A few fond memories: hanging out with our Shelton Vineyards friend, apparently plucking Constable’s nose hairs, popping an awkward squat last birthday, hanging out with Sue and Larry, duct taping a piece of the car back on, playing dress up at the fire station, goofing around with our cousins, and more!
I’m a big fan of Sundays- I generally have no obligations, I give myself a “lazy pass,” and it’s a day to recap the weekend and look forward to the week.
Speaking of recapping {though it doesn’t relate to this weekend}- I love the expression “The best part of a Saturday night out is the Sunday morning recap.” I remember so many days in college where we’d have a fun night out and spend hours recounting and dissecting it over Sunday brunch 
But back to this weekend! As I mentioned, my dad is in town for the weekend, so we wanted to show him our lives in Raleigh. On Friday, he and I went to breakfast at Flying Biscuit, where I ordered my go-to: the Eggs-Ceptional Eggs {“two large farm fresh eggs over medium, on black bean cakes topped with oven-roasted tomatillo salsa, feta cheese & sour cream served with creamy dreamy grits”- soo good!}.
On Friday evening, we met up for dinner at David’s Dumpling, where Sara and I split an order of soft shell crab with seaweed salad and I ordered the Vietnamese pho as my main course! I love how David {the owner} is always there to check in on customers. And they always bring a different seasonal soup sample to the table- this time it was chilled cucumber soup. Delicious but not quite as killer as last fall’s carrot ginger soup.
Pho
Can you see how our family revolves around food? All of our family vacations sound like this: “Let’s get breakfast then hang out. Then we’ll eat lunch here and then just chill or nap. Then where should we go to dinner?” Haha!
I was going to check out the Museum of Natural Sciences’ special 24 hour grand re-opening after dinner, but I opted to climb into bed with a good novel instead. I’ve been uncharacteristically exhausted all week, so I wanted to get some extra rest.
On Saturday we headed out to Pittsboro to volunteer with Carolina Tiger Rescue for Change the Triangle’s April event. The experience was SO neat- it deserves its own post {with photos!}. But here’s a fun fact: apparently tiger spray smells like buttered movie theatre popcorn. Strange, right?!
After the volunteer event, we tried to attend Cuegrass, Raleigh’s annual BBQ + bluegrass festival, but decided to choose an indoor activity once the rain started pouring. Speaking of movie theatre popcorn…we headed off to see 21 Jump St {where we befriended the manager and got free movie tickets haha!}. Hilarious movie- see it if you haven’t! The rest of Saturday was pretty uneventful and may or may not have ended up with another early night in bed- lame I know
Sunday’s agenda: farmers’ market and brunch, picking out herbs, and seeing where the day takes us…
Source: lifeonsundays.tumblr.com via connie on Pinterest
Source: onomelon.com via Hadijah on Pinterest
Source: tarteletteblog.com via Jenni on Pinterest
Finishing up taxes
In spite of the fact that I hate managing financials {or I suppose because I hate managing financials} I felt incredibly empowered going through the process, learning about income and deductions, and mailing off my forms.
Blog group potluck
The blog girls and I are having a group potluck on Thursday! Laura of Taking Back My Twenties graciously offered to host, so we’re having the potluck in her chic Durham apartment {I know what it looks like from her blog, of course!}. The theme is Around the World, so I’m excited to see what a group that includes a few food bloggers can come up with!
My stepdad’s birthday
Happy happy birthday to the greatest stepdad ever! Thanks for helping us with taxes, storing our random belongings, laughing at our inappropriate jokes, and listening to the painfully awful songs we create for you {good times were had by all, by all by all by all….}
Home decor
I’m in the home stretch of my self-prescribed home decorating deadline. I made some good progress this week, including hanging corkboards in the kitchen for recipe inspiration; revamping some black and silver end tables {one will go in the entryway for keys, one will stay by the couches as an end table}; painting hooks and a corkboard to hang by the front door; and trying to figure out how to hang napkins as decor on the dining room wall.
Dad visiting
My dad is coming from the faraway land of Costa Rica to visit for the weekend! We have big plans, like going to a Durham Bulls game, picking up a housewarming plan for me at the farmers’ market, brunching, showing off our office, and lots more
My sister forwarded me an email that she sent to our 2-year-old nephew, c/o his parents. For the record, this kid is the smartest child you’ll ever meet! He’s also very popular, hence the entourage reference.
It gave me a good laugh so I wanted to share!
Dear Sam,
I just wanted to personally reach out to you and thank you for the art history lesson you so graciously provided to me during our breakfast date on my last visit.
As I browsed the N.C. Art Museum looking for a Tuesday evening activity, I was thrilled to see that they currently are featuring an exhibit on Rodin. It is only due to your extreme intelligence and ability to educate your dear aunt, that I am was able to recognize the name and know exactly who Rodin was.
I sincerely appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule (consisting of making your rounds about the neighborhood with your entourage, saying hello to all your adoring fans, eating carbs, and screaming “NO”) to provide me with this invaluable art history lesson.
Much love and lots of chubby cheek kisses,
Aunt Sara Rose
On Sunday, we ate brunch here:
b.matthews on Bay Street
Photo credit
We hung out here:
Forsyth Park
On the way home, we stopped here for lunch:
Hilton Head Marina
And here for dinner:
Cracker Barrel
And about 12 million other places. #LongestRoadTripEver
What.a.weekend.
We left for Savannah right after work on Friday. We were en route to surprise my sister’s friend for her birthday! She was definitelyyy surprised.
We saw this (but did not stop):
On Saturday,we ate here (at this exact table, actually):
Soho South Cafe
We went here (where this was filmed):
Six Pence Pub
We went here:
Wet Willie's
And here…
Rooftop of the Bohemian Hotel
We did the Chicken Dance here:
Oktoberfest
We went here for ReFest:
Southern Pine Warehouse
We went to a lot of places here:
Congress St
Including here:
Sweet Melissa's
Coolest of all, we went here:
Mata Hari's, a members-only speakeasy
And that was just Saturday…
I realized recently how much I value individuals that don’t just work within a field; they are entrenched in a field. Sara Rose isn’t just a therapist for one child with autism; she is up to date on theories of what causes autism and possible solutions. Sarah isn’t just a Fulbright in Egypt addressing food issues; she constantly reads columns in the New York Times about food sustainability. Kathleen doesn’t just work for a women’s development organization in Rwanda; she is always posting fascinating articles about genocide reparations to her Facebook account. Daniela isn’t just interested in water issues; she can debate general Middle Eastern policies with the best of them. Grant doesn’t just work as an associate at Oglivy Earth; he is always at the epicenter of the social enterprise world.
As a constant self-improver, I seek to surround myself with inspiring individuals that I want to emulate. Along the same vein, I want to be a resource for coworking, cooking, social enterprise, career development, and recruiting. I want to be entrenched in these worlds instead of having the narrow mentality that my work should be my only concern.
When I sit down to screen resumes for four hours, I don’t think that the only important thing is getting through them. Instead, I think: how can I glean information from these 1000 resumes (yes, I recently read 1000 resumes for the same position) so that I can formulate hypotheses and theories to pass on to job seekers?
Within the recruiting realm, here’s one great example of a recruiter who applies his learnings to the larger field: Recruiting in 3D by Pete Radloff, my coworker.
**As always, these views represent my own, not the views of my employer.
waffles & coffee on a cozy day in norway
by the harbor in bergen
love the jumbled look of these houses
homes in bergen
When I left for college, my sister bought me a book of photos featuring landmarks in the Triangle. I didn’t appreciate the significance back then because, as I mentioned before, North Carolina was just a stepping stone for me. However, I’ve always kept the book- which shows the North Carolina State Fair, our childhood favorite Pullen Park, and Duke Gardens, among many other places close to my heart- in a prominent spot in my dorms and apartment.
When I graduated from college some three long- and short- weeks ago, my sister gave me a book of Washington, DC photographs- photographs of the historic landmarks I pass every day on my walk to work or on my morning run. The White House, the Arlington Bridge, the Georgetown Waterfront.
In the front of the book, she inscribed the following message, which brought me (and still brings me) to tears:
Cris,
As you end this phrase of your life and begin an exciting new adventure, hold on to these four years and the place that shaped who you are today. You left NC and fell in love while you were away. I hope this book makes sure you always remember another city that holds a special place in your heart. I love you, and I am so incredibly proud of you. Here’s to the start of your new life in Raleigh.
I love you!
Sara Rose
I plan to showcase these books, side by side, in my new apartment because to me, they represent both my close friendship with my sister and my close tie to two incredible, life-changing cities.
{Thank you for putting up with this corny post }
I have a confession to make. I told my 25-year-old sister that her lunch box was dorky, which resulted in her discontinuing its use. I then proceeded to buy my own several weeks later. I’ll admit it: I was wrong and she was right. Sorry, Sara! I should always listen to my older sister in the future
What’s not to love about lunch boxes?
- They’re cute and colorful (do you see that baby?!)
- They’re better for the environment
- They eliminate the need to search for a bag in the morning
- They’re washable
- They’re insulated
- They don’t fall apart like brown bags
- They’re the appropriate size, so things aren’t tossed around
So I’m going to use my lunch box with pride. And if I get strange looks, I’ll just know that they’re just jealous of my little stretchy pink lunch bag that is conveniently made from wetsuit material.
The bigger takeaway: as confident young adults, we shouldn’t care whether or not people judge us based on something like a lunch box…even if it does make us look like we’re headed to kindergarten (side note: as a therapist for kids with autism, my sister actually does take her lunch box to preschool. It’s always funny to hear her say that she’s headed to preschool).
Sooo….young professionals of the world, raise your lunch box (or bag)!
