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!

WOO HOO!

We went to the farmer's market this morning to get some corn, apples, potatoes and peaches to bring on the trip! Now we're off to Asheville for a faabulous weekend of camping! YAY! I'm so excited!

a very spoooky halloween house

Oh Halloween Halloween Halloween! My house is looking like Halloween! It's definitely not complete yet, but I added a few little items to contribute to a spoooooooky atmosphere.... Including:

A silly whimsical ghost hanging on my front door

A spoooooky display on the mantle

And a very happy Halloween Binx and Kiwi!

The house is coming together! Now all we need are some spider webs, lights and PUMPKINS!

a little lucky charm

Man... I have been a such a busy busy bumble bee this past week. I haven't even been able to blog! Midterms are going on and I have been a bit swamped with work for school as well as squeezing in work at Cupcake. Weeks like these are so rough... but spending time studying with friends is a good way to catch a break without actually feeling like you're wasting time. Shannon and I went to Kudu Coffee the other day to study for our midterm.  It was great to be able to sit outside on their fabulous patio area tucked away on Vanderhorst Street, instead of cooped up inside on the computer. We got a little distracted when this caterpillar decided to give us a little visit. He appeared out of nowhere on Shannon's notebook! It was the cutest/hairiest caterpillar I've ever seen! I just had to take a photo shoot... I think he was a good luck charm!

I went to my new field classroom for the second time this week and I absolutely adore it! It is such a relief! The teacher is so fun and enthusiastic and the students really enjoy learning in her classroom. I am so excited to learn from her and be able to have a chance to teach all of the absolutely adorable students in her class... YAY!

p.s. I'm going camping this weekend for fall break and I can't wait!

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!

OOPSIE DAISY!

I was enjoying a fabulous meal at one of my favorite restaurants of all time, Five Loaves, with Drew, Olivia and Tyler. We were all just chit chatting and laughing, you know, the usual. I was just kinda minding my own business, in my own world, as always... when I dropped my napkin on the floor. I was bending down to pick it up when I hear a crackling sound in my ear... I didn't really know what it was until I realized my ear was resting on a candle and MY HAIR WAS BURNING! I had for some reason ignored the fact that there was a hot flame on the table and I had obliviously decided to lay my head directly on it... Anyway, at this point I think the three others at the table were having a conversation with one of the waitresses. I thought maybe I could play it cool like nothing happened but I was kind of freaking out on the inside. I leaned over to Drew to whisper what had just happened... but it was no use keeping it a secret. Everyone in the restaurant could smell the burning hair! I had to admit to the fact that I had just set my own head on fire... the entire staff there was laughing at me for smelling up the restaurant and ruining the lovely smell from the kitchen... It was pretty hilarious... and slightly embarrassing. BUT... I'm glad I could provide everyone with something to laugh about...

Summer is gone...

I have been dreading Fall all Summer long and basically crying everyday because I want to continue to go swimming, spend time at the lake, go to braves games with my favorite friend, AARON!, eat summer fruit, wear summer dresses and be TAN! But I have finally come to the conclusion that complaining about Fall coming and Summer ending is just not the right way to go about things... I am looking at the positive side and realizing all of the fun and joyful aspects of Fall.

I would say that I am excited about all of the beautiful leaves changing into colors of yellow, orange and red, but that doesn't really happen much here in Charleston. It does make me a bit excited when I see pumpkins and squash at the grocery store, though!

I am mostly excited about Halloween and Thanksgiving! I mean, who isn't??? They are only two of the most fun and exciting holidays of the year! My two favorite things: dressing up and eating food... amazing.

I can't wait to have another thanksgiving like this one (click here)... we had a great family meal filled with tons of yummy food. My cousin, Philip, provided us with a bottle of vodka from Kazakhstan where he is living while he is in the Peace Core. He sent a message with the bottle saying that we have to finish it... so we did.

Also... the absolutely amazing pumpkin cupcake has arrived once again... hands down best cupcake we have. Its a pumpkin bread cake with chopped nuts and a cinnamon cream cheese icing. Absolutely to die for...

I am planing on going to a corn maize this year.... I would go on a hay ride, but those just aren't as fun as they sound.... I can't wait to go to a pumpkin patch and carve the pumpkins to make jack-o-lanterns and put up Halloween decorations around my house! Oh so many things to look forward to this fall!

I've been brainstorming ideas for a Halloween costume this year and I am completely stumped. The only thing I'm sure of is that I want to be something bloody. I believe Halloween to be a scary holiday filled with witches, goblins and ghosts, not a holiday for fairies and princesses (although I have been both of those things when I was younger). I think it would be really funny to just walk around with a sheet over my head and eyes poked out so I could be a ghost but... also very annoying. I was a bloody Mini Mouse last year... I told people that Mickey Mouse beat me... it was such a fun costume and no one else had it! It was also veerryyy scary looking.

I loved this costume but I want to be something new this year... so the brainstorm continues. Any suggestions??? I would love to hear them!

So Fall is beautiful, and I need to remind myself that there are just as many exciting aspects of Fall as there are in the Summer. I must accept the fact that I'm going to have to wait another whole year to lay down on the beach again and eat delicious Summer fruit...