mt. mitchell

Last month at Mt. Mitchell, the highest in the Appalachians.

A part of me feels very at home in western Carolina. I don't have enough words to tell you how happy the mountains make me. 

from the road

We drove east for my big sister's wedding shower last weekend. Watched the sun rise from the car, stopped for peach ice cream and eastern Carolina barbecue. I savor it while I can. Time in the back seat makes me go right back to being a dependent. 

xmas

We spent Christmas with Jeff's family in a little town in eastern North Carolina that we both love. The town where I lived on my own for the first time. The place where my love grew up. Where his family has had a house on the water for a very long time with a view that I always forget about. Christmas morning was spent sipping coffee on the dock, watching the water, and listening to cousins shoot at floating pinecones with bb guns.
What is funny is how much Savannah feels like my home now. It is the place I get homesick for. I like it this way.

one year.

How can one year feel so long and so short at the same time?

Yesterday was our ONE YEAR anniversary. 
We spent most of it driving back from NC in a car with no air conditioning,
eating the most missed, most wonderful food (at the restaurant where we had our first date in 2006!),
and munching on ice and slushies & car dancing for eight ours.

 

Jeff, I'm so excited about our future adventures. I love you more than ice cream.

a summer evening. north carolina 2009

You know when you spend the day at the beach
(eating, swimming, reading, swimming, napping, swimming, etc.)
and suddenly you realize the beach is nearly empty?

That is my favorite time to be at the beach.

Around 7pm, I can try to surf or skimboard without worrying about
running into people or making a fool of myself in front of a crowd.

The beach belongs to me and whoever is with me.
That is one of the best feelings in the world.

*My dad always said that this time of day is feeding time for the sharks.
Maybe that made it more fun/exciting to play in the water?

nostalgia

I loved my childhood. If you asked me what things make a childhood great, I would list the following (all major parts of my early years):

-Porches. Preferably with  wooden porch swings and some animals running around.
-Trees. A kid needs a good climbing tree where they can pretend, read, giggle, and spy on or surprise the neighbors.
-Bicycles. Training wheels, denim jumpers, and bare feet optional.
-Books. Some of my favorite feelings of nostalgia come from memories of reading (in a tree, before bed, in the pool, on the porch, in the car...if you know someone who is under 13, please go make them read Nancy Drew and the Babysitter's Club. Please.)
-Siblings. None of these things would have been as good without my sisters.

*Fourth picture: playing "catch me!" with my granddaddy. It helps if your granddad is handsome, athletic, and patient.

Two trips to the bus. (vanilla hazelnut cream soda + dark chocolate latte with peppermint).  

Lots of thrifting.  

Three separte ice cream outings: two at the chocolate lounge (maple bacon ice cream + dark chocolate/gingerbread milkshake), one at the hop (nutella ice cream + salted caramel ice cream).  

Car dancing.  

So many good dinners including a salad with Ina's goddess dressing.  

Contra dancing. Leah taught me and brought me. I loved it!  

Baked this.  

Lunch dates with my dad.  Knitting dilemmas with my mom.  Brunch dates with Demetria.  

Lots and lots of driving.

*I was a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding, but I didn't take any pictures. I also got to see my sister Lauren for a little bit. She made me good food and let me sleep on her couch after the wedding. I miss living near her.

the chocolate lounge

weekend in asheville

Jeff had a four day weekend from work so we drove to Asheville for a family visit. We got to play in the snow, eat lots of food, go thrifting, play with a kitty, have tea parties, eat candy, watch movies, and play in the snow some more. I'm really happy that Jeff is willing to make six hour drives on short notice whenever he has enough time off of work. The only thing better than long weekend visits with my family would be if we got to live near each other. Every time we visit Asheville (especially snowy Asheville) I kind of want to live there forever.

i want to wash my hands, my face and hair with snow

When I woke up the morning after Christmas and remembered that there had been a chance of snow, I looked out the window and was completely surprised with how much snow was on the ground. I think I gasped. It's been sooo long since there has been enough snow to build a snowman, so after breakfast we made two. There is plenty of snow in Asheville, so parents and Leah are used to it, but we were still all giddy about snowflakes in our hair and the piles that covered all the cars. It was a winter wonderland! Someday maybe Jeff and I will get to live somewhere where it snows a lot in the winter. I think I could get used to it.