Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts

Monday, March 7, 2016

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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Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Thanksgiving


Happy early Thanksgiving, y'all! I don't know about you but I'm really excited about this year's Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, for work I only get Thursday off so my parents rock and decided to make the trip to Charlotte to see me! And to add to the fun my roomie...


...and my coworker, Rachel...


are going our Thanksgiving festivities because they can't be with their families. We decided to forgo all of the mess and hassle and eat out. For those local to the Queen City we're eating at BLT Steakhouse in Uptown. I mean if you have time and want to be jealous of me ;) check out the menu here. Our reservations are at 3:30 in the afternoon so we made some fun plans for the rest of the day.

My parents should get here around 10 in the morning and I'm going to make a delicious brunch. I wanted it to fill us up to make it to our reservations but also not be too heavy so we're ready to eat!! Here's what I'm whipping up...

Some egg, cheese, and pancetta breakfast pastries. The recipe calls for ham but I decided to get fancy and grab some pancetta. 

Recipe Source
Also, I'll be whipping up some of these lovelies...strawberry scones. I've never made scones before so pray for me people.

Recipe Source
I'll also have some fruit for the side, coffee, tea, and of course...mimosas! I mean I work every weekday so if I have an excuse to drink a mimosa on a Thursday, I don't let it slip by :).

We'll slowly eat our brunch and chat while watching the parade and FOOTBALL! I've made it clear that I love football so Thanksgiving is one of my favorites. I'm especially looking forward to the Panther's game on Thanksgiving...keep pounding, Panthers! 

But yummy food and football aside, Thanksgiving really hits home this year because I am so grateful for where I'm at. I want to take some time to reflect on some untraditional things I'm grateful for this year. Of course, I'm grateful for my family, friends, job, and health. Those are a given. But what small, everyday, minute things am I grateful for?

1. This blogging world. Y'all have been such a blessing to me. I look forward to hearing what my blog friends are up to and reading through everyone's comments. Keeping on top of a blog can be challenging when working full time but it's 100% worth it. Speaking of, sorry about Monday...oops! I am so grateful for you all and pray that you continue to read and feel enriched by what I have to say.



2. Finances. This seems slightly silly but it's something we often take for granted. I'm so blessed that my parents helped me out and supported me through college so that I could graduate debt free. But now that I have a job and have moved, I am financially on my own. Of course, they still help with little things but all in all I support myself. I pay my bills, invest my money, donate to charities of my choice, etc. But in my job, I often see how people can get stuck in such horrible financial situations so I'm grateful that I'm able to save for retirement and invest my money.

Grateful that I have the financial stability to see other parts of the world as well.



3. My coworkers. I guess this technically falls into the friend category but it is so different. They are way more than just that to me. They are my life here in Charlotte and I'm so grateful for them all! 





And of course, grateful that I have such a great relationship with my roomie! Who would've thought that Roommates.com would've worked out so well!



4. I'm grateful for the everyday grind...having a great gym, eating healthier, experiencing Charlotte, learning about myself daily, finding a church that enriches my soul, etc...life is good. I am so grateful and sometimes I have to shake myself to realize how much I really have.

Most of all I'm grateful for these people...


...they are my rock. Thank you for loving me despite my flaws. I love you!

I hope y'all have a great Thanksgiving with your family and/or friends. I love you all and am so thankful to have you apart of my day. XOXO!



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