Show & Tell Tuesday: My Hometown

Lauren, blogging on a Tuesday? It can't be! Oh but it is, my friends! I've been on a blogging roll this week and why jump off the train? I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to share a little about my hometown, the town that raised me, and link up with Andrea for Show & Tell Tuesday!

So at the beginning of my blogging life I blogged about my move and what brought me to Charlotte but I never went into depth about my hometown of Irmo. Oh yes, my hometown has such a beautiful name...Irmo. Sigh. But before I get ahead of myself a little bit of background on where I grew up.

So I technically wasn't born in Irmo, I was born in Raleigh, North Carolina. My parents built a beautiful home there and planned to have roots in Raleigh forever until life had different plans. When I was 4 years old we packed up and moved to Irmo for my Dad's job. I don't have any photo albums in Charlotte with me so I have to work with what I have via Facebook, but this is a picture of 3 year old (sassy) me and my cousins on the front steps of my Raleigh home...

I cannot get over my sassy stank face or that dress haha! In case you're confused I'm the one on the right ;) There's very little I remember about our time in Raleigh, which is why Irmo will always be home to me. Irmo is a suburb that is right outside of Columbia, SC. There's not much there other than neighborhoods, a mall, chain restaurants, and lots of schools. It is a popular area for people to live who commute to Columbia for work. Irmo is admittedly a horrible name. It originated from the two city founders first two letters of their last names combined. Irmo sounds like a hick town but it really isn't haha!

After only a couple of months of living in Irmo, I started elementary school and quickly became acclimated to a new city.

Here's a picture my Mom snapped of me getting off the bus...

 

My neighborhood was up and coming and full of young families with kids my age. It was an incredible place to grow up because you always had a friend to play with. We always had a ton of fun! P.S. I'm the stinker on the right.

It's crazy to me because even after all these years I still stay in touch with my friends from my neighborhood in Irmo even though we all split in our different directions...Charleston, San Diego, Charlotte, etc. 

As I grew up and went on to middle and high school I started to make friends outside of my neighborhood. I think when I look back at my years in Irmo the memories that will stick out to me will be Friday night high school football games...

...spirit week...

 

...just goofing off with my friends...

...school dances...

...being a nanny...

...and graduation.

I think a common thread of all of this is that in the end, my hometown really isn't a particular place, it's where I have all my memories. My hometown is truly when I'm with my friends and family. It sounds cheesy but it is so true. I didn't have this realization till after I graduated college. What I missed the most about going home was being with the people I love, not the geographical location. And here I am now, typing this in Charlotte, North Carolina. I would've never expected this but alas life always has a way of surprising us. Will Charlotte become my new hometown? You know, I'm not sure. I would love to dig my roots in deeper but I can't do that yet, I have a lot to figure out first. In the mean time, I'm loving Charlotte and taking it one day at a time!

Well, there ya have it, a little bit about the towns that raised me! Not to mention, a lot of not so cute pictures of Lauren growing up haha! I hope y'all have a terrific Tuesday and see you back here tomorrow for Workout Wednesday! xo

Parent's Weekend Recap

Howdy folks! How was y'all's weekend? My weekend was pretty low-key. I got the opportunity to go to another Hornet's game Friday night and it might possibly have been the best one yet! The atmosphere was more exciting than usual because it was a Friday night game and it was a neck and neck game till the Hornet's took the lead. 

Part of my lifestyle change was that Friday night dinner was my all out cheat meal. I killed some pork nachos and shared a funnel cake. #Noregrets A huge shoutout to my awesome cousin, Nick, for hooking me up with the awesome seats. The rest of the weekend was full of adulating. I.E. laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, errands, etc. Sigh...

But any who, I'm rewinding it back to the weekend that my parents came to visit the Queen City! We had a blast. They drove up Saturday morning and we stopped by for lunch at my favorite salad shop in the entire world, Chopt. Local peeps, if you haven't been to Chopt then stop what you're doing RIGHT NOW and go. This is not a drill. I'm obsessed. I love it because it's fast, fresh, and healthy ingredients that also are tasty. I knew my parents needed to experience where I spend a lot of my time haha! Yum...

After that we drove about 40 minutes to Lazy 5 Ranch. It's really hard to explain but if I had to sum it up I would call it an interactive zoo. You can choose to either drive through in your car or go on a wagon tour. We drove through it ourselves. It's a 3.5 mile loop where there are tons of different animals roaming around. We bought food at the stand so that we could feed them from our car. As soon as we drove in this ugly cute guy came towards me for a snack.

Here's the thing, I'm terrified of birds so this took a lot for me! There were pigs everywhere and they might've been my favorite. They are so cute. 

There were a lot of deer too! They were extremely skittish. 

So many animals to see...

This guy made himself right at home! I'm cracking up that my Mom's reaction is to take a picture!

WARNING: Lots of animal photos ahead

They told us to not feed the zebras because they are aggressive!

The deer had to be coaxed.

I was so excited she let me feed her from my hand.

Whatta face. 

The picture doesn't do this buffalo justice. He/She was HUGE. 

At the end of the 3.5 mile loop we saw brand spankin' new piglets! They were so adorable!

After the loop there are animals that you can walk around and see. I wanted to feed the donkeys but their teeth terrified me! So I came up with a creative solution...

The people who built me.

The Lemurs were just hanging out.

We had a great day!

That evening, we headed to Dresslers for dinner. Kimm told me how great it was and she didn't lie! All of us thoroughly enjoyed the food, wine, and service. I would recommend it for any Charlotte locals.

My parents brought our family dog, Gracie, with them and she spent the night with me while they stayed in a hotel. It was so fun to have her with me! We were up bright and early for a walk Sunday morning. 

After our walk she was snuggled up on the couch relaxing. I was so happy to have her with me!

Afterwards, I introduced my parents to my church here in Charlotte. They got to hear a great sermon from Pastor Steven about his new book, Unqualified. It was a fantastic sermon that speaks to how God utilized people throughout the Bible who had their faults but through him reveals their purpose to serve God. My Dad bought us all a copy of the book after service. I've already started to read it and will recap it for y'all soon!

That afternoon, my roomie and I went and got pedicures. It was a great way to wrap up a fulfilling weekend. 

Phew, that was a long one! It filled my heart to have my parents come and see a piece of my everyday life in Charlotte. They are my rock. Oftentimes, in the news or from my friends I hear about struggles within families. It is not lost on me how blessed I am to have such fantastic parents. Anyways, happy Monday friends and see you back here soon! xo

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