¡Hola, Mexico!

A week or so ago, we got back from our fabulous vacation in Mexico!  Our great friends, Tim and Christine, asked us to join them on their 5 year anniversary trip they were planning.  Since our anniversaries are pretty close to each other, we figured it could be an early 2nd anniversary trip for us!  We went to Excellence Resort Playa Mujeres, which is about 30 minutes from Cancun, and it was amazing! I would recommend this place to anyone that wants to relax and not worry about planning a whole lot of anything!

A little few from our room!

You have the option, when booking, of upgrading to the Excellence Club amenities--this is TOTALLY the way to go! It's worth every penny to get all the extras! The best "upgrade" is the private beach.  They have beds to lay out on...huge beds...a serious nap could be taken on these things!

They have waitresses that come around all day--so you really never have to get up if you don't want to...and that's exactly what we did for a couple of days! Relaxation was definitely the word of the day..or days! We would go back and forth between the beach and the pool. 

This resort had 9 restaurants and we had a chance to try 5--French, Tapas, Mexican, Mediterranean, and Japanese.  The Tapas night was the best--hands down! The food was amazing but our waiter, Luis, was awesome! He taught us all kinds of new words in spanish that may be very helpful in life : )

As much as we loved sitting by the beach all day, we decided to go explore one day and did an excursion to the small island across the water called Isla Mujeres.  We were picked up at the resort and taken to the port where we boarded a catamaran to take us to the island.  About half way there, they stopped the boat to let you off to snorkel.  Snorkeling is not something I love...or really enjoy for that matter...but Justin likes it, and promised he would stay with me---it wasn't too bad, but I was glad to get that over with. I love the beach and the water more than anything...but also like not knowing what is swimming below me!

After snorkeling, they had parasailing...well it was sort of like parasailing.  You sat on a rope that was attached to a sail and you just had to hang on!  You also had to sign a waiver---we decided we would just watch others put their lives in the hands of these very entertaining Mexican men! 

We stopped for lunch at a resort on the island and then headed to the downtown area for shopping and exploring.  The lunch was awesome! They also had this area where you could hold a shark?! Very odd--we also did not participate in the crazy adventure either!

On the island, you could rent golf carts to take you around the 4 mile island. This was so fun and I'm so glad we decided to do it! The views were amazing!

Justin said he would buy me this...

We're hoping to break ground very very soon!

All in all this trip was amazing! We are so grateful that Tim and Christine included us on their special occasion! We were introduced to them by two of our best friends, Michelle and Janver, and are so thankful to have them here in Charlotte! It is a special friendship that Justin and I truly cherish!

The West Virginia Power (little bro's team) will be playing in Kannapolis Monday and Tuesday night. I am over the moon to finally see Walker! Go Power! 

The Pad-Updates!

Happy Spring!

It's been just about a year since we moved into our first house, and we are just now starting to update some of the things on my always-growing list! Little by little, we have started to make a few changes. The first thing that I wanted done was our bonus room.

Reminder of what it looked like at move-in:

The color doesn't look too bad in this photo--it is a pale yellow. The problem is, this room was a carport before it was a room. So the lighting in here is...complicated? weird? annoying?-take your pick!  During certain times of day/daylight, the room actually resembled more of a highlighter color. Not so attractive! Also, if you notice the support columns, they painted them the same color as the walls. I guess they were trying to blend them in? We aren't quite sure.

So due to the crazy lighting in the room, we had to be really careful when choosing a paint color to avoid the "highlighter" experience in a different shade. I wanted a grayish color for the walls that would contrast with the white ceiling, trim, and columns (yes, those were changed to white!) When I found a sample I thought I liked--after more than an hour at Lowe's and about 30 pictures text to my mom--we decided to paint some sample spots on the walls just to be sure! Good thing we did! At the same time of day that the yellow turned highlighter, the gray turned purple! So we ended up going with a color called "Toast" but it is more of a gray/tan. I am really happy with it and thrilled that it doesn't change too drastically in our crazy light!

We also added a little workstation in the corner--my laptop now has home. The rest of the entertainment center will be around the TV eventually--if IKEA will ever get all the units we need in stock. After putting the desk and drawers together, I think we are done assembling furniture for a while!

While we had the painters, we decided to spruce up a couple more rooms at the same time! The half bathroom off of the bonus room was a cream color in eggshell. (flashback)

The room is very small, so water from the sink would splash on the walls, and then the marks were impossible to remove. So we went with a semi-gloss mint green!

Last, I wanted to change up the laundry room! I figure if I spend as much time as I do in there, it might as well be pretty! We changed from the tan to a pretty blue!

I also changed out the knobs on the cabinets! A little splurge, but they are so fun! Thank you, Anthropology!

We are still in the middle of getting pictures back on the wall, organizing, etc. I am quickly learning that there is always something you want to change in your house! We leave for vacation Saturday in Cancun, Mexico! We are headed to Excellence Playa Mujeres for 5 nights of fun with our great friends, Tim and Christine! Many pictures to come! Happy Monday!

10 Years Later!

  10 years ago I graduated from high school (crazy!)...14 years ago I met Cindy, Mariana, and Nora!  Throughout the years, we have always been great friends, but we have always let life take us to all kinds of different places.  Somehow we always end up back together, as if it hadn't been months, some times closer to years, since we saw each other.
  After high school graduation, Mariana and I headed to Raleigh, Cindy to Chapel Hill, and Nora to Boston.  A few years later, Nora and I both found ourselves in Chapel Hill---but no Cindy! Between those 5 years, Mariana had been to Peru,Spain and New York, I was in Italy, Nora in Ghana...and Cindy finding a very very sweet husband back home that we hadn't met yet.

 It was Cindy's wedding that would bring the four of us back together for the first time in years! And we were always able to pick up where we left off!  After getting married, Cindy and Josh stayed in Goldsboro, so I am able to see her a little more when we head home!

 As it goes in your twenties, weddings seemed to consume your life.  It was actually my wedding in June 2011 that would bring the four of us back together again.

 So recently, Nora had a great idea of a little girls weekend in DC to see the Cherry Blossoms and each other.  It had been almost two years, but (like always) everything picked up right where it left off. The weather was beautiful and the blossoms were everywhere! We had a chance to walk around and see all the monuments and have a picnic in the mall.

                                     

 After, we walked to Georgetown for a little shopping and decided to make a pit stop for a drink at the very place John F. Kennedy proposed to Jackie O! So cute!!

 All in all, I could not have asked for a better weekend! It was so fun to catch up with my high school friends that I have shared so (SO) much with over the years.  As different as the four of us are, we have always accepted each other for our opinions and beliefs, the goals and choices we have made, the places life, and those choices, have taken us.  No one has changed one bit--it is a beautiful thing!

 Hopefully, it will be less than 2 years before our next little reunion. But until then, our crazy lives continue to be ever-changing, and we are comforted in knowing that when we do see each other again, it will feel as if no time has passed.