Five on Friday--9/13/13

This week's '5 on Friday' is coming to you live from Figure 8 Island in Wilmington, NC (for more information, see item #5 below!)

As most of you know, Drew & I are back in the good ol' US of A for 2 weeks, so I wanted to include as many wonderful things as I could about our trip home so far. Granted, this list only gives me 5 things to include, so I had to group some things together. Enjoy...


ONE: HOUSE HUNTING! The day after we arrived home last weekend, my parents drove over from Greensboro and met us to do some house hunting. For real this time...not like the stuff you saw on the TV show! Even though Drew and I won't be moving home until August 2nd of next year (yes, that is an official date), we wanted to go see some places in the area and get a feel for what we like and don't like. I didn't take any pictures inside of the houses, but we saw some gems and some doozies! Here are some online photos of a couple that we saw...I'll let you decide which one was a thumbs up and which was a major thumbs down...





TWO: OUR NEW NEICE! Did I fake you out and have you thinking that someone in one of our families had a baby girl since the last time we were home?? Not quite. But Drew's brother, Nick, and his wife, Megan, are the proud owners of a 4-month old Rottweiler puppy named Fat Amy. She is the sweetest little thing (except for the fact that she's not little at all!), she loves giving puppy kisses, and 'nippin' at feet as our 2 human nieces say.


THREE: COMFORT FOOD! I say this every time we come home, but I feel like all we do is eat when we're here because there are so many wonderful options and everything is SO cheap! Drew has been enjoying his standard bowl of Life cereal every morning, but here you can get 2 big boxes for $5!! Just to recap, we've had Chick-Fil-A, Moe's, Mellow Mushroom, Carolina Ale House, Kanki, Cooper's BBQ, Ham's, Five Guys, Trolly Stop, and of course Mexican food!! We have some others on our list that we definitely want to hit up while we're still here, but time is running out so we might have to bump it up to 5 meals a day :)
     


FOUR: LONG-LOST FAMILY & FRIENDS! Ok...they've never been lost and it really hasn't been THAT long, but it's always so great to reconnect with everyone while we're home. We've spent time with Drew's whole family, my friend Laura, Maz (my grandmother) and our friends Maggie & Julien. In addition, I got to go to a bridal shower for my friend, Zandy, on Sunday afternoon and celebrate her and hang out with some old friends. I got to visit with my friend, Cameron, and her beautiful daughter for a bit on Monday. I got to have dinner with my mama one night and lunch with her another day. I got to treat myself to a wonderful haircut over in Greensboro which is always more fun because I get to spend time with the amazing Cheri & Megan. Then, in just a few short days, we'll pick my sister up from the airport and head to Greensboro for some quality Vail family time! It's so nice when everyone is mostly all in one place! If you live close to your family and friends (or at least get to see them often) make sure you don't take that for granted...it really is a blessing.

             


FIVE: LIL' SLICES OF HEAVEN! Even though we're living in a beautiful country and have a stunning view for the next year, there are some places that will always have a special place in my heart. One is Chapel Hill...I'm a Tar Heel born and bred and there's just something special about being on the UNC campus and driving down Franklin St....especially when it's tied to 4+ years of memories.


The other is Figure 8 Island...not only are Drew & I total beach bums, but this is where we got married almost 2 years ago (which is so hard to believe!) It's a beautiful, peaceful place that is also tied to many, many memories. Can't wait to get back to the US for good so we can be here more often!


That's it for now, folks! I'll try to do better about taking pictures over the next week so I have something to post before we head back to NZ!

Cheers,