miss terri

I found a "How to Host a Murder" game at the thrift store for $0.80 a few months ago and we finally hosted our very first murder mystery party. Despite the overwhelming amount of seemingly disparate clues and cheesy puns, we had a great time trying to solve the case.

mine

Gromit is enjoying these cooler temperatures. He's eating everything in sight and has TONS of energy.

talk to the hand

Do you know they actually wanted to charge me an extra $20 for a digital copy of these x-rays, for which I have already paid dearly. They agreed, however, to print me a copy for free. I promptly brought them home and took a picture of them, thereby re-digitizing them for free.

Anyway, got a fair report from the doc yesterday. Apparently he was surprised I could not move my hand up and down on my own, which in turn surprised me since I followed his orders to wear my brace 24/7 for 6 weeks without fail. What did he expect?

lawn furniture

Gives new meaning to cleaning up the yard, doesn't it?

hall of mirrors

A curved wall of glass tiles on a business front.

the devil's scolding his wife

We were driving back from a fun afternoon visiting some friends in Aberdeen when the bottom fell out of the sky. As we started through the Uwharrie Mountains, we experienced a vibrant sunset through the sheets of rain.

mellow

mushroom.

happy birthday, amy!

Dragging one up from the archives to commemorate.

tic-tac-whoa

A fresh coat of Chatham Tan and 25 wallflowers make the dining room look and feel like a brand new space. More photos to come!

how very diplomatic

MLIS diploma = most expensive refrigerator art ever!

warm thanks

Guess who is NOT going to freeze again this winter! On the two-year anniversary of our closing on our house, my wonderful aunt and uncle made the trek up from Georgia to give the gift of heat (and to see us, of course). :) Many, MANY thanks to [Uncle] Ronnie of Clayton Electrical. We love you both so much!

5:1

The new "Learning Lounge" is a nice, quiet area for students to study. Unfortunately, the number of drinking fountains overwhelmingly outweighs seating. Guess they spent all of the budget on plumbing.

being nosy

Trying to get a good up close of Belle. Even though I didn't get all of her face, I like how her nose is the prominent feature in this shot, like she's peaking in at the camera. What a cutie pie!

mighty dogs

Look out Roxies, there's a new girl in town! Gromit enjoyed playing with Belle, our friends' adorable and playful Westie.

celebrate good times

Today is definitely a day of celebration! For one, it's Friday (and a payday Friday at that). Secondly, it's my in-laws' wedding anniversary. Wishes for many more happy years!



Thirdly, today is my dad's birthday. Click on the video above to watch a short tribute to his first 64 years. Happy Birthday, daddy!

in the dark

I was listening to this story on the way home from work and found myself getting heated over the incandescent vs. LED debate (yes, bad pun intended). LED light bulbs cost $35-$50 each, and each household has an average of 50 sockets (yep, you do the math). We made the switch to CFLs a few years ago, but we still use incandescent bulbs in our clear fixtures because it's much more attractive. To be perfectly frank, it's worth the sacrifice of the $100 I would save over the life of the LED bulb (15-20 years) for me to have a pretty light bulb.

on the mend

A creative solution that speaks for itself.

angry chickens

Tuesday is my day off, so I decided to spend the day with the folks (an early birthday lunch + dessert with my dad) and to get my car worked on. I brought the Touchpad along thinking my dad would enjoy tinkering with it. Next thing I know, my mom is looking up pound cake recipes and getting top score on a few levels of Angry Birds (71000+ points on the level in the picture!). Favorite quote of the day: "Oh no! I'm all out of chickens!"

sew amazing

This absolutely amazing sewing machine comes in its very own mint carrying case. I imagine it was meant to be portable, although it weighs about 30 pounds. The Habitat Restore always surprises me. They'll have a wobbly and wretched table priced high at $15, then they'll have a vintage sewing machine (which still works AND has the owners manual) for $10!

sometimes it pays to dwell

Remember when this was just a dream? After months of stalking every Target within a 70-mile radius, one of them finally clearanced my quilt! Now I'm stalking the matching shams, which are still full price as of today...

ecohound

Can I go shopping with you? I have my own reusable bag...

mantle remix

I'm so inclined to arrange things in a symmetrical fashion. My very talented friend who happens to be a graphic designer | crafter | artist extraordinaire graciously helped me rearranged things to give the mantle a fresh look.

gromit 365

We are celebrating our one-year anniversary with our beloved pup, who will never comprehend the joy he has brought to our lives.

lead foot

Here's your daily dose of random street art.

late bloomer

One of the late summer bloomers at the McGill Rose Garden.

happy un-labor day

Steels Creek. Our un-laboring is coming to a close. Back to the grind tomorrow...

low rider

Gromit's not quite sure what to make of the hammock.

there's no place like home

I hate camping. Can we go home now? The biting flies would not leave him alone, he got pine resin all over his coat, and we discovered he is not a fan of swimming in the creek. Poor, poor Gromit. He's just not an outdoorsy dog.

detoured & delayed

Our camping trip got slightly detoured and delayed due to severe thunderstorms. The hotel allowed "small pets"--Gromit's small compared to a Great Dane, right? He ended up sleeping diagonally, rooting us both to the edges of our king size bed.

sorry for the delay

The evening commute. Both northbound lanes were closed down--it took an hour and forty minutes to get home. On the upside, I got to watch the sun set over mile-marker 49 while a Lexus SUV full of bored young ladies serenaded me with Florence and the Machine's Dog Days are Over (how appropriate?).