Pooch Plunge!

Our Saturday started off with a splash, literally, as we took the pups to the Pooch Plunge at Legion Stadium here in Wilmington. Every year after Labor Day, the city opens up the pool to pups before they have to clean and drain it for the year. They ask for a $5 donation per dog, which then goes towards the Wilmington Dog Park Committee.

We met up with some friends who brought their Husky mix, Cortana, along to play. There were TONS of dogs everywhere, but ours wanted no part of the water. Instead, they ran around like crazy women and made friends left and right. Needless to say, they slept for the better part of Saturday afternoon! Stedman did, unfortunately, tear a couple of her paw pads and has since been taking it easy around the house. I think this may actually be the calmest I’ve ever seen her. But, they’ll heal in no time with all the licking she’s doing.

Later in the day, we went to check out a new nearby park by for what they were calling a "Family Fun Day." Since we showed up at 6pm, we missed all the FUN that had ensued… People were walking out as we were driving up. Bust! However, we did manage to make our own fun by spending a good 45 minutes exploring on our own and playing frisbee.

On Sunday, Ryan and I had plans to go see a movie but as we were killing time beforehand, Ryan got a call from a friend of ours who invited us to go out boating. Um, yes please! We immediately returned the movie tickets and high-tailed it home to change into our bathing suits. Ryan and I then met up with the group and headed out to the river.

What a treat! My, am I glad we skipped the movie. For the first time in person, we got to see a hydrofoil in action. Have you guys ever seen this? It’s probably one of the most awesomest (yes, that’s a word) things I’ve ever seen.

One of the guys we met up with, Travis, has been riding for about 5 years and makes it look like cake. His friend, Richard (who happens to be 57 years old!), also put on a show by doing back flips all over the water.

Our friends Dan and Charlie then decided to give it a go. For newbies, they did a REALLY good job! Check out these videos:

I think I might wait a while before trying it out for myself.

Labor Day Relaxin’

Is it just me or do 3 day weekends seem soooo much longer than the typical 2 day weekends? I vote for every weekend to be 3 days. We’ll see how well that goes over with the boss man…

Our Labor Day weekend started off with a visit from Chelsea! She came into town Friday evening so we all headed downtown for a few drinks at Cape Fear Wine & Beer (AKA the boys’ favorite downtown bar and our typical weekend hangout spot). Then we got to enjoy a beautiful day at the beach on Saturday. The water has cooled down a bit, but it was gorgeous. The water closest to the beach was an aqua blue color and reminded me of how lovely a tropical vaca would be sometime in the near future.

We also spotted this guy… A parasailer with an attached motor and no boat? Has anyone ever seen one of these before? It looked like a ton of fun but I’d be nervous to try it!

It was great to catch up with Chelsea. From the sound of it, nursing school is keeping her one busy little bee!

On Sunday, Shelby and I headed up to Raleigh to visit Sage, Ryan’s sister-in-law. Ryan’s brother Justin (who happens to be Sage’s husband) came down to Wilmington to keep Ryan company while Shel and I were gone.

When Sage offered me a guest pass to Skin Sense Spa in Raleigh a couple weeks ago, I immediately said YES! Since the guest pass can only be used Monday through Friday, I lucked out by having Labor Day off work and getting to share a spa day with Sage instead. In addition to enjoying the spa’s sauna, I got a Vitamin C facial while Sage got a hot stone massage. Needless to say, we didn’t want to leave that place… So relaxing!

And now it’s already Wednesday! Long weekends make for short work weeks, which are A-OK in my book!

Come on, Irene!

And that, she did. My work closed around 1pm Friday afternoon due to Hurricane Irene making her way up the east coast. We lost power at the house for about an hour Friday evening and then again in the wee hours Saturday morning. This guy was to blame for our power outage…

The tree above fell across the road just a couple houses down from ours. Eeek! We were fortunate, though, to have our power back by noon on Saturday. And surprisingly, these two handled their first hurricane pretty well.

                                                                                                    

Hurricane = Extra sleepy time!

Since we had to toss a lot of what we had in the fridge due to loss of power (spoiled milk… pee-yew!), we grabbed lunch at Wendy’s and then re-stocked our shelves with a quick grocery trip on Sunday.

My, what a difference a day can make! Sunday was absolutely gorgeous so Shelby and I spent a little bit at the park playing frisbee and then Ryan and I went on our weekly movie date to see The Help. I just finished the book last weekend and was super excited to see the movie (Ryan was even a little excited to see it too ) , and it did not disappoint.

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The book was definitely one of the best I’ve ever read and the movie, although they had to cut some things, was really well done. I thought I’d be able to hold back my tears, but alas they came with a fury. If you haven’t read the book and/or seen the movie, do yourself a favor!

What’s the best movie you’ve seen and/or book you’ve read lately?

Take a Hike

Waking up to a sunny sky yesterday, Shelby and I decided to spend our Sunday morning walking the trails at Carolina Beach State Park. It was our first trip to this park and Shelby’s first time hiking. I think I know her new favorite outdoor activity (besides frisbee, of course)!

Since we’d never been there before and I’m not especially direction-inclined, I made sure to ask one of the park employees that the trails did, indeed, loop back to the starting point. He reassured me that the trails were well marked, so we were on our way!

We hiked around on partly sandy, partly wooded paths going in whichever direction we pleased (i.e. I followed Shelby wherever her little feet took her). After being out for a good while and not seeing any of the same trails twice, it wasn’t looking like the paths “looped back around.” So, we did the only logical thing we could… We pulled the ol’ Forrest Gump move and turned back around.

Once we finally caught sight of more people, Shelby decided she trusted their directional skills more than mine so we followed them back to the beginning.

When we returned home, I joined Ryan and a couple of friends to try out the new Nick’s Diner in downtown Wilmington. Though the food was pretty good and there was a lot on the menu to choose from, the artwork and décor in the restaurant really stole the show. “Eclectic” is how I described it to Ryan… Pop art to cartoon drawings to exposed brick to our Fred Flintstone-covered tabletop. Yeah, it was a lot to take in. Definitely a fun experience!

For our weekend movie, we decided to see 30 Minutes or Less. After getting hooked on Parks & Rec last year, I’ve since been a huge fan of Aziz Ansari. However, I can only picture Jesse Eisenberg in his role in The Social Network. Overall, it was pretty funny and we laughed a ton!

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Fun in the Sun

What a great few days we’ve had! We were lucky enough to spend time with family and friends, all while enjoying lots of sunshine.

Friday night kicked off with grilling hamburgers at our house with the company of Ryan’s brother, Justin, and his wife, Sage. After a stint of much needed rain on Saturday morning, we suited up and headed out for the beach.

Our friend Matt’s family vacations for 2 weeks every summer in Topsail Beach, which is about 45 minutes away from where we live in Wilmington. Not only are they some of the most welcoming people you will ever meet, but you never leave that beach house without a full tummy. The dining table was covered in clusters of crab legs along with melted butter and cocktail sauce for dipping. If only I had a picture of this awesomeness…

After another day of fun in the sun and toes in the sand on Sunday, we drove about an hour south to meet my dad and his girlfriend, Pam, in Myrtle Beach for dinner. Justin and Sage were able to join us and finally meet my dad and Pam, along with two of her kids, Morgan and Ben. Though we were hot and sweaty from walking around in the heat, we finally decided on Joe’s Crab Shack for dinner. Ryan and I shared coconut shrimp and crab nachos. Clearly, we had seafood on the brain this weekend! And then to everyone’s dismay, I forced an innocent bystander to take a picture of the group.

Luckily, they play along very well!

While Ryan was working on school stuff tonight, I joined my friend Shirin for some gelato at Carolina Farmin’, a new grocery store within walking distance that sells baked goods and produce from local merchants and farms. I opted for peanut butter chocolate while Shirin had the coconut gelato. I love mid-week treats! This was my first time trying gelato and I’ll definitely be going back for more.

The Time Has Come

…to say good-bye to Chelsea! After meeting her in high school (…possibly even middle school?!) and then becoming better friends with her when I moved back to Wilmington last year, it was very hard to say good-bye to this sweet girl.

Chelsea is moving about four hours north to the Outer Banks to pursue nursing school, in hopes of eventually becoming a nurse in a third world country. Her love for children and helping people make her the ideal candidate to become an amazing nurse. Luckily, she’ll be within driving distance so we hope to pay her at least a couple visits in the near future. There are worse places to live, after all…

Last week, we enjoyed our last ladies’ night fondue dinner downtown at The Little Dipper followed by a glass of wine at The Fortunate Glass. What a perfect way to spend the evening with girlfriends!

And for the final going-away dinner, we all went to YoSake for sushi Friday night. Firecracker shrimp + spicy tuna roll = yummy! Of course, a Friday night isn’t complete without a few shenanigans afterward! 🙂

Helping pack up her boxes on Saturday morning made it all a reality. Though we’re going to miss her dearly, we all wish Chelsea the very best in all of her adventures… near and far! Good luck, Chelsea!

Summer Highlights

Is July really almost over?

It seems like we wait so long for summer to get here and before we know it, it’s almost over! Well, while I’m still working out all the details of the blog and navigating my way through, I thought I’d throw together a quick recap of our summer highlights so far.

This was technically pre-summer but our trip to Atlanta in April was such a blast that I thought I’d put it up anyhow. I was in Atlanta for work and Ryan was able to join me for a couple days.

While we were both there, we visited the World of Coca-Cola,

American Idol Coke couch

Had dinner at the Sun Dial, a revolving restaurant on the 73rd floor of the Westin hotel,

Fancy Schmancy Wine

and Ryan was able to visit the Georgia Aquarium!

Oh, hellllo!

All in all, it was a great trip! Next time we visit, I hope to have more time to simply explore. We haphazardly came upon Georgia Tech’s campus one night, which was absolutely gorgeous… Definitely made for a fun evening! Just by walking around downtown Atlanta, we saw a ton of places that we’d like to go back and check out.

In May, we visited Airlie Gardens here in Wilmington. Though we’ve lived in the area for a while, this is a local attraction that we’d never been to before. Full of beautiful, blooming flowers and quaint trails, Airlie Gardens has quickly become one of my favorite places in Wilmington.

In front of Airlie's bottle garden

June was definitely the summer month we were most looking forward to. Every summer, my family travels to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a week of beach fun. Last year was Ryan’s first summer with my fam at the OBX and though the two of us could only stay for four days this year, it was still an amazing time!

The whole group!

And finally, Jack’s Mannequin came to play in Wilmington! Ryan, my friend Donna and I went to the sunset show on a Sunday night. As Jack’s Mannequin started around 7pm, the sun was just going down over Greenfield Lake in the background. Such a fun time!

La, La, Lie...

If you’ve not heard their music, definitely check ’em out. They’ve been a favorite of mine since high school!

Not a bad summer so far! And there’s still plenty left!

Something New

It’s time for something new! After learning the art of blogging when I started my current job a little over a year ago, I was turned on to the power that blogs have and the creative freedom they can offer. And because I’m always the one in the group taking pictures, what better way to document life than by creating my own blog?

A little bit about us…

Ryan and I are in our mid-twenties and both work full-time. He, as the Director of Education for a residential treatment facility for teens, and myself as part of a marketing team for an e-commerce website. We live about 15 minutes from the coast in downtown Wilmington, North Carolina and we’re loving every minute of it, especially now that it’s summertime!

At Wrightsville Beach

As you see by the title of the blog, our dogs are our life. Their furry faces and wagging tails keep us both constantly entertained and always happy.

I rescued Shelby in December of 2008 from the Guilford County Animal Shelter and we’ve been best buds ever since.

Shelby-loo!

She’s a German Shepherd mix, weighs about 45 pounds and is an avid frisbee star. I call her “my Christmas puppy” because my dad got her for me as my Christmas present that year. After a few times of going back to the shelter and seeing all the sad faces that needed a home, I knew she was the one I was supposed to have the instant I saw her. As all the other pups were barking at the front of their kennel, Shelby on the other hand, was curled up in a ball in the back corner of hers. Though she looked petrified to be in there, she came to me immediately when I knelt down to say hello. A tear came to my eye right away and the rest is history.

Please take this hat off of me!!

Ryan rescued Stedman in July of 2009 through the Humane Society right outside of Wilmington. She (yes that’s right, SHE) is about 80 pounds of pure lovin’. She’s a Boxer/Great Dane mix and is the biggest cuddle bug you’ll ever meet. Though she might look intimidating, the worst thing Sted could do is lick you to death.

Stedman the Barbarian

She was a scrawny, dirty pup when Ryan first got her and my, how she’s changed! Sted loves constant attention and affection as well as entertaining herself for hours on end by running laps around the back yard. She’s also our official taste tester in the kitchen.

What is this "personal space" you speak of?

When I moved in with Ryan in April of 2010, Shelby and Stedman also became roomies. Though Sted is a little too in-your-face for Shelby at times, they’re super happy to have each other as playmates and I couldn’t imagine one without the other.