I'd never named a boat before... - Oriental, North Carolina

Yesterday, I woke up and ran 4 miles through my neighborhood. I ran a slightly different route than I usually do. The next main street over from my neighborhood has horse stables. That road is the most beautiful road to run on, and it made me realize that I have not explored North Carolina enough! So I had 2 miles to run back home from the horses and think of something to do. I'd read about antique shops in a cute little town across the river  from us and decided that was where we were going to go. We could get there two different ways, drive an hour and go around to the big bridge that connects New Bern across the Neuse, or go near base and take the ferry across. We decided on the ferry.

The ferry runs every 30 minutes in both directions. We got there right at 11:40 and it was slated to leave in 5 minutes. I literally ran inside the information center for our tickets and the cutest old lady explained to me that the ferry was entirely free. FREE. Can you believe that!? It runs all day long and it's totally free? I still don't understand that...

They pack you into that ferry like a can of sardines. I had to crawl over the drivers seat to get out on the other side, which was a sight for the car next to us because my knit shorts exposed my ass as I climbed over. The old man next to us got a show for free that day!

On the ferry! 

Oriental is the "sailing capital of North Carolina" or so they say, hence the title of this post. I don't know what it is about NC that Dustin and I quote Forest Gump on the regular pretty much...

I just had to. Their fishing harbor was so neat, and the name of this boat was my favorite!!!

While googling things to do in Oriental, I found an old barn that you can go and do some picking at! If you don't know me personally, you have to understand that my husband is sort of a character. He watches American Pickers on the regular and bartering prices would probably be listed on his résumé. He was in hog heaven. While the place was fascinating. I realized that I prefer my more organized antique stores with pretty displays. This was a fun place to visit, but at times the floor creaked so much, we both thought we were going to fall through. 

See what I mean? I just wanted to organize everything! That swing in the front the owner made with a sewing machine she is selling inside! It was pretty neat!

The lighting was weird, but I thought this was so neat! It's a 1932 Chevy grill (if you can't see the sign) and I thought this would be adorable in a boys room. I could see why interior decorators would love places like this - a lot of the pieces are large and expensive. 

This is the one thing I considered. The door was a little jacked on the bottom, but we realized it could easily be fixed. I thought if I cleaned this up it would be adorable on display in my kitchen with pyrex sets sitting on and in it. I might have bought it if I had a way to get it back with us. It was that perfect sea foam/mint color. 

We went to go hit up an antique store and there was a sign up that said "went to deliver some chairs down the street, be back soon. Wayne." Isn't that just hilarious!? You know, just closing my business to deliver some customers some chairs. These people here crack me up! 

Since the antique store was closed, we went to a little gas station near by and they had a cooler full of glass bottle cokes. Of course I had to have one. I prefer coke from a fountain or a glass bottle. Amazing. We then went to the water and found this lawn with adirondack chairs just hanging. I didn't take a picture of what is in front of us, but it's the water and all the sail boats were out. It was a beautiful day! 

You can see the water a bit in this picture! I just can't get over these chairs just being here! They'd get jacked in California in 5 seconds! 

One of the houses! It's Labor Day weekend so a lot of people were at their vacation homes. Aren't these houses just too cute? 

We had a lot of fun! Although we didn't buy a single thing (rare for me) it was fun exploring! 

Hello? Is it me you've been looking for?

I haven't been around because a few weeks ago, this man came home! He was in Florida at an Air Force base doing some training. Not sure why the Marine Corps would do training with the AF, I though the MC hated all other branches...I often like to think of the MC as the snooty branch, they think they're the toughest branch, but honestly, this picture goes against everything they stand for. This boy loves his dog, and his dog loves him back!

A few weeks ago we took a trip to Swansboro to check out a beer place Dustin had heard about. I've been on a nothing but retro kick since we've moved here... Perhaps it's the southern atmosphere that's making me think my cross country move has transported me back 6 decades. It truly is very old fashioned here, everyone waves in the neighborhood, your mail lady pays the extra 40 cents on your postage for you, and the kids are always running in the streets shouting hello as you drive by. If I could convince my family to move out his way, I'd never leave.

This was the bathroom of the beer place, I was obsessed and need to find those ceramic deer heads, oh say, yesterday. And those books on the ceiling! I die!

Thanks Trish! You're def getting a cute coffee cozy and Dunkin Donuts gift card for Christmas! 

We went to Wilmington last weekend! I wasn't too impressed with the downtown area, maybe because I'm so in love with the town I'm in? It reminded me a lot of San Diego. Like a southern SD. There were tattoo shops everywhere and felt super hipster, which I love because if I didn't want to be a teacher, I would definitely be a tattoo yielding hipster. Def. 

I've also gotten a TON of compliments on my itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, white polka dot dress, so let me just say to you. Target, girlfran! It fits amazingly too.

More of Wilmington! 

I've also been enjoying some time away from homework to tan and read. This is such a great book! I have a bestie in NC, and he let me borrow this amazing book that I highly recommend! 

The weather has turned, it's definitely humid here! It's so weird to go to the beach and be hot! There aren't too many burning hot days at the beach in California! So far I like it, but I say that now!

I haven't crafted lately. Sad face. I just haven't been inspired. Someone please help me! I have sewers block?!? Is that even such a thing? I saw so many fellow sewers at quilt market in Portland and it made me sad! I want a sewing trip with my best friends!! As soon as I get my teaching credential I am SO going!!!

Hopefully this weekend I'll get down with a craft or two. Happy Memorial Day y'all!

Guest Prep & Vacay Pictures

This is a little late of a post since my fam-damily was here visiting this past week! I was cleaning the house like a mad woman, and didn't get a chance to post my last minute decor ideas. Initially, I had a cleaning schedule planned, but then I decided to not even ask Dustin to help me clean, because it wouldn't be clean enough. You know HOW I know this? After he shaved his head, face, and god only knows what else in our extra bathroom, he came out with a wet towel in his hand and said, "Do you want me to knock out the bathroom, and just wipe it down?" God bless him. First, how is "wiping down a bathroom" sanitizing it?? AND sweet Mother Mary of God, how is wiping down a bathroom with a towel you just used to dry off your nether regions a good idea at all!??!? MEN. I hate to think of how the barracks on base are being cleaned if my husband was supposed to have taught marines all they know last year at boot camp. There's probably marines all across the country "knocking it out" and wiping down their entire rooms with wet, ball-sack ridden towels!!!

EEK....

Anyways, I cleaned my entire house, by myself, and little Guido hid upstairs in the F.R.O.G. waiting for my madness to end. You see, I can be a tad bit crazy when I clean. I like to quote my psycho father-in-law and claim that rooms are "closed." So once I've cleaned the kitchen, that shit is closed, don't even think about going in there for a snack or a glass of water. It's closed! I'm the cleaning nazi, honestly.

Anyways, here are some more pictures of our extra bedroom. The decorating is as good as it's going to get until I can devour another antique store. I really miss the Long Beach Antique Flea Market.

I have so many old suitcases lying around the house, so I decided to prop open this green one on the nightstand and fill it with stuff. I put my guest towels, their itinerary (yes, I know), and their welcome gifts. I made everyone mason jar cups, and mod-podged the tops with left over scraps from the quilt, so everyone got to take a piece of our home with them. I also recreated these mugs for them, so they have their own little NC souvenoir. My family is full of coffee drinkers, so the gifts were perfect!

We found this little shelf at a flea market in Murrieta, and I need to start collecting more teacups! It's hard out here because they sell them in sets, and I just want one!

This dresser was my dresser from high school! When I was in high school, my mom and I redid my room into a shabby chic type of room, and I painted my brown dresser green, and my closet for some random reason. I think originally I painted it with that crinkly white paint, and had an epic fail, and then decided to just paint it straight green. When we were moving my mom asked me if I wanted the dresser, and I said HELLS yes! I literally came up with all the decor and quilt on the fly, and it ended up not looking too shabby...chic!

These curtains are hard to see, but they're actually a super cute sage green color, with polka dots! I've never had a curtain in my life, but all of our asshole neighbors leave their outside lights on at night, and they shine directly into our windows, so we sort of need them.

We took my family errrywhere while they were here. I was excited because even though I've been living here for 3 months, I really don't know much about the area still. We went into New Bern, and took a trolley tour, went to the cemetery, Tryon Palace, the whole sheebang.

Cedar Grove Cemetery - New Bern, North Carolina

We laughed our asses off while Dustin played the guitar.

Tryon Palace with my favorite (shhh don't tell anyone) cousin Amanda

New Bern has 52 of these bear statues! We only conquered 6 of the 52, but when my girlfran Sevi comes out, we are going for all 52!!!

The Old Burial Ground - Beaufort, North Carolina

Google this place, AMAZING

I also hit up some antique stores with my mom and Aunt, and look what I got! I'm smitten! I have been eyeing some Pyrex/Corelle plates for far too long on Etsy, and I picked these boys up at the antique store, and my mom swooped in and got them for me. They're the beginning of my soon to be new plate collection. I really want to switch over all my plates and bowls to these!

I also found what could quite possibly be known as the best looking quilt of my life. This thing is in PERFECT shape, and the backing is white. It looks like it was for maybe a girls twin bed, so how it stayed pristine after all these years is beyond me. It's gorgeous, it's perfect, I love it! Thanks mom!!

My aunt told me an idea about getting an old ladder to hang my quilts on display, and I think that's a fab idea! I've also decided to recreate any quilt I buy, so I'm going to attempt to make this quilt this year. It's on my list with all my other projects!

That's it for now, for a while! I am going on crafting strike! Haha! But no, seriously, I have a few more projects up my sleeve, but I need to plan them out and get some fabric. I've also got a few baby projects to make for friends, WINK WINK WINK. You biotches know who you are!

You so mugly!

I've been crafttttttiiinnggggg y'all. I made these lovely lady lumps mugs at a craft group last week. I've had a zillion people ask me where the mugs are from, they're from Target, aka Mecca, aka the greatest place in the world, and they're super cheap. This craft is SO damn easy. You just need porcelain mugs, a sharpie, and an oven. I printed off an "E" and the two states online and then taped them down and traced them. After you draw on them, you bake them at 350 for 30 minutes, BAM! You're done! You can see on the "E" what happens when you try to do more than one line, on the states is one clean crisp line, much nicer!

I always make something for myself before I reproduce it for others or else I get my hopes set on a gift, and it turns out to be whoriffic horrific. These are pretty cute, I need to get my ass back to Target before everyone buys these mugs out and make some for some other ladies I know... :)

You so mugly

It's also been colder than a witches tit lately. On Friday we had sleet? Oh what? You're from California and have no idea what the hell sleet means? Yeah me too, a word that makes WAY more sense is "freezing rain." That was interesting. I didn't leave my house, I was too afraid to! Just ask Sevi, she used to pick me up from college when it rained. Bless her! My guido husband has been hating on me lately because of the Weatherbug app. It will say that the current temperature is something like 34 degrees, but then it says "But feels like 27." So, of course he's been saying, "Today was something crazy like 34 degrees!" and I'll follow up with a "BUT it feels like 27!!!" Every. Time. I'm obsessed with weatherbug, it gives you updates, tells you where the nearest lightning strike is to you, it is soooo cool.

Anyways, I walked out my door on Saturday morning and saw this! This is my little fairy birdbath frozen solid. I was not looking forward to my long Saturday morning run in 30 degree weather (but felt like 24 degrees!!) I ran 7.25 miles basically face down looking for patches of ice. That's all I need to do is get 3.5 miles away from my house, fall on my ass in the middle of the road, and limp my way back to my house. I didn't fall, luckily, but there's always this week for that!

As my husbands personal event coordinator, I told him that he would drive me around to get a feel of the area and look for things to do. We headed to Downtown New Bern and looked at some historical homes. I actually looked at houses in this area for us to rent, but it just seemed too sketchy. I couldn't see myself running through the streets, and I refuse to live somewhere where you're afraid to venture out of your own home. Don't get me wrong, the home below is obviously on a nice street, but three streets over? Not so much. But, I still love the houses down there. So much history, so much character. I couldn't even get the whole house in the picture because it was HUGE, with a wrap around porch. I DIE!

It was too cold to walk around today, so I made Dustin do a drive by of the cemetery. This cemetery was a lot like the one I went to in Georgia, you can drive through the cemetery on a dirt road. Fascinating. I am going to go back when it's  little less chilly and do the whole tour and walk around, because it's very beautiful.

This blog should actually be titled "Shit I love from Pinterest." I LOVE snicker doodles. If there is a Corner Bakery Cafe near you, run there and get the snicker doodles, NOW! They're my favorite!!! It's like a glorified chewy sugar cookie that's a lit o' bit o' heaven, and sadly, all the ingredients are in my kitchen 24-7. Here is the recipe. I apologize for your newest obsession, why the hell do you think I had to run over 7 miles on Saturday? To make up for these!!! I suggest when you make them, you don't eat them until the next day, leave them out, and they're just so chewy and delicious, especially in the morning with coffee. This is the only cookie I've ever had that is actually 20 times better the next day cold!

I've been trying new dinner recipes because I'm sick of eating the same things every month. Tonight I made this recipe, chicken FAYYYYjitas! It was actually quite delicious for a gringa trying to make some mexican food. The recipe calls for 1 pound of chicken, but the smallest I could find was 2 pounds so I just doubled the recipe, and now I have leftovers for lunch. I thought it was pretty damn good, totally worth your time making it, and if you double the recipe it's totally enough for a whole fam-damily, and YES I'm using my Pyrex for leftovers. Doesn't that butterprint dish just make these chicken fajitas dreammmmmy?

This week I have to test out a bunch more recipes because we are having a Superbowl party. My husband invited his whole shop over, and I must feed these damn Marines! Let's hope I make stuff worth posting about...

What I think of North Carolina...so far...

I am a bad blogger. I am very easily distracted. Crafts, sunshine, squirrels, GLITTER, anything will pull my attention away. I am promising myself right now, that I WILL blog once a week, if not more! PROMISE. If I don't, please feel free to verbally abuse me in the comments section below.

It's been 22 days since we crossed the South Carolina/North Carolina border in a 24 foot moving truck, and I have to say, North Carolina has turned out to be better than anything I had imagined. I think I had been mentally preparing myself for the worst, so when I arrived and saw it wasn't nearly as bad as anyone told me, it made it so much easier for me to adjust to. I have to say, I am LOVING living here. I've only been here 22 days, and maybe the "newness" will rub off and I'll start being a typical miserable marine wife who can only talk about how great their home state is, but I'm truly enjoying the east coast. I've always wanted to live somewhere else, and I am grateful that I have this opportunity to live in an entirely different part of the country than where I am from.

Let's talk about the weather. In California, there is usually only about a 5 degree difference from day to day. Last week it was anywhere between 75-80 degrees here, and I was in hog heaven. I am a true sun worshiper, much to my mothers chagrin. I trying to stay out of the sun, but there is nothing more in this world that I love more than sunshine. If it's 75 out, I'm in jean shorts and a bikini top...in my backyard soaking it up. I live for days where I can read outside in the sunshine. The great weather gave me an opportunity to ride my beach cruiser through the neighborhood. I love to ride my bike in neighborhoods and get a looksee in the windows of my neighbors... Don't call me a Peeping Tom! Sometimes I see kick ass antiques! I can tell that riding a beach cruiser near a river isn't the most normal thing in this neighborhood, but I've never cared what people thought of me before, and I definitely don't now, so I can't wait to do it all summer with the humidity and bugs!

Beach Cruisin along the Neighborhood

Fast forward to this week, and it's 37 degrees outside. Yeah, I don't get it either. The weather is positively bipolar. I'm all about exploring this area. I keep trying to convince my Guido to drive me around for hours exploring. I found this location below when it was warm, and I had to bring the dogs back. Smokey was out of control at the beach as usual. Here it seems to be even worse because I think he smells the animals. I kept screaming at my husband to go get Smokey because he would take off after something into the swamp! Definitely not going there by myself with the dogs ever!

River with the pupperonis

We went and walked around the downtown area of the city we are living in, New Bern. My most favorite thing about living in North Carolina, is the scenery. I think my friends, family, FB friends, and fellow Instagrammers are sick to death of the pictures I keep posting of the trees here. I stare out the window whenever we drive anywhere because I'm just not used to it. The scenery here is like something I've seen in a movie or read in a book. For some odd reason, when we were in DT New Bern, I kept picturing the movie "Hocus Pocus" where all the kids are running from house to house in the middle of the street on Halloween? Ever since I was a kid, that was my favorite part of any holiday movie. What an odd reference right? But it was bizarre to me to see such an old historical area with homes from the 1700s, there was even a home still standing that George Washington visited! The historical aspect is fascinating.

Tryon Palace 

*The sun was in the wrong place when we went and my pictures are too dark : ( 

But please google it, because it's beautiful!

People here LOVE  are infatuated with their firearms. There are gun shows, gun pawn shops, guns at Walmart, and we can constantly hear gunshots coming from the woods in our neighborhood. When we first moved here, it was just after that Sandy Hook incident, and all of the stores here were out of handguns and ammo. People are stocking up! I've shot a gun once before, and it's pretty fun. I would say that I would never go to shooting range if my husband didn't have experience with guns. Not that he runs around in his underwear with a revolver strapped to his hip, but he has had to shoot a gun for military ish. (Not even going to try to explain their quals.) So we went to an outdoor shooting range! It was a different experience because there is someone right next to you. Not sure how all indoor gun ranges are, but the one I've been to before, you're almost in your own little room. This one was just straight up open. Weird. The guy next to me was shooting one hell of a handgun, and the shells were popping out of his gun and hitting me while I was shooting. Yeah. That's safe. I'd like to be more gun safe, so shooting a baby revolver was for me. I LOVED it, I just wish they had a safety on them. I don't like that aspect of that gun at all.

Sweet outfit girlfriend

I have been craffffttttiiinnnggg Y'ALL! I have been wanting to make something out of pallets forever. I was a frequent visitor of the Long Beach Fleamarket in California, and I've seen a ton of different people make things out of pallets and put a pretty hefty sticker price on them. I've become quite a cheap bitch lately, funny how times have changed. I just CAN'T buy anything that I think I can make. We have been furniture shopping for our new house, and I can't seem to make up my mind on anything because I keep thinking "Screw that price. I'll make that shit, and it will be better." At one flea market we went to, a lady was selling anchors on pallets for $100. I REALLY wanted it, but I couldn't pay that. I just couldn't. I knew she got the pallet for free and paint is cheap, there was no way I was willing to pay that. I saw that pallet about 3 months ago, and finally got around to making one myself....anddddd I'm proud to say it turned out better than anything I ever imagined!

I am seriously SO impressed with the results because sometimes my ideas end up a Pinstrosity!! I got lucky, we found a kick ass pallet on base here. We grabbed a total of three, but this one had the best weathering, it also came with what could have possibly been the largest, furriest spider in the world on it, so I knew it was extra special.

Per one of my best friends that's also a crafty bitch, Sevi, I will be making a tutorial for this. I'm not going to lie. It's ridiculously easy to take apart a pallet and hammer it back together, but the key is getting whatever symbol you want mathematically correct, and symmetrical as all hell. You have to be willing to sit for a hour and draw and redraw that ish. I'll explain more later, but you've been warned!

I have two pallets outside weathering, but if I find one that is weathered right now, I'll make a tutorial sooner!

Anchored at the Heart ;)

Not bad for $13!!! (I only bought paint)

I have also been wanting a new TV stand, we'll since we bought the one we have...7 years ago. Back then everyone had intense DVD collections, so the one we have now is great for storing shit. But nowadays, I don't even remember the last time I bought a DVD. I watch everything on Netflix or OnDemand, so I want one more for some decorations. The one we currently have is super lower, and since there is a giant ass blank beige wall staring me in the face everyday behind our TV, I want a taller one to help me not feel like an inept interior decorator. Here is what we are making. There aren't any helpful directions on that blog, but I do thank the creator for the pictures, that helped us the most. The only thing I'm having a hard time imagining is the staining. I LOVE the white and the stain, but I don't know if that will look good with our furniture...I have stain for the whole thing, but I keep bouncing back and forth debating on what to do. Suggestions? Help a sista out!

Make us a TV STAND!

I promise to blog more often or else my posts just get too damn long!

Merry Christmas!

These past two weeks have FLOWN by. Partly due to my huge procrastination, and refusing to do anything house related, so I've just been driving around the San Diego area randomly. I have been putting off packing, anything moving related because of the holidays! It definitely didn't feel like Christmas this year, we didn't put up a tree or anything, so it all went by so fast. I am excited about the new home and putting up the Christmas decorations a year from now! Wow! We have the perfect little front window for a tree, and I'll definitely make Dustin get up on the roof and risk his life so we can have some Christmas cheer!

Merry Christmas from the largest shih-tzu soon to be East of the Mississippi!

Here is our lazy animal laying on some boxes. He only ever lays on stuff, never on the floor, too diva for that shit!

We took our nephews to Sea World last week. Military get in fo free once a year! So we officially became parents! My sister went with us, but when we walked up the older two shouted "Mommy & Daddy!" at us, it was pretty darn cute. Aren't they the cutest little people you've ever seen! Sea World is kick ass because you don't wait much in lines, thank god! And the shows were pretty cool this year too, since it was Christmas time they were all Christmas themed, and they had the teeniest otter that was waving in one show. Watch out hedgehogs, mama wants an otter now!  It was nice to do something with the boys before we left. I think the oldest one understands we are moving, but the little ones still don't get it. It's going to be hard to leave them because I see them so much! I love those little boys!

Dustin, Me, Logan, Blake, and Luke 

Blake & Luke and Shamu

Oh god. Here is the story with this situation outside of my house. So we live/lived in South Oceanside, it's supposed to be one of the nicer areas in Oceanside. Wellllll, we are the first house in a nice neighborhood. Get it, FIRST house, aka we live next to derelicts. Our neighbor towards the shady side is a bit odd, but he's a nice guy. A nice guy as in he'd literally kill someone on our lawn for us, in fact, he did beat someone once on our front lawn with a billy club....Soooo one time my girlfriend borrowed my wetsuit, and I was leaving out of town, so I left it on my back porch for her, so she pulled up in my driveway, went and got my wetsuit and came back out and my neighbor was watching her staring her down. A week later I still wasn't home, but my husband came home and the neighbor told Dustin that he saw a girl come to our house and leave with something in her hands and that if anything was missing, he took down her license plate number!!! Bahahaha - so he's odd, but he means well, and he likes us because we never make a peep!

Anyways, the other morning as I was finally packing crap, I noticed a cop car pulled up outside of the house. Next to our crazy neighbor, on the other side of him, is a shadyyyyy duplex. For example, one of the people that lived in the duplex had just got out of the slammer and used to jump rope in front of the house with his ankle bracelet on. Walking the yard, literally. But he was actually a nice guy...anywayyyssss, the people directly next to our crazy neighbor are WHITE TRASH. They are horrible. Their kids are always out in the street, barefoot, at all hours of the day. Their dog is never on a leash, and it shits in my yard probably daily, and they're always out on their patio furniture, in front of the house, smoking watching the people walk by. And we are pretty sure they deal drugs too because random people will sit in front of their house in their car for like 30 minutes, and then go inside the house, get something and leave.

Well, when we noticed one cop showed up, then two other ones including the field evidence team came as well, I went in and made myself a sandwich and sat on my front porch to watch it all go down. Apparently, the wife beat her husband! I found this actually really hilarious because they're always screaming at each other on the lawn, and she's a little thing, and he's a lot bigger than her. Anyways, I watched them talk to her and him and when the police were questioning the husband, his children were standing on the hood of a car in their driveway, it was like an episode of cops or something! This all took place I think 2 days before Christmas BTW! They ended up arresting the mom, and put her in the cop car, and they drove her past her house, and her kids were waving to her. BIZARRE!! Merry Christmas children, mommy's in the gray bar motel!

Our new neighborhood in North Carolina is already MUCH nicer, let's hope that I don't have crazy neighbors there too!

And here is our other dog Smokey at the beach the other day. Our property management company that we had didn't know we had 2 dogs...for 3 years! HA! They didn't want a big dog in the house, you can only have big "outside" dogs? What the hell? WHY have a dog if it's only ever outside? That's not fun! Anyways, we had our inspection last week, so I took Smokey to the beach to enjoy some time. He gets CRAZY there and you can't control him! Luckily it was raining that morning, so there was no one there except for the kite surfer in the background. We hung out at the beach and watched them for a bit before it got too cold and we headed on back. Isn't Smokey such a beautiful dog? Very smart too. Love him.

Today we got the moving truck, and that's going to need it's own post tomorrow because WHAT an experience that was. A sneak idea? We had to call a mechanic already...

We leave for North Carolina on Saturday, please keep us in your thoughts and hope for good weather! NO SNOW!

xoxoxox

the gidge

House Hunting/Pictures!

House hunting sure is exhausting, especially when you know nothing about the area you are moving to. Today we spent 5 hours driving around New Bern, Havelock, Newport, and Morehead City. We REALLY like this one area of New Bern, but we were waiting on hearing back from the rental agency to make sure that our pets were okay. So we started to freak out and think maybe that area isn't the best area, and we were second guessing our decision. Morehead City seems to be more of an area that's similar to the one we live in now, but I just can't justify the teeny houses there. We live in a small house now, and part of me was excited to come out to North Carolina because we are outgrowing a 2 bedroom home. When you have one room dedicated to just crafts, that tends to happen!

Plus, a lot of houses in Morehead City don't even have a driveway! Forget a garage, no driveway!? WTF! We started to panic because we couldn't find anything we liked. I was on the verge of tears all day because I was so stressed out. I just want to be done with this house hunting crap and have somewhere locked in to live. Plus I went to the cutest antique store today and wanted to buy half of the items in the store for our new soon to be home.

Tomorrow we hear back about one of the homes, and we are viewing another that's beautiful, so PLEASE think good thoughts for us! We could use them or else we won't be going home on Monday as planned!

Remember how I mentioned that our wonderful friend Ramona took pictures for us for Christmas? She has done this for the past 2 years as well! SHE'S amazing! Seriously! She makes us look better in these pictures than we do in real life. Ramona is the best, she should REALLY consider opening her own photography business because she could make a killing! :o)

So here are a few that I LOVE LOVE LOVE. I uploaded all 34 pictures and realized that was a bit extreme and had to cut them down. But I want to have them ALL up, because there isn't a bad one! NOT ONE! 

Be sure to play the game, "how many tattoos can you find?"

Nice "blue steel" face!

Glad that I get to wear cowboy boots more in North Carolina!