Photos of the Day

Duke Chapel, August 2010

Young girl, by the door

I was in a meeting the other day when the best thing happened. Seated across from me was a lady who was new to the group's regular meetings and who was being introduced to most of us for the first time.
About an hour into the meeting, as I was drifting off in thought, I noticed that said lady had scribbled notes on a piece of paper. On it, I saw my name written in her handwriting, along with the names of everyone else attending the meeting. It appeared as if she had written down everyone's name as an attempt to burn them into her memory, which I thought was very courteous. But what she had also done was put a brief description beside each name to help her remember each of us.
My description was, "Young girl, by the door."
I was very pleased with my description, for I am rarely referred to as 'young.' Usually I hear, "Oh, you're only 28?!"
So, folks, this was a good moment for me.
And yes – if you are wondering – my ancient 28-year-old self is still blessed with really good vision.

The birthday boy!

Caleb will be one year old on August 31st, but hubby and I decided to throw his birthday party a few days early – this past Saturday.
I picked a Hungry Caterpillar theme for his big day. It seemed appropriate to pair a coming-of-age tale with a coming-of-age celebration. Plus, it is quite simply the cutest book on earth.
Here is his birthday invitation.

And here is the balloon pit I created for the kids. One very darling 5-year-old was quick to make note that I should have used balls and not balloons. She was correct, as the balloons popped throughout the party. Though, shockingly, no children were startled by the loud noises. Instead, they LOVED the balloon pit, an activity that only cost me $5 to put together.

Next came the birthday cake, which I designed using cupcakes. It was nothing fancy but it got the job done...

...as you can see in the following photos.

Caleb just stared at the cupcake at first. He poked at it with his tiny little finger until hubby put a bite of deliciousness in Caleb's mouth. I turned away for a moment and Caleb had devoured the cupcake.

It was so sweet to see Caleb playing with all the kids. We had many friends there including Ashleigh, Ian, Lily, Madeline, Sofia, and Taylor.

Here is baby Sofia hanging upside down.

I am so thankful to all those who could come and feel so blessed to know that Caleb is so loved. He has tons of new toys to play with and handsome clothes to wear.

Mommy is very in love with her nearly one-year-old boy.

Photo of the Day

Chef Da-da showing baby Caleb the ropes in the kitchen. How sweet! Makes me wonder what Caleb will want to be when he grows up.
His main interests are electrical cords, remote controls, cheerios, zippers and bathwater. Any ideas?

Not so terrible two's

My darling niece Madeline (Magpie) just celebrated her second birthday on August 11th. What a sweet little girl she has blossomed into over the course of two years. She makes the "terrible two's" seem not so terrible.

We celebrated her birthday in High Point with a huge crowd. Madeline shared her new slide with all of her friends that were at the party.

Then we watched her tear into a beautiful Mickey Mouse birthday cake, designed by Tartlette Treats.

I especially love this photo of Madeline eating Mickey Mouse's icing ear. Madeline's best friend Lily looks extremely concerned about the future of the birthday cake and when she might get a piece.

A happy birthday girl and a happy mommy.

And of course Caleb was in attendance. He received many hugs and kisses from his Mimi...

and from Grandma and Grandpa.

Caleb loved to play with Madeline's toys. She has so many cool things!

But by far the coolest toys of the afternoon were Madeline's new pink cell phone and brown leather chair.

Happy Birthday Madeline!!

Things that go bump in the night

As of late my neighbors a few houses down have begun to drive down our street very late at night "bumping" their car stereos loud enough to be heard in California. (Note to self - call sister living in California to see if she can hear the bass bumping from Durham)
On occasion the bass has woken both myself and hubby up in the night. It has also awoken our guests staying with us and our baby boy. That is unacceptable.
Hubby decided he would do the honors of asking the neighbors to turn down their stereo, if only past 11 o'clock at night.
Here was the neighbor's response to hubby's request:
"It don't be me. It be tha truck."
I think that is all I need to say on that matter.

Zac Brown Band live

Hubby and I spent this past Wednesday night acting like young whippersnappers again at the Zac Brown Band concert at Walnut Creek. Country music is one of the only genres upon which hubby and I can agree, and we both love Zac Brown Band. He is an excellent singer/songwriter and has loads of talent when it comes to playing instruments. The concert was mostly promoting the band's upcoming album – You Get What You Give, but also played many favorites from their debut album – The Foundation.
Following are photos from the concert (sorry for the poor quality).

Pre-show tailgating. There was a lot of underaged drinking going on. I know because I was once an underaged drinker myself. The group of high schoolers that sat behind us during the concert had actually gotten drinking tickets while tailgating. Talking with them brought back many memories of a Jimmy Buffett concert in 1998.

Our view from the lawn.

Two not-so-youthful Busbees watching the show. I got called ma'am by the high schoolers. I guess that's what happens when you are 28.

A horribly blurry concert photo.

A video snippet of "Whatever it Is" performed by Zac Brown Band.
The video itself is bad, but the music is good.

What a fantastic way to spend an evening with my hubby.

Staycation

There. I used the word that I hate. Staycation. I've heard that word so much lately in the media that I've come to cringe at its every utterance. Hubby and I finally crumbled and decided to take a night "away" from our Durham home and baby Caleb to travel the not-so-long distance to North Durham.
We had the rare opportunity to do so because we have been spoiled this summer with live-in childcare from our respective mothers – Grammie (Debbie) and Mimi (Maria). They are the most wonderful women in the world for making our lives so much easier these past two months.
The culmination of our summer with such valuable childcare was marked with hubby's and my staycation to The Arrowhead Inn, a bed and breakfast in North Durham.

Built in 1775, the inn sits on six acres of beautiful landscaped property and parts of the home are still original. It is the only AAA Four Diamond and Select Registry property in the Triangle.

Hubby and I chose the Benson Room, one of the manor house's original rooms. We really liked the fireplace and jacuzzi tub in the room.

We were invited to enjoy snacks right after check-in. We especially enjoyed the fresh baked cookies while sitting under the shade of a 200-year-old magnolia tree.

Then hubby and I explored the grounds.

Hubby and I played horseshoes while sipping a nice white wine. Side note: I am beyond horrible at horseshoes.

We then got ready for our elegant tasting dinner, which was prepared by chef and owner Phil Teber.

First course: Shrimp Pernod

Second course: Arugula salad with tomatoes, almond, shaved parmesan, and lemon vinagrette

Third course: A mango sorbet intermezzo

Fourth course: Garlic crusted rack of lamb and Filet of Beef in Roasted Shallot sauce, Roasted asparagus, Lemon stuffed tomatoes with boursin cheese, Arrownaise potatoes, corn casserole

Fifth course: Decadent flourless chocolate cake with caramel sauce

And Panna Cotta with Fresh berries

Breakfast the next morning was fresh fruit...

Homemade vegetable quiche, spinach sausage, roasted mushrooms and tomatoes, and brie.

Hubby and I were so impressed with this visit we are now big fans of the Arrowhead Inn, and its owners Phil and Gloria Teber.
They recommended we drive up the Indian Trading Path (Mason Road) into Hillsborough after checkout for a scenic drive before heading home.

We saw some beautiful sights as a grand finale of our night/day away. What a staycation!!