5 flights in 4 days - my whirlwind week of non-stop travel

My past several days have been a complete whirlwind.

It's seriously been nuts... in a good way!

I was on 5 flights in 4 days and literally worked everyday in the scorching heat. 

I hardly slept, never turned to caffeine and somehow kept my energy level high.

Although there wasn't much time for fun, I thankfully worked with my good friend, Jeremiah, so we laughed our whole way through and even squeezed in 2 dinners at the beach.

I'm definitely not impressed with east coast beaches (sorry), but wouldn't pass up a meal with an ocean view for anything!

Wednesday

Flight, 7:30am: Charlotte, NC --> Norfolk, VA

Work: Virginia Beach Warped Tour

Dinner: Virginia Beach, Waterman's Surfside Grille

Thursday

Flight, 6:55am: Norfolk, VA --> Atlanta, GA

Work: Atlanta Warped Tour

Flight, 9:15pm: Atlanta, GA --> Orlando, FL

Flight delayed! Obsessed with solitaire and always travel with a water bottle

Friday

Breakfast: at hotel with a family of ducks 

Work: Orlando Warped Tour

Flight, 9:20pm: Orlando, FL --> Fort Lauderdale, FL

Saturday

Work: West Palm Beach Warped Tour

Dinner: Fort Lauderdale, H20 Cafe

Back stage at Warped Tour

Sunday

Flight, 8:30am: Fort Lauderdale, FL --> Charlotte, NC

I left Bryan for 4 days and this is what I came home to. We had discussed moving this tree and my resounding answer was "no, you'll kill it"... Well, he did what he wanted and uprooted it while I was gone. Now I have a tree in a spot I didn't want it in and a gaping hole that looks like a missile crashed into my backyard. Oh, and it looks like it's dying, but Bry swears it'll come back to life. Uh huh. I think I'm going to kill him! My mom told me to get used to it... he's a man and this will happen the rest of my life.

Today I'm working in Charlotte for the first time since I've moved here.

Kinda strange... since I've lived here for over 2 years, right?

I'm so happy to have woken up in my own bed, gone to work like a normal person... And the cherry on top? I get to sleep in my own bed tonight too!

It's the little things...

queens feast - summer 2012

It's Queens Feast in Charlotte this week and all of the restaurants are a buzz! 

Queens Feast aka Restaurant Week

This occurs twice a year, in February and July, and we participate every time!

This round we headed into the city to Blue, a fine dining restaurant with a Mediterranean flare.

The food was wonderful, the atmosphere was swanky and the wine was delish -- We'll be going back!

I have a question for you ladies... It's about taking photos with and without the flash. 

Which is the best way to take a photo? I'm clueless...

 Left: without flash  :::::::  Right: with flash

My thoughts: Without flash is more flattering to my body, but with flash brings out the details and color of the subject (me)

Thanks, have a great weekend and don't forget to follow me on twitter here!

my 'bachelorette' finale party

Tis true.

I'm the girl who threw an extremely festive 'Bachelorette' finale party.

Seeing as thought Emily is from Charlotte, all of my friends live in Charlotte and we love Charlotte -- We needed to root our girl on through the finish line in style!

I woke up the day after the show aired to find Arie barely hanging on. Ironic, eh?

I yelled and clapped when I heard them say that they're going to live in Charlotte.

I will run into them and make them love me.

Congratulations to Emily and Jef!

* Although I supplied some goodies, punch and made the pink cut-out signs, I can't take credit for everything at my party. Everyone brought a snack or drink and Ashton made the Arie and Jef cupakes.

best 'call me maybe' video to date

USO employees thought that making a Call Me Maybe video would boost morale amongst soldiers and Marines deployed to Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. It worked!

If that doesn't make your day a little brighter, I'm not sure anything will! I have a perma-grin...

i know someone everywhere i go...

I had to go to Philly on Friday for work.

After work I ran over to Cherry Hill Mall in New Jersey.

I'm in H&M, about to head to the register when I hear "Kaaaate?"

I turn my head and see Jackie staring straight at me.

I almost died.

You see, I worked with Jackie at Lake Mission Viejo when I was in high school and college.

She's a few years younger than me and I haven't seen her since she left for college.

That was 10 years ago!

She's married and has been living in Philly as a physical therapist for 6 years.

This might have been the most random thing that's happened to me in a long while!

Apparently I know someone everywhere I go... even when I go to a mall in New Jersey!

patio and fence installation

Welcome to the most boring post I ever written. It's pretty much for my own documentation and for our families to see. Bryan and I put in a patio back in early March and then we got a fence in April - I forgot to blog about it all though. Woops! Below are the before's and after's from different angels.

These pictures don't do justice at how large our backyard actually is!

We love our stamped concrete patio and are sooooo glad we didn't have to go the wooden deck route. You see, Bryan and I didn't grow up with decks and we think they're super weird. I'm sure they're normal, but to us concrete is normal. Well, our HOA won't approve concrete, so we broke the rules and did it anyway. When/if we ever move, we'll have to rip out the majority of it for a home inspection to be passed.

We put in a slatted fence in the back so that we can still see our little dirty water pond and greenery behind our house. We also installed 2 gates for easy entry - it's amazing how pricey gates are... I was in complete sticker shock. Still kind of am!

We're using our old patio furniture from our apartment. Clearly it's nothing fancy. Without an umbrella it's seriously hotter than hell in our backyard, so we're spending more time on our front porch or waiting for the sun to go down before we head out to our back patio. To ensure that we get the best price for furniture, our plan is to wait it out for another month or so and hit up all of the after summer outdoor furniture sales.

In the meantime, our backyard serves 1 main purpose - a playground for Cali and her friends!