a short, but very sweet visit

{the only picture taken this weekend, thank you, self-timer}

Drew came to visit and we had so much fun! Just as I had predicted... we sat around my house watching movies, cuddling, laughing, eating and telling stories. Whenever we watch T.V., we don't actually watch it.... we just kind of goof around on the couch, and when we're not goofing around, we catch little snippets of whatever is on the T.V... its great. Its so funny because it always takes us hours upon hours to decide and agree on a movie to watch... but Drew brought up a very good point when he said, "Why do we care so much about what we're going to watch? We never end up actually watching it!" I thought that was a very true and wise statement, but I still care deeply about what we watch for some strange reason....

We were planning on cooking a fabulous and delicious dinner, but we were too busy snacking on spinach artichoke dip, salami, crackers and wine... I know, a very strange snack, don't judge...

We did get a chance to go bike riding, but for transportation purposes only, it was cold and rainy so it was not too enjoyable... we ate at Hominy Grill, which has the most delicious bacon I have ever eaten in my life... and then we spent hours at Kudu Coffee, chatting it up.

It was probably the shortest visit of my life, but I'm so thankful that he has the patience to drive 7-8 hours to Charleston just for the weekend! It was definitely worth it. Its amazing how doing nothing by yourself is so boring, but doing nothing with a person you love can be the most fun in the world.

my favorite person is coming to visit!

2 days and counting... Drew will be back in Charleston for a couple of days, and I can't wait! He's coming back to Charleston to move all of his things and I get to spend some fabulous, wonderful, quality time with him! Although it will be a short little visit, I am looking forward to every minute of it! Hopefully we will be going on bike rides, cooking, eating at our favorite places, spending time with Olivia and Tyler and staying up late doing fun things like bowling! Well... these are my plans, but I rarely follow through with my fun plans because I fall asleep or get in my lazy, homebody mood. However, I will be just as happy if we end up sitting in my living room watching movies, eating popcorn and eventually, snoring on the couch with cats lying on top of us.

what a sleeping beauty....

Farmer's Market, Bicycling, Eating (and taking pictures)...

The weather was amazing this weekend so Drew and I spent most of the time bicycling around Charleston.  Saturday morning we were able to make it to the lovely farmer's market! This is a rare occasion because about 95% of the time I'm working at 8 a.m. on Saturday mornings. We had to take advantage of my morning off and resisted having a late-night on Friday so that we could wake up early the next morning to go to the lovely farmer's market!!! I tried many samples from the stands who were offering them and bought some sweet potato gnocchi, butternut squash ravioli, and some lovely Kiwis! We ended it with an extra large lemonade and spent the rest of our weekend bicycling and eating... (and watching the notebook).

attempting with no hands... unsuccessfully

(yes, we are both wearing plaid... not on purpose)

...... how lovely!

The amazing mountains (and TONS of beautiful pictures!)

Back from camping! It was absolutely amaaazing! We had such a great time resting, hiking, building fires, cooking and traveling into Asheville. We stayed at Lake Powhatan, a great little campground with friendly staff and great trails for hiking and mountain biking (to Drew's excitement). This place was fantastic. I love escaping to the woods for a chance to forget about all of your worries and just relax and  have fun. Absolutely amazing............... SOOO.... here's a picture journey of our trip!

Our car ride turned into a sunset highway cruise... it was beautiful.

When we got there, it was already dark, so we quickly set up the tents and Drew got straight to the fire. We had a great fire every morning and night and cooked the most amazing meals! They all had that yummy smokey barbecue kind of taste... mmmmm... We had hot dogs, potatoes, corn, pasta, baked beans and tacos for our delicious dinners. For breakfast we had eggs, bacon and pancakes. Nothing compares to a meal cooked over a hot, smokey fire. The only thing I hate about it is doing the dishes afterward... miserable.

We always enjoyed playing with the fire and whittling sticks.... and playing with drew's hatchet and machete.

We enjoyed hiking through the woods and finding small lakes and streams.

 

 

 

The colors of the leaves were absolutely AMAZING!

Drew went mountain biking and from what I hear it was "FREAKING AMAZING!"

We had SUCH a fun time in the woods despite the slight rain that we experienced. I love being in the mountains with my fabulous friends!

My Parents Visit Charleston!

My parents came to visit this past weekend and it was wonderful! They were only here for about 24 hours, but we still had a great weekend together and conveniently, perfect weather.

We walked around the farmer's market in Marion Square where we talked with Sarah, bumped into Claire's family, drank lots of water and ate a great sandwich. We went on a relaxing bike ride to Colonial Lake and the Battery (I took them on the long route due to my horrible sense of direction and fear of busy streets) and we stopped for a drink at Vickery's on the way. Later on, we ate a fantastic Caribbean dinner, complete with Margaritas, at the amazing restaurant, Fuel, with my Aunt Cathy, Uncle Kevin and of course, Drew. We finished off the short visit with a great breakfast at Bull Street Gourmet and I sent them on their way with a box of delicious cupcakes! It was so great to see them and give them a little taste of my life here in Charleston. I was happy that Drew got to meet them, too! What a perfect weekend!

late night bicycle rides....

Late night bike rides with friends are the most fun in the world. My friend, also named Shannon, recently got a new bicycle from the bike auction at school. She was so excited to ride it so we got a little crew together to explore the town of Charleston on our lovely little bikes. The bike ride included a stop at Fresh Berry to eat some frozen yogurt, a long exploration down King Street, bicycling in circle formation to create an intimidating vibe for onlookers,  horrible experiences riding on cobblestone, a detour to the Battery to enjoy a fresh breeze by the ocean, listening to our echos on the echo rock, stargazing on the dock at waterfront park, a stop at Harris Teeter and a bloody toe. We had a fabulous night relaxing and exploring the beautiful Charleston night.

THE CREW:

Late-night Fresh Berry!

 

The view