Hide Your Wife

I used to think Boone was such a safe place. That opinion completely changed last night. Let me set the scene for you. Todd just got home from band practice and I just finished washing our dirty dishes around 9:30 pm. The apartment was blessed hot again so we decided to sit out on our bedroom balcony deck to get some fresh air and talk about our day. A faint glow from our bedroom table lamp was the only nearby light so it was just enough to see each other's faces. Our balcony faces a three story apartment building where we primarily see the backside. The backside of the large apartment complex faces nothing but a little grassy area and a drop off to the river.

After talking for a few minutes a man darts out from the back of the building. The man takes note of us sitting on the balcony and appears to act strange. In fact he keeps his eyes on us while he darts up to the third floor of the apartment building. Todd and I immediately had a "bad" feeling so Todd proceeded to tell me to call the cops. While I was identifying the male to the police station, Todd went downstairs and began walking to the front of the complex. Todd rushes back in to tell me to call the police station back and tell them that the man is now on the third floor peeping into a bedroom window and doing inappropriate things.

I was in complete shock.

My fears and instincts were ringing true. I so desperately wanted it to just be a guy playing a joke on a friend or some college joke. Still in disbelief, I called the police again and reported what Todd saw. Suddenly Todd and myself turned into crime stoppers as we made the mutual decision to get in our car and drive to the front of the complex and watch. Keep in mind I was still in disbelief of what Todd saw. But then with my own eyes I witnessed the sick pervert in action. Within seconds a cop arrived, witnessed his behavior and busted him by waving his flashlight in his face. I can't lie, that was a pretty rewarding moment.

From that moment on we watch two more cop cars arrive and a little investigation began. We could hear the man arguing with the cops. The police knocked on the victims door but we never saw who opened it nor did they associate themselves with the sicko. Therefore we knew our instincts were right. The man really was a peeping Tom. The police proceeded to arrest the man and we went back to our place to simmer down. I lost all since of security once back inside. Todd was very comforting and prayed for us. We know the man most likely knows who called the cops on him and we are hopeful the man wasn't in his right mind so maybe he will forget about the whole locking eyes things we did with him.

All that to say, we were very rattled and shocked we saw something like that. Also we never sit on our balcony at night so I have to keep reminding myself that we were suppose to be out there even if it was just to bust a creeper. I'm more aware now than ever of how sick people are in this world. I've also thought about how bad he must have got the crap scared out of him by the cops so in a weird way that makes me feel better.

Pretty sure Antoine Dodson would be proud of us...




Sunday I was also the witness to a terrible car accident on the interstate. Having to call the police twice in one week is something I'd rather not do. What is up with that? Now I just hope the rest of the week is much calmer...

and remember, hide your husband too!

-Sara

My Tuesday Post

Starting today I'm taking a little leave of absence from Facebook. As of right now my account will still be activated, just all notifications come to my email and I'm trying really hard not to log on just to waste time. We shall see how long that lasts. Personally, I just need to focus on other areas of my life and I'm quite aware of that.

BUT....I refuse to stop wasting time on Pinterest. That website is like a new long lost friend so when I got this message earlier today I was oh-so-bummed:

Changes can be a great thing though, right? Curious as to what they have up their sleeve.

Tonight is my last summer class. Praise the Lord. The class hasn't been too hard, just very time consuming. Plus I've discovered my brain doesn't function quite as well in the summer as it does in the school year. Speaking of the school year, it's hard to believe I only have six classes that stand in my way before I get my Masters. Two of which are internships. Woo to the hoo. This past weekend I got more than half of my to-do list finished and that was a great feeling. Which means you all get house pictures soon....real soon!

xoxo,
Sara

did you like my lame blog post? too tired to be creative!

Random Life Happenings

This post is entirely an update on our life currently and no pictures. Warning, this could bore you but we feel we are slacking in documenting our first year of marriage. It's more for us to look back at and remember but we are open to share with you if you care. 

We have been ultimate busy bees. In fact the past four Friday's we (or me alone) have traveled to Charlotte to participate in wedding festivities of friends. Don't get me wrong, we love the excitement and seeing our friends but the traveling is not a real joy ride. I've been having some major trouble with my back lately so being in a car for a long time and sleeping on different types of beds is about to be the death of me. But I have an appointment soon with a spine doctor so hopefully that meeting can bring some relief. Say some prayers for me.

But as busy as we have been, our evenings together are my most favorite thing about being newlyweds. Fortunately, we each get home around 5 and have zero work stress. This means we get to relax, cook dinner together, ride bikes or jog on the Greenway Trail and watch some of our favorite shows. This is where I'll admit that we are huge Big Brother fans and the fact that it comes on three times a week is great. It's basically reality TV at its finest. Don't judge us.

Our home is still a work-in-progress as I'm certain it will always be. I'm excited today because this is the first Friday in a long time that I don't have to travel. My rush of travel freedom (what to do with all my time!?) began last night as I got the itch to finish our outdoor living spaces. Mainly because it is so blessed hot here these days and with no AC the inside of the house feels worse than outside. So off to Lowes we went and got some new chairs for our bedroom balcony deck. I can't wait to sit out there this weekend and read (I'm halfway into The Help and lovin' it).

Other to dos:

• Finish framed wall collage...with actual PHOTOS
• Clean, Clean, Clean
• Organize all closets
• Take clothes to donate
• Stock up on some grub
• Finish Reupholstering dining room chairs (ha, story and pics to come)
• Thrift & Antique shop...plus hit up Michaels/Dollar Tree
• Create an office space for me to do our finances

Lots to do. Hopefully with having Friday and Saturday to do this, I can get this stuff done done done. Plus, I'm planning on squeezing in a date with my ever so patient husband. We haven't been out together in weeks and it is long overdue!

Hope I didn't bore you with all these personal details. Honestly, I'm kinda computered-out these days. More on that to come.

Have a great weekend!

-Sara

Favorite Things: Kitchen Edition

In our house, there are certain items in our kitchen that we lurrrrrve (yup, I said it YHL fans...consider it my phrase of the month and thanks to my bff Ashley M. for inspiring me to use it) and we want to share the lurrrrrrrve with you. 

Anyone find it amusing that my drummer husband is hooked (and now me too) on these drumsticks? Tasty tasty.

We love some crunch with our lunch. Normal chips tend to not settle well with me but these are keepers. I'm not so sure they are super healthy so don't let the "veggie" part fool you. I got this HUGE bag that was filled to the top at Sams Club for under $5 bucks. The bag generally lasts us 2 weeks and trust me...we eat them everyday. 

The best bowl award goes to this wonderful beauty from our everyday China pattern. These pasta bowls are part of what sold us on this particular pattern. They are bigger than regular bowls and hold pasta perfectly. We only got two from our registry (the only China we didn't get off the list) so I'm going back to Belk this weekend to stock up so we can host a pasta dinner in the future. 

Here is a better shot of my China (half of it was in the dishwasher) but it gives you a better idea of the size of the pasta bowls (far right). Even if you don't have this pattern I recommend hitting Belk up and getting some. The collection is called Aspen Ridge which reminds me of my sweet days in Colorado back in 2008.

We pretty much drink water and lemonade most of the time but keep these little babes in the fridge for that upset stomach filling, soda craving or in case we eat pizza (sorry but water with pizza doesn't float our boat).

These canisters are the bomb. No words can truly express my happiness for them so let's just all take in this photo and smile.

We grocery shop once a week (I'm slacking in the coupon department) and planning our meals for the week is a huge help so that we don't buy any junk we don't need. I got this magnetic notepad at Michaels for $1 that now lives on our fridge. Every Saturday I make a new one for the week and plan my grocery list. Thanks Michael for making my life a little easier. Anybody spy my misspellings? Oops.

Check out these beauties. My college roomate, Anne, gave them to us for our wedding and they are so cheerful to look at every morning. No clue where they are from but they are keepers for sure.

Every house needs a candy jar right? I'd say Todd uses it wayyyyyyyy more than I do but it satisfies a sweet tooth every now and then. We buy the mini candy bars from Wally World. If only I could train Todd to eat 1 at a time and not 3...

For fun here is a shot of our living room from the kitchen bar area. Excuse the mess but it gives you the general idea of our homestead.

Here is another view from where I took that photo. The flowers were given from Todd on my birthday and they are holding strong so far. The tiny glasses are jelly jars with stars around the rim from Goodwill with tea light candles placed inside.

I hope to post more photos soon of a few other things we have done around the house. Thanks for visiting our kitchen. Stop by for real and I can cook you up something really good like pasta. Smile.


-S

Baby Laney

Lots of exciting things have been happening this July! One of my best friends forever had a BABY GIRL on July 10, 2011! Wish I could have been there but once they get home and settled, I plan on taking a road trip to visit the proud parents and meet Laney Marie Keith.

Most of you have heard me talk about Magan before. She was my RA in college and we worked at camp together where her boyfriend/fiance now husband worked as well. We all got really close and I cherish their friendship. I just wished we lived closer like in a cul-de-sac with all our good friends. That would rock. I'll keep dreaming but in the meantime check out the little one courteous of facebook where I snatched it from Matt's dad, Jeff...

How sweeeeeeeet

Oh and for the record I just want to add that at approximately 8pm Saturday night I was talking to some college friends at the wedding reception who also lived with us on Magan's hall and was giving them an update on her. You know the whole, shes about to have a baby/we feel old talk when I said, "You know what, she could totally be going into labor right now..."

Well, I didn't have my phone on me at the reception but once I got in the car I had a text from Matt around 8 that said her water had broke. Whoa! I squealed. Must be that best friend intuition thing.

I'm very very happy for them! Looking forward to watching Laney grow....these are such fun years in our lives! We are all so blessed!

-S

The Williams

This is by far the fastest summer break I've ever had. Not trying to be a downer but in one month another school year starts. I've realized how quickly 4 weeks go by and I'm determined to make the most of these last 4 weeks like....going to the BEACH! Most of you know my grandparents have a beach house on OKI and I worked at a camp on the beach for 3 years so this is a rare and strange summer I'm experiencing since I haven't hit up the NC beaches yet. We are just super busy working several jobs and spending our weekends celebrating weddings. However I wouldn't trade seeing my best friends get married for anything!

Keara had her big day this past weekend and the events all started on Friday morning with a bridal luncheon at Jakes Good Eats in Charlotte. When we left there was a fire truck out front and well that just ended up being where we took a photo...

Afterwards we gals got our nails done...I treated myself to some gel nailpolish manicure (I'm hooked by the way!)

Later that night was rehearsal and then dinner at a nearby restaurant in Charlotte...

The three brides of the summer at dinner...Ashley is next!

Friday night all the girls and guys stayed in a hotel uptown. Six girls in one room was lots of fun and it was very special to spend so much time with Keara. I love slumber parties! Saturday arrived way too early and before we knew it she was about to walk down the aisle...isn't she gorgeous!!!?

FYI, all the bridesmaids had a different type of gray dress which was so cool. Wish I had taken a pic because they all went together so well and matched our personalities. The reception was at Byrons South End where we all ate some great food and danced the night away...

Todd and the Groom...

Congrats Keara & Jon! We love you very much and look forward to many vacations together in the future!

Oh and I failed to mention that I celebrated a birthday in between all the fun. I'm officially the big 24...woo to the hoo. I had a really low key birthday, in fact it got a little overlooked since we were traveling but Todd has rainchecked a hot date and shopping spree in my name! Looking forward to that!

Happy Monday! So much to talk about this week....be back soon!

4th of July

Whew! What a weekend! Five of us girls celebrated Keara Friday night in Charlotte with a small party and then a night on the town. We had a blast! I forgot how much fun hanging with a group of girls can be. I have officially decided that it is good for the soul and needs to happen at least once every few months. Her wedding is this Saturday so I'm anxiously awaiting the weekend so we can do even more celebrating. I love weddings!

I traveled back on Saturday  so I could spend the remainder of the holiday weekend with Todd. My favorite holiday is the 4th and while I'm used to being either at the beach or with camp friends, I'd say we had a great first "married" 4th in our town. The day started with a low key lunch fellowship with friends out in the country. Followed by some catch phrase and canvas painting/worship.

I really meant to pull a Petersik (only a few of you will understand that) and "house crash" by taking some photos of our friends awesome 100+ old farmhouse. My jaw was pretty much on the floor the entire time I was there. Just imagine original woodwork inside and antique refinished decor to match. Here I am sitting on the front porch holding their baby in a an old church pew that they painted and put cute pillows on. Genius! May just have to "pin" that idea.

Later in the evening we headed out to Bethel Blast. Apparently this is where everyone gathers in the county for free (that is what sold us on the idea) BBQ and fireworks. While we were there we bumped into lots of friends and spent the night enjoying the cool mountain air and people watching of course. 

Hope you too had a great weekend! Isn't summer so refreshing and fun? Somehow this weekend I was also able to squeeze in a little DIY craft that was inspired from Pinterest. Post soon to come...

-Sara

Wedding Pictures

I'm about to scoot out of town to celebrate Keara but I wanted to leave you all with something fun to check out. Yesterday we got our wedding pictures back! If you were there, take a look because you might just see yourself! If you were not at the wedding but want a super short version recap of the night then check out this slideshow by clicking here.

Otherwise, go see them ALL at www.orangecatphoto.com/pickpic. The password is Davis. Another big shout out to Dana, the owner and our photographer of Orange Cat. We have no regrets with hiring OC and love every single photo! Thanks again!

Happy first of July....my favorite month! Looking forward to bachelorette parties, celebrating America, my birthday, moms birthday, a bridesmaid in two best friends weddings, my second job AND the end of my graduate summer class (praise the Lord!). Whew, it's going to be a busy month but bring it on July!

-Sara