this weekend

began with a skipped workout and an impromptu gathering with childhood friends [and marta!!] who were in town for a wedding. an evening full of cold beers and catching up over grilled steaks + so much delicious food.

my guy & i headed out early saturday for the annual pig jig at the state fairgounds. i’ve never seen so much bbq + sides in one place and yes, i was literally in hog heaven. we strolled over to the farmers market after the festival, and i found the most perfect hanging baskets for my new front porch! we napped and recovered from our food como just in time to watch the nba playoffs and grill out with a few of his guy friends that evening.

we stayed in bed a little later than normal sunday morning, and i ran home to get presentable before meeting someone quite close to my heart. i’ve followed her story for the past three years, and over countless email & text conversations we’ve become friends. she was in town for a few very special events with her daughter, but made time for a reading at flyleaf books. while waiting for it to start, i overheard her say ‘wait, is grace here?!’ before locking eyes and pulling each other in for a most overdue hug. the tears welled, and all i could think was ‘ohmygod finally.’ after the reading, we had the honor of meeting her gorgeous daughter, and a handful of us walked over to lucha tigre for a drink. it literally felt like we were just hangin’ out with girlfriends on a sunday afternoon! she was so sweet to sign a bookmark for rhyan, and even remembered how to spell his name correctly! [major points for that]

it was the most amazing afternoon, spent with some awesome girlfriends and meeting a couple long-time tumblr friends in real life … and i’m so happy marta was in town to meet the girls and join in on the festivities.

it goes without saying, my heart was [and is] so full.

this weekend was for

an early saturday morning drive to dad & bobbi’s, where emma met us and we drove over to the carolina strawberry festival. tasty homemade strawberry ice cream was had, and we stumbled upon the cutest little mobile boutique. it’s quite the concept, and they have a great selection of unique jewelry and clothing for a [very] reasonable price! 

rhyan and em decided to leap into the river to cool off when we got back, and i had a blast documenting their jumps off the dock. dad and i grabbed a beer, and he grilled farm fresh [thick-cut] pork chops from wells while bobbi whipped up her famous vidalia onion casserole and a fresh broccoli salad. best. meal. ever. [seriously]

sunday brought sunshine and blue skies, strong coffee and banana pancakes with fresh sausage. dad and i worked up a sweat building up the riverbank with lime stone, and marta arrived with her new boyfriend just in time for lunch. the boys went swimming after we filled our bellies, and the girls caught up and had quite the laugh at ‘em.

we said our goodbyes and i left with a brand new mother’s day plant from bobbi and a case of my favorite [and now out of season] beer from dad.

it was one of the best mother’s days to date, and i’m so grateful to have a mom here in nc since my [real] mom’s in michigan. i caught up with her over the phone on my drive home, and couldn’t help by feel so very blessed to have two incredible women in my life to call mom.

this weekend in a nutshell: no plans < plans

my best friend jennifer [and partner in crime] called after work friday reminding me of the annual girls ‘spring fling’ party at a mutual friends house. so i ditched my workout plans, and instead spent the evening surrounded with friends, food and nonstop laughs. we all ended up parading over to our local watering hole and staying entirely too late. i saw so many old friends, and it was one of those nights you just couldn’t plan if you tried.

needless to say, i was in no shape to participate in my saturday morning group workout, so i stayed in bed until it was time to meet jamie for lunch. we had such a nice time catching up on each others lives and it was long overdue.

i got a call from my sisters in wilmington after lunch, suggesting i drive down for our friend cody’s birthday. after mulling it over for a minute, i ran home, threw some clothes in a bag, and arrived just in time for his hawaiian themed birthday party. we chowed down on grilled wings and jello shots, bahama mama’s and a jello shot ‘cake’, had karaoke in the garage and a campfire in the back yard, took pictures of our famous ‘i’m shy’ pose and shared so many laughs my cheeks hurt.

we were in bed by midnight and up by nine to grab breakfast at bojangles before marta headed off to work. em & i painted our nails on the deck and read trashy magazines before meeting cody at our favorite mexican restaurant for cinco de mayo beers and the best food around.

i headed home later on, and a ‘quick stop’ to see my guy on the way home  ended up being an overnight visit and early to bed sharing our weekend stories. and while i woke up exhausted this morning, i can say without a doubt that it’s some of the most fun i’ve had in a long time.

moral of the story? when life gives you opportunity to be spontaneous and spend time with those you care about most, drop all the excuses and just go.

pardon my french, but shit just got real.

as mentioned previously, my marine brother is turning 30 this year and has [somehow] recruited emma, marta, and i to participate in the tough mudder with him in charlotte on november 2nd.

known as the original mud run, it’s 10-12 miles with 25+ obstacles. it’s the course/race all others are loosely based on, you know — the best of the best, the baddest of the bad.

they have a training program, and with exactly 6 months ‘til race day we have plenty of time to get in the best shape of our lives so we don’t die.

[edit: gary just brought news of this death to my attention]

this weekend was for

many homemade meals and facetime with sam overseas

canoe rides on the river and long walks around the neighborhood

lots of time sitting around catching up on each others lives

a belated easter/birthday celebration for dad and

plenty of snuggle time on the couch in between.

[we even managed a night out while d & b watched rhyan]

it was the perfect weekend filled with sunshine and so much love.

this weekend was for a lot of … emma time!

she arrived friday night and we went straight to nana taco for our all-time favorite pulled pork nachos. after inhaling the entire plate, we went right back home to the couch for some ncaa hoops.

after an early saturday morning workout, we headed out to the ‘ol homestead/farm in efland to help mom unload a giant uhaul in preparation for her move back to nc from michigan this summer. i made a few new best friends while there, in the form of baby pigs. they were hands-down some of the cutest things i’ve ever seen.

while in town, we moseyed over to hillsborough bbq for a late lunch of brunswick stew, hushpuppies, and their [ridiculously delicious] pulled pork nachos. [see a pattern here?!]

i had told leah earlier in the week that emma would be in town and we made plans to have a drink or two at the goat with rob and megs. what a time we had! it was so exciting introducing the girls, and i was thrilled to [finally] meet megs — what a sweetheart!

sunday we spent far too much time in bed, and lazed on the couch until easter dinner with the family. we ate entirely too much food, watched duke get their asses handed to them, and didn’t get to bed until way past my bedtime.

as always, i was sad to see emma head back to wilmington, but glad that i get to see her again this weekend at dad & bobbi’s!