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My Beachy Weekend

Posted by Ginna on May 14, 2012 | 0 comments

My goodness did I have a wonderful weekend! I have actually had a series of great long weekends lately and am getting used to these four-day weeks. ;) This is my second beach weekend with friends in the last month. The last beach trip I got there to find out my camera battery was dead (boo) so this trip I took a ton of pictures to make up for it.

Friday: We all arrived to the beach Thursday evening at our friend Christen’s grandmother’s beach house. J and I went to see Wicked Thursday night, so we came right after the play ended, which was 10:30 or so, which meant we arrived at the beach at 2am to find the Parkers and Gregorys waiting up for us. Friday morning we woke up and had a full day at the beach together.

The boys weren’t exactly up for lounging in chairs all day, so they played bocce ball, frisbee, and then got bored again and started to bury J in the sand. We thought it would be funny to turn them into a 3-headed mermaid, although I don’t know if you can really tell from this picture.

Friday evening we decided to eat at home, so the girls fixed the meal and then enjoyed a cocktail on the deck while the boys finished it on the grill. We made margaritas with tequila, limeade and pineapple-orange juice. Yum!

After dinner we played Dominion, a game that the Gregorys introduced us all to a few months ago. Between the three couples, we had all of the expansions and stayed up late playing a few rounds.

Saturday: We woke up to another beautiful day and decided to rent bicycles to ride along the beach. It was so much fun! In fact, I took about a hundred pictures from that event so I’ll capture those in its own post. :)

The boys managed to turn anything into a game.

That evening we had another cocktail before going out to eat for some seafood.

After dinner we went for ice cream and the girls went for another bike ride while the boys sat on the patio and smoked cigars.

Sunday: I woke up really early so I decided to take a little walk on the beach. There’s something so lovely and peaceful about walking on the quiet beach at sunrise.

That morning we packed up, cleaned the house and finished off our food for lunch. It was such a fun beach trip and we were so sad to leave… but if you have to leave the beach, better to leave on an overcast day. We’ve already started planning our next beach trip, so I have a feeling we’ll all be back sooner than we think. :)

Authentic Living

Posted by Ginna on Mar 21, 2012 | 10 comments

J and I joined a small group last August in our church and it rotates meeting at different homes. The first time we planned on having the group over to our apartment, I was a mess. Not our house, mind you, me. I scrubbed the apartment down, mopped the floors (which I hate and never do) and did my very best to have the apartment spotless with chocolate chip cookies awaiting everyone when they arrived. It’s probably the best our place has looked since we moved in. Halfway through the evening I looked up at a shelf we have over the TV in horror to an empty picture frame on our shelf above the TV. It was blank, with a big sticker on it and a family of models smiling down on our group. I was so embarrassed. After our meeting while we mingled before everyone left, I started apologizing to a few of the girls that I had forgotten about that photo. One of the girls started laughing and said, “I was actually so relieved to see that empty frame. It’s so nice to know that I’m not the only one who doesn’t have it all together!”

Me, have it all together? Please.

I wish I had it all together — a beautiful clean home, home-cooked meal on the table every night, perfectly manicured nails, able to balance a full time job and all that life demands with ease. But the truth is, I don’t. And I can imagine it’s a lonely and tiring road for those who do have it all together, or at least constantly pretend to. There’s something powerful and comforting to share your insecurities with others and learn you’re not the only one who struggles balancing life.

I kept that frame empty for a few months before filling it with an actual picture. It became a visible reminder that my house — and my life — is not perfect and shouldn’t pretend to be.

(photo credit)

My Weekend in Atlanta

Posted by Ginna on Dec 6, 2011 | 1 comment

My best friend Allison and I have known each other since we were four and five years old. We grew up going to the same church, the same schools, same college, and we even lived in DC together for a year before she got married and moved to Atlanta. It was over a year since I had visited her in Atlanta, so when I saw saw flights for $50 from Raleigh, I jumped on the chance for a quick weekend trip.

We started the weekend in Virginia Highlights, browsing boutiques, buying cute paper at Paper Source, and then eating a delicious meal at Noche. (Atlanta natives, have you eaten there? They have the best fish tacos I’ve ever tasted.) The next day we woke up slowly, cuddled with their sweet dog Toby, and watched White Christmas while we ate pumpkin scones and drank coffee. Then we did a little Christmas shopping at the mall of Georgia and a few other local shops. That evening we met up with our friend Julie for coffee and dessert at Cafe Intermezzo. It was delicious! I wish I had a picture of our decadent cakes, but they all were too blurry and half-eaten. Sunday we went to Decatur to tour the sweet little downtown where we had a slice of the best strawberry shortcake I have ever tasted and listened to the bells of the town play seven Christmas hymns in a row. (I wonder if the locals tire of that each hour?). Then she sadly dropped me off at the airport. It was such a fun, relaxing trip and makes me wish we still lived in the same town! Here are some photos from the trip:

Small Town Charm vs. Big City Luxury

Posted by Ginna on Oct 20, 2011 | 7 comments

I’m not sure when my small-town love began. It may be from those Christian romantic novels I used to read where the bad guy always seem to be from a big city. Perhaps it was all those Hallmark movies on rainy Saturdays I watched—the ones where the heroine moves to a small town and ends up falling in love with a farmer. Or maybe I just want to be friends with the quirky characters of Stars Hollow.

Whatever the reason, I love small towns. Life goes a little slower, the people are a little nicer, coke floats taste a little sweeter, and it always makes me nostalgic. Nostalgic for what I’m not sure, but the simple ways of small towns make me miss growing up.

A few weeks ago I drove through Mt. Airy, the small town for which the Andy Griffith Show was based upon. It was Sunday, on our way home from our girl’s weekend in the mountains, and I begged my carpooling buddies Lucy and Becca that we stop to have lunch. Here are a few photos from Mayberry:

Isn’t it such a quaint little town? :)

However, there is a slight chance that I may romanticize small towns a bit. If you look carefully, you may notice that most of the restaurants were closed since it was a Sunday.* As much as I love small towns, they do not offer all the luxuries that cities provide. Like Target, which I dearly missed the four years I lived in Boone, NC.

Perhaps I need to marry the two–move to a big city with a small town feel. Any suggestions on what cities meet that criteria? (Maybe Asheville? Gosh I love that city.)

What about you? Do you prefer big cities or small towns? What is your favorite small town you have ever been to?

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*We did end up finding a place to eat. The Blue Bird Diner was the only restaurant open on Main Street on Sundays.

Sparkle Swap

Posted by Ginna on Oct 13, 2011 | 5 comments

A few weeks ago I signed up to participate in Kaileen Elise’s Sparkle Swap. The challenge was to send a blogger four unique gifts – a bit of sparkle, a treat that soothes, something sweet, and a surprise. I received my gift the other day from Micaela at Dolce Vita. Here is the adorable package I received:

Something sweet. The whole box was something sweet, but she gave me yummy Biscoff cookies. Her note said, “As a fellow coffee lover, these are my most favorite to go with my morning coffee.”

A bit of sparkle. Pretty glittery nail polish!

A treat that soothes. “There is nothing like a scarf to keep you warm. I chose this one for you because it was both floral & feminine.”

A surprise. “I picked this ornament at a local craft fair because this year you’ll be celebrating your first Christmas as married people (last Christmas was mine & my husband’s first!) which is pretty special. I’m an ornaments girl–in fact I host a yearly ornament exchange on my blog. To me, they’re a hanging memory and when I saw the two birds together, I had to get it for your first Christmas together.”

Isn’t she the sweetest?! All of these gifts were so thoughtful and personal to my tastes. She even sent me a card with a Pride and Prejudice quote on it. I think we’re soul sisters. :) Thank you SO much Micaela for all these wonderful gifts. And now I have an awesome new blog to follow!

You’re probably wondering — how did she know you liked birds, feminine scarves, and coffee?! Well, that would be because of the fabulous Kaileen for putting all of this together. Thank you so much, Kaileen for all of the hard work behind this project! It was a wonderful surprise to receive in the mail.

HL Girls Weekend

Posted by Ginna on Oct 11, 2011 | 4 comments

This past weekend I went to my friend Michelle’s home in the NC mountains with my two sisters and two best friends. The six of us all grew up in the same neighborhood, went to the same high school, and spent almost all of our free time together. We called ourselves the “Hamilton Lake Girls” and being all together again feels like home.

We got lost in a corn maze, went for a hay ride, walked around the small town (where everyone recognized our hostesses), ate delicious healthy meals, admired the changing leaves, and giggled all evening. It was a weekend I  wish could have lasted longer, but was just the escape I needed from my busy life in Raleigh.