Category: Friends

  • It’s Game Week

    …and no matter the outcome of the game, I know it’s going to be a great tailgate when it starts with an email like this:

    To be a State fan takes real character, it just makes you stronger. So when you all have kids and Uncle Evan is teaching them this, you’ll appreciate that I’m doing it to help make them a better person.

    Who’s ready for a little Wolfpack vs. Tar Heel football, y’all?!


    image via PACK NIPS HEELS at SportsPosterWarehouse.com

    By the way, that picture was taken during my (super) senior year at State. What a great win that was to see in person! Let’s go for another W, Wolfpack!

  • Royal Wedding?

    Move over, William and Kate – this weekend is all about Drew and Brianne!

    Another love of my life is marrying the love of her life this weekend and I’m so excited to be making my way to Ocean Isle Beach in just a few short hours (after a Friday morning full of work) for a weekend full of rehearsals, dinner, doing my girlfriend duty once more of lookin’ good in a bridesmaid dress, a ceremony, and a rockin’ coastal reception!

    Congrats, Bri and Drew!!! I loooooove you two! :-*

    (Yes, B*Money is one of the few people in this world that I’d miss the TBMF for – and yes, I do expect texts, calls, and pictures from those of you dancing on a cooler in a field in Garner on Saturday!)

  • 2am Emails Between Friends…

    To: Adrianne
    From: Me
    Subject Line: 2am Email

    Because I can’t sleep. Watching some renovation show on DIY.
    This couple is renovating the kitchen in their rental, right?
    Day 1 – drinking mimosas to start the day b/c they’re hungover from the night before.

    Tell me why I see this in our futures…


    Adrianne’s reply?

    Lol. That’s funny.

    And yes, it’s also our future…

    Seriously though, I’m amazed we haven’t filmed an episode of something for HGTV yet.

    Job work, yard work, house work, friends’ weddings, and cocktails. Rinse and repeat from age 25 until..

  • I’m Still Here… I’m Just “in a Southern State of Mind”

    Sorry for disappearing on everyone! I spend so much time on my computer and online for work+work that I’m spending less and less of my personal time anywhere near either these days. I’m looking for a little more normalcy these days though, so hopefully I’ll be back to some enjoyable blogging soon!

    In the meantime, I had to share a snippet from my friend Nikki’s new blog: Southern State of Mind.

    Guess who is going to download this Darius Rucker song promptly? (Me!)

    “You can see it in the clothes I wear you can hear it when I talk
    Ball cap, boots, and jeans and a little southern drawl
    I could be up in Ohio or back home in Caroline
    No matter what state I’m in
    I’m in a Southern state of mind

    And yes, I’m going to be a good blogging friend and encourage Nikki to not make her blog private so that way more of you fantastic readers can readily follow along with her posts. 🙂

  • First Friday

    Denise will likely wring my neck for posting that picture of her. Sorry, Grube! But this is pretty much how my Friday nights roll in some way, shape, or form – at least every First Friday.

    And whatdya know, it’s that time of the month again… FIRST FRIDAY!

    Raleigh Folks: What’s on your Friday Friday agenda?

    Non-Locals: Does your town participate in anything fun like this? Share the details!

  • Last Call for Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week!

    It’s the last day to get out and enjoy Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week… so if you haven’t, get to a DTR restaurant today and make it count 🙂

    Indulge your palate during the Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week — a week-long dining extravaganza showcasing the culinary talent in the heart of the capital city!

    Select restaurants will offer tantalizing, three-course prix fixe dinners for either $20 or $30, depending on the venue. Savor the delectable dishes prepared by downtown Raleigh’s finest dining establishments from Monday, August 23 through Sunday, August 29.

    Prices are $20 or $30 per person, depending on the venue (tip, taxes and beverages not included).

    {via http://www.godowntownraleigh.com/restaurantweek/index.html}


    The girls (Denise, Adrianne, and Jess) and I made it out to Irregardless Cafe on Thursday night and enjoyed wine, appetizers, and dessert for less than $30 a person. I, recently vegetarian, enjoyed the vegetable curry (and had leftovers for dinner last night) and the vegan fruit crisp for dessert. SO good! (I also ordered the Mediterranean platter as my appetizer and shared it with the table – it included hummus, lima bean pate, olives, and other goodies.)

    Irregardless takes pride in being the oldest (consistent) restaurant in town, but I’m ashamed to say my first visit was only a few weeks ago for breakfast with the Shop Local Raleigh gang. I won’t be waiting too long to return again – breakfast and dinner have both been excellent, in my opinion! I also heard no complaints from lovely ladies that I enjoyed a night out with on Thursday! 🙂

    Check Irregardless out online and stop in soon for a meal
    :
    http://www.irregardless.com/
    http://www.facebook.com/IrregardlessCafe
    http://twitter.com/IrregardlessNC

  • More Ways to Support Letters for Lyrics

    In June I told you about Letters for Lyrics from Zac Brown Band and Dodge, which was a campaign I loved in its original format then. But my friend Amber sent me a tweet today letting me know about a new component they’ve added to this campaign and I love it even more now!

    via http://www.zacbrownband.com/news.html?n_id=762:

    Zac Brown Band and RAM Trucks Letters for Lyrics Continues to Salute the Troops

    By saluting the troops you can receive a free CD Breaking Southern Ground. This exclusive compilation, not sold in stores, features Southern Ground Artists Zac Brown Band, Sonia Leigh, Nic Cowan, and Levi Lowrey.

    Here’s how it works:
    Write a letter to a soldier
    • Take it to a RAM dealer
    • Receive the free CD

    Please help us reach our goal of sending one million letters! If you cannot make it to a RAM dealer or Zac Brown Band concert, you can write your letter online and donate your copy of the Southern Ground CD to a soldier. Every letter brings us closer to our goal of 1,000,000 letters.

    While you are on the Letters for Lyrics page, watch Part IV of the exclusive film “For Those Who Serve.” The documentary follows Zac Brown Band on their April USO Tour in the Persian Gulf and features the band performing for the troops, meeting individually with the men and women overseas, and sharing their thoughts on the experience.

    Visit the RAM Letters for Lyrics page now!

    If your prior excuse was that you had no time to get to a Dodge dealership (or that you didn’t care to get the CD), it’s now easier than ever to participate! So… get to it! 🙂

  • Currrolina Saturday Night

    The words are actually “Carolina Saturday night”, but Sunny Ledfurd sings it with a drawl. Sunny has been a fixture in the NC bar rocker scene for quite sometime (especially in Charlotte, but also in Raleigh at City Limits Saloon) and I am SO glad to hear him on XM Radio’s “Nashville” station now!

    Check out the new video for “Pontoon Boat”. I would like to dedicate this to my pontoon friends…


    (Above: That was the boys’ “cursed” boat via Summer 2008. They called it “cursed”, I called them “rookies”. I still love them all, though!)


    (Above: The entire “Buckhead Saloon and Friends” crew celebrating Kite’s birthday out at Falls Lake… circa Summer 2008.)

    My sister and I are heading to the beach this afternoon for a mini-vacay… see you suckers next week!

    And PS – While pontoon boats are a NC lake fixture, I’d be lying if I said that I have not asked Nick if we can take a pontoon boat out in the ocean. 😉

  • Sunday Funday: Pi Phi Love


    (Click to enlarge.)

    Man, I miss college. And I seriously miss every single one of these gorgeous ladies. This picture, ladies and gentlemen, is my senior class of the NC Delta Chapter of Pi Beta Phi.

    The only thing that’s missing? A few rockstar juniors (paging Hannah, Rach, Sesh, Sarah, Regina, Ave, Liv, and any other baller-ettes I have accidentally left off the list!).

    So, with that said, I dedicate today’s Sunday Funday to my college sisters. I love you all and I hope life is being fabulous to each and every one of you – even those of you who I do not have the pleasure of seeing regularly 🙁

    Heading to Natty Green’s in a bit with Adrianne (who I just realized is not pictured… A – where were you?) to wish Ashton (top left corner) bon voyage as she sets her sails for Italy for an extended period of her life! (Let’s wish her the best and extra luck in finding a place to live that will accommodate guests… because I’m going to visit!)

    Above: One of my favorite Ashton and Lil Lisa pictures. So us.

  • A New Raleigh Restaurant and New Crafty Website Addiction

    Renee and I were chatting on the way to Cafe Caturra last night about how we both have sewing machines, but wish we actually knew what we were doing in that department.

    Now granted, I had to take a class or two in garment construction for my TATM degree… but my awesome momma may or may not have helped me with my final project after I broke TWO sewing machines in the process. (Read into that as much as you’d like.) I can rock out a design and the pattern construction. But, the actual garment construction? Notsomuch.

    Nonetheless, it hasn’t kept me from stumbling upon BurdaStyle.com:

    The site, “for people who sew”, has patterns, projects, skills, tutorials and more. I signed up for their eNews, so let’s see if Renee and I actually improve our lack of crafty skills in this department sometime this summer 🙂

    Oh yeah, back to the wine!

    Renee and I may or may not have sampled mmm… say 5 or 6 of the wine bar and restaurant’s 10 reds, 10 whites, and 5 dessert wines… many of which are seasonal which means enjoy them now, because come fall there will be some new wines to love. You can buy any of their wines in several sizes, so we opted for the 3 oz. pours, which is perfect if you don’t want a large pour of wine or want to indulge in several smaller. (I’m sure you can see where this is going.)

    I profiled the pre-opening of this place on i heart retail and was glad to read in TBJ yesterday that it finally opened. Renee and I just enjoyed the wine last night, but they do a full fresh food menu, so I’ll be back to try the food soon. Cafe Caturra is in Cameron Village near Talbot’s.