pocahontas and other girls

August 9

Sister's

High-fiving the US Women's Soccer team gold medal.

August 10

Bedroom

End of the day panic photo. Is it the dresser! Or the closet! Or the bed! I like to keep people on their toes.

August 11

Shockoe Bottom

That's the train station at night. We ate dinner at Bottom's Up and this was the sight greeting us when we got back to the car. I mean, it was there when we arrived and got out of the car, but it wasn't all lit up and glowing.

August 12

Sister's

Sleeping baby, sleeping dog.

August 13

Office

I could stop here and Andy would have a pretty awesome arm warmer!

August 14

Pocahontas State Park

My friend Molly and I took a day adventure and went to this park. We hiked and, wait for it...paddle boated! It was pretty much the best Tuesday ever.

August 15

Dining Room

Andy brought home a box of fresh peaches. I peeled and pitted all of them.

August 16

Living Room

Floor time with Adah. She's hanging with my gator. He could eat her, but he's soft and nice.

we checked something off the list!

July 23

Kitchen

Fresh cherry and nectarine pie trying out a vegan crust. What I learned: That crust needs to bake for about two hours!

July 24

Sister's

Sweet Adah. All she does is sleep.

July 25

Dining Room

Rearrangements from Mom's visit. Our dining room is now just a room with the cyborg in it.

July 26

Culinary School

One reason I like this job is because this was my dinner while at work. And that's when there was just one chocolate on my plate.

July 27

Maidens

We went out to check on the dog at the Whitten's and they have a pink wheelbarrow for girl gardening.

July 28

Living Room

Adah visits for the first time and she dresses real cute for the occasion! 

July 29

Office

Working on getting our wedding bands so we emailed a picture of my engagement ring to the guy who made it.

July 30

Church Hill

I guess if I were a bird in a cage I would want to be a bird in a cage on a front porch.

July 31

New Dining Room (ie. Sunroom)

So many people came to work wanting good bread for BLTs. I could not stop thinking about bacon so this was my solution. Homemade veggie quinoa burgers. With bacon on them.

August 1

Lewis Ginter

Butterflies alive! You can go in a room in the conservancy with hundreds of neat butterflies flying around. 

*Side note: We can now say that we are getting married next month!*

August 2

Old Dining Room

Hosting potluck. Lots of good food, drink, and company.

August 3

Club Road

This tree had arms all over the place.

August 4

Sunroom

Somebody brought flowers home.

August 5

Car Floorboard

I looked down on my way to work and noticed that the same somebody who brought flowers home also rainbowed my laces! Though he adamantly denies it.

August 6

Sunroom

We wanted to weigh Adah on the kitchen scale but it maxes out at 5 lbs. Instead we just put her in the fruit bowl.

August 7

Hugo Kohl Studio, Harrisonburg

We went to pick out our wedding bands! Hugo uses antique presses to make rings and such. There are some funny tweedle dee and dum ones on that lower shelf.

Skyline Drive

We took the scenic route home.

August 8

Bedroom

I could be dangling my legs over a dock in to the ocean, but it's just me getting in to bed.

Roller Weekend 2012 Birthday-Bachelorette Extravaganza

July 17

Sister's House

This photo is out of place because it is not related to the Roller Weekend 2012 Birthday-Bachelorette Extravaganza. It is significant for other reasons. 1: I did not want to post solely for July 17. 2: It appears as though I have a hand growing out of my unnaturally enhanced bosom. 3. I have always wanted to hold a baby hands-free in one of those strappy things. 4. This is some prime Adah-Auntie bonding time.

July 18

Jacksonville, FL

The Roller Weekend 2012 Birthday-Bachelorette Extravaganza has officially been underway for approximately 7.5 hours. I picked Tuc up in Raleigh at 5 p.m. and we hit the road running. We also both forgot our toothbrushes.

July 19

Panama City Beach, FL

We finished up our drive and arrived at the Roller Weekend 2012 Birthday-Bachelorette Extravaganza at approximately 10 a.m. and quickly got ourselves to the beach, drinks in hand, laughter waiting to bubble over. This is an example of the expression we all wore for most of the weekend.

We waited in the pool for Bethie to arrive and when she did, she joined us. Duh. Now we are just waiting for Del.

July 20

Panama City Beach, FL

This is a true testament of how well my best girlfriends know me. Why would I want to start a day of bacheloretting (or any day for that matter) in anything but a muumuu? You better believe I hardly took mine off after receiving it. 

We concluded our evening with karaoke at the old Sweet Dreams. We walked in, wearing wigs, and might have stopped the record player. The bar was full of locals and biker dudes and dudettes. It did not take long for us to win their hearts over with our excitement and charm.

July 21

Panama City Beach, FL

This is the Del's birthday part of Roller Weekend 2012 Birthday-Bachelorette Extravaganza. How did we capture so many fantastic group shots? Good question. The photo rod is the best invention ever and we carried it with us at all times, even into the ocean.

We took things a little bit more low key on Saturday night since we all had to wake up for travel the next morning. We had a delicious home-cooked meal that we enjoyed at a romantic picnic on the beach while the sun was setting behind us. As we sat there and talked, we saw a group of high school-aged girls doing a dance they had made up on the beach. It made me feel old, for seeing ourselves ten years earlier, and so warm, for what we still have. (I forgot to mention that we choreographed a dance/flash mob and performed it on the beach the day before.)

July 22

Driving Northeast

This one is for the Rollers. I wish Roller Weekend 2012 Birthday-Bachelorette Extravaganza could have lasted for twenty weekends (at least).

  

Complete album for Roller Weekend 2012 Birthday-Bachelorette Extravaganza!

And just for kicks, this was the last Roller weekend. It was in November 2010 at Tuc's in Raleigh.

There might be more baby pictures here

July 7

Sunroom

If you follow this regularly you might start to notice a trend. When Mom is in town, projects around the house get going in full swing. Painting and shellacking the cyborg.

July 8

Front Porch

Our pet wasps that greet us every time we come and go. (I'm sorry to report that last night, July 16, Andy did away with our wasp friends when we realized that we have human friends who are deathly allergic to wasp friends and refused to come to our door.)

July 9

PCN

Six-day-old Adah dressed as a sherpa. I just can't handle her adorable face and tiny body. That's my mom's hand in the last photo just to show you how little. 

July 10

The Phoenician

We have been eating out a lot lately, what with the parents (well, just Mom now) in town and all the baby hubbub. Tonight was Middle Eastern!

July 11

Lewis Ginter

That's Mavis Staples opening for Andrew Bird. They are practically in our backyard! And not that I like to talk about the weather, but you know it's been like 100 degrees, but tonight I got chilly when the sun went down!

July 12

Carver's House

Strawberry shortcake for dessert. Dish lish.

July 13

Office

Wedding crafts. Because when you are looking at the pie table, you will definitely need a sign to tell you they are pies.

July 14

River

All done.

July 15

Sister's house

Look at that sweet girl sleeping. I had to move her blanket so I could look at those naked arms tucked by her ears.

July 16

Elisabeth's house

Andy's mom found his coon skin hat that he wore every single day for a year when he was a kid. (The search might have been prompted because my dad sent us an old photo of Fess Parker sitting at my grandparents house with about ten of my mom's siblings when they were young.)

 

there's a new babe in my life

June 28

Dining Room

Bourbon pear tart round two. I could easily go for a round three, four, five, and six if I had the time.

June 29

Balliceaux

To me this was still June 28, but I kind of wanted proof that I am capable of staying up past midnight still. Went to see some music with a friend and it was a good time.

June 30

Washington D.C.

I picked Julia up from the bus and on our way out of town we saw this! Poor Tundra. It made me thankful that all we lost was our power and nothing else.

July 1

River

Thank you Walmart of Kilmarnock for allowing us the opportunity to buy the best Fourth of July T-shirts ever. They are so good we couldn't wait to wear them.

July 2

Dining Room

Peaches and creme fraiche pie round one made with local roadside stand peaches! I did make a round two, and I could have gone for more. Meanwhile, Mom and Dad are driving through the night because...

July 3

Hospital

Isn't it funny how much can change in a day. I went from baking a pie to meeting my first niece, Adah Lucille. She is four weeks early. I am pretty sure that means she was so excited to meet me that she couldn't stand it any longer.

July 4

Hospital

I wanted to make sure Adah was featured with the kitty shirt on Independence Day. This way when she's older and looking at her baby photos she will surely say, "My favorite aunt is so cool."

July 5

Sister's 

Those cream puffs from Aziza's are worth eating.

July 6

Dining room

My dad after he ripped the sleeves off his shirt (intentionally). Then we sat down, listened to five songs closely, and picked which one he would walk me down the aisle to. Wearing that shirt. I kid. (About the shirt.)