Goodwill Had An Unexplained Boost in Revenue This Week…

Recipe for a successful party:

• Request that your friends wear silly attire.
• Add vodka.
• Mix well.

The One in Which We Learn I Am Bad At Darts

Did you know that you actually have to aim the darts?

Lexington Barbecue Fest

The Pig Reigns

I have to say, I expected a little more from all the hype. Don’t get me wrong – the barbecue was delicious (as it always is), but the festival was just your typical blocked off street fair: vendors selling everything from local honey to purses made from John Deere fabric (who keeps these vendors believing there is a demand for such product?) to handmade bird cages. And of course, there was the usual plethora of fair food – giant turkey legs, gyros, bacon wrapped scallops and fried candy bars. (Welcome to the South, ya’ll!)

One Happy Customer

Turkey Legs, Of Course.

Lexington is one of those small Southern town that still has a Main St with mom-and-pop owned businesses tucked in besides CVS and Arby’s and other chains. Donna and I tucked into an candy store along Main St and poked around in the bins that were full of old timey favorites – Mary Janes, butterscotches, bit-o-honeys, and those little foil-wrapped strawberries with the gummy insides. They had an awesome collection of antique children’s toys and books in the back that I perused/snapped pictures of while D scooped out her loot.

Choosing Carefully

Despite angry skies early in the morning, it ended up being a postcard perfect afternoon to wander the streets, people-watching and sampling the wares at the different vendors (beware the habanero sauce at the Sticky Fingers booth, yall….). I’m still not entirely sure how this festival, compared to all other festivals in the country, made it on the top ten food list… but I’m thinking it has to be the John Deere fabric purses.

It was a gorgeous afternoon to be out and about, and most importantly to share a big part of what we love about North Carolina with our friends. Although apparently, we’re going to have to go get Matt a slaw-free sandwich next time. Hmm. I guess that’s okay.

You never forget your first time!

S’mores

The key to a good s’more is prep work.

Then when the ‘mallo is just right, you’ve got the perfect surface to smoosh it on.

It’s all about flame control. Finding the perfect spot.

Then having a little patience…

And some good friends to hang out with…

Or to sling you a quick graham square when you need it…

Until it comes together… the long-awaited reward! Delish.

Better than Ever, Better than Ezra

A few weeks ago I saw that Better than Ezra had updated their tour dates on their facebook page and they were coming to Raleigh….and it was FREE. I’ve pretty much been doing a happy dance in anticipation for weeks and weeks for this show. The last time I saw them they opened for Hootie and the Blowfish (which was also amazing), and I just loved seeing them live. I’ve been dying for another chance to see them.

I talked my friend Heather into going, and gave her a list of songs to listen on Grooveshark to get her warmed up. I’m still forgiving her for incessantly pointing out that their Greatest Hits albums has two of the same songs on there twice, and really only features six individual songs. WHATEVS. (You can probably guess the two; they may be the only two BTE songs you know.)

I made a pit stop in Durham to pick up Heath and see her new gooooorgeous apartment. (Exposed brick. I’m envious) Heather indulged me with a trip to my favorite Durham eats, Cosmic Cantina, and after a delicious but nauseatingly large chicken burrito, we headed over to Raleigh. There we met up with JP and a bunch of Heath’s friends who lived a few blocks from the square where BTE was playing.

It kept raining all night and I was growing more despondent by the second thinking I was a mere 2 blocks away from KG and the boys and wasn’t going to see them. But finally around 10 the rain let up enough that we scampered over there and saw them. Sigh. I love them. They were so delightful. By the time we got there, they were playing a lot of their new album, Paper Empire. (Listen to “Turn Up the Bright Lights” if you want a starting point.) But I did get to hear some of my regular faves, including Extraordinary, Desperately Wanting, and a great cover of Laid.

Is there anything better than dancing in a muddy field to your favorite band LIVE with two of your best friends? Pretty sure that would be a resounding “no.”

Cupcakes & Catchphrase

This weekend the stars collided and a number of our friends all happened to have the same Saturday evening off together… which called for an impromptu get together involving large slabs of meat on the grill, cold beverages in the fridge and funfetti cupcakes.

Okay, I confess, the funfetti cupcakes aren’t exactly a necessity of a get together but it just so happens my wonderful friend Jamie has been gracious enough to share her birthday with our wedding anniversary so I wanted to give her a little birthday shout out. Plus, who doesn’t love a chance to eat cupcakes?

It was a great evening, and just so nice to see the boys be able to kick back and relax. The hens had a great time clucking away in the kitchen sipping wine / whiskey sours (and um, eating frosting out of the can. There, I said it.)

After dinner, we gathered for a round of Catchphrase and it must be documented here in the inaugral Emergency vs. Optho, Emergency was the clear winner. Optho, ya’ll better be studying up for next time.

From Townie to Tourist

About two weeks ago, all the new interns arrived in town and we’ve been having lots of get to know you activities. Last Tuesday, one of the new interns emailed the group to invite us to get together at Filling Station. Apparently every Tuesday night, FS has a Shrimp Boil and features a cosmo and coronitas special and beach music.

Now I’m no stranger to Filling Station’s special: every Wednesday night my senior year of college my five girlfriends and I would get together for dinner at Filling Station and HALF-PRICED WINE BOTTLES. I know, right? By mid-year, we’d arrive to find our table set and two chilled bottles of Kendall Jackson ready for us. (This is where the name “winos” had originated from.)

But I had never known about their Tuesday night Shrimp Boil, and we were excited to try it out. Three things we love: seafood, beach music and cosmos. Or coronas, if Matt was writing this entry. A trio of happy things.

Nothing disappointed, except perhaps the choice of table location (right underneath the speakers) and we had a great time getting to know the new interns. It’s funny how people brand new to your town can introduce you to things you’ve never known was right under your nose, perhaps because you just start to become so comfy in your own town you stop seeking out new things.

Have you ever felt like a tourist in your own town? It makes me inclined to seek out some new experiences in our town – I’m sure there’s many other nooks and crannies in Winston I have yet to discover! It makes me even more excited to know that we’re here for the next three years of residency, because I’m sure there’s much more in this town I have yet to find.

Charleston: Easter Weekend 2009

Truth & Friendship

I am sitting on the railing of a light pine colored porch, with the camera lens zoomed out. Focused in my viewfinder are four beautiful girls, 2 half-empty bottles of wine, and a cheese plate with some rinds and the remains of an apple compote. The sun is baking down, melting the cheese rinds and slowly bronzing the girls. If my camera could capture laughter, I’m sure the memory card would be full within seconds. I snap the picture, hoping to catch one of the more perfect moments in my life, almost as if I don’t trust my own memory to bring me back to this moments. I couldn’t have designed a more picture-perfect day.

My view.

The day started off early – at 6:00 am, the alarm clock went off. As I ate my banana in the kitchen, slowly four sleepy eyed girls joined me in various degrees of workout gear and alertness. In January, four of us decided to sign up for the notoriously hilly Charlottesville Ten Miler. My girlfriends, the winos, make it a point to gather at least four times a year. Sometimes it’s for an occasion – a bachelorette party, a wedding, a birthday – but more often than not, it’s just to be with each other. This was somewhere in the middle, a ten mile race being used our excuse for a get together. We were in various stages of preparedness – Jenny came out of the womb running and was bouncing off the walls, as if a ten mile run was a walk in the park. Shelby had done a regular training plan, and was calm and ready. Jess, although not on a regular training schedule, had paced herself through long runs many times before and felt confident she could pull it off. I, on the other hand, had hit training plan FAIL. I had every good intention to train, but a colder, rainier spring and a totally wussy personality found me crossing off week after week without a run. At the last minute, I decided to run anyways, assuming I’d run half and walk half. With our “coach” and photographer, Emily, we set off. (I’ll blog about the run in a separate entry, because I had a big a-ha moment in the midst of my run. And you may have noticed, but I don’t exactly describe my thought processes with great brevity.) I did finish the run though – in 1:58. The rest of the girls finished in extremely respectable times, starting with Shelby finishing at 1:22 and the rest coming in at exactly 10 minute intervals (and thus, one minute less per mile).

Pre-run, sleepy pic.

After the run, which was as hilly AND gorgeous as had been promised by our host, we set out to embark on a breakfast of champions. We gobbled down omelettes and bottomless cups of coffee and planned out our day. Let me just say this: when your big decision of the day is “nap or no nap before vineyards”…. LIFE IS GOOD. Can I just have a DVR of my life and revisit this day again and again and again? Sigh. We voted no-nap (perhaps the bottomless coffee was speaking for us) and went back to Jessie’s house to get spruced up.

Veritas was beaaaautiful. I thought about inquiring if they would let me put a tent up in the vineyard and just hang out there, you know, forever. Maybe it was the comfortable, sunny weather, maybe it was the heart warming company, or maybe it was the deliciously crisp Sauvignon Blanc but I was in such a perfect state of nirvana. We stayed at the vineyard for a couple of hours, long past the bottles being empty and the rind of our manchego started to melt in the sun. The only motivation we had to finally get up and leave was a short trip down the road: a brewery.

Yum.

Same gorgeous mountains and green grass views. Same warm sun to bask in. Same wonderful company. Subtract 2 empty wine bottles; add in a sampler of local brewed beers and level 2 of friendship nirvana kicked in. We stayed at the brewery for another hour or so, and as the sun set, so did our fatigue set in.

More yum.

Back home to Charlottesville, we headed out for dinner at a place called The Local. Their claim to fame was that all their food came from places local to Charlottesville. I couldn’t imagine that a locally raised cattle burger would taste any different, but um yea… I was totally wrong. It was delicious (even though it wasn’t actually my plate, I swear I ate at least a third of Shelby’s.) I had a salad that, truth be told, kind of looked like lawn clippings, and in fact, I may have eaten a dandelion but it was so fresh and delicious I didn’t care. I will confess my gnocchi tasted a bit Chef Boyardee, but I’m not sure there’s a lot you can do to make gnocchi taste like anything other than the carbolicious pasta/potato combo that it is. After dinner, we convened for one drink in downtown Charlottesville before concluding that we were either way old/boring or that running ten miles and then sitting out in the sun drinking wine is an activity that does not well prepares you for a night on the town. We hope it’s the latter.

Our wonderful day concluded, we all fall asleep with well worn out bodies and hearts drunk on friendship and delicious food. Could I have dreamt up a better day with my girlfriends? Absolutely… but only by transporting our one missing wino, Pam, down here, as the missing piece. Other than that, I’m not sure I could have designed a better weekend – running, wine, music, photography, friendship… preeeeetty sure that hits all the high points on the happy-o-meter.

Trying My Hand at Puppy Parenthood

Last night, Z & J had us down for a night of food, frosting and films. We scarfed down on a delicious homemade chicken & corn chowder before clearing the table to make room for cookie frosting paraphernalia.

It’s been a busy 2 months of interviewing for everyone, so it was nice to take a breather to reconnect and hang out before we all scatter for the holidays again. 4th year has been a welcome respite for these boys, and hopefully the spring will bring even more opportunities to relax and hang out with friends once the pressure and time commitment of interviews die down.

Emily & Wiggy’s Creations

Today, we had our first experience of puppy parenthood today as we watched Gus while Z&J headed out of town on the interview circuit as well. Newsflash: standing outside on a leash in the middle of December waiting for a curious dog to find a good spot to pee is NOT fun. I read Marley & Me, I know puppy parenthood is not all fun and tug of war games… but my quick to grow impatience as I waited for that little hind leg to raise makes me question my readiness to be a parent of the canine variety, much less any other variety. Is it easier when they are your own? Should fenced-in backyards be a priority? Should we move to Charleston to eliminate the standing in the cold? (Yes, yes and yes?) It isn’t long though before he was showering me with the sad “play with me” puggle eyes, and bounding with glee around my living room, delighting in the simplicity of the game and my moment in the cold was forgotten. Ah yes…. this is why we keep these curious creatures around us. The moments of companionship, entertainment and “you know love me” faces, I am sure, far outweigh the moments of frustration and impatience. (I think? J?)

Now we are heading over to the Joel to watch Wake WIN (I hope) against Wright State, and to round out the evening with a little dinner at my least favorite restaurant, Putter’s.