Lent

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Are y'all giving up anything for Lent? I don't typically, but I thought I might try this year, or at least a version of it.

My first thought was to give up shopping (which I'm doing). Now, this doesn't include grocery shopping or toiletry shopping, but more specifically addresses my tiny problem that some may call a shopping addiction. I love clothes, specifically dresses. I can't get enough.

Well this got me thinking about the general principle behind it which I think can best be summed up as "overindulging." Do I need more (absolutely precious, make my legs look a mile long) dresses? No. Do I want to indulge in more dresses? Heck, yes.

So this year, I'm also giving up overindulging. Like you know, those Friday nights when you have one too many glasses of wine because 'why not?' or when you eat out because thawing one of the many meals in your freezer would take a whole five minutes (I'm really not bad about this one, but I know lots who are). I'm giving up overindulging and bringing back mindfulness. If I'm going to have a glass of wine, it's going to be at a nice dinner and I'm going to enjoy the heck out of it. If I'm going to eat out, it's going to be a rare occasion for one of my favorite meals and I'm going to savor each bite.

There are people in this world who would be in heaven with half of what we have and we don't even take the time to realize that. It's about time we/I did.

What are y'all giving up?

State game aka the Kendall Marshall Game

Tuesday night the boys headed to the RBC Center to play NC State. State was all fired up after two of their former players were ejected from their last game by the ref for being unruly fans. They even honored the two at halftime.

But it didn't matter. We came out strong and Kendall dominated the entire game with 22 points, 13 assists and zero turnovers. He was playing the best basketball I've ever seen him play. Earlier in the day, the N&O gave the edge to State's point guard, Lorenzo Brown. Thanks N&O, you can give Kendall that type of motivation every game if you want.

I love this for him and for our team. It shows that Kendall can be a scoring threat and it gives him some much deserved attention for the hard work he does every night.

Up next, Virginia at Virginia Saturday!

Girls Weekend at the Beach

This past weekend my mom rented a house down at Ocean Isle for President's Day Weekend.  It was a big house full of girls complete with my mom, her three sisters, my cousin and her friend and me! We had a great time.

I got there late Friday evening after a crazy day at work and was immediately greeted with a glass of wine.

I woke up to this amazingness Saturday morning.

Oh beach, I love you ridiculous amounts.

Saturday ended up being close to 70 degrees and gorgeous - gotta love NC winters - so we went shopping at the outlets early to ensure we'd have enough time to hit the beach.

Y'all, I used to hate the beach. Well, not hate it, but when I was little I'd have to take a shower and change bathingsuits every time a grain of sand touched me. I also was semi-allergic to the sun and the ocean, so the beach just wasn't my cup of tea.

Fast forward to today. I love, love, love the beach. I'm not quite so sun-sensitive (though, my lilly white skin does require a healthy helping of sunscreen) and if I get sand on me, I just jump in the ocean. Saturday afternoon looked like this.

In other words, perfection.

Around 4, I headed in to watch my boys beat up on Clemson much to the dismay of the my Clemson-cheering aunts. The rest of the night was a relaxing one with Scrabble and movies.

I lost this game to mom by 4. I was so mad.

It was a much needed, perfect, relaxing weekend with some of my favorite people in the world!

I was in denial...

A quick Dook recap, since I've been in denial until this post.

Daddy and I got over to Chapel Hill early and hit up Spice Street for a drink before dinner at Weathervane. We saw a lot of people we knew and Chapel Hill was buzzing with excitement. I love it when it's like that.

Weathervane was delicious! It was half-price bottle of wine night so we enjoyed a nice sauvinon blanc. We shared an an appetizer of pimento cheese fritters. I wish I could explain to you how delicious these were. They were like deep-fried, but not greasy, gooey bites of love. Like, legit, I'd eat them for ever meal if they wouldn't make me blow up like a whale.

Daddy had the steak frites, the blue cheese bacon butter on the steak was especially amazing, and I had short rib ragout, which was mouth-wateringly tender. We split a HUGE piece of chocolate peanut butter cake for dessert.

In a word, YUM.

We got over to the Dean Dome and in our seats for what is always one of the highlights of my year. If you've never been to Carolina for a Carolina-Dook game, it's extremely different than any other game. The words "wine and cheese" would never be used to describe us on Carolina-Dook game night. We're loud, the players are pumped and I usually shed a tear during warm-ups. That's the moment when I remember I am, at heart, a basketball girl.

The game was close and intense throughout like most Carolina-Dook games are. We took a twelve point lead in the second half and things looked good. Things looked good until about four minutes left in the game, when it looked like we were playing not to lose. We were up two with just a few seconds left in the game when at the buzzer, Austin Rivers hit a three to win the game 85-84. It was awful. It was by far the most devastating Carolina-Dook game I've ever attended. Everyone was stunned. I've never heard the Dean Dome so quiet or seen this team's faces so upset.

Here's to using that as motivation to KILL them at Cameron.

Game Day!

....Now I realize that school spirit is a pretty goofy thing to some people, but I’ll tell you something: I hate Duke with an infernal passion undying. I hate every leaf of every tree on that sickening campus. I hate every fake cherub Gothic piece of crap that litters the buildings like hemorrhoidal testaments to imagined superiority. When I see those Dookie boneheads shoe-polishing their faces navy blue on television, squandering their parents’ money with their fratty elitist bad sportsmanship antics and Saab stories, I want to puke all over Durham....

It's that day, folks! Game day in Chapel Hill against Dook.

It's hard to describe how I feel about Dook. Hate is much too tame of a word. Despise, disdain, abhor... those come a bit closer, but there really is no word. The word "Dook" should be a verb in itself, because that is how much I hate Dook. 

To add to Ian Williams famous DTH quote above, I dook Dook because of Coach K's paint on black hair. I dook Dook because Gerald Henderson broke Tyler Hansbrough's nose. I dook Dook because they are only 8 miles from us, but so incredibly different. I dook Dook for their superiority compex. I dook Dook for the same stupid cheers they have been cheering for all 25 years of my life. I dook Dook because Dook players come to Chapel Hill to hang out - stay in your own town. I dook Dook because it's so obvious Carolina is better in any and every way, but Dook acts as though they are God's gift to college sports. 

I dook Dook because I ADORE Carolina and there are not two more opposite things in the world. Carolina is green quads, Southern hospitality, Franklin Street and family. Dook is gothic darkness, Northern harshness, Durham and strangers.

Good battles evil tonight and I can't wait for good to dominate. GO HEELS! 

Chalkboard Glasses

Tomorrow I am headed out of town for a long ski weekend with my best friends. I wanted to bring each person a sort of "party favor" to commemorate the trip. I saw these cool chalkboard glasses at Pier 1, but thought I could make them for cheaper. Here they are!

The girls get the wine glasses and the boys get the highball glasses. I'm still letting them dry for a few more hours, so I haven't gotten to test on out yet, but fingers crossed the chalk should write right on them!