Vacation!

Matt and I got back last night from our North Carolina vacation - so much fun! It was hard coming back to reality today (i.e. going to work), but somehow I managed. Plus - in two weeks, it will be Christmas break! Yay!

We left last Tuesday and drove to Asheville. The weather was AWFUL. I drove through the mountains, at night, in the pouring rain. Awful awful awful awful. I think Matt and I went about two hours without talking, and I was clenching the steering wheel so hard that my entire upper body was sore afterwards. True story. But. BUT. We made it there in one piece, checked into our hotel, and then headed back into the deluge for the most amaaaaazing dinner at Tupelo Honey. I had shrimp and (goat cheese) grits with andouille sausage, spinach, roasted red peppers, and mushrooms. And a very large glass of wine.

Matt had something else ... and I don't remember what it was. But I'm pretty sure he loved it!

I convinced Matt to pose for a photo with me. It was tough, but eventually I convinced him it was worth it. Okay, I didn't, but I DID force him.
The next day, we went to a most amazing place - the French Broad Chocolate Lounge. This place is the real deal. CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE as far as the eye can see. Or ... in these display cases. The place had the most extensive hot chocolate (ahem, drinking chocolate) menu I had ever seen.

Oh, and we bought a bar of Mast Brothers chocolate. These dudes are serious about chocolate. We haven't had this yet - because it was kind of expensive for chocolate and we feel like we should save it for a special occasion. Like ... Christmas maybe. I absolutely LOVE the packaging and design on these chocolate bars - they are so beautiful. I had to take a photo because it looked so amazing!

Mmmmm! My drinking chocolate. It was seriously amazing. I had to take photos. This was called something like ... a liquid truffle, in "pure dark." Drool.

See how cute?
Can you tell how thick this stuff is? Kind of amazing. No, make that ... really super duper amazing.

After walking around Asheville for awhile, we got back in the car and drove to Charlotte to spend time with our friends Anna, Tim and their beautiful daughter Mae, who is 10 months old now. I am totally and completely in love with her. Here she is, hanging out with the boys:

Matt and Mae, having some play time.

All bundled up and looking OH so adorable for a walk in the cold!

So adorable in her santa jammies!!!

Matt and I are posing as surrogate parents here. Ha! We had so much fun with her. Matt was amazing with her - she LOVED hearing his voice and looking at him. She would always stick her tongue out at Matt, and it was the cutest.

Ahhh. So cute.
Matt and Mae, hanging out again. Just chillin.

Anna and Mae! Such a happy, happy baby.

Le sigh. Perfect, perfect baby.

And that was our trip! We hung out and played with Mae and it was fabulous. Thankfully, we had an uneventful drive home yesterday and now ... back to the grind.

At least until next weekend, when we're off to Chicago to spend the weekend with Lisa and Randy, and then off to Michigan to spend Christmas with my fam. Can you believe it's almost Christmas???!

Home sweet home!

Hello, friends! I am back from my whirlwind spring break trip, and getting ready to get back to the grind tomorrow. I had such a wonderful time in Charlotte, visiting Anna and her now 7 week old baby, Mae. I won't bore you with words ... instead, photos of a cute baby!!! Yay!!!

Anna, Mae and I went out to lunch at my fave spot in Huntersville, Maddi's Southern Bistro.

Doesn't Anna look fantastic?!
Afterwards, we strolled around Birkdale Village while Mae took a little nap.
....and more napping.
...napping after a bath...
...and look! It's my other Charlotte friend, Cassie, and her now 11 month old, Charlie. Remember the last time you saw Charlie? He's a lot bigger now!
He is crawling now, and getting into everything. How can you resist that face??!!!
Moms and kids ... complete with Charlie chewing on a cord. Don't worry, it wasn't plugged in. :)
Mae, hanging out!
We took a nice long walk along Lake Norman while Mae napped in the Baby Bjorn.
...and then napped a little bit more at home ...
... until she woke up when daddy came home!!! I love this photo!
All ready for bed!
As if the baby fever wasn't bad before ... it's kicked up a (huge, massive) notch after this visit. Matt, when are you coming home?? :)

Nashville, Spring Break, and 2 Months!

Hi friends! Remember me? I realize it's been a week since I blogged last ... AGAIN. Lots has been going on and I've been super busy with no time to blog. I feel like I have a lot to talk about today!

1. Nashville visit! Last weekend I went down to Clarksville, TN to visit my bff Jenn. I took no photos, but we had such a great time! Last Saturday, we went into Nashville and ate at Pancake Pantry (seriously ... could pancakes be any tastier???), then did a bunch of fun baby stuff like pushed around strollers. Jenn and her husband are expecting their first little bundle of joy on or around July 9th (Jenn, I feel like I can out you here since you FINALLY said something on Facebook!). We had so much fun looking at baby stuff! We also found the most adorable baby dress EVER and I bought it for her, despite the fact that they aren't finding out if it's a boy or a girl. We just decided if she ends up having a boy, the dress will come back to me and we can just trade it back and forth. I can't find a photo online, but it is from BabyGap and sooooo so sweet.

2. Spring Break! I'm on spring break and it feels so good. I took Friday off and drove up to my parents' house in Michigan on Thursday night. On Friday, my parents played a recital at the Jewish Community Center for a group of retired people, and I tagged along to see them play. It went great, and was fun to see them play together! And also kind of fun to see how many people in the audience were falling asleep. Oh well, what can you do! Yesterday, I spent the day in Ann Arbor visiting my friends Adrienne and Jillian, and I also spent some time with an old college professor, John, who married Matt and me. So much fun! The day was absolutely miserable - rainy and windy - so I couldn't go walk around campus, which was a bummer. But still a great day! Today, I get to spend some time with my bff Catherine, who I haven't seen since Christmas 2008! She has been living in Mexico City, interning with the Associated Press, but her internship is over and she has temporarily moved back up to the Detroit area while she job searches. Can't wait to see her this afternoon! And tonight, my parents and I are celebrating my birthday - finally! So, that should be fun. Not exactly sure what my plans are for tomorrow yet ... but then Tuesday I am driving 10 hours to Charlotte, NC to see my sweet friend Anna and her new baby, Mae. And I PROMISE I will have photos of that!!!!

3. 2 Months! As of today, Matt has been gone for 2 months. Seriously, it seems like I was just typing out a "1 Month!" blog post. I do still feel that time is flying, although he is actually nearing the time when he will leave "for real" to head overseas and I am dreading it. I have been so spoiled, being able to talk to him pretty much every day - either on the phone, gchat, email, whatever. But I am confident that time will continue passing quickly, and he'll be home - at least for R & R - before I know it!

How are all of you doing?

Weekends!

Happy Thursday night, friends! I am really looking forward to the weekend. I ended up staying home sick today from work ... could not wake up this morning (after 11 hours of sleep!) and had some migraine/sicky feelings. Just could not shake it. This morning, I woke up and then went back to sleep for another 3 hours. Craziness. I lazed around all day and am feeling better tonight, so staying home was definitely the right call. Lots of kids to see/things to do tomorrow, though.

And then - off to Nashville for the weekend to see my friend Jenn! Can't wait. The weather is supposed to be great there (55 and sunny!!!) and I can't wait to spend some quality time with her. Then ... only one week of work left until spring break! Whoo! I am going to Michigan for a few days to celebrate my birthday with my parents, see a recital my parents are playing, and visit with some friends. And then I'll be driving straight down to Charlotte, NC to visit my friend Anna and her new baby Mae! Lots of driving involved, which I'm less enthused about, but excited to see everyone!

What are you all looking forward to in the next few weeks? Anything fun and exciting?

Anna's Baby Shower!

Here are some photos from the baby shower I threw for my BFF Anna two weekends ago!

Anna and me. Isn't she gorgeous? She is the most beautiful pregnant girl I have ever seen!

Baby shower cupcakes! Delish!

Half of our guests at the fun bistro

Restaurant shot. How cute is this place???!!!

Favors! We had pretty soaps and these ADORABLE cookies from Etsy seller Sugar & Flour.

Blurry close-up of another cookie. They were so cute!!!

The restaurant made these personalized menus - so cute!

We wanted to help start Baby Mae's library, so everyone brought children's books as part of their gift.

How cute is this? One of Anna's friends made this diaper cake. It's so cute! Plus she had never done it before...just looked up directions on the internet.

All the goodies afterwards!

This is the awesome diaper bag I gave Anna. She will be such a hip mom!

And back at their house...Baby Mae's bedroom, complete with shower gifts!

Anna and her husband Tim looking all cute on their front porch

New house!

It was a fabulous weekend...I cannot wait for Mae Felicity to arrive on or around February 2nd!!!!