS5VFJzh3lSqV50azI7sjjbEUn0F_qhYXAiulvvZVE68CwGWKmcSBeobF7fOUlqa_HTpjH5c7Lw_LkQFgM7SzWFcJA5wYB560IH3SRjJrwZw6IgZCXkwvm8/s400/1170684_10153046434895018_1145532169_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Finished!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWU2HnemT5oa5JC8_FU5ET4zXEKFMgRDuFuNPphiy8QV2l_VMW4ASa49-s7exZppePwzwPRycv2OJg00Uq22iLU3Ez2pYan1ZRFofVUpL2NbKG3NipJz8BeMxG23IY923GPOLG3Bef-Cdt/s1600/601436_10153082279235018_996958627_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWU2HnemT5oa5JC8_FU5ET4zXEKFMgRDuFuNPphiy8QV2l_VMW4ASa49-s7exZppePwzwPRycv2OJg00Uq22iLU3Ez2pYan1ZRFofVUpL2NbKG3NipJz8BeMxG23IY923GPOLG3Bef-Cdt/s400/601436_10153082279235018_996958627_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Re-knobbed, via <a href="http://anthropologie.com/" target="_blank">Anthropologie</a>.<br />My dream of having a dresser with funky mismatched Anthro knobs is complete.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtB3XBYV7_W8Rn-8t7Nh560MiOFrNXvisskvSHbArxumY8JEvSrxymDNOZEviqJXCVIVaI5EH7ts8fjQ50CNz5gmNu2w1oVmR8hA7_xL2SOrBbFE8JpnOo7PMxBiR8aqwmG4oGBTH6L756/s1600/579100_10153210750050018_2061418310_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtB3XBYV7_W8Rn-8t7Nh560MiOFrNXvisskvSHbArxumY8JEvSrxymDNOZEviqJXCVIVaI5EH7ts8fjQ50CNz5gmNu2w1oVmR8hA7_xL2SOrBbFE8JpnOo7PMxBiR8aqwmG4oGBTH6L756/s640/579100_10153210750050018_2061418310_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTpSknQ6FYatfNLut1Uys2DXxVcCFUFRSls-wING3V0H0LsG1TipFrBTboa80v8_iT28h8RYj4NpNAM7D3aj796TpYBzVWJPPZD3gMwcK_OgfK36NBcnekMvXKjZP4RwjiHVT6QGwj8hw6/s1600/553485_10153092015280018_1689896166_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTpSknQ6FYatfNLut1Uys2DXxVcCFUFRSls-wING3V0H0LsG1TipFrBTboa80v8_iT28h8RYj4NpNAM7D3aj796TpYBzVWJPPZD3gMwcK_OgfK36NBcnekMvXKjZP4RwjiHVT6QGwj8hw6/s400/553485_10153092015280018_1689896166_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Window touches: <br />1) Painted brooch by <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/InspiredTales" target="_blank">Inspired Tales</a> // Postcard from Paris<br />2) Souvenirs from London<br />3) Birthday card // <a href="https://www.universalorlando.com/Merchandise/Gift/Harry_Potter/Honeydukes/Chocolate_Frogs_4_Pack.html" target="_blank">Chocolate Frog</a> box from <a href="https://www.universalorlando.com/Theme-Parks/Islands-of-Adventure/Wizarding-World-of-Harry-Potter.aspx" target="_blank">HP World</a></span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNa_KHsXFCJXWtIBRXU3JvxnKkx92-tSZTblPQKvuY3IzCGGzuxXlw1AF_8dp_68ItJURLbCjsrednm1dG7l0E6OrWfycQIaaX46YA_qk27hVS_wJqxAJnfIqm5kH64FMgWLPUXdF2DKVH/s1600/988701_10153065699025018_1298417278_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNa_KHsXFCJXWtIBRXU3JvxnKkx92-tSZTblPQKvuY3IzCGGzuxXlw1AF_8dp_68ItJURLbCjsrednm1dG7l0E6OrWfycQIaaX46YA_qk27hVS_wJqxAJnfIqm5kH64FMgWLPUXdF2DKVH/s400/988701_10153065699025018_1298417278_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixqFgyXLHC5I04oRGX8Fbjl6_NVPvU0p-ynN5UYDOrSw4slAOFfAxHvOj65HnZx1wUqO32phsk7OFSRmEapOOtbDNkx5yd_MoBoEPgygGeYnObGhh-rTDjHwEx9wQ-8WTUBhmGSC4F33Cu/s1600/1148983_10153046041140018_503581182_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixqFgyXLHC5I04oRGX8Fbjl6_NVPvU0p-ynN5UYDOrSw4slAOFfAxHvOj65HnZx1wUqO32phsk7OFSRmEapOOtbDNkx5yd_MoBoEPgygGeYnObGhh-rTDjHwEx9wQ-8WTUBhmGSC4F33Cu/s640/1148983_10153046041140018_503581182_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">"<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/110518320/limited-edition-16-x-20-paper-print-the?ref=shop_home_active" target="_blank">The Only Thing</a>" print by <a href="http://etsy.com/shop/maechevrette" target="_blank">Mae Chevrette</a> on <a href="http://etsy.com/" target="_blank">Etsy</a></span></td></tr>
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<br />
Last but not least, I was able to take a tour of the new library being built on campus!<br />
In otherwords, my new workplace, starting January of 2014.<br />
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I was <i>really </i>hoping we'd be moving in sooner than that (seeing as I'm leaving next year, and the more time spent in a window-lit office, the healthier I'll be). Even so, seeing the building in-progress was pretty exciting!<br />
It has come a <i>long </i>way since I took this tour, and I'm really looking forward to seeing the building finished, and ready for me to visit the Starbucks there. Every day.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_KyYbRNY7Awp0oCzBSizlV_gYN2fPYeAmz1drc0TEEn5JaQPpb2ISrhuYC_JRCQ_hMo3-HCYzcJBGPK6N2OQusqLmaakkdToJiLPqZ-GMuBr8bmLIdGKI_CO6YFG9lcyWSArNOoMHvES/s1600/photo+4+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_KyYbRNY7Awp0oCzBSizlV_gYN2fPYeAmz1drc0TEEn5JaQPpb2ISrhuYC_JRCQ_hMo3-HCYzcJBGPK6N2OQusqLmaakkdToJiLPqZ-GMuBr8bmLIdGKI_CO6YFG9lcyWSArNOoMHvES/s640/photo+4+(1).JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3YGyah3SwOZfBU0AyVkLr6eqZEhlWnsu7i-YhVAtb7EPMATy3p9DNT-fjqZgwvvDDMOK1PW90yLuZSmB_xarq4SR6rUYzDingpr6KinBwgMw3RVUoDevnaHyNy6DyiHebufRaeHaqE6xZ/s1600/photo+5+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3YGyah3SwOZfBU0AyVkLr6eqZEhlWnsu7i-YhVAtb7EPMATy3p9DNT-fjqZgwvvDDMOK1PW90yLuZSmB_xarq4SR6rUYzDingpr6KinBwgMw3RVUoDevnaHyNy6DyiHebufRaeHaqE6xZ/s400/photo+5+(1).JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
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I had to borrow my boss's tennis shoes, because I was dressed quite typically in a skirt and blouse, with sandals.<br />
The associate dean came into the office and said, "Have you seen the new building yet?"<br />
"No."<br />
(Looking at my feet): "Can you find a suitable pair of shoes?"<br />
<br />
And off we went.<br />
It was a good 2 hour tour, but I didn't mind being away from work <i>too </i>much.<br />
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This will be our office!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjXRpg7PvhOvxq3wBinf_GyqMTOC0Hlx7J8454HNm1E3Rzm3RoY7K6h2o1AyiIpZt5nwbokBP7zu2eyoQVE78mvNZ5O-PSGwRz6KiRTWIbte-sMVpmtpFoSF9mZLvLVWzVLDwOJNgceExa/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjXRpg7PvhOvxq3wBinf_GyqMTOC0Hlx7J8454HNm1E3Rzm3RoY7K6h2o1AyiIpZt5nwbokBP7zu2eyoQVE78mvNZ5O-PSGwRz6KiRTWIbte-sMVpmtpFoSF9mZLvLVWzVLDwOJNgceExa/s640/photo+1.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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The construction zone next door that our window looks out over is going to be the new music building, so I'm not sure how much it will obstruct our views of the mountains and trees. But there is a lake on the opposite side of the building that I can easily look out onto from the terrace right outside of our offices - so I won't complain too much. </div>
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Obviously the only other thing of importance that I will show you is the Starbucks.</div>
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Starbucks will be on that second level, and below that (I believe) will be a sushi spot and a pizza place. </div>
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There will be a cool overhanging walkway from the second level to a ledge up against the windows for additional seating. </div>
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I'm pretty excited to see how it all turns out!</div>
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And thus, summer ends. It is finished, but not forgotten.</div>
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Speaking of all the sad lasts, this is our <i>last </i>Fall season in Lynchburg. So with that in mind, I will cherish every second.</div>
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But I will hold summer in my heart, just the same.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-92210811651652621562013-10-22T09:10:00.002-07:002013-10-22T09:10:35.721-07:00summer highlights, part 1<br />
Summer treize has been one doozy of a summer.<br />
<i>("Treize" being 13 in French. Not because we're snooty but because we needed something short, like summer twelve, and "summer thirteen" just wasn't working for me.)</i><br />
It will probably live on in history as one of my favorite summers, even though that might be what I say about every summer until I'm too old to remember summers at all.<br />
<br />
Last summer, the infamous "summer tweeeeeelve" which I've spoken of often was really great. And it was great because it was mostly just the two of us.<br />
Dusty spent the summer taking classes for his MBA, so he studied on campus while I worked and we basically spent all our time together. It was a wonderful summer for our relationship, and I think we'll always remember it as a very precious time for us.<br />
This summer, however, was great because of <i>friends. </i>We spent so much time with our friends! Some weeks it was every single day. It was actually really hard to start the semester again, because we were used to seeing them so often! <i>Studying? What? </i>Who needs it!<br />
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The official days of summer are June 21 to September 21, so here are many snapshots and memories from those precious three months.<br />
The official highlight reel of our summer days.<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Volleyball</span></i></b></div>
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I'm not sure there's a single word that better defines our summer than volleyball.</div>
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<i>Maybe </i>"games" in general (more on that later), but starting in May, we pretty much played volleyball every possible chance we had. </div>
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We developed teams: Team Moriarty (me, Colin, and Jon) and Team Minion (Dusty, Victoria and Emilie). </div>
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We had kind of binge-watched the BBC version of Sherlock, so Moriarty was the obvious choice for a killer team name. Minion was due to the release of Despicable Me 2, and because, well, the minions are the best part of that. And I think Dusty might be part minion.</div>
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Just for the official record and so that no one can ever claim it was never written, <i>Team Moriarty were the victors extraordinaire.</i></div>
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We kept track of how many games each team won night to night, and we pretty much destroyed those minions. </div>
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The bottom line is, this place became a kind of haven for us.</div>
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9 times out of 10 there was no one else there, since campus can sometimes seem like a ghost town in the summers (which is <i>wonderful</i>). </div>
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The summer was <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-cold-summer.html" target="_blank">an oddly cold summer</a>, so with the exception of a few humid/hot days, we always had an amazing breeze and gorgeous sunsets. It was perfection.</div>
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We'd sometimes go out for snow cones afterwards, or out to eat, like to La Carreta for a much-needed salsa fix.<br />
I think if I had to choose the one thing I miss the most from summer time is playing volleyball.<br />
We actually played a week or two ago, but our toes were frozen in the sand and the courts were packed with undergrad. Which means screaming and very strange behavior.<br />
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One night, right at the beginning of the semester, we decided to go and play on the most crowded courts, and ended up playing against a group of undergrad guys. It was when the summer volleyball spell was broken, I think.<br />
It was pretty much drizzling the entire evening, and we ended up playing like 20 games. That's a huge exaggeration, but it's what it felt like. I was in a horrible mood, because we hadn't eaten dinner and I was <i>so ready to go. </i>We were planning on all going out to eat afterward, and after each game we played I expected to go, but then we kept playing more games.<br />
I was about to lose my cool. I hadn't ever lost my cool around this set of friends, so Dusty was trying really hard to keep my attitude light and happy, and to encourage me to go with the flow. Usually I go with the flow like nobody's business, but this was an especially trying circumstance.<br />
It was raining, I was wet, I was wearing Dusty's hoodie over my head to keep the raindrops out of my eyes. One of the undergrad guys on the other team kept winking at me. At one point when we were across from each other, he stuck his hand through the net and wiggled his fingers, "<i>Helloooo </i>again!"<br />
Our guys had taken their wedding rings off so they wouldn't fall off in the sand during the games, so they were just laughing about it.<br />
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Things were weird and I was hangry.<br />
After one of the last games, Dusty turned to me and said, "One more? Is that okay?"<br />
I had tried before to say I wanted to leave, that I was done like 3 games ago. So I gritted my teeth and smiled really, really big. "<i>Perfect! </i>Yes. Let's just play all night. Let's just play <i>all the games.</i>"<br />
It was the snarkiest of snark. I later apologized to our friends, saying I was mostly joking, and of course I wouldn't make them stop playing just because I was ready to go...but it has since become one of the most quoted incidences of our friendship. Whenever things are getting tense, "let's just play <i>all the games!</i>"<br />
I kind of love it, because the cat's out of the bag: I'm a snarky son of a gun.<br />
And even so, they're still our friends.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Fourth of July</i></b></span></div>
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We were so American this year.<br />
We wore red and blue, went to Starbucks, ate barbecue for lunch, made an all-American meal with homemade ice cream for dinner, watched the fireworks together, and then spent the weekend at an amusement park.<br />
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We celebrated the fourth by eating Dickey's for lunch, obvious choice, and then that night we headed home and whipped up a dinner of cheeseburgers with bacon and avocado (something we made many times over the summer), corn on the cob, chips, soda, and homemade mint oreo ice cream.</div>
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Later that night, we drove over near the baseball field where the fireworks show would be and found a parking spot in a side neighborhood to try and avoid horrible traffic and big crowds. We sat in our car, listening to country music with the windows down and the sunroof open (like I said, we were <i>really </i>American this year). It was a beautiful night, and we just sat, whispering, looking at the stars in the dark.</div>
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Once the fireworks started we got out and walked down the street to get a better view, and it was so fun just to stand there and watch them, almost alone. There were a few people standing in front of their houses (both awesome and probably <i>really </i>annoying to live there at this time of year), but for the most part we found the perfect little place to watch the show.</div>
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That week was extra special because the chancellor of the university decided to give all faculty and staff an extra paid day off for July 5th, since the 4th was a Thursday! Which meant we had an extra long weekend to enjoy.</div>
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So we decided to head to Richmond! There's something really special about <a href="http://voguishatbest.blogspot.com/2013/08/weekends-away.html" target="_blank">taking a weekend away</a>.</div>
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We pricelined an amazing hotel with this great view of downtown, and they even gave us each a soft chocolate chip cookie upon our arrival and check-in.</div>
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If that isn't good business, I dunno what is.</div>
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We walked around downtown, taking pictures and visiting some of the places I got to go when I went to Richmond for <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/09/color-me-loverly.html" target="_blank">the color run last year</a>. It was Dusty's first time, so I had fun showing him spots like The Urban Farmhouse.</div>
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That evening we went shopping, and did crazy things like eat dinner in a movie theater.</div>
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Alcohol was an item on the menu, and one lady took advantage of that <i>big time, </i>and had to be escorted out of our showing of <i>The Heat</i>. She had to be heavily helped by her husband(?) and the theater employee, but it was rather hysterical. As she was leaving, Sandra Bullock's character in the movie said something, like "No way!" and the lady turned to us and said, "No way!" in imitation. <i>Very </i>loudly. </div>
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The next day we were stifled by the heat, but cared less than usual because we were at a theme park!</div>
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King's Dominion was so much fun. We had a blast riding rides, eating Panda Express for the first time in eons, playing arcade games and winning cheap little prizes, riding the high swings, riding the most horrific roller coaster of my life (I blacked out a little, swore off roller coasters for life...Dusty rode it twice), and eating dippin' dots!</div>
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That night, after we showered and changed, we went to this amazing restaurant on the water called <i><a href="http://boathouserva.com/" target="_blank">The Boathouse</a>. </i>It has a gorgeous view of the Richmond skyline at night, and is just a really cool structure all around. We experienced our first whole lobster for dinner. Can't say I'm a huge fan, because he kept staring at me and I felt very guilty for his death.<br />
But the heath bar pizookie and french press coffee afterward helped ease my conscience.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Food</i></b></span><br />
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Every season has its flavors, but this summer was especially tasty!</div>
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Maybe it was because of all the summer friend-time, which often includes sharing meals together, but I think there are several places/occasions/foods that will always bring me back to summer treize.<br />
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<b>Grilling: </b>Since it was such a weird/cold summer, and it rained a lot, we didn't get to do as much grilling as we would have liked. <i>But, </i>I mentioned earlier that we did manage to make a lot of hamburgers, (and if I'm being honest, we actually grilled <i>in the rain </i>once. Desperate times call for desperate measures). For a few weeks we were addicted to cheeseburgers with bacon and avocado.<br />
Then something amazing happened, and I discovered this masterpiece of grilling cuisine: fresh grilled bacon-wrapped peach, with a dollop of bleu cheese. <i>Holy momma. </i><br />
I don't care what your initial reaction is to that description, because the reality is a warm, juicy, salty sweet concoction that will have you begging for mercy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8ZJpNZW8a3v2U72y2u4sshBDzNeYdP-6cw7Iu47FJT8GZlpaiHYBvLoYOopdha5i4Q-vdRoqo3h39-ehYF5eEUhN1_39UKQmW3VtnBBjp8fRswrGpzNtxubuSQBWg4d1nqsmkSlec3tK/s1600/1002781_10152945544680018_1934272558_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8ZJpNZW8a3v2U72y2u4sshBDzNeYdP-6cw7Iu47FJT8GZlpaiHYBvLoYOopdha5i4Q-vdRoqo3h39-ehYF5eEUhN1_39UKQmW3VtnBBjp8fRswrGpzNtxubuSQBWg4d1nqsmkSlec3tK/s320/1002781_10152945544680018_1934272558_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>B</b><b>read & Wine: </b>I always love book club, but this summer we decided to take a month and read <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/07/bookish-bread-wine.html" target="_blank"><i>Bread & Wine </i>by Shauna Niequist</a>, which is a rather personal blog/diary kind of book while also being a book of recipes. We got together and shared our thoughts, and cooked different recipes from the book. It was amazing. My favorites were definitely the bacon-wrapped, goat cheese stuffed dates. <i>Yum. </i></div>
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<b>Downtown: </b>This entry has several parts to it. The farmer's market, Market at Main, and White Hart/lavender lattes. I <i>love </i>downtown, and could probably spend every single weekend there.</div>
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The farmer's market has always been one of my favorite things downtown, and I try to go every Saturday, if we're in town. This summer we added buying local eggs and local honey to our list, and we've been loving it. It's probably just in my imagination that local honey is the answer to all my problems, but we have it every morning in our tea and when we ran out Dusty sighed, "Well do we have any nasty store bought stuff left?"</div>
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Call us hippy, cause it happened.</div>
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Speaking of favorite things downtown, <i><a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/08/quit-playing-games-with-my-hart.html" target="_blank">White Hart opened back up</a>. </i>Yes. It happened.</div>
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But before even that happened, I discovered that the previous owners of White Hart had a little coffee shop in the lobby of a downtown bank, and found my lavender latte was alive and well. It was a beautiful discovery, and was made even more exciting by the news that White Hart itself would reopen at the end of the summer!</div>
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Sad update: White Hart is open but is no longer my favorite place.</div>
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They have removed <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/04/white-hart-my-heart.html" target="_blank">my window seats</a>, and most of what made White Hart the love of my life.</div>
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I've been a few times since it reopened, to get the lavender latte, but part of me feels the tragedy of losing it all over again.</div>
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I even tried reaching out to the new owner to ask about the changes, and to see if they planned on bringing back more decorations and more specifically, comfier chairs. The entire shop has been filled with flimsy wooden chairs, and there's not a couch, cushion or comfy chair in sight. </div>
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His response was short and to the point: sorry to disappoint you, but no, we will not be bringing those back. They're too expensive to upkeep.</div>
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So, I mourn.</div>
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But to say the tragedy is heavy on my soul would be a lie. Probably because when it originally closed I was <i>really </i>sad, but eventually made my peace with it. We have happily found other places to rejuvenate us, and even though I will always fondly remember the glory days of White Hart, I am happy to find love elsewhere!</div>
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One of the spots downtown that we discovered in the middle of summer is called Market at Main.</div>
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I had heard about it several times, including during restaurant week last summer, but we never got around to trying it. </div>
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The first time I went was for book club, because White Hart had closed down and we were trying different places to meet. It's this big open restaurant, kind of with a general store feel and a big open kitchen with a long bar. Rumor has it it was a pharmacy before it was a restaurant, and several other things before that. It's a pretty cool place. I had their sweet potato pancakes, and knew it was gonna be a new favorite.</div>
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A few weeks later Dusty and I went right after the farmer's market for a little breakfast date. We sat at the bar, and shared pancakes, and decided it was a keeper.</div>
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Little did we know it would become one of the biggest staples of our summer! And of our last year of law school in general. We started going nearly every Saturday morning for brunch with our friends Colin and Victoria. It became one of the things I looked most forward to at the end of each week.</div>
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When they got a red convertible, we obviously rode downtown in it, roof down and hair flying.</div>
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We went with them when my mom was in town, and even got to meet Victoria's parents there for dinner one night. </div>
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Saturdays and brunch double dates wasn't something we planned; it just happened. Which is why it's the best.</div>
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<b>Delicia's: </b>Along the same lines of Market at Main, Delicia's became the summer lovin' spot for quick, close-by comfort food. We got tired of trying to find good Mexican food around here, and always being disappointed by the lack of <i>Arizona </i>quality. We're Mexican food snobs, to put it bluntly. </div>
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Delicia's is Latin American food, and is close enough to totally hit the spot, but different enough to where we're not constantly comparing it to anything else. It's really close to our house, too, and Colin and Victoria just live a few minutes away from us. It became a common spot for us to meet up for dinner, and once the weather started to cool down, it became the perfect place to eat dinner out on the patio. </div>
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<b>Wasabi: </b>Though definitely not a summer-only place, since we discovered this great sushi joint earlier this year, it <i>became </i>a summer place when they started offering 1/2 off sushi on Wednesdays! We were so excited. Every time Wednesday rolls around, we have to fight the persistent urge to head over for delicious avocado rolls with our friends.</div>
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We usually lose.</div>
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<b>Afternoon Dates: </b>I think these started one crazy day when Dusty and I ended up (completely by accident, I'm sure) going to Starbucks <i>and </i>Sonic because we were both in need of an afternoon pick-me-up.</div>
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This developed into a ritual of afternoon summer dates, where Dusty would swing by and pick me up and we'd each pick a treat for the day. We will still occasionally do this, on especially hard/tiring days. My treat is usually Starbucks, but it varies. I know by now you must be thinking that we are total <i>gluttons. </i>And you're partially right, except that both of us have actually been losing weight over the past few months... I think life has to be about a balance of sweet treats, little dates, nights out with friends and iron willpower the rest of the time. I think if I was "good" <i>all</i> the time, I wouldn't be nearly as happy as I am now, sharing moments and memories around the table (or in the car) with people I love to be around.</div>
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(Which brings me back to <i>Bread & Wine</i>. You should totally read it.)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Another summer thing: valencia orange iced coffee.<br />Kinda strange, but I can dig it.</span></td></tr>
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<b>Restaurant Week: </b>Gotta love a week dedicated to trying new restaurants at great prices! Even though we only went once or twice this summer, it was still a really fun experience. My favorite was <a href="http://voguishatbest.blogspot.com/2013/06/happy-saturday-outfit-7.html" target="_blank">going to The Dahlia</a> with (guess who?) Colin and Victoria, and then driving around the area to admire all of the old money mansions and beautiful properties around there. It was a great night!</div>
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<b>Butterbeer: </b>Dusty made the most amazing discovery this summer. He was traveling to Roanoke every day, and at one point he and his carpool stopped by this chocolate shop to get a few things. That's when he saw something magical on the shelf: <i>Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Beer. </i>It's actually just butterscotch cream soda, but the label said it all. <i>This was butterbeer, </i>as in, Harry Potter!</div>
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He told me he bought me something, and when he surprised me at work with a bottle of it (and told me later he had a four-pack of the stuff), it was love at first sight, and then utter devotion at first taste. </div>
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On July 31st, in honor of Harry Potter's birthday, we drank chilled butterbeer and watched Sorcerer's Stone. Since then we've also had butterbeer floats, and are very happy indeed.</div>
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<b>Fresh Market: </b>This is a late-summer development, but Fresh Market opened up the second week of September and has enchanted us all. Pumpkin spice coffee, gourmet cheeses, the smell of riches and fanciness. I get a little lost in there, even though it's a pretty small specialty store.</div>
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We've already had two picnic-style dinners with our friends, consisting of whole roasted chickens (which Victoria carves like a pro), a variety of cheeses, grape tomatoes, chips and salsa, and the like.</div>
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Oh and don't forget about my new life passion, the <i>rose lemonade. </i>Call me crazy, but it's what the Lord intended for womankind to drink. (But boys can have some, too).</div>
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On opening weekend Dusty and I went and had a sample date, and walked around the store for hours, eating treats and dreaming of our future life as the kinds of people who <i>only </i>buy specialty coffees and crab cakes.</div>
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<b>Isabella's: </b>This is our favorite Italian place here in town, and it's always our choice spot for celebration of school-related accomplishments. Dusty especially loves it, so it's always his choice. We went at the end of last semester to celebrate finishing finals, and we went again in August to commence the beginning of 3L year!<br />
Their bruschetta is to die for, and we always split their sausage orecchiette pasta. It's <i>the bomb diggity. </i><br />
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I think this post has reached its limit of photos and ramblings, so stay tuned for part 2!</div>
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One of these days I'll be glad I rambled, so I can think back and remember these favorite details. </div>
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But for you readers, just bear with me as I talk on and on about things you might not care about <i>quite </i>as much as I do. :)</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-64576713129846386692013-10-18T12:17:00.001-07:002013-10-18T12:20:04.605-07:00a day in charlestonAfter our weekend in Georgia, we took an extra day to make a quick visit to Charleston!<br />
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Sarah had been telling me how much I would love it, and I had heard from several other friends that it was a really charming city.<br />
We had such a short time there, but I really feel like we were able to get a taste of it! I think ideally we would have spent three to four days there, and leisurely toured everything (and eaten a lot of great southern food), but we made great use of our time.<br />
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First on the docket was Sunday brunch at a restaurant I had found called Poogan's Porch!<br />
As soon as I saw a picture of this two-story yellow southern mansion-turned-restaurant, I knew it was the place we were meant to brunch.<br />
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And oh, did we <i>brunch. </i></div>
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Once we stepped inside into the warm and creaky-floored house, we saw all the signed menus framed on the wall from various artists and celebrities. We also saw a picture of Poogan himself -- apparently it was the owner's dog, and thus the namesake of the restaurant!</div>
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After a short wait we were taken upstairs to a very charming room, where we sat and made ready for our delightful morning of coffee and biscuits and yums.</div>
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We had the most amazing breakfast - we started out with a plate of their biscuits and gravy, which I'm always hesitant about because my grandma makes <i>the world's best, </i>and I'll accept no arguments to the contrary.<br />
When you've lived your life knowing something (eating something) of excellence, it's really hard to accept other versions or sad imitations.<br />
While this was not a plate of grandma's best, it was most definitely a valiant contender. It was delicious!<br />
But the main course was the truly <i>ohmy</i>. Texas Pete Blueberry Chicken and Waffles. Yeah.<br />
Spicy, warm, flavorful blueberry sauce/syrup, drizzled majestically over flaky breaded chicken and warm waffles.<br />
I mean, it was just okay.<br />
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Can we talk about the depressing Poogan memorial right outside? Gah!</div>
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After Poogan's, we decided to make our way to our hotel so we could change from the car ride and start touring the city!<br />
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We had a couple of points we wanted to see, so we parked on a side street and started with the one closest to us and just walked around from there.<br />
The first stop was Macaroon Boutique - because, well. Macaroons (or more specifically, French <i>macarons</i>).<br />
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The owner was a lovely French woman, and we happily overpaid for a little baggie of macarons because, well. Macarons.<br />
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Next on the agenda was anything and everything <i>The Notebook </i>related.<br />
A lot of the great scenes from that movie were filmed around Charleston, so we had a lot to see!<br />
We walked right past the American theater, which was where Allie and Noah had their first date. It was magical.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOpX6U0flGHBdAUa8BnTln5MA6bUD2aHXeBgf_wS-WAjGc1N_-jiJiIptGXCFGQ1LWVw53rVGfG5EtkMBZFyKnVHkepvw4hqOzB_SkoUX6W-Uf7luIkGf0kKKgm6nyE3wwofR0JJZT5Iyr/s1600/am2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOpX6U0flGHBdAUa8BnTln5MA6bUD2aHXeBgf_wS-WAjGc1N_-jiJiIptGXCFGQ1LWVw53rVGfG5EtkMBZFyKnVHkepvw4hqOzB_SkoUX6W-Uf7luIkGf0kKKgm6nyE3wwofR0JJZT5Iyr/s640/am2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fin: <i>Do you guys love each other?</i></span></td></tr>
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As we continued to walk down the streets, we stopped into a couple cute shops...<br />
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...and ended up at the intersection of King and Mary.<br />
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Which, as you may know, is where Noah and Allie took a romantic stroll and ended up laying down in the middle of the intersection to watch the lights change.<br />
Unfortunately there isn't actually an overhead stoplight here...so there isn't much to recognize, other than the amazing baby blue building.<br />
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It was so much fun to be standing there.<br />
I don't know what it is about movie filming locations - I get all giddy about them.<br />
Like <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/03/london-day-2-stride-and-precipice.html" target="_blank">that time we went to Lacock Abbey</a>, where parts of Harry Potter were filmed.<br />
I honestly can't imagine if we actually do my dream trip of going around France to all the filming locations of <a href="http://voguishatbest.blogspot.com/2013/08/my-love-for-ever-after.html" target="_blank">Ever After</a> -- I might <i>actually </i>die of happiness.<br />
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After dreamily staring at the blue building and wishing it was nighttime and that traffic didn't exist so I could lie down in the road, we decided a proper cupcake was in order.<br />
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The rest of the day was pretty much a modge podge of picture taking, walking, sightseeing, and shopping.<br />
We went all the way down King Street, stopping at the places that looked interesting (like Starbucks and stuff, ya know).<br />
We shopped a little at Forever 21, and Dusty even got to go to the Apple store.<br />
The only bummer about this day was that it was Sunday, so most of the unique/antique type shops were closed! I would have loved to visit some of family-owned stores that are so unique to Charleston.<br />
Maybe next time. :)<br />
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I would always get excited when I saw streets or other city markers with the name "Calhoun" on it -- obviously it's not referring to Noah Calhoun from <i>The Notebook, </i>but we can pretend.</div>
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It was pretty hot and sticky, so it always felt <i>amazing </i>to duck into the stores.<br />
Especially the Apple store - the doors opened and you were pelted with icy air.<br />
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We also got gelato and the little shop was giving out these amazing pins.<br />
Obviously I put it on right then and there.<br />
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On a side note, when we went to Forever 21, I refrained from buying anything. I find this a rather large personal victory.<br />
Also, I convinced Dusty to buy a <i>faux leather jacket.</i><br />
Why is that important, you might ask?<br />
Well, let me tell you. Dusty had developed a rather significant phobia of leather jackets - I've come to the conclusion that it must be a common ailment of men wanting to maintain a certain level of <i>cool. </i><br />
He associated them with a nerdy, fedora-wearing person with a desire to imitate Indiana Jones.<br />
Luckily, with the help of several other girl friends that I texted repeatedly to gather their opinions (which were all in favor of him purchasing the jacket), he bought it. And <i>oh my</i>, is he studly.<br />
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I should win an award.<br />
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Anywho...<br />
After we had walked about halfway down King Street toward the water, we turned around to grab our car to drive the rest of the way. We didn't want to walk allllll the way down there, and then have to walk all the way back after dark!<br />
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The waterfront is a pretty amazing spectacle. I believe this is the area a lot of people refer to as The Battery.<br />
There are rows and rows of <i>gargantuan </i>plantation-style houses, with 3 and 4 stories of front porches.<br />
They were pretty incredible! We spent a lot of our time just ogling at them, and walking down the more historic neighborhoods.<br />
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On one of the prettiest streets we walked down, nearly every house had amazing porches and flickering gas lamps flanking the front door. It was very whimsical.<br />
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I was enamored with the details. Seeing graveyards with dates from the 16 and 17 hundreds, seeing the gorgeous ironwork, the flickering lanterns, the history of every house and every tree. It's a pretty incredible feeling, wondrous and sad all at once.<br />
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Before dinner we made it down to the waterfront to walk along the water, and to look at Fort Sumter in the distance. The very far distance!<br />
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And of course, the houses right next to the water were the most glorious.</div>
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Pretty sure I could save up money for my entire life and never be able to afford these.<br />
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As we walked along, we found some cute little spots, like this rainbow road and a pretty little park along the water.<br />
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We spent some time just sitting, talking, resting from the day's events.<br />
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Once we made it back to our car, the sun was setting and everything was sweet and golden.<br />
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Soon afterwards we jumped in the car and blasted the AC, then drove back to the hotel.<br />
Once we parked in the 24 hour parking lot we had to stay there (or pay $20 each time we exited and entered again), so we knew we needed to find somewhere within walking distance to eat.<br />
We parked and went back to the room for a bit to shower and clean up from the day's stickiness.<br />
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Then, there was quite the debacle: where should we eat?<br />
Long story short, we couldn't decide. We checked out a steakhouse with a rooftop restaurant, but it was a really casual cabana type situation.<br />
(Although, admittedly, pretty cool).<br />
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We finally decided on walking down the street to a place called Toast!, which I had seen online beforehand.<br />
I'm just gonna go ahead and admit defeat on this one.<br />
<i>My bad. </i>It was quite the disappointment. It was like a bland diner, kind of old-folksy, and there was only one other couple there. The place was empty and quite sad.<br />
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The food was fine...like, Cracker Barrel fine. Nothing spectacular. Certainly not what I was hoping for for our <i>only </i>dinner time in Charleston. I felt pretty defeated.<br />
I tried to have a good attitude, because honestly, it was all my fault! I had all these expectations and restaurant names in my head, and I should have just winged it. We should've eaten at a fancy steak place, or something of the sort. I wanted too badly to go to an "it" restaurant of Charleston, that I forced it, and it failed.<br />
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After we ate we were walking back to the hotel, and I was pretty bummed. We always have a great time together, but sometimes you just want something perfect, something romantic and one-of-a-kind.<br />
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Then this happened:<br />
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What is this secret garden path?</div>
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Where did it come from?</div>
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Well, from the heavens. Because the Lord knew I needed a secret garden. </div>
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On a whim, we followed it -- and ended up in the most magical little courtyard.<br />
It was actually a really fancy hotel restaurant with outdoor seating, but to us it was destiny.<br />
We walked inside and there was man in a beautifully tailored suit waiting for us -- he smiled, nodded, knowing we had finally arrived. We asked if we could have a table outside, and he said, "but of course!" like Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast. Or maybe that was just my imagination.<br />
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We then proceeded to have that romantic, one-of-a-kind evening I was hoping for.<br />
There was a warm breeze, there was a coffee. There was mood lighting, coconut cake, and banana pudding.<br />
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I dunno about you, but I've always loved banana pudding. It's one of those southern treats that never gets old, and my grandma makes a mean batch of the stuff (yeah, I know, I already bragged about her biscuits and gravy but lets just assume she's the queen of food making, mmk?).<br />
But this was...how do I say this? Decadent? Fancy, delicate, powerful, magnificent? It was a masterpiece of spun sugar, creamy chocolate, melt-in-your-mouth pudding and caramelized bananas.<br />
On my first bite of the stuff, I closed my eyes and just let it sit there while my mouth hung open in awe. <i>Guaranteed </i>it wasn't a pretty sight but Dusty got the idea. "That good, eh?"<br />
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All that to say...it was perfect. Like a dream.</div>
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We held hands, savored our treats, sipped our java. Thanks, secret garden.</div>
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Otherwise known as Peninsula Grill.</div>
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The next morning dawned bright and sticky once more, so we got ready for our last little bit of sightseeing!<br />
Dusty had an intramural soccer game that evening, so we needed to leave right after lunchtime.<br />
We decided there were only a few things on our "must do" list: the historic market, a great lunch, and Cypress Gardens (also known as "the boat scene" location from <i>The Notebook!</i>).<br />
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We started out with some coffee at the market!<br />
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One of our favorite things to do is buy Christmas ornaments from our travels.<br />
There's nothing like opening up those boxes of Christmas decorations, and pulling out each ornament and reminiscing about where and when we bought it together, somewhere strange and fun and unique.<br />
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Luckily for us, there was a giant Christmas shop in the middle of the market!<br />
We took a little bit of time and chose a great Charleston-y ornament that will hang on our tree forever and always.<br />
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The rest of the market was really fun.</div>
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There are tons of artisans (and <i>tons </i>of sweetgrass basket weavers!)</div>
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We ended up buying a really cute little sweetgrass wreath from a nice lady at one of the booths. I couldn't resist it!</div>
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(It's now hanging in our guest room here, above the lamp...</div>
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...just ignore Luna.)</div>
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After we finished the whole stretch of the market, we decided to walk back towards our hotel on the outside.<br />
While walking we saw this funky general store, so we decided to pop in for a coke!<br />
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This makes me realize that one of my dreamiest of dreams is to be a spokesperson for Coke in some capacity.</div>
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Because...that would be stupendous.</div>
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As we were walking back to the hotel to get ready to check out and go to lunch, we spotted the lines of carriage rides.</div>
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There was a moment where we both started to slow down and stare, longingly, at the friendly horses and their happy tour guides.</div>
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I'm not sure when we decided we were going on a tour, but it was very last-minute.</div>
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We had to run to the hotel to beg the front desk for an extension on our check-out time, then we ran back to our carriage ride with Nice Lady and Jake, the horse.</div>
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(The reason why I remember the horse's name but not the tour guide's is just because...I don't know. Animal lover?)</div>
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As we started going, we stopped by this little shack, where a woman came out and pushed a button on a raffle-type machine. The kind you'd see for the lottery or something.</div>
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A colored ball popped out of the top, and that's how they decided which route we were going to take!</div>
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Apparently the city has laws about how many carriage tours can be going on at once throughout different routes in the city, so they spread them out. So you never know which tour you're going to get!</div>
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One of the first things we passed was Toast!, the huge disappointment from the night before.<br />
Turns out, it's best as a breakfast joint.<br />
There was a line outside, and it was packed inside! <i>Go figure. </i><br />
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I won't try and replicate all of the information we gleaned from the tour, but we just kind of sat back and enjoyed. It was incredible to learn about all of the oldest buildings and the intricate details of why houses were built the way they were.<br />
We learned about the origin of <i>the Charleston </i>(as in, the dance), which you should definitely look up.<br />
She told us about the battle damage, the first settlers of Charleston, the horrible fires that destroyed so much of the city. So much history!<br />
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We ended up back at the market, and went straight back to the hotel to check out.<br />
The place we wanted to go for lunch was recommended by some friends for some really good seafood, and luckily it was right across the street!<br />
We went to the parking garage and dropped our stuff off, then went over to Hyman's Seafood.<br />
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There was a bit of a wait, and we realized we were cutting it <i>really </i>close to make it back for Dusty's game.<br />
Dusty, being the gloriously generous man that he is, decided he was going to miss it so that we could properly enjoy the afternoon.<br />
I was so excited...mostly because I was starving and didn't want to have to skip lunch, but <i>also </i>because it was such a sweet thing for him to do and I was so looking forward to these last few adventurous hours.<br />
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We had barbecue shrimp, buffalo shrimp, fried okra, caribbean jerk mahi mahi, and a rather delectable crab cake.<br />
It was so good, I'm kind of upset that I'm not eating this right now.<br />
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The entire restaurant is fun, covered wall to wall with celebrities that have eaten here and other notable accomplishments. It was a great choice!<br />
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Bellies full of sea creatures, we waddled back to the car and made ready for our drive to Cypress Gardens!<br />
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On our way out we swung by High Cotton, one of the other <i>Notebook </i>related spots.<br />
Recognize this agonizing moment?<br />
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Ugh. Me too.<br />
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It all went down on these streets, in these windows.<br />
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The drive to Cypress Gardens was lovely.<br />
It wasn't too far, around half an hour. We arrived and it was basically a ghost town.<br />
There was one other group of people ahead of us when we found our way to the little store/check-in counter, but that was it.<br />
I could hear swampy noises, and knew the famous lake was close -- all we could see were trees at the moment.<br />
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Once we checked in and paid our $10 per person charge to walk around and basically do whatever we wanted, the woman told us we had an option to row a boat on the water ourselves, or to pay an extra $5 for a guide.<br />
Sarah had told us about the boats -- she also told us this swamp was full of alligators. So. Ya know.<br />
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We thanked the woman and made our way around the path and found <i>this. </i><br />
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Which looked familiar because of <i>this. </i></div>
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Holy mama jamma. </div>
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Despite my immense, near-paralyzing fear of dying via alligator attack, we (I) nervously scrambled into a flimsy wooden boat because, <i>romance. </i><br />
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I decided that if this <i>was </i>the place I would die from a ferocious beast, it was probably the most beautiful death location I could've picked. So there's that.</div>
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Maybe this sounds a bit dramatic to you (and to Dusty), but it's hard to communicate how dark this water was. I know you can kind of see it, but the boat sinks a mere handful of inches from the water's surface, and I was <i>positive </i>I was going to look over the side and see an alligator face.<br />
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Luckily for me, the only creature we saw was this cute little turtle trying to climb onto a log.<br />
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Most likely there are 50 alligators surrounding this boat, camouflaged by the random greenery and the deep, dark waters of hell.<br />
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We went further and further, winding around the trees. It was <i>so </i>quiet.<br />
There were little wooden white arrows showing you the way.<br />
There was only one other boat on the water, a woman being led by a tour guide.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwRS2mZ6j1LqimGFS1GIe8mp_6WQUIAH--OAsCsyuQ4xUutQ5-_8qUHXAiJcp_cwUbn7cf90cTALZu1gYrktg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
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I will say it was one of the most exhilarating <i>and </i>peaceful and lovely experiences of my life.</div>
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Exhilarating because of the very real possibility of death (ok, so the guy at the dock said there had been zero attacks, and seemed to think it was funny that I asked), and peaceful because it was so quiet, so beautiful, so surreal. </div>
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Dusty did most of the paddling, and I took pictures and we chatted quietly.</div>
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At one point there was a strange growl noise and a splash, and Dusty stated that it was an alligator coming over to us.</div>
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I couldn't decide whether to scream or faint, so I just said, "Nuh uh! Shut up!"</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzncPBrRH2Q7OL37W_U6veKJAj9AWTsVRCp1nMTe6CIZ2BbAuraQFZLl4icmbFcUlU9DSi7Gtv-kUwgLeBTZG2PaSa9LnYQ5vIOZZJxS-Vte930Ja9gYsQaGnHWliFPnmD9UZIlJBPjIEB/s1600/photo+2+(25).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzncPBrRH2Q7OL37W_U6veKJAj9AWTsVRCp1nMTe6CIZ2BbAuraQFZLl4icmbFcUlU9DSi7Gtv-kUwgLeBTZG2PaSa9LnYQ5vIOZZJxS-Vte930Ja9gYsQaGnHWliFPnmD9UZIlJBPjIEB/s640/photo+2+(25).JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is one of those pictures they would have posted in the article about us.<br />"The last picture of them alive."</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvGx852zAdNrBxOVdrzW-TlqqiuRfygOzqdzMeKssPsIv7xDvdxzy6fEO4qOUAF4T51QR-2NTL9zD1wjEiEURAQFSsn7SrzDtDUIgAWxZXwx6zqq3YnoDY07ffTWuaI6OQ4y2rIJHbFfwl/s1600/IMG_4282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvGx852zAdNrBxOVdrzW-TlqqiuRfygOzqdzMeKssPsIv7xDvdxzy6fEO4qOUAF4T51QR-2NTL9zD1wjEiEURAQFSsn7SrzDtDUIgAWxZXwx6zqq3YnoDY07ffTWuaI6OQ4y2rIJHbFfwl/s640/IMG_4282.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Me being wimpy and scared, and biting my nails.</span></td></tr>
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I'm honestly being dramatic. (Surprised?)</div>
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We had such an amazing time. It was <i>so </i>romantic, I could practically feel Ryan Gosling's unsightly beard and hear the thunder in the distance. </div>
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It was beautiful and stunning and I didn't want it to end.</div>
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Once we made the returning loop and settled back on dry land, I shakily climbed out of the boat and stood, proud of my fear-facing accomplishments. </div>
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The guy at the dock said smirkily, "Well, ya made it!"</div>
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Just then, the other guide (that had been ahead of us, with the woman) came over. </div>
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"So, didja see them?" he asked.</div>
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"See who?" I said.</div>
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"No, we didn't see any!" Dusty answered, bummed, realizing he was asking about alligators.</div>
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The tour guide tsk tsked, "Aw, we saw 3 or 4!"</div>
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<i>Enter panicked shriek here.</i></div>
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Real life.</div>
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We needed to get on the road pretty soon, so we wouldn't get home <i>too </i>late.</div>
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Before we did, we did a quick walk around the rest of the gardens.</div>
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We went into the butterfly house.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsN55cL4SFtVW1_1bjDuVL3x1kb178OW7Rhdfh7bGJM7kwdvDp151HoYomjMUBUeMC6NuicQw1bIafu423atuVbWrjTv6lAYfvfzsVglTxbmufthUceHlvijwYFmyto7wugZgkELM2UzaL/s1600/IMG_4327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsN55cL4SFtVW1_1bjDuVL3x1kb178OW7Rhdfh7bGJM7kwdvDp151HoYomjMUBUeMC6NuicQw1bIafu423atuVbWrjTv6lAYfvfzsVglTxbmufthUceHlvijwYFmyto7wugZgkELM2UzaL/s640/IMG_4327.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">There was a sad duck bird in a prison of koi fish.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">And weird little creatures called Chinese Quail. I want one.</span></td></tr>
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So now that you've wasted most of your day reading this ridiculously long post about a single day and a half, I will conclude that it was a wonderful trip. A pretty big highlight of the end of summer!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-84785424524507616942013-10-03T11:47:00.004-07:002013-10-03T13:30:14.491-07:00georgia on my mindI can't remember if I've mentioned this before, but October 1st was officially the last day I could have taken paid time off from work.<br />
The new library is steadily underway, and October marks the beginning of the "blackout period" - where we can no longer have access to any of our paid time off, aside from (hopefully) Thanksgiving and Christmas.<br />
Knowing this beforehand, Dusty and I began to contemplate when we wanted to use my last days off.<br />
Georgia slowly began creeping up in our minds, because we wanted to go somewhere a bit further away, and had been wanting to visit with our friends over there for quite a while!<br />
As a bonus, it's only a couple more hours to travel to Charleston, which is on my east coast bucketlist!<br />
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That being said, we finally made the decision to leave on a Thursday night for Georgia, then spend our last day in Charleston before heading back to Lynchburg that Monday.<br />
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We spent our weekend with Sarah, Josh and their little girl Brooklyn.</div>
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It was <i>so </i>much fun. We have seen Brooklyn at various stages of her littleness, but this time she was just so full of personality we could hardly keep up!</div>
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She's so spunky and adorable, and her and Dusty became besties pretty quickly. </div>
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She has the most unbelievably adorable way of giving you this ironic kind of side glance, and it's impossible to describe unless you experience it for yourself. </div>
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Sort of like, "C'moonn, you knowww, you know what I'm talkin' bout".</div>
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We drove late into the night on Thursday, and pretty much crashed once we got there, after a quick greeting/chat with Sarah. We ended up sleeping until 11 the next morning!<br />
Sarah was working, and Josh was sleeping (because he works nights), so we treated Friday as a much-needed lazy Saturday.<br />
Later on we played with Brooklyn, getting to know her and letting her get to know us again.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxN-6ldaEMa6SRDCsJ_128v5oD5eC32-0A1PpT9SWeeD4mJt8_9SczHoDA7ewRkjBZjALtu7fBojTTV4MlMkw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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We ate amazing New York style pizza for dinner, and watched Snow White and the Huntsman late that night. It was the greatest pajama day ever.<br />
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On Saturday we got up and headed off to the zoo, which we were really excited about! It was Brooklyn's first time, and it was obviously our first time to <i>this </i>zoo. It had been a while since we had been to any zoo at all, so we were just excited to see all the animals and hang out.<br />
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Penguins have long been a favorite of Dusty's. One of these days we're gonna try and arrange to go feed them at SeaWorld - we also wanna swim with the Beluga whales, but that's another story.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">So darn cute.</span></td></tr>
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It was a bright and sunny day, and we just meandered, ogling at the various creatures.<br />
Zoos are kinda funny, really. Just walking around staring at animals all day.<br />
But there's definitely no argument that they're incredibly worthy to be ogled.<br />
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One of the BEST moments was when we approached the giraffe enclosure -- during feeding time, there's a little bridge where you can buy food (lettuce) and the giraffes come <i>right up to you </i>and eat out of your hand.<br />
Instead of buying food, we ran around like little scavengers and picked up shreds of dropped lettuce to bait the animals.<br />
There was a pretty good crowd, but we still got amazing pictures and people were actually very nice. Maybe it was the childlike awe that made everyone so friendly to one another. And the actual childlike children around.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">God, how did you think to create these funny little guys?</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">We named him Conrad.</span></td></tr>
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If there's such a thing as a giraffe high, we were definitely on it after that.<br />
The rest of the day I was floating on a cloud because I had met a spotted fellow named Conrad who was extremely polite and felt as soft and friendly as a horse.<br />
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It might have been a rather strange experience for Brooklyn, but she seemed to have a great day!<br />
She especially enjoyed petting the cow. :)<br />
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But not as much as that dude in the orange shirt. He was <i>invested. </i><br />
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We stopped for lunch at one of the park's restaurants, and enjoyed the shade.<br />
It's pretty surreal to be spending a day with Sarah's family - her and I go <i>wayyy </i>back. Her parents and my parents became really close when we were all really little (she's known me since I was born), but then they moved away and there was much sadness.<br />
Years later, Sarah came back to Arizona. She lived with us for two years when I was 11-ish, and we kind of adopted each other as sisters. She meant so much to me back then, and some of my fondest memories of being an obnoxious pre-teen involve her and I's relationship.<br />
It was pretty crushed when she moved back to the east coast. I wasn't sure I'd ever get over it. Against all odds, we both managed to continue living life, and we were able to be a part of each other's weddings and now we're both on the east coast for a while! Being able to spend time with her has been a blessing.<br />
Now we've just gotta work on getting them to move back to Arizona!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jofNR_WkoCE" target="_blank">What does the fox say?</a></i></span></td></tr>
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Another one of the highlights of our day was seeing the monkey enclosure.<br />
It's so crazy because the entire monkey "island" of sorts is just in the center of a circular path, with water around it. They could easily leave, but for whatever reason (shy swimmers), they don't attempt to cross the water. Pretty crazy!<br />
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When we were passing by, they were calling out and speaking to each other <i>so </i>much! It was amazing. Their necks expanded as they murmured, inflating like a balloon, kind of like frogs - it was the funniest thing to watch!<br />
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Monkeys are such strange things. And so entertaining.<br />
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One of the last things we did was head over to the park's gardens, which were a tram ride away.<br />
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We were all starting to wind down, a little beat from the heat.</div>
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The breeze from the tram ride felt amazing!</div>
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Once we got to the gardens, we walked around and even found a little playground area.</div>
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Once we got back to the main park area, we made a bee-line for some <i>ice cream. </i><br />
Not only to cool off, but because it was <i>Dippin Dots, </i>which is a secret theme-park (and now, zoo) weakness of mine.<br />
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Our last stop was the gift shop.<br />
Dusty and I <i>obviously </i>picked up a stuffed animal version of Conrad the giraffe.<br />
Afterwards we took some super cute pictures on the stone lion figures near the main entrance!<br />
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A great day was had by all.<br />
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This pretty much sums it up:<br />
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Awww, kids!<br />
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Once we got back home, we went out to dinner at this funky cool spot called Rooster's Beak.<br />
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We munched on chips, guacamole and queso, and had various tacos and house made custard. <i>Yum. </i><br />
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We were leaving early the next morning for Charleston, but it was pretty sad to leave!<br />
We couldn't have asked for a better weekend spent with friends, playing with Brooklyn and being laid back and silly. It was a great way to spend our mini vacation!<br />
Thanks guys. :)<br />
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Sunday morning we packed our bags and put Conrad in the front seat with us, ready for the next leg of our adventure.<br />
But that's for another time!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-27622360741265604642013-09-24T08:48:00.002-07:002013-09-24T09:07:19.574-07:00belated: a summer friendI've been a little bit wayward with my posts this year (like that one time I posted about our trip to Paris <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/08/paris-day-5-tale-as-old-as-seine.html" target="_blank">5 months late</a>), but I'm hoping to be really active in the next few weeks to really catch up on all of our summer happenings!<br />
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Sunday was officially the first day of Fall, so it's time to embrace it and say goodbye to summertime.</div>
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That being said, I'm going to be posting about summertime for a while...</div>
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Maybe I'm not quite ready to say goodbye!</div>
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Late in June, I had one of my very longest friends come and visit me.<br />
By longest, I mean, since I was four and I went to get the mail and she kidnapped me and brought me to her house across the street.<br />
I'm not sure why I wasn't more afraid - maybe it was because Amber was exactly like young Leslie in <i>Bridge to Terabithia </i>(if you've seen it, you know what I mean - if you haven't, <i>don't.</i>)<br />
Amber lives with her grandma and great-grandma, who have both been mothers to her, adopting her at a young age. <i>They </i>were a little more concerned about the kidnapping. <i>Where did you get this girl!? </i><br />
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That house across the street became a magical retreat, a home away from home.<br />
Just like Leslie, Amber was bright, outgoing, imaginative, and an instant friend. She literally hand-picked herself a best friend from the roadside.<br />
Luckily, for everyone involved, she stopped kidnapping children after that. </div>
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She came by train. From Arizona. <i>Yeah, I know. </i><br />
She rode a train for 3 days straight, seeing the countryside and slowly but surely arriving in Lynchburg.<br />
It was the first time she's ever left Arizona, or traveled significantly anywhere.<br />
And not only that, but she was doing it by herself!<br />
I would like to take credit for inspiring her to make this journey, and for getting her started on all of her future travel and adventures. :)<br />
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We had a really great week.<br />
She spent a lot of time at home, enjoying the weather (and the occasional rainy day) and reading and sketching while we were at school and work.<br />
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One of the first things we did was take her to our favorite sushi place, Wasabi.<br />
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She also got to meet some of our friends here in Lynchburg!<br />
Over the summer we played a <i>lot </i>of volleyball, so on one particularly beautiful day she came along and watched our game!<br />
The weather was gorgeous and the sand felt so good in our toes. She took a bunch of pictures, which was amazing, because we didn't have any pictures of us playing before. It was one of the defining activities of our summer, so I love having these now!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Best picture ever. This is probably when Dusty tore his pants. </span></td></tr>
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I love them!<br />
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We also got to do a few other things with our friends, which was really fun.<br />
Of course those things included our favorite dessert huts -- Caribbean Snow and Mister Goodies!<br />
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There's really not much better than a snow cone hut. Especially when the air is warm and sticky, but there's a nice breeze, and you can get a scoop of ice cream in the bottom of your snow cone cup. Perfection.<br />
We stood around, some of us sitting on at a picnic table, talking and eating our treats.<br />
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Mister Goodies is great to go after dark. They have amazing (and inexpensive) ice cream, which they pile on in huge delicious swirls. The best one is the dreamsicle, orange and vanilla! Yum.<br />
Their little hut is covered in lights, and often has a giant inflatable ice cream cone up top. We've gone before when there was live music in front of the many picnic tables, and their menu is quite extensive! I'd like to say I want to try it all, but I think I'd gain 5,000 pounds.<br />
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During the week, we chilled out at home, and had a lot of home-cooked meals. We watched some redbox movies (like Hansel & Gretel, and Warm Bodies) and started up the new season of SYTYCD!<br />
Amber has never watched So You Think You Can Dance before, and suffice it to say, she's now hooked. We had a lot of fun watching all of the auditions, since we were a few weeks behind.<br />
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She patiently observed some of our photoshoots for <a href="http://voguishatbest.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Voguish</a>, and we also played some board games, including Clue which was one of our absolute favorite games growing up. </div>
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I am <i>always </i>Mrs. White.<br />
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The best part about having people visit us is always going to some of the best, most unique aspects of Lynchburg. Which for us, usually means the restaurants and the downtown area!<br />
I love showing people my favorite nooks and crannies around town. The places you won't find anywhere else, and the places we'll miss the most once we're gone.<br />
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One such place is Milan!<br />
Amber got to come and visit me at work, and we went out to lunch. Milan is one of my favorite spots, but I don't get to go there very often. It's one of the top choices whenever my office goes out to eat for a special occasion, like someone's birthday or something, which is how I discovered it. But other than that, Dusty isn't crazy about Indian food and I don't know many people who would go there with me.<br />
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They have amazing hot chai tea, and the lunch buffet is delicious.<br />
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The biggest bummer of the trip was that Amber got sick! And, in turn, so did I.<br />
We spent one of our weekend days sleeping, and watching movies. It was rather sad. We stayed in our pajamas and just lounged.<br />
Despite us both being sick, though, we powered through and got to do a few last things. Some of my favorite things!<br />
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I took her on a tour of downtown. All that really means is we got lost and saw a lot of random stuff.<br />
But I pretended I was just a very thorough tour guide.<br />
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We wound up back along main street, and I showed her a few cool spots before we went to the Ploughcroft tea room!<br />
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<a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/05/springtime-with-jane-friends.html" target="_blank">The last time I went to Ploughcroft</a> was for a special Jane Austen event, which was so fun!<br />
I love going to tea rooms. This one is small and cozy, and is always lovely.<br />
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Obviously, the downtown experience is incomplete without <i><a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/01/lavender-lattes.html" target="_blank">lavender lattes</a>. </i><br />
<a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/04/white-hart-my-heart.html" target="_blank">The White Hart closed down</a>, but earlier that day Dusty and I had gone downtown to the farmer's market and had breakfast together. Amber was sleeping in, since she had been feeling so sick.<br />
After breakfast at Market at Main, we saw the little sign for the Black Water Coffee Company in the lobby of the bank next door, and decided to check it out.<br />
This coffee company is the coffee that White Hart served - I remember them posting that their little shop in the bank would remain open, but I had never been there.<br />
Well, little did I know, it was a fully functional little coffee bar and they had <i>everything </i>that White Hart had. <i>Including </i>the amazing lavender latte!<br />
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Anywho. With this newfound knowledge, I knew I had to take my friend to try one.<br />
White Hart had been one of the places she was most excited to see when she was finally able to visit, so when it closed down, it was very sad, indeed.<br />
Now that <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/08/quit-playing-games-with-my-hart.html" target="_blank">the White Hart is open again</a> (as of September 14th), it seems a little sad that she missed it by only a few months!<br />
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At least she got to taste the smooth deliciousness that is the lavender latte.<br />
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One of the last things we did was go to the Farm Basket.<br />
I wanted to take her somewhere where she could grab a souvenir or two, and Farm Basket is the perfect place for that. It has an amazing gift shop, as well as yummy food and a beautiful backyard with a little creek and lots of greenery.<br />
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We hung out on a picnic table in the back, taking pictures of the creek and enjoying the beautiful day. We bought little chocolates, and Amber was able to buy some souvenirs for her family!<br />
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The last little treat was going further downtown, over to the Rivermont area to drive down some of our favorite streets and look at the pretty old houses. We also stopped by Magnolia Foods, which is a specialty deli/gourmet food type of shop. It's pretty adorable.<br />
We also saw this kind of amazing bug car outside. Still unsure of its purpose, but I respect it.<br />
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We looked around for a long time, and settled for sharing a cupcake and getting some cold pineapple sodas!<br />
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What these photos <i>don't </i>show is that when we opened our bottles, they exploded <i>everywhere. </i><br />
By fizzy lizzy, they mean <i>crazy fizzy. </i>The entire table was covered with sticky pineapple beverage, and for some reason they were quite stingy with the napkins up front. Maybe there's such a thing as being too fancy for napkin piles?<br />
Anyway, I went into the bathroom and snuck out a ton of paper towels to sop up the mess.<br />
We drank the rest of our delicious pineapple drinks, ate the cupcake and got out of there before they realized what slobs we are.<br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
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<span style="text-align: center;">She had to go back to the train station late that night.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">It was sad to see her go, especially since she still had such a long journey ahead of her!</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">But it was such a great visit and I can't wait to see where she goes next.</span></div>
Hopefully she'll get the nerve to fly next time ;)<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-90159898372739833932013-08-30T09:27:00.002-07:002013-09-04T11:14:06.840-07:00todayToday is one of those days.<br />
<br />
One of the days that I feel panicky, and my heart beats fast and my head starts to swim (although that just might be my head-cold talking).<br />
The months are slipping by. September starts on Sunday, and graduation is a mere 8 months and a week or two away.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2011/07/long-and-winding-road.html" target="_blank">My first blog post</a> was one day short of 25 months ago.<br />
I had no idea what I wanted to do with this blog, how I wanted to write, or what kind of pictures I wanted to post. I debated whether or not to include the names of my loved ones, like some blogs who always call their husband "Charming," "Handsome" or simply "Husband".<br />
I didn't post many specifics for a long time, until I realized that was stupid and the only people reading this are my family and friends.<br />
<br />
That first post included this summary of my blog:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #323232; font-family: Copse; line-height: 19px;"><i>This is a diary of adventures. Having just graduated from college, my new husband and I are now taking on the grand challenge of moving to the East Coast. To Virginia. We are both life-long Arizonans, yet we are encouraged by our new state's slogan, "Virginia is for Lovers!"</i></span><br />
<br />
I was cheesy (ok, I still am) and excited and expectant, as well as insecure and shaky and overwhelmed.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The first picture in front of our apartment - dad and Dusty unloading.<br />We still hadn't even stepped inside!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Empty - so much potential there. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4DfFNK5Ma250EB0CsprrFMbNAKl2p1xdtWP2hb3vbzDNpnoJm5pAFjpu6YTbjqjGhIv6itbbgSNcYEktEAaP_Kb2KoV4bDl-DhARbK9MLgQQbUD24KY1KDsRSwSzj0YXF7DDW4a_AvXg/s1600/001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="526" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4DfFNK5Ma250EB0CsprrFMbNAKl2p1xdtWP2hb3vbzDNpnoJm5pAFjpu6YTbjqjGhIv6itbbgSNcYEktEAaP_Kb2KoV4bDl-DhARbK9MLgQQbUD24KY1KDsRSwSzj0YXF7DDW4a_AvXg/s640/001.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mom and I working on thrifted furniture. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrw1sufskh9tHw29dpCdlR5GZBeClrKL4cnP4WZx5ZNTACt0hWugCN-MDuIwXyEdfhu7inX7ThBsNUeK2BB2VzPljpjyVaBFF9IXC8Pjq6Flak2zcpxWnho_eUfAK4PJx6FQ4s3gZ_OEYk/s1600/055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrw1sufskh9tHw29dpCdlR5GZBeClrKL4cnP4WZx5ZNTACt0hWugCN-MDuIwXyEdfhu7inX7ThBsNUeK2BB2VzPljpjyVaBFF9IXC8Pjq6Flak2zcpxWnho_eUfAK4PJx6FQ4s3gZ_OEYk/s640/055.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">My "Arizona window", which lasted <i>maybe </i>a few weeks before I killed them all.</span></td></tr>
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One of the things that makes me laugh the most is trying to go back and embody that person I was, remembering all of my thoughts and expectations when we arrived. <i>This place is going to be clean all the time </i>(HA)<i>. I'm going to garden. I will have a window with thriving plants </i>(now dead and buried). <i>I'm going to learn to cook. I'm going to be fresh and fit and fancy. </i><br />
I remember feeling like creating that "Arizona window" embodied all of those wifely things, this tiny clean kitchen and this new blog. A new me was beginning.<br />
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Which was actually true - Dusty and I were talking the other day about how much we've changed.<br />
I asked him what he thought was different about me, from then to now, and he said that I am confident and funny, that I make him laugh all the time. I've become a stronger person, despite not checking off all of those "good wife" checklists. And in the long run, I don't think Dusty cared all that much that I killed the Arizona window, because he didn't marry me because of my (lack of) gardening skills.<br />
I can point to many things we've done well, and many things we've fallen short of, in our expectations of moving out here. We still have to work hard to keep things clean in our little place, we rescued two kittens, which wasn't in the (Dusty's) plan. It took me about two years to "finish" the guest room, and it's still a work in progress. That first year we ate out way too much, probably a manifestation of our homesickness that culminated into culinary laziness. We gained weight and stopped cooking as much, and I lost that sense of creativity in the kitchen. Taco Bell was the salve to my wounds, some of which I didn't even realize I had.<br />
It was a mechanism for comfort, I suppose.<br />
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Some of the things we did right?<br />
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<a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2011/08/luna-my-moon.html" target="_blank">Luna Lovegood</a>. <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/10/i-heart-october.html" target="_blank">Evangeline</a>. Making each other laugh, <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/06/cant-stop.html" target="_blank">being silly</a>. Not taking law school <i>too </i>seriously. Intentionally becoming a part of <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/05/first-friends.html" target="_blank">the law wives</a>. Making friends. <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/search/label/new%20restaurant" target="_blank">Trying new restaurants</a>. <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/search/label/travel" target="_blank">Traveling</a>. <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/11/winter-wonderland.html" target="_blank">Winter Wonderland</a>. <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/search/label/summer%2012" target="_blank">Summer 12</a>. Embracing our cluttered, fort-like home. <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/01/two-years-and-counting.html" target="_blank">Loving each other</a>. Starting my blogs. Putting each other first. <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/05/oh-baby-oh-darling.html" target="_blank">Being adventurous</a>. Falling in love with Virginia.<br />
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During the first month of my blogging, I wrote another post on the day my mom and grandma left.<br />
I said,<br />
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<i><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #323232; font-family: Copse; line-height: 19px;">Tonight will be the beginning of a long and wonderful three years of togetherness for Dusty and I, wherein we </span><span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #323232; font-family: Copse; line-height: 19px;">will be changed and strengthened and blessed by all that we encounter.</span></i><br />
<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #323232; font-family: Copse; line-height: 19px;"><i>During one of my bouts of tears and sadness this afternoon, I simply said, "Well, this is the price of going on an adventure."</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #323232; font-family: Copse; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span>
What no one told me was that there would be a second price.<br />
Another time to pay up...saying <i>goodbye </i>to that adventure.<br />
I know some of you may be thinking that this is <i>way </i>too early to be sad, way too early to start the process of preparing myself to move.<br />
But honestly, I'm going to need every single day to prepare. I already get teary-eyed thinking about it. I suppose I never spent much time thinking about these three years coming to an end - because we had no idea what that would look like, and we still don't. There's a lot of unknowns and a lot of apprehension, coupled with the excitement of moving back to our beloved Arizona.<br />
The problem is... I'm not wholly Arizonan any longer. I fell in love with this place and the people and the memories it holds. Our silly little apartment and our favorite haunts. I'm going to be leaving part of my heart here when we leave.<br />
But...that, my friends, is the price of going on an adventure.<br />
One I'd be happy to pay again and again.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-44925885020681789512013-08-27T08:01:00.003-07:002013-08-27T08:01:45.569-07:00the peachy queenMy mom is in town!<br />
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It's always lovely to have people visiting. My mom has been able to visit quite a few times since we moved here, and every time has been an adventure. Pedicures and shopping are almost always a must, as well as restaurant hopping and days of reading and rest.<br />
She arrived on Friday, and so far we've hung out with some of our friends, eaten her specialty chicken enchiladas for dinner, caught up on So You Think You Can Dance, and Sunday we went peach picking!<br />
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We managed to find an orchard that was open on Sundays, and jumped into the car so that we could make it in time. It was over an hour away, and closed at 5.<br />
The drive there was stunning, and as we started to approach the orchard we started to get excited about all of the fresh fruit we'd be getting! So we started to sing (made-up lyrics to "What a Wonderful World):<br />
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<i>Mom: "And I think to myself, what a wonderful thing!"</i><br />
<i>Me: "And I think to myself, I'm the peachy king."</i><br />
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The whole trip was inspired by our accidental <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/08/july-stories-jimmy-jefferson-and-peaches.html" target="_blank">peach adventure from last summer</a>, when my mom, aunt and cousin were in town. We followed a trail up by Monticello after seeing a sign that said "fresh peaches", and ended up living on peaches and peach things (salsa, vinaigrette, cider, etc.) for months.<br />
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If there really is a <i>peachy king, </i>then mom would most definitely be the <i>peachy queen. </i><br />
Long live the queen!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-KOS-ZSNSTpM9cRH7UWjxfA8sK57cXpq0fwuiywxYq5CbcEgxUGhAocyYaxru1ebrBWrWued92Wejk1mATEp4OfdobfzXcNxk19lUddfI1CuV7dmqc4HfUmWjRh7lA4doaceb8mxIPPU/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-KOS-ZSNSTpM9cRH7UWjxfA8sK57cXpq0fwuiywxYq5CbcEgxUGhAocyYaxru1ebrBWrWued92Wejk1mATEp4OfdobfzXcNxk19lUddfI1CuV7dmqc4HfUmWjRh7lA4doaceb8mxIPPU/s400/photo+4.JPG" width="300" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSitkw4dxWKzeLKp-9pRqHfjb-PJusxYxe4CbJ8HOj6CH6Bxpn_9dOmEvn3nxFbv0kkA7oBhZw2qu5FhSHXUEnalroISUOrkhkJLcWV9I56sJWfFgD-kIO_DSP9JKoCt3BegO9rqts81Bt/s1600/photo+1+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSitkw4dxWKzeLKp-9pRqHfjb-PJusxYxe4CbJ8HOj6CH6Bxpn_9dOmEvn3nxFbv0kkA7oBhZw2qu5FhSHXUEnalroISUOrkhkJLcWV9I56sJWfFgD-kIO_DSP9JKoCt3BegO9rqts81Bt/s320/photo+1+(1).JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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Peach orchards are a kind of dark, magical place. <br />
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After we filled our bag to the brim with peaches (oh, the peachy possibilities), we decided to head back before the shop closed to pay for them and pick out a few more peach delicacies.<br />
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We got peach cider donuts, a jug of peach cider, and of course, a fresh peach milkshake. Which was <i>ohmygawd. </i></div>
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After it was finished...</div>
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<i>Mom: I kind of want to lick the inside of the cup.</i></div>
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Yes, that. Exactly that.</div>
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Once we wandered out of the store and into the car, we made the short trek back to Blue Mountain Brewery, which we had seen on our way there. </div>
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It was happenstance that this orchard was in the same direction of the magical place called Afton, where we stayed for <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2012/04/dustykins.html" target="_blank">Dusty's birthday</a> two years ago. </div>
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We had stayed in a bed and breakfast and had gone to this brewery, where the views are unparallelled and the food is delightful. </div>
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We also happened (again, unwittingly) upon Blue Mountain on our way <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/07/cleveland-or-bust.html" target="_blank">back from Cleveland</a> in June. We caught a gorgeous sunset and I ate their baked beans because <i>they're amazing. </i></div>
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We got there around 5:30pm, and the place was booming!</div>
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The sun was a bit too intense still to sit outside in it for too long, so we decided to sit inside. We had pizza and soda <i>and </i>I had their baked beans, because <i>they're amazing. </i></div>
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I finally just asked the waitress what was in them, and she furrowed her brow and said, "Um...beans."</div>
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Thanks, chica. </div>
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A great day, and another great week is waiting in the wings!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-5904725730998038572013-08-21T08:55:00.002-07:002013-08-21T09:25:37.813-07:00macaron-making<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What do you do when you have the kind of friend who welcomes you into her perfectly manicured home with fresh nutty muffins, peach lavender jam and frothy espresso?</div>
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Obviously, you beg her to let you come over <i>all the time. </i></div>
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You also ask her to teach you how to make French macarons, because who else in your life knows how to make such a thing?</div>
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My friend Victoria and I enlisted Stephanie's help to tackle our first batch of macarons, because I knew she had made them before and we were craving them!</div>
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Stephanie had made them for <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/04/storybooks-and-well-wishes.html" target="_blank">Allison's baby shower</a> earlier this year. </div>
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Victoria and I have both recently been to Paris, and when she went in July she brought me back a box of Laduree macarons to my <i>absolute </i>delight. </div>
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Ever since then, we've had macarons on the brain.</div>
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When we walked in, as mentioned above, there were muffins and jam and espresso waiting for us. </div>
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Victoria and I both agree that Stephanie's house is the model for what we'd like our houses to be (when we grow up!). We had so much fun. </div>
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By the by, this jam is <i>heaven. </i></div>
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It's my new favorite thing. Stephanie made it, and with lavender being one of my all-time favorite flavors, it blew me away. To a very happy place. A lavender peach place. </div>
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She even gave us both little jars of it to take home with us!! The other day I generously slathered the inside of a honey oat pita pocket and chowed down for a snack. I'm not even sure I <i>needed </i>the pita.</div>
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(Check out the recipe <a href="http://civilizedcavemancooking.com/condimentssauces/strawberry-vanilla-bean-jam/" target="_blank">here</a>! She simply switched the fruit for peaches, added 1 1/2 tsp of dried lavender, and 1 tsp of vanilla extract instead of the vanilla bean. It's super easy and tastes amazing!)</div>
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First things first: eggs must be room temperature!<br />
The kind of expert tips I was eager to learn.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Welcome to the age of high-tech cooking.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">How cute is her hair?</span></td></tr>
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Suffice it to say I merely watched, took pictures and ate jam and drank coffee while the real work was being done. Score.<br />
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We were <i>so </i>excited when the first batch came out of the oven!<br />
The other things we learned were that you will ruin it if you overmix <i>or </i>undermix the batter, you have to drop the pan repeatedly onto the counter to release all the air bubbles from the batter, you have to let the batter puddles sit for 20-30 minutes before baking, and the dye lightens up a <i>lot</i> in the baking process so always put extra.<br />
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While the cookies baked, we sat around the table with some French press coffee and chatted.<br />
As you can see, we did some major damage to the jam and muffins.<br />
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I don't think the day could have been any better!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The macaron-madness was settling in.</span></td></tr>
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Incidentally, we all wore buns that day. Maybe it's a French thing!<br />
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You can check out the recipe we used for the macarons <a href="http://flour-and-butter.blogspot.com/2012/12/mint-chocolate-macarons.html" target="_blank">here</a>! Yum!<br />
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Earlier that week Victoria and I had attempted making crepes, and we watched Ever After. She had never seen it (<i>travesty</i>) so we had a blast doing our best to make a passable nutella-holder, which is all a crepe really is.<br />
It was almost as much of a French week as our actual week in France! And I loved it.<br />
August has been a wonderful month!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-11355394375319068682013-08-13T13:48:00.004-07:002013-08-13T13:48:54.364-07:00beginning of the endLast night, we had our <i>very last Dean's Reception </i>at the law school.<br />
It was weird, guys. Really weird.<br />
First of all, some of my favorite familiar faces weren't there. People like <a href="http://onceuponawifelife.blogspot.com/2013/05/first-friends.html">Allison and Greg</a>, who have graduated and moved on.<br />
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The Dean's Reception is technically for the incoming 1L students, but since we're mentors for 1Ls, we attend and mingle and pick at the finger foods.<br />
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We got there early to avoid the crowds, because once the Dean's address is over everyone comes piling in, following the scent of punch and cheese.<br />
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I realized before we left our house last night that I didn't have <i>any </i>pictures from the past two Dean's Receptions. I think our first one was so darn overwhelming (plus I didn't even have an iPhone then, <i>how archaic</i>) and we didn't know anyone, so we didn't end up taking many pictures.<br />
I instagrammed one picture from last year, but completely forgot to take any pictures with our friends or anything. Complete fail on my part.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dean's Reception, 2012.</span></td></tr>
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In any case, I grabbed the camera on our way out and decided to capture some of the happy moments of our very last Dean's Reception. It's the beginning of the end, everyone.<br />
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The crowds are starting to feast.<br />
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A holy mountain of cheeses is always a good idea.<br />
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Looking around the room, we started spotting a few people we knew and loved.<br />
People who have been around from the beginning, friends and classmates of Dusty's who have made this experience all the more wonderful.<br />
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Although the Dean's Reception is probably my very least favorite event, because it's so loud and noisy and intimidating with a room full of strangers, there was still this weird sense of <i>we belong here </i>and <i>this is the end....</i><br />
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When it was all said and done, we walked outside hand in hand and just looked at each other.<br />
How many times can we say "time flies" before we start sounding like a broken record?<br />
How is it even possible that this journey is heading into the last stretch already?<br />
I feel as if we just moved in, like that tearful goodbye to my mom happened mere days ago, instead of <i>two years </i>ago. I feel blessed and happy and so overjoyed to have experienced this. I know we still have a year left, but I feel like it's just a handful of days that's going to sprint past us before we even have time to make any plans.<br />
I'm sorry for anyone who feels differently, but law school has been <i>so fun. </i>It has been magical, adventurous, delightful, and even in the most challenging of moments it has been great and so worthwhile.<br />
<br />
I texted Allison yesterday about the Dean's Reception, and how I had missed her being there.<br />
She said, "Today was just no fun. I wanna be a law wife again!"<br />
I have a feeling I'm going to feel the same way. I'm so happy we came here, and I already know I'm going to miss it like mad.<br />
<br />
Cheers to making it - the last year! We're officially 3Ls and it <i>feels so fine.</i><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4346717970269295449.post-33103084551095702772013-08-13T10:19:00.003-07:002013-08-13T10:19:19.626-07:00Paris, day 5: tale as old as SeineI'm vibrantly aware that our trip to Paris was five months ago.<br />
Call it summer stupor...fickle frenzy, lazy luster. I have completely neglected to blog about our very last day in the city of lights!<br />
<br />
This comes at a painful time because both Dusty and I have been bitten rather aggressively by the travel bug. Wanderlust is stirring within us and we feel uncomfortable sitting at a desk all day.<br />
<br />
I suppose this will have to do! Blogging about one of the most beautiful adventures of our lives.<br />
Cheers to many, many more - and the sooner the better!<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Our street!</span></td></tr>
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Day 5 dawned bright and early, as we wanted to drink up every last bit of Paris.<br />
We were planning on going to Versailles for most of the day, so we got ready and headed down the street to a little bakery we had seen earlier to grab some pastries to go.<br />
We settled on a croissant and a chocolate croissant, both delightful in their buttery flakiness.<br />
I'm alright with being a flaky person, as long as it's in reference to the leftover bread crumbs on my coat.<br />
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<br />
Before long we were hopping on the train to Versailles.<br />
It was around a half hour trip, so we just sat back and enjoyed the cloudy day and the city sights.<br />
<br />
It was very, very cold and windy. The sky was overcast, and our legs were aching from such a rigorous week of travel.<br />
<br />
Versailles is a royal chateau that sits as a symbol of the absolute monarchy of the French political system in the time it was built and inhabited.<br />
It's gorgeous and ornate, overwhelmingly so - room by room a shining, stampeding example of the vast wealth and extravagance of French royalty.<br />
Naturally all I wanted to do was live there.<br />
As long as it could be <i>before </i>all the beheading began...<br />
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Gold and marble galore.<br />
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As you can see from the pictures above, we had stopped at a Starbucks as soon as we got off the train.<br />
Luckily for us, there was the infamous "American hub" combo of a Starbucks and a McDonald's right next to the train station. It was a rather fancy Starbucks, which I enjoyed immensely.<br />
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We were unsure where to start once we entered those first few sets of Versaille's golden gates.<br />
We decided to check out the gardens before heading inside!<br />
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I can't really articulate how insanely massive this property was. It went on, and on, and on.<br />
There were properties within properties, mazes and gardens and chateaus and little villages. It was intimidating, to say the least!<br />
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This photo below doesn't even do it justice.<br />
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This doesn't even include Marie Antoinette's summer home, and a few other key tourist spots along the way.<br />
Needless to say, we were quite overwhelmed.<br />
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The only real downside to all of this (aside from the walking on our already-swollen feet all day) was that we were there in the leftover winter months, so the gardens weren't actually in bloom - in fact, most of the statues were covered up because of the snow and they were doing maintenance on a lot of the fountains. This made for an eery, often abandoned feeling to our walking adventures, and it wasn't as pretty as we had envisioned.<br />
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We kept walking and walking until we came to an enormous lake-like fountain that looked pretty awesome in all its glory.<br />
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As you can see, it wasn't what we'd consider a crowded day.<br />
Oftentimes we'd look around and realize we were the only ones for (what felt like) miles.<br />
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It was odd not having the normal restaurants or carts or little stops that we had come to expect from our time in Paris. We quickly began to realize that hardly anything was open, and we were traveling around this huge expanse of land with no idea what we were doing, with no food and no more coffee.<br />
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The further we went, the more strange it felt, like we were trespassing on history. There was an eery sort of silence all over the grounds.<br />
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Eventually we came to The Grand Trianon, which was built as a retreat for the King.<br />
We toured the inside and I quickly became enamored with all of the Marie Antoinette themed gifts in the gift shop.<br />
But the other rooms inside were really cool, too. :)<br />
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I became really interested in the themes for each room, especially the matching upholstery. It's so detailed and colorful!<br />
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My idyllic scene of my future self drinking sweet tea on my back porch (yes, Arizonans can have that dream too) is a little more simple-minded than this, but I could <i>totally </i>adjust.<br />
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See? Check out that upholstery, amiright?<br />
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Obviously one of the biggest things that sets this structure apart is the incredible red marble. Which basically makes it look like a fabulous pink castle.<br />
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Next, we wandered leisurely over to Marie Antoinette's summer home, a gift from the king. How kind.<br />
Honey, I want a summer home.<br />
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Oh, and also, it <i>has to </i>have a medieval style tunnel or else <i>no dice. </i><br />
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I love the central staircase. I especially loved the windows with little golden-scrolled balconies. Indoor windows are super fancy. Indoor <i>balconies </i>are downright extravagant.</div>
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Honestly, I will hereby reject every chandelier that is not affixed to the ceiling by a giant fabric flower bow.<br />
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<br />
Marie Antoinette was no fool.<br />
She knew that the key to beauty and a lifetime of happiness was a room with natural light <i>and </i>humongous mirrors.<br />
So naturally, she had a room with vanishing walls. Pull the crank, and the humongous mirrors would slowly disappear to a room downstairs, to reveal the giant windows behind them.<br />
A room full of sunshine, or a room full of your own reflection. Win-win.<br />
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We realized around this time that we were absolutely starving.<br />
Unfortunately, this is all we could see:<br />
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Because of the unlikely existence of a magical gazebo troll who sold crepes and coffee over yonder, we decided to keep going and hope for civilization.<br />
<br />As we walked, we barely saw another soul for miles.<br />
What we did see were stretches of dark soil, sprinkled with snow.<br />
We became so deliriously hungry that we started referring to them as brownie fields.<br />
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Before too long we came upon the Queen's Hamlet.</div>
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Although I could hear was, <i>"There goes the baker with his tray like always..."</i></div>
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(Another symptom of hunger: Disney characters singing about baked goods in my head). </div>
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It was a delightful little place, and I just wished it was actually inhabited. By bakers.<br />
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I can only assume someone eventually comes out to care for these animals, although we only saw two or three other people, and they were tourists like us.<br />
It was a ghost town of magical history and possibility. And sheep.<br />
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We finally found our way back to the palace of Versailles, although the walk back was a total blur.<br />
We stumbled into a little cafe outside the palace, the kind of place made for tourists. Expensive and not very good. But we didn't care much. 7 euro for a Coke? Gimme.<br />
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We just propped our feet up and ate forgetful things. I didn't take any pictures because I was in a trance.<br />
Once we felt a little better, we decided to indulge in the actual palace tour, which turned out to be pretty unbelievable. I remember my dad saying how blown away he was, and it was truly extraordinary. I kind of wished we had done this first!<br />
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One of the first things you see is the king's chapel, basically made for his own pleasure.<br />
I can only dream of that kind of self-indulgence. At the moment my biggest self-indulgence of the day is this iced coffee my husband brought me.<br />
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We couldn't actually go inside, so the only way to see and get pictures was to lean over the railing and try and take it all in.<br />
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You ready for the ceilings?<br />
I sure wasn't.<br />
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It just all went crazy from that point on.<br />
It's hard to describe the level of jaw-dropping awe that was happening. After a while we just decided to leave the jaws open and drool openly on the floor.<br />
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Of course, there's only so much you can capture with the limited rectangle of a camera click.<br />
I shall do my best to show you what we saw with the following gazillion pictures.<br />
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My all-time favorite chandelier:<br />
(And yes, I forgave it for not being affixed by a big red flower bow).<br />
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That chandelier, that faded ombre-style into a husky purple, led the way into the famous Hall of Mirrors.<br />
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It was gorgeous.<br />
We definitely spent the most time in there, pretending like this was our party and all these people were here to celebrate our wealth.<br />
I joke around a lot but I just can't wrap my mind around what it would have been like to live there. They even had a special dinner table, where the king and queen could sit and eat while special guests just sat and watched them. It was a special honor to hear the king slurp his wine.<br />
But I'll get to that later.<br />
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For now, onward to the sleeping chambers!<br />
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The other side of the Hall of Mirrors:<br />
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This next one was Marie Antoinette's room!<br />
Such an odd feeling to be standing there.<br />
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Welcome to the eating spectacle of your favorite royal family:<br />
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Once we finished the tour and made our way back out of the gates of Versailles, we came back to the McDonald's and Starbucks area and decided to explore the rest of the town a little bit.<br />
We were beyond exhausted at this point, but we couldn't miss a chance to see some of the surrounding shops.<br />
We ended up wandering into a cheese shop (which in my opinion, every town should have).<br />
We bought some cheese and felt <i>so </i>successfully French.<br />
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We took the train back into the heart of Paris, and got ready for a real French dinner.</div>
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We were able to find a restaurant a few blocks down from the Eiffel Tower that had Beef Bourguignon, since that was high on my list for must-eats. </div>
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It was so warm and cozy, and ended up being a good choice.<br />
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It was pretty rainy that evening, so we slowly walked across the wet sidewalk back towards the stunning Lady Eiffel to get a last glimpse of it in the sparkling darkness.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhztn_Xlx7s48r5LiVilUq4r9SqILQHJwNpR513Xvg-fgm-zHb6DsRWX-YD7HejuVrdIs8HKKw75NnSJ7T7EOM7k6MHGpznBnkd5KG0bANq3eG9imiks-y70skE8W7sLNJx4qDfFPZMcwuS/s1600/IMG_7927.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhztn_Xlx7s48r5LiVilUq4r9SqILQHJwNpR513Xvg-fgm-zHb6DsRWX-YD7HejuVrdIs8HKKw75NnSJ7T7EOM7k6MHGpznBnkd5KG0bANq3eG9imiks-y70skE8W7sLNJx4qDfFPZMcwuS/s640/IMG_7927.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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Before we knew it, we were being spontaneous.</div>
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Just after the hourly sparkling stopped, we realized that the line to go to the top was <i>really </i>short. There was a big group of <i>really </i>obnoxious high school or young college kids, but other than that it was by far the shortest line we had seen the whole trip.</div>
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Well, why not?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRUCVnJ0bcmTIZJ30NQeh_wOu4_IT55gFYcUFGeWwZw56XM596BaMzLYi4822Vv7V2SbJwbngtZIQsOyVlIrut5o1A35AIt1x9Es_KWrODMiWPdkNjh3T8fWTFDmiaWPxDr8E9ij5khQix/s1600/IMG_7941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRUCVnJ0bcmTIZJ30NQeh_wOu4_IT55gFYcUFGeWwZw56XM596BaMzLYi4822Vv7V2SbJwbngtZIQsOyVlIrut5o1A35AIt1x9Es_KWrODMiWPdkNjh3T8fWTFDmiaWPxDr8E9ij5khQix/s640/IMG_7941.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The ride up was foggy and rainy, and by the time we got to the first level and those elevator doors opened, we almost regretted the decision entirely.<br />
Freezing cold wind and droplets of rain attacked us violently, and we had to make our way around to the line for the next elevator that would take us to the very top level!<br />
We huddled together and finally made it.<br />
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Dusty had actually accidentally dropped our tickets in line on the ground, when he had pulled his gloves out of his pocket where he had put them.<br />
He was able to find one, soaking wet on the pavement, and luckily it said "ticket 1 of 2" on the flimsy corner. They were understanding, and thankfully let us through without any issue.<br />
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We made it to the top terrace, burst through the blast of wind, and wound around to the back side where the wind and cold were less severe.<br />
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The views were definitely stunning!<br />
It was really fun to see the city at night, as opposed to the evening/sunset that we were able to see from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.<br />
The top of the Arc will forever remain one of my top highlights of our trip, but I was glad we ended up taking the chance to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower as well.<br />
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While we were up there, the clock struck 10pm and we were able to witness the sparkle from within!<br />
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It was pretty fun.<br />
And although that group of kids was the absolute definition of loud Americans (a couple next to us in the elevator was completely outraged, glaring daggers and muttering "stupid Americans"), we were able to happily keep ourselves separated from that stereotype.<br />
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We couldn't help heading back to the Arc one last time, to say goodbye, and to indulge in one last late-night dessert.<br />
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We ended up being seated upstairs, which was perfect because we could see all the nightlife sparkling outside the windows. It was so warm and melt-in-my-seat fantastic. I didn't want to leave.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Can't beat a steaming pot of thick chocolate drink.</span></td></tr>
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My dessert was rose petal ice cream, topped with rose, lemon, pistachio and raspberry macarons.<br />
Take me straight to heaven.<br />
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Of course, we also purchased a few gift boxes of macarons. :)<br />
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Sadly, we realized on our way back to our apartment that our flight left <i>much </i>earlier than we thought.<br />
Like, 4 hours earlier. Instead of being able to sleep in a little and maybe even go out to breakfast, we had to wake up at dawn and lug our suitcases hurriedly out the door.<br />
It wasn't ideal, but our last evening in Paris was blissful, and the entire trip had been magical.<br />
I can't wait to go back to Paris one day - I know that I will. Hopefully more than once.<br />
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This is the last photo I took! The view of our street, right before we called it a night and slept our last night away in Paris, France.<br />
<i><br /></i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08297409342434943537noreply@blogger.com0