See You Later Party

It's hard to believe but we leave Orlando later this week. Tonight we celebrated our departure with some close friends. My best friend A drove to Orlando all the way from Brooksville to say good-bye. We have been friends since we were in 6th grade. I'm luck to have such a good friend for so long. 

Me and A

Some old friends along with co-workers who came to say bye

A and some more co-workers, all people who I will miss dearly

At work they had a good-bye lunch for me and a good bye cookie cake from Mrs. Fields. No more daily runs during the Summer.

Three of the people I worked with the longest. 8 1/2 years is a long time!

Mustache Surprise

My love celebrated his 28th Birthday today. With the help of his friend K and N's parents, we threw him a surprise mustache party at a sushi restaurant we frequent. He was definitely surprised when he walked in. Happy Birthday Love!

N walking into the restaurant, looking quite surprised

Z one of Nick's friends wearing a fake mustache. It does look real actually...

       

  

I hope he made a wish!

The House Hunt

Now that the decision has been made, N and I have been trying to find a suitable place to live. We've searched and searched and searched. It seems like every place we find, someone gets it before we do! Finally we have found a place!!

Our soon to be home sweet home

Our front porch

More pictures to come once we're settled

Valentine's Day

Today was Valentine's Day, check out my nifty Valentine mailbox.

Ski Bunnies

Wouldn't it be cool if we went and saw snow? That's exactly what I told N over and over the week before we met some friends in the mountains of North Carolina. N and I this  past weekend were lucky enough to continue a new tradition that my friend A had started of going on a ski trip in February. My first time skiing was last year and this year was N's first time. We flew up Friday afternoon and after driving from the Tri-Cities Airport we met up with our friends A and E. 

N getting ready to be fitted for his ski boots

We were the first four to arrive and hung out while we waited for the rest of our group. We all went to Alpine Ski where N and I got fitted for our boots and rented our skis. It's all about fit!

The cabin we were staying at was mountainside and within walking distance of the slopes. This was great advantage to the place we stayed at last year. Our cabin last year was much bigger, but was a 20 minute drive to the slopes. It was nice being mountainside because we were able to head in for some warmth or a quick snack throughout our time skiing. 

View of the slopes from the side of our cabin

That first night when we arrived there as just a hint of snow on the ground. My hoping paid off! We got 6-8" of snow that night. In the pictures below you can see that it progressively got snowier.

We had a great time traversing the snow and making our way down. 

On the our first morning of skiing we were able to come out of our cabin and see some fresh powder. 

N and I then turned our attention to the slopes!

 

N is a natural skier. After getting up on his skis immediately and going down the bunny slopes just one time, he was ready to hit the big slopes. I'm so relieved that he was having a good time and was able to ski pretty much right away. We stuck mostly to the beginner slopes, mostly for my benefit more than his. After a great day of skiing we headed back to the cabin for a delicious dinner. On our way back we stopped to play with the snow. :)

 

Day two of our skiing adventure proved to be freezing! Quite literally. We woke up with below zero temperatures.  After much discussion between our whole group we decided we would stay in instead. The previous day had been 20 degrees warmer and felt brutally cold. So instead we stayed in and got the chance to talk and sit by the fire. 

Picture taken by A

Later that day after spending time with our friends N and I headed into the city of Boone where we saw further evidence of the cold weather. We ventured to the outskirts of town and found an amazing barbecue place called Woodlands BBQ in Blowing Rock, NC.  We spend our evening in our warm, cozy hotel room relaxing in our bed watching movies. 

We had a great time, and it was sad to see the mountain go. However, we'll be back next year!

Cooking with Julia

If you had asked me 6 years ago if I would ever had a passion for looking I probably would have told you no. Now I love to cook, I love trying new dishes and techniques. My first stop in any new store is kitchen gadget/recipe book section. N being my better half gave me the perfect Christmas present. N got me gift certificates to cooking classes Truffles and Triffles, a cooking school in College Park. 

I excitedly scoured the list of class offerings on their website until I found the perfect class I wanted to take. I love the movie Julie and Julia and since first watching it I've had a great sense of curiosity regarding Julia Childs. I read the book, "Letters to Julia," which I greatly enjoyed. When I saw on the list of class offerings, "A Night with Julia," I know I was hooked and that was the class I wanted to take. At the cooking school I was able to learn some new techniques and learn some new recipes. I had a great time and can't wait to go back!

Take note in the above picture of the Julie & Julia poster.

A view of my cooking station and our tables

Tools are ready for using

My beautiful salmon fillet

My salmon filet post cooking

Our delicious appetizer

Chocolate soufflé for dessert

Crepe Suzette and Pumpkin Mousse

Crab Louie (Probably one of my favorite items from that night)

Tada dinner is done!

Exploring Wilmington

So remember those changes I was talking about... So this week I flew to North Carolina to meet with the regional manager of the store I would be transferring to. I also got to explore the area we would be moving to.

View from my seat on the plane

Wilmington International Airport

 



My first day in the charming town of Wilmington was spent exploring the area with my new regional manager. I must admit that Wilmington is a lot bigger then I expected. Before getting here I only knew two things... it is a coastal town and it is not as big as Orlando.

After driving around Wilmington I was able to realize what a diverse area it is. It reminds me of Orlando in that there are distinct areas to the city. The downtown area is very different from the beach area. The beach area is different from the area surrounding the University.

UNCW

The best part of all of this is that N is an amazing boyfriend. From the moment I told him about this opportunity he was supportive. On day two of my Wilmington visit N came to join me. Having him with me just made everything better.

Me playing limo driver before picking N up at the airport

Met with my better half at the airport

Together N and I were able to explore the area over the weekend. We got to see the downtown area. We found a really cool restaurant called... Nick's Diner! 

  

My delicious BLT

 

They had both glass mustard and ketchup bottles. I have a thing for glass ketchup bottles. 

The downtown Wilmington area offered lots to see and do. The port in downtown Wilmington is home to the USS North Carolina. I'm looking forward to one day exploring it. 

USS North Carolina

The streets of downtown Wilmington are lined with cute shops and historic buildings.

Streets of Downtown Wilmington

Cute shop in Downtown Wilmington

 

 Love is in the air

By the river front in downtown Wilmington.
(N thinks he looks mean, he wasn't grumpy or anything it was jus sunny out.)

All in all we had a great weekend exploring our prospective new home. We took some time to look at possible houses to rent in the area. I think we have some solid leads. It looks like we're going to be moving...

View from the plane heading back to Orlando

Me and my lovey!