ACC Tournament

The first game of the ACC Tournament has ended with Maryland beating Wake pretty soundly. That means we take on the Terps tomorrow at noon. Let's Go Heels!

Dreams

Ya'll, my subconcious has been in OVERDRIVE lately. Which I guess is a good thing because it takes being in really good, deep sleep to dream, so yay for that. Anyway, the content of my dreams has been bizarre.

Three nights ago I had a dream (nightmare?) that robbers were breaking into my mom's house. I got shot by them, but I was okay. I grabbed my mom, Tucker and some other rando dog and took them into the bathroom. The robbers were coming down the stairs. I was getting a ceramic vase ready to hit them over the head with when I woke up.

Two nights ago I had a dream that Kendall Marshall had a crush on me. I remember that we were trying to keep it a big secret and we met for a date in Kenan Stadium.

Last night I had a dream that I was next door neighbors with Clinton Kelly. I loved Clinton, but I could not stand his roommate, Hal. Hal was rude and scary. I was telling Stacy London about it and when I said, "Clinton is my friend," she said, "Well, he's really my friend. You know him through me." Don't be snotty, Stacy!

Fun, Full and Fulfilled

This morning I was talking to my sweet friend Anna (who lets me rant and rave and ramble when I need to, sans judging) and found myself gossiping  to her about people I knew. I quickly caught myself and thought, "Ew. Lindsay, this is not you. Why do you care what suchandsuch is doing or what whatsherface said? This whole judging others thing is not.cute." 

(I often have weird monologues where I tell myself things are cute. or not.cute. Sometimes Anna and others get to hear them. Bless their hearts.)

At that moment, I remembered a quote I'd seen on, of course, Pinterest.

I haven't been on quite the Pinterest kick lately, so the fact that I remembered this quote showed me it really stuck out to me.

Of course, ideally, we wouldn't judge or gossip even if we had all the free time in the world. But I think this quote makes it a little more realistic. Who are we to judge others' lives when we should be spending that time improving our own lives? 

That lead me to the idea of: fun, full and fulfilled. I want my life to be bursting with those three "f"s. I am going to seek these three things at all times through family and friends, my career and the organizations that relate to it, my spirituality, sports, exercise, fellowship and more. 

Any tips on refining and improving in order to live a fun, full and fulfilled life? 

Atlanta Trip

On Thursday, we headed down to Atlanta to see Radiohead in concert. The concert was absolutely amazing, but I have one gripe. One gripe about concerts in general really. They never play the ONE song I want to hear. I always pick some smushy, lovey-dovey song and the band never plays it. With Radiohead, I gave them options. They could play No Surprises, High and Dry or Let Down. Alas, they played none. Sorry for the sidenote there. The concert was amazing nonetheless.

We got to the airport way early (I always do!), so this began our trip to Atlanta:

Oh hey, rum and dc at AJ's tavern.

We got to Atlanta, got unpacked and had a cocktail at the bar before heading to the concert. Forgive the pictures. Pictures from an iPhone in the 3rd tier of an NBA arena aren't the best, but just use your imaginations.

We went home that night and ordered takeout from a pizzeria down the street. I had a calzone the size of half my body. It was perfect.

The next morning we navigated our way to the High Museum of Art. 

It was a great museum, but was PACKED with little kids on field trips. I have nothing against little kids, but it was hard to really get a close look at some things, especially the featured exhibit on Modernists.

We then made our way to North Avenue for a lunchtime stop at the Varsity. Marcus had never been to the Varsity so I was excited to show him, especially considering his affinity for fast food. We got there rather quickly and weren't hungry yet, so we stopped at a restaurant that was a converted fire station for a drink.

Enjoying my *shocker* rum and dc in the old firestation.

Then it was Varsity time. YUM. The food isn't anything exceptional (though it really is the perfect greasy diner /fast food food), but it's something you must do in Atlanta.

Here was my meal:

And Marcus enjoying his first Varsity meal. He enjoyed it, despite this face. I wish he would be more agreeable about pictures!!

Next it was off to the aquarium! The Georgia Aquarium has a lot of really cool exhibits including dolphins, beluga whales and otters.

After the aquarium, we rested at the hotel before our dear friend Liz picked us up for a drink before dinner. It was so great to catch up with Liz and get a "local's feel" for Atlanta. I enjoyed chatting with Liz so much that I forgot to take a picture of her pretty face. Hate myself for that!

Dinner was down the street at Ecco. We started with a glass of prosecco and toasted the trip. Next we split a meat and cheese tray and some red wine! I love restaurants that are upscale, but don't have a quiet atmosphere and this one definitely fit the bill.

Saturday we slept in and headed back to Raleigh. I had forgotten how much I love long weekend getaways.

P.S. I never saw T.I. A guy did yell out of his car window at me that T.I. had signed him and asked me if I wanted to hang out. That didn't seem like the safest decision, so I politely declined.

ACC Champs!

Hey y'all! Forgive my absence the past few days, there are lot of excuses (including a trip to ATL which I'll report on later!), but the point is, I'm back!

I'm back and happy to report the Tar Heels took the regular season ACC title with a pretty definitive beatdown (18 points) of Duke in Cameron Saturday night. Ohhh it felt so, so sweet to get back at them for that Austin Rivers 3! ACC Tourney (aka the best time of the year) starts Thursday night.

I'm so grateful to live in North Carolina where people "get" it. When I was in school, teachers would have TV's brought into the classroom so that we could watch the games. While I'll be at work when the Heels first play on Friday at noon, I'll get it to catch most of it during lunch!

Let's go Heels!!!

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!

Monday Morning Review

I'm on a roll with Monday Morning Reviews!! Last Thursday the Heels took on State at home. State is actually having a pretty good season and rolled into Chapel Hill with a 4-1 conference record. We had to be ready! And thankfully, we were. The boys played a great game and won by 19 - but it wasn't even that close. I love getting a win over the Woofies!

Last night we beat Georgia Tech by 12, but again it wasn't that close. We got a little lazy toward the end of the game resulting in a score that was much closer than the feel of the game. We play tomorrow night at Wake!

This is a short work week for me - 3.5 days! Thursday at lunch I'm headed to the mountains with all of my best friends for a fun and relaxing weekend. As y'all know, I don't really do snow. I tried to ski last year and was awful and it was painful and I ended up spending most of the time at lodge bar (which is TOTALLY okay with me - drinks in a wood cabin surrounded by beautiful scenery is always okay with me). This year, I think I will have a couple of people joining me on the no ski front. I told them I'll be at home sitting in the hot tub with a glass of wine and will have dinner waiting for them when they get back. I'm so looking forward to a little r&r!

Triangle Restaurant Week - Restaurant #1 - Coquette

This morning when I mentioned TRW I didn't know I'd be partaking at lunch! What a treat!

Marcus and I met at Coquette, our local French brasserie, to enjoy a 3-course meal that has most definitely induced a post-lunch coma. Bring on the green tea!

We strategically ordered different menu items so we could try a little bit of each. Marcus started with the brie en croute and I had the white bean with smoked ham soup. Both were delicious. Y'all know I'm a sucker for cheese so I naturally adored MG's brie, but my soup was really good, especially when I got a bite with the crispy onion topping.

Next, Marcus had monkfish and I had a pork tenderloin baguette. I didn't try the fish (I don't do fish), but the pork tenderloin baguette was delicious - and huge! I could only eat half and had to doggy bag the rest.

Lastly, we finished the meal with a chocolate peanut butter pie (goodness gracious) and creme brulee. The chocolate peanut butter pie was out of this world and the creme brulee was traditional, but yummy.

It would have been the perfect lunch had I been able to indulge in a nice Savignon Blanc or glass of champagne, but I think it would have turned my post-lunch coma into a post-lunch nap!

All in all, a very successful start to Triangle Restaurant Week!

Newest Addiction

Have y'all tried Palmetto cheese? I may be addicted. I'm REALLY picky about my pimento cheese. I like mine to be more cream cheesy and less mayo-y, which is exactly how this one is. I've had the original and bacon flavors and both were incredible. I bought the jalapeno flavor today and, knowing my affinity for spicy things, think it will be a hit too!

Speaking of hashtags

Speaking of hashtags... follow me on Twitter, @LindsayPriester. I know some of you already do, but I love meeting and chatting with more of you!

Monday Morning Review

Oh, look! It's actually Monday morning and I'm posting a Monday Morning Review! What has gotten into me? (Yeah, I know, I shouldn't actually be celebrating this when I've missed over a week of blogging, but it's Monday and I'll take what I can get!)

Some updates.

The bball boys lost an awful, awful game last weekend at Florida State. We got absolutely destroyed and played terrible.

We followed it up with a good win at Virginia Tech Thursday. But the happiness was short lived as Dex tore his ACL. What a huge loss! We are really going to miss his explosiveness. Feel better, Dex.

Our next game is this Thursday, at home, against State. State's been playing well lately so it will be a big game for us, especially without Dex. I'm already starting my "Can't go to college, go to State!" cheers.

TJ lost a tough one against the Ravens last week, ending the Texans playoff run. The Ravens defense really got to Teej and he threw some interceptions and didn't look as steady or confident as usual. It was a sad end to an amazing season. TJ didn't dress out for 10 games of the season and then lead the Texans the furthest they've ever been as a franchise. I'm so proud of him. #Yatersgonnayate (Am I becoming a person that uses hashtags in real life? Yikes!)

In other news, it's Triangle Restaurant Week!!! For those of you living under a rock, TRW happens twice a year and different local restaurants feature three course lunch and dinner menus for 15, 20 or 30 dollars. I cannot wait. I want to try them all. I'll update soon.

I need some advice, dear friends! I'm going to Atlanta in March and want to know what I should do, where I should eat, etc. Any and all advice is welcome!

Thought for the day:

Have a great week, kiddos!

Sports Update

The bball boys have started the ACC season 2-0!

Saturday, Dad and I went to a Coaches Circle party in the Blue Zone before we took on Boston College. We enjoyed barbecue biscuits, chips and dip and wine (for me) and Blue Moons (for Daddy). The most exciting part? We got to meet Coach Fedora! I literally stalked him around the party until he was forced to stick out his hand and meet me. I loved it! He gave a speech to the entire party that included the words,  "When we bring an ACC Championship to Chapel Hill" and "I'm Larry Fedora and I'm a Tar Heel."

You earned yourself some points with me there, Larry.

My dad had to go back to Raleigh so La met me and we went to the game. It got a little close in the second half, but for the most part, we dominated.

Tuesday night the boys took on Miami at home. It was a solid victory despite awful shooting. Kendall was our leading scorer, if that tells you anything. But I think it shows what this team is capable of, even on off nights.

Next up: Florida State at Florida State.

In other sports news, the Texans won their first playoff game on Saturday! TJ and his boys took down the Bengals and I don't think I've been so excited in a while. (Apologies to my best friend who lives in Cincinnati who may have received a few menacing phone calls from me. I'm new to this caring about the NFL thing, Em, but I love you!)

Next up: Baltimore Ravens at the Ravens, one of the top teams in the league. Yikes.

Do it, Teej!

Brother Sister Dates

My brother and I had a date night last night. We went to Noodles, a restaurant that specializes in pastas from different countries. They have the calories listed (which I love), so I picked a relatively healthy pasta. While eating my brother asked me how many calories his had. I said, "You don't need to worry about that!" He said, "Neither do you. Let's make a deal." "Okay." "Calories don't count on brother sister dates." "Done!"

And with that we headed to Goodberry's for concretes. YUM!

Few things in the world beat spending time with that boy.

My tiny, precious, devil, miracle, spoiled, saving grace, stubborn, perfect puppy

Two days after Christmas was one of the hardest days of my life. I had to say goodbye to my best friend of almost 13 years, my sweet sweet baby boy, Tucker. I still have trouble talking about it, so this post will probably not do him justice, but as one of his advocates here on Earth, I know I need to try.

Tuck, you were my tiny, precious puppy. I remember going out to the country to get you when I was 12. You were so cute! We brought you home and you were so little and perfect. You were so little, in fact, that you hid under a small antique desk and I thought I lost you. I was sobbing and had the whole neighborhood, including the mailman, Horace, looking for you. When I found you, you were curled up under the desk, content as could be. Horace still laughs about that day. 

Tuck, you were my devil puppy! When you got a little bigger, you ate everything in sight. The couch, the kitchen table, my ankles. I was so mad at you sometimes, but you grew out of it. 

Tuck, you were my miracle puppy. At three years old, you were diagnosed with lymphoma, an aggressive cancer of the lymphnodes. The doctor said that even with chemotherapy, there was a less than 5 percent chance you would make it more than a year. You showed them. You barked your head off every time we got off the highway to go to chemo treatments. I'm pretty sure you were barking in their faces. You did what no doctors thought you could do and beat cancer and lived another ten years. 

Tuck, you were my spoiled puppy. During chemo, you had to eat chicken and rice because it was so bland. After that, all you wanted was people food. From that day on, you always got a big helping of hamburger, chicken, even filet mignon with your dog food. The dog food was really for show.

Tuck, you were my saving grace puppy. Few people know that there were a few times in college and right after when I would just cry and hold you. I was probably being dramatic and over the top, but there was nothing better than having you in my bed, cuddling with you and knowing that your love was unconditional.

Tuck, you were my stubborn puppy. The last few months of your life were so much harder than you let anyone know. Even two days before the last day of your life, we went on a walk and you wagged your tail with everything you had. On that last day, you barked at the vet's office with all of  your heart. You wouldn't let us know how much you hurt. You were stubborn and strong and my best friend.

We grew up together, Tuck. I'll miss you more than you'll ever know. I can't tell you how much it meant to me when we were sitting on that floor in the vet's office a few minutes before you had to leave that you took that extra effort to curl up next to me. I'll never forget that. I love you too, baby boy.

When we got to the vet's it was pouring rain. When we left it was pouring rain. But on the way home, the sun came out. It started getting brighter and brighter until it was almost blinding. I've never seen the weather change that drastically in that short of time. There is no doubt in my mind that sunshine was God smiling as you arrived in Heaven. You always had the ability to make everyone smile. Watch after us, sweet baby boy, and know that you were my best gift ever. 

Tuck, you were my perfect puppy.

Bad blogger!

Like most of you, the holidays kind of took over my life - in mostly amazing ways and in one incredibly sad way.

The bad is going to get it's own post, so for now here are the good ways!

Christmas vacation started off with eggnogpalooza, an event invited by my dear friend Ronnie, better known as Baby B. In this event, you pour different kinds of adult beverages in eggnog, mark the bottom of the cups with the type of alcohol and then mix up the glasses and see which ones you like best.

Next, it was time to build a gingerbread house with one of my best friends, Chris, and his sweet cousin, Ellie. Chris is in the coast guard so I don't get to see him nearly enough. It's always incredibly special when I do! 

After Gingerbread house making (harder than you think, y'all!), it was time to go to a Christmas party hosted by my sweet friends Ryan and Micaela. Here is a picture of Ryan, Matt, Joe and I. Aren't I the lucky girl?

One of my favorite parts of Christmas is Christmas Eve when my mom and I celebrate together. We cook only our favorite parts of the traditional meal (basically everything bad for you), drink wine and dance around the kitchen.

As quickly as Christmas came, it left, and New Years was right around the corner. This year I had the honor of being a bridesmaid in my cousin Nikki's New Year's Eve Wedding. It was a blast!

Here is my cousin Tom and I at the Rehearsal Dinner.

On Saturday we had a Bridesmaid Brunch. My awesome grandmother Po was there and she was loving her Bloody Mary!

I, on the other hand, can't quite get the hang of Bloody Mary's and stuck to a Mimosa. Great decision as the champagne came in this little sippy cup - obsessed.

Here is the beautiful bride getting ready. She was absolutely stunning.

And then we partied the night away at by far the best wedding I've ever attended. There were feathers, hot pink, cupcakes and a mashed potato bar!

I really loved the mashed potato bar. Nikki Jo and I are definitely related.

With Mom:

With Dad:

With Nicholas: 

Happy New Year, y'all!