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.

prettiest cupcakes in the world

I made these absolutely beautiful cupcakes this weekend! We got these sample sprinkles that look like glitter and it makes the cupcakes look like they came from a magical wonderland... I made them to give to Drew's parents on Saturday but I didn't get a chance to see them! So then I was going to give them to Drew to take back with him but then I forgot! So now they're sitting on my counter being picked at by my roommates and I......! I wish i could freeze them and keep them forever because they're just that preettyy! I'm so proud!

mmm... Chinese Food

Last night, in my attempt to relax, Claire and I ordered Chinese food for delivery (despite the looks, it was delicious). We chowed down while watching stupid yet fabulous shows on T.V. like "World's Strictest Parents" and "Supernanny". It was awesome. But then my fortune cookie said: "As long as you don't sign up for anything new. You'll be fine"... hmmm does the Praxis count as something new??? haha, oh well. Then I went to bed at 9:30... earliest I've been to bed since I was about 12 years old, it was amazing. I love laying around eating and doing nothing instead of stressing out, its so relieving!

I took the praxis. I have no idea how I did. I'll find out in a month, and that is all. Thanks for the comments, made me feel 290,489,323,829 times better!

... and I still can't wait till Thanksgiving!!!

yum yum! cooking!

I am trying very hard to become a good cook and learn all about cooking... my dream is to someday be one of those people who can just whip up an amazing meal really quickly with some random ingredients that are lying around the house. I am so far from that stage, I don't know if I'll ever be able to get there. I have failed at so many meals and for the meals that turn out delicious, it takes me ages to actually finish making it... I think its because I am the slowest chopper in the world. It seems like whenever Drew helps me make a meal, it turns out way better, and goes much faster... I guess because then I have two brains and four hands working on it, instead of my measly one brain and two hands...

 so these are my two favorite meals we have made recently...

obviously another delicious homemade pizza complete with our own special tomato sauce, pepperoni, onions, mushrooms, garlic, basil and the magical ingredient: goat cheese... ohh my goodness, it was fabulous.

Second favorite meal... sweet potato gnocchi from the farmer's market in a brown butter sage sauce and asparagus on the side... simple and delightful!

These meals are absolutely to die for... I really hope and wish that I will be able to make dishes like these everyday without the slightest bit of confusion or frustration! Oh that will be the day! (and I have my doubts that this day will ever come)

We headed to the county fair!

We went to the county fair and ohhh how fun it was!!! I was being such a sourpuss on the drive there because we were in rush hour traffic and I was driving and Drew was navigating and I kept getting frustrated because I didn't know where to go and Drew kept telling me to switch lanes and I wanted to cry... buuutttt Drew was very patient, obviously, and talked me through it and calmed me down. Once we got there I was happy as a clam! (and then, of course, apologized profusely for being such an annoying, frustrated driver)

First thing we did when we got there was eat some yummy corn dogs (which I had not had in years). There was way more bread on them than I had remembered and I ended up peeling a lot of it off, but it was delicious!

We went on just three rides (due to our lack of funds)... I really wanted to go on some fun, exciting, fast, spinning rides but someone (I won't mention any names)... was being a little baby and only wanted to do the little kiddie rides, so I agreed to stick by his side. We did this mini roller coaster ride that went forward and then backward really fast, then we did the spinning swings and finally we had to go on the ferris wheel (which had the most amazing view).

We watched these adorable kids participate in a pizza making contest...

....and watched every kind of food possible get deep fried...

and we even tried a FRIED SNICKERS BAR!! never in my life did I think I would actually try one of these absolutely disgusting fried fair food products, but I thought why not?? It actually wasn't bad but just the thought of it grossed me out and I could only eat two bites... it looked like a corn dog with chocolate sauce on it.

Ohhh and the absolute strangest part of the whole experience... we decided to pay a dollar each to go look at "The World's Smallest Woman"... they said she was alive but I didn't actually think about how awkward it would be to go look at her. She was just sitting there, right in front of you, chewing on a toothpick, and all I could think was how guilty I felt for paying a dollar just to come look at her and see how short she was!!! Most awkward experience of my life, we got in and out as fast as we could. Although she was very very small, and it was pretty interesting, I felt a little bit weird the rest of the night.

I must say one of the most interesting and entertaining things about going to fairs is the people-watching. The most unique and diverse crowds go to fairs for some reason, and I absolutely love observing them... it really is a whole new world.

It was such a great way to spend Drew's second-to-last night in Charleston! He left for his new job in Atlanta today and I am so very very excited for him!!! However, I am equally just as sad that he won't be here with me anymore... :(

saddest day in a long time...

...but he promises to visit!

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!

We made our way into town.... pretty city of Asheville

The second day camping it rained all day long, so we decided to go visit Asheville for the day. We took a driving tour through the rain and parked on the street to walk around a bit. First stop, obviously, was the Mast General Store where Claire and I both spent almost $10 on candy alone... oops!

 

It was really miserable and rainy outside so we decided to stop at this cute little coffee shop, in disguise. I didn't even realize what it was! They have it set up in a double-decker bus from London! How they got it all the way over here, I have no idea. It was even adorable on the inside.

We found this cupcake store too! I didn't go inside, but I took a peak and in no way does it compare to our Cupcake in Charleston! Although, I'm sure they're very delicious...

So we ate lunch, which wasn't as good as our fire-cooked meals, of course... but it was nice to have someone else do the dishes! Then we headed to the Cinebarre in Asheville to catch a movie! It was waay cooler than the one we have here. We also stopped at the Dollar Tree and stocked up on random things... I got some cat costumes for Binx and Kiwi, Shannon and Drew got miniature tripods for their cameras and Claire got some paper towels and Fabreze... it's funny how random everything you buy is when you go to a dollar store!

And here are some really horrible tourist pictures that we couldn't resist taking...

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!