Biltmore's Christmas Tree Raising

 

 

 

Time lapse video of the Christmas Tree Raising Celebration at Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC

Enjoy!

Mary Ellen

Vintage Pillbox Hat

Vintage Pillbox Hat 

from SuzAnna's Antiques

I have a love for vintage and vintage-inspired, if you couldn't already tell!  So, I'm always excited to make a trip to SuzAnna's Antiques to browse all their wonderful treasures.  I literally want to buy the entire store.  But for now, my budget only allows for vintage hats!  My recent purchase, a navy blue, straw pillbox hat with a pearl and rhinestone brooch on the top.  So simple, yet so cute!      

Here's me with my new hat and my navy Ruby Rox retro dress

And Ashleigh took this picture of me with my hat as I was on my way to the farmer's market.  Got lots of compliments on the hat and dress from the other market patrons and vendors!

Mary Ellen

Sunday Picnic at NC State

GO PACK!

The kids have been wanting to go on a picnic this summer.  They've also wanted to go walk around the NC State campus to see where Daddy & Mommy met and fell in love!  So this weekend, we decided to kill two birds with one stone - a picnic at NC State!

We loaded up a basket with homemade sandwiches (Ashleigh helped me wrap them), baggies of chips and some lemonade.

And homemade brownies for something sweet! 

For our picnic, we chose a spot overlooking the Court of (North) Carolina. 
 

Dave recalls having many religion classes at this outdoor classroom near the Court.  When I met Dave, he already had a degree in Management, but was pursuing a second degree in Religious Studies.  His plan at the time was to go onto seminary after undergrad.  So, I was "almost" a preacher's wife!  But, he decided later not to follow that path.

Walking across the Court towards the rest of the campus

This is Daniels Hall, the Electrical Engineering building.  When I was accepted into NC State as a senior in high school, I was accepted into the Electrical & Computer Engineering program.  However, I quickly found out my brain is not compatible with engineering, so I changed majors!  But some of my first classes as a freshman were at Daniels Hall.

This is Harrelson Hall, a completely circular building.  My math classes were here, as well as some other electives.  The first floor of Harrelson currently houses the campus bookstore.

Looking out onto the Brickyard.  I remember walking out here between classes for lunch.  The student center here had the best taco salads!  This was also where you would find Gary the Brickyard Preacher.  He would basically yell we were all heathens that were going to hell!

 

DH Hill, the main campus library.  We went inside, partly to cool off from all our walking!  The inside has been updated with lots of modern decor, complete with a bunch of swivel egg pod chairs and touch screen tables.  There's also now an ice cream shop, downstairs snack bar and tons of lounge/study areas.  I briefly held a job at the library stacking books, then working in the inter-library loan department. 

Leaving the Brickyard, we headed to central campus via the Free Expression Tunnel.  

As its name implies, the tunnel is an area where students are allowed to express themselves.  The kids thought it was so cool you could spray paint on the walls without getting in trouble!

Leaving the tunnel, we saw some changes to this part of campus.  The student c-store (convenience store) and bookstore building had been torn down as part of an expansion project for the Talley student center.  These cool metal wolf sculptures are also new additions.

And this is my old dorm, Carroll Hall.  When I came to NC State as a freshman, the dorm was all girls.  But, by my sophomore year, it became co-ed.

And directly across from my dorm, was Dave's dorm Owen Hall.  Similar to Carroll, it was all guys initially, but later became co-ed.  Dave was an RA (resident advisor) at Owen and has many fond memories of hanging out with his friends and fellow RAs.  Dave was able to get a peek inside the dorm and was saddened to find the Owen 50th Anniversary mural that was painted while he was living there, had been painted over.

And this is Tucker Beach were people would play volleyball, throw around frisbees and lay out.  The building on the other side is Tucker Hall and where most people on this side of campus went to use the computer lab. 

Heading back towards our car, we walked by Reynolds Coliseum.  Before the larger arena was built off campus, this was where the Men's Basketball team played their home games. 

And of course a tour of the campus is not complete without going to the Bell Tower.  The tower was built as a monument to honor alumni that died in World War I.  There are no actual bells in the tower.  It has an electronic chime system which sounds off every hour.  However, a student movement was started back in 2008 to raise money for actual bells!   

Mary Ellen

Weekend Vintage Finds - SuzAnna's Antiques

Over the weekend, Dave and I took a little excursion - sans kids - to visit SuzAnna's Antiques at The Vintage Village on Durant Road in Raleigh.  SuzAnna's is a shabby chic, vintage lover's dream!  So many beautiful treasures!  If I had the money, I would have bought the entire store LOL!  But this time, I came away with just two small vintage items.  A blue, straw hat with bow and veil and a pair of white day gloves.  Hats and gloves are on my list of vintage items I want to collect.  I can't wait to go back to see what other goodies I can find.  I spotted a vintage scale I would love to have in my kitchen.  Next time, it's coming home with me!

Mary Ellen   

Swirling

Some days are just ordinary.  School, work, home.  Rinse and repeat.  And then some days are extraordinary with a bit of spontaneity!  Like last week after dinner when Dave told the kids they could get ready for bed OR we could go out for ice cream.  Guess what they picked!  We headed over to Moonlight Swirl, a frozen yogurt bar with 12 rotating flavors and TONS of toppings!
 

The kids made their own interesting creations...

I made my personal favorite - a walnut sundae.  As a child, I remember going into town to the Dairy Queen (which was only open during the summer months) and ordering walnut sundaes with my family.  Back home you could order them by name.  But up here, the DQs aren't familiar with this delicious treat.  I usually have to explain its contents which are soft serve vanilla, wet walnuts and a cherry on top.  But at Moonlight Swirl, I can construct my own with LOTS of wet walnuts and LOTS of cherries!

We had fun eating our sundaes under the moonlight!

*****

Speaking of swirling, congrats to Christelyn Karazin and her co-author Janice Roshalle Littlejohn on the release of their new book, Swirling:  How to Date, Mate and Relate, Mixing Race Culture and Creed.  Christelyn runs the very popular site Beyond Black & White; a lifestyle blog, forum and magazine all in one for black women dating or married to men outside of their race or culture.  Like moi!  Congrats ladies!  I have a feeling this is going to be a best seller!

Mary Ellen          

Picking Strawberries at Vollmer Farm

Thanks to a warm winter, strawberry season came early to our area this year!  And for us, that means a trip out to Vollmer Farm in Bunn, NC.

Yummy strawberries!

Dave and the kids picking berries

I guess Ashleigh sneakily took a picture of me picking as well!  It was a cool, somewhat breezy day.  But I braved the elements in my dress and heels :)

After our buckets were filled, the kids took to the playground.  The pirate ship is always a favorite.  Clayton is king of the world!

So is getting a push from Daddy on the swings!

And of course the grand finale, a stop by the ice cream shop for scoops of homemade ice cream!  I had banana pudding - so delicious!  Tastes just like banana pudding but in a waffle cone!

Now, its time to work these strawberries into some jars of jam.  I'll also freeze a portion to use in smoothies.  The rest, we'll just enjoy their fresh, sweet goodness!

Mary Ellen