Categories
Everything Else

Five Fabulous Bloggy Favs

Thanks to Trop50 for sponsoring my writing about fabulous bloggers. This year Trop50 is granting 50 Fabulous Wishes. Click here to enter for a chance to win $1,000 to celebrate a friend with a refreshing attitude about looking and feeling fabulous!

How do I list just my five favorite fabulous bloggers?! I checked & I now attempt to keep up with around 150 blogs. Some are decorating, others books, fashion, & lots are newly married-turned-TTC-turned-mommy blogs. I think they are all fabulous & I love the different perspectives & ideas my all blogging friends provide.

When I started blogging back in 2008, my first favorites included Matt Logelin, Suz Steece, & Pioneer Woman. I could go on & on talking about how awesomely fabulous they are, but y’all already know that. I’ve also loved & followed my fabulous in-real-life friends BA, Jenny, Alethea, Nicole & Beth since their blogs began. I bet y’all already love their blogs too!

Instead, I want to share with y’all a few of my current favorites: my fabulous BlogHer roommates & Sally & another blogger named Suzanne! I think I originally got to “know” all five of these ladies through twitter. Lucky for me, I’ve met three in real life {only 2+ months til I meet the others}. These are five fabulous women who’s blogs I check out first on reader & then click over to comment on their witty posts. All five are mothers & I’m already taking notes on the sweet, fun, fabulous ways they are raising their children.

I first met Alena of Charmingly Chandler when she traveled to the PW cookbook signing {I found this photo she’d emailed me of the group & it’s the best one of us}. I loved her & her precious daughter Sophia from the start. I also won my first {& so far only} cloth diaper from her! Alena & her fabulous family came back again to hang out before & during Jenny’s triplets shower. From there, our friendship has taken off & then it’s grown even more once we decided to be roomies for BlogHer. I can’t wait to see her again in person & I know they’ll be lots more photos!

Diana of Hormonal Imbalance calls herself a crunchy housewife. I love her honest posts about parenting Bella, ups & downs of marriage & life as a military wife {I’m still sad they aren’t moving to NC}. Her recently post in a bathing suit made me love her even more ~ so brave & looked rock star hot as she prepared to see her hubby for the first time in a while. I’m really looking forward to meeting her in San Diego.

Miranda from Not Super Just Mom rounds out as my fourth BlogHer roomie. She’s an English teacher {I hope she doesn’t look to closely at my grammar!}, wife, mom to Joshua, & PPD survivor. She lead a great blog series recently promoting & supporting mental health week. But she’s not all serious stuff ~ I loved following her #idolsnark tweets while watching American Idol! I can’t wait meet & party with her in August!

Sally of Exploits of a Military Mama sat next to me at dinner after we met PW. The time flew by over pasta & laughter. I’ve followed along {through her tweets, blog & emails} as she’s over come single parenting while her husband was deployed, moving further away, & now her exciting second pregnancy. Sally’s blog is a great cloth diaper resource & she & Sully are just too cute. Photo below is the only one I had of us ~ it’s from dinner & front to back, Sarah, Sally, me & Beth.

I love finding local bloggers. A pretty, talented one who shares my name?! I was hooked on Suzanne’s Pretty*Swell from my first click. We tweeted & emailed then after she invited me, I joined a local Raleigh blogging group & was able to meet Suzanne there. I don’t eat bacon but her post on the NC State Fair had me laughing out loud. Her first daughter {whom she calls Small Fry} is so sweet & she even vlogs. Suzanne just gave birth to baby Sunshine & I’m hoping to be able to get to meet her soon!

Don’t forget to enter the 50 Fabulous Wishes contest for a chance to win $1,000 to celebrate a friend with a refreshing attitude about looking and feeling fabulous. I was selected for this Tropicana Trop50 sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do. I received compensation to use and facilitate my post.

Categories
Photography

Weekly Project 365

Day 141 Book Club Night Out! I’m still thinking about that yummy margarita of mine. [flickr id=”5778843017″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]

Day 142 Sunday I packed & hung out with Jason & Moe. There was a little chipmunk on our back deck that fascinated the kitty & I. [flickr id=”5778843983″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]

Day 143 My first night in Forest City. My fake Jack Rogers wedges broke within minutes of our arrival. I bought these flats at Belk that night. [flickr id=”5778844567″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]

Day 144 Our view on the way back from dinner. Something to be said about sun setting over the mountains. [flickr id=”5779389848″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]

Day 145 I love the outside of the Water Oak. [flickr id=”5778899201″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]

Day 146 I watched the crazy rain storm from the hotel window. [flickr id=”5778899597″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]

Day 147 This Scotty fan’s Explorer had me LOLing while driving down to OIB. Raleigh is definitely proud! [flickr id=”5778899721″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]

Categories
Food

Forest City~ home away from home

Since Monday, the  Holiday Inn Express in Forest City, NC had been called “home”. That & the local NCFB claims office.

In between working & watching DWTS & AI finales {yay Scotty!}, we’ve eaten our way through Rutherford Co. Monday was Wendy’s (apple pecan chicken salad) & Chili’s {we stuck with what we knew}.

Tuesday we branched out to “downtown” FC to Smith’s Drugs. It’s an ole timey drug store {just like the ones from your grandparents’ days}. I think the prices hadn’t changed since then either as my grilled pimiento cheese sandwich with pasta salad & tea was around $5! [flickr id=”5779453300″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”] And while we were eating, I was able to get my Femara prescription filled. We met an agent who’s about to retire & his family at the Flat Rock Cracker Barrel for dinner that night. Go try the summer Strawberry salad while it’s still on the menu.

Gwen & I ventured back downtown on Wednesday for lunch. We walked around checking out antique stores, furniture places & a great local independent pet store {who gave me a few food recommendations for crazy Moekitty} before settling on eating at Ole Blue’s BBQ. [flickr id=”5779453998″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”] I enjoyed a pulled chicken sandwich & probably the best mac n cheese I’d had in a long time. [flickr id=”5779454654″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”] We met an agent & his wife at their son’s restaurant, The Water Oak, for dinner Wednesday night. Go check it out online & if you’re ever in this part of NC, go! I had a cup of the best she crab soup outside of coastal SC as well as Scallops with risotto & asparagus. [flickr id=”5778910493″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]

After spending $$ out Wednesday, we went for cheap & close by Thursday. We’d heard great things about Cafe at the Mall & I had the best sandwich {so good that I got it again to go on our way home Friday}. Although we’d sworn we would work out every day, Thursday was the first time we got the chance. I kicked my own butt running on the treadmill. We ran out in the rain to Walmart & the local Mexican restaurant, Mi Pueblito which was featuring $1.25 bud light drafts for dinner. [flickr id=”5778911101″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”] Then I *had* to finish my box wine {because you know you can’t leave wine behind!}.

I all but finished Unbroken this week staying up until 2 am Wednesday night because I couldn’t put it down. After packing up I read a little more Thursday & hope to finish it this weekend {I’ll post a review after book club  next week}. We drove back in the rain today & soon I’m on my way to meet up with my family in OIB.

I have to say, I wasn’t expecting much out of Forest City & it was definitely better than I thought! My FB coworkers were so nice & I’d definitely volunteer to work there again if there are any future storms.

Categories
Everything Else Travel

I’m Really Going

To BlogHer ’11 that is! The ticket was purchased month ago. The SouthWest flight I’ve been stalking eying as the best for coming & going’s price dropped $100 last night. Since I’m away from home {without my trusty laptop}, I was forced to try to shop {& blog} from my phone. SW.com & my phone weren’t friends, but luckily for me, the price was the same this morning at work. $450 later, I’m booked for San Diego Wednesday night through Sunday afternoon!

Only hiccup is that so far I don’t have a place to crash Wed night. Anyone live in SD or have an extra spot on their hotel bed/couch/floor for me?!

Categories
Photography

Book Club Girls Night Out

It’s only taken us three years & one of our founding members leaving for my book club friends & I to have a girls night out. Alethea {sadly for me & the rest of book club} is moving to OR soon. We let her decide where the nine of us who could make it would go. She chose one place but they didn’t take reservations, so we switched & met at Humble Pie. We enjoyed margaritas, sangria, craft beer & delicious tapas. I ordered the spinach salad & black bean crepe. I think we shared bites of everything & it was all delicious!

How beautiful are my book club friends?!

After dinner, we decided to check out the new pie place downtown, Pie Bird. Again, I think we got one of each of the sweet pies & shared bites. I enjoyed Key Lime pie, but I would go back again for more the the Cookies & Cream as well as the Icebox Lemon & Strawberry pie.

Looking forward to seeing them again next Wednesday to discuss Unbroken & hopefully to plan another night out soon!