Never Stop Exploring

 
photo credit: lindsay wynne photography

Never stop exploring. Life is full of hidden gems that are just waiting for us to discover. Get out of the house, hop in your car, and drive away from all familiar surroundings. Better yet, get out of your comfort zone! It's okay if you don't have a destination in mind...just keep going. Drive as far as you can and see what you come across. Because I bet you have never stopped to admire all the beauty that comes from old and worn down places know have you? Most people don't. They keep on driving...waiting for something to catch their eye. But why is that? Are we unsure of the unknown? Probably. Who are we to judge what is classified as "true beauty"?  

You know the saying "beauty is in eye of the beholder"? Well last year, I found myself getting out of my car into what seemed to be one large piece of land that housed miles upon miles of "junk". What was I getting myself into ran through my head multiple times that afternoon. But after an hour of exploring the property of Donald Cline, I realized that his love in life was to nurture and keep the past alive. So alive that he decided to open Cline's Country Antiques on the property that has been in his family for over 200 years! Here lies any and everything you can possibly imagine from old Pepsi bottles, cast iron figurines, stain glass windows, vintage and cottage furniture and even claw-foot bath tubs and old television sets. 

I was in awe. Awe of the fact that if I had done research ahead of time, I would have said heck no to the opportunity of heading down to Mount Pleasant to see what Donald Cline was up to. But that's the thing...history is beautiful. The past holds so many stories that are worth hearing. Worth coming across. Worth our time. And just remember, not all who wonder are lost. Let me know what you come across on your adventure.

Derby Days: Charlotte Edition

Are you in the Charlotte area? A fan of the Kentucky Derby? What about wearing oversize hats paired with your favorite bright, summery dress and seeing guys sport seersucker? If you answered yes, then join the Young Affiliates of the Mint on May 3rd to celebrate the annual running of the Kentucky Derby! There will be a live band, silent auction, hat contest for the ladies, a Dapper Dan contest for the best-dressed guy, a cash raffle, lawn games that includes cornhole, bocce and croquet, along with FREE food, beer and wine for you to enjoy and a large-screen so you can watch the actual race live. 

Doesn't that sound like a wonderful way to spend an afternoon? And it doesn't' stop there. Afterwards, head over to the Peculiar Rabbit for the after-party. Tickets include all of the above and try to purchase your tickets before April 19th so you can take part in the early bird price. Right now tickets are $30 for members of the Young Affiliates of the Mint Museum and $45 for non-members. After April 19th, tickets will be $40 for members and $55 for non-members.

For more information, visit the link where you can get more details, watch a video, view photos and order your tickets! Let the races begin!

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Weekend Recap

Wasn't this weekend wonderful y'all? The weather was a perfect 72 degrees for the most part, and Will and I were able to spend lots of quality time together too. We had originally planned on going on a winery tour in Mount Pleasant, but due to Will's allergies acting up, we decided to stay in the Queen City with alternative plans in mind! Friday night was laid back. We enjoyed delicious burgers out on the patio of Bad Daddy's Burger Bar, walked around the Dilworth area because the weather was too good not to enjoy, and then headed back home and watched Game of Thrones before calling it a night. Have any of y'all gotten into Game of Thrones? I didn't think I ever would but I can't lie about the fact that it's pretty addicting.

  

Saturday we started our day with breakfast at Tupelo Honey Cafe. If you have a THC where you live, you MUST check it out! I swear they have some of the best biscuits that come served with honey and blueberry jam. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water. If that doesn't sound darn good, wait until I tell you about their famous Sweet Potato Pancakes. Imagine a large buttermilk pancake being placed in front of you that is flavored with cinnamon and sweet potatoes, topped with whipped peach butter and spiced pecans. Yeah...I told you so! Will swears by the Country Breakfast but I'll let you check out the menu to see what that one entails :)

After devouring a wonderful southern meal, it was time for us to knock out a handful of errands which consisted of checking out a jewelry store, stopping by Brooks Brothers to get a suit fitted for Will, running into Orvis to see if any Barbour jackets were on sale and then heading home for a quick cool down before heading back out, again will Miller in tow, for a four mile walk on the Greenway! The weather was perfect remember?!

A busy day calls for another mouth watering meal so it was only appropriate to pull out one of my favorite family recipes to make; broccoli and cheese casserole (thanks for the great idea, Will). I'm thinking of doing a post on how to make it...what do you all think of that? Would you be interested in recreating this dish yourself?

We took our plates outside so we could watch the sun go down and enjoyed each others company with the sounds of birds chirping and bees buzzing in the background. After dinner, we got out our bibles and went through some of the New Testament, learning more about the history, setting and events that took place during that time period. It was challenging and at times hard to understand, but getting to spend those moments reading the Word with Will was something I wish we got to do more often. It's defiantly something we both find very valuable to do together and are striving to do a better job at making it more of a regular routine!

Sunday was spent resting and relaxing...with an hour or two of laundry and cleaning up around the condo. Will got to work from home so it was nice to have him around while I kept myself busy with Miller. The weekend was coming to an end, and I was feeling refreshed, content and ready to take on a new week. The work week is going to be a shorter one; with the office being closed on Friday due to the Easter Holiday, and Will and I heading to Savannah on Thursday for our mini-vacation! I can't wait to get away for a few days, explore and shop and take photos to share with you all when I return. If you have any recommendations of places to go or things to do while in Savannah, please leave me a comment or shoot me an email! I would love to hear from you!

Oh the places you'll go (Guest Post)

Hey everyone, I hope you had a wonderful weekend and are feeling refreshed! My Monday is off to a good start for a number of reasons. Taking over my sweet blog friend Katie's blog today is one of them! Katie, of Sweet Pea's blog asked me to do a guest post while she is on Spring Break in POLAND! How cool is that?! I may be a tad jealous and cant imagine how beautiful it must be there... So Katie, I really hope you take a ton of photos that you'll be able to share with us all when you return ;)

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In honor of Katie's trip, I thought I would write a post on all things travel! Seems pretty fitting right? Well one fun fact about me is I LOVE to travel. Period. I'll always say YES to a weekend road trip and you can count me in on any semi-unplanned adventure. It's all so exciting to me. Life is an adventure after all...so why not get out an explore all that God has created? Why don't you hop on over to Katie's page to get some insight on my past travels?!

5 on Friday

Boy did this week fly by! I hope everyone is ready to get off work so you can enjoy the weekend :) The weather is suppose to be nice and warm and I'm hoping that's true so I can take the pup to the park on Sunday! Do any of y'all have plans this weekend? Will and I were going to go on a winery tour at the Old North State Winery in Mt. Airy but his allergies have been acting up really bad and he has to travel for work on Monday, so we decided that it would be best to hold off on another weekend spent in the car and to just take it easy here in Charlotte :) I'll probably pick up a bottle for us to enjoy on Saturday night thought so it's a win-win, right?! But no Friday is complete without doing my 5 on Friday! Enjoy your weekend, friends and I'll see y'all again next week.

ONE
I am hardcore lusting over these gold slate coasters from the ReneeRedesigns Etsy Shop. I can just picture a mason jar filled with iced sweet tea perched right on top of one of these gold beauties. Anyone want to surprise me with these? Please?

TWO
Joyce Meyer. Anytime I give someone advice or send a friend some inspiration, it's likely I got it from her. She's an intelligent Christian lady, who I understand. She is real and speaks in a way that makes me want to grow deeper in my faith and be challenged. Last week in one of her daily devotionals, she said "Spiritual stability and emotional maturity don't come naturally. You must desire it with all your heart and be determined to get it. When you make emotional stability a priority, God is more then willing to help you manage your emotions". Can I get an AMEN?

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THREE
Do you follow Stephanie of The Lipstick Gospel because you should. Have you heard about the Atlanta Writer's weekend coming up in May? No? Well there's still time! Will surprised me and bought me a ticket to go for our four year dating anniversary and this will be my FIRST blog conference/retreat and I couldn't be more excited to go!

FOUR
Activated Charcoal. I had never heard of it before until I saw someone post an image of it on Instagram. So of course I was curious and did some research and found out that there are a handful of benefits to using it. From being used to whiten teeth, clear acne, help digestive issues, too helping heal spider bites, treating food poisoning and even accidental poisoning, it seems to do it all. Has anyone ever tried it and does it really work? I want to hear from YOU before I go out and try this stuff...I'm a little scared-y cat :)

FIVE
A few months ago I decided to cancel my Birchbox subscription. I had it for a year and for the most part really enjoyed it. I loved coming home to a little fun surprise in the mail and getting to try new products was a plus. But after awhile, I started to get the same things over and over again and the products just weren't worth my money. Lately I have been hearing a lot of buzz about Stitch Fix and decided to jump the gun and sign up! I'll be getting my first box in May and am curious to see what I'll think of this subscription. Be on the lookout for a review next month!

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SIX
I know that it's normally "5 on Friday" but I can't help it that I am obsessing over pastels and floral pieces and these outfits caught my eye when I was browsing through Pinterest late Tuesday night. I couldn't not share them with y'all because well, look at how adorable they all are! I mean seriously, could those shorts be anymore perfect? Pastels and floral prints always seem to make me happy and are so fun to wear.

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