Monday, August 26, 2013

a sunset & the beach at sunset beach.

the sun and the sand and the ocean are my go-to. my place when life has been too hectic or work has lasted too long. its a view that never gets old and a drive i'm always willing to make. i find it fascinating that you can look into the eyes of the ocean for as far as they will go and you still can't see its end. it almost looks infinite.

the definition of  the word infinite has also always been a fascination of mine. like there's no end. there's no stop. it goes on and on and on forever... and forever is a long time.

but we know the ocean isn't like that. if we swim it, we will find an end and if we sail it, we come to a stop. but that doesn't take away the magic of standing there, toes in the sand, wind combing your hair, looking into what seems like an infinite miles and miles of salty water that lasts further than your viewing capacity.

so that's where i was lead this past weekend. three and a half hours away from the city lights, the bus stops, the corporate world, and the endless emails. i headed down to sunset beach, north carolina.

so after work, i threw my heels, gray corporate sweater and black work pants in my car because i finally didn't need them for a few days. i threw on a colorful cotton blue sundress and flats and jumped in the car with lee. we swung by the workplace of another two friends, jared & carlos, and we were on the way. our generous friend taylor and her husband, sean, were already down at sunset beach waiting for our arrival later that evening.

after fighting through charlotte traffic and braking for the random cop cars on the highway, we made it down & grabbed some necessities - wine, bread, breakfast food, wine, beer, butter, snacks, frozen pizza and wine. for some reason and some tradition that was started before i came along, we all cracked open a tall boy of milwaukee's best brew's to kick off the weekend. let's just say - i've had better beer. but tradition is tradition and i did it with some awesome people.


               {sunset at sunset beach}

we spent that night getting lost in a game of spades and a walk on the beach in the rain. i've never done that before and i got to experience a sweet kiss out there too.

saturday was spent playing volleyball, bocce ball, kan jam, drinking bud lights and soaking up too much sun. i currently resemble something like a lobster. or a tomato. or some variation in between.

          {volleyball}       
  {i hope you had a good day. because we did.}

{taylor & i}
 
later that night, we grabbed some fresh shrimp, sausages, sweet onion, red skinned potatoes, and corn on the cob and boiled it all together to make shrimp boil. i had never had it before and not only was it seasoned just right with old bay seasoning, but it was pretty healthy for you too.
 
 
    {shrimp boil}

{taylor got a bird's eye view of us around the dinner table}

on sunday, the boys brought out their inner child and built this estate sandcastle masterpiece before packing up our things and relaxation to head home. going anywhere with them includes guaranteed laughs on laughs on laughs. it's definitely in the top five reasons of why i just adore them.



{lee and i}



{determination}

{finished product complete with laser towers,
and a double wall for extra protection}

next weekend is the nc state game and we're camping on the beach for labor day. yes camping. tent in the sand kind of camping. but i'll grab any chance i can to go clear my head under the stars and fall asleep to ocean's sweet song.

xo,

-A

Monday, August 19, 2013

how you should love someone.

you should love them like the sunrise. smile at them warmly and light up their eyes. you should love them like the sunset. draw their day to a close with peace like how the final rays of sunshine kiss away the evening. you should love them like a roller coaster; hanging on when you’re a bit scared and throw your hands in the air when you’re having the time of your life. you should love them when they need you. when they break down because life isn’t always fair. love them when it’s hard. when tears are streaming down their face because they’re drunk and don’t know why they’re upset. when they’re talking babbled nonsense in a language that’s not a language at all. love them even when that’s so frustrating because they’re just drunk and won’t remember it tomorrow. love them enough not to remind them of their weakness. love them even when they’re drunk crying with a cheeseburger in one hand and fries in the other. that’s the time you really need to love them.
love them when they’re shivering in bed because it’s cold outside. wrap your arms around them and bring them in close. love them over hot chocolate drinks in hole in the wall coffee shops. love them while skipping down a street hand in hand being silly and not caring what anyone thinks. love them when they tell you how pretty you are without makeup when your hair is in a messy bun. and not one of those cute messy buns. a really messy “sorry i haven’t washed my hair today” type bun. love them when they wear hoodies and love them when they burn the toast and boil the pasta too long that it sticks to the bottom of the pan and when they overcook the chicken. love them when you eat it anyway and pretend it’s the best meal of your life.
love them when they're driving with the windows down while the sun beams through the front dash and their hair flows with the wind. love them when they mess up because you have to remember they're not perfect. love them like thanksgiving dinner. like a comforting fuzzy memory you like to keep close to your heart. love them when they slightly trip down the stairs. then laugh. definitely laugh. love them like a drive through the appalachian mountains. majestic, powerful, beautiful, and not sure how it happened and came to be. sometimes believe that it was all just magic.
love them when it’s hard to love them. you’ll look back and be glad you did. love them when they have something in their teeth and you don’t know if you should tell them or not. ps: tell them. love them over rainy afternoons on Sundays while laying on blankets and couch pillows. love them when they sing offkey and sing the wrong verse. love them when they slightly run off road because they were looking over at you and remind them that although heaven is beautiful, there's a few more things you want to do and to keep their eyes on the road. love them when they stare at you at the stoplights instead.

love them when you're getting pedicures and they pretend to care what color you got. love them when their best friend hurt their feelings and love them on their birthday. love them when they're away from your fingertips and you have to close your eyes to see their smile. love them when you sense their scent on your pillow and wear their t-shirt to bed. and love them when your bodies are close and intertwined.
love someone with all your heart even if you have pieces scattered across different paths you’ve traveled. love is easy and natural and blissful and it really is rainbows and sunshine and love is still pretty when it’s not. people who belong together, stay together because love sees no obstacles and forgets all fears. love someone who knows that.

but mostly, love someone who loves you too because that’s what love is and that’s what love should be.
xo,
-A
follow me on twitter: @agcrute

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

operation: taking boyfriend home.

taking a new boyfriend home to meet the parents is always an exciting thing. unless you’re gaylord focker and end up slamming a volleyball against a chick’s face, burning down an alter, and participating in discussions regarding milking a cat. {meet the parents, the movie in case you're wondering.}
my family is funny. my mom is a hoot and my dad has a dry sense of humor and my brother is one of my best friends so i knew taking lee home would be fun. he makes me laugh more than i make me laugh so i knew he would fit right in with my mom’s awkward jokes and the embarrassing stories that my parents tell everyone about me - which range anywhere from crashing a dirtbike into a tree at age eight and falling down in spilt coke in walmart at age fourteen.

              {family at andy's graduation.
           also me with super platinum hair.}
it had been a few years before i let anyone be introduced to my peeps because only special people should be allowed to do that. you can't just take any guy home to mom and dad. i did that when i was like 15 and had to "get their approval" before going to the movies so this guy could hold my hand and awkwardly decide if he was going to put his arm around me, paying $47 dollars for half a bag of skittles and some watered down mountain dew. no sorry! not a teenager anymore {by a long shot might i add.}

anyway - plus my fam-a-lam plays pool volleyball a lot and i wanna know a guy can hang. lee is like 6 foot 2 so i figured he could hang so we made the three hour trip from charlotte to roxboro. there were a lot of trees. and land. and cows. 
we took a trip up to the mudcats game on friday night and i met sir purr!

                            {go panthers!}
oh and also there was baseball and fireworks and onion rings and ice cream and those stories i mentioned up there i had to laugh off when my mom couldn't breathe from laughing so hard when telling them. most people’s family try to make a great impression – mine just try to embarrass the heck out of me the most they can. and i love them for that because that’s the real me.
                       {friday night baseball.}
                           {mascot race!}

             {fireworks are my fav.}
saturday was spent full of pool volleyball {no one slammed anybody in the face}, hanging out with the dogs, grilling steaks, a game of sorry! where i’m always the red pieces and my parents begging us to stay another night. we didn't so we already made plans for september 7th to go back to see blue man group with my family at the durham performing arts center! i heard this show was phenom.

i’d say operation: taking boyfriend home was successful.
xo,
-A

Monday, August 5, 2013

head first, fearless.

hay. 

i've been giving a lot of thought lately to this blog and although most of the things i’ve written are fictional pieces, i really want to switch it up and make it more about me and my life and my experiences – things i’ve done and been through and learned along this crazy ride.
so let’s see. what’s a little bit about me?
i was born and raised in roxboro, nc. i usually follow up that statement with a have you ever heard of it? because usually no one has. roxboro is a small town with one high school located about 45 minutes north of the state’s capital, raleigh. and with one high school everyone knew everyone. i actually returned home this past weekend to introduce lee to my parents and have him see where i come from. there are a lot of fields and grass and cows and ponds and trees and the occasional creepy house in the middle of nowhere. i took this picture on the way back to charlotte as i’m pretty sure it’s a murder scene waiting to happen.

----------------------
anyway, i’m 24 years young – soon to be 25 on september 19th. i love roller coasters. i hate baked beans and cheerios. i believe in always wearing your seatbelt because my dad is alive because of one. i love love and i love showing those that i love. i could talk your head off until 3am. i can ramble. i think that’s why i want to make this blog more amanda-esque if you will because i have all these thoughts bouncing around in my head and would love to share them. i probably go out way too much but i don't care. i like to dress up and wear heels and i don't even complain when my feet hurt - most of the time. new shampoo and conditioner makes me excited and i have a necklace obsession - admittedly. i live by the #yolo mantra but i never say it. okay fine i say it, but don’t tell anybody.
              {i. love. wine.}
  
i think holding back something you want to say is the worst thing you can do. i’ve learned people will pride you for holding things together when you want to fall apart. i know the power of forgiveness. i know the power of letting go. it’s beautiful. i can play the piano and i cannot sing worth anything. i’m baller, shot caller in basketball and i can’t play pool for the life of me. i love to suck at bowling. i can nail a strike and then hit three gutter balls in a row. i keep life interesting. and i love to be goofy. 

                         {coffee eyes.} 

i believe in kissing and kissing a lot and no i’m not going to quote that whole cliché quote. i just believe in kissing. your best friends will save your life. i hate the cold, but love the snow. riddle me that. i think that you can be happy even if you're feeling sad. i am a north carolina tarheel and damn proud of it. roy is my boy - it's cute that it even rhymes. my favorite sport is football and yes people chuckle when i say O is the spin move on the playstation in madden or ncaa football. say that in front of any guy and if he doesn't know what you're talking about walk away. seriously walk away because he's doomed in life. my boyfriend makes me laugh more than i make me laugh. this is key. i am a believer in God.  

i have a younger brother who is my rock. mess with him & you mess with me. just kidding, my dad said this past weekend that i couldn’t fight my way out of a wet paper bag so i guess i can’t do anything, but just don’t mess with my lil bro, kay.

i live in charlotte, nc. the queen city. when i moved here, i knew three people. three people in a city this huge was intimidating. it was hands down the best decision i have ever made. ps: i made more friends.
                      {charlotte, nc.}
i like couches and movies and blankets. i like to run outside when it’s 70 degrees. music is my soul and my go-to. country concerts are my weakness. i could wear sundress everyday if work allowed and it was acceptable in 30 degree weather. i work in the hospitality industry for a living and love what i do. i love people and their stories. i love hearing what makes someone who they are. i believe falling apart can be the biggest blessing you can receive because it gives you the opportunity to rebuild yourself the way you’ve always wanted. i’m not afraid of change. embrace spontaneity. constant is boring.

so join me while i sometimes pretend to have it all together while i really figure everything out. join me while i jump head first, fearless. 

xo,
-A
follow me on twitter: @agcrute


Thursday, August 1, 2013

10 years in your 20's.

someone once told me that “you only have ten years in your 20’s. do it all.” and let me tell you, that stuck. this summer i have decided to be a concert whore.

concert whore (n): a person who attends a lot of shows solely for the love of live music, strawberita’s, and dancing in sundresses. {side note: this in no way, shape, or form has anything to do with actually being a whore.} 

now that we’ve cleared that up, i’d like to take you through a couple of shows i’ve been to recently and the ones i have coming up.

i like the idea of making this blog a little bit more personal. after all, it’s called life of a princess and... well.. i’m a princess so it only makes sense for it to be a little bit about my life. a lot of you have followed this blog and i greatly thank you for that, so take a sneak peek into my own life {a blog more about me soon to follow}.

i’ve always had a thing for luke bryan. me and two hundred thousand million other women have always had a thing for luke bryan. it gets complicated. but anyway, i remember rockin’ out to country girllllll shake it for meee girlllll and thinking it was funny that he wanted me to shake it for the birds and the bees and the plants, moon, elephants, giraffes and whatever else he references in that song. but my heart was alllll luke’s when i saw him perform drunk on you on the cma’s a few years ago because if he ain’t a 10 he’s a DAMN 9.9. i was sitting in my friend corey’s apartment in raleigh, nc and it came on and that was the day i realized luke was married and my heart was crushed and that was that.
                 {me; lee at luke bryan}

however, it didn’t stop me from attending his show two weeks ago and even though i adore my boyfriend who was right beside me letting me drool over him, luke did make my heart melt a little while i was swaying back and forth to crash my party.

keeping in the country spirit, last thursday i went back out to the verizon wireless amphitheater to see someone live i’d never seen. keith urban!

         {clearly excited with my ticket.}

he rocked out his most popular songs including stupid boy, making memories of us, without you, you’ll think of me, days go by, long hot summer and basically showed that guitar and the crowd what was up. i went with one of my closest girlfriends, allyson, and her and i got really close to the stadium seating even though we had lawn tickets. we made a few friends, some in human form; others in the form of a beer and ended the night going way too fast over a speed bump. work on Friday was TONS of fun.

                   {hi new friends.} 

          {me; allyson at keith urban.}

the last show i’ve attended recently was the day after keith - last friday. and it was a completely different vibe: 2 chainz, t.i., and lil wayne. i’ve always been a big fan of lil wayne and yes this white girl can rap. ironically, i can probably rap better than some dudes out there – a rare talent i don’t always share. put on some rap music and a game of beer pong and watch me work. i went with my boyfriend, lee, and another of his friends named cory. great guys to attend this show with that keep me laughing.

             {lee; me; cory at lil wayne.}

so what in the world does a white girl wear to a rap show? trust me i pondered this for a while before landing on a dress in my closest from new york & co. that had chains on the front in the pattern. i can almost guarantee you i was the only person there wearing new york & co. I threw on a hat and boom. 

                          {i'm a G.}

it was silly - however, it worked and i blended right in (ps. the hat was solely for picture purposes. it didn't really go with my shoes) and we had a blast singing and dancing and acting like we were in high school again. someone did get stabbed in the parking lot later that night after we had left and the show was over so uhhhhhh that kinda put a damper on things, but i mean i guess that’s the risk you take when you see wayne. weezy foreva, baby!

tonight is kenny chesney. a show i’ve been looking forward to for months. i have smash mouth, sugar ray, & backstreet boys later in august and just booked front row tickets to see j. cole in october in atlanta. j. cole has been one of my favorite artists for years and he just so happens to be my boyfriend’s favorite person on the face of the planet so we decided to do a #yolo weekend, purchase the vip tickets and actually meet him. i’ve never had vip tickets to any show, nor sat front row, nor met an artist at a show, so i’m really excited about this. the way i see it is i’m about to turn 25 in september and that means i only have 5 more years i can use the excuse of “doing it all because i’m in my 20’s” so i plan on taking full advantage. you should do the same.

{yes i said #yolo in this post. no it is not cool to still say that. yes i also hashtagged it. that is not cool either.}

xo,
-A

follow me on twitter: @agcrute