throwback thursday / lazy 5 ranch.

This is my second installment of Throwback Thursdays, a new thing I'm trying out as a way to share old photos and stories with all you lovely people. This week, I'm keeping it short...

The Lazy 5 Ranch is a "wilderness park" in NC where you can take a 3.5 mile horse-drawn wagon ride and feed lots of different animals along the way. I went there a few years ago with Caroline and my mom before I left for my study abroad term in Italy. There are two funny things to share from our excursion:

1) I met an animal called a highland cattle who had blonde curly hair just like me! And then an impressive picture was taken in which we made the same face.

2) Caroline got bitten by a water buffalo & had to get a tetanus shot.

 (Don't feel bad if you're amused or even laughing. Bizarre and unfortunate 

situations like this always seem to find Caroline and she laughs about it too!)

. . .

a sailing date.

We went sailing on the bay over the weekend and had a wonderful time. The excursion was a genius birthday gift from Caroline back in April and we've been saving it all these months. The next few weeks will be busy ones, so we decided to finally pull the trigger and schedule the sail, which was great fun! Our vessel was a 41 foot mono-hull sailboat (according to Finn) and we sailed around the bay for an hour and a half while the sun went down. The boat was small enough that a strong gust of wind would really lean us to the side, which made us slide around and laugh. My favorite detail was the experience of seeing the colors progress in the sky and how they changed the look of the water little by little. The whole evening was a treat.

It was a truly great date. One of our best, I'd say. Once we scheduled our sail, we decided to make a whole night of it and tacked on several other fun activities to the already awesome sailing. We played arcade games at Musée Mécanique beforehand, ate donuts from Trish's, watched the sea lions, stopped for sushi on the walk back, and watched a movie at home. If there were a competition for good dates, this one would certainly medal. Thank you Caroline for knowing me well and giving a great gift. We loved it.

Better documentation to come in the next week...

(Our excursion was with San Francisco Sailing Company. If you go, take gloves!) 

. . .

awesome texts.

1. A poignant observation from the wonderful Caitlin 

(we were casually discussing cute forest mammals):

2. This one is from Caroline. I enjoy reading the sign 

as it was without the additions. Ah, the south:

3. For this one, I highjacked my mom's phone and was messaging Lee as if I 

was our mom. His final insult/closing remark made me laugh so hard:

. . .

throwback thursdays / my poetry slam.

This is my first go with Throwback Thursdays, a new thing I'd like to try out as a way to share old photos and stories with all you lovely people. Let's give it a whirl and see if it's fun.

In the months leading up to our wedding, I lived in a house with 9 outrageously fun females. Among these people were Caroline, Lauren, Alison, Margaret, and Madi who you can get to know in other posts (click their name!). Our place was in Chapel Hill on McCauley St. and you could literally hear the antics in that house from a 3 block distance. Even though the shenanigans would sometimes wake you up, it was big fun. 

One evening a few weeks before our wedding, I returned home to the wonderful surprise of a poetry-reading night being held in my honor, hosted by aforementioned ultra-cool roommates. Our house was decorated beautifully, everybody looked fabulous, and there was a whole spread of desserts and goodies in the kitchen with flowers and sweet cards from the girls too (inside one, a gift card for a massage - SCORE).

After having me change into something more poetry-reading-esque, the recitations began! Everyone had a selection, some chosen from favorite poets and others handwritten just for the night. Whether sweet and sincere or comedic and outright ridiculous, they all loved on me well and my face hurt from smiling by the end of the night. If there was one thing McCauley excelled at, it was throwing amazing themed-parties. Isn't this a great idea for a shower? It stands as one of my favorite wedding season memories.

How gorgeous are all these people? It still makes me feel so loved to remember that night - it was so much fun. McCauley women, thank you for sending me off to marriage-land with so much creativity and fun. I love you still.

(Madi - not pictured, still loved)

(Photos by Margaret Rich, thx bb)

. . .

fancy pants.

About a year ago, I mailed Caroline some magazine clippings of ridiculous products from a SkyMall type publication, along with highly sarcastic comments written in the margins about the beauty and unmistakable quality of each product. Among these pictures was a pair of terrible drawstring faux-denim sweatpants for men. The attached note rambled on about how flattering they'd surely be on any body type and what riotous fun it must be to trick your unsuspecting friends and neighbors while lavishing in secret comfort. For Christmas I received a package with a note on top that read "be careful what you wish for". Inside...the pants. They are even more repulsive in person, if you can believe it.

The Awful Pants

Yesterday I came across a great photo I had forgotten about. In April we visited Finn's brother Michael in Las Vegas. Thanks to Michael, we got to stay in a suite at the gorgeous Venetian for a night. While there, I got a huge kick out of wearing faux-denim sweatpants around the nicest place I've ever stayed and (most likely) in the fanciest setting they'll ever be worn. To me, it was the pinnacle of faux-denim sweatpants existence and I couldn't help but laugh at how far they had come since being ripped out of a bad magazine. 

A win for bad pants!

. . .

and mail from Caroline...

I also must mention the mail contribution of Caroline which, per usual, offers comic relief. Caroline sent me an H&M gift card that was nearing expiration since she doesn't live near one of their stores. Inside was a small simple note that read, "You really should thank me - I almost filled this puppy with confetti. Instead, I went with this mess-free baby. You owe me one". When she said "I went with this mess-free baby", I assumed she was referring to the simple post-it note where her message was written. This was not the case. Please direct your attention to the envelope below:

Caroline actually mailed me a miniature plastic baby.

"Instead, I went with this mess-free baby" was not a slang phrase referring to the post-it note. She meant it literally! Unfortunately, the baby broke free on its trans-America journey (escape route highlighted above) so the next day when she asked, "did you get the baby?", I was very confused. After a series of strange questions, we both realized we had been bamboozled by the teeniest getaway ever. I wonder where he is now...

. . .