oktoberfest!

the story of oktoberfest is best told by pictures. enjoy.

{this is how the day began before we even left}

{entrance}

{330+ breweries}

{the boys & sam}

{this would be offensive if it wasn't his idea}

{towards the end of the day..}

{bro pic}

favorite beer award goes to pisgah brewing from black mountain, nc. we loved solstice (9.5%) & blueberry wheat!

shout out to my momma for getting us home safely - you're the best DD (and mom) ever!

this week's "happys."

i got a ton of new updates on  macbook pro & my iphone. i hadn't updated any of the software on my macbook since i got it 2.5 years ago. it was time. i put about $60 into updating everything so it will run smoothly between my iphone & macbook. the best part so far is  photostream  - it  automatically transfers any picture i take on my phone to my iphoto library! ios6 is pretty cool too... mostly just because of the cat emojis (i hate cats).

 

new mumford and sons album, need i say more?

red wine. i'm a new red wine drinker and i think this makes me old. and with loving red wine, comes the use of my bulldog aerator. seriously, how awesome is this?

this postcard on postsecret this week. it hit me hard and i'm still not entirely sure why.

kristin blakely lavender.

28 years ago today, god blessed planet earth with kristin. and i am oh so glad he did. our friendship story is a special one. and by special, i mean creepy by most people's standards. let me explain (while trying not to sound like a complete psycho).

about a year ago, i started following kristin on twitter by way of her "public figure" (now ex) boyfriend. you see, he used to tweet things about her that intrigued me. it's hard to remember what it was now, but i think it was mostly things about anthropologie & grilled cheese. and then somehow along the way, i found her blog and the obsession only grew. by mid-september it was safe to say i had my first full on girl crush. sometime in january, after responding to a few of kristin's tweets (only one i can remember and it was about beyonce), she finally followed me back. sometime in february, we started emailing. sometime in march, we started texting. and the rest my friends, is history.

i've never been so sure that god purposely placed someone in my life before. even before she knew i existed, her beautiful & emotionally written blogs rocked my world during a time i needed it most. once we became friends, she quickly joined the short list of the "people i never want to do life without." she is insanely smart & i use her for my personal grammar/spelling guide on a regular basis. she loves so many of the same things that i love: football, reading, weird movies, ryan gosling, writing, starbucks, music, social media, her family, apple products, the list could go on & on. she is always there for me when i need a friend, whether it is texting just to say "are you hanging in there?" or emailing me an article she knows i need to read. she encourages me daily and loves me no matter what crazy thoughts i share with her. she is ridiculously beautiful & has absolutely no idea. and her awkwardness, it almost matches mine. most of all, she makes me want to be a better person. my dad always told me that is the greatest compliment you can give someone, and i have never meant it more.

so happy birthday, my sweet kristin. thank you for being such an amazing friend to me over the past 8 months. i can't imagine my life without you in it & i hope i never have to. i love you!

gamecocks vs. tigers (the mizzou kind)

i bet you can guess what i did last saturday... ANOTHER home game! man, it's been a busy few weeks with an insane work schedule & 5 football games, but it sure has been fun!

i took a day trip to columbia and got to sleep in my bed both nights this past weekend for the first time in 5 weeks. i got to cola around 9am, we packed the truck, and headed to the game.

{me, britt, nicole, rachel rose}

bradshaw's dad got tickets for the game but ended up not being able to come, so we had 6 tickets to use. we ended up selling our season tickets (best $40 ever) and asking charlee & nicole to sit with us in her dad's seats. this was the best decision we ever made as these seats were in the shade and our seats are certainly not.

it was a super fun game - our first SEC home game of the year and also mizzou's first road SEC game. it felt like we had to show them what a SEC atmosphere is all about & i'd say we did a mighty fine job. connor shaw was FLAWLESS. he completed 20 of 21 passes, and apparently, if he completes the first 5 passes this weekend, he'll set an SEC record for most consecutive completions. pretty impressive for a good ol' georgia boy.

{tin roof made shirts about dj swearinger's suspension - hilarious!}

{williams brice}

{williams brice}

i headed home after pizza with my pals. sunday was spent sleeping and eating with two of my favorite girls, just the way every sunday should be. i can't wait to stay in charlotte this weekend!

{my sunday}

ps. this is my 100th post!

panthers primetime letdown.

this past thursday, the panthers played in the thursday night prime time spot for the first time since 2008. if i had to explain the game in one word, i would pick tragic. it was a painfully rough loss to the giants with a final score of 36-7. it was embarrassing.

however, prior to the game, momma scooped me up and we headed to meet her friends to tailgate. this was the mac daddy of all tailgates and i was in heaven. mom and i had a great time and made some new friends before i headed into the game.

{direcTV}

{jello shots}

{the spread}

{charlotte}

 the congestion to get into the game was worse than i have ever seen it. i found a group of friends to tag along with because i was alone going into the game. they were super nice & got me in safely before i had to walk to the entire other side of the stadium - it was a hike! i met court, derrick, and court's friend debbie at our seats. even though the game was pretty terrible, we still had a great time! and guess who was sitting 3 rows behind us....

{emily maynard & jef holm!}

happy birthday @agcrute!

yesterday was was roomie amanda's 24th birthday! after a few adult beverages on tuesday night, i snuck around decorating our house  with an alarming amount of princess decorations. i thought amanda would for sure laugh about it because it looked like a 5 year old decorated for her own party. but thankfully, she loved it!

i had to work late but scooped her up after work and headed to my favorite place, 300 east. amanda is new to charlotte so i wanted to take her somewhere she'd never been before. we had yummy wine, a delicious meal, and our waitress even brought amanda a birthday brownie!

we ended the evening on the couch with a pumpkin beer and this baby girl who stole amanda's princess crown...

hope it was a perfect birthday, amanda!

football. and more football.

after a crazy friday, i woke up early on saturday to head to cola for the game. i got there around 11:30am and we packed up the truck, grabbed lunch, and had our beers cracked open by 1pm. kick off was at 7pm - our first night game of the season! there is something magical about football games on cool(ish) evenings in the south - there is nothing quite like it. throw in a few fireworks and a lot of touchdowns, and you've got yourself a mighty fine evening.

{me & the crocker girls}

{sweet pals}

{williams brice sunset - and the JUMBOtron}

{firework show at halftime}

sunday i woke up really early & headed back to charlotte for the panthers  vs. saints game! our parents accidentally booked a vacation without checking the panthers schedule & are missing the first two home games which means we have scored their tickets. i changed quick & headed over to court's condo. upon arrival, we learned that our sweet/always late brother-in-law missed his flight, so we had 2 extra tickets. i called my roomies & told them to hurry up & come on. amanda had never been to  a game so it was fun to be able to take her to her first one. it was an awesome game - the panthers got a much needed win, 35-27. other than some rain, it was a perfect first home game of the season. can't wait to do it again on thursday night!

{panthers vs. saints}

 

{awesome surprise of chairmen of the board playing at halftime!}

{tired seester took a much need half time nap - sorry for posting this court but i had to.}

music. the live kind.

i'm a music lover. i love all kinds. i have a weak spot for lyrics and acoustic guitars and songs about the south. music is one of the most important things in my life.

last week, i got to see two live shows in a matter of two days. lucky girl.

rewind to my birthday last month, best friend katie bought me a ticket for the fray! i love the fray in a big way - their song "look after you" makes me weak in the knees and i'm not sure i've ever listened to an entire album as many times as i have listen to "how to save a life." i have seen them live once before, on a night which stands out as one of my all time favorites. jack's mannequin opened for the fray, and this show was the first show EVER at the (then) brand new music factory in uptown. it was awesome. so i knew the fray would be wonderful, but what i didn't know was how incredible kelly clarkson would be. dang, that girl can sing. wednesday night was so much fun - i wish i had a hump-day concert to attend every week!

 

{katie, hunt, amanda, britt, rach, me}

 

{the fray}

after dragging through thursday and friday at work, i got off a few hours early & ran around like a crazy trying to get ready for the weekend. last week i decided to buy last minute tickets for the band perry & brad paisley concert. roomies & sisters came with and we met derrick & his pals at the concert. we hung out (aka drank) in the parking lot for about an hour before heading inside. it was a wild/fun evening, and i'm thankful for nights like this, spent around my family & some of our favorite friends.

 

{katie, me, sister courtney}

 

{our gang at brad}

 

{roomies!}

 

 

football & moonshine & best friends.

football season is finally here! that miserable stretch between the college world series & football season (also known as SUMMER) has finally come to an end. after receiving a bonus check in august for the exact amount i needed to buy season tickets, i took this as a sign and recruited rachel to be my seat buddy for the season. almost of our other friends also have season tickets with their boyfriends/husbands/parents, so not buying tickets seemed silly.

last weekend was the first home game. so after work on friday, i packed up and headed to cola. i love that 90 minute drive - it's the perfect amount of time to clear your head & listen to whatever song you're currently crushing about 20 times in a row. i met a few pals at one of our favorite places, rockaways, for dinner. after a declicious pimento cheese burger, we went back to nicole's apartment to cook & prepare for gameday.

as this is now our 3rd football seasons as alumni, we figured it was time to get our own tailgate spot. and what better place to get one than in the brand new, unbelievably beautiful, farmers market. and boy, it is beautiful.

 

{before: courtesy of gamecock athletics}

 

{after: courtesy of gamecock athletics}

12:21pm kick-offs are brutal. mostly because this means you have to start drinking at about 8am. our first tailgate was a success & i even got to see chester & jason! they came down for the game because they both graduated from ECU. once we finally made it into the game, we got to see this beauty: our brand new jumbotron. jumbo doesn't really do is justice. it's so exciting to see all of these awesome changes happening in and around our stadium. i think back to my first south carolina game 9 years ago and the stadium & the grounds are almost unrecognizable. thank you, steve spurrier, for your continual push for athletic improvements. we are forever grateful!

 

{before}

 

{after: courtesy of gamecock athletics}

the gamecocks whipped up on ECU for a final score of 48-10, and i got a terrible sunburn. the best part about football season isn't just the football, it's getting to see my friends on a more regular basis.  7 home games this year - i'll think i'll just leave my bag packed until december.

 

{ammie, rach, me}

 

{we used to be productive on gameday...}



 

{6 years later... we deserve every drink}

 

i'm published (okay, not really)!

thursday morning i woke up to a tweet from one of my followers that said, "just saw your tweet in the charlotte observer." um, what? i asked her to take a picture and here is what she sent...

so now i know that the newspaper has the right to publish your tweets without permission if your account is public which is pretty cool/creepy. thanks to whoever it was who thought my tweet was informative enough to share with all of charlotte!

sunsets & golf carts & football.

sometimes life just works out and you score a 4 day weekend. and sometimes you somehow con your parents into taking you to your favorite place on earth during said 4 day weekend. and then when your best friend can come too, it's like a little cherry on top.

this past weekend we headed back to bald head island, nc. i'm feeling a little spoiled since this is now trip # 3 in less than a year (see trip one & trip two). there is something special about that island, 20 years later & i've never been so sure of that.

friday

{ferry coming in}

{our front porch}

{sunset #1}

{freight ship}

{shrimp & grits}

saturday

{homemade breakfast}

{beach with the bestie}

{sunset #2}

sunday

{stepmom made peach cobbler!}

{bestie & sis}

{parents watching band of oz - such a great treat to see them play!}

monday we packed up and headed back to charlotte. it's never fun to leave BHI, but i'm always thankful for any amount of time i get to spend there & so thankful katie got to come for the first time!