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!

Dear Thanksgiving, please arrive quickly. Thanks.

I have to take the second praxis exam tomorrow morning, and I'm dreading it. I took the first one without studying and I passed, but I decided I would study for the second one. I think it was a bad idea to study because studying is just freaking me out even more. I've been taking a few mini practice tests and I've been failing them, then I study more and do worse... its just making me worried and anxious, so I'm just going to stop studying and hope for the best. I can always take it again, right?? I keep hearing these horror stories about people who have failed three or four times and still can't pass. I had a breakdown yesterday while talking to Drew because I'm so stressed out about the Praxis and school. The worst part about it is that I can't just take it tomorrow morning and then be relieved and done, I have to go home and do homework all day long. AAHHH! Its so unlike me to be stressing out about school like this. I just want it to be Thanksgiving already! Then I can sit around and do nothing for 5 days straight at home and hang out with my parents, grandparents, sisters and baby nephew, Jack Henry! Ohhh I can't wait I can't wait I can't wait!!! How could this adorable little face not cheer you up??!

Am I in Italy??

I woke up this morning very late, as usual... I threw on some clothes and ran out the door 6 minutes before my 8 a.m. class was going to start, giving me just enough time to get there riding my bike. To my surprise and slight excitement, I walked out to see that my lovely road had turned into a lovely river! I was a bit panicked for a second because I realized I wouldn't be able to get to my bike without walking through a foot of water, and now I would be late for class. I had a decision to make: get my feet and legs soaked and ride my bike, dodge the river and walk to class but arrive 15 minutes late, OR skip class altogether and get some useful work done. Obviously, I chose the third option. I still ended up walking through the river, just for pure enjoyment (Claire thinks its gross) but I was able to wash off my feet and legs afterward, whereas, if I had gone to class, I would have had nasty dirty rainwater all over me for the rest of the day. I think I made the right decision. As long as my car and house are high enough not to flood, I thoroughly enjoy having a river outside of my house! It's as close as I can get to Venice! Thanks hurricane Ida!

dressing up is fun to do

Ooohhh I cannot express how much I love Halloween! I always have an amazing time just dressing up and getting into costume. Just being able to walk up and down the streets of Charleston in costume and admiring everyone else's creative ensembles is just so ridiculously amusing. I had fun going to the bars and everything, but I would have been just as satisfied if we simply walked the streets of Charleston. I can't wait until I live in a real neighborhood and kids come trick-or-treating to my door.. because then I can get dressed up and not even have to go anywhere to see the creative, hilarious costumes! They'll come to me!

Soooo... Drew and I dressed up as zombie prom king and queen, and it was hilarious. I was kind of jealous because Drew got way more compliments on his costume than I did.... but oh well, I guess I don't mind. So we got some dressy clothes from goodwill for about $8 and then tore them up and put blood all over ourselves... so. much. fun... We had some other good costumes in my house, too. Claire was "the lady from the birds", it was so random and funny. She put a crow directly on top of her head and another one coming out of her ribs, and of course, put blood all over herself. Everyone who saw her was like, "dude, did you see that girl?! She has a crow on her head!" it was hilarious how amused everyone was with her costume! Shannon was minnie mouse, Meredith was a murdered housewife, Diana was a greek goddess and Allison was raggedy anne. Everyone's costume was so fun and creative!

Pumpkin Carving!

We have been putting off this whole pumpkin carving thing as long as possible! Its so hard to coordinate our schedules in order to find some time to carve! SO Halloween night before going out we decided we had to carve our pumpkins.... as last minute as possible. We did it in a way I have never done before. Claire had a book of designs to put on pumpkins, so we each picked one and then traced over it so that you could see lines on the pumpkin and then carved over the lines. This approach is way more frustrating and annoying than the normal way of just drawing your own design and cutting it out, BUT the product is so much better... I can't decide which way I like more. But here they are... aren't they so professional?!

everyone's pumpkin

Drew's pumpkin

Claire's Pumpkin

My pumpkin

The Hauuntteed Corn Maze!!

Friday night I went to a haunted corn maze with Drew, Olivia and Tyler. It was such a blast! I found it to be terrifying and hilarious all at the same time. As we walked through the corn maze, zombies would creep out of the corn field and chase us down until we met the next one. It really kept you on your toes. The chain saw man really terrified me... I kept thinking to myself "they're not allowed to touch me, they're not allowed to touch me..." and even though I knew  it was fake, I was screaming and jumping all over the place! Olivia was seriously terrified, so much that she didn't even want to go in and closed her eyes the whole way through because she has a fear that someone may actually be hiding back there wanting to actually kill someone in the maze. Tyler was in his own world thinking about how beautiful the corn was that surrounded us and trying to pick some for himself, while Drew and I were in the back screaming and laughing hysterically as the zombies chased us and breathed down our necks.... I found all of our different reactions to be quite hilarious and I absolutely loved the excitement of it all! Afterwards we came out of the maze to find a bunch of adorable little 11  year olds dancing on stage to Miley Cyrus... it was probably the most relieving way to emerge from a haunted corn maze. What a night.... aahhh!

Cold Cold Weather....

Can you find Kiwi?? Isn't she cuuute?! My poor kitties have been freeezing this week because the heat in my house is not working! Our house says it is about 55 degrees inside... miserable. My roommates and I have been walking around in sweatshirts and sweatpants and covering ourselves with blankets nonstop. Binx has been Ms. Cuddly recently in order to get some body heat. Poor Kiwi hates cuddling, so she has to find other ways to get warm. I feel so bad for them (and myself) but hopefully it will work soon! Both Allison and Claire are sick and I'm doing my best to try to stay healthy in this chilly weather!

I was so excited that Drew's parents  came into town this weekend!  His mom and dad are even more adorable than I had imagined! We had a great dinner at Five Loaves and then headed to Kaminsky's for some dessert. His mom, so thoughtfully, gave me this lovely little kitty cat jar.... its so cute! I adore it. (she had heard I love cats)!

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!