Monday Morning Review (Depressing Style)

Well, if you were a Tar Heel fan, you pretty much had the worst weekend ever. Carolina lost to State, 29-25. But that wasn't all. Carolina also managed to lose two basketball games in one weekend. Oh, yeah there's more. Women's field hockey lost in the national championship game and women's soccer lost in the NCAA tournament. It was awful.

The only highlight: TJ had an awesome game (his third over 400 yards passing), despite the outcome.

The bball boys play UNC-A tomorrow night and the fball boys take on Duke Saturday in their season finale.

Thank You, Seniors! (aka I love you, TJ)

Saturday's game against State is Senior Day. I know Saturday will be a busy and emotional day, so I'm going to thank our seniors now (read: I'm not going to be able to thank them Saturday when I'm sobbing knowing it's TJ's last game in Kenan).

Thank you seniors for everything you've done. We will be going to a bowl game for the third year in a row this year. For Carolina football standards, that's amazing! During your four years, I've become the biggest Carolina football fan I've ever been and I have you to thank for that.

To my two favorite seniors:

Deunta Williams - Thanks for all your clutch tackles and interceptions. Thank you most for saying "I'm Deunta Williams and I'm a Tar Heel" with the biggest, most handsome smile on your face. It brightened my day to see that. Each time I met you, you were exceptionally friendly and embodied the kind of student-athlete I want representing my university. Thank you, Deunta.

And now, sweet baby.

TJ Yates - Oh goodness. Where do I begin. You have turned me into the college football fan that I am now. I started out in college liking Cam Sexton and being upset with you for battling him for his job. How things have changed! You have put up with so much from Carolina fans and never been bitter about it. You've been a great spokesperson for the team. You will leave Carolina with your name in the record books. I know you're leaving us in capable hands with Bryn, but Carolina fans will miss you more than they know. I'm going to miss yelling "WE LOVE YOU TJ" and you giving a little fist pump more than you know. Thanks Teejy for everything - now let's go beat the Pack and Blue Devils and get ready for a bowl game victory!!!

Tailgate Treats: State Edition

Y'all, Saturday is huge. We play State at home. I didn't post about our last game, because, well, it's my blog and sometimes I have selective memory and choose to "forget" bad games. Anyway, the State game is always big, but we desperately need a win. Also, State has won the last three in the series so we need to take a stand.

It will be senior day. I'll do a Thank You Seniors post soon (which will basically be a We Love You, TJ! post, just for fair warning).

Until then, here are Saturday's tailgate treats for the noon kickoff:

Slow cooker breakfast casserole (I'm so excited about this, but it could end up being a disaster. I'll keep you posted.)
Cream cheese danish squares (new recipe!)
Carolina Cake Balls (These were a huge hit last week. I've had a couple of baking successes lately which is huge for me! Promise to post a picture this time).

Stay tuned for senior day and I hate state posts. Lovelovelove.

Carolina Cake Balls

Hello, Perspective

Ok. I promise to post about Carolina Cake Balls and the Va. Tech game later, but some things trump food and football (gasp, I know, it is hard to believe and I can't believe I said it).

I have had a series of events lately that have been HUGE wake up calls. There is no denying that God is trying to tell me something (to realize how blessed I am, to lean on him and to stop sweating the small stuff, I think) and I'm so grateful for it.

I won't get into specifics for the sake of people's privacy, but there have been a couple scares in my life lately. They both have turned out to be nothing more than scares, but have provided ridiculous amounts of perspective.

In addition to those two scares, my brother is giving me the same much needed reality check.  He will be 9 on Friday. WHAT?! I remember the day he came home, the day I was the only one that could make him stop crying, the day I complained awkwardly about how starving I was to distract from the fact that I didn't know how to feel about getting a new brother the day before my 16th birthday.

I cannot believe he will be 9. He is starting to get this great little personality that makes me so proud of him. He's smart and funny and we have a bond that I cherish. His sense of humor kills me and I cannot imagine my life without him. I'm so grateful for my brother in my life.

Anyway, all this is to say there are way more important things than the things that stress us out day-to-day. And I have to believe that God really does have a plan for me. He's been trying to tell me to relax and appreciate all the blessings that I have - He will handle the rest. What an enormous gift to have such amazing friends and family AND be able to give all the little daily stresses to God. Life is good!! :)

Tailgate Treats

I'm starting a new blog posting category: tailgate treats. I figure I put so much thought and effort into what I'm making each tailgate that I should share the yummy successes (and not so yummy failures) with you here.

Saturday is a big game. We are playing Va. Tech in Chapel Hill and we NEED to win. A win would be huge. Ginormous. Priceless. Insane. You get the picture.

I'll start cooking tomorrow night, but for now, let me leave you with the menu.

Ham and Cheese Palmiers (these have become a staple)
Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Dip (new recipe!)
Carolina Cake Balls (I'm particularly nervous about this one - I'm SO not a baker, but these look precious and more tailgate friendly than a giant cake you have to cut)

Stay tuned for pictures and taste verdicts.

Monday Morning Review

This weekend was absolutely insane. I literally don't think I had a moment to myself other than sleeping for a few hours at a time. That being said, it was an absolutely AMAZING WEEKEND!

Friday night started off with a Chapel Hill dinner at Brixx followed by watching the bball boys take on Barton. We won, by a lot. KMarsh looked great. Barnes struggled, but I'm not worried. I imagine it's pretty hard to be the first freshman ever named to the preseason All-American team. No pressure, right? He'll be fine.

Saturday I had a really fun work event. The weather was cold and gross, but the turnout was great. After that, I headed to my dad's to watch the football boys BEAT FLORIDA STATE IN TALLAHASSEE. Yep, you read that correctly. It all came down to a last second MISSED field goal by FSU, giving us the two point win 37-35. And our beloved Taylor Jonathan had a career game with close to 450 yards passing. Ready? WE LOVE YOU, TJ!!

TJ's Crew!

Sunday was our Pancreatic Cancer Walk which went so amazingly well! We raised over $100,000 dollars (the goal was $25,000) and had close to 700 people walk/run! After the race we had two after parties, so there was no rest for the weary!

Looking forward to some down time after visiting my grandparents tonight with a little XOXO Gossip Girl.

Oh hey there November!

Today is November 1, 2010. It is also a Monday. I lovelovelove when the first of the month falls on a Monday. It seems so...fitting. Monday's are always "fresh start" days and when a Monday falls on the 1st the fresh start quotient is like quadrupled.

I've been making a conscious effort to live in the moment and just be happy. There are several things coming in my future that I could worry about, but I have no idea how they will turn out and there is absolutely nothing I can do to affect the outcome. So, in the meantime, I will just live and have fun.

And November is Thanksgiving month! Which means the holidays are upon us! Everyone knows Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Any holiday that involves massive amounts of food (especially carbs), beverage (prosecco, please) and football (Carolina at Duke) is right up my alley.

Happy November, y'all! Enjoy and lighten up a little. :)

Monday Morning Review

Dressed up as Marvin Austin

Homecoming + Halloween = a guaranteed good time. And it was. The Heels managed to pull out a 21-17 win over Mike Paulus and William and Mary. It was NOT pretty, but we got the W. We're now one win away from bowl eligibility. Unfortunately, we play FSU next game in Florida so it will be a daunting task. Also, Shankles tore his ACL so he is out for the season. Turns out he will be the 30th player to miss a game this season. That is almost a third of the team. Insane.

The weekend itself was great. Fun with friends and family all weekend. So game day! I got to see so many people from school, including one of my best friends/my little sister from my sorority. Basketball season starts Friday. Stay tuned. :)

Grateful

You know when you have those moments when you realize how incredibly blessed you are? Whether it's a specific event that causes the realization or one of those times when you just feel an overwhelming sense of peace - it's so important to be grateful. I realize this would be a good Thanksgiving post, but its on my mind now and I figure we should be grateful all year round, not just at Thanksgiving, right? So here goes.

I am grateful for:

• The absolute most incredible family in the world. Okay, so it's definitely not the most traditional family and there have been some hard times, but I would not change one single thing. To be as close to both your parents as I am is an incredible blessing and I wouldn't be anywhere in this world without them (literally, of course, but I mean more metaphorically). I'm Mama's best friend and Daddy's little girl and I wouldn't have it any other way. I have a ridiculously awesome brother who is finding new ways to make me proud everyday (including, but not limited to, early morning game day texts). I have a stepmom that makes even ordinary events seem fun. My grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc are all incredibly cool. So blessed.
• Carolina. Even if you take sports out of the equation, there is no place I feel more sublimely happy than Chapel Hill. And once you add sports, well, game over (no pun intended). Chapel Hill has been in my heart since I was a baby, but it means even more to me since I graduated. I literally feel a weight lifted off of me when I am in Chapel Hill. Everyone should be so lucky to have a place that makes them feel the way Chapel Hill makes me feel. So blessed.
• A job I love. Sometimes I literally have to pinch myself. I get to do public relations for the best jewelry store ever. (I know it's my job to say that, but I was a customer prior to the job). Some days I find myself writing about the latest designer line or playing Santa and giving away jewelry and I can't believe I got so lucky. So blessed.
• Amazing friends. You know, friendship is a funny thing. Growing up changes friendships in a way that at first really frightened me. You don't always talk as much and people you considered your best friends move on with their lives. But then there comes a moment when you realize the coolest part - these people are more "there" for you than they ever were before. Yes, we all grow up and move on with our lives, but I've come to learn that if I ever needed any of these people they'd be there in a heartbeat. And that's what friendship is really all about, isn't it? So blessed.
• Sports. I really don't know how people cannot like sports. There is so much raw emotion behind them and so many great storylines. Picking a favorite player (love you Teej!), a clutch shot to win a game, a kickoff return for a touchdown - these are some of the great moments in life. Not to mention, game day dresses. Go HEELS! So blessed.
• North Carolina weather. How fortunate are we to experience all four seasons, but none of them too harshly? So blessed.
• Food. Obviously, I'm grateful for food on a purely sustenance level, but as I've grown up I've come to appreciate the ingredients in food and love experimenting in the kitchen. So blessed.
• And some more: Walking into a warm sunny spot on a chilly day, the peace that passeth understanding, pretty dresses, good books, fashion magazines, wine, girly tv, a good night's sleep, meeting a goal, writing.

Don't forget to take a little minute to be grateful.

(What's Supposed to Be) Monday Morning Review

We lost. Badly.  (33-10). Fumbles, interceptions (TJ tripled his interceptions this game by throwing 2 - he now has 3). It was just sad and bad. I hate Miami. They dance and throw their little U sign up. They are gross.

Looking forward to Homecoming this weekend! We play William & Mary. Word is former UNC backup QB Mike Paulus (now William & Mary's QB)  is talking a lot of smack to his old teammates, saying he is going to teach the Rude Boyz some manners. Oh silly Paulus.

(What's Supposed to Be) Monday Morning Review

Goodness gracious, I just could not be more proud of my Tar Heel boys. They have had to deal with so much this season, yet have gone above and beyond. Case in point: Saturday the Heels went to Charlottesville and took home a decisive 44-10 victory over those dirty Wahoos. We hadn't won a game at UVA since 1981 and we dominated it.

Extra kudos to Dwight Jones for his three touchdowns and to TJ Yates (always, always kudos) for continuing to be the steadying force behind the Heels.

We head down to Miami Saturday for what's arguably our toughest game this season. GO HEELS!

Yearly Dilemma

For the past three or so years, I have had the same dilemma. Now let me preface this by saying, this is not too serious of a dilemma, and really, it's one I'm blessed to have.  But as a girl who has always been indecisive (I'm trying SO hard to work on this rather icky trait), I hate something that makes me feel like a little bit of a hot mess.

I just penned all of the 2010-2011 Carolina Basketball games into my calendar. And I got SO excited.  Like giddy, butterflies in the pit of my stomach excited. I saw this is a year where we end the season with Duke at home and I got even more excited.

But then I got stressed. Enter dilemma. Am I a football girl or a basketball girl?

I grew up playing basketball. I've played since I was six years old and I have always been in love with the game. While not exactly a star player, I held my own which was huge for me. I've never really been athletic and to be able to competently play a sport (and even be relied upon to make the big plays) was a dream come true. There is nothing to me like the feeling of playing. I miss nothing more than playing basketball. 

I know my dad always wanted a kid who was good at sports and for me to even come close to doing that for him gave me the biggest sense of pride. Granted there are regrets.  I didn't practice enough to become the kind of player I really could have been and that will go down as one of the biggest regrets of my life. But for those few seasons when I was the "man" on my team - the one they would go to when they needed a winning three pointer, the one who played every second of the game - I was in love with the game of basketball.

So when my dad announced near the end of my high school career that we were getting UNC season tickets, I screamed. Lots. I've watched Carolina basketball since before I could speak much - "Yucky Wolf and Duke ::stick out tongue::" were among my first words/actions. I became the biggest Shammond Williams fan in the history of life at a young age. I was also fortunate enough to see a National Championship my freshman year of college (words.cannot.describe.this.experience). I love the Dean Dome, I love the defensive drill before games, I love the "I'm a Tar Heel" videos, I love the time my dad and I get to spend together at games, I love that you get to know every player on an individual level - I love Carolina basketball. It's also nice that I "get" it. Having played for over 13 years, I understand what's happening in basketball. I can read plays, I know the rules, I have a good grasp on basketball.

Now, let's talk football. I became a college football fan much later in life. I started getting into it at the end of high school and really started following it my freshman year when I went we went to a bowl game (Yeah, my freshman year was awesome).  Of course, I had always gone to the games, but I had never considered myself a die hard. Fast forward to now. Saturdays during football season are really my reason for living. I love wearing my football dress, tailgating and watching the Heels in Kenan. I have been known to cry when we lose big games (hello Meineke Car Care bowl 08 and 09, and LSU game 2010). I love Carolina football. Football is complicated though. There are some plays I really don't understand and sometimes a penalty is called and I'm left clueless. But nothing is better than a victory in Kenan.

If you asked me during football season, I'd tell you I was a football girl without hesitation.  But when basketball season comes around, I start to remember how much I love the sport and how much Carolina basketball has been a part of my life.

So am I a football girl or a basketball girl? At this point, I still don't know. But here's to another year of both, trying to figure it out. GO HEELS!

New House!

I've been so overwhelmed with sports, that I haven't posted much about this yet, but in a few months I will be moving! My friend Lauren's dad bought the cutest house in a great area and is completely renovating it for us.  I am so excited!! This weekend we picked out paint colors - it's starting to get so real! My room is going to be a khaki color with all my carolina blue accents and my bathroom is a pretty blue called "dockside blue," almost Carolina blue, but with a little more grey in it. It will be so nice to live in a house with a yard and a sun porch.  And it'll be fun living with Lauren - she's a really great friend.  AND we'll be saving money since we both live alone now! Can't wait!!

Monday (Close to) Morning Review

Oh goodness. Where to begin.  Well, the Heels pulled out a close one against Clemson this weekend. It was a beautiful day in which we enjoyed Tar Heel Town, the Old Well Walk and a tailgate.  The game was very close, but we came out on top 21-16, giving us a 3-2 record - which, all things considered I think is pretty good.

On Saturday right before the game they announced that Jonathan Smith would be out for the season (academic side of the probe) and that now Devon Ramsay was out as being possibly involved in one side or the other. That frightens me. Devon has played in all four games prior to Clemson, including two wins.  The NCAA could take away those wins because Devon played in them. I'll keep you updated.

Today UNC announced that Greg, Marvin and Robert Quinn were done for the season. Little and Quinn were declared ineligible by the NCAA and Marvin was dismissed by UNC. No word on sanctions yet.

The Heels (and I) are off to Charlottesville this weekend to take on UVA. We haven't won there in a bazillion years so a win would be huge.

New blog name and design - oh my!

Ok guys, over the past few weeks, "A Perfect Mess" had been boring me.  It was starting to feel like a rip-off.  Not that I copied anyone on anything, but the inspiration for the title was the Red Hot Chili Peppers song (still an incredible song - if you haven't heard it, go.download.now) and the site "mascot" if you will was Audrey Hepburn.  While I still lovelovelove the sentiment of "a perfect mess" and believe that we, and this blog, are all perfect messes, I want this blog to be uniquely mine.  Hence - Game Day!

Game Day! is perfect on many levels.

1) Whenever I wake up on football Saturdays (usually around 6am no matter our game time because I'm so excited) I text all my family and friends the words "Game Day!" They get really annoyed because it's way too early and I'm way too excited, but I can't help it - I really really love game days.

2) After waking up and annoying all my friends, I walk around saying "Game Day!" for most the day.  The only time this changes is during bowl season (if we're good enough to get to one) and I yell "Bowl Game!" all day.

And, most importantly,

3) Game days are perfect days. I look forward to them all week and savor every moment of them. There is no place I'm happier than tailgating in Craige and watching football in Kenan on a beautiful Chapel Hill day.  With this blog, I hope to get a little more of "game day" into every day.  Family, friends, food, fashion and football. Perfection. Or...a perfect mess. :)

Enjoy!

Gearing Up for Clemson...

Because of the (stupid, IMO) football expansion, Carolina has not played Clemson in Kenan since 2002.  That's a shame for many reasons.  1) Clemson is BIG time football. And it's always fun to play a big time football team. 2) For the part of my family that does not bleed Carolina blue (gasp, I know), they bleed Clemson orange.  Both my grandfathers went to Clemson and my dad's dad played football at Clemson.  I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the Tigers - they are so spirited and they have the kind of football tradition that we'd love to have. That being said, I'd love to crush them Saturday.  We get Deunta back which will be nice and hopefully we can pull out the W.  Clemson is coming off two losses to big teams so they will be angry.  I happen to have a little tiger tail I found on the ground in Atlanta when we played LSU - should be fun for Saturday!

As for the game day menu:
-carmelized onion dip and chips
-sausage balls
-chicken nuggets
-pigs in a blanket
-frito dip and chips
-chocolate chip cookies

GO HEELS!!

Monday Morning Review

What a great weekend! Friday night we went to a Rams Club function in CH at Kenan.  First we ate dinner at a new restaurant called One - delish! Then we headed over to Kenan and even hitched a ride in Butch Davis' golf cart to have a couple glasses of wine in the staduim.  Kenan is so beautiful and being there at night was breathtaking. I love that place!

Saturday we had a great tailgate with family and friends (both Tar Heels and Pirates alike), before beasting the Pirates 42-17. I was so incredibly happy.  Searcy was cleared for this game and ran an INT back for a TD.  Shaun Draughn and Johnny White ran all over the place and were incredible (which, I made known to Shaun Draughn when I saw him after the game and ran up and high fived him and informed him that, 'You're Shaun Draughn!).

We're at home again this Saturday vs. Clemson! We haven't played the Tigers in a while so it should be a lot of fun! Deunta will be back for this game, so I'm looking forward to that! GO HEELS!

Sunday was Mom's birthday so I hung out with her all day, shopped, and ate fattening foods! I have the best Mom in the world!

Tube Socks.

So. My football team is imploding before my eyes (In parentheses summary:  They found all of Blake/Wichard's financial records.  Not good. Awful. Terrible), so I thought I would write about something else.  For those of you who want to know what's happening with my football boys, go to Yahoo Sports.  There is a very detailed article there that can enlighten you.  I, on the other hand, want nothing to do with it, so I'm going to talk about socks.

 You know what I love?  Affordable pleasures.  Of course I want a Range Rover and a new tv and a house and a hot tub and 20 different pairs of Louboutins, but those are pleasures I can't afford.  Tube socks, on the other hand, I can.  I really want some tube socks to wear around the house.  Maybe with Carolina blue stripes (can't keep me too far away from my beloved football team). I don't know why, but something about the nostalgia of tube socks is calling my name.  And if there are silly little affordable pleasures that make you happy, by all means go for it. Life is much too short (and filled with too many football scandals) to deprive yourself.

Monday Morning Review

A VICTORY! Saturday my (depleted) boys, beat Rutgers 17-13.  It wasn't pretty, but we'll take it. Thank goodness for Bruce Carter who blocked a key punt and got a huge interception. (and TJ, always thank goodness for TJ really.) Matt also got an INT which made my brother very happy! The fam came over to watch the game as their big screen died the night before! We had yummy food and cocktails and it was fun to host a little "game day" party.  Can't wait to have more of those in the new house.

The NCAA has made rulings on Deunta and Kendric... both of which we have appealed.  If the rulings stand, Deunta is out one more game (returning for Clemson) and Kendric is out two more (returning for Miami).  I'd LOVE to get one or both back for ECU this weekend.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Personally, I think both are a little harsh, but especially Deunta's.  Deunta went to CA to visit a former player (not an agent, not in any way affiliated with anything), paid for his own flight, hotel, etc.  The former player just paid for Deunta's ticket to Disneyland.  Now please, please tell me how a friend paying for another friend's ticket to an amusement park in CA relates to football at all.  I'd love to hear anyone's insights on that.

In sad news, the farmer that owns the real life Ramses fell off his tractor and is in critical condition.

In happy news, countdown to playing those dirty pirates is ON!

Monday Morning Review

We lost to GT Saturday 30-24 (same score as our loss to LSU).  We played well, but we could not stop the GT run - we are definitely missing our defense, especially our secondary.  Here's hoping some more players get cleared this week.  Despite the loss, it was a gorgeous day and I am beyond in love with Carolina and Kenan Stadium.  I know that's nothing new, but there is no where, NO WHERE, I am more sublimely happy than Chapel Hill and Kenan Stadium.  We had a great tailgate and it was a wonderful time with friends and family.  We're away at Rutgers this weekend and we really REALLY need the W.  Let's do it, boys!!