Everybody's Working for the Weekend

... and I am no exception!  I have definitely been working this week with my eye on 5:30pm today.

This weekend marks the annual Women's Retreat at my church.  There are 27 ladies going this year and I am SO excited!  We always have such a great time and I know that this year will be no exception.  I am riding with four friends tonight after work and we will be heading to North Myrtle Beach, SC.

I am not 100% a beach person, which shouldn't be at all surprising.  I am a red head and that means I have translucent fair skin.  No matter how much sunscreen I use I inevitably burn.  I also don't care for sand being stuck everywhere and the idea of swimming in the ocean is just not appealing at all. Jellyfish? Sharks? No thanks.  It's not that I am "scared" of the ocean, it's more like the last 3 times I have gone in the water I have been stung by jellyfish.  Couple lukewarm feelings about the beach with my ability to attract jellyfish from miles around .. well I think that says enough.

There are some definite positives you get at the beach .. and only at the beach .. so that's why I am not a total hater.  I am, in fact, a huge water person. One thousand percent.  I can spend, and have, HOURS in the pool or lake.  It's so relaxing to me.  If I can't be in it, though, then I will settle for listening to it.

Picture this:  You have rented a house on the beach.  It's late at night and everything is quiet.  You are sitting on the top floor balcony.  You've turned out the porch lights and there is a soft filter of light from somewhere inside.  You slowly push off and rock back and forth in the rocking chair.  There is a slight breeze coming off the ocean as you listen to the waves crashing against shore.  You push some hair from your eyes, take a deep breath and slowly find that quiet inner peace.

See!  How relaxing is that!?  You can only get that at the beach and that's why I don't completely write it off.  So I guess I do love the beach after all .. if only between the hours of sunset and sunrise.  I will hopefully enjoy that peace this weekend as well as great fellowship with my girls.  I hope everyone has an equally relaxing time and I will talk to you Monday!

Weekend Road Warrior: The Mark Update

Back again to give an update on this post and to fill you in on Mark's version.  If you want to know what I did, go here.

Since I clearly didn't actually go on this particular leg of the journey, I can't give you a play-by-play (keep your cheers to yourself .. I know I am long-winded).  This is more of a photo-recap with snip-its of info.  The basic overview of their trip went like this though:

- Left Charlotte Saturday morning and went to a car show at the BMW plant. 
- Stopped for lunch and then headed to the mountains. 
- Woke up Sunday and tamed the Dragon's Tail.
- Headed back across the state to reunite with their lovely wives <wink>. :)

Here's some evidence of the fun:

This is the only picture I am posting of the trip to Dragon's tail.  They went to a car show but do you really want to see a bunch of cars?  Google "cars" if you do.  ANY WAY .. what I HAD to show you was that Mark found his very own Beyoncé!  If you have no idea what I am talking about, go here to read one of the funniest things on the internet.

This is the start of the pics while they were driving along the Dragon's Tail.  Mark rode shotgun in the black car. 

Lots of people were on the road.  So curvy!

Look how beautiful the weather was!  I am a little jealous I wasn't there.  I am a huge fan of the mountains and Mark is planning on going again.  I might have to join him the next go around.

The switchbacks are the main dangerous attraction.  Needless to say it requires one's full attention.  I now see why there are serious accidents every year.  If you miss a turn .. you go off a cliff.

There is an official pit stop for the Tail of the Dragon.  There is a tree called the "Tree of Shame" and they have decorated it with all of the motorcycle and car carnage from the accidents that occur.  Many a bumper came and never left.  RIP.

If you are friends with Mark or David in real life, you can check out more pictures on their facebook pages.  The trip really was interesting and I look forward to accompanying Mark next time.  Have you gone on any trips recently?  Is there somewhere you've been and we need to go?  I would love to hear all about it.

Weekend Road Warrior: The Jessie Update

If you remember, I talked about a weekend trip to NC in this post.  Well here's the overdue update.

Mark and I both traveled to NC a couple weeks ago but we went to different parts of the state.  We drove up to Charlotte on Friday night to get the weekend started early.  We stayed with a couple of our close friends and their two adorable kids.  Early Saturday morning, we all woke up and the boys started getting ready for their mini-roadtrip.  Once they were packed and on their way, Lena and I got the kids dressed and made plans for our girl's weekend.

The first stop on the list was breakfast.  We went to a small restaurant just down the road from their house and got coffee and yummy cinnamon rolls.  Once we were fueled for the day, the window shopping commenced. We headed to the mall to drool over all of the things we couldn't buy.  I couldn't ever remember visiting a Neiman Marcus so we went there first.

Let's stop here for a sec and talk about something .. k-i-d-s.  Man, oh man.  Let me start by saying that Lena and David have two awesome kids.  They listen well and follow directions but they are still small children. Since I am currently child-less, I had no idea what I was in for.  Take a 2 year old and a 4 year old (however obedient), add in Neiman Marcus and a child's curiosity and WOW.  Needless to say I have an entirely new appreciation for single moms.  Since NM decided it was a great idea to put a $200 sunglasses display on low shelves next to the sparkly jewelry, we constantly had to keep them in arms length.  Once again, I don't know how moms out there do it. Lena was calm and collected the entire time and nothing got messed up. Super. Mom.

After NM, we went to Anthropologie, Francesca's and a couple other stores.  The kids were doing really well but after several stores of them hearing "just look, don't touch" they were getting antsy.  We stopped by Pottery Barn Kids and let them play in their "hands on" section.  After a quick stop to admire the fountain, we piled the kids in the car and headed for the playground so they could really cut loose.

By the time we made it to the playground* the kids were passed out in their respective car seats.  We decided to just let them sleep and take the long way to go get lunch.  After a stop at Oodles of Noodles, we headed to West Elm.

::sigh:: I l-o-v-e West Elm. Seriously.  If I had to pick only one store to decorate my entire house in, that would be it.  I peruse their website frequently but never had set foot in a store.  It was confirmed. I could have stayed their forever.  Since I am constantly keeping an eye out for inspiration, I snapped a couple pictures.  Two pics I took involved bedding .. specifically pillow placement.

I am not that girl that has 20 pillows on her bed.  That's annoying to me.  That's not to say I don't like pillows, I do .. but they have to be lived in and purposeful.  As for "daily basis" chores, I don't fully make our bed.  I just straighten the duvet and sleep pillows and call it a day. Two minutes. Done.  I've been wanting to step it up, though, for when people come over.  Something a little more interesting .. voila!

Note the little one zooming by in the left picture. Love. :)

The biggest "pro" for both of these beds is that they don't look stuffy.  They look effortlessly lived in.  That's what I was looking for.  The "two shams with a centered accent pillow" is classic and it works great but this set-up is more my style.  Now, all I have to do is re-create this at home. :)

After our wonderful West Elm debut, we tried the whole playground-thing again.  This time it was a success and after much swinging, sliding and friend-making, it was time to wind down.  A quick stop at Target and a RedBox rounded out the afternoon. We finally headed home, popped in a movie, grabbed pillows and blankets and relaxed the rest of the day.

Sunday we just hung around the house and the boys got home about 6:00pm.  Mark and I immediately jumped in the car and drove back home.  It was a long weekend but so much fun.  I will report on Mark's weekend next.

*The strangest things happened on Saturday.  By the end of the day it was just a running joke .. just to see what weird thing would happen next.  I can't even remember now what all was involved but getting lost in an empty parking garage, being forced to get on the interstate and a mini Will.I.Am were involved.  Hilariousness ensued.

Weekend Road Warrior

It is going to be a beautiful weekend so that means it's time for a road trip!

After work today, Mark and I are dropping Merlin off with his grandparents and then we are hitting the road.  (Side note:  My parents dote on their granddog, but he doesn't get to spend the night often, so he LOVES going over there.  Any chance he can get to manipulate-via-puppy-dog-eyes is a good time in his book.  What a mooch...)

Where are we headed you ask?  Well it actually depends on who you are asking ;)

Mark and I have some friends that live in Charlotte, NC.  We are headed up there tonight and I will be spending the weekend traipsing around the city and relaxing in general. Tomorrow morning, however, Mark and David are leaving us with the kids to go on a mini road trip.

They are making a pit stop at a car show (because why not?) and then are heading to Deal's Gap, NC.  When he first told me this I was totally confused.  I asked "What is in Deal's Gap?" and his response ...

The Tail of the Dragon.

< cue awkward pause >

I think "Um, what?" was my eloquent response that prompted Mark to explain.  It turns out (much to my disappointment) that a mystical amputated limb does not, in fact, exist in NC ... but a dangerous road does. A dangerous stretch of road with 318 twists and turns within 11 miles.  The curvaceous 11-miles are referred to as the Tail of the Dragon.

If you go to their website you will see a plethora of information (including a long list of deaths) regarding the whole thing.  Apparently it is a huge hotspot for motorcyclists and sports car enthusiast alike.  Mark would definitely belong to the later group.

He is very excited and I can't help but be excited for him.  It is a beautiful weekend to drive through the mountains and he deserves a guy weekend.

All in all I think the next few days will be great.  While Mark is getting his thrills in the mountains, I will be relaxing in the city.  Lena and I have lots of shopping and hanging out to do.  She has two kids that will be keeping us on our toes and always make me laugh. I am not sure if I will have any photo opps but, if I do, I will be sure to share them here.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!  Make sure to get outside to enjoy the fresh air and changing leaves!