this weekend + giveaway winner announced!

happy friday, friends! i'm so excited for these next two days. they mean late night movie runs, coffee with friends, and (my favorite), sleeping in on cool, clean cotton sheets. we're supposed to have a block party on saturday night, but with the tropical storm looming, this does not appear to be a likely endeavor. but we shall see! either way, i'm excited to rest up, and spend some time with these beautiful people:

p.s. the shabby apple giveaway winner is miss jessie! congrats, dear!

a weekend wish

it's supposed to be overcast this weekend in our little corner of carolina. we've got plans to spread compost dirt in the garden, attend a wedding for some sweet friends, and crash the local greek church spaghetti dinner on sunday.

hope your weekend is beautiful and blessed. i hope you get to help someone, catch a sunrise, and laugh terribly hard over the next two days. for those little moments are what makes the week ahead bearable. those little nuggets of escape--parentheses on a string of weekday mornings, coffees, meetings and deadlines--those make it worth it, after all.

scenes from this weekend: the haze and the days

 

 

 

  

this weekend was actually quite foggy. and muggy. but when the blanket of haze wasn't covering the space outside our windows, it was breezy and pretty enough for two long walks through the country. we passed a sweet neighbor who, upon seeing us, quickly ran inside and brought out a gift bag filled with homemade chow-chow and a kind note that mentioned, "we need more young folks on this road." another neighbor, sweet crazy ol' jerry, walked to greet us, among his used tires and puppy dogs and piles of split logs, and declared that he was carrying the best flu medicine available in his little silver mug. we smiled and kept on down the road. bless his country-blastin, western-watchin, kind-as-can-possibly-be old heart.

it was a weekend spent indoors, behind gas log fireplaces and dark rooms filled with only the television glow. inside church fellowship halls. at one point, i had my entire family around our farm table, with the lamplight illuminating their pretty faces and i felt my heart swell with gratitude. for this time. for this place. for this season.

but when the sun did peek her pretty head out and cover the back yard with enough glow to take some pictures, i ventured out with some new treasures ready to be added to my shop. and how good it felt to pose again. to slip on the beautifully preserved pieces and think about the women who wore them first.  who thought and dreamed and wished and yearned and worried and loved just as i have.

hope your weekend was equally blessed and beautiful.

my weekend: music and the mountain air

 

 

 

 

 

 

there is something spectacular about mountain air, something about altitude and attitude. the weather ran the gamut this weekend, from warm sunshine hitting our shoulders as we sat on rocking chairs to a blustery chill between our fingers and toes as we sat huddled outside the concert hall, waiting for the doors to open.

it was a sweet balloon of time, spent in little breakfast diners. on front rows of live music, lights flashing and sweet folk music wafting a few inches from my wondrous eyes. of still water and rickety old bridges.

but mostly, and perhaps most importantly, it was a weekend spent with two of my favorite men. my brother and husband are good-hearted, kind and spectacular people and just to be in their presence for 48 hours was a blessing. it also helps that they have killer taste in music and don't mind staying past midnight for an encore.
because after all, i do believe that's the heart of living. staying for the encore.

what to do when it rains in carolina

 

this weekend was spent under a cloud of mist. like a warm blanket straight out of the dryer, the haze hung against us, cocooning us. in our beds. our homes. our shopping malls.

and when it rains in north carolina, especially after a particularly dry patch of sunshine that lasted into the evening, there are only a few things left to do. we beat the sludge by staying indoors, ushering in a new season by letting our senses go amok, wild even.

we went to the local county fair. this fair is small. the kind where you don't even want to think about how quickly the rides were put up and you can easily tell the hoops on the basketball toss are ovals, skewed so no child can win that illusive inflatable baseball bat. we ate country ham sandwiches as the sun set, and learned way more than we ever needed to know on the art of beekeeping from our local chapter.

then, on saturday, we indulged in live music. in .75 iced lattes sipped in a dark bookstore basement. listening to a band who wore flower garlands in their hair and on their mics. we ate frozen yogurt too heavy to finish, with hot fudge like i haven't had in years.

it was a good weekend, this rainy one. a good scrubbing of september to make way for the wash of october.

lobster tacos and people watching

robert and i have a little game we like to play called "it's a day that ends in y, wanna get mexican food?"

it's quite a fun game, really.

we found ourselves deep in the city on saturday night. with a sleepy pup at home and nowhere to be for hours. we sat in deep booths and ate lobster tacos, lapping up a long supper. then we got coffee and sat outside and people watched. i used to think the airport was the best place to do this. but really, anywhere with a bench and a close proximity to wal-mart is a sure bet as well.

there's something about mexican restaurants that makes me never want to leave. i can't tell if its the spunky decor, with the sombreros on the walls and the vibrant tiled floors, or the divinely decadent food. the guacamole is the deciding factor for me. i once loved a mexican restaurant until i was served a bowl of entirely creamy, totally smooth guacamole. no thank you.

we ended the night driving through back roads all the way home, sinking into the couch to catch up on E! news before bed.

a man who loves salsa and lets me indulge in celebrity gossip? did i make a good choice or what?

the beautiful.

soak up this weekend. soak up the blessed heat. the sunshine. the friends. the hot dogs and the sweet tea. the sleeping in, if you're lucky,

this week hasn't held nearly enough snuggles. or late night movie marathons. or long conversations into the morning under the covers. instead, school started back up. and work was harried and tremendous. and my prayers were short and tired and life slipped by.

but no more, i say. starting with tonight. see that handsome man in the picture? we've got a hot date with the DVR and later, the front porch swing. with tomato sandwiches and cheerwine slushies. and i don't have to be me until tuesday.

it's a beautiful, sweet, country we live in. and i'm thankful beyond belief for the people who make sure it stays that way.

pablo says relax, and a little video

an executive walked into my office yesterday and, upon noticing my bulletin board, remarked "practicing with the puppy, i see." and i know he meant for children. and yes, in a way that's what robert and i are doing. seeing if we can handle this little driveway before we get on the highway. but that's not all. i'm practicing so much more with pablo. like how to relax. how to drive with the windows down and not worry about my hair. how to taste the sweet breeze of summer's anticipation. and dive headfirst into the chaos. because he doesn't know that his time here is limited. for him, life is an endless array of mornings playing in the dew, afternoons with robert's grandma, snoozing in the soft flesh of her powder fresh arms. and nights curled up in a king sized bed.

but i know better. i know that life is short. and that knowledge, sad as it might be, sets me apart. and allows me to cherish more deeply. and life more freely. there are times when pablo actually stops and smells the flowers outside. i swear, that dog is wise beyond his 56 dog years.

we spent an entire day lounging last weekend. we ate breakfast for supper and didn't get out of our pjs or leave the house. and this video captures how we spent our time. have a beautiful weekend, friends, and a very happy easter to you and your family.

weekend recap and giveaway winner

this weekend was beautiful. bright and sunny on saturday, with a calming, change-into-your-pjs-after-church steady rain on sunday. highlights include:

-trips to an adorable downtown about an hour from home, where were found a perfect little flea market, a hole-in-the-wall hot dog shop, and homemade lemon ice cream.

-sunday lunches around my parent's living room table, gathering hands over plates of turkey wraps and chocolate chip pecan pie

-eating with robert at a new little diner in our hometown, with gorgeous live music from the cutest country woman, oblivious to the fact that she sang every lyric to "american honey" wrong.

-falling asleep every night in the nook of our couch, with pablo snuggled in my knees.

-and the best part of this weekend?

making homemade shirts with pablo that say "Best Friends Club." call me crazy, but they are adorable and he looks precious in his. pictures to come soon:)

this weekend was wrapped up sweetly last night when choosing the giveaway winner via random.org:
Jane, from Life on Planet Baby

congratulations, Jane. you are, as charlie sheen would declare, a WINNER!

have a beautiful, blessed monday, sweet friends!

i can breathe in a small town

i'm from a little town in the piedmont triad region of north carolina. i was raised on a rural road, with barns on both ends. a crop field sits vacant behind and in front of my childhood home. i can always tell what season is coming, and which is quietly making its gentle exit, by the height of the corn that stretches to the sky.


i left this town for a while. spread my wings in the big city. only to return the day after graduation to that same rural road, just a few miles down from where i was raised. because that's home. and i can't pretend it's somewhere else, even on days when boredom strikes and the nearest city is 25 minutes away. and the thing is, i love big cities. i feel a deep excitement and stir in the most untouched parts of my heart when visiting friends and family in places where shopping is outside your front door and the sweet hum of nightlife lulls you to sleep. i really do revere it, and the folks who call it home. because home isn't an address, after all.


this post, however, is not about my small town, but another little hub about 45 minutes from my little cottage. lexington, north carolina. barbecue is typically associated with this spot, but when i visit, i steer clear of the little smokehouse restaurants, with their lines out the door and porcelain pigs on the stoop. of their homemade sauces and sky-high banana splits.


instead, i head toward lexington's hidden treasures. every small town has them, you know.


the little diner that only locals know about. that fills up with folks looking for an early bird special around four in the afternoon. where a pitcher of sweet tea is left on the table. where teenagers work after school and during the summer. places tourists overlook on their quest for the nation's best barbecue {and i agree, you can't find any better than lexington.}


first, we stopped at the local thrift store. where i stocked up. yes, my goods are in a {clean} trash bag. this is the country, folks! i found some delicate teal nighties, gorgeous pencil skirts and maybe even a christian dior blouse that will be in my shop soon.

from there, we went a few yards south to the lexington pharmacy. a real, live drug store that looks like the 1940s never left its black and white storefront. inside sits one of the treasures of my heart. a soda shop. with well-loved stools and sweet girls who will ask you if you want your limeade "sweet, sour or in between."

one of our last stops was right beside the pharmacy. a little pastry shop that hits you with a delicious, sweet icing heaven overload as soon as you walk in. it's brightly lit, with dozens of warm goodies waiting patiently behind the counter, hoping you'll break those pesky new years resolutions and indulge. and indulge we did. on french cream eclairs. homemade oatmeal creme pies. and my favorite, warm sugar and apple fritters.

as we drove home, with our bellies full of sugar and the sun turning gold behind us, i smiled as i passed the barbecue crowd. not because they were tourists following a billboard, though undoubtedly most of them were.


but because a hometown is more than its attractions, its shopping, its regional treasures. its carving out that little niche for yourself, which may or may not be the same niche as your neighbor.


and that's the beauty of it. no matter how small the town, its always got room for every person's dreams, aspirations and idealizations. its just big enough.