Adventures in Boone: Tour of App. State

On Saturday morning Chris took me on a tour of Appalachian State. I am still amazed at how BIG everything is! Having myself graduated from a small school, it's hard to imagine college life with soo many buildings, books and things to do. The library is amazing. And don't even get me started on the student center! It's too many levels to count, boast multiple ballrooms, auditoriums, galleries, and coffee stands galore. I can't imagine what it would be like to have a bus route on campus, lol, or a humongous football stadium, or (multiple) Olympic sized pools for that matter! I can see how it would be very hard to keep focused on one's studies with so many things to do...however, with a library like that, I take it back(there are even multiple fireplaces in the library!). The picture below is just the entrance to the library. The statue is called "Dance of Learning," and was just one of the many peices of artwork abounding throughout App's campus.

I was told taking a picture with this guy is a must for any respectable App State goer...
This is where Chris spent his last year at App-the view was amazing!
It's too bad the winters are so harsh; I'm not sure how happy I would be to brave the icy elements daily. But, if your into bundling up for blistering winds and black ice, then I'd totally recommend Appalachian!

Adventures in Boone: App Ski Mountain!

It was unseasonably warm on the mountain. These pics were taken after we had taken a trip inside to removed our hats, gloves, scarfs, ect. We were overdressed to say the least-the temp was in the high 50's, and sunny. Nevertheless, there was snow on the mountain!
I was pleasantly surprised to find that I have some mad ski skills. Turns out I'm a natural to winter sports ;)

(Though it's really not such a big deal when you're standing in the lift line behind 8 year olds!)

Chris refreshed his snowboarding skills in an instant, and was ready to go! He actually took a snowboarding class when he was at App-things like this make me think I missed something at Campbell, lol.

The different ski slopes had really fun names, all related to apples. My favorite slope was named "Orchard Run."

Take 3 of 3-the sun was definitely in our eyes.This picture was taken on the ski lift, which I thought was fun in and of itself!

Adventures in Boone: Downtown Blowing Rock

This past weekend Chris and I took the long awaited trip to Boone, NC. Chris was sooooo excited to ski/snowboard and to see his old App State stomping grounds. The mountains were surprisingly warm on Friday, but offered us a bounty of beautiful views and frighteningly curvy, rolling roads. We left at the crack of dawn on Friday morning, and arrived in Boone by 8am with a full day ahead of us. After a nostalgic stop at "Expresso News" for a long coveted cup of coffee, Chris and had breakfast, hit the Tanner outlets, and toured the beautiful downtown Blowing Rock. Downtown Blowing Rock is such a cute area, and has tons of adorable little shops. Here are some pics from our morning there.

We stoped by a little park before heading to the ski; the bottom picture is of me jumping down from the colorful rock wall, Chris is so proud of his action shot!

Ski pics to come :)

SNOW day!

A Tuesday morning winter wonderland. We came ... We saw ... We conquered....well, not quite. The snow was too powdery for a snowman, but I did manage a few nicely packed snowballs and a beautiful snow angel. Here is Chris with our would be snowman. Piper had a blast, despite his freezing jacket of snow.
After our adventures outside, we made chocolate chip cookies, mmmmm! And I read my book at the island, waiting for the stove timer to ring, basking in the lovely smell of cookie dough rising.

Piper was sneaky, and ate about half of our wonderful cookies. What will we do with him?

And then I made this cake!

Thankfully, with a little pinch of patience and a lot of powdered sugar, it turned out alright(I'll skip the part where I over estimated the pink food coloring and came out with a batch of hideous hot pink, retro, barbie colored icing). I can't wait to eat this thing :)

After my adventures in cake decorating, Chris and I lazed about on the couch with a good movie and a little Ceasers pizza-a consequence of crockpotting gone horribly wrong. A story for another snow day no doubt.

Thank God for snow and snowdays :)

Monday Adventures

...Running late, and pleasantly surprised to find a frost free windshield to greet me on my morning commute.

Once at work I warm up with a good, creamy cup of coffee, and am overjoyed to find a box of Dunkin Donut holes in the work room not long after.

I read briefly about Joshua and the Ammorites, before submitting our newspaper ad for the week.

For lunch I went to Moe’s, where I slowly snacked on my appetizing Power Wagon and read “Wuthering Heights” amidst the miles of lunchtime gossip.

I had to wait in line to put gas in my car, but was thankful for the extra time to read a page or two more.

On the way back to work I encountered the dreaded “roadwork” and was again stalled…but again, happy for another opportunity to turn the pages of the Linton-Earnshaw history.

A few fliers, deadlines met, weekend chats and bad copy machine encounters later, I am homebound. I can't wait to greet my happy puppy and hungry husband!

What’s for dinner you ask? A newbie…introducing the Southwestern Chicken Tostada Salad, courtesy of pillsbury.com. I’ll let you know how many stars that one wins.

Next, I'm making a cake-but wait! Due to the portended snow(WRAL reads “The heaviest snowfall predicted in the Triangle), my cake plans have been put off for one more night. I’m baking the cake for a baby shower here at work, and am so excited to decorate it! Unfortunately, we’ve rescheduled the shower for a day later in light of the impending snow. What will I do now?

Jon and Kate plus 8, a Monday night favorite.

Oh how wonderful it would be to have a snow day tomorrow and do nothing but lick cake batter and make icing all day long! Cheers to snow!

New Sewing Projects

I just love the pattern for this oh-so-cute and simple apron I made. It couldn't be easier-you can even make it from dishtowels(though I couldn't resist this adorable fabric-love the houses)! It's the perfect apron for a little helper in the kitchen :) I found this pattern here.

Speaking of easy, I was surprised to find another great pattern for baby bibs. January is baby shower month for me, and I'm so excited to make these as gifts. Here are my trial runs...courtesy of this fun site.

Last but not least, here is my slightly modified pillow case dress. I sewed(sew?) this one a few months ago but am just now getting around to posting. You can find this pattern online at "Red Instead Blog."

Too much fun!

Puppy Poses

Resolved to Read

My new years resolution this year is to read more. I love reading. Unfortunately, like so many other things that are good to and for us, reading for me is often pushed to the backburner. I can be completely engrossed in a book one week, and then not turn a single page for another two. This is for lack of trying. So in this new year, I am resolved to read more-specifically one book for every two weeks. That's roughly two a month at minimum. A realistic and achievable goal indeed!

To keep me accountable to my goal, I've roughly outlined(and themed!) the months and which books I'll be reading in them. So fun! I have a few empty spots still, and am open to suggestions, wink wink.

This month is a bit scattered since I've had a few books in limbo. On the heels of "The picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde and "The curious case of Benjamin Button" (a short story and nothing like the movie), I am currently reading "Because he loves me" by Elyse Fitspatrick. Obviously there is no rhyme or reason to January, lol. In February though, I'll be delving into the classics with the Bronte sisters for "Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights." I hope to do a short blog on these books as I read them, maybe a simple quote from each of the monthly books, who knows. For now, here's a fun one from good ole' Dr. Seuss.

“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

A Few Of My Favorite Things...

Oh how I love cupcake castles, and sprinkles, and aprons, and making a mess in the kitchen. I made these deliciously green cupcakes for Chris' New Years party with Kidstunes. Along with the always dreaded White Elephant exchange, there was also a fun awards ceremony, where Chris was aptly awarded the title of "Guitar Hero." While very true, I must say that Chris is much more than a guitar hero these days, spending more time with his new set of electric drums and sharpening his piano skills.
Oh, and I haven't forgotten my nod to Martha...sans the silver sprinkled tree branch. Without further ado, my mom's lovely New Year's table...

A beautifully set table, anxiously awaiting food and drink, laughter, family, full bellies and dessert-another one of my favorite things :)

Christmas Capers Part 3

Happy New Year! Chris and I had a great time celebrating new years and a belated Christmas in Goldsberry. We were so happy to spend time at the Daniels' on New Years eve, enjoying the company of our church family, watching the crazy kiddos and meeting some fresh faces. And of course a night at the Daniels wouldn't be complete without some guitar picking/violin playing/music making fun-Chris had a blast!

On New Years Day we celebrated Christmas with my family. It was wonderful to have everyone together, and hold tight to our family traditions in spite of our ever evolving lives. After being senselessly spoiled with wonderful gifts, we hastily moved to get our big dinner ready. Get ready for it- I think my next post will be entirely devoted to my mom's fabulous Martha Stewart table. :)

Chris and I have so much to be grateful for this Christmas, and look forward to all of the things that lay before us in 2009.