You Gotta Have Friends

I am filthy rich. And, no, I didn't win the lottery or inherit a large sum of money. I am referring to the fact that I am blessed beyond measure and rich with love from family, friends, and blessings from one amazing God. It's really hard for me to wrap my head around, actually.

When you (pretty much) live in the same town your whole life and spend as much time with your family as I have, it's easy to take your surroundings for granted. One thing I have absolutely adored about this move is that I have gained a whole new perspective on my life and the people in it. At times, when we lived in Greenville, I often felt frustrated that most of my best friends from high school and college lived so far away. They were all spread out EVERYWHERE. Many times, it was lonely and it was hard. Now that I am also "far" away, I realize how much we will always need each other. It's not so hard to be there for each other, no matter how distant we get. I will be the first to admit that my friendships often took a backseat to my other relationships; I now know God had a purpose for that because I have an amazing husband to show for it. Now that I am in a new "season of life" -if you will- it's easier to be there for them.  I have always known how amazing each of my friends are but, as we get older, I truly appreciate their individuality and their gifts even more. As I picture each of them, these words come to mind:  beautiful, creative, loving, fun, quirky, artistic, Godly, inspiring, smart, funny, driven, caring and even athletic. I am blown away at how each of them have been there for me these last few months. It means more to me than you know. When I think about my friends I realize I have some of the best--The one you can tell anything to. The one you can sing duets with. The one you can be silly with. The one you can pray with. The one who laughs a lot. The one who makes you laugh a lot. The creative one. The musical one. The athlete. The intellectual one. The one you can shop with. The one you can enjoy a glass of wine with. The one you can party with....I really have them all.

This past weekend I got to see some of my friends from high school, my friends from college, and a lot of my family. My birthday is coming up in two days and I honestly feel like I was already given the ultimate gift. To gain utmost appreciation for those you love, to spend time with them, and to feel loved and appreciated back is, honestly, one of my very favorite things in the world. Friendship should not be difficult. This post would not be complete without mentioning that I have already made some AMAZING friends here in Roanoke already. I am so grateful to my new church friends and my friends from work. I have to tell you, although I am pretty exhausted, my heart is happy and oh-so-full. Once again, thank you Roanoke. Thank you, Lord.

Pictures from this weekend:

Kathryn, Laura, Whitney, Me (High school)

Me and Carly (High school & college!)

Me, Carly, Helen (mostly college)

Me, Maddie (elementary school & college!), Carly

Carly, Me, Emily & Christen (College-senior year roomies!)

Love,

Seeing Clearly Now

A Winchester Weekend

Another weekend flew by and we had more special guests come to stay--Debbie, Jeff, and their golden, Cassie! It was a pretty fabulous time! Here are some highlights...

Friday night they got in at about 4:30pm so we decided to make it a relaxed night in. We had some drinks and appetizers on the screened porch then cooked out pork loin on the grill. Their favorite app I make is called "Bruschetta Bake" (I stole it from my cousin, Logan's, blog!) and I have been meaning to share the recipe with you.

Bruschetta Bake

Bruschetta Bake Recipe:
Preheat oven to 350
Layer the following ingredients in small pyrex (you can also pile them on top of each other on tin foil for a less structured look):
-8oz cream cheese (I use 1/3 the fat! No one can tell.)
-Pesto
-About 5 Diced (ripe!) Roma tomatoes
-Black pepper
-Mozzerella cheese
-Fresh Parmesan cheese

Bake for 30 minutes or until dish is bubbling. Serve with crostini or pita chips. EASY and YUMMY!

Saturday morning we woke up and ate a quick breakfast then Debbie and I adventured around town. The guys were busy hanging our chandelier. Our first stop was the Co-Op market. This little market is in walking distance from our house and nestled in the cute downtown area we will continually refer to as "Grandin Village." We live in a neighborhood area called Raleigh Court off of Grandin Rd--so it's not too far at all. Grandin Village is home to a fun coffee shop, furniture shop, various quaint restaurants, a vintage movie theater, and boutiques.

These remind me of my Italy days.

Co-Op (Market!)

BEA-U-TIFUL cherry tomatoes!

Fall is on its way!

Debbie and I ran into a fun custom jewelry stand on the way out of the market and she bought me the most beautiful necklace. The artist called the piece the "Sundance" necklace and it was too appropriate to pass up! You'll see me wearing it in some of the pics coming up. After the Co-Op and walking through Grandin Village, we drove out to see the school I work at then to a home furnishings shop that my mom and I have fallen in love with called "Present Thyme." I am dying to have a painting from there by an artist named Osterhaus. His work is uhhh-mazing!

We picked up the guys (who did an awesome job hanging the chandelier!) then ventured out to Virginia Tech to see the campus and have some lunch. VA Tech was Chris' second choice back in the day and I can definitely see why! The campus is beautiful and very similar to Clemson. The trip to Blacksburg was about 40  mins from our house and we got to see a whole lot of farmland.

April 16th Memorial

Paying respects.

Tree from 1896!

Lane Stadium

After touring around campus for a bit, we decided to grab a bite from Cabo Fish Taco downtown. This food was awesome! Thank you for the rec, Ashton! (We want an official tour when you and Mike visit us, ok??)

Cabo Fish Taco

CFT has famous margaritas! I tried the Pomarita and it was delicious.

Tavarua (Tav-A-Roo) Tuna Tacos

Blackened lemon-rubbed tuna in a kiwi-pineapple fajita sauce served in two flour tortillas, stuffed with lettuce, tomato, avocado, Mixed cheeses & topped with our honey wasabi sauce with Jalapeno Cheddar Mashers on the side

We took the interstate back towards Roanoke and, yes, we went to Mill Mountain for our (mandatory) Star pic.

 Virginia Lovers

The fam!

We drove back down from Mill Mountain and went to Black Dog Salvage. I have been seeing this place for weeks now and it had me very curious. Since Debbie and Jeff are in the process of building their home on Lake Keowee, I thought I'd be a fun stop. What more could you want?! It's a huge warehouse type place with antiques, salvage materials, and the like. Katie Harrison--you'd LOVE it. I took some pics for you!

Old bathtubs

Black Dog of "Black Dog Salvage"

Look what we found!

Claw feet--KATIE, this is for you!!!

We didn't make any purchases but I am feeling a future project coming on. We found some pretty cool old arched windows that I'd love to make into a headboard. There is also a section upstairs of old prints from books--talk about an easy wall art project. Stay tuned for that!

Saturday night we went downtown for dinner to one of our favorite local bars, Corned Beef & Co. We ate up on the rooftop and indulged in pizza, beer, and burgers.

My handsome hubs and father-in-law!

Me with my beautiful mother-in-law! :) Oh, and that's the pretty "Sundance" necklace she got me.

It was a wonderful weekend to say the least. After breakfast, Debbie, Jeff and Cassie headed back to Greenville. We are already looking forward to them coming back up! Oh, and the weekend wouldn't be complete without some pup pics.

Cassie (left) and Sundance (right)

Sundance, Cassie, & little Stella

After ALL that, Chris and I finished our last painting project in the house--dining room trim AND took the dogs to one (of the many) local parks for a walk! I have to say that this move has been amazing for me and Chris so far. The next few weekends will be just the two of us and we're already planning our adventures. It's pretty fabulous to be stuck in a new city with your best friend. ;)

Love,

The Local Tourist

P.S. Before/Afters REALLY are coming next.

Paint Party 2012

This weekend was fabulous; (most of) my fam came to Roanoke, saw most of Roanoke, and conquered a $&*%-ton of painting!

 That's the short version. So stop here if you don't want to go through a zillion pictures and hear the nitty-gritty deets.

Overlook at the Roanoke Star from Mill Mountain

For you poor brave souls reading on--there's plenty more to share. Friday my Mom, Dad, and brother, Robert, came to the Valley to see our new place and to serve as "The Help" (as they referred to themselves). ;)  They got into town late on Friday and we quickly decided the painting could be put off until morning. After a full tour of the new house we got into the car and set out for a tour of our new city. We drove up to the Roanoke Star on Mill Mountain. For those of you planning to visit (and you better!), we've decided this is a must-see when you come up. If you don't get your picture taken from THE STAR at some point when you visit, you're missing out. On second thoughts, we might just make it mandatory.

After the driving tour of downtown and our adventure around the neighborhood/other parts of town we indulged in a happy hour (or two) (or four) then got the grill fired up to cook out some burgers. We ate all together in the (new to us) dining room.  We broke out the backgammon set and had a low key night. We knew the tasks ahead of us Saturday were looming and inevitable. 

Man's BFFs: Dog & Grill

The grub line.

Oh, there's strategy involved.

 Saturday came early and after a good dose of coffee for everyone we got to work (except for Chris, who, insanely enough, doesn't drink coffee). We had 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, the dining room, foyer, and kitchen to tackle. Chris and I chose a different color for every room and the "Paint Crew" was just thrilled with that. ;) We (with some hearty advice from Mrs. Jennie Morgan) decided to choose a very neutral palate so that the rooms would flow. Actually most of the colors downstairs are on the same paint strip (they just vary in tint). [Special shout out to Robert Farry for hooking us up at Sherwin Williams!!]

Complete Before/Afters are coming soon (in the next post!) but, for now, I am gonna show you how much fun the Morgans/Winchesters can have (even if we have to paint 7 rooms in one day).

The task force.

Mrs. Jennie Morgan

Chris had a little helper

According to Robert...(L + C = WORK) 

As you can see, we have an amazing support system! They MUST love us a whole lot to drive 4.5 hours to help paint our whole house, right?! We finished up the painting at 5ish, cracked a few well deserved beers, and had time for a little R&R before our night out on the town. Here are a few action shots:

Backgammon again.

This was the first time Dad beat Chris in ping pong!

Me and my Stella

Cheers!

We managed to pull ourselves together, shower, and head out on the town for a late dinner. Each time we go out, Chris and I are also trying the restaurants for the first time with our guests (for the most part). We elected to try Blue 5 and, boy, was that a good decision. They not only have a great menu with a little bit of everything for everyone, the atmosphere is incredible. This place has Blues inspired decor and they even had a guest band to entertain. After a few songs, we all had to pick our jaws up off the floor. Robert even commented that they were (by far) the best band he has ever seen in a bar. Come to find out, there's a big reason for that; the band, Mac Arnold & Plate Full of Blues, has some serious history. Mac Arnold has played with the likes of James Brown, Muddy Waters, Otis Redding, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, produced Soul Train, and he originates from Greenville, SC! We not only got to watch him perform, we all MET him and got autographed CDs. Talk about a reward for a day of hard work.

Mac Arnold & Plate Full of Blues

Mac playing his wireless Gasoline Can Guitar around the restaurant

All of us with Mac Arnold

Dad and Mom chatting it up with the band members...Those groupies.

Needless to say, we had a phenomenal night out! Sunday came early and after a small breakfast of cinnamon rolls and grits, we had to say our goodbyes until next time---the Ball State v. Clemson game. A few short hours after my fam departed, we had our second round of visitors! Katie (Chris' sister) and her boyfriend, Danny, stopped by on their way back from their summer roadtrip to Long Island & DC for lunch and quick tour. It was SO sweet of them to come and we had a great time. We ate at Grace's Place, a little pizza joint, in the small downtown called Grandin Village area near our neighborhood . Here's the proof!

Clearest day yet from Mill Mountain

(Mandatory) Roanoke Star picture

Grace's Place

 This weekend I learned how to play backgammon, that I love Blues music, painting parties actually fun, and family is completely priceless. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all our visitors this weekend. The support our first weekend here together is huge. BIG thank you to Mom, Dad, and Robert for your love and hard work!

Love,

Someone Seeing Stars