Weddings, Working, and...Moving a lot of crap

If you've been tossing and turning at night, wondering what in the world happened to your favorite blog, I finally have time to write an explanation:

Blame it on Murphy's Law (the good version)

Most of you who read the blog regularly know that we have been preparing to move, which happened last weekend. I also got a call for a job interview about a month ago and a week later I had myself a full-time job! So, to celebrate our new busy lives, we decided to take a restful little drive halfway across the country to Arkansas (for the second time this summer) to visit family and attend a wedding. After 8 glorious days in 5 states we made it back just in time for me to start my job. And then we moved 3 days later. In that 3-week time span we also managed to pack our home, buy me a new professional wardrobe, and not have any fights or lose our minds. 

If that isn't a good enough reason for my hiatus, I don't know what is. Before I pass out from exhaustion I thought I would leave you with my latest project:

Yeah, I made that. Our wonderful friend Robert loves tigers and he just got married (I can't believe I just typed that sentence and everything about it is true), so when I found this hilarious kit for a cross-stitched tiger in the clearance aisle of a craft store about 6 months ago I thought to myself, "I absolutely want to take this project on for his wedding present." I'm sure his new wife is thrilled. This, by the way, took me 4 months. Which means they better keep it for at least that long before it ends up in the garage sale pile! 

A Foodie Love Affair

One of our favorite things about living in Durham is the foodiness of the town (check out the proof here and here). I am a girl who loves to eat no matter who is doing the cooking and our new home really reflects this trait. This weekend Steve and I had a very foodie weekend, which in our opinion is the best kind. One of our good friends from Arkansas is living in Durham for the summer and we have taken it upon ourselves to take her to the best places to eat in town (we know, what a hassle!). Friday night we went to one of our absolute favorites in downtown Durham: Dame's Chicken and Waffles. When we first moved to Durham we had no idea the city was so diverse in its culture and it's cooking. Growing up in the Midwest we were exposed to totally different kinds of restaurants; date night would be spent at Chili's and a really fancy occasion would be celebrated at P.F. Chang's (for friends back home, here's a mind-blower: Durham doesn't even have an Olive Garden!). Since we've been living here we've tried everything from Singaporean to Mediterranean to Harlem's own chicken and waffles, a delicacy that is loved by many in our food-obsessed town. Dame's is always packed when we go but we will gladly wait the half an hour for the BEST macaroni and cheese I have ever had, accompanied by juicy fried chicken atop a moist sweet potato waffle. I know, sounds terrible, doesn't it? Steve had been asked to judge Durham Central Park's Chili Challenge this year, which I gladly tagged along for on Saturday morning. For $4 I got to try 5 different kinds of chili, along with some of our favorite salsa they decided to throw in the competition as well. Waiting for Steve to finish his judging duties I was given the opportunity to hang out in Central Park while the weekly Farmer's Market was winding down. Durham is surrounded by small farms and many of the restaurants around the area are committed to using local ingredients. Living in Durham has given us the opportunity to really think about what we are eating and where it is coming from, and while we can't always afford to eat local and organic the Farmer's Market at least gives us the chance to substitute some of our store-bought choices with locally grown ones. Again, this is something that we did not have the chance to do where we grew up. While the small farming community I grew up in had some roadside stands selling corn and peaches in the summer, almost all of our grocery shopping was done at the local Wal-Mart. We did the best we could with what was offered, but we had no clue that all of your food shopping could be done outside of the grocery store until we moved to Durham. Today we culminated our foodie weekend at the Food Truck Rodeo, another popular event that is hosted by Durham Central Park. About 5 times a year the food trucks from around the area line up in one place and visitors to the Rodeo are offered just about every kind of food you can think of (except funnel cake). Steve and I always find out about the Rodeo the day after it happens, so we were very prepared for this one. It was like the best State Fair you can imagine, without all of the deep-fried milkshakes and weird stuff served on doughnuts. At first we just walked from truck to truck checking out the menus and enjoying the smells that were wafting from the windows, but then we really dug in. First we tried a chocolate chai doughnut from Monut's Donuts (divine), followed by a pepperoni pizza slice from Pie Pushers (delectable) and a meatball hero from Valentino's (delicious). We couldn't decide on where to round out our meal with dessert, and by the time we got in line for The Parlour ice cream the line was stretched a half mile long and Cafe Prost was out of pretzels. So we drove to Cook Out and got some Coke floats instead (dang good). At this point Steve and I would prefer not to eat for a good long while (probably at least another hour or so), but it was an excellent weekend celebrating what Durham does best--cooking and eating! 

A look at Durham's Food Truck Rodeo

From Your Little'Uns

I think I will always be that daughter who is twelve years old in her father's eyes, even though I passed that age a long time ago. While this can be difficult sometimes, especially as I moved halfway across the country from my family barely two years ago, it's nice to know that as I grow older I will still be someone's little girl. That is why I would like to dedicate this post to my father, who's celebrating his birthday today. I think it's important to celebrate the individuals in one's life, and in times like these when the basic rights of individuals are put into question it becomes even more important to step away from the issues and focus on those who make up your surroundings. So today my brother and I are going to tag-team this post to celebrate our dad.


Matt: It is my honor to contribute to my sister's post about our dad to celebrate his birthday. As the older brother of our family, my Dad's impact on me has been immeasurable. Growing up he was our leader and my mentor. We were very close and I believe had much in common. Even today we share interests in our relationship that I am thankful for. The bond we have now is not explained by chance but by love and experiences together.


Megan: My dad and I don't have much in common. I feel that this is important to our relationship because although he likes baseball and I like books, and he would prefer to be outdoors building something while I prefer to be indoors on the computer, we are still able to have lengthy conversations several times a week. The older I have gotten the more obvious it has become that even though he knows I don't care who won the game last night and I know he has no clue who Jeffrey Eugenides is we still share a bond that will never change and can never be broken, no matter how different we may be.


Matt: Back in the days when I was a Little Leaguer and Megan was playing with dolls my dad was an indestructible man who could do anything. From the handyman who provided for the family to coach who helped me to succeed to fishing guide for irreplaceable memories on the lake, his role in my life has been essential. I don't take the dad I had growing up, the one who loved and sacrificed for Megan and me, for granted. As time has gone by, the natural tendency to move on and experience life might have widened a gap in our relationship. With my dad, this has not been the case. Yes, I have ventured out like my sister, but he was managed to support me in a way I couldn't have asked for. So many times he drove hours to lend a helping hand or to visit. The dad I have as an adult is a little different from the one I had growing up. He's a little older and a little wiser. He hasn't lost his passion for creating and adventuring. He knows himself better, which has made him gentler and more patient.


Megan: My father is a man who has known loss and heartache, yet he stands out for his warm personality and great sense of humor. As his only daughter I have been able to see him grow more loving and carefree the older he has gotten, as if his experiences have allowed him to define what is truly important in his life (besides fishing, buying new trucks, and baseball season). He is a man who is dedicated to his children to the point of sacrificing things for himself in order to give us more. My dad still tells me he is proud of me, and he still brags to his friends about our achievements. Dear ol' dad risks his back every time our young cousins are around in favor of horsing around and is well known for telling "stories" (which explains why we believed in flying Ninja Turtles for so long) and playing practical jokes at work. He is creative and full of life, yet humble and willing to fall back in the crowd if only to give his children more room in the spotlight.


All of these things have made us proud to call you dad, and we are thinking of you from one side of the country to the other! This day and this post is for you, Dad! Happy birthday!

Welcome, welcome, to the 74th edition of my blog

Not having made a New Year's Resolution for 2012 because, honestly, I forget them by January 3 every year, I decided to make a Star Wars Day Resolution (May the Fourth Be With You!--celebrated with a little Return of the Jedi action). Spending most of my last semester of school on Pinterest (parents and teachers insert doing homework here) I discovered a lot of really great blogs out there. Which, of course, led me to think, "Hey! I can do that too! I know how to cook, and I want to be a craft maniac when I'm done with school!" 

All Hunger Games and Star Wars jokes aside, I've missed having the opportunity to have some quality me-time. Now that I've officially (and by that I mean in two days' time) graduated from graduate school I have some free time on my hands. And people, I haven't had free time since I was six. The last two weeks have been a little awkward for me as I insist that I have homework that needs to be turned in and papers that need to be written, only to find out that these elusive homeworks and papers DON'T EXIST. Stephen has been very patient with my crazy meandering throughout the house looking for things to do, and the words "stir crazy" have come to mind more than once. To alleviate said craziness we end up with this formula:

recent graduate+random amounts of free time+okay ability to write, bake, and create=blogging adventures

Let's see how it goes.