Tea and Cake or Death {Oh My!} Treasury

My tea pot and cup/saucer hair pins are in this treasury. Yeah! :)

Beach Vacation....Part 3 (Ft. Macon)

More from my vacation...Rob and I went exploring at Ft. Macon, a short drive north of Emerald Isle. It's an old Army fort built in 1826, located right on the beach and you can actually roam around it. They have recreated some of the scenes that you might've seen if you were to visit while the fort was active. Take your very own tour here. It was raining during our visit so some of the pics are a little wet!

I just love this pic. So candid. I think you can really see the brotherhood among these guys.

Confederate Money

Why do these mannequins weird me out a bit?

Thank goodness for Maytag! We sure have come a long way.....I so would not have lasted back in the day, lol.

On top of the fort. Those steps are super steep!

This cannon faces the ocean to fire at aproaching enemies.

To fire at enemies on the ground level....See the gray smudges? Is that from the rain or something spooky?.....

This was on someone's car as we were leaving...I so want one of these antenna toppers! Where do I find them?

Beach Vacation....Part 2

While I was in Beaufort earlier in the week (I made a scouting trip by myself to check things out before Rob arrived), I went to an old cemetary known as the The Old Burying Ground.  You can take your own virtual tour here! This is one of the oldest cemetaries in North Carolina.

I was the only person around so it was a little creepy, even though it was high noon. There are huge shade trees and all kinds of foliage to provide cover for whatever may be lurking about {wink}. They say that the azaleas are so pretty in the spring, but being that it was August, they were not in bloom. And then there is this plant, called a Resurrection Fern. I read that the cemetary is the only place in town where this type of fern grows. That's a little crazy....your mind could go lots of ways with that...Anyway, during a few days with no rain, the Resurrection Fern looks shriveled up and dead, but then it rains and is sunny, and it turns green and branches out, and is alive, muahahahaha. :) You'd never even know it was the same plant! Find a pic of it all branched out here (scroll through all the pics).

 Anyway, I'm strolling through the cemetary, snapping pics. Like most folks of this century I have a digital camera. When too much time passes between shots, the screen goes black. Normally I push a button to get the screen to come back on. But, when I get to this grave...

...the screen won't come on. My camera totally froze up and would not work! So, I slowly turned to look over my shoulder...just to make sure nothing was creepin' up on me...and it wasn't. Not that I could see anyway. I was able to turn the camera off and turn it back on and get it to work. But how crazy is that?!? So, what do you think...creepy coincidence or something supernatural? Click here to see other accounts of creepy happenings in Beaufort!

Not sure why people leave pennies on this grave...

This is the grave of the little girl buried in a rum barrel. She persuaded her mother to let her go to England with her father. He promised his wife that he would bring her back. He did....only in a rum barrel. Right before the trip home, she got sick and died aboard ship. People sometimes leave gifts for her spirit.

You can really see how old these graves are...

I believe this is on the graves of some of those that served in the military. There were several of these throughout the cemetary.

Awesome wrought-iron fence. Such detail.

 Stay tuned for more of my beach vacation!

Beach Vacation....Part 1

I just got back from vacation-a whole glorious week at the beach in Emerald Isle, NC. It was my first time visiting this beach so there was lots to explore. Alas, I didn't take as many pics as I wanted to. On the very first day I got super sunburned on my face and shoulders and was a little bit miserable for a few days. I mean, I was under a beach umbrella and sportin' a hat but still managed to burn, baby burn! It was so hot that everytime I went outside I felt as if I were melting.

At the end of the week my always {wink} wonderful boyfriend came down to spend the rest of the week with me {translation=rescue me from my family} which meant I had someone to go exploring with. It's just not the same by yourself! We ventured out and ate in Morehead City at a seafood restaurant called The Sanitary Fish Market & Restaurant. Gotta admit, a weird name that I still don't get, but the food was wonderful. And you know it's good when it's been around since 1938! And seafood is my absolute favorite....yummy! I ordered my usual fare: popcorn shrimp, scallops, deviled crab and baked potato. But Rob ordered a stuffed potato which was a fabulous concoction of shrimp, crab, cheese and spices stuffed into a baked potato. It was one of the most fabulous creations to ever part my two lips! I highly recommend it when visiting. Oh, and the squash casserole was super fabulous also. :)

Shrimp & Crab Stuffed Potato at The Sanitary Restaurant in Beaufort, NC

Squash Casserole (on the left)

After lunch, we hit a few of the shops on the waterfront in Morehead City and then continued on to Beaufort, NC, located about 30 minutes from Emerald Isle. If you don't know Beaufort, it's a quaint little seaside town. It's the third oldest town in North Carolina. As you come over the bridge from the mainland, the first thing you see are shrimp boats a la Forrest Gump style. The houses are small and beautifully maintained. There are large, old trees. I just love it here! Such a romantic, yet mysterious little town with old school charm.

A map of the area.

And on the waterfront in Beaufort are more little knick-knacky shops and restaurants. One of the cool shops we went in was Art And Soul . They carry totally handmade goods. I got an awesome owl wristlet! {Pic coming soon!}

And here is Rob staring into a shop thinking, "Another one, really?!"

Check out these ships made using aluminum cans. Talk about repurposing!

The waterfront...Isn't it gorgeous?

At least there was a breeze....

And we also went to the NC Maritime Museum. Check out this huge anchor! Oh yeah, and there's Rob {again} thinkin' he's super cool, lol. He just wouldn't stay out of my shots!

And here is me also posing with the anchor. You can see where my chin is super fried!

Stay tuned for part 2 of my vacation...Coming Soon!

Treasury Spotting

Check out this beautiful treasury created by Rachelle at flowerpondstudio. Did you know there was a National Watermelon Day? She included my peace sign earrings. Yeah!

I tried to get the entire treasury on here but seem to be lacking my usual PC savvy, lol. When I would copy, it would paste weird. Pointers are welcome. Anyhoo, here a pic of my earrings and a link to the whole treasury.

To Cut or Not to Cut?

I'm one of those gals that's in a constant struggle with her hair. Do you know one of these people? Are YOU one of these people? I mean, it's so thick and unruly and just does what it wants to do. Seriously!...And do you ever have those moments where you just finish 'doin it at home (ahem, your hair), and all is well. But then you get to work and look in the bathroom mirror and it absolutely does not look the same as when you left home not even an hour ago? I don't know what happens to my hair from the time I leave the house 'till the time I get to work on some days!

...And people say, "Oh, you have such thick hair; you are so lucky!" No! I'm not lucky. Am I lucky that it takes me forever to blowdry every day? Am I lucky that I absolutely must blowdry it before going out; that I can't leave it wet before going out of the house or it dries to look like a gigantic tumbleweed? Am I lucky that some pieces are stick straight while others are kinky curly? At the first hint of rain my hair frizzes up and no amount of product can tame it!

So, I've been trying to let it grow, but the longer it is the more challenges I face. Mine never seems to get past collar length-you know, that annoying length where it gets caught in your collar and feels glued to the back of your neck? You think, it's just hair, whatever....But no, it's much more than that! If we don't like our hair we don't feel good about the way we look. Have you ever gotten a bad haircut and gone home and cried for hours? Especially when you have short hair, there is no room for error! :)

Our hair is a part of our identity. Let's face it, it even plays a part in shaping other people's perceptions of us. So, all this rambling to tell you, that I think I'm gonna cut it short-uh-er. Did you watch American Idol (AI) this past season? I love Lacey's hair from AI! It's fun and flirty, short yet a little bit longer, not boy short. Such a fun little 'do. I think that's what I'm gonna do. And believe it or not, for me, I can do more with shorter hair than I can with longer hair. I'll keep you posted!

I know this is wrong-but I had to do it, lol.

Countdown is On!

Hey friends! Wow, so it's been awhile. I even lost a follower! Their loss... :) You tend to notice these things when you only have 16-er...15 followers, lol.

Anyhoo, July 4th was cool. I did something I'd never done before. I went tubing with a group of friends down the Dan River. Normally water freaks me out a little. I'm one of those people that are content just to sit in my chair on the side and stick their toes in the water. Big bodies of water that I don't know what's in it tends to freak me out a bit. So, I was freaking out a little on the inside but I managed to stay calm...Even when we would start to float close to the side 'o the river where the creepy crawlers (aka snakes) tend to hang out i only freaked out on the inside, quietly to myself. Gotta admit it was fun. We were like a huge party barge floating down the river (there was about 15 of us all hooked together, lol). And some of the other tubers we passed by would comment on our tubes (instead of renting my friends bought theirs from Target. After a few times of renting they pay for themselves.) They would say to us "Oh, ya'll got the Cadillacs. Where'd ya'll get those???" Usually said in a slurred drunken voice. :)

Last weekend Rob and I went to Charlotte to see Michael Buble' in concert. He was fantastic! Surprisingly funny and super charming. Not to mention quite handsome. Here's a pic of Michael and me:

My other fave pic: Rob doing his Lady Gaga/big cat interpretation. I love it! He doesn't get why I think it's so funny but I just do, lol. Watch out baby, that's a big cat!

 

We also walked around Charlotte and just checked out the scenery. Came upon these cool things:

A mosaic wall. Super cool!

Check out this cool church. I love the red doors and daisy window!

And finally, the urinal fountains. Rob said these fountains look like urinals so you know I had to take a pic! And he's right, i think. :)

Let's see, oh, good news! My vacation plans are finally firmed up. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to go anywhere. Not good because except for a whirlwind weekend trip to Charleston, didn't go anywhere last year either! This year I had even considered going to the beach by myself for a week. Sometimes you just gotta get away from the daily grind. But anyway, we are going to the beach for one whole glorious week! Normally we go to Cherry Grove but this year are going to Emerald Isle instead.  I haven't been there since I was little, but i think it's one of those beaches that's a little more relaxed and laid back, not as many people, which is exactly what I need. So finally, something to look forward to! Counting down to August 15th! I can't wait! How many Monday's between now and then are there?! :)