Tuesday, April 29, 2014

#trendingtuesday - a new link-up announcement!

i am so very excited to announce my first link-up that i'll be cohosting alongside of kristina at Medicine & Manicures, katie at Champagne& Suitcases, and zelle at Southern Style!  we hope that you join us every week to chat about the latest hot topic.


Want to join in on the fun? You can link-up on any of our four blogs every tuesday! all you have to do is...

1) write your post about something you've noticed is trending, whether it be a pair of shoes on your wish-list, a new song or tv show you're into, or something news or sports related.
2)  share the logo blow my name on your blog and link back.
3)  link-up at the bottom of the post so some new readers can check out your topic & say hi!

it starts next tuesday and we all look forward to reading your #trendingtuesday topics!


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Monday, April 28, 2014

cowboy boot season.

this past weekend was the kickoff of the country mega ticket! the first one was lady antebellum. allyson & i wanted to start tailgating at 3pm, but the gates didn't open until 4:30pm so we found a nearby apartment complex and had a picnic outside counting down the hours. there is something about country music, sunshine, & cowboy boots that continues to never get old.




be sure to check the blog tomorrow for some VERY excited news i'm ready to share with y'all! i can't wait to launch this and connect with more of you. until tomorrow....

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Sunday, April 27, 2014

chicago: all things fun.

waking up today at 9am and then taking a nap from 11am to 1:30pm may have been my body's way of saying it was exhausted. but isn't that what sunday's are for? napping & blogging?

as promised, here are few things i did when i was in chicago.



chicago skydeck.

more known as the sears tower than the now willis tower is the home of the chicago skydeck. it was $19.00 to take the elevator 103 floors up to view the skyline from a bird's eye view. 360 degree sights of the water, the entire city skyline, and the smaller rural areas were all visible when i went at 5:30pm. there was also no wait on a random tuesday! there are three different glass bottom cutout ledges that will take your breath away. i'll just let you see what i'm talking about.



the signature room at the 95th.

this restaurant is located atop of john hancock building on the 95th floor. after hearing that the views at night were some of the best in the city, i had to check it out and have a glass of wine solo. i'm feeling like a pro at being cool visiting bars/restaurants by myself. the city was completely transformed to never ending lights as the sun set.




the magnificent mile.

one word: shopping. 

store after store, purse after purse, shoe after shoe. although i was only able to get into h&m to do some damage, it's probably a good thing my time was limited. i could've spent hours walking those streets window-shopping and swiping my debit card too many times. the h&m was two stories tall as most of the retail stores are on michigan ave.



millennium park.

i checked this out my last night in chicago mostly because i was curious about this "bean." call me lazy, but i didn't research it's significance, but it is pretty cool to capture the buildings in its mirror reflection. also, i've never seen more people taking selfies at once. i, too, am guilty.


a personal trip to chicago will have to be planned soon so i can explore more and eat that deep dish pizza again. check out that link to see all of my windy city delicious food indulgences. ahhhh. there are no words.

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Saturday, April 26, 2014

chicago: all things food.

what a week! i enjoyed reading all of your comments and suggestions on my previous post! i had limited free time in the city, but did get around to some great {and freaky} eats. 

the first one may be a tad boring because it's hotel food. the first night i was in chicago i worked a 14 hour day and the thunderclouds decided to set in right as i was getting off. i ordered a filet mignon from the hotel. it was nice to just relax in bed - yes. in bed. - with my steak.


i stayed at the hyatt regency off wacker drive which had some pretty cool views of the city. 



more on that later. back to the food.

giordano's.

after much debating between lou malnati's and giordano's, i chose giordano's. i heard you had to do a deep dish pizza in chicago and i'm sad to say that normal pizza is completely ruined for me. nothing tops this. 


pepperoni, sausage, bacon, salami, & mushrooms. my mouth is watering just thinking about it. a local brew - green line - was tasty washing it down.


burgers and popcorn.

for lunch one day, i grabbed this turkey burger & a bag of garrett's famous popcorn - chicago mix - meaning caramel & cheese. it lived up to its hype. the theory is the sweet mixed with the sharp cheese is an equal satisfaction for your taste buds. i brought some home for lee and he was estatic.


atwood.

like i mentioned, i was pretty busy the three nights/four days i was there. but my last night, i decided to pop into this place because they had mini couches & looked ridin' solo friendly. i've never ate more meals alone in my life as i did in chicago. 

i started with a french sauvignon blanc, which is rapidly becoming my favorite wine, and some calamari & scallops. 


the next story is what i was referencing as freaky at the beginning of this post. i asked the waitress for her recommendation of fish and she said this brook trout was "to die for." so, i sipped on my wine more and she finally brought my dinner and sat the following down in front of my face.


you guys, i lost it. i am NOT a fan of this by any means. i am not a vegetarian, but i would prefer the head of what i'm about to eat be taken off prior or at least a heads up so i can say oh heck no, i don't want that! i didn't blow chunks into the seat next to me, but had to close my eyes to remove it. it was horrible. i immediately had a waiter remove the parts from my table in order to not tear up. call me lame, but there are certain things i can't handle and that's one! however, they did have gluten free beer - a local brew called prairie path. it was awesome! 


more on chicago adventures next time.


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Tuesday, April 22, 2014

hello from chicago!

just stopping in to say hi from the windy city! I worked a long day yesterday and was in bed by 8:30pm. no joke. no shame.

but this was some sight from my hotel area & I'll leave you with it...


beautiful right? since the weather is sunny today, I plan on adventuring out to the sky deck later this evening. have you been to chicago? if so, what's on your "must do" list that I should check out? open to all things food and fun! 

Sunday, April 20, 2014

easter weekend 2014.

happy easter you guys! i hope your weekend was filled with worship, family, and more food than you should've eaten.

friday night we welcomed jj & amanda to charlotte! they recently moved down here from cincinnatti and can't stop being excited that we don't have snow. we took on montford for the night and doubled as a late celebration for kenny's birthday! too much fireball apparently makes you make ugly faces. right lee? right.



the chambray shirt i'm wearing was snagged from old navy! they were having a 30% off sale so i finally got my light blue jean jacket i've been on the hunt for as well. 

saturday went something like this and also this...


and of course, this morning we went to easter sunday service with the walker's followed by a home-cooked lunch and socializing on their front porch. laurie makes the best deviled eggs, i swear! 







i got my dress also from old navy & paired it with a cardigan from target to make it more church appropriate. i love this dress! it's so comfortable and apparently wine resistant. i know this because lee spilled some on it and with a little scrubbing - came right out. it's a really good thing because you know how it is when you wear something for the first time and WINE gets spilled on it. old navy saved this weekend!

i may be a little mia this week as i'm flying out to chicago for work training. but be sure to check back for all of chicago food, scenery, and adventures.

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Saturday, April 19, 2014

"the help" helped me.

today consisted of mimosas and "the help."


if you haven't seen this, go to your nearest netflix and order immediately. i watched this movie probably a year or so ago either over dinner with company or while folding laundry; at least while doing something that didn't give it my undivided attention. 

today was different. and it got to me. i don't know if it was the combination of two mimosas or just the movie itself, but i cried at least 10 times while watching this. that's not an exaggeration. it's no surprise that i'm an emotional person and okay, fine - i'd like to definitely give some credit to the mimosas after all, but you guys, it got to me. 

what's up with the world lately? national news is miley cyrus's concert getting cancelled {yes, i was disappointed; besides the point} or the videos that go viral about some guy beside a train taking a selfie and getting kicked in the face. what happened to real news? what happened to actual life changing events? i understand this movie was depicting another horrible time when all of humanity was not treated as equals; treated as way worse than that. i understand this movie brings to life and alerts the 1980 -2000 generations of something they never seemed plausible. and i understand how our news has changed since then. 

but what about news that involves humans helping other humans? people starting a revolution. starting a change. paying it forward. lending $5 to someone who doesn't have that. doing things for someone without expecting anything in return. that's what i want to see! that's what inspires others to do the same.

l'oreal paris tweeted this the other day. i loved it.


...and that being sad, i'd like to tell you a story.

about 8 months ago, i was filling up gas in my honda on south boulevard in charlotte. a guy next to my pump pulled up in his u-haul rented truck and got my attention. he said ma'am? i don't mean to bother you. i moved everything i had this morning as i was forced out of my apartment. u-haul makes us fill up the truck back to a half gallon and if i don't, they will charge me more than i already can't afford. i don't have the money. i won't ask you for cash or anything else. if you wouldn't mind at all, ma'am, please help me fill up this truck. just $10 will do. i am so sorry ma'am.

i was kinda shocked. lee was in the car watching his every move and my next response. it's no doubt he could have been bs-ing me - that all of the story he told was just a lie to save him $10 some dollars. i paused because i didn't know what to do or say, but the next thing i knew was my mouth saying sure. i'll fill it up in just a minute. 

he was so appreciative and i'll never knew if it was my kind gesture towards a stranger or a complete ripoff. but i did thank God that i had $10 to spare. either way, i helped one someone who seemed to be in need. my heart was humbled because of that.

there's one line from "the help" that stood out to me. it was the scene when the town was destroyed by a storm.

"18 people were killed in jackson that night. 10 white and 8 black. i don't think God has color in mind when he sets a tornado loose." - the help

that right there says it all. no matter what time we're from or what we've experienced - we are all humans. we are all equal. white, black, purple, green, blue, red. 

one nation, under God, indivisible and justice for all. 
united we stand. divided we fall.

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