pre-birthday dinner

3 of my best friends (hollie, libby, and amber) took me to dinner at PM last night to kick-off my weekend of celebrations. (since im not working right now, consider wednesday the start of my weekend...) it was quite a memorable night. we ran into a couple of guys we knew (but not very well, might i add) who decided to join in on our fun once it started raining on their table. hmm...needless to say, we rescheduled our dinner before the night was over.

im a winner :)

so, this is so entirely random...let me repeat...this is SO random, but i was in f.y.e. the other day buying the Adele cd (which i love, by the way) and i ran across a free drawing. of COURSE im going to sign up...i didnt even know what i was signing up for, but it was free! why not?

well, arent i the lucky one!?! i got a call yesterday and i won the drawing!! i never win ANYTHING. i won a free guitar signed by emmy lou harris. yay, i guess. i mean, i dont play guitar and what am i going to do with another guitar at my house? we already have enough of them. i might try to sell it one of these days. it did come with a free guitar stand too, which is actually useful for dave, so thats good. but either way, it totally made my day!

im proud like its an accomplishment or something. when i walked in the store to pick it up, i was so proud to introduce myself to the cash registerer as "the one who won the guitar." i mean, all i did was write down my name and phone number and put it in a box. but, i won something!

good food, great music, fun friends

we went to rusty and sarah's wedding this weekend in knoxville. rusty and sarah are now collectively "the goodsell's"...it was fun. we got to see our lovely atlanta friends :) above, we have dave and me (obviously), then jennifer "the beautiful, but taken" white, (from left) mckittrick "back off, im a dad" simmons, chris "ladies and gentlemen" baldwin, john "i was meant to be australian" hocutt, and betsy "i just had a baby and look fabulous" thomas...

from napa to NYC

i got to hang out with SB on tuesday!! yay for me! we had so much fun eating lunch and just catching up. i finally got a "tour" of the Modern, where sarabeth spends most of her days (and some of her nights.) then i took the train to the shea stadium, where dave played before the mets game.
here he is singing. notice the big screen in the background with his face on it :) for those of you who are wondering but dont want to ask...no, he didn't sing the national anthem. (and, yes, i asked.) he played his own music while the 40,000 baseball fans were entering the stadium. although there was a 3 sec delay on his voice coming out of the speakers and there were lots of video cameras right in front of his face, he did awesome. i was really proud. everyone loved him- it was really cool to hear all those fans in the stadium cheering for dave!
this is us down on the field for batting practice. that was fun. all the players were coming up and signing autographs...i tried to get a little kid to ask dave to sign his ball, but he was not havin' it. dave is cool, but not that cool.

o, by the way, this was the mets vs. the phillies, one of the biggest games of the year. and this is the last season to be played in shea stadium. (the new "citibank park" is in the background.) our seats were on the field. the stadium was packed and the mets were winning the whole game until the phillies game back in the 9th and stole it. quite a game. especially for you baseball fans.

napa valley...

this was our view driving into the resort, Silverado. it was amazing, a resort in every sense of the word- there was a beautiful golf course, tennis, hiking, swimming, biking, horseback riding, eating...not to mention that you're surrounded by the best wineries in the country!

we went there because dave was playing a radio show. it was for a few people who won radio contests, and then a lot of radio reps and industry people. (and winemakers, my personal fave.)

the artists were jason mraz, matt nathanson, and dave. they played acoustic sets while i hit up the expensive VIP wine table and the fabulous hor d'ourves (had to look up the spelling of that one.)
this is me in the "green room" with matt (left) and jason (right.) for those of you who dont know of them (ahem, sarabeth...) matt is a fairly new-to-the-radio-scene artist and jason is a well known pop/acoustic guy who you would definitely recognize. they are both really good and it was fun hanging out with them...

songs to download:

http://www.jasonmraz.com/ "Remedy", "You and I Both", and his duet with Colbie Callait, "Lucky" (that ones for you, ej)

http://www.mattnathanson.com/ "Come on Get Higher" and "Car Crash"

father-daughter bonding

we built this patio all by ourselves. manual labor at its best.

here it is...the fruit of our hard labor. let me just give you some important details. this patio took 1 solid week, 3 1/2 tons of crushed rock (that I moved with my hands, a trusty shovel, and a wheelbarrow) , several hundred pounds of sand, and many, many concrete pavers...not to mention lots of time and sweat. o, and its all level (that's the most impressive part, by the way.) me and my dad. we did it. and i have a monster bruise on my right thigh to prove it.

in the picture, we have louis, laura's HUGE puppy (yes, he still has 50 pounds to gain), my dad, the project manager (isnt he cute?), brad, my mom, and laura in the background. the yard is still a work-in-progress, but in my opinion, we've made a big difference so far. and it looks fabulous. (im biased, though.)

trip to oxford :)

so, i took two of my best friends, hollie (on the left) and amber (the right) to oxford for a quick getaway because, really, where better? i must admit, though, that oxford is quickly becoming something different. it reminds me of when my mom used to reminisce about danver's being in oxford back in the day. i mean, oxford has a staples and a home depot now! what in the world?
we had a lot of fun over the course of 24 hours. we hit up city grocery, square books, the burgundy room (for drinks at sunset), 208 for dinner, the library sportsbar (where we ran into noneother than...drumroll please...holmes pettey), chevron, newk's, and we also opened the new music venue in town, lyric. yes, opening night and we dance to dj dent may's techno. it was quite a sight. but oxford is different in the summer. really different. im looking forward to the fall...

self proclaimed blog stalker

i have recently become a blog stalker.

let me explain - i just stalk blogs of my friends, not strangers. that would be weird. its a great way for me to keep up with everyone, especially since i refuse to sign on to facebook or myspace. i like blogs because they dont seem so gossipy, and i like to read everyone's thoughts and stories and i LOVE to look at the pictures and watch the videos. its so exciting when i come across a new post. by the way, cas, you win the award for the most frequent new posts. keep 'em comin.

the only reason im a little apprehensive about this blog thing is because it seems like most people start a blog when they have a baby. we dont have any babies, and arent planning for any babies, but that doesnt mean i cant blog about my life, right? i feel like there are too many fun things going on and good memories to share- not to mention that i am not the easiest person to keep in touch with...sorry. so now there will be no excuses. you will have free access to my crazy life via this blog. yay. im excited!