Over the weekend, I not only attended NC Blogger Buzz at the fabulous Vestique, but spoke about blog/life balance.  I have to be honest, I was a little nervous when Ashley and Angela asked me to speak about how I achieve balance in my life.  I don't consider myself a pro at this topic by any means, but I do think that, however precarious I tend to be, I do manage a decent balance in my life.




It was such a fun event and I had a blast speaking to everyone there.  I absolutely love meeting people who are so passionate about what they do.  I can't sing enough praises of these fabulous ladies and how great it was to chat with ladies who blog.

If you are in NC, and especially if you are in the Raleigh area, you should definitely get on the mailing list and attend the next event.  If anything, for the fabulous company. Thanks to everyone who came out and to Ashley and Angela for being such wonderful hostesses!


Thanks Ash for the pics!

Over the weekend we went back to Raleigh on a mission.  Scott was fixing some of the items on our repair list from the inspection and we were also there to celebrate an engagement and first birthday.  It was the first time Peanut and Scott had been back since we have been down in Charlotte and it was a little bittersweet.  Especially when my sweet little peanut said the word, 'home!' upon getting out of the car. (Cue the heartstrings).



If anything, it afforded us the opportunity to visit some of our old haunts (cupcakes and chicken & waffles for all!) and catch up with some friends.  And by we, I mostly mean Peanut and myself.  Scott was a rockstar all weekend and did the heavy lifting as it pertained to fixing and packing. (Thanks babe!)

There are certain things that I believe in. Most importantly is you get what you pay for.  This adage applies to a lot of things, but really it mostly applies to shoes, purses, and bikini waxes.  And boy do I invest in shoes.  Along with that investment comes the need to maintain.  I typically bring my shoes in for a tune-up pretty regularly and proportional to the amount of wear that they are subject to.  The best advice I can give anyone is invest in a good cobbler.  Not a shoe repair place, but a bonafide cobbler.  Even for less expensive shoes, they can do wonders.

When I received my Louboutins, I was worried about their upkeep.  I had heard a lot about the red soles wearing away and the various ways that you could protect against this.  However, I was so eager to wear them that I neglected to do anything.  And as I wore and wore them, the wear and tear of my long days in heels started to show.  Thankfully, Raleigh has Santana Creative.  One of two officially licensed cobblers who can work on Louboutins.  Yes, in Raleigh.  It's a little crazy that they are located there, but who am I to guess the shoe gods? (And no need to worry for those of you who aren't located close by, they will receive shoes via shipment for repair).

I took my pair of Loubies in and I am so thrilled with the result.  They replaced ball of the shoe with the official red shoe grip which will reduce sole wear and also maintain those famous red soles.  They also completed replaced the heel leather (which I had ripped) and placed toe taps underneath the sole guard to reduce tip wear.

My tips for good shoe care: first, find yourself a cobbler - not a shoe repair guy, an honest to goodness tradesman (the shoe department at Nordstrom typically has great recommendations); secondly, proactively have toe taps, heels guards, sole guards placed on your shoes - they'll wear better and you don't have to worry about reconstruction once you've damaged them; and thirdly, when you invest in a great pair of shoes (regardless of the price point) invest in their maintenance - if you love the shoes, you'll end up wanting to wear them for much longer and more often than they can typically withstand.  

One of my favorite activities in the summer months is berry picking.  I usually don't discriminate: strawberries, blackberries, blueberries; there is something so satisfying about going out and picking your own.  The wonderful thing about these parts is despite a lot of urban space, it's not too hard to find a nook or cranny that is seemingly untouched and provides just the perfect spot to procure some berries.  This nook is where Peanut and I found ourselves this past Saturday, happily picking berries at Patchwork Farms.  If you are in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area, I highly recommend it.  It's not terribly far off of the beaten path and in a few weeks will be filled with even more scrumptious fresh, local berries than were there already.

We've been sitting on some information around here.  Partly because it is happening rather quickly and somewhat unexpected, but mostly I'm in a bit of denial about it.  We are currently in the process of packing up our home and making a move.  Sadly not a move down the street (as we were originally planning this summer), but out of the Triangle.  We aren't going terribly far - we are headed to Charlotte to start a new and exciting chapter of our lives.  But as I have been packing up our lives over the past week, I gotten a bit nostalgic about our time in Raleigh.

Finding time to go on dates as a new parent is pretty difficult.  Since both Scott and I work, we want to spend as much time in the evenings with Peanut and our little family as much as possible.  Some of the best advice that was given to us as new parents was to go on day dates.  Scott and I did that very thing last week.  The Raleigh Farmers Market convenes downtown every Wednesday with plenty of fresh food and local product to go around.  It was a great way to break up the day and a such a fun way to spend some one-on-one time as a couple.

Things have been insane recently; work has been busy, personally we've been stretched thin, but this weekend, something great happened - we slowed down.  Ok so maybe my body mandated a little that I slow down, but none-the-less, I consider it the universe sending me a cosmic message. And with that here's a little update on what we've been up to!

One blustery day I finally got to check out a spot in Raleigh that I've been dying to try, Beasley's Chicken + Honey.  The owner happens to also own two other of our favorite places in Raleigh, Poole's Diner & Chuck's.  Beasley's definitely didn't disappoint - everything from their moscow mule (a cocktail favorite of mine) to the chicken and waffles to the dutch apple pie with salted carmel was simply divine.  Plus it doesn't hurt that the barkeep looks like Ryan Gosling...just sayin'.

                                 



This weekend was a blur of good times with friends, celebrating the launch of a shoe line, sending off a dear friend on a journey across the world, and celebrating the birthday of my grandmother.  It's weekends like this, despite how tiring they are, that make me so thankful for everything that I have.  And makes the fact that I'll be testing the upper limits of allowable caffeine for my body weight today totally worth it!

This weekend we had our very first house guests since little peanut arrived.  Our very dear friends (and my bestie) traveled down to good 'ol NC for some babylove, good southern food, and quality time with our newly expanded little family.

Not only did they leave (hopefully) wanting to add on to their brood (sooner rather than later), but we were able to get out around town quite a bit.



Pre-peanut L & I spent at least an hour everyday talking after work on the phone.  And anytime L and I are together we end up sequestering ourselves into some room and talking for hours.  Things have changed slightly (maybe we chat now every other day after work), but the sequestering hasn't.  The husbands were baffled at our ability to go upstairs to do a simple task and not reappear for the better part of an hour.  They are good sports those two and even let us wander off to shop by ourselves (sans baby).  L is also my favorite person to shop with...she totally gets it, has a fab eye, and can spot a good deal from miles away.

Most importantly, they came down to shower our little guy with love.  I think I've said this frequently, but I am always so humbled at the amazingness of our friends.  They truly rock and we are so terribly lucky to have people like them in our lives.

This weekend was really the ideal weekend for me: a little bit of baking, a little bit of hanging with my girlfriends, and a lot of spending time with Hubs and doing Christmas-y things.  As we get prepared for the holidays (and the imminent arrival of Baby Mac), it was nice to take time to just hang with each other.  We watched Christmas movies on the couch, snuggled with the the pup, and enjoyed some hot coco.  Again- best. weekend. ever.